Ch.3232. To the Mountain Range (2)

Sione frowned as she saw that more than 80% of her shots had missed.

Her expression resembled that of a child throwing a tantrum because things weren’t going her way.

Given how difficult it was to hit enemies darting around with a bow,

It wasn’t particularly strange that her arrows ended up embedded in the ground or trees.

She hadn’t been shooting for long, yet she was trying to aim only for the small goblin’s head, so of course she was missing.

“The distance is considerable and the target is quite small. From now on, please aim for the relatively wider torso rather than the head.”

“But still…”

“Lady Sione, you haven’t been handling a bow for long, and your opponents certainly won’t stand still waiting for your arrows.”

“Hmm.”

“So rather than practicing to hit small heads from the start, it would be better to practice making effective hits first.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

Sione nodded, abandoning her fixation on headshots at my suggestion.

I had worried about what to do if she stubbornly insisted on aiming for the head, so this was quite fortunate.

I rolled my eyes again to scan where Sione’s arrows had landed.

She really shot a lot. Arrows that missed the goblins were stuck in various places or rolling on the ground.

It’s remarkable she hadn’t pierced any allies at this point.

I roughly assessed the positions of the arrows.

“I’ll collect the arrows that are still usable.”

“You’re going through trouble because of me. I’ll help too.”

“Then I’ll take this side.”

“I’ll gather those over there.”

Sione and I collected the arrows.

We didn’t bother with those deeply embedded in trees or those with damaged arrowheads.

We had brought plenty of arrows as supplies anyway.

No need to be overly frugal.

After gathering the arrows with Sione and returning to the carriage, it wasn’t long before the carriage started moving forward again.

Dealing with the goblins hadn’t taken much time.

We were getting closer and closer to the Beltrin Mountains.

* * *

We arrived at the Beltrin Mountains.

The mountain range gleamed with a blue hue, embracing the hot summer.

Befitting a season of burgeoning life, the mountains would be full of mosquitoes and various insects. And probably teeming with green monsters and wolves too.

Our ordeal began from the point in front of the mountains where the carriage could no longer proceed.

We entered the mountains with our supplies as part of a long procession.

Just setting up a simple base camp took a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, the blazing sun overhead made an already tedious and difficult task even more painful.

‘Of course, I secretly entrusted the luggage that wouldn’t fit in my bag to Bronte.’

I was quite exhausted too.

Without my newly made kind friend Bronte, I would have been in real trouble.

Thanks to that, now that we had established the base, both Sione and I were completely worn out.

“I can’t take anymore…”

Saying that, Sione headed toward a nearby tree.

The tree’s shade blocked the sunlight and a cool breeze blew.

She sat down against the tree without hesitation.

“How nice it would be if we could rest like this all day and then go back.”

“We have 20 minutes of rest time left.”

“…I know that well enough without you telling me.”

Sione made a sulky face, puffing her cheeks.

Meanwhile, someone approached us.

It must be Siabel.

None of the soldiers had any personal connection with Sione.

And there was no reason for anyone to strike up a conversation with her.

The person looking for Sione was quite predictable.

Sure enough, it was none other than…

“It’s Sister Siabel.”

Siabel Sianella appeared before us.

Recognizing her sister, Sione raised her heavy body to greet her.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to tell you that the teams have been decided.”

“Teams… I see.”

Sione’s expression darkened noticeably.

She seemed to already dread the thought of traversing the mountains with strangers.

Sione was unusually averse to conversations or company with unfamiliar people.

You could say she had strong wariness.

She looked more like a canine but acted exactly like a cat.

Fortunately, Sione’s expression brightened before long.

Given that not only regular soldiers but also knights who could handle Mana were deployed,

Teams were formed centered around the knights.

Siabel, being considerate of Sione, had placed her in her own team.

After delivering her message, Siabel turned abruptly toward the other soldiers.

But then.

“Hmm.”

Siabel’s gaze fell on me.

Like when Ainel Sianella first saw me.

Her cold, heavy blue eyes seemed to pierce through my innermost thoughts.

She was so gentle and kind when talking to Sione, so why this sudden change with me?

I received Siabel’s gaze as calmly as possible.

“Do you perhaps have something to say to me?”

“No, not particularly. It’s nothing.”

Staring like that when she had nothing to say.

She made me needlessly nervous.

After that brief incident, our rest time soon ended.

Finally, we began searching the mountains in earnest for monsters.

* * *

Fortunately, the mountain terrain wasn’t too rough, so climbing wasn’t as difficult as expected.

Of course, that’s just relative—the scorching sun and high temperature made it unavoidably arduous.

When I became a servant for a noble house, I thought I’d spend my life just cleaning and maintaining the mansion.

Looking at myself now, I can’t tell if I’m a trained servant or a mercenary.

After wandering the mountains for quite some time.

“Lady Siabel, we’ve found traces of goblins. Judging by how fresh they are, they must be nearby.”

Finally, starting with one soldier, we succeeded in finding monsters.

The opponent was the weak goblin, but perfect as a practice target for Sione.

Since there weren’t many and Siabel didn’t need to step in, a few soldiers accompanying us and Sione took the lead.

As Sione pulled an arrow from her quiver, Siabel’s gaze followed her.

Apparently, Siabel hadn’t seen Sione shooting a bow at the archery range much.

She seemed genuinely curious about Sione using a bow.

Sione steadied her breathing and nocked an arrow to the bowstring.

I added one suggestion to Sione.

“Since hitting a goblin’s body rather than its head is enough to incapacitate it, please aim comfortably for the torso.”

“Alright.”

Sione nodded slightly and drew the bowstring.

I thought she would immediately release using the sliding release technique again.

But she took a moment to aim carefully while holding the drawn bowstring.

Sione, you’ve finally graduated from mindless sliding releases.

Perhaps sensing Sione’s calm gaze on its skin, the goblin turned toward her.

The moment Sione came into the creature’s view.

Whoosh!!

The arrow shot out rapidly.

“Keeek!! Kieeee!!”

The goblin began screaming as if its life was ending.

Sione’s arrow, which had previously only cut through air, successfully pierced the creature’s green skin.

The goblin, overwhelmed by the burning pain in its stomach, could do nothing but scream in agony.

Thanks to its screams, other goblins’ attention was drawn to it.

“Let’s finish them quickly.”

“I’ll take that side.”

The soldiers also joined in, drawing their swords against the goblins.

Perhaps because she had successfully hit her target, Sione wore a slightly excited expression.

“I’ll handle any goblins that approach, so please shoot at ease.”

“Will you do that for me?”

“Leave it to me.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you.”

When I assured her I’d watch her back, Sione turned off all awareness of her surroundings and focused solely on the targets she had marked.

Sione was now immersed as if in her own world.

I kept watch around her to ensure her concentration wouldn’t be broken.

“Keeeee!!”

A goblin’s sharp cry came from the distance.

A goblin charging toward us, evading the other soldiers’ attention.

Since Sione was aiming at another goblin, she didn’t seem able to deal with this one immediately.

“…How annoying.”

I muttered in Korean while nocking an arrow.

For a goblin charging recklessly, piercing its head with an arrow was a simple matter.

Unlike Sione, I immediately shot using the sliding release technique.

Whoosh!!

“Keek…!”

The arrow struck precisely in the center of its forehead.

The goblin that had been charging toward us collapsed forward.

I was quite satisfied with the bowstring I had drawn after so long and the clean hit.

After protecting Sione and dispatching the goblins, it wasn’t long before all those numerous goblins were rolling on the ground.

“Well done.”

“So, has it gotten a bit better?”

I nodded at Sione’s question.

Most of her arrows shot from dozens of meters away had hit the torsos.

I had expected far more misses.

Even for a superhuman body that had awakened to Mana, this achievement was quite impressive.

“Not just a bit, but much better. The archers might even be jealous.”

“The archers?”

“What archer could shoot so skillfully in such a short time?”

“Thank you for saying so.”

Sione’s lips curled up almost to her ears as she said that.

Apparently, my words had fully satisfied her desire for recognition.

I led Sione back to where Siabel was waiting.

As if she had been waiting, Siabel immediately addressed Sione.

“Sione, your archery skills are quite remarkable?”

As Siabel said this, her gaze was…

For some reason, fixed on me lingering behind Sione.

Sione alone is already more than enough to handle, so why is she like this too…?