Ch.3333. To the Mountain Range (3)

“…Were you watching?”

Sione scratched her cheek, seemingly embarrassed.

At the same time, Siabel’s blue eyes, which had been fixed on me momentarily, began to reflect her younger sister.

Only then was the inexplicable gaze that had been making me uneasy withdrawn, allowing me to breathe freely.

“Of course. Your skill has improved much more than when you were facing the goblins earlier.”

“I merely followed the advice I sought from Ray. I’m glad you see it favorably.”

“Ray is…”

“Ah, that’s the name of my personal attendant.”

Sione half-turned her body to reveal me hiding behind her.

Thanks to that, my image was once again reflected in Siabel’s blue eyes.

And once more, I found myself meeting Siabel’s gaze.

I quietly bowed my head to Siabel.

Regardless—

“Hmm.”

Siabel silently looked me over for a moment.

I couldn’t help but feel tense under that penetrating gaze that seemed to see through one’s innermost thoughts, just like during my first meeting with Ainel Sianella.

Moreover, unlike Sione with her puppy-like appearance, Siabel had a cold impression.

Her image overlapped with Ainel’s, making me feel a chill down my spine.

Although it wasn’t a long time, to me it felt like an uncomfortable eternity.

Unlike with someone like Sione, the gazes of people who make it clear from the start that they are nobles are quite burdensome.

I wished this moment would pass as quickly as possible.

As I was wishing for that, Siabel slowly opened her mouth.

“So, your name is Ray.”

It wasn’t just a simple statement.

The corners of Siabel’s expressionless mouth curved upward.

It might be my self-consciousness, but I thought I detected a hint of interest in her previously cold eyes.

Either way, Siabel’s attention was quite uncomfortable.

…For some reason, I felt that getting involved with Siabel would lead to troublesome situations.

I’d prefer to just know her through Sione.

Whether my perception of Siabel’s curiosity was mistaken or not.

“Come to think of it, I heard that the person who taught you archery was your servant. Is this that servant?”

She began asking about my identity.

“Yes. Ray personally taught me archery.”

“A servant teaching you rather than an archery instructor…”

Siabel narrowed her eyes.

Sione, finding something amusing, freely shared my story.

“He said he briefly learned archery in the past. Not only does he teach well enough, but… he’s also trustworthy.”

“Oh?”

Siabel brushed back her silver-white hair at Sione’s words.

At the same time, the interest in her eyes deepened.

Beyond interest, she now seemed to find it somewhat amusing…

Since I had nothing particular to say, I quietly closed my mouth and calmly accepted her interest.

“Well, though I only saw briefly, he did have sharp skills like our county’s archers.”

Siabel, who had been brushing her hair, folded her arms.

Tilting her head slightly and meeting my gaze, she said:

“How interesting.”

I silently bowed my head once more.

Even though there was no need to feel intimidated, I didn’t like this situation where I felt pressured by Siabel’s aura.

I wondered why Siabel, whom I had encountered several times before, was suddenly showing interest in me.

As I pondered this, I recalled the rewards from the two quests I had received.

‘…Both quest rewards involved Siabel Sianella.’

These quests were different from previous ones that had focused solely on Sione’s growth.

The quest rewards were none other than—

Siabel Sianella’s interest in me and the acceleration of talent development.

It seems that since the quest rewards were related to Siabel, a connection between her and me was being formed.

I couldn’t help but inwardly sigh.

‘…I don’t like this.’

Sione was actively confessing her desire to break off her engagement to the young lord of the Marquisate.

Just dealing with Sione, who was unpredictable, had been keeping me on edge lately.

And now, in this situation, I had to start worrying about Siabel too.

What was it about the Sianella family that required so much attention…

At this rate, would I need to worry about Sion Sianella as well?

“When you said you wanted to bring a servant up the mountain with you, I was quite skeptical… but this is unexpected.”

“Didn’t I tell you beforehand? He has awakened Mana and is skilled in archery, so at the very least, he won’t be a hindrance.”

“How could I believe just by hearing words? I agreed because I was confident I could protect him even if he came along… but still, he’s a man.”

Siabel folded her arms as she spoke.

“Well, looking at him now, it doesn’t seem like a bad choice.”

After saying that, Siabel slowly approached me.

She extended her hand to me.

“Please take good care of Sione. Can I trust you with that?”

I quietly took Siabel’s hand.

“…Leave it to me.”

Satisfied with my response, Siabel nodded.

“I’ll be watching.”

* * *

A day passed quickly.

We cut down numerous goblins and finally discovered traces of gray wolves, successfully estimating their territory.

At the same time, we even managed to hunt a few gray wolves that had strayed from their pack.

Throughout this, I gave Sione advice on archery as we continued to eliminate monsters.

Though still inexperienced, Sione’s accuracy gradually improved as she absorbed my advice.

It was all thanks to continuously shooting arrows at numerous enemies.

Afterward, when we returned to the camp, we took care of various tasks.

Most of them were handled by Bronte rather than by me, who was exhausted, so it wasn’t too bad.

The problem lay elsewhere.

‘It was too burdensome.’

Whenever I was with Bronte, Siabel Sianella tried to observe me.

I didn’t like how she looked at me as if she had found some interesting animal.

I wondered what she found so appealing.

I hadn’t shown her any magic, and I only shot an arrow once, yet she was so fixated.

I could understand such interest if I had impressively unleashed spirit magic.

But there was no such flashy display, so I couldn’t comprehend why Siabel was acting this way.

I couldn’t just bluntly ask why she kept following and staring at me.

Somehow the first day passed, and the second day arrived.

After the sun brightened the mountain, we set out again for the sweep.

“You’ve improved much more than yesterday.”

“After shooting until I got blisters on my fingers, it would be strange if I didn’t improve.”

“…That’s true.”

Sione showed improvement with each passing day.

She took less time to aim at enemies than yesterday, and her accuracy had improved considerably.

It was amusing to see her boast about adapting to fighting goblins.

But seeing how much she enjoyed it, I couldn’t just laugh in front of her.

As we continued hunting, not long after.

“We’ve confirmed a group of orcs!”

A soldier who had scouted ahead reported what he had seen to Siabel.

“How many are there?”

“Six in total.”

“Hmm…”

Siabel stroked her chin briefly, contemplating.

Her decision came without much delay.

“Let’s ambush them.”

Following Siabel’s decision, we moved toward where the orcs had been spotted, suppressing our presence.

Even Siabel, who always walked leisurely while killing goblins, maintained appropriate tension.

Soon, as the soldier had said, six orcs came into view.

They were monsters with green skin like goblins.

However, it would be inappropriate to treat them the same as goblins just because of their skin color.

Standing over 2 meters tall with broad shoulders.

And ridiculously heavy bodies.

They were born fighters from their weight class and boasted tremendous strength in reality.

The fortunate point was that as strong as they were, their movements were usually sluggish.

Soldiers with plenty of combat experience from Sianella’s regular sweeps of the Beltrin Mountains should be able to handle them sufficiently.

Moreover, with an Expert knight present, the soldiers would only need to distract the orcs until Siabel cut their necks.

While comparing the orcs I was seeing after a long time with our forces, I heard Sione’s voice.

“…I’m nervous.”

She seemed to be intimidated by the appearance of the orcs.

Well, unlike other inferior monsters, orcs possessed a unique intimidation characteristic of monsters.

It was understandable that Sione, who wasn’t accustomed to facing monsters, had a stiff expression and was sweating.

To ease Sione’s tension, I said:

“Just think of them as large green targets. It’s the soldiers who will face them up close, not us.”

“Large green targets…”

My analogy seemed to appeal to her, as Sione’s expression improved considerably.

At that moment, Siabel’s voice resonated, low and clear.

“Follow immediately after I strike one down.”

As aura Mana coated Siabel’s sword, her foot stomped the ground.

Tat!

In an instant, Siabel approached the nearest orc.

She immediately swung her sword downward with great force.

“Chweek!!”

With the orc’s startled scream, one of its green arms was severed.

As expected of an Expert knight, she had a gallant side unlike the archer Sione.

With Siabel’s strike, the soldiers also began to join the battle.

“Let’s provide support.”

“Hoo… let’s do that.”

After taking a deep breath, Sione began shooting her bow.

Despite appearing overly tense, Sione diligently shot her arrows.

Thanks to that, several arrows were embedded in one orc’s stomach.

While she was smoothly doing her part.

I shot arrows toward the soldiers who were struggling a bit.

But that became a problem.

When several arrows pierced its bulging moon-like stomach, the orc’s attention turned to Sione.

“Chweek!!”

The orc, already covered in wounds from multiple soldiers, began charging toward Sione, ignoring the soldiers’ attacks as if unwilling to die in vain.

Apparently, in the orc’s eyes, it seemed more appropriate to take Sione, who was shooting arrows with a tense expression, as a companion rather than those wielding swords.

The orc’s thinking was correct.

“Uh…”

Sione let out a voice full of bewilderment.

Turning my head toward Sione, I finally understood the situation.

The orc was charging, clearly intending to crash right into her, yet why was she just standing there watching?

Sione just wore a despairing expression even as the orc charged right up to her face.

“…Damn it.”

What are the soldiers doing to let an orc charge at her?

I hurriedly tried to figure out how to resolve this situation.

Siabel was over there dealing with another orc…

And if I ran with my own feet right now, the distance was awkward, and I couldn’t be sure if I could save her in time.

If I tried to shoot an arrow at the orc’s forehead to kill it.

That orc bastard could definitely land a hit on Sione before losing consciousness and collapsing.

In the end, if it came to this.

As Sione said, I had no choice but to show magic that I didn’t intend to display in front of others.

I quickly circulated my Mana before the orc’s fist could reach Sione’s head.

What I needed was enough speed to save her.

I bestowed the power of spirits upon my body.

“Haa…”

As I felt a fresh breeze caress my cheek and ruffle my hair, I threw myself forward.

Fortunately, I was able to reach Sione in time.

I embraced her in an instant and threw my body sideways to avoid the orc’s attack.

After rolling on the ground several times, I felt a heavy pain in my back and arms.

I’m really doing all sorts of things because of Sione, even rolling down a mountain.

“Ray…?”

Sione looked at my face with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why were you just standing there staring?”

I reproached her.

If she was scared, she should have at least screamed. What was the point of being surprised all by herself?

What if I hadn’t noticed?

“Sorry…”

Along with Sione’s weak words.

Thud—

The orc that had been charging toward Sione fell, its head severed.

Siabel appeared, shaking the red blood off her sword beside the fallen orc.

She looked down at Sione and me and muttered:

“Magic?”