Ch.8282. At the Training Ground (3)

It had been two days since returning to the County.

My schedule during that time was simple.

True to her word, Sione had spent all her time at the shooting range practicing archery, just as she’d said she would in the carriage.

When tired, she’d take a brief rest, and once her energy returned, she’d nock another arrow as if it were her solemn duty.

When I suggested she take a break, my stubborn master would firmly shake her head. All I could do for her was correct her posture when it faltered and provide occasional feedback on her archery technique.

And today, without fail…

“Ray, Ray.”

Hop.

Having finished her morning jog and rolling around on her bed, Sione got up and called my name.

“The sun is up, and I’ve rested enough. Let’s head to the shooting range now.”

I wonder if this person is truly the same Sione Sianella from a year ago.

When I compare the formerly plump Sione who detested leaving her nest to the person before me now, well…

It’s remarkable how much a person can change.

While it’s a satisfying development, I’m also somewhat concerned.

Even at the royal palace, except for the day of the banquet and her coming-of-age ceremony, she spent more than half her day sprawled on her bed.

That same person has now become more passionate than anyone else, which is concerning.

Isn’t there a saying that when someone changes drastically, their end might be near?

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more? I’m worried you’ve been pushing your body too hard these past two days.”

“Well, what does it matter? After all, despite appearances—”

Sione stood up confidently and declared:

“I’ve reached the level of a Sword User, haven’t I? This much exertion won’t harm my body, so don’t worry.”

Fair enough. She’s not just someone who’s awakened to Mana haphazardly.

Despite appearances, Sione is a Sword User. Though she may be inexperienced at infusing Mana into a sword, she has no trouble channeling and utilizing Mana in her body.

Her physique, accustomed to accumulated Mana, certainly won’t break down from just two days of archery.

True, she won’t break down, but… fatigue will surely accumulate in her body gradually.

Seeing how she seemed to underestimate the importance of rest, I willingly spoke up for her benefit:

“Then please promise to take sufficient breaks in between. Working hard without pause is admirable, but don’t you need time to rest and regroup occasionally?”

“Hmm… if you insist…”

My master trailed off, then began looking at me with a subtle gaze.

Then, her eyes curved upward playfully.

“Hehe.”

For some reason, Sione let out an artificial laugh.

She put her hands behind her back and approached me with light steps.

With bouncing, staccato-like steps, Sione came right up to me.

Leaning her body slightly forward, she looked up at me and said:

“Ray. Are you that worried about me?”

It was obvious what answer she wanted.

I could have casually responded and moved on, but I decided to play along with her for a moment.

“Of course.”

I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against Sione’s.

“How could I not be worried?”

Her pupils trembled as if she hadn’t expected me to go this far.

I could tell she was flustered by how her ears turned red.

But Sione was the one who started this game.

‘Once you start something, you should see it through.’

This wasn’t just any master-servant relationship—it was between Sione and me.

Small pranks no longer felt awkward between us.

As I observed her clearly visible emotional state with my eyes, I smiled slightly with amusement.

Swiftly, I caught her hand that she had been hiding behind her back and interlaced our fingers.

“If blisters form on these fair hands, not only would you be unable to shoot arrows… wouldn’t it be troublesome to hold hands with me like this?”

“Ugh…”

Sione finally lowered her head in surrender.

I went to retrieve her bow, which she had carefully placed in a corner of the room, and held it out to her while she stood stiffly in place.

“You said we should go to the shooting range… please take this.”

“Ugh…”

Sione looked back and forth between the bow in my hand and my face.

Swish!

She snatched the bow from my hand and hurried out of her room.

I watched her reaction and let out a deflating laugh.

* * *

Despite her hasty exit, Sione was waiting for me not far away.

As we walked silently toward the training ground:

“Ahem. Ray, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Sione cleared her throat and began speaking, breaking the quiet atmosphere.

“Something to tell me?”

“Yes. I’ve decided that your duel with Sister Siabel will take place in about 10 days.”

“Ten days from now? That’s quite generous with time.”

“It’s partly my sister’s consideration, since we’ve just returned to the County after a long carriage journey… and apparently, she has quite a lot to discuss with Mother about recent events in the territory. From what I heard—”

Sione crossed her arms gently and paused briefly.

After a moment, she unfolded her arms and continued clearly:

“Recently, there’s been an unusually high number of monster appearances in our territory.”

“Monsters, you say?”

“Yes.”

Sione nodded with a serious expression.

“It would be fine if they were small, pathetic creatures like goblins or kobolds. But this winter, even orcs have been coming down to our territory and causing trouble.”

“That’s not good.”

“Right? Sister told me that just before we returned, an orc entered the territory and caused a disturbance, which the knights had to resolve.”

I nodded along with Sione’s words while thinking to myself.

Goblins and kobolds are insignificant creatures, only slightly more intelligent than other monsters.

Unless they form in overwhelming numbers, even a farmer who normally harvests wheat could, if determined, harvest their heads as easily as ripe grain.

However, orcs require several mercenaries or soldiers working together to subdue, so having orcs set foot in the territory is certainly not a good situation.

I just hope this isn’t a sign of more troublesome situations to come.

* * *

Sione and I arrived at the shooting range.

When my master first arrived with the sun high in the sky, the instructor had scrambled to accommodate her, but now he had naturally accepted her presence.

The other archers felt the same way. By now, everyone here knew that Sione had started handling a bow and showed remarkable accuracy with stationary targets.

They were all becoming accustomed to Sione’s presence.

Sione strapped on a quiver full of arrows from a corner of the shooting range and took her position.

Before she could shoot, I grabbed a piece of protective equipment prepared at the range and handed it to her.

“Lady Sione, you forgot your protective gear.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

Sione flashed a smile as she took the protective gear from me and put it on.

With the increased tension of the bowstring, not only when nocking but also when pulling that tough string, her finger joints could be strained.

No matter how superhuman she might be with her Mana, there’s no harm in using proper protective gear. She had been wearing leather shooting gloves while practicing archery for the past two days.

Using the Mediterranean draw to pull the string, maintaining her posture with a dead release, not only channeling Mana into the arrowhead but also trying to somehow condense it…

“Hah!”

Swish!

Though still lacking in coating the arrowhead with Mana, Sione cleanly shot her first arrow, hitting the center of the target.

I approached her.

“Since you seem quite comfortable with the Mediterranean draw… would you like to try other drawing techniques?”

“Really?”

I nodded at Sione’s question.

‘Well, it’s not that new of a technique.’

It was just a slightly modified form of the Mediterranean draw, nothing too new or special.

The Mediterranean draw involves placing the arrow shaft between the index and middle fingers, and also using the ring finger to pull the string. The Flemish draw removes the ring finger, using only the index and middle fingers to pull the string.

It would be more strenuous to pull with two fingers instead of three, but there would be less interference with the arrow, potentially increasing accuracy significantly.

“It’s similar to the Mediterranean draw, but you remove your ring finger from the string and pull using only your index and middle fingers.”

“Like this, right?”

Sione shot an arrow using the Flemish draw.

The arrow flew powerfully and steadily, embedding itself in the center of the target.

“Oh! Just removing one finger makes such a difference in both the shooting and aiming feel.”

“It requires more strength to pull the string with two fingers, but there’s less interference with the arrow, so it’s less affected by hand tremors, which should improve accuracy.”

Sione nodded.

After confirming her response, I moved beside her and said:

“Then let’s get back into position. I’ll teach you another technique.”

The next technique I taught her was the “three under.”

Behind the fletching of the arrow shaft is a V-shaped notch, the nock, designed to easily attach the arrow to the string.

After nocking the arrow, this technique involves pulling the string below the arrow with the index, middle, and ring fingers.

The three under technique brings the arrow roughly level with the eye, making it easier to aim at targets using the arrowhead, and again reduces interference with the arrow, improving accuracy.

I stood directly behind her and slowly taught her the three under technique.

At first, Sione seemed tense at my sudden closeness, but soon followed my instructions and shot the arrow.

“…How fascinating. I never thought I could shoot without holding the arrow.”

With those words, Sione spent several dozen minutes shooting arrows using the three under technique, before eventually returning to her usual Mediterranean draw.

She said this technique felt most comfortable now.

After teaching her new techniques and quietly watching her for some time, as the sounds of soldiers and knights training with swords began to emanate from the training grounds outside the shooting range, I spoke to Sione during one of her short breaks:

“Lady Sione, may I step outside to speak with one of the knights?”

“Speak with a knight? What business do you have with a knight?”

Sione tilted her head curiously.

“Since I have a duel with Lady Siabel Sianella in 10 days… to meet her expectations, I thought I might seek some assistance—”

I looked at those swinging swords under the high sun outside the shooting range and said:

“I want to ask Lady Diolia about Lady Siabel’s swordsmanship.”