Ch.9090. In the Piercing Wind (3)

“You two seem to be getting along well?”

When Siabel’s voice suddenly rang out, the most startled was Sione who was nestled in my arms.

At her sister’s leisurely yet clear words, she flinched and quickly pushed away my arms that had been wrapped around her waist.

Then she stood on her own two feet, assuming an excessively stiff posture as she faced Siabel.

It took less than 5 seconds.

…If only she moved this efficiently all the time, how nice that would be.

I examined the complexion of Sione, who was standing at attention beside me.

Her cheeks were flushed red.

Whether from the cold biting wind or from embarrassment.

As I was openly checking her expression.

“Umm…”

Judging by her restless, trembling pupils… as expected.

My lady seemed quite embarrassed by this situation.

“I knew you two were close, but I never imagined you’d be embracing so naturally in front of the carriage.”

Siabel’s gaze shifted from her sister to me.

She touched her red lips while narrowing her eyes horizontally.

A finger resting on her lips. Between those fingers, I could see Siabel’s mouth corners slightly rising.

But perhaps due to the cold weather, her smile seemed to strangely contain a subtle coldness.

“Getting so close while leaving me out. I’m a little jealous.”

“…I was merely supporting Lady Sione when she almost fell after misstepping.”

“Hmm. For just that, our Sione’s eyes were absolutely dripping with honey.”

“…Sister!”

When Sione called out to her in a loud voice out of embarrassment, Siabel’s eyes widened in surprise.

Well, when has Sione ever raised her voice to her?

Siabel seemed somewhat surprised by Sione’s reaction, which was more intense than she had expected.

But only for a moment.

After taking in her sister’s utterly embarrassed face with her blue eyes, Siabel returned to her characteristically composed self.

“Hmm. What’s wrong, Sione?”

Siabel asked nonchalantly.

Sione carefully asked her sister, though with a somewhat awkward and stiff tone.

“I heard you were supposed to be subjugating Orcs in the west with Lord Diolia… Why are you here…?”

“Well─.”

Siabel stared at Sione for a moment before continuing.

“You see, there was a major battle recently. The Orcs ended up moving quite far north.”

Siabel briefly explained the situation.

Recently, there had been a large confrontation with a considerable number of Orcs in the western part of the territory.

Unable to withstand the knights’ joint attack, some of the defeated Orcs led their groups northward.

Consequently, Diolia remained in the west commanding the knights to resume the subjugation.

Meanwhile, Siabel was tracking the fleeing Orcs with several knights and helping manage the northern part of the territory.

“And… we’ll soon have distinguished guests arriving from the Marquisate of Allenar. We can’t show them a territory full of monsters.”

Moreover, since her friend Aria Allenar would be arriving in the territory.

The distinguished guest from Allenar would be coming via the northern road, and they shouldn’t have to deal with Orcs and Kobolds.

After briefly explaining, Siabel said to Sione and me:

“I think you two should come along with me.”

I barely managed to stop my face from scrunching up at Siabel’s unexpected suggestion.

‘Surely… she can’t be serious.’

Sione and I had come here merely to hunt Kobolds and wolves to give Sione some much-needed field experience.

We weren’t here to enjoy extreme hunting by taking down those massive green lumps.

Sione also pointed this out specifically.

“Didn’t you say you were subjugating Orcs with the knights, Sister? If I join, I’ll only be in the way.”

“The Orc subjugation is almost complete. I’ll leave the remaining ones to the other knights, and I plan to secure the passage connecting to the north with the soldiers.”

“The passage?”

“Yes, this morning. They reported quite a few Kobolds were spotted near the passage. It would be best to clear them quickly for the merchants and Aria.”

Sione listened attentively to her sister’s words and nodded.

“What do you think? Doesn’t sound like a bad proposal.”

When Sione hesitated to give a definitive answer to Siabel’s suggestion, Siabel then asked for my opinion.

I gently nodded at her question.

“I think so too.”

Her proposal wasn’t bad at all.

We would be hunting Kobolds, not Orcs.

And instead of continuing difficult hunts trudging through uneven forest terrain, she planned to secure the passage.

We would travel along a path smooth enough for a couple of carriages to pass through, mainly hunting enemies in that vicinity.

Rather than rolling around in rough forests, it would be much better to simply follow Siabel.

After I agreed to Siabel’s question, Sione soon joined the flow.

“Umm… then I will accompany you, Sister.”

Once our opinions aligned, there was no hesitation left in our movements.

Siabel introduced us to those who would be acting together with us for a while.

Four swordsmen whose every movement exuded experience.

And one archer who seemed somewhat awkwardly maintaining his position.

Plus one priest who would be responsible for our healing in case of emergency.

After a quick personnel check, we moved immediately.

Today’s goal was simple:

To go around the merchant road and practice coordinating with each other.

With a reliable expert knight with us.

With our purpose set, all that remained for us, who feared nothing, was action.

* * *

Some time had passed since we started traveling up the merchant road.

Perhaps because we weren’t far from the outpost, we hadn’t encountered a single Kobold yet.

We could only confirm their presence in the area by the occasional footprints on the side of the road.

Whoosh─

A cold, strong wind blew through the trees lining the path.

“Ssss…”

The intense cold made my nose sting.

If Sione hadn’t given me the fur hat, I would have felt the cold cutting not just my nose but my ears too.

Since I don’t particularly like the cold, I was very grateful for Sione’s small consideration.

The armor exposed on the outside had long since cooled to match the surrounding temperature.

Unless heated by intense battle or coated with enemy blood, the armor wouldn’t warm up.

I could only trust the insulation of the multiple layers of clothes underneath.

Whoooosh!!

This time an even stronger wind swept through.

Ah, damn…

My clothes had betrayed me.

The chill penetrating to the bone made my spine shiver.

My lady seemed no different from me as she trembled.

“Ugh… just last year, this kind of weather was merely refreshing…”

“Pardon? This weather?”

“Yes, back then my body wasn’t house-sized. I guess because I generated heat just by moving a little. I didn’t even notice the cold in winter…”

“Ah…”

“If nothing else, I do miss that.”

What an odd thing to be nostalgic about.

I chuckled and threw out a comment.

“Still, I prefer your current appearance much more.”

Her chubby appearance from a year ago was closer to a beast than a human.

I much preferred the current Sione, like a winning lottery ticket.

At my words, Sione’s eyes widened and simultaneously.

Whoooosh!!

An even stronger wind blew through.

But this time, I was the only one grimacing with deep dissatisfaction at the wind.

Sione simply continued walking forward quietly.

After that, as we continued walking along the merchant road without rest.

Rustle. Rustle.

Amidst the sound of wind brushing past my ears, I heard the rustling of bushes.

Of course, it’s natural for bushes to sway when the wind blows.

But my instinct told me there was something unnatural about this sound.

I took off my fur hat.

With the obstruction covering my ears gone, more vivid sounds began flowing into my ears.

I focused my senses on hearing. Using a bit of mana to enhance my hearing was a bonus.

The world’s information received through my ears became clearer.

Rustle. Rustle.

‘As I thought.’

I wasn’t wrong to feel something was off.

What I heard wasn’t the music of leaves played by the wind’s intensity.

I sharply scanned the surroundings with heightened nerves.

My incredibly sharpened senses detected a presence from the bushes on the right.

What a coincidence.

It was the exact spot where I had heard the unnatural sound.

The only things that might hide in bushes making such small movements would be wild animals.

Or monsters like Kobolds…

Nothing particularly threatening existed there.

‘I suppose it’s fine to just shoot and see.’

I pulled an arrow from the quiver on my back.

Mediterranean style for the archery form.

In one fluid motion, I nocked the arrow to the bowstring.

Whoooosh!!

After a strong wind swept past me, a quiet stillness descended.

Since this bow still had a draw weight difficult for me to handle without mana, I took a close stance.

Without hesitation, I drew the string and aimed at the bushes.

Just before releasing my fingers to fire the sharp attack, my eyes met Sione’s.

Admirably, she was calmly observing my unfamiliar stance while following the direction of my arrowhead toward the bushes.

Bang!

As the bow limbs, bent with excellent elasticity, returned to their original position.

Swish!!

My will, shot fiercely, penetrated the unknown within the bushes.