episode_0071

Since there was no artificial management around Argen’s Lair at all, it was necessary to manage it directly. This involved mowing or cutting down trees to prevent the grass from growing too much.

“Phew, it’s all over.”

I straightened my back and did some stretching. I was talking as if I had done hard labor, but in reality, I didn’t put any effort into it. Anyway, the rare cars were full of automatic dolls, and as these dolls were soon to be converted into labor force, all I did was just stare at them in the name of directing them.

“I can just do it myself…”

I’ve never even picked up a scythe, let alone a mower, but with the Scirocco, I can finish cutting grass in less than a minute. However, despite Luv’s dissuasion, he was unable to put it into practice. The persuasion was that not only would it not be aesthetically pleasing if they were swept away all at once with magic, but it would also be unfair to damage nature and lose the power of the bow that had been acquired so long ago.

It doesn’t matter if I can’t use the bow, but I had no choice but to quit because it didn’t look good. I watched the automatons cut off the long-growing plants one by one. Sitting still and watching the boring work was too difficult for me, so when I stretched out, my whole body felt sore.

“Anyway, it’s a bow… I’ve never shot it before.”

I stroked the bow that was hanging on my back with my hand. As I removed the bow string, it didn’t change when I touched it, so it was easy to carry. Of course, if you don’t have a bow, you can’t use the bow, so you had to learn how to use a bow separately.

“I think I should at least practice in advance. What do you think?”

I asked the automatic doll in maid clothes sitting next to me. I needed someone to listen to me talk to myself, so I sat down while I was working. Since I’m a doll, I don’t have to answer, but since I’m connected to Arjen anyway and she can hear me, it’s not like I’m talking to myself. The doll answered by nodding its head instead of speaking.

“Good. Well then, I guess the work is done. Let’s give it a try.”

He held the bow in his hand and placed the bow that was in his arms. At that moment, the bow regained its original shape. The unsightly bow suddenly became a square bow that looked amazing to anyone. While looking around for something to target, Rube came out from the entrance of the lair holding a quiver of arrows.

“To shoot a bow without an arrow?”

“Oh. I forgot… Are you finished cleaning up?”

While I was watching the automatons mowing, Rube was organizing the warehouse inside the lair. In general, Rube was always organizing the miscellaneous items in the rare, but it seemed like there was so much stuff that it never seemed to end no matter how much he organized it. This was also the reason why adventurers kept coming back to find rares without knowing that their lives were a waste of money.

“I did roughly enough. I heard that you shoot an archery, so I came out because I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

The quiver, called Donggae in formal terms, contained many long arrows and short arrows. I awkwardly carried the quiver around me.

“How about it?”

“If only the ears were long, you would think it was a real elf.”

I asked this question to check if it was worn properly, but out of the blue, I received a compliment about its appearance. I felt embarrassed for no reason and cleared my throat.

“Hmm, anyway… Is there anything worth targeting?”

While I was trying to choose a tree with an appropriate thickness, Rube suddenly picked up a rock the size of a Go stone and levitated it in the air with magic.

“How about this?”

At a glance, this means hitting a small stone from more than 30 meters away.

“This is my first time shooting a bow?”

“It’s okay. As long as the wind spirit helps, you can get enough hits and still have some left.”

Those words belatedly reminded me of Sirocco. Come to think of it, I heard that most elves also receive help from spirits when they first receive a bow.

“Sirocco.”

“Yes!”

As soon as I called his name, Sirocco jumped out of my body as if he had been waiting.

“From now on, I’m going to hit the rocks over there with this bow. Can you help me with the wind?”

“It’s battle practice! Sounds fun!”

Sirocco seemed to be full of motivation, so I immediately took out an arrow and hung it on the bowstring. I was in a small and anxious state without any assistive devices, but I was relieved to think that Sirocco would do something about it.

“Huuu……”

I took a deep breath and aimed at a rock that I couldn’t even see. It would be the same with a bow or a gun if you had to control your breathing to aim properly, so I held my breath and let go after a while.

Skin!

The difference from a gun is that, unlike just having your finger on the trigger, you have to handle the tension with your arm, making aiming quite difficult. Of course, Sirocco will assist you somehow, so you should be able to hit it as long as you don’t shoot in the opposite direction. In fact, the arrow that left my hand literally flew at a rapid speed and accurately destroyed the seemingly insignificant stone.

“Wow!”

This is my first time shooting a bow. The catharsis was no joke as I hit a stone the size of a Go stone from quite far away without even hitting the zero point. Of course, this would not have been possible if Sirocco had not controlled the wind, but the visible results were amazing, so it was natural to be thrilled.

“It was perfect, Sirocco!”

I gave Sirocco a thumbs up for delicately correcting the arrow’s trajectory. But Sirocco looked at me blankly, with an expression that said he didn’t know anything. Now I see that Rube next to me also has a blank expression on his face. After a while, Rube pursed his lips and blurted out his words.

“…….”

“What?”

“I didn’t provide assistance…”

“…What?”

For a moment, I looked towards Sirocco, wondering what I had heard. Sirocco was still looking at me with a consistent expression.

“Sirocco, wasn’t the arrow moved by the wind…?”

“I tried to move it, but it flew away on its own, so I left it alone.”

“Could it be that Rube moved the stone towards the arrow…?”

“I swear I didn’t do that.”

So, to sum it up, I was able to hit a pebble 30 meters away with an arrow with my own strength, without any auxiliary tools and without Sirocco’s help.

“Ha, haha… It was my first time shooting, but I guess I got pretty lucky!”

I tried to say that and move on to understand the current situation. It made even more sense that this wasn’t a po-rok, so it was right to just say I was lucky and shoot again.

“I’ll shoot again.”

At my words, Rube prepared his target again. Stones of similar size were still placed in similar positions. The only thing that has changed is the strength of the wind. I shot the bow again.

Piyung!

This time too, the arrow flew fiercely through the wind and shattered the stone that was the target. Looking at the reaction, it didn’t seem like Sirocco or Luv did anything special this time either. Even if it happened once, it was difficult to dismiss it as a coincidence if it happened twice.

“All, again!”

I continued to try archery at the sight, which even I couldn’t believe. Despite the target getting further away and smaller, the arrows I shot were white and white.

“…….”

The three of us, including myself, could not say anything and there was only silence around us due to my archery skills, which felt like fate rather than inevitability. Even though all the arrows in the quiver were emptied, not a single arrow missed.

‘Nonsense.’

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that our people are a nation of bows. I just thought it was a title that came about because there were some people in history who had outstanding archery skills and swept up archery medals at the Olympics.

‘I just treated her as a past daughter or soup…’

“Eujin, you’re amazing. I discovered an incredible talent.”

Rube, who belatedly got over his surprise, praised me with a very bright smile. It was nice to be praised, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed.

“It was rewarding for Arjen to steal the bow.”

At those words, I looked at the bow in my hand. The engraving of unknown characters and tree root patterns seemed to advertise that it was an unusual bow.

“Maybe this bow has a guidance function?”

In fact, a type of energy similar to magical power was emanating from the bow. It was a more understandable inference than that I had a natural talent for archery. However, this guess was immediately discarded as Rube shook his head.

“That’s not true. It is imbued with divine power, but there is no special magic involved other than strengthening its power.”

In the end, it means that my talent and skills are right. It was a very happy event, but for some reason, Sirocco had a glum expression on his face.

“What… It means that I can’t help you in the end…”

I spoke quickly to calm Sirocco, who quickly became depressed as the atmosphere that his power was not needed was created.

“That’s not it! If Sirocco assists with wind, its power can become stronger, or it can hit the target behind while avoiding obstacles in the middle.”

That was the only use that immediately came to mind, but that was enough. Because Sirocco regained his vitality at my words.

“Really? Then shall we give it a try?”

For Sirocco, who regained his vitality, I picked up the nearest arrow again. The arrowhead was not worn at all, beyond breaking a stone.

“Let’s see… then what should we guess?”

To reproduce what I said, I needed a target that was not a stone, but a rock or something obscured by something.

“How about that one? Hit the tree behind that tree.”

Rube said, pointing to the forest. Well, there were trees all around, so there was no need to look for a target.

“Okay then, let’s go!”

I shot an arrow again this time. What is different from before is that no target was assumed at all. Naturally, the arrow began to fly towards the tree in front, and at that moment, Sirocco’s power was unleashed.

“Yay!”

There was no strong wind blowing around, but the bow, which was flying well, suddenly drew an artistic curve like a curved bullet seen in a movie and dodged the tree in front. As the arrow flew behind the tree, a woman’s scream came out.

“Kaaah!”

A scream as if exposed to sudden pain. Even without looking, I knew it had been hit by my bow.

“Trigram, are you okay!?”

Thinking that someone had been hit by the arrow I shot, I completely forgot that this was Argen’s rare and most of the guests were uninvited, and ran towards the victim who was hidden by the trees and could not be seen.

“Uh…?”

And the person who collapsed in surprise after being hit by my arrow was none other than a warrior.