The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: To the Mountains (2)

Sione frowned as she observed how over 80% of her shots had missed their mark.

She looked just like a child pouting because things weren't going her way.

Hitting moving targets with a bow wasn't an easy task, so it wasn't particularly strange that her arrows ended up buried in the ground or trees.

She had only just started learning archery, yet she kept trying to aim only for the small goblin heads - of course she would miss.

"Consider both the distance and the target size. From now on, try aiming for the wider body rather than the head," I suggested.

"But still..."

"Lady Sione, you've only just picked up a bow, and your targets aren't going to stand still waiting for your arrows."

"Hmm."

"Rather than practicing to hit small heads from the start, it would be better to practice making effective hits first."

"Alright, I'll do that."

Sione nodded, finally giving up her obsession with headshots.

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

I scanned the area again, taking in where all of Sione's missed arrows had landed.

She had really fired quite a lot. Arrows were either stuck in various places or scattered on the ground.

It was impressive she hadn't managed to pierce any allies at this rate.

I roughly calculated the arrows' positions.

"I'll go retrieve any arrows that are still usable."

"...You're going through all this trouble because of me. I'll help too."

"Then I'll take this side."

"I'll gather those over there."

Sione and I collected what arrows we could.

We didn't bother with ones that were stuck too deep in trees or had damaged arrowheads.

We had brought plenty of arrows in our supplies anyway, so there was no need to be too frugal.

After gathering the arrows, we returned to the carriage, which soon began moving forward again.

Dealing with the goblins hadn't taken very long.

We drew ever closer to the Beltrin Mountains.

***

We arrived at the Beltrin Mountains.

The mountain range gleamed with verdant green, embracing the heat of summer.

Befitting a season teeming with life, the mountains would be full of mosquitos and various insects. And of course, those green monsters and wolves would be everywhere too.

Our real hardship began at the base of the mountains where the carriages could no longer proceed.

We formed a long line carrying our supplies as we entered the mountains.

Just setting up a simple base camp took quite some time.

The blazing sun high overhead made an already annoying and tiring task even more painful.

'Of course, I secretly pawned off the supplies that wouldn't fit in my bag to Bronte.'

Even I was quite exhausted.

It would have been really troublesome without my new kind friend Bronte.

Thanks to that, by the time we finished setting up camp, both Sione and I were completely wiped out.

"I can't take anymore..."

Sione headed toward a nearby tree after saying this.

The tree's shade blocked the sunlight and cool breezes swept past.

She sat down against the tree without hesitation.

"How wonderful it would be if we could just rest like this all day and then go back."

"We have 20 minutes left of break time."

"...You didn't need to tell me that, I already know."

Sione puffed up her cheeks with a sulky expression.

Just then, someone approached us.

Most likely Siabel.

None of the soldiers were close enough with Sione to approach her, nor did they have any reason to strike up conversation.

The list of people who would seek out Sione was quite limited.

Sure enough.

"It's Sister Siabel."

Siabel Sianella appeared before us.

Sione raised her heavy body to greet her sister after confirming it was her.

"What brings you here?"

"I came to tell you about the team assignments."

"Teams... you say."

Sione's expression immediately darkened.

She seemed to already be dreading the thought of traversing the mountains with unfamiliar people.

Sione was unusually wary of conversations or activities with strangers.

You could say she had strong defensive instincts.

Though she looked more like a puppy, she acted exactly like a cat.

Fortunately, Sione's expression soon brightened.

Given that not only regular soldiers but also knights who could handle mana were deployed, several teams had been formed centered around the knights.

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

After delivering her message, Siabel turned sharply to head toward the other soldiers.

But then.

"Hmm."

Siabel's gaze fell on me.

Just like when Ainel Sianella had first seen me.

Her cold, heavy blue eyes seemed to pierce straight through to my core.

She had been so gentle when talking with Sione, so why this sudden change with me?

I met Siabel's gaze as calmly as I could.

"...Do you have something to say to me?"

"No, nothing in particular."

What was the point of staring like that if she had nothing to say?

She'd made me nervous for no reason.

Shortly after that brief incident, our break time ended.

Finally, we began properly searching the mountains for monsters.

***

Whether fortunately or not, the mountain terrain wasn't particularly treacherous, so climbing wasn't as difficult as expected.

Of course, that only meant it was easier than anticipated - there was no escaping the scorching sun and heat that made everything grueling.

When I became a noble household's servant, I'd thought I'd spend my life just cleaning and maintaining the mansion.

Looking at my current state, I couldn't tell if I was a trained servant or a mercenary.

After quite some time wandering the mountains...

"Lady Siabel, we've found goblin tracks. From how fresh they are, they must be nearby."

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

Though they were just those weak goblins, they were perfect practice targets for Sione.

Since their numbers weren't too large, Siabel wouldn't need to step in - just a few soldiers and Sione would handle it.

As Sione drew an arrow from her quiver, Siabel's gaze followed her movements.

Siabel had probably rarely seen Sione shooting at the archery range, so she seemed quite intrigued by the sight of Sione wielding a bow.

Sione steadied her breathing and nocked an arrow.

I offered one piece of advice:

"Since hitting a goblin's body is enough to incapacitate them, feel free to aim for the torso rather than the head."

"Right."

Sione nodded slightly and drew her bowstring.

I'd expected her to immediately loose the arrow with sliding release like before.

But this time she took a moment to aim properly while holding the draw.

Sione had finally graduated from mindlessly using sliding release.

Perhaps sensing Sione's focused gaze on its skin, the goblin turned toward her.

The moment Sione entered its field of view...

Whoosh!!

The arrow shot forth swiftly.

"Keek!! Kieee!!"

The goblin began screaming as if its soul was departing.

Sione's arrow, which had been missing before, had successfully pierced the creature's green skin.

Overwhelmed by the searing pain in its stomach, all the goblin could do was scream mindlessly.

Thanks to its screams drawing their attention, other goblins focused on us.

"Let's finish this quickly."

"I'll take that side."

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

Perhaps because she felt confident about hitting her target properly, Sione wore a slightly excited expression.

"I'll handle any goblins that approach, so shoot freely."

"You will?"

"Leave it to me."

"Alright then, I'll trust you."

After I assured her I would watch her flanks, Sione completely ignored her surroundings and focused solely on the targets she had marked.

She became completely immersed, as if entering her own world.

I kept watch to ensure nothing disrupted her concentration.

"Keeee!!"

A goblin's sharp cry rang out from the distance.

A goblin charging toward us while avoiding the other soldiers' attention.

Since Sione was aiming at a different goblin, she probably wouldn't be able to deal with this one immediately.

"...How annoying."

I muttered in Korean while nocking an arrow.

For a goblin charging in defenseless, piercing its head with one arrow was a simple task.

Unlike Sione, I immediately used sliding release to loose my arrow.

Whoosh!!

"Keek...!"

The arrow lodged perfectly in the center of its forehead.

The goblin that had been charging toward us collapsed face-first.

I was quite satisfied with both drawing the bowstring after so long and landing such a clean hit.

After protecting Sione and dispatching goblins this way, before long all those goblins were lying scattered on the ground.

"Well done."

"Don't you think I've improved a bit?"

I nodded at Sione's words.

Most of her arrows fired from dozens of meters away had hit their targets' bodies.

I'd expected far more misses than this.

Even with an awakened superhuman body enhanced by mana, her progress was quite impressive.

"Not just a bit - you've improved tremendously. The other archers might get jealous."

"The archers?"

"What archer could become this proficient in such a short time?"

"Thank you for saying so."

Sione's lips curved up almost to her ears at my words.

It seemed my praise had thoroughly satisfied her desire for recognition.

I led such a pleased Sione back to where Siabel waited.

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

"Sione, your archery skills are quite remarkable."

As she said this, Siabel's gaze was...

For some reason fixed on me hovering behind Sione.

Sione alone was already more than enough to handle - what was she looking at me like that for?

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