In the dark (3)
Rowen climbed onto the firing platform and saw a target in the distance.
Arrows are fired 10 times.
In a circular target, the center painted in red was worth 10 points, and the further away from the center, the more points were deducted.
The target was far enough to be seen by the average eye, but Rowen could see it well enough to count the grains of the wood.
Soon Rowen, stringing his arrows, calmly aimed at his target, and silence fell among the onlookers.
The four cheering children also kept their mouths shut, trying not to disturb Rowen’s concentration.
And finally the arrow flew.
“Oh oh! Central! 10 points right in the middle! Exceeds expectations!”
Cheers and applause erupted along with the loud words of the presenter.
The sudden sound startled Rowen slightly, but he soon regained his composure and fired a second arrow into the string.
Silence subsides again, and another step.
“Hey, this time in the middle! Another 10 points!”
The host raised his voice even more as if he was trying to stir up the atmosphere.
But after that, he wouldn’t have expected it at all.
“Ten points! Ugh, it’s in the middle again! no, again?! that, then… … . All, once again in the center… … !”
The audience burst into cheers as they watched the strange sight that continued to be plugged into the center, but the faces of the host and other officials gradually rotted away.
Among the prizes, of course, there were also things for the high scorers.
Of course, compared to the participation fee and other prizes, they are ridiculously expensive.
In particular, the bird-shaped statue made of transparent jewels worth 99 points will be worth less than your toes even if you add all the prizes.
It is a so-called display gift for solicitors.
I never would have thought that someone like Rowen would show up at such a small event.
“Waaa!”
“It’s perfect! It was 100 points!”
“It’s hard to see, but aren’t they stuck in almost the same spot?”
“Brother Rowen, you are really crazy!”
The audience praised Rowen with cheers that seemed to leave, so that even passers-by wondered what was going on.
This is the first time in this situation, Rowen just turned his head toward the host with an embarrassed expression.
“It’s done.”
“Uh, ah, that, chu, congratulations.”
The host twitched his lips with a face that was not congratulatory at all.
It was clear that if Rowen chose the jewel statue, he would suffer huge losses.
I couldn’t say no in front of so many people.
If it were me, I would have put out a fake product, but it seems that they are surprisingly sincere in their business.
“The score is a whopping 100 points… … ! If there is a prize you want… … You can choose as many points as you like.”
The presenter said so in a trembling voice and gestured towards the prizes. And it seemed that waving her hands in circles somehow took her eyes off the statue and led her to a heap of prizes.
However, Rowen’s gaze was unwavering, and cold sweat broke out on the host’s face.
After a while, Rowen’s mouth fell and a calm voice came out.
“The doll over there, the blanket next to it, the drum over there, the ball above it, and the son of a filial son below it… … I’ll take the belt over there.”
Every time something he said came out of Rowen’s mouth, each of the children let out a small cheer.
The host lost his mind and asked back with a blank face, then finally took care of the prizes Rowen said, one by one.
I picked quite a few, but they were so cheap that I had a lot of points left.
“There are 48 points left, but… … Do you need anything else?”
In earnest, the value of the prize was below the jumping 50 points, but on the face of the host, he was terrified that Rowen would return the prize he had chosen so far and choose an expensive one.
It was especially salty to see him covering the jewel statue with his body.
Rowen looked over the prizes for a moment, then raised the bow still in his right hand and said.
“Can I take this bow as a prize?”
“Uh, yes? A bow… … ?”
“After using it, I think it fits well in my hand. I want to have it, but how can I not?”
“Not included in the giveaway, suck!”
The host, who had been speaking carelessly, hurriedly covered his mouth.
It seemed that he realized belatedly that he was not in a situation where he was pushing principles.
Rowen looked at the host and opened his mouth again.
“If not, another… … .”
“No, no, it will. That’s enough. It remains. Is there anything else you want?”
With a strong urge to please be satisfied with that, the host gave Rowen prizes and induced people to respond.
People gave sincere praise to Rowen for his overwhelming archery skills.
Rowen, who came down quickly as if embarrassed, handed out the prizes he had received to the children one by one.
“Brother, thank you so much!”
“I will definitely cherish it… … .”
“Thank you very much, brother Rowen!”
“Wow, hyung is the best!”
The children were as happy as if they were going to hug Rowen, no, when one of them hugged, they banded together and embraced each other.
Am I that happy?
Rowen made a slightly embarrassing expression, but soon after stroking the children’s heads once, he removed them and turned to me this time.
“This is a present for Uncle. … … It’s really no big deal.”
While saying that, Rowen held out a belt to me.
I couldn’t believe it, but I really thought it was my gift. That filial son must be given to Hazel.
“thank you. It just got old and I was trying to change it. I will write well.”
“… … .”
Rowen averted his gaze and made an embarrassing expression on anyone’s eyes.
It seemed like he wasn’t used to this kind of thing, probably because he’s usually extremely serious.
With her cheeks dyed red from the warm eyes of the four children surrounding her, she held out her bow this time as if trying to change the topic.
“I also received the bow you said. The feeling of use was not bad… … Is it more awesome than you thought?”
“Well, I’ll explain as I go.”
This side was not suitable for talking because people’s eyes were too concentrated.
Especially focused on Rowen, who scored a perfect score.
In the end, we ran out of the place as if we were running away, and the sound of applause sent us off. Also, along with the greetings from the event officials who seemed to have lived because of it.
After leaving the venue like that, I started talking while heading to the night market.
“This is the wind bow. It’s a different artifact from a normal bow.”
“Yu, yup?!”
“Quiet. Listen to others.”
Claire quickly covered Frederick’s mouth as he raised his voice.
I smiled and turned over the wind bow in my hand while connecting the words.
“Even if someone else took it, they wouldn’t be able to use it? This alone is half the price.”
“Half, huh?”
Nora tilted her head and asked, and the other children also showed their curiosity, so I did not hesitate to reveal the truth.
“For this bow to perform properly, it needs the right arrow. If used properly… … You can hit it at five times the range of a normal bow.”
A typical bow like the wind bow had a range of 150 meters, and a bow used by the military had a range of about 200 meters.
When used with a specially made arrow of wind, the wind bow has a range of 1 kilometer.
The kids didn’t seem to know how great it was yet, but Rowen looked at the wind bow with startled eyes.
“Of course, that is also a story that needs to be visible. So this is yours, Rowen.”
“… … .”
Rowen, who had seen the bow held out towards him, carefully accepted it, and stared blankly at the bow, even stopping his steps.
You will be more surprised if you write it yourself.
In the sense of cheering up, I tapped Rowen on the shoulder and added words.
“I’ll tell you how to make arrows later.”
“… … Thank you very much.”
Rowen lowered his head and replied, and soon the children clung to me and grabbed me by the collar.
“Mister, me too!”
“Please find the artifact for me too!”
In the end, I had to spend time explaining that artifacts weren’t just rolling around on the street.
Meeting the Wind Bow here was nothing but fate.
I originally planned to give it to Rowen, but after about two years, I planned to buy it from a general store.
Before that, I couldn’t find my whereabouts because I was wandering here and there, but now that I met you like this, what if I don’t call this fate?
Aside from that, it was fortunate that Rowen was rarely happy.
Artifacts to give to other children… … I’ll have to think about it some more.
* * *
After resting for two days at Rock Garden, we set off and arrived at Lista.
“Wow… … .”
“It is desolate.”
The children who saw the city couldn’t help but admire it in a different way from the rock garden.
The city itself, built on a sparsely dry field with vegetation, looked desolate.
It couldn’t be helped that the city seemed impoverished to say that an evil organization was operating in secret.
Lista, a city that made a living off of the mining industry, was not very wealthy. The location was also a place where people do not pass by, so it was even more so.
Still, in the old days, the population was plentiful and the population grew naturally, and it grew into a big city, but at some point people gradually left Lista because their intellectual power was exhausted.
Beretinio, who became the priest of Lista, showed mercy to the people, solved the monster’s commotion and various disasters with his own hands, and took care of the poor followers one by one.
The pope took good care of this and appointed Berretnio as the high priest… … It was like being fooled by the Dark Truth Church’s own play.
If you show off causing and resolving incidents in a place where people can’t reach, only good deeds will be exaggerated and transmitted.
It must have been a plan that put a lot of effort into it.
I was going to completely destroy that painstaking plan.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
Even though they continued to watch the city from the outside, they felt nothing but desolation, so they drove the stopped carriage back into Lista.
After passing through the gate, it was not until I went a long way that I started seeing people sparsely.
Unlike the city I had seen on my way here, it seemed clearly devoid of vitality.
“Dear Lou Nera.”
“Dear Beretinio… … .”
“Hope of light again on this land… … .”
On the helpless streets, there were even people who were kneeling in one direction and praying.
In the meantime, there were people one by one sending a wary look toward us.
I guess I’ll have to be careful tonight.
In such a city, the presence of strangers was an easy target.
Among the buildings lined up without power, I chose the least intact one and entered it, and the innkeeper greeted me bluntly.
“Welcome.”
“Do you have a room for one adult and five children?”
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“There is room left. Use as much as you need.”
“I’ll be staying for a few days. Can I pay this much in advance?”
“… … make it a little cheaper We cannot guarantee food.”
“It’s okay if you feed the horse.”
I thought there would be a little problem, but surprisingly I was able to negotiate with the owner without any problems.
There are three rooms in total.
I split it so that Rowen and I use one, Claire and Nora use one, and Dellon and Frederick use one.
Unlike the dry outside, the inside of the room was surprisingly clean, so I thought it was a good idea to stay here.
They told me not to expect food, so I thought I’d rather rent a kitchen.
After packing up, we sat around a round table in the lobby on the first floor without going outside.
Even if I went out now, there would be nothing to see, and since it was a sight that I would tire of watching anyway, I decided to rest until this evening.
Of course, he wasn’t just resting, he was doing a small job of making wind arrows in earnest.
“Do I have to do this?”
“this… … I don’t think I can.”
Watching the process, Frederick and Delan took up school a long time ago.
That’s also true, because making an arrow of wind involved carving an elaborate magic circuit on the shaft.
Claire was just watching, and only Rowen and Nora were clumsily copying me.
It’s not too difficult, but you can do it in no time after you’ve done it a few times.
“There won’t be that many things to shoot from a distance, so making it whenever you have a chance will be enough. And even if you make a mistake, it will blow away twice as much as normal, so don’t throw it away.”
“Yes, mister.”
The key is always in the wind bow, so even if the arrow has only a form of circuitry, the range increases.
In her previous life, she was Rowen, who used to shoot arrows the size of herself, but if she uses the Wind Bow, she will shoot arrows that are far more terrifying than that.
As I was making arrows, envisioning such a future, I heard the sound of the inn door opening.
It seems that there were no guests at all.
“Seniors!”
“… … huh?”
I heard a voice I shouldn’t have heard.
When I turned my head, red hair came into my eyes first.
“Were you here too?”
“… … .”
Through the Golden Bird Guild, her trends were still in the process of being identified.
And I… … I haven’t heard that Scarlett is coming here.
I couldn’t help but look at Scarlett, who suddenly appeared as if she had just jumped out of the darkness.