30
Returning home after the party, I felt the sensation of time flowing again, which had been standing still.
Getting involved in national affairs at the age of 15 in this manner was beyond my expectations as well.
Fortunately, the main storyline remained intact.
The Triad War ended with Crossing’s victory, dealing a severe blow to Beccabia.
Since we couldn’t know the scale of victory compared to the original game’s story, there was a sense of unease.
‘There is a major event coming up.’
The war symbolizing the continent’s power struggle and serving as the prologue of the game, the Chimera War, was the only one.
Initially, I thought I had no connection to that war, but with Wade’s status coming to light, I knew it would affect me in some way.
‘I don’t know the exact year, but at least the Chimera War took place in spring.’
Whether it would be next spring or the following, I had to be prepared.
Knock! A calm knocking sound.
“Master, it’s Yumir. I’m back.”
“You’re quite prompt. Come in.”
Upon returning to the mansion, I immediately gave Yumir one instruction.
To look into transferring to a different high school academy.
Since the current Julia Academy was under Duke Hellian’s jurisdiction, I was thinking of moving to another place, even if it took some time.
“So, how was Rainpol?”
“Yes, it was indeed a city with complicated circumstances as you mentioned.”
Rainfall was a mid-sized city located on the border of Crossing and Calipher.
It had a peculiar nature of having a border line within the city, which made the city’s shape unique.
Until Crossing and Calipher formed an alliance, there were up to ten thousand troops stationed within the city.
From the point of the alliance, development began, and the Academy was also jointly operated by Crossing and Calipher.
“It seems there is a separate schedule for moving the Academy.”
“I know. I’ll have to visit Julia by the end of this year. That should be enough. Thank you, Yumir.”
That was enough about the Academy.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t the master around there? Did you meet them?”
“No, it seems they were busy and we couldn’t meet.”
“Hmm, as expected. Seems like they are busy. I wanted to take martial arts classes if I had the time. Doesn’t seem possible.”
“If it’s martial arts training, you’re already receiving it from Eonia, right…?”
“Well, Eo is too lenient with me. Just like you, Yumir.”
While Master Ilya had a straightforward style, Eo was different. Eo only praised, treating everything like it was in front of a superior, which didn’t create tension for learning.
“Well, that doesn’t mean they can’t teach. Eo, how are they? Seems good at household chores? Working hard, I know.”
Eo, who had joined Yumir due to the party, was wholeheartedly dedicated to household chores as if mustering troops for battle.
“I’m doing well. I have nothing left to teach.”
“hahahaha, is that so?”
She quickly learned tasks, showing exceptional skill with her hands. Since she took over the household chores, not a speck of dust remained in the mansion, and the garden boasted an artistic flair rivaling that of other noble households.
‘Talented with her hands…’
There was one thing that caught my attention.
To verify that, I asked Yumir to prepare training equipment.
***
I was planning to equip myself with another weapon for the upcoming events.
“If I learn archery, I can utilize it in various ways.”
For instance, tying different colored cloth to arrows and shooting them to signal officers far away.
In my case, I preferred giving detailed and specific instructions through a dense information network, as without it, there could be units misunderstanding tactical orders and moving in unintended directions.
‘Back then, I could command elite officers under Jurass Hwi…’
I doubted whether ordinary officers had such tactical abilities.
Simply put, Eonia was quite good at straightforward assault, but lacked in tactical execution. It was as if she had no sense of independent judgment.
Left alone, she might end up singing verses two, three, even four before getting isolated.
Hence, I decided to personally command her through arrow signals during the training.
For that training, I had set up a bow, arrows, and a training target in the mansion’s outer courtyard.
After finishing all the estate tasks by noon, I headed to the training grounds, only to find Senka waiting.
“Pfft! A bow, really? It’s a weapon for cowards. I bet Ilya brought it just for show.”
Eo scoffed as they looked at the bow and target.
Seemingly mocking the idea that it was brought for archery training.
This was also the perception of people from the eastern continent regarding archery.
While archery was appreciated in the northern Bekavia and western countries, it was not the case in eastern countries like Calipher.
To the knight-like warrior Eo, archery must have been something only cowards would do.
“Who said cowards?”
“…Me?”
“I brought this to learn. Want to try saying it again?”
“Gasp!?”
Eo, sweating profusely, stutters out his words.
“A-archery, it’s a weapon that maximizes efficiency!”
“Well, I’ve never heard of a bow being an efficient weapon.”
In fact, it was an inefficient weapon. Easily blocked by a shield, costly, and if you didn’t hit a vital spot, the killing power of a bow would drop significantly.
“You spoke out of turn. You’ll learn it too.”
“Yes, yes! Of course!”
Truth be told, I had only planned to learn how to shoot, and it was Eo who was supposed to be the serious learner.
“Eo, is this your first time with a bow too?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. Valkyries are said to handle all weapons, right?”
Eo mentioned being able to wield swords, shields, spears, halberds, and even bludgeons, among other weapons.
The absence of a bow among those weapons was odd.
“The master said there’s no need to learn the bow. Probably because the bow doesn’t fit the knight’s way.”
“Hmm? Are we starting to learn it now then? Does that mean I’m acting in a way that goes against being a knight?”
“W-well, that’s….”
“Alright, let’s give it a try for now.”
With a quiver on my back, I faced the target.
The training instructor was Yumir.
“Adjust your posture like this… pull the string back and aim towards the target, then release according to your senses.”
Yumir shot the arrow cleanly.
Ping! Thud! The arrow hit the outer edge of the target.
I had assumed she would hit the center, so it was a surprising result.
When asked, Yumir said, “I’m confident in throwing weapons, but I’ve never focused on using a bow.”
Then, swiftly, she continuously threw daggers.
The daggers formed a circle in the center of the target, with the last one piercing through the center of the circle, hitting the bullseye.
It was unbelievably precise, but what was harder for me to grasp was where all those daggers came from on her slender body.
“Excuse me for a moment, Yumir.”
“My l-lord…!?”
Pat, pat. I checked her waist, but there were no daggers.
Truly mysterious.
Anyway, I started learning archery in earnest.
“The results are so-so.”
Thud! Thud! Despite having some experience in martial arts, I could form a troop within an hour, but the results varied depending on the wind, and I lacked the skill to aim for the center accurately.
It didn’t seem easy to guess that this was the moving target.
“Since I was learning archery for the efficient delivery of operations, this should be enough for now.”
If I learn diligently, I should be able to have decent skills within a year.
From Noble mtl dot com
I heard that at the High Academy, if you choose, you can learn archery, so I decided to at least take that course.
But more importantly.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Eo’s arrows continuously piercing the center.
Eo, hitting the bull’s-eye with pinpoint accuracy, said, “It’s not that difficult.”
“Amazing…,” I murmured, witnessing her remarkable talent.
I recalled the ancient texts I read when I went to receive lessons from the Salleon family’s butler in the past.
“The Kuralbel Empire was said to be a nation related to High Elves. And when it comes to Valkyries…”
As a symbol of the friendship between humans and elves, it was said that Harf Elves were chosen generation after generation.
Since the Elves gradually disappeared around the time of the fall of the Pencillon Empire, and now they were no longer visible, Eonia, a pure-blooded Harf Elf, could truly be considered the last Valkyrie.
So, even if she handles the bow this well, it might not be surprising.
Considering she was renowned as a master archer in this world.
“So that’s why.”
Now I seemed to understand why Eo’s martial arts master said there was no need to learn archery.
He must have said that because she could naturally handle it well without the need to learn.
“You’re really good. You could even teach me.”
“Is that so? hehehehe…!”
Eo seemed pleased with the praise as she continued to shoot arrows.
As her excitement rose, her accuracy could have been compromised, but instead, it was becoming even more precise.
After a while, she began to hit the target with even more force.
“She said it was for cowards earlier. She’s really thrilled now.”
It seemed like she was asking for more praise as she shot while sitting, while running, using various techniques, and even engaging in long-distance shooting.
I was seriously considering using Eo as the commander of the archer unit.
* * *
Four months had passed since the party leader’s request, and I turned 16 that year.
The twins were born safely, bringing a lively atmosphere to the household.
With that, my workload increased as well, as my father was now actively preparing for retirement.
The main event seemed to be Max’s engagement discussion at the Helian Duke’s party.
Max’s fiancée was the daughter of Viscount Felton.
It was a marriage between two noble families with a difference of two ranks higher than ours, which added a lot of pressure.
When it comes to noble marriages, matching the status of the gifts is more important than anything else.
If the gifts were not matched equally, it was common for the engagement to be called off.
Therefore, if there was too much of a gap in status, it was often said that the marriage was practically impossible.
“I’m truly sorry, little brother! I must repay this debt later for sure!”
Max bowed his head, apologizing.
Since he had emptied both his personal savings and our parents’ savings but still couldn’t match the status of the gifts, I had to provide the money.
“It’s okay. Did you find a servant, by the way?”
“I’ve found the mansion, but… we still need servants.”
Normally, it would have been appropriate for the retired parents to hand over the estate and set up a separate household, but due to the recent birth of twins, Max decided to have his own separate household.
Therefore, they needed to find new servants to work at the mansion, but it was proving to be difficult.
“We need at least six servants over there… I don’t know how we’re going to find them.”
Surprisingly, the cost of managing servants was not insignificant.
While finding them wasn’t too hard, the upkeep costs were a burden.
“I heard nowadays some people even get them at slave auctions. Have you considered that? They say although the purchase cost is there, the upkeep isn’t as expensive.”
“You’re talking about what Juras Pamilion introduced at Alpensard. But the auction charges high entrance fees under the guise of donations. If you’re seriously considering using a slave auction, you’d have to go all the way to Crossing, but I’m not sure if I have the time for that.”
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, two letters from the mentor came to mind.
One was from Juras, asking to inform the king to expect a visit to the capital soon, and the other was someone insisting on meeting Wade.
Without a doubt, that someone was Lutger Rosenburg.
I decided to pass on the message to wait for me at Rainfall, while also considering visiting a slave auction.
With some free time on hand, I decided to head to Crossing with Yumir and Eonia.