158 – New Life (2)
The crossbow and proper bow that I had in my hands at the time of entering winter had never been used for hunting since I got them because of the timing.
However, as the winter passed and the weather on the island cleared up, they started hunting in earnest with a crossbow and a proper bow, and the results were noticeable.
It can hit prey at a distance that could not be hit before, and can pierce the hide of prey that could not penetrate the hide before. In addition, the speed and momentum of the arrows are also different.
Obviously, the arrows of the bow that Monia had made and used in the past flew very quickly, but in the case of arrows shot with a proper bow, they were invisible at all.
To give a specific example, Chester can catch an arrow shot with an old bow, but he can’t catch this one. Of course, I would never shoot an arrow at Chester just in case something happened.
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Likewise, making arrows was added among Chester and Monia’s assignments. Now, he picks up the arrows he shot again and shoots them, and when they break, he collects only the arrowheads and shoots them, making the most of the loss.
However, it is not entirely lossless. As a result of being shot and broken, there are times when arrowheads fly away and cannot be found, and there are also times when a stone is accidentally hit and the arrowheads are crushed to the point of being unusable.
After all, arrows are inevitably consumables, and in order to use them stably, you need a skill to recreate the consumables.
It is the same with arrows, but also with bolts, which are arrows for crossbows. In addition, Chester was meticulously examining the crossbow, recording its shape, parts, and movements, studying how to care for it so that it would last longer.
All things, even people as well as things, need proper care. With proper care, even expendable items can last surprisingly long.
“Let’s just hunt this much for today.”
“yes. Because this is enough.”
The speed of hunting did not mean that they could catch as many prey. There is no need for that many prey.
The faster the hunting speed, the sooner the hunt ends, and as the hunt ends quickly, Chester and Monia gain that much time.
Spend that time on other things. They repaired houses and rebuilt warehouses, completed seaside cottages, and tested their strength by baking mud into bricks.
Or, he experimented with melting metal to make arrowheads, spent a long winter and used it to train his weakened body, and taught Monia various skills that Chester had.
“Yes, like that.”
How long has it been since you spent that much time? Before anyone knew it, Monia could skillfully jump from tree to tree.
It’s still not possible to run faster by using the momentum of the tree properly like Chester does, but it’s an advanced skill that needs to be learned and used sensoryly while jumping on branches. Each person has a different sense, so you have to rely entirely on your own intuition, experience, and tips.
‘This will be done soon since Monia is also working hard, right?’
When Chester was thinking about that, he changed his mind when he saw Monia, who was excitedly jumping from tree branch to slip and almost fell.
‘Maybe not soon… … .’
Chester learned to jump on tree branches at once, and after two days or so, he quickly got a feel and knack, and quickly put to use running on the momentum of tree branches.
‘I managed to shoot my bow, but it still misses sometimes. Monia seems to be dull when it comes to using her body.’
Then, in Chester’s mind, a naked Monia shining in the night moonlight came to mind.
‘… … Maybe it’s not that he’s so dull at using his body… … .’
Chester cleared his throat and quickly cleared his mind of thoughts, then climbed back up the tree and saw Monia jumping between the branches.
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Looking at Monia, the stone Chester shot with the catapult flies away and suddenly breaks sideways.
“yes? … … Oh, a stone got caught here and it rotated.”
Chester looked at the part where the string was slightly torn in the bag where the stone was hung, and saw the stone bent sideways and then dropped.
‘Is it possible to bend the path by giving rotation even with a catapult?’
Just as during a snowball fight in winter, Chester made fun of Monia by throwing snowballs that twist left, right, and down.
“Hoo.”
I thought that the catapult would only be used as a spare once I got a crossbow and a proper bow, but that would be a different story.
“I’ll have to practice some more.”
It was possible by accident, but if it is possible by chance, after mastering it, it can be turned into a skill. For a while, Chester decided to devote his free time to training and slinging.
* * *
The flying stone broke sideways and hit a rabbit that was running away through a tree. The rabbit’s thin leg was broken, and Ant, chasing the rabbit, bit the rabbit and brought it to Chester.
“Right.”
After praising Ant, Chester picked up the rabbit and examined it, then showed it to Monia. The rabbit caught by the ear struggled hard, but couldn’t escape Chester’s grasp.
“how?”
“Awesome! How did you do it?!”
“I used a catapult similar to when I threw snowballs at you.”
After accepting the rabbit, Monia, with her eyes shining in amazement, strained her hand and broke the rabbit’s neck.
“I want to try it too!”
“Let’s do it one by one. One by one. First, how to run fast.”
“yes! I need to be able to run fast so that I can expand my search range.”
“right. And learn the bow properly. It still misses sometimes.”
“Fair-haired, white-haired is only possible with the Shinto Shrine in the story!”
“Yeah, I don’t ask living creatures to hit 100% with 100%. I can’t do that either. Still, let’s hit the stationary target with 100 shots.”
“Ugh. … … yes.”
Monia said that and looked at the catapult in Chester’s hand. After practicing while holding onto the slingshot for a long time, the strap of the slingshot peeled off the skin, leaving scars everywhere. The wound on Chester’s hand was healed by the grace of the top, but his blood-soaked slingshot, which turned red, tells us how painfully he practiced.
Feeling Monia’s gaze, Chester looked at the catapult and threw it away. Monia, who was looking vaguely at the evidence of Chester’s efforts, was surprised.
“uh?! Why throw it away!”
“Why do you throw it away? If dirty things are nearby, you will get sick, so you should throw them away.”
“Ugh. That’s right.”
“I didn’t pay attention to getting the catapult dirty because I was just practicing. I will make a new one.”
After Chester said that, he turned around to leave the rabbit home, and Monia looked at the catapult with a slightly regretful eye and followed Chester.
Rapid grass growth covered the abandoned slingshot in an instant, and the animals ran around, digging up and overturning the soil until the slingshot was completely buried beneath it.
In the soil where the slingshot is buried, grass takes root and grows. Now, quietly, over a long period of time, it will rot and become part of the earth.
Chester, who returned home leaving behind the slingshot to rot, immediately made a new slingshot. It was not difficult to make a new one in an instant by simply twisting the string.
While Chester, who made a new catapult, tamed the catapult by hand while shooting stones, Monia was cooking using a rabbit that had been dismantled and returned from the river.
It’s a meat pie. Rabbit meat is kneaded with grain flour and water to make a pie. There were limits to kneading unidentified grains that were not flour, but using only water, but it was a sufficient delicacy.
‘I want to keep the gravy in the pie. Since the pie dough is so stiff, it would be more delicious if it was replaced with meat juice.’
While Chester was working hard on the technical side, Monia was focusing on making quality beyond what was needed in life.
More delicious dishes. more beautiful songs. A prettier picture. You don’t have to, but you pursue things that are good if they are obvious.
The action mixed with art and exploration unexpectedly suited Monia’s taste, to the point that Monia herself did all the cooking before she knew it. Actually, if you ask Chester to cook, he’ll turn everything into a chowder stew, so Monia told him not to cook.
It wasn’t that Chester’s cooking was bad. To put it mildly, it was bad, but for Monia, who lived on a floating island and experienced all sorts of tasteless things, the mixed soup was okay.
Still, I didn’t want to eat it in an environment where I could eat something more delicious. In addition, he did not say that he would cook for himself after seeing Chester, who just ate, saying that he could eat even floating things that became strangely mushy because the blood that had been pooled somewhere in his body came out because of boiling water because he lost less blood while taking blood.
While Chester and Monia were spending their time together, a young warrior who had been watching the two of them appeared before he knew it and picked up the approaching Ant in his hand and gently stroked it, then shouted at Chester.
– Kreureung.
“yes? I will speak now.”
Chester, aware of the existence of the top man by hearing, but thinking that he must have been silent for some reason, approached the young warrior who had spoken to him.
Perhaps because of his shy personality, when Chester approached, the baby warrior put down his ant and quietly backed away, and started a conversation with some distance between them.
When Monia finished cooking and put her face outside to tell her to eat, the young warrior who had finished the conversation disappeared, and Chester returned home and told him what kind of conversation he had with the baby warrior.
“The black wind baby will be born soon.”
“Wow! finally!”
“yes. So they’re taking us tomorrow. We must see it together.”
“uh? Yes, I would like to see it if I can, surely?”
“yes. I don’t know why, but I decided to go with him tomorrow. know in advance.”
“Yes. But then it would be nice to eat together.”
“yes. I invited her to eat, but she said that she doesn’t like cooking over an open fire.”
“Ah, it can be because tastes vary.”
Was it because he was timid, or did he really hate grilled food? Chester didn’t even say that part and bit off the meat pie that Monia had made for him.
“The wind is a baby, isn’t it cute? It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a baby born!”
Monia chattered about the black wind baby, excited about tomorrow’s trip.