Chapter 6: Talent (1)

The next morning, early in the day, I went to find Shione.

“Shione-nim, please wake up.”

“Why on earth are you here so early in the morning…?”

“Didn’t we make a promise yesterday?”

“Ah…………….”

As I shook her awake at a time when the sun hadn’t even properly risen, Shione looked at me, annoyed, wondering what kind of person would disturb her at such an hour. However, it wasn’t a big deal.

“118…..”

As I spoke, she soon recalled what had happened yesterday and got up to get ready to leave.

“Put this on. The early morning air is still cold.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“I’m honored that you think so.”

“…I don’t like it.”

Grumbling, Shione put on the coat I handed her.

I had worried a bit that the size might be too small for her sturdy frame, but seeing it fit perfectly relieved me.

“It looks good on you.”

“…I think you’re talking more than usual today; that can’t just be my mood, right?”

“If you don’t like it, I will speak less.”

“Forget it. Do as you please.”

Shione turned her head sharply and walked outside.

Maybe she was a bit shy, or perhaps because of what had happened yesterday, her reaction was amusing considering she was trying to be friendly.

The archery range was in one corner of the training ground.

Since I had confirmed that practice bows and arrows were prepared at the range yesterday, I didn’t need to grab a bow and could just go with my body.

Whoosh.

The morning breeze blew.

Even though it was spring, the early morning air was still quite cold.

This fragile body was sensitive to the cold, so as the wind brushed past, I instinctively shivered.

“Ugh….”

Look at those goosebumps.

Still, since I had gotten up earlier than usual and still hadn’t fully shaken off my sleep, this perfectly timed, refreshing breeze woke me up completely.

Seeing me like that, Shione shot me a glance and took off the coat I had given her.

“You look quite cold, so wear this.”

Is Shione Sianella actually offering such a concession…?

The Shione who would guard her snacks fiercely and wouldn’t share with anyone?

It was hard to believe, but she even extended the coat toward me to hand it over.

“Your arms must be tired, so take it quickly.”

“Is it really okay for me to wear it?”

“With all this flab, I don’t need to wear a coat; just moving a little will warm me up, so you might as well wear it.”

“Really?”

“…It’s warm, so wear it.”

I accepted the coat from Shione and put it on.

The warmth lingering in her coat helped quickly alleviate my cold.

“Thank you, Shione-nim.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As we chatted about trivial things, we soon arrived at the training ground.

As expected, considering the time, there wasn’t a single person in sight around the training ground and its vicinity.

Fortunately, there wouldn’t be any need for Shione to run away if there were people.

“…I thought I’d never step foot in this place again.”

Shione gazed across the wide training ground.

She looked as if she were reminiscing about past memories.

“Would you like to take a moment to look around the training ground?”

“No, there’s no need for that. Let’s head straight to the archery range.”

“Understood.”

She and I entered the archery range.

Since the sun was just beginning to rise, the target positions were clearly visible, and the dark shadows that could obstruct our view were dissipating.

I started looking for bows that Shione and I could use.

Shall I check the closest one first?

I picked up a bow and pulled back the string.

“This one has too much tension.”

This bow was too strong for a beginner to handle.

Shione’s sturdy arms, made of flesh rather than muscle, would certainly struggle to pull the bowstring.

Of course, she could pull it if she used mana, but for a first try, it would be better to stimulate interest with something suitable rather than something too difficult.

“I guess these two will do.”

I tested a few more bows and selected two with suitable tension for beginners.

The tension was perfectly calibrated for a beginner to use comfortably.

One bow was easy enough for my slender arms to draw with enough tension, and since Shione was a woman, I chose another with slightly stronger tension than what I would use.

That’s it.

I handed the bow I had chosen for Shione to her.

“Shione-nim, please use this one.”

“…You seem to have chosen very seriously.”

“I can’t be careless when selecting a bow for Shione-nim.”

I slung the quiver over my shoulder.

My hobby back on Earth was archery, and even as a hunter, it was still my weapon of choice.

Thinking that I could shoot a bow again after a long time made my heart race more than usual.

“Before I teach you, would it be okay if I shoot a few arrows first?”

“Go ahead.”

“Then I’ll wrap this up quickly.”

I stood in front of a target that seemed to be about 40 meters away.

“It’s been a while, so I’m a bit nervous.”

What if I miss?

My confidence in the bow I was used to began to waver slightly.

Before I fell here, I could pierce the brows of enemies over a hundred meters away.

Now, feeling anxious about hitting a target only half that distance? I’ve really become a has-been.

“Phew, ha.”

Taking a light deep breath, I positioned my body to aim at the target.

Then I calmly nocked an arrow onto the string.

For the first shot, I decided to use the pinch method.

I held the tip of the arrow between the side of my index finger and my thumb, pulling back the string.

Hmm… the tension is stronger than I thought.

However, I paid no heed to the unexpected tension and pulled back the string even more.

Dead release. I pulled the string back until the back of my hand was at my chin, holding it steady.

As I tried to maintain that form, it was unavoidable that it would take effort, even if the bow had less tension than others.

My trapezius muscles weren’t fully developed yet.

This body of mine still wasn’t suitable for shooting a bow in many ways.

I diverted a little mana to the areas lacking strength, calming my trembling arms.

In this world, men were inferior in terms of mana.

Even using a tiny amount of mana made me feel an overwhelming sense of fatigue due to the significant absence of mana.

…It can’t be helped. This is just the nature of this body.

I calmly considered the direction of the wind blowing toward the target and aimed appropriately.

“Hup!”

Twang.

I held my breath for a moment and released the taut bowstring.

Whoosh!! Thunk!!

The arrow sliced through the air and struck the center of the round wooden target.

“I still haven’t lost my touch.”

I had worried about missing the target when I took my stance, but after successfully hitting it once, my confidence began to swell.

Not stopping there, I pulled out another arrow from the quiver and nocked it onto the string.

“This time, I’ll shoot like I usually do.”

After using the pinch method once, I should try the other methods I was good at before.

The Mediterranean style or split finger method.

I placed the arrow vertically between my middle and index fingers, simultaneously resting the tips of those two fingers and my ring finger on the string.

Unlike before, this time I pulled the string all the way back, and instead of pausing and then releasing, I let go while drawing back my hand.

Sliding release. The arrow flew faster and more sharply than with a dead release.

Thwack! Crack!!

This arrow split the previous one and once again struck right at the center.

“Thank goodness.”

Seeing the arrows fly as I wished, it seemed that even though my body had changed, my sense of archery remained intact.

As I collected the bow and turned around, I caught Shione looking at me in disbelief.

“…Surely, one cannot show such skill without a deeper knowledge of archery.”

“What do you think?”

“I’d like to see you shoot from right next to me this time. Could you do it again?”

“Of course.”

Once I confirmed that she stood next to me with her bow in hand, I shot again.

This time, I also used the sliding release.

The series of actions from nocking the arrow to shooting flowed smoothly.

As I pulled the string back with sufficient strength, I lightly flicked my fingers to let go.

“Oh…”

I heard a small gasp.

After just one swift pull and release of the string, the arrows kept hitting the center, rather than just grazing the edges of the target.

I lowered my bow.

Using muscles I usually didn’t engage made my arms feel stiff.

However, it felt awkward to rely on mana to resolve it.

I thought it would be better to rest for a bit before shooting again.

I looked at Shione with a faint smile.

“What do you think?”

“…That was impressive.”

Watching her expression, I sensed she might soon ask me how I acquired such skill in archery.

Even at just 40 meters, piercing the center without a single error was hard to dismiss.

To avoid her potentially annoying questions, I figured I had to get ahead of her.

As soon as I saw her lips moving, I spoke first.

“It’s not such great skill, but as I mentioned yesterday, I believe I could teach the basics to someone just starting out.

If I shoot a few more times and regain my feel for it, I think I could hit targets up to 70 meters, even in my current condition.

What I’ve shown her so far was just hitting a target at 40 meters, so I humbly downplayed my true abilities.

I pulled an arrow from the quiver and offered it to Shione.

“Now, it’s your turn to shoot, Shione-nim.”

It was finally her chance to shoot.

Come on, you’ve seen it; now you have to try it too?