A Brief Respite
THE SHAPE OF THE great black bow cast a graceful arc. Despite its hefty
appearance, it was fairly light. Greed called this form the black bow.
"Hey, Greed. We don't have any arrows. Am I going to have to buy them?"
"Unnecessary. This is a magic bow. It crafts arrows from magical energy. We
also happen to have a perfect opportunity for you to try it out. A hobgoblin is
aiming at you from those trees to your left."
I turned to the left just as a filthy, stinking arrow flew past my face. If I hadn't
moved, the literally shitty arrow would have killed me. He could have told me
earlier!
Shitty arrows only meant one thing: a hobgoblin archer. Or, as the local
adventurers called the dangerous creature, a shitslinger.
It seemed my battle with the goblin king had woken this one. Because it
attacked from a distance, I couldn't engage the hobgoblin archer with a shortrange weapon. To add insult to injury, any hit from this monster would weaken
my stats.
This was a job for my new weapon, Greed's awakened power: the black bow.
I ran from the shitty arrows and took cover behind the goblin king's corpse.
"It's too dark. I can't work out where the archer is firing from," I said.
"No problem. If you know your enemy's approximate location, the magic
arrow will home in on it. It's safe and secure even for rookies. Just shoot the
arrow and watch it fly."
I'd never used a bow before, but it sounded like that wouldn't matter. I
confirmed the arrows were coming from between two trees in the distance; the
hobgoblin was likely hiding somewhere in that area. From over the top of the
goblin king's corpse, I pulled the bowstring back. As I did, a black arrow formed
and set itself upon the string.
So these are the magical arrows Greed was talking about.
Then, without properly aiming, I released the bowstring.
The arrow flew through the air, correcting its course in midair as it
disappeared into the trees where the hobgoblin hid.
Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +170, Strength +230, Magic
+110, Spirit +110, Agility +350. Skill added: Night Vision The metallic voice
echoed in my head. The hobgoblin was done for—and with so little effort. This
bow was going to be extremely useful. As long as the arrows weren't
somehow intercepted, I could fire a hundred shots and never miss a single
one.
I had heard tales of magic-wielding monsters who attacked from long range.
Closing in on them with only the black sword would've been like sticking my
hand in a hornet's nest. But with the black bow, I could fight them. As long as I
continued hunting solo, survival meant I would have to be versatile and learn to
take multiple approaches myself. The more aces up my sleeve, the better.
It was also fortunate I'd absorbed the Night Vision skill from the fallen
hobgoblin archer. With that, the nighttime scenery was once more as clear as it
would've been under the noonday sun. This skill would make progress much
smoother on my evening hunts.
My hunger satisfied, it was time to head home. As I took a last glance at the
body of the dead goblin king, I had an idea. I lopped off both its ears. Since
goblin kings were rare monsters, you could earn quite the sum for them at the
trading post. If I took the ears to the trading post myself, it would draw too
much attention, but if I passed them off to someone else in secret…like, say, as
a donation to an orphanage…nobody would suspect a thing.
Specifically, I was thinking of the orphanage in the slum near my old hovel,
the place where I'd brought the girl after I saved her from her kidnapper. I could
stuff the goblin king's ears in a bag, write "donation" on it, and throw it through
a broken window.
A gift from he who suffered from Gluttony—he who knew the true meaning
of hunger.
With the money from those ears, the nuns could treat all the orphans to a
feast. I bet that would make the girl I'd helped happy, too. Buoyed by that
hope, I passed through Hobgoblin Forest and the Goblin Grasslands, onwards
toward the Kingdom of Seifort.
I had work yet to do before the night was over.
***
The morning sun rose. I returned quietly to Hart Manor and the bed in my
room. I was utterly exhausted. In the end, my work took all night.
For starters, one of the orphanage nuns had almost caught me with the goblin
king's ears, though somehow I managed to sneak away.
After that, I had headed to the high-end Merchant District shop I'd run across
earlier. By the time I got there, Rafale and his siblings had apparently left, since
the curtains in the windows were open. I was still curious as to why so many
holy knights had met in secret, so I decided to return another night. But first I'd
need some sleep. Fortunately, Lady Roxy had given me the day off to do just
that.
My exhausted body had been through the wringer: the hunger, the goblin
hunting, and everything else that followed. I closed my eyes and was
immediately swallowed by slumber.
***
Knock-knock.
Someone was knocking at my door. I woke at the sound and was bowled over
to see who entered. It was the first time she'd ever been in my room.
"How are you feeling?"
It was Lady Roxy. I glanced at the clock and realized it was past noon. I'd been
asleep for quite some time. Roxy wore her white light armor, which meant
she'd made time during work at the castle to come back and check on me. To
think she went so far just to look after her servants… She truly was kind.
Luckily, I'd slept so well I had recovered from the night's activities.
"I'm much better," I said.
"I'm glad to hear it. But, please, don't overdo it. I brought you some fruit.
Would you like to try some?" Lady Roxy took a plate from a basket she carried.
It was full of luscious grapes larger than my thumbnail. "These are grown on the
Hart family estate up north. They arrived at the manor this morning."
"They look amazing. Is the Hart family known for its vineyards?"
I had already heard from the other servants that the Harts' grapevines were
famous, but it felt prudent to act like I didn't know. Lady Roxy had a look on her
face like she was just aching for me to ask about it.
"It is! We are also well-known for our wine. The grapes served with the
manor's meals are from our vineyards. They're absolutely beautiful. I plan to
return to the estate in the near future. We can go together, if you like."
"Would that be okay?!"
If the Hart family estate grows grapes this perfect, it must be a truly beautiful
place.
I wanted to see it myself. And if my master invited me, I couldn't refuse. We
sat on my bed for a time, picking grapes from the plate, until another knock
came at the door, followed by a voice.
"Lady Roxy, it's time you returned to your duties."
The voice belonged to a young woman—the most serious of Lady Roxy's
servants, her secretary. She was the head servant and was quite kind, but she
was strict about punctuality. I was always getting chewed out for my own lack
of it. For her part, Lady Roxy hurriedly dabbed at her mouth with her
handkerchief.
"Oh, I must get back to work. Help yourself to the rest of the grapes, okay?
Bye!" She gave a shy, dainty wave and left.
Since inheriting her father's responsibilities, Lady Roxy had been relentlessly
busy. The head servant told me that among the five esteemed families of
Seifort, Lady Roxy was officially the youngest family head. As such, her skills and
level fell far short of her new peers', and she encountered struggle after
struggle.
It was the kind of hardship that came with being of the highest rank. A
peasant like myself, with no authority or influence to speak of, lived in an
entirely different world.
If I could make it to those ranks somehow… Could I ease Lady Roxy's burdens?
An impossible thought.
To chase away my feelings of helplessness, I decided to head to my old bar. It
had been a while since I'd shown my face. I figured I should at least let the
owner know I was alive. He probably thought I was dead of overwork from the
Vlerick gatekeeping job. Besides, today was my day off. Maybe Lady Roxy would
tell me off about it later, but I felt like I'd earned the right to a few drinks!