Deficiencies, and Acceptance

"The bow...that rebuilt the kingdom? For me?" Lerish's voice cracked with bewilderment.

"Yes! I'm giving it to you!" Filia answered promptly.

"T-This is..."

Completely immersed in disbelief, Lerish started to lay her eyes upon the weapon on her hands. The recurve bow measures about a meter long end to end and was made up of a mysterious material lighter than balsa wood, tougher than steel, and blacker than pitch. It gave off a dark-greenish luster when placed against the light. Its bowstring, thinner than a strand of hair, is fastened on both ends of the body, taut but still very flexible.

Along with it came the arrows. Though showing signs of corrosion, still looked as sharp and deadly as the day it was last used. The dark brown-colored quiver, which contained the arrows, is made up of the finest leather that is most resistant to the test of time.

Despite not being as ornate or extravagant as they expected, there is no doubt that the weapon is invaluable, if not sacred. Even Aoi could feel the subtle yet immense magic power embedded from deep within the bow, so subtle that only she can perceive it.

"Amazing, it's my first time seeing a relic like that," Ren remarked.

"...Ancient relic, you say? How suspicious," Aoi also shared her thoughts.

"This wonderful thing...how did you get hold of it?" Lerish asked, still mesmerized by the craftsmanship and beauty of the relic weapon.

"I took it from the vault found within the deepest reaches of our manor."

"F-Filia?! How could you do that?!!"

"Pardon me, Milady. I'm just kidding," Filia smirked. "Of course I can't do that, considering how good our security is. It's been decided a long time ago by the elders of our clan to bestow that weapon to you by the time you turned 16 but was unfortunately postponed because of that Argus person. Now that he's finally gone, there's nothing to stop me from giving it to you."

Filia then placed her hands on top of Lerish's, an act that is supposed to be improper for a servant like her. Lerish, still unsure of what to do, only spoke:

"Is...is it really alright for me to have a relic as important as this? I do not think I am worthy enough to even hold it in my hands."

"There's only one way to find out, Milady," Filia replied. "According to legend, if you concentrate enough while holding the bow it will give off a bright green glow. Only by then, we'll ever know if you're worthy of the relic or not."

"G-Glow?! Uh..."

Hesitant, Lerish glanced at the siblings who are sitting right beside her. They nodded at her, saying:

"Go for it, Lerish! I'm sure you'll be able to make it glow!"

"...Don't you dare disappoint me, Lerish."

"E-Eh?! I-I understand, I will try my best...hopefully."

Holding the bow at the middle, Lerish then closed her eyes and started concentrating. She tried channeling upon her royal lineage to make the bow emit light as it is the primary requirement for wielding the weapon, but the lack of mana in her body means that the chances of her doing so would be almost equal to zero.

"This...this can't be possible," Filia muttered in disbelief.

"Lerish..."

"..."

"It is alright," Lerish smiled. "I have long accepted the fact that I am incapable of using magic weapons because of my condition. I do not mind it though, as there are still many ways for me to protect myself and the people around me that do not require using magic..."

As she said that, she showed to her servant the bow and arrow set she bought for the journey. Unlike the relic weapon, the cheap bow made of ordinary wood and sinew is in no way a weapon befitting a princess. Nevertheless, she demonstrated her mastery of the weapon to her servant by hitting with an arrow a fruit hanging low from a tree more than 70 meters away from them.

"Are you still worried about me, just because I am using a cheap weapon, Filia?"

"What? No, no, Milady!"

"That is good then. For me, a, bow made of wood is no less different than a mystic bow that rebuilt a nation from the ground up. At the end of the day, it all comes to the user's expertise."

One can have the best bow the world could ever have, but it's meaningless if the person himself is inept in the ways of marksmanship, she claimed. On the other hand, a person who depended his whole life on his shabby bow will most certainly not be beaten, as long as there are still arrows ready to be fired.

While giving the box that contained the relic back to Filia, Lerish said, "I appreciate you coming your way just to present to me that weapon, but it is regrettable that the outcome is not what you expected. Nonetheless, I still would not use it even if I could, because I cannot permit myself to use such an important piece of our kingdom's history for my selfish ways. Take it, and may you and your family continue keeping it in its almost pristine state."

Completely heartbroken after hearing those words from Lerish, Filia reluctantly took the box away from her master.

"It is time for us to go, I believe. Please tell Father and Mother that we could not visit them this time. They will be disheartened, most certainly, but I have already conveyed to them our purpose of coming here."

"Hm? Understood, Milady."

"Also, I shall leave the villa in your care, as always. By the time we come back, I expect you to treat my friends better than last time."

"I...I will take that in mind."

Feeling satisfied, Lerish said, "Nn. Very well, looks like everything is all set now. See you then."

Moments later the carriage started to move, leaving Filia as she bowed her head at her master and wished Lerish and her companions' good luck.

At first glance, Filia seems to be fine, however...

"I don't understand. This relic should be activated already by Milady, but why does it still didn't work? Were all of the modifications I made not enough?"

For the first time in her life, she lied to Lerish not just once, not twice, but thrice. First, her elders didn't decide on anything about giving Lerish the relic. Second, Filia also didn't steal the relic from her family's vault. Lastly, the relic on her hands isn't the actual thing but a mere replica that looks and feels the same as the original, made so that it could release the stored magic energy the moment Lerish applied pressure at the middle of the bow, suffusing the projectiles with mana.

She hoped that with the relic her master's inability to use magic could be supplemented, but all of her efforts ended up in dismal failure.

"This is frustrating! It should work! And yet...and yet..."

She looked at the road in front of her, but the carriage wasn't there anymore. Confused and upset, she then laid her eyes on the box she's holding, as she started to worry about her master's safety.

-----

From Harlin, travelers wishing to go to the northwest reaches of the kingdom must cross the Harlin River, then pass through seven towns before arriving at Yaref. With each town having its walls and gates much like the capital, travelers must also pay a toll fee before entering one of these towns' gates.

"Geez. Now I understand why so many adventurers prefer to travel inside forests. By the time you've reached the third town, you already spent half of your funds just paying for the toll," Ren said in exasperation after he paid 1 silver coin to enter Silmun, the first town they encountered after leaving the capital.

"Hmm...while I understand your sentiment Ren, there are times that it is better to pay a toll than take a longer and more risky route," Lerish replied. "Aside from that, let us not forget the direction we are heading at the moment."

"Ah, your right," Ren gruntled. "I almost forgot that this...is an 'Upper' thing."

Ren, who has already read quite several books regarding Narashel's history, geography, politics, and whatnot during his free time, knows that there exists a line that divides the kingdom in two: the 'Upper Narashel' which are the areas located north of Harlin, have soil that isn't much conducive for agriculture and a more ragged geography; and 'Lower Narashel', which aside from having more fertile soil, these areas also have more access to bodies of water. As a result, towns like Silmun thrive instead of raising livestock on the highlands, and their culture is somewhat different from the rest of the country.

Though considered to be a boring subject even among the citizens, Lerish finds Ren's buzz for learning their culture sweet, if not endearing.

It was already noontime when they reached the town, having continuously traveled for more than five hours. Aoi, as insatiable as her appetite is, reluctantly held back on eating the whole time. She endured all the hunger pangs she's feeling, so as not to bother her brother.

Ren, aware of his sister's predicament, told Lerish: "I think we should take a break for the time being. It's already lunchtime anyway, so let's find a good place to eat."

"Nn, that is a good idea," Lerish replied. "I know a place where we could find affordable and delicious food here."

With Lerish navigating the carriage through the busy streets of Silmun they successfully arrived at one of Silmun's busiest spots, the so-called 'Butcher's Street'. From the simplest food stalls to the most expensive restaurants, one could find himself surrounded by shops that serve a vast selection of dishes—the majority of them being meat, which the North has plenty of.

"Sorry for the wait. Here are your orders, dear customers."

"Ah, thank you very much."

After finding a place that provides alfresco dining the three settled on having three meat dishes, three kinds of vegetable salads, and a Silmun favorite, red rice cakes formed in the shape of a mountain. Aoi took a bite of the rice cake, and she almost fell from her chair because of the spice.

"...Aghk, it's so spicy!"

"Let me try it," Ren said as he also took a bite of his rice cake. "Oh gee, it sure is. Lerish, are you sure you got the right order..."

Meanwhile, Lerish continued to eat her share calmly, notwithstanding the pain the rice cakes give. She glanced at them and said: "My, I almost forgot to tell you: people from the North love their spices. All of the dishes on this table, in case you have not tried them yet, are just as hot as the rice cakes you tried. I, for one, became already used to the feeling after years of traveling, hence I could eat these dishes with no problems."

Aoi, amazed with her resistance to spicy food, decided to take another bite of the rice cake after some preparation and realized that the heat isn't that bad after all.

While they were enjoying their lunch they overheard a conversation between a group of adventurers: a huge man wearing a dark leather vest and gloves full of spikes, a young woman wearing a purple mage outfit, and a skinny, bespectacled marksman. The three of them were also dining at a restaurant on the other side of the road at that moment.

Though it's not in their nature to listen to other people's conversation they couldn't help but feel intrigued, because they could get a glimpse of what other adventurers experience.

"Ugh, when will you start learning a new spell?! In the last encounter we had with a Giant Stormbeetle, you only used [Rock Splash] for the entire battle. Don't you realize your skillset's getting boring now?!"

"Shut up! If it's that easy to learn a new magic spell, why don't you start learning one yourself? After all, you'd be dead by now if I didn't cast my [Rock Splash] at that time."

"Huh? What did you say?!"

"Dude, calm down. Our friend here might not be a good mage, but remember that her performance is still better than most people, especially Her Highness the Princess of Narashel."

"W-What the...?!" Ren's face immediately turned sour the moment Lerish was mentioned.

"Shhh, lower your voices! We'll be in trouble if other people hear us..."

"But that's the truth! I know that you're not the best in the world when it comes to magic, but whenever you feel discouraged always remind yourself that our beloved princess can't create even a simple fireball. It's such a pity, considering how great her ancestors were."

"Hm-mmm. My bad, my bad. I'm sorry if I spoke badly of your magic, my friend. Here, let's raise a toast for our princess. May she learn how to use a sword instead, assuming she's strong enough to even lift one."

""Cheers!!!""

Laughter then broke out with the three, after raising their glasses. Ren, feeling extremely furious, slammed his fist against the table before standing up. "I can't take this anymore. I'll go talk to them and—"

"Ren, wait!" Lerish hurriedly grabbed his arm, therefore stopping him.

Looking at her in surprise, he said: "L-Lerish?! But...why..."

"As I said, I have already come at peace with my shortcomings a long time ago," she replied gently. "Getting riled up over such matter would not change anything. Please, Ren. Let them be, for my sake..."

Completely stunned by her words, Ren reluctantly returned to his seat. Being a public figure, she's no stranger to having many people talking behind her. Some of them dared to say nasty things about her upfront, even going as much as to spit on her face. Despite all of that, however, Lerish remained to be the gentle and loving princess many people knew.

He knew all of that, and yet...his heart still ached. Rather than being incapable of doing anything, he's being stopped from doing anything, by the person he's trying to protect no less.

He looked at the adventurers from the other side of the road and saw that they had just ordered a cake to celebrate their successful mission—or to add insult to Lerish's condition.

A cake. A rainbow-colored, three-layered cake, just because. Just looking at how colorful it was, made him seethe.

*Ting!* A bright idea came into his mind!

'Forgive me Lerish, but you can't stop me this time. I must teach these punks a lesson they'll never forget,' Ren said to himself as his lips formed an evil grin, which made even Aoi feel bothered.

-----

Later that afternoon, there came news that quickly spread around the town about a group of unconscious people covered with icing all around their bodies, after the cake they ordered exploded the moment they started cutting it with a knife. All the people nearby had their suspicions, one of them noting that a man along with two young ladies left the vicinity just before the incident happened, but they found no connection between them and the victims whatsoever. In the end, the incident was ruled out as an isolated case of the so-called 'spontaneous mana burst', and all bystanders are asked to go home.

Mana burst, or an act of retribution. Only the ones involved know the answer.