chapter 33
33. To the Mountains (3)
“…Were you watching?”
Shione scratched my cheek as if she was embarrassed.
At the same time, Siabelle’s blue eyes, which had been staring at me for a moment, began to reflect on my sister.
Only then did the mysterious gaze that had been making me uneasy go away, and my breath was freed.
“Of course. Your skills are much better than when you were fighting the goblins.”
“I was able to ask for advice from Ray, so I just did it. I’m glad you like it.”
“If it’s Ray…”
“Ah, that’s the name of my personal servant.”
Shione half turned her body to reveal me hiding behind her.
Thanks to that, I was able to see myself in Siabelle’s blue eyes again.
I met Siabelle’s gaze again.
I quietly bowed my head to Siabel.
Yes or no
“Hmm.”
Siabelle looked at me for a moment without speaking.
Just like when she first met her child Nel Cianella, she became a bit nervous because of her mind’s eye, which seemed to be able to see through people’s hearts one after another.
Moreover, unlike the dog dealer Sione, Siabelle has a cold impression.
Her appearance overlapped with that of her child Nell, until her conversation went cold.
Although it wasn’t a very long time, it was like an eternity that I don’t mind.
I don’t know people like Shione, but the gazes of people who show me that I’m an aristocrat from the beginning are very burdensome.
I hope this time passes as soon as possible.
As she prayed, Sia Bell slowly opened her mouth.
“Yes, your name is Ray.”
It wasn’t just that.
The corners of Siabelle’s mouth, which had sunk with an expressionless expression, went up in an arc.
It may be because of her excessive self-consciousness, but it also seemed that there was a bit of interest in her cold eyes.
Anyway, Siabelle’s attention was very uncomfortable.
… I don’t know why, but it seems that troublesome things will happen if she gets involved with Siabel.
I want to be able to know each other from across Sione.
Siabelle’s curiosity I felt was not an illusion.
“Come to think of it, I heard that the person who taught you the bow was your servant. Is this his servant?”
They even started asking me about my identity.
“Yes. Her archery was taught to me by Ray.”
“An attendant, not another archery instructor…”
Sia Bell narrowed her eyes.
Shione explained what was so interesting about my story without interruption.
“He said he’d been learning the bow for a while. Not only does he teach me well enough…he’s reliable.”
“Whoa.”
Sia Bell brushed her silvery white hair at Shione’s words.
At the same time, the emotion of interest in her eyes deepened.
It seems that she is enjoying it little by little beyond her interest…….
Having nothing to say about that, she quietly accepted her attention with her mouth shut.
“Well, I only saw them briefly, but they had sharp skills like our count’s family’s archers.”
Sia Belle, who was running through her hair, crossed her arms.
She tilted her head slightly and caught my gaze.
“That’s interesting.”
I bowed my head one more time without speaking.
I didn’t really like this situation where I didn’t have to be discouraged, but I was being weighed down by Siabelle’s momentum.
Why the hell is Siabelle, whom I’ve met many times before, showing interest in me now?
As I was thinking about it, I remembered the rewards of the two quests I received this time.
‘… All of the rewards for this quest were related to Siabelle Cianella.’
These quests were different from previous quests that focused only on Sione’s growth.
The reward of the quest is nothing else
Because it was the acceleration of Siabelle Cianella’s interest in me and the blooming of her talents, respectively.
Anyway, since the reward for this quest is about Siabelle, it seems like a connection between her and me is forming this time.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘… I don’t like it.’
Shione actively confesses to breaking up the marriage to Young master of the marquis.
I’m keeping my nerves on edge these days as I don’t know where I’m going to jump.
Now, in this situation, even Siabelle has to start paying attention.
What the hell is the Cianella family, so there are so many things to be concerned about…….
At this rate, shouldn’t Zion Cianella also be concerned?
“I was very reluctant when you said you wanted to climb the mountain with an attendant… But it was unexpected.”
“Didn’t I tell you beforehand? She has awakened her mana and is good at archery, so at least she won’t get in the way.”
“How can I believe it if I just hear it in words. Even if he said he would follow me, I accepted it because I was confident that I could protect him safely… But anyway, he’s a man.”
After saying that, Sia Bell crossed her arms.
“Well, looking back now, it doesn’t seem like such a bad choice.”
After saying that, Siabelle slowly approached me.
Then she reached out her hand to me.
“Please take good care of Sione by your side. Can I trust you?”
I quietly held Siabelle’s hand.
“…Leave it to me.”
Sia Bell made a satisfied face at that and nodded her head.
“Let’s see.”
* *
The day passed quickly.
After cutting down countless goblins, he finally found traces of the gray wolves and succeeded in estimating their territory.
At the same time, he even caught a few gray wolves that had fallen from the pack.
Along the way, I gave Shione advice on her bow one by one through the subsequent subjugation of the monsters.
Although he is still immature, he gradually absorbed my advice and his accuracy started to improve little by little.
It was all thanks to the constant shooting of arrows at many enemies.
After that, when I returned to camp, I did miscellaneous jobs.
Mostly it wasn’t me who was exhausted, but Brontë, so it wasn’t too bad.
The problem was something else.
‘It was too burdensome.’
The fact that whenever I’m with Bronte, Siabelle Cianella tries to observe me.
I didn’t like seeing me as if I had found a strange animal.
What on earth did you like so much?
It wasn’t like they showed me how to use magic.
I can understand why you show such interest after you’ve mastered spirit magic.
Nothing fancy like that, but I couldn’t understand Siabelle coming out here.
I can’t ask why you’re chasing and staring at me.
And somehow, the first day passed and the second day arrived.
After the sun lit up the mountain, we started sweeping again.
“You look much better than yesterday.”
“I shot her fingers enough to blister her, so it’s strange that she doesn’t feel it.”
“…That’s true too.”
Sione showed a better appearance day by day.
Compared to yesterday, the time to aim at the enemy has decreased, and the accuracy rate has also improved.
Although it was funny how he boasted that he was used to dealing with goblins.
Seeing how much she enjoyed herself, she was just laughing in front of her.
It wasn’t long before we continued hunting like that.
“I’ve confirmed there are a bunch of orcs!”
The soldier who had checked ahead reported what he had seen to Siabelle.
“How many are there?”
“A total of six objects.”
“Hmm…”
Siabelle stroked my chin for a while and pondered.
Her decision was not too late.
“Let’s make a surprise attack.”
According to Siabelle’s decision, we killed her presence and went to the place where she said she found the orc.
Siabelle, who always walked leisurely and killed goblins, maintained a moderate level of tension.
Shortly thereafter, as the soldier said, six orcs came into sight.
They were green-skinned monsters like goblins.
However, it is difficult to treat them like goblins just because they have the same skin color.
A height that exceeds 2m and a wide-open rice cake stand.
And an ignorantly heavy body.
These guys were born fighters from their weight class, and they actually boast exceptional strength.
The fortunate thing is that as strong as he is, his normal actions are slow.
With Cianella’s regular clearing of the Beltrin Mountains, soldiers with a lot of combat experience will be able to deal with it.
Moreover, there is an expert knight, and the soldiers will have enough to keep Siabelle’s attention until she strikes the orc’s neck.
While comparing the strength of this side with the Orc I haven’t seen in a long time, I heard Shione’s voice.
“…You’re nervous.”
Apparently, he was frightened by the appearance of the orc.
Well, unlike other crappy monsters, orcs have a unique sense of intimidation.
It was understandable that Shione, who was not used to dealing with monsters, was sweating coldly with such a stiff expression on her face.
I said this to ease Shione’s tension.
“You think it’s just a big green target. It’s the soldiers who deal with them up close, not us.”
“It’s a big green target…”
As if she liked my analogy, Shione’s expression improved a lot.
At that time, Siabelle’s voice resonated low and clear.
“If I hit one first, I’ll follow you right away.”
At the same time that Siabelle’s sword was covered with mana, her foot kicked the ground.
Taat!
Siabelle approached the nearest orc in an instant.
She immediately drew her sword down wide.
“Chwiiik!!”
One side of the creature’s green arm fell off with a scream of embarrassment from the orc.
After all, it seems that he is not an expert knight.
With Siabelle’s blow, the soldiers also began to join the battle.
“We also support.”
“Whoa… Let’s do that.”
Shione caught her breath and started shooting her bow.
Contrary to her unnecessarily nervous appearance, Sione shot her arrow steadily.
Thanks to that, several arrows were stuck in the stomach of an orc.
Seeing him doing his part smoothly in his own way.
Little by little, I went towards the struggling soldiers and shot my bow.
Rather, that became a problem.
As many arrows got stuck in my moon-like belly, the orc’s gaze turned to Sione.
“Chwiiik!!”
An orc whose body was already covered with cuts from several soldiers.
As if he couldn’t die in vain, he ignored the soldiers’ attacks and started running toward Shione.
Somehow, in his eyes, he seemed to think that it would be better to have Shione, who shoots an arrow with a nervous expression, as his companion rather than those holding knives.
Such an orc thought was the correct answer.
“Uh…”
Shione let out a voice full of embarrassment.
As he turned his head toward Shione, he finally understood how things were going.
The orc came running, saying he would just throw himself into it, but why are you just staring at it?
Even when Shione ran right in front of her, she only had a desperate expression on her face.
“…Damn it.”
What the hell are the soldiers doing, so the orc is running at them?
I hurriedly racked my brain over how to overcome this situation.
Siabelle was dealing with another orc there….
That said, I wasn’t sure if I could rescue her in time because the distance between her and her was too vague to run to her feet right now.
But you want to kill him with an arrow between his eyes.
I thought I could give Shione one shot before that orc fell unconscious.
If this is the case in the end.
As Shione said, if you do it right, you have no choice but to show magic that you didn’t intend to show in front of others.
I hurriedly turned my mana before the orc’s fist touched Shione’s head.
All she needs is enough speed to get her out.
I endowed my body with the power of the spirits.
“Haa…”
I threw myself at the same time as I felt a fresh breeze brush my cheek and ruffle my hair.
Fortunately, I was able to reach Shione in no time.
She dodged her orc’s attack by throwing her body to her side, holding her in her arms for a moment.
After rolling on the floor a few times, I felt quite a heavy pain in my back and arms.
Because of the real Shione, she even rolls down the mountain and does everything.
“Ray…?”
Shione looked at my face as if she were dumbfounded.
“Why were you staring at me like that?”
I reprimanded her for that.
If I’m scared, I’ll even scream, what if I’m frightened by myself?
What if I didn’t notice?
“Sorry…”
Simultaneously with Sione’s weak words.
The orc that ran toward Shione lost his head and collapsed.
Siabelle appeared while wiping the red blood from her sword to the side of the fallen orc.
She muttered as she looked down at me and Sione.
“Magic?”