Chapter 19

I had been looking forward to seeing you since this morning.

I spurred my horse up the mountain, carrying a bow larger than the one I usually use, designed for large beasts, on my back.

Every year, many bears appear in the mountains near the village during early spring.

I had expected them to show up this year too, but I hadn't encountered any yet.

Bears are worth a lot of money.

Hunting them is enjoyable and profitable.

For me, they are the perfect prey.

When I saw my morning intuition turn into reality, joy overflowed from my body.

Today is going to be a good day.

As soon as I entered the mountain, I found a bear that was unusually large, even for this time of year.

It hadn't noticed me yet.

Moreover, it was accompanied by a woman who had probably come to gather mountain vegetables.

What a fool to enter the mountain at this time of year.

She wasn't even armed.

The bear made eye contact with the woman and was about to attack.

I drew my bow.

It's a powerful bow that I finally managed to draw two years ago.

No one else in the village can draw this bow.

To be honest, I'm a master archer.

I took an arrow, drew the string, and released it.

The arrow, which was quite heavy, split the air with a sharp sound and pierced the bear.

Right between its eyes.

Just as I had aimed.

This means I can benefit from the bears again this year.

I also saved the woman's life.

I was hoping for a scene where she would say, "Thank you for saving my life, please take this," and I wonder what she will give me.

"Are you okay, woman?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

When I got closer, I saw that she was about my age.

...She's cute.

I was so focused on the bear that I didn't really look at the woman.

If I had known she was this cute, I could have been a bit gentler.

"Why would you enter the mountain at this time of year? What did your father teach you?"

"...My father is no longer with us."

"Ah."

Damn.

I didn't mean to make her feel bad.

Well, she's cute, but I'll get my thanks and then part ways quickly.

"At this time of year, bears appear in the surrounding mountains. You must have heard of it, right?"

"No, I just moved here recently."

I see.

"By any chance, are you a student at Elenoir Academy?"

"Yes, my name is Iris Parara."

So, you're one of those noble girls from that academy.

I wish I hadn't saved you.

But since I did, I'll take something in return.

Five years ago, I saved a student from Elenoir Academy, and I received five gold coins.

This girl is cuter, so the value of saving her is greater. Ten gold coins, I think.

"Here, I saved you. Ten gold coins will do."

"What!? I can't pay such an exorbitant amount."

"If you can't pay, something else will do. Do you have any jewels? Hand them over."

"I don't have any jewels."

"Then anything valuable will do."

She looked a bit confused, but then she handed me the mountain vegetables she had.

"I said something valuable..."

"I don't have anything else to give."

Looking at the woman more closely, her clothes were no different from those of a commoner.

She also looked underweight.

She didn't have anything valuable.

And a noblewoman gathering mountain vegetables!?

"Who are you?"

"I'm Iris Parara."

"I heard that."

"What do you want to know? If you don't want the mountain vegetables, I'll go."

"Why are you gathering mountain vegetables? Do noble ladies eat such things?"

"I'm not a noble. I just missed the mountain vegetables we used to eat at home, so I came to gather them."

"But you just said you're a student at Elenoir Academy."

"Commoners can attend too."

What! Really?

I didn't know that.

The moment I realized she was a commoner, the unpleasant feeling I had suddenly disappeared.

I looked at her face again.

She really is beautiful.

"A commoner at a noble school. You must be having a tough time."

"Is that so? It's actually quite nice."

"Really? I would feel sick just thinking about it."

"Well, there are some unpleasant things, but there are also many good things."

"Hmm, is that so?"

After our conversation, I realized how hungry I was.

I had two birds I had shot this morning tied to my horse.

I decided to roast them and eat them.

"I'm going to roast some birds. Do you want some?"

I've heard that students at noble schools eat lavish meals every day.

She probably eats them every day and wouldn't want to eat wild birds.

I shouldn't have asked.

"...No, thank you."

I knew it.

I turned to leave, but I saw something unexpected.

...This girl's face looked incredibly hungry!

She knows how delicious roasted wild birds are!

"Really?"

"Really."

"The birds this time of year are fatty and delicious."

"..."

She didn't respond, but I could hear her swallowing her saliva.

"Go ahead, you look hungry."

"What, I do!?"

"Yeah. You know how delicious roasted wild birds are, right? I have two, so you can have one."

"Really? You'd give it to me?"

"If you were a noble, it would be a different story, but with that skinny body, I want to feed you. Come on, help me start the fire."

"Okay!"

We quickly started the fire and roasted the birds.

A fragrant smell rose.

The only regret was not having any salt, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"The food at the school is too salty for my taste."

"What a luxurious problem."

"Hehe, yeah. At first, I was amazed by the luxury, but soon I started missing the simple meals at home."

"That's why you came for mountain vegetables."

"Yeah, and I didn't expect to eat wild birds. It's been since my father used to catch and cook them for me when I was little."

Ah, talking about her father is a bad idea.

"By the way, I haven't heard your name yet."

"Abel. I don't have a family name. I was picked up by the villagers after my parents passed away."

"Abel, that's a nice name."

Iris also looked uncomfortable.

But I'm not sad or anything.

I handed one of the birds to Iris.

We both bit into it at the same time.

Damn, it's delicious!

"Delicious!!"

Iris clenched her fist and raised it.

"You have a good palate."

"Yeah, I'll never forget this taste!"

We finished the birds in no time.

"What about the bear?"

Iris asked, concerned about the fallen bear.

"I'll bring it back to the village later with some help. It's too big for me to carry alone."

"Right, Abel is strong."

"Yeah, strong and free. That's me."

"Yep, I think it's great."

Oh, I was a bit surprised to be praised so honestly by a beautiful woman.

It's not something that happens often, and I guess it's understandable.

"Is Iris happy at that noble school?"

"Yeah, when I think about the future, I feel I have to work hard."

"The way you say it makes it sound like you're not having fun now."

"No, that's not true."

Iris's response seemed a bit forced.

Living as a commoner in a noble school must be tough.

"Being the only commoner among nobles, you must be a target for discrimination."

"...Yeah."

"Is something bothering you?"

I thought it was fine if she didn't want to talk, but sometimes it helps to talk things out.

If there was something, I wanted to listen.

"The girl next to me in the dorm was friendly at first.

...But the moment she found out I was a commoner, she stopped talking to me.

Then the other girls started avoiding me too."

Iris's words were hesitant.

I felt both regret and relief for asking.

Nobles are just like that.

Damn, I'm getting angry.

"You should quit that place."

"I can't. Thinking about my family waiting for me at home, I have to work hard, even if I'm alone."

I've never experienced discrimination.

Iris probably hasn't either.

She must be hurting a lot right now.

I'm starting to hate nobles even more.

"But not everyone is like that."

"What do you mean?"

"There are some strange people, but calling them strange isn't right."

"Hmm?"

"There are people I can call friends. They're a bit different but kind."

"Interesting, what kind of people?"

"A guy. He's the next lord of the Helan territory. He's different from the other students at the school."

"Does he have ulterior motives?"

Iris is beautiful.

There are plenty of guys who would approach her for ulterior motives.

"There might be some like that.

But I don't think Kurri is one of them.

The people around Kurri are similar to him, and I think he's a bit unusual for a noble."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Of course!"

Maybe that's what Iris meant when she said there are good things at the school.

Strange nobles...

"By the way, a strange noble came to my village too.

He was a big guy who bought an entire sheep."

"Ah! That must be Vain. Was Kurri with him?"

"No, I only saw one person."

"They said they enjoyed eating the sheep together. I wish I had gone with them."

"If you want to eat sheep, come to my village. I can always feed you."

"That's very kind of you. But I'd be happier if you could treat me to wild birds again."

"You really liked them, didn't you? If you want, I can teach you how to catch them."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I lent Iris the smaller bow I had brought.

At first, she struggled to draw the string, but her progress after that was amazing.

She could hit a stationary target right away and managed to catch a bird by mid-afternoon.

"Amazing talent. You might be a genius like me."

"Hehe, right?"

She looked at me slyly and smiled.

"If you want, you can have the bow."

"No, that's too much."

"Then I'll teach you how to make it."

"Okay."

I showed her how to shape the wood with a knife to make a bow.

I only taught her the steps, but she was very dexterous.

I really think she has talent.

Watching her work hard was captivating.

I have to be careful not to get too drawn in.

By dusk, we had made a fine bow.

All it needed was a string.

I'll finish that part in the village.

We agreed to meet again when I could give it to her.

Iris was very happy.

"Well, I should head back."

"Can you make it back alone?"

"Yeah."

Iris held the mountain vegetables she had gathered and walked away.

Today was a good day, just as I had felt this morning.

Watching Iris's back made me feel a bit lonely.

"Iris!! If you ever get tired of the school, come anytime!!"

"Okay! I'll come again!!"

Iris's smile was etched in my mind.

The sunset looked even more beautiful.