Chapter 63

The examiner with the scruffy beard, carrying a wooden sword on his shoulder, glared at me.

He seems to be in a particularly bad mood today.

I thought he was just a security guard, but it turns out he is a member of the kingdom's knight corps.

He is the only person in this square not wearing a cloak, but from Justin's words, I'm sure it's him.

I remember Godolphin mentioning that after the Blood Sea incident, knight corps members were deployed for security...

...but let's forget about that story...

However, unlike the day of the exam, I have no business with this hungover section chief today (I didn't have any business with him that day either).

I'd rather not get involved...

At that moment, Justin leaned in close to my ear and whispered with a mischievous grin.

"Be careful today, he's in a bad mood from a hangover."

The instant he said that, the scruffy-bearded man swung his wooden sword at Justin with all his might.

Even though he was more than 10 meters away, what kind of hearing does he have?!

The slash was sharper than the horizontal sweep he used on me during the exam.

Justin dodged it with a playful sway, and the flowing wooden sword came toward me.

This scruffy-bearded man was targeting me from the start, wasn't he?

I had considered this possibility, but the unexpected sharpness forced me to block the wooden sword with its flat side and use the momentum to leap backward, landing and touching the ground with my left hand.

Justin was grinning and started circling counterclockwise.

I immediately responded, maintaining the same speed and distance from Justin.

At that moment, Dante intervened.

"Alright, that's enough.

You two can't beat Dew even if you team up.

You don't want to get hurt, do you?"

"Hey, Justin!

Who's hungover, huh?

Last night, we both went on a raid right after our night shift, involving a group that seems to have ties with a foreign intelligence agency!

When did I have time to drink?

What do you think?"

...Did I hear that right?

I thought I heard Dante call the bad-tempered section chief "Dew"...

Justin lowered his guard and placed the longsword-shaped wooden sword on his shoulder.

"Tch.

It was just getting good...

Anyway, doesn't he need to introduce himself to everyone?

Right, Dew?"

Even Justin...

Could it be Dew-san?

It must be, it has to be!

As I struggled internally, Dante introduced him clearly.

"I think you remember, but the person who examined you is the commander of our kingdom's 3rd Army Corps, 'Thousand Miles in a Single Stroke,' Dew Ouvre!"

No way...

But there's no way I could have misheard that.

...There's nothing I can do.

As long as he has the ability, it's fine even if he has a bad temper.

I plastered a business smile on my face and bowed 45 degrees.

"Thank you for your help during the exam!

Pleased to meet you again, I am Allen Lovene from the Royal Academy!

It's an honor to meet the admired Commander Dew again!"

Hearing my cheerful greeting, Dew's forehead veins bulged.

"Hmm?

Admired, huh?

What's in your left hand?"

He knows?!

Does this guy have eyes in the back of his head...

"...It's a pretty stone I picked up earlier.

Isn't it beautiful?"

I forced a business smile and gently returned the ordinary pebbles I had picked up to use as a distraction to the ground.

◆

"Hmph.

I'm Dew Ouvre.

I thought you might improve a bit after being beaten by the old man, but you're still as rude as ever, brat.

Your stiff, country-style sword stance has softened a bit...

But more importantly, those calluses... you didn't have them during the exam, were you using a bow?"

Just from a single exchange, he can tell all that...

I am aware that during the morning practical classes, every time we practice swordsmanship and other martial arts, I am persistently challenged by Rye, and his mainstream sword techniques in the capital have somewhat influenced me.

I usually lose 2-8 and feel frustrated, but I want to feel good by practicing with others, yet my classmates avoid me, saying, "We can't keep up with Rye," and for some reason, I end up paired with Rye.

Incidentally, Dan is a match for me, and Stella would probably win 7-3, but the difference isn't that big, yet for some reason, they can't stand up to Rye at all.

I imagine it's because he has been practicing with his mother and older sister, who are like monsters, since he was young, so he has a different level of power and speed.

"...Yes.

I've been using a short bow recently as part of my explorer work."

"Hmm, just a little.

Are your hands big?"

Justin grinned and scrutinized my worn-out hands.

"Yes.

When I can draw the bow perfectly, my hands will probably be clean.

I consider this a sign of my inexperience."

I said this honestly, not out of modesty, but because it's what I truly believe.

At that moment, a middle-aged, intimidating woman stepped out from the group of onlookers.

"Brat, show me your hands."

I was taken aback by her sudden request, but Dante came to my rescue.

"This is Kianna.

She's known as 'The Divine Archer Kianna,' one of the top five archers in this country, and a former A-class explorer, so in a way, she's your senior."

Wow.

Such a monster is just standing around in this garrison...

I obediently showed her my hands.

She examined them carefully and then said to the bad-tempered section chief... Dew.

"Commander, I want to see him draw a bow.

Is that okay?"

"Sure, it's unusual for you to be interested, Kianna."

Kianna turned to me with her usual stern expression.

"Brat, what kind of bow do you usually use?"

"Huh?

A Rye 5...

I'm poor, you see."

Kianna smiled for the first time.

"Not a bad choice.

I remember there were some Rye 5s for dry draw training in the warehouse.

Wait a moment."

Hehehe.

As expected of Rouge, who runs a branch at her age.

I received this service, so I need to earn money quickly and go shopping again.

◆

After a few minutes, Kianna returned with a Rye 5, a quiver of wooden arrows, and a strange bird-shaped magic tool.

When she infused the magic tool with magic and threw it, it began to fly around irregularly like a swallow.

"Draw the bow, brat."

The magic tool was flying around wildly.

"But, isn't it dangerous?"

"Of course, no one here is foolish enough to be hit by a Rye arrow they know is coming.

Just focus on hitting the magic bird."

I nocked an arrow casually, aimed carefully, and shot.

The bird-shaped magic tool dodged at the last moment, lowering its altitude, and the arrow hit a window of the building surrounding the courtyard and bounced off.

It seems to be reinforced glass.

"Try again."

Encouraged by Kianna, I carefully observed the bird-shaped magic tool's movements.

Recalling the training I've been doing since the rune sheep monster dodged my arrows, I aimed to make the impact times as close as possible by varying the strength of my shots and fired three arrows at the maximum speed I could manage.

"Whoa!!"

My second arrow hit the magic tool perfectly, and the third arrow, which I fired as insurance in case it dodged downward, grazed the face of the commander, who was picking his nose.

"You!

You didn't need that third shot!

Do you have a grudge against me, brat?!"

"No, no, it's a misunderstanding.

This is my first time training with such a magic tool, and the third shot was insurance in case it dodged downward.

I have no grudge against you!

But, to see through the dodge and not move at all, you are truly Commander Dew!"

I only have a grudge against my former section chief.

...But... you saw through it?

Kianna confidently said it wouldn't hit anyone, so I thought it was unnecessary, but I dodged just in case. If it had hit, it would have been a big deal.

Seeing everyone's faces tense up, except for the laughing Justin, made me a bit uneasy.