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Momentary relaxation
It was a large blacklongbow with a graceful arch. However, contrary to its appearance myhand, it did not feel as heavy as it looked.
Greed had calledthis form the magic bow.
"But, I don'thave any arrows, so should I buy them separately?"
"No need. This isa magic bow. Arrows will be created from magic. Try it and see, thereis a target on the left of that tree. Aim at it from here."
I wished he wouldhave said that earlier. As I turned to the left, an arrow grazed mynose. If I had not moved my head away, the arrow would have piercedright through my face.
The only ones whowould make such a pungent attack were the Hobgoblin Archers, nastybeings dubbed the faecal archers by the warriors of the RoyalCapital.
Since they launchedtheir attacks while keeping a certain distance, close combat weaponswere an unsuitable match. Moreover, their attacks had a weakeningeffect on statuses. Hence, it was time for Greed's power to appearin the form of "Black Bow". Once again, I evaded the arrowcovered in faeces by using the Goblin King's corpse as a shield.
"In this darkness,I don't know the Hobgoblin Archer's exact location."
"No problem. Onceyou know the approximate location, the magic arrow will track and hitthe target. Even beginners need not worry. If you release the arrowproperly, it will automatically hit."
In that case, itshould be possible for me even if I had never used a bow before. If Iwas not mistaken, the faecal arrows were coming from amongst thetrees over there. Meaning there should be a Hobgoblin Archer behindthem.
I drew the Black Bowover the Goblin King's corpse. As I did so, a black arrowmaterialised and positioned itself against the taut bowstring. Sothis was the magical arrow that Greed had mentioned. Then, without aclear aim, I released the arrow.
The black arrowadjusted its trajectory accordingly, disappearing behind the treewhere the Hobgoblin Archer seemed to be.
I heard the roboticvoice in my head. It seemed like the Hobgoblin Archer had beendefeated. At any rate, I would be using this Black Bow often. As longas I was able to shoot the arrow, it was guaranteed to hit its mark.
Certain monstersused magic in long-ranged attacks. With the black sword alone, Iwould be full of holes before I even reached them, so I was gratefulto have a weapon like the Black Bow that was capable of attackingfrom a long distance.
Given that I was asolo hunter, I would not be able to survive if I could not doeverything by myself. The more cards that I had, the better. I wasglad to have obtained the <Night vision> skill from theHobgoblin Archer, and now I could walk in the dark like it wasdaytime. This way, I could make good progress at night. Well then,since I have fulfilled my purpose, I should return.
Then, an ideaoccurred to me as I looked at the Goblin King's corpse and I slicedoff his ears. The Goblin King was a rare monster, few in numberwithin this forest. If I brought these to the Royal Capital'sExchange Department, I could trade them for a substantial prize.
If I was the onecarrying these, it might be problematic. However, if I gave it tosomeone else to exchange… For example, if I donated them to anorphanage, they would not trace it back to me.
There was a poororphanage in the slums where I lived before I moved into the HeartFamily. Yes, it was the orphanage where the little girl lived, theone who I had helped during the abduction previously. I could justput the Goblin King's ears in a bag labelled "donation" andthrow it in through a broken window. It would be a small gift from mewho had suffered hunger before. I wanted the children to be able tofill their stomachs with this. That girl would surely be happy.
Now then, I had todo all of this before dawn came. I quietly left the Hobgob forest andproceeded through the Goblin Meadow, heading towards the RoyalCapital Seyfert.
*
Morning had finallycome. I had secretly returned home to the Heart Family mansion, andwas now in bed. …I felt very sleepy. In the end, I had stayed upall night.
When I tried tothrow the Goblin King's ears into the orphanage, it seemed that theSisters noticed me so it became problematic. I managed to trick themand escape, heading towards the VIP store in the Commercial Districtto check on the situation there.
It seemed likeRafael and his siblings had already left the store, and the windowcurtains were opened. I wondered what those Holy Knights had beendiscussing and felt worried, so I decided to keep watch again at thesame time.
For that reason, Ineeded to sleep well. Roxy-sama gave me the day off today, so Ishould just go to sleep now. I was exhausted from hunting goblins dueto my state of starvation, as well as several other things. When Iclosed my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.
Knock, knock.Someone… was knocking on the door. Waking up from the noise, I wassurprised to see who had entered the room. It was the first time thatshe came to my room.
"Sorry to botheryou, how are you feeling?"
It was Roxy-sama.Looking at the clock, I saw that it was past noon. It seemed that Ihad slept for quite some time. Since she was wearing her white lightarmour, she was probably visiting me during her break between dutiesat the castle. To go so far for a servant… she was a kind person. Ihad slept well so the exhaustion was completely gone.
"Yes, I'mfeeling fine."
"That's good.But overworking yourself is forbidden. I brought some fruit. Wouldyou like some?"
This whole time, shehad been holding a basket from which she took out a plate of grapes.The large purple fruits were ripe and plump.
"These grapes wereharvested from the Heart Family's territories. They were deliveredto the mansion this morning."
"These grapes aredelicious. Is it grape-growing popular in Roxy-sama's territories?"
I had heard from theother servants that the grapes were famous. However, seeing thatRoxy-sama seemed like she wanted to be asked about it, I pretendednot to know anything.
"It is, sincewine-making is also very popular. The wine served during mealtimes atthe mansion were produced from the territory. It's very beautifulthere. Oh right, I will be visiting the territory soon so let's gotogether."
"Is thatalright?!"
Such deliciousgrapes were grown there so it was sure to be a wonderful territory. Idefinitely wanted to go. Besides, if I was being invited by mymaster, Roxy-sama, I could not help but go.
We sat on the bedfor a while eating grapes together, when there was knocking on thedoor again. However, this time they did not come in and only a voicecould be heard from the other side of the door.
"Roxy-sama, it'sabout time for you to return to work."
This voice belongedto the most outstanding of my fellow servants ─ my superior. Shewas also Roxy-sama's secretary. Usually, she was a kind person,however, I was often scolded because she was quite strict with timemanagement. Hearing her call, Roxy-sama hastily wiped her mouth witha handkerchief.
"Ah, I must go.Eat the rest of the grapes as you like, Fay. Then, I'm heading towork!"
Roxy-sama gave asmall wave with her hand from her chest and left the room. She wasbusy with duties, having inherited the family from her father. I hadheard this from my superior. Among the five noble families of theRoyal Capital, the youngest household head was Roxy-sama. With herproficiency as a Holy Knight ─ her level was lower than all thosearound her, so it seemed like she had to work hard endlessly.
These were thehardships of the upper class society… For a commoner with no socialpower, the worlds that we lived in were too different. The only thingI could do was talk to Roxy-sama and distract her mind, even if onlyfor a little while.
In order to releasethese miserable feelings, I decided to head to the bar that I had notvisited in a long time. Having not shown my face for ages, the storemaster might be wondering if I had died from the gatekeeping job (dueto the relentless bullying and harsh working hours from the BrericFamily). I should at least report that I was alive.
Besides, today was my day off. Eventhough I might end up being told off Roxy-sama, I will drink alcoholto my heart's content!
