Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Intermission Rest
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The Ebony Shadow Mercenaries extermination operation wrapped up far more easily than expected.
Now, the pawns that danced to the Underground Vermin's whims had vanished from this world. If those Underground Vermin bastards wanted anything done, they'd have to move themselves.
But the board those pawns had set in motion was already in play, so we headed straight for the border zone between the Empire and the Kingdom without a moment to rest.
The situation was even worse than it had been with the Carrot Duchy last time. Back then, we'd arrived just as tensions were about to ignite and managed to stop it from erupting into full-scale war. But now, war between the two nations was already raging.
Even if we marched in and declared we'd come to end the war, neither side would back down obediently. And wiping them all out by force to force an end? That was utterly out of the question.
"Damn bastards... Can't even die clean to the end..."
The instant we annihilated the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries, the reward for the battle appeared right where they'd fallen.
Before we left, I walked over and scooped it up.
Time was pressing, but a reward was a reward.
S-Grade Weapon: Bow of the Crossing Twin Moons
A precious bow imbued with the power of the Ancient Races. This bow requires no separate arrows to fire and grants the passive skill Dripping Moon Shadow and the active skill Rising Moon. Perhaps this bow hides other effects as well. P: Dripping Moon Shadow
The closer to a full moon, the more noticeably the arrows glow—in exchange, their power and speed increase dramatically. The closer to a new moon, the arrows become invisible, silent, and partially track their target. A: Rising Moon
The power of the moon is fired into the sky and materializes as an artificial moon. When the artificial moon appears, all surrounding objects and lifeforms float upward, nullifying defenses and preventing escape. The power of the earth is drawn into the artificial moon, striking the floating targets midway. They take a second hit upon crashing down when the moon vanishes.
This feels awfully familiar somehow.
I approached Lenis and took her left hand.
"Eek?! O-Alvis?!"
"Lenis, mind lending me that ring for a sec?"
"R-R-Ring!?"
"Just a quick look. I'll give it right back."
Lenis averted her gaze and shyly extended her left hand. I slipped the ring off her ring finger.
S-Grade Accessory: Ring of the Crossing Twin Moons
A precious ring imbued with the power of the Ancient Races. Increases magic power and effects, and grants the passive skill Crossing Moon and the active skill Falling Moon. Perhaps this ring hides other effects as well.
The rest was the ring's effects, which I already knew.
The key was the "other effects" hinted at in both pieces of gear.
Even though I'd had the ring for quite a while, I'd never gotten a single clue about whatever hidden effect it might have.
And now this bow had the exact same description.
'What, like a set item? Never heard of such a thing...'
Even my Eye that Pierces Truth couldn't reveal what the effect was or how to trigger it.
Having both items together didn't cause any change either...
I couldn't figure anything out, so I tried to hand the ring back to Lenis.
That's when I noticed her turning her head to the side and shyly extending her left hand toward me.
'What the...?'
I flipped her hand over and placed the ring in her palm. Her head smoothly turned back, and she stared right at me again.
"What was that about?"
"Huh? What do you mean? I said I'd give it right back."
"That's it?"
"You think I'd run off with it?"
"......"
Lenis stared at me silently, then suddenly clenched her fist and glared fiercely.
"Hmph!"
Thwack!
She kicked me right in the butt.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"I was an idiot for expecting anything from you! I don't even want to look at you! Hmph!"
I thought maybe she'd taken something weird, so I checked with my Eye that Pierces Truth. That's when it hit me.
'What? You little—'
Thud!
Damn... It's been a while since this happened...
No, I was just oblivious for a second. Isn't making a big deal out of that a bit much?
I shot Luna a resentful glare, but she just tilted her head.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Later... I'll get revenge for this... for sure..."
"?"
Once the pain subsided a bit, I handed the bow to Elfin.
"Elfin, you use this."
"M-Me? You're giving it to me?"
Elfin took the bow I offered, her face a mix of bewilderment and overwhelming gratitude.
"Ravi fights with her fists and legs. Lenis... well, she doesn't seem like she could even draw the string. And elves are great with bows, right? I saw you nailing them back at the academy."
"Well, of course I know how to shoot..."
Lenis reacted more intensely.
"What?! Why wouldn't I be able to shoot a bow?! Are you looking down on me right now!?"
"I figured you could. My bad. Here, give it a shot then."
I handed the bow I'd meant for Elfin to Lenis instead. She grabbed it with a face full of fury.
The moment she picked it up, she knew what it could do, so she immediately assumed position and nocked it.
A translucent arrow appeared on the string and slotted itself as she drew.
But...
'Let's see that form.'
Her elbow sagged low on the drawing arm—anyone could tell her form was off just by looking.
Drawing and holding that string took immense strength, but Lenis was far from muscular, so she couldn't even pull it back much.
"Nngh... J-Just you watch..."
Her arm trembled pitifully until she finally released. The arrow didn't even fly five meters—it arced like a poorly made paper plane and flopped to the ground.
A suffocating silence fell. I patted Lenis's shoulder lightly and confiscated the bow.
"Here, for Elfin?"
Her face flushed beet red with embarrassment as she quickly handed over the bow she'd been holding.
"T-Truly, I never planned to use it anyway! Elfin will handle it way better. I'm not the type to fight with weapons—I'm a magic fighter! I only did it because you were underestimating me! But if I really gritted my teeth and shot here, it'd look ridiculous, and it'd embarrass Elfin too, so that's why! It's absolutely not because I can't handle a simple bow—"
Flustered, embarrassed, mortified—Lenis's rambling went on so long it would've needed a "read more" button if it were a text or chat.
I stroked her head and grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. No way our Lenis would struggle like that. No need to get so worked up."
"You...!"
Thud!
Her pride wounded, Lenis kicked my butt again.
Meanwhile, Elfin took the bow back, test-fired a few shots, and was grinning ear to ear, beside herself with joy.
"Like it?"
"Yeah! It fits my hand perfectly! No arrows needed is so convenient... And ideas for using its skills are just popping into my head! Um... thank you so much."
"No big deal."
Elfin mainly fought by summoning plants, or with a dagger at most otherwise—so she was severely weakened in places where she couldn't call them. Now that weakness was perfectly covered.
She'd often blamed herself for feeling useless and agonized over it, so she seemed especially thrilled with the new bow.
"Let's regroup briefly on the Kingdom side, stock up on food, then move out. Two hours should do it, right?"
"Food? Want me to get some?"
I imagined the aftermath of Linian foraging for food and shook my head.
"Nah... If you go get it, I doubt the food would be in any state we could eat."
"Huh? What do you take me for? You think I can't control my strength that much?"
"Wanna say that looking at that?"
I pointed to the bisected, scorched forest. Linian belatedly noticed and scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"W-Well, then I'll just... stay here and watch over the goddess statue while you're gone. Ha, haha..."
"I'll go look for food. Who's coming?"
Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis all shot their hands up at once.
"All three of you?"
"W-We can talk more easily now, right? So it'd be best if all three of us go together."
"Yeah. Plus, I wanna test out this bow."
"M-Me too! Since we just fought, I should move a bit more before my edge dulls! And Alvis, I have something to tell you, so... team up with me! Ravi, you go with Elfin! Th-That cool, right?"
Ravi's bunny ears drooped slightly. She must've wanted even a moment alone with me.
With Lenis jumping the gun, Ravi had missed her chance. She shot Lenis a resentful glance, then nodded glumly.
About ten minutes after splitting into teams and heading different ways.
"Alvis, you know you've done a ton of wrong by me, right? If you want forgiveness, kiss me. Now."
Lenis hugged me tight and demanded a kiss.