The Most Important Apology
To think she hadn't even made the most important apology—I'd run nonstop all the way to the hunting ground. Even though it was a twenty-minute sprint, I wasn't anywhere near out of breath. Had my cardiopulmonary endurance improved too? I gave my chest a few light taps, catching my breath, when a familiar trio approached from behind me a moment later.
"Out hunting early in the morning, are we?"
"Craving the sight of blood?!"
"B-blood? N-no, it's not like that..."
Were they doing this on purpose? Or did they really not know? Whatever the case, they were definitely not normal people. I decided to ignore them and just hunt some horn rabbits. As I fiddled with the slingshot in my pocket, the wolf woman offered me the bow slung across her back.
"Lady Gyeowol, please use this. It's a bow with the draw strength adjusted for a child's body."
"Th-this...?"
"Yes. A slingshot is a fine weapon, but it's too light. It can't compare to the destructive power of a bow."
A bow, huh. I didn't want to accept anything from them, but I couldn't easily refuse either. Not when this was a chance to handle a proper weapon. "Then... mind if I try shooting it once...?"
I nodded at the hard-to-refuse offer, and the wolf woman handed me the bow.
"Is this your first time with a bow?"
"Y-yeah..."
"In that case, allow me to teach you the proper form."
The wolf woman stepped closer. To teach me the stance, she'd have to touch me. She held my hand when nocking the arrow, stroked my back and stomach to correct my posture. It was just that much contact, but my heart started pounding anyway. This weird feeling—like I hated it, but it felt good too. I forced down the smile tugging at my lips and spotted a horn rabbit bounding across the distant meadow.
"C-can I shoot at that one over there...?"
"Of course. Just follow my instructions, and you'll hit it for sure."
As if. No way I'd hit it on my first try ever with a bow. With zero expectations, I drew and released just as she'd taught me.
Twang!
The arrow shot off with the string's tension. Even at that insane speed, my enhanced dynamic vision let me track its entire flight. The shaft wobbled like it was dancing, piercing a drifting leaf clean through. And behind the split leaf... a horn rabbit, ears perked up.
Oh. That was gonna hit.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when—
Splat!
The arrow punched straight through the rabbit's head and out the other side.
"Wha...?"
Did I just land that? On my very first shot with a bow? Stunned, I just stared at the fallen rabbit until someone placed a hand on my head.
"Gyeowol! That was amazing!"
"Y-yeah...?"
It was a gentle touch, like petting a child. It felt nice, but I knew she was faking it. She knew I was all alone, so this was her way of drawing out my emotions. The more she toyed with my heart like this, the deeper the disappointment sank in. I bowed my head and took a careful step back. The girl hurriedly lowered her hand.
"Ah, sorry. Was I too familiar, sis...?"
Familiar? Did she know what she was saying? Annoyed, I kicked at a pebble on the ground.
"That's really not fair..."
"W-what? What did I do wrong...?"
The girl blinked like she genuinely had no idea. Her shameless act made my blood boil. After everything she'd put me through. In my frustration, I decided to vent just a little—just a tiny bit.
"You keep bullying me..."
I bit my lip hard after spitting it out. I knew it was overstepping, but it felt good to get it off my chest. How would the girl react? I glanced up from the ground, and an utterly unexpected response burst from her.
"I've... been bullying you, sis...?"
"Huh?"
She looked completely baffled. It was so convincing, I couldn't tell if it was an act or real.
"Ah, of course I know you've been suffering because of me. You must've wanted to hit me, right?"
"N-not to the point of hitting you..."
Was this some tactic to shut me up for good? Confused, I looked down, and she knelt to my eye level.
"Hey, Gyeowol. Can't you give your big sis just one chance? I'll show you I've improved from now on."
"Th-that's..."
Improved? I couldn't even grasp what she meant by that.
"I've been truly reflecting on everything I did to you. Can't you give me just one chance?"
She begged for a chance while pressuring me in a way I couldn't refuse. It was suffocating. Without thinking, I backed away and shouted,
"You didn't even say sorry!"
"Sorry...?"
Yeoreum stood frozen in place, unable to chase after the fleeing Gyeowol. Gyeowol's final shout had paralyzed her.
Did I... not apologize...?
Yeoreum thought back to the day Gyeowol had opened her eyes. She'd tried to apologize right away, but Gyeowol had run off, and she'd missed her chance. After that, she'd kept waiting for an opening, but Gyeowol's shocking life story had left her mind blank. As she retraced every memory, the realization hit her.
She hadn't apologized to Gyeowol. Not once. Or explained anything.
"Oh no...!"
You idiot! How could you forget the most important part?!
Yeoreum slapped her own cheeks hard, like striking a disobedient child. They stung fiercely, but she ignored the pain. Without an apology or explanation, Gyeowol must have stayed suspicious. She'd probably doubted her sudden body change but been too scared of adults to ask. It was all her fault.
Yeoreum's mouth hung open in shock.
"Um, Lady Yeoreum...?"
"Ah?! Y-yes!"
"Why did Lady Gyeowol suddenly...?"
"The boss is pissed!"
Yeoreum snapped back to reality at the beastkin calling out to her. She could berate herself later—plenty of time for that. But a chance to apologize might never come again. Chasing Gyeowol and making a sincere apology came first.
"Um, could you two wait here just a bit?"
"...Lady Gyeowol won't run into any trouble, right?"
"Yes. I swear on my life she won't."
Swearing on one's life—one of the greatest oaths a beastkin could make. En Sia and Argo nodded in understanding. Yeoreum gave the two beastkin a glance and bolted toward where Gyeowol had fled: a somewhat riskier part of the Beginner Hunting Ground, the forest where goblins lurked. Of course, current Gyeowol could handle them without a scratch, so she pushed that worry aside.
I really hate her.
Thwack! Thwack! I grabbed a stick and pounded the dirt. Like it was the girl herself, I stabbed and gouged the earth everywhere.
"Tch."
Looking at the torn-up ground, my anger eased a bit. This was the perfect amount of venting. I stood, scanning my surroundings. I'd run deeper than the forest where I'd fled from that middle-aged woman last time. My improved stamina and speed had carried me far in.
This is...
The goblin forest. A place too dangerous to enter. In my blind rage, I'd run to what I thought was a safe hideout.
"Guh."
I gripped the bow for defense, but the arrows were with the wolf woman. Useless as it was, I lowered it—then a rustling came from the dense green foliage ahead.
"...!"
Had the girl followed me? I perked my ears, but all I heard was a guttural keruk—the sound goblins made.
Three goblins pushed through the underbrush, heading my way. Oh crap. What was I thinking, fleeing into goblin territory? I dove into the bushes in a panic.
"Keruk."
Had they tracked me by the digging sounds? The goblin that appeared where I'd been sniffed around, ears twitching, picking up the stick I'd used and smelling it.
Good nose...! I didn't know how good, but if it tracked by scent, it had confidence. Desperately, I smeared dirt all over my body. To mask my smell properly, I'd need to rub it in, but with goblins right there, even that rustle might give me away. Sprinkling would have to do.
"Keruk?"
"Kiruk?"
After some incomprehensible goblin chatter, they started retreating the way they'd come. They lingered behind trees like baiting a hook, but when I didn't budge, they finally left. If not for my sharper ears, I'd have fallen for it.
"Phew."
Goblins—far stronger and craftier than horn rabbits, no comparison. As I sighed and emerged—
Crunch!
Someone else was crashing through the forest toward me, fast—like they knew I was here.
"Gah."
I buried my face in the bushes to hide again, but it was too late. My body was fully exposed, face half-buried like a chicken hiding only its head in a haystack. Those idiots thought covering your face hid your whole body. And now here I was, doing the exact same stupid thing. Feeling like a dumb chicken, I didn't dare poke my head out. My tail just drooped limply behind me.
Then, a familiar girl's voice came from behind.
"G-Gyeowol...?"