An Elf's Arrow and Sisterly Concerns
The administrator rose from her seat with a serene, almost hazy smile on her face.
"Shall we go take a look at the ingots that'll be used as materials?"
"Ah, yep."
I stood up happily, following the administrator. Normally, as the lowest rung here—basically a slave—I should've opened the door, but she just walked over with that kind smile and flung it wide open.
"After you."
Graciously, she held the door until Giena and I had stepped out. We trailed after her like little ducklings as she led the way outside.
The atmosphere outside had soured even more since Giena and I had gone in. No one needed to spell it out—I could guess why.
The administrator guided us toward the stables between the castle gate and the guard post. There, six wagons sat abandoned, like they'd lost their owner.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"……."
Giena, who'd been a step ahead of me as always, suddenly thrust out an arm to block my path. She even unslung the bow from her shoulder and gripped it tight.
"Whoa, what's up all of a sudden?"
"……."
The administrator turned back, tilting her head in confusion at our sudden stop. Giena, still wearing that inscrutable expression, spoke in a flat tone.
"If you're not one of us, I'll kill you."
With those words, she drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it. But thankfully, the arrow never flew.
"We're acquaintances. That's right."
"……."
Before Giena could release, the administrator raised both hands placatingly. Only then did Giena lower the bow, returning the arrow to its quiver.
The administrator gave a wry smile and let out a short sigh.
"Adventurers these days are on another level."
She tossed that comment at Giena in a subtly nuanced tone, but Giena just kept her mouth shut.
I couldn't hold back my curiosity about this abrupt tension.
"Uh... what just happened?"
"Your escort has sharp instincts. She must've mistaken my guards for enemies."
"Aha."
I glanced at Giena's impassive face. She might act all soft and vulnerable around Amelia sis, but Giena was a master archer elf with killer magic skills to boot.
Whatever it was, the administrator seemed pretty rattled by Giena's prowess, so I played dumb with an "Aha, got it" nod.
She wiped away her wry smile, reverting to her kind expression, and led us behind the wagons. She pulled back a corner of the cover.
"Whoa shit. You don't mean... all this is iron ingots?"
I couldn't hide my shock at the sacks crammed inside, each looking heavy as hell.
"Yes. The other wagons have about the same amount."
"Holy shit."
Each small sack was roughly 40 kilos, right? How many tons of iron bricks were loaded on this thing?
"The horses... they okay?"
"Horses?"
"Yeah. No way a person pulled this. Looks insanely heavy..."
"Ah, Smith, you're from the desert tribes, right?"
"That's right?"
Was it my imagination? For a split second, her eyes sharpened as she looked at me.
"Haha, on the continent, heavy wagons like this are usually pulled by tamed drakes, not horses."
"Drakes?"
No way—the ones I knew from games and novels back on Earth? Bipedal dragon subspecies?
"Yes. They're vicious and aggressive by nature, but once tamed, one does the work of ten warhorses."
"So... they're here right now?"
"Yep. They've got a whole stable to themselves."
She pointed to the largest stable area here.
"I'd love to let you see them, but they're super shy around strangers."
"Aw, no need. I'll catch a glimpse someday."
I was a bit curious what they looked like, but not enough to risk my neck. Curiosity killed the cat—or so I'd learned lately. I wiped drakes from my mind.
"By the way, Smith?"
"Ah, yep."
I turned from staring at the drake stable.
"Where's your workshop? I'll have the ingots you need moved there right away."
"Uh..."
Brain freeze. Sis had temporarily given me the guild's first-floor warehouse, but I hadn't cleared out the junk inside yet.
I subtly checked the administrator's expression.
"Hm?"
She just tilted her head innocently. Fuck. This lazy-ass Smith piece of shit. I'd planned a plausible workshop to dodge suspicion, but one thing led to another, and it turned into a total disaster. Curse past me.
"Smith?"
"Yes? Oh, uh, the workshop."
I felt cold sweat soaking my back in real time.
Right as I stood there clueless, mouth shut—
"Smith's workshop is in the middle of moving. Please deliver the wagon's load to Captain Kernax's residence."
"Oh? Living together?"
"That's right."
"Oh my. I see. Captain Kernax's place. Got it. We'll move one wagon's worth there later tonight, then."
The administrator glanced at Giena, who nodded silently.
"Great. That wraps up our talk for now."
"Ah, yep."
I blinked and nodded.
"I'd love to chat more personally, but with Captain Kernax stepping out, I've got a ton of handover stuff to handle. I'll take my leave."
"Ah, yep. Thanks for your hard work."
"Hard work? Chatting with such a handsome guy was a pleasure. Haha. Take care."
She gave me a slight bow and hurried back into the guard building.
Only after she was gone did I let out a short sigh and thank Giena.
"Giena, seriously, thanks a ton."
"For what?"
She looked mildly puzzled at my gratitude.
"For covering for me just now."
"I just stated the facts. Smith's workshop is wherever Smith is, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Well. Heh, heh."
I scratched my head awkwardly.
Giena knew I used desert tribe rituals to make bows and stockings, and I'd forgotten that until now. Still, she'd bailed me out, so I thanked her again in my heart.
"Business seems done. What now?"
"Mm... probably head home."
I had some Night Fairy questions for Kernax, but better to just go. Sticking around would just stress her out more, and the soldiers would get annoyed and awkward.
"Let's head back, then."
"Ah, Giena. Mind swinging by the guild first?"
She stuck to me like glue, sure, but she didn't hover 24/7. After lunch, she taught archery to adventurers at the guild—busy elf schedule.
She glanced at the sky and nodded.
"Plenty of time till lunch. Sure."
"Thanks."
"To the guild, then."
"Ah, let's grab something from an open stall on the way."
"Good idea."
Guild branch master's office.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Amelia sis sat at the desk, drumming her slender fingers rhythmically.
"So... you wanna follow that Kernax bitch?"
"……Yep."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sis drummed again. Giena and I had grabbed some deer skewers from a street vendor and come straight to the guild. I found sis with Siron in the office and asked if it'd be okay to tag along with Kernax.
That's how we ended up here.
Sis stared at me with dead-serious eyes.
"You... aware you're a slave?"
"……Of course."
"Good. I was worried all the coddling from everyone made you forget you're a goddamn slave."
Words she'd never say normally. But it didn't bother me. Every one was brutal, putting me down, but none felt sincere. She was probably worried, trying to toughen up her tone to make me rethink it.
"……You idiot. Hurry up and apologize to sis."
"……."
Siron, standing beside me with sleepy eyes, poked my side and whispered super quietly in my ear.
Tap—
The drumming stopped. Our eyes snapped to sis.
"……I'll think about it."
"Sis?!"
Before she finished, Siron yelled at Amelia sis for the first time.
"Shut it."
"……."
One brutal word, and Siron ground her teeth, dropping her gaze to the floor.
Sis glared at Siron briefly, then turned to me.
"That's all?"
"Ah, uh... gonna improve the quality a bit more for Molingta's soldiers."
"How much?"
"Oh hell yeah level..."
"Do it. Anything else?"
"Ah, yep."
"Then get out."
"Yep……."
I gauged her mood and slipped out with Giena.
After Smith left, Siron, who'd been quietly shut up, lifted her head and asked Amelia.
"Sis... you're not seriously sending Smith with that Kernax bitch, right?"
"What if I am?"
"……You nuts?"
"Wanna die?"
"Hah...!! That's not what I mean!!"
"Fuck, you're so goddamn loud. Shut up and go crash, bitch."
"Sis!!"
Siron snapped irritably at Amelia again. But this time, Amelia just sighed.
"Siron. Siron. Our brute-strength idiot Siron."
"Wh-who's the idiot?"
"You bitch. You. That guy. You gonna keep Smith locked in this city forever?"
"That's…… no."
"Our Siron. Think about people besides yourself sometimes, bitch. That free-spirited desert boy was basically caged here for four whole years in this stuffy shithole. You wouldn't go insane?"
"……."
Siron had no comeback to Amelia's question. Amelia sighed again.
"Better this way. I was planning to give him some breathing room anyway, and besides..."
Amelia quietly swallowed the part about the guild master heading back to the empire soon.
"...and besides what?"
"Smith needs to see for himself what his little inventions lead to."
"……This?"
Siron hiked up her pant leg slightly, showing Amelia the Night Fairy.
Amelia nodded faintly.
"No clue how the punk makes 'em, but the performance is ridiculous."
"……Yeah, pretty impressive."
Siron couldn't deny it—not after experiencing the Night Fairy's power firsthand in the fight with the heretics and Kernax.
"That stocking, the bow... all game-changers on the battlefield once they're out there. But the idiot making them? Zero interest in that shit. Less than a goblin's asshole."
Siron had no rebuttal this time either. She knew better than anyone—Smith designed everything with sex as the sole purpose.
"So... sis wants that moron to see the battlefield himself... y'know. Make him realize it on his own?"
"Yep. If he witnesses the fallout from his overpowered crap firsthand, he'll self-regulate without me babysitting."
"……Haa."
Siron wanted to argue against it, but couldn't. She sighed, rubbing her face hard, and said to Amelia,
"I'm going too?"
Amelia picked up her quill, smirking teasingly.
"Finish the repairs first, then talk."
"……Hah."
Siron's face crumpled.