Chapter 196: Giving It a Try

I thought I would try the bow and arrows even if it was a long shot. Even if it only served as intimidation that would be fine. I had the skill, and I had seen that Wild Speed ○kawa thing on television. If I try, I can do it!!

"Lily, Stevie, if you have a bow and arrows, take them out. I’ll try!"

"Really!?"

"Can you do it?"

Lily and Stevie raised voices of doubt one after another. How should I put it — that was rather rude. Though of course it was.

"Anyway, lend them to me. It’s no loss if it fails, so I’ll try."

"Yes, here you are."

What Lily produced was something like an archery bow. Only that stick-like thing was not attached. What was that for, anyway? Lily not only possessed it but also had knowledge of how to use it and taught me. The looks from the two of them that said "You’re going to try using it without even knowing that?" were painful. It was dark so I couldn’t see clearly.

"Was this also brought by someone from another world?"

""Yes.""

The two of them harmonized. As expected.

As a trial, with the image of archery in mind and the footage I had seen at the Olympics in my head, I drew. Imagery is important—!!

"Haa— Robby-sama, you can draw it! As expected, even if you’re a child you’re a man. I can’t draw it at all."

Lily was surprised for me. Stevie said,

"It still has to hit, though."

She said something perfectly obvious. Yes, that’s right.

Now I nocked the first shot of my life. Someone had said you should aim a little high, hadn’t they? Without thinking of hitting, just hoping it would intimidate the enemy — that was the lighthearted attitude with which I would shoot. I would aim with the image that there was another head above their actual head.

Hmm? Beside me Stevie was softly rubbing her fingertips together while staring hard at the arrow. Seeing that broke my concentration, so I released the stance and asked,

"Stevie, what are you doing? It’s cutting my concentration."

Stevie answered with a serious face,

"I’m casting a charm — ’Hit! Hit!’"

I stopped asking. I took the stance once more. Aiming at the largest one, I released the arrow.

Shuu!!

It flew with the sound. It flew while making a kyuru kyuru kyuru— sound. I had heard arrows fly in an arc, but it was closer to a straight line than I expected. The enemies heard the sound and stopped moving. In that instant it struck the largest man’s chest!

Ohh—!! This is it—!!

Before I forgot the feeling, I nocked and released the second shot the same way. It struck the stomach of the man next to the first one! This time there was no sound. Huh?

"Amazing!!"

Lily clung to me and shook me.

"A fluke?"

Stevie said, but I thought this was a scene for praise. Well, I understood the feeling.

"Lily, the second arrow made no sound?"

"I heard that for the first shot you use a whistling arrow to intimidate the opponent, and from the second shot onward you use silent arrows...?"

She phrased it as a question. She had simply applied knowledge she had heard from someone as it was.

"I see."

The enemies were dragging the ones who had been hit by arrows into the shadow of a tree and hiding. Their movements had stopped. Being hit by an arrow shouldn’t cause that much damage, right? Couldn’t they just pull the arrow out and wrap a bandage? Just as I was thinking that,

"The poison seems to be taking effect."

Lily said. As expected of Lily-san — no openings.

"Did they die?"

"The poison isn’t that powerful. Even so, I think they’ll die by tomorrow."

I see. They would die in agony — pitiful.

"I’ll approach from the side. Robby-sama, please stay here with Lily. If the enemies move, release an arrow. Please, under no circumstances hit me."

"Yeah, I know."

"Please! Absolutely don’t hit me!"

Stevie said with all her strength, but that was something I couldn’t guarantee. After all, I had only shot twice in my entire life. I thought it was thanks to the skill, but it might also have been a fluke. No, that possibility was high.

It was still only dim light and the footing was uncertain, but Stevie descended from the roof and made a wide circle to approach the enemies. I could see Stevie’s figure. This time it would be good if the enemies noticed Stevie’s movements. Then I would aim at whoever was drawn out.

Stevie stepped on a branch and made a pakin! sound. That was deliberate, right? The enemies’ attention should have turned that way. There were two enemies, or possibly three. There might be ones I couldn’t see.

"Lily, I’m also going down to engage the enemies. I’ll go from the opposite side of Stevie. If the enemies are more than Stevie can handle, it might become Stevie versus two. Lily, stay here and keep them in check. Don’t you have any other weapons?"

Attacking from both sides with swords would be far better than shooting arrows from here.

"I have this."

What she produced was a crossbow.

"What, if you had it you should have used it from the beginning."

"I can’t hit anything. Even drawing it is all I can manage."

When she said that I tried drawing it and found it required considerable strength. For the time being I nocked an arrow and said,

"Shoot just once. Don’t hit us. That’s right — shoot before I charge the enemies. It doesn’t have to hit. I just want the enemies to think there’s an archer."

"But I don’t know when to fire."

"Then I’ll raise my hand as a signal."

"Understood."

I set the arrow in the crossbow and handed it to Lily. Well, even if an arrow flew toward me I could probably knock it down.

I descended from the roof and approached the enemies from the opposite side of Stevie. I intended a pincer attack with Stevie, but had that gotten through to her? I deliberately stepped on a branch as well and made a sound. I could tell the enemies had turned this way. I raised my hand.

An arrow flew and struck the tree the enemies were hiding behind. It was a little off, but the enemies’ attention was taken that way. They would have recognized that besides Stevie and me there was also an archer.

At that timing I charged in at once. Whether my movement got through or not, Stevie also began moving. One of the enemies leapt out from the shadow of a tree. So that he could not focus on a single target, I approached while stepping left and right.

"You bastard! Stop darting around!!"

The enemy raised his sword high. That was a bad move. The raised sword touched a tree branch. The branch was severed by the sword, but it must have been unexpected — the trajectory of the sword was disturbed. Cutting a branch that must have been five centimeters thick with that arm was impressive, but raising it high had been a mistake.

Thinking "sorry," I held my sword sideways and cut the abdomen that had been exposed in front of me. I opened my body and dodged the delayed downward swing of his sword. From the cut abdomen the internal organs spilled out. He pressed his stomach and fell forward. Stevie? I could hear kin! kin! sounds. I leapt toward the enemy Stevie was crossing swords with. When the enemy was distracted by me and tried for an instant to look this way, Stevie’s sword cut his arm.

"Gah!"

It was not severed, but the arm jerked upward. Taking that opening, Stevie’s sword thrust into the enemy’s chest. The place near the heart where there were no ribs.

"Guh!"

The enemy stopped moving with his hand still raised. Stevie twisted the sword to widen the wound and pulled it out. Then she placed the blade against the side of his neck and delivered the finishing blow. Blood gushed out from the chest with a zaza.

The two who had been hit by arrows were rolling and groaning. Because of the poison, they seemed unable to stand. It might have been feigning, but they held no swords and could not speak, only making awa awa sounds. Stevie and I each delivered the finishing blow to one of them.

The remaining one was writhing while pressing his abdomen. Should I finish this one off too? Just as I thought that, he spoke to us.

"Y-you guys... d-do you have any... medicine?"

He asked. Even though he had come to kill us, he was making a rather self-serving request.

"We don’t. And even if we did, we wouldn’t give it to you."

At my words he gave a bitter smile and said,

"Yeah, that makes sense. Heh, I really messed up. I heard it was an easy job. Hey, I’ve got one request. Won’t you listen?"

"What is it?"

"Kill me."

Stevie and I looked at each other. He continued.

"Once your gut’s been cut open and the insides have come out, all that’s left is to die. It feels okay now, but after a while they say the pain comes — the kind that makes you writhe in agony. And that lasts for a whole day. I don’t want to taste that. Sorry, but finish me off. I’ve got no strength left."

He spoke while drool ran from his mouth.

Looking at Stevie’s face she said,

"What this man says is probably correct. It’s said that those whose abdomen is cut open and whose internal organs come out cannot be saved. And that they die after suffering to the end."

With a thin smile he said,

"That’s right. I’ve seen people like that. C’mon, just cut my neck a little. Please."

Because he said that I answered,

"All right. I’ll finish you off. In exchange, answer my questions."

When I said that he closed his eyes and said,

"Yeah, got it. If it’s something I know, I’ll answer."