Chapter 3: Peaceful Hydrangea II – The Wind Blows.

When it comes to long-range weapons, it has to be the bow.
Above all else—it’s the bow.

The guns I remember from my previous life don’t exist in this world.
I think the reason is Relics.

Relics essentially serve the role of guns and other weapons of war.
Though, maybe there’s data on them in the Lab. Even so, I wouldn’t make one.

“…So close combat won’t work?”
“Um, um, when they descend to the ground there are chances to strike in close combat. But those opportunities are rare.”
“…Juicy, I don’t have any long-range weapon.”

Juicy looked shocked, then troubled.

“U-um, Wof-sama, have you ever used a long-range weapon before?”
“Long ago… just a little.”
“Um, what was it? W-was it throwing knives?”
“Even if I throw them, knives don’t really count as long-range. It was a bow.”

Throwing knives—at best, they’re mid-range.
Unless it’s a Relic like Mineha’s Remote Manipulation.

As for bows, I only used them a little for hunting back home. I’ve already forgotten how.

“U-um, what should we do…”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize either… um, I’ll just back out.”

I wanted to get my own bed materials, but it can’t be helped.
I’ll quietly buy them instead. First, consult the witch.

If possible, I’ll purchase from Chive.
That place boasts of having everything except illegal goods.
It shouldn’t be outrageously priced.

“Woof! That’s it! Wof-sama, I’ll teach you how to use a bow.”
“Eh, you will?”
“Woof, yes! Um, um, I’m inexperienced, but please let me!”
“Th-thank you, I’ll be in your care.”

We both bowed our heads. Juicy even placed her hands on the floor in a formal gesture.
It feels a bit off, but still—I’m happy she’ll teach me.

Besides, I thought, maybe this is fine.
I’ve never really touched long-range weapons before.

But sometimes things happen.
I’ve been fixated only on knives… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try a bow.

“Took longer than I thought—there weren’t many receptionists.”

Rell returned and looked at us curiously.

“What’s going on?”
“Um, um, brother… Wof-sama hasn’t really used a bow before.”
“Is that so. Do you have a Relic that can be used for ranged?”
“Sorry. I don’t.”
“Then the Wind Dungeon will be very difficult.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Um, um, so I thought I’d teach him.”
“Juicy will?”
“Woof, yes!”
“…”

Rell adjusted his glasses, seeming to think.
Juicy grew anxious, her ears and tail drooping.

“U-um, is it no good?”
“It’s fine. Go ahead and try.”
“Woof! Thank you so much!”

Her face brightened with relief.
Rell glanced at me, hesitated as if unsure how to phrase it, then spoke.

“Wof. Take care of my sister.”
“Isn’t that the line I’m supposed to say?”
“…True. You’re right.”

Rell laughed.

After that, we left the guild and went to a nearby weapon shop to buy a bow and arrows.
I chose a beginner’s wooden bow, focusing on the feel when drawing it.

The Wind Dungeon lies north of Hydrangea.
A unique valley where the wind always blows. Its entrance is the Wind Corridor.

Once you pass through the corridor, beyond that lies the first floor of the Wind Dungeon.

“So this is…”
“Yeah, the first floor of the Wind Dungeon. The Bird Plateau.”

As far as the eye could see stretched green land, dotted with countless birds in flight.

In the distance stood mountains, and near the summit of the tallest peak, a temple-like structure could be seen.

Above, the sky was a clear blue.

“It looks no different from the surface…”
“But this is definitely a dungeon. See that temple?”
“Yes.”
“That’s said to be the deepest part of the Wind Dungeon.”
“‘Said to be’? The deepest part?”
“This dungeon is unique. It only has one floor, but it’s vast beyond measure.”
“There are dungeons like that too, huh.”
“Also, the only monsters here are flying ones.”
“Only flying ones?”
“Yeah, apparently.”

What a strange dungeon.
But maybe it’s perfect for practice.

“Um, um, Wof-sama, I’ll start teaching right away!”

Juicy was full of enthusiasm.
Her sparkling eyes were dazzling.

“Please do.”
“Then, first—”
“Juicy, Wof. I’ll be hunting over there. If anything happens, call me.”
“Um, um, understood. Take care, brother!”
“Right. You too, Rel.”

Rell waved and walked away.

Juicy took out her bow.

It was the Elixir Bow, crafted by the witch and coated in Elixir.
While especially effective against undead, it functioned perfectly as a normal bow.

“Um, um, Wof-sama. Please watch my stance first.”
“Got it.”

Juicy drew her bow.

She spread her feet shoulder-width apart, bent her knees slightly, arched her back, and nocked an arrow, pinching the string as she drew.

Her movements flowed so naturally they seemed elegant.
Holding her pose, she shot me a quick glance.

“…”

I studied her form carefully—
Her foot placement. The position of her hips. The curve of her back. The hand holding the bow. The fingers drawing the string.

Her taut chest. Her serious expression. Her sharp gaze, fixed ahead.

Watching closely, I realized again what I’d always known.
Juicy has an incredible figure.

But… at thirteen? That’s insane.
Well, she’s active, so of course her body’s toned. Ah—no, no, focus.

Anyway, so you grip the bow like this, pinch the string with just your fingertips, stand with your feet like that… mm, it’s tough.

“Um, um, Wof-sama. Now I’ll aim for that bird. Please watch.”

That bird… ah, barely visible up there.
She’s going to hit that? It’s so far!

Juicy tilted the bow slightly upward, then released.

The arrow traced a graceful arc, almost as if sucked in, and struck the bird.

“You hit it!?”
“Woof! Um, um, Wof-sama, I did it!”
“Amazing!”

She really hit it. I’d seen her archery skills at the Grave of Death, but not to this extent.

We quickly ran to where the bird fell.

“Woof, Wof-sama—it’s a Big Goose!”
“Whoa, huge!?”

A light-blue duck, over twice the size of an ordinary bird, lay dead.
The arrow pierced cleanly through its neck.
So this is how big they are…

I-I see. So we use these feathers.

Juicy-san approached the Big Goose, pulled out the arrow, and grabbed its neck to lift it up.

The bird looked plump and heavy, but she held it with ease.

But wait… it’s a goose, yet it can fly? With this much weight?

While I was still puzzled, Juicy-san began plucking the feathers and breaking the bird down.

The feathers were bundled together for me. That’s bedding material secured. But… still not enough.

She stored the meat inside her pouch.

That much meat fitting inside… it must be some kind of storage magic. Well, of course. She’s from a marquis family.

Thinking about it again, both Dova-san and Juicy-san are daughters of a marquis.

Rell-san too is a marquis’ son.

The Tasan Marquis family. An old noble house, ranked third in power in the entire country.

And yet… it doesn’t really feel like it. Forgive me for saying so.

Surely not every member of Tasan is like that.
But Dova-san, Shesh-chan, Juicy-san, and Rell-san—they treat me kindly, without distinction or prejudice.

“……”

On the other hand, the boss of Dragon Fang Row was also a noble, from Steel Land.

For some reason, the image of “nobles” in my past life’s memory lines up more with Steel Land than with Tasan.

The foolish nobles that Dova-san mentioned.

Of course, the kind of nobles I like are those like the Tasan family.

“U-um, Wof-sama, you should try too!”

“Y-yeah. Like this?”

I tried to mimic Juicy-san’s posture as best as I could remember.

She circled around me, watching from every angle as if grading my stance.

Her face suggested… something was off.

“U-um, Wof-sama, excuse me. I’ll do a ‘posture overlap.’”

“Overlap?”

Without warning, Juicy-san placed her hands over mine and pressed her body against my back.

“J-Juicy-san!?”

Something firm pressed against my back—ah, her chest plate. For some reason, that disappointed me.

Then, she quietly stepped back, looked at her chest, and casually removed the plate.

Watching me gape in surprise, she pressed close again from behind.

Her hands perfectly aligned with mine—the one holding the bow, and the one drawing the string.

Her legs, hips, even her line of sight matched mine exactly.

Ah—so this is what she meant by “overlap.”

I understood. But more than that, the softness pressing against my back was overwhelming.

Naturally, since she was overlapping with me, her chest pressed directly into my back.

I could feel her breasts flattening against me—an unbelievable softness, with a springy resilience.

And without hesitation, she pushed even harder, as if to squeeze her chest completely flat against my back, and said:

“U-um, Wof-sama. Please bring your legs closer together.”

“L-like this?”

“A little more. Wan. And your spine should lean a bit forward.”

“L-like… this?”

Oh no. Her breasts, crushed against my back, shifted and rubbed as I moved.

Not marshmallows—this had more bounce. Yes, marshmallow slimes.

Twin marshmallow slime cushions of ultimate softness.

Nothing in this world could be softer. No way.

W-what even is this situation? My thoughts are spinning like Haiyan’s, and I feel like dying of embarrassment.

“U-um, Wof-sama. This is what ‘posture overlap’ is.”

“I-I see. But then… why did you remove the plate?”

“Waf. U-um, once I tried the overlap, I realized—if I keep the plate on, there’s a big gap and misalignment. Those gaps affect the stance.”

“I-I see…”

So that’s why she took it off.

By overlapping stances, you learn the correct posture. I understood that.

It corrects you into proper form. The fastest way to improve. That too, I understood.

Juicy-san’s chest squashed against my back. Yes, I understood that too.

B-but… does she really feel nothing from this?

Being this close to a girl—well, not in a weird way, but my heart is pounding.

I looked at her profile, conflicted.

Her expression was serious, her gaze unwavering. That’s when it hit me.

Surely, she must have done this overlap practice with her sisters too.

Realizing that… should’ve cleared my impure thoughts—except nope. Impossible.

Her breasts were just too much.

Mineha-san too. Isn’t the development of girls these days way too good?

This beautiful, well-developed Juicy-san stared intently at the sky.

Then, in the corner of my vision, I spotted a bird monster different from the Big Goose.

Juicy-san, still holding my hands, angled the bow upward slightly—taking aim.

“U-um, Wof-sama, now! Wan!”

At her command, I released the arrow. It struck the bird’s head cleanly, almost unbelievably easily.

“…I did it!”

The bird fell.

“U-um, wan! Well done, Wof-sama!”

“Th-thank you.”

Juicy-san went to retrieve the fallen bird.

I looked up at the sky and exhaled deeply. The feeling of her still lingered on my back.

After that, we practiced posture overlap several more times, shooting down Big Geese and Wind Ducks.

That sensation will probably stay on my back for a while.

Together with Rell-san, we hunted twenty Big Geese and fifteen Wind Geese.

We could’ve hunted more, but carrying them would’ve been too difficult, so we stopped there.

We kept all the feathers and one bird’s worth of meat each.

The money from the request was split three ways.

And so, at last, our house gained feather quilts and sheets.

Farewell, straw bed.

Thank you, straw bed.

And from then on, Juicy-san agreed to regularly teach me archery.

Of course, that meant doing “posture overlap” over and over again.

Someday, surely, I’ll be punished for this.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter