Chapter 79: Seeing Him Off

The next morning, the air was still cold.

The training grounds behind the mansion still carried the scent of morning dew. Standing on the packed earth, Ren held the simple arrows he had made himself.

What happened last night still lingered in the back of his mind.

His eldest brother, Ryan, was leaving today.

Thinking that, Ren couldn’t stay still.

Maybe Ryan would be here.

With that hope in mind, he had come to the training grounds, but…

“…Just as I thought.”

Spotting the figure standing before the target, Ren quietly caught his breath.

It was Ryan.

Already holding his bow in the morning light, he drew and released the string with smooth, efficient motions. The arrow pierced near the center of the target without the slightest hesitation.

No matter how many times Ren watched it, the whole sequence was beautiful.

For a moment, Ren hesitated to call out to him.

(…Maybe I really shouldn’t.)

Someone like him, who didn’t possess the Archery skill, using a bow at all… people would probably say it was pointless. He had always felt that sort of atmosphere around him.

But if he let today pass, there might never be another chance.

Ren hugged the arrows tighter, steeled himself, and spoke.

“Ryan-niiue.”

Ryan turned around.

“Ren? What are you doing up so early?”

For an instant, Ren’s words caught in his throat.

But if he backed down now, it would all be over. He forced himself to speak.

“…Um, my bow… I want you to watch.”

Ryan’s brows moved slightly.

“…I don’t have much time.”

The words were brief. Not an indirect rejection—just a simple statement of fact.

Still, Ren nodded.

“Yeah… just for a little while.”

Ryan looked at him for a moment as if considering something, then quietly exhaled.

“…Why a bow?”

His expression was puzzled. As expected, he probably thought it strange for Ren, who lacked the Archery skill, to be using one.

After hesitating for only a second, Ren looked straight at Ryan and answered honestly.

“…Because I want to defeat magical beasts.”

There was no embellishment in those words.

Ryan looked into his eyes without speaking.

“…All right. Give it a try.”

That short permission alone made the weight in Ren’s chest lighten a little.

Ren hurried into position and pulled out one of the arrows he had brought. It was fletched with Azure Wind Swift feathers—the arrow whose colors he liked best among the ones he had crafted.

He raised the bow.

He felt strangely nervous. His movements were stiff. Even his arms trembled. Still, he focused all his attention on the target.

Draw.

Release.

Thunk.

The arrow missed the center and struck the upper right side of the target.

Holding his breath, Ren cautiously looked toward Ryan.

Ryan didn’t answer immediately.

He looked at the target and the arrow, then lowered his gaze to Ren’s hands. Eventually, he exhaled softly and spoke.

“Not bad.”

The words were short, but they weren’t a lie.

Some of the tension left Ren’s shoulders.

“However—”

Ryan stepped closer and lightly lifted Ren’s bow.

“When you release, your wrist drifts slightly. That’s why the arrow veers right.”

As he spoke, he slowly demonstrated the motion of drawing the bowstring with his own fingers.

“The hand holding the bow should keep the feeling of ‘pushing’ until the very end. Don’t think of pulling—think of pushing toward the target.”

Ren burned every movement into his memory with a serious expression.

“…Pushing, huh?”

“Yeah…”

Ryan nodded, then looked at Ren’s arrows.

“…Those arrows.”

Ryan muttered the words quietly.

“What about them?”

For a moment, Ren hesitated to answer. Maybe Ryan would laugh at how poorly they were made. But Ren had worked hard on them, and he personally liked them.

“…I made them.”

At those words, Ryan narrowed his eyes just slightly.

A short silence passed.

Only the sound of the wind moved through the air.

“…They’re good arrows.”

The words were far quieter—and far clearer—than Ren had expected.

“Eh…?”

“They’re a bit unusual, but the shafts are straight and not warped.”

It was praise.

Not rejection.

Heat rushed into Ren’s chest all at once.

“U-um… here.”

Flustered, Ren hurriedly pulled out all the arrows from his quiver. Two each fletched with Azure Wind Swift, Ashveil, three-eyed eagle, and the red and deep-green feathers of the Moss-Red Cockatol.

Then, from the pouch at his waist, he took out a cloth bundle containing several quill pens and offered them together with the arrows. The pens were made from the blue feathers of the Azure Wind Swift. He hadn’t been able to catch the Rainbow-Tail Feather Bird with its rainbow-colored plumage that he really wanted, but among the quill pens he had made, he thought these were the prettiest.

Before coming here, he had intended to give only the quill pens.

But being praised for the arrows he had crafted had made him unexpectedly happy.

“…For you, Nii-ue.”

Ryan looked slightly surprised, but he reached out and accepted them.

“…Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Ren nodded softly.

A short silence followed.

But it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Then—

“Nii-ue!”

A voice called out to Ryan from the direction of the mansion.

Turning around, they saw Lewis standing there.

“The carriage is ready!”

Reality came rushing back.

Ryan nodded and looked toward Ren. He tucked the bundle of quill pens inside his coat and placed the arrows into his quiver.

“…I’m going.”

“…Yeah.”

In front of the mansion, the carriage was already waiting. The driver and several people who looked like adventurer guards stood by its side. They had likely been hired for the journey to the Royal Capital.

Everything for the trip had already been prepared.

Their father, mother, and all the siblings had gathered there.

Ryan spoke to each of them one by one before finally climbing into the carriage.

Ren stood a little apart from everyone else, quietly watching.

While some waved their hands, Ren simply stood there silently.

At last, the carriage began to move.

The wheels rolled over the dirt as it slowly headed toward the gate.

Inside Ryan’s quiver were the arrows Ren had made.

Just thinking about that made warmth spread through Ren’s chest.

Without saying a word, Ren simply watched the carriage leave.

In the morning light, the carriage carrying Ryan disappeared down the road leading to the Royal Capital.