Dawn Traveler

Tl: DarkNari
Editor: DarkNari

The Growth of Herz (Part 2)

With the high elves’ uniquely excellent athleticism and wisdom they easily get a feel for any skill. Once they have heard something they will never forget it.
Among such high elves, Lisianthus was a historical archery genius.

“I will demonstrate it because it is tiresome to repeat the explanation. This is the method to change the arrow’s direction to adjust to the enemy. This much is too simple, isn’t it?” (Lisianthus)

His unrivaled teaching of skipping steps was not only too much for Jess, but even the elves as well.
As he became proficient in archery, at each stage he was given an assignment that was never easy.

“This kind of thing is nothing for a human’s potential, isn’t it? There is just a lack of effort to do anything.” (Lisianthus)

Just being able to read minds doesn’t mean you won’t feel ashamed of yourself.

[I have lived a long time and watched humans learn the archery skill. Their limit is clear, and so they cannot be compared to elves. All of the humans’ proficiency in archery is just shooting far and fast, which is incomparable to elven children. This guy though is somehow following along.] (Lisianthus)

Lisianthus was inwardly pleased to see Jess’s ability increase.

[Humans are not superior in physical abilities like barbarians, and they do not have the same fighting spirit as orcs. They can not live in harmony like the elves……. So why in the world am I teaching this little guy? Hmm. Nevertheless, humans have their own excellent points. One thing is that they embrace and get along with others easily.] (Lisianthus)

He had met many people and encountered people who could be called geniuses.
From among some of the humans there are special ones that excel in raising their own capabilities, they have accomplished achievements that break down conventional common sense.

[You can’t simply assign the word ‘impossible’ to humans. Anything new is likely to have been achieved from a human. From the moment he freely drank in the breath of the forest, which humans have usually been poor at…… the potential that is wriggling in this human child can truly be seen.] (Lisianthus)

Lisianthus was fine, but the thoughts of the other elves was the issue.

[A human doing archery. Hmm. He’s terrible.] (Elf 1)
[He won’t amount to much. He’ll be poor at it.] (Elf 2)
[You can’t teach a fish to fly in the sky. The elves of the forest only need to do it once, but humans have to practice a hundred times.] (Elf 3)

In order to not be suppressed by the disregard of the other elves, Jess invested heavily into archery practice.
Lisianthus’s arrow was not absurd like a mysterious miracle.
First, he perceives the wide space around himself as his domain.
He did not confine himself within his body, but ruled over the entire perceived domain controlling it’s mana.
As the arrow leaves the bow and is let loose, it absorbs all the energy of the mana of the earth, the mana of the wind, the mana of the sun, the mana of the forest, and so on.
Increased penetration, flames, water, light, and so on is raised on the arrow. Special mana arrows can be manifested through these steps, and in practice, the longer the distance, the more powerful they become.
Of course, that wasn’t to say that it had an unlimited range.
It’s a similar principle to magic, but it differs with the arrow’s concentrated force and the swift attack speed.
In that manner, with just a pluck of the bow-string the lives of the Phraison tribe were lost.
Due to the nature of that mana-filled arrow, the magic machine was able to be felled with just one arrow!
Knowing what Lisianthus’s real archery was, Jess studied it endlessly.
Rendall’s swordsmanship and Herz’s magic was great, but not as much as the archery of Lisianthus.
If an enemy met him on the battlefield, the disparity would be so great they would suffer death en masse without seeing his face!
He knows what Lisianthus’s archery is, but his body is too weak to keep up with it.
The mana stream can fiercely explode in an instant and you have to push it precisely. It sounds simple, but it isn’t at all. What the hell.
This world was not easy, either.

-:¦:–:¦:–:¦:–:¦:–:¦:–:¦:-

Ashlyn, along with Monty, arrived at the fief of Marquis Theobold under the escort of the Imperial Palace Knights.

“Will it be alright, princess?” (Gilsian)
“I have no idea. However, like that child said, I think the possibility will be high.” (Ashlyn)

The shabby appearance of the party, which had only seven people remaining, told of the hardships they went through.
Though it was difficult to fully believe in Jess’s advice, nevertheless, Ashlyn secretly conducted an investigation into Duke Anselm.
She hired two reliable merchants to go to Anselm’s fief and gather rumors.
The area of the Duke’s fief was closed enough to be a separate country in the Gras Empire.

“There are rumors that girls between six to fifteen years old have disappeared with their corpses appearing a few days later. Although we cannot accurately ascertain the facts with this short period of time, but Duke Anselm has such a hobby, and his wife enjoys bathing in the children’s blood.” (Merchant 1)
“They are recruiting soldiers extensively and expanding military facilities. The gossip floating among the residents say that they plan to invade the other fiefs soon.” (Merchant 2)

There is a limit to the information merchants can learn while doing business. Even so, with the rumors so widespread it is hard to say that it is false.
If it were not true how would anyone dare to slander Anselm in his own fief?
The story of him being a good knight and his reputation as a true noble that was spread among the public has for some time been grossly misplaced.
If the soldiers have already been drafted before the arrival of Ashlyn and Monty, this would also mean that they are expanding their territory by aggressively exploiting the civil war of the Gras Empire.
She belatedly realized how big this was since if they go to Duke Anselm as they are, they will be taken captive, and it is very likely that they will be used as negotiating tools for territorial independence with the Crown Prince and the Third Imperial Prince.

“This is no good. Let’s go to the other nobles.” (Ashlyn)
“Princess. Most of the nobles are already lined up on the other side.” (Gilsian)

There were no idle nobles in the civil war.
There was a name that came to Ashlyn now, that no one could put their trust in.

“How about Marquis Theobold?” (Ashlyn)
“Little is known about him.” (Gilsian)
“We can’t remain here for long, so for now we’ll head over there to check it out.” (Ashlyn)

So they came to the fief of Marquis Theobold.
It was known by the Imperial Palace that though Marquis Theobold governed a vast amount of land, they were troubled due to having too many monsters.
But when she came to see it herself, she saw that the people of the fief were working with bright faces in the perfectly arranged rice paddies.
If monster invasions occur frequently, this would not appear.

“This image is completely different from what we know of. Princess. What would you like to do?” (Gilsian)
“As a guest, we must uphold courtesy so inform the marquis of our arrival.” (Ashlyn)
“But miss we have yet to provide a report on Marquis Theobold and do not know of his character.” (Gilsian)
“Look at this land and the expressions on the people of this fief. It would not have looked like this if he was a vicious man. Do we not have nowhere else to go anymore?” (Ashlyn)
“…… I understand. Leto. Go to the castle and tell them of our arrival.” (Gilsian)
“Yes, sir!” (Leto)

Gilsian slowly headed to the castle with Ashlyn, Monty, and the three surviving knights.
If after the messenger arrived, armed knights and soldiers awaited them with a trap, they will all surely be dead.
Their money had already depleted, and the knights were full of minor injuries. Due to frequent combat and the severe damage to their magic machines, they were in a situation where their fighting power could not properly be displayed.
Even if the Gras Empire was vast, almost everyone wanted their lives, and there was no place to go.

“Welcome. To have come so far you must have went through a lot of hardship. Princess Ashlyn. Imperial Prince Monty.” (Theobold)

Fortunately, Marquis Theobold received the knights’ reports and accepted them politely in the castle.

“Thank you for your hospitality, lord marquis.” (Ashlyn)

Ashlyn was dirty because of the long trip escaping the sea of people, but she brushed off the dust and lightly followed suit.
It’s been a while.
Marquis Theobold’s gaze was a little warm as he looked at Ashlyn.
Originally, Marquis Theobold was deeply involved with their mother, Alshante.
Later, she became the empress at her family’s decision, but he remained alone without giving up his deep feelings.
With his excellent talent governing his fief, he advanced to the central political stage.
Occasionally he had been in contact with Alshante, but had kept them at secret meetings.

“There are many onlookers here, so let us go inside. Dinner has been prepared.” (Theobold)
“In truth, I was getting a bit hungry. Thank you for the kindness, your excellency marquis.” (Ashlyn)

Theobold’s gaze was largely staying on Ashlyn. Sometimes he looked at Monty, but his expression at that time was completely indifferent.