49. Return (1)

Time passed rather quickly after Shione’s confession.

Shione started her day by jogging, which is now almost a habit, and spent most of her time at the shooting range.

She sat down on a spot at the shooting range and pulled the string without stopping.

If there is a difference in her training method from before, it is that she tries to use her mana every time she shoots a bow.

Shione managed to gather mana into her arrowhead before she let go of the string, and several scarecrows were pierced and replaced by her arrows.

Thanks to Shione’s hard practice by herself, her reputation at the current shooting range has definitely changed positively.

However, I couldn’t evaluate Sione as positively as they did.

‘I’m doing this because everyone wants something.’

Because I know very well that all of Shione’s efforts are led by her shady self.

It’s just Shione’s efforts that fell for the suggestion I made as a last resort a few days ago.

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Perhaps what she really wants is me, not a lofty skill.

But if you ask Shione, who is practicing like that, if she feels a sense of crisis.

Well, I didn’t feel nervous or elated.

‘It’s nothing to do with just a few days of practice.’

Sword expert level mana application isn’t even a dog’s name.

Because there’s no way you can do it in a day or two.

Among many knights, a sword expert is a level that can only be attained by those with outstanding talents after training for several years, or perhaps even decades.

If it is for Shion to catch up to the level that such people have achieved.

I think it will take a year or two.

While thinking that, I watched Shione shoot her bow.

“Ooh… ….”

Shione let out a pained sound as she lowered her string and lowered her arm.

“Haa… ….”

She let out a small sigh and, holding her mouth shut, blew into her cheeks so that her cheeks puffed up.

She immediately let go of her wind, gathered her heart, and lifted her bow again.

His appearance was so cute that he tried to smile a little.

“… I should have just done it then.”

… Well, what the hell was I supposed to do?

I heard Shione speak to herself and went up, but the corner of her mouth immediately hit the floor.

Leave it behind.

In the end, Shione failed each time to create a thick mana condensation like that of the Sword Expert.

However, there were definitely encouraging parts in the practice that followed.

With continued practice of mana application, the haze of mana surrounding her arrowhead became clearer.

It was more densely condensed and couldn’t be tightly compressed, but the amount that can be simply collected has definitely increased.

The scarecrow that becomes her target is replaced every time with the power and maintenance of mana that improves day by day.

Even when Shione gave her attention, telling her to do her own thing, her archers glanced at her from time to time.

In the meantime.

I could see that the sun had risen in the middle of the sky and was about to start going down again.

“Shione-nim, I will see the priest for a while.”

“Has it already been that time? I will go with you.”

“Are you okay?”

“Anyway, my arms were hurting from shooting too long, so I was just about to rest.”

I nodded roughly and stepped out of the shooting range.

*

A golden light from the priest’s hand landed on my arm.

Where was the appearance of being completely raged in the past, and the arm was completely healed.

It was a time when I was smiling because I was very satisfied with the strength in my arms.

“As of today, all treatment has ended. Thanks for your efforts.”

“The priest did a great job.”

After briefly concluding the blessings with the priest, the priest who had finished his work stood up first.

As soon as the priest left, Sione, who had been watching the whole healing scene, approached me.

“How is your arm?”

“Everything is fine. I don’t know if it’s because of my mood, but I think I’m moving better than before the injury.”

“I’m glad. I was worried that the priest had been visiting for longer than expected.”

“It must be because the wound was deep. Still, it’s all better, isn’t it?”

With a small smile, he raised his left arm and waved.

“Yes, I hope everything gets better.”

After saying that, Shione carefully stroked my hair.

Rather than stroking it, it seemed like he was messing around with his hair and tidying it up repeatedly.

I quietly accepted her hand.

Of course, it wasn’t like this from the start.

Every time I tried to stroke her hair, I sneaked away, but in the end I was somehow caught and petted.

She didn’t really hug her, she just stroked her hair and gave it away.

I swallowed her sigh that was about to jump out and looked at Sione.

She was deliberately avoiding my gaze as she stroked my hair, perhaps embarrassed by my behavior.

At that time, he boldly kissed her lips and went around stroking her hair.

Shione is also a great kid.

I asked at the end of stroking her.

“What are you planning to do from now on?”

“I don’t think it would be bad to go to the shooting range again when there is nowhere else to go. What do you think?”

“Since you’ve been pulling the strings and dealing with mana since the morning, I think it’s better to take a little rest than to go to the shooting range again. “

“Hmm.”

The weather was just fine, and the heat of the summer must have been relieved.

I think it would be nice to stop by the garden once in a while.

Although I love flowers, I have never spent time in the garden separately since the Marquis of Feiosha.

I thought it was not a bad idea, so I slowly let go of my luck.

“How about looking around the garden together? After the garden of the marquis, I haven’t seen flowers slowly in recent years.”

“It’s a garden. That’s not bad. Okay, let’s go.”

She must have liked my proposal so much that Sione took the lead while humming her song.

His walking speed was not very fast.

As we slowly and leisurely made our way to the garden, the surroundings started to get noisy.

Some walk fast, some even run.

Uncharacteristic of the servants, who seemed relaxed in their usual behavior, seeing them hurrying up to do something with a look of bewilderment.

I began to wonder if anything had happened.

As if it wasn’t just me, Shione was also looking at the busy servants.

“I wonder if something happened.”

“Well, if you run into someone on the way to the garden, let’s ask them.”

As time passed, the servants, who seemed to be insignificant, began to move more urgently.

Most of the people moving quickly were heading towards the entrance of the mansion.

Naturally, our heads, which had been chasing them, had no choice but to tilt in that direction.

Then, in case of an emergency, even the priests who usually wait inside the mansion all headed toward the entrance of the mansion.

Shione and I were no longer focused on the garden.

“I’m going to the entrance.”

“I’ll follow you.”

As we approached the entrance of the mansion, we could see more and more people.

Shione caught one of the servants who was trying to pass us by and asked.

“Can you tell me what the hell happened and why everyone is moving so fast?”

At Shione’s question, the aged male servant’s eyebrows were deeply wrinkled.

“…One of the knights of the cultist search and subjugation team who left for the Beltrin Mountains came running with a message.”

A cultist search and subjugation team.

Apparently, it was a cult subjugation team led by Siabelle Cianella and Diolia who went to search the Beltrin Mountains.

What kind of messages did they send that made such a fuss?

A deep curiosity raised its head and began to awaken.

“It’s a message. Can you tell me the contents of the message?”

“That’s…”

The servant couldn’t open his mouth easily, as if it was too difficult for him to put it in his mouth.

Shione glared at him with her arms crossed like her older sister, as if he was frustrated.

“Can you answer me quickly?”

“…I will deliver the contents of the message I heard directly from the knight.”

When Shione spoke a little nervously, he took one deep breath in to control his breathing.

With his expression calmed down, he quietly began to repeat the knight’s message he had heard.

The way he spoke the message was very solemn.

“After the cult’s search, 17 soldiers were killed during the battle between the cultists and the devil during the Mine subjugation operation. 9 Were seriously injured.”

The servant’s complexion has noticeably deteriorated.

“…Siabelle Cianella also said that she was seriously injured during the battle with Majin and was returning home.”

Nobody else, Siabelle Cianella, was returning home badly injured.