Gentle Hydrangea ② – The Wind Blows.
When you think of ranged weapons, it’s got to be the bow.
Definitely the bow.
Guns, which I remember from my past life, don’t exist in this world.
I think the reason is Relics.
You could say that Relics fulfill the role of weapons like guns.
Though, there might be data on them in the Lab. Not that I’d build one, though.
“…Is it impossible with melee?”
“Um, um, well, when they land on the ground, there’s a chance to aim with melee. But that opportunity doesn’t come often.”
“…Juicy-san. I don’t have any ranged weapons.”
Juicy-san looked surprised. Then she looked troubled.
“Ah, um, Lord Wof, have you ever used ranged weapons before?”
“A long time ago… just a little… I guess.”
“Um, what was it? Woof. Throwing knives?”
“Even if I threw them, knives aren’t really for long range, you know. It was a bow.”
Throwing knives as ranged weapons… no, mid-range at best, probably.
Unless it’s a Relic specifically for that, like Mineha-san’s [ Ranged Manipulation ].
As for the crucial bow, I only used it a little when hunting back home, so I’ve already forgotten how.
“Um, um, what should we do?”
“Sorry. I didn’t know either… Um, I’ll back out.”
I wanted to get the materials for the bed myself, but it can’t be helped.
I’ll just quietly buy them. First, I’ll consult the Witch.
If possible, I think I’ll buy them from Chive-san’s place.
They boast that they have everything except illegal items.
Surely it won’t be an exorbitant price.
“Woof! That’s right! Lord Wof, I shall teach you how to use the bow!”
“Eh? Is that really okay?”
“Woof! Yes. Um, um, I may be inexperienced, but please take care of me!”
“L-Likewise, please take care of me.”
We both bowed our heads. Juicy-san. She’s bowing formally with her hands on the floor.
Something feels off about this, but I’m happy she’ll teach me the bow.
Besides, I wondered if it was okay to continue like this.
There’s no particular reason, but I haven’t used ranged weapons up until now.
But, things like this happen.
I’ve been fixated only on knives, but maybe trying out a bow wouldn’t be bad.
“That was rough. There weren’t many counters open, so it took a while.”
Rell-san returned. He looked at us curiously and asked.
“What’s going on?”
“Um, um, Brother. Lord Wof hasn’t used a bow much.”
“Is that so? Do you have any Relics usable for long range?”
“Sorry. I don’t.”
“Then the Wind Dungeon will be pretty tough.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Um, um, so, I thought I would teach him.”
“Juicy will?”
“Woof! Yes.”
“…”
Rell-san pushed up his glasses, seeming to think it over.
Juicy-san looked anxious. Her ears and Tail drooped.
“Ah, um, um, is it no good?”
“Fine. Give it a try.”
“Woof! Thank you very much!”
She brightened up, relieved.
Suddenly, Rell-san looked at me. He opened his mouth as if slightly hesitant about what to say.
“Wof. Please take care of my sister.”
“Isn’t that my line to say?”
“I see. You’re right.”
Rell-san laughed.
After that, we left the guild and bought a bow and arrows at a nearby weapon shop.
It was a wooden bow for beginners. I bought it based on how it felt when drawn.
The Wind Dungeon is located north of Hydrangea.
The entrance is a special valley where the wind constantly blows, the ‘Wind Corridor’.
Once you pass through the corridor, beyond that point is the 1st floor of the Wind Dungeon.
“So this is…”
“Yeah, the 1st floor of the Wind Dungeon. The Bird Plateau.”
A lush green land stretched out as far as the eye could see, with many birds flying about.
In the distance, mountains were visible, and near the summit of the highest one, a building resembling a shrine could be seen.
The sky above was blue.
“It looks exactly like the surface…”
“But we’re definitely inside a Dungeon. See that shrine?”
“Yes.”
“That’s said to be the lowest floor of the Wind Dungeon.”
“Said to be? Lowest floor?”
“This Wind Dungeon is special. It only has one floor, but it’s unbelievably vast.”
“So there are Dungeons like that too.”
“Moreover, the only Monsters that appear are flying ones.”
“Only those?”
“Yeah, apparently so.”
What a strange Dungeon.
But I guess that makes it perfect for practice.
“Um, um, um, Lord Wof! I’ll start teaching you right away!”
Juicy-san is full of motivation.
Her eyes are sparkling dazzlingly.
“Please do.”
“Alright then, first…”
“Juicy. Wof. I’ll be hunting over there. Call me if anything happens.”
“Um, um, understood! Please be careful!”
“Yes. Rell-san. Take care.”
Rell-san waved and headed off.
Juicy-san took out her bow.
It was the Witch-made ‘Elixir Bow’, coated with Elixir.
It has a bonus against Undead, but it can be used as a normal bow too.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. First, please watch my stance.”
“Understood.”
Juicy-san readied her bow.
She spread her feet shoulder-width apart, lowered her hips slightly, arched her back, and drew the string of the nocked bow, pinching it with her fingers.
Her movements were so fluid they felt natural.
Juicy-san stopped, holding the bow drawn. She glanced briefly at me.
“…”
I watched Juicy-san.
The spread of her feet. The position of her hips. The arch of her back. The hand holding the bow. The hand pinching the string.
Her taut chest. Her serious expression. Her sharp gaze and what lay beyond it.
Watching her closely like this, I realized something I’d known for a while.
Juicy-san. She has an amazing figure.
How does she have proportions like this at thirteen?
I get that she’s toned because she likes physical activity. Whoops, gotta stop thinking about that.
Uh, so she grips the bow like this, and she’s really just pinching the string with her fingertips.
Feet spread like this… U-ugh. Difficult.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. I’m going to aim for that bird now. Please watch.”
That bird… that one? A bird I can only faintly see is flying in the sky.
She’s going to hit that? It’s far away.
Juicy-san angled the bow slightly upward and released.
The arrow flew in an arc as if drawn in, striking the bird down.
“It hit!?”
“Woof. Um, um, Lord Wof, I did it!”
“That’s amazing.”
She really hit it. I saw Juicy-san’s archery skills in the Grave of Death, but I didn’t know she was this good.
We immediately headed to where the bird had fallen.
“Woof! Lord Wof! It’s a Big Goose!”
“It’s huge!?”
A light-blue duck, more than twice the size of a normal bird, lay dead.
The arrow was stuck in its neck. It’s this big?
S-So this is the down we need.
Juicy-san approached the Big Goose, pulled out the arrow, grabbed it by the neck, and lifted it.
The bird looked plump and heavy, but she held it easily.
But it’s a goose, yet it flies? Something this heavy can fly?
While I was pondering this, Juicy-san plucked the feathers and started butchering it.
She gathered the down for me. Got the bed material! But it’s still not enough.
Juicy-san put the meat into her pouch.
A chunk of meat that big fits… storage magic? Well, of course she’d have something like that. She’s from the Marquis Family.
Thinking about it again, Dova-san and Juicy-san are both a Marquise’s Daughter.
Rell-san is a Marquis’s son too.
The Marquis Tasan Family. An old noble family, the third most powerful great nobles in this country.
They’re the only Marquis family too. It’s very rude of me, but they don’t seem like it.
I don’t think everyone in the Tasan Family is like that.
But Dova-san. Sesh-chan. Juicy-san. Rell-san.
They all treat me kindly, without any distinction or discrimination.
“…”
In contrast, the boss of ‘Dragon Fang Wax’ was also a noble named Steel Land.
The image of ‘nobles’ that somehow exists in my past life memories is actually closer to Steel Land.
The idiot nobles Dova-san mentioned.
Of course, the kind of nobles I like are the ones like the Tasan Family.
“Um, um, um, Lord Wof, let’s have you try too!”
“Y-Yes. Like this?”
I tried to imitate Juicy-san’s posture as I remembered it, getting into a stance.
Juicy-san observed my stance from all angles, as if grading it.
She made a face like something wasn’t quite right.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. Excuse me. I’ll perform ‘Stance Layering’.”
“Layering?”
Suddenly, Juicy-san placed her hands over mine and pressed her body against my back.
“!? Juicy-san!?”
Something hard yet flexible pressed against my back.
Her chest plate? For some reason, I felt disappointed.
Then, Juicy-san quickly pulled away.
She looked down at her own chest and casually removed her chest plate.
Seeing my surprise, she pressed against my back again.
She perfectly aligned her hands with mine holding the bow and drawing the string.
She firmly pressed her legs and hips against mine, even aligning our lines of sight.
Ah, so that’s what ‘layering’ means.
I understood, but more than anything else, the softness pressed against my back…
It was simply extraordinary.
Because she was layering her stance onto mine, her chest naturally pressed against my back.
I could feel her breasts squishing against my back with unbelievable softness and elasticity.
Paying it no mind at all, she pressed her chest even harder against my back, pushing it to the limit, and said.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. Please bring your feet closer together.”
“L-Like this?”
“Um, woof. Woof. Your back should be a little more forward.”
“H-Here, like this?”
Uoh! Juicy-san’s squished breasts rubbed and shifted against my back.
Marshmallows… no, they have elasticity… Ah, they’re marshmallow slimes.
Two marshmallow slime cushions, soft to the absolute limit.
Is there anything softer in this world? No, there isn’t.
W-What is this situation?
My thoughts are turning into something like Hayyarn’s, and it makes me want to die a little.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. This is ‘Stance Layering’.”
“I-I see. Um, but why did you take off the plate?”
“Woof. Um, um, once I tried Stance Layering, I understood. With the plate on, it creates quite a bit of space and misalignment. These gaps and misalignments, um, affect the stance.”
“I-I see.”
So that’s why she removed the plate.
By layering this stance, I learn the correct posture. I get that.
Layering corrects my stance into the proper form. It’s the fastest way to improve. I get that too.
Juicy-san’s chest is pressed firmly against my back. Yeah, I get that.
B-But… is Juicy-san completely unfazed by this?
Being this close to a girl, it’s not in a weird way, but my heart is pounding.
With those thoughts, I glanced at Juicy-san’s profile.
She was serious, her gaze fixed straight ahead. That’s when I realized.
She must have done this layering technique with one of her sisters.
Thinking that, the impure thoughts inside me— Ah, no use.
The sensation of Juicy-san’s chest is too intense; it won’t disappear at all.
First Mineha-san, and now her. Aren’t girls developing way too well lately?
That exceptionally developed beauty, Juicy-san, was staring intently and sharply at the sky.
Suddenly, a bird monster different from a Big Goose entered my field of vision.
Still holding my hand, Juicy-san angled the bow slightly upward. Is she going to shoot?
“Um, um, um, woof! Lord Wof, now!”
At her command, I released the arrow. With unbelievable ease, it pierced the bird’s head.
“…I did it!”
The bird fell.
“Um, woof! That was great, Lord Wof!”
“Ah, thank you very much.”
Juicy-san moved away and headed toward the fallen bird.
I looked up at the sky and let out a long breath. The sensation of her against my back wouldn’t leave.
After that, we did Stance Layering several more times, shooting Big Geese and Wind Ducks.
It seems like that sensation will linger on my back for a while.
Together with Rell-san, we hunted 20 Big Geese and 15 Wind Ducks.
We could have hunted more, honestly, but carrying them would be difficult, so we stopped there.
I took all the feathers, and also received the meat from one of each bird.
We split the money earned from the request three ways.
And so, a feather duvet and sheets came to my home.
Farewell, straw bed.
Thank you, straw bed.
Also, it was decided that Juicy-san would teach me archery regularly.
Of course. Naturally, this means we’ll be doing ‘Stance Layering’ many more times.
I feel like I’m going to pay for this someday.