The Aim Blessed by the Gods
Even in this world, gods were worshipped.
They were, but in the Halperia Kingdom, religion seed to have been declining for the past few hundred years.
In this agricultural nation of Halperia, the Sun God had been worshipped since ancient tis. However, as the neighboring Holy Kingdom of Sangreal continued its invasions, the Sun God, their main god, began to be resented here. It's not surprising; if you hate the monk, you will hate the robe, and if it escalates, you might even hate the Buddha.
So, Halperia, which had abandoned the Sun God worship, decided to adopt the Moon God as its main god to symbolically sever ties with the religious state of Sangreal.
It kind of felt strange for an agricultural nation to worship the Moon God against the trends, but they must have been too incompatible with Sangreal.
Initially, when they changed the religious focus, it seed that the citizens were quite confused and ridden with anxiety. Especially among farrs, there were fears of the Sun God's wrath, leading to riots in so areas.
However, quite contrary to the public anxiety, the yields of crops continued to be abundant as usual. There were no famines or frost disasters that were feared; in fact, conveniently, the neighboring Sangreal suffered a famine, quickly dispelling people's anxieties about the new faith.
With the severance from Sangreal and the significant reduction of religious influence, along with the increasing number of indifferent citizens, the country's religious outlook settled down to a stable level where they would say, 「Well, it's tradition, so let's do the events.」
As a forr Japanese person not particularly adherent to religious practices, I found a sense of familiarity with this indifferent attitude. And yet, they still were slightly more devout than Japanese people, to be honest.
So, in the Halperia Kingdom where the Moon God was now worshiped, it seems the god oversees hunting and magic, and symbols like staffs and bows are often illustrated in association.
When it cos to handling a bow, this god seed quite fortuitous.
In other words, when shooting an arrow, one had to pray to the Moon God.
「Oh, our nation's Moon God, hidroa. Grant that I may hit the center of that straw pile. Should I miss, I shall hang up my bow and sleep sulking, reverting back to wielding a bastard sword. If you wish to increase the number of archer souls, let this arrow not miss...」
「Mongrel-senpai is the type who gets into ritual first, huh?」
「Whoosh!」
The arrow I shot with fervor fell short about 10 ters before the target standing 20 ters away, embedding deeply into the ground.
「Well, it is what it is.」
「What is?」
「Mongrel-san, haven't you gotten worse than before...?」
「It might be because my hands are chilled in the winter...」
「Weren't you just warming your hands with hot milk?」
Now, I was at the guild training grounds receiving archery lessons from Raina and Ulrika.
When I boldly asked, "I'd like to practice archery a bit. Could you teach ?" they unexpectedly agreed, but rather than receiving any advice, it seed like my motivation might die off first.
Archery is tough.
「It's the stance. You're wobbling, and your left hand that supports the bow is moving, which is critical.」
「Also, the way you were nocking was reverse, Mongrel-san. It was outside. You need to make it inside.」
「You have the strength to draw and hold steady, but your posture seems unsteady.」
「Oh... Today, both of you are quite aggressive...」
「It's called candid feedback.」
「When it cos to archery, both Raina and I are your seniors. Since you've asked us to teach you, we'll rigorously train you till you're a proper archer.」
After several attempts under the guidance of my instructors, I managed to shoot arrows that sohow flew in roughly the intended direction.
Couldn't they attach laser pointers to the arrowheads or sothing... Yet, even if they did, I doubted I'd hit exactly where I aid.
「Isn't this distance too challenging for a beginner?」
「This is considerably short. If it weren't cold outside, we'd do this near the forest.」
「Well, when hunting in the forest, this would be about right, but still cutting it close, you know?」
Well, if a Mad Boar or a Charge Deer stood 20 ters ahead, managing even one shot might be tough, and I'd probably be noticed by the enemy.
Thinking from that perspective, I needed to shoot accurately from much farther distances.
「How far can you two hit a target?」
「If there's no wind, I can hit around 60 ters. I could shoot further, but...」
「That's amazing.」
「It's partly due to skill.」
Raina's skill was sothing called Target Lock On.
It completely suppressed hand tremors, allowing for a steady aim. However, despite its na, it didn't automatically track targets; shooting accurately still required manual adjustnt.
I wondered if that was strong, but apparently, the ability to aim steadily without shaking was very practical. The magic power consumption was said to be minimal too.
「I'm about the sa as Raina, though I don't have any aiming skills, which makes it tough for ...」
「Ulrika matches Raina too... Artemis is full of geniuses.」
「I have skills that reveal weaknesses and boost bow power, so I focus on that.」
「Ulrika-senpai is impressive. She can shoot back charging beasts with power.」
「Hehe... Raina is so cute!」
「Could you stop patting ? I'm not a child.」
Feeling a sense of warmth from seeing what seed like a budding yuri scene between a man and a woman, I continued to collect the arrows.
Most arrows that didn't hit the target ended up retrieved long before reaching it, which was sowhat disheartening.
「Hey, why don't both of you try shooting with this bow as a test?」
「I haven't used this bow before, but if I can shoot twice, then sure.」
「Oh, I'll do it too. Guess I'll show hopeless Mongrel-san an example.」
「Sorry for being such a hopeless student.」
「... Hehe, during this ti, I actually stand as Mongrel-senpai's senior. Watch my shoot carefully.」
Afterward, without using their skills, Raina shot twice, followed by Ulrika twice.
The first arrows landed away from the target (albeit much closer than mine did), but their second arrows perfectly struck the straw pile.
The first shot seed like a ranging shot, adjusting and correcting with the second. It felt like an otherworldly skillset from my current perspective.
「When spring arrives, beasts increase, so by then, it'd be good to at least get the hang of the form.」
「Hmm, I wonder... If you practice seriously, you might make it... but you won't practice much, will you, Mongrel-san?」
「I will, sotis.」
「Half-hearted attempts aren't good, you know.」
Though to be honest, I didn't find archery that necessary.
It's just a hobby, really. While being able to use it would certainly be convenient.
「Well, we're not going to charge for today, so feel free to learn from Raina and
in the future too. Oh, but maybe treat us to a drink afterward?」
「Oh, that's a good idea.」
「No problem, learning from two pros like you.」
「Yay, free drinks!」
「... By the way, is it possible for us to learn swordsmanship from you?」
「Raina, huh? While basic self-defense can't hurt, I'm self-taught. You'd be better off learning from Alex.」
「Oh, in that case, no, thanks.」
「... You don't like Alex?」
「Not particularly...」
In my case, I relied mostly on brute force, so mimicking my style could be dangerous.
It'd be better to learn structured military techniques.
「Spring, huh... When spring cos, things will get busy.」
「Yeah...」
「When people, money, and monsters move, it's a busy ti for guild mbers. While I don't mind slow seasons like this, I'm starting to get restless.」
Ah, I finally managed to hit the straw pile.
「Nice shot, senpai!」
「Congratulations, Mongrel-san.」
「It seems the Moon God hasn't forsaken .」
「A rciful god indeed.」
「Or was it my perseverance?」
「Hahaha.」
Soon, the season of snowlt would arrive.
When the mushy snow turns into puddles, this year will beco busy once more.
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