Chapter 43

***

He spoke in a low voice as he stared at the lock.

“Perhaps there’s another reason for keeping it warded.”

At Hugh’s words, Filina raised an eyebrow and stared at the tightly closed door of the cage.

When she entered, the breeding ground was enveloped in a dark silence, and she couldn’t even see properly ahead.

All that was seen was a single, abominable demon trapped in a huge cage.

Perhaps, it was Carmen who managed the breeding ground since he had the key to this place. On top of that, he took new students here at will.

“You can break it with stronger magic.”

Filina said in a dry voice.

For no reason, the thought of Carmen made her feel dirty.

“You’re a magic tower lord, isn’t this a piece of cake?”

Hugh gasped at her very calm voice.

“This isn’t that easy magic. And they used a very ignorant layer of complicated warding. It would take a much more powerful spell to undo all of this, but you want to blow up an entire building to solve just one problem here?”

Filina frowned and muttered.

“I didn’t say we should blow up the building.”

Ignoring her words, he looked at the door with a regretful look on his face.

From the fact that he didn’t even try to get the key from the instructor, it seemed that he was trying to get in here in secret.

Still, he didn’t seem to mind that Filina had seen him.

She was seriously wondering what the hell was going on in Hugh’s head.

“Is this situation related to the reason why you entered the Academy?”

Seeing that he wasn’t even attending the classes at the academy properly, it seemed that his purpose was indeed something else.

It was the same reason why he had suddenly run into her in the annex the other day, and apparently there was something he was looking for.

Hugh, who looked back at her, replied with a chuckle.

“I don’t know if there’s a connection. I didn’t go in there in person.”

Then suddenly he bent down in front of Filina and asked.

“You said you’ve been in the breeding ground before. How was it? Were there any suspicious passages? “

“……………… I don’t know, either. It was too dark to see much.”

Before they knew it, the class was over, and a few students passed around the perimeter of the breeding ground. Hugh turned away, looking disappointed. Filina followed him and left Hugh in front of the training room.

****

As Filina stepped into the training room, she burst out laughing in disbelief.

There were also more new students than usual gathered in the building. It was time for the upcoming archery class with the 1st Order, including the 2nd Order to which she belonged.

Then of course Hugh should have come here with her.

Thinking about Hugh’s appearance, as if he was someone who had other classes to go to, Filina laughed in vain.

“You’re here.”

Bessie smiled softly at Filina. Soon after, an instructor entered the training room. All the cadets got up from their seats and greeted him.

“Today’s archery class, I will briefly go over the theory here, and then we will move to the training field to introduce you to actual combat training.”

The instructor explained while looking at the students. Actually, there were no desks or chairs in the training room because there was no separate space to listen to the theory class.

Therefore, all the students had to sit on the ground and listen. It didn’t matter because they wouldn’t stay long anyway.

“The military academy is not just a place to learn sword fighting. The moment you get your hands on any weapon, it is truly an honorable knight of the academy to do well with it.”

Filina averted her gaze from the instructor and glanced briefly at the First Order seated on the opposite side of the room.

At the very front was Henry, who stood out among the students, while Leon was positioned at the back.

“Archery is the art of using a bow to shoot arrows, and it is a martial art that fosters determination and self-control.”

After explaining what archery was, the instructor taught them the posture of shooting the bow.

However, the students looked like they wanted to go out to the practice field and do some real combat training as soon as possible.

Perhaps the instructor understood, he hurriedly finished his explanation and moved his seat to the performance hall.

“New students, stand in your seats with the bow and arrows in front of you.”

As instructed by the instructor, Filina changed her seat with her bow and arrows. Bessie also stood side by side with her.

It was her first time with a bow. The weight was quite heavy and the hand was naturally gaining strength. When all the students were in position, the instructor began to demonstrate in front of them.

“Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart so that your body is at 90 degrees to the target.”

Filina stared at the instructor and made the same posture.

“Your shoulders must remain level and natural, and your elbows must not droop as you pull the string.”

The instructor fired an arrow at the target and it went straight into the center. The students watching him applauded and exclaimed.

“Practice. In half an hour, we’ll go out five at a time to do real training. Any students who can’t even get close to the target will have to stay behind and do more practice.”

At the instructor’s words, the students started to practice busily. Filina quickly got into position and put an arrow to her bow. Beside her, Bessie was pulling the string with skillful hands.

She could see her great posture. Bessie’s eyes glowed as she shot at the target. With a whoosh, Bessie released the hand that drew the string, and the arrow flew far away.

The target couldn’t be confirmed because it was all occupied by the first Order, but it looked like the arrow hit exactly where she expected it to be. It was such a great skill. Filina asked her with a surprised face.

“Bessie, have you learned archery before?”

Lowering his bow in response to her question, Vesey said with a smile .

“I learned many of the various martial arts from my father. Archery, in particular, has always been my favorite.”

“Wow, that’s really impressive.”

Filina turned her head and took up a stance. She drew her bow as Bessie had done, and stared at the target point. She could feel Bessie’s gaze from the side.

A light breeze swept through Filina’s hair. At the same time, she released the string she was holding, and a sharp arrowhead was quickly shot forward.

Clank.

It did not travel far, and fell vainly to the ground.

“….”

There was an awkward silence. Besides her, Bessie said with an awkward smile.

“You’re new at this, you’re going to make some mistakes! Just keep practicing and you’ll get better!”

But Filina couldn’t even get close to the arrow that Bessie shot for more than half an hour. Bessie, who had been standing next to her, cheering enthusiastically, seemed to have given up.

“What’s this, Sir Debussy?”

Eventually, after thirty minutes of shooting, her arrows were not even close to the target, and the instructor complained. Filina turned around with her mouth agape.

She practiced for the rest of the time, but her ability remained the same. Unable to watch, the instructor came up to her and began to give her a one-on-one lesson.

“Don’t drag on too much time when aiming at the target. That’s why you lose your balance. You have to aim and shoot exactly at once!

“…………No, it shortens the aiming time, so how do you hit the target exactly?”

“Debussy! Shoot the arrow while you’re answering my question!”

The instructor shouted with a face of frustration at Filina’s unsure voice. Then, the eyes of all cadets were focused on him.

Henry, on the other hand, had already been praised many times by his instructor for his excellent archery skills. He even told him to check the stance of the other students.

Therefore, Henry was quietly posturing beside the student who was not shooting his arrows properly.

Then he casually turned his head away and looked at where Filina was.

Her lips changed to a slight slant as the instructor’s voice became louder.

The arrows fired from Filina’s hands kept falling at a shorter distance than before. And then she looked at the instructor beside her and smiled awkwardly.

“Sir Argeny, can I pull the bow now?”

The student standing next to Henry looked at him strangely as he asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Shoot it now.”

Finally, Henry turned his gaze away from Filina and spoke to the student. For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off her for a while.

‘Is it because I’ve never seen her smile before?’

Henry inexplicably bit his lips.

“She looks like an aristocrat. Which family is she from?”

The other students suddenly started talking.

“I heard the instructor calling her earlier, but it sounded like the Debussy family. I didn’t think it was possible to send a young lady of such a great noble family to the all men academy.”

On the other side of the room sat Leon. He was listening intently to the sounds of the conversation nearby, and a small exclamation came out.

‘Oh….that’s her name.’

Leon said to himself. He stared at her again.

Meanwhile, Filina was going crazy over the petulant instructor at her side.

“Debussy! When you fire an arrow, hold your breath for a moment!”

At the instructor shouting in her ear, she drew her bow. She focused all her attention on the target.

At that moment, she saw other students bothering Bessie.

“What are you doing? Give it back right now!” (Bessie)

They played a prank on her, taking away the bow and arrows Bessie was practicing with.

“Sir Debussy! Concentrate!”

At the sound of the instructor’s voice, Filina bit her lip and stared at the target.

“Why would a woman join a military academy to learn an unsuitable martial art? Just get married and give it to your husband.”

At the sound of the student’s voice belittling Bessie, Filina’s hands began to shake as she drew her bow.

The instructor noticed it and gave her a small lecture.

“Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Sir Debussy’s mind is all over the bow right now.”

Filina let out a short breath, relaxed the bowstring for a moment, and took a long pull again.

“Good! Keep it up and release the arrow!”

Filina smiled radiantly when she heard the instructor’s voice. Suddenly, the hand that held the bow moved to the side and pointed at the student who had tormented Bessie.

They backed away with startled looks on their faces.

“Sir Debussy! What are you doing!”

The instructor shouted loudly, but Filina replied with a calm smile.

“Apparently, my target is over here.”