CH 34

As I had expected, I woke up soon after. It’s just that I had manifested as a Guide—I wasn’t sick.

Getting out of bed, I headed towards the dining hall to eat. Dad and Brother kept looking at me with such emotional faces the entire time I ate. Anyone could tell just how strong our relationship as parent-child, and brother-sister were just by looking at these two men as they were now, and their surprised expressions were equally funny.

I caught them in the middle of looking at me like that, and as I smirked, they both immediately lowered their heads to focus on the meal.

“Rin, what are you planning to do today?”

As she burst into a delighted peal of laughter at the sight, Mom asked me this question.

“Um, I would like to go to the drill hall to practice shooting arrows.”

“…Already? Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little more?”

“I really am alright now. I feel no different than before I got sick.

Mom looked at me with concern, but she didn’t stop me.

“Mother, don’t you know just how good Rin is at archery? She taught herself, but she could do it much better than most archers. You don’t have to worry.”

“Ohh, is that so?”

Listening to what Brother said, Dad showed interest.

“Yes, Father. I was very surprised as well. I could even say that perhaps it’s a waste for her to practice at just the drill hall?”

“I can’t quite wrap my head around it. This Dad of yours if very curious, Rin.”

“…Well, um, it’s nothing much. I don’t think I’m that good.”

“Eyy, you don’t have to be so humble when it’s just your family here.”

“But Brother. Even if you say I’m good, I can’t compare to the archers at the garrison. It’s not like we can ignore the differences in our physiques.”

“That’s true, but, hmm…”

David had finished his meal quickly, and he raised his glass up to drink its contents. Then, afterwards, he asked Dad.

“Dad, between Rin and the garrison archers, who do you think would win if they were to compete in an archery match? It’s not going to be like facing a monster, so accuracy would be more important…”

In other words, he’s saying that control was more important than strength.

“Ohh, that’s what you’re getting at?’

“See it with your own eyes, Father. Rin is a genius.”

“Hoho!”

Dad took his cup from the table and soon gulped it down, making an audible sound. Then, Mom nagged her right away.

“I’ve told you time and again not to make a sound.”

Dad hardly acted like the aristocrat that he was. I laughed a little at this, too. As Mom nagged Dad, his broad, supposedly imposing shoulders drooped down.

After our meal, Dad, Brother, Mom and I all headed towards the drill hall together. David bragged so much that our parents inevitably became curious about my skill level.

Of course, unbeknownst to my family, I had practiced shooting arrows before, but I still don’t think that I’m as good as David was saying. It’s only because of my circumstances in the past that I had to take up archery in order to survive.

With my family standing some distance behind me, I picked up my bow. I felt nervous for no reason because there were people watching me.

Inhaling deeply, I took up my stance and brought forward a practice arrow.

When the bowstring was pulled taut, I felt my body—which had been lying in bed until just a while ago—become wrought with tension as well.

After inhaling, I halted my breath, and I aimed at the target. I could feel my family watching me with bated breath, too. Fleetingly, I worried about the wind blowing between me and the target, but I had always shot arrows before under even worse conditions.

The wind should not even be considered as a handicap right now. This is just practice.

I pulled the bowstring with the exact precision needed, keeping the air resistance in mind.

Soon, I let go and allowed the arrow sail towards the target.

However, the flow of wind suddenly shifted.

The wind that was blowing from the front was suddenly pushed away by a gale from behind, and the arrow that had already left my grasp suddenly flew at a breakneck speed under the wind’s influence.

As the arrow hit the target, the great force that pushed it forward was enough to embed one-third of the entire arrow into the board.

The strange situation made me blink slowly. I was momentarily hit with a sense of déjà vu, thinking back on some instances in the past when I had encountered the same type of wind. Whenever there was an emergency or an urgent situation, a gust of wind would sometimes rush from behind me, helping the arrow sail.

“Whoa!”

“Goodness!”

“My daughter!”

My family rushed towards me all at once, chatting excitedly as I was in the middle.

“My daughter, I didn’t know you were so amazing.”

“With this, won’t you win even against the garrison, my daughter?”

“See! I told you so! Our Rin is a genius!”

Even though I considered this as just a normal thing, my family was nonetheless thrilled, and they continued to cheer me on with such excitement. I couldn’t say anything back because I suddenly felt shy, but I was absolutely happy.

“Shall we arrange a competition with the garrison soon?”

“Yes, that would be swell!”

“Let’s take this opportunity to keep them on their toes, Father!”

“Of course, of course. It’s rare to see any monsters these days, so bastards have become such lazy bums. They need to get knocked down a notch.”

“Honey.”

Once again, Mom started nagging Dad, who started speaking with a potty mouth again. I made eye contact with David and we laughed together.

My life was so filled with happiness and harmony right now that I couldn’t care less even if I had manifested as a Guide. This might have gotten triggered because I regained my memories from my previous life. Guides were common back then, so this wasn’t a big deal.

I was perfectly aware of this world’s situation when it came to Guides, but at this very moment, I let myself stay blissfully unaware in this little bubble of mine.