Among all countries of Aurelia Continent, there were only few deserving to be called the 'Land of Thousand Legends”. One of them being Parthenia, a Republic state located on Scathia Peninsula, Southern Aurelia.

This narrow territory was inhabited by various races and supernatural beings, from the adorable ones to really threatening beasts and demons. Any visitor would find himself running into centaurs, satyrs, minotaurs and other sorts of non-humans that casually roam the streets of major cities of Orionos, Kyrios and Venapolis. Certainly, even more magical creatures could be found in the woods, many of them were still feral. It was imperative for everyone passing by to always watch their backs and keep alert.

A certain horse cart travelling through the forest and heading for Kyrios, the capital of Parthenia, was no exception. Even with the sun hanging right above his head, it didn’t deter the man with black hair and cloth from coaching his horse rigorously to keep pulling his entire cart.

A girl with pointy ears came out of a cart shortly after. She sat right beside the coach, cheerfully smiled as she offered, “Should I take over, Reyl? You look quite tired.”

Reyl looked towards the girl. He then simply shook his head and returned his attention to the road. “It’s okay, Mave. Perhaps later after lunch time. Inside this Parthenian forest we should always keep moving and alert."

Maven didn’t answer. Instead, her sight wandered far away towards the shadow of the mountain far on the right and an infinite stretch of greeneries on her left. She grew tired of them pretty quickly though.

Maven then turned to Reyl. Ever since she decided to follow this man three months ago, she had never been able to dismiss him. He was the only thing that was always there, yet it never bored her.

There was also the part that her heart never rested easy whenever she looked at Reyl for more then a minute. She had wondered about what it meant.

On the other hand, Reyl himself didn’t take her staring well. “I’ve told you many times already, Mave. Don’t stare on someone’s face like that!”

Maven was startled. Her mind thought, What a pooper! Yet her mouth said, “Owh, S-sorry….”

She then reluctantly turned the other way.

Since the coach seemed to be unwilling to had a chat, the elf began to grow sleepy. She nodded weakly.

But before Maven dove deeper into slumber, Reyl’s call came, “Mave, have you ever used a bow before?”

Losing her sleepiness, Maven answered, “Eh… not really. All this time I’ve been only using my daggers.”

For a while, Reyl didn’t say anything.

And then he cried, “Whisperwind, Ho!”

The horse gradually slowed down as Reyl directed him side ways.

“We shall rest here,” Reyl said as he got off the cart and started anchoring his horse.

Maven looked at Reyl, confused. What was he implying by his reaction? As she continued guessing, Reyl had already entered the cart. Some time later he came out with a set of bow and arrows.

“Come down, Mave. I’ll teach you the basics of archery,” He told her.

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“Now? Shouldn’t we have lunch first?”

“It’s better now while I’m in the mood.”

“All right, all right,” Maven complied reluctantly. Seeing how fired up Reyl was, she decided to come along. She then followed her ‘tutor’ slowly towards the woods. Not far from their carriage, there was a small grassy field half-hidden under the shade of the trees.

Maven looked at Reyl. He looked glistering under the bath of the sunlight, like an angel. The elf girl's heart began to beat faster.

Yet, the ‘angel’ suddenly approached her and yelled, “Hey, Mave! Don’t space out! We’ll begin right now!”

“Eh… ah? Oh right! Please show me, teacher,” Maven responded, stuttering.

“Hmm. Now watch me,” Reyl ordered while he put on an arrow on his bow.

Maven watched without blinking. Reyl held onto the bow with his left hand that he stretched straight and firmly to the front. While his right hand began to pull the bowstring pretty hard. His eyes were focused on his target, and his arrow was aligned perfectly with his eyesight, right below his chin.

“The target is that apple right in front of me.”

He released bow’s string, and the arrow launched.

Maven turned her sight towards the apple tree and… she heard the sound of the arrow piercing right on target. She immediately ran toward the tree and caught the falling apple.

“Wow, you’re awesome Reyl! You’re not only good at sword but also at archery,” She praised him with a smile.

“That’s only because the target isn’t moving. If it was a moving target even I can miss sometimes,” Reyl explained nonchalantly. “I’m an arms dealer, so of course I should know how to use the weapons that I’m selling, though it’s just the basics usually. Now, have you learned something from my demonstration just now?”

“More or less.”

“Then it’s your turn. Try to shoot an apple.”

Reyl then gave his bow and an arrow to his ‘student’.

Maven received said bow while shaking. Her face looked nervous and she was mumbling.

“Left hand on the bow, right hand to pull the string. Arrow right below the chin. Eyes on target.”

Reyl immediately fixed her form, gently moving her hand. It only made Maven’s heart to beat even faster. Her shaking became even worse.

“Pull the string with strength!”

Reyl then also grabbed Maven’s right hand, helping her to pull the string until it was fully stretched.

Moreover, Reyl drew his face close to almost touching Maven’s. Not only that, he also pushed his chest on her back. While their legs and feet were touching.

Maven felt like she was being hugged, and it swayed her so much that her face became red.

“Focus!”

She got startled. Her attention shifted to focus on the target. A ripe apple hanging from its tree, right in front of her.

“Concentrate all you mind to your target! There’s only you and that apple, nothing else. No distraction, no interference. For you, the apple is your whole world now."

Maven's eyes turned sharper with her mind already focused. All else began to blur in her vision, except that apple which still retained its perfect shape.

“Release the string and shoot!”

Maven let go of the string, and the arrow flew through the air towards the tree. The next thing happened was a cluster of sounds. The birds flew to get away and leaves were rustling and falling.

“Man, maybe I’m not talented for this,” Maven sulked.

“On the contrary,” Reyl said with a smile. “Look at under the tree.”

Maven was baffled by Reyl’s reaction. She then quickly went to check for herself. There, she found among the leaves and twigs on the ground, two apples. One was already rotting with pecking marks made by birds, and another one still intact and ripe with traces of morning dew.

“Apples don’t tend to fall on its own. If it wasn’t due to some animal then it must be… my arrow that brought it down.”

“There you have it,” Reyl said to her, still smiling. “Maybe it wasn’t the apple you aimed for, but at least your arrow hit something. I think you have a natural gift. Probably not as good as most elves, but with training and discipline, I’m sure you can match or even surpass even the most skilled elf archer." He then picked the apple from the ground to throw it at Maven. She caught it nicely.

Maven then cleaned the apple before having a bite. It tasted so sweet. Reyl’s contented smile comforted Maven greatly. She was so glad about how he cared about her.

But then Reyl suddenly shouted, “All right, one set of bow and arrows for eight hundred geines. Pay it in cash, or I can take installments from your wage.” He quickly turned around and ran away.

Maven was dumbfounded. She felt like getting an arrow in the belly while she was floating in the air.

“Hey, come back !” Maven quickly chased Reyl while waving up her new bow. “Who said I want to buy this? You scammer! Heyyy! I’m returning this, you greedy merchant!”

Reyl’s laugh was loud and loose. Clearly, he was joking.

“Arrrgh! Reyl, you’re annoying!” She yelled, chasing him.