Oran Knight is out (2/3 chapters for today)
Hunting Game
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The night after the standoff was resolved.
The lakeside was still wrapped in noise and commotion. Some guards had been called over, and they tried to ask Rita-san for details about what happened. Since Sebas-san had informed them that she was an important guest of the Bell Household, it must have been quite difficult for them to question her.
Rita-san quickly wrapped up her explanation and entered the mansion for the ‘cleanup’. The host and Rita-san followed along, at least for appearances.
Before the soldiers arrived, Rita-san had said to the owner of the mansion, “I’m sorry, but I prioritized the hostages’ safety. There’s not too much blood, but just keep that in mind,” causing the owner, who had been tearfully reunited with his beloved daughter, to give a strained smile. In other words, it was just as it seemed.
Sebas-san’s muttered remark, “The annex… no, the whole villa will need to be rebuilt,” left a strong impression on me.
After thanking Sebas-san and returning the hunting rifle, he accepted it with a rather indescribable expression.
“Ojou-sama’s classmate is… no, it’s nothing.” (Sebas)
His hesitant words piqued my curiosity, but before I could ask more, Heinz called out to me.
“Uh, Lux. That just now… no, Lux…” (Heinz)
Heinz seemed at a loss for words, grabbing my shoulder as he searched for what to say. Hana nodded deeply in agreement.
“I was surprised too. I knew you were skilled with a slingshot, but when you hold a gun, you’re this…” (Hana)
Even Maria was speechless after hearing that. On the other hand, Sonia, who had seen my shooting before, boasted.
“See? I told you he was amazing!” (Lux)
“Was that really so incredible?” (Noris)
Noris, who was used to seeing my shooting, looked puzzled as he watched the others’ reactions. While this was happening, Rita-san returned to us.
“It seems there’s nothing more for us to do here. Shall we head back?” (Rita)
She said with such nonchalant confidence it was hard to believe she had just been carrying out an annihilation battle on her own. In both her hands were four bottles of wine.
“Huh? Rita-san, what’s that?” (Lux)
I asked, pointing to the wine.
“Oh, while checking each room to make sure there were no more bandits, I saw the wine cellar. When I mentioned that it was an impressive cellar, I was told I could take whatever I liked as a thank-you, so I didn’t hesitate to accept.” (Rita)
She showed us the labels with a pleased expression.
Sebas-san, who was watching this, was stunned.
“That’s a vintage Villa Sarron, and that one is… Le Barrou…” (Sebas)
He said, at a loss for words, so it must be something pretty good. On the way back to the Bell Household’s villa, I secretly asked Sebas-san about their worth.
“Hmm, I’d say those four bottles could cover the cost of rebuilding the annex.” (Sebas)
He replied. I decided not to probe any further.
I predict that the wine will be gone within the next day.
—
As expected, that night, Rita-san quickly opened a bottle of wine even before dinner was over. Before we could even react, one of the vintage wines was already empty. Rita-san, in high spirits from the alcohol, didn’t surprise me or Norris. We were used to seeing this from our travels from the southern village to the academy, but Sonia, Maria, Hana, and Heinz were wide-eyed in amazement. Still, I couldn’t help but be a bit impressed by how much she could drink.
Oh, I almost forgot.
I had a favor to ask Sebas-san. Leaving Rita-san to her cheerful antics with Sonia, I turned my attention to him.
“Is something the matter, Lux-sama?” (Sebas)
“Seba-san, would it be possible to borrow the hunting rifle again tomorrow?” (Lux)
“That’s fine, but may I ask why?” (Sebas)
“Well, since we’ve been taken care of in so many ways, I’d like to express my gratitude by hunting some game and providing it as food.” (Lux)
“Hunting game, you say?” (Sebas)
When I mentioned that I originally worked as a hunter in the southern village, he nodded in understanding.
“Ah, I see. Very well. I’ll make the arrangements.” (Sebas)
After thanking Sebas-san, I suddenly heard three voices overlapping, “I want to go too!” “Me too, de gozaru!” “Count me in!” Sonia was a bit late to join in, as she was currently being snuggled by Rita-san, but I was a bit concerned she might be disappointed by Rita-san’s behavior. However, Sonia didn’t seem too bothered, so I decided to leave it alone.
Anyhow…
“We’ll be climbing a mountain, and it’s not that much fun.” (Lux)
“But we rarely get a chance to see hunting, and more than anything, I’d like to see Lux’s marksmanship again.” (Heinz)
Heinz insisted, with Hana eagerly agreeing.
These two are always so in sync during times like this.
“I don’t think I have the stamina to keep up, so I’ll wait here and relax.” (Maria)
“I’m not interested in hunting either. Maria-chan, let’s play by the lake together.”
Norris added, as the two younger ones chose to take it easy.
“I’m on summer break from here on out! I’m going to laze around, so I’m not going!” (Rita)
Rita-san chimed in, still in high spirits.
So, it was decided that I would take the three of them hunting tomorrow.
—
The next day, we were climbing the slope of the mountain, where the villas were nestled.
Since animals rarely approached areas near the villa, I planned to go all the way to the mountaintop before searching for prey. That said, it wasn’t a very large mountain, so there probably wouldn’t be any big game. I aimed for birds, though it would have been nice if we found a deer.
“Haah… haah… this… is pretty… tough.” (Heinz)
Heinz panted, clearly out of breath. Sonia also seemed quite worn out, silently climbing with her head down. Although both of them had built up some stamina from daily training, the difference between walking on flat ground and climbing a slope was significant. Moreover, given the location, the mountain probably didn’t see much human activity, making it harder to traverse.
“Shall we take a break, degozaru?” (Hana)
Hana, who was still relatively energetic, suggested. Her training to become a ninja had clearly paid off.
“Just a little more to the top. Hang in there! We’ll take a break and eat some snacks once we get there.” (Lux)
I encouraged the two, pointing to the basket Hana was carrying. It was filled with sweet cookies. Fortunately, the dense trees provided shade from the harsh sunlight. Wiping away our sweat, we somehow made it to the top of the mountain.
“Phew, that was exhausting.” (Heinz)
Heinz murmured with a sense of relief.
“Just let me rest for a bit…” (Sonia)
Sonia, leaning against the trunk of a tree, breathed heavily.
“Hana, you’re still full of energy.” (Hana)
I remarked.
“I used to go to the nearby mountains for syugyo whenever I had time,” she replied with that mysterious term again.
I see. So, you did do syugyo.
We took a break and ate some snacks.
“Alright then, try to stay as quiet as possible. And remember, this isn’t exactly going to be exciting.” (Lux)
I reminded them before carefully moving along the mountain ridge, searching for signs of prey. I listened closely to the small sounds around me and signaled the three following behind me with hand signs to stop.
*Rustle*
The sound of something brushing against the ground. I raised the hunting rifle in the direction of the sound. Peeking out from behind the trees was a magnificent stag with impressive antlers. It was down the slope from where we were, about 40 to 50 meters away. It was not too far.
A sharp, light *bang* echoed through the mountain, startling the birds, which took off with a flurry of wingbeats. After the sound faded, the stag slowly toppled over, and cheers erupted from behind me.
“Wow, that was really intense, degozaru.” (Hana)
Hana said, her innocent excitement evident.
“Even seeing it again, it’s still amazing.” (Sonia)
Sonia added, looking at the stag with fascination. She had seen me take down a boar before, but this seemed to captivate her just as much. As they all expressed their admiration, I had to break the harsh news.
“We can’t take our time here. Once we drain the blood, we need to cool it down quickly. I’m not too familiar with this area, so we need to carry it back down the mountain as fast as possible.” (Lux)
The three of them, who had just struggled to climb up the mountain, now looked like they’d bitten into something bitter at the prospect of heading right back down.
“Lux, couldn’t you have taken your time with the hunt?” (Heinz)
Heinz asked, sounding a bit unreasonable.
—
**Today’s Diary**
After we got back to the base of the mountain, I left the task of processing the stag to Sebas-san. Meanwhile, we returned to the lakeside to relax once again.
I heard from Norris that while we were out, Rita-san didn’t move at all from her spot on the beach chair, just lounging there the entire time.
The only time she got up was when we brought down the stag. She came over, simply said, “This will go well with the wine,” and then went right back to her chair.
And so, our last night by the lakeside ended with everyone enjoying steaks made from the stag I had hunted. It was the perfect way to close out our time together.
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