The Gods Dwell in Aim
Even in this world, gods are believed in.
They are believed in, but in the Kingdom of Halpheria here, religion seems to have declined over the past few hundred years.
In the agricultural nation of Halpheria, the sun god was believed in since ancient times. However, as the neighboring Holy Kingdom of Sunglaire continued its invasions, their main deity, the sun god, came to be resented. If you hate the monk, you’ll hate the tattered robe too, and it’s understandable to hate even the Buddha when pushed to the extreme.
So, abandoning its former sun god beliefs, the Kingdom of Halpheria made the moon god its main deity, partly to signify its separation from the religious nation of Sunglaire.
Well, it seems odd for an agricultural nation to defiantly believe in the moon god, but they must have been utterly incompatible with Sunglaire.
Apparently, when they initially changed religions, the people were confused and plagued with anxiety. Farmers, in particular, feared the sun god’s divine punishment, and there were even some riots.
However, contrary to the people’s anxiety, agricultural production remained bountiful as usual. There were no droughts or cold weather damage that had been feared, and when Sunglaire was conveniently struck by famine, the people’s religious anxiety was quickly dispelled.
With the separation from Sunglaire leading to a drastic decline in religious forces, and an increase in the religiously indifferent population
due to Sunglaire’s influence, this country has now stabilized with a view of religion as “well, it’s tradition, so we’ll do the ceremonies” or thereabouts. As a former Japanese person who’s rather casual about religion, it’s a quite relatable country, though they’re still more devout than the Japanese.
Now, the moon god believed in this Kingdom of Halpheria is said to preside over hunting and magic,
with staves and bows often symbolized in designs.
Since archery involves bows, it’s quite an auspicious deity in that sense.
In other words, you have to pray to the moon god when shooting a bow.
“O moon god Hydroa of our nation. Grant that I may strike the center of yonder straw bale. Should I fail this shot, I shall return my bow to the rack and sleep, abandoning the path of the archer to become a bastard sword user instead. Unless thou deemest fit to increase our archer population by one…”
“Mongrel-senpai goes for form over substance, huh?”
“Watch it!”
The arrow I nocked and hastily released struck the ground a good 10 meters in front of the 20-meter target, burying itself deeply.
“Well, that’s about right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean??”
“Have you gotten worse than before, Mongrel-san…?”
“Maybe my hands are numb from the cold…”
“But you warmed them up with hot milk earlier, right?”
Right now, I’m receiving archery instruction from Raina and Ulrika at the guild’s training grounds.
I decided to try saying, “Hey, I want to practice archery, can you teach me?” And to my surprise, they were quite keen to oblige. But before receiving any real advice, there’s a chance my motivation may die first.
The archery duo.
“It’s your stance, you’re swaying. The biggest issue is your bow hand moving.”
“More importantly, you’re holding it backwards, Mongrel-san. The outside should be in, like earlier.”
“You have to be able to draw and keep the tension, but your whole posture seems kind of unstable.”
“Ohh…you two are really coming at me today…”
“We’re not holding back, that’s all.”
“We’ve been doing this way longer than you, so if you’re asking us to teach you, we’ll train you properly until you’re serviceable.”
After a few rounds of their instruction and shooting some more arrows, I was at least able to get the arrows going roughly in the intended direction…more or less.
I wish they’d put a laser pointer on the arrowhead instead of a broadhead…no, I don’t think it would fly straight even then.
“Isn’t this distance a bit much for a beginner?”
“This is actually quite short. If it wasn’t cold outside, we’d want to be doing this closer to the forest.”
“Well, this range is ideal for hunting in the forest. It’s the bare minimum, though?”
Right, if there was a Crazy Boar or Charge Deer 20m away, I’d be lucky to get one shot off before being noticed. Normally, the enemy would spot me first at that range.
So I guess I need to be able to accurately hit targets from much farther away.
“What kind of distances can you two hit consistently?”
“For me, 60m in calm conditions is manageable. I can shoot farther than that, but consistency drops off.”
“Wow, nice.”
“It’s a skill-assisted ability.”
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Raina’s skill is Called Shot.
It completely eliminates hand tremors, allowing her to take a perfect aim. Though despite the name, it doesn’t automatically track targets – she still has to make adjustments herself to actually hit.
Doesn’t that seem really strong? I’m an amateur, but being able to hold a steady aim for extended periods seems incredibly useful. Apparently it’s also quite mana-efficient.
“I can shoot about the same as Raina. Not having a sighting skill makes it tough…”
“Ulrika’s on par with Raina too…Artemis really has a lot of talented archers.”
“My skills are more for pinpointing an animal’s weak spots or boosting arrow damage. I’m the power hitter.”
“Ulrika-senpai is amazing. Senpai can even shoot down charging beasts with sheer power.”
“Fufuun…Raina’s just so cuuute!”
“Hey, quit petting me! I’m not a kid anymore!”
Watching the girlish intimacy between the two unfold, I diligently retrieve the scattered arrows.
It’s kind of sad how few actually hit the target bale.
“Hey, mind if you two take a couple shots with this bow?”
“I’ve never used this particular bow before, but I can try a couple shots, sure.”
“Oh me too, I’ll give it a go. Might as well show this hopeless student how it’s done.”
“My apologies for being such a poor pupil.”
“Ufufu, just this once, I’m the senior archer here compared to you, Mongrel-senpai. Watch closely.”
Afterwards, Raina shot two arrows without skills, followed by Ulrika doing the same.
The first shots landed well off the mark (though still much closer than mine), but the second arrows struck the straw bale cleanly.
The first was likely an observation shot to adjust, then the second fired for real. From my perspective, it’s interdimensional archery.
“Once spring comes and the beasts become active again, you’ll want to get to a serviceable level by then.”
“Mmm, I wonder about that… If you actually practice diligently, you might make it, but Mongrel-san will probably just goof off, won’t he?”
“I will practice, dammit!”
“Half-assing it won’t cut it!”
That said, I don’t really feel archery is that necessary for me personally.
It’s just a hobby, nothing more. It would certainly be convenient to be proficient, but not essential.
“…Well, we’re not charging you or anything this time around. Feel free to ask me or Raina for more lessons whenever you’ve got free time. Ah, but you’ll have to buy us a round of ale afterwards, okay?”
“Ah, that sounds good to me.”
“Lessons from two pros for the price of some drinks is a steal.”
“Yay, free booze!”
“…Say, Raina, do you think we could learn swordsmanship from him?”
“Raina? Well, knowing basic self-defense is never a bad thing, but I’m completely self-taught. Alex would be the best teacher.”
“Ah, I see.”
“…You don’t like Alex or something?”
“No, it’s not that.”
In my case, it’s just brute force reinforcement magic, so carelessly imitating it would be dangerous.
It’s better to learn from those trained in the systematized military techniques.
“Spring, huh…it’ll be busy once spring arrives.”
“Yeah…”
“People, money, monsters – everything gets moving. It’s prime earning season for guild folk. I don’t mind this season, but I’m getting restless.”
Oh, I finally hit the straw bale.
“Nice one, senpai!”
“Congratulations, Mongrel-san!”
“Seems the moon god hasn’t abandoned me after all.”
“A merciful deity indeed.”
“My persistence paid off, eh?”
“Ahahahah.”
The snow will start melting soon, ushering in another busy year.
When the slushy snow turns to puddles, the grind begins anew.
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