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359. Lena Ep – Scent

“Ray. When did you go hunting? How come you’re so good at it?”

We went out hunting. It was my monumental first hunt as an adult.

But hunting turned out to be completely different from what I expected, and Ray was incredibly good at it. Ray grinned and replied.

“Just watch and follow along.”

He says that, but I know how amazing that is. Seriously, Ray is good at everything… I tried to hold onto my feelings of deflation.

I thought hunting was all about stabbing at prey with a knife. But hunting, while it ultimately ends with a knife, requires a tremendous amount of preparation.

First, you need to know about the prey, understand the terrain, and set the right traps. Sometimes, you purposely leave the hunter’s scent to restrict paths.

I understood all this mentally. But when I stood in the snowy mountains surrounded by trees, I had no idea what to do.

For now, I just followed Ray around and picked up the simple tasks I could manage.

“This… if I do this… ta-da! I did it! I made it too!”

“Oh! Good job, good job.”

After so much effort, I managed to set a trap. It felt great just looking at it, and Ray patted my head and praised me, which boosted my confidence.

Something is definitely going to get caught there. 100% for sure. Huh?

At that moment, I noticed something dragged along the ground. I checked to see if I was imagining it and called out to Ray.

“Ray! Look at this. There seems to be something down below… Ray? Come over and take a look.”

“Huh? Wow, you’re right. How amazing that you found this!”

Amazing? It’s just something that’s obvious if you have eyes. I didn’t mind Ray’s exaggerated praise and smiled.

“Let’s go take a look!”

Judging by the tracks, it probably wasn’t anything extraordinary. I had some expectations, but as it turned out, what we found when we went down was just a tiny baby fox.

Of course.

At one point, I thought my fate was swept away in a giant whirlwind.

The influence of old man Boris, who talks about people with the sword of the gods every time he meets me. I wondered if there might be trials prepared for my life, like those given to King Maunin and Queen Letty.

For instance, King Maunin and Queen Letty encountered ferocious monsters when they were young and barely survived… I gently picked up the baby fox by the scruff of its neck.

“Why is this one here?”

“Lera. Look over there.”

When I raised my head at Ray’s words, I saw a pair of foxes pacing nervously in the distance. Each of them carried a baby in their mouths.

“Ah. They were moving their babies.”

Since there were three babies, it seemed the fox couple had hidden one briefly while they went back for the others.

I set the squirming baby fox back down where I found it.

Although I was feeling pressed since I still hadn’t gotten any results… I had set an amazing trap earlier!

We quietly backed away and watched as the fox family disappeared. When we returned, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing inside.

Earlier, Ray had turned my trap around. I guess he fixed the mistake I made.

Then he acted like it hadn’t happened at all, pretending ignorance. So adorable. As I passed by the trap, pretending not to notice, I asked,

“Should we have three babies too, like them? Once we get married later?”

We shared our first kiss in the empty woods. My first hunt ended so normally, but I didn’t feel disappointed at all.

*

Ahem.

My name is Lera Ainar. I am a warrior of the Ainar Tribe, which has a long ‘e’ sound in our name.

In our tribe, becoming a warrior means you are granted almost all restrictions removed.

Once one becomes a warrior, they can branch off from their family and propose to marry anyone they like.

If I may brag a little, if I weren’t already taken, I would have had quite a few proposals.

This is also why Ray has been subtly ostracized by the other tribe members in our age group.

In our tribe, there is no custom of engagement. However, Uncle Noel snatched me up quickly, which left some friends feeling like dogs chasing chickens. Heh, Ray needs to realize how lucky he is.

Anyway, I am now a warrior.

I can freely enter and exit anywhere and have the right to speak at tribe meetings. I can go out of the fortress too, and most importantly, I can now buy alcohol without worrying about my mom…

“No way.”

The overly serious Ray interrupted my thoughts.

“We need to train. We’re still far from our peak.”

“What about our skills? Honestly, I feel like I could take on any knight at this point…”

Gulp.

Ray didn’t try to persuade me with words.

He drew his sword and calmly brought it down toward me from above.

The blade brushed past the tips of my bangs and the edge of my nose. Even though Ray swung the sword with one hand, its trajectory drew a beautifully perfect vertical line. I imagined my body splitting from the top of my head down to my groin.

I felt paralyzed in place and began to suffocate. I drew in a sharp breath.

“You… what did you just…?”

“Let me correct that. Your skills are still lacking.”

Ray sheathed his sword and turned away. He walked into his home, looking greatly disappointed in me.

An empty clearing. Confusion filled me.

I sat down on a bench.

Even though I felt my behind getting wet from the snow piled on the bench, I didn’t have the strength to lift a single finger.

‘How could Ray…?’

An incredible swordsmanship.

Drawing a sword vertically is difficult, but with effort, it’s a level one can eventually reach.

But Ray not only did it with one arm, but he also controlled the trajectory of the blade perfectly vertical. If he hadn’t done that, my nose would have been sliced!

Mad control. I have no idea where Ray’s skill level even is. At least I realize how pathetic I am.

‘… Ray was accommodating my level. He gave me a warning since I was getting complacent just because I became a warrior.’

It was a reminder that I couldn’t keep up with him. Our relationship began with swordsmanship.

‘That’s right. I’ve never won against Ray… Not since that time in the past.’

We were kids back then.

I thoughtlessly underestimated Ray, who was a frail-looking boy, and got completely wrecked during a spar.

I was somewhat confident in my weapon skills, but no surprise there—my shabby axe shattered into pieces against the knight’s son’s skill, and I burst into tears in front of that delicate boy.

Now, it’s a past event that I doubt Ray even remembers. I thought he had forgotten… but maybe I was the one who forgot.

– Drip.

Tears fell from my eyes. What the heck? Why am I dropping tears like a fool? Crying over nothing.

“Geez… sniff. Ugh.”

I sat on that bench, foolishly crying. Actually, it was just the cold that made me shed some tears. There’s a custom in our Ainar Tribe.

Ray. You civilized folks may never understand this…

I hadn’t drunk a single drop of alcohol all winter.

I heard some merchant group of fathers and sons had come and gone, but I stayed inside. As always, I swung my sword in the clearing, and spring boldly approached.

*

“At this rate, if you two jump in, I’ll be helpless.”

One day, Uncle Noel said. I shot back at him as if to say, did you just notice?

“What’s this ‘now’? You must have lost to us at least twenty times.”

“Hmhm. It’s not easy for one person to face two. Especially since you two are in sync… Lera, your weapon skills have improved so much.”

“Hehe. What a rare compliment.”

“But.”

Uncle Noel said this with all seriousness.

“I think it would be good for you to switch weapons even now. Of course, I’ve said this countless times, but today I’ll give you a serious piece of advice.”

“What is it?”

“Switch your weapon now. That one is too big for you.”

“Ugh—no way!!!”

I hugged my sword. When I planted it in the ground, it came up to my shoulder, and while it was indeed big, it wasn’t that heavy for its size.

It’s at the point where I can barely swing it unless I throw my whole body into the motion? I’m doing just fine.

The reason I’m attached to this sword isn’t just because of old man Boris’s nonsense (where the heck has he been anyway?), but because it belonged to my deceased grandfather.

The day I returned weeping after losing to Ray, my dad handed it over to me.

Even now it’s large, but back then, it felt enormous.

The blade, stained red as if soaked in blood, captivated me, and I thought that the day I could wield it smoothly would be the day I could finally bring Ray to his knees.

Of course, that was the mindset of a child.

Anyway, I have been training to use this sword. Recently I’ve been establishing my own unique style, working toward creating my own swordsmanship. At this point, what’s the point of switching swords?

Uncle Noel sighed as he spoke.

“If it weren’t for that sword, you’d have developed your own swordsmanship by now. You have a long way ahead… Stubborn as you are, there’s nothing I can do. I think you should look at weapon skills from a different perspective since that sword is too large and heavy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe, let’s see… You could look at how to handle an axe or something? I haven’t really thought it through. Anyway, I don’t think you should just view it as a sword.”

“Hmm~ an axe… I’ll think about it. The weight would be similar.”

What does an aspiring knight have to do with an axe?

Honestly, I felt a bit annoyed, but I answered positively.

I knew Uncle Noel wouldn’t be someone to discriminate against me just because I’m local.

“Now that Ray has shaken off his bad habits, there’s nothing more for me to teach him. Kid, the time has come for you to step down. Ha ha ha!”

“Thanks for your hard work, Master.”

Ray smiled brightly and joked with Uncle Noel. I knew that his ability was not limited to just that, but he seemed to want to keep it hidden, so I said nothing.

Ray glanced at me and then spoke to my father. Uncle Noel seemed to have an inkling of what Ray was about to say.

“Father.”

“Alright. Should I write a letter of recommendation?”

“No, that’s not necessary. Just write a letter of introduction to the Knight Commander. I’d like to meet him once.”

“Sure thing. And?”

“I think training is enough for now. I want to participate in the upcoming Maunin-Letii tournament this year.”

His words that training was enough resounded like thunder. Ray was still looking at me, and he finished his sentence while making eye contact.

“With Lera.”

My lips twitched. I turned my head to hide it, and Ray must have realized how sulky I was.

Hmph.

I was still feeling sulky and tried to continue training when the warm spring sunlight and a large shadow suddenly loomed over me from behind.

Yeah. Quickly. Come on.

Ray didn’t disappoint me. The sweet scent wafting in, and a hand wrapping around my waist made me turn my head, unable to resist.

“Let go. I’m still mad at you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?”

“Well… what should I do with this bad guy… Eek! Ugh.”

This is something only I know, but Ray knew how to kiss properly.

Considering the sincerity, I guess I’ll have to forgive him again. (Laughs)