The Archer.
To Aslan, honestly, this particular Archer wasn’t a high priority.
This was because he viewed bows themselves as not particularly helpful against priests.
Though they had excellent penetration and were highly lethal against humans, when used against priests, their lethality paled in comparison to other weapons.
Moreover, priests could be considered demigods or quasi-deities—extremely powerful beings.
It seemed unlikely that they would simply stand still to be hit by arrows.
Considering the abilities, sizes, and natures of priests, it was almost impossible to imagine a simple arrow delivering an effective or decisive blow to one.
Thus, Aslan had pushed the Archer down to the lowest priority.
Certainly, the Archer was skilled, and while the name “Clo” might suggest a lower chance of being a priest, it wasn’t worth actively searching for one.
What Aslan needed now was a more offensively powerful veteran.
For example, a Master of Magic.
Aslan didn’t intend to go out of his way to find a party member who would overlap with his role, so he planned to look for an Archer only after the party grew larger.
The current party wasn’t bad either.
But for Aslan, Tiya Mal Clo’s existence came as quite a surprise.
A pleasant surprise.
It felt like receiving a Christmas gift or birthday present after 12 years.
Even if she were just an ordinary Archer, her skills, no matter how good, would have been questionable. However, Aslan had personally witnessed Tiya Mal’s prowess.
The incredible accuracy and range to shoot from a hill and hit a mountain, the impressive penetration and power suggested by the length of her unusually long arrows.
Such a sniper with exceptional offensive capabilities could fill the gaps and regrets of the current party’s imbalance.
So, despite the slightly crazy behavior Tiya Mal Clo had shown, Aslan thought she should be recruited.
He believed her firepower would be necessary to gain an advantage against the priests they would encounter in the future.
The fact that Tiya Mal Clo seemed somewhat unstable was concerning, but the party already included a psychopathic elf and a masochistic saintess.
A nude-race dragon-human archer wasn’t much of an issue compared to that.
When you consider how hard it is to find a sane person among the veterans, it was an expected problem.
If there really was an issue…
“Did you say she’s detained?”
“That’s right.”
Just inside the fortification beyond the border, Aslan immediately started explaining after barely receiving permission to enter.
At his words, Ereta tilted her head in confusion and echoed the question, while Angie stared silently at the mountain. She was probably looking at the peak Tiya Mal had hit.
Aslan glanced at his traveling companions while answering Ereta; Phey, riding on Angie’s back, gently pressed her chin onto Angie’s crown.
“Angie, what are you looking at?”
“Oh? I was just looking at the peak where the arrow landed.”
“That one?”
Phey stretched out her hand to point at the peak visible to her, though to Aslan, Angie, and Ereta, it only appeared as a vague outline through the mist.
“Wouldn’t you… see it? Can you really see that?”
“Yes, Phey has extremely good eyesight!”
Phey smiled while answering. Considering the peculiar nature of elven physiology, it was plausible. Elves’ vision could pierce through forests several kilometers away.
Unaware of this, Angie asked incredulously.
“What’s going on there?”
“It’s embedded! It’s stuck beside the peak like a hat decoration! The upper part is gone!”
Chattering like a child, Phey’s answer made Angie exclaim with an “Oh!” and accept it readily. She seemed convinced by the plausible explanation.
While Angie, unfamiliar with geography, seemed satisfied, Ereta’s expression hardened upon overhearing this. The distance from the hill to the mountain peak was considerable.
“With skills like these, hitting and destroying a mountain peak seems certain.”
“There’s a problem though,” Ereta began, her face clouding with perplexity. Even she, a high-ranking priest, recognized the situation wasn’t favorable.
“Unfortunately, the mountain she shot happens to be a sacred mountain of the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom. At minimum, it’s punishable by burning at the stake.”
Aslan nodded. To his knowledge, desecrating a sacred mountain was a grave offense in the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom.
The people of the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom lived and were born in the mountains. Legends even claimed their ancestors returned to the mountains, making any damage to the mountains akin to sacrilege.
Aslan turned his head slightly to glance at the makeshift fortress attached to the stockade. Tiya Mal Clo would likely be imprisoned there, soon to face a quick trial and execution or be dragged to the capital for the same fate.
The situation wasn’t good. If left unchecked, they might lose a valuable asset.
On the other hand, it was also somewhat fortunate.
Aslan glanced at Angie, who was carrying Phey on her back. Angie blinked and mouthed, “Why?”
Angie had initially gained some trust in Aslan for freeing her from captivity. Though wary at first due to his ulterior motives, rescuing her from a tight spot was a reliable way to build trust quickly.
Because of this, Aslan saw Tiya Mal Clo’s imprisonment as an opportunity.
The method of extraction was the problem, but Aslan had several means at his disposal.
While planning, Aslan raised his head and briefly announced,
“Wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
He intended to meet and talk with Tiya Mal Clo.
*
Aslan wasn’t just proficient in combat skills.
Although auxiliary skills didn’t directly aid in battle, he had maximized them all to the highest level.
Among them, the skill of hunting increased the owner’s stealth capability as its proficiency rose.
By masking his scent and reducing footstep sounds, the chances of detection dropped significantly, especially when combined with agility. This made Aslan both secretive and swift.
Dodging the gaze of the guard towers carved from stone, he swiftly crossed the deep shadows and leapt lightly, planting his foot on the wall before flipping his body into the building.
Had Phey seen it, she might have laughed, calling it snake-like.
It was an exceedingly silent and smooth infiltration.
Avoiding the sightlines of the four watchtowers, Aslan infiltrated the building, gripping the trailing edges of his cloak to muffle any sound. He moved quickly yet quietly toward the dungeon.
Passing the sleeping guard in the dim corridor of the dungeon, where the shadows of the iron bars cast grid-like patterns everywhere, Aslan approached the cell.
The dragon-person spoke up as Aslan reached the cell.
“Wow, you’re pretty quiet. Like some kind of wild beast. Not a guard, are you? Did you come to see me?”
Aslan stiffened slightly at the words and glanced behind him. The guard was still asleep.
Even if he had spoken a bit loudly, it didn’t seem like the guard would wake up.
“How did you know?”
At Aslan’s question, the dragon-person scoffed and shrugged.
The dragon-person, Tiya Mal Clo, had her eyes covered.
Aslan’s query was a legitimate doubt.
“Guess.”
The chuckling dragon-person leaned against the bars. His entire forearm protruded outside the bars.
Aslan looked at the arm pensively.
‘I’m not overconfident about my stealth abilities… but it shouldn’t have been audible.’
Even if heard, how could one be sure it wasn’t a guard or soldier?
Unless the blindfold covering her eyes actually allowed her to see through, there was no way to discern that the approaching figure was someone other than a guard.
So, it wasn’t hearing.
Visually, dragon-people don’t have great eyesight, and hers were currently covered by a blindfold anyway.
Aslan frowned deeply, glaring at the dragon-person who revealed most of his upper body. Although he wore pants now, during the time when Tiya Mal hit the mountain peak, she had been completely naked.
At the time, it seemed merely baffling and was assumed to be a perverted act, but considering she was a Master Archer, there might be more meaning behind her actions.
Based on speculation alone, Aslan confirmed his suspicion when he noticed the wind stirring the torch flame. There was a breeze entering this near-subterranean prison.
“It’s your sense of touch, isn’t it.”
“…Oh? You got it. Guessing correctly would’ve been less fun though.”
The dragon-person straightened up from leaning against the bars. Despite the creaking sound of the bars, he casually held up his handcuffed hands and said,
“Still correct. This old man’s scales are no joke. When the wind stirs, you feel it, right? Sort of like that. I can sense most things pretty well.”
Casually scratching his chin, Tiya Mal added, “Do other members of my kind not have this ability?”
Aslan pondered whether Tiya Mal’s abnormal tactile senses were the secret to her archery skills while remaining silent. Tiya Mal sighed heavily after lowering the hand that had been scratching his chin.
“If you were going to come, I wished it would’ve been that woman. A dark-skinned man shows up, and it kinda ruins the mood.”
“…Huh?”
“You didn’t see it? This guy lacks discernment.”
“Wait, what are you talking about…”
“The woman, the woman.”
The bars groaned under the excessive weight as Tiya Mal leaned against them.
“Didn’t you see me hit the mountain peak earlier? What do you think I was trying to show off?”
Despite Aslan’s furrowed brow at the abrupt question, he answered straightforwardly.
“To showcase your skills, right? Since you mentioned your name while shooting.”
“Yes, showcasing is correct. But who do you think I was trying to impress? Obviously, such remarkable skills are meant to attract women, aren’t they?”
Aslan, who usually kept to himself, couldn’t comprehend this and tilted his head in confusion.
“I saw a decent woman among the line of dragon-people earlier. She had a thick tail, a big butt, and large breasts. The moment I saw her, I thought, ‘She’s too good to let go.'”
Only then did Aslan recall one of the individuals he had reviewed while entering the stockade. Indeed, as Tiya Mal described, she was a dragon-person with a large body and a thick tail.
And as soon as he recalled that female dragon-person, Aslan’s jaw dropped slightly in disbelief.
“…You destroyed a sacred mountain just to flirt with a woman?”
“Well, sometimes things turn out that way. Looks like I failed though. Tsk.”
Tiya Mal, seemingly regretful, chuckled softly and leaned fully against the bars. Accompanied by the creaking sound of the bars, Aslan asked:
“Do you realize you could be executed? In Baraumanz, damaging a sacred mountain is a serious crime.”
“I know. But isn’t love more important? Isn’t this what you need to do to impress a good woman?”
An incomprehensible mindset. He truly seemed to have his brain located in his loins.
The frivolous words and actions of Tiya Mal caused Aslan to frown deeply now.
“To risk your life for something like that?”
“Aren’t women significant matters? They’re worth risking your life for.”
It was then that Aslan was certain. Tiya Mal Clo was indeed an oddball.
Though none of the Masters were normal, Tiya Mal Clo’s abnormality stemmed from a different direction entirely.
Silent now, Aslan’s silence seemed interpreted somehow by Tiya Mal, who suddenly spoke.
“Ah, but don’t misunderstand? I’m not interested in non-dragon women.”
“What?”
“I don’t date those without tails.”
Aslan’s frown deepened, and Tiya Mal chuckled softly.
That laughter echoed eerily through the dungeon corridor.
Not as boisterous as the laughter he had burst into on the hill, but loud enough. Aslan began to think it wouldn’t be strange if the mountain warriors checked or the guard woke up.
Clearly, Tiya Mal Clo was an oddball.
On the flip side, his certainty that Tiya Mal wouldn’t become a priest was reinforced.
Which deity of evil would grant the desire to flirt with a thick-tailed female dragon-person?
Regardless of personal preferences, Tiya Mal Clo was qualified as a companion.
“Master Archer, Tiya Mal Clo.”
That’s why Aslan muttered.
At the muttering, Tiya Mal, who had been laughing, became serious, clearly enough for a human to understand.
“Do you want to leave this prison, or will you accept the consequences of your actions and die peacefully?”
Aslan continued watching his expression. Tiya Mal’s face slowly began to emit a killing aura.
“Slightly revealed killing intent. The forearm protruding outside the bars retracted, and the scales on his arm bristled as muscles swelled. Preparing for battle, Aslan smiled satisfactorily at the sight of Tiya Mal.
Judging by the preparation for battle alone, Tiya Mal Clo was an excellent veteran.
Though satisfied with the sight, since the killing intent wasn’t provoked intentionally, Aslan responded promptly.
“I am Aslan, the Master of Combat.”
Again, clear enough for a human to understand, the giant dragon-person’s expression changed.
A visibly solemn expression. The face tinged with a slight hint of doubt as Aslan spoke.
“And I’ve come here to break you out.”
At the words “break you out,” Tiya Mal openly sniffed his nose, a gesture dragon-people made when concentrating.
“…I thought you were just some inexperienced kid who doesn’t know the real taste of women, but you’re a big deal.”
The inflated muscles and raised scales subsided. The diminished Tiya Mal crossed his arms and lifted his chin.
“What do you want? What do you expect to gain by breaking me out?”
Aslan watched the scene of Tiya Mal tapping his tail on the ground with interest and smiled faintly.
