I Am a Bowman

Smith, who knew nothing about archery.

Lars immediately sensed that his words were false.

In fact, anyone would have noticed, not just Lars.

As soon as he heard the word 'archery master', Smith's eyes were filled with vigilance instead of drowsiness.

Lars decided to sell the name of the Village Chief.

In this small village, the Village Chief was a symbol of respect and trust.

“Do you really know nothing? The Village Chief told me about the archery master and told me to go to this weapon store.”

Lars looked at him with a desperate expression and spoke.

“Hm. The Village Chief?”

“Yes. I've also heard stories about the festival day.”

The effect of selling the name of the Village Chief was tremendous.

Smith quickly grabbed Lars and dragged him into an inner room.

He locked the door and cornered Lars.

“Tell me in detail.”

Lars relayed the story of the archery master that the Village Chief had told him.

But Smith still had doubts.

“Why did you tell me that?”

'Why is this nobleman so stubborn?'

Lars calmly spoke without revealing his inner thoughts on his face.

“I told him that I want to become an archer, and he told me that there is an archery master in this village.”

After listening to the explanation, Smith nodded several times and understood.

“I see. Sorry for misunderstanding. I thought you came to catch that nobleman.”

“To catch him?”

“Actually, there were others looking for the archery master besides you.”

Lars thought of the users who wanted to become archers.

“Are they adventurers?”

“No, they are from the Archery Association. Actually, those guys have been strange since they came to our village. The Village Chief doesn't know, but I know them well. The guys from the Archery Association always looked down on our village as a rural area. I wanted to beat those guys who looked down on us as country bumpkins every time I went to the city for trade...”

Unbelievable. Archers were being insulted not only by users but also by NPCs.

“They didn't come to our village willingly because of the prophecy. They definitely came here after hearing rumors about that nobleman.”

The prophecy that Smith was talking about referred to the final prophecy seen by the prophet 'Del Khatra'.

The defeat of the Human Alliance and the destruction of humanity in the face of the Demon Army's invasion.

It was a fate that could never be avoided as human beings in this world, and Del Khatra tried to break this fate by borrowing the power of beings from another dimension.

The beings from another dimension were none other than real users in reality, and they were called adventurers.

The starting village was closest to another dimension than any other place, so it served as a gateway, and various associations including the Archery Association entered this village, and warp gates began to appear.

How did he know all this?

It was the content of an advertisement that had been released since before Grand Story opened.

At the end, the cheesy phrase 'You are the hero who will save the world... Answer the summon now!' became famous and was often parodied here and there.

“Why are those useless Archery Association guys looking for the archery master?'”

Lars deliberately used strong expressions and asked Smith.

To form a bond between people, it was essential to create empathy, and gossip was effective in creating empathy.

“'Do you guys understand? One thing is for sure, they don't have good intentions. They had a murderous look in their eyes. Since I'm the one who's talking, they rushed at me as if they were going to kill me. But as someone who has been running a weapon store for decades, do you think I would be swayed by that kind of threat?”

Honestly, Lars was more impressed by Smith, who woke up and wiped his drool.

But I can't just say, 'Yes, I think I'll handle the threat very well,' can I?

In times like this, playing along is the answer.

"Yes, that's right. The archers' association are all like that. Aren't they just thoughtless punks?"

Smith's expression changed as if he was suspicious of something.

"Why do you insult the archers' association? Didn't you say you wanted to become an archer?"

He still had doubts.

It was a fairly sharp question, but unfortunately Lars' response was not a lie to match his taste.

"I insult the archers' association because I want to become an archer."

"What does that mean?"

"If I could have become an archer, wouldn't I have gone to the job change office earlier? It seems that the archers' association thought it was a waste to assign personnel to the job change office, so the person in charge of job change recently left."

"I see..."

That's right. It was natural for Lars to have negative feelings about the archers' association, regardless of whether he played along with Smith's taste or not.

Smith thought for a moment and admitted that Lars was right.

"Um, by any chance, do you remember who the master of archery is? The village chief said he didn't remember...."

"I don't know."

"Then why did you keep calling me that...?"

"That's just a habit of pretending to know in order to confuse the archers' association guys."

'What is this...'

Since it was a weapon store that Lars came to with the expectation that there would be a big clue, he couldn't hide his disappointment.

Smith looked at Lars for a moment, thinking about something, and then opened a box in the corner as if he had made up his mind.

"There's no bad person who hates the archers' association. I'll give it to you."

What he handed over was an old bow.

"This is..."

"It's the bow that guy used. I got it for you during the festival."

'The Master's Bow!'

His heart pounded. He didn't know, but it was at least a magic grade bow, right?

The equipment grade in Grand Story was divided into four stages: normal, magic, rare, and unique, but some equipment was classified according to the characteristics of the equipment such as ancient, legendary, and growth.

In Grand Story, which had been open for just over a month, the highest grade equipment released was rare. Magic items were really rare in the current situation of Grand Story.

"Is it okay for you to give it to me?"

"Stop saying things you don't mean and take it quickly. I don't know if this will help or not."

'The Master's Bow!'

Lars received the bow and checked the information.

[Old Longbow]

A longbow used by the master of archery long ago. It's now too old and has lost its power.

-Grade: Normal

-Attack Power: 10~20

-Durability: 30/30

Forget about magic, it was even a beginner-level ability among normal equipment.

Thinking that Lars was burdened by his surprised expression, Smith pushed his back, saying it was okay to take it continuously.

"I hope you find the master. ...Hey! Did you wake me up just to buy such a bow!"

Smith suddenly shouted as soon as he opened the door and came out of the store.

Lars looked at Smith in surprise.

He was winking awkwardly, which was creepy and he wasn't good at it.

In other words, he was pretending to be an actor, but Lars wondered if he had to go this far without being a movie.

Awkwardly smiling, Lars left the weapon store and decided on his next destination.

General Store.

It was to meet Daphne, the remaining witness among the two people mentioned by the village chief.

* * *

Daphne was completely different from Smith.

First of all, she had a noble beauty in her mid-30s and an elegant grace that she couldn't quite place.

There were rumors that she was a fallen noble, but in fact, she was just a native of the starting village. She was just born pretty.

Male players would come to the general store and try to strike up a conversation with her.

"Daphne! The weather is nice, let's go on a date outside."

"Ahem. Daphne. How about having a drink with me instead of that little brat?"

"What? Little brat? Have you finished talking?"

"Who do you think you're talking to without honorifics?"

"It's much better than growing old and acting all disgusting and clingy."

'Wow, it's a complete mess.'

Among the many male players, there were two outstanding troublemakers.

They say one of the most entertaining sights in the world is watching a fight.

Normally, he would have watched while eating popcorn, but now he had something to do with Daphne, the owner of this space.

And also to score some points.

'Huh?'

But Lars changed his mind.

Daphne smiled awkwardly and calmly chased both troublemakers out of the general store when the fight was about to start.

"Make up and come back~"

"Daphne!"

"Daphne!"

“Ignoring the screams of the two men, Daphne closed the door.”

After that, she calmly dealt with the scoundrels who appeared afterwards without losing her smile.

'Is she naturally kind or is she just dedicated to her job...'

Lars took the opportunity to talk while fiddling with potions in the corner.

Then, taking advantage of the moment when the store suddenly became quiet, Lars approached Daphne and spoke to her.

"Daphne?"

"Oh my, there's still a customer. Do you need something?"

“Although he felt sorry for grabbing Daphne, who was about to take a break, Lars was desperate too.”

"It's not an item, but I'm looking for someone."

"...?"

"By any chance, are you a master archer...?"

"We don't sell people. Please leave."

“Daphne frowned and pushed Lars away.”

Such a sudden change in attitude.

Lars was taken aback because he didn't expect this much resistance and suddenly had a thought.

'Could it be that those archery association guys bothered Daphne too?'

He was right.

Later, I found out that the Archery Association had persistently approached all the residents of the starting village as if threatening them without their knowledge.

"D-Daphne? Wait! Just a moment! I'm not from the Archery Association."

"You must be an adventurer hired by the Archery Association."

"No, no. I came after talking to the Village Chief and Smith."

"Yes, yes."

“There was no way.”

She seemed completely uninterested in hearing what he had to say.

'This is bad... Ah, that's right!'

Lars suddenly remembered the bow that Smith had given him.

"Um, please take a look at this for a moment."

“Lars took out an old longbow from his inventory and showed it to her.”

"...."

“Daphne took the bow and let out a short sigh, then she silently fiddled with the bow for a while.”

It seemed as if her eyes were moist.

Lars' plan to gain Daphne's trust by using the master archer's bow had worked perfectly.

Lars waited without urging her, and soon after reminiscing, Daphne returned the bow to him.

"This is... definitely his bow."

"Yes. I received it from Smith."

"No. I'm not from the Archery Association."

“...Mr. Smith? I see. I'm sorry. I must have been sensitive because the archery association people were bothering me so much.”

When she heard about the origin of the bow, she seemed to trust Lars completely.

“No. I am well aware of the misdeeds of the archery association guys. It's only natural for Daphne to react that way. I would have done the same.”

The introduction is over. There is no need to drag it out.

Lars went straight to the point.

“Do you happen to know who the master of the bow is?”

“No. I remember their graceful shooting and voice, but for some reason, I can't remember their face....”

“I see. In that case....”

Lars was not disappointed. He had predicted that Daphne would not know from the start, based on the development of the quest.

This was exactly what Lars had been aiming for.

“...Do you have any of his arrows?”