Ken took the bow from a mortified Ferdie, looking dead serious as he nocked an arrow onto his bow. His stance made Ceruki wince, and gave birth to a flame of hope in Furlo's gloomy eyes.
But even as unskillful as he was, Ken's first shot managed to hit the target at only five centimeters away from the center.
"Ooh, that was close. Looks like the competition is really rousing my spirit. I am not that accurate, usually."
Ken's lighthearted remarks were no different from open taunts. A new archer might be proud of that shot, but anyone with a couple months of training would be ashamed to call it accurate.
.
The atmosphere in the training ground grew suffocating, an invisible pressure of exasperation and disbelief permeating the air as Ken shot his second and third arrow.
"Five centimeters!"
"Six centimeters!"
A total of sixteen centimetres, just a finger's breadth away from Ferdie's abysmal score. But... this was still a victory.
.
Captain Ceruki declared it without hesitation, soaking in the hateful glare being sent towards him from the group of guest nobles.
.
"Your heart is in the right place, young master Furlo. But don't believe every rumor you hear."
Captain Ceruki gestured at the crowd pointedly, and the trainees began to leave in a hurry. The excitement of the scene, however, stayed on their faces, their whispers, and the squeaks of laughter forming within them every few seconds.
.
Young Master Furlo gnashed his teeth for a long time in silence, his fiery gaze more focused on Ferdie than Ken.
"Young master Furlo, do I have to remind you?" Captain Ceruki said once the last trainee had left the training ground. "I'm saving you more dignity than I should, honestly. You can apologize without the rest of the city talking about it."
"...Thank you, Captain, for your kindness," Furlo replied snappily, turning to look at Ken. He bent forward and placed one of knees on the ground, a well-known gesture in the subcontinent that signified one's acceptance of defeat.
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"I apologize for doubting the selection committee, and I apologize for troubling this...talented new recruit. As compensation, here are fifty greengold."
One of the nobles accompanying young master Furlo took out a fat pouch from his waist-pocket and threw it disdainfully at Ken. Having expected the 'compensation' already, Ken caught it with a greedy expression.
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"Apology accepted!" He shouted in a delighted tone, turning the overcast countenance of the nobles even worse. The compensation must have been their way of preserving a little vanity, but the way Ken had reacted, like an official extorting poor civilians, didn't really leave them with much pride.
.
After they too, took their awkward leave, Ken noticed a conspiring smirk blooming on trainer Ceruki's face.
"That was a light manipulation spell, am I right? After every shot he made, you lifted your spell on him and he realized that he had shot a degree off the mark." The experienced goblin asked, already sounding sure of himself. Ken nodded.
"I knew I wouldn't win if I didn't resort to magic."
.
"Good to see that you didn't delude yourself in the face of dangers. Worst trait for a warrior, if you ask me, holding on to unrealistic expectations from oneself."
Ken chuckled, unsure whether he was being praised or criticized in a roundabout way. After all, his shots hadn't exactly been decent either.
Ceruki came over and stood on his toes to pat Ken on the shoulder.
"Good strategy, but I would have preferred it if you didn't need to resort to it. Keep practicing."
Slightly relieved, Ken dragged over his bucket of wooden arrows and started his training session. Ceruki stayed with him for a while, correcting the flaws in his form and technique. This was a rare favor, because the trainers rarely spent so much time and focus on one trainee during official sessions. Ken snatched the opportunity to fish for information between his shots.
.
"Sir Captain, is it normal for nobles to come and interfere in these things? Or was it because of the commotion last night?"
Ceruki raised an eyebrow at that inquiry. "Heard about it already? Hehehe. Not bad, not bad. But the Incident today has nothing to do with it."
"Oh?" Ken's interest was piqued.
"You're new to this city, so I guess you can't understand it so fast. Shamrock city might be a flourishing Dukedom, but actually, we're a little behind in terms of resources and influence. The noble clans here are large in terms of population only. To make a name for yourself here, you need to stand out and go for resources that your clan won't be able to provide you normally. For example, take this seemingly mediocre job of a sentry of the Duke's towers.
.
"This job provides two major benefits to its holder. Firstly, you get free equipment of the Rare-grade. Now, rare grade equipment might not be beyond the purchasing power of a noble clan, but not all equipment of that grade is the same.
Materials can be purchased, but the craftsmanship and maintenance quality has to be good enough to bring out the full potential of the equipment. Does our Shamrock City have experts with a subclass in these aspects? Not really.
"We have to invite such experts over from time to time, and the cost to hire them is not small. But if you're in the Duke's service, you get supplies from the royal forges directly. The maintenance is free, and the equipment can be taken for personal use outside duty. This is a precious opportunity for the clans here to increase their combat strength. Of course they'd fight tooth-and-nails for every spot."
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"...That makes sense," Ken remarked, enlightened. "So where are these Rare-grade equipment? I would appreciate a few."
Ceruki looked half-tempted to slap him, but he couldn't reach Ken's face without jumping like a child. So he opted for verbal violence instead.
"You'll get yours the day you can call yourself a proper warrior. You're still far from deserving of a sentry's post."
.
"By the way, what's the second benefit? You only spoke about one!" Ken asked curiously.
"The second one is even more precious. I'll tell you what it is if you can hit six bullseyes in a row."
Ken silently picked up his bow and went back to his training session. Ceruki nodded approvingly.
"That's what I like to see. Six bullseyes might seem like a miracle right now, but it's definitely achievable with the right mindset and enough time. A warrior shouldn't back down from challenges, just know your limits."
"...."
Ken didn't want to tell that him he wasn't even trying to win the challenge. He knew his limits well.