The boar glanced at the humans aiming their bows at it, then made eye contact with me and suddenly started running.
What the heck...
Everyone was taken aback by how fast it was running with such a large body.
The moment the boar ran, everyone, including me, pulled back their bowstrings at the same time as if we had made a promise.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-!
The sound of arrows flying quickly could be heard rhythmically.
Whose arrow would hit it?
Bam-!
Of all the arrows, only one hit the boar's side.
"Which empire's arrow color is that?"
What the heck...
Everyone was taken aback by how fast it was running with such a large body.
The moment the boar ran, everyone, including me, pulled back their bowstrings at the same time as if we had made a promise.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-!
The sound of arrows flying quickly could be heard rhythmically.
Whose arrow would hit it?
Bam-!
Of all the arrows, only one hit the boar's side.
"Which empire's arrow color is that?"
Each empire had a predetermined color for the arrows used in hunting competitions and dyed the feathers of the arrows.
For example, the Lapion Empire was blue, the Shattonil Kingdom was pink, and so on.
So even if several people were shooting arrows at the same prey at the same time, it was easy to tell which empire's arrow it was.
But the feather of the arrow that hit the boar was not visible from where I was.
The important thing was that no matter who shot the arrow, it wouldn’t die from just one arrow.
What should I do?
“Huk, huk, Your Majesty. Let’s get out of here.”
Commander Macrom, who had chased me, was nagging me from the side.
While I was contemplating whether to shoot another arrow or take out my slingshot, I noticed the two daggers stuck next to Commander Macrom’s boots.
“Let me borrow these.”
I quickly bent down, took out Commander Macrom’s two daggers, and threw them with all my might at the boar’s vital points.
As the two daggers accurately pierced the vital points, the sound of the pig’s throat being cut echoed throughout the forest.
The boar, which had been flailing around after being hit by the dagger, slammed itself against a tree trunk, then fell to the side as if the dagger had gone deeper into the vital point.
All of this had happened in less than 30 seconds.
All eyes that had been on the boar turned to me.
For a moment, I came to my senses.
'Damn it, what have I done?'
The incident had already happened.
Deon, the lover of Emperor Katria, ran towards the fallen boar and shouted.
"It's dead! The color of the feathers on the arrow is the blue of the Lapion Empire!"
The boar was dead.
From the arrow I shot. From the dagger I threw.
The arrows shot by others were stuck in the trees or on the ground around the boar.
If even one more arrow had hit the boar's body, it wouldn't have received this much attention.
The situation was difficult, but I felt proud.
However, my pride soon turned into eeriness at the sight of a particularly hot gaze from afar.
Linel's eyes were wide open and looked very similar to the dead boar.
Oh, I don't know.
He's the kind of person who worries about me no matter how strong I am, and even more so when I'm weak.
"Wow! That's great!"
The first of the guests to react was Emperor Katria.
I smiled, preparing to humbly accept the compliment about my hunting skills.
But.
“Commander Macrom, even though you’ve lost your eyesight, your skills are still intact. Is that true?”
Hey, what did you say?
She thought that it was Commander Macrom who caught the boar.
When she looked at Commander Macrom, she saw that he was also holding a bow.
“But doesn’t Your Majesty hold a bow?”
Prince Tesla said, looking at me with a suspicious look.
“That dagger, is it yours, Macrom?”
When Linel pointed to the two daggers stuck in the boar, the eyes that had been looking at me as if to say, “Are they arrows shot by the Empress?” disappeared without mercy.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The dagger is mine too.”
Commander Macrom said, driving in a wedge as if he had caught the boar.
“As expected! I’ve personally fought him in the training hall, and you can’t believe he lost his eyesight because every movement was so precise, and his ability to read the signs was also excellent.”
This time, Prince Norton praised Commander Macrom.
“He’s also my only sparring partner in the palace.”
Linel seemed to know that I was the one who caught the wild boar, but he agreed with Prince Norton.
“Everyone, the first game of the Continental Hunting Tournament was caught by Zelda!”
If I didn’t want to be trampled on by this fact, it was time for me to say something.
I rolled my eyes at Commander Macrom next to me.
“He was so fast that I didn’t even realize he was shooting his arrow. Hahaha.”
I had no choice but to blame Commander Macrom for my hunting skills.
“You’re giving me the honor of the first hunt. I’m honored, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
Commander Macrom whispered to me in a ventriloquist's voice.
“You should have seen His Majesty’s expression. If I were to reveal that I was the one who caught the boar here, it would seem that he would carry me on his shoulder throughout the entire tournament."
“He’s more than enough. Then I’ll take the honor of being the first game in the tournament. Don’t regret it.”
“Yes, yes.”
While Commander Macrom and I were whispering, the knights appeared and lifted the fallen boar.
It seemed like six knights had to cling to it to lift it.
According to Commander Macrom, the first game in the hunting tournament is usually taken straight to the kitchen.
It wasn’t enough for everyone, but it was enough to fill the plates of the guests.
“Empress, let’s talk about it later tonight.”
Linel’s voice, which had come up next to me, pierced my ear coldly. I could see the strength in Linel’s lower body.
He wasn’t jealous of me for having caught the first game, was he?
I wish that were the case.
‘Husband... At night, please only scold me with love.'
I looked up at him with reflective eyes and a cute expression.
"Don't act cute. I won't fall for it."
Huh, such a cold body.
At his cold reaction, I unconsciously shouted to myself what Moiya had said to him.
He grabbed my wrist and slowed down my pace.
When the guests who had challenged the first hunt all walked ahead of us,
Chu-ap!
Linel kissed me deeply.
I fell for it, what? When I pouted and smiled, he said something that didn't match the deep kiss I had just given him.
"I appreciate your efforts."
So he frowned again as if his anger hadn't subsided. How can you appreciate it when I didn't put in much effort?
I blinked again, pretending to be cute, but he didn't even look at me because he didn't appreciate my efforts this time.
The servants of the cooking department clung to the boar and began to cut it up.
The meat that was cut up was handed over to the chefs and cooked with various sauces and seasonings.
The servants in charge of vegetables, the servants in charge of drinks, and the chefs in charge of the main dishes were busy.
After a while, the smell of barbecue began to waft.
The guests formed a large circle and sat on bamboo woven summer mats, each taking a break and waiting for lunch.
“Surely you’re eating without a table?”
Catherine asked me with a sour expression.
“Wouldn’t it be weirder to bring a table to a hunting competition?”
I laughed at Catherine’s question and answered.
“There’s no such thing as a commoner’s experience.”
Catherine looked dissatisfied, but she kept looking at the cooking department.
She must have been hungry, even though she didn’t want to eat without a table.
“Eating outside is a picnic, but I’m worried about camping,”
Melanie said, patting Aoshi, who was lying on Rosie’s lap.
I looked into her eyes, wondering if Moiya had turned into Aossi.
When Moiya was transformed into Aoshi, his pupils turned red, but Moiya said that he could change the color of his pupils if he wanted to.
She just didn’t do it because it was too much trouble.
But if you look closely, you said that there was a red glow around the edges of her pupils, right?
I remembered that and looked closely at Aoshi’s blue eyes, but there was no red.
Even without looking at his pupils, he was really Aoshi because he was so calm.
Then where did Moiya go?
“I hope there’s no camping.”
Melanie said again.
As she said, there were often situations where they had no choice but to camp outside during the hunting competition.
There was no way the villa would come out every few hours in a place surrounded by forest.
“It’ll be a little scary and uncomfortable, but I’m looking forward to it because it’s an experience I don’t usually get to do.”
Unlike Melanie, who was full of worries, Rosie looked excited.
“I think I’ll be okay as long as the baby owls don’t show up at night.”
Melanie glanced at Catherine while talking about the owls.
Then Catherine frowned and said to Melanie, as if scolding her.
“What’s so scary about birds? It’s the beasts that are scary.”
“Your Highness Catherine, haven’t you seen the owls spinning their necks around at night recently? How scary.”
“Where have I seen that?”
“Why not? In the palace forest...”
I quickly gave Melanie a look because it seemed like she was about to bring up the night Catherine and Count Ethan met in the training shed.
Fortunately, Melanie's servant, Hedon, saw my expression first and tapped his master on the back.
Only then did Melanie come to her senses and say to Catherine, "No, nothing," and tightly shut her lips.
Catherine shook her head at Melanie.
Since Melanie often talked nonsense, she seemed to have let it go.
Catherine's gaze moved to where the men were, and she looked for someone.
Her gaze stopped not at Linel, but at Count Ethan.
Melanie also noticed where Catherine was staring and blinked her eyes as if she had witnessed an affair. Melanie looked at me.
I pretended not to know and kept a blank expression. Melanie must have thought I didn't see it, because she stuck her tongue out to the side and pointed at Catherine, then stuck her chin out and pointed to Count Ethan in the distance.
When I reluctantly nodded to Melanie, only then did her tongue go back into place.
However, Melanie did not change her irritated expression toward Catherine.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Catherine asked irritably, sensing Melanie’s gaze.
“You look even more beautiful in the forest.”
Catherine frowned slightly at Melanie’s automatic response, but let it slide without saying anything.
After a while, Stiane called out to the guests.
“Let’s start preparing the meal!”
Following Stiane’s instructions, the servants began to place plates of soup, bread, and fresh salad on each of the guests’ seats in perfect order.
Then, they moved large, flat rocks between the seats where the guests were sitting and placed trays of barbecued wild boar on them.
Everyone gulped at the smell of barbecued meat well-cooked over a wood fire.
The voices that had been mixed and distracted here and there suddenly became quiet.
The servants served the barbecued wild boar meat on individual plates.
I tasted the barbecued wild boar that I had killed.
Oh my! It was so good.
Even if an arrow were to fly at me right now, I would put it all in my mouth and avoid it.
I observed the expressions of each person.
Everyone exclaimed, “Mmm~!” after tasting the meat.
Everyone, I caught it!
Feeling proud, I proudly ate another plate of barbecue.
“I heard that Commander Macrom caught this?”
Bonis asked me, glancing over at Commander Macrom.
“Huh? Uh... The Commander caught it.”
I smiled and answered.
“But why did Your Majesty run into the forest with him earlier?”
Melanie asked, stuffing her mouth full of barbecue like she had starved for days.
“...Just to watch. I was curious to see who would catch the first game.”
“I prayed in my heart that Your Majesty would catch it.”
Rosie said with a grin.
Yes, Rosie, your prayers must have worked.
My mouth was itching, but I just smiled bashfully and said, “No way.”
Then a flying squirrel jumped onto my lap.
The flying squirrel looked up at me and opened its mouth wide.
“You’re Moiya?”
I looked around.
Even if people saw me feeding the flying squirrel, they would think it was because it was in the forest.
I tore the barbecue into small pieces and put it in the flying squirrel’s mouth.
Then Moiya spat out the two acorns in her mouth and quickly took the meat in my hand.
Rosie looked at the flying squirrel, realized it was Moiya, and scolded him with her mouth.
Then Moiya threw the acorn he had spat out on the floor at Rosie.
The acorn fell short of Rosie’s seat and landed on Aoshi’s head, who was sitting in front of Melanie.
Aoshi looked at the flying squirrel and bared his teeth.
Judging from the look on his face, Aoshi also seemed to sense that the flying squirrel was Moiya.
Whether Aoshi was glaring or not, Moiya was busy eating the barbecue.
After eating the first meal of the hunting competition, the guests drank peppermint tea, which was good for digestion.
The wind blew through the dense forest, bringing fresh air deep into their lungs.
Although the sunlight was particularly strong today, the place where the guests were seated was shaded, so it was quite cool.
Everyone seemed to want to rest a little more and had no intention of getting up.
Some leaned back against the rock and closed their eyes, while others chatted with the people next to them and enjoyed the lazy afternoon.
After a while, Prince Calvain stood up and focused their attention.
“Come on! Now that we’ve finished the first meal, as is traditional, shall we begin the first game?”
What are you doing?
For example, the Lapion Empire was blue, the Shattonil Kingdom was pink, and so on.
So even if several people were shooting arrows at the same prey at the same time, it was easy to tell which empire's arrow it was.
But the feather of the arrow that hit the boar was not visible from where I was.
The important thing was that no matter who shot the arrow, it wouldn’t die from just one arrow.
What should I do?
“Huk, huk, Your Majesty. Let’s get out of here.”
Commander Macrom, who had chased me, was nagging me from the side.
While I was contemplating whether to shoot another arrow or take out my slingshot, I noticed the two daggers stuck next to Commander Macrom’s boots.
“Let me borrow these.”
I quickly bent down, took out Commander Macrom’s two daggers, and threw them with all my might at the boar’s vital points.
As the two daggers accurately pierced the vital points, the sound of the pig’s throat being cut echoed throughout the forest.
The boar, which had been flailing around after being hit by the dagger, slammed itself against a tree trunk, then fell to the side as if the dagger had gone deeper into the vital point.
All of this had happened in less than 30 seconds.
All eyes that had been on the boar turned to me.
For a moment, I came to my senses.
'Damn it, what have I done?'
The incident had already happened.
Deon, the lover of Emperor Katria, ran towards the fallen boar and shouted.
"It's dead! The color of the feathers on the arrow is the blue of the Lapion Empire!"
The boar was dead.
From the arrow I shot. From the dagger I threw.
The arrows shot by others were stuck in the trees or on the ground around the boar.
If even one more arrow had hit the boar's body, it wouldn't have received this much attention.
The situation was difficult, but I felt proud.
However, my pride soon turned into eeriness at the sight of a particularly hot gaze from afar.
Linel's eyes were wide open and looked very similar to the dead boar.
Oh, I don't know.
He's the kind of person who worries about me no matter how strong I am, and even more so when I'm weak.
"Wow! That's great!"
The first of the guests to react was Emperor Katria.
I smiled, preparing to humbly accept the compliment about my hunting skills.
But.
“Commander Macrom, even though you’ve lost your eyesight, your skills are still intact. Is that true?”
Hey, what did you say?
She thought that it was Commander Macrom who caught the boar.
When she looked at Commander Macrom, she saw that he was also holding a bow.
“But doesn’t Your Majesty hold a bow?”
Prince Tesla said, looking at me with a suspicious look.
“That dagger, is it yours, Macrom?”
When Linel pointed to the two daggers stuck in the boar, the eyes that had been looking at me as if to say, “Are they arrows shot by the Empress?” disappeared without mercy.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The dagger is mine too.”
Commander Macrom said, driving in a wedge as if he had caught the boar.
“As expected! I’ve personally fought him in the training hall, and you can’t believe he lost his eyesight because every movement was so precise, and his ability to read the signs was also excellent.”
This time, Prince Norton praised Commander Macrom.
“He’s also my only sparring partner in the palace.”
Linel seemed to know that I was the one who caught the wild boar, but he agreed with Prince Norton.
“Everyone, the first game of the Continental Hunting Tournament was caught by Zelda!”
If I didn’t want to be trampled on by this fact, it was time for me to say something.
I rolled my eyes at Commander Macrom next to me.
“He was so fast that I didn’t even realize he was shooting his arrow. Hahaha.”
I had no choice but to blame Commander Macrom for my hunting skills.
“You’re giving me the honor of the first hunt. I’m honored, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
Commander Macrom whispered to me in a ventriloquist's voice.
“You should have seen His Majesty’s expression. If I were to reveal that I was the one who caught the boar here, it would seem that he would carry me on his shoulder throughout the entire tournament."
“He’s more than enough. Then I’ll take the honor of being the first game in the tournament. Don’t regret it.”
“Yes, yes.”
While Commander Macrom and I were whispering, the knights appeared and lifted the fallen boar.
It seemed like six knights had to cling to it to lift it.
According to Commander Macrom, the first game in the hunting tournament is usually taken straight to the kitchen.
It wasn’t enough for everyone, but it was enough to fill the plates of the guests.
“Empress, let’s talk about it later tonight.”
Linel’s voice, which had come up next to me, pierced my ear coldly. I could see the strength in Linel’s lower body.
He wasn’t jealous of me for having caught the first game, was he?
I wish that were the case.
‘Husband... At night, please only scold me with love.'
I looked up at him with reflective eyes and a cute expression.
"Don't act cute. I won't fall for it."
Huh, such a cold body.
At his cold reaction, I unconsciously shouted to myself what Moiya had said to him.
He grabbed my wrist and slowed down my pace.
When the guests who had challenged the first hunt all walked ahead of us,
Chu-ap!
Linel kissed me deeply.
I fell for it, what? When I pouted and smiled, he said something that didn't match the deep kiss I had just given him.
"I appreciate your efforts."
So he frowned again as if his anger hadn't subsided. How can you appreciate it when I didn't put in much effort?
I blinked again, pretending to be cute, but he didn't even look at me because he didn't appreciate my efforts this time.
***
The servants of the cooking department clung to the boar and began to cut it up.
The meat that was cut up was handed over to the chefs and cooked with various sauces and seasonings.
The servants in charge of vegetables, the servants in charge of drinks, and the chefs in charge of the main dishes were busy.
After a while, the smell of barbecue began to waft.
The guests formed a large circle and sat on bamboo woven summer mats, each taking a break and waiting for lunch.
“Surely you’re eating without a table?”
Catherine asked me with a sour expression.
“Wouldn’t it be weirder to bring a table to a hunting competition?”
I laughed at Catherine’s question and answered.
“There’s no such thing as a commoner’s experience.”
Catherine looked dissatisfied, but she kept looking at the cooking department.
She must have been hungry, even though she didn’t want to eat without a table.
“Eating outside is a picnic, but I’m worried about camping,”
Melanie said, patting Aoshi, who was lying on Rosie’s lap.
I looked into her eyes, wondering if Moiya had turned into Aossi.
When Moiya was transformed into Aoshi, his pupils turned red, but Moiya said that he could change the color of his pupils if he wanted to.
She just didn’t do it because it was too much trouble.
But if you look closely, you said that there was a red glow around the edges of her pupils, right?
I remembered that and looked closely at Aoshi’s blue eyes, but there was no red.
Even without looking at his pupils, he was really Aoshi because he was so calm.
Then where did Moiya go?
“I hope there’s no camping.”
Melanie said again.
As she said, there were often situations where they had no choice but to camp outside during the hunting competition.
There was no way the villa would come out every few hours in a place surrounded by forest.
“It’ll be a little scary and uncomfortable, but I’m looking forward to it because it’s an experience I don’t usually get to do.”
Unlike Melanie, who was full of worries, Rosie looked excited.
“I think I’ll be okay as long as the baby owls don’t show up at night.”
Melanie glanced at Catherine while talking about the owls.
Then Catherine frowned and said to Melanie, as if scolding her.
“What’s so scary about birds? It’s the beasts that are scary.”
“Your Highness Catherine, haven’t you seen the owls spinning their necks around at night recently? How scary.”
“Where have I seen that?”
“Why not? In the palace forest...”
I quickly gave Melanie a look because it seemed like she was about to bring up the night Catherine and Count Ethan met in the training shed.
Fortunately, Melanie's servant, Hedon, saw my expression first and tapped his master on the back.
Only then did Melanie come to her senses and say to Catherine, "No, nothing," and tightly shut her lips.
Catherine shook her head at Melanie.
Since Melanie often talked nonsense, she seemed to have let it go.
Catherine's gaze moved to where the men were, and she looked for someone.
Her gaze stopped not at Linel, but at Count Ethan.
Melanie also noticed where Catherine was staring and blinked her eyes as if she had witnessed an affair. Melanie looked at me.
I pretended not to know and kept a blank expression. Melanie must have thought I didn't see it, because she stuck her tongue out to the side and pointed at Catherine, then stuck her chin out and pointed to Count Ethan in the distance.
When I reluctantly nodded to Melanie, only then did her tongue go back into place.
However, Melanie did not change her irritated expression toward Catherine.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Catherine asked irritably, sensing Melanie’s gaze.
“You look even more beautiful in the forest.”
Catherine frowned slightly at Melanie’s automatic response, but let it slide without saying anything.
After a while, Stiane called out to the guests.
“Let’s start preparing the meal!”
Following Stiane’s instructions, the servants began to place plates of soup, bread, and fresh salad on each of the guests’ seats in perfect order.
Then, they moved large, flat rocks between the seats where the guests were sitting and placed trays of barbecued wild boar on them.
Everyone gulped at the smell of barbecued meat well-cooked over a wood fire.
The voices that had been mixed and distracted here and there suddenly became quiet.
The servants served the barbecued wild boar meat on individual plates.
I tasted the barbecued wild boar that I had killed.
Oh my! It was so good.
Even if an arrow were to fly at me right now, I would put it all in my mouth and avoid it.
I observed the expressions of each person.
Everyone exclaimed, “Mmm~!” after tasting the meat.
Everyone, I caught it!
Feeling proud, I proudly ate another plate of barbecue.
“I heard that Commander Macrom caught this?”
Bonis asked me, glancing over at Commander Macrom.
“Huh? Uh... The Commander caught it.”
I smiled and answered.
“But why did Your Majesty run into the forest with him earlier?”
Melanie asked, stuffing her mouth full of barbecue like she had starved for days.
“...Just to watch. I was curious to see who would catch the first game.”
“I prayed in my heart that Your Majesty would catch it.”
Rosie said with a grin.
Yes, Rosie, your prayers must have worked.
My mouth was itching, but I just smiled bashfully and said, “No way.”
Then a flying squirrel jumped onto my lap.
The flying squirrel looked up at me and opened its mouth wide.
“You’re Moiya?”
I looked around.
Even if people saw me feeding the flying squirrel, they would think it was because it was in the forest.
I tore the barbecue into small pieces and put it in the flying squirrel’s mouth.
Then Moiya spat out the two acorns in her mouth and quickly took the meat in my hand.
Rosie looked at the flying squirrel, realized it was Moiya, and scolded him with her mouth.
Then Moiya threw the acorn he had spat out on the floor at Rosie.
The acorn fell short of Rosie’s seat and landed on Aoshi’s head, who was sitting in front of Melanie.
Aoshi looked at the flying squirrel and bared his teeth.
Judging from the look on his face, Aoshi also seemed to sense that the flying squirrel was Moiya.
Whether Aoshi was glaring or not, Moiya was busy eating the barbecue.
After eating the first meal of the hunting competition, the guests drank peppermint tea, which was good for digestion.
The wind blew through the dense forest, bringing fresh air deep into their lungs.
Although the sunlight was particularly strong today, the place where the guests were seated was shaded, so it was quite cool.
Everyone seemed to want to rest a little more and had no intention of getting up.
Some leaned back against the rock and closed their eyes, while others chatted with the people next to them and enjoyed the lazy afternoon.
After a while, Prince Calvain stood up and focused their attention.
“Come on! Now that we’ve finished the first meal, as is traditional, shall we begin the first game?”
What are you doing?
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