The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

84. The Bow Test. A Cheat Sheet.

Although the palace that Tanya resided in wasn’t managed very well, it still had everything that she needed. Davey wanted to let her rest in a nicer place until she took the Bow Test, but she refused to move. Her excuse was that she was more familiar and comfortable in her own palace.

It first sounded like something thin and sharp was cutting through the air. Then, it sounded like the clash of wood and metal toward the end.

Tanya was dressed in simple white clothes. Catching her breath, she pulled her bowstring once again.

Ever since young, Tanya had been quiet and composed. Perhaps that was why she liked many aspects of archery, a calming sport.

—She shoots with composure. Although, she’s bound to be slightly distraught from recent events.

Perserque was right that Tanya was probably the most distraught person right now. However, Tanya was shooting arrows with composure and strength. She appeared to be calming herself down.

“What is the Bow Test?” Davey asked.

Dan-Goong quietly looked up at Davey. “The…Bow Test?”

“Yeah, what about it is making her work so hard?”

The Tanya that Davey knew had always set her own desires aside for other people whenever something happened, and that part of her hadn’t changed even after she had become more extraverted. But this was still the first time that she was blatantly wanting something so badly, which made Davey very curious.

Davey, who was interacting with the two powers inside of the sheathed Red Ribbon on his lap, did not rush Dan-Goong into answering.

That was when Red Ribbon glowed red, transforming into a little red-haired girl with a loud sound.

“Dad!” Red Ribbon grinned and jumped into Davey’s arms.

“Oh, Red Ribbon. You can say ‘Dad’ properly now!”

“Red Ribbon is good! She is! She is! Good!”

Although she still wasn’t enunciating properly, Red Ribbon’s basic pronunciation had improved. Still, she was a child.

Davey could feel someone stare as he tickled Red Ribbon, who burrowed into his arms. When he turned to look, he saw Dan-Goong staring at him in surprise.

Even Dan-Goong’s surprised face was making Davey jealous.

“What?”

“A sword…turned into a human…”

“You’ve never seen a sword that turns into a human? Country mouse.” Davey clicked his tongue.

Perserque stared at Davey like he was pathetic.

“Is…that even possible?” Dan-Goong asked.

“Why not? Is there a law that swords can’t become humans? Isn’t that right, Red Ribbon?” Davey lightly pinched Red Ribbon’s cheek with a smile.

Red Ribbon giggled and hugged Davey’s neck. She exclaimed, “Red Ribbon wants kisses!”

“Alright, here.”

When Davey tapped his cheek, Red Ribbon kissed him on the cheek. All fathers probably felt this way when their daughters were acting cute.

Stealing a glance at Dan-Goong, who was staring at them in bewilderment, Davey asked Red Ribbon, “Red Ribbon, do you want to do that with Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“That.”

“Thaat? Yeah! I want to! Red Ribbon wants to!”

Puffing up her cheeks, Red Ribbon jumped up and down. She quickly wrapped her legs around Davey’s waist. Then, she put her small hands on her ears and smiled playfully.

Looking at Red Ribbon’s round eyes, Davey also put his hands on his ears. He soon made his hands into fists, then straightened them. He said, “Boo boo!”

Red Ribbon giggled and straightened her hands as well. At the same time, there was a surprising change; her dull and round ears suddenly turned into long and sharp ears that looked similar to the elves.

“Boo boo!”

To signal that this wasn’t the end of her performance, Red Ribbon stroked her head with her small fists. She quickly straightened her fingers.

At the same time, Red Ribbon had rabbit ears popping out of her head. She returned to normal when she made her hands into fists and straightened her hands again.

Red Ribbon was a sword with her own ego, so this was a game that Davey had taught to help her control her own power. Whenever she played this game, she would get so cute that people would just stare…

—Huh?

Like this former Demon Lord.

“Ahem!”

Dan-Goong was no exception either. He stared blankly at the cute Red Ribbon. Then, he reflexively pulled back the hand that was reaching out of the little girl. He realized how disgraceful he looked.

“Ahem!”

“Look, isn’t my daughter cute?”

“...Y-Yes.”

At the same time, there was another explosion of sound.

“B-Blue Ribbon can do it, too!!”

Accompanied by smoke, a blue-haired girl tugged on Red Ribbon’s shoulder and stuck to Davey. Blue Ribbon was being a jealous little kid.

“Red Ribbon is better!”

“B-Blue Ribbon can do it, too!”

Jumping up and down, Blue Ribbon made a fluffy tail on her butt unlike Red Ribbon. She could make the tails of a cat or a fox. She could even create nine fluffy tails at once.

Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were different, but they shared similar developmental speeds. After all, they were still twin swords.

“Blue Ribbon, are you angry?

“Blue… Blue Ribbon can do it well!” Blue Ribbon appealed tearfully to Davey about her talent.

Davey smiled. “Yes, Blue Ribbon is good, too.”

Although Red Ribbon looked a little irritated as Davey stroked Blue Ribbon’s head, the girls had generally learned well from Perserque’s teachings. They behaved according to how Perserque had taught them, since they were the only ones who could talk to her.

“Ahem…!! I really cannot tell what kind of person you are, Your Highness.”

“You don’t really have to know what kind of person I am. Anyway, what about the Bow Test?”

“The Bow Test is…”

Although distracted by how cute the children were, Dan-Goong slowly opened his mouth to speak. He told Davey about what the Bow Test was.

After listening to Dan-Goong’s explanation, Davey put down Red and Blue Ribbon, who were both singing nursery rhymes, on the floor and slowly walked over. He approached Tanya, who was silently focusing on her archery.

Tanya was working so hard that there were beads of sweat on her forehead. Her arms trembled from her overworking the muscles.

“Tanya.”

“Oh… Big Brother?”

Letting her bowstring go, Tanya turned with a bright smile and walked over to Davey.

“Take your stance, and shoot one.

“Pardon?” Tanya blinked in slight confusion.

“I’ll help you, so shoot one.”

Even though Tanya looked puzzled, she pulled back her bowstring with her usual calmness.

With a clear sound, the arrow flew at a rapid speed and struck the target with precision. Tanya was clearly very good.

Tanya definitely had talent in archery as a great bowman’s most important quality was being calm. In that sense, she was extremely gifted. However, Davey could see that her skills were raw as she was inexperienced and lacked actual teaching.

Silently approaching Tanya from the back, Davey covered Tanya’s hands with his own.

Turning red in the face, Tanya was flustered by Davey’s sudden actions. “Big… Big Brother?!”

Davey calmly stabilized Tanya’s position and smiled. He said, “Relax a little.”

Only then did Tanya stop resisting.

“When did you say the test was?”

“F-Four days later, Big Brother,” Tanya answered in a small voice.

Davey nodded. He murmured, “That should be enough time.”

Although that guy was a damn player and Davey wanted to pierce his forehead with an arrow if he had the chance to…

Davey didn’t tell Tanya that. He only slightly corrected her position and said calmly, “Breathe in. Slowly.”

“Hup!” Tanya drew a sharp breath, feeling nervous.

Ignoring Tanya, Davey said, “Straighten your back and pull back the string.”

Tanya carefully pulled back her bowstring.

“Remember what I am teaching you right now. And then, you are going to try it yourself. You can do that, right?”

“Yes? Oh…yes,” Tanya said calmly as she pulled her bowstring.

Davey could feel Tanya’s fingertips trembling.

“Your Highness.”

Of course, there was someone who ruined the moment.

“What is it?”

“With all due respect, Her Highness has been taught the intensive bowmanship of the Hyeon, which is famous for its bowmanship.”

“So?”

“I understand that you are powerful, Your Highness, but… About archery…” Dan-Goong stammered. He was worried that Davey would teach Tanya something weird and mess up her test.

It was very difficult to see someone who was skilled in swordsmanship also be good at bowmanship.

Davey, however, ignored Dan-Goong completely. He said to Tanya softly, “Count to three in your head.”

Davey slowly released his mana, circulated it around Tanya’s body once, and sent it into her bow. Then, he commanded, “Now.”

Tanya immediately closed her eyes and let go of the bowstring.

A blue flash of light shot across the air. It looked different from a regular arrow. The single shot, which sparkled with blue light, was so sharp that it was almost beautiful.

“Huh?!” Tanya widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn’t believe that she had shot that arrow.

The arrow had not been a clean shot; it had flown in a weird direction before changing its course like it was alive. At the same time, it had broken the arrow that had already been embedded in the middle of the target, which even had a huge dent like a drill mark. It was as if the arrow had gained momentum while rotating in the air.

“Big… Big Brother. What is…?”

“It’s called Illusion Shot. Can you do it?”

“T-That is…”

“Let’s try it again. I’ll teach you five things. Slowly.”

Tanya looked surprised by Davey. Even Dan-Goong stared at Davey in complete disbelief.

“A country famous for bowmanship? How old is your country? Not even two hundred years, right?”

This was the unique technique of Apollo, who had been known as the Bow Lord. It had been improved on for more than a thousand years at the Hall.

As Davey scoffed and stared at him, Dan let out a despondent sigh.

* * *

“Chancellor, how long until we arrive at the Hyeon Kingdom?” The young boy asked.

The old man, one of the two people who were sitting in front of the young boy, chuckled. “Your Majesty, we will soon be arriving at the capital of the Hyeon Kingdom. Are you bored?”

“...I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“Well, then how about this? Why don’t we stop for a little while and be entertained?”

The boy stared out the window in disappointment. He muttered, “What good is that? I would rather get there earlier.”

The boy who was speaking calmly looked to be around twelve. And he was so pretty that it was almost misleading to call him a boy. Of course, it was easy to tell that he was a boy from his outfit and the title people called him by.

He was too young to be called an emperor, but he was definitely one of the most important people in the Ming Kingdom. He was the Son of Heaven and Heaven's Choice. He was the emperor of the Country of Spears, a large nation and kingdom.

“Ohoho, Your Majesty, please be patient. We will arrive at the Hyeon soon. Your Majesty, you just have to sit tight. Mother and the Chancellor of Peace will take care of everything. Your Majesty, all you have to do is reign over them with confidence.” The lady sitting beside the old man chuckled.

The boy quietly nodded. “Yes… Mother.”