Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 79 ❆ Shooting Practice

"His name is Viron," Elion said. "But I just inquired, and it seems he's not around."

"Oh...that's a shame." I looked at Elion thoughtfully, and back at the Vertvaldenians once more. "It can't be helped. Let's just wait until he gets back before coming over. Anyway, I'm just over at the inner temple. I can come over nearly anytime."

"That's true. Sorry you came for nothing. I'll come and find you once Viron returns. How about it?" he offered.

"Sure can do," I said. "Then, I'm off for now. There are a couple of things over at the Temple that I need to do."

"Alright."

After leaving Elion, I went back to my courtyard to rest. I was tempted to go back to the shop, but I realized last minute that I ought to give some attention to my training more. Now that River End was more stable than before, there was not much need for me to take part in it so much. Accounting and other tedious details were taken over by my mistresses, and I could comfortably focus on churning out the perfumes needed every week--which I could do anytime since it was the same process over and over. In fact, there wasn't need for so much. I was only responsible for the luxury line.

A little lost, I somehow came to stand before my harp and suddenly had the urge to play. With the Abbot's very persistent and patient coaching, I managed to get a clearer feeling of my ability. In turn, I was less afraid of it and came to actually enjoy it to some extent. Of course, it was not without hardship.

To a certain extent, practice was really tedious, and more often than not, it felt like I was not getting anywhere.

Even now, as I sat on the floor and took the harp to my lap, I could not help but feel weary. I really did not want to do this. To be honest, I really preferred making perfumes rather than practicing. I usually had enough playing time every time I was with the Abbot.

Unfortunately, I was going nowhere if I slacked off. And with the tight schedule I had and the Veils wrecking and raging across Vertvalden, I was not in the position to feel lazy. So, despite the resistance I felt on my fingertips, I lifted them stubbornly and positioned them across the harp.

I was a little unhappy and uninspired. This mood might have affected my playing a little. The emotions seemed to have bled into the music and caused the air to be a little more somber around me than usual. The coldness gathered more quickly under my fingertips, while the air around me continued to grow heavier.

Considering the thinness of these walls, I decided to forgo playing as a whole. I realized I could not really force myself if I wasn't feeling like it. So I abandoned music practice and went to the training grounds to kill time.

I was never fond of melee combat. I loathed the sword. Although Mistress Veronika had repeatedly ingrained it into me through continuous training, I did not think that I would be able to advance or master the craft, considering how much I hated it. On the other hand, I liked the idea of hurting people without being near them, so the bow and arrow really fit my taste.

The training grounds were almost always full of people. The system entailed renting a space to avoid conflict with others under an ID card in the form of a waist plate. Although it was an open area, some spots and faculties had to be occupied. In this case, I would be occupying a target in the shooting range.

There would usually be other students around manning the targets—like changing the boards or clearing the debris. But we didn't usually have this, so it was a clean-up-after-yourself policy. I did not have a problem with that, except that my lazy ass self was always whispering to myself to rebel. Especially now that I was not really in the mood to work too hard.