( Note : This chapter is a bit boring, you can skip to the next chapter. )
My name is Greta—one of the best archers in the Royal Guard. Or so they say.
Right now, I'm standing in the city guard training yard, bow in hand, facing a line of straw dummies set up like it's some kind of festival game. I draw my bow.
Twip. Twip. Twip. Twip.
Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.
Each arrow hits dead center. Perfect shots. One after another.
A wave of applause follows from the candidates behind me.
Plak plak plak plak.
I turn and flash them a grin. "That's how it is! You understand?"
"Yes!!" they shout in unison—but their tone sounds more "maybe?" than "definitely."
I squint a little. Yeah, they didn't get it. Not really.
But whatever. I nod like a proud instructor anyway and say, "Okay!! The exam is starting, okay!!" while raising one hand high with a smile.
This... this is the kind of thing that takes up most of my day.
A job's a job, right?
Nightfall – Greta's POV
After finishing the city guard recruitment exams, I made my way back to the palace barracks under the glow of dim lanterns. The corridors were quiet—peaceful, even. My boots echoed softly along the polished stone floor as I passed through one of the long palace halls.
Then I saw them.
A group of figures in black, moving swiftly across the corridor ahead, their presence cloaked in an unfamiliar, tense aura.
I narrowed my eyes and called out, half curious, half confused,
"Hey... you guys—what event are you in? Wearing those creepy outfits?"
I thought they were part of the royal guard doing some kind of night drill.
But they didn't answer.
One of them suddenly broke formation and charged at me—fast. A blade shimmered as he activated [Slash].
"Tch—!" I hissed.
Reflex kicked in. I launched myself backward, palms brushing the floor as I flipped into a crouch. As his blade sliced through empty air, I spun low and rolled out of range.
He overcommitted—and now he was open.
In one smooth motion, I reached behind me, notched two arrows, and aimed in a heartbeat.
Twip. Twip.
Stab. Stab.
The arrows struck true—one in the chest, the other straight through the head.
The black-cloaked man dropped without a sound.
Twip. Twip.
Greta dodged swiftly as two arrows zipped past her, grazing the air beside her cheek. She heard a yell from deeper within the corridor—
"INTRUDER!!"
"Tch… looks like you are the real deal, huh!!" she muttered, eyes narrowing.
Without skipping a beat, she twisted her stance, loosed two arrows in rapid succession—
Twip. Twip.
—each aimed with pinpoint accuracy toward the two assailants who had fired first.
Then she was on the move—her boots barely touching the ground as she sprinted from shadow to shadow, corner to corner. Every time she spotted a black-cloaked intruder, she struck swiftly.
Twip. Stab. Twip. Stab.
She reached a fork in the hall and heard approaching footsteps. They were heavy, disciplined—definitely not intruders.
Royal Guards.
She let the sound pass by and darted down the other path, assuming they would cover their sector.
But the Royal Guard soldier who heard her light footsteps mistook her for the enemy. As they crossed paths—
"Hiyahh..!!"
he shouted, bringing his sword down in a vertical arc.
"Ahh—wait, wait, wait!! Stop, stop, stopu—!!" Greta shouted, twisting her body mid-step to avoid the slash. She flailed her arms in the air and quickly raised both hands. "It's me, me! Greta!!"
The sword stopped just inches away from her face.
Seeing who it was, the soldier immediately stopped mid-swing and let out a breath of relief.
"Oh… it's you, Greta."
He lowered his weapon, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I thought you were one of the intruders." He offered a quick apologetic gesture.
Greta chuckled lightly, waving it off.
"Oh, no problem! Hurry up—go that way, I'll take this side!"
Without missing a beat, she turned and dashed off in the direction she'd been heading.
The soldier watched her disappear down the hall and called out, "Be careful, Greta!" while waving after her.
Still running, Greta glanced back and waved enthusiastically.
"Yeesss~!" she replied in her usual cheerful tone.
For the rest of the night, Greta roamed the palace corridors, firing arrows and taking down any black-cloaked intruder that crossed her path.
One arrow after another—twip, twip, stab, stab—until eventually, no more enemies showed themselves.
As the sun began to rise and the first signs of morning lit the skies, a runner came to inform her:
"All clear! No more intruders in the palace!"
Hearing that, Greta slumped forward slightly, her shoulders relaxing.
"Ahhh… finally," she yawned, stretching her arms. "I can sleep!"
Without another word, she made her way to her room, flopped face-first onto her bed, and fell into a deep, well-earned sleep.
A few days later…
Greta was at the training grounds once again, loosing arrows at a row of fresh targets—twip, twip, stab, stab—each one hitting dead center. As she lowered her bow and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, she noticed someone approaching.
When she looked up and recognized the soldier's face, her expression brightened.
"Yo… Gunther," she said with a grin. "What's up?"
Gunther gave her a nod and a small smile. "Greta. Looks like we've both been summoned to the king's chamber."
Greta blinked, her grin faltering just a little. "This… isn't about the repair costs from last time, is it?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish chuckle.
Gunther let out a hearty laugh. "Of course not! Don't worry, the walls survived."
Greta sighed in relief. "Phew…"
"Come on, let's not keep His Majesty waiting," Gunther added, already turning on his heel and heading down the path toward the palace.
Greta slung her bow over her shoulder and followed after him with light steps, humming a little tune to herself. "Well, let's see what this is all about…"
Inside the King's Office
After stepping into the room, Greta and Gunther dropped to one knee, offering a formal knight's salute. King Louis, seated behind his desk, gave a simple nod.
"Stand. Take a seat," he said.
Once they were seated, Louis leaned forward, his tone serious. "Let's get straight to the point."
He paused briefly, fingers tapping the document in front of him—the Krüger Report.
"Greta. Gunther. Based on the report submitted by Brunhild Krüger, and judging by your actions during the palace breach…" He glanced down at the paper before meeting their eyes. "Your performance has been nothing short of exemplary. Especially considering the weapons you wield—your specialties are ideal for the mission ahead."
Greta's eyes lit up instantly, leaning forward with curiosity. "So, so… what's the mission, Your Majesty?" she asked eagerly, her tone full of anticipation.
King Louis didn't smile, but his voice remained calm. "I will dismiss both of you from the Royal Guard… and you will immediately register with the Adventurer's Guild. Your first task will be to raise your guild rank to at least C."
Greta jolted up from her chair. "WHAT?!" she blurted, eyes wide.
Next to her, Gunther winced and raised both hands to cover his ears. "Hey hey… that's way too loud for a royal audience," he said casually. "And rude too. Maybe let His Majesty finish?"
"But… but…" Greta stammered, her voice trembling as she looked back and forth between the king and Gunther, utterly confused and disheartened.
King Louis raised one hand in a calming gesture, his expression softening just slightly. "Sit down, Greta. Let me explain."
Seeing Greta sit back down, King Louis said, "Actually, this is just a disguise, because Paul wants to go on an adventure tour around the Kingdom," with a worried expression.
Hearing that, Greta immediately became interested and said, "Oh... to be a babysitter? If that's the case, leave it to me, Your Majesty!" while sitting up straight, as if proudly flattering herself.
Hearing that, Gunther slapped his forehead and seemed to ignore Greta's behavior. He asked, "So, when should we start?" in a serious tone.
Hearing that, King Louis said, "If necessary, as soon as possible..." in a hopeful tone.
Hearing that, Gunther immediately said, "Okay..." while standing up and adding, "I will pack my things," before performing a knight's salute. When King Louis nodded, Gunther promptly left the King's office.
Seeing Gunther leave the room, Greta panicked slightly and quickly said, "Then, Your Majesty... I'll go first." She stood up, saluted, and swiftly exited the King's office.
Watching this, King Louis simply sighed while shaking his head, then turned his attention back to the documents left on his desk.
After registering at Rank F (as they were former royal guards), Greta and Gunther spent several weeks hunting according to their level—starting with horned rabbits.
Once they reached Rank E and were preparing to take on a mission to hunt wolves in the forest, Gunther overheard a conversation nearby:
"The goblin nest is strange, huh..."
"Yeah... there are no female corpses at all..."
Hearing that, Gunther approached the speaker and said, "May I see the report?" while discreetly slipping a silver coin into his hand.
Seeing the party leader nod in agreement, the man handed over the report. Gunther read it carefully and quietly copied the details. As he returned the document, he said, "Alright, here's your report... thanks," and walked away.
After leaving the Adventurer's Guild building, Gunther said, "Greta, let's go to the palace gate first, okay?" while heading toward the palace.
Seeing that, Greta asked, "For what?" with a confused look, but still followed behind him.
Gunther replied casually, "I have a report to deliver."
"Okay..." Greta responded while continuing to walk.
Upon arriving at the palace gate, Gunther handed over the document to the guard, instructing them to submit it to the commander. After that, Greta and Gunther returned to complete their current mission.
A few weeks later, as they prepared to rank up to Rank D, they were given a special mission: to join forces with other adventuring parties and eradicate a goblin nest.
After eradicating the nest, Gunther muttered, "This is strange..." as he noticed there were still no female corpses—only a fallen adventurer's card belonging to a woman, lying deep within the goblin nest.
Hearing that, Greta asked with a confused look, "Why is that strange?"
Seeing Greta's innocent expression, Gunther simply replied, "Nothing..." but his face was tense as he quickly began writing a report to submit to the commander.
A few months later, Gunther received a sealed letter marked confidential—from Brunhild, the Commander. After reading it, Gunther sighed and said to Greta, "Looks like we're going to exterminate another goblin nest..." with a resigned expression.
Hearing that, Greta replied cheerfully, "Okay~!"
From that point on, every three weeks, they cleared goblin nests that appeared in the forest. This continued until just one month before Paul's planned departure.
One day, while turning in their mission report, the guild receptionist greeted them with a bright smile and said, "Congratulations! Since the two of you have consistently cleared goblin nests on your own, the Guild Master has decided to promote you to Rank C!"
Gunther and Greta responded with grateful smiles.
"Yes... Thank you."
"Thank you!"
A week before departure, they received a secret letter from the palace. The contents read: "The Prince wants to meet you at the Adventurer's Guild tomorrow morning." After reading the message, the next morning, Gunther and Greta arrived at the lobby of the guild and waited.
While eating and drinking at one of the lobby tables, they were approached by a tall man dressed in full body armor.
"Are you Gunther and Greta?" he asked in a curious tone.
Greta glanced at Gunther before turning her attention back to the armored man and replied, "Yes... what's wrong?" in a cautious tone.
The man nodded and simply said, "Follow me," as he showed them an envelope, the kind typically used by the commander to send secret letters. He led them to one of the guild rooms that had been reserved. Not questioning it, Gunther and Greta followed him inside.
Once seated in the room, Greta immediately asked, "So... who are you? And where is the Prince?" her confusion evident on her face.
Hearing that, Paul immediately took off his mask and said, "It's me…" in a relaxed tone.
Seeing this, both Gunther and Greta stood up, about to perform a knight's salute, but Paul waved his hand dismissively and said, "No need to be formal. This is in the Adventurer's Guild, and it's just a small room," speaking in a casual tone.
Gunther and Greta exchanged looks, then sat back down.
Once they were seated, Paul continued, "Now, I'll explain everything straight to the point. We'll leave in a week. I'll be waiting for you at the horse-drawn carriage stop," he said casually.
After they nodded in acknowledgment, Paul stood up and said, "Okay, that's all. Don't forget, alright?" as he put his mask back on and walked out of the room.
Gunther, who could only watch Paul's behavior, turned to Greta and said, "Well... I guess we should just prepare," sighing as he stood up and left the room.
Greta nodded and followed him out of the room.
On the day of departure, I saw the Prince, fully armored, acting as the bodyguard of Renya, who was currently disguised as a noble princess. Seeing that, I couldn't help but want to laugh a little, but I held it in. It would be bad if his disguise was discovered.
As we traveled from village to village, the Prince often bought arrows and crossbow bolts. I found it a little strange—did he want war? Weren't we just adventuring within the kingdom?
When we reached the edge of the forest, we got off the horse-drawn carriage and began walking toward the forest with the next city as our destination.
Along the way, I noticed the Prince had just hunted a horned rabbit with rainbow-colored horns. Feeling a little competitive, I said, "Prince, I want to hunt too!" with an excited tone.
After we hunted several horned rabbits, we encountered a pack of wolves. Just as I was about to aim at one, the Prince said, "Let me handle this," while walking confidently toward the pack.
When he fought, only three words came to mind—reckless but accurate. I really hoped the Prince would restrain himself. As I heard him call, "Greta—now!" I immediately shot at the remaining wolf. Twip, twip, twip.
As we walked toward the rest post in the forest, I sensed we were being watched. Quietly, I communicated, "It seems like we are being watched."
Hearing this, the Prince replied that this would be a tiring journey. I nodded in agreement.
In the morning, after we all woke up (except Kruger, who was the last on guard), we continued our journey toward the dungeon. While watching the Prince act as Renya's bodyguard, I muttered, "Looks like he doesn't know," as I giggled (since the bandits who had been spying on us were now gone).
After arriving at the dungeon, the three of us—Kruger, Greta, and Gunther—waited at the entrance while Paul and Renya entered the dungeon.
While waiting, I asked Kruger, "Are we going to hunt him?" with a hopeful look on my face.
Hearing that, Kruger looked confused and asked, "Who?"
Seeing Kruger didn't understand, Greta lazily responded, "Of course, the one who's spying on us."
Kruger, still serious, replied, "No need. It's our job to look after the Prince."
Greta, with a resigned sigh, just said, "Okay…" in a lazy tone.
After the Prince finished with his first dungeon, we rested before heading to the second dungeon. While watching a noble horse-drawn carriage pass by and hearing the Prince arguing with Renya, I muttered, "Hah... bored," in a lazy tone.
Once the Prince and Renya entered the second dungeon, we waited outside again. Greta, clearly unimpressed, said, "Hah... very boring," while taking shade and sitting on a tree trunk.
After the Prince finished, we immediately continued our journey to the next dungeon.
After walking for a while, the Prince mentioned that there were no animals along the way. I, hearing that, immediately responded, "Well, at least it's good for calming—" But suddenly, Greta snapped to attention and remembered that we were still in a forest.
Activating her [Hawk Vision] skill, she looked around and said with a pale face, "Damn… this is terrible."
Even Kruger didn't seem to realize that something bad was happening.
Since we already knew this was monster territory, we proceeded toward the dungeon cautiously.
Not long after we started walking, the Prince pointed out a tree trunk that looked broken. I was surprised by the grass beneath the trunk, and after a quick assessment, I concluded that the damage was likely due to a collision, and whatever caused it was heading toward the dungeon. Kruger instructed Ranya and me to check it out first. With that, we split up, and I quickly darted from tree to tree.
Upon arriving at the dungeon door, we were met with a grim sight. "Terrible," I muttered under my breath.
The horse-drawn carriage was beyond repair, and there were numerous other footprints leading into the dungeon. Seeing that, Greta shook her head and muttered, "Really unlucky... they are," with a pitying look.
After we (Gunther and Greta) placed the instruction letters and signs at several points, along with communication devices at the eight specific locations (which had been marked) arranged in a circle, we returned to the dungeon door.
After entering the dungeon and fighting our way through until we reached the 5th floor, I suddenly heard the sounds of battle. With Prince knowing that, he immediately rushed to save... the bandit. Yes... it would be a shame if they died, said Prince, sighing.
After that was done, we went back to exploring the dungeon, while Gunther, taking out the bandits... luckily not me, sighed.
And on the 7th floor, Prince did something amazing. While Prince said, "Bang, bang, bang..." I saw projectiles at very high speed, hitting or even sticking into the monster's body.
Seeing the weapon, I immediately said, "Can I have one too? That thing looks stronger than my bow..." while looking at my arrow compared to the prince's drone leg.
While listening to Prince's answer, and realizing that it didn't match my skills, I just sighed and said, "Yeah, that's true..."
After passing several floors, we arrived at the boss floor gate. After entering, it turned out that the boss was an Emberclaw Ape. Seeing that, I got a surprising word from the prince who said, "Let me..." in a happy tone.
Hearing that, I just slapped my forehead, muttering, "Prince is always reckless..." while sighing.
While watching Prince fight, I said, "Very scary armor," while nodding as I saw the prince attack.
Hearing my voice, the others nodded, and Renya said, "Even though it's just a piece of wood and a layer of ordinary iron," in a calm tone.
Seeing Prince defeating the Emberclaw Ape so quickly, we all clapped our hands together. Clap, clap, clap...
After everything was done, Prince said, "Now, it's time to discuss our main problem—outside of the dungeon, the goblin horde." Hearing that, our happy faces turned serious. Well... this is a very serious problem.