IVAGHD 21

Chapter – 21

Part 2

“I think I might be a genius at hunting.”

Viretta confessed quietly.

“I had a vague idea,” Lanken said. “Ever since you caught that wolf at such a young age, I thought you had some exceptional talent for hunting. Back then, though, you were chasing your dreams, so you didn’t focus much on it. And yet… to think you managed to take down a large rhinoceros on only your second hunt! No matter how hard you try to hide it, true talent always shows.”

“You’ve already forgotten being chased by wild dogs and flocks of migratory birds, haven’t you?”

“At that time, I was practicing the aesthetics of non-lethality. I love all life, after all.”

Lanken glanced at the dried meat Viretta had been hesitating over. Aesthetics of non-lethality, my foot.

“You just got lucky and happened to catch that rhino.”

“Want me to go catch another one since it seemed easy enough? Shall we try again?”

“You’re a genius! Seriously, you were born for this!”

Lanken flattered Viretta without hesitation. Compared to rolling left three times, then right three times trying to catch another rhino, calling Viretta a genius was much easier.

The more he clapped, the higher Viretta’s nose rose. He showered her with praise without holding back.

“How did you even think to risk your lives hunting a huge rhino with no traps and no bow? Incredible.”

“Because it’s me, of course.”

“No sane person would take that kind of challenge! They say geniuses aren’t quite right in the head… you’ve gone completely mad!”

“By conventional standards, no one could judge a genius like me.”

“That’s right. You’re completely and wonderfully insane.”

“Uhuhu, Lanken, you don’t have to praise me so much. I already know I’m special.”

“Truly… you’ve lost your mind.”

Lanken muttered bitterly, no longer trying to mask his words as compliments. The reality that they couldn’t return to the mansion because Viretta unexpectedly caught the rhino was frustrating.

Of course, he had been thrilled when she caught it. He never expected such a messy situation to end in a successful hunt.

He had even hugged Viretta and danced for joy. Iola had asked, “Is this a ritual celebrating the joy of hunting?” but he danced anyway.

Our Viretta caught a rhino! How proud he was!

But the happiness stopped there. Once Viretta gained confidence from the rhino hunt, the group ended up in a rather difficult situation.

“Even dragons have no choice but to bow before a genius like me.”

Exactly like this.

Lanken gritted his teeth, trapped in a situation where he had no choice but to keep hunting dragons. Compliment her, and he has to face dragons; don’t compliment her, and they have to hunt another rhino. This deadlock was utterly despairing.

“I should have listened to the princess asking me to become her guard! But at that time, I had a much bigger dream.”

As the only obstacle, Lanken fell silent, and Viretta continued chattering with even more excitement. Iola, who had been listening to Viretta, asked a timely question.

“What was your dream?”

“I wanted to become a princess.”

Viretta nostalgically recalled her childhood dream.

Even though it was a bright, sparkling dream, its memory ended in sadness, so her eyes fell deeply downward.

“But my father wasn’t ambitious enough to pursue the throne.”

“So that kind of princess, huh?”

Iola, curious and fascinated, clearly hadn’t expected Viretta’s childhood dream to involve “my father trying to seize the throne.”

“If it’s about seizing the throne… that’s a much bigger dream than being a guard.”

“I understood my father’s concerns, but he was so modest in ambition. Though I was disappointed, as his beloved daughter, I couldn’t commit any disobedience, so I decided not to go after the throne.”

“Viretta, you were never bound by convention even as a child. Thankfully, you didn’t pursue that dream. If you had, either the social gap would have kept us apart, or failure would have meant your whole family’s doom.”

Despite saying such grim things, Iola never lost her gentle smile.

“I’m really glad I could meet you.”

“Your words always make me happy.”

“It’s overwhelming to think we can meet like this and work together toward a common goal.”

“I truly… don’t know how to express my gratitude for your constant reminders.”

Common goal = breaking off the engagement.

Iola’s selfless affection lifted Viretta up one moment, only to drop her over a cliff the next.

“How can someone be so consistent…”

It was sad that there wasn’t even a hint of malice or scheming in him.

“Back to the main topic, I also think Viretta has a real talent for hunting.”

“Right?”

But Viretta bloomed again at a single compliment.

“There were no weapons, and only three of us… it wasn’t really a challenge any sane person could attempt. Only a crazy person overflowing with confidence, unaware of the danger of hunting a rhino, could come up with such a plan.”

At that line, Viretta and Lanken simultaneously avoided Iola’s gaze.

“Or it could have been a plan from a skilled hunter with excellent situational analysis and precise tracking of the prey’s movements. Madmen and geniuses are so similar they can easily look insane—exactly the case here.”

Almost embarrassed at having been a “madman,” Viretta brushed off the feeling with a laugh.

“Ha, ha, ha! Exactly. Of course I’m the latter! A genius of hunting… no, I’m a hunter incarnate.”

“Haha… wait, is she really trying to mess with us?”

“No, look at her innocent eyes, trusting expression, and upright, strong posture.”

“The last part doesn’t matter.”

“It does! It’s charming as a person.”

“You just mean you like her.”

“In the world, some people naturally inspire trust just by their appearance or posture, like your face or Iola’s stance.”

Lanken, embarrassed by her praise, stopped whispering and looked away. Even his eyes could see that Iola wasn’t lying, so he had no choice but to accept it.

“Now that I clearly know Viretta’s abilities, I will sincerely trust and follow her in hunting.”

Iola, who had waited until their conversation ended, continued. Lanken half-raised his hand like in a meeting, and Iola pointed at him with her finger.

“Speak.”

“Are you saying to leave the plan to a non-professional like Viretta? Don’t you have a plan? You said you know dragons well and have been thinking about hunting one for a while.”

“That’s a sharp observation.”

Then… no answer. Lanken raised his hand again.

“Speak.”

“You speak! Haven’t you thought about what to do?”

“Oh, you needed a detailed explanation.”

Iola added an explanation with a friendly smile, boldly, without the slightest shame.

“I have nothing.”

Nothing at all.

“How can you be so unprepared?!”

“I trust Viretta.”

“Hehe.”

“Don’t be shy!”

Lanken glared at Viretta, who shyly fidgeted with her hair, feeling happy.

“Coincidentally, I lack the practical ability that matches my knowledge. Everyone has their own aptitude, and I’m simply not equipped in that area.”

“Simply put?”

“My creativity is lacking. I knew how the rhino would move and that its sense of smell is keen, but I couldn’t make the immediate wise judgment that Viretta could.”

“So what can you do?”

Lanken asked bluntly, thinking they might as well pack up and go home if she had no skills.

Iola straightened her posture with an apologetic expression and spoke.

“Modestly, I have the swordsmanship, spear skills, and some archery of a ten-man squad leader…”

“Typical mercenary son.”

“…Bachelor-level magic, mercenary tactics, chariot warfare, horseback riding, gunpowder production, logistics, three languages, zoology, botany, accounting, social culture, architecture, Saha domestic law, Filian domestic law, and…”

“Okay, stop there.”

This conversation barely broke even.

“Yes, these modest skills aren’t particularly useful.”

However, Iola seemed to interpret Lanken’s comment differently, ending calmly.

The two, who didn’t possess even one of his modest talents, felt awkward—but Viretta quickly recovered.

She gazed at Iola with eyes full of starlight.

“To think someone so capable and admirable is my fiancé…”

“Though we’ll be breaking off the engagement soon…”