The Extra's Harem In Dead End Game
Chapter 101 - 101: Unsettled Reflections

Hiresia stared blankly at the canvas leaning against the wall in her room.

It contained a beautiful view of the lakeside and beyond.

It had been worth the courage.

In her hometown, the Forgotten Forest, there was no sea, river, or lake. There was a saying in the human world that people there lived only on dew, and strangely enough, that saying applied exactly to high elves. They could survive just by drinking the dew that formed on the leaves of the Mother World Tree.

High elves were such beings.

It was just that Hiresia was odd for liking meat so much.

Anyway, the only water you could find in that forgotten forest was rain or dew. The lake was the first large body of water she had ever seen when she entered the human world. It was very beautiful, but at the same time, it was scary—deep water with no visible bottom. It was her first time seeing something like that, which was why she tried to avoid approaching it.

But there was always a strange attraction that pulled at her heart.

That must have been why the location of the art assignment had been decided to be Lake Ariara.

But there was a problem.

She couldn't go alone.

She was worried. After much thought, Hiresia decided to ask Max Seltrin. He was the only human who knew her true identity, and that made her feel at ease. He had also asked her for a favor, so she was able to get his consent fairly easily in the form of a condition. There were no problems up to that point.

"Ha…."

Hiresia placed her hand on her forehead and sighed with mixed emotions.

Going into the lake by boat had been scarier than she had imagined. It was so bad she even thought about turning back. But she tried to hold her fears in, feeling embarrassed by them. Still, having Max by her side helped her more than she had anticipated. His presence put her mind at ease, allowing her to reach the center of the lake.

The feeling she had at that moment—she thought it was good that she had found the courage to go.

The scenery had been breathtaking, making her feel better and even enjoying the process of drawing.

But then…

"Why was the weather like that at that time…?"

Hiresia shook her head.

The gathering dark clouds had been alarming. If the rain had soaked her painting, all the courage she had summoned would have been in vain. She had been terribly flustered at that moment. But, luckily, Max had been there. He had been the first to notice the clouds and had reacted quickly, rowing with all his strength to get them back to the dock. Because of that, the boat had rocked violently.

Her heart had nearly stopped, and her legs had trembled so much that she had had to grab Max's shirt for support.

His hand had been trembling too, but oddly, a sense of calm had begun to wash over her. Somehow, the feel of his back had seemed trustworthy.

That was the moment she started to feel something unusual.

"Ugh," she muttered.

As she recalled that time, her face heated up without her realizing it. She waved a fan at her cheeks, trying to cool them down.

She was crazy. She couldn't believe she was feeling this way about a human. She had to be out of her mind.

But if it had stopped there, maybe she would have recovered from her emotions more quickly.

However…

The fact that Max had packed lunch for her, with so much meat in it, had stirred something deeper. Her feelings had reached a point where it was difficult to recover.

And then...

The moment she had grabbed his hand, she had felt flustered as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest. Normally, such an action wouldn't have affected her, but given the emotional state she had been in, the sensation had felt entirely different.

It was the first human male hand she had ever held.

The rough texture of the calluses on his hand had surprised her—it was proof of effort that couldn't be hidden. When she had first met him, his hands had been spotless and clean.

What kind of change of heart had he gone through? Could humans change so suddenly?

Hiresia found herself growing more curious about him.

"Ha, seriously. This is crazy," she whispered.

Hiresia lightly hit her head with her fist.

These feelings were unsettling, and suddenly, she began to overthink things.

How should she interpret this?

It was even more confusing because she had never experienced anything like this before.

But this...was it just her feelings? What did he think of her? There had definitely been something different about him today.

"Ugh, let's stop overthinking. Let's stop overthinking."

Hiresia banged her head on the desk. Only then did she regain some of her composure. There was now a red mark on her forehead.

"Haa. Okay, okay. Why am I even worrying about this? This isn't how I truly feel," she said, trying to convince herself.

Her eyes returned to their usual state.

"Ah, it's already time to go."

She stood up, ready to keep her promise of archery training.

Hiresia grabbed her bow from the corner of the room and slung it over her shoulder. Her fingers grazed the smooth wood of the weapon, grounding her in its familiar feel.

Despite the turmoil of her thoughts, the routine of archery practice was comforting. She had promised herself that no matter how confusing her feelings for Max were, her skills and discipline as an archer would remain unchanged.

---

"There are 3 days left?"

"Yes."

"But why haven't you perfected the basics yet, even though you're receiving special training from this body?"

"… …"

It feels like the training has become strangely strict. Is it just my feeling?

No, it's not just a feeling.

Since that incident at the lakeside, Hiresia's teachings have certainly become stricter.

… … I want to turn back time.

"Why is there no answer?"

"Senior."

"What?"

"I think I can do it today."

"Then prove it," Hiresia said coldly.

"Let's do that."

I was confident.

This is because I realized through numerous experiences that I was on the verge of perfecting the basics of archery.

Also, the concentration test, which can only be used twice a day, helped a lot.

If you focus and try to learn the path of the arrow, your skill level will increase beyond comparison to basic training.

'Let's go straight to the focus.'

I focused my mind and turned on the concentration light.

I saw countless arrows lined up before my eyes.

The important thing is the wind.

The wind is the biggest factor that affects the path of an arrow.

An archer who cannot read the wind will forever be in limbo.

I felt the wind and figured out the path of the arrow that changed accordingly.

I felt my sense of the wind and my field of vision expanding in real time.

Squeak.

I tied the bowstring.

Pfft!

An arrow flew with the wind.

In an instant, it hit the bull's eye.

At that moment:

[Your basic archery skill has been increased to the maximum level.]

[You have mastered the fundamentals of archery.]

[Your archery growth limit has been greatly increased.]

[Your archery growth rate increases significantly.]

[The power of all your archery skills slightly increases.]

[Your archery rank has increased to C-.]

"Hell yeah!"

I let out a scream of joy without realizing it.

It was the first decisive achievement.

I couldn't hold back the joy that was bursting out.

"Wait a minute, what the hell is going on? Didn't I ask you to prove it?"

Hiresia still maintained her composure.

"Yes, right away."

I confidently fired my arrows again at the target.

I didn't use the focus mode.

Just the basics.

At first glance, it didn't seem that different from usual.

But it was completely different.

A natural posture, free of any basic errors.

Of course, Hiresia would have noticed that too.

Squeak.

Phut!

I fired the arrow without hesitation.

It wasn't as perfect as with focus, but it rode the wind quite well and landed near the center.

I looked at Hiresia with a 'Did you see that?' expression.

Her expression...

She was smiling brightly, no longer calm.

"Excellent. Excellent. Now you too are a proper archer."

"It's all thanks to the excellent teachings of my senior."

"Ahem, that's to be expected."

"Thank you."

I bowed my head to Hiresia with a sincere expression.

It felt completely different from the game.

The feeling that I had achieved something through my own crazy efforts.

And she, too, was a living, breathing being who shared my joys and hardships, breathing in the same place as me.

A character is not just data.

"Why are you suddenly… … ?"

Hiresia's cheeks turned slightly red.

My feelings also became strange when I saw it.

"Senior."

"Huh?"

"I will do well."

"What… what?"

"Archery evaluation."

"Oh, okay."

… Why did she suddenly look so disappointed?

…What on earth was she thinking?

"Senior."

"What?"

"Please continue with the special training. I still have a long way to go."

"With my mouth closed?"

"Can I have meat this time?"

"Good."

Hiresia laughed.

I laughed too.

The special training continued until just before the archery evaluation.