BXBX NOVEL Chapter 95: The Hunt [4]
It was natural to avoid scaring the prey, but everyone moved with direction as the sound spread very far.
As people gathered in one place, they naturally encountered each other little by little, and groups formed around a few people.
Of course, the only people around Carl were Catherine and Bilford. No matter what, he was a prince.
Normally, he would have been popular.
However, the shock of his beast-like and barbaric appearance shown at his first official appearance was so strong that the nobles were reluctant to even go near Carl.
The place where people gathered was the vacant lot in front of the villa prepared within the hunting ground.
Nobles gathered in groups of twos and threes to have social conversations and brag about the animals they had hunted.
It was noon, and they gathered for a quick meal, but that was just a formality. It was a shame that so many busy people gathered together, only to do what they had to do and then part ways.
"Unfortunately, I couldn\'t find the big one."
"I guess he ran away because he knew he shouldn\'t be seen by prince Nero."
"Ha ha ha!"
In the hunting field, Nero was almost like an idol.
Everyone knew that Nero deliberately avoided the big ones and only caught small squirrels and rabbits, but even so, everyone tried to continue the conversation by flattering him enthusiastically.
"You hunted a nice deer."
"It\'s a shame it\'s a doe. Doesn\'t it look shabby standing in front of the horns of the stag you killed?"
"Absolutely not. This is an event to pray for abundance and prosperity, so wouldn\'t a female deer be the best game?"
Adrian also deliberately avoided the big game and only caught one slightly smaller doe.
The nobles knew that Nero was doing this to avoid competition for the throne, but Adrian did not know this.
Everyone thought that Adrian was happy and focused on hunting, so they worked harder to please him than they did Nero.
Adrian\'s acting was that perfect, so much so that even an old fox who had been in the political arena could be deceived by it.
"Carl, you should come here too."
Nero called out loudly to Carl, who was rummaging through his pockets from a distance.
\'Leave me alone…\'
Although Carl grumbled internally, he approached Nero with a happy face.
Bilford naturally approached while holding the reins of Carl\'s horse, making it clear to everyone that he was Carl\'s daily squire today.
As Carl intended, this clearly showed the shallowness of the sickly fourth prince.
"Shall we go and see what amazing things we hunted?"
Nero, acting as a slightly mischievous but kind older brother, naturally led Carl among the nobles, clearly showing everyone that he regarded Carl as his precious younger brother.
With a more blatant attitude than that shown in the morning, the nobles could no longer ignore Carl.
This was an action to protect Carl, but at the same time, it was also a subtle warning to Carl, who had many suspicious sides.
\'He is 19 years old…\'
Even to Carl, who had memories of being in his prime in his late 20s, Nero felt like a very cool and thoughtful \'big brother.\'
"Just, well, this and that…"
Carl muttered in a despondent voice and covered the pockets on his saddle.
"Ha ha ha! Looks like you caught it though! Isn\'t it amazing? It\'s only been five days since Carl picked up the bow!"
Nero seemed very proud and loudly praised Carl\'s talent.
"It is truly amazing to be able to ride a horse, shoot an arrow, and even hunt in just five days."
"Carl, show me what you caught. I could only catch things like squirrels, rabbits, and birds. Because I couldn\'t find anything bigger."
Nero defended Carl once more, saying it was because she couldn\'t find the big one that she couldn\'t catch it.
Nero, a handsome man whose thoughts were so deep and who was more popular with men than women, said so, so Carl was able to act without hesitation.
"I caught a squirrel and a rabbit. If only I had found the big one, I would have caught it, but I couldn\'t find it."
Like a proud child, Carl took out the animal corpses from his pocket and showed them.
There were only squirrels and rabbits, but they were too many for Carl, who had only picked up a bow five days ago, to have caught.
"You killed them instantly with one hit."
The workmanship was so neat that it was questionable.
The squirrel was hit in the chest, and surprisingly, the rabbit had its heart pierced exactly.
Was this really the work of the fourth prince?
"Yes, there are no variables if you kill them in one go, right?"
Carl spoke smugly, trying to make it seem like he was bragging about the experience he had gained in subjugating gnolls.
"Excellent. Allowing prey to writhe in pain is an insult to life and an undignified act. Don\'t forget this in the future."
Nero did not smile and speak like the good-natured older brother he had seemed just moments ago.
Nero\'s large hand tapped Carl\'s shoulder heavily, and his serious voice quietly praised and advised Carl.
Then, Nero grinned again as if he had never done that before.
"But next time, why don\'t you try targeting a bigger guy? I caught a wild boar bigger than you on my first hunt."
"… Don\'t lie."
"Ha ha ha! I caught it with a spear, but I caught it myself!"
Hunting is a sport and a hobby, and the use of spear knives in such hunting is prohibited.
Of course, it also prevents the use of mana. So, killing something with a spear is not considered hunting.
"If I use a sword or a spear, I\'m nothing like a wild boar."
Carl spoke confidently in a childish voice.
If it had been before, those words would have just sounded like a child\'s bravado, but since they were coming from a crazy guy who learned horseback archery in five days, it made people think,
\'Ugh, is this really true?\'
"Yes, I guess so. But first, you need to grow taller."
"I will grow quickly. Because I will be bigger than you, brother."
Carl and Nero fulfilled the excellent roles of \'the cool older brother and the still young younger brother.\'
"You\'re the last one."
"Your Majesty."
At that time, Azgoth\'s voice was heard.
With those few words, everyone immediately turned toward Azgoth. And behind Azgoth, they could see the corpse of a large bear lifted up by knights, even using their mana.
The arrow had penetrated through the thick skin and muscles and hit the chest accurately, with only the arrow\'s feather sticking out. He had killed the large bear by piercing its heart with one blow.
Of course, others could do that as well.
The body of a warrior who uses mana can produce strength equivalent to that of a superhuman even without using mana.
However, there was no one who dared to beat Azgoth and aim for a better hunt.
Azgoth sharply drew the upper limit on those who participated in the hunt by personally catching a large bear and declared that he would be the hero of the day.
In other words, it meant that all three princes who participated in the hunt would not be honored.