A small smile appeared on Lyriana's face after hearing that.
"He can be annoying, but he's always there when it really counts," she said.
Draven looked at her with an expressionless face.
"So you really like him, don't you?"
Lyriana's eyes widened, and she blushed slightly at his words. She bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry, Young Master. I spoke my thoughts out loud."
"Don't sweat it. You're free to speak your mind. After all, you're a maid, not my slave," Draven replied.
Lyriana smiled slightly. "Understood, Young Master. I will keep that in mind."
A moment later, Aldric appeared beside them.
"Your Highness, I have discovered a nearby goblin den—an ideal place for you to hone your archery skills."
"Alright, lead the way," Draven said.
The three of them quickly disappeared.
---
The scene shifted to a forest, where five goblins were walking among the trees.
Suddenly, a Mana arrow pierced one of them through the head. It let out a low growl before collapsing to the ground.
Hearing the sound, the remaining goblins turned their heads. Before they could react, another arrow pierced one through the eye, followed by a third that struck another in the neck.
Meanwhile, Draven stood atop a tree with Aldric and Lyriana.
He drew his bow, gathering and condensing Mana into an arrow before releasing it. The arrow flew toward another goblin, killing it instantly.
Draven then jumped down from the tree, fired another arrow, and killed the last goblin.
Lyriana and Aldric also jumped down, landing beside Draven, who remained standing in the same spot he had occupied when he released his final arrow.
*Damn, I'm better than I thought. But I'd prefer using a Glock instead,* he thought.
"Hey, Aldric, get the magic stones," Draven ordered.
*I'm supposed to be a guard, not a scavenger. But I guess he got my name right this time,* Aldric thought.
"Of course, Your Highness," he replied.
*Digging through monster guts. Just how I hoped to spend my day.*
"Just shut the hell up and do what you're told, and keep up," Draven said as he and Lyriana disappeared into the forest, jumping from tree to tree.
Aldric used blood magic to extract the magic stones from the goblins' corpses.