A Villainess Should Be Strong

"Here they are," In Frey's hands laid multiple scrolls which were stained with brown colors, which brought attention to the object's age.

"These all are... the artifacts made by the first generation?" Estelle scrutinized them with great interest.

"Mhm," Frey hummed in agreement. "Although... Trying to decipher them might make you even more confused, rather than helping you," Frey warned.

Estelle awkwardly laughed, picking up the scrolls and bringing them to a nearby table. She had the ability to become immersed- engrossed in reading the text and would not be able to snap out of her thoughts unless she finished the entire book and solved any questions she came up with.

She was quite confident in her detective and interpretative skills and was willing to bet on them.

In her hands was an ancient scripture that she would not be able to get her hands on otherwise.

She rubbed her hands together and started delving into the scripture, tracing the diluted elements and trying her best to make sense of it.

But before she was able to focus, she was reminded of another thing.

She came here for another reason. She was set to not only find out about the Goddess, but also the Moonlight Bow's origins. How it became the style the people knew today.

Frey was still around, walking through the aisles and storing the books Estelle picked out before and putting them back in their respective positions.

Estelle stood up, leaving her chair and approaching Frey once more.

The woman noticed Estelle's return and tilted her head, wondering if Estelle was here to complain about her not being able to understand anything about the scripture she gave her.

"Was the artifact too much after all? My apologies, I just handed it because it hold the most integrity in terms of factual information," Frey giggled.

"No, I haven't even started. I was just reminded of another thing I wanted to search for, and I wanted to ask your recommendation on the matter," Estelle rubbed her fingers together.

"Oh? Do tell," Frey looked with curious eyes, storing the last book in her tow into the shelf where it belonged.

"Actually.. Are there books written about the Moonlight Bow?" Estelle inquired.

Frey stilled for a couple seconds.

"...Hmmm? The Moonlight Bow, huh? Did someone tell you to learn the style?"

Frey displayed a clear smirk that made Estelle wonder if the woman knew something. Her eyes were always piercing and seemed like she was aware of everything- those she was told and those she wasn't.

"Yes," Estelle nodded in acknowledgement.

"Books about the Moonlight Bow, is it? It's not like there isn't anything, but what kind of specific thing are you looking for? The story behind the bow? Explanation behind the usage of it? It's historical appearances?"

"I was tasked to learn it in a short time, so anything that will deepen my knowledge on the matter would be great," Estelle said.

"If that is the case, then I will look for some books. However.. I am quite curious, why are you learning to use the bow?"

Estelle was reminded that the specific Moonlight Bow and the archery style was reserved to the royals and important people. She was nothing but a normal girl who currently did not possess any status.

Even if she was Aleksei's disciple, she should not be allowed to casually learn the style.

"Don't make such a rigid face. I am not doubting you, it's just a simple, light-hearted question from me to you," Frey joked.

"Ah.. it's for a challenge. Someone came up to me and doubted my.. identity. In exchange for accepting my arrival here, the person told me to prove my worth by learning on how to use the Moonlight Bow," Estelle vaguely described.

"Hmm.. Is that so?" Frey giggled.

From her gaze, Estelle knew that the woman did not completely believe her story. It was a half truth, half lie statement.

"Actually, I can just teach you how to use the bow.. probably," she said.

"You could use it too?" Estelle's mouth gaped.

She knew that Frey must be a powerful person, but the Moonlight Bow was actually quite exclusive. Even if you were absurdly powerful, you also needed the status to back up your worth.

For example, Neil and Niki were not the strongest Elves ever, but they were the Queen's trusted aides and attendants.

"Of course I can.. or do you think that I am not important enough to wield the bow?" Frey teased.

"It's not that.." Estelle shook her head, retreating backwards.

Frey broke into small laughter as she patted Estelle's shoulder and lightly rubbed it, as if telling her to relax.

"I was the one who taught Alex on how to use the Bow. You will find our styles very similar, since he was so dead set on copying me back then," Frey smiled, making the mood ease up so that Estelle could drop her tension.

Estelle was naturally very wary of all the occurrences around this country because she had little to no knowledge about it.

All of her prior knowledge was obtained through literature, but those could easily be bent. Lies mixed into bits of truth, creating a misleading discrepancy with reality.

"Alek- I mean, master copied you?" Estelle made a shocked expression.

"Well, first of all, you don't have to.. Hm, I guess it's up to you," Frey wanted to speak about something, but she stepped down.

Estelle tilted her head, wondering what Frey had wanted to say.

"To say that Alex copied me would be too far of a stretch, but it could be said that way. When he was my disciple..." Frey's  lips formed an upward curve, followed by her eyes which also arched.

"I gave him a challenge to replicate my shooting style, and he truly went on the matter step by step, down to the littlest thing like breathing. It was quite cute. He was a little child at that time, so he was much purer, much more innocent. Not to mention when he cutely asked me to take him in as a disciple, and, and.. Ah, I have spoken too much. Pardon my mistake,"

Estelle was in a loss as she could not bring herself to imagine the ethereal being that is Aleksei, which stood bright like a divine persona acting cute. Not to mention, begging Frey to accept him.

The contrast made her even more curious about the past Frey and Aleksei shared.

"...Ah, don't tell me, did he impose the same challenge on you?" Frey asked, not minding her previous lapse of words.

"No.. but I did get the challenge to shoot the Moonlight Bow from another person,"

Frey brought her hand up to her chin and crossed her arms, entering a thinking position. She fell into deep thought, as her eyes became hazy when she analyzed the situation.

"Who would do that? Let me guess.. probably Neil?"

"..It was Neil, but how?" Estelle widened her eyes, wondering how Frey managed to find out.

Their matters were kept tightly shut as all of them were tasked to keep it under secret until Estelle passed the challenges.

None of them particularly seemed like a loose-mouthed person, and she knew that she did not tell the specific person who ordered her to anybody, so how did she find out amongst all the Moonlight Bow user?

Not to mention, Neil's name was not all that famous as well. In the palace, he was regarded quite high because of his association with the Queen, but not exactly because of a super high prowess.

"The only one who would impose such a challenge to you, whose 'worth' hasn't been proven yet would naturally be Neil. It just sounds so like him!" Frey giggled in a happy mood.

"Is that so?" Estelle raised a brow, wondering if Neil was really that predictable.

"He is super predictable. When you first meet him, he will show up as someone who is hard to get along with, but once you learn about him.. he's a pudding. Of course, not literally,"

"Pudding.. him?" Estelle furrowed her brows, finding the two comparisons strange.

"We have been distracted for far too long. Let us get back to the main topic, shall we? I can provide you with books that might or might not assist you, but if I were you, then I would not linger around the books and would jump straight into practice. Drag me or Alex with you so that we can bully you with spartan methods. Doesn't that sound great?" Frey nonchalantly spoke, but the contents of her words were not as pretty as the smile she plastered on her face.

"I just wanted to get a deeper insight, not just physically. My magic is a bit peculiar. I am not using the orthodox method, but instead a similar one to it," Estelle shook her head.

Frey blinked repeatedly, but she soon formed another grin. "And what is this.. non orthodox method?"

"I need to know before I evaluate my potential student, you see?" she added.