Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Nati - Chapter Thirty Four

"You may fire when ready."

Hana did not waste time, and with my brand new crossbow, they hit a bullseye for the spectator's amusement. There was some applause, but we barely got started. They recocked the weapon, those enormous muscles working overtime, and in a few seconds, they were ready for the next shot. This effortlessly hit the mark too, earning another small cheer.

"All right, Mabel, it's your turn next," I announced. She emerged from the crowd with a wide grin, but people seemed skeptical. This weapon was only built this morning, using the finetuned blueprints and some help from the blacksmith and Omerta. It was freshly waxed, glistening in the sun, the first of many in the series. Mabel took a position at the range.

I handed her the winch, and she reloaded the crossbow alone. She aimed the heavy weapon like a toy, managing to score easily. This time, the onlookers went wild and cheered loudly. The log we used as a practice could not take any more punishment and shattered from the orc girl's shot. She bowed to the crowd.

"As you can see, this is a devastating weapon, but it doesn't require specific training or excessive strength," I claimed, walking over to pick up the bolts. They were all intact. "Even a child can use it."

This was met with another round of applause. Things went well so far.

"Okay, okay, but just how strong is that thing?" Omerta asked, playing the heckler. We agreed on this in advance, but now that I had to play in front of all these people, I got a little stage fright. She helped dry the Hickory wood of the new stock and finetune the prod until perfection.

"Why don't we put it to the test?" I asked, trying to look confident.

"I will cast a defensive barrier on the next log, let's see if it can penetrate it." The witch offered and went ahead with the spell. The barrier glowed orange as I reloaded the crossbow. The people had some doubts about the legitimacy of this test though.

"How do we know if it's a proper barrier?" A goblin merchant asked. He arrived this morning, apparently to check out my other invention, but stuck around for this demonstration too. If he was to be believed, he met Dioneras somewhere south of our village and heard about our tribe.

"Feel free to try and attack it." Omerta shrugged, stepping aside. The goblin was eager to poke his dagger into the magic barrier but couldn't penetrate it. A beastmen also attempted to break it with a hammer.

"All right, I guess it's my turn now. I'm Nati, the inventor of the crossbow." I announced once they seemed satisfied. I tried my best not to miss it. While I practiced a lot yesterday, that was with my older model. I was nervously sweating but didn't have to worry.

After staring down the notch on the prod, I easily hit the target. It went through Omerta's barrier like it was nothing, getting stuck into the log behind it, almost an inch deep. This impressed the crowd.

"I'll buy five, no, ten!" Fenna yelled immediately. Similar offers came, proposing gold or different commodities in return. The prices kept increasing, even before I could say a single word.

"Sorry, it is not for sale. Not yet, at least." Charlotte firmly ended the commotion, standing in front of me. "It shall serve as a warning that the people of Nateaser are perfectly capable of defending themselves."

"This village is under the protection of the Goddess of Luck." I heard a voice coming from above. Of course, Alex had to make a theatrical entry. Floating above the crowd, she also warned the spectators. "Nati is my friend and her inventions are not to be trifled with."

"Once we arm our guard and hunters with enough crossbows, we will sell them in limited numbers." The chieftain added, breaking the sudden silence. People did not expect the Goddess. "But only for tribes that entered a mutual protection pact with us."