The Little Fellow

Kang De stared in disbelief.

He had already prepared to rush out and support Cleveland.

He had not expected the kangaroo to go twang, twang and shoot dead the elf who looked hardest to deal with.

Fuck.

Then he saw something even more shocking.

The elves were skilled archers and well trained. When the arrows came, they fired back almost without thinking, unleashing a rapid-fire rain of arrows toward their attacker.

The kangaroo, bow in hand, bounced and leaped to evade them.

Kang De saw the kangaroo spring off one leg and flip through the air, dodging several deadly arrows.

After it landed, it sprang into the air again, and an arrow buried itself in the ground ahead of it.

He saw the kangaroo reach out with its right hind leg, grab the arrow and toss it into the air. It flipped over, deftly caught the arrow with its right forepaw, and nocked it on the bow.

He saw the kangaroo prop its entire body up in the air with its thick, powerful tail. Holding that position, it braced the back of the bow with its left hind leg and pulled the string with its right forepaw, drawing the great war longbow to a full curve in a flash and sending an arrow hurtling forth.

After loosing the arrow, it flipped sideways again, quick as a fleeing hare.

Another elf officer took an arrow to the forehead. The arrowhead burst through the back of his skull, and his eyes rolled white as he fell to the ground.

Even with a kangaroo's body, so ill-suited to archery, it could still kill like this.

Arrows stuck out of the ground along the path of the kangaroo's sideways flips.

Every arrow was placed with extreme precision. The kangaroo flipped past them and dodged them, then drew its bow and fired. Pulling the string with its forelimbs and bracing the bow with its hind legs, it could shoot enemies apart whether standing, lying down, leaning back, or leaping.

The first to die was the master of the arsenal.

The second was his adjutant.

Both officers had died so quickly, to say nothing of the ordinary soldiers in the archer corps, let alone the sailors.

Cleveland cut and slashed with his sword while every arrow the kangaroo loosed claimed a life. This battle ended even sooner, and the kangaroo claimed most of the kills, severely challenging the value of Miss Fulan's cross-dressing.

It was not just Kang De who was stunned. The princess and the knight were shaken as well, and the two Goths, having experienced battle and possessing the knowledge and discernment that came with it, knew even better how extraordinary the kangaroo's display was.

"I've never heard of archery like that."

The princess murmured, "Even I can see that its body is completely unsuited to drawing a bow and shooting arrows, yet it still achieved such results. If it had a human body..."

Kang De pursed his lips and said nothing.

As an Earthling living in an age of information overload, he had read plenty of fantasy works, and he was still capable of making a connection like that... These magical animals surely had a great deal behind them.

Unfortunately, they could not speak, and there were no surviving ruins or documents of any sort here.

Cleveland composed himself and began clearing the battlefield as usual.

And finishing off the wounded while he was at it.

But this time, he was surprised to find that he had no need to finish anyone off.

Finishing off the wounded was essential when humans fought elves. Elves were far more resilient than humans, and their bodies were also built a little differently. Simply put, an attack certain to kill a human would sometimes fail to kill an elf, so the bodies had to be carefully checked after a battle.

But there was no need this time. Every one of the kangaroo's arrows had struck a vital point.

An elf's vital point.

Such archery would earn immense respect and admiration in any human nation. As the saying went, rarity made things valuable. In a world where elven archery stood unrivaled, the emergence of a master archer among humans who could rival the elves would naturally cause a huge stir.

He could not help rising to his feet and saluting the kangaroo.

The kangaroo paid him no heed, not even sparing him a glance. Bow in hand, it hopped over to Kang De and flexed its muscles again, looking very pleased with itself.

Kang De glared at it. "You're that good with a bow, so why didn't you teach me?"

The kangaroo rolled its eyes extravagantly and gave Kang De a thump on the chest with its little paw.

"..."

Ah, now he remembered.

When he had been practicing with the axe before, the wolverine had jumped out, gesticulating and chattering to tell him he was doing it wrong. Kang De had asked it to demonstrate, and the beast had struck strange poses and had him copy them.

At first, Kang De had been overjoyed, thinking he had encountered a mythical beast like a divine eagle or white ape, the kind that could pass on supreme techniques. But when he tried the moves, he looked utterly ridiculous, and they had no effect whatsoever. That would have been one thing, but whenever he got a move wrong, the wolverine would bare its teeth and hit him.

Well, when had Kang De ever put up with such bullshit in all his life? Unable to restrain himself, he had gotten into a fight with the wolverine. That fellow had all kinds of odd little toys to spare: megaphones, screaming rubber chickens, magic wands, party poppers, all loaded with sound and light effects. Whenever it started losing a fight, it would use those things to turn the tables.

He remembered that fight had been fierce enough that the wolverine never taught him again. Instead, it would bare its teeth and mock him from the side whenever he swung his axe, and then they would have another fight.

In this fashion, the wolverine had taught him, the swan had taught him, and even the funeral chicken had taught him.

But because they could not understand each other's language and the lessons produced no results and were unconvincing, they had all ended in fights. After that, all that remained were the fights.

Remembering what had happened before and the punch the kangaroo had just given him, he looked a little embarrassed.

As the saying went, birds of a feather flocked together. If the kangaroo was this damn good with a bow, the other beasts, even flashier and wilder than it was, probably had their own special talents...

For instance, he remembered catching a cold once, not long after he had crossed over. The parrot had brought him several strange plants, mashed them together, and squeezed out the juice for him to drink. Kang De had licked it and felt his tongue go numb, so why would he have been willing to drink it? Besides, there were heaps of cold medicine in the pharmacy. What did he need that stuff for?

The parrot had squawked furiously as a result.

Now that he thought about it...

Kang De felt a little regretful. "Did I miss out on a lot of amazing stuff?"

The kangaroo shook its head at him very seriously. It raised its bow, pointed at Kang De and shook its head. Then it pointed at Pigeon flying overhead and the wolverine standing guard on the ground, rolled its eyes, tilted its head, and stuck out its tongue.

Did that mean... even if it taught him, he would not be able to learn, and those idiots were just teaching him whatever the fuck they pleased?

Kang De managed to make sense of those gestures, and felt somewhat reassured.

That was true. Even if the kangaroo taught him everything it knew about archery, he would not learn much in a year. Instead, it would take up energy and affect his other skills... Besides, they could not understand each other's language and could only teach by demonstration. How could they teach well like that? In any case, he was already very good with his axe.

Then another thought occurred to him. "...If you'd said your archery was this good earlier, why would we have bothered making plans? Seems to me that if you brought enough arrows, you could turn all those elves into hedgehogs."

The kangaroo rolled its eyes again and tapped Kang De on the head.

It could not do it?

That was true too... Nine elves and ninety elves were two different things, and the threat they posed was more than ten times greater. The kangaroo could dodge the rapid volleys of a few elves, but if dozens of elves fired together to cover the area, it probably could not manage. In the end, it was only an animal.

Tina stood to one side in thought. Although Kang De had been communicating with the kangaroo in Chinese, she had still more or less guessed what they meant. The girl hesitated for a moment, then said, "Kang De, perhaps it's rude of me to say this, but judging by the archery Lord Kangaroo has displayed, it could even take its bow and arrows and continue hunting elf squads until they gather together... if it's willing."

"After all, every elf killed means a little less pressure on us."

Kang De hesitated.

He admitted it was a very good suggestion, and judging by the archery the kangaroo had displayed, there was basically no danger. But he and the kangaroo were only friends, and he was in no position to order it to do anything.

Especially when it meant going off to kill.

He said hesitantly, "Let's forget it..."

The kangaroo patted him, indicating that it was fine.

Kang De shook his head. "Killing isn't anything fun..."

Before he had finished speaking, the kangaroo flicked him on the head. Kang De even saw a humanlike smile in its eyes, full of a teasing sense of Who are you to talk to me about killing?

Kang De was stunned for a moment. The kangaroo took a bundle of arrows from Cleveland and went off into the distance.

Watching the kangaroo leave, he called out, "Pigeon, ask the bar-headed goose to keep an eye on the kangaroo. Hey, Old Dai, stay in touch and don't go too far. When I tell you to come back, come back quickly!"

Pigeon cooed several times.

Some time later.

At the elves' temporary camp on the shore, Sir Taize, the marine captain, was playing with a treasure.

It was a parrot, golden all over with a red crown. It was full of spirit, extremely endearing, and quick to learn to speak. He had found the bird while patrolling the shore, and it had not been afraid of him, flying straight onto his shoulder.

That had made the knight very fond of it.

"Little fellow, I never imagined this deserted island could produce a treasure like you. You know, a bird like you is a rare sight even in the capital. Perhaps I should present you to someone important?"

He held out a finger and played with the bird.

But he found it staring intently at the great ship at sea.

"That's the Wings of Wayne. Once we complete our mission, I'll take you aboard. I have a cabin of my own, and delicious treats... Can't wait?"

He smiled.

A search mission like this really was not difficult.

But the marine captain did not notice that the look this beautiful, adorable little fellow directed at the elven warship seemed unlike anything a bird could possess.

Its gaze was full of coldness and mockery.

Suddenly, an elf came running over in a hurry. "Sir! Sir!"

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PS1: Second update... Fuck, late again... I fucking refuse to believe it!