Hesta quietly edged closer to Victoria. "...Ligo is really missing out by not coming."
"Why?"
"She was a hunter when she was little—"
Before Hesta could finish, a bow was held out in front of her.
Both she and Victoria froze for a moment. Looking closely, they realized it was the girl who had snatched Boheng's clothes earlier.
The girl said nothing. She merely held the bow stubbornly before Hesta, her gaze carrying a solemn weight.
When Hesta still refused to take it, the girl frowned. "Can't you shoot?"
"I learned a little," Hesta said. "Just haven't used it much..."
"Take it." The girl raised the bow again.
Hesta grasped the bow's limb, and the girl immediately turned around. "Follow me."
"...For what?"
"She wants to compete with you," Man Na said. "Taking the bow meant you agreed."
"Who says?" Hesta stopped walking. "I never agreed to anything."
The girl came back to Hesta and loudly spoke a string of local dialect. Though Hesta could not understand her, the girl looked so earnest that Hesta could not help growing serious as well. At first, everyone watched the girl as though cheering her on, but gradually their expressions turned somewhat strange. Finally, Man Na stepped forward, grabbed the girl's hand, and stopped her in a tone that allowed no argument.
Then Man Na looked at Hesta. "Won't you accept her challenge?"
Hesta did not answer immediately. Though she could not understand what the girl was saying, she had heard Boheng's name at least twice. Meanwhile, Victoria had already circled around the crowd and run off to find the person responsible for all this.
"Why does she want to challenge me?" Hesta asked deliberately.
"Well..." Man Na awkwardly twisted her neck. "She wants to see whether Kashyapa from outside are really as