The fact that Jean could use a bow and arrow while riding a horse spread quickly. It was originally one of the traditional tactics of Urda and one of the most difficult techniques. Zaid smiled as he listened to Zaad's story and nodded.
Jean's grandfather probably taught him, Zaid thought. But he never thought that a small child could do that, and accepted Zaad's proposal.
"Alright. I'll contact the teachers under 10 years old later."
Zaid nodded.
"One more thing."
Zaad looked at Zaid with a serious face.
"What?"
"Saina came to the Fourth Training Center."
"What for?"
"She said she wanted to learn how to shoot."
"Hmm."
Zaid thought deeply.
"Is the Zanif family still insisting on her sons?"
"I wonder."
Zaid asked, and Zaad thought deeply.
"But what is clear is that Umar Zanif hates the name Zanif and wants to change it to Tareq as soon as possible."
"I understand how he feels."
Zaid nodded.
"Even a six-year-old child can understand that."
"He would feel that way when he saw his mother's face."
"Poor Saina. If I had done more research on who she would marry, this wouldn't have happened."
Zaid sighed.
"There's no point regretting who she married. Besides, most men hide their true identities until they're married. It's not your fault."
"Oh, did you?"
"Well, I just say..."
When Zaad answered it hurriedly, Zaid smiled as he looked at Zaad.
"When you have a girl, you'll feel similar to me."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Heard Zaad say, Zaid nodded. Moreover, Zaad's children are all boys, so he doesn't understand how Zaid feels. On the other hand, Safid has mostly girls, except for Samad.
"I will accept Saina's wish, and approve her learning to shoot. However, she will do it at the fifth training center. If other women want to learn, we will only allow them to do it once a week, in the morning for half a day. When the women practice, men are not allowed to enter except for Jean and children under 10. Please make sure to set blindfold around."
"Yes, Father."
Zaid said, and Zaad nodded.
"But honestly, I think bows and arrows are better than guns..."
"Why is that?"
"Because guns are dangerous. If you accidentally fire something, it will be a disaster."
Zaid said, and Zaad thought deeply.
"In that case, let's just practice bows and arrows instead of guns. We can make it a reason to learn how to use bows and arrows first."
"I'll leave it to you."
Zaid said, and Zaad bowed his head and left the room.
Jenal and Jahir heard that Jean had become a teacher for the women of the Tareq family. Even if it is for self-defense, some people cannot agree with women carrying weapons and fighting. However, when Jahir explained that they could not say that considering the future, the men were deep in thought.
"If women can defend themselves, men can fight with peace of mind. I think it would be a good thing if women were skilled enough to protect children and the elderly while men are fighting outside."
As Jenal said this while thinking, several men were deep in thought.
"I don't object. In fact, I think it's a good thing."
One man said, and the other men nodded.
"But what about those who don't have a training center?"
"Hmm."
Jenal was deep in thought. Not all families are as wealthy as the Tareq family, so they must face this problem.
"Let's make a joint training center. Usually, men can practice archery, but one day a week, from sunrise to sunset, the women can use it. During that time, men over 10 years old will be prohibited from entering. But what should we do about the archery instructor...?"
"Let's have Jean help us for a while and have him teach the women how to do it and the tricks. I think it would be good if someone is good at it to teach themselves. If we leave the rest to them, there shouldn't be any problems."
"I agree."
"Whether to hide the area around the training center with curtains is up to the women who use it. If they feel more comfortable hiding it, then hide it. We'll just prepare a place."
When Jenal said this, they nodded.
"I'll donate 30 gold coins."
"I'll donate too."
One man spoke, and the other men nodded. They put the gold coins they had in front of Jenal. Jenal nodded and put the money in the basin.
"The Jazar family will give 300 gold coins. With this, we can build a fine archery training center."
"It looks like we can build a fine training center."
"That's right."
Jenal nodded.
"Guns and bows are dangerous, so let's build it somewhere without any buildings nearby. Jahir, I'll leave that job to you."
"I understand."
Jahir nodded and went outside.
"Are you all here?"
When Jahir said that, Sabadda and the others turned around. When Jean, whose face was stained with bread and curry, turned around, Jahir couldn't help but laugh. Sabadda noticed and picked up a towel nearby and wiped Jean's face.
"Continue eating."
"Yes. Would you like to eat, Teacher?"
Saman said, and Jahir nodded.
"Well, let's have some."
Jahir sat with his disciples, surrounding the pot and bread. He looked at Jean, who was eating the curry and laughed again.
"Is this your first time eating?"
Jahir asked, and Jean nodded. Then Jahir took the plate, picked up the bread in the middle, and dipped it in the curry.
"This is how you eat it. Try it."
"Yes, Teacher."
Jahir put the bread soaked in the curry in his mouth, and Jean tried it too. Saman and the others laughed and nodded.
"It's okay, Jean. You'll get good at it soon, so take it slowly."
Amir said, and Jean nodded and munched.
"Who made the curry?"
Jahir asked, and Abu raised his hand.
"I made it. My sister gave me the bread."
"Aina?"
"Yes, Teacher."
Abu nodded.
"She said she made too much and couldn't eat them all."
"Is Azhar not at home?"
Azhar is Aina's husband, the second son of the Abbas family.
"Brother Azhar has been assigned to guard the Ameen family's merchant group in place of Batial tonight, Sister Aina said. They'll go to Ograt Village."
Abu answered, and Jahir tilted his head.
"What happened to Batial?"
"He seems to have a fever and diarrhea. The doctor said it was food poisoning."
"Food poisoning?"
Jahir tilted his head and ate the bread.
"I don't know why he got food poisoning."
Abu answered, and Jahir nodded. Then he looked at Jean again and laughed.
"How is it? Is Abu's curry tasty?"
"Yes!"
"Hahaha! Come on, eat it!"
Jahir said, and Jean nodded and stuffed his cheeks again.
"By the way, Jean."
"Yes?"
"Did Grandpa teach you how to use a bow and arrow?"
"Yes, he did."
"Did Grandpa teach you to ride a horse and shoot an arrow?"
"Yes, he did."
When Jahir asked, Jean answered frankly.
"When did you start learning?"
"After I got pretty good at riding, I started learning."
"Around two or three years old?"
"Maybe... I don't remember exactly. Sorry."
When Jean apologized, Jahir smiled and shook his head.
"You don't have to apologize."
Jahir put the bread in his mouth again and looked at Jean.
"In the first place, why a bow when you have a gun?"
"Well.., bows are relatively cheap. Guns require bullets, and they're loud, so it's difficult to do because there's a chance the Ircandians will find out."
When Jean said frankly, Jahir smiled.
"I see, that's how it was."
Jahir was deep in thought.
"It's about bows and arrows. If you poison them, their lethality increases."
"Yes."
Jean nodded.
"In the old days, we would hunt deer by dipping our arrows in brown snake venom. If the deer was poisoned, it would be unable to move."
"Oh. So it's okay to eat meat from a deer that was hunted with poison?"
"As long as you drain the blood properly, there's no problem. The poison will disappear if it's cooked, the chamberlain said."
"I see."
So, a chamberlain there knows a lot about poisons, Jahir thought.
"Have you ever seen that brown snake in Urda?"
"No, I'm sorry."
"I see, well then."
Jahir smiled as he said that. Sabadda and the others just ate and listened carefully to their conversation.
"Yes, tomorrow we're going to practice horseback shooting. Will Jean join us?"
"Yes, I will."
"That's good."
Jahir finished the curry left on his plate as he said.
"It was delicious. Thank you Abu for the delicious meal. Please convey my thanks to your sister."
"Yes, Teacher."
Abu nodded happily.
The next day.
More people gathered than he expected. Three targets were set up by Jahir. The running course was quite long. Surprisingly many people wanted to participate in the training, so Jahir nodded with a smile. When the other teachers' students appeared, the surrounding area became lively. More than anything, people wanted to see Jean's skills. Women and children gathered, and there were food stalls like a festival. Zaid, who had heard Safid's message, also came and sat near Jenal, smiling as he watched the participants.
"Oh, Sabadda is here."
Safid, standing next to Zaid, said, and Zaid nodded with a smile. Jahir gave the signal, and Sabadda rode his horse, shooting one target after another. One after another, the people participating in the training came out, and now it was Jean's turn.
He's still small, Zaid thought. But little Jean rode his horse just as fast, shooting one target after another.
He hit all the targets.
In terms of ability, Zaid thought, he was no match for Sabadda and the other participants.
The people who saw Jean got excited and applauded loudly. Some people were still not good, so Jahir and the other teachers were seen giving them guidance. Finally, Jahir got on his horse and shot an arrow.
The people couldn't believe their eyes and there was a murmur. Because Jahir shot multiple arrows at once and all hit the targets. Even Jean was so excited that he clapped his hands.
"He's imposing, isn't he?"
"Hahaha, yeah."
Jenal looked at the training with satisfaction and nodded. Zaid just laughed.
"I want the villagers, including women, to practice archery, swordsmanship, and guns thoroughly from now on. To do that, I will set up a joint training center."
"I see."
Zaid nodded and looked at Jenal.
"That's good."
Zaid said and looked at Jean who approached Jahir. He was very lively.
"People came to me after hearing about the Tareq family. They asked if there was anything we could do."
"So the answer is a joint training center?"
Zaid was deep in thought.
"I will donate 200 gold coins. Also, we will prepare bows and arrows for the women. I will give each woman who wants to practice one bow and ten arrows. Once they have their own bows and arrows, they can practice it themselves."
"I would appreciate that."
Jenal nodded.
"Honestly, I never heard women practice with weapons and arrows, so I don't know what to do."
"Me neither."
When Jenal said that, Zaid nodded as well.
"But when I heard Jean's story, I thought it was possible."
"What did Jean say?"
Jenal looked at Zaid with interest.
"He said his mother rode a horse and hunted with a gun."
"That's amazing."
"Yeah."
Zaid nodded.
"She's a woman who gave birth to seven children, took care of her husband's parents, her own parents, and her own children in place of her late husband, and even rode a horse and handled a gun. She's an incredible woman."
Zaid said, and Jenal nodded.
"If she's nearby, I might propose to her. I want to defeat all her enemies with all the power of the Tareq family, and give her the happiness of a normal woman."
Zaid said softly, and Jenal nodded. Thinking about it, Jenal thought that Jean's mother might be a great person.
"But it seems it takes about six months by ship to Archia. I heard that from someone who went to the port..."
"That's right. It's very far. If I go to Archia, I don't know if I'll come back alive. That's why I put that idea aside."
Hearing Jenal's words, Zaid nodded and sighed.
"Six months...huh? Wait a second? So Jean left Archia when he was three and a half years old?"
"If you think about it, that's true."
When Jenal said that, Zaid also noticed.
"So Jean only learned weapons and languages for about a year?"
"That's right...otherwise the math doesn't add up."
"He's a terrible old man."
When Jenal said that, Zaid laughed.
"His Grandpa is your cousin, so I can't imagine how he educated Jean."
"Hahaha."
Jenal gave a bitter smile when he heard Zaid's words.
"But more than talent, that boy is really trying hard. I know because we live together. Maybe because he's trying so hard, he sometimes forgets how to be spoiled."
Zaid smiled as he looked at Jean, who was smiling at him.
"He's a poor boy. Please be nice to him, Zaid."
"Of course. Jean is my son."
"Thank you."
Jenal smiled and stood up. Zaid stood up and waved back at Jean, who also waved back.