“Gugyaaaaaaaah!!”
“Hmph!”
A lizard shaped like a chicken… or is it a lizard? Douglas-san, an older man, slashes down a reptile-like monster, about the height of an adult, that I hadn’t seen in Claydale or the West. It might be a unique monster to this grassland, rocky mountain, or area.
Such monsters appear frequently, but Douglas-san mostly defeats them with a single blow, so it’s hardly a problem. If there is a problem, it’s that Nighthalt, the swordsman who isn’t keen on this mission, gets irritated every time he stops.
“…Snow.”
Aria mutters my name as she watches the Hero’s party, glaring at me with just her eyes. For some reason, I feel like I’m being scolded like this every time I do something.
“I know,”
It’s because I did something without permission again, right?
My body is getting much better. It’s much better than when we cleared that Large-Scale Dungeon. But even though I have four elements now, two of them are composite skills, and my Magic Stone should be much larger than Serejula-san’s, who also has four elements.
She originally maintained attributes that put a strain on her even when focusing on Magic, while also engaging in close combat like Aria at the front lines. Then, she hid in the Underworld and couldn’t rest, so her body couldn’t handle long battles.
Adventurer-level combat isn’t much of a burden. Pain still remains, but I’m used to it enough not to show it on my face.
It’s a world of difference compared to when I fought Aria in the Royal Capital.
But Aria is afraid that I’ll become like Serejula-san if I push myself too hard.
She doesn’t need to worry…
I’ve decided to use my life for you.
“Let’s go quickly!”
The battle ends easily, and an irritated Nighthalt shouts at us.
“To shout so loudly when we’re so close… is he hard of hearing?”
“Snow…”
When I say that so only Aria next to me can hear, she must have been thinking the same thing because she doesn’t scold me this time.
The reason we can chat so leisurely is because we’re behind them.
Normally, Aria, as the scout, would be at the front, but these three stopped us from going ahead.
The reason is that Douglas-san doesn’t like being behind young women, and Nighthalt is the same, but he seems to look down on female Adventurers.
The Hero… I don’t know what Klein-san is thinking, but he probably thought it would be more interesting this way.
In any case, the main reason behind all of this is that they still don’t trust us… right?
If that’s the case, it’s no different from being with Dolton-san and the Temple Knights further back.
They’re following us from about two hundred paces away.
Their current role is to eliminate surrounding Monsters and secure our retreat. They should be fine, but I’m concerned that only reptiles have been appearing since we entered this rocky mountain.
“Ladies, we’ll be arriving at the center soon.”
As we advance deeper into the rocky mountain, and the path starts to go through gaps in the many large rocks, Klein-san, who’s walking in front, calls out to us.
Even though it’s called a rocky mountain, the summit isn’t the highest point like a normal mountain. It’s like a mountain with many rocks buried in it, and the soil and sand have eroded away over many years… simply put, it’s like a building block tower made haphazardly by a child.
So the center isn’t the highest point, but the largest gap among the many rocky areas is said to be the Fire Dragon’s temporary nest.
If that’s the center of the rocky mountain… the Fire Dragon might have created it.
We proceed cautiously from there. The taciturn Douglas-san aside, even Nighthalt-san is speaking less. More than that…
“It’s hot.”
Even though it’s not a volcano, the temperature is rising as we climb. I don’t dislike the heat, but walking tires me out since I’m not in top condition yet. Aria, who raised her face at my murmur, narrowed her eyes as if scrutinizing something, and muttered softly.
“The Mana Particles of Fire are getting stronger.”
We’re finally going to face the Fire Dragon. As I thought that, Douglas-san, who was walking at the front, suddenly turns around.
“You two stay there and watch our battle without interfering.”
“Douglas!”
Nighthalt-san raises his voice at the sudden statement.
This Fire Dragon subjugation was supposed to be to test Aria’s strength. If she really has the ability to defeat the Dark Dragon, then the Hero, who was informed of the threat to this continent by the Spirit, would no longer have a reason to be here.
“Nighthalt… we’re not so weak that we need to make these girls fight. If the three of us are here, we should be able to handle even an Elemental Dragon.”
“That’s true, but…”
Nighthalt-san frowns, glances at us, and clicks his tongue softly.
“Hmph. Watch our power. This world only needs us, who were chosen by the Spirits!”
Saying that, Nighthalt-san and Douglas-san proceed ahead.
What is Douglas-san thinking? Does he have thoughts about what Klein-san is doing? Nighthalt-san is simple. He seems to have decided to prioritize his own emotions over the Hero’s intentions.
“What do we do? Aria.”
“…Let’s go.”
Whether to witness it or to discern it, Aria decided to proceed. I understand Klein-san’s thoughts the least, but if we don’t know them, we’ll be at a disadvantage.
My opinion isn’t necessary. Besides, I have to discern it too.
Klein-san, who shrugged his shoulders with a mask-like smile at us who started moving on our own accord with our respective intentions, let out a faint murmur as if sighing.
“…That would be a problem.”
What does that mean?
It seems that Klein-san has intentions other than seeing our abilities. It wouldn’t be a problem if it’s not related to Aria, but if—
“—It’s here.”
Douglas-san’s voice, who was proceeding at the front, interrupts my thoughts.
Certainly, I feel a nostalgic sensation… I feel strong Fire Mana Particles. But in the center of the rocky mountain we arrived at—a flat, wide space like an Arena—the figure of the Fire Dragon we were looking for was nowhere to be seen.
But we didn’t mistake the place. The remains of bones that looked like those of large beasts were scattered in that wide space, and all of them had traces of being crushed by a strong force.
“…Tch, it hasn’t returned yet?”
“It seems so.”
Douglas-san responds to Nighthalt-san’s complaint, crushing the bones as if to inspect them.
From the condition, the bones seem to have been left for a long time… probably for hundreds of years. Or perhaps they were burned until they became so brittle.
“Klein! Let’s rejoin the guys in the back for now!”
To Nighthalt-san’s words, Klein-san doesn’t answer anything with his mask-like smile, and at that moment, Aria raises her face as if being repelled.
“Snow!”
—Hyuh!
In the next moment, we hear the sound of something cutting through the air, and everyone instinctively moves away from the spot. With a ground-shaking sound, the corpse of a giant beast falls.
But that’s not the problem. Everyone looks up at the sky, where a “Dragon” covered in bright red scales, with huge wings spread, is glaring down at us.
Aria and the others confront the Fire Dragon.
What is that power?
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