Prologue

“Skreeeeeonk!”

The enormous, dragon-like lizard unleashed a furious bellow. The boiling lava flowing around us began to bubble more intensely, as if responding to its rage. Sparks flew through the air, glowing like fireflies.

“It’s going berserk...!”

“Grrrr!”

The dragon-esque lizard turned towards us. Rows of sharp teeth lined the inside of its gaping mouth, and I could see the back of its throat starting to glow faintly—a sign that it was about to launch its Fire Breath attack.

“This is gonna be a big one...!”

I could tell by how long it was taking to charge that this would be no ordinary Fire Breath.

“Brrruuung!”

No sooner had I spoken than the lizard—the boss of this battle—exhaled a beam of light from its mouth. This was the monster’s ultimate move: concentrating its Fire Breath into a single point and unleashing it as a scorching ray. If an attack like that were to hit me, I would probably die instantly. However, I remained unfazed.

“Mm-mm-mmm!”

Just before the ray could strike, a small figure leaped into my path.

“Mm-mmm!” the small, green-haired boy hummed.

“Olto!”

This boy was my tamed monster, Olto.

Olto glared at the incoming ray, widening his stance and digging his heels into the ground as if he intended to halt it. However, what he wielded was neither shield nor weapon, but a hoe. Yes, I’m talking about the kind you use for gardening. It was hardly something you’d consider a battle implement. Regardless, Olto raised his hoe confidently and swung it down at the gleaming beam speeding towards him.

“Mm-mmm!”

The hoe clashed with the scorching ray.

Most people might think, He won’t stand a chance! but I hadn’t a shadow of a doubt.

“You can do it, Olto!”

“Mm-mm-mmm!”

Olto’s hoe deflected the ray, scattering it.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

“Mm-mmm!”

“Time for a counterattack! Sakura, immobilize that bastard!”

“...!”

A girl who was almost too beautiful to be real snapped to attention at my command. True to her name, her hair was the color of sakura—cherry blossom—petals. By appearance, she was older than Olto, perhaps around high school age.

As Sakura thrust out her hands, the earth beneath the lizard glowed, and a giant magic circle appeared, surrounding the beast. Then, the ground split open, and countless vines emerged from the cracks. The vines grew rapidly, wrapping themselves around the lizard’s lower body like a snake coiling around its prey.

“Raeeerrrr!”

The creature thrashed about, trying to break free of the vines, but it could not escape their grasp.

“All right! Now it’s a sitting duck! Drimo! Rick! Get ’em!”

“Squeak squeak!”

“Chirp!”

Two figures dashed towards the beast, letting out cute little squeaks—my trusty companions, Drimo and Rick.

Drimo was about 120 centimeters in height; taller than Olto, but still a mere speck compared to the immense lizard. His appearance was that of a mole, walking on its hind legs and dressed in navy overalls. A pair of small, round sunglasses perched atop the bridge of his nose, and he wore a yellow safety helmet bearing the words “I ain’t afraid of sunlight.” On his shoulder rested a giant pickax, the size of which no rock would ever stand a chance against.

As Drimo charged fearlessly at the lizard, an even smaller figure ran alongside him. In fact, “small” was a generous way to describe it; teeny-weeny was more like it. I’m talking the size of a puppy—no, maybe even tinier.

The tiny, scampering creature was a squirrel. Unlike Drimo, who, being a mole walking on its hind legs, was a bit surreal to look upon, this squirrel looked incredibly realistic. There was no mistaking this was a squirrel. Coloring aside, it looked exactly like the ones you’d see in zoos in Japan.

Looking at Drimo made you feel like you were in a fantasy world, but the sight of Rick, the aforementioned squirrel, brought you back to reality. And yet, either because I was already accustomed to this world, or because these two somehow complemented each other perfectly, seeing them side by side didn’t seem strange at all.

“Get ’em, Drimo!”

“Squeak!”

Drimo shot me a thumbs-up, not even looking back. Drimo, my man! Even from a distance, he gave off overwhelmingly macho vibes.

Drimo gained speed now, as though the wind were propelling him, and drove his pickax, now glowing with a red light, smack into the lizard’s nose.

“Ra-Raeeerrrr!”

The creature was clearly in pain from the hit, which the drastic drop in its life meter confirmed.

“Chirp chirp!”

Right after Drimo, Rick launched his attack. He was a frail little thing, far too small in size. Unlike Drimo, he was completely unarmed.

Rick, however, boldly approached the lizard and hurled something tiny at its back—a nut, the size of an acorn, the kind that children often make toys of.

It’d be difficult to imagine that the small nut arcing through the air would inflict any damage on the monster, whose scales were as tough as granite. And in fact, the nut merely bounced off the lizard’s scales ineffectually—or so it appeared.

Booooom!

A massive, inexplicable explosion erupted from the nut. A pillar of flames rose, and a thundering sound drowned out the lizard’s roar. The blast was so powerful it knocked the creature facedown on the ground, rendering it unable to stand.

“Great job, you two!”

“Squeak squeak!”

“Chirp!”

The lizard’s life meter dropped even further.

“Time to finish ’em off! Fau, sing the Song of Glory for Bear Bear!”

“Aye!”

Fau, the girl who’d been perched on my shoulder this whole time, soared into the air with a grin.

She was about the same size as Rick, and a beautiful pair of translucent, bug-like wings grew from her back—a sure sign of a fairy. She was stunning, with her soft, curly red hair and her blue high-cut leotard. Despite the rather racy outfit, however, her diminutive stature and doll-like features lent her an innocent air.

Fau plucked at her fairy-sized lute and opened her tiny mouth.

“La la la...♪” she sang, her voice unmistakably fey.

The sound of the lute and Fau’s sweet singing voice melded together into a mysterious, somehow sorrowful melody that echoed through the air. As she continued to sing, a wave of light appeared, as though the tune was taking form. It gathered gradually into a single point, moving towards a small figure.

“Growl!”

The frolicking figure in question was a yellow teddy bear, roughly the size of an elementary school student. It was another of my companions, Bear Bear.

“Take ’em down, Bear Bear!”

“Grooowlll!”

Bear Bear let out an adorable but mighty roar, and sharp claws emerged from their teddy bear paws. Their six claws, three for each paw, gleamed like sword blades. Honestly, there was something pretty badass about seeing claws that vicious sprouting from a teddy bear’s precious paws.

Strengthened by Fau’s song, Bear Bear sprang into the air, jumping higher than their own height. Their claws gleaming red, they slashed repeatedly across the lizard’s face.

“Euurrrggghhh!!!”

The lizard let out one final, agonized shriek before turning into dust and fading into thin air, its HP fully depleted.

“We did it... Guys, we did it!”

“Mm-mmm!”

“...♪”

“Squeak.”

“Chirp chirp!”

“Aye aye!”

“Grooowlll!”

As I pumped my fist in the air, my tamed monsters shouted in joy and rushed to my side—all except for Drimo, that is, who, despite his fluffy and cute appearance, wasn’t much of one for caring.

“Good job, everyone! We won!”

I patted each of them on the head; they all beamed in return.

Ah, there’s nothing like defeating powerful bosses with your tamed monsters at your side.

“Gaming doesn’t get better than this, am I right?!”