Chapter 3: Dragon Slaying? No! I’m Just Harvesting Medicinal Herbs!

“Miss, wait!”

Kanata stopped in her tracks and turned around when she heard someone calling to her. Someone had chased after her like this yesterday as well, and Kanata was dying to know why this was happening for the second day in a row. The reason, of course, was that Kanata had the habit of running on ahead without listening to what people were saying, but that bit of self-reflection had not occurred to her.

The receptionist from the guild was out of breath, panting. “Why?” she gasped. “I’ve been diligent with my training...”

She thought it was strange how long it had taken her to catch up with Kanata. The receptionist had run for all she was worth, but even still, she’d barely made it. She had taken on the duty of following after Kanata, after all. Kanata looked like she was walking quietly, but she was moving like the wind through the crowds of people on the street.

“My name is Melissa Straud,” the receptionist said when she had finally caught her breath. “I am here to observe your test.” She was wearing boots and wore a slender sword, and she extended her hand.

“The test is meant to be undergone alone,” Melissa said, “but if I witness misconduct on your part, or if I judge that you lack the strength to fight monsters, I will suspend the test immediately.”

“I see, so you need an observer...” Kanata took the offered hand in hers. Melissa’s hands were pretty, but her palm was rough like the sole of a foot. It was evident that this receptionist was fairly formidable.

“You do,” Melissa said. “I was going to explain it to you, but you left while I was still talking. If you’re to be a good adventurer, you must listen to the entire request.” Nobody at the school had been capable of lecturing Kanata like this. It was a new experience for her.

Kanata gave the receptionist another look. She had gray hair, with a braid that draped down over her shoulder. Her eyes were green and looked very kindly, although at the moment they were narrowed a little—she was chastising Kanata, after all. She was a little bit shorter than Kanata, but had a very robust physique. She didn’t get that body working as a receptionist. This was the result of training. The nicks and bumps on her rapier’s scabbard made it clear that the weapon was well used. Her guild uniform didn’t match the sword at all, and it didn’t look like it offered much in the way of defense, but she had made a point of putting on her boots—the most important item of all to an adventurer. Most of a quest was spent walking, of course, and choosing boots first spoke to her long experience.

“Miss Melissa,” said Kanata politely, “are you an adventurer, by any chance?”

“You have a good eye,” Melissa answered. “Yes, exactly so. Right now my focus is on my work with the guild, but I am also a B-Rank adventurer.”

Adventurer ranks were structured like a pyramid. A B-Rank adventurer like Melissa was likely to be famous enough for adventurers to know her by name. Given the disposition of its membership, the guild demanded martial prowess from its staff as well. Generally, staff members were scouted from among the adventurers themselves.

“We don’t have enough people willing to be observers, so I get left with the job fairly often,” Melissa explained. “You get the posted reward, but since that tends to be very little money most people aren’t willing to do it. Even more so this time. I was pretty much forced into this.”

“Oh, really! I see!” said Kanata. Melissa had mumbled the last part, so she didn’t really catch all of what she’d said.

Recently there had been much talk of safety at the guild, and as a result they had adopted the rule of requiring aspiring adventurers to take a test to determine if they had aptitude for the job, with a more experienced adventurer accompanying them to ensure that they didn’t die. They used to give adventurers their qualifications on the spot, but because of how many low-ranking adventurers had ended up dying they now felt compelled to adopt a minimal level of screening.

The observer had to be a fairly skilled adventurer, but as the requests given as trials never offered good rewards, there were very few people who wanted to do it. Time after time it was the guild staff, who were either confident in their abilities or else retired adventurers, left holding the bag. But the measure had resulted in a marked decline in the death rate for new adventurers, so it couldn’t really be counted as a loss. Melissa wished that they would increase the reward given to the observers, or else hire more staff.

“Anyway,” Melissa said, “I suppose I’ll be working with you.”

“Okay!” said Kanata. “Nice to meet you!”

The two bowed to each other and left the city.

“As your observer, I’m not meant to speak to you or give you advice. Unless you commit a clear infraction or are in danger of losing your life, I will do nothing but observe. Even if you encounter a monster, you must be able to handle it yourself or there is no point.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Kanata said.

“So you say,” Melissa grumbled, “but I must say that you are quite underequipped.”

They still hadn’t started the test proper, so she was allowed to say this. Kanata was still wearing her school uniform and everyday shoes, and she seemed to lack even basic weapons or armor. How did this girl plan on fighting monsters? This looked less like the eagerness of an aspiring adventurer than an attempt at suicide. It was possible Kanata might be a Magician, but even then she would be expected to at least bring a staff with her. Melissa had noticed the peculiar black furball riding on Kanata’s shoulders, but it didn’t seem to be any sort of weapon or armor either. At any rate, Melissa didn’t voice any of those observations. All that mattered for the test was results. Whether Kanata had sufficient equipment, she would become an adventurer if she was able to perform the task.

“It doesn’t look like you have a map. Do you know where the forest is?”

“Yes,” said Kanata, “I remember perfectly well. I was there only yesterday.”

“I see. Just yesterday—wait, you went out yesterday?” Melissa was with her today, so this time there was no issue, but certainly the guards wouldn’t let an unequipped schoolgirl venture out the gate alone! “By yourself?” she asked.

“No, two guards came with me.”

“Ahh, I see.”

Melissa felt she understood what was going on. This girl, a comfortably sheltered young noble lady who knew nothing of the world, had had an opportunity to explore the forest with the guards’ protection and had gotten carried away thinking that she could become an adventurer. She would surely give up and come back crying as soon as she got a little bit afraid. Maybe it would be a learning experience for her, to see that reality didn’t work like her stories.

This test might be over before we reach the forest, Melissa thought.

The forest was, after all, a fair distance away from the city walls. Wearing her soft-heeled shoes, this girl’s feet would probably get tired out from walking in no time. As the observer, it was Melissa’s responsibility to see that aspiring adventurers who failed their tests got home safely. She was glad that this girl was so slender—it would make her easy to carry.

“Umm...” Kanata, who had been walking ahead of Melissa, turned around to address her.

“Oh!” Melissa exclaimed, surprised out of her thoughts. “Yes? What is it?”

“I’d like to reach the forest quickly. Is it all right if I run?”

“Huh? You want to run? In those shoes?”

“I do,” Kanata said. “But I’m worried that I might end up leaving you behind.”

“Leave me behind? You?” Melissa was speechless.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Well! This girl seemed to think she had the makings of a champion! The corners of Melissa’s mouth almost turned up into a smile, but she kept it in check. She was, in fact, a proud member of the Adventurers’ Guild. The girl seemed to be completely serious. Melissa decided to accompany her until the girl came to terms with reality. Melissa was the adult, after all.

“Run as fast as you like,” Melissa said. “I’ll show you why I’m called Melissa the Zephyr!”

“Oh? Excellent!” Kanata responded. “In that case, I’ll set a somewhat fast pace.”

“Go right ahead,” Melissa said, grinning. Then Kanata kicked off the pavement, making a sound like the earth splitting open. “Huh?”

Kanata had cracked the street’s cobblestone with pure leg strength. Before Melissa could recover from her surprise, she was struck by a blast of wind. Kanata’s starting dash was fast enough that a whirlwind had formed in the vacuum. While Melissa was choking on her dust, Kanata had gotten so far away that she looked smaller than a grain of rice.

Melissa was stunned. For a few seconds, she didn’t say anything. “Is this...a dream?” She pinched her cheeks. It hurt like normal. She pinched her arms. It hurt a bit more. “Hold on!” she said. “Th-This isn’t the time to be doing that! I need to go after her!”

Unable to believe her eyes, Melissa had briefly forgotten about her duty to the guild. “W-Waaaaait!” she cried at the top of her lungs as she ran for all she was worth. “I take it back! I take it baaaaaack!”

† † †

“Kanata. Kanata. Hold a moment.”

“Huh? What?” As fast as Kanata was running, she couldn’t make out what Zag’giel was saying.

“Then we must resort to this...” Zag’giel decided to use the most efficacious method at his disposal. He scooted up close to Kanata’s cheeks, and rubbed his body against them.

“Waaah?!” The instant she felt the fluff, Kanata’s mental state switched completely. She stopped dead in her tracks, creating a huge plume of dust. “Zaggy’s nuzzles...” she cooed.

“Kanata. The proctor of the test is no longer with you. It would not do well to leave her behind.”

“Fluffy fluffy fluff...” Kanata wasn’t listening.

“Kanata!” Zag’giel called out, smacking her on the face. “Return to us!”

“Aaah,” Kanata sighed. “He’s slapping my cheeks!”

She seemed elated.

“Hm,” mused Zag’giel. “Perhaps it was not the wind that kept our voice from reaching her. Well, no matter. As long as she has stopped, that is enough.”

Zag’giel obediently squatted his round body down on Kanata’s shoulders. There was no way to reach his master when she was in this state. He would let her do what she liked. Zag’giel had only been with her for a scant two days, but he had already developed a good sense of how to handle Kanata.

While Kanata was enjoying her fluff-fluff time, Melissa stumbled into view, so exhausted that she couldn’t even walk properly. She slowly made her way over on wobbling legs and opened her mouth as if to speak, but she seemed too tired to actually say anything. She was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

“Do you need something to drink?” Kanata asked.

Melissa silently nodded. Running all out for so long had left her desperately dehydrated. To her regret, she hadn’t brought her water flask, but as far as she could see, Kanata didn’t have one either. She couldn’t just be asking, could she? That would be unspeakably cruel.

Kanata held out a glass.

Wh-Where did that come from? Melissa thought.

The next instant, the glass started to fill with water. The whole thing took less than a second. Melissa had no idea what had happened.

“Here you go!” Kanata held it out for her—pure water to slake her desperate thirst.

All of Melissa’s doubts and astonishment vanished as the water went down her throat. “Th-Thank you... I needed that.” Melissa chided herself for her failure. She shouldn’t have provoked Kanata by bragging and saying that she could run as fast as she liked. If Kanata hadn’t been watching, she might have curled up into a ball on the ground out of pure shame. It was truly pitiful for the observer to need to be rescued by the examinee. Her colleagues must never see her like this.

“Would you like another?” Kanata asked.

“Oh! Um... Yes please. I would like another.” Her body had lost quite a bit of water. She was still craving hydration. She handed the glass back to Kanata, and in a moment it was filled back up with water. Kanata must have been using water magic without an incantation. Looking closely, the glass seemed to be made of ice as well, albeit very transparent ice of uniform thickness. Creating something like that would require tremendous skill with magic.

“I thought you might be a Magician,” Melissa said. “It’s incredible that you can cast spells without an incantation at your age. I have heard it’s a difficult skill to acquire.”

Kanata being a Magician also explained how she was able to run so quickly. She must have cast a spell to strengthen her own body, while also using magic to manipulate the wind. Using two spells without incantations at the same time was an advanced technique for which not everyone had the knack. This girl must be destined to become a Magician of extraordinary power.

“Hm?” Kanata responded. “I’m not a Magician, though.”

“Wh-What?!” Melissa’s hypothesis had been rejected. “Then...how can you use such high-level magic?”

“Oh,” said Kanata, “I tried hard and believed in myself.”

“You...tried hard.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

So the girl had studied magic but ultimately chose something else as her Profession. It wasn’t as if you became unable to use the magic you’d already learned if you chose a nonmagical Profession. Your power and precision might suffer, but in theory it was possible. However, it was strange that she was able to use powerful enchantments without an incantation, and create constructs with minute precision using water magic.

“I’ll have to ask you officially later, when we register you as an adventurer, but what is your Profession?” Melissa shook her head. “Ah, excuse me. I should have told you mine first. I am a Duelist. It’s an advanced form of the Fencer Profession.” As you gained experience, it was possible for one’s Profession to advance to a higher rank. Melissa had earned the Duelist Profession for her fighting style that emphasized the speed of her rapier. Boldow the Divine Sword, too, had once been a Fencer.

There were apparently some people who qualified for an advanced Profession from the very start, but Melissa had never seen it happen. She was beginning to wonder if Kanata might be one of them. She fixed her eyes on the girl. For a child who had just graduated from the middle grades to use such high-level magic, it wasn’t impossible to consider that she might have been given a very advanced Profession indeed. She might be a Magus—an advanced form of Magician. Even something like Sage wasn’t out of the picture. When she said that she wasn’t a Magician, she must have meant that her Profession was more advanced than that.

Kanata looked confused when Melissa asked her Profession. “Isn’t it obvious?” she said.

“Is it?” asked Melissa.

As far as she could tell, Kanata looked like a normal schoolgirl wearing her school uniform. The only things of particular note were her silky black hair and her captivating eyes. Melissa wasn’t generally attracted to women, but it was obvious that Kanata was beautiful. She seemed a little childish in her affect, but that wasn’t strange for a girl her age (although when she was fifteen, Melissa had been more of a country girl).

Really, the only peculiarity was the black furball riding on her shoulder. Speaking of which, what was that thing? When Kanata had first walked into the guild, Melissa had assumed it was some sort of fashion accessory...

Suddenly, the furball moved. His triangular ears perked up, and his big eyes met Melissa’s. “Our name is Zaggy,” he said. “We are a magic beast in the service of Kanata.”

“It talks!” Melissa exclaimed. “Wait—magic beast?!”

A magic beast that could understand human speech and communicate telepathically must be very high level indeed, but Melissa could sense no such power from the furball before her eyes. As part of the staff of the Adventurers’ Guild she had extensive knowledge of magic beasts, but she had never seen one like this before.

Melissa began to wonder how Kanata had obtained the services of a magic beast. Magic beasts were said to bear unconditional hostility toward humans. There was only one Profession that could befriend them.

“Kanata...” Melissa said, shocked. “Are you...”

“Yes, ma’am!” Kanata answered. “I’m a Beast Tamer!”

“No...”

She wasn’t a Sage, but a Beast Tamer. The weakest Profession. The Profession that lowered every single ability. Everyone knew not to pick Beast Tamer, even young children. It was absolutely unbelievable that there existed someone who would pick that Profession on purpose.

“No way!” Melissa exclaimed. “You’re trying to trick me! There’s no way a Beast Tamer could use such high-level magic! It’s absurd! It goes against the very definition of the Profession!”

“I told you,” said Kanata. “I tried hard and believed in myself.”

“What do you mean you tried hard and believed in yourself?!” Melissa shouted.

There was no way. Kanata had to be the only person on the planet who could make something like this work through hard work. She couldn’t believe it, but the truth of the matter was staring her in the face. If magic beasts were fond of her, Kanata could only be a Beast Tamer.

“It looks like you’re better!” said Kanata. “We should keep going. The forest is right there!”

Melissa opened and shut her mouth in mute surprise. Kanata grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

† † †

“Are you okay, Zaggy?” asked Kanata. “You’re not getting tired, are you?”

“It is impossible that we could become fatigued from riding on your shoulder,” the former Demon King answered. “We would rather walk alongside you under our own power, but in our current form we could not keep up with a human’s walking speed. Curse this wretched body.”

“But when you’re on my shoulders, I can replenish my fluff reserves whenever I want!” Kanata said. “You should ride on my shoulders forever!”

Zag’giel nuzzled his body against Kanata’s cheeks as they walked through the forest. “That would not do. Not if we are to ever get better.” By better, he meant his strength, of course. He was determined to regain his former power.

“Ah?! You’re going to get even better? Incredible!” By better, Kanata meant in terms of fluffiness.

“What are you saying? Our journey”—toward achieving ultimate power, he meant—“is only beginning!”

“Our journey”—toward fluff, she meant—“is only beginning?! Zaggy, you’re amazing! You’ve already captured my heart, how much more are you gonna make me fall for you?!”

“Bear witness, Kanata! As long as you believe in us, we can reach any heights!”

“Yeah! I believe in you, Zaggy!”

Melissa was walking along behind the two friends who continued to misunderstand each other, observing their behavior. “She seems to have a good relationship with that magic beast, and the beast himself seems intelligent and rational. I don’t think he’s going to cause trouble in the city.”

Beast Tamers were allowed to bring their magic beasts with them into town, but that came with responsibility for the beast’s actions. The adventurer could get in trouble if the beast caused problems. They would be stripped of their license as an adventurer, and the magic beast would be executed. Really, this was lenient for bringing a magic beast into a well-populated city. The Adventurers’ Guild essentially saw Beast Tamers as no better than vermin. They were tolerated because the Profession itself lowered your abilities and because the magic beasts a Beast Tamer could tame were not usually very powerful. Otherwise, Beast Tamers would be very hard to control.

“Miss Kanata,” Melissa said, “where did you find this magic beast—Zaggy, I mean?”

“Just in the forest over there!” Kanata answered. “I helped him out yesterday when he was being picked on by some other magic beasts.”

“I see. Wait, yesterday?”

Yesterday was the day someone had defeated the Roc Brothers who had made the forest their territory. The soldiers who’d brought them in had said that they weren’t the ones who had taken them down. Could this girl possibly be the one responsible?

“No, no, no.” She shook her head. “There’s no way...” As incredible as Kanata’s magic was, she was just a schoolgirl without any battle experience. Only a high-ranking adventurer could have defeated monsters like that. Melissa firmly rejected the idea.

“Oh, Miss Melissa.” Kanata pointed toward a tree that stood alongside the path they were following. “Look, it’s a monster.”

“Hmm?” Looking closely, Melissa could indeed see something glossy and lustrous hiding in the foliage. “Oh, a slime. Well spotted, Miss Kanata. You’re very observant.” The abilities lowered by becoming a Beast Tamer included Perception. It really was impressive that Kanata had managed to spot it. Melissa’s opinion of the girl was only going up.

Slimes had a nasty habit of compensating for their slow movement by hiding in treetops and waiting for their prey to come to them. When some hapless victim passed under their hiding spot, they would drop down on their heads with the goal of suffocating them within their gooey body. Even skilled adventurers could die that way if they weren’t careful. Despite being weak monsters, they were best not taken lightly.

“Well,” Melissa continued, “slimes aren’t generally very strong. In a fair fight, even a child with a stick could beat them. Since we have the opportunity, why don’t you show me how you’d fight it?”

The slime seemed to notice it was being watched. It dropped down from the tree and began to quiver. It seemed to be appraising the situation.

“Kanata,” said Zag’giel, standing up tall, “we shall handle this.” The slime didn’t seem like it was about to run away.

“Zaggy!” Kanata exclaimed. “That’s dangerous!”

“Our very purpose is to do battle for our master. If we cannot defeat this slime, we shall never achieve our desire!” Meaning, of course, his desire for ultimate power.

“What does that”—meaning fluff—“have to do with fighting the slime?”

“It has everything to do with it! When we defeat an enemy, we will absorb a part of its soul. This is how we can advance! We beg of you, Kanata! Watch over our victory!”

“Okay!” Kanata said after a moment’s hesitation. “I am worried, but if you’re determined to do it I won’t stop you! Go for it! I’ll be cheering for you!”

“Excellent! To have you at our back is worth a million soldiers!” Kanata and Zag’giel shared a look, their eyes both shining with passion.

Melissa watched through heavy-lidded eyes. “This isn’t exactly a climactic battle,” she said. “You don’t have to do all that.”

“Face us, slime!” Zag’giel declared. “We shall defeat you, and you shall become our nourishment!” He jumped off Kanata’s shoulder with a fearsome “miu.”

He messed up the landing and collapsed in a heap on the ground. The slime went to gobble him up.

“Z-Zaaaaaaggggyyyyy!”

† † †

“Kh! How... How could we be defeated by the likes of a slime?!” Zag’giel was inconsolable.

“You did your best, though, Zaggy!” said Kanata. “Next time you’ll win for sure. I believe in you!”

“K-Kanataaaa!” Zag’giel’s eyes filled with tears. Kanata gently pet him on the head.

Kanata had thrust her hand into the slime to rescue Zag’giel, cleaned the residual goo off of him with water magic, and dried his fur with wind magic. After the slime’s prey had been ripped out of its body, it seemed to immediately recognize the power gap between itself and Kanata, and fled.

“I think this is the place,” Kanata said. She stopped walking, still petting Zag’giel affectionately.

“You really do have the map memorized,” marveled Melissa. “I can’t find fault with your sense of direction either. You are correct. This is where the medicinal herbs grow.” She made another note on her notepad, nodding approvingly.

“Is that the place?” Zag’giel pointed with one of his stubby legs.

There they could see many different herbs of all shapes and colors. On their own, the herbs didn’t have much in the way of healing power, but an infusion made by combining them with other herbs and certain monster organs would result in a powerful healing potion. The herb Kanata was supposed to harvest for the request was a very important ingredient—the base of the potion.

“All I need to do is pick them and the request will be complete?” Kanata asked.

“Yes,” said Melissa. “Well, technically it won’t be over until you safely return. So—” Melissa realized that she had almost said too much. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

The request didn’t specify an amount of medicinal herbs to harvest. Kanata would fulfill its terms whether she returned with all of the herbs or only one. However, the number of herbs Kanata brought back would have an impact on her evaluation.

One of an adventurer’s duties is to protect the local ecosystem, Melissa reminded herself. Someone who would destroy a patch of medicinal herbs for her own benefit is not fit to be an adventurer.

It wouldn’t result in failure if an adventurer returned having uprooted the plants, but it would be a major mark against them in their evaluation.

“We did it, Zaggy!” Kanata sang. “We got an herb!”

“You would take but one? Would not our reward increase the more herbs we harvest?”

As Zag’giel voiced his concern, Kanata started watering the patch of herbs. “Maybe,” she said, “but if we took all of them, the next people to take the test might have trouble! And there might be animals who eat these herbs...”

Perfect score, thought Melissa. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen someone get a perfect score before. She was about to record her notes and Kanata’s final score when she sensed a hostile presence. She stopped moving.

“Miss Kanata!” she said. “Watch out! Something’s coming!”

“Hm?! This presence...” Zag’giel seemed agitated. Both his wild instinct and Melissa’s intuition as an experienced adventurer told them that something powerful was coming close.

“It might be a bit dangerous to stay here, you two!” Kanata shouted.

Kanata moved before either of them had time to react. She placed a hand over Zag’giel where he was perched on her shoulder so that he wouldn’t fall off and stepped quickly backward. She wrapped an arm around Melissa’s waist and leapt back—and just in time. The hostile presence Melissa had felt was coming from overhead.

It came down in a rush of fire that set the ground ablaze, making a terrible noise that shook the earth and sent out a powerful shock wave. Through the flames and the cloud of dust it had kicked up they saw it—its long neck covered in scales like iron, its breath so hot that the air seemed to twist and shimmer.

“No!” Zag’giel shouted.

“A dragon?!” Melissa was shocked. “No way... What’s a dragon doing here?!”

The dragon stood taller than the trees of the forest. He stamped on the thicket of medicinal herbs, glaring down at Kanata and her companions with undisguised malice.

† † †

Melissa’s voice was shaking. “Miss Kanata,” she said, “stay calm, and slowly back away.”

As far as she was concerned, the test was suspended. This was hardly the time to worry about it. The enormous thing standing before them, plain as day, was a dragon—not a pseudodragon like a wyvern or a wyrm, but an actual, real-life dragon, with four legs and wings sprouting from its back. A dragon was a magic beast so formidable that it could be fought off by nothing short of a team of A-Rank adventurers prepared to sacrifice their lives.

The dragon seemed to be aiming for Zag’giel.

“We apologize, Kanata,” he said. “That dragon is targeting us. We should have told you of this sooner.” Zag’giel had an idea of who had ordered this attack. “That dragon was once our subject, but he has come under the control of a traitorous worm. It is clear to see that he is no longer lucid—he has been subject to their brainwashing for so long that he has become no more than a puppet, living only to fight whom his master commands. He will not heed your words.”

Zag’giel’s fur was bristling. He stood between Kanata and the dragon as if to protect her.

“We must do something to slow him down! Anything short of dying before you—that, we will not do.”

The dragon roared. “Guorrrrrrrr!”

Trails of white steam issued from his mouth—a sign that the inflammable liquid in the dragon’s body was heating up in preparation to ignite. The dragon was readying itself for battle.

Zag’giel hissed like the catlike creature he was, mustering up every bit of his courage. “Face us, dragon! We shall bring you to heel!”

“Zaggy! No!” Kanata shouted.

“Do not stop us, Kanata!” Zag’giel shouted back. “There are times that a man must not shirk his responsibilities!”

Kanata didn’t quite understand what was happening in Zag’giel’s head, but she could tell that this was important to him. “Okay,” she said. “All right. I won’t stop you, Zaggy.”

She wouldn’t stop him, but she would support him with the whole of her power. Specifically, she hit him with every support spell she could think of—she pushed his attack power, his defense, his speed, his vitality, and his magic far beyond their limits.

“Go, Zaggy!” she cheered. “You can do it!”

Zag’giel cried out as the magic filled his body. A red aura haloed his figure.

“Haaaaaa! This...power! This power flooding our body! With this we are a hundred—no, a thousand—no, ten thousand times as strong as we were before! With this power, we can win!” Glowing red, he turned to face the dragon head-on.

“Kanata! Behold!” He charged forward, leaving red afterimages in his wake and shouting a fierce battle cry. “Haaaaaaaaaaa!” He approached just in front of the dragon’s snout, when a puff of breath from the dragon’s nostrils knocked him right back.

“Haaaawhaaaaa?!” Zag’giel rolled backward, tumbling like a ball, until he bumped back into Kanata.

“Welcome back, Zaggy,” Kanata said.

“S-So much power, and this dragon is yet far beyond us!” Zag’giel was Zag’giel, even with his power increased ten thousandfold. His base power was too low for an increase of any magnitude to mean much.

“That’s not true!” said Kanata. “You’re way better!”

The dragon was covered head to toe in scales—it didn’t look at all like it would be pleasant to pet. Zag’giel was the clear victor on the basis of fluff alone. The dragon didn’t come anywhere near his level. Zag’giel’s fluff was simply too great. Or so Kanata thought, anyway.

“K-Kanataaaaaa...” Zag’giel sobbed, tears welling up in his eyes. Kanata patted him comfortingly on the head.

While Kanata and Zag’giel shared their tender moment, Melissa’s mind was in an entirely different place. The danger had not yet passed.

“I must buy time for those two to escape!” Stopping her arms from trembling through sheer force of will, Melissa drew her faithful rapier. Steel weapons could not pierce a dragon’s hard scales. Its claws were so keen that a glancing blow would be enough to kill—and dragons attacked relentlessly with their four limbs. Even the trees wouldn’t give her any cover. The dragon’s red-hot breath would burn her surroundings to ashes.

“There’s only one way,” Melissa said. “The underscale...”

For all that they were said to be invincible, dragons did have one weakness—a large inverted scale right underneath their chin. It was said that a dragon would fly into a rage if anyone were to touch this scale in particular. The underscale was harder than the dragon’s other scales, true, but because it was inverted there was a small gap between it and the surrounding scales. The underscale was a defense against attacks from below the dragon’s head, but its presence created another weak point.

“My rapier has a slender tip. I might be able to thrust it into the gap between the scales. Maybe...” She trailed off.

Melissa’s rapier had been forged for her out of mythril. As long as she could avoid the dragon’s scales, it should be able to stab through the dragon’s hard flesh and penetrate its vital organs. Those vital organs, however, were currently higher up than the top of the trees. She would need to strike when the dragon lowered his neck, or her sword would never reach.

“The dragon looks like it’s about to use its breath. It will most likely bring its head down when it does. I must strike at just that moment!”

In other words, a counterattack. It was a lot to ask of a B-Rank adventurer, but Melissa had no choice. Kanata was special. Her talent was beyond precious. She had to live so that she could one day become a great adventurer. It was the duty of an adventurer, after all, to be willing to die and entrust the future to the next generation.

Melissa held her rapier firm in her grip. She shifted her weight onto her front leg.

I must protect her! Melissa thought. First, I will push Kanata back with the flat of my sword. Then, with my second step, I will evade its breath. And finally, I will thrust my blade into the gap of the underscale!

There was no time to save Kanata’s magic beast. She would just have to pray that the dragon’s breath would happen to miss his small body.

More and more steam came from the dragon’s mouth. His eyes, with their vertical-slit pupils, were filled with malice. His breath would be coming at any moment.

Focus... Melissa told herself. Focus... Focus...

If she mistook the timing of the dragon’s breath, every one of them would be burnt to a crisp. She was concentrating as hard as she could, watching for that crucial moment.

“Um, Miss Melissa?” Kanata said, in a relaxed tone not at all appropriate to the situation.

“Y-Yes?” Melissa’s focus was broken. She hadn’t been expecting Kanata to speak to her of all things while she was trying to concentrate on the timing. The dragon stretched his neck up high. He was going to use his breath!

“No!” Melissa shouted.

But the breath didn’t come—the dragon was crying out in agony.

“Grraaaaaaaaaa?!” he screamed.

“Huh?!” Melissa was confused. “What?! What happened?!” The dragon collapsed to the earth, writhing in pain. He looked like he was vomiting blood.

“Miss Melissa, is this the underscale?” Kanata was holding a large scale in her hand.

“H-How did you—” Melissa was flabbergasted.

“Oh! I ran, and I jumped, and I grabbed, and I pulled,” said Kanata.

“You what?!” Melissa had been staring directly at the dragon, but Kanata’s movements had been too quick for her to register. How fast could that girl possibly be?!

“Grrrrrrrooooohhh!”

The dragon slowly pulled himself to his feet. His eyes were burning with fury. If touching the underscale was enough to incur a dragon’s wrath, you can imagine how much greater his anger would be at having it ripped clean off.

Kanata met his murderous eyes with her own imposing glare. “Hmph,” she said. “Your fluff score is zero. No good at all.”

She sighed, as if she had no interest whatsoever in the beast.

“Garooooooon!” the dragon bellowed. Enraged, and provoked by Kanata’s lack of interest, he unleashed his breath.

“That’s dangerous!” said Kanata. “Bad!”

She sounded for all the world like she was scolding a small child. Kanata held her arm out in front of her and a magic circle appeared, stopping the dragon’s breath.

“What?!” Melissa screamed. “She stopped the dragon’s breath?!”

Melissa hadn’t thought there was any magic in the world that could do that. But, miraculously, Kanata’s spell held it at bay, and not even the heat of the breath made it past the circle. No—it wasn’t just being held at bay. It was being turned back. That magic circle wasn’t meant for defense at all.

“If you mess around with fire, you can get burned!” Kanata said. “See? Like this!” Suddenly, flames appeared, with twice the intensity of the dragon fire. The dragon’s breath was swallowed up by the inferno. The flames roared past the dragon’s maw all the way into the sky, where they pierced through the tranquil white clouds above, leaving the sky a brilliant shade of ultramarine.

“Gh... Ghrrr...” The dragon, the scales of its face burnt black, looked up at the cloudless sky. Bereft of hope before Kanata’s overwhelming power, he lost consciousness. His massive body fell to the ground with a terrible clamor.

“That dragon could have started a forest fire!” said Kanata. “Are you all right, Miss Melissa?”

“A-Am I all right...” she echoed, dumbfounded. “Am I all right? Am I all right?!”

Melissa had come back to her senses, but she was shaking with awe. She could not believe that what she had just seen was real. What was this girl?! She had done battle with a dragon, emerged the victor, and didn’t seem worked up at all! She was acting like she had just hung the laundry up to dry!

“What was that?” Melissa was panicking. “What was that?! You defeated a dragon! Alone! And what was that spell?! There isn’t a Magician alive who could cast a spell like that! Miss Kanata! What in the gods’ names are you?!”

Kanata gave Melissa a kindly, gentle smile.

“I’m a Beast Tamer!” she chirped.