I’ll Have You Help Us

“…What is this? It’s fine to call this a magic item, right?”

“Obviously it’s a magic item, isn’t it? Hey, did you give it a name?”

“Umm, it’s Dragonewt Mail—!”

“And Dragonewt Axes!”

“Right!”

“That’s what they said. Good for you, huh?”

It was very clear that they had apparently made it to suit Kikori.

“Thank you, really.”

“Heheh, you should be grateful!”

“It’s a masterpiece!”

“Right!”

Saying that, the fairies flew off somewhere with cries of “Yaaay!”, but Orphe alone remained where she was.

“Looks like I can make it back now.”

“Yeah. Good for you.”

“When I get back to the city, I’ll tell them too that as long as no one enters this place, it won’t turn into a conflict.”

“Hm.”

Orphe floated lightly up into the air, looking uninterested.

“Orphe.”

“What.”

“I don’t want to fight fairies, but I’ll keep fighting other monsters from here on.”

“Do whatever you want. I don’t care about the others anyway.”

“…Yeah.”

“Besides, what were you planning to do if I told you not to fight?”

At that question, Kikori gave a bitter smile.

“I guess… I’d have been troubled.”

“You’re weird.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Well then, goodbye. We probably won’t see each other again.”

“Yeah. Goodbye, Orphe.”

Saying that, Kikori turned around.

Whoosh. Something passed overhead.

And then fierce flames poured down as well.

“U-woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Reflexively pulling Orphe toward him, Kikori crouched down as if to shield her.

The flames ravaged Kikori.

“Guh, uuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!”

It was hot. It hurt. Even while feeling that, he was still alive.

He had far fewer injuries than he expected.

“Orphe… are you okay!?”

“Are you an idiot!? Ugh, honestly… Heal!”

Kikori’s wounds were healed, and Orphe glared in the direction “something” had flown off in.

Flames raining from the sky, and something flying.

That was… no way.

“A dragon…!?”

“It’s a wyvern, idiot! A Flame Wyvern! But why are they in a place like this!?”

The fairies screamed, and magic was fired up into the sky.

A Flame Wyvern fell, but that was not the end of it.

What came flying in next were more than ten Flame Wyverns.

They set the forest ablaze and trampled through it.

And then more Flame Wyverns came, and then even more Flame Wyverns came flying in.

The forest was burning.

“W-what is this… what the hell is going on!? What grudge do those things have against us!?”

“Anyway, we have to do something!”

“Not ‘do something’!”

Orphe screamed, making Kikori’s eardrums tremble violently.

“We’re going to slaughter every last one of those fire lizards! You’re helping us, Kikori!”

“Yeah, let’s do it, Orphe!”