Episode 91

“Miss Bertie, we’ve arrived at the area where a Horned Dragon was sighted.”

I heard that voice and glanced at the boxed lunch I was holding.

…Oh, my lunch is almost already gone.

As I was thinking that, the coachman on the driver’s bench turned to look at me as if checking on me.

The female coachman’s cheeks were drawn tight.

“You don’t need to be so scared just because it’s a Horned Dragon. Relax more. Rellaaaax.”

When I said that to calm her, she glared at the carriage bed.

“I’m not scared… Miss Bertie… you’re eating too much…”

Where the coachwoman pointed, there were a large number of lunch boxes.

Only a few lunch boxes remained, but these were what I had eaten along the carriage ride.

“We’re about to get moving, so replenishing nutrients is important, right?”

An adventurer’s body is their capital.

So I thought it was only natural to eat this much, but…

“…Eh, that’s beyond reasonable nutrition! Can you move after eating that much!? I mean, where did all that food even go?!”

“Here.”

“This is definitely strange! Is your stomach an item storage box!?”

“You can’t reach in my mouth and pull it out, you know? Ah, though I suppose vomiting is possible?”

“No! Please don’t!”

Good grief, they talk about me as if I’m some glutton.

Adventurers all eat a lot, after all.

I closed the lid of the two-digit-numbered lunch box I was still halfway through and stretched lightly.

“For now, I’ll go take a look. You stay here and wait. If the Horned Dragon comes, run away, okay?”

“O-okay. But… are you sure you’ll be fine alone?”

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll use the carriage as a decoy to escape.”

“Please don’t!”

She really did react well. I chuckled and walked toward the place where the sighting was reported.

Monsters do appear around here, but I’ve heard the coachwoman is a B-rank adventurer.

Leaving her alone should be fine. Probably.

As long as she defends my remaining lunch boxes at all costs, I’m satisfied.

Still, a Horned Dragon, huh.

I took a request from the Adventurers’ Guild and came to the Barnast territory.

I wanted to see for myself what kind of monster the request had mentioned.

First, I wanted to check it out with my own eyes.

I walked across the plains for a while. I saw a forest, and near it a huge rock.

…A huge rock? Was there such a rock when I was here before?

Hmm, it’s such a sturdy-looking rock.

And it’s pretty. It makes me want to touch it.

“Aha, I see.”

I put my hand to my chin and stared at the rock.

I suppressed my presence and observed; a monster approached that large rock.

It was a wolf. With fluffy fur, they can be popular as pets when not wild, but unfortunately this one’s eyes were sharp.

The wolf walked as if wary of its surroundings.

When I revealed a little presence as if to signal, the wolf finally noticed me.

It growled and slowly approached. In doing so, it came close to the large rock—

“Gya!?”

That scream came from the wolf.

A rock slammed onto the wolf’s back. It wasn’t… a rock.

It was a tail.

The Horned Dragon had been camouflaged as a rock. It moved from the rock and, with yellow eyes, slammed the wolf’s back once more.

The wolf that had barely been breathing was killed completely by the second blow.

The Horned Dragon, looking at the wolf that no longer twitched, slowly moved its face and chewed.

There was no sympathy—this is an everyday scene in the wild.

Having swallowed it in one bite, the Horned Dragon looked satisfied.

I’d heard they had bodies as tough as rocks, but I’d never heard of one disguising itself like that.

That’s new information.

I wonder if a monster researcher would pay a high price if I told them this?

With that money I might eat my fill of meals.

As I thought that, the Horned Dragon turned toward me.

The tip of its sharp horn pointed straight at me.

It was as if it were saying, You’re the next target.

I drew one of the two swords I carried from its scabbard.

The Horned Dragon kicked the ground and charged toward me.

“No need to rush—I can take you on!”

I jumped to the side to evade. With an effortless leap, I swung my sword.

The sword struck the Horned Dragon’s skin, but—

“Ow! That hurts! What is this, impossible!”

The blade wouldn’t cut through with the sword made from my Birea Magic Ore.

Even so, I’d previously defeated a Horned Dragon some time ago.

…This one’s skin was much tougher than that previous specimen.

It’s more than just stone-like. It almost seems like it’s made of Magic Ore, I thought.

Hmm… what should I do.

If this sword won’t do, I might have to use an Eirea Magic Ore sword?

The Horned Dragon swung its tail. I jumped backward to evade the blow that landed with an earth-shaking force.

“Lightning Arrow!”

I cast my most powerful Lightning magic, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

My Lightning magic also has a paralyzing effect, but that didn’t seem to take effect either.

I have the advantage in speed, but my attacks don’t look like they’ll take it down quickly.

“Prepare for a long fight… ugh, just thinking about it makes me hungry.”

This time I’m just here to observe.

I’ll focus on gathering information to defeat the Horned Dragon.

I sheathed that sword and drew the other one.

This one is of better quality than the previous sword.

There are few blacksmiths who can work with Eirea Magic Ore.

Most of them are only in the royal capital, and their schedules are booked for at least a year.

With Eirea Magic Ore, enchantment is also difficult.

Only blacksmiths in the royal capital can perform Enchantments, so I don’t want to waste it unnecessarily.

So I almost never use my Eirea Magic Ore sword in daily life.

With that sword drawn, I jumped to avoid the Horned Dragon’s attack.

I leapt over its back and spun, swinging my sword.

The mana-infused slash… was repelled by the Horned Dragon’s skin.

It made rocks look trivial.

I turned my back and retreated from the charging Horned Dragon.

The Horned Dragon also enveloped itself in mana when attacked, defending against my strike.

“Ugh, come on. What if the blade chips?”

Requesting Eirea Magic Ore work takes a considerable amount of time.

Even using the privilege of being an S-rank adventurer, you’d still have to wait at least a month.

That’s why my everyday sword is usually one made of Birea Magic Ore.

Even a sword made of Eirea Magic Ore couldn’t penetrate its defenses. So for now, I have to run.

The Horned Dragon seemed to think I had no options and chased me without fear of retaliation.

Monsters are really troublesome once they get cocky.

While running away, I stored up as much mana as I could.

The carriage came into view.

“Miss Bertie!? Th-that’s a Horned Dragon!”

“Looks like it’s taken a liking to me.”

“It’s not ‘taken a liking’!”

“Come on, drive the carriage! Or we’ll die!”

“Eek!!”

The coachwoman, eyes watering, hurriedly began preparing the carriage. The approaching Horned Dragon’s presence even frightened the Black Horses pulling the carriage. The Black Horses are also monsters.

They are good at running, but they don’t have much combat ability.

It’s natural for such Black Horses to be afraid of wild monsters.

While they finish preparing to depart, shall I play with the Horned Dragon a bit?

I turned and swung my sword as if to pass by the Horned Dragon.

Of course, I used the Birea Magic Ore. I struck the surface with the blade’s belly, and the dragon retaliated by swinging its tail down.

When I dodged, the Horned Dragon’s tail gouged into the ground. If it had hit me directly, all my bones would probably be broken by now.

As I thought that, it began to whip its tail like a whip, churning up dirt as it came toward me.

I jumped to evade, and the Horned Dragon used the momentum of its tail to spin in place.

“Oops!”

It was when I leaped backward to dodge.

“M-Miss Bertie! We’re ready!”

“Understood. Well then, Horned Dragon. We’ll finish this another time when I’m better prepared.”

I left a wink and fired a Lightning spell at the Horned Dragon.

The strike, like a bolt of lightning, hit the dragon’s back and caused its body to collapse.

Indeed, if I used nearly half of my mana to deliver a blow, it seemed I could do something to the Horned Dragon.

In the process, a part of the Horned Dragon’s body peeled off.

I collected that stone while putting distance between myself and the Horned Dragon.

Somewhat numb, the Horned Dragon curled up where it was and glared at me.

However, it still looked to have plenty of stamina. Even if I used all my remaining mana, I probably couldn’t finish it off.

We boarded the carriage and it immediately started moving. The Black Horses’ legs moved faster than usual.

They must be really frightened.

I watched the rear from the driver’s bench. The Horned Dragon did not seem to be chasing us.

“What a problem.”

“That’s my line!”

“That thing can’t be defeated with my current sword. Ah, geez. I wish I could get a sword made like other S-rank folks.”

“…So, what will you do?”

“I did bring Esrea Magic Ore, and I could have it worked using this Horned Dragon’s stone, but maybe I’ll return to the royal capital and ask a blacksmith to do it.”

“…But wouldn’t that take a lot of time?”

“Yeah, about a month?”

“So long!?”

“I wonder if the Horned Dragon would wait if I explained the situation?”

“How are you going to explain that!?”

“I’ll tell it, ‘We’re having a sword made to kill you, so wait a bit.’”

“Who would listen to someone asking them to wait while a killer for them is prepared!? Don’t joke around—think seriously!”

Esrea Magic Ore itself is hard to obtain.

Only three people in the country can work it, and since they have a lot of work, it’s hard to get them to take on jobs.

“For now, maybe I’ll go to the town and consult the lord.”

“…That sounds right.”

I wonder what delicious food they’ll prepare for me? I’m already looking forward to it.

“Oh, speaking of blacksmiths, it seems a skilled blacksmith was found in the Barnast family and became the daughter’s fiancé.”

“Oh, really. But why a blacksmith?”

“They originally come from a blacksmithing lineage, so it seems to be a custom for someone in the family to marry a blacksmith.”

“I see. I wonder if that blacksmith is really as skilled as they say.”

“Y-yeah. I just don’t know how good they really are.”

“Hmph…”

A reasonably skilled blacksmith, huh.

Well, I don’t think they can work Esrea Magic Ore, but they might be able to do something.

It might be worth asking casually while I’m at it.

“For now, we’re heading to town. Come on, hurry up.”

“I know.”

I was filled with anticipation for the tasty food in the new town.