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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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She didn’t know the reasons of why she, a Dragonian, was being raised among humans.
Slave trading was strictly forbidden in Kalak, so she hadn’t been sold.
She wasn’t a child of the noble family she lived with, either.
She was the only Dragonewt there.
She could only speculate based on overheard whispers.
edxc She had been kidnapped as a baby, handed over to her ‘owner’ as part of a deal.
Nobles favored rarities.
Her owner, a human noble, wanted to mold her into his loyal subordinate.
A Dragonewt’s combat abilities were valuable, and with a proper education from infancy, he believed she could become a formidable asset.
He overlooked two things.
One, she wasn’t intelligent enough to absorb the advanced education.
Two, raising someone from a young age didn’t guarantee loyalty.
Dragonewts didn’t form attachments easily, especially not with humans.
So, he resorted to the whip to break her spirit and force her obedience.
Or perhaps, as she’d come to suspect, it was simply for his own twisted pleasure.
Guinness learned then that there was no better excuse than ‘for educational purposes.’
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Guinness opened her eyes when the tormenting pain subsided.
Not entirely gone, but lessened.
The lingering aches were nothing compared to the agony of being dragged.
“Iyerpol…?”
She called his name weakly.
He had stopped.
He lifted her gently and laid her down.
“Can you wait here?”
He knelt beside her, wiping her sweat, a smile on his face.
Normally, she would have snapped at being treated like a child, but…she let him.
He wiped her sweat, gave her water, and another dose of herbs.
He brushed her damp hair from her forehead.
A gentle touch.
“…What about you?”
“I’ll be right back.”
He drew his dagger, checked its sharpness, and placed it in her hand.
She looked at it.
“…So I can kill myself if things go wrong.”
He was going alone.
She was nothing but a burden.
He would fight whatever lay ahead.
He might not return.
If he didn’t, she would die anyway.
The dagger would be a less painful death than starvation.
He chuckled.
“It’s just for protection.”
He smoothed her hair and stood.
“I won’t let you die while I’m here.”
He covered her with his robe and turned towards the darkness.
Ordinary leather armor.
A worn bow.
A simple iron sword.
He looked like any other adventurer, yet…something was different.
He drew his sword and walked into the darkness.
She closed her eyes.
She didn’t trust humans.
He was surely no different.
Yet, his words brought a strange sense of peace.
She drifted back to sleep.
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“Haa!”
Kundt’s hammer slammed into the Golem’s knee.
A faint crack appeared.
He dropped the hammer and rolled away.
Thump!
The Golem’s fist crashed down where he had been standing.
Golems.
Inanimate objects given life.
Each one was different, but all were incredibly powerful.
Their appearance depended on the material they were formed from.
A Golem’s appearance warranted the attention of the territorial army.
At least it’s made of sand…!
Wagner groaned.
His sword was stuck in the Golem’s leg.
He made a quick decision.
He retrieved Kundt’s hammer and retreated.
Sand Golems were less durable than other types.
That meant they were easier to destroy.
A stone Golem would have been impossible for them to handle.
“Kundt, catch!”
Kundt caught the hammer, spun, and struck the Golem’s knee again.
Crack!
Another fissure.
Wolf Who Chases the Wind, dodging blows while darting across the Golem’s upper body, bared his fangs.
“Fight like you’re dying!”
It wasn’t directed at the Golem.
They all knew that.
They needed to fight with the desperation of those facing death.
Creeeak!
The Golem turned its attention to Wolf.
It had learned.
It anticipated his movement.
“Gah…!”
Wolf, who had been untouchable until now, was struck and sent flying into the wall.
He collapsed.
“Wolf!”
“Don’t…fuss…”
Bleeding, Wolf struggled to his feet.
He locked eyes with Wagner.
“We said we’d see each other later, Wagner!”
Wagner flinched.
‘See you later, Wagner!’
Iyer, jumping into the collapsing earth.
His friend, risking his life for a comrade.
Wagner had vowed to see him alive again.
Wolf, blood dripping from his mouth, glared at Wagner.
“Fight like you’re dying, and live to tell the tale!”
“Wolf…!”
Chills ran down Wagner’s spine.
With comrades like these, with friends like these, he shouldn’t fear any enemy.
He clenched his fist.
‘I am incredibly fortunate.’
He had friends who stood by him in times of need.
Comrades who had his back in danger.
He was grateful.
Whoosh!
An arrow struck the Golem’s arm.
Pichoni, on the ledge above, was firing.
Ronchevich leaped down, landing in a cloud of dust.
“Wagner!”
He threw something.
Wagner caught the heavy object.
Ronchevich’s greatsword.
“We’re joining the fight! Show us what you’ve got, old man!”
“Ronchevich…Pichoni…”
Ronchevich had entrusted him with his prized blade.
He felt their trust.
He drew the sword.
It had been years since he’d wielded a greatsword, but the familiar feeling remained.
He felt their combined trust.
He stepped forward.
Kundt, Ronchevich, Pichoni, and Wolf Who Chases the Wind stood behind him.
“Let’s go…with the will to die!”
To live.
To fight with the will to die.
Wagner of the Greatsword roared.
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“It should be around here…”
I cut through the dense growth.
Vines, he understood.
But grass in a cave?
Wagner would have asked that.
But I had a hunch.
The sweet scent, present even before entering the cave…
The tall grass obscured my vision, but the growing familiarity told me I was on the right track.
This was the place I’d found yesterday.
Too overgrown to search thoroughly then, but I knew ‘it’ was here.
“Honestly…find a sunny spot, will you?”
The cave vibrated as I complained about the clinging vines.
Was it expressing displeasure?
Had we become friends after a few days of conversation?
Cheeky.
But I needed to leave, so I’d let it slide.
I cleared a path and stepped into an open space.
“Sunlight…”
The first sunlight in days.
A circular hole in the ceiling.
Bright sunlight illuminated the cavern.
And in the center of the sunlight…
“Found you.”
I smiled.
It was round, like jelly.
Springy, like jelly.
Green, like jelly.
The only non-jelly-like part was the pretty pink flower in the center.
Boing! Boing!
It seemed happy to see me.
It bounced towards me.
“Gotcha!”
I caught it.
Heavy, but pleasant to hold thanks to its springy body.
I poked the flower.
“You’re the cause of all this, aren’t you?”
Boing! Boing!
It thrashed in my arms, as if denying it.
Steam seemed to rise from its head.
Displeased.
“Well, let’s talk, shall we?”
I patted its body, like soothing a child.
The Grass Slime jiggled.
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[Bruh the entire cave is controlled by one slime, no wonder its scared shitless half the time]
A slime?