– STORY –

The oldest and strongest Dragon who grew tired of living

chose to die when the Heroes came for his life. When the
Dragon’s soul was waiting to drift toward the Sea of Souls,
that was when it noticed it had been reborn into a Human
baby.

The Dragon then decided to live a life as a Human to the

fullest, and regained his will to live. The Dragon was born as
the child of a farmer and lives his life in the frontier
possessing enormous amounts of power due to his soul
being a Dragon’s.

He then encountered the Demon of the Lamia race, fairies,

Black Rose, and later entered the Magic Academy. The man
whose soul is of a Dragon lives his life in joy going to Magic
Academy, spending time with an old friend, The Earth
Goddess, meets beautiful girls, strong classmates, the
Dragon King and the Queen of Vampires.

– GENRE –

Action Adventure Fantasy

Harem Romance Shounen
It’s a beautiful moonlit night, I thought as I looked up at the sky. Looking back on it, it
has been a long time since I looked up at the sky with such a calm mind.

I lowered my gaze and saw seven figures that had stepped into my dwelling place to
subdue me.

It is said that a hero is more suitable than a thousand soldiers to slay a monster, and
these seven are all heroes with outstanding strength and wisdom.

I looked at the young man standing at the front of the humans and opened my mouth.

At the same time, the taste of blood spread in my mouth, and the overflowing blood
dripped down from my mouth, creating several red pools of blood on the crystal ground.

Ho, I hadn’t tasted blood in a long time. I was strangely happy about that. I’m sure
you’ll be pleased to know that it’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything.

“As far as I can remember, there was no reason to kill me, and I think that I had been
on the side of humans. What was the reason for this?”

The young man who holds the sword that has just pierced my heart – the most famous
hero in the world shows anguish at his appearance that is worthy of being talked about
in heroic tales.

I knew that it wasn’t his intention to kill me.

It should be an irreversible order from a person in a position that can give orders to a
hero.To those who are at the height of prosperity, an existence like mine is like a sore
thumb.

“I would have left if you had just told me so, without bothering to come here and
subdue me. O hero, I wonder how much resource and time you spent to make the
sword that belongs in your hand. The time and resources it took to make it, it should
have been enough to save many people. Don’t you think so?”

I have met the heroes on several occasions and fought with them in the past, so I know
they are good-hearted and good-natured.

If they were not such people, they would have responded better to this kind of thing.
I have a right to at least say this level of sarcasm, since you’re taking my life, right?

Hmm, my eyelids started getting pretty heavy.

It is the effect of the magic that absorbs the life force deployed by the wizard at the
beginning of the battle and the blow of the dragon-slayer sword that penetrates the
heart.

I was honestly amazed that they would do such a complicated task just to kill one old,
moldy creature.

“Take it to your heart, hero and his companions. The human heart is noble and beautiful,
but also hideous and greedy. After all, human beings are still in between being a beast
and a human. If you are useless, you will be ostracized just like me. You who once stood
side by side with me would have a hard time coming to the same end as me. The last
advice of the dying old dragon. Listen to it, my little friend.”

I’m not a big fan of theatricals speech, but it seems to have been a pain in the ears and
heart for my little friend, and he is expressing regret and guilt, no matter how big or
small.

Well, you’ll have to forgive me for bullying you like this.

The number of my brethren has dwindled considerably in recent years, and I’m
beginning to feel bored with my longevity.

If I could die under such a beautiful moon, that wouldn’t be so bad. I’m sure I’ll die in
peace.

“Fumu”

I let out one last word and closed my eyelids.

Although this is the end of a dragon that has lived since the gods, I think it’s fine for
there to be at least one such dragon in the world.

There was a feeling of peace and contentment for eternal sleep.

This would be, well, good. I may sound like a strange dragon, but at least I was not
dissatisfied with the end of my life.

Oh, Grim Reapers, do not be afraid to let my soul be carried to the depths of the
underworld, where it can rest in peace and sleep forever. Otherwise, my breath will
reduce the world to ashes.

“Hmm.”

I muttered. No, I didn’t actually mutter it out loud. I tried to move but my tongue and
lips wouldn’t move satisfactorily and I couldn’t spin the words well.

My confusion had greatly expanded its territory in my mind. In my last perception, my

body should have extinguished the fires of life and accepted its mortality.

Then why am I still alive?

Suddenly, I noticed a couple of distinct sounds played at a steady beat.

What was it? After a moment of wondering, I realized that this was the sound of a
heartbeat.

At the same time, the sound seemed to be transmitted not through the air, but rather
through a liquid.

I wondered if it was my heart or someone else’s.

I tried to keep my senses a little more alert and try to find out what was going on
around me.

Ah! How can I accurately describe my amazement at the realization of my situation?

How is it that I, who was supposed to be dead, now resides as a baby in the belly of a
human woman!
My soul was supposed to fall into the underworld and continue to sleep, so why is it
inhabiting a human baby?

There was no way that anyone could answer my questions, but for a while I was caught
up in them.

When I regained my composure, I wondered if there was any point in living again, but
I could tell from the words coming from outside my stomach that my parents were
looking forward to me being born.

It seemed that I also have a brother in this life. I do not want to disappoint my family.

I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to act like a human being because I was born and
died as a dragon, but at least I’m going to try to make an effort not to betray the
expectations of my family.

Hmm, it seems that magic and science have not yet developed much in the outside
world that will be born.

It will be difficult to even fill my stomach with this. I was still a fetus fluttering around
in the amniotic fluid, but my soul is that of a dragon.

I figured that I could do things in my embryonic stage that a human could never do.

My soul has been severely degraded by this incarnation, but if I can interfere with the
land near where my family lives and activate the veins of the earth, it will eventually
be able to bring a rich harvest.

I, as a baby, immediately began to interfere with the land.

After a while, the earth will be full of nourishment and we will have a good crop, even
if left unattended.

At first I will have to send my magic power to the land to supply it with nourishment,
but in a few years it will naturally revitalize itself.

Now, it will only be a few more months before my rebirth. Is there any meaning to
being reborn as a human? Is there any significance to living?

The wind of resignation and decadence still blows in my mind. I kept wondering if this
wind would ever stop blowing in my mother’s belly.

Finally, the time has come for me to be born as a human baby.

As I emerged from the cradle of compassion that had protected me so far into the
outside world, I forced open my heavy eyelids and observed my surroundings with my
vaguely unfocused eyes.

What I saw in my vision made me feel confused, even though I should have known.

My eyes, which opened slightly, caught the sight of a human man and woman smiling
gently at me.

As the figures of the man and woman filled my field of vision, I couldn’t help but wonder
if they were some kind of giant species with even bigger bodies than the dragon I was.

Of course, they are not giants or anything like that, but true, ordinary humans. I don’t
know, but somewhere in my head I still think my body belongs to a dragon.

While I’m still in a state of confusion, the woman moves her mouth with a heartfelt
smile.

”Well, this baby’s eyes are already open. Huh, hello, my baby.”

The man, followed by the woman, spins short words with a small smile on his mouth.
They both look at me with a common, unconditional kindness in their eyes.

“You don’t cry too much. A baby should cry a little more.”

The woman gently reached out her fingers and pecked me on the cheek.

I am now a baby, unable to do anything for myself, and being held by the woman.

“Your name is Doran. I am your mother and this is your father. Nice to meet you.”

So the woman who gently pecked me on the cheek with a pouty smile is my mother as
a human being, and the man is my father.

The fact that I had blood parents gave me a strange feeling I had never felt before.
As the oldest dragon, I have no father or mother. There was an existence that I could
call my brother or sister, but there was never someone I could call my parents.

Maybe that’s why.

I was beginning to have a feeling I’d never had before with the men and women who
gave me unconditional kindness and warmth when I was a baby.

I was bored with my too long life and deliberately chose to be killed by the heroes, so
I had planned to go to sleep for eternity, never to wake up. But now, the warmth that
has been given to me is soothing and comforting that I feel very calm.

Hmm, maybe it’s not a bad idea to try living as a human being.

“Oh, wow, you, Doran, you just smiled.”

“Hoo, Really? Maybe he knows we’re his parents.”

Oh, am I smiling now? When was the last time I smiled?

Maybe that alone was worth being born again as a human being, and I was beginning
to find meaning in my new life.
Sixteen years have passed since I died as a dragon and was reborn as a human.

And now, I’m standing in a corner of a grassy field that seems to stretch everywhere.

A faint hint of winter’s chill lingered in the air, but a warm breeze that foretold the
arrival of spring swayed the knee-high wildflowers and I felt as if I was standing in a
sea of green.

There was a faint scent of flowers mixed in with the wind.

Maybe it was a joke by the three goddesses of destiny, or maybe I was the most
powerful dragon species in the world, but I was reborn as a human being, one of the
continent’s most prosperous creatures, although I was never strong as a person.

I was not triggering the power of reincarnation myself when I was killed by a hero’s
hands, so this reincarnation must be due to someone else’s will.

I can only speculate, but during that last battle, magic was used to force me to
reincarnate.

I’m not sure how they could destroy my soul, which was the strongest dragon species
physically and spiritually, so the heroes or those who ordered my defeat chose to
reincarnate me as a way to weaken my soul.

They must have compelled me to repeat my reincarnation instead of only dropping

me into the netherworld so that my soul will be drained and ultimately lose its
strength and memory as a dragon creature.

If a being of a higher spiritual rank, even if his or her body was destroyed, he or she
would be able to rebuild the body from nothing based on the information recorded in
the soul.

The body is nothing more than a vessel, and even though your body disappears, as
long as your soul is intact, you may recover it as much as you wish.

At that time, they were able to give me death because the heroes had the Dragon
Slayer’s Sword in their hands and I had accepted death, an exception, so to speak.

So the people who killed me must have crafted my soul to reincarnate at the moment
of my physical death for fear that I would be resurrected, in case I was ever resurrected.

In fact, when I was reincarnated as a human, I was stunned to find that my soul was
so weakened.

The quality and quantity of magic power produced by the soul before and after
reincarnation are orders of magnitude different.

The amount of magic power and spirituality my soul possessed when I was a dragon
was so miniscule that I couldn’t even see it now that I have become a human being,
and it has become a shameful thing to me.

And, when my soul is still in the realm of becoming a dragon, it’s still beyond a human’s
common sense. Luckily, I haven’t forgotten how to handle my power, so I’m not going
to have to suffer a half heart death.

Although the physical body is undeniably human, with the use of enhanced magic, I
can withstand the excessive supply of magic power and imitate the non-human aspects
of it. Quite fortunate that I had that much power left in me.

I have a woven basket in one hand that is piled high with several kinds of herbs and
edible panko. That should be enough for today’s harvest.

Hmmm,” I say, a habit I’ve had since I was a dragon, indulging in a faint sense of self-
satisfaction, when I hear small footsteps and a voice calling me from behind.

“Doran-san, it’s time for us to go home,”

“Sure. It’ll be dark soon.”

I look back and see in my eyes a girl with red, frizzy hair stretched to the center of her
back.

She’s dressed in a frayed cloth blouse and skirt like a remote villager, with a basket
hanging from her shoulders, just like me.

But the smile she gives me is as bright as the sun, and the freckles on her cheeks add
to the girl’s charm. The girl’s name is Airi.

In addition to Airi, there were four other children scattered throughout the grassland.

Airi and I are both from Berne, a small village in a remote part of the continent.

I followed Airi and the other children who were a few steps ahead of me on the walk
back to the village.

Berne is a small village with a population of around 300 residents. It is surrounded by

a thick stone wall with a moat around the village.

It is a common protective measure in the frontier, where the incidence of monsters,

robbers and savages is frequent.

The entrance to the village consists of two wooden gates with iron reinforcement on
the north and south. There are always at least two gatekeepers armed with spears,
swords and bows guarding the gates.

Around here, goblins as tall as a child, kobolds with dog heads and lizards – fully armed
bipedal lizards, can often be seen around here.

It is important to remember that, in terms of individual power, the two species other
than the lizard are slightly inferior to humans, but they have a high reproductive
capacity and expand rapidly, so that their numbers increase rapidly, and there are even
shamans who use spirit magic, which is surprisingly not to be underestimated.

The Lizard’s breeding ability is not as high as that of the goblins, but their individual
combat ability is high, and a one-on-one battle is a tough one to win, even for the
villagers in the village of Berne who have some experience.

Especially if it is a warrior rank captain in the Lizard tribe, if one does not bring even
a skilled warrior or regularly trained knight, one must be prepared for considerable
damage.

I’m sure when I was a dragon, all three races were just dust flying through the air, but
by human standards, that’s not the case.
It’s a good thing that the Lizard, as a sub-race, also communicates with humans as well.
Bern ‘s village once rescued the lizards from hunger, and that’s how they managed to
establish a friendly relationship with one another.

They rarely become hostile to each other.

Chatting and frolicking along the way, the kids were happy, and went all the way home.
The children of humans are really a bundle of energy.

Just like a baby dragon that has just hatched from an egg, they are also very energetic.
With that kind of energy, it’s no wonder they’re the most prosperous on the continent.

After parting from the children in the central square of the village, I walked over to a
modest house made of mud, wood and straw mixed with grass.

In the kingdom to which Berne village belongs, the age of fifteen is considered an adult,
and in rural areas, all boys except the eldest son are required to leave home at that age
and build a house on the land the village or their parents give them to live alone.

I have turned sixteen this year and left home last year, and am currently enjoying life
on my own.

Today, the harvest was greater than I expected, so I decided to stop by my parents’
house to share some of my harvest with them.

Even though I’m away from home, we live in the same village, so it’s just a short walk
to my parents. To visit my parents’ house I opened a squeaky wooden screen.

“I’m home. I have gathered some medicinal herbs and bread moss, and I have a few
left over, so I thought I’d come to share them with you.”

“Welcome back. Well, you’ve picked up a lot. I could make a lot of ointment from this.”

“That’s good to know.”

I was greeted by Arsena, my mother, who is a great person who brought me to this
world. My father and brothers seem to be doing field research.

She wears a crude skirt, typical of farmers in a remote village, and her slightly faded
golden hair is tied up in a white scarf, with a slightly dirty apron wrapped around her
waist, a common sight for my mother.

You might argue that life on the frontier is one where challenges, difficulties, problems,
misery, and unreasonably come together and charge you without signs or warnings,
but in the smile, my mother still gives me no ounce of tiredness.

The woman of the frontier is strong and resilient. Otherwise, one cannot live.

Because of my interpretation of my time as a dragon, I talk and act in ways that are
not fitting for my age, but my mother is a crazy woman who doesn’t feel awkward and
loves me, just as she does with her children.

Of course, there are gods who deserve to be revered. They must be the source of these
creatures, I thought to myself as I lived among them.

But even so, it’s a shame that humans have a hideous side, or should I say it’s a flaw.

I finished my business and went back to my house after handing over some medicinal
herbs and bread moss to my mum.

I ate a simple bread moss and vegetable soup that I had picked from the field and a
loaf of chewy black bread that my mother gave me when I left.

It was dinner as usual, but even now, sixteen years after I was born and fell as a human,
the human sense of taste and other senses, which are different from those of a dragon,
still give me a fresh stimulus.

After all, when I look up at the moon, I can’t even see the hole in the moon, and the
information my ears and nose perceive is completely different from that of a dragon. I
wonder if I really live in the same world.

Everything I saw, heard, tasted, and smelled was an unforgettable experience that I’m
still getting used to.

I offered a prayer of thanks for having eaten that day without any monster raids, and
then I immersed myself in making wooden spears and arrows out of spare wood
branches before going to bed.

My house consists of a kitchen, dining room, storage room, and bedroom. There is a
wooden bed in the bedroom, on which I lay down straw or animal fur wrapped in cloth.
It’s incredibly hot and stuffy in summer, so it’s no joke in winter, so we can’t be too
sloppy, because there is a chance of freezing to death if we don’t warm each other up
with our body heat or if we don’t cover our heads with several layers of fur.

It’s no big deal to me, having worked in every environment in this world without a
hitch, but I can’t help but lament what a mess we humans are in at bedtime.

The village people wake up almost at the same time as the sun turns the horizon into
a golden shade and I’m no exception.

I heat up the rest of last night’s dinner and finish my breakfast before heading out to
work in the fields again.

My mother and father once gave me permission to go out to the village to collect
berries and wildflowers from the trees and fruits during my early childhood, when I
was still working in the fields.

I was lucky that I still had my sixth sense as a dragon and my ability to manipulate
magic, and with my enhanced senses, I always returned home with success.

It’s even true that I achieved more by playing outside than by immersing myself in
farm work.

The behavior of those days has become a habit, and even now, I often walk around the
neighborhood of the village to work on the harvest in my spare time.

Even so, my outgoing habits are well known in the village, since I have to make a living
by myself these days and work in the fields takes up a lot of my time.

I can use my magic to work the fields for as many as a hundred human adults, but I
can’t use my magic in front of my family or the villagers.

It’s a very rare occurrence in such a remote area, and because of this, magicians can’t
help but stand out.

However, in the village of Bern, there is a family of excellent witches who has been
living there for decades. (TN: wanted to use magicians but this family is that of a female
so I used witches)

I learned human magic from them, but unfortunately, they don’t have the power to
grow wheat in the field in a single night or to raise the soil with a simple wave of their
wands.

So I followed in others’ footsteps and went out into the field with my hoe and other
farming tools, working my forehead off to earn my daily bread.

Occasionally, I’d step out into the surrounding plains and forests to lead the children
or go out on my own to help with the hunt.

One day.

I wanted to head along to the swamp to the northwest of the village, where the lizards
once had a settlement.

The lizards used to be on friendly terms with the people of Berne, but before I was
born, something happened to the swamp that made it unsuitable for them to live there,
and they have now moved to the lake at the top of the river that runs through the
village.

I decided to investigate the swamp and I spent a couple of days preparing to go there.

On the morning of the day I was leaving for the swamp, I was talking with my brother
Marco in front of my house. Marco, two years younger than me, looks a lot like my
mother and has a delicate face that could be mistaken for a woman.

Still, being a tough frontier boy, he can slaughter a goblin or two if you give him one of
the daggers.

I asked Marco, dressed in an eye-catching shirt passed down from my brother and me,
to take care of our house and the fields from which we will be gone.

“I plan to stay one night and return around tomorrow evening. I hope you’ll take care
of things for a while, Marco.”

“Yeah, sure. Brother Dolan ‘s field is well tended, so there isn’t much to do. Brother
Dolan is the one who has to be cautious, since it’s quite a distance from the marsh.”

Since more than ten years have passed after the lizards left, the area around the
swamp is infested with beasts and monsters, a dangerous place that even the people
of the village rarely go near.
When I said I was going to investigate, I was convinced by my parents, uncle, and even
the village chief to give up the idea of going to inquire.

It took me two days to convince those who opposed me to go to the swamp, and today
I was able to go there.

I” will bring you at least one souvenir, so please look forward to it.”

“As long as you come home uninjured, that’s all that matters.”

I left the village after I had finished my departure greetings, carrying a leather bag on
my back with two days worth of food and water, and a dagger and a long sword for
defense.

The path to the swamp was deserted, for the last decade or so it had been cut off from
the foot of people, so it was no different than going down a wild path.

Although goblins and kobolds existed, their settlements were further north, and in the
vicinity of the village of Berne they were rarely seen in coherent numbers.

Although the occasional stray wolf was seen, they are well aware of the dangers of
dealing with humans, so they did not attack me.

I made my way to the swamp without any incident, and I was able to arrive at my
destination by the time the sun had passed through the midheaven.

I knew that the Lizards had migrated to the swamp because of the mutation of the
swamp, but no one in the village of Berne knew the cause of the mutation or anything
else.

The people of the village had no use for the swamp now that the lizards were gone;
they were too busy going about their daily lives to investigate the swamp, which was
half a day’s travel each way.

I looked down at the vast expanse of marshland in front of me. There were countless
tall grasses and trees growing along its banks, and the ground beneath my feet was
muddy with plenty of water.

Every time the probably humid swamp air stroked my cheeks, I felt more than a little
uncomfortable.
There was no strange smell coming from the swamp, and there was not much sign of
life in the vicinity. Looking around, there were the remains of the settlement where
the Lizards had once dwelt.

The houses in the settlement have all had their roofs ripped off, walls torn, and doors
removed due to years of exposure to the wind and the lack of inhabitants.

I thought it was worthwhile to have some furniture or weapons left by the lizards, but
even if they were still around, they would all rust and rot in this kind of environment,
making them useless.

”Fumu.”

After stopping by the swamp for a while, I notice that the spirit power in the vicinity
is biased towards the earth attributes.

The only reason I can notice these changes in spirit power is because I still have the
power and sense as a dragon.

These natural phenomena in this world called the material world have a great impact
due to the work of spirits that live in the spirit world in a different dimension.

The effects of the activities of spirits in the spirit world are manifested as natural
phenomena in the material world.

The strengthening of the earth’s attributes may have weakened the attributes of water,
and this may have affected the terrain, leading to the swamp becoming muddy.

As I recall, my father told me that before the lizards moved to this area, there was a
big earthquake that occurred in this area. Is it possible that the earthquake caused a
change in the earth’s attributes?

If the spirit power is harmonized well, over time the swamp will become clear again,
and the environment will return to be suitable for the lizards to live in.

However, since the lizards have already found a new place to settle, they may not
bother to come back.

But yeah, when the swamp regains its original shape, maybe I’ll do some fish farming
or something.
If I can give them a reason to visit the swamp at some point and tell them that it was
clean and fish were living there, it will provide a new source of food for the village.

However, it’s not necessarily true that there won’t be any attacks of demons on the
road, and I should think about countermeasures against that.

It’s something that can be solved quickly with the use of my power as a dragon, however,
it’s also coming to be fun to bother my head like this.

I was lost in thought for a while with my arms crossed and lost in thought, but I was
interrupted from my thoughts by a sound like a giant snake crawling on the muddy
ground behind me.

I turned to see if any of the large snakes that the Lizards had left behind.

“Ho”

And I let out an honest exhale of admiration.

What I saw in the corner of my eye was a beautiful girl with long, golden hair that
shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

There is no question that a master sculptor made the design of the eyes, nose and
mouth, and her blue eyes beautifully shine like a sapphire.

She was wearing a plain light blue dress and a hooded white cape and she was wearing
a slanted bag from her left shoulder.

A puzzled look appeared on the girl’s face, still in her late teens, and a long tongue with
a two-pronged tip tickled in and out of her red lips.

We looked at each other but the face of the girl was well above mine and the torso of
a giant snake with green scales sprouting from her dress hem.

The snake’s body, that twists and turns, is the lower half of the body of the girl.

Lamia, I muttered inwardly. It’s a monster that only exists in the human-faced snake
body of a woman.

While the ancestors claim to have cursed the princess of the lost kingdom to alter her
look, I had no idea she lived close to my hometown.

I’m not sure if he’s a demon at mid-level. They are known to live longer than humans,
and even the highest-level monsters will surpass them if they live long enough.

A movement of the lower half of the snake’s body, in addition to manipulating strong
magic, can easily snap a human’s neck and destroy the bones of the whole body if bound.

Lamia is a human-faced serpentine demon that is said to have the form of an

exceptionally attractive woman in general, her human upper body. Before me the Lamia
girl proved the theory right more than ever before.

Also, the scaled lower half of her body, judging from my Dragon senses, felt like that of
a female in the process of maturation, still retaining her blue color but emitting a
lustful charm that was intriguing to us.

The scale’s luster and smoothness, the versatility of the undulating snake body and
the flesh displaying its youthfulness are all quite appealing.

In this case, my definition of a beautiful girl refers to both the upper half of a human
being and the lower half of a snake, and in a double sense, I thought Lamia was beautiful.

Lamia looked at me and flicked with her long tongue over her red lips while keeping
her smile intact. A new coat of saliva lipstick has been added to make Lamia ‘s lips even
glossier. It was quite uncomfortable though, and her cheeks seemed to twitch slightly.

She sees me as a kind of tasty prey, I ‘m sure, but then again that’s a bit of a strange
answer.

I’ve heard they can maintain life on a diet that’s no different from a human one, but
the staple food of Lamia is the energy of other animals.

I’m not sure if this is because the ancestors were human women, but it’s said they
prefer human men ‘s vitality.

If that’s the case, I must look like the best prey for Lamia.

“You are a very brave person to come alone in this place. Is there anyone else here?”

Her voice was so soft. Although she was a child who hadn’t become an adult yet, her
voice sounded like a melting honey that made the brains of people hot and happy.

The voice has added the charming magic power to it too. Fumu, if they eat human
energy, that’s the sort of trick that you can do.

But still, what a great way to read a stick. The root of her tongue doesn’t seem to be
working properly because she is frozen in tension.

If she tries to stand on the stage as an actor with this, she may never see the light of
day again.

I replied, slightly dumbfounded.

“I am the only one. There’s no one else.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.”

In front of me, Lamia puts her hands on her ample breasts and exhales in relief.

In this case I should be frightened as a human being to meet Lamia, but the girl before
me is very different from the Lamia I’ve read of.

Once again, when I review the Lamia girl’s appearance, she appears to be on a journey.

In that case, she may not be inhabiting this swamp, but just happened to stop by it on
her journey.

Now, what should I do here? I can’t sense any harm or evil intent from the Lamia in
front of me. Rather, she is wary of me, or perhaps I should say frightened.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that Lamia is a dangerous creature for humans.
I extend my right hand to the long sword at my waist and gently grip the hilt.

Noticing my motion, the color of fear clearly appears on the face of the Lamia child,
and the lower half of the body of the snake retreats sharply.

Apparently, she doesn’t like conflict or has a feeble disposition. More and more, she is
far from the Lamia I know.

”Well, wait. I am a human–

Without waiting for the lamia girl to finish, in one breath I drew the long sword at my
waist and swung around with the force of the wind on the muddy ground, slicing
through the arm of mud that had come from behind us.

The arm of mud that grew out of the swamp neatly split into two, both of them returning
to just mud and falling to the ground with a wet sound.

”──I’m not going to attack you…… eh?”

With my back to Lamia, who seemed unable to catch up with the rapid progression of
the situation, I tried to quickly clarify the situation, sloppily holding the tip of my long
sword down to the ground.

I figured that this lamia didn’t seem to have any intention of being hostile to me, and
that perhaps she would cooperate with me.

“The Lizards used to live here, but one day the swamp started to get muddy and moved
to another location. That’s what forced them to migrate. It’s a mad earth spirit. It might
have increased in strength over time. It’s a good thing that everyone in the village has
remained so far away from the swamp.”

As I told Lamia that, in search of the place where the spirit power was gathering, I cut
off the arms of mud that spread from my surroundings one after another and sharpened
my senses.

As well as the knowledge I could feel from my five senses, I scrutinized any piece of
information that penetrated my network of spiritual awareness, looking for the earth’s
mad spirit.

I felt the ground under my feet turning into a baseless mud bog, and I leapt to the left
side of Lamia, knocking down the ground that was still barely stable right before my
body sunk.

”Eh, Uh, that!?”

The Lamia girl looked terribly flustered and disoriented. Hmm, she looked very pretty
apart from the time and circumstances.

“I have heard that Lamia can handle magic, how about you?”
When I ask as I look back at Lamia to my right, the Lamia girl finally swallows her
confusion and tightens her expression.

”I can use it. But, um, they are Lamias that belong to the earth clan, and my clan is
closer to water, so if you’re dealing with an earth spirit, not much…”

The power of the spirits had their own advantages and disadvantages. The power of the
earth is good against water, and it is indeed quite unfavorable to deal with the earth
with the power of water.

It’s common knowledge that if you’re going to deal with the earth, it’s best to hit it
with the wind.

“Come to think of it, most species of Lamia are of the earth element. I’m sure you’ll
find it hard to reach them with your spells, hmm.”

I do not think you can get anything done. But in my sixteen years of being reborn as a
human being, I have discovered that with the best circumstances, we can’t always face
risk.

I’m not discouraged or disappointed, but I’m turning my attention back on the mass
of mud writhing ahead. One, two, three, three… Though I am counting, they are
increasing in number and there is no point in counting them now.

”Ah, um, but… There’s a magic specific to Lamia’s race, so I think that would work on
the earth spirits as well!”

‘Well that’d be great. I have a suggestion: Why aren’t you and I working against the
Spirit here together? That way, it will be more effective than battling one at a time. I’m
going to move forward and I want to give my back to you.

It might be a reckless suggestion to make against someone I just met, and of a different
species, but even with just a short exchange, I had decided that this Lamia girl was
worthy of trust. At the very least, she would not be hostile under the current
circumstances.

As a result, I received an answer that was half as expected and half more than expected.

”Yes, please take care of me, although I’m a bachelor!”

“That’s what you say when you are supposed to be married.”

“Uh, uh, oh, I’m sorry.”

Interesting girl, I just murmured in my head, and ran off toward the mud arms with a
longsword in one hand.

A single finger of mud is as big as my arm, and if I were to be struck by one of these
arms, it would easily break a bone or two.

This mud weapon itself is not an earth spirit. It was just a pawn operated by an insane
earth spirit, and it would only absorb some of the owner’s powers until it was defeated.

It was merely a pawn possessed by an insane earth spirit, and it would absorb only
some of the owner’s powers when defeated.

The normal way to defeat a divine entity like a ghost is by using the opposing ghost ‘s
power to combat it, or by using magic power to combat the force the enemy expresses
in the material world.

The long sword in my hand is not originally powerful against spirits, but it does contain
the magical power of the dragon species that my soul has created.

The human body also produces magic power, but in my case, using the magic power
of the dragon’s soul is much more powerful.

I gathered it together with a swing of the long sword that held the mystical strength
of the dragon species and cleaved it free, the arm of mud that assaulted me like a snake
leaping at its prey.

Then the long sword’s magic power immediately counteracted the earth’s spirit-force
that pushed the mud arm, and the mud arm returned to dirt.

However, it was immediately restored to the shape of the arm and attacked one after
another.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to find a solution to this problem.

The arm on me which is just closing in. If I were a human or a subhuman, at some stage
I would have been consuming my resources, my body would have been heavy and I
would have been attacked due to a lack of focus.

But the negative effects of a prolonged war won’t come to me, as I can use my dragon
species’ magical power to strengthen my body and produce an infinite amount of
physical strength.

After a short period of conflict, the chanting of the Lamia girl who was imbued with
magical power began to shake the surrounding atmosphere.

”Cursed demonic serpent that flows through my body, now arise and give the curse to
my enemy, Jaram!”

A clear picture of the serpent emerged between the mud ‘s paws, which he considered
an adversary, and instantly took on material shape as it clearly screamed out a
threatening cry.

Every time the snake, which in one fell swoop could swallow two or three human
beings, opened its jaws and wiggled its tail, a number of mud-arms were swept away
in one fell swoop.

Furthermore, the snake’s curse interferes with the spirit power and contaminates it
in the blink of an eye.

“Fumu.”

It’s a “fumu” with an expression of admiration.

Although a species-specific magic has its own habits, and its power is determined to
be strong to the point that it is hard to use, the magic power called “Jaram” was greater
than I expected.

Considering the power of the girl combined with her abilities, she seems to have quite
a strong talent as a witch, as opposed to her fearful attitude.

In the time it took for the cursed serpent to disappear from its form, all of the mud
arms had been defeated and returned to the soil.

This is much faster than me wielding my long sword and whiningly taking down the
mud weapons. I had reasonable reason to hope for cooperation.
I saw the Lamia girl relax her shoulders at the edge of my vision as the mud arm didn’t
seem to appear anew and let her mind wander.

“Don’t relax yet. It looks like the spirit of the earth is finally ready to show itself.”

“Yes, sir.”

I was impressed with her, an honest girl, and then the power of spirit started to increase
rapidly around the swamp ‘s centre. The black and turbid surface of the water rose up
like a mountain, and the Lord of the Swamp, the Earth Spirit, appeared before us.

The earth spirit, once driven insane by the effects of the earthquake, seemed to have
increased in strength in the past decade, draining both the earth and water’s energies.

Like the earlier mud-arms, his temporary mud-borne body was probably as wide as a
two-story home.

At the top was a scarcely identifiable projection as the upper half of a human body,
and the head had dimples and ridges that looked like eyes and a nose.

The spirit was flowing alarmingly fast towards us. We could sense her restrictive and
threatening feeling as she closed on us in order to fill our vision.

Particularly the Lamia girl gasped under the pressure and shrank.

If it’s this big, even the <Jaram> just now can’t be expected to have much of an effect.

I am going to have to be more diligent in that situation. I filled my long sword with
more of my dragon race magic, and called the lamia girl before running off.

“You should be able to distract the spirits with appropriate magic so that they don’t
hit me.”

“Hey, it’s too dangerous!”

The accumulated mud made my feet very slippery, but I kept running regardless.

The crazy earth spirit stopped in approach and then stretched two arms towards our
path, sending a shell of mud from the tips of those arms straight at me.
The mud bullets were fired two, three, and four times in succession.

I dodge those bullets that are so swift that it’s hard for the human eye to track them,
and sometimes with my long sword I cut them in half, closing the gap between me and
the spirit of the world.

There is plenty of mud and water in this swamp that makes up the temporary body of
a spirit, so there is no end in sight if I continue to chip away at it.

If that’s the case, destroying the core of the spirit with a single blow would be the
quickest way to do it.

“Serpent in my blood, thrust your venomous fangs into my enemy, Jadouk!

The Lamia girl’s strong words echoed up behind me. The serpent ‘s image again
emerged, entwined with the spirit, its fangs peeking out of its wide open jaws, thrusting
violently into its huge body.

One could see a purple liquid flowing from the fangs of the transparent snake. It was
clear it was a concentrated curse poison.

Even against the enormous power of the spirit, the curse poison seems to have created
some effect, and with a shake the giant body of the spirit starts to tremble.

But beating it with only the curse poison isn’t enough. I immediately exploited the gap
created by the apparent slowness of its movement and came within a foot of it.

The demon, sensing my presence, turns to attack me with its massive arms and strikes
me down.

It’s a huge arm that could easily destroy a house. A direct hit would turn my body into
a chunk of meat.

I avoided the right arm by flying to the side. However, after a while, its left arm fell
toward me in the air.

I heard a little scream from the Lamia girl, as she saw me without any way to stop it.

I let out a brief, sharp exhalation as I sliced the spirit’s left arm which filled my vision
with a white blade light.
In an instant, the left arm crumbled back into the mud and crumbled down.

I quickly kicked the void and made more leaps in the air, and at once jumped up to the
human-shaped part of the body in front of me.

I saw that the eyes, which looked like mere hollows, had indeed caught my face.

I don’t know what the thoughts of a spirit tainted with madness are, but it’s for this
spirit’s sake to be released from its temporary body as soon as possible and to return
to the spirit realm where it should be.

Countless mud spears emerge from the base of the earth spirit’s human-shaped pieces,
and attempt to skewer me. But even before that, with a flash of my long blade, which
emitted white light even more magically, I cut off both sides of the humanoid portion
from the top of the head to the base.

Beyond the length of the long sword’s blade, the spirit of the earth was sliced in half.

Eventually the spirit of the earth, which could no longer maintain its life in the material
world, left behind its temporary mud body and returned to the spirit realm.

”Yes!”

I heard the Lamia girl’s cheering voice, and I let out a little boastful remark, along with
pity for the earth spirit.

“Fumu”

This should have done away with the problem of swamp muddling. The rest would be
harmonized by nature and force of spirit, and the flow of time would solve the question.

And for a few seconds, and so on. Just as I was relieved, the immense mass of mud that
was cut in half fell confidently and engulfed me and the girl Lamia behind me.

Just before I was swallowed by the brown tide, I covered the surface of my body with
my magic, and played with it to prevent my clothing and skin from getting soaked in
the rain. After about seven counts the mud waves subsided.

The Lamia girl looked back behind her to see if she was safe.
“Ugh, I got mud in my mouth. Ew, my clothes and hair are stained…”

There was a lamia girl whose beautiful golden hair and clothes were miserably covered
in mud.

I approached the girl who was busy spitting the mud in her mouth and pulled a leather-
bagged water bottle out of her back pocket and handed it to her.

“You can rinse your mouth out with it,”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Thank you for your help. You were extremely helpful. I don’t even know your name
by the way. My name is Doran, from the village of Berne, in the south. I’d be glad to
know your name.”

I handed her in both hands holding the water bottle, the lamia girl twisted the lower
half of her snake’s body to meet my eyes as she bowed her head and told me her own
name.

“My name is Serina. I am Lamia, as you can see.”

“Hmm, Serina. Nice name you got from your parents.”

Serina gave a bashful smile at my words. I think she was pleased to be appreciated by
her parents, and they seem to be really close from her looks.

It’s awesome to see parents and kids get along so well. I was born again as a human
being and had my own parents and I believe it from the bottom of my heart.

Today, I ended up battling together with Serina and we got to introduce ourselves, but
in the corner of my mind I was wondering what to do with the girl Lamia before me.
—–Serina’s PoV——

As I held back the desire to cry at the uncomfortable feeling of the muddy water
wetting my entire body, I was rinsing my mouth with the water from the leather bag
that was handed to me and chuckling, when I noticed Doran-san looking at me with a
slightly troubled look on his face.

Unlike me, who was covered in muddy water from my head, Doran-san was right
beside the earth spirit and yet he didn’t seem to have the slightest bit of mud on his
body or clothes.

I tilted my head and looked at Doran-san sullenly, wondering how he didn’t have any
dirt on him after being so close to the earth spirit, but he suddenly relaxed his
shoulders and gave a small laugh.

I wondered if I acted in a strange way. Oh, maybe it’s because I’m rinsing my mouth?

“You’ll have to get the mud off soon. If you stay wet, you’ll catch a cold. Are you sure
about your clothes?”

Doran-san looked up and told me about the bag that I was carrying on my shoulder.
My body got soaked in mud, the bag was covered with dirty water and I didn’t think
anything was safe in it.

But it’s okay!

When I decided to go for a walk in this swamp, I put a change of clothes and food in a
separate bag and hid it properly. I didn’t want them to get wet.

I pettishly spit out the water in my mouth, hiding it so Doran-san won’t see it, before
wiping my lips and replying.

That was a bit much, wasn’t it? If my mom had seen me, she would have been pissed.
“Yes. I have a change of clothes in Lizard-san’s house, so I have a proper change of
clothes.”

Ehem, I said with a bit of pride, and Doran-san laughed again.

I didn’t mean to say anything so strange, so why was he laughing? Is he a mean person?

As I approached Doran-san to return the bottle of water, he evidently saw my thoughts

through and said as he agreed and said it.

“I was amused because Serina is so different from the lamia I know. However, when
she first met my eyes, Serina seemed perplexed but lost a lot of her sense of caution.
You should be a little more cautious of people, I can’t help but think that.”

When Doran-san told me, I gasped. That’s right. Doran-san is a human. And I am the
demon Lamia.

Then naturally, it’s not surprising that a human would be afraid of Lamia and turn on me.

I had carelessly forgotten about it in the battle against the deadly earth spirit. I
shouldn’t, I shouldn’t.

I didn’t really intend to get this close to him, but if I just reach out a little bit, he’s within
reach!

“Uh, I’m so sorry about that.”

I didn’t know what to say, and for some reason I was apologizing to Doran-san,
wondering what I was saying to myself.

Then Doran-san gives a small shrug of his shoulders. It was a gesture that suited him
very well.

The blue eyes of Doran-san were shining with a gentle light.

They shone like a clear sky on a clear day. Looking into his eyes made me feel at ease.

I wondered why. Somehow I knew that Doran-san would never hurt me.

“No need to apologize, though. I’m not going to do anything about you either. Now,
you’d better get dressed sooner than that.”

Doran-san obviously isn’t trying to bully me.

I was quite scared of humans to be honest because my mom and dad had repeatedly
told me not to go near them.

So Doran-san’s kind words and expression put me at ease.

Realizing that neither of us have any ill will towards the other, I went to Lizard-san’s
house with Doran-san, where I had hidden my stuff along with the change of clothes.

There was no longer anyone in the village of Lizard-sans and most of the houses had
missing floors and broken walls, so it’s not a very habitable place to live.

Still, I hid my belongings in the house that was still in the best shape of all the houses
I looked around. It was probably the house of the chief of the village.

Doran-san waited outside while I changed my wet clothes and wiped the muddy water
that wet my hair.

Some of the walls had fallen down and I was a little nervous that he might peek at my
clothing, but I could tell from the signs that for a long time he hadn’t been going outside
the building.

As I returned to the side of Doran-san I saw him looking west, holding my bag covered
in muddy water.

Come to think of it, the sun has gone down before I know it, and dusk is approaching.
Although the footsteps of spring are beginning to be heard, the sun is still going down
very early.

“We should get ready for camping soon. Let’s dry our clothes and prepare a meal. I
was planning to spend the night here but I wonder what the plans were for Serina?”

“I had planned to spend the night here today, too. My family has a great affinity for
water, so I feel at home in this swamp, where the forces of earth and water together
are powerful.”

Doran-san seemed to agree and nodded his head once and looked around.
We would need a fire to prepare dinner, and it’s better to get away from this swamp
where the air was damp.

There were some trees around, and some fallen trees and broken branches, but they
were all wet and unsuitable for lighting a fire.

It’s not safe to prepare the camp in the dark, so we needed to get ready before nightfall.

“Let’s hurry.”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately there was still plenty of food left that I had brought with me when I left
the house, and Doran-san had food with him, as he had originally planned to stay the
night, so we didn’t have to worry about dinner.

We moved away from the swamp, found a dry spot on the ground and got ready to
make camp.

The only way to make camp was to put down a blanket, lie down on it and sleep under
another blanket.

It was still cold at night, so we couldn’t keep the fire going. So Doran-san and I have
decided to take turns keeping the fire going.

Lamia is generally a species which can not tolerate the cold well. So I wrap a blanket
around the snake’s body, with an emphasis on the lower half of the snake’s body, and
then cover my head with the blanket. These blankets take up a good portion of my
luggage.

It’s bulky and heavy because of the volume, and it’s very difficult to carry around on
the road. But it’s even more of a problem when it’s cold, so I just can’t seem to let it go.

Doran-san sat in front of me, peeking out of the blanket, on a handy-looking rock, and
now stirred up a pot of wildflowers soup, dried meat and vegetables.

Normally when humans went camping, it was supposed to be dangerous to build a fire
and prepare a meal after dark.

Wild animals are often interested in the fire, and sometimes they follow the smell of
cooking and come close to it.

But this time, it’s okay. Because I am here.They wouldn’t easily approach me because
they were afraid of me, a Lamia, a half-human and half-snake monster.

It’s my own secret that I am a little sad that I’m scared of the animals.

As I wrapped myself in a blanket and warmed up by the fire in front of me, I found
myself unexpectedly chatty, partly because of the excitement of being able to speak to
someone in a long time for the first time, and I found myself beginning to talk about
why I was travelling.

I was born and raised in a hidden lamia village in the Mores Mountains, further north
from the swamp.

Many lamia and their husbands, men of other races, and the children born to both, live
there.

In the hidden village, there is a rule that when a lamia turns 17 years old, she has to
go out of the village and find her master.

I was also on a journey to find my husband according to this rule.

Lamias are a very unique race, only women exist. Sometimes a boy is born, but the
child is born to the same species as the husband, not to a lamia.

In other words, she would have to marry a man of a different race in order for a lamia
to have children. But not just any male of another race.

The Lamia is a race which originated from a woman who was originally human but
was cursed.

All lamia had inherited the curse from the first ancestor and are part snake, and their
blood, sweat and saliva contain the venom of the snake.

Therefore, Lamia must choose a man who is strong enough to withstand the venom of
the snake in their bodies.

Otherwise… well… well… ki, when kissing or making a child here or there, the other
man would fall to the poison and if it was bad enough, he would die.
Ugh, I feel like I’m going to be on fire through my face. Doran-san was a very good
listener and I couldn’t help but tell him some things I hadn’t planned to tell him.

By the time I was done talking, the meal was over and the pot was empty.

According to Doran-san, he had an older brother and a younger brother who used to
listen to him at home.

He was good at listening to other people because he was taking care of the village’s
younger children, which is why he is so good at listening to others.

But does that mean I’m childish? I think that’s a bit rude.

Because Doran-san is sixteen years old this year. I’m one year older than him, I’ m 17
years old. I’m your elder sister, you know?

As I was harboring my frustration in my heart like that, Doran-san, who had taken the
empty pot off the fire and was cleaning up the dishes, said

“You look so childish puffing your cheeks out like that.”

“Eh, am I really doing that?”

I hurriedly pressed my mouth, feeling I shouldn’t, but Doran-san chuckled, as if he was

laughing at me. Already!

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to mock Serina. Just a very pretty one, that’s all.”

“You can’t fool me by flattering me like that!”

“Forgive me if I don’t say so. It would be distressing to have Serina in a bad mood.”

“Uh-huh.”

“This is embarrassing. Serina bends her navel……… Come to think of it, did Lamia have
a navel to bend at all?”

I can’t forgive him so easily. When I puffed my face to the side, Doran-san looked at me
like a spoiled child and then shrugged his shoulders.
Mmm, somehow I feel more and more like a child when he reacts like that.

Rather than that, I’ve become aware that it’s true that every single thing I do is childish,
just like Doran-san said.

Umm… it can’t be helped. It would be better to raise the white flag maturely here and
not dig a grave. I turn away and turn my face back to look at Doran-san from the front.

“I surrender. I’m being childish – that’s it. Also, Lamia has a navel, too. Because our
bodies turn into snakes from about here on out.”

I run my hand over the portion of my body wrapped in the blanket. If I had been a
human woman, it would have been a little above my knees. From there my lower body
portion was turned into a snake’s body.

My mama and all the other lamas in the hidden village of course have a navel. We are
not oviparous, we are viviparous.

I then started to speak to Doran-san about my mom and dad. My mum is a lamia, of
course, but my dad is a human.

Mum hunts outside the hidden village, and Dad works in the fields in the village, and
the three of us, including me, share in the housework.

. “I haven’t heard much about it, but I heard that Mom went on a journey just like me
and met Dad, so they went back to the village and became husband and wife. Mom and
Dad are really close to each other. They ‘re hiding it in front of me, but when I take my
eyes off them, they ‘re holding hands and hugging each other’s shoulders.I wish I could
have a family like my mom and dad.”

Whenever I ask my mom and dad about the past, they always look sad.

Becoming a husband and wife is not common for humans and lamia, but even if they
had loved each other there would have been many hurdles to overcome.

I started thinking about my dad’s past after I knew that. I love my mum and dad so
much that I couldn’t ask them anything that would make them sad.

“I see. You don’t hear very good things about marriages between humans and other
species, but I guess that’s not really the case. By the way, I wonder if Serina is like her
mother? I’m sure she’s very pretty, though.”

“Hmmm… My mom is really pretty, that’s for sure. But she doesn’t look like me in terms
of personality. I’ve often been told my eyes and personality are more like my dad’s. So
why are you asking me that?”

“No, nothing, there was something that just happened to me. You showed me some
charming movements the first time I met Serina in the swamp, and made a voice full
of irony, and I wondered if you learned that from your mother.”

Ugh, I groan in my mind that I have been hit in a sore spot.

The reason for this is because Lamia, as a race, is naturally equipped with the art of
seducing the opposite sex of other races, but I’m not very good at charming gestures
to men.

I can deceive them with my fascinating eye, but I can’t give them a charming smile, a
beautiful gesture, or a seductive voice.

From the time I was at home, my mum had been teaching me but I was a really poor
student at these stuff.

“I was a very bad student in these matters. It’s just that I’m the only one who can’t do
it very well. I knew I had to do something about it, but when it came time to leave on
this trip, I just couldn’t do it…”

When I slumped down, Doran-san put on a kind face, just like my dad.

“You don’t have to act like that. We’ve only known each other for less than a day, but I
think Serina is a really attractive woman. Serina’s only pretty enough to behave like
herself, just as she is. I ‘m sure you’ll meet someone on your path that will love you for
who you are. I can guarantee it.”

I could easily see in his blue eyes that Doran-san was not lying about what he was
saying.

I could believe Doran-san’s words without a doubt, even though I had never met him
before.

But I felt my cheeks flush with both joy and embarrassment, because I had never had
a man compliment me with such straightforward words before.

Does Doran-san really realize how embarrassed I am about what he is saying?

“Ugh, you’re very good at it, Doran-san. But, yes, I hope it will be. I’ll find a nice
husband and introduce him to my mom and dad.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Then as I was talking about my mom and dad’s favorite food and the gifts they received
for my birthday, Doran-san also told me about his family.

He told me that his family consists of his father, mother, older brother and younger
brother, but he has moved out of his home and is now living on his own.

Unlike us, he doesn’t have to travel, but I thought it was sad that he had to leave home,
even though they were in the same village.

“Don’t you ever feel lonely, Doran-san?”

“I’d be lying if I said I don’t have one, but my parents’ house is only a short walk away,
and I can’t honestly claim I’m lonely at my age. I think Serina is the more respectable
as far as I’m concerned. Not only has she left home, she’s traveling alone. I’m sure
you’ve got to be heartbroken and painful.”

“Hmm, I’ve been told this since I was little, so I was prepared for it. Besides, it’s a
journey to find my husband, so I need to see it properly with my own eyes!”

“I see. Serina is a strong girl.”

It was kind of nice to see the calm face of Doran-san as he said that and smiled gently.

—Doran’s PoV—-

I breathed a sigh, staring at the sleeping face of Serina, wrapped in her blanket and
lying on the grass, sleeping well.

Since her journey, she may have been bottling up the depression in her mind, but
Serina’s eloquence with me made her talkative, and an unforeseen amount of time had
passed. Looking up, the moon was in the midheaven, while the queen of the night sky
shone in silver.

We had been talking for a long time.

Although we’ ve only been here for half a day or so, Serina has relaxed her guard to
the point where she is revealing her peaceful sleeping face to me.

Even though I hadn’t imagined an event where an earth spirit appeared and fought
with me, I still think she’s being too forgiving of humans.

Whether or not I’m already mesmerized by Serina ‘s magical power, shouldn’t you be
at least cautious at all times if you’re going to work with anyone who isn’t? I can’t help
but feel like a father worried about his beautiful daughter, wondering if, after she
leaves me and meets other people, Serina will be able to protect herself properly, or if
she is fooled by the bad people.

I guess the lack of harmlessness and looseness of vigilance towards humans is partly
due to the fact that the father who loved her is a human being, but even so, I’m worried
about her.

Well, that being said, it’s probably quite comical for me to be worried about Lamia,
whom I’ve never met before.

As I watched Serina’s sleeping face as she made a healthy sleepy sound, I suddenly felt
the tip of her tail enter the corner of my vision.

I reached out to the tip of her tail, which was sticking out of the blanket, and grabbed
the scaly spot with a soft grip.

The tail then swayed from side to side as if it were reluctant to do so.

“Mmmmmmnya.”

Serina writhes in a sleepy voice. The base of her fluidly lined eyebrows are drawn
together, and sinful wrinkles are etched between her white brows.

The eyelids framed by long golden lashes twitched and trembled minutely, and the
Sleeping Snake Princess looked as if she was about to wake up.
TSerina’s baby-like reaction was amusing, and for a while I kept gnawing at her tail,
paying attention to making sure that she was not waking up.

Serina’s short, muffled, squishy, yan, unnyu, spilled out.

I found that it was a lot of fun, and I was engrossed in grabbing Serina’s tail.

The next morning, as the sun is finally turning the horizon red, I decide to leave the
still sleeping Serina behind.

Fortunately, Serina doesn’t wake up as I continue to fiddle with her tail. I was so
engrossed in the game that I ended up not sleeping at all last night.

The lamia species is half snake, which means their mornings are weak and their
movements are slow until their bodies warm up.

Therefore, I put more wood on the ground to keep the fire going until Serina wakes up.

I put the blankets, pots and pans, and dishes in my bag, then put my long sword and
dagger in my sword belt, and I’m ready to go.

And don’t forget to leave a note on the ground that you’re heading to the swamp, as
Serina is likely to be upset if she doesn’t see me when she wakes up in the morning.

Well, that should do it.

After leaving the encampment point, I headed to the place where I had a battle with
the earth spirit.

In places where spirit power tends to accumulate, the gathered spirit power often
materializes like a shining ore.

Those crystals are really plainly called spirit stones.

Since yesterday’s earth spirit had reigned in the swamp for more than ten years, I
thought there was a high possibility of spirit stones of high purity sleeping around
there.

Soon I arrived at the swamp.

There were no dangerous creatures or small animals around the swamp and for fear
of the crazy spirit of the world I was not bothered along the way.

From the point where the giant body of the earth spirit ‘s temporary beginning was
cut in half, I walked towards the swamp ‘s centre.

I stepped out of the swamp’s banks and continued on the surface of the swamp, not
caring that the still muddy water was making my shoes wet.

It is a very rudimentary magic that interferes with the water, gaining buoyancy and
allowing me to walk on the water.

I stopped just where the earth spirit appeared.

I held a piece of cloth in my left hand, which I had taken out of my bag, above the
chirping water, and pointed my right hand, with its five fingers spread, toward the
swamp.

Then I use my exploration magic to detect the existence of the spirit stone in the swamp.

I send my magic power into the swamp like an invisible wave and check the spirit-
stone reaction that is exposed to the wave.

My magic power that emanated from my palm transmitted instantly from the depths
of the swamp to the corners, telling me what was happening inside.

The swamp was completely muddy, and the fishes that once inhabited it could no
longer be seen.

Except for the smallest unseen creatures, it seemed that it had almost become a dead
swamp.

Even if the harmony of the spirit power is restored, it will take some time for the
swamp to regain its former form.

The spirit stone that received the magical power I emitted reacted immediately.

It seems that my guess is that since there was an earth spirit with that much power
stored in it, there must be a good amount of spirit stones, which was not off the mark.
I found a number of spirit stones buried at the bottom of the swamp, and I imagined
an invisible hand reaching out to them.

The next step after water walking and exploration magic is telekinesis, which is also a
rudimentary magic.

This is a magic that moves objects with thoughts, and the distance and weight of the
object that can be moved depends on the wielder’s strength. It’s a good idea to be able
to move an object about the size of a spirit stone with the telekinesis of an apprentice
wizard.

Soon, a spirit stone the size of a fist emerges from the depths of the swamp, splits the
surface of the water with a crisp little sound, and floats up in front of me.

The earth spirit stone, the crystal of the earth spirit power, had a deep brown glow
reminiscent of amber amber, and the water spirit stone, the crystal of the water spirit
power, had a clear blue glow reminiscent of sapphire.

Ordinary spirit stones were about the size of a pebble, so this could be said to be an
unusually large one for all of them.

There were seven earth spirit stones and four water spirit stones. In total, I wiped the
eleven spirit stones with my left hand cloth and drained the water from them.

After that, if I could catch a beast or two on the way back, it would be enough for a
souvenir.

“Doran-san. Good morning!”

I turned toward the voice and saw Serina, clad in a large pack of blankets, waving at
me on the bank of the swamp.

With an innocent smile and a wave of her hand, there’s not a hint of caution about me.
I’ve missed her a lot in just one day.

I waved my right hand back at Serina as I walked toward her, walking over the water
again.

“You’ve been taking spirit stones? It’s big.”

“With such a powerful spirit, I thought it must be there, but I guess I was right.”

Serina was honestly impressed when I showed her the spirit stone that was wrapped
in a single piece of cloth in my left hand.

When she left her hidden village, she was given a spirit stone or magic crystal for
protection, but she had never seen anything as large as the spirit stone in my hand
right now.

Yesterday’s battle with the spirits was made easier thanks to Serina’s cooperation. I’m
sure you’ll be able to find out more about this.

“Here, Serina has the same right to receive it.”

I handed four earth spirit stones and two water spirit stones to Serina.

She didn’t readily accept them, saying that it was mostly Doran-san who fought, but as
I expected, she seemed to have a weakness for pushing, and in the end I pushed her to
accept the spirit stones with a look of trepidation.

I was able to find out the cause of the swamp’s anomaly, resolve it, and even get some
loot. There was no reason for me to stay in the swamp any longer.

I told Marco that I would be returning to the village by the end of the day, so I guess
it’s time to leave the swamp.

“Serina, I’m going back to the village now. What do you intend to do now?”

“Oh, well, I’ve been told that there’s a human city in the south, so I’m going to continue
my journey down south to find my husband.”

“Hmm, you know, but it’s rare for someone to deal with Lamia the way I do. You
shouldn’t approach them carelessly. It’s dangerous.”

“Yes. My mom and dad warned me about it many times. I hope they are as kind as you
are, Doran-san.”

“Anyone who spends a bit of time with you can tell that Serina is a very sweet girl, but
that little bit of time together is hard to come by. The lifespan of a lamia is longer than
that of a human. It’s best to start off by taking it slow and getting to know the humans
and other species without rushing.”

I held out my right hand to Serina, who nodded yes.

Serina looked at me with a slightly surprised face, but she immediately smiled softly,
and then showed some hesitation before shyly taking my right hand in hers.

Her smile was so warm and gentle.

I decide to give Serina one more gift, and through her soft hand, I pass a generous
amount of my vitality to her.

“Kyah!?”

Although I handed it over to her, thinking that the spirit of the dragon species would
be more refined than a human’s, I think I surprised Serina a bit too much.

I’m not sure how many times she’s consumed a Human spirit when staying in the
hidden village, but it’s probably the first time she’s ever tried the spirit of a dragon
species.

Was I being thoughtless in this? Her tail is pinned up in surprise and I smile at Serina,
whose vision has turned black and white, to deceive her.

“Sorry. I’m sorry to have startled you. I’m going to go now, but I wish you well on your
way.'”

“Well, ah, yes. Take care of yourself, Doran-san.”

“Thank you. I am sure you’ll find the right man. I know you will.”

Releasing our hands from each other’s grip, I turned on my heel and walked in the
direction of the village of Berne.

I walked until the swamp was small enough that I looked back and saw that Serina
was still there. When she notices my gaze, she starts waving her hand as fast as she
can.

I laugh and wave back at Serina, too. She continued to see me off at the edge of the
swamp until I was no longer in sight.
Truly, a lovely lamia was there.

I left the swamp and walked back to the village of Berne, slaughtering two twisted,
antlered great spear-horns on the way, and arriving at the north gate of the village,
hanging them on sticks of reasonable length and thickness.

I showed the javelin on my shoulder to the familiar gatekeepers and we laughed at

each other, but I had a nagging worry in my heart.

After I left Serina in the swamp, I couldn’t help but picture in my mind the image of
Serina, tricked by an evil person, bound in fetters and made to look like a spectacle in
her prison.

Considering Serina’s unusual abilities as a lamia and her competence as a wizard, she
probably won’t outnumber the wild thieves and adventurers out there, but, no matter,
her character is too good-natured.

Is it okay, is this okay? It’s going to be okay, I continued to agonize in my head.

I thought that I was really fond of Serina, but that’s not the case. I had become
completely attached to her.

I’m not sure if our fates will ever cross in the future, but if we ever meet again, I’ll be
kind to her, I vowed, and went home.

Magic power is something that resides in everything in the world, and everyone, even
the human species, has magic power.

However, not all humans can use magic.

Humans who have strong enough magical power to create the phenomenon of magic
are rare.

Even if it can be supplemented to some extent by acquired efforts, it’s still only one in
a hundred.

If my soul wasn’t a dragon and I was a pure human, I would have had to give up magic.
On the other hand, dragons and other races that are born with strong magic power
are used to living by using magic just as well as breathing and moving their limbs, for
example.

Or perhaps it should be said that they have never experienced a life without the use of
magic power.

It’s the same as asking a human being to live without breathing for such a creature
that is deeply connected to magic and witchcraft to live without using magic.

In addition, I have been living since the age of the gods, when the world was full of
magic and mystery. You could say that living by using magic power was an instinct.

But I decided while I was in the arms of my parents that since I was reincarnated as a
human, I would try to live like a human being, so I’ve worked hard to behave like the
people around me.

Although I am now accustomed to living on purely physical abilities, when I was a child
I would use my magic power when I was careless, leaving me with results that were
impossible for a human child to achieve, and I had a hard time both cheating and
hiding it.

An example of this was an incident when I was a young child, trying to concoct a potion
by imitating a muggle old lady, a witch doctor who lived in the village.

Potions are, as the name implies, medicines that use magical materials and magic in
the process of production.

Children in the village of Berne could make medicinal herbs and medicinal moss for
wounds, but when it comes to magic potions, it’s a different story.

The dramatic effects of magic potions make them difficult to prepare, and those who
don’t know how to handle magic will not succeed in mixing them.

Grandma Muggle’s potions, which have stronger effects than ordinary wound medicines,
are very useful in the village, and peddlers who visit the village also buy a certain
amount of them, so they make a good amount of money.

So I decided to make my family’s life, and if possible everyone’s life, a little easier, so I
decided to brew potions like Granny Muggle, hoping to help my family make ends
meet.

Ever since I was reborn as a human, my mind has been full of curiosity and adventure.

Although the quality of my soul has deteriorated, my soul, which was at the height of
its old age as a dragon, has been rejuvenated, so to speak. I can’t help but try the things
that come to mind, such as this and that, and all of them.

How can I brew a proper and effective potion? As I was twisting my head around that,
as a young child, I was about to use my analysis magic on the ingredients I had
procured, when my father found me. He scolded me severely for not allowing my
children to imitate Grandma Muggle.

Concocting potions was an extremely delicate process, and if the uninitiated attempted,
they could not only fail, but in some cases produce dangerous poisons, with the one
who concocted them at risk of being the first to fall victim.

This angered my father so much that he slammed his iron fist, which he had used for
nearly thirty years in the harsh conditions of the frontier, down on my head.

I accepted his fist and listened to him lecture in silence for a while.

It was the first time I had ever been scolded by a parent, and the fact that I could feel
the love and affection of a parent made me feel more than sorry, but I was delighted.

But there was an unintended by-product of this failure.

An old muggle woman who happened to be passing by found me as I was being scolded
by my father and inspected a potion I was in the middle of mixing and offered to teach
me how to mix it.

From then on, I would visit her house to learn how to mix the potion at her convenience,
even if it was only in the evenings after the farm work was done or just after sunrise,
on days when she was available.

Humans are willing to try anything.

Since then, I’ve been able to learn how to handle human magic from Old Mother
Muggle in addition to mixing potions.
 2

A few days after I left Serina, I woke up early in the morning, finished eating, and crossed
the bridge over the river that runs through the village to visit Grandma Muggle’s house
in the southwest corner of the village.

There were five people living in the house, Grandma Muggle, her daughter and her
husband, and her two granddaughters. There was another granddaughter who had
left the village of Berne.

Her house was surrounded by various trees that were used as ingredients for potions
and had four rooms, a kitchen, a dining table and a storeroom. In addition, a separate
building was built in the grounds for mixing.

In the courtyard, colorful flowers, grasses, and trees with different sizes and shapes of
petals were grown to make potions.

Only Grandma Muggle, her daughter, her granddaughters, and me, the student, knew
how to grow them.

Unfortunatley, the son-in-law didn’t have a magic power strong enough to handle
magic, so he was out of the group.

This doesn’t mean that the muggle old lady has a monopoly on magic potions. It’s
because the preparation and cultivation of magical potions is extremely dangerous,
and people can die if someone without magical background handles them.

Grandma Muggle mixed potions for the people of the village almost free of charge.
Since there are not many doctors and medicine makers in the village, the villagers
really rely on Grandma Muggle to help them. She is a major figure in the village of Bern,
who is more respected than the village chief.

I head into the garden to a separate building for mixing, separated by a hedge, and
greet a lustrously coiffed black cat by the door, asking to be excused.

The black cat, lying on the stone pavement, opened its closed eyelids and looked at me
with its golden eyes, and returned the greeting with a short purr of nyah.

It was Kitty, the black cat, one of the three familiar messengers that Grandma Muggle
had in tow.
She is a little warrior who shares her five senses with Grandma Muggle, no matter how
far away she is, and if she’s dealing with a demon, she can rip out a carotid artery with
her swift movements.

After the greeting, Kitty loses interest in me once more and begins to devour the
slightest slumber with her eyelids closed again.

A cat nap, hmm. The dragon also spends most of the day sleeping, a good match.

As I open the door to the compounding building, the mixed smell of various plants
envelops me.

Dried flowers hung in thick clusters from the beams and ropes that had been passed
to the ceiling.

In front of the room I entered, there were shelves filled with old books.

To the right, there are three kilns for mixing and a fireplace with pots and pans.

On the left is a shelf with pans, ladles, hammers, scissors, kitchen knives and other
blending equipment.

In the center of the room was a round table and two chairs filled with tea utensils,
yellowed spine books, and a mortar, and Grandma Muggle was already seated and
waiting for my arrival.

She was dressed in a frayed red-brown cape with a frayed hem, with a number of
sachets hanging from a tired leather belt around her waist and sandals on her feet.

Her white hair was braided and tied up in a crude blue cord.

Grandma Muggle looked straight into my face with her small green eyes buried in the
wrinkles and smiled a gentle, affectionate smile.

“You’re here, Doran. Now, today we’re going to review how to prepare the antidote
potion.”

The voice of the Grandma Muggle firmly shook my eardrums, though her lips seemed
to move only slightly to begin with. I nodded my head and sat down on the chair placed
in front of Granny Muggle.
Why would I, who can control the magic power of an enormous dragon species at will,
learn how to prepare potions in the first place?

It’s because I don’t know how to mix magic potions.

It’s not just me, most dragon species don’t need medicines, and the only time in their
lives they use recovery magic to heal their wounds and illnesses is when they use it.

They are extremely capable organisms, and most wounds can be quickly healed as
soon as they are nourished and as long as they sleep, and sickness is almost non-
existent.

Because of this lack of necessity, medical technology and tools such as medicines had
never been developed.

That’s why I’m learning about potions concoction from the ground up from Old
Muggle woman.

My compensation is mainly to help Grandma Muggle.

Assisting in the blending, getting materials, tapping my shoulder, etc. I suppose they
wanted to make sure that they had as many people as possible who could prepare
potions in case of an emergency.

As a serious and eager student to acquire knowledge and skills, I gave my full attention
to Grandma Muggle’s class.

Grandma Muggle’s classes began early in the morning and lasted until the time the
sun was hovering over the middle of the sky.

As I thanked Grandma Muggle and was about to head home, the door to the
compounding building opened vigorously, revealing Airi’s face in an apron.

Wearing a small apron for her over her usual blouse, Airi looked at me sullenly.

Airi was the youngest of three sisters, the granddaughter of Grandma Muggle.

She is one of the potential successors in the Grandma Muggle family, who has been a
magical witch doctor for generations, and I guess you could say she is my sister’s
apprentice.
I guess I’m an apprentice Mage Doctor now.

Although she is only ten years old, she has already mastered the art of mixing potions
and a certain amount of battle magic.

Like the other children of the village, she also had experience in actual combat, and
had twice driven away goblins, kobolds, and other monsters with magic.

“Doran-san, you can eat your lunch here at home.”

“Oh, is it that time already? But I would not want to intrude on your time.”

“No, of course not. That’ s just our relationship with Doran-san. Besides, I’ve already
made a meal for you. It would be useless if you didn’t eat it.”

With her thin chest heaving, Airi puts both fists on her hips and immediately crushes
my objections. It seems to be her decision to treat me to lunch.

I am very grateful for the kindness of Airi and her family, but I also feel bad about
interrupting their reunion.

As I was wondering what to do about it, Airi raised her eyebrows and began to stare
at me, as if she was annoyed that I didn’t make a decision.

I didn’t want to be glared at with such resentment. As I was secretly sighing, I wondered
if there was something about the way she sensed her granddaughter’s behavior, and
Grandma Muggle rocked back and forth in her chair to offer her a mouthful.

“Doran, do as Airi says. Take this as your master’s order.”

There was no way I could disobey my master if she said so.

Instead of saying I give in, I just cower my shoulders.

Instantly, Airi smiles a radiant smile.

Hm. If I can see this smile, it makes me bend my will.

“Thank you, Grandma. Come on, Doran-san, Grandma, let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for
you.”
Oh dear, but it’s simply a pleasure to be treated.

When you prepare your own meals every day, sometimes you just want to eat
something that someone else has cooked for you.

Airi and I lent a hand to help Grandma Muggle stand up from her chair and walked to
the main house at a pace that matched Grandma Muggle’s need to poke her cane.

Smoke billowed out of the pitch black chimney that jutted from the roof of the main
house.

I wasn’t particularly sensitive, but my nose could smell the mouth-watering aroma.
It’s a good thing I’m here for the feast, so let’s get it right. I decided to honestly follow
my appetite.

The long table at the dining room table is crammed with fresh, fresh salads, boiled and
buttered potatoes, jumping rabbit stew, sauteed big tusk crocodile, freshly baked
black bread fresh out of the oven, and fried doo-doo bird eggs.

It was a difficult task to keep my stomach from gurgling and misbehaving.

Surrounding the table were Dina, Airi’s mother who is also a witch doctor, her spouse
and son-in-law, Dorga, and Airi’s second sister, Risha, who is seven years older.

There is another sister, Elsie, Airi’s eldest sister, who will turn nineteen this year, but
Elsie has left home and is working as a soldier in the kingdom, so she is not here.

Unfortunately, Elsie-san didn’t inherit the gift of handling magic power, so it is highly
likely that Risha will succeed Dina-san in the position of magic doctor at the moment.

Once everyone was present, we offered prayers and words of thanks to the Earth
Mother Goddess Mairar for the sustenance we received today.

Mairar is the highest goddess of the earth’s fertility and the person I consider my best
friend in my previous life.

She has long, straight black hair and beautiful eyes reminiscent of black agate with a
gentle light. She has the appearance of a beautiful woman full of compassion, and is
the highest-ranking deity widely worshipped on the continent.
His personality is also very compassionate and loving, and I believe that she is a god
worthy of human belief.

If I told anyone that I know her,… well, I’d be treated like a poor, delusional, brainless
maniac.

Whether or not she would accept me if I offered a prayer, as my soul is not human, is
a mystery to me, but my gratitude to Dina-san and Risha for making the ingredients
and the food was genuine, so I meekly offered a prayer as well.

When that was done, Dina-san signalled that the meal had begun.

By the way, the power relationship in this family is strong in the order of Grandma
Muggle, Dina and Dorga.

Considering that he cannot mix magic potions and is the son-in-law, is it fair to say
that Dorga-san is the third in line?

Dina-san is a beautiful woman with red curly hair growing to the middle of her back
and a body full of ups and downs, and she’s so young that it’s hard to believe she has
three children.

She is the kind of person who, when dealing with her children, would rather appease
and soothe them than scold them.

Dorga is the one with a beard as hard as wire covering his chin and his black hair,
which is mixed with white ones, stroked back. He is a taciturn person, but he has a
strong body with a shoulder width and chest plate twice as thick as anyone else in the
village, and he is one of the best warriors in the village and is very well respected.

Risha has soft, fluffy black hair like her father’s, with a wavy habit that grows until it
reaches his waist. She is also a beautiful girl, boasting large, protruding breasts, a pert
hips, and a fleshy bottom, just like her mother.

Because of her beauty and gentle nature, she is one of the most popular girls in the
village among boys of the same age, and is adored by the other girls in the village as
well. She has slightly droopy eyes and a weeping blackhead around her left eye, which
sometimes makes her look alluring.

Aside from the fact that Airi was still growing up, she reminded me of Elsie, the eldest
of the three sisters, and I wondered how they were born from the same mother, and
how different their bodies were from each other.

Unlike her mother and her younger sister, Elsie’s body was like a plain, undulating
surface.

The men in the village who pointed this out to Elsie were beaten with her stiff arms
until they cried and begged for forgiveness.

Contrary to such an older sister, Risha still seems to be growing up and is even dressed
in a loose-fitting dress with plenty of room to spare.

Risha, sitting to my left, put down the wooden fork she had been poking at her salad
and asked me a question with a gentle smile on her face.

“Hey, Doran-kun, how do you like your food today? I hope it’s to your liking.”

“Delicious. I’m sorry for not saying something nice. Is Risha the cook of the day?”

In fact, the food on the table is one of the three best in my life.

In terms of opulence, it’s the best.

My appetite has been overwhelmed by the food, and I’ve asked for a second helping of
food without hesitation.

I have always regretted my lack of self-control, but now I was so absorbed in the
deliciousness my taste buds were feeling.

I don’t think I will ever get tired of the stimulation of human taste buds while I am
alive, until I die.

Risha smiles wickedly at my answer and turns to Airi, who sits to my right and shows
her how adorably she meditates on me.

I follow Risha’s gaze and look back at Airi, wondering what her intentions are. Then I
see Airi, who is serving me more of the stew I asked for, blushing.

“Hey, sis!”
Airi gave Risha a protesting look, as if she wanted to keep it a secret from me. I took
the plate from Airi’s hand, sat him down in his seat and then looked straight at him
and said

“I see, Airi made the food today. It’s very good. My appreciation.”

Apparently this was the reason she was wearing an apron when she came into the
compounding building.

“Yeah. It”s no good if you leave it, you know.”

Airi turns away and blurts out in a raspy whisper, as if she didn’t like the way I was
looking at her as I smiled and thanked her. Fumu, it’ s cute.”

“I won’t leave it at all.”

The fact that Airi had cooked for me was an unexpected pleasure.

I looked around the table at the faces of everyone around the table and saw them all
looking at me and Airi with a smile on their faces, except Dorga-san.

Dina-san, who was propped up on her elbows on the table, with her beautiful egg-
shaped chin on top of it, asked me a question.

‘Hey Doran. Do you have a favorite girl in the village, Doran? I wonder if there are any
girls you’ d like to marry. It’s about time you started thinking about something like that.”

I cross my arms and ponder seriously at Dina-san’s question. After all, my soul is a
dragon.

Because my body is human, I do have a desire to respond to the human or a woman

who looks close to it, but I don’t know if I would have romantic feelings for them.

But since I am definitely in love with my family, I may fall in love with a human being
as well.

Then I noticed that for some reason, Dorga-san’s gaze was pointed at me as sharp as
an arrow. What had I done wrong?

It’s not difficult to guess the intentions behind Dorga-san’s gaze, considering the
reactions and words and actions of those around her.

I’m going to be able to put that aside for the moment and imagine the faces of the girls
in the village and their usual words and actions in my mind.

The fact that you love them and want to marry them means that you will spend the
rest of your life with them.

Then it is appropriate to choose a person who is not a burden but a pleasure and a
desirable person to be with.

I’m not sure. I’m old enough to be allowed to marry, but it still seems difficult to think
realistically about it. I suppose it could be that my father and mothers have not yet
rushed me into it.

Dina-san spilled out my answer, “Oh dear, what a shame.” Dorga-san, who had been
giving me a sharp look, closed his eyes and let out a sigh as if he was relieved.

Grandma Muggle was laughing as well, “Ho-ho-ho,” she said.

I complained to myself that I felt like a clown trying to explain myself to her.

“Hmm, your brother Dylan is already married and I wonder if Doran-kun doesn’t pay
much attention to such things? But it”s a shame. I think I’ve been dumped by Doran-
kun.”

Risha tells me with a hand on her right cheek, looking extremely disappointed.

Her face and voice were regretful, but I could hear the teasing sound somewhere.

Risha has a soft demeanor, but she has a habit of teasing me and my siblings like this.

“I do like Risha. But I can’t honestly say that this liking is a love affair.”

“Oh, well, I’ll do my best to get Doran to choose me. I’m pretty fond of Doran-kun, you
know.”

“No, no,! You can’t, sis!

Airi, who had been lying on her face holding her mouth until then, raised her head
vigorously, kicked down her chair, stood up, thrust her hands on the table with a bang
and loudly protested to Risha.

Hmm. I can see a lot of different aspects of Airi today, such as staying quiet, sometimes
shy and even shouting at the top of her lungs.

While I was having a gulping impression, Risha was giggling at Airi’s reaction, rolling
a bell. When Airi understood that she was apparently being teased, she sat back in her
chair and sat back down, puffing out her cheeks.

“Airi, you’re so flustered. Doran-kun, Iris is cute, isn’t she? I can’t help but tease her.

“Sis!”

Risha is a big sister who doesn’t miss the moment when Airi loosens up, but it’s time
to stop teasing Airi or else the food will get cold.

Fortunately, the teasing of Airi ended there, and the pleasantries proceeded peacefully
afterwards. Even though Airi had been in a bad mood, she started to talk to me normally
after she filled her stomach.

I”ll attack her stomach the next time she’s in a bad mood.

It was nice to see her doing favors for me, but Airi would have to wait until she was
older, right?

After finishing lunch at Grandma Muggle’s house, I decided to go out with a large fish
basket, a fishing rod, and a longsword and dagger for self-defense after returning home.

The destination was the upper reaches of the Berne River, which flows from northeast
to southwest of the village of Berne.

Although I had just finished lunch, I decided to go fishing for fish for dinner.

Fish could be caught in the river that runs through the village and there were some
small fish farming activities in the river.

The river reaches the summit of the Mores mountains upstream and flows through
several mountains and deep forests.

I decided to fish in the north woods closest to the village of Berne.

The trees bathed in sunshine and sucked out nutrients from the earth, and their fresh
green leaves were blocking the sunlight. Therefore, even in the daytime, it was dim in
the forest.

There are many dangerous creatures in the forest, such as wolves, wild boars and giant
reptiles, but for them, humans are the most dangerous creatures.

Therefore, if you understand their habits and territory, you won’t be able to fight with
them unnecessarily.

Paying attention to the scratches on the trunks of the trees, the broken branches, and
their territory marked by manure, I made my way through the forest, finally stopping
on the banks of a moderately wide and moderately deep river.

The sounds of countless birds and insects and the rushing of the river overlapped with
each other. The music of nature playing in the dense forest makes me aware of the life
that lives in each moment and the life that is crumbling at this moment as well.

My target today is a fish called a Schalke, about the size of one arm of an adult.

With its pointed mouth and silver skin flecked with black spots, the Schalke’s flesh is
full of slightly sweet fat.

You can grill it, boil it, smoke it, dry it or steam it, all of which make it so delicious that
my mouth involuntarily began to water with spittle.

Considering the amount of food I’ d need to preserve and the size of my fish basket,
I’d like to catch at least five fish. If I can’t seem to catch them well, I’ll have to do a little
cheating.

The riverbank was covered in green due to the tendrils of trees stretching out their
branches.

I had just raised my fishing rod to cast my bait into the occasional shadow of a fish in
the stream or into the shade of a rock where I suspected it was lurking when I noticed
the smell of burning wood on the wind.
There must be no fire-wielding species living in this forest.

Did a goblin or an orc happen to stop by and take a break? If that’s the case, it’s a bit
dangerous.

Unlike wild animals, these demons, who are absolute enemies of humans and fairy
species, will not hesitate to attack you to kill you unless you are at a great disadvantage
in terms of numbers or are wounded.

It would be better for me to get rid of them before they harm anyone in the village who
sets foot in the forest.

I decided to stop fishing, leave my fishing rod and basket in place, grab the long sword
I had left upright, and head for the source of the smell of burning wood.

The source of the smell was not far from the river. I weave my way through the trees,
careful not to make a sound with the dead branches and fallen leaves under my feet.

Since this is downwind, I won’t be caught off guard by the smell.

I reach for the long sword still in its scabbard and keep my mind focused on the nerves
in my fingertips so that I can pull it out at any time.

It didn’t take long for me to reach the person who was handling the fire, as the sun was
shining through the trees.

At the same time, I found myself having to relax my shoulders. The fire was burning
beside a small spring, for it was a person I knew well.

The lower half of a serpent wrapped in deep green scales and the upper half of a
beautiful woman who could only exist in a painting. It was a beautiful Lamia girl I had
just met just the other day.

“Serina?”

“Huh?”

At the murmur I unintentionally spilled, the lamia who had turned her back on me
turned around.
Apparently the reason Serina was building a fire was to boil water to cleanse her body.
Beside Serina, there is a pot that has been removed from the fire and a wooden tub
that is spewing white steam.

If you want to bathe in the water, you can submerge yourself in the nearby spring or
river, but it’s not a good idea to do so at this time of year. You will definitely catch a
cold, especially if you’re lamia, who has a weakness for cold.

But, even so, it was probably uncomfortable for Serina not to clean the dirt from her
journey.

So she decided to warm up by the fire and wipe her body with a warm towel.

Now that I’ve said this much, anyone can understand that Serina, who is warming
herself in the fire with hot water and a hand towel, is of course not wearing any clothes.

She is naked, just as she was born. It must be quite cold, but she doesn’t seem to be
shivering thanks to the hand towel wet with fire and hot water.

“Dolan-sa……… ah!”

At the unexpected reunion, Serina seemed surprised and was about to call my name,
but when she realized that she wasn’t wearing a single piece of cloth, she let out a
small scream.

She was in a position where she was just about to wipe the back of her neck, and was
holding a hand towel in her left hand to the nape of her neck as she brushed her long
golden hair back into a clump with her right hand.

From there, she turned her entire body around in response to my call, exposing
everything to me.

The white skin bathed in sunlight shines brightly through the trees, dazzling as if it
were covered with a veil made of tens of thousands of sunshine grains.

Her breasts, which are large enough to spill out of one’ s palm, are moistened by the
sunlight and the remnants of the hot water, and the protrusion on the top of them is a
pale color that seems to melt into the color of her skin.

The lines of her body, stretching from both sides, once nipped boldly around her waist,
and then changed color and grew scales about halfway up her thighs, leading to the
lower half of the giant snake’s body.

Even the modestly dimpled, nicely shaped navel navel and the secret parts that existed
below it were exposed to my eyes.

I see, this is the lamia’s body.

It seems to me that this beautiful yet cursed creature, which has both a beautiful girl
who is only allowed to exist in a painting and a huge snake body that makes you clearly
feel that your life is in danger – the beauty and ugliness are harmonized to the extent
that it’s hard to believe that the Lamia race was born under a curse. Is it true that the
blessing and the curse are inseparable?

I let out a sigh of admiration unconsciously. My heart was filled with the sensation of
being in the presence of true art or true beauty.

“Fumu, So beautiful.”

What came out of my mouth was nothing more than the most common words. I should
be ashamed of my lack of vocabulary.

“Ho, it’s nice of you to compliment me, but what are you staring at with such impunity!”

My exclamation was not to Serina’s liking, apparently. As her white porcelain skin
turned vermilion, which made me wonder if she really had blood in her veins, Serina
covered her breasts and crotch with her hands to hide them, and then hurriedly
crouched down on the spot.

She also wrapped the lower half of the snake’s body around her own. In the blink of
an eye, Serina’s naked body is hidden from my eyes.

“What a shame. You look so beautiful. It doesn’t diminish just because you were seen,
does it?'”

My heartfelt lamentations seemed to have had only a shame-inducing effect on Serina.

Peeking up from the base of her breasts through the lower half of her wrapped snake,
Serina protested to me, red to the tips of her ears in embarrassment and anger.

“It is embarrassing, even if it doesn’t diminish! Nah, why are you so imposing, you
should be scared of me!”

“But you know what? It’s equal to the instinct of a living being to seek out beautiful
things. The desire to see beautiful or beautiful things is not a bad thing. For Serina is
truly beautiful.”

“Ugh, another one of those words to fool me! Enough of this, just look the other way!”

I cowered my shoulders once and turned away, as I felt like a spell was about to be cast
if I didn’t do as I was told.

The truth is that I thought it was beautiful, but I must admit that it was certainly a
great breach of etiquette.

It’s still a good sight to see. It is just a feast for the eyes.
“So how did Serina end up here? I thought that if you were looking for contact with
humans or subhumans, you’d be further south.”

I asked her as I took Serina back to the river after she finished getting dressed and
resumed fishing.

Serina sits next to me on a rock, her lower half wrapped in a coil of sycamore next to
me, using it as a chair.

Her gaze is fixed on the river, not on my face, as if her anger at me for gazing at her
naked body lingers like a fierce fire. Should I lament that I’m dull or sigh that I’m in
trouble?

“I was going to do the same thing, but…”

Although she seemed to be in a bad mood, she didn’t seem to be so sullen that she
didn’t answer my questions. She tried to answer with a sultry face, but for some reason
she stammered.

“What’s wrong?”

“I knew it was a bit scary to meet a human, or maybe I just felt shy…”

“So when push came to shove, you hesitated. I think I’ve heard you’re ready for it.”

I say, and Serina looks at my profile somewhat resentful. What have I done to you?

“I certainly said so. I can’t say anything about that. So I was in a lot of confusion, and
then I remembered Doran-san, and I kept wandering around here to see if I could meet
you again. I thought Doran-san would be able to help me out.”

“You were looking for me? I’ve been wanting to see Serina again sometime, so I’ m glad
to see you here.”

“Really?”

“Really. Well, you’ll be looking for me. So, Serina”

“What is it?”
I turned to Serina and decided to make a suggestion. Serina wouldn’t be worth the
trouble of looking for me if I didn’t offer at least one suggestion.

“Why don’t you come to my village to get used to the humans? I will do what I can to
help you live in the village. If you don’t like it, you can leave immediately. Although
they may be wary of you at first because you are a lamia, it is the way of the frontier
villages to use what you can, even your sickbed parents. With Serina’s mild-mannered
nature and her ability as a lamia, she’ll soon be useful and accepted.”

“Will I be living in your village, Doran-san?

Serina’s eyes blinked adorably, as if the suggestion was unexpected.

“That’s right. Would you like to come live with us? I think I’ll have a good time with
Serina.”

Waiting for Serina’s response, feeling as if I was hitting on her, Serina blinked her eyes
again and then gave a smile that even the most eccentric person would forgive her
heart.

This Lamia girl’s smile is very nice, after all.

“I think it would be fun with Doran-san, too. It would be very nice if I could do so.
Besides………”

“Besides? Don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“To tell you the truth, the essence that Doran-san gave me the other day was very
delicious. It was the first time I’ve ever tasted such a delicious and invigorating
essence. I was looking for Doran-san because I was a little hoping that he would give
me some more essence to enjoy.”

Apparently, Serina was embarrassed to confess that she was a foodie.

However, since I gave her the essence of a dragon species and not a human’s, it was
easy to imagine that Serina would be fascinated by the taste.

If you are unskilled, you might not be satisfied with the essence of other races.

“I’m glad to hear that you like it. Once we get to live together, I can always give Serina
my essence. Just like this.”

I hold out my left hand away from the fishing rod towards Serina, and she stares at it
intently before shyly squeezing it back.

I let Serina suck the essence that changed into the dragon species’ again.

As the dragon species’ essence flowed in, Serina’s cheeks loosened squishy and she
looked ecstatic, as if she was enveloped by the springtime sunshine through the trees.

The spirit of a dragon, the strongest race in the world both spiritually and physically,
is a superbly beautiful wine for a race that feeds on spirit and life, and once you know
it, it’s a taste you’ll never forget again.

If that is the case, it’s not surprising that Serina, a lamia, would have this kind of
reaction.

Fumu, if I think about it that way, there are aspects of this transfer of essence that I
need to think about as well.

Looking at Serina, who was ecstatic like a boneless snake in front of me, I reflected a
little bit on the fact that there is a right and wrong way to do everything.

Now I just have to figure out how to get everyone in the village to allow Serina to enter
the village. Hopefully I can come up with a good idea.

Serina’s upbringing, raised by her friendly human father and Lamia’s mother, and her
own personality.

And since Lamia is not the kind of demon that actively seeks to harm humans, it’s not
difficult for Serina to live among them.

Eating the same food as humans does not interfere with daily life, and if I must, I can
give my energy to her in secret.

It’s important to establish a track record of success or usefulness that will make the
people of Berne willing to accept Serina.

The first thing that comes to mind when Serina becomes a member of the village is
that even though she is young, she is still a Lamia, a powerful monster rarely seen in
these parts.

With fangs that drip venom and a strong snake’s lower body, a demonic eye that
possesses the dual powers of mesmerizing the mind and paralyzing the body, and the
ability to use spirit magic and species-specific magic, the books say that a group of
novice adventurers can easily be annihilated.

While this is a huge appeal, it is also somewhat of a problem when you think about
what happens when that power is turned on the people of the village.

Aside from being a fighting force, the other benefit of welcoming Serina is the lower
half of her body, which gets left over from her annual molting.

They’re also useful to wizards as a magical material for making armor that is resistant
to earth attribute magic.

There is a limit of once a year, but it’s definitely an attractive extra income.

In addition, the paralyzing venom of the lamia is more powerful and fast-acting than
the poison prepared from wildflowers and poisonous mushrooms in the village, so it
is also reliable when intercepting and defeating demons other than hunting.

I’ve been thinking about these things in my head and how to introduce Serina to the
villagers so that they will be more receptive to her, and I’ve been thinking about it all
day long as I work on the farm.

Fumu, I let out a sigh, and a grown woman’s voice shook my eardrums.

“Oh Dolan, what’s wrong? I mean, stopping at a place like this.”

When I turned around, I saw a woman in her mid-twenties looking at me curiously.

She was a woman by the name of Miu. She had brown hair that was trimmed to just
over her shoulders and was wearing a red linen dress.

Her breasts, the largest in the village, which could be as big as a baby’s head, were
pushing up the dress so heavily that it looked as if the fabric would tear at any moment.

But that’s not so special considering her race. Miu-san is a non-human race living in
this Bern village – a type of beastman called the cow people. She is a pretty woman
with a plump impression, with cow ears peeking out of the hair on either side of her
head and a cow’s tail extending from a hole in the buttocks of her dress.

She is also wrapped in cow’s fur up to mid-thigh, and from her ankles down are cow’s
hoof hooves. I have never seen them wearing shoes or sandals.

One of the common characteristics of cow women is that they produce a large amount
of milk even when they are not pregnant, and her milk is very popular among the
villagers.

In fact, when I was small, I received milk from Miu-san instead of my mother’s breast
milk, and it still comes up on the table from time to time.

And because she is a beastman, even though she is a woman, she is as strong as cows
and horses, and is relied upon for daily farm work.

She originally lived in Galore, a city located in the south of the village of Berne, but by
chance, she met her current husband, who is from Berne. After going through a great
love affair, she got married and moved here.

I believe she is in her mid-thirties. She already has a daughter who will be 14 years
old this year and a son who will be 12 years old. The daughter must have been
producing milk by now.

In general, beastmen tend to live longer and are younger than humans, so they tend to
be blessed with more children.

The food situation in Bern Village is not bad, and there may be more children to come.

The beast race, like this Miu-san, has had a long history with the human species.
Looking back on their history, there are countries that have waged wars on a national
scale, and there are countries that still discriminate against them by treating them as
slaves, but on the whole, it is safe to say that they are a friendly race.

The term “beast race” is a wild one, as there are so many different species of beast
race, and I must admit that this is a bit of a wild opinion.

It’s the same for both Serina and Miu-san in the sense that they have characteristics of
both human and non-human organisms, but when you consider the relationship
between the cattlemen and humans, and the demand for delicious milk, the difference
in trust between Lamia and the cattlemen is significant.

Unlike Miu-san, who was welcomed by the village, if I brought Serina with me as it was
now, she would probably be chased away.

I’m not going to be able to get my head around the intractability of the structure of
human society and I can’t help but stare intently at Miu-san, a situation I never
experienced when I was living as a dragon.

I’m sure Serina’s character will be able to get along with the people in the village, and
Miu-san, as her mentor, will be able to give me some advice.

I think of Serina’s smile, and all I can think of is how much I want to do for her and for
myself.

Then Miu-san, suspicious of my silence, tilts her head, wiggling her long, slender cow
tail from side to side. The loveliness of the cow, which looks far younger than her
actual age, is one of the reasons the adult men in the village look at her husband with
bitterness.

“Doran? If you don’t go soon, you’ll be left behind. It’s training day for all of us, isn’t
it?”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s right. Thanks, Miu-san.”

The training she is referring to is when village children, led by resident soldiers and
adults, actually fight against wild animals and weak monsters that live outside the
village, and learn to handle practical weapons. Today’s training is scheduled for the
former.

In the remote areas infested with monsters, even if you are a ten year old child,
learning to handle a weapon is second nature to them.

When the village is attacked by a group of monsters, instead of trembling in the depths
of the house, it is a child who thrusts his spear out with his bow and arrow.

It may seem heartless to some, but that’s the way those of us born and raised in a
privileged environment where we don’t have to think of children as an asset.

No adult or child is threatened by demons or burglars.

When a village is attacked, most people living in the frontier are given two options: to
let the entire village be destroyed or to destroy the enemy.

I’ve already reached adulthood at the age of sixteen, so I’m the leader of the group this
time. The fact that I was late shows no sign of being a leader.

Without even saying a word to Miu-san, I ran away from the place.

It’s a bad habit of mine to lose track of other voices when I’m absorbed in my thoughts.
Today, on the way to the meeting place, I was so focused on Serina that I stopped in
my tracks.

I decided to fix it someday, and here we are today.

“Take care and have a good day!”

At Miu-san’s leisurely voice hanging over my back, I answered with a wave of my left
hand as I turned my back to her.

When I arrived at the north gate, I was fortunate enough to avoid being late for the
meeting time and joined my brother who was ahead of me. Come to think of it, today
was the day my brother was going to join us.

When my brother noticed me, he let out a sigh with his hands folded in a crossed
position.

My older brother Dylan, two years older than me, had a lean body, his black hair was
cut short and he had a stocky nose much like my father’s.

I’ve always wondered if Marco and I are more like our mother because he is so much
like our father.

He carried a wooden bow and arrow and a spear. He also carries a wide sword that
hangs from his waist.

He got it when he fought back the goblins that had attacked the village before.

“You are slow, Doran. Not late, but don’t make everyone wait for you.”

I gave a short response, agreeing completely with my brother’s caution in my mind.

“Sorry about that,”

My brother didn’t have anything more to say to me as I bowed my head lightly.

I wondered what my brother thought of this odd little brother like me, who was so
different from other children. Sometimes I’m tempted to look into my brother’s mind,
but I’ve suppressed the urge because I feel that rudely looking into someone else’s
psyche is one of the vilest things you can do.

Considering that we’ve known each other for the past sixteen years, I’m sure he
doesn’t hate me, and I’m sure he relies on me more or less, but what does he think?

I distinctly remember when I was a newborn baby, he would find time to come and
peek at me and take good care of me. So as for me, even if my brother hated me, I’m
not sure I’ll ever hate him.

“Okay, we’re all here,”

The Kingdom’s soldiers confirm that I was the last one to show up and shout out to
me to lead them.

It is customary for the training outside to be led by two or three adults with
approximately six or seven village children.

In addition to myself, my brother Dylan, and my childhood friend Albert, we were also
led by Baran-san, the captain of the soldiers stationed in the village, and Letisha-san,
a priestess of the Maillard religion who was sent to our village of Bern. There were
five of them, which was more than usual.

The reason for this is that we have been seeing more and more of these fierce beasts
and goblins lately, and this caused us to be concerned.

Baran-san is a native of this village and is a strong warrior with muscle armor that
pushes up the iron breastplate he wears to the point of ripping it apart.

He’ s got a clean beard, a clean-shaven jaw that looks like a screaming fist, and a sharp
look in his eyes that reminds you of a bird of prey, but when he looks at the children
of the village in peacetime, his eyes are surprisingly gentle.

Today is a training day, so his armor was fastened to the chestplate, leg armor and
hand gauntlet.

On his left hip is a long-handled mallet, an acquisition of Baran’s, and an iron dagger
hanging off it as a reserve.

When it comes to armor made of iron, even blunt headgear is traded for a fair price,
and it is not something that a commoner can furnish so easily.

But if you are a soldier of the kingdom, such as Baran-san, at the very least you will be
provided with regular iron equipment and a salary.

Baran-san became a soldier with the goal of becoming a resident soldier in his
hometown village of Bern.

This is why in the kingdom, those who enlisted from rural areas and outlying areas
tended to be placed in their home village or somewhere close to it.

Incidentally, the husband of the cow person in question, Miu-san, is this Baran-san. He
loves his daughter so much that his eyes don’t even hurt to look her in the eye, and he
seems to be training his son to be a warrior who can protect the village.

The men in the village sometimes look at Baran-san with a mixture of envy and jealousy,
thinking that he has Miu-san to himself, and I have recently come to understand why.

The other one, Letisha-san, is a young woman of, I believe, 20 years of age, who is not
so glamorous, but has a very comfortable atmosphere.

She’s open-minded and good-natured, and because of her erudition, she’s well-liked
by everyone in the village.

Originally, there were no priests or priestesses in the village, but two years ago, a small
church was finally established, and Letisha-san was dispatched to it.

Since this is a remote and backwater village, her rank as a priest is low, but she has
the passion and faith of a young woman in her heart, and she seems to find purpose
in living with the simple people of the village.

The term “priest-warrior” refers to the combat-trained members of the clergy,

regardless of their rank.
Even priests, acolytes and priestesses are lumped together as priest-warriors.

Letisha-san’s indigo-colored hair, neatly trimmed at the ends and tucked behind her
neck, has a malleable appearance and doesn’t seem to be able to fight very well.

But the simple white, blessed priest’s robe that only Mairar priests are allowed to
wear, the leather armor and circular shield on her left hand, and the iron cane
strapped to her belt at her waist are well-worn.

In the two years since she started living in the village of Bern, Letisha-san has also
done a reasonable job of fighting monsters and the like.

Because she is still low in rank, she can’t handle a great deal of sacred magic – the kind
of magic that makes miracles happen through faith in a god – but she can use miracles
to heal and detoxify, and she has recently mastered magic to increase her muscle
strength and endurance.

She is a valuable person who is indispensable in the fight against monsters.

“Today we’ll be dealing with the rabbits and big-footed rats as usual, but never let your
guard down even though you’re familiar with them. Watch your opponent’s movements
and think about what you can do to help.”

The six village children responded to Baran-san’s advice to always start training with
a straightforward “yes”.

Using a weapon in a real battle is simply fun for kids, and the fact that they can bring
home the prey they killed themselves is another reason they look forward to training.

As a boy, I was very grateful for the opportunity to improve my physical abilities as a
human being without magical enhancements and gain combat experience.

We leave the village and arrive in an area that is not usually set foot in by children
alone, and we split off in groups of three in search of the hare, the big-footed rat, and
the ground runner bird.

We move to a position where we can have a clear view of all the children so that we
can help them in case of an emergency.

The warm spring sunlight and the fact that I ran to avoid being late was worth it as I
ate a larger-than-usual lunch before leaving home, and I was moderately warm and
full of energy.

I was watching the kids with my childhood friend, Albert, who is one of the closest
friends of all the children in the village.

Albert, one year older than me, is a droopy-eyed young man with light-blue hair and a
sprinkling of freckles.

He is not much taller than I am, but he has a reputation as a naughty boy when he was
a little boy because of his quick wits and cunning.

When summer came, children would bathe in the river that ran through the village
with each other, but Albert was a fierce man who was banned from bathing because
of his excessive pranks, such as looking at girls in a dirty way and touching their
breasts and bottoms.

However, it’s not all bad news for him because he takes good care of the younger ones.

I also like Albert’s character, which says what he wants to say without being shy about
things.

With his wire-hard hair held back by his favorite green bandana and his three-pronged
snake skin vest, Albert speaks to me as he brushes through the grass with the tip of a
spear in his hand.

“It’s a rare thing you’re late. What’s the matter with you?”

Albert’s spear was an item with the tip of a broken dagger strapped to the end.

I remember that it belonged to a kobold or goblin, and that his father had received it
from among the spoils of war when he drove off an attack on the village.

Supervision of the children is an important part of the job, but hunting for our own
food is also an essential part of the leader’s job.

While pretending to search for prey by scrambling through the grass as well, I had
already captured my prey with my enhanced sense of smell, hearing, and sight, and I
answer Albert while focusing on that.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if we could grow a large amount of steel-green grass.”

“Oh, isn’t that a leaf as hard as iron? It would be a lot easier if it was easy to use.”

The steel green grass, used as a hedge in Airi’s house, is as hard as iron, but in the
village of Berne it is something that can only be found in Airi’s house.

The steel green grass is a special kind of plant that can only be handled by those who
have learned a certain amount of magic.

If you sewed it onto clothing or wrapped it around wooden farming tools or weapons,
you could quickly create a tool as hard as iron, but the difficulty of growing the steel
green grass prevented you from doing so.

Grandma Muggle uses a powdered version of this steel green grass to concoct a potion
that imparts the hardness of iron to the smeared material.

It’s an item that’s traded for a pretty good price among adventurers, who often risk
their lives.

The only thing that matters is that the hedges and gardens surrounding Airi’s house
only produce enough for one vial every ten days.

The raw material, steel green grass, also has the annoying property of withering away
before you can even look at it when the leaves are plucked from the branches. Many
scholars and magic doctors had tried breeding and cultivation methods, but they still
hadn’t seen any success.

As Albert said, if we could easily cultivate that steel green plant and use its leaves
without having to mix it with potions, life on the frontier would be a lot easier.

I had planned to eventually try my hand at growing steel green plants, but for now, my
main concern was Serena.

The benefits of having her as a member of the village are not something to be taken
lightly.

It seems that it was right to bring up the topic of steel green grass to cover up the
reason for the attempted delay, and Albert was honestly convinced and did not pursue
me any further.
If we talked too loudly, our prey would run away from us, so Albert and I hid our voices
for a while and continued to explore the meadow, exchanging idle conversations.

The team that my brother is looking at hasn’t found their prey yet either.

With the machete wielded by my brother, it’s at least blow to small animals to defeat
them, and he’s used to fighting animals and small monsters, so there’s nothing to
worry about.

Once Albert and I parted ways, I carefully track down the prey that I had captured with
my enhanced senses, paying maximum attention to the whereabouts of the children.

The prey is a ground-running bird, a bird which runs on the ground, about the size of
my chest.

They have degenerate purple feathers and a large yellow beak as long as my arm,
which makes them a bit of an ornament.

I appreciate that the meat is light in taste but easy to eat and in quantity.

I thrust out my beloved spear with the horns of a piercing rabbit hare as hard as I can,
wary of my surroundings in the grass, aiming at the butt of a ground-running bird that
is pecking at a small insect on the ground.

My footsteps have been noticed by the bird, and it looks back at me as I sneak up
behind it, but it turns out to be the opposite. With the weight of my bare muscles and
strength, my strike pierced deep into the chest of the bird, which was swollen with
fine feathers.

As soon as it let out a single, crushing cry, the flames of life disappeared from the body
of the ground-running bird, and red blood poured out of its pierced chest one after
another.

As I was feeling a sense of accomplishment that I had been able to get my sustenance
for today and tomorrow, I suddenly heard Albert’s voice calling out to me.

I pondered whether I should pull out my spear or not, but from the state of Albert’s
voice, I decided it was better to hurry. I let go of the spear that was still piercing the
chest of the ground-running bird and ran.
The voice sounded urgent, but it did not contain impatience or fear. With that in mind,
it wasn’t like we had a monster that was out of our control.

I quickly rushed over and found Albert and the village children busily moving around
in the meadow, looking at their feet.

So we were dealing with a small prey that would be hidden in the weeds about the
height of our thighs.

I’d rather use a spear, I thought in a corner of my mind as I shouted for Albert, while
at the same time strengthening my various senses and trying to figure out what the
prey was.

“I’m here, Albert, Kolka.”

Kolka is the name of the village child I’m currently with. He is a healthy boy who will
be nine years old this year.

“Dolan, the big-footed rat. Four very nimble ones.”

Albert replied, followed by Kolka, who shouted.

“Brother Dolan, brother Al, I killed one, so that’s three.”

“You’ve done well, Kolka. I’ve killed a ground-runner bird too.”

In the time it took me to reply to them, I had finished locating the three big-footed rats.

Of course, these big-footed rats are always on the move, so it doesn’t mean that they
stay in one place.

Albert with his spear at the ready and Kolka with his dagger in his hand were chasing
after them one by one, and just as they were about to flee in the direction I had come
from, the big-footed rat was frantically jumping in front of me, diagonally to my right.

The giant paw-footed rat is a mouse that can be as long as a whole.

As its name suggests, the rat has large, strong, well-developed hind legs that jump
around on the ground as it moves.
The gray fur was warm and pleasant to the touch, and the meat didn’t taste bad either.

They generally act in groups of four or five like they do now, but due to their quickness,
if you can hunt one or two of them, you’re good to go.

The grasses were blocking my view and I couldn’t even get a good look at the big-
footed rats that were in the middle of their leap, but that’s no problem for me now that
I’ve strengthened my five senses.

The dagger I pulled out with my right hand pierced straight through the neck of the big-
footed rat, which had gathered strength in its hind legs to leap and stopped moving
slightly.

Before I could let out a breath of satisfaction at the desired result, I turned back to
Albert and Colca.

Albert thrusts his spear out finely and quickly, grazing the big-footed rat’s body several
times. Albert’s strength alone would be enough to finish it off without my help.

Then I picked up a reasonable stone and threw a stone at the nose of the big-footed
rat that was trying to move away from Kolka to check its movement.

Kolka, who understood my cover, immediately attacked it from behind and plunged
the dagger with a backhand grip into its neck.

I was worried that the blade might have chipped off when it hit the bone of the neck,
but Kolka held the big-footed rat he killed in his hand and smiled at me. Well, okay, I
return a deflated smile.

“Oh, so you’re done too?”

Albert lazily emerges from behind me and Kolka, holding up a spear-skewered big-
footed rat.

I figured Albert wouldn’t be missing it first, but it seemed to be exactly what happened.

Then we finished the hunt by killing two more rabbits and a flying tanuki.

I had a ground-running bird and a big-footed rat, Kolka had two big-footed rats and a
rabbit, and Albert had a big-footed rat, a rabbit, and a flying tanuki – a good achievement,
I’d say.

We rounded up our training at the call of Baran-san and brought our results with us.

Fortunately, no one was injured, and although Letisha-san, who can use healing magic,
didn’t have a chance to use it, the one who is most pleased about that is none other
than Letisha-san.

Baran-san took a look at the animals we brought with us, and one by one we discussed
how we fought and killed them, and if there were any points to reflect on.

A particular point of praise this time was that everyone who participated in the event
was able to kill at least one fish.

It was my brother Dylan who caught the biggest fish of all.

He had the two children under his supervision manage to kill a flying tanuki, a three-
pronged snake, a weasel, and finally a black deer that was eating mushrooms in the
meadow.

It was a young black deer, but the meat was very tasty and its black fur was valued by
the rich and the nobility for a decent price.

I can say that my family’s extra earnings today are considerable.

I’m relieved to hear that the stigma of my attempted tardiness will be cleared up.

On the other hand, I had an idea on how to get Serina to be accepted by the others.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and the answer I’ve come up with is a
very ordinary and simple one.

I had to do some complicated things I never thought about when I was a dragon, and
for me, who decided to live as a human being, it’s still difficult to get used to thinking
about things within the limits of my human perspective and abilities.

I wanted to be a little wiser, but I needed someone to tell me how to do it.

 2

Amidst the daily routine in the village, Serina and I continue to see each other, strange
things begin to happen in the village of Berne.

The village has a rule that whenever dawn breaks, a pair of resident soldiers and a
group of village volunteers make the rounds of the village. One day, during their rounds,
a dead animal was placed on the floor.

Many of the animals were known to have been killed during the night, including the
big-tailed crocodile with huge pearly tusks peeking out of its long mouth, and the iron-
hammered boar, whose snout was as hard as a hammer, all of which even the village
hunters would have a hard time killing, as they lived in the upper reaches of the river.

Sometimes, instead of the big game, there are five groundhogs, a flying tanuki and ten
hares, and a Schalke with a total of twenty. There were times when they were placed
on the leaves.

And the marks of a huge snake or something else crawling around them as if they were
an offering or tribute were left behind. Of course, there are no such huge snakes in the
vicinity of the village. This has led to a lot of discussion among the adults in the village,
wondering what was wrong with the snake.

Needless to say, it was Serina’s move with my help.

I hadn’t come up with anything as clever as a historical wise man or military strategist,
so I decided to take a steady stream of points.

First of all, the strategy was to bring something that would somehow make the people
of the village happy and gradually make them aware of Serina’s existence while giving
them a hint that something is out there.

There were people who would be creeped out by the prey brought by someone
unidentified, but the big tusk crocodile and mallet boar are rare things you don’t see
very often.

The meat was immediately stuffed into the villagers’ stomachs, while the leather and
bones were made into weapons and tools in the village, and some were sold to the
southern city of Galore to be turned into money.
The village chief, Grandma Muggle, and Baran-san were the ones they relied on in
these situations.

The village chief, who has led the people of the village through long periods of frontier
living, Grandma Muggle, who has amassed a wealth of magical knowledge, and Baran-
san, who has learned all sorts of monsters as a soldier of the kingdom, would know
from Serina’s crawl marks that Lamia is close to the village.

And in fact, although still hidden from the villagers, my hearing-enhanced ears heard
the conversations of the Grandma Muggle and the others as they talked about Lamia’s
appearance and the dangers of her abilities.

As I watered the potatoes in the fields, I sharpened my hearing and strained my nerves
to make sure I didn’t miss a word or two of the heavyweights going on in the village
chief’s house.

The village chiefs, who had determined that the identity of the mysterious snake seemed
to be Lamia, had become increasingly concerned due to Lamia’s high level of ability.
The village chief gulps down his saliva and Baran-san can be heard growling low.

If Letisha-san was there, they would be able to recover from Lamia’s magic eye and
paralyzing poison, but the power of Lamia’s tail blow and magic could never be
underestimated.

Even if the five Berne Village resident troops led by Baran-san took on the challenge
of defeating it, even with the cooperation of the villagers, they would have to be
prepared for considerable damage.

I’m sure Serina, considering her character, would flee with tears in her eyes as soon as
she found out that the same person as her beloved father had come to take her down.

As I busily work on my hands, I hear the continuation of the meeting at the village
chief’s house.

“If it’s Lamia, why is she doing this?”

Baran-san couldn’t read the intentions of bringing the prey and was suspicious, and
after the usual laughter from the Grandma Muggle gave the usual laugh, she said
something unexpected.
“There aren’t too many of them, but there is a story about a lamia who loved a human
and became a married couple. You will find that Lamia’s upper body has the
appearance of a beautiful woman. It’s also said that Lamia’s ancestors were originally
cursed princesses, so maybe they were lonely and wanted to be let into the village.”

Oh, I muttered to myself. I hadn’t expected to find such a ship of help.

“You say so, Grandma Muggle, but what if their goal is to eat us after they enter the
village? It may be possible to defeat them with just a few of Baran’s soldiers, but they
will probably do a lot of damage.”

“I don’t know what’s in it for us. Just keep in mind that she may not be interested in
simply eating us. My gut tells me that this is not a bad omen. And the fortune telling
tells me it’s a good one. I’ve had Dina, Risha, and Airi tell their fortunes, and they all
said that the appearance of a snake was a modest but good omen.”

“It’s not just Grandma Muggle, but her daughter and granddaughter as well. But we
can’t afford to be too careless. And the number of times we see these goblins has
increased.”

Baran-san pats his bald head. He seems to be wondering how much to take Grandma
Muggle’s story into account.

Ummm, snorts the village chief. The chief, who is probably fiddling with his long beard
like a mountain goat, prefaced his question by saying:

“If this lamia were to live in this village and live a normal life, what would be in it for
us?”

“A normal lamia is better at handling combat magic than a normal wizard. There’s also
the magic eye that numbs and charms the opponent’s body, and the fangs have a
powerful paralyzing poison that has an immediate effect.Even a flick of their tails can
easily break a person’s neck. If one really wanted to live normally in this village, it
would be like having ten men on your side.It also has the ability to command the
snakes of the wild, so when goblins and kobolds come to attack us, we have the snakes
on our side.The venom from their fangs and the skin they shed can be turned into
money, and the benefits are great too.”

Hmm, that’s pretty much the same benefit I had in mind. If Grandma Muggle, the
village’s big shot, said this, it might work out better than I thought.
Before I realized it, I seemed to be smiling, and Albert, who happened to be passing
by, wondered what I was smiling about.

What else can I do other than reply that it’s nothing?

After that, Serina and I continued to sneak out to the village in the middle of the night
and leave behind the prey that we had jointly killed.

Naturally, the village also began to increase their nighttime patrols to keep an eye on
Lamia. A watchtower has been built inside the barrier that surrounds the village, and
a bonfire has been set up to keep a close watch on the surroundings.

I was given the role of sentry on several occasions.

Gradually, I began to witness more and more sightings of Serina busily carrying her
prey.

But fortunately, Baran-san and the village headman had forbidden us to meddle, so no
arrows were shot at her.

Even after she was found, Serina’s gifts to the village continued, and the village chief,
Baran-san and other adults who had heard about Lamia’s presence began to wonder
if it was possible that the gifts might be a possibility.

These days, the main reason for this is that the villagers have been eating the rare
treats that Serina brought to their table. It seems that the only way to negotiate is to
attack from the stomach.

I encouraged her to keep up the good work she does every day in order to live in the
village, and we continued to hunt upstream and into the forest together.

A few days later, sensing a change in the village air, I finally decided to make direct
contact with Serina.

The occasion was a training session outside the village. As a precaution against lamia,
the number of outside drills was reduced, and all five members of Baran-san’s squad
were assigned to lead the team.

The number of children to be taken to training was also reduced to three, just in case.
On the day I was chosen to lead the team, I asked Serina to hide in a corner of the
grassy field.

Since Lamia was only seen at night, the likelihood of encountering her during the day
was estimated to be low, but the tension on Baran-san and the others’ faces was deep.

By this time, even the children of the village had begun to secretly whisper about
Lamia, so they seemed to be excited and anxious about the appearance of a monster
that they had never encountered before, and they also talked more than usual.

The strategy is simple. Serina was already hiding in the usual grasslands, and when I
messed up during training, she would save me, and we would have a meeting with
Baran-san, the village’s most powerful man, to negotiate residency in the village.

I’ve been walking a little too fast carrying my usual long sword on my hip since I got
to the grassy field to get some distance between me and the children, strengthening
my various senses and figuring out Serina’s position – and then I noticed the presence
of a foreign object.

A monster that normally would not be there.

A huge body that could reach two and a half times my height if it stood up. Its entire
body is covered with black fur, and its short, thick limbs are covered with a brownish-
red shell.

When it noticed our presence, it stood up on two legs from its limb-poking stance,
revealing itself from the grass in front of me.

It was an armored bear that dwelt deep in the forest to the east of the village of Bern.

Its huge body, which greatly exceeds that of a comparable bear, is protected in every
part by a shell as hard as iron, and a blow from its thick, clawed feet can easily break
a tree trunk.

It is a powerful demon that can bite you to death with its head, and it doesn’t care if
there are ten or twenty goblins in its path.

If a human encounters one, death will be inevitable.

This thing hides deep in the forest and is rarely seen in human settlements, so why is
it here?

If I were to use my dragon’s magic, though, this is an opponent that I could defeat as if
I were putting out a candlelight.

As I let out a single grunt at the unexpected opponent, I heard Baran-san and the
others shouting for me to run away from it.

It is a natural reaction considering that they do not know my true nature.

Would Baran-san and the others be able to deal with it well enough and without me
having to use my dragon power to defeat it?

I pulled out the long sword at my waist making a sheathing sound, and while glaring
back at the armored bear threatening me, I thrust the tip of the long sword at the fierce
beast in front of me.

The moment the armored bear, which flexed its hind legs, was about to pounce on me
with great force, a searing, blinding light blocked its vision.

The true identity of the light is <Energy Bolt>, which forms pure magical power into
the shape of an arrow and releases it. It’s a rudimentary attack magic.

The <Energy Bolt> that hit the right side of the armored bear’s right flank turned into
a splash of green light, piercing the armored bear’s fur and blowing away its huge body
while shaving some of its flesh.
Gazing in the direction where the magic was released, Baran-san and the others also
looked in the direction where the <Energy Bolt> was released.

There was the figure of the Lamia girl, a beautiful and mysterious monster whose
ancestor was a princess whose half body was changed into a horrific serpent by a
curse.

Once the armored bear was blown away by a direct hit from the <Energy Bolt>, but it
seems that the thick fat and fur and the magical power it possessed allowed it to avoid
fatal injuries. Immediately getting up, it raised a wild roar towards Serina with a
determined attitude.

Serina is undaunted by the roar of threat and moves across the meadow as if she were
sliding, and she stands over the armored bear as if she were protecting me and begins
to chant a new attack magic.

As I take cover behind Serina, I touch part of Serina’s snake’s lower body so that Baran-
san and the others can’t see me, transferring some of my magic power.

From my point of view, it’s just a tiny amount of magic power that’s just a drop of rain
waving in the ocean, but to Serina, it’s a huge amount of magic power that’s just barely
at the limit of tolerance.

The enormous amount of magic poured in from me even made Serina’s face slightly
euphoric as she concentrated on her chanting.

The armored bear was only a short distance away from Serina when she finished her
chanting.

Serina made a sword finger with her index and middle fingers together and pointed it
at the armored bear.

Her appearance was beautiful enough to make you forget that she was a monster,
shining with a burning fighting spirit and pride in protecting someone.

“Hear my voice, principle of the earth, become the spear that pierces the enemy that
stands in the way of my path, Earthlance!

A triangular golden magic circle spread out on the ground, surrounding the armored
bear running through the earth. At the top of each one, a further circular magic circle
was drawn, from which an earth spear with a sharp tip extended.

With Serina’s <Earth Lance>, which was strengthened by my magical power, two spears
skewered the base of the armored bear’s front legs from both sides, while another
spear pierced the abdomen at an angle. Then the tips of the three spears crossed at
the armored bear’s back and stopped.

To the still breathing armored bear, Serina’s magic was invoked to stop it.

Normally, when magic is invoked, there is a gap between the de-concentration of the
mind and the exhaustion of emptiness that follows.

But Serina, whose magic power was transferred by me, is filled with magical power in
her body and mind, and because she has no gaps or fatigue, she is able to use her magic
continuously.

Although it’s still limited to lower-grade magic, depending on Serina’s growth, she’ll
be able to invoke higher-grade magic in succession.

“Hear my voice, Principle of the Water, become the blade that cuts through the
enemies standing before me, Water Edge!”

Serina’s left arm, stretched out towards the heavens, swung straight down, and a
magical water blade that traced its trajectory and condensed the moisture in the
atmosphere was released, glistening as it reflected the sunlight.

The armored bear, skewered by the three earth spears, was pathetically slashed
further down the length of its head by the water blade, finally giving up its life.

After confirming the death of the armored bear, Serina let out a long sigh. At the same
time, the previous dignity disappears and she looks back at me behind her and meets
my gaze.

“Dolan-san, are you hurt? I’m sorry, I wish I’d known that bear was there sooner.”

Keeping my voice low so that Baran-san and the others wouldn’t hear by any chance,
I briefly thanked Serina for her help.

“There is not a scratch on me. You are not at fault. Besides, it’s good to have someone
to help out once in a while.”
It wasn’t a bad feeling for me, the realization that I was weak enough to need someone’s
help was something I hadn’t experienced since I became a human.

Though the armored bear thing was a bit unplanned, but more importantly, the real
event was yet to come.

Led by Baran-san, who ran past the side of the armored bear’s corpse, the people from
the Berne Village Resident Unit surrounded me and Serina, each drawing their
weapons and ready to slash at any moment.

“Get away from Doran, Lamia.”

Baran-san, who holds his beloved mallet and has crushed dozens of monsters’ head
and neck hulls, commands Serina in a calm voice.

Behind Baran-san are Letisha-san and Kachina-san, a young woman from the village
of Bern who also holds a long bow.

I could see that Kachina was nervous, ready to fire the iron arrow from her bow to
Serina at any time.

Before Serina can say anything, I emerge from behind Serina and stand sheltered in
front of her.

“Baran-san, she saved me. Please don’t do her any harm.”

Baran-san gave a glance at Letisha-san behind him. He asked her to discern if I was
trapped by the demon eye or not. Letisha-san immediately shook her head.

The Earth Mother Goddess controls the fertility of the earth and blesses all life on
earth.

Therefore, the Mairar clerics can tell if life is healthy or abnormal without using any
particular magic, simply by looking at it.

The children, who were keeping their distance, were filled with anxiety as I defended
Lamia.

I felt quite sorry that I was deceiving them, but please forgive me because it was a good
thing for the village. I apologized in my heart.
“She’s dangerous, Doran. Certainly it may seem like a rescue for you, but Lamia is a
powerful monster. We cannot trust her so easily.”

“I was not raised to be ungrateful. Regardless of whether they are monsters or

humans, the fact remains that they helped me. So I won’t stand still.”

Even if this situation hadn’t been orchestrated by me and Serina, and had happened
out of sheer coincidence, I would have done the same thing.

Not because I am a dragon incarnation and still have some strength left in me, but
because I am not without fear.

As I said, it’s because I was raised by my current parents that I must never do anything
that would repay them for their kindness, and because Serina is that much more
important to me.

Baran-san distorts his expression when he realizes that my intentions are firm, but
Serina, who is behind me, is the one who set the situation in motion. You’ll be able to
see that you’re not the only one who has the ability to do this.

However, her eyelids are closed.By sealing Lamia’s powerful weapon, the magic eye,
herself, she’s showing by her actions that she doesn’t mean any harm.

“Thank you for covering for me. But that person is right.”

To prevent people from knowing about Serina’s true relationship with me, I’ve
arranged to change my tone of voice in front of everyone in the village.

After all, I’m still deceiving everyone.

“But,”

“It’s fine.”

Then Serina pushes me away. I turned around and walked towards Baran-san while
looking back. Then Letisha-san grabs me by the shoulders.

Quickly, my body is inspected and checked for any wounds. Once that was done, in an
atmosphere filled with tension, Baran-san stepped forward and asked Serina with the
mallet at the ready.
Hopefully Serina’s having quietly released me, and the fact that she sealed her own
demon eyes, has loosened his guard even slightly.

`You lamia. Are you the one who was delivering the prey to the village recently?

“Yes, that’s right. It was I who brought the gifts to your villagh……… ouch, I bit
myself……”

She bit her tongue in nervousness. Teardrops flooded the edges of Serina’s closed
eyelids. Hang in there, Serina, I cheered as best I could in my mind.

Baran-san forced a deliberate cough to disguise the tension that had eased for a
moment.

“Ooooh, really……… Uh, why did you do that? Why did you save Dolan?”

“Well, because I want you to let me live in your village. I used to live with my parents,
but according to my family’s law, I had to leave home and travel. But traveling alone
can be lonely. I don’t want to say forever. Just let me live with you for a while. Also, I
saved this man because I would feel sad for him and his family if he were to be killed.
My dad was a human, and he was close with my mom, and he never meant for me to
hurt a human.”

It seems I was right to advise her to stop the tone of voice that her mother had taught
her to use, as she couldn’t say it well in the first place, and it was unsuitable and
overbearing.

Aside from the first time she bit herself, she’s been able to say it easily since.

Everything Serina is saying is true. Even if it wasn’t me who was attacked by the
armored bear, Serina would have bravely stood up and tried to protect someone who
was being attacked.

With her eyes closed, Serina makes a small clenched fist in front of her chest,
desperately pleading with Baran-san that she doesn’t intend to harm humans, that she
is really lonely alone, and that she will continue to bring various prey to the village.

At Serina’s childish gestures and the way she tries her best to pile on the words with
her cheeks blushing with nervousness, the soldiers surrounding Serina look at each
other and twist their heads.
This is that powerful demon called Lamia? I thought.

The children in the village are also muttering something to each other.

“This isn’t scary at all.”

“I wonder if Airi and the others were right after all?”

“Isn’t she supposed to be a bad monster?”

They seem to have completely let their guard down.

Baran-san is also remembering what Grandma Muggle told him, or perhaps he is

gradually wrinkling his eyebrows and beginning to show signs of being unable to
judge.

It’s true that looking at Serina now, she doesn’t look like a monster that would do harm
to humans.

While Serina’s impassioned speech continues, Letisha-san suddenly shakes and then
suddenly bends her knees and lays her fingers together and begins to pray to Mylar.

I notice a warm, gentle, huge presence of remembrance that arose around Letisha-san.
This divine presence…

Baran-san kept his gaze on Serina, but he noticed Letisha-san’s abnormality and called
out to her.

“Letisha-san, what’s wrong with you…”

“Ba-Baran-san! T-This is a big deal, an oracle from the great Mairar.”

“What did you say!?”

Since it was an oracle from Mairar, which is believed in by many of the kingdom’s
inhabitants to varying degrees, Baran-san couldn’t help but raise his voice.

They say that when you use sacred magic for the first time, you’ll hear a voice from
Mairar or a god of that lineage, but Letisha-san can’t believe that she”d hear it in this
situation, and she looks very excited.
“……Oh, my goodness. The Great Mairar-sama has told me this. The Lamia in front of
us is not an evil monster, it is the same life that lives on this earth, and we should live
together.”

“Oh, Mairar said that!”

“Right. This is truly a Miracle of Judgment. That has to be the oracle!”

In the Mairar religion, human beings are not necessarily good and monsters are not
necessarily evil.

Both humans and monsters are part of life on the earth, and eliminating either of them
will hinder the cycle of life on the earth. Therefore, we respect the fact that we live
together.

Although it was the most helpful statement for me and Serina, it might be more natural
to think that the oracle conveniently descended on this scene, that Mairar was spying
on us.

The image of Mairar smiling mischievously comes to mind. One thing I owe her, I
suppose. I couldn’t help but smile.

Lamia’s character and statements that they actually encountered, in addition to what
Grandma Muggle had told him beforehand, plus the oracle from the Great God.

After a tremendous miracle that may or may not happen once in a lifetime, not only
Baran-san, but the rest of the village had to agree that this was already the fate of
having Lamia live in the village.

The fact that Mairar’s oracle was genuine was confirmed by Letisha-san more than
anyone else, and as if to prove it to us in a simple way, Letisha-san’s status as a priest
had been raised. It allowed her to handle high ranking miracles that she had never
been able to use before.

It goes without saying that for a while, the excited Letisha-san was seen in many places
in the village, and eventually she would regain her composure and fainted at her own
strange behavior.

Afterwards, Baran-san returned to the village and gathered not only the village chief
and Grandma Muggle, but also the adults of the village and began to discuss the
treatment of Serina.

While the discussion was going on for several days, Serina was still bringing her prey
to the village diligently and devotedly.

If there was a change, it was that the work she used to do secretly in the middle of the
night was now done proudly in the daytime.

And when villagers came to see if she was the Lamia of rumors, Serina smiled and
waved to them and bowed to them as she left, showing a polite and friendly attitude.

Five days later, the conclusion on Serina’s treatment was reached.

It was concluded that Serina was not a dangerous monster and it was decided to keep
her under surveillance for a while, but make her live in an unused storage shed in the
village.

As soon as I told her that, Serina showed up at the village.

She walked out of the north gate with a nervous look on her face while Grandma
Muggle and the people of Berne were watching her.

The villagers, who had gathered to watch with bated breath, were looking on with
trepidation. I stepped out of the line and stood in front of Serina with a smile on my
face.

“Welcome to the village of Berne. We welcome you.”

“You can call me Serina, Doran-san. Thank you for covering for me that time.”

Serina also responded with a smile. The sunlight and the blue sky were blessing us.
Separated from the chaotic world of the earth where life and death, good and evil are
intermingled, I was now in the most precious and pure utopia where the gods dwell –
the world of the heavens or the world of the gods, as it is called.

My human body was still in a deep sleep on my bed in the village of Bern, but my
consciousness had slipped out of my body and freed itself from its original form as the
soul of the Ancient Dragon and was visiting the heavenly realm where many gods
dwell.

For me, who was reincarnated as a human and lived my life with the soul of the ancient
dragon covered with a human-like shell, my current state of being unbound both
physically and spiritually was like a natural body with a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I was free from the invisible chain of gravity that binds all things to the earth, and I
was flying through the blue sky of the heavens with my six wings sprouting on my
back, but that was the end of it as my destination was now in sight.

Fumu, I let out a quip, stopping my flight and slowly beginning my descent to the land
below me.

In the sky as far as the eye can see, there were countless pieces of land floating in the
sky, from small islands to continents.

When I land on one of them, the one goddess I had expected to come beforehand was
waiting for me with a smile on her face.

For some reason I found myself rejoicing in the unchanging beauty of the familiar face
and the warmth of the Earth’s mother-of-all-things, and I unknowingly smiled in the
same way as the goddess.

Her jet-black hair stretched to the point where it almost touched the earth, and her
eyes, equally beautiful and black, had a luster more beautiful than silk. Her figure, loosely
clothed in a white fabric with a luster more beautiful than silk, was unmistakably none
other than the highest-ranking Earth Mother Goddess, Mairar.

I stopped my descent when I lifted the tips of my tail and toenails slightly off the
ground, and without flapping my wings, I interfered with gravity to support my own
massive body.

However, it would not be necessary for me now that I am only a soul. It’s like a habit I
had when I had a body.

On the floating island where I landed, all the flowers, grasses, and trees that live on
earth were in full bloom as far as the eye could see, ignoring the suitability of their
habitat.

Even the flowers in the heavens, which only inhabit the heavenly realm, open their
petals in a way that only the gods are allowed to see and emit an aromatic fragrance
that only the gods are allowed to smell, swaying in the warm breeze of some kind or
another.

Mairar, standing in a world worthy of the Earth Mother’s dwelling, was full of infinite
compassion and love, gently accepting all, no matter how bruised and weary, no
matter how sick and tired, no matter how decrepit and old, no matter how sinful and
defiled they were.

“It’s been a long time. My old dragon friend.”

With a strange voice that sounds both like the girl and the old woman that Mairar
looks like, she spoke to me without hiding the nostalgia that she sincerely felt.

Perhaps the nostalgia and familiarity in my heart is the same as Mairar’s.

“Exactly. It’s been many years and months since I’ve seen you, Mother of Earth herself,
and I wish you well. So glad to see you are well.”

Mairar’s smile seemed to deepen as her eyes narrowed faintly. I didn’t mean to say
anything particularly crazy, but…?

“Fumu, I guess my soul has deteriorated considerably due to the effects of my

reincarnation. Is my appearance too shabby to be exposed in front of you?”

The six wings on my back, the seven-colored dragon’s eyes, and the white scales that
covered me as a dragon should not be so different from mine in my memory, but
perhaps that was not how Mairar’s eyes saw me.

As I felt sorry that I might have exposed my old friend to a shameful appearance,
Mairar laughed innocently like a childish woman and slowly shook her head to correct
my misunderstanding.

“Not exactly, my dear. I’m glad to see that you are so much livelier than the last time I
saw you. When I heard that you were so weary of life that the humans had defeated
you, I thought, ah, I knew it.”

“There’s no denying it. Life and death did not make much difference to me at that time.
When the hero’s sword pierced my heart, I had no despair of death, I just felt that this
was the end. I just had to accept the fact that it was the end. I now feel that I gave the
heroes a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

When I think about it now, the fight was like I used the hero to excuse and carry out
my suicide.

When I was dying, I said some very harsh words to the hero and his friends, but now
that I think about it, I did a very unpleasant thing. I hope the heroes didn’t worry too
much about it.

“I’m sure that was the case. I can see that you are full of joy in life now. As you stand
before me, exposing the realness of your soul, which has nothing to hide, it makes me
feel the joy of your soul and your heart as it is, and that makes me happy as if it were
my very own”

“I’m proud to be your friend, Mairar, because you feel that way about me. I never
thought that I would be reborn as a human being, but being reborn is a fresh stimulus
that will knock my soul out of its malaise. It’s so much fun to be alive.”

I then proceeded to narrate to Mairar without tiring of my memories of being born

human. The amazement at the way the world looked through the eyes of a human
infant, the unfamiliarity of my body with my too fragile body and life without magic,
the excitement and joy of the birth of my brother or being called my brother, the hard,
painful but life-affirming life on the frontier…

Mairar, one of the great pillars of the most precious gods of this world, listened to me
as well as a compassionate mother who listens to her own child’s boastful stories,
occasionally interrupting with a counterpart or a question to make my tongue even
more eloquent.

It wasn’t until I remembered that Mother Goddess of Earth was a very good listener
that I finally realized that I hadn’t yet fulfilled my true purpose for coming here, and I
bowed slightly to Mairar.

“I’m sorry for talking about me so much. The reason why I came to you so graciously,
despite the shame of exposing my shabby appearance, is because I wanted to thank
you for the incident with Serina the other day. I am very grateful to you. It is because
of your oracle that we were able to welcome Serina into our village.”

“It is good. I was wondering if it was because of the recent prayers of the people on
earth that were offered to me. I was wondering if this might be the case, and I was
looking at the situation on earth, and I noticed you were having a conversation with
someone in the village about the Lamia girl. Therefore, I sent an oracle to the girl in
order to help her from an old woman’s point of view.”

Besides, that woman, Letisha, was a woman of sufficient background and faith, and
Mairar added. I bowed my head once and then again.

“Still, it is something for which I cannot thank you enough. What can I repay you with?
I will do what I can to help you. Even I can be of use to you if you call on me to help
you in your fight against the demon world. I still have that much power left in me.”

There were countless demon realms inhabited by so-called demons, demon gods, and
evil gods for each faction, and even though they could be destroyed on a million, even
if they were destroyed in multitude of units, there were still plenty of them to rot.

To be more specific, the countless demon worlds that existed were called small demon
worlds, while the endless space that encompassed the small demon worlds was
classified as the great demon world.

If I were to destroy the Great Demon World, it would disrupt the harmony of the other
worlds as well, so it would be difficult, but to the extent that I would be called upon to
fight against the forces of the Small Demon World, I would be able to help.(TN: He can
straight up think that destroying Great Demon World is like walk in the park and I like it)

When I was pondering if there was any way to repay the favor other than simply
wielding my power as a dragon, Mairar gave me a slightly troubled look.
I realized that I still didn’t have enough consideration for the person I was supposed
to be thanking, and I felt guilty and apologetic for troubling her.

I should reflect on it later and take care not to do that next time.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I didn’t do it to owe you anything. I’m just happy that
you will continue to be a good friend to me.”

“Yeah. That is what I want more than anything. If only the other gods were like you,
how much happier things would be for those in the mortal realm.”

“Just as people have different ways of living, so do we, God, have different ways of
being. We are not infallible and we are not perfect. That is why the world as we know
it today exists. Don’t you like the imperfect world we live in now?”

“My friend, you too have a mean side to you. I remember the satisfaction of life as a
human being, and you know what my answer is.”

Mairar gave a small smile when I implied that this was sly. Her innocent smile made
me feel that it was all right.

I have been fond of Mairar for a long time, I think, because she has shown the
receptiveness and compassion of a mother of all things, and at the same time she has
shown the childishness and mischievousness of a girl not much older than she is.

Of course, this “fondness” is not love and adoration, but affection for a friend.

It was a lot of fun to talk to my old friend Mylar after a long time, but it would be bad
if I had already been destroyed and reincarnated as a human being in the world of the
gods. It is time to return to the human body of today.

A small village on the outskirts of the human kingdom is the place I should return to,
and the place where I live. And I loved the village.

“Unexpectedly, I told you a long story. You are a very good goddess. It would be noisy
if I had already reincarnated as a human being in and out of the heavens. Let’s do it.”

“Aldes, the war god, loved to compare power with you, so if you notice you, you’ll
probably rush with a weapon in the middle of a bath. You’re more powerful than ever.
Maybe it’s weakened, but your soul nevertheless radiates a dazzling, mighty glow, so
let’s notice the other gods eventually.”

“Then I must leave this place as soon as possible. I have to go out into the field early
tomorrow to take care of the potatoes.”

“A potato?”

Mylar puts a hand on her right cheek and tilts her head slightly.

Me and potatoes, huh? Certainly not a very related item, so it’s not surprising that it
seems strange.

Mylar’s lovely gesture, like an innocent young child, made me feel at ease and I replied
in a very serious tone of voice.

“It’s potatoes,”

“You planted the potatoes…”

I nod emphatically, and eventually Mairar starts giggling and hides his mouth with his
hands.

Could I have uttered something so funny?

It’s fun, though, potato farming.

I floated up softly without moving my wings and slowly moved away from the land of
flowers and grass and trees and my dear friend who stood there.

Mairar, who was getting smaller and smaller as I floated, waved her hand at me for a
long time.

A young goddess with blue hair hanging down in a thick braid appeared beside Mairar
and stood in a position to protect her from me.

The Goddess with her dull eyes finally looked just beyond the age of a girl, but her entire
body emitted a glow worthy of being named the youngest member of the divine race.

Perhaps she was in the middle of chasing after Mairar, who had gone out without
saying a word to those around her, when she sensed my presence and rushed over.
Mairar had that kind of a goofiness about her. I wanted to see a bit of how Letisha-san
would react if she knew about it.

However, it still doesn’t seem like a good idea for me to stay too long. I immediately
aim for the ground and let my soul fly.

The flying island that Mairar had been waiting for me on was quickly shrinking to the
size of a poppy grain behind me in the blink of an eye.

The goddess beside me, perhaps a newcomer who had just changed from a human to
a god.

Not only in the Mairar religion, but also in other religions, it is not uncommon for
followers of famous human beings during their lives to be welcomed into the heavenly
realm as gods attached to their gods due to the virtue they acquired during their
lifetime and the fame and reverence of the people after their death.

Those faces that watched in amazement at the sight of me, and the consciousness and
signs that were trying to find out who I was. Almost as the oldest being, if they don’t
know about me, it’s impossible for them to be the oldest group in the heavenly realm.

For I was well known in existence and name to both good and evil gods in my lifetime.

As I was thinking about this, I heard the goddess, dressed in the same simple robes as
Mairar, confirm that Mairar was safe and apologize for leaving her side by propping
her knees up at her feet.

I couldn’t help but be curious as I turned my attention to the exchange between the
new goddess and Mairar and slowed my return to earth.

“I am glad to hear that you are safe, Mairar-sama. It”s a blunder that cannot be atoned
for, for putting yourself in danger while being given the honor of serving by your side.
I ask you to punish me in any way you can.”

Most of the time, the gods in the highest ranks are surrounded by higher ranking gods
who are close to them, but Mairar was the odd one out, preferring to keep the lower
ranking gods and new gods at her side to take care of them.

Mairar took the hand of the new goddess, who was about to judge herself at her feet,
and stood up, stroking the new goddess’ cheek, which had turned pale, to gently
comfort her.

“It was of my own accord that I left your side. It’s not something you should be held
responsible for, Meifa. Come on, stand up.”

The face of the downcast Meifa and the like remained pale, but as Mairar’s hand
repeatedly stroked her cheek, she realized that she was making the revered great god
do something outrageous, and she hurriedly pulled away from Mairar’s hand and
straightened her posture.

Meifa must have been a saint who was trusted and respected by many in her lifetime,
but she seems to have shrunk into a small childlike state when she was exposed to
Mairar.

It’s not just the difference between being a god and being a human being.

“I’m sorry, Meifa. That dragon is a very old friend of mine. You’ve never met him, so
it’s understandable that you were upset. But there’s no need to worry about it. Look
at that.”

Beyond Mairar’s point, the flowers of the terrestrial world and the heavenly world,
which fill the ends of the ground, continue to sway in the wind.

It’s a sight full of beauty and life that I would love to show Serina and my family at
least once.

“Not a single flower, grass or tree has been trampled down, has it? He is such a caring
person. If he ever shows up again, there is no need to panic.”

Feeling a little embarrassed, I returned to my human body, this time sleeping on earth.

After I finished thanking Mairar, I returned safely to my home in the village of Berne
and welcomed a refreshing morning on my bed.

As the horizon changes to an exquisite hue of near-purple darkness and sunshine

melded together, I drew a tub of water from the water jar and washed my face and
refreshed myself.
Then I began to prepare my breakfast as usual.

Mostly it’s a peasant’s breakfast, warming up the rest of my dinner and filling my belly
with black bread and potatoes.

Today I made an omelet with eggs from my doo-doo bird that I keep in the back of the
house, mixed with chopped vegetables, and roasted smoked rabbit meat.

The doo-doo bird, whose wings have degenerated and cannot fly, is a domestic bird
with reddish-brown feathers, a crown and a cockscomb.

It has a habit of pecking, but it remains basically docile and can be left in the care of
small children, so it can be seen in many places in the village of Bern.

We keep about 20 of these birds in our home, and their eggs are a valuable source of
nutrition.

We rarely eat them as meat, and when we do, it is only when they die of natural causes
or when they are accidentally killed.

We rarely strangle them ourselves, as they lay precious eggs for us.

The tantalizing taste of smoked hare, made with the distinctive smelling herbs from
the village, made me feel invigorated for the day ahead.

As I told Mairar, the potatoes have been a staple on my table since I was born, but what
about Serina, who has just been allowed to live in the village?

As for Serina, she is not yet fully trusted, so three of the soldiers stationed in the village
are always on hand to watch her.

According to Serina, she had been working in the fields to provide food for her father
since she was at home, and her mother had done all the other household chores for
her, such as mending, cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

She could do most of these things without a hitch.

The villagers, however, were not convinced that they should let the untrustworthy do
their work in the field, so for the time being it seemed to be settled that she would go
out and hunt animals and fish as she had done in the past.
I’m sure the villagers would understand that Selina’s true nature is just the way it is
after five days.

Now that she’ s been accepted into the village, it’s just a matter of slowly and carefully
building up a foundation of trust. I wasn’t too worried about this one.

Serina had been living in a storage shed that had been abandoned for some time after
the family that had previously used the shed had moved to a different farming village
in the south due to the relationship of their son.

Should I keep her for a while at my place? I also suggested it, but this was boldly
rejected.

The reason for this was that there were voices that saw it as dangerous to let a monster
live with me, and a few voices that said it was unwise to let young men and women
live together.

The hut had been neglected for about five years, but thanks to its sturdy construction,
it didn’t have any leaks, nor did it have any drafts.

The fact that the rats had been nesting in it was inevitable, but that was solved with
the appearance of Serina, the lamia.

Just as Serina, who has the characteristics of a snake, a type of rat’s natural enemy,
approached the shed, the rats fled with the vigor of a rabbit.

The only thing left inside the shed was an empty shelf and a bunch of old firewood,
but as Serina was a new resident of the village, it would be an injustice to do nothing,
so some simple cushions wrapped in clean sheets of straw were prepared as a
substitute for a place to sleep.

Serina’s lower body is that of a giant snake, so Grandma Muggle suggested that this
would be better than a human bed.

In fact, Serina used to lie down on cushions on the floor in her birthplace too, so
Grandma Muggle was the one to do it.

At least Grandma Muggle has clearly shown her welcome to Selina.

It was probably because she believed in the results of their fortune telling, after all.
In addition to the cushions, she’ s been provided with a few pieces of wooden
tableware and some dried and smoked meat from the catch Serina had contributed to
the village, and a new stove has been built by the entrance to the hut.

Apparently Selina, who has spent her life after leaving her birthplace, either camping
out in the field or living in an abandoned house of Lizards at marshland to escape the
night dew, wasn’t at all dissatisfied with her hut, even if it was a storage shed. She
hugged the straw-wrapped cushions and enjoyed the feel of them, breathing in the
smell of straw to fill her chest, and then she would lie down and frolic in a woozy
position.

Fumu, it’s cute. The innocent behavior that matched the girl’s upper body appearance,
the people under Baran’s command and the village chief looked at each other’s faces
and somehow eased the tension in their hearts.

Serina’s behavior was nothing pretending to be something she wasn’t, but something
from the heart. Looking at her, it’s certainly not unreasonable to suspect that this was
a dangerous monster.

In fact, Lamia might be a dangerous monster, but Serina was not.

I think if you look at Serina as an individual rather than as a Lamia, you’ll quickly
realize that the village chiefs’ fears are unfounded.

After bringing in the luggage, the village chief told Selina to rest for the day, she
straightened her posture, enjoying the feel of the straw cushion, and with a smile as
bright as a sunflower, she replied, “Thank you,” while wearing straw shavings in her
beautiful blonde hair.

With that smile, who on earth could declare Serina to be a dangerous monster?

With a smile of heartfelt gratitude, Serina looked like an innocent and adorable girl.

Like this, the first day of Serina’s migration to Bern village ended with a guide to her
new home, and from the next day, she went out to hunt cheerfully with the village’s
hunters, under supervision.

The young Serina is still immature as a lamia, but there’s no danger if she’s dealing
with the monsters in the vicinity of Bern village. I was reassured that if Serina was
with them, the people of the village would be safe.
I ate my lunch with salted fish from the river in the middle of the village, black bread
mixed with bread moss and Miu’s milk in an oven-baked pot, and I felt the joy of
working on the farm all day long.

The fatigue that weighs heavily on my body, the sweat on my forehead and cheeks, the
dirt that stains every part of my body, my fingers that are hard and tense from
straining so hard, the sunshine that shines on me, the wind that caresses my cheeks
as if it were caressing me, all these things made me feel the joy of being alive.

As the sun sets and the sky turns a brilliant red, everyone in the village has finished
their work and gone home, I left the house alone, hoping to catch at least one fish in
the basket I had left in the river in the morning.

I had been trying to earn as much sustenance as possible from these small things for
a long time, and only recently had it begun to pay off.

Due to the influence of the times when I was a dragon, when all I needed was my body
and magic power, I was not good at working out the details or thinking deeply about
things, and I have a bad habit of doing everything roughly.

In order to correct this, I knew that I made a lot of mistakes, but I was still willing to
work on the details.

As a reincarnated human being, my philosophy has been to try everything without

fear of failure.

Challenge, failure, challenge, failure, challenge, and success. That’s pretty much it, but
it’s a good fit for me.

It took me a long time to learn how to make a decent trap in the river from my father
and brother.

I was walking to the place where I had laid the trap, when I was passing by a house.

“Oh, Doran-san. Would you like to come by the house for a moment? I have something
for you to taste.”

Mil, who turns fourteen this year, the beloved daughter of Miu-san and Baran-san, was
calm in both her words and her voice.
She’ s thick with Miu-san’s blood and has inherited the features of a cow person, from
the ears peeking out of the brown hair that reaches halfway up her back, to the tail
that stretches from her hips in a mellow line, to the black-and-white patterned fur and
hooves of a cow that covers her knees and below.

Her breasts, which push up her dull white dress, are more than big enough for her age,
and her hips are the same as those of Miu-san’s.

But she has a calmer personality compared to Miss Miu.

To be honest, I often wonder whether she is younger than Airi in mentality.

But seeing Mir’s smile as she beckons me innocently and defenselessly, my wariness
melted away like a spring thaw, so maybe I have to admit that this is a big deal.

I obediently followed Mir, who invited me in through the door with a peek of her
breasts and face, which swayed with the slightest movement, and I entered Mir’s
house. Baran-san was away because he was packed in the station built in the village.

Baran-san had trained in Galore to become a soldier after his parents died of an
epidemic and a demon attack. It was during this time that he met and married Miu-
san, and moved with his family to the house where he and his parents once lived.

I was led into the dining room with a long table and six chairs, and I saw Miu-san there
as well.

No matter how many times I looked at them, Miu-san and Mir did not look like mother
and daughter. At best, they were sisters who were a bit years apart in age.

That’s why all the men in the village are envious of Baran-san.

“Sorry to disturb you, Miu-san.”

“Oh, Doran. Perfect timing. I’d like you to have a little taste of something. Come on, sit
down. Don’t be standing still.”

As I sat down in the chair as Miu-san suggested, I felt my appetite sickle my stomach,
wondering if I had something to treat myself to.

“Ehehe, here it is~”

Mir, still with a big smile on her face, held out in front of me a wooden cup filled with
white liquid. It smelled faintly sweet.

“Milk? Is it Mir’s by any chance?”

“Yeah. Today, I started getting it out too~. I gave my dad and Tauro a taste of it, but I
want people outside of my family to taste it too.”

Tauro is Mir’s younger brother.

He’s already as powerful as an adult, and he’s been trained in the martial arts by his
father, Baran-san personally, and it’s rumored in the village that he will be a soldier or
adventurer in the kingdom in the future.

“Fumu, it is an honour.”

For cow women, it is not something to be ashamed of, but rather something to be
proud of, since it is a sign that they have grown up to be a full-fledged member of society.

Cow people, who have a close relationship with human beings, know that their milk is
highly valued by human beings, and so they believe that the better the milk tastes and
the more it can be milked, the better it is.

I wondered if the milk in front of me was milked by Mir herself or by her mother, Miu-
san, who was probably still unaccustomed to milking from her breasts.

“I couldn’t milk it well myself yet, so I asked my mother to milk it for me. The milk was
squeezed in the morning, so it’s a bit late, but I don’t think it tastes that bad. Doran-
san, will you have a taste?”

“I don’t see a single reason to refuse. Well, I’ll take it.”

I was happy that I had been asked to taste it, so I quickly sipped my cup, while Mir
leaned forward and looked into my face as she asked.

As Mir leaned forward, I caught a glimpse of a pair of young breasts that were too big
for my hands, and I couldn’t help but notice that my gaze was drawn to them.

They are somewhat larger than Serina’s, or should I say cow person’s blood, as expected.
With the milk in my mouth, I savored the smell and taste of the milk, not swallowing
it right away, but savoring it for a while.

“Delicious. I think it’s sweeter than Miu-san’s milk. It goes down smoothly, and I think
everyone in the village will be very happy with it.”

I looked at Mir’s face, waiting for my impressions with sparkling eyes, and I gave my
honest opinion and drank the rest of Mir’s milk.

Mir smiled with embarrassment mixed in with a smile that made me laugh too, haha.

She seemed to be happy about it, as I said it was delicious, for better or worse, I was
honestly saying what I thought.

Miu-san also looked relieved to be praised for the taste of her daughter’s milk and said
she’d bring me a refill.

Even if I say refill, it doesn’t mean she’ll milk it in front of me.

Mir hugs me in delight and buries my head in the most magnificent breasts that even
grown men rarely see.

Fumu, very soft and yet resilient, I will never get tired of feeling them.

From now on, if I see a cow person, I might as well worship her to show my appreciation.

“I’m glad to hear that. If Doran-san says so, I am sure the people in the village will be
happy with my milk. I was a little nervous about it! Thank you~ Doran-san.”

Mir hugged my head as I let her bury it in her bosom, and even rubbed her cheek
innocently. She was soft and smelled good and felt good, and it was just a bonus.

However, it’s not a very commendable act for a young woman of her age to do.

While I was troubled and pondering what to say, Mir finally freed my head when she
realized what she was doing.

Oh dear, I was both relieved and disappointed. Is it more of a disappointment?

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hugging you without thinking. My father told me to fix it, but
I couldn’t help but be excited.”

This is an old habit of Mir’s, and most of the kids his age have been hugged by her
before. It’s been subsiding lately, but whenever she lets her guard down, she ends up
in this situation.

“Mir, you shouldn’t show a man that you’re too vulnerable. You have to be aware of
what’s going on. Mir is a pretty girl, and it could cause someone to go crazy in a
moment.”

“Oh, pretty you say, me?”

“Fumu.”

Ehehe, Mir scratched her head with another embarrassed smile. Maybe she’s not used
to being told much.

I was just practicing what my mother taught me to see the good in the other person
and praise them, but so far it seems to be working well for me.

Appearance is not the only good thing about the Mir, but under the circumstances, it
would be quicker to convey the physical attractiveness of the Mir.

As Mir and I were exchanging such words, Miu-san brought me another cup of milk.
After having been treated to a glass of milk, I decided to leave Miu-san’s house.

As I was leaving, I was given a jar full of milk from the Mir’s family as a souvenir. When
I shook the jar, the milk inside made a chattering sound.

“There’s a lot of it.”

“It’s only just started to come out finally, so it’s been building up. With me and Mir, we
can get everyone in the village to drink milk like we have been, and still produce
enough to sell to the other towns. I need to work hard and so does Mir.”

“Hehe, drink a lot, Doran-san.”

“Yeah. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot.”

After saying goodbye to Miu-san and Mir, I remembered to check the trap I had set in
the river.

Two Schalke, though somewhat small, were in the basket, and I returned home in a
very good mood, stopping at my parents’ house on the way.

The milk and fish I had brought home that evening were well received and settled into
my family’s stomach.

I had expected it would take the villagers about five days to settle in with Serina, but
in a good way I was wrong.

I’d underestimated the adaptability of the people of the Berne village and the sociability
of Serina.

During a short break for lunch, I sat on a stump near our bean field and watched Serina
and the village children playing in the river.

In the meantime, the soldiers on watch are still with us, but they have already loosened
their guard against Serina.

Nevertheless, each of them had their hands on their weapons. The fact that they were
ready to move right away, as expected of a soldier accustomed to fighting on the frontier.

It’s been three days since Selina came to the village. The children called her ” Snake
Sis ” and ” Serina Sis ” and she was well-liked by them.

Some of the children were frolicking in a water fight with her, while others were having
fun clinging to her tail or leaning over her.

Once, Serina told me that as an only child, she enjoyed playing with the children in the
village because they were like little brothers and sisters to her.

I can”t spend my time with Serina in the daytime, let alone at night, so it’s very pleasing
to have friends and acquaintances other than just me to play with.

When it came to going out and hunting and getting rid of demons, Serina’s magic eye
and magic were extremely useful and much more efficient than ever before.

In addition, because she consumes only a small amount of meat and vegetables, Selina
shares her catch with the people in the village, and she has a good reputation among
the adults.

At the very least, no parents seem to blame Serina for the children’s activities.

I am happy to see that Serina has settled in well with the village.

But there is one thing that has been bothering me recently.

The armored bear.

How could that monster, which normally resided in the forest to the east of the village,
have ended up in the vicinity of the village?

Fortunately, no one has reported sighting a second one, but I might have to check it
out.

Fumu, I should request a permit to investigate the forest.

One day, I was participating in a combat training session for village children under the
supervision of Baran-san and others.

I was observing a mock battle as an example in the courtyard of the two-story garrison
and quarters where the soldiers were staying.

Me and Albert sat on the ground with our training wooden swords and wooden spears,
as well as Airi and the other children of the village. In front of us, two warriors were
facing each other and competing with each other’s skills from earlier.

One was Baran-san’s subordinate and his right hand man, Deputy Marida-san.

She had brown hair that was trimmed at the ends and victorious sky-blue eyes that
clearly showed the strength of will. She was quite a beauty with pale pigmented lips
and a clear nose.

Since she served as Baran-san’s right-hand person, her skill with the sword is not on
par, and the fools who underestimated her for her appearance would be cut down
under a single sword.
Currently, she wore a tanned leather breastplate over a thin cloth garment and held
the shortswords in both hands. The slender blade was pulled back on the blade and
rounded at the tip for mock battles.

Although Marida-san might be tall for a woman, she was still inferior to her male
counterparts in terms of simple physical strength and endurance, so she had mastered
the art of swordsmanship, which aimed at the opponent’s vital points with nimble,
agile movements and quick, detailed attacks.

In fact, Marida-san’s figure, wielding her two shortswords in front of us in slow and
fast motion, looked so fluid as if she were dancing to light music.

There’ s no doubt that she was the master of a technique that was too good to be
worthy of a remote and backwater village that had almost no value to the kingdom.

But to the extent that Marida-san’s skills have become faint, her opponent now was an
even more extraordinary user.

Her opponent was an unexpectedly young female swordsman who had been staying
at the village’s only inn for the past few days.

Honestly, she was a mystery to me. It was rumored that she had gone out on a whim,
stepped into the forest, and returned with only the head of a large fanged crocodile,
just as if she had been staying at the inn for some time.

No, bring back the big fang crocodile’s body from the neck down as well, I can’t be the
only one who protested inwardly, because it’s such a waste.

It seems that there were days when she would show up at the church and spend the
day praying to Mairar.

The fact that she was a rare visitor from outside the village, it was only natural that
the people of Berne, myself included, would take an interest in the female swordsman.

However, more than such a strange behavior, what attracted people’s attention was
the fact that the swordswoman seemed to be of aristocratic origin, given her wealthy
and elegant manners and language, and that she was so beautiful that she could have
appeared in one’ s dreams at first glance.

Although she is taller than Marida-san, it is clear even from the top of her clothes that
she has a supple body with no unnecessary flesh and fat trimmed away. And yet her
breasts are large enough to push up the fabric around her chest, and her somewhat
small but shapely and healthy bottom. And her hips are so boldly defined that it’s
doubtful she’s really even packed with organs.

The lines of her legs look like they’re simply the result of a quest for beauty, without a
shred of fat that has been stored in the muscles developed through training or excessive
nutrition.

The silver hair that reached the middle of her back was also a dazzling, shimmering
beauty, and the female swordsman had tied it up with a blue ribbon with gold thread
ornamental embroidery around the back of her neck.

She had incredibly long eyelashes and slit eyes. Her eyes were an intense red, full of
life.

Even her lips, which were stiff and horizontally tightened to a single line, were wet
with the same color as her eyes.

This woman swordswoman, whose beauty is such that she could have tipped a nation
if she were to act consciously, went to the village chief’s house after taking a lodging
under the name of Christine-san and asked him for permission to stay for a few days.

Such was the suddenness of Christine-san ‘s visit to this place.

The fact that the children of the village were learning martial arts from the soldiers
stationed in the village seems to have been quite unusual for someone from the outside.
When she wandered in, a look of interest appeared in her red eyes as she expressed
her willingness to participate.

She looked around the scene as we thrust our wooden spears and wooden swords into
the straw dolls that were being used as targets, and then, as if she were looking around
at the scene, she said to Marida-san, no longer bothering to look at us inquisitively.

“If it isn’t too much of a nuisance, I’d like to join the training, if that’s all right with you?
I think my arms are going to be dulled against the goblins and these ravenous beasts.”

Marida-san let Cress-san, who was supervising the children, take one of the iron
swords for training purposes and offered it to Christine-san.
“I don’t mind, but I’m afraid that with your skill level, it would be difficult for the kids
to keep up with you and it would be no good for them. Instead, I’m going to entertain
you to the best of my ability. Is that alright with you?”

At Marida-san’s words, which contained something dangerous that might provoke the
other party’s wrath depending on how it was perceived, Christine-san ‘s lips formed a
tiny smile without any unpleasant feelings appearing on her face.

Even such an unpretentious little smile is enough to make us, Cress, and even Airi and
Marida-san, who were secretly observing, unintentionally tint their cheeks with a light
red color.

“There is no reason to refuse and I should thank you since I’m the one asking you to
do something unnecessary. Please allow me to ask one thing. I just don’t think I’ve ever
swung a weapon in front of you.”

“A natural stance that allows you to leap back and forth or left to right while leaving
your weight on your back foot. And an unusually stable center of gravity. There are
many other things, but I doubt there are many, if any, people in Galois who are as good
as you are.”

“A compliment too much for a non-talented person. But I am glad to see that today, for
the first time in a long time it was worth wielding my skills.”

And so Christine-san thrust the magical silver longsword that she usually wears on
her leather belt at her waist – a work of art made of mithril and many magic stones –
into the ground with its sheath, and then, with dummy sword in hand, began to trade
blades with Marida-san.

To put it simply, Christine’s skill was beyond our and Marida’s imagination.

While Marida is a first class, Christine-san is an expert indeed. I can’t believe that such
a skilled user exists.

In the beginning, Cress was serious about training us, but when she noticed that her
boss, who she trusts in both her ability and her personality, was clearly being pushed
by Christine, she forgot about the training and watched the two of them in a mock
battle. We all followed Cress-san’s example.

It started like this.

Marida thrust her left half of her body forward and held out the tip of her left slender
sword, while her right arm arced above her head and pointed at Christine, as if to
imitate the moon on the lower string.

In contrast, Christine-san held the unaccustomed mock sword firmly in her right hand
and simply lowered her arm in a natural manner, taking a stance that could not be
called a stance.

That figure appears to be full of openings, but it was easy to imagine the enemy moving
at a lightning speed if they stepped into the blade area. The same would be true for
Marida-san, who was actually confronting her, but we who were watching also forgot
to even blink.

Suddenly, Christine-san ‘s mouth, which has narrowed into a single horizontal line,
breaks out into a small smile.

“Since I’m the one asking for a favor, I suppose I should move first. Here I come.”

As soon as she said this in a light tone, as if to announce the weather of the day,
Christine-san took a step and ran off at the same time.

I wonder how hard she stepped into the ground with such force that her feet sank into
the ground. And what kind of speed does that forceful step produce?

At least to anyone other than Marida-san, myself and Cress-san, I suspect that all they
could see was that Christine-san had turned into a strong silver wind.

Out of the corner of our eye, countless sparks flew near Marida-san’s face.

As Christine-san stormed in as the wind, Marida-san reacted with her body rather
than her thoughts to Christine’s side-nagiri sword aimed at the left side of her neck,
and she successfully deflected it with two shortswords bundled together.

The sparks ahead were caused by the contact of those sword blades.

Despite being in the midst of battle, Marida-san’s face was tinted with astonishment
and there was a momentary stagnation.

But as expected of Marida-san, she has experienced actual battles where carelessness
and gaps were directly tied to death, so she immediately suppressed her emotions and
slashed at Christine-san ‘s vacant right side with two parallel shortswords’ blades.

The sword speed is so fast that it would be impossible for a hundred people to make
it in time.

However, Christine’s reaction time and physical abilities seem to exceed the realm of
the humans I know.

As soon as she evaded the tip of the shortswords at a distance of about half a skin and
let the shortswords cut the air, she turned her body on the spot and delivered a blow
with plenty of centrifugal force, this time hitting Marida-sans’s right side of the neck.

The sound of the wind being cut is also a sharp flash, and even if it is a mock sword, it
must be more than powerful enough to cut off a human’s neck with all its bones.

Probably even that was held back, but it’s a bit doubtful that it was a good sword
technique to wield in a mock battle. Or perhaps this was based on the decision that
Marida-san could handle it.

Marida-san, while pulling back the shortswords that cut the sky into the hand, crouched
down behind her as if she were on her buttocks to avoid the mock sword that came to
cut off her neck, and rolled to the left to get a distance from Christine-san.

”Oooooh!”

Marida-san let out a roar reminiscent of a female lion and caused the shortswords on
either side to shimmer.

For a while after that, a Phoenix flower of sparks bloomed between Marida-san and
Christine-san.

Although I was the only one who noticed it here, Christine-san ‘s body was indeed
human, but there were a number of things that made it clearly different from an
ordinary person.

Hmm, this was unusual. Perhaps the high level of physical prowess and good looks
that differentiate her from humans was also a byproduct of being born in “that body”.
It seemed to me that you never lacked in sword training, which was impressive.
Though it”s no match for the heroes of the past.
Throughout the history of humans, there have certainly been people like Christine-
san who were born with a “unique body structure”, but this was an extremely rare
case.

While I’m convinced of Christine’s tremendous physical abilities and the reason for
her good looks, the heat of their mock battle is building up.

Marida-san jumped backwards with the momentum of her mock sword flick, and as
soon as her toes touched the ground, she exploded the power of the supple muscles
of both feet, and with an anomalous posture of leaning back and bowing her head to
the ground, she attacked Christine-san ‘s feet.

Christine-san dodged the blade of the shortswords that attacked her right ankle with
a single motion of pulling her right half of her body backwards.

It’s not possible to avoid it lightly like that if you haven’t completely seen through
Marida-san’s blade.

Christine-san, however, didn’t even swing her mock sword as it was, lightly pushing it
forward and softly hitting Marida-san’s neck.

It’ s a detailed attack that lasted less than an instant.

Marida-san, who tensed up at the cold touch against her neck, admitted her defeat,
exhaled loudly, slowly returned to her stance and sheathed her shortswords. Then
everyone around, who had been tensed by the atmosphere, finally relaxed their
shoulders as well.

Everyone who was freed from the tension that made them forget to even breathe began
to talk about the awesome nature of the attack and defense they had just witnessed.

The only ones who had a complete grasp of Marida-san and Christine-san ‘s offense
and defense, apart from those involved, would be me and Cress-san.

While handing the mock sword in its scabbard to Marida-san, Christine-san exchanged
a couple of words with a smile on her face. They are praising each other’s efforts.

Christine-san’s beautiful face, like that of a battle-hardened girl, was always faintly
glimmering. The red eyes, which had been filled with a piercing light while she and
Marida-san were trading blades, were now tinted with a dark, somehow absent-
minded light.

Underneath the light of this beautiful swordsman, there was probably a depressed
feeling that was not commensurate with her beauty.

“It may seem bad to say this, but isn’t Marida-dono’s skill in martial arts alone enough
to hope for advancement in the army?”

“No, it’s not that big of a deal. And I’m proud of the work I’m doing now. It gives me
the feeling that I’m actually doing something to help people.”

“Yeah. An enviable thing to do. I suppose I lack that kind of zest when it comes to life.”

From the sound of Christine’s dark emotions mixed in with the conversations I can
hear, my imagination was right on the money.

Hm, although it’s not a topic that I should easily step into, if the opportunity arises, I
would at least try to make small talk.

Albert, Airi and the others clapped their hands and praised their efforts. Marida-san
and Christine-san responded by raising their hands, a little embarrassed.

Cristina-san has that kind of charm.

As I was admiring them with my arms crossed, two beautiful girls appeared from
inside the inn, holding wooden cups and unglazed jars for several people on a large
tray. They were Mir, the daughter of Miu and Baran-san, and Lisha, Airi’s sister.

“Good work, everyone. I brought you some milk and fruit juice water to drink.”

“But be careful, you’ll get a stomach ache if you drink too much.”

The smiles and voices of Lisha and Mir, who were probably competing for the first or
second place in the village of Berne, were very soothing to us, as we were buoyed by
the pleasant exhaustion after training and the aftermath of the excitement of the mock
battle.

“Christine-san, please have some food too. But it”s a country thing, so I’m not sure if it
will suit your taste.”
While placing a cup full of fruit juice water and milk on the stump table in the square,
Lisha called out to Christine, who was adjusting her condition by putting her beloved
sword back on her belt.

“The food in this village is delicious no matter what, so I’ll be happy to take it. Thank
you.”

With that said, Christine-san received the Citrus fruit juice water from Lisha with a
smile that was not a lie. It seems that she wasn’t as socially awkward as her usual
pessimistic personality. The darker shadows in her beauty must be an inherited trait.

Although Christine-san herself did not declare that she was an aristocrat, she was almost
certainly of aristocratic origin, judging from her elegant manner and the generous use
of silk in her outfits.

A nobleman, huh? As a peasant, I could not understand the complexity of the human
relationships swirling around her. To be honest, I couldn’t even imagine it.

“Mir, can I have one of those?”

“Yes,”

“Thank you.”

As I tipped the cup handed to me by Mir, I was somehow thinking about why Christine-
san had visited this village. She doesn’t seem like a bad person at least, though.
There were several small forests scattered around the village of Berne, which we
benefit from on a daily basis.

Naturally, there were many other creatures other than human beings living in these
forests, and there were also a number of fierce beasts that attacked us. Therefore,
stepping into the forest always puts you at risk.

At least children were never allowed to enter the forest alone, and even if adults were
to enter, there must be at least three or more people in the forest.

One day I was out to release the village pig into the forest.

Pigs are easy to raise, as they eat acorns and other foods as long as they are released
into the forest.

There were a total of six people in the forest: myself, Serina, Christine-san, who came
with us on a whim, and three other villagers.

Except for Serina, all of us were armed with long swords, short spears, bows and arrows
to prepare for the dangers of the forest. Villages in other kingdoms would rarely be
this vigilant in going out into the nearby forest.

In other words, our appearance clearly showed how dangerous the frontier near the
village of Berne is.

In recent times, fierce beasts that wouldn’t normally be seen in the villages have been
sighted, making everyone even more cautious.

However, considering that Serina and I, one of the few magicians in Berne Village, and
Christine-san, a top-notch swordswoman, were accompanying us, there was no need
to be so arrogant.

However, I missed the point.

After entering the forest, I was feeding the pigs while watching them, when a ferocious
beast that shouldn’t be there showed up.

Fortunately, I was able to spot the beast before it attacked the pig. I took a close look
at the beast as it slowly approached us.

Standing up, its huge frame, which seemed to reach three times my size, was covered
in brown fur with black streaks that ran like lightning, and every single hair was shiny
and glossy.

I could see its four thick legs treading the earth carelessly, gathering strength to leap
at me at any moment.

Dull white blades protruded from the joints of each leg.

Golden eyes stared at my every move, and fangs as thick as two of my fingers peeked
out of its mouth, which let out a low growl.

A blade tiger, a fierce beast with very few witnesses.

It’s a large fierce beast that is said to dwell in the Entete Forest, a deep forest that is
beyond the reach of humans, located east of the village of Berne. It was said to be able
to cut through the shell of an armoured bear with blades extending from its limbs.

Their pelts were harder than leather armor and their blades were as sharp as iron,
making them a prized possession of some royalty and the wealthy, and a bladed tiger
is said to fetch a tremendous price.

Protecting the little piggy on my back, I loosely lifted the blade tip of the long sword
held in my right hand and thrust it between the blade tiger’s eyes.

Serina, Christine-san and the others who noticed the appearance of the blade tiger
were about to rush over to us, but in the meantime, another blade tiger appeared from
another direction, forcing them to be wary of that one.

If one looked, one could see the marks of a struggle on either of the blade tigers, and
their fur was ripped open, revealing something reddish-black.

Does this mean that we showed up at the place where the two edged tigers were fighting?

When I looked towards the one where the two Bladed Tigers appeared, there was the
corpse of an Hammered boar with its abdomen slashed open and its neck chewed to
pieces.

They were fighting over who would eat this Hammered boar?

We brought a pig that didn’t have any way of resistance compared to the Hammered
Boar, and from the point of view of the edged tiger, it must have seemed like good prey.

As for the other one, as long as Serina and Christine-san are around, they shouldn’t
have to worry about it.

Since there was no sign of any other fierce beasts, I focused my attention on the bladed
tiger in front of me.

A bite of the edged tiger’s fangs, a swing of its claws, or a blow of its blade, any of them
could easily end a single human’s life.

The proof of this was the fact that although it was definitely wary of me, I didn’t see
any fear. Maybe it’s because I know of a human or a species that is similar in shape.

He also seemed to know that his life would not be threatened if he wasn’t caught off
guard.

I lowered the tip of my long sword slightly. It’s an understandable provocation, but
now, will it come along for the ride?

In the Blade Tiger’s eyes, there was a sense of pride in itself as a predator, as a strong
one, saying, “Interesting, you’re challenging Me just by yourself?”

The blade tiger’s limbs sank down slightly, its sharp claws dug into the ground, and it
released the power stored in the muscles of its entire body.

The blade tiger’s body, which was both flexible and strong, turned into a bolt of
lightning that matched the stripes running across its fur, and attacked me.
The blade tiger’s powerful muscles leapt, the dirt that gouged out of its legs flew up,
and the blades extending from its limbs slashed the wind with a sound.

I aimed at the leaping blade tiger’s brow and threw the long sword in my right hand.
The long sword thrown from my right hand, which was bent like a whip, turned into a
silver stream that split the atmosphere.

However, the Silver Stream was bitten by a black lightning bolt that suddenly flashed
in the void.

The right foreleg swung by the blade tiger struck the long sword’s middle, knocking it
down to the ground with a resounding thud.

The eyes of the blade tiger, which were aimed at the long sword, showed anger and
contempt for being toyed with by the little trick. But when the eyes were turned back
to me again, a sense of bewilderment was also present.

Because Blade Tiger’s eyes had lost sight of me.

In the instant that the Blade Tiger was forced to focus its attention on intercepting the
long sword, I rushed forwards, lowering myself, and was in a position to get under the
Blade Tiger’s body.

I didn’t miss the moment when the huge body of the edged tiger passed over my head,
which was nearly on my belly, and I thrust the dagger I had drawn with my left hand
into the edged tiger’s unprotected chest up to its base.

The blade tiger’s fur was harder than I thought, and if I hadn’t allowed the magic of
the Dragon species to pass through it, the dagger’s blade would have had a limit to
eating into the tip of the cut.

A sure response that tore through the fur and the thick, tough flesh beneath it. I felt
the realization that I had taken a life.

While savoring these feelings, I looked back at the Blade Tiger, which passed over my
head and landed behind me.

Oddly enough, I and the edged tiger looked back at each other at the same time.

Quietly, as I stared ahead, the blade tiger kept its posture low, ready to pounce on me
at any moment, but from the depths of its mouth, bright red blood poured out with a
force as if it were a dam, and a waterfall of blood stained its body.

The hilt of the dagger I had thrust up grew out of the chest wrapped in fur, and a sea
of blood was slowly spreading from there as well.

The golden eyes of the blade tiger, which had already lost its life, were still certainly
looking at me, and even in death, it had not lost its pride as a strong one.

I turned my gaze towards Christine-san and the others with a certain respect for that
figure.

The injuries sustained were deeper in the blade tiger that appeared to Christine san
and the others, and it was also a young individual, so I don’t think there’s any chance
of that happening, but……

Such concerns of mine were completely in vain.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the neck of the blade tiger, which was bound in
motion by Serina’s paralyzing magic eye, was about to be cut off by Christine’s mithril
longsword right now.

The encounter with the two blade tigers, a significant danger in the history of Berne
Village, had thus settled down to the best possible outcome: no casualties, no damage
to livestock.

But with the exception of Serina, who was still new to the village, and Christine, who
was an outsider, the three people in the village who had come to the forest with me
understood the unusual situation – the fact that a bladed tiger, which was supposed
to live deep in the eastern forest, had come so close to the Berne village.

And the danger that if that abnormal situation continues unresolved, more disaster
will come to the village.

First of all, because of the labor and the value of the prey, the mallet boar was drained
of its blood and buried on the ground to prevent it from being eaten by other prey, and
then the bodies of the two edged tigers were brought back to the village.
After that, we reported on the situation of the encounter in the forest and speculated
on why the blade and tigers were there at the village chief’s house with the village chief
and Baran-san.

The appearance of the Blade Tiger, which had never been seen even when initiating
the development of the northern frontier of the kingdom, including the village of Berne,
was too much to change the faces of the village chief and Grandma Muggle to be grim.

At the table they were all sitting through, I slowly looked around at the faces of everyone
in their chairs and asked for permission to investigate the forest, which I had been
wanting to ask for a long time.

“If we continue to just sit on the sidelines and watch the situation change, it may one
day become irreversible. Before that happens, give me permission to go and investigate
the forest. Considering the fact that even Blade Tiger is near the village, this is obviously
unusual. I’m sure the village chief is more aware of that than I am.”

The village chief snorted briefly at me as I said with unusually high spirits.

The village chief, who has reached the age of 60, could have passed his natural life
expectancy at any time, considering the life expectancy of the people of this era, but
he still has a clear head and his body, which has endured many years of hard work on
the farm, has remained lean and healthy.

People in the village are very fond of this experienced and sympathetic chief and hope
that he will remain in his post for another ten or twenty years.

The village chief rubbed his beard, which was grown out like a goat’s beard, with his
right hand and said.

“It’s true that if we sit here like you say, we’ll only be in the back of the pack if something
happens. But we can’t just let you go on your own. Can’t you get someone out of your
place too, Baran?”

“Yeah, I’ll send a couple of guys. Depending on the situation, we may need to call Galore
for reinforcements or an investigation.”

We only trained in between farm work, but Baran-san and the others received regular
training in the kingdom and gained real-world experience against fierce beasts and
barbarians while living on the frontier.
They have the regular equipment provided by the kingdom and are very dependable
when it comes to fighting. It would be a shame to send those people to a place where
they can’t grasp the situation and get injured.

Since my rebuttal was also a good one, the village chief snorted again. We definitely
need to investigate the forest, but it may still take some time to choose the right people
for that.

And as I was thinking about how we can’t afford to spend time talking like this, yes!
Serina cheerfully raised her hand.

“Yes! Then I’ll go with Doran-san to investigate the forest. I have the magic eye and can
use magic. I stopped the blade and tiger today as well. If Doran-san and I go together,
I think we can handle most things.”

“Let the young lady go investigate with Doran. I’ve never heard of Lamia in the Entete
Forest, but with you, young lady, we won’t have to worry about the snakes. And with
two wizards, surely most things can be managed…”

It would be a push until the village chief was satisfied. Just as I was about to argue
further, there was a candidacy from someone neither I nor the village chief was
expecting.

So far Cristina, who had been sitting quietly in her chair, gazed straight into the village
chief’s face with determined eyes and said she would accompany us into the forest.

“Then, village chief, I will accompany Doran and Serina. I understand magic and I can
wield a sword better than most people. I would like to ask you to allow me to head out
to investigate the forest, but what do you think?”

The village chief was leaning towards an affirmative opinion of me and Selina’s offer,
but as soon as Christine-san said she was heading to the forest, he had a different
reaction than he had to us.

“It will not happen! I would not be able to face this person if anything were to happen
to you. I appreciate the offer, but this is a matter for the Berne village. Please do not
concern yourself with this, and remain in the village. You must not think that you are
going to head for the forest of Entete.”

At the words of the village chief, unconvincing color appeared on Christine’s beautiful
face, and her mouth was tightly closed in silence.

Apparently, Christine’s blood relatives or those related to her are adults who are
related to our Berne village.

Seeing that Baran-san has the same expression as the village chief, it seems that he
knows her background.

However, the fact that Christine-san is from an aristocratic family was predicted by
everyone in the village based on her clothing and appearance.

It’s not surprising now. But I had a feeling that there was more to it than that.

“Village chief, although you won’t allow Christine-san to accompany us, will you allow
me and Serina to head out to investigate the forest? Assuming we don’t find anything,
we’re probably going to go to the forest for three or four days, but I’m not sure.”

“Hmm, good. I’ll send you and the young lady to investigate the forest. I don’t want you
to take any chances with your life. I will allow the investigation if you return in one
piece.”

“All right. I promise to return with Serina without any harm. And we’ll find out what’s
going on in the forest.”

Trying to reassure the village chief, I nodded and replied in a strong, confident voice.

After obtaining permission from the village chief in the presence of Baran-san, Serina
and I returned to our respective homes to make preparations, and the next day, before
the sun rose, we decided to leave the village before the sun rose to investigate the
Entete Forest to the east.

Since we planned to investigate over several days as we told the village chief, we
packed up our bags, mainly preservative food, water and wound medicine, and took
the dagger that pierced the heart of the bladed tiger and my usual long sword.

Once I put on the leg binding, gauntlets, the breastplate and minimal armor made from
the skin of a large fanged crocodile, my preparations were almost complete.
As usual, I asked Marco and my family to take care of the fields in my absence, and
then I walked to the north gate of the village, where I was to meet up with Serina.

When I arrived at the north gate, Serina was already there, dressed in the same
shoulder bag she wore when I first met her.

I was about to lightly raise my hand to call out to her, but when I noticed Selina’s
slightly troubled face, and at the same time understood why, I had to lower my hand
that was about to be raised.

Because right beside her was a beautiful woman who looked like a heavenly world’s
beautiful warrior maiden.

It was Christine-san herself, wearing black metal shin guards, base-armor, chest guards,
and protective gear of the same composition as mine.

Christine-san, who had been strictly forbidden by the village chief to accompany us
yesterday, seemed to have placed a small bag at her feet, waiting for us to arrive.

Christine-san’s breathtaking beauty was still covered in a stupefied shade, but when
she caught sight of me from Serina’s gaze, she smiled awkwardly.

It was an awful smile that you could almost hear it crack, but it’s not entirely devoid
of social skills, since it’s so much like trying to smile affectionately.

“Good morning, Doran. It’s a nice day to go out, isn’t it? Don’t you think so?”

“Good morning. I know it’s a beautiful day, but Christine-san I wonder if the chief of
the village didn’t adamantly forbid you to go to the East Woods yesterday.”

“Yeah, sure, I was warned by the village chief, but I just happen to take a few days to
go for a walk. So far I have been heading around the village and upstream of the river,
but I figured it would be a good idea to go to the east once in a while. You guys just
happen to be going to the same place, it’s just a walk. It’s just, well, you know, I’m not
very familiar with the geography of this area, so I might take a wrong turn and get lost
in the woods.”

You didn’t have to go to all that trouble to accompany us.

It seems that this person was more active than I had thought. Perhaps I should say
that I was not reading it right.

“I don’t know if the village chief would approve of what you have to say. Besides, we’re
going to be getting a lot of complaints after all. In the first place, why do you think
you’d want to go along with the investigation? From the attitudes of the village chiefs,
I’m guessing you have some kind of connection to the village of Berne, but I don’t think
there’s any reason to go to the trouble of risking anything.”

My point seems to have hit a sore spot with Christine-san, and she clouds her
expression.

For me personally, I don’t have much of a problem with Christine-san accompanying

me, but I should nail it down, just in case.

“That being said, I am not weak. I’m more related to the village of Berne by blood than
I am to myself. I visited Berne because this person had told me about the village and I
had planned to visit it sometime in the future. Then I found out that the people of this
village were in trouble. Fortunately, even I was able to help them with the problem, so
this was just a fate and an offer of help. There is certainly some danger. But I’m
inexperienced, but I’m confident in my sword in its own right, and with your abilities
that I saw in the forest, I won’t be in so much danger.”

Hmm, despite being the embodiment of beauty that would cause an aspiring artist to
break his own brush, this person seems to have a surprisingly sketchy personality,
contrary to his delicate good looks.

Christine-san looks straight at me with pleading and unyielding determination in her

red eyes.

Defeated by Christine-san’s gaze, I turn my gaze to Serina beside me.

“When you say this much, I’m inclined to let you do as you please, but what do you
think, Serina?

In response to me, Serina puts her index finger to her lips and ponders for a while,
hmm~.

The tip of her tail was twitching along with her tilted head. The sight of Serina like that
made me feel at ease, and my eyes relaxed.
“It’s fine, isn’t it? As soon as we find out that the situation is out of our control, we can
leave the forest, and Doran-san and I and Christine-san will be fine, I’m sure.”

With a smile, Serina tells me, and I nodded my head, feeling encouraged to do so as
well.

“I understand. I’m not going to complain or stop you wherever you go, Christine-san,
just because you happen to be headed to the same place. That’s all right?”

“Yeah, I’m glad to see you guys are on the same page.”

Thus we decided to change our plans and leave the village of Berne with the three of us.

From the village of Berne to the outermost edge of the Entete Forest, there was a path
that was wide enough for two carriages to pass each other.

It was a simple path, cleared of weeds and trampled down to the ground, and would
quickly become rough and crumble in the event of a downpour.

The Entete Forest extends from the northeast of the northern frontier to the east,
straddling the border and extending into the neighboring country, a large, unexplored
forest area.

Not one fiftieth of its vast area has been explored, and explorers, adventurers and
state-sponsored expeditions have set foot in it many times.

But the vast forests, with their diverse and indigenous vegetation, easily distract those
who set foot in them. Furthermore, the ferocious beasts and demons that inhabit the
forest may attack at any moment, strangling the nerves of those who enter and sucking
the blood and lives of those who enter.

The mysteries of the forest, which still remain unresolved, fascinate people, and
rumors that somewhere in the forest lie the remains of a great empire that once ruled
the continent, the capitals of super-ancient non-human races, and the land of the old
elves, are endless.

In the vicinity of the village of Berne, the existence of more powerful and troublesome
monsters than the grasslands and the upper reaches of the river, including large flesh
spiders and flying monitor lizards that glide through the air with a membrane like a
mousseline, have been confirmed.
(TN: Mousseline is a very fine, semi-opaque fabric similar to muslin)

Even so, the area where the trees were previously cut out for building materials is still
relatively safe because the demons are still regularly swept up, and there are several
huts built so you can rest there.

I was willing to step deep into the place as long as time allowed to find out why the
sword tigers and armored bears had appeared.

In the process, if the ruins of the ancient kingdom and the village of the elves are found
as rumored, that is something to be gained.

The closer you get to the forest of the Entete, the more diverse smells the trees create,
the stronger the power of the earth’s attributes and then the water’s attributes.

I’m sure Serina will be more comfortable in this environment than in the village if
there is a water spring or river.

When we arrived at the former logging area, we entered one of the huts.

There was a simple cooking area and stove to the right, a fireplace to the left, and a
long table and six chairs in the center.

There was a door that led further back, but there was probably a bedroom with a
sleeping area.

The hut that was built to cut down the trees in the forest seemed to be maintained
during regular demon slaying, and apart from a few dusty things, there was no
noticeable dirt in it.

We sat down on the chairs and laid out the food we brought on the table, making sure
to finish our stomachs before entering the forest in earnest.

Up to this point, Christine-san had been acting with us without a single complaint, and
she hadn’t said anything about the taste or texture of the preserved food she may have
purchased in the village.

Christine was so unconcerned with her reaction to this, the reaction of someone who
knows the life of a nobleman, that I internally thought I may have been mistaken.
Her graceful appearance and good looks, which could only have been blessed by the
God who controls beauty, made me vaguely think that she was born of nobility, but I
wondered if she might have had a surprisingly hard life.

We stepped into the forest after we finished eating in the shed.

Our feet were covered with grasses of all shapes and sizes – green, yellow and red –
and the brown ground was nowhere near as brown as a cat’s forehead.

Thick tree roots were tangled together to form a carpet, while in other places they
were forming a mass larger than I had been, making it difficult to walk.

The ground was covered with thickly folded grasses and mosses of various colors, so
thick that my footprints were clearly visible, and the carpet of tree roots went on and
on.

The branches of huge trees folded together to create a canopy of wilderness, and the
sun shone through the gaps in the trees.

Every now and then Serina’s golden hair or Christine’s pure silver hair would glow in
the sunshine, and I would often slow down to admire the beauty of the trees.

Eventually, as we moved deeper into the woods, the attacks of the monsters and
animals that lived in the forest gradually increased.

“Fumu.”

From the branch of a tree so huge that I could look up, the head of the flying monitor
lizard that jumped at my back was sliced off with a swing of the long sword as I turned
around.

Because of the speed of the sword, no blood even seeped from the sliced off neck and
body. The faint smell of burning flesh tickles my nose.

When I looked at the long sword, I saw that it was heated by the friction with the
atmosphere, and the dull silver blade was stained fire red.

I’m not sure if the flying dragon lizard’s hard skin and neck bone were even there, but
it was an extremely messy strike that was not driven by skill but by physical strength.
Usually flying monitor lizards act alone, so there was no successive assaults.

Selina noticed the flying monitor lizard and attempted to flatten it with a blow to the
lower half of its body, but she only watched as I held it still with my hand.

Since there was no blood on the blade, I looked at the carcass of the flying monitor
lizard with the long sword in my hand.

The flesh is somewhat hard but not inedible, and the hard skin is useful if processed
as a protective gear as it is.

However, we have just entered the forest, and even if we process it here, it is not a
good idea to increase our luggage.

Although it seems like a waste of resources, we’ll just have to leave it at that.

Serina looks quite alarmed and prepared for the next attack, but mmmm, there’s no
scary thing at all when she raises her eyebrows and glares upwards, just cute.

It was even more so because he was making a small clenched fist in front of his chest.

Giggling, I let out a small smile and turned my attention to the presence of the large
insects crawling on the ground.

Let’s just say it’s a forest creature, indeed, running around on a foothold with a green
carpet of grass and flower leaves that don’t make any noise as they scrape against each
other.

“Serina, not up there. Down.”

“Huh? Oh, what?”

When Serina looked back down at the sound of my voice, the Great Spiders were
surrounding us.

They are huge spiders, almost as tall as my chest, with finely hairy legs and shells of
purple, yellow, red, and blue, a color scheme that is extremely toxic.

The giant spider’s eight red eyes stared at us emotionlessly, but it didn’t seem to
recognize us as its prey.
Hmm, the fact that more than one of them is coming at us means that they may be able
to cooperate with each other.

I’m sure there was a female demon named Arachne, whose upper body is human and
lower body is a spider, but does she really live in this forest?

It is said that the thread of Arachne can be sold for a high price in some cases, and
clothing made from it is said to be on the market.

In addition, there are some Arachne settlements in the forest, and some of them are
said to have a normal exchange with people. For the sake of the village’s future, I’d like
to make their acquaintance.

The most troublesome thing about these spider creatures is the sticky thread that
comes out of their rear end, and their agility and leaping ability that is hard to imagine
from their appearance.

These three things are often the reason why you lose focus when fighting these large
spider monsters.

In fact, we are even more disadvantaged under the unfamiliar conditions of a large,
dense forest of trees.

But, Christine-san and Serina are very different from the opponents that the giant
spider has been able to devour.

I used my enhanced five senses to completely grasp both sides of the Giant Spider as
it jumped at me from each side, and I thrust the tip of my long sword into the mouth
of the Giant Spider on the right, without misjudging its aim.

With the same response as piercing the flesh of an animal, I swung my long sword and
struck the opposite spider from above like a mallet, with the same momentum that I
had laid waste to the body of the giant spider.

Just as I crushed the small spider with my foot, the other spider was crushed to pieces
by the sheer force of the impact, crushing all of its brethren who were already dead.
I just turned around to see a scene in my eyes where a thin earth spear, clad in grass
and moss, pierced the soft abdomen of the leaping giant spider from below.

The skewered giant spider let out a barely audible scream, twitched faintly, and then
ceased to move in despair.

When exercising magic, it is usually done by chanting like in the battle with the armored
bear, but if you are a skilled or familiar magic user, you can activate it by simply shouting
the magic name.

The more advanced a spell is, the longer the spell tends to be, so this method is very
useful in combat where spur-of-the-moment decisions are required, but instead the
amount of magic power consumed will increase and the effect of the spell invoked will
be degraded.

However, Serina’s magic, which has often ingested the spirit of the dragon species
from me, can be said to be enough to bury a giant spider with a single blow.

It seems that Serina’s words about being used to fighting monsters since she lived in
her birthplace were true, and even when the giant spiders attacked, she didn’t seem
to be fazed by the attacks of the giant spiders, she was able to fight them back.

And just like Serina, Christine-san also fought off the giant spider without a problem,
and the three dead bodies of the giant spider that were cut in half were lying at her
feet. Not a single drop of the spider’s body fluid was on the long sword.

Serina let out a sigh of relief as she turned back to me and quickly crawled over to me,
studying me closely from the top of my head to my toes to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“Are you hurt, Doran-san? I wish I’d figured it out sooner, but…”

“Don’t worry about it. As you can see, I’m not hurt, and I wanted to get my body moving
too. Besides, we’re only just getting into the woods. The real work will have to wait.”

After that, we fought off the occasional large-winged centipede or pack of entwined
wolves, and we continued to move forward.
Then, from a certain point, the seemingly never-ending raids stopped and the presence
of not only monsters but also ordinary insects and animals began to diminish.

At last, the cause of the abnormal behavior of the creatures in the Entete Forest is near.

The colors of the forest, which had been a dark green with occasional reds, blues, and
yellows, began to change to violet, black, and dark blue with a poisonous impression
as we moved deeper into the forest.

It even extended to the trees. The trees that should be reaching for the heavens are
twisted in an odd direction and their bark seems to be in a state of decay.

The fertility of the soil has been drained from the trees and they are no longer able to
nurture life.

This is terrible. Otherworldly energy, or maybe even miasma…”

Christine is also aware of the abnormality around us.

Anyone with a change in environment would understand the anomaly moreover,

Serina and Christine’s spiritual perceptions of the otherworldly miasma, which has
begun to blend into the atmosphere, sharply detects the miasma and gives them
goosebumps.

In the deepest recesses of their minds and souls, they understand that the thing that
is transforming the forest of the Entete into an ugly form is an absolute enemy that is
incompatible with life in this material world.

That’s why Serina and Christine-san were ready to engage in combat in their
subconscious.

As we advance, fed up with the dirty air that seems to cling to our skin and permeate
our bodies, the thick smell of blood and death begins to envelop us.

Soon, a huge tree with a tangle of thin branches appeared to block our path. As we
bypassed it, we found an open area where we found the corpse of a beast that had
been slashed to shreds.

The blood of the beast, which was scattered on the ground and the flowers and
grasses, had already turned black and dried, indicating that a good amount of time had
passed since the beast was killed.

The one whose brown fur and shell had been torn apart in one piece was an armored
bear. It was also a larger individual than the one that had appeared near the Bern
village.

To cut through the fur and shell of such a large animal is nothing short of unparalleled
sharpness.

Ugh, Serina lets out a small groan.

Christine-san and I approach, leaving Serina behind to examine the corpse in order to
learn a bit of information about the lowly person who murdered the armored bear so
cruelly.

White bones peek out of the cut, and the internal organs, protected by thick fur, fat
and muscle, are cut cleanly enough to be called brilliant.

Even the four-limbed blade of a bladed tiger wouldn’t be able to cut so brilliantly.

“Would Christine-san be able to do the same thing?”

“Well, It’s not something I can’t do. No, but the cuts are sparse. There’s more than one
individual who did it. Multiple offenders. Moreover, they seem to be ruthless to the
core”

Christine twisted her good looks in an unpleasant way. I agreed with her.

“Looking at these wounds, I can see that they deliberately prolonged the death by
avoiding a fatal wound. That is why they enjoyed watching it die slowly and
painstakingly.”

Most of the wounds inflicted on the armored bear carcasses were not immediately
fatal. The aim was to torture them to death, as I said.

So those who enjoy killing are the ones who brought about this strange change in the
forest of Entete. If we had been late in dealing with them, it would have been even
more troublesome.

While I am relieved that I came early, I also have to admit that this forest is more
dangerous than I thought.

“It’s at least a relief that this armored bear’s soul has properly gone to the underworld.”

“Do you even know this stuff?”

At my unintentional muttering, Christine-san opens her eyes a bit and asks me. It is
impossible to know the whereabouts of a soul unless one is a clergyman.

“It is an instinct. It’s just a feeling, because I don’t feel the horror of a dead spirit that
hates the living.”

“Feeling.”

“Well, that’s just it. It’s more about this armored bear. If we leave the carcass here like
this, it’s going to be troublesome as it’s going to become undead later on.”

“It certainly sounds like a possibility.”

If the corpse is eaten by forest animals or returned to the ground, it’s fine, but there’s
a possibility that the corpse will be controlled by lowly people using the evil law,
depending on the case.

Considering the location, cremation is a bit of a problem, but should it at least be

buried?

After interfering with the dark, blood-sucking ground and pumping up my magic to
sink the armored bear’s corpse deep underground, I felt the stench of rotten blood
and flesh rushing over me and reached for the long sword in its sheath.

Christine-san noticed it right after me but, Serina, a lamia on top of that was the last
person to perceive its presence. Umm, Serina-san and, let’s be a little more careful,
shall we?

“Looks like we’re going to meet up with the offenders sooner than I thought. Christine-
san, Serina, are you ready?”

Anytime, but it doesn’t look like they’re coming after us.”

“Someone is being chased.”

By the time each of us moved our mouths, we were already running. Christine, with
her beloved long sword in hand, ran through the countless branches, root masses, and
pebbles that existed ahead of us as if they were not there.

It’s as if she’s in a garden where she knows every inch of it. It’s as if my bare physical
abilities can’t keep up with it.

As I see it, Christine-san is probably not an ordinary person.

Serina crawls on the ground through the trees, and I run at the back of the pack.

As I sprinted as fast as I could, I saw something shining softly in the gaps between the
trees that rose like a prison. And multiple shadows were chasing it.

The faces of the shadows, with their large curved hunchback, reminded me of a lizard
without eyes and nose. From face to toe, it was covered in hard skin of a single gray
color, and five sharp claws extended from the tips of its thin hands, which seemed to
have nothing but bones.

When I looked at the gray claws that dully bounced off the sunlight, I intuitively
understood that those were the weapons that had slashed the armored bear to shreds.

“What are they?”

“It’s a low grade demon soldier. As I recall, it’ s name is Zelt. It should have a diminutive
physique as it looks, with the agility to match, and a physical strength that is not
commensurate with its appearance. That small body is especially troublesome. It is
better to expect that it will always use the same evil sword technique that Marida-san
used against Christine-san the other day, and you should always fight it.”

I was answering Christine’s question about the lead. They were beings in my memory.
I had dealt with them many times when I was once a dragon.

Demon soldiers are lifeless magical creatures created by evil gods and demons that
dwell in the demon world.

They do not have a consciousness, but their ruthless and vicious aggression towards
life has been instilled in them.

In some cases, manufacturing methods are passed on to groups that believe in evil
gods, or there are ritual vessels that give birth to demon soldiers, but this time they
are either pawns of the Evil One, or those from the demon world appeared in the
material world and brought them here…

As a small wrinkle creases between my eyebrows, Christine mumbles as she looks

forward.

“You know it well,”‘

“There’s a lot of stuff in the books Grandma Muggle has,”

It’s an excuse that I know I’m going to be tough on. But Christine-san didn’t have time
to question it.

The lower-grade demon soldiers, who were rapidly approaching in front of us, had
noticed us and were turning their malicious intent and closing in on us.

“Serina, magic and magic eyes from that position!”

Serina, who was confused by the demon soldier she had never seen before, jolted her
body at my words and made a sudden stop on the lower half of the giant snake that
was crawling on the ground and replied to me in a panicked tone of voice in approval.

“Ha, yes!”

When dealing with Zelt, which has both the quickness and sharpness of the wind, in
this place where there are many obstacles that block the view, it would not be a good
match for Lamia.

It is somewhat doubtful that Serina has the skills to accurately aim at the numerous
zealots, and considering that it will be a melee with me and Christine-san, it’s best not
to expect too much magical support.

Zelt’s movements, which were only about as tall as my waist, were like a gray wind
blowing through the trees.

It’s a demonic wind that rains blood with its gray blades. These eight Zelt would be
the very essence of death to the life in this forest.

Each Zelt kicked the ground with our feet as their primary target. First they slash the
enemy’s feet, then they dismember the bloodied enemy into a thousand or ten
thousand pieces of meat.

Zelt and others slash the trunks of trees with their spread-out five-fingered blades,
scraping the ground and staring at me and Christine-san with eyes as thin as the
threads on their slippery faces.

Glaring back at the black, cloudy eyes of the zelts, Christine-san uses her body-enhancing
magic and rapidly accelerates.

The roots of the tree that Christine-san stepped into explode and her beautiful body
turns into a bullet with a human form. How much power was put into it to step in to
explode the intertwined thick tree roots?

While watching that back tossing the silver hair, I aim at the three Zelt that are trying
to head to Serina at the rear and activate my magic.

“Hear my voice, O Reason of Power, become an arrow and shoot at my enemy, Energy
Bolt!”

It is an offensive magic that generates arrows of the same pure magic power as
Serina’s arrows fired at the armored bear.

This magic mixes the magic power that fills the world with its own magic power to
create arrows, and the number of arrows that can be created at one time varies
somewhat depending on the strength and magic power of the magician.

The lower-grade offensive magic, <Energy Bolt>, although its killing power is not very
high, it has the ability to aim at the enemy set by the surgeon and automatically track
it, and it could be said to be an extremely user-friendly magic.

Six green arrows are created around me as I finish chanting while running. And I
aimed two of them at each of the Zelt who were about to pass over my head.

With a high-pitched sound, the <Energy Bolts> attacked Zelt and his team while
drawing a tail of light.

The magic-generated demon soldiers, regardless of the type, have a magic resistance
that surpasses that of humans, but the <Energy Bolts> generated by the magic power
of the dragon species do not face any resistance to Zelt and his team’s modest magic
resistance.

The Zelt’s lizard-like face and severely curved abdomen received a direct hit from
magic arrows, and each of them punched a hole the size of a fist and instantly turned
into gray dust and disappeared.

Five bodies left. Three of them had already been cut down by Christine-san.

Against an enemy with a dwarf physique that couldn’t even reach her own waist,
Christine-san had decided from her experience fighting Marida-san that thrusting was
more efficient than swinging her sword, and she was fighting with stabbing rather
than slashing as the main axis.

The remaining two bodies, lined up vertically, were coming straight at me.

I also ran towards the group of Zelts. With one right hand, I grabbed a long sword and
flung its tip to the lower right rear.

What’s coming? The moment those words passed through my head, a Zelt, who was
running ahead of me, slowed down slightly and leaned forward with a bang.

The second Zelt stepped on the back of the leaning Zelt and kicked out vigorously to
accelerate toward me.

I see. They do a clever imitation.

From above me, Zelt tried to shred my head, and from below, tried to slice my lower
body into dozens of pieces.

Even a warrior accustomed to fighting would not be able to deal with this combination
of demon soldiers. But…

“Clever.”

I spilled a single word and thrust the long sword of my right hand carelessly at Zelt
below.

Due to the absolute body strengthening from the magical power of the dragon species,
the long sword pierced through Zelt’s head with a speed that surpassed even lightning
and pierced through the back of his waist, laying waste to his body.
And Zelt flying over my head. I hold the head of the mindless demon soldier, who is
upset that his compatriot has been killed, with the five fingers of my empty left hand
outstretched to stop him.

The gray skin felt light and rough, reminiscent of a rocky surface. There was no
warmth, and it was cold as if it was sucking the heat out of me.

I temporarily replaced my human body with that of a dragon’s a moment earlier, based
on the information of the dragon’s body from a previous life that is recorded in my
spirit soul.

I couldn’t help but utter an apology in my mind as I felt a tingle of pain at my apologies
to my parents for giving me this body and life.
The physical abilities of demon soldiers, the sharpest of the demonic ones, are much
stronger than humans in terms of durability and robustness, but Zelt’s head, held in
my hands, felt more fragile than an egg.

Not only was my body strengthened by the magical power of the dragon species, but
by changing the human cells themselves into those of the dragon species for the
moment, my physical strength at this time exceeded that of an adult dragon.

After making sure that the two zelt turned into a single grip of yakuza dust, I turned
my gaze to Christine-san and heard Serina’s chanting behind me.

“Jaram!”

Christine slaughtered one Zelt from the top of its head to its groin, cutting off the head
of the Zelt that slipped aside. The other one, which was about to attack her back, was
caught by the image of a demonic snake that appeared through Serina’s magic with its
large jaws.

The demon serpent’s large fangs thrust deep into Zelt’s neck, and as it was, it completely
chewed through his cervical vertebrae, turning to dust shortly afterwards.

Christine-san, who finished clean-up of Zelt’s and sheathed her beloved sword, looks
back at Serina, who is behind me.

“I am thankful. You helped me.”

“No, I did the obvious and Christine-san would have been able to handle it without my
help, wouldn’t she?”

What Serina says is true.

Christine-san already had her hand on the scabbard at her waist while Zelt was behind
her. Even without Serina’s help, she would have stuck out the sheath as it was and
crushed Zelt’s throat or the tip of his nose, no doubt.

And with her right leg as a fulcrum, she would have swung her beloved sword around
while winding the wind and would have done enough to cut Zelt’s body in half.

Christine-san’s reaction speed and reflexes to completely capture Zelt, whose body
language is as good as the wind, are completely beyond the realm of an ordinary person.
“Now that you’ve taken care of the trouble for now, can you tell us why you were being
pursued, little girl?”

When I called out towards the shade of the large tree, Christine-san and Serina followed
suit and turned their gazes towards it. Then the small sphere of light that had been
chased by Zelt and the others earlier appeared fearfully.

Inside the sphere floating softly in the air was a girl about one-tenth the height of a
human being.

The light seemed to be emitted by the girl herself.

The girl had long hair reminiscent of Jade Green Water with yellow ribbons tied up on
both sides of her head. From the back, transparent butterfly wings stretching thinly
through the light.

“A fairy. She is cute as if she jumped out of a picture book. Hmm.”

“Wow, I’ve never seen a fairy before. She’s so cute and tiny!”

Christine-san and Serina’s reaction to learning the identity of the one being pursued
by Zelt was very feminine.

Especially Christine-san. This person somehow rarely reveals her emotions, and
combined with her beauty that makes it hard to believe she’s a blood relative, there’s
a part of her that doesn’t feel like an ordinary human being.

That’s why her reaction was unexpected.

I know it’s a very rude thought, but I can’t help but think that way.

If we went out a little longer, we would have more opportunities to get to know Christine
and clear up our misconceptions about her, but I don’t know if we have time for that.

But I guess I should put my impressions, or rather my guesses, of Christine-san to rest.

Now I must talk to the fairy girl who will know the clues to this forest mutation.

The fairy girl, dressed in a design that looks like flower petals sewn together, seemed
to be on guard against the appearance of humans who should not be in the forest.
When she approached us to a certain extent, she stopped and floated in a fluffy,
floating position, asking us in a frightened voice.

“Um, thank you for saving me. Are you a human-san? And Lamia-san?”

“Yes. I’m Doran. The woman over there with silver hair and red eyes is Christine and
the lamia girl is Serina. We came from the nearby village of Berne. We saw a bladed tiger
and armored bear near the village, so we thought something might have happened to
the forest. And you?”

“Ma, Marr is my name. I’ve been chased around by that mahentee for a while now, and,
well… thank you. Thank you for your help. But, I see, everyone in the forest near the
human’s village…”

Christine-san calls out to Marr, whose innocent face looks down sadly, with concern.

“Ah. So, we came to investigate what’s going on in the forest, and that demon soldier
is the cause of the strange event? Marr, can you tell us what you know about when the
demon soldier first appeared? If we can help you, we’ll help you. We don’t want
anything to happen to the forest, either. Isn’t that right, Doran?”

Although she has a gloomy expression on her face and wears a somewhat decadent
atmosphere, Christine-san seems to be a gentle woman in essence.

“Fumu, it’s certainly true what Christine-san says. I’m sure we’ll be able to help you if
we can help you. Marr, what do you think?”

“Well, well, you see, we’re all in great need, and Marr would be very happy if you could
help us out, but we’d be in trouble if we got a human involved.”

As I was about to open my mouth to say that there was no need to worry about it,
because it was for our own good after all, Christine-san and I looked up and around
when we noticed the presence that was surrounding us.

Serina seemed to notice it two beats behind us.

Fumu, Serina has the same organs as a snake, so her search and detection abilities
should be high, but should Christine-san and I be considered non-standard?

The emotions directed at us from those around us are more guarded and suspicious
than hostile, and there’s none of the nerve-wracking, clenching, killing spirit that is
characteristic of demon soldiers.

I unsheathed my long sword and dagger and placed them at my feet to show that there
was no hostility. Serina follows me and closes her eyelids to seal her demon eyes.

Christine-san seemed a bit lost, but she still followed our lead and sheathed her
beloved sword and placed it at her feet in a slow motion.

Then, the sound of rustling branches and leaves followed, and those surrounding us
began to appear, one or two by one.

“A clan of Wood Elves, I presume.”

“Yeah.”

I responded briefly to Christine’s mutterings. Surrounding us were blonde-haired,

green-eyed, wide-eyed, excellent and beautiful men and women, dressed in clothes
made from the stems and leaves of plants and animal hair from the forest.

All of them were as beautiful as the rest. Their eyes, noses, and mouths and their
placement are such that you can only imagine that the god of art has wielded his skills
to the fullest.

Their long, pointed ears protrude from their dazzling gold and shaded green hair, with
not a single exception.

There are many different races and clans of elves, but the one we see before us is none
other than the Wood Elves who live in the forest area.

It is said that in the past, when the village of Berne was just being built, the village
chiefs and those in charge of the kingdom negotiated with the Wood Elves to obtain
wood for building and the bounty of the forest from the forests of Entete.

The elves surrounding us were probably from the same clan that surrounded us then.

We’ve got a lot of time to get to know each other, and we’ve got a lot to learn from each
other.

They had swords, short bows, and spears in their hands, and some of them were
holding on to their spirit magic just before they could activate it.

It seems that they have finished preparing themselves to attack if we show any signs
of harm to them, so they are ready to attack immediately.

Now, how shall we negotiate?

The ancestors of the elven species migrated from the spirit world that exists in a
different time and space from the material world.

In other words, they are a race that lives in the space between the material world and
the spirit world.

Elves are referred to as grass elves, sea elves, mountain elves, and so on, depending on
their habitat, but the largest number of elves are known to be wood elves, whose
friends are the plants of the forest.

There are a total of four Wood Elves that we now see in front of us. But there are three
more who are watching us, cleverly blending in with the colors of the forest, holding
their breath and not showing themselves.

They have not relaxed their vigilance towards us.

In the past, the wood elves who negotiated with the people of Berne village did not
have that much dislike or hostility towards humans.

If that was the case, then their overly cautiousness should be considered to be the
urgency of the situation happening in the Entete Forest, which was robbing them of
their usual leeway.

One of the Wood Elves advances directly in front of us and stops ten paces away from
us.

He is a young man with a dark green bandana and pale gold hair, with a sharp eyelet
that reminds me of a bird of prey.

He is dressed in green clothing that seems to have been spun from the veins of a giant
tree’s leaves, and his slender fingers hold a well-handled short bow.

If we acted suspiciously, this young man’s arms would move like a flash of light to
shoot an arrow.

The young man in front of me had an unmistakable awesomeness that only made me
think so. The reason why he appeared in front of us is because he is trusted by the
surrounding Wood Elves.

He must have always led the way against danger and protected his friends.

The young man called out to Marr, who was wavering between him and us, in a sharp
but concerned sounding voice.

“Marr, get away from them and come over here.”

“Gio, but these humans helped Marr a lot.”

“I know. As long as they don’t do anything, no harm will come to them. So just get in
here, quick.”

Marr was prompted by the Wood Elf, who she called Gio, looked back at us and bowed
once in a big way, and then flew towards the Wood Elves, looking back at us several
times.

As Marr passed by Gio’s side, the Wood Elf girl who was waiting behind Gio called out
to her with a bright smile on her face.

From the way she appeared to be worried from the bottom of her heart, she must be
a close friend to Marr.

“Marr, you’ve been warned to not go out alone in there. The forest is very dangerous
now.”

“I’m sorry, Fio. But I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on out there. I just
wanted to know how everyone in the forest was doing right now.”

“I know how Marr feels about it, too. But you mustn’t go out there by yourself again. I
was so worried about something bad happened to Marr, you know.”
When the girl, whose face is vaguely similar to Gio’s, complained with tears in her large
eyes, Marr apologized many times for making her precious friend worried.

Watching the two of them like that, I was truly glad that we were able to save Marr.

Then Gio turned to us, his corner of the eye, once again grim, as if to tighten the slightly
relaxed air.

Gio’s eyes, which seemed to capture the greenery of the trees, were fixed on my face.
As if searching for our true intentions, Gio’s eyes shoot straight into mine.

“Humans and Lamia. First of all, let me thank you for saving our friend Marr. Thank
you. But this forest is the domain of all who live in it, including us Wood Elves. And we
will not invade the realm of humans as long as humans do not invade the forest. This
was the agreement we made with the humans who once ruled this neighborhood. Why
did you break that and set foot in the forest?”

First of all, I liked his discipline in thanking me for the matter with Marr. It wasn’t as
if he was suddenly going to shoot a bow at me, and if I explained the situation properly,
I could avoid any rough stuff.

I explained that the beasts that were supposed to dwell in the forest of Entete had
begun to appear near the village, and that we had come to investigate them, assuming
that something strange was happening in the forest.

In fact, our speculation was correct, and the forest of Entete is experiencing an unusual
situation where demon soldiers are appearing in the forest.

Gio, who heard our explanation, wrinkled deeply between his eyebrows as if to say “as
I thought”.

Even from the wood elves hiding around him, you can feel the turmoil disturbing the
surface of his spirit.

Fio’s innocent face and other features were clearly overshadowed, and she seemed
saddened by the fact that the forest’s mutation was affecting the outside of the forest
as well.

“If that’s the reason, I don’t blame you guys for setting foot in the forest. Also, if it is
the case that you fought against the demon soldiers again, I can’t just turn you away
without telling you anything. Now, a conflict with the demons is taking place in the
forest of Entete. The ones who showed up near your village are probably the ones who
got caught up in the conflict and were chased out of the forest.”

“An army of demons?!”

Christine-san was stunned by the revelation that Gio had told her.

The demon world, which almost all humans will never have any contact with until
their lifetime ends. Christine couldn’t help but be surprised when she heard that she
was in contact with such an otherworldly being.

As for me, I was biting down on a bitter bug in my heart, wondering if the troublesome
one among the two possibilities I had expected was on target.

In the past, it was possible to move freely between the heavenly realm of good gods
and the demon world of evil gods to the human world.

However, after a fierce battle between the gods when I was still alive as a dragon, a
kind of rift between the human world and the heavenly and demonic worlds that even
gods and demons can’t easily pass through was created.

The construction of this inter-world rift also involves my fellow dragon species, but
I’ll leave it at that for now.

The rift is not completely blocked, it is filled with small holes like a web, and the higher
the rank and strength of the person, the more difficult it will be for him or her to
appear in the material world.

Even if they were able to appear, they would not be able to fully display their powers
and abilities, and if they were a high-ranking god, they could only convey a little of
their power and speech to the earth.

On the other hand, if they are weak or low grade beings – a demon soldier like Zelt,
for example – they won’t lose much of their power when they appear on earth.

However, even a low-level demon soldier like Zelt would still be in an unusual situation
if a group of hundreds of them appeared on the surface.

Does this mean that the gates that are permanently connected to the demon world
have been opened in the Entete Forest?

If I had maintained my senses as a previous life’s dragon species, I would have noticed
the spatial anomaly in the opening of the gates…… No, it’s too late to regret it now.

I’ll have to think about what I can do now. I’m going to have to close the gate that is
connected with the demon world immediately.

If this gate is left open for too long, the demonic energy will eat away at everything on
this side of the gate, and more and more high-ranking demons and demonkind will
appear on earth.

If this happens, the destruction, death and fear that will be brought to the earth will
be immeasurable.

I felt a dark flare of emotion inside me, saying that I must destroy the demons that
come over here before they are destroyed.

I wasn’t going to show any mercy to those who harmed my family and friends now.

Even if it was known that my soul was a dragon and I was forced to leave my
hometown, I would not hesitate to wield my power to protect everyone in my village.

While I was thinking in my mind about those from the demon world, Christine-san,
who was shocked by the unusual situation of the emergence of the demon world’s
army, was asking Gio a series of questions with a force that would eat him up.

In the past, stories of the demonkind that appeared on earth have been known to
humans, and all of them are said to have caused eye-watering damage to the earth.

If the legend can be reenacted, no one will be able to calm down.

“So, how long have these demons been around? Have you informed the kingdom of
this situation? How are you guys dealing with this?”

“Ch, Christine-san, don’t be so flustered, you see, Gio-san is in trouble.”

Serina, who still has her eyes closed, hurriedly calls out to stop Christine-san’s
uncharacteristic appearance.
The reason why Serina looks calm compared to Christine-san is probably due to the
fact that Christine-san is much more flustered than I am, and I’m maintaining my
composure.

On top of that, from Serina’s point of view, it might not feel real at the moment, even if
it’s called the army of the demon world.

“Serina, but this is not an unusual…… no, that’s right. I’m sorry. I was a little
distraught.”

“No, I understand why you’re upset. But this is our problem. We, who live in the forest
will defeat any who invade it. This is no concern of yours. You can go on your way back
outside. Before long, the forest will be no longer in danger and the foresters will no
longer be seen in your territory. Gio, Wood Elf of the Forest of Entete, I promise you
this for the pride of your clan.”

You can see the determination and pride on Gio’s face as he swore an oath to himself.

But if they are from the demon world, we can’t leave matters to the Wood Elves.

I’m not sure what level of strength they have, but they want someone who can fight,
even if it’s just a few.

“It’s not that I doubt your words, but I can’t just take you at your word this time. If the
enemy of all life on earth, the demons of the demon world, has come, we can’t just go
back to the village without a fight. At the very least, we should at least check out the
war potential and movements of the demons that have appeared in the forest with our
own eyes. Of course, we will do everything in our power to help them. That’s what I’m
thinking, but what about Christine-san and Serina?”

“I’m not going to say no. I was just hoping to see with my own eyes what the situation
was like.”

“If Doran-san and Christine-san are not returning, then I won’t be going back as well.
Besides, when I saw that demon soldier called Zelt just now, I had a very bad feeling
about it. That thing shouldn’t belong in this world. If Gio-san and the others can get
rid of it alone, that would be a very good thing, but we can help you with that, too. No,
in fact, don’t we need to help Gio-san and the others?”

Christine-san understands the dangers of the demons in the realm of spirits and
instincts from her extraordinary senses, and she seems to have been willing to provide
her assistance to the Wood Elves based on the ethical and moral standards she has
developed in her life.

And Serina seemed to understand the danger of the situation better than I thought. I
wonder if the curse of the demon snake running through her body is buzzing from the
proximity of an equally cursed presence.

The three of us refused to leave the forest together, Gio let out a big sigh and shook his
head from side to side without effort.

“I am grateful for your offers of help. But those who defile the forest must be defeated
by those who live in it. That is the law of the forest. This law is now and always will be
the same and must not be changed.”

“But even as we talk like this, the forest and those who dwell in it are being threatened
by those in the demon world, aren’t they? Then I want you to fight with us, even if it
means bending the law for a time. The law is there to keep life alive, but isn’t it the end
of the world if we sacrifice our lives to keep the law? When the battle with the demons
is over, or if we have enough information, we will leave the forest as you say. Will you
think about it?”

“I appreciate the…… offer. But……”

Gio himself seems to understand the urgency of the situation. But even so, his pride
and sense of duty as a person living in the forest surpasses him, and he cannot seem
to accept our offer with open arms.

Fio who’s beside Gio and the wood elves who hide around him were watching Gio’s
decision with bated breath.

Looks like our power, which defeated Zelt and the others with outstanding skills be
what they need, and is at their throats to spill out, but it would be emotionally difficult
for them to accept those outside the forest for a simple reason.

I understand that, but if we continue to push back and forth here, we will only be
wasting our time in mischief and helping those in the demon world rather than
helping them.

As for us, we don’t intend to break, so we must do everything we can to persuade Gio
to accept the grant and obtain information from the people of the demon world.

Now what kind of persuasion, not only I, but also Christine-san and Serina thought the
same way, when Marr, who was standing on Fio’s shoulder and resting her wings,
timidly opened her mouth.

“Gio, Doran-san, Marr believes that neither of you are wrong in what you two are
saying. But the sun is about to set. If we keep talking, it will be nighttime, won’t it?”

The sun had already begun to dip as Marr had said and was setting in the west. It was
already noon when we arrived at the Entete Forest.

Now that we continued to go further and further into the forest from there, the sky
was gradually turning from the color of azure to a light purple color.

The demon world’s beings generally tended to prefer the darkness of night and the
night air, and they were more active at night. Welcoming the night in the middle of the
forest was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous act.

At Marr’s point, Gio’s neat face changes sternly in a different way again, and a
hesitation appears in his eyes as he looks at us.

“Brother, we won’t get anywhere if we keep talking like this. Even if we ask these
people to go out of the forest like this, it would be dangerous if night falls on the way,
so let’s have them come to the village once and tell you what we know there. Then
these people might have some understanding and change their minds. Besides, we
have to get back to the village before the night comes……”

“Fio…… Surely you and Merle are right. It’s unavoidable. You’ll need to spend the night
in our village. I’m sure you’ll find that this forest is far too dangerous to spend the
night as it is. Normally, we would not allow outsiders to enter our village without
reason, but considering the current situation, we have no choice.”

“All right. Thank you for your generosity. Should I leave the sword with you guys?”

Gio shook his thin head from side to side at my question.

“No, keep it. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to take care of yourself. We don’t have
much time to spare.”
Considering the possibility of an attack by demon soldiers on the way to the village,
they thought it was not a good idea to take away the weapons from us who had the
strength to fight.

“All three of us are going to be able to at least take care of ourselves. Serina, you can
open your eyes now.”

I pick up the long sword at my feet and strap the scabbard to my waist belt.

Christine-san and Serina quickly finish their preparations as well.

The Wood Elves who had been hiding around us emerged and we proceeded through
the forest towards their village, with Gio and the others surrounding us.

The forest was dimly lit by the branches of the trees overhead, but as the sun began to
dip, the darkness rapidly deepened.

Serina, the lamia, has the ability to visualize heat, so the darkness is not so
inconvenient, but that’s not the case for Christine-san and I.

We need to pass magic power through our eyes and change them to magic eyes that
have been given magical vision, or else it will be difficult to see in the forest where the
dawn of night is falling.

I’ve changed my magic eye to catch every single hair and pore of a distant object, no
matter how dark or light it is, and Christine’s red eyes shine bewitchingly like a full
moon stained with blood.

Serina, who has the ability to charm other species and is herself a beautiful girl of the
highest caliber, occasionally would look at Christine-san and she would be restless,
It’s because Christine now wears such a bewitching beauty that even the same sex
can’t help but be attracted to her.

The Wood Elves were spread out in a circle around us, but unexpectedly the circle was
disturbed when Fio, with Marr in tow, stepped closer to us.

Being a long-lived Wood Elf, I don’t know her actual age, but Fio, who is not so different
from me in appearance alone, has a curious look in her jade-colored eyes.

Aside from her actual age, as far as her mental age is concerned, this Wood Elf girl
might be just as she looks.

“I’m sorry, I came all the way to the forest and got you involved in this kind of thing.”

“I’m sorry.”

I replied, smiling at the sight of Marr slumping over Fio’s right shoulder, and I hoped
she wouldn’t mind.

“It’s not your fault, you guys. From what I’ve heard, it seems that you guys are the ones
who are in trouble. It will not be an easy battle against the armies of the demon world.
Are you able to help the other Wood Elves and cooperate with the foresters? We must
fend off those from the demon world before it becomes something that the human
army can mess with. It’s unlikely to end well for humans to set foot in this forest.”

I myself don’t know the slightest bit about what kind of people are in charge of the
politics of the kingdom, but I learned in my previous life with bitter experience that
it’s best not to expect too much goodness from the human race as a group.

It’s not something I want to learn, even if I look back on it now.

“Of course we will defeat all the demons in the world! It’s not just us Wood Elves, the
other races that live in the forest are also joining forces to fight. Besides, help from
other species in the forest should be coming soon. When that happens, those who
came from the demon world will be absolutely obliterated.”

“Absolutely obliterated!”

Imitating Fio’s boastful exclamation of humph, Marr also puffed her little chest out,
saying, “Ehen”. They were so cute and soothing to watch.

“I see. Haha, you’re both in good spirits. I would like to help you guys if I could, but
now, I wonder if Gio will allow me to do so.”

“I think the chiefs will decide whether or not to get help from you, although I don’t
know because my brother is a little hard-headed. The people who went out have come
back, and I think they will be able to manage without your help.”

Hmm, basically elves rarely leave their own society, but there are rare young people
who leave the village with a longing for the outside world.
They have a means of communicating with those who once left the outside world from
the villages of Gio and Fio, and they probably used it to bring them back to their
villages.

Those who were tortured by the rough seas of the outside world would have learned
to fight to some extent, so it seems that they can be relied upon.

The Wood Elves around us don’t seem to have paid any attention to our chatter. Gio
also doesn’t chide his sister, but is paying attention to the signs and changes in the
surroundings.

As long as we don’t know when and where the demon soldiers will attack from, Gio
and the others are right to act.

I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t have to prepare myself for the Wood Elves, or if it’s
because Serina, who has relaxed a little bit, crawled out to my right side and called out
to Fio and the others with a smile.

Fio and Marr didn’t seem to be alarmed by Serina, the lamia. Perhaps they knew a
lamia or a subhuman of the snake.

“What is your village like, Fio-san? Do a lot of fairies like Marr live there too?”

“Our village is the westernmost village in the forest of Entete. We live with flower
fairies like Marr and tree spirits like Dryad and the others. There are other werewolves
and Arachne’s village nearby, but they’ve joined forces to fight the demons. They want
us Wood Elves to join forces for now.”

“Are the other Wood Elves okay?”

“Umm. Even the closest one to our village is quite far away, and we haven’t received
any reports of other villages being attacked. As I said before, we have received a call
from a nearby village that they are gathering a few people to come and help us. We’ll
be fine. As for you guys, after spending the night in the village, you are the ones who
are going to come back outside. I have heard that the people who came to negotiate
with us in the past were polite, but there are people in the village who don’t have good
feelings towards humans. Serina is a lamia, so I don’t understand.”

The situation must be quite urgent, but apparently Fio is not only not shy, but also
quite chatty, and she and the good-natured Serina were immediately comfortable with
each other.

From time to time, Christine-san would also bear the brunt of the conversation, and
even though she is by no means a prolific talker, she was successfully prompted by Fio
to speak back with a few words.

When I saw Christine-san’s expression begin to unravel, I thought the three of them
seemed to be able to transcend the barriers of their race and become friends.

The story of Fio and the others eventually spread to the surrounding Wood Elf women
as well. It became only Gio and I, and the other Wood Elf men, who were tightening
their expressions and being vigilant about their surroundings.

Even for the Wood Elf men, I’m a little suspicious of whether they are really focused
and alert, since they occasionally look at Fio and the other bright faces and loosen
their mouths.

I called out to Gio’s back as he walked ahead. This youth would have at least one word
to chide me, but……?

“Shouldn’t we stop to chat amongst ourselves? We shouldn’t raise our voices too loud,
or the demon soldiers might notice us.”

“Since the attack by the demon soldiers, Fio has been consciously acting cheerful. The
reason for this is to encourage everyone who might be trapped by fear and anxiety. I
couldn’t even tell her to take a break, because I know she’s pushing herself too hard,
but her smile helps with that. But now, that smile is not a forced one. I think it’s partly
because she’ s always been interested in what’s out there, though. Don’t worry about
the voices. I’ve already asked the trees not to leak over the rustling of the trees.”

In Gio’s face as he looked at his sister, I could certainly see the warmth of affection he
had for his own family.

And I could also see that Gio was right about the trees around them, and that their
trunks reflected the sound of their branches and leaves rubbing against each other
and the flow of the wind, keeping Fio and the others’ voices from getting out.

“Then I don’t have anything to say about it.”

We continued on our way down the trailless path through the ever-deepening greenery,
listening to the rustling of the trees in the forest as they spoke, and when the sun had
finally sunk completely beyond the horizon, my heightened senses caught a strange
sensation.

Even though the wind had not changed, the rustling of the trees had grown bizarrely
loud, and I could hear the screams of the wind spirit from the wind and the throbbing
of the earth spirit from the ground I had stepped on.

Gio, who had been listening to the mutation of the forest, stopped in his tracks,
seemingly without a second thought, and let out an astonished cry.

“What! Those guys were moving faster than us!”

Not only Gio, but also Fio and the other Wood Elves had mixed expressions of surprise
and fear on their faces, a change from the harmonious atmosphere they had been in
before.

“‘Brother, we need to hurry up and get back, or everyone in the village!”

“Oh, the forest, the wind, everyone is going to be killed!”

With Fio’s face contorted in frustration and Marr’s half-horrified face, Christine-san
and Serina also immediately detect the abnormality.

I was the only one who heard the screams of the forest as well as the Wood Elves, but
these two also noticed the abnormality and were already getting ready for battle. They
are quick to talk, and that’s a relief.

“You guys, I’m sorry, but we can’t take you to the village………”

I interrupted Gio’s words as he turned around to tell me, and I chanted a magic chant.

“Listen to my voice, O reason of the wind, for a time it shall be a swift wind that pushes
us back, Windaxel.”

It’s an auxiliary magic that interferes with the flow of wind and grants speed. I
activated it on everyone present here.

Gio seemed surprised that their bodies were suddenly enveloped by the directional
wind that had given them directionality.

Gio had no time to ask a question, so I called out to him.

“It’s a wind aid magic. If you’re in a hurry, it will help you. The village has been attacked
by demon soldiers, no?”

“……Yeah. Thanks, but you guys are here.”

“We’ re not going back. There’ s no way we’ re going back after coming all the way out
here. Not from a moral standpoint or from a practical standpoint.”

“I agree with Doran. We can help you, too, to a lesser extent. I’ve already said it many
times.”

“I agree with Doran-san and Christine-san!”

“Your life may be in danger. If you prove capable of fighting it, everyone in the village
will be counting on you. And perhaps I will too. In spite of the fact that I’d lead you
into a battle in the forest.”

“That’s very kind of you, Gio. We’re saying that’s fine with us.”

After hearing our words, Gio made an expression that could not be more bitter and
bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry. I owe you.”

I replied to Gio as he bowed his head.

“I don’t take it as a favor. Let’s go.”

As the darkness of night fell, the demon world’s miasma began to stain the cold, clear
night air, and we ran like the wind.

Our goal was to fight through the struggle that awaited us and exterminate those who
shouldn’t exist in this world.
Gio and his friends live in a village in the forest with several springs and some of the
oldest and largest trees nearby.

I heard that there have been sporadic attacks from the demon world in the past, but
this one seemed to be on an unprecedented scale.

We ran with the speed that the moonlight would leave behind the shadows that fell to
the ground, and we ran single-mindedly and without resting our feet even a step.

Eventually, our eyes were met with the sight of a deformed army, surrounded by
thorns and ivy intertwined with a defensive wall.

Gio and the rest of the Wood Elves’ settlement is now being attacked by the demon
world’s men in a fierce attempt to break down the defensive wall.

Without building a bonfire, with only the moonlight pouring down from the moon in
the sky, the demonkind continue to flock to the defensive wall without a battle cry, a
yell or even a cry of agony.

The march of the demon soldiers, who have no sound, no heart to tremble in fear of
death, and no lives to be lost, is the most eerie thing to those who were given life by
Mother Nature.

I could clearly hear the sound of Christine-san and Serina gasping for breath as they
ran beside me at the distorted appearance of the lifeless ones.

The defensive wall that rose solemnly in front of the demon soldiers was filled with
flowers of various colors – red, yellow, purple, white, blue and green – in places. If a
demon soldier touched it carelessly, the sting would immediately extend and pierce
its body, sucking out every last bit of power that was building the demon soldier from
the wound.

It’s hard to believe that this defensive wall was created by nature, but it is a living wall
that the trees transformed themselves to protect the Wood Elves and other people
living in the forest with their own will.

In addition, at the top of the barricade, wood elves, beastmen, and insects can be seen.
They shoot arrows at the demon soldiers who flock to the defensive wall, dropping
rocks and chanting magic as they try to put up maximum resistance.
Zelt wasn’t the only demon soldier trying to break through the defensive wall.

Zertz, a rigid demon soldier about twice as tall as I am, dressed in steel-colored muscle
armor, with arms as thick as logs and a lop-sided face with no eyes, nose and mouth.

And you can also see the demon soldier Ganaf with the right arm of a horseman’s spear
and the left arm of a circular shield on the lower half of his four-legged beast with
sharp claws, and his red eyes shining behind his helmet.

From the feet of the demon soldiers, countless thorns, the same thorns that were used
to construct the defensive wall, extended from the ground and entangled around the
feet of the demon soldiers who formed a squadron, leading to strangulation, and even
skewered their torso and thighs with stake-like tree roots that were pointed like
stakes.

Interrupted by these, the demon soldiers seem to be unable to get as close to the
defensive wall as they would like.

I could say that the Wood Elves were fighting better than I had expected against the
demon soldiers.

But I could only feel this way for a short time until a huge cavalryman rushed in from
the rear with a cloud of dust.

As we rushed to the southwest of the village, from the north of the village, we could
sense four huge forces different from the demon soldiers, and one of them was
approaching the village’s defensive wall at a terrific speed.

The huge shadow that raised a large amount of earth and sand with each kick was a
beast with a lower body just like the Demon Soldier Ganaf, and its arms themselves
were in the form of a giant cavalry spear and circular shield.

However, at the border between the upper and lower body was the head of an eyeless
beast that tended to strike its fangs, and its upper body was covered with heavy armor
without gaps.

The blood-colored armor, spears of the same color, and shields are all made of his own
body, transformed to suit his needs.

A hulking cavalryman three times my size dared to charge forward without regard to
thorns and tree roots protruding from the ground, let alone the friendly demon
soldiers in his path, crushing them with his six clawed feet and advancing with his
right arm spear.

It is truly an assault of destruction that nothing can stop.

A huge horseman, running with the wind torn out of his body, let out a low voice
reminiscent of a broken bell and shouted a yell. Unlike the demon soldiers who had
no self, these horsemen seemed to have a will of their own.

“Move, move! Whoever stands in front of this Gheorud shall be crushed to a pulp!”

A force field is formed around the one who proudly calls himself a Gheorud by the red
magic emanating from his entire body, which converges on the cavalry spear thrust
forward, dramatically increasing the destructive power of this assault.

After trampling down a number of Zelt and Salz, turning the five of them into pristine
rags, Gheorud finally thrusts the point of the cavalry spear into the defensive wall of
the trees protecting the village.

In the moment of the collision, the red force field of the spear and the magical power
of the spirits that passed through the defensive wall of the trees fiercely rival each
other, and it became a shock wave that exploded into the space in all directions. The
demon soldiers in the vicinity were blown away like dust, and the wood elves who
were standing on the defensive wall also lost their equilibrium and fell to their knees.

What came with the shock wave was the loud noise that was generated upon impact.
It wasn’t just a sound.

The screams of the trees that make up the defensive wall struck our bodies and souls.

The magical power, filled with the murderous and destructive intent of the demonic
beings, brought spiritual pain to the trees that was beyond the bounds of physicality.
Furthermore, Christine-san and Serina, who heard the voice, also let out a brief cry of
pain as it pierced their entire bodies for a moment.

Even humans and lamia are like this, so the pain and suffering felt by the wood elves
who share life and death with the forest must be beyond words.

Gio, Fio, the other Wood Elves and Marl were also on one knee on the spot, biting their
back teeth and desperately trying to endure the pain they felt from the trees.

Gio and the others had greasy sweat smeared on their neat faces, and even more blood
drained from their originally white skin, turning their complexion into a white wax.

But something that was trying to get their halted feet moving again immediately began
to burn fiercely in their hearts.

Anger, pure anger at the demons who hurt the trees, the trees that are their family, and
tried to bring unjust deaths to those who live in the forest.

I didn’t miss the raging flames of anger in Gio’s eyes, almost scaring me.

From the tip of our gaze, having pulled out the cavalry spear that had penetrated the
defensive wall to its roots, Gheorud was about to move his four animal legs to descend
to make another charge.

“You can withstand the attacks of the demons, but you cannot withstand the blows of
my spear. What a comforting cry it was. Let’s see if you can take my spear once more.”

The defensive walls of the trees that had previously boasted of being unscathed by the
demon soldier’s onslaught had now been cruelly punctured by a large hole.

If you look at it, the severed trees and sections of ivy are loosely wriggling and
regenerating at an unusual speed, but it would be much faster for Gheorud to deliver
another blow.

Gheorud looks at the hole in the barrier that was opened wide by the previous blow,
and pulls his own right arm backward, planning to widen the hole even further.

At the very moment I was trying to generate magic power from the soul of the dragon
species, a large number of thorns grew out of the ground that cracked with every step
Georgiou made, twisting around Georgiou’s huge frame and lifting it into the air.

“Impudent, if you think you can bind this Gheorud with this level of caution…… nuh-
uh!”

Unlike the thorns that were trampled on by the Gheorud earlier, the thorns that bound
Gheorudo’s huge body were different from the thorns that were trampled on by the
Georudo, and they exerted a restraining force that only allowed the blood-colored
armor and the lower half of the beast to move to the extent that it could only wriggle.

The thickly sprouted stings dug into the lower half of Georgiourd’s body, and black
blood oozed out from the areas pierced by the stings, as black as the darkness of the
night.

As the thorns begin to greedily suck that black blood and magic, roses bloom
everywhere from the thorns.

It was a black rose that reminded me of deep, dark darkness.

“The abominable black rose!”

With the right arm of his javelin wielded furiously, Gheorud flailed about, trying to
break free of this black rose’s restraints.

But no matter how violent Gheorud rampage was, the black rose’s restraints did not
loosen in the slightest; rather, the more he rampaged, the deeper the thorns dug into
Gheorud’s body, sipping more and more of his black blood.

Suddenly, a new figure could be seen standing on top of the protective wall in a
position directly in front of Gheorud.

A wandering moonlight strips off the nighttime robe and sinfully exposes the identity
of the figure that appears to be fluttering even from a distance.

It was a woman. However, it must be described as a slanted castle or the finest. And
bewitching, too.

The limbs standing on top of the wall of a crouched and defensive wall are so well
proportioned that it could be said to be one of the ideal forms of a woman’s body, and
the richly protruding breasts, the buttocks that draw a smooth line, and the hips that
connect them with a large neckline are no less than Christine-san’s.

The dress of jet black which makes the line of the bewitching limb stand out clearly.

The slit on the left side of the dress is so deep that the base of the feet is exposed, and
a white leg wrapped in thin stockings stretches out from the slit.

In addition, the upper half of the dress was boldly designed to open up from the upper
half of the breasts to the slender shoulders, drawing a sinful cleavage that could never
fail to attract a man’s eye.

Her black hair, shining like a black ball, was mingled with thorns thinner than the ones
that bound Gheorgud, and black roses with dark petals bloomed in places.

In addition, a single large black rose in the area above both ears.

I immediately recognized the identity of this beautiful woman.

“A rose, or perhaps a black rose spirit.”

“Yes. It’s the most powerful rose spirit in the forest of the Entente, Diadora.”

Marr, who should have been struck by fear and pain at my muttering, responds with a
bouncy voice. It means that that that black rose spirit is trusted enough to make Marr
sound like this.

“Diadora, huh?”

Looking down coldly on the black blood soaked demon and reigning as the queen of
the night sky with the moon at her back, Diadora’s dignity is truly that of a ruler.

At the sight of Deirdre looking down at Gheorud with her icy cold gaze, I was feeling
the same emotional response that I had felt when I first met Serina.
With the leader of the demon soldiers, Gheorud, trapped in the chains of the black
roses and unable to move, we hurried to the defensive wall.

We attacked the demon soldiers surrounding the defensive wall from behind, and at
once we ran through them, not caring about our small disadvantage.

“Everyone, we’re not far from the village. Keep your guard up and go!”

When Gio looked back and encouraged his friends, they all replied with a valiant
“YES!”

The strength of their unity can be seen in the small, brisk responses that come back to
them when they strike.

The thorns and trees stretching from the ground are an obstacle to the demon
soldiers, but they do not interfere with us, and the trees that were standing in the
direction of our movement naturally retreat to the left and right as we approach and
widen our path.

I kicked the trees, brushed off the thorns, and leapt at some of the Zelt that attacked
us, and I fired up my magic.

“Listen to my voice, O Reason of Power, become many arrows and shoot at the enemies
before me, Energy Rain!”

I held up my left hand and twenty arrows of pure magic power shot out from it
towards the Zelt and the others through the air.

The darkness of the moonlit night draws a dazzling trail of glowing white magic arrows
intertwining with each other, piercing every single one of the Zelt who had been
leaping.
I was wondering how to enter the village from the barrier wall, which has no gates, let
alone gaps, but as Gio approached the barrier wall, some of the roots of the trees that
were intertwined with it unraveled and turned into footholds.

It’s a barrier, but at the same time it functions as a stairway or ladder for those on your
side.

If this is the case, it makes sense that the gate doesn’t exist.

The wood elves led by Gio ran up the root stairs of the trees. But the demon soldiers
in the vicinity swarmed and tried to interfere. It’s only natural.

For the demons, now is also the opportunity to break into the walled-in area.

I stopped and turned on my heel against the demon soldiers who were coming
swarming towards the stairs.

I decided it was better to stall for a little while, but Christine-san and Serina, perhaps
thinking the same thing as I did, were just lining up on either side of me.

No, let alone Christine-san, Serina would have just reflexively stopped because I
stopped. But she immediately picked up on our intentions and increased her magic
power.

If the three of us can strike a larger magic, it will buy us enough time to get everyone
up to the barriers.

“Christine-san, Serina, let’s use this to release a stronger magic. Then we’ll retreat to
the barriers too.”

I handed a stone from one of the bags I had tied to my waistband to Christine-san,
which looked like a round white crystal that had been worked into a circle.

“A magic crystal stone. It’s a pretty high purity stone. Even in the academy one doesn’t
see that often.”

As Christine-san said in a slightly surprised tone, it’s a special stone that contains
magical power called a magic crystal stone.

It was dug and processed from the vein of magic crystal stone I created near the village
of Berne when I was in my mother’s belly.

The magic power of the magic crystal stone can be used to replace it when using magic,
and it also helps to augment the effectiveness of the magic itself.

“It has been available near the village since shortly before I was born. I’ve been
wholesaling a good amount to other places, and it’s quite a bit of money. This one is
for Serina.”

“Yes. Oh, is this the one that Doran-san had found in the swamp?”

“You’re right. Feel free to use it to your heart’s content.”

I give Serina an earth spirit stone. I picked it up after I fought off the earth spirit in the
swamp where the Lizard’s settlement was located.

It turned out to be unexpectedly useful, but it would have been definitely better that
such an opportunity didn’t come.

Serina grasps the crystalline body handed to her by me with both hands and begins to
focus on fusing the power of the earth spirit spirit in the earth spirit stone with her
own magical power.

Christine-san also passes her own magic power through the magic crystal stone
clutched in her left hand and the long sword that also had the function of increasing
the power of the magic exercise and catalyzing the correction of the magic formula.
Then the silver hair was covered with a pale blue phosphorescence.

The trees that sensed our powerful magic power pulled back the surrounding thorns
and tree roots underground. The obstacles that had been blocking the demon soldiers
disappeared, and our vision opened up at once.

“Follow my command, O Reason of the Wind, O Wind”, bind thee free, change thee to
countless blades, rage, Tornado!

Aiming at the demon soldiers who had no shields to protect themselves, Christine-san
unleashes a powerful wind vortex.

The advanced wind-attribute magic exercised by Christine-san is, as the name

suggests, one that generates tornadoes.
The wind that gouges the ground and rolls up the earth and sand is like a dragon
whirling around with its long body, stirring the atmosphere and rising to the heavens.
The whole body of the demon soldier is being torn to shreds by the blade of the wind
that is generated at the same time.

The magic that I and Christine-san use is called logic magic, which interferes with
physical and spiritual laws to cause certain phenomena, but the spirit magic that
exchanges intentions with spirits, who are residents of other worlds, often does not
involve the exercise of specific chanting or magic formulas.

“O spirit of the earth! My enemy is your enemy, turn your body into a sharp spear!”

If you are dealing with a high-ranking spirit, a great spirit or a being called a spirit
king, you may need to chant or perform a ritual, but if you are borrowing the power of
a less high-ranking spirit, you can activate it with simple chanting like Serina did now.

To Serina of Lamia, who is an earth element expert, calling on the earth spirit is her
forte, and with the help of the earth spirit stone, it would have been even easier.

The ground rises slightly, and after the sound of the heavy rumbling of the earth,
countless spears so thick that about three adults are needed to hold it, extended from
the ground.

The demon soldiers are either pierced in the head and body by the spears that are
rapidly extending from underneath their feet, or crushed between the spears and the
spears, or smashed from multiple directions.

The upheaval of the earth that Serina had caused was also responsible for building a
wall to block the advance.

“The two of you do it with gusto, but I can’t afford to lose either. Follow my voice, O
Reason of Power, Gather, Gather, Detonate and Shatter, Explosions!”

Aiming at the demon soldiers who escaped from Christine-san and Serina’s magic, I
unleashed a spell that created an explosive phenomenon in the designated area.

The vast amount of magical power extracted from my soul is concentrated at the tip
of my left hand that I held up, and takes the shape of a glowing white ball of light that
is compressed enough to be visible.
The light ball is emitting a caustic light like a small sun at the tip of my left hand. I fired
the eye-collapsing ball into the middle of the demon soldiers.

The ball of light that lands on the ground causes an explosion in the area of the
remaining demon soldiers, just as the name implies.

For a moment, a roar so loud that the surrounding hustle and bustle, the crying of the
wind, and the rustle of the trees could no longer be heard, and the impact that
propagated through the atmosphere struck our entire bodies.

The demon soldiers engulfed in the explosion turned into black shadows in the white
light and danced like threadbare puppets, only to collapse into pieces from the impact.

After the light and impact of the explosion had subsided, there was not a trace of the
demon soldiers’ presence. The terrain was unchanged, as I adjusted the explosion to
keep the surrounding trees from getting caught up in it.

The three spells each came to an end. Even as my gaze drifted from left to right, I didn’t
see any demon soldiers. For the time being, this was enough to buy us some time.

We looked at each other to confirm that we had accomplished enough, then turned
around and ran up the stairs in the trees behind us at once.

Gio, who was waiting for us on the barrier, looked at us with a dumbfounded look on
his face. Come to think of it, is this the first time I’ve fought in front of Gio?

It seems that seeing the power of the magic we unleashed, even with the assistance of
the magic crystal stone, there is no doubt that our strength has been revised upward
in Gio’s mind.

“You guys look like the kind of impersonators I would want to rely on.”

“We wanted to show you that we can be counted on,”

Seeing me answer that, Gio put his hand to his forehead as if he had a headache and
shook his head from side to side without effort. I don’t understand what Gio wants to
say and how he feels.

As for Christine-san and Serina’s magic, it was more powerful than I thought it would
be.
When the three of us saw the three of us coming up the barrier, the young Wood Elf
who had joined us on the barrier asked Gio about our identities.

“Gio, who are they? Looks like they’re from outside……”

Considering the actions we just took and the fact that we’ re a group consisting of a
human and lamia, they probably know we’ re not on the side of the demon soldier, but
that doesn’t mean they have enough basis to judge us as allies, so it’s a natural
question.

“They came to investigate the forest. They’re also the one who helped Mar and they
are on our side as well. And about their powers, as you have seen it earlier.”

“Gio~ We can’t afford to waste time on anything else. We have to hurry, or Diadora-
san will be in danger.”

“Brother, Doran-san, we have to get to the north side quickly. I wouldn’t worry about
Diadora if it was one on one, but there are three strong and big ones besides that Geo
something or whatever he’s called!”

Marr and Fio were right. From my point of view, even when dealing with those from
the demon world who can’t show their full strength, the power of that Black Rose
Spirit called Diadora is not inferior.

But behind the demon soldiers that have been deployed to the north, there are three
that are at least as powerful as Gheorud. If they come forward, the current situation
will easily be reversed and shift to the side of the demon world.

At his sister’s words, Gio’s temporarily loose expression tightened and he immediately
called out to the others around him.

“Jien, protect this place. We’ll keep heading north. Doran, Christine, Serina, I’m sorry,
but we are counting on you.”

I nodded back to Gio, who was still hesitating after reaching this point, with great
confidence. With this kind of attitude, this young man’s debt would be lighter.

“Yeah, you can count on us.”

Christine-san and Serina, as well as me, each nodded back to Gio, clearly and
emphatically.

—3rd person PoV—-

As Doran and the others moved towards the barrier, the Black Rose Spirit, standing on
the northern barrier against the darkness of the night and the light of the moon,
looked down arrogantly at Gheorud caught in thorns, and moved her lips, wet with
intense red, a few times.

Lips as glossy as the hollowed out petals of a rose spun words that were laced with an
extreme coldness equal to the gaze.

“Trampling the plants and flowers, damaging the trees, crushing the insects, killing
the beasts, taking the lives of the people of the forest, defiling the forest…… your sins
are too numerous to count.”

At Diadora’s cold words, Gheorud chuckled in a cracked bell voice with comfort.

“Huh, sin you say? To you, that’s a sin. Weakness is a sin if you ask me. If you don’t
want to be killed, kill your enemy before you get killed. They were killed by us because
they were weak and helpless. What is the sin but being weak? Do those on this side of
the earth not know such things, this is a terrible laughingstock. Hahahahahahahaha!”
Despite the fact that his entire body was trapped, he was fearless and bold, as if he
didn’t feel his life was in danger at all.

A swooping light dwells in Diadora’s black eyes.

With a squeak, the black rose’s restraints tightened, and the armor of Gheorud’s upper
body creaked with a sound like a scream. The amount of black blood flowing from the
beast’s lower body increased dramatically.

It’s not just the scream, though, as the rock-crunching sound escapes from the mouth
of Gheorud’s teeth as he grits his teeth to endure the pain inflicted on him.

“Are all members of the demon world like you? Let me remind you of the sin you
mentioned. You are so weak that even I can destroy you.”

Saying the words in return for Gheorud to say that weakness is a sin, Diadora swiftly
raised her right arm into the sky.

With the movement of the arm as if pointing to the moon in the sky, behind Diadora –
there was a huge shadow that swiftly lifted the sickle neck from inside the defensive
wall.

It looked like the shadow of a giant snake or dragon that would swallow Diadora in
one fell swoop, but what was exposed under the light of the moon was a countless
number of intertwined thorns.

These thorns also had countless black roses blooming in places, and there was no
doubt that Diadora had used her power as a black rose spirit to create them.

The tips of the intertwined thorns are as sharp as sharpened spearheads, overflowing
with Diadora’s magical power, and rising with mischief.

The hatred and anger swirling fiercely in the heart of Diadora, as well as other
inexpressible emotions, create a power beyond the ordinary, giving this beautiful
black rose spirit a powerful negative power.

“It’s unpleasant just to be in the presence of beings like you. It was your sin to come
into this world.”

The great spear of the black rose runs through the atmosphere as Diadora’s ciliated
hand, which had extended to the moon overhead, swung down mercilessly as if
ordering the execution of a beheading.

Even the strongest inhabitants of the demon world will not be safe from this blow. If
that attack hit Gheorud an enormous hole would be made in the chest of the armor
that protects him, and a large black blood flower would bloom.

Gheorud had no longer any means to resist. Diadora and even the wind, which was
frightened by the miasma of the demon world, and also the moon, which was watching
this night’s fight to the death, must have thought so.

At that time, a cheerful and lively voice sounded from somewhere.

“Haha.”

A figure dances in the night sky as lightly as the petals that dance in the wind. A petite,
that is, the shadow of a girl in her mid-teens who looks like a bud before it blossoms.

The silhouette of the black shadow lands on the tip of the great spear of the flying black
rose, and as soon as she touches the spear with her red gloved fingertips, Diadora’s
magic disappears like a mist.

The great black rose spear rapidly loses its power from the tip, losing its freshness and
crumbling away as it withers and withers away.

Seeing the blow with all of its power crumbling, a crack appeared in the mask of
coldness that had been covering Diadora’s beautiful face.

“You’re too careless, Gheo?”

The small figure kicks the crumbling great spear and flies through the air again, and
then leaps to Gheorud’s left shoulder, which is still bound.

The figure’s true face is exposed on top of Gheorud’s shoulder pad.

The softly curved contours, lips reminiscent of tiny flower petals, and dull eyes are
lovingly arranged, and at first glance it seems as if the most dainty image of a young
girl that people have in mind has become a reality.

However, the magic that rises from the red-black dress that looks like dried blood and
the slender body wrapped in it is enormous, and it sends a chill down the spine of
those who see it, like an ice spear.

The eyes are beautiful like the yellow ball, and yet they seem to contain all kinds of
corruption.

The mockery against all of the life on the earth is drifting there. And asking what’s
with all that anger and hatred that scorches your heart, Diadora? Her eyes looked as
if she knew that she was playing with the question.

“Hmph! Rafarasia, I could have managed on my own without your help.”

Gheorud replied to her.

It seems that the name of this demonic girl is Rafarasia.

Rafrasia, whose red hair, long enough to reach her thighs, was parted into four parts
at the nape of her neck and tied with a black ribbon, tilted her head slightly at
Gheorud’s words.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a wuss. But since it is your role to take the lead and cause
pain, I will only make fun of you. As expected, you’ve done your part.”

When Rafarasia’s fingertips touched the black rose that was restraining Gheorud’s
entire body, the exact same phenomenon as before occurred, and the thorns
immediately turned to dust.

Having been freed from his restraints, Gheorud lightly shuddered while falling from
the air to the ground, and swept up the remnants of the black rose that clung to his
body.

How he would have escaped the Black Rose’s restraints if it weren’t for Rafarasia’s
help is something only Gheorud knows, but his eyes, laden with a deadly light, glared
at Diadora for humiliating him.

For a person that doesn’t know how to defend themselves against magic, it was a
demonic gaze that would cause them to swoon on the spot or worse, fall into madness.

“It is my role to make the enemy bleed before anyone else and declare the beginning
of the war with their blood and lives. This is not something you can decide for yourself!”
“You’re the only one who thinks so. Geren and Georg all think the same way I do. Huh,
that black rose sister has been looking at us with scary eyes since just now. Is there
anything you want to say?”

Diadora’s gaze shifted from Gheorud to Rafarasia. It was clear at once who this Black
Rose Beauty recognized as the strongest enemy.

As if Gheorud was no longer in her eyes, Diadora’s voice continues to grow cold as her
eyes are set on the mockery that Raffrasia brings up.

“It’s you. The evil spirit who couldn’t get enough of taking lives and sipping while
inflicting endless pain is……”

Just barely, Diadora’s white teeth made a sound. There was a different kind of rage and
hatred there than the one that was directed at Gheorud and the others.

“What are you talking about? There are so many things that come to mind, I don’t even
know which one you’re talking about. You mean the water lily spirit that wilted and
screamed? Or are you talking about the spirit of the dragon bile that rotted away while
muttering a plea for help? Or are you talking about the white lily spirit that Zelt had
chopped up?”

Each time Rafarasia mentions her deeds one by one, the flames of hatred erupting
from Diadora’s entire body flare up even more intensely, and the black magic power
changes to a darker and deeper hue.

”Ah,” muttered Rafarasia, her small hands meeting in front of her chest and a glorious
smile on her face.

“Okay, you mean the red rose spirit that I slowly sucked to death as she cried, ‘Diadora,
help me Diadora,’ right? It’s like the same rose spirit as you, and maybe you’re
Diadora?”

“Yes, I am. I am Diadora. And all those you killed were my friends and family. And how
dare you!”

Diadora’s hatred burns with a fiery fire that seems to burn everything in her eyes.
Rafarasia met her gaze, and her mockery deepened as if it couldn’t be any more amusing.

“Hahaha. Ahhhh~ You’re mad at me for something stupid. Even though you are both
flower spirits, you’re still opponents of each other’s prosperity, right? You should be
happy that you have fewer enemies. Or~Be~tt~err~~, shouldn’t you have one word
of thanks for me?”

That was the end of Diadora’s patience. The black emotions that welled up in copious
amounts from the hole in her heart were colored with murderous intent and rushed
to Rafarasia.

“Only you, I will never forgive you!”

The black hair of Diadora rises in the air, and countless thorns sprouting from its hair,
which undulates like a black sea, burst out of it.

Yet Rafarasia’s smile deepened into a distorted smile, and as her thin left hand was
held out to grasp into air, something like a mist of blue light seeped out of it.

As soon as the quickly increasing amount of mist touched the whip of thorns
approaching Raafrasia, the whip of thorns sucked all the magic, moisture, or vitality
out of it and crumbled like dust.

“You need to learn as much as possible. I too am a flower spirit. But I’m not a flower
spirit like you, who blooms in a paradise on earth. I’m Rafarosia, the evil spirit of the
demon flower that can only bloom by sucking blood or life. All lives are merely a
sacrifice for me to bloom beautifully. You know, just like this?”

“What is this?!”

When the mist that overflows from Rafarasia’s left hand touches the earth and the
wind, in the blink of an eye, the earth and the wind are sucked out of magic and life.

This is the work of a demon that sucks up all the life that makes up nature.

While sucking the life out of everything, the fog approaches at a terrific pace towards
Diadora who was standing on top of the barrier of trees.

When Rafarasia’s fog touches it, the barrier wall, which was closing the large hole in
the georudo, loses its freshness and dies before you can even see it.

When the fog came to her own feet, Diadora lightly kicked the protective wall and
threw herself into the air.
Then, in the midst of her leap, she snapped the whip of thorns out of her black hair
again, forcing Rafarasia to attack her from all sides.

“I’ll say it again, have you not heard of the word learning? No matter how many times
you try, it’s always the same thing.”

A small sigh spilled out of Rafarasia’s small lips.

This sigh, as if it were melancholy, was filled with nothing but contempt for the fact
that the cornered Diadora had repeatedly attacked without interruption.

This time, blue light poured out from not only Rafarasia’s left hand, but also her entire
body, exhausting and withering Diadora’s thorns that were only a few steps away.

“Haha, thank you for the delicious meal.”

Even so, Diadora continues to challenge Rafarasia by extending new thorns from the
edge of the thorns that wither.

These thorns would regenerate indefinitely as long as Diadora’s magic power lasted,
but if she consumed them like this, no matter how powerful the spirit of the black rose
was, she would quickly use up all her power.

Rafarasia’s mockery towards Diadora’s repeated acts of futility only deepened.

Rafarasia was only sucking Diadora’s magical power from the thorns, so she wasn’t
consuming any power at all.

“Although waiting for your power to run out seems to be the easiest way to go, waiting
is also boring, so I’m going to suck your life directly from you. Your beautiful black hair,
white skin, and red lips will all dry up and shatter. Isn’t that horrible?”

With that, Rafarasia took a step toward Diadora.

The Evil Flower Spirit Princess, who has a heart of ruthlessness that refuses to value
any life other than her own, was going to suck the life out of the Black Rose spirit
without any mercy.

In contrast, Diadora, as a last stand, unleashed a bundle of thorns, though not as large
as the great spear aimed at Gheorud, but with the dropping momentum to skewer
Rafarasia’s face.

“Muu, what a trivial thing……?”

She thought that the thorns would just wither and die as before, but this time it was a
little different.

A single thorn in the center of the bundle reached Rafarasia just before it was about to
wither, and like a white porcelain vessel, it grazed her white cheeks and carved a single
bright vermilion line on them.

For a moment, a truly insignificant pain struck Rafarasia. But Rafrasia was stricken by
a more mental shock than that, and with trembling fingers, she scooped up the red
blood that had begun to seep into her cheeks.

“Blood, my, blood. I’m wounded……”

Diadora smiles at the sight of Rafarasia looking at her bloodied fingers, her whole body
shaking as if she were suffering from a fever.

“A beautiful rose has thorns, as they say in the old days, don’t they? Remember it well.
You will only remember it for a short time, though.”

To make the real-life one reach Rafarasia, she kept firing with the assumption that she
would wither to death, and as a result, she succeeded in wounding Rafarasia, albeit
only slightly, as Diadora had planned.

In response to Diadora’s delighted voice, Rafarasia’s body shook with a great jerk, and
the incomparable murderous intent swelled up at once from her, and a blue life-
sucking fog overflowed from her entire body.

It was as if Rafarasia had turned into a burning blue pillar of fire.

“I can’t allow it, I won’t allow it! You have done an unforgivable thing for a mere black
rose spirit from this side to hurt me. I’ll suck you to death without even having to feel
the pain!”

The wind containing serious killing intent released from Rafarasia struck Diadora’s
entire body, causing her black hair to be in great disarray. However, Rafrasia was not
the only one whose body and mind were being scorched with anger and hatred.
Black magic power overflows from Diadora’s entire body as well, as if in response to
Rafrasia. With a fresh magical power and vitality as if she had not been fatigued from
earlier at all.

“Oh yes. But I don’t give a damn about your anger. It has already decided that it will
kill every last one of you. Bark all you want. Soon you will be a silent wreck.”

Amidst the white moonlight, the power of the blue and black frenziedly engulfs
everything around it.

It was truly a spark. Fearing that this would be the beginning of a battle between the
two sides, the clouds did not block the moon, and the wind was afraid to flow.

A third party, Gheorud, who had been watching from the sidelines, was the one who
initiated the battle.

“EEEE, you talk too much, Rafarasia! I’m going to stab her to death with my spear.”

“Hey, GEO, don’t you know, she’s mine to handle?”

Gheorud who was numbed before exploded the power stored in his four legs and
turned into a huge red dead wind, closing in on Diadora.

As he declared himself, he thrust his right arm, which had turned into a spear from
the elbow to the tip, forward and aimed clearly at the center of Diadora’s chest.

“Let me put you out of your misery.”

Even with Gheorud’s intrusion, Diadora’s will to fight did not waver or wane, but no
matter how inexhaustibly she was energized by her black emotions, obtaining victory
against these two bodies is extremely difficult.

Not wanting to allow Gheorud to slaughter Diadora, Rafarasia kicked the ground with
her bright red shoe-clad feet. Despite the appearance of a slender girl, her leg strength
is fast enough to overtake a panther running at full speed.

“Die!”

“I’m the one who’s going to kill her.”

With a buzz, Diadora’s black hair once again undulated like a stormy sea, and the whip
of thorns leaned on her sickle neck like a number of snakes.

But a compressed air cannonball flew at the speed of sound above Diadora’s head and
struck the spear and Rafaraia mercilessly while emitting a tremendous shock wave.

“Hooo!?”

”Hey, that’s unfair…… Kyaaaah!”

Gheorud’s two rear legs, prevented by the air cannonball, leapt up significantly, but
barely escaped a forward roll.

Though Rafarasia blocked the air cannonball with the blue fog of absorption, she was
hit by a direct hit from the <Energy Bolt> that continued to attack her.

Realizing that it wasn’t spirit magic that the Wood Elves were dealt with, Diadora
looked back with caution towards Gheorud and Rafarasia.

In the deep darkness, there was Doran’s figure, holding up his left hand.

Doran, who had rushed in from the southwest defensive wall, had sensed Diadora’s
predicament and exercised two magics in succession.

For a brief moment, Diadora’s and Doran’s eyes met with each other.
I let out a small breath of relief as I was able to safely save Diadora, who had been
forced into a predicament.

The Demon Flower Spirit that received a direct hit from the <Energy Bolts> lay down
on the ground and showed no signs of moving.

Although it shouldn’t have gone so far as to inflict a fatal wound, I guess I was able to
get a good amount of painful blows on it.

While Rafarasia’s small body lay limp and down on the ground, there was a figure
running further above Diadora’s head following the magic I had released.

A beautiful shadow body sprinting through the air. It was none other than Christine-
san, who clutched her beloved sword tightly.

By creating a compressed atmospheric vortex in the extremely small area of the sole
of her foot, she uses it as a foothold and gains propulsion at the same time, accelerating
at an extraordinary speed with every step she takes.

Christine-san leaped fearlessly into Gheorud’s face with her momentum intact.

“Arise, El Spada!”

Christine calls out the name of her beloved sword, El Spada, which she clutches tightly.
That’s the wording/signal for activating the magic stone embedded in El Spada and
the engraved magic formula.

A low booming sound emanates from the blade of El Spada, and a blue-white light
envelopes from the tip of the blade to the butt of the handle.
In addition to the weight reduction and hardening granting magic that is normally
activated, the effects of slash strengthening, body strengthening, and magic power
granting were also activated.

“NUuu, Impudent!”

Gheorud’s spear, which was aimed at Diadora, had already been flicked by my magic
and had its tip buried in the ground.

Then Gheorud waved his left arm, which had transformed into the shape of a circular
shield, and attempted to crush Christine-san.

Gheorud’s huge arm was swung up with tremendous force as if to shred the wind.

Christine-san, who is only a small shadow in comparison, is going to be turned into a

lump of flesh that has cruelly lost its face of beauty – it must have seemed like an
inevitable fate to the wood elves who don’t know anything about Christine-san, and to
Gheorud himself.

“FUuu!”

Exhaling a sharp, thin breath, Christine-san evades Gheorud’s left arm at such close
range that it makes you shudder to watch.

In response to the blow that came to crush the right half of her own body, she looked
at the front – that is to say, at the neck of the Gheorud, and using the wind as a foothold,
she stepped in with the speed of turning herself into a meteor.

The whole body assault was an excellent direct hit to the neck of the Gheorud, and the
blade of the El Spada dug deep into the body of the Gheorud up to its roots.

Even Gheorud seems to have responded to this blow. A voice of anguish spilled out
from behind the helmet.

“Guaaaa, I never imagined a human would hurt me this badly!”

Christine-san put her foot on Gheorud’s neck and pulled out her El Spada in a single
breath as Gheorud backed away while twisting the upper body, unable to bear it, and
she jumped back faster than she could get soaked by the black blood spewing out.
While Christine-san lands gracefully, after cutting a pontoon in the air, Gheorud, who
holds the wound on his neck with his left hand, gives her a hateful look.

Receiving the gaze that even the courageous warriors cowered under, Christine-san
grasped the El Spada with both hands and pulled the cutting edge backwards to the
right.

There is not the slightest sign of trepidation. Chirstine-san is that much bold and brave.

“I will tear you into a million pieces of flesh!”

Burning with the flames of hatred, Gheorud opens the large jaws of the lower half of
the eyeless beast and bares its fangs, dripping with yellow saliva.

He’ll thrust with his lance on her, crush her body with his shield, tear her apart with
his claws, bite her flesh off with his fangs and repeat the process endlessly to inflict as
much as pain possible on her alive. That was what Gheorud’s eyes said eloquently.

But Gheorud’s intentions were then blocked by Serina, who finally arrived although
late to Christine-san.

Her golden hair, clad in red-black phosphorescence, wavered against her, and an
extremely aggressive magical power rose from Serina’s entire body.

The curse of the demon snake that resides in her soul and flesh and blood could be
visualized in this way. The magic power was so dense that one didn’t need to have
magical eyesight to see it, and if an ordinary magician saw it, he or she would be scared
out of his or her wits.

“O demon serpent that binds my soul, eat my hatred, sip my sorrow, be a serpent of
misfortune with seven heads, Jaram Duaram!”

The apparition of the serpent that appeared due to Serina’s chanting was different
from the one I had seen so far, it was a multi-headed serpent with seven heads – a
hydra, just as the chanting said.

The seven heads, branching and extending from one body, closed in on Gheorud,
wrapping around his arms, four legs, and the beast’s neck, strangling it with the
restraining force of steel.
”Eei, do you want to stand in the way again!”

Serina leaped down from the top of the bulwark with great vigor and moved into a
sheltered position with Diadora at her back, undaunted by the gaze directed at her by
Gheorud, and called out to me, who had stopped at the top of the barrier.

“Doran-san, please!”

“Fumu.”

I aim at Gheord with the magic I had already finished chanting, and I hold the phrase
releasing the magic on my tongue.

I utter the wording on my tongue. With that process alone, my magic is activated.

But as if it had been aiming for that moment, a huge object is thrown at me from afar
at high speed.

With an intermittent wind noise, the huge axe was rapidly closing in on me while
spinning violently.

It was something that was thrown at me at a troublesome time. Holding a complaint

and admiration for the enemy at the same time, I hastily changed my magical sights to
the approaching axe.

“So, you really don’t want your companions to meet the fate. Ignito param!”(TN: It
should be something like Ignito Palm/Ignite Palm… sort of)

Numerous small red points of light converge on the tip of my left hand, which I held
up, like a meteor shower, and eventually the light transforms into a spear that has the
heat to melt even steel.

In truth, I had intended to use this to pierce through Gheorud, but there was no way
around it.

I launch the spear at the end of my left hand, unleashing it into the approaching axe
while trailing a tail of flame.

The moment <Ignito Param> collided head on with the huge axe that seemed to surpass
my height, a flood of flames with enormous heat poured out in all directions like a
flood that broke the embankment, and a hot wind torched my cheek and hair.

From the flower of explosive flames that bloomed in the air, a huge axe with a tail of
flames fell like a meteor, thrusting to the ground with a very heavy sound.

The weight of the axe alone must be enough for about five of me.

Shortly after, the sound and presence of Gheorud’s body filled with stiffness and magic
power as he tore off the illusion of the seven-headed serpent.

“Nuh-ahh!”

“Kyah!”

With so much energy and strength, it seemed as if Gheoruds’ huge body had grown a
size or two. In that instant, the heads of the serpents were all but torn off, and then
dissolved into the atmosphere as they glared grudgingly at the Gheorud.

Fortunately, the recoil on Serina, the magician, was small, and the hand that was thrust
out to the Gheorud was only flicked by the force of the backwash.

But that person?, he saved Gheoruds’ life. Should I call him a bad guy, or should I say
he is blessed with friends?

“You really can’t deny Rafarasia’s words in that case, Gheorud.”

The one who told Georud to play along was a knight in a huge full-body armor, holding
the axe I had just intercepted in his hand.

While Georudo’s figure is red, as if covered in fresh blood from the top of his head, this
one is all black, as if he is always wearing a shadow.

Although the figure has a perfect humanoid shape, at three to four times my height, it
looks like a knight of the giant race or something else, not a near chance to be a human.

This giant, too, is probably not made of armor forged from minerals, but rather has
had its own body transformed in battle.

The massive body emits an air of heaviness that is no less than that of Gheorud,
radiating a heaviness as if a humanoid mountain had arisen in front of you.
Perhaps because of the fact that he was actually saved by such words of his companion,
Gheoruds didn’t show any pretense of contradicting him.

”This could only happen once in a hundred years. Well, my name is Gerren. As you can
see, well, this is Gheorud and his compatriot Rafarassia. That human woman, and the
daughter of Lamia, we’ll leave the man to Gheorud and that black rose spirit to
Rafarasia. I want you to amaze this lord here. And I will not take no for an answer.”

Christine-san and Serina braced themselves at Geren’s words.

Speaking of Diadora, who had been removed from Geren’s target, it could be seen that
she was concentrating on her consciousness so that she could deal with Rafarasia
when she stood up.

Diadora doesn’t have the luxury of covering the fight between Geren and Christine-
san and the others.

Chrisine-san flushed the El Spada, which emitted a blue-white light, into the lower
right-hand corner, and she ran out to Geren as if she were the first to go.

Even after being exposed to Geren’s fighting spirit and the miasma that erupted from
the front, Christine-san didn’t seem frightened.

The miasma from the demon world is by itself a poisonous miasma for those living on
earth. It is a poison that eats away at the mind and body and rots the soul.

Even though Serina, who received the curse of the demon snake, was born with a
certain amount of resistance to it, how could Christine-san be able to fight without
breaking out in a cold sweat?

What kind of life has this person lived? What kind of life does it take to produce a
woman with such a great deal of guts?

“Serina, cover me!”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it!”

“Ha-ha, girls! There’s no tolerance for women and children in the demon world.”

“Odd. I don’t like being pardoned either!”

“That’s the spirit. Well, now, you can swing your blade as hard as you like. Then I’ll
break it into pieces.”

In response to Christine-san, Geren also runs off with ground shaking steps.

His huge frame and super-heavy sprint, which surpasses that of a human, radiates a
power and pressure that cannot be compared to human beings, and it seems as if small
earthquakes are occurring intermittently with each step.

”First of all, let’s do a small check! Be sure to not die on me, lass.”

Geren’s axe, raised with a single right hand, was swung down to Christine-san like an
avalanche…

As he mentioned, that strike was less likely to be his full power blow from Geren, but
it seems to contain enough force be able to crush ten or twenty human beings together.

However, Christine-san struck the El Spada against the curved blade of the axe that
fell on top of her own head.

Christine-san’s physical strength far surpasses that of an ordinary person due to her
unique body, but even so, it appears to be too bad to compare strength head-on with
Geren.

But it seems that even Christine-san was aware of that. Instead of committing the folly
of accepting the axe head-on, she struck the side of the axe with her El Spada to shift
the position of the axe’s fall.

The axe, which was shifted in direction, fell to Christine-san’s left side and sliced the
earth wide open.

Huge slash marks were carved into the earth, clumps of earth of all sizes rained down
around her, and an impact reminiscent of a lightning strike shook her in all directions.

Even though the direction of the force was shifted, the rigid force that attacked
Christine’s arms through the El Spada was powerful, and Christine endured it with all
the strength she could muster while gritting her back teeth.

“Alright, I guess you passed first,”

Geren’s voice, which had a slightly playful tone, caused Christine-san’s pride to be
wounded, and with her loss of pride in her corner of the eye, she galloped boldly to
Geren’s feet.

The speed achieved in the same manner as she ran through the air is so much that it
looks like she can even overtake the wind itself with ease.

However, Geren did not lose sight of Christine-san, whose fluttering silver hair shines
in the moonlight and is approaching like a silver wind. On the spot, he sinks down with
his left leg far back, then clenches his left hand and thrusts it out to Christine-san.

Christine-san leapt and dodged Geren’s left fist, which was reminiscent of a siege
weapon used to break through the castle gates, and not only that, she landed on Geren’s
left arm, which was unleashed with terrifying speed, and even ran for Geren’s head.

Should I marvel at her boldness and bravery, or should I be dismayed by her fearlessness
and barbarism?

When Christine-san came storming up the left arm, Geren let out an amused murmur,
then let go of the axe and tried to crush her with his right hand.

The metal armor worn by Christine-san doesn’t provide any comfort against Geren’s
attack.

He must know that a blow would result in immediate death and must be hit.

“Spirit of the earth, halt the movement of him!”

Serina moved again here. Serina called out to the earth spirit while thrusting out her
supple arms, interfering with the ground under Geren’s feet.

“Mmm.”

The ground under his feet formed a huge hand and grabbed onto Geren’s right arm.
As he kept himself low, Geren was unable to avoid it.

Serina didn’t just stop Geren’s movement for a moment, but also hit him with another
blow.

“Energy Bolt!”
Aiming at Geren, who was unable to move because his right arm was held down, four
arrows of pure magic power hit his head in succession.

Geren’s head, which has a helmet shape reminiscent of a cylinder, shook greatly, while
Christine-san had climbed all the way to the base of her shoulder.

”I’ve got that head!”

With a large right backward pull on the El Spada, Christine-san flashed with all her
strength. The slash of the white blade that seemed to cut off even the moonlight was
indeed supposed to catch Geren’s neck.

However, as soon as Geren’s right arm was still grabbed, he thrust his right hand into
the ground and used it as a fulcrum to leap up his body, an unexpected action.

Geren’s huge body soared upside down, and Christine-san, who was on Geren’s left
shoulder, was thrown into the air.

“Haha, you think I am a rigid wooden doll?”

Geren says with amusement, as if he truly enjoys surprising his opponent. Then, as
Christine-san twisted like a cat in the air and poised for a landing, he slammed his left
leg, which had been standing upright toward the night sky, into Christine’s face.

Geren’s left leg in a neat semicircle caught Christine-san without missing her aim.

Geren must have imagined the sight of Christine-san’s body blowing away like dust.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the kick, Geren thrusts his right hand into the
ground and zun! He bent his knees and landed with a very heavy sound.

“Chee!”

But the figure of Christine, who was supposed to be blown away, was on Geren’s left leg.

She created a foothold in the wind against the shin(tibia) of Geren’s left leg, which had
come to crush her own body head-on, and kicked it backwards, thrusting the blade of
the El Spada deep to the base and clinging to it to avoid a direct hit from the kick.(TN:
Tibia, also called shin, inner and larger of the two bones of the lower leg in vertebrates—
the other is the fibula.)
Christine-san’s actions, which were like an acrobatic feat, were done in casualness.

However, it was definitely a nerve-racking act, and cold sweat broke out in droplets or
two on Christine-san’s snowy skin.

“Good grief, my innards went cold suddenly!”

Christine-san drew the El Spada from Geren’s left leg and then kicked the left leg
further and leapt, almost simultaneously with Geren standing up.

With a low shout of “Hmph,” the earth’s hand that had been holding Geren’s right arm
in place was shattered, and Geren’s hand grabbed the axe that was thrust into the
ground.

Even though the same black blood spurted from the shin of his left leg as Gheorud’s,
Geren didn’t seem to feel any pain. In fact, he even seemed to feel comfortable.

“Christine-san! take this, Jaram!”

In order to help Christine-san, who landed at a distance from Geren, Serina discarded
her chanting and invoked Jaram in exchange for some difficulty.

What’s noteworthy about this magic is that the activation position of the magic can be
changed at the discretion of the user.

It is possible to make the illusion arise near the sorcerer and face the enemy, or
conversely, it is possible to make it appear in the enemy’s close range.

At this time, Serina made the illusion of the serpent appear as if it were tightening on
Geren’s body. Even though it is an illusion, the giant snake with physical interference
power tightens up to crush the bones of Geren’s entire body in a single breath.

“Haha, this level is rather comfortable. The serpent that dwells in the demon world
doesn’t deserve this level of comfort, O girl who has inherited the demon serpent’s
curse.”

With a light swing of the axe in his right hand, Geren smashes the head of the serpent,
which spits out a venomous gasp, shattering it into pieces and erasing the illusion.

The illusion of the serpent dissolves into the atmosphere, reproducing with precision
the shattered bones, red flesh, and even its eyeballs. With this, the thing that bound
Geren’s body disappeared.

Geren put his left arm to his neck and tilted his head from side to side twice or thrice,
making a horrendous sound with a thumping sound. It sounds like breaking a large
tree.

Geren’s eyes were reflecting Christine-san at his feet.

“No matter how much you’ve enhanced your physical abilities with magic, you have
exceeded the mark. The miasma that I’m going to give off isn’t enough to make you
physically and mentally tired. You are a super race, aren’t you?

“Super race? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you had fun.”

Christine gave a beautiful but fearless smile and said sarcastically, and Geren seemed
to have a good feeling about her. He laughed loudly and prudently, which made
everyone around him tremble.

“Hahahaha, your guts are getting stronger and stronger! Let’s get down to business.”

“Serina, you stay sharp, okay?”

“Yes, yes. You are the one to be careful, Christine-san. This is no ordinary opponent!”

Absolutely, Christine-san muttered softly. I must not have misheard her, because
although her voice was bitter, it sounded somehow loaded with a joyful sound.

If Christine-san was enjoying this soul-crushing battle without being aware of it herself,
then this person’s karma is also as deep as the Shura, which is destined to fight for
eternity.

Gio, Fio and the others, who arrived at the northern defensive wall late to Doran and
the others, were holding their breath at the tremendous battle between Geren,
Christine-san and Serina, but they remembered that they were the ones who had to
be the first to shed blood in this battle.

There’s no reason to impose the battle only on those who come from outside the
forest, and apart from that, the demon soldiers were swarming to the defensive wall
while Geren and the others were fighting, and it was necessary to repel them.

The companions who had been stationed on the northern defensive wall before Gio
and the others arrived also began to move their bows, which had been stopped for a
while, and began to reset their magical sights on the demon soldiers below them.

“Brother, don’t we have to cover Doran-san and the others?”

“It’s a shame, but this isn’t a fight we can just barge in on. We’ll do what we can. Fio,
call out to the spirits.”

“All right. Marr, what will you do?”

“Marr will stay here too. Marr’s power is tiny, but she can ask the spirits to help her!”

Hearing Marr’s firm, determined voice on her shoulder, her ears as long as bamboo
leaves, Fio shook her head.

Her brother Gio has already reassembled his bow and, along with the rest of his
companions, has begun to rain down arrows on the demon soldiers below him.

“Let’s go, Marr. O Spirit of the wind.”

“Yes, Spirit of the Wind, please listen to Marr and the others.”

“Be a sharp blade and slash our enemies!”

A blade of wind, activated not only by Fio and Marr but also by the other wood elves,
attacks with a claw-like blade against the barrier wall of the trees, and with an eye on
Zelt who comes running up.

Unable to move satisfactorily while ascending the defensive wall, Zelt’s thin arms were
cut off and its lizard-like face was cut in half and dropped off the defensive wall in
pieces.

Gio’s arrows, which are no exaggeration in terms of accuracy, shot out from his bow,
tinged with magic and with increased penetration, and pierced the demon soldiers
crawling on the ground one after another, returning them to a handful of ashes.
The battle of Gheorud and Rafarasia had swept away the thorns and tree root spears
that had blocked the demon soldiers and opened up the field, and the demon soldiers
were swarming all over the defensive wall.

At least the best thing is that the demon soldiers avoided the place where Geren and
Georgud were fighting by bypassing it.

Gio had made the decision to leave Diadora, Doran and the others to deal with those
demon soldier leaders and focus on intercepting the demon soldiers with his friends.

As Gio was giving quick instructions to his companions and Fio, who had been brought
in, the Wood Elf, who was in charge of the defense of the north, called out to him. He
was about a hundred years older than Gio.

He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead that was slightly smeared with blood,
and the color of fatigue could be seen all over his body.

Even though Diadora was there, it must have been quite a heartache to defend the
north, where the Demon Soldiers’ forces were most concentrated.

“Eshtar, you are safe, then.”

“You too, Gio. I’d like to ask you about those humans right now, but I’m afraid I have
no time for that.”

“Ah. Yes. We’ll leave the big guys to their work. We’ll hold off the demons on our own.
What about the south side? What about the east and the west?”

“The east is guarded by Olivier and the men who returned from outside. According to
the message, there is no problem at all. I’ve been told that the demon soldiers have
begun to move on this side. It’s probably due to the influence of those big guys coming
forward.”

“Well, all right. The chiefs will get everyone here, and in the meantime, we must protect
ourselves.”

“I know. I’ll crush any demons that move to the east.”

“I understand. May the breath of the forest and the wind be with you.”
Receiving the words of prayer for safety passed on to the forest people, Eshtar turned
his back on Gio and ran off with his men who had been shooting arrows at the demon
soldiers.

It was only because Doran and the others were holding back Gheorud and Geren that
they were able to disperse their forces here. But if by chance they didn’t visit Entete’s
forest today, if they didn’t meet them and weren’t able to get help…

“Who knows how many lives we have lost. Maybe this is just another blessing from
Yggdrasil.”

Murmuring the name of the Tree of Creation, which the elves believe in along with the
Creator God, Gio picked up another arrow.

The arrows fired by the best archer among the Wood Elves pierced the body of the
demon soldiers as accurately as if they were threaded together from the beginning.

While the attack and defense between the demon soldiers and the wood elves and
others was taking place across the defensive wall, Rafarasia, who had been lying on
the ground until then, finally raised her body up and let a blue mist of sucking life
emanate from her entire body.

The wide-open eyes of Rafarasia were full of the hatred that had compressed,
compressed, compressed, compressed, and the end result of repeating it to the point
of madness.

She loosely craned her neck to stare at Doran, who had cast a spell on her, and at
Diadora’s face in turn, who had drawn a single vermillion line across her cheek.

Perhaps it’s because Doran is confronting Gheorud, but Rafrasia’s eyes turn to Diadora,
who was staring at us.

The tightly knotted petal lips are unexpectedly twisted. Rafarasia had a crescent
moon-like smile on her face. A crescent moon smile that possesses the madness and
coldness that confuses the human heart.

“Hey, where do you want me to break it from? Shall I dry your supple arm dry from
the inside out, or shall I suck the life out of your feet until they crumble with the sand?
Or shall I suck the life out of your feet until they crumble to sand? Or shall I let your
entire body wither and die, leaving your beautiful head alone? Hey, which one do you
want? Hmm?”

Diadora, who had listened to Rafarasia’s words that would make the souls of those
who heard them tremble with fear, stands shifty in the moonlight and smiles a lustrous
smile that is a stark contrast to Rafarasia’s frenzied smile.

Then she traces her own cheek with her right forefinger, a sculpted right hand forefinger
that would make anyone in the world furious if the one with the wound was there.

A graceful movement, akin to a master’s brush dancing on paper, was accompanied by

these words

“That’s a very generous offer. In return, I’ll color your face more beautifully. A more
sloppy slice would suit you better.”

At Deirdre’s words with no more sarcasm and contempt, the blue fog that had been
erupting from Rafarasia’s entire body stopped for a moment, and in the next moment,
it exploded and overflowed in all directions with increasing momentum.

It meant a further explosion of Rafarasia’s emotions, which seemed to have already

reached its limit. Deirdre’s words became the sharpest blade in the world and slashed
and discarded Rafrasia’s pride.

“Don’t try it, oh no! I’ll make you regret scarring me!”

“Ugly flower spirit of the demon world is on a roll. You’re the one who will regret
coming to this forest!”

While we were fighting with Gheorud and the others, the demon soldiers were making
their way towards the defensive wall. However, the Wood Elves were not only watching
from the sidelines, they were actively attacking and fighting off the demons.

Since this was the case, there was no problem leaving the demon soldiers to them to
deal with. And while Geren, Christine-san and the others have heated up the struggle,
and the battle for the defensive wall is becoming more and more fierce, and Gheorud
was-.
“Prepare to suffer at my hands, mortal!”

He decided to make me the first sacrifice and thrust the tip of his spear at me. That
alone causes a tremendous wind to roll up and agitate my black hair.

The red magic and the battle spirit that erupts from Gheorud’s entire body doesn’t stop.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t be prepared for that. You can’t cover your disgrace.”

I landed from the top of the barrier to the ground, gripping the long sword with one
right hand. In the midst of my fall, I created a breeze, turning the impact of my landing
into something almost nonexistent.

Overhearing my words, Gheorud snarls at me as he spits out the most irreverent words.
A breath of fiery heat erupts from between the fangs of the beast in the lower half of
my body.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if I could do a trick to the extent of breathing fire.

“The diminutive human flair appears to be unaware of its dignity. Well, in exchange
for your life, I’ll teach you a lesson.”

“What’s the lesson then?”

“You talk too much and you’ll shorten your life!”

As soon as he said that, Gheorud kicks the ground and leaps at me. The four legs of the
Gheoruds’ giant body turn into a something like a wind. My vision got instantly filled
with the huge body of his.

“A common lesson, but does it contain any truth to it?”

Grasping the long sword in my hand again, I greeted Gheorud, who was spewing black
blood from his neck.

What filled my vision had changed from the Gheorud’s huge body to the tip of the spear.

Nothing like a wave of fear and anxiety rose in my heart in the face of a spear that
would pierce any heavy armor like thin paper.
I softly placed the long sword on the tip of the spear that was mercilessly thrust into
me. This trick was possible only with the dragon’s eyes and reflexes that I recreated
from the physical information of my previous life recorded in my spirit soul.

The moment the blade of the long sword and the spear tip touched each other, the
magic that I had put into the long sword beforehand is activated.

Don! And three roars occurred in succession, as if lightning had struck in the vicinity,
and a suitable impact was released from my long sword, causing Gheorud’s spear to
be flung wide apart.

Not only that, but Gheord’s right half of his body was deflected wide, and his four legs
were also lifted up, causing his center of gravity to shift and he lost his posture.

What I did was a technique commonly referred to as magic swordsmanship. It is a

technique in which magic is improvised into armor or magic and then set up a technique
to be activated under arbitrary or set conditions.

What I was putting into the long sword right now was a low-grade attack magic called
<Energy Impact>, which generates a shockwave of pure magic power at the close
range of the magician.

Three consecutive <Energy Impact> flashed the spear of Gheorud beautifully.

In front of me was the defenselessly exposed figure of Gheorud. His eyes, filled with
viciousness, burn with anger at himself for acting out the blunder and hatred for me.

“There’s the opening for me,”

In times like these, I am merciless in word and deed, as one of my acquaintances from
a previous life often told me.

I flipped the tip of my long sword in an attempt to cut the head of the fanged Gheoruds’
beast in half.

I wanted to avoid using my power as a dragon species in the eyes of others, including
Christine-san and Serina, but this was not an opponent that I could fight with my
abilities as a human alone without doing so.

When I raised the long sword, which shines white by granting magical power, from the
earth to the heavens, a trail of white light drew a crescent moon and cut through the
lower half of Gheorud’s body.

However, Gheorud stopped my slash from cutting deep into the right neck of the
beast’s head.

Black blood rushed out. Although my vision was blocked for a moment, I dodged the
blood splatter by flying backwards faster than it could be showered over my entire
body.

Stumbling for a few steps, Gheorud backed away. Black blood mixed with yellow saliva
spilled out of the beast’s mouth like a waterfall.

The distance between me and Gheorud was about 15 steps. It would take more than a
blink of an eye to change it to zero.

When I was conscious of the stopping blow, a loud voice, reminiscent of a strong wind
blowing the roots of the trees, struck me.

“Waiiiit!”

At this time, the fourth demon soldier leader popped up. The fourth one, who had
never moved, finally made a move.

As I was about to take a step forward to pursue Gheorud, a huge shadow came over
me.

The moment the shadow overlapped me, a sensation as if the weight of that person
had been added to me. Even the shadow that falls to the ground is filled with the power
of the voice’s owner.

Apparently, the fourth one was a master of power that was head and shoulders above
the other three.

Everyone on this battlefield looked up above their heads. And they saw.

The humanoid figure wearing white phosphorescence floats against the moon, the
queen of nighttime darkness.

The humanoid form, which had already moved from leap to descent, lands between
me and Gheorud.

The overwhelming weight buries the ground up to its ankles, and it stands on the earth
in a kneeling position.

Although his massive body, which is three to four times larger than mine, is the same
as that of Gheorud and Geren, the tremendous battle spirit that blows from its entire
body has a density that might justify turning it into matter.

What an amazing battle spirit!

It’s not just the quality of the air, but it is also decisively different from that of Gheorud
and Rafarasia.

The fighting spirit released by both of them remind those who are exposed to it of a
horrible and cruel, painful and humiliating death, whereas this white knight’s fighting
spirit at least shows that there is no death through suffering.

A warrior would feel that death comes at the end of an all-out struggle. It’s a purely
sharpened hint of struggle without any evil intent.

The white knight’s entire body was wrapped in a white armor with sharp lines that
stood out, with curved horns extending forward from both sides of his helmet and gill-
like horns extending backward from his forehead to the top of his head.

There were four arms that looked more like giant boulders joined together than logs,
each with arms folded somewhat cramped.

A long sword of a size commensurate with its massive body was lowered at the left
hip, and a shield that could be mistaken for a round table was strapped to the left arm
below.

Two sword hilts peeked out from his back as if they were intersecting. I wonder if
fighting with three swords and one shield is this white knight’s method of warfare.

“Georg, this is my battle!”

Georudo voiced his protest against his companion calling him Georg, but he was
somehow powerless to do so. Perhaps it was partly because he had been helped, but
more than that, Georg was probably superior in rank.
Although he hasn’t even fought, everyone here, including me, surely understands that
Georg’s presence alone is superior to that of Gheorud, Geren and Rafarasia, just by his
appearance.

“I apologize for my tactlessness in interrupting the fight. I’m sorry!”

Georg apologize as such to Gheorud. Apparently, even those in the demon world are
troubled by such a foolishly honest apology, and Gheorud’s snickering was clearly
evident.

“Mmm, yeah, this is why you’re so hard to deal with.”

“By the way, nice work, mortals. And that black spirit.”

Georg looks around at Christine-san and Diadora, who were engaged with Geren, in
order with his golden eyes, and says with heartfelt joy.

Apparently, he separates himself from the kind of people who take pleasure in taking
life itself, such as Georudo and Rafarasia, whose desires are as such.

But the fact remains that as long as they are from the demon world, they must not be
allowed to exist on this earth.

“I am very glad that we came here. I’m a member of the demon world.”

“There’s nothing more futile than to show your authority to an unruly opponent. It’s
remarkable that you’re not only unafraid to face us, you’ve even managed to injure us.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a strong mortals on this plane(realm).”
“Then taste it for yourself, you rascal!”

“Hahahahaha! The evil gods are wriggling, the demons dwell in the demon world are
treated as a countryside bumpkin, this person git a good mouth!”

In my past life, there was only one great goddess of evil in the demon world that I
could call a friend, but basically, the people in the demon world are just enemies to
me.

When Georg saw me once again circulate my fighting and magical energy from the tip
of my long sword to my entire body, he gripped the three swords in his three arms
with his laughter intact.

What should we really call a sword of such tremendous size that can cut an entire
house in half?

“Georg, you, don’t take the side!”

“What, it’s just a match to test his strength.”

“You’re the one who always cuts them down!”

I couldn’t help but interrupt the exchange between Georg and Georg, thinking that he
was going to say something self-serving.

”It’s a bit of a shock to me that you think I’m the same prey you’ve been preying on.”

I buried myself up to my ankles in the ground and with an explosive step, I slashed
head-on at Georg.

It’s clear that Georg was a cut above the other three, but that’s not enough for me to
fear.

As I had declared to them, I was holding back my frustration and anger in my gut
cavity, thinking that this redneck from the demon world was going to look good here.

“Ho, you’re fast, human!”

With a happy voice, Georg swung the sword down from his right lower arm.
The fighting spirit and magic power of Georg’s sword is abundantly present from the
end of the hilt to the tip of the blade, and its destructive power and sharpness have
increased several notches.

As someone who was a dragon in a previous life, I can assure that this is a blow that
would be enough for a lower species of dragon that has lost its intelligence to be
decapitated with all its scales and bones together.

“It’s Doran, remember that!”

I responded to Georg’s falling sword with a long sword head-on as I said that back.

I had already put <Energy Impact> into my long sword. As I flicked the Georg’s sword
that was swung down, as well as Georg’s spear, Georg’s sword bounced up with a
tremendous impact sound.

The rebound I received was greater than that of Georg’s, and my long sword also
bounced back.

Fumu, it happened to me for the first time, but I guess I wasn’t mistaken.

“Doran, that name reminds me of a certain one. Not that it has anything to do with you,
mortal!”

Someone. No way.

Georg twists his bullet-riddled lower right arm out of the way to the right. And then
he swung the swords in both upper arms down on me at exactly the same time.

It’s so heavy and fast that it cannot be compared to the first blow. It’s a slash that
combines pressure reminiscent of the collapse of a large mountain and the speed of
lightning.

But now that Christine-san and Serina have focused their attention on the fight against
Geren, I’m in a situation where it’s not a problem to remove some of the seals(locks)
I’m imposing on myself.

The two swords falling towards my neck – if I received even one of them, my body
would instantly be destroyed – so I collectively repelled them with one cleave of the
long sword.
This time I didn’t use <Energy Impact> to flick them.

It was played with a blade clothed with magical power as a dragon species born from
my soul.

If someone with magical vision in the near-godly realm saw it, my long sword would
have looked like it was wrapped in an illusion of a white dragon’s claw.

“Oh, this, is…”

Georg seems to sense the magic power I’ve begun to unleash rather than the fact that
the slash was repelled, and is truly surprised by that one. But do you have time to be
surprised, O resident of demon world?

I tightened my sides and pulled the long sword to my side, and thrust the tip of the
long sword into my body as if to strike the right half of my body.

A voice spilled out of the back of my throat that could never be produced by my human
vocal cords. It’s an unmistakable roar of a dragon species.

Georg received my thrust with his circular shield on his left lower arm as I released it
with a power far greater than Georg’s thrust.

“Muoooo!”

The blade tip of the long sword dug into the center of the circular shield, but Georg
turned the direction of the blade tip to the outside left by twisting his left lower arm.

This is the same technique that Christine-san used to deflect Geren’s axe. But I don’t
intend to unleash a cheap blow that can be so easily mollified.

I regripped the long sword that was still stuck to Georg’s shield with both hands, let
out a short exhalation and swung it from right to left in a huff.

Georg’s body is about to be sent flying off to the right, but he barely holds on and
endures it. At the same time, he turned his gaze on me with unmistakable astonishment.

The power I showed in just a few rounds was probably just enough to surprise Georg,
who had experienced a hundred battles in the demon world.
Finally, my long sword separated from Georg’s circular shield. And immediately after,
his three arms thrust their swords at me with minimal movement.

A single sword wind is fast enough to lightly peel off my skin. My long sword, which
has been transformed into three flashes of light, flicks back at them.

Georg immediately pulls back the three swords that were flicked off and repeats his
attacks on me with blows from his circular shield.

All of Georg’s attacks, backed by cardiopulmonary and muscular abilities that are
incomparable to the human body, are aimed at vital points, proving that he is the owner
of an outstanding martial art.

That’s why Georg gave me a darker look of admiration as I was able to handle all the
attacks.

As the sounds of the incessant sword fights resounded around me like a series of
music, I collectively bounced back Georg’s three swords that were swung down above
my head and forcefully made a pause.

“Explosion!”(Megumin was he the one who taught you!?)

The magic power of the dragon species condensed between me and Georg, which was
slightly open, causing an explosion phenomenon that used it as a detonator to envelop
Georg’s entire body.

Georg’s body, which was enveloped by the blinding light and black smoke, was blown
wide open and fell to the ground while spewing black smoke from everywhere.

However, at the sight of Georg’s figure beyond the clearing of the black smoke, I gave
a small cluck of my tongue.

Georg was shielding the front of his body with his circular shield and three swords
just before receiving the <Explosion> and avoiding a direct hit.

“Umm, I’m sincerely surprised that you’ve gone this far, Doran. “

“Not too much of an itch, heh. I thought I could hurt you a little more.”

“I intervened in your battle with Gheorud. If you don’t pull off a trick like this, there’s
no telling what they’ll say about you later.”

“One look from you, though, and it’s likely to shut you up. That and you are clearly
different in rank. You seem to be a fallen god, but Gheorud, Geren, and Rafarasia are
probably fallen gods’ relatives or demons of some sort.”

“Well, it’s hard to imagine anyone on mortal realm being able to see that well with a
glance. I see that you also have a secret.”

“It’s not something to talk about here.”

“Right. Indeed, this blade will do the talking, not the oratory. Especially since my
sword has three blades, it speaks louder than a single tongue.”

As soon as he said that, he raised his three swords proudly and leaned forward slightly,
his center of gravity slightly lowering as he further increased the fighting spirit that
he released at me.

The moonlight that was falling was distorted by the miasmic fighting spirit that rises
from Georg’s body.

His fighting spirit was enough to even distort the moon light. There is no doubt that
the most difficult enemy is this, Georg.

He’s — coming!

Despite being such a huge body, with a step that overtakes even the wind, Georg
instantly puts me in the range of his blades in the blink of an eye.

The three blades raised were swung down to me without mercy with the ruthlessness
of the decapitated blade and the power of a deadly strike.

The slash, which would easily destroy the wood elf village’s defenses, is received with
a long sword that is further infused with the magical power of the dragon species.

The impact created by each stroke of the sword disturbed the surrounding atmosphere
as if a storm had occurred, carving deep and large cracks into the ground.

In the midst of the screams of the atmosphere and the lacerations of the earth, the
attack and defense of Georg and I is repeated.
“Nueraaaaah!”

“Fuuuuu”

Georg doesn’t stop with the sword, he also strikes with his circular shield and kicks to
attack without pause.

To that, I also use a blade for a blade. I responded to the shield and the kick with a
blow with my free left hand.

In order to deal with the attack of the fallen god Georg, I not only used my long sword,
but also spread the magic power of the dragon species throughout my body.

Georg. I never thought I would be using my power as a dragon species to this extent.
I’ve been reborn as a human being, I must admit that he is without a doubt the
strongest enemy I’ve ever encountered.

While I wholeheartedly acknowledge Georg’s competence, Georg also senses my

competence and a smile appears on his deformed face.

“Hmph, it was worth it for the tactlessness of intervening in a one-on-one battle! You
are a Wonderful as well as formidable foe, human.”

With a loud laugh reminiscent of distant thunder, Georg draws his upper arms backward
and holds them in place for a moment with the tip of his sword pointed at me.

Then, with a roar of spiritedness that would make both the birds in the sky and the
beasts on the ground fall comatose, he released his sword with a speed that can only
be seen as a white flash of lightning from a tame motion that seems to be squeezing
the string of arrows to the limit.

”Zuea!”

A fast, heavy, sharp thrust. Even for my earthly brethren, this thrust is a death-defying
blow. But from my point of view, it is slow, light, and lukewarm.

Faster than Georg’s thrust, which can only be seen as a flash even through the eyes of
a fierce man of a hundred battles, my long sword flashes twice and flicks back at the
approaching sword.
The moment I flicked it again, even faster than the sparks of combat and magic power
that were scattered in profusion were extinguished, the third flashing longsword
slashed shallowly down from Georg’s right hip to his lower left chest.

It was meant to cut him in half, but it was faster for Georg to jump backwards. Hmmm,
is it possible that I was a bit shallow in my step?

“What a great strength to burn my body and soul, ha ha ha ha ha, so fortuitous! Indeed,
indeed, it was good to come to mortal realm!”

Georg laughs a great deal, exuding the greatest joy as he bleeds black blood from his
belly where he was cut by me.

Against the shallow wound, an unspeakable agony would have been felt, but Georg is
only rejoicing in the joy of the struggle.

Fumu, before he speaks out about something unnecessary, I should cut his head off.

A blue mist suddenly erupts from the ground at my feet and envelops me, as if to
control my enthusiasm.

“Hahaha, don’t just look at Georg, okay?”

The one who generated the life-sucking fog was Rafarasia, who was engaged in a battle
with Diadora.

It was a shrewd thing to do, to not miss a moment to intervene in the fight between
Georg and I while fighting Diadora without a moment to breathe, and to allow the life-
sucking fog to reach us via the ground below.

Georg doesn’t seem to show any signs of anger at Rafarasia’s intervention, perhaps
because he himself has intervened in Georg’s fight.

And the intervention between me and Georgs’ battle did not end with just Rafarasia.

Even Gheorud, who had been cut down by me and had taken a moment to see what
was going on, saw my movement being stopped for a moment as an opportunity and
laid bare his hatred and anger.

“It’s not just Rafarasia, HUMAN!”

Gheorud opened the mouth of the beast in the lower half of his body as far as it would
go while splattering blood like a waterfall. In the very next moment when something
red flickered in the back of the pitch-black throat where only darkness seemed to have
condensed, a huge mass of fire shot out from there.

The great fireball generated by the demon of the demon world approached, scorching
the atmosphere with a killing capacity that burns not only matter but also spirit and
soul.

“Doran!”

“Doran-san!”

Seeing my predicament, Serina and Christine-san try to move to help me somehow,

but that’s not allowed by Geren, who stands in front of them.

With a swing of the axe in his hand, Geren draws Selina and Christina’s attention back
to him.

“Ooh, you think you can turn your back on me? No, I guess not. It’s not that I’m not
interested in that person, but I’d rather eat the food in front of me first.”

That was all it took, but Serina and the others seemed to be instinctively made to
understand that if they turned their attention away from the knight in front of them,
death was inevitable.

“Please don’t interfere!”

“Kudos, Doran……”

Serina and Christine-san, as well as Geren, Georg, Gheorud, and Raffrasia, would have
thought I was in danger. That I was in a predicament where I couldn’t help but feel a
sense of death.

I sprang into action to show them that they were wrong.

The vomiting mist that is covering my entire body from underneath my feet, and the
huge fireball that is approaching, burning my bones to the ground.

All of them have a combination of viciousness and power worthy of the evil demons
of the demon world, but compared to the evil great gods that I remember, they are not
very threatening.

”You guys are much too lax to give me my life, demons.”

I released the magic power of the old divine dragon that I had kept in my body to
strengthen my body, and formed the wings that I once had as a body.

I flap my wings, which only appear for less than an instant, unnoticed by anyone, and
generate a gale of wind that carries the magic power of the ancient divine dragon
around me.

The violent wind generated by my wings raged like a dragon soaring from the ground
to the sky, blowing away the Rafarasia mist that was trying to devour my life and the
great fireball of the Gheoruds’ fireball that was within reach if I reached out to it
without a trace, as if it had never even existed.

Convinced that I had exploited an opening, Rafarasia and Gheorud revealed their
astonishment that their attacks were easily nullified by their intentions.

“Lies, my fog that easily!”

“Erased by the wind? You can’t pull off a feat like that with just the wind.”

Rafarasia and Gheorud, who hadn’t noticed the Old Divine Dragon’s wings I had formed,
couldn’t open their mouths any further.

Because the <Energy Bolts> that I had shot at the two of them at the same time as I
flapped my wings with the Old God Dragon’s wings, landed on the chest of each of the
two people who had been distracted by surprise. The petite Rafrasia was blown away
in a big way, and the huge body and large weight of Gheorud also fell on his back due
to the impact.

I wanted to put a definite stop to Rafarasia and Gheorud, but Georg, who has been
silent until now, prevented it with his silent pressure.

It seemed that only Georg was convinced that there was no way I would be struck
down by the surprise attack of Rafarasia and Gheorud.

Otherwise, there is no way I would have continued to build up my strength without

even speaking a word until this moment.

The battle spirit gushing out of Georg’s huge body became more dense and pure, and
there was a pressure as if the sun itself was in front of him.

Georg pointed the two swords held by his upper arm to the heavens and the remaining
sword of his lower right arm to the earth.

“To my power, O Heaven, yield! Earth, come down!”

Centered around Georg’s three swords, the magical power that fills the heavens and
earth is rapidly converging, and before one can even see it, an enormous amount of
power begins to dwell in it.

Not only the magical power that exists in the natural world, but also Georg’s own
magical power and his battle spirit fused with each other, and the power continued to
grow synergistically.

Due to its sheer power, not only Serina, Christine-san and Diadora, who were in the
midst of fighting, but also the elven warriors were stunned and their eyes widened.

To them it was an absolute force that reminded them of natural disasters, such as
storms, earthquakes, or meteorites from the sky, reminding them of the futility of
resisting.

“This is the level of power that can be used on earth, but if you can survive this blow,
then that’s when I’ll recognize you as a true enemy, O human. One of my profound
techniques is the Three Demon Blades!”

Georg’s three swords flickering white with a dazzling brilliance. The sound was like
the roar of a starving wolf, waiting for the release of its accumulated power right now.

If Georg’s accumulated power is released, the entire area behind me, not to mention
the village of the Wood Elves, including the village of Berne, will disappear from the map,
leaving only a large hole that looks like a giant meteorite that has fallen.

Before long, Georg swung all three swords over his head and the pure destructive
power stored in the swords was bound into one.

Then the bundled power formed a huge blade of light, towering like it was about to
pierce the heavens and dispel the darkness of night with its brilliance.

In the next moment, Georg swings the blade of light down towards me in one fell
swoop, with unconcealed anticipation and excitement!

“Doran-san!”

I heard Serina’s scream slightly late as the blade of light swung down, and I turned my
head towards her and smiled lightly.

Serina, who briefly exchanged glances with me, might have thought my smile was a
smile of acceptance of death, but her complexion changed so pale that I felt sorry for
her as I watched her, and a tragic expression appeared on her face.

Fumu, it seems that I’ve created a terrible misunderstanding, but I don’t have time to
clear up that misunderstanding with words right now.

I shall use the most obvious action to convey the true meaning of the smile I had on
my face.

Georg shouts to me as I turn my face back to the blade of light.

Please don’t let me die at this level, and please let me enjoy it more by surpassing this
blow, he reeks unspokenly.

“Receive it, avoid it, and die!”

O God, fallen in the madness of the struggle. I will give you the answer you desire.

My favorite long sword, filled with the magical power of the ancient divine dragon
born from my soul, was in my hand, and I greeted it head-on without a plan or
technique.

The longsword in my hand may have looked unreliable to Serina and the others.
However, the power in its blade is not inferior to Georg’s.

“Haaaaa!”

I raised my long sword from the earth to the sky and drew a white crescent trail.
My long sword and Georg’s blade of light collided with each other, creating a state of
conflict that would be impossible to achieve if viewed from the side, for only a brief
moment.

“Oooooh?!”

An astonished cry that came from Georg’s throat. This was raised at the same time as
witnessing the moment my long sword sliced his own deepest blade of light into two
halves.

The immense power that is about to destroy the entire area was guided by the magical
power of my ancient divine dragon contained in the long sword to the high heavens
where the sea of stars spread out.

For a brief moment, it turned into a pillar of light that dispelled the darkness in the
area.

Eventually, the pillar of light gradually disappeared, and as particles of white light fell
like powdery snow, I stared at Georg.

“Hmph, hahahahaha, wonderful. So wonderful. Even if it’s on the mortal realm, to

defeat my Profound Technique head on with force! It’s all worth it to come down to
the surface as per the terms of our little agreement. It’s worth it to live up to this day!
Hahahahahahahaha.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your mood, but I’m not fighting to entertain you. Fallen God.”

I regrasped my long sword and made a small clinking sound in my hand, when Georg
returned it to its scabbard and held out his palm to stop me.

“Wait. I would love to fight you, but this is not the day we are going to fight until we
have a real score to settle. Let’s strike a deal right here, shall we?”

I doubted it was some kind of magic, but there was no sign of force at work. I suppose
they are simply trying to stop me.

“This is an offer I hadn’t thought of. I thought the only option was to keep fighting until
one of us died……”

“Be patient. As much as I would like that, it’s not possible. There is a certain order to
everything.”

When I sloppily lowered the blade of my long sword to acknowledge that I had quelled
the will to fight, Georg also sheathed the swords on his left and right upper arms. Then
he gingerly turns his chest back and declares in a loud voice that threatens to tear our
eardrums.

“Listen, people of the forest! Either you will continue to resist us until the end of your
lives, or you will submit to our gates to preserve your veins of life, and you will have
to choose between the two. In three days’ time from today, we will return to this village
with an army. Until then, discuss it to your heart’s content and decide your future. You
can choose to resist with the help of these men, or you can choose to follow us and
give your strength to us.”

Georg’s declaration, which is equivalent to the roar of distant thunder, would have
reached the Wood Elves inside the walls.

“Fumu, you seem to wish that we would resist. Whether or not the three days are right
for you, I don’t know, but we don’t always wait for the three days.

At my words, Georg probably must have turned the mouth behind his helmet into a
smile.

“Hmph, an opponent with that much backbone would have a lot to chew on. Living is
always the same as fighting. Therefore, deciding how to live your life is also deciding
how to fight. Choosing how to fight is one of the few freedoms that life allows. Do as
you please. This is the end of the night, Gheorud, Geren, and Rafarasia. Let’s step back!”

As soon as he said it, Georg turned away and began to backtrack in the direction of the
north.

He either believes I won’t attack him from the back, or he thinks there’s no harm in
being attacked from behind.

I meant this stubborn demon, it must be both. If anyone were to attack him from
behind right now, they would be slashed and discarded at the same time as the drawn
swords by Georg’s three arms that turned into white flashes of light.

“Mm. That’s probably something like this.”

Geren, who had taken on Christine-san and Serina at once, obediently followed Georg’s
words.

Carrying the axe on his shoulder, he quickly followed Georg’s lead and left the scene.
The speed of the switch is so quick that this one is taken aback.

“I shall never forget the humiliation I suffered tonight, O Spirit of the Black Rose, O
mortals. I will fill your bellies with your flesh, moisten your throats with your blood,
and wipe away your humiliation with your screams!”

Black blood still spurted from the wounds on his neck and lower body, but the hatred
and viciousness that flooded through Gheoruds’ body showed no signs of abating. A
fiery fury swirled in the eyes that stared at Diadora, Christine-san, and me. Regardless
of having intervened in the fight between Georg and I, the negative emotions in his
heart have been brewed by me, and the negativity in his chest has turned more evil.

And just like Gheorud, Rafarasia, who had been hit by me unintentionally, jumped on
Gheorud’s left shoulder and looked at Diadora and me with a stained face.

Her eyes had a hatred in them that was no less than Gheorud’s. It’s a hatred that would
never fade unless it took a hundred years and a thousand years to inflict the pain of
hell on us.

With a smile of lewdness on her face, a deep and clear smile, Rafarasia opens her
mouth in amusement.

“I will definitely kill you all. Don’t let GEO kill you, okay? I will hurt you until you
scream and ask me to kill you.”

The Demon Soldiers followed behind Georg and the others as they walked away with
ease.

They are headed to the north. This is where the gate between the demon world and
the Entete Forest will be located. Perhaps that’s the place we should aim for.

The wood elves, who were fighting a defensive battle against the demon soldiers,
made a move to chase after Georg and the others who were leaving, but Gio won them
over.

Gio seemed to properly understand that chasing after them ineptly would only add
more victims to the mischief.

“Fumu, let’s start over here for once. Serina, Christine-san, and I wonder if it was right
for Diadora? Are you hurt?”

Serina and Christina-san nodded back at me as I turned and asked, but only Diadora
looked at me quizzically.

“We came to take your side. My name is Doran.”

“……Looks like you already know my name, but I’ll say my name in case you don’t. My
name is Diadora.”

Diadora still doesn’t seem to be convinced of the situation of the human’s participation
in the war, doesn’t seem to be much of an exaggeration.

The explanation to her would be quicker if Fio and Marr were to help.

As I watched the demon soldiers, who were leaving in an orderly line, disappear, I gave
out my habitual fumu.(TN: just so you know his fumu is like a sigh)

”Well, it looks like the enemy is even more formidable than I thought, how do you plan
to fight them, dwellers of the forest.”

If Georg’s decree is to be followed, we have three days to do so.

Do we attack, defend, or kneelsto the military gates?

I won’t spare any help if it’s not the last one, so what will it be?

But when it comes to the appearance of the Demon Army, the Entente Forest is not the
only place to look.

Whatever the choice of the inhabitants of the forest, even if I was to take on the
challenge alone…

Yes, I had made up my mind that I must defeat Georg and the others, even if it meant
wielding my power as an old divine dragon.

The premonition of more fierce battles that awaited me quietly stirred my soul.