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Lucella jumped off the carriage that was traveling on the river bank and looked in the direction of the sounds.

The tragedy was happening on the other side of the river.

Beyond the embankment of the opposite shore, a box-shaped high-speed carriage was being attacked by a monster twice the size of the passenger wagon.

From afar it seemed like a giant wrapped in a magic beast’s pelt.

And it was swinging around a huge club the size of garden trees.

“A monster?!”
“It’s huge!”

There were armed guards around the carriage, resisting with all they had. However, as they ran around, the mysterious giant’s club continued to swat them away.

Moreover, the giant stopped moving for a moment and suddenly released a fireball from its mouth. It caused a large explosion and blew the guards away, and even toppled the carriage itself.

The sound Lucella heard earlier had come from that.

“S̲h̲i̲t̲!”

Without even thinking, Lucella discarded her raincoat-like overcoat and broke into a dash.

The overcoat disguised like a natural traveling coat was hiding a crimson dress, or perhaps a mini dress, under it.

The dress featured tightly bound chest coverage under exposed shoulders with an ornate belt tied into wings at the back. Her skirt with an exaggerated amount of frills had a rough texture and was quite short. But at the very least, it guaranteed that her panties wouldn’t be seen from the front.

She didn’t really want to show that getup to people, but it was still an adventurer attire made by an artisan (pervert) from the pelts of Mount Kuguse’s Variants. It was one of the best armor in the world made specifically for Lucella.

She took three steps to gather momentum and then kicked off from the ground, feeling the wind whizzing past her ears. In a single bound, she cleared a massive river and dashed at full speed as soon as she landed on solid ground.

Before her eyes, both the carriage —now appearing like a diorama-sized object— and the monster attacking it grew bigger with each passing moment.

—What is this monster…?

Despite having approached close enough to take note of its features, Lucella remained puzzled by this creature’s identity even while running at breakneck speeds. Given that she had managed adventurers for quite some time now, she should have been more knowledgeable about monsters than most adventurers.

However, there was one more strange point. While this monster did have a lot of similarities to the so-called “Giant” race, there should’ve been no habitat for such monsters in Setulev.

Moreover, giants were categorized as demons and were frequently found in demon kingdoms. Yet, Setuleve was far from any of these kingdoms; therefore, it would be highly improbable for a stray monster to venture this far into their territory.

In essence, the monster’s presence in this area was unusual.

Regardless of its origin, one thing remained clear – it posed a significant threat that required immediate action.

The mysterious giant clad in pelts had already eliminated the guards and now had set its sights on the toppled carriage. It began to demolish the passenger wagon with ease, much like a child tearing apart wrapping paper from a present.

“A-Aaahhh…!”

Inside the carriage wasn’t a winter solstice present, but a human girl of about 13-14 years of age. Despite being thrown about during the attack, she retained delicate and charming doll-like features with dazzling blonde hair and blue eyes.

The white and pink dress that adorned her figure wasn’t overly decorated, appearing more appropriate for an outing than a formal event. She emitted an air of aristocracy despite Lucella’s lack of knowledge regarding her identity.

Fortunately, thanks to some form of protection mechanism built into the carriage, the girl only suffered minor injuries from its collapse. However, paralyzed by fear at the sight before her eyes —namely, the giant monster— she could not even stand on her own two feet.

As soon as it detected her presence, the monstrous creature slowly extended its massive hand toward her helpless frame until…

“…Hyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Lucella delivered a powerful drop-kick directly onto its arm using all of her running momentum.

Despite putting all her might into it, Lucella’s small frame could not generate enough power to deliver a significant blow like a cannon. The giant merely staggered back slightly from the impact of her attack.

As soon as she kicked it, Lucella felt an unnaturally hard sensation in her leg accompanied by a metallic ring.

“…Is this a golem?”

Everything clicked into place. Why was there only one giant-like creature in an area where none should exist? And why couldn’t she identify what type of monster it was? This was a simple humanoid combat golem that operated on magic, clad in a pelt and its frame covered in leather that imitated skin.

It remained unclear why such a massive weaponized golem would be attacking a carriage; however, since they moved only when someone controlled them, it wasn’t entirely unusual for one to be present here compared to the presence of stray giants loitering around.

The golem quickly regained its balance and assumed a defensive stance, ready to carry out any orders it had been given. It appeared to have recognized Lucella as a threat and an obstacle.

“In that case… I’ll crush you to bits!”

Lucella positioned herself in front of the young girl protectively and addressed the golem.