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“S̲h̲i̲t̲, this f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g dog!”

A boy was swinging a sword with all his might; it slightly hit the body of the war dog. But due to its thick fur, the sword was hampered down so the dog dodged it just before the impact, giving it no damage. The boy closed their distance again.

“――Guaah!!”

The boy took aim on the dog with a disarrayed posture somewhere in front of him, but there was also a dog behind him that he had neglected, and it came to bite the boy’s ankle.

“Uwaah――!?”

Luckily the fang missed thanks to his thick boot, it prevented him from getting injured, but the opponent remained, biting it and trying to tear the boot by shaking it more and more. Even while being shaken off by him, the dog wouldn’t release it…then he suddenly realized, in a hurry he gripped the sword with his hand and stabbed the dog in the back, this time the dog from not too long ago jumped and aimed for his defenseless neck.

“Uwaah…!?!”

By spontaneously bending back his posture, he reflexively shielded himself with the sword so that he was able to stop the dog’s fang, however he was being pressed down hard in this broken posture, more and more he was falling down with the war dog putting its weight on him.

“…Hiii!!”

Now that it has become like this, he was about to be tormented to death. Those two war dogs opened their deep red mouths――In that moment, for some reason both of them separated from the top of the boy’s body like being snapped. They turned to look hesitantly on the surrounding area, then at the moment when they stared blankly above,
“――Kyang?!”
Together with cries of misery the dogs ran away from the spot with their tail curling up.

“…I, I was saved…?”

He muttered so while he remained facing up as he was dumbfounded, in the next instant the top of the boy’s body was covered by a big shadow.

“A wyv…wyvern?! N, no…It, it’s an ancient dragon!”

Visible from the distant was not that sort of wyvern dragon that was being rode on at the capital. It was huge, shining in a gold-color and it possessed four limbs―To the extent that it could swallow the likes of wyvern in one gulp, a really huge king of demon beasts.

The glance from its golden pupil captured the boy’s figure, the boy got goosebumps and opened his eyes wide, this time he was completely unable to stand due to fear, “――Hi, hiiiiiiii!!”

He threw away the sword that he was holding, and on his wit’s end curled up like a pill bug. ――In that moment he felt a figure appear on the top of the ancient dragon, but it was probably just a hallucination due to his excessive fear.

“……”

However, nothing happened no matter how long he waited, and it didn’t seem like there was a change in the surroundings either.

By any chance was I saved…?

So he thought, and slowly he began to stretch out his head like a turtle to take a peep at the surrounding view. From behind the boy’s body, a girl’s voice that was as clear as a chime was heard.

“Hey you there, an NPC? You can’t be a player right?”

◆◇◆◇

An odd girl. That was the boy’s――a novice adventurer named Joey who had become 15 years old’s ―― impression about that girl. He turned his head and looked toward the source of that incomprehensible question, “…a goddess of the moon.” He spontaneously spilled those words from his mouth, there stood an unbelievably beautiful girl.

Her pure white skin was without a single stain like it was covered in dissolved moonlight, her long black hair further down from her waist was like it was enhanced by the dark night and the stars by its glamour, when it came to her small face build, it made the most beautiful girl in a yearly festival that he decided to attend looked like nothing but a pumpkin or a scarecrow.

What he read in those fairy tales, something that was described as ‘peerless’ or ‘siren’ couldn’t even express this. Her face was so beautiful to the extent that he gulped down his breath.

“―When I’m being complimented directly like that, it’s quite embarrassing, you know.”

Smiling with her whole face, her thin fingers stretched to the side of her face in embarrassment. Towards the girl’s gesture Joey finally realized the one in front of him was a real living person, he suddenly regained his sanity. Slowly, he stood up from the ground, he picked up his dropped sword and sheathed it, and he lightly patted his body to remove the clinging dirt and sand, this time he calmly turned toward the girl.

She appeared to be around 10-12 years old. What she was wearing was something of a first class which the price couldn’t be guessed, the black dress from her knee decorated with magnificent red rose corsairs were as if the flower was alive. In fact the arrangement was mysteriously perfect with this girl, her hair band and pure white socks, even her black loafers which were attached with a rose decoration.

Several parts of the dress were shining and were decorated obviously not by a glass sphere, but by some kind of gem, no matter how one looked at it. Held in her hand was, an excellent parasol arranged with plentiful frills. No matter how, her appearance was that of a locked-up princess who shouldn’t have been in a place like this.

Out of place.

Just a single word couldn’t be enough to describe her. To describe her, there had to be various words that he could say, but he left that aside, right now there was something that he wanted to confirm apart from that.

“He, heey, wasn’t there a golden colored ancient dragon flying just now?!”

Because of that sentence for some reason the girl was in panic for a moment, “―Aah, that. Looked like it somehow flew away in an instant, that was so dreadful right?~” In the direction she pointed, there was not a single thing in the empty distance.

“…I…I see…I was saved…”

Joey vented a big relieved sigh, for some reason the girl was making a curious look.

“Hmmm, looks like his reaction isn’t different from an ordinary person’s. So he really isn’t an AI huh…”

She uttered something while nodded in consent.

In a different way Joey was being treated as an ‘ordinary person’, therefore for some reason he got annoyed, “For your information, I am a professional adventurer. Don’t consider me the same as an ordinary person!” He uttered it while puffed in pride.

Hereupon, the girl, completely changed into one full of amazement, looked at the boy with sparkling eyes like that of a child, “Heee, an adventurer! It’s amazing to see a real adventurer directly.”

Unexpectedly the girl was really into it, so in a good mood Joey brought out his guild badge from his pocket to show it. “That’s right. This thing is a badge that proves that I am an adventurer.”

It’s unknown why he suddenly brought that out, but what were written on the thin metal board were Joey’s full name and membership, and something like a level, the girl checked it with her own eyes as if she was taking the bait.

“Joey Arland. 15 years old. Aara city adfend… Oh, Alra city adventurer guild member, right? F rank. Ken… It’s swordsman¹, not a rock paper scissorman² right? Since you hold a sword. No record of punishment history. Uh it’s hard to read if it’s only using hiragana and katakana――Why doesn’t it use kanji?”

“What is a kanji?”

“…It’s a well-known symbol to separate words into different meanings,” Somehow the girl made a sigh seeing his complicated face.

“-Oh well let’s just forget it. Aah, forgive me for the long talk. It’s my fault that I was hindering your work, I guess it is time for me to leave.”

The girl quickly lowered her head a little and turned back, Joey stopped her in a panic.

“W, wait a minute. Where will you go from here?”
“Of course the town, isn’t it? Back then from above…ah, no, from a distance on that direction the town could be seen, for the time being I will go there.”

With an oblivious face she directed the tip of her parasol toward the Alra city. After a while the girl was spreading her parasol, but no matter how it looked like, the girl looked defenseless so Joey was greatly perplexed.

If she is going from here from by foot by following the sunset trail it should be a good way to reach it. No, in the first place the girl has such a beautiful face and is wearing an expensive dress, she can’t possible reach it by walking alone.

Surely something like bandits will come up; rogue and criminal will be after her everywhere. When that group of people sees her, they will be lured to assault her, she’s like a walking board with ‘please kidnap me’ written on it.

Joey still hadn’t completed his request so he was worried about it for a moment, but with a determination he shook off his hesitation.

“…Yup, that’s enough. Let me escort you!”

Not getting the meaning of the words that he declared, the girl cutely titled her head.

1. (剣士 kenshi ->swordman)
2. (拳ken -> rock paper scissor)