Volume 1 - CH 1

“Uuh…”

Ryner Lute closed his eyes and groaned. He had dark hair, messy from sleep, and scowling, pitch black eyes. They narrowed as he sighed.

“Sure wish I hadn’t spent the whole day being attacked, ever since this morning… I don’t even like fighting…”

Ryner had spent the whole day inside of a forest clearing with two sleeping bags.

One belonged to him, and the other belonged to a woman with long and glossy blonde hair. “Hey,” she said. “You’re awake, right? Do something about it.” After that single, rude command, she moved deeper into her sleeping bag. Her breathing soon slowed to the cute and shallow sounds of sleep.

“……”

Ryner was speechless.

Several months had passed since he was shooed out of Roland for ‘work.’ He was used to Ferris Eris’ blunt speech by this point, sure, but he was sleep deprived and pissed enough to give her a snappy reply. “What’s with you? You’re sleeping pretty good for us being on the brink of a dire situation. You’ve got nerves of steel, huh?” Ryner asked.

“Then you should get out of your sleeping bag, too,” Ferris said.

“Don’t wanna. It’s cold.”

“But things are supposed to get dire, are they not?”  

“They already are,” Ryner said.

A strange sound rang through the clearing. It steamed up and wavered like a heat wave had filled the forest.

“Mm,” Ryner mumbled. “Offensive magic… explosion fumes…” 

He’d just glanced at the steam with his black eyes… no, his eyes could hardly be called ‘black’ now. A crimson pentagram had risen within them, and all it took was a glance to see that the distortion around him was caused by magic, and offensive magic at that.

His eyes allowed him to instantly understand the composition, effect, and scope of the magic that was cast around him. He could even tell how to make it, down to the angle of each and every line within the magic circle used to cast it. How its restoration value was 072… and so on and so forth.

Despite knowing all of that, his sleepy expression didn’t change, and he shrank back from the cold deeper into his sleeping bag. Nothing about anything he did was urgent in the slightest, even as he spoke. “Never seen this kind of magic before… Must not be from Roland.”

In fact, it was completely different from his home country’s magic. It was different enough that it was amazing that they could both be called ‘magic,’ because there was truly hardly anything similar between them. How’d it come to be? What medium did it use? Did they still recite an incantation? Did they use magic circles, too? Those were all questions that one tended to ask when first faced with foreign magic.

In any case, it was magic that Ryner knew absolutely nothing about, so it must’ve come from someone who wasn’t from Roland.

“We’re in Imperial Nelpha, so it’s probably something a Nelphan soldier cast, though…”

A massive flame exploded before Ryner and Ferris, accompanied by a threatening bomb-like sound. Trees fell all around them, and the blast from the explosion shot their sleeping bags away. So they flew through the forest inside their sleeping bags, just like bugs might.

When Ryner hit the ground and eventually rolled to a stop, he spoke with the same tired voice as always. “What to do… guah!? Ow, ow, ow, hey! Why the hell did you land on me!” Ryner screamed.

Ferris had managed to get out of her sleeping bag midair, and apparently saw fit to use her freedom to aim right for Ryner and crush him. She looked perfectly calm and as pretty as always despite just being thrown through the forest. Despite being about as attractive as possible in every other category, when she spoke, it was always emotionless and usually rude. “Mm. So you were there.”

“You were clearly aiming for me!!”

Was the contrast between Ferris’ beauty and her personality one of those famous cases of ‘every flower has its thorns?’

But anyway. Ryner finally crawled out of his sleeping bag with a big yawn. “No sleep and no motivation…”

Ryner had an average build… no, maybe he was a little taller than average, but it wasn’t particularly noticeable due to his perpetual slouch. He was wearing a military uniform of white armor and a navy blue robe with Roland’s coat-of-arms—lances and snakes—displayed clearly. His uniform was that of the Magical Knights, an elite group of soldiers feared even among others in the Roland army. Only the best of the best were permitted to wear it.

That was probably why soldiers from the Nelphan army were gathering to surround him.

“You’re a Roland spy, aren’t you!?” One yelled, tense and ready to strike.

Ferris, unlike Ryner, was perfectly awake. Emotionless, but awake. She moved a finger to point at Ryner, and Ryner pointed his finger at Ferris.

“Whoa, hey. You really think a beauty like her could be a spy?”

“Do you truly believe that a stupid man like this could be a useful spy?”

“……”

They both went silent.

It took a while, but Ryner broke the silence first. “I was totally praising you.”

“Obviously,” Ferris said, emotionless as always.

“…You!!”

“Silence!” One of the Nelphan soldiers yelled. “The crest of Roland on your chest is, more than anything, proof that you’re spies!”

“Oh, okay,” Ryner said, then looked down as if only just realizing the crest for the first time. “Damn. How’d an enemy country’s crest end up there…?”

“This is what I mean when I call you stupid,” Ferris said.

“What!? But you have the same crest!” Ryner said. Not only did she have the crest on her armor, but it was conspicuous as hell too! It was right there, silver metal on leather armor. Not only that, but her sword had the crest on its hilt, too… 

But Ferris didn’t lose her cool. “You being stupid has nothing to do with me.”

“But… but doesn’t this mean that you’re at least a little stupid, too?”

“No. I’m beautiful.”

“……”

The atmosphere turned to ice.

Ryner, the Nelphan army, and even the trees went silent… 

Eventually, Ferris looked down just so, her face turning a bit red. “It was… a joke…”

“So cute,” Several men from the Nelphan army cooed. “I-I’m being tempted!!”

“These two have to be spies!” A man who appeared to be the officer shouted. “Catch them, throw them in jail, and torture them!”

Ryner nodded, finally understanding. “Aah, okay. So you wanna hear about why we’re here?”

“Yeah!”

“See, you don’t actually have to torture us for that. I’ll just tell you,” Ryner said. He blinked and looked so happy that he seemed to shine, a 180° from his usual unmotivated self, then set off on his explanation. “Where to start… Okay, so we came here to look for relics left by legendary heroes from the olden days. We’ve been searching for them here and there, but since those legendary heroes lived over two hundred years ag—ughk!”

Ferris’ longsword was digging into Ryner’s neck, rendering him unable to move. Despite her current act of violence, Ferris spoke as calmly as ever. “You talk a lot for someone who knows what secrets he’s supposed to keep, don’t you? Hm? You’re like a kid.” Then she traded her usual tone for an over-the-top feminine one. It was… somehow very, very scary. “If you love running your mouth so much, then how about I cut your head off and let it run free?”

“Uh, well…” 

Ryner stopped running his mouth for a moment. When he spoke again, it was shrill.

“Uh, with that being said, I think I’ll go take a walk in the forest now! It just looks so nice right now… hahaha.”

After seeing Ferris and Ryner’s exchange, it was all the Nelphan soldiers could do to yell “suspicious!”

Even though he knew that it was probably a lost cause, Ryner threw a final shot into the dark. “So… you guys at least don’t think that we’re spies anymore, right?”

And their response: “All forces, attack!”

“……”

Ferris pulled her sword away from Ryner’s neck. “Good luck.”

“Shouldn’t you be fighting too!?”

As they spoke, the Nelphan soldiers readied their swords and began to draw magic in the air.

“Goddess of flames, lend us your power—”

They moved their hands in a complicated pattern as they spoke.

Ryner copied their motions. “Goddess of flames, lend us your power—”  

He replicated their spell wholly, perfectly, and flawlessly.

Some of the soldiers balked at the sight, astonished beyond belief. “Wha!?”

They were probably thinking something along the lines of ‘why can a Rolander spy use the same spell as us Nelphan soldiers?’

Roland’s magic was cast through magic circles, but Ryner had clearly just used his hands to sign  magic. Things like that weren’t supposed to happen. But if they were to happen anyway… 

“His, his eyes!” A soldier shrieked. “They have a red pentagram!”

“What? He’s an Alpha Stigma bearer!?”

Alpha Stigma.

Those words were always spat with such fear and loathing. These soldiers were no different. They’d all gone pale, fear in their eyes. “Don’t use any magic! That spy’ll steal our spells and take them back home!”

Ryner grimaced. “I told you, I’m not a spy… Well, I guess it’s too late for that. Also, I didn’t copy this spell just now. I copied it back when you guys first used it while we were trying to sleep…”

He finished the spell, moving his hands the final steps that the others never reached, and shouting the spell’s name.

“Freyja Burst!”

The air wavered from heat just as it had before.

“Whoa! Run!” The soldiers yelled as they scattered and fled.

As the soldiers ran, condensation gathered in the air, then exploded. Several soldiers were caught in the explosion and sent flying.

But hey, Ryner didn’t die, so the soldiers were probably okay too… but anyway, it was a win for Ryner and Ferris.

Ryner looked to Ferris, proud. “Alright. Got ‘em beat, just like you said to. So what do we do now?”

Ferris briskly walked away. “We continue our mission. Come on.”

“Hey, you’re not gonna praise me? Not even a little? Even after I woke up and did my best…?”

“Hm. Good for you.”

“No, uh… well, whatever,” Ryner mumbled. “But really, I wonder where those Heroic Relics are?”

And so they continued on their quest.

Then, at a different place, at a different time— 

(Calm down, Milk! You’ve got this! Yeah, it’ll be fine. Those guys won’t stand a chance! I’ll have them beat in no time! Bam-bam, whoosh whoosh!)

Milk Callaud was hidden in a thicket in the depth of night, trying to psych herself up. 

She had big and cute red eyes, a babyface, and her flaxen hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She was a little shorter than the average sixteen year old, and she looked even smaller than normal as she hid rolled up into a ball on the forest floor.

And that woman, if a sixteen year old could even be considered a woman… 

“Chief! Chief Milk.”

One of her subordinates was quietly calling for her. Yes, despite being just sixteen years old, this girl was a chief Taboo Hunter. Though… this was actually her first mission ever… 

Milk had entered the Roland Empire’s Military Training Academy when she was six years old, but this was her first year that she entered the battlefield as an elite.

She turned towards her subordinate, forcing her face into as serious of an expression as she could manage. It wasn’t particularly serious looking, though, thanks to her chronic babyface. “Luke! Didn’t I tell you not to call me Chief Milk!? You’re supposed to call me Chief Callaud!” Unfortunately, her stern voice only went as far as to make her sound like a kindergarten teacher… 

For some reason, it just made Luke smile. “Sorry, Chief Milk.”

“What did I just say!” Milk yelled, flailing her arms like a kid.

“I-I understand!” Luke said, flustered. “You’re yelling, Chief. Please be be conscious of the fact that we’re Taboo Hunters.”

“Oh! Uh, sorry.”

Between Milk Callaud (age 16) and Luke Stokkart (age 25), it was impossible to tell which one was the chief and which was their aide… 

Milk looked back to the taboo breakers they were following after her sincere apology. One was a man, the other a woman.

The man was tall with a slouch, had black hair, and a motivationless expression on his face.

The woman was an unbelievably beautiful swordswoman, with long blonde hair and a delicate figure.

“I can’t see very well from here,” Milk whispered, “but I think I can see the Roland coat-of-arms on them.”

“So those two are our taboo breakers?”

Taboo breakers were people from Roland who left the country without permission, despite knowing their magic. They were captured and sometimes executed for the crime of attempting to leak their military secrets to foreign countries.

That was why they, Taboo Hunters, were there, just past the border into Imperial Nelpha.

“W-we really found them,” Milk said.

“Is that really surprising? We’ve been searching for them, after all,” Luke said, then forced a smile. “So what should we do?”

“Huh? Um, what do you think we should do, Luke?”

“It’s your decision to make, Chief. Should we attack, or should we watch them and wait for a while longer?”

Milk thought about it for a second. “I think we should put it to a vote. We’ll do what everyone thinks is best.”

“Understood,” Luke said. He’d been there by Milk’s side for a while now, but he moved back into the thicket to talk to the others on Milk’s command.

After a while, everyone—a total of five troops, including Milk and Luke—were gathered to discuss their next move.

“It’s finally time for your first battle, isn’t it, Chief Milk?”

“You’re doing a good job, Chief Milk. You’ve already found them, so I’m sure you’ll capture them before long, too.”

“I told you guys to call me Chief Callaud, not Chief Milk!” 

“Understood, Chief Milk,” everyone said in unison, matching smiles on their faces. Even with everyone gathered, Milk was the youngest and smallest.

“Geez!” Milk huffed, exasperated. Then she nodded to Luke and turned back to their targets.

“Give us your orders, Chief,” Luke said.

“Huh? Oh, um, right. So what do you guys think of reining them in a little with magic first, then having Luke, Lach, and Lear use swords to attack? I’ll take care of the magic. Cover me, okay, Moe?”

Despite her light tone, Milk was top of the top among her elite peers when it came to strategic planning in school, and it was obvious at times like this.

Luke and the others nodded in agreement, so it was decided.

Milk started by drawing a magic circle. She recited the intonation faster than the average mage. “I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash!”

Light gathered at the center of her magic circle, then it turned to lightning with a bang and flew towards their targets!

Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen… but one of their targets—the man—moved his hand through the air with his usual exhaustion, and Milk’s attack disappeared before it could ever connect.

“What!?” Milk and her squadron all said.

“Th-they realized we were here?”

“And the timing of his magic! I didn’t realize that anyone could cast that fast…”

Milk’s squadron all shook from fear.

The blonde woman moved next, casually unsheathing her sword and turning towards them.

“This is bad!” Luke yelled. “Protect the Ch—”

The swordswoman flew towards them with impossible speed, stopping just before Luke. She slammed the dull side of her sword into the back of his neck, knocking him out. She did the same to Milk’s remaining subordinates, leaving just Milk.

Milk watched in a daze. It was just so unbelievable. This woman’s swordplay was so fast that she could hardly see, much less understand, what had just happened. It was like they’d been attacked by a mythical creature, an invisible force that left very real wounds.

And she’d kill Milk next… 

“No, don’t!” Milk screamed. “You can’t kill me! I still have things I have to do—”

Milk stopped there, then moved her hands to cast magic - she never knew when to stop, and could be a bad loser.

“There’s no relationship between ‘being killed’ and ‘still having things to do,’” the swordswoman said. Milk couldn’t help but realize how beautiful she was. Emotionless as all get out, but very pretty nonetheless.

“B-but still!” Milk said. “I have things I need to do, so you can’t kill me!”

“Mm. I see. Then get to running.”

“Huh?” Milk couldn’t help but stand there in shock after hearing such an unexpected response. She was certain that she’d be killed here… 

The swordswoman pointed behind herself, still maintaining that hollow expression of hers. “Do you see that man? The one with the stupid face? He’s a sex maniac. If you don’t run now, he’ll catch you and do things that are worse than your worst imagination can conjure.”

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t say that with that emotionless tone of yours. She’ll think you’re being serious,” the male taboo breaker said, having finally decided to speak. He was a real danger, having dispelled Milk’s magic with ease. Not just that, but he was a sex offender, the enemy of all women.

Milk braced herself as the man walked towards her. “What are you doing, you sleaze!? If you think I’m going to let you do whatever you want to me, think again… huh? What…?”

Up until that moment, Milk had been tense and prepared to resist, knowing that this man was strong, but now that she was getting a good look at his face… 

“No way… That pentagram in your eyes, and that black hair… Could you be Ryner!?”

“Huh? How do you know my name?”

“Hm? So she’s an acquaintance of yours,” the scarily expressionless woman interrupted. “Have you already attacked her, Ryner?”

“No!” Milk and Ryner yelled in unison.

“Hmm, hmhmhmm,” Ryner mumbled, a pensive look on his face. He stepped forward to Milk and her team, then crouched down and tied them all up.

“You still don’t remember me!?” Milk yelled.

Ryner responded with a mumble, just as he so often did. “Hmm… yeah, no dice. We were at the same orphanage, right? And we promised to get married just before you got taken to go to a military training school, yeah? But you ended up leaving before we got married, didn’t you?”

“N-no! I mean, I, uh, we did decide to get married, but uh, we were just kids, and um, we were really just childhood friends,” Milk said, though her own words seemed to depress her.

Ferris spoke next. “So why did you, a poor girl who was thrown aside by a rotten man, decide to attack us?”

“Thrown…? No, he didn’t throw me away! We were just kids, so… uuh—”

Milk stopped. Ferris had pressed her unsheathed sword to her neck. “Answer my question.”

Between Ferris’ threat and Ryner standing there waiting, Milk told them everything.

She told them that they were Taboo Hunters chasing Ryner and Ferris because they were taboo breakers, and the Roland Empire wanted them so they didn’t spill their government secrets… 

“Wait, what!?” Ryner shouted. “Wh-what’s going on, Ferris? Why’s Roland after us? I didn’t hear about that part, and besides, Sion’s the one who sent us out here in the first place—”

Ryner heard a familiar, sharp whooshing sound, and Ferris’ sword was instantly at his neck, and she was back to that terrifyingly girly voice. “You sure are in trouble… Your head really wants to run free, doesn’t it?”

At this point, Ryner was more tired than anything. “No, I… I get what you’re trying to say, but do you really need to use your sword to illustrate every point you’re trying to make?”

“Mm? Would an axe be more effective?”

“No, that’s not the problem…”

“You’re asking for too much,” Ferris said. She moved her sword up and away, gracefully sheathing it. “We can save the details for later. Roland is after us, and so is the Nelphan army. But our orders state that we are not to kill. We naturally can’t kill any of our own countrymen without punishment, and if we were to kill anyone from foreign countries, there’s always a possibility that it may lead to war. That’d be dangerous. If you understand, then we’re going to continue our mission. Get to digging.”

“W-wait, shouldn’t we be—”

Whoosh!

“Aah, alright, yes ma’am, I’m digging. I’m digging, okay? So put that sword away!” Ryner said. Then he got up, moved back to where he’d been before Milk attacked, and returned to digging the hole he’d been working on.

“W-wait, you two!” Milk yelled. “At least untie me!”

Ryner and Ferris ignored her.

“Really, though,” Ryner said to Ferris as they dug. “It’s been two hundred years since a Legendary Hero went anywhere near here. There’s no way anyone else could’ve found it since then because of all the digging it’s making us do. I mean, I doubt anyone’s ever tried except for us… Still, though. How long have I been digging?”

“One hour.”

It was a little embarrassing that it’d only been an hour and Ryner was already complaining, but that didn’t stop him. “This whole situation’s pretty messed up, don’t you think? There’s gotta be some misunderstanding with Roland… so let’s just give up and go home, okay? It’s already all messed up. It’s not gonna work out, so let’s just—”

A sharp, metallic sound rang out, but it came from below instead of from Ferris’ sheath this time. Ryner’s shovel had hit something. He and Ferris went silent as they moved to get a better look at it.

“Y-you’re kidding!” Ryner shouted, an almost-smile on his face.

Ferris answered with a shrug. Her expression didn’t change, but she was probably surprised too. 

They both continued to dig around the same area until they unearthed something.

“S-seriously?”

What they found… appeared to be a dagger. It was metal, though Ryner didn’t know what kind; its blade was a blue color that he’d never seen on a weapon before. Though he wasn’t absolutely sure that it was a dagger, he couldn’t imagine that it had ever been used for anything but to cut things - it had a blade and a hilt, so it was probably a dagger…?

Ryner, who had been motivationless at best and apathetic at worst up until now, suddenly sparkled with interest as he picked the dagger up and turned it in his hands. “What material is this? Oh, and it’s faint, but I can see some ancient writing on it, too…!”

“Is it what you predicted in your thesis?” Ferris asked.

“…Man, I’m getting all flustered. I don’t know yet. I don’t know if this is a real relic or not yet, and my Alpha Stigma’s not giving me any clues either way. Oh, but what if I…?”

But just then, they heard some voices.

“The Rolander spies should be around here, right? This is where they ran off to this morning.”

“Yeah. We’ll definitely catch them for our mission. And that means catching that beauty, heheheh… That’s what we really brought a whole fifty man troop here for.”

It was a conversation between two Nelphan soldiers, and judging by how clearly Ryner could hear them, they were close, too. Ryner and Ferris glanced to where they heard them to confirm, then moved to hide in a thicket.

“There’s another sex fiend over there,” Ferris whispered as she watched the soldiers.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not a sex fiend! Oh, but I’m glad that they only just got here. We should be able to take the maybe-a-relic and run pretty easily,” Ryner said as he held the relic up.

“That’s true.”

But just then, they heard someone else, who spoke with a high-pitched, girly voice. “Hey, you too! Are you really going to leave a girl like me tied up and left here in this forest!? That’s downright humiliating! You perverts! Hurry up and untie me…! Please, I’m begging you! I’m a woman, you know! D-don’t make me say… that I have to go to the bathroom or anything like that…”

Her voice was soon followed by another. “Ch-chief. Please keep the fact that we’re in a foreign country in mind. Please refrain from speaking so loudly.”

“Found them! Over there!” One of the Nelphan soldiers yelled. “All forces, go! We’ll make them pay for earlier!”

Ryner sighed heavily at the unnecessary third act of today’s shitty play. “Milk, you idiot,” Ryner grumbled. 

“Mm. This is fine,” Ferris said. “She’ll be the decoy and we’ll escape”

“Huh…? Seriously? You’d just let her die?” Ryner asked. “Doesn’t that leave a bad taste in your mouth?”

“Hm? Why would it? Unless you’re admitting some lingering attachment to her even after throwing her away…? Ah.”

Ferris suddenly fixed her blank stare on Ryner. No matter how emotionless she may be, being stared at by such a pretty woman was enough to make anyone flustered.

“Wh-what?”

“Are you in love with her?” Ferris asked.

“Uh, no, it’s not like…”

“So you were only into her for sex.”

“Seriously, why do you always make things about that!?” Ryner yelled while Ferris shook her head in disappointment. Could it be that she was a little interested in that stuff, despite her bored expression?

In any case, Ferris stood. “Fine. We’ll take her.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry up. Go help her. Don’t make us late.”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

With that, Ryner and Ferris prepared for battle.

The Nelphan soldiers had Milk’s team surrounded. Ryner stood just out of sight and moved his fingers to draw a magic circle.

“I wish for thunder - Lightning Flash!”

A terrifying sound echoed through the forest as Ryner shot his spell up into the sky.

“Wh-what was that!?” A soldier yelled. He and the others looked up to see what the noise was.

“Alright, let’s go,” Ferris said. She unsheathed her sword, then flew towards the soldiers. Ryner followed.

Their strategy was fairly simple. First Ryner messed their formation up by scaring them with his magic, and then they’d save Milk during the chaos. They had to do that without killing anyone… which meant that they’d have to take special care not to hurt anyone. That required timing things just right.

Ferris went around knocking soldiers out by hitting them with the blunt side of her sword, creating a path. Ryner followed while casting another spell.

“I wish for silence - Dark Garden!”

All sound disappeared in an instant. Even the sound of footsteps, breathing, and leaves moving against the wind were completely silenced. It was a rather simple and safe spell, but it was perfect for inciting panic.

Between that and the thunderous sound from his Lightning Flash, the soldiers were at a complete loss for what to do, and unable to communicate between each other… up until the moment that Dark Garden’s effect dissipated. 

“W-what’s happening!?”

“This is bad! It’s an enemy! It’s gotta be an enemy!”

And so the soldiers panicked, exactly as planned. They left their positions, allowing Ryner and Ferris to rescue Milk with ease. She and her team were there, all tied up, wriggling around like worms on the ground.

“Ah!” Milk yelled when she saw them. “Ryner, you idiot! I can’t believe you! You’re going to save me right now, aren’t you! What would you have done if I wet myself or something while I was tied up!?”

“Uuh… so I’m still an idiot even though I came back for you? My motivation’s dying…”

“A, anyway, hurry up and untie me! This is an order! I may not look it, but I’m chief here…”

“I-if you understand your situation, then please be a little quieter,” Ryner said. “We finally got them off our asses and you’re still over here making a fuss…”

“Too late,” Ferris said, monotonous as always.

“Huh?”

Ryner turned around to see that the soldiers were already back in formation. “So you bastards were allies! Die, you damned Rolander spies!”

“S-s-seriously!?” Ryner yelled. “U, uwawaah!”

Seeing that it was getting dangerous, he hoisted Milk up to untie her.

“Kyaa! ♡ Wh-what are you doing!?” Milk shrieked. “This is so n, naughty! I can’t believe you! Where are you touching!?”

“Hah!? I’m not touching anywhere! And how the hell did you just say ♡ !?”

“Don’t worry about it! Also, you’re really the worst if you’re trying to touch me right here and right now! You need to set the mood first!!”

“Oh, alright, alright! God, you’re loud. Can you try being a little quieter!?”

By that point, Milk and Ryner were having an all-out screaming match. Ryner gave up on untying her by hand and took the dagger out of his pocket. He somehow managed to evade the soldiers’ attacks, but he was at his limit. There were just too many of them. He doubted that he’d be able to get a full spell off without anyone interrupting it. Not just that, but he had to worry about Milk and her tied-up team, too… 

“Shit,” Ryner said. “What should I do, Ferr—”

Just then, one of the soldiers’ clubs connected with Ryner’s head. His vision went white for a moment as the attack sent him flying. He had a rough landing, his limbs hitting the ground in a mess of painful angles.

“N-nooooo!! Ryner!?” He thought he heard Milk scream.

“Oh, he finally died? Nice.” Ferris…

“Hey!” Ryner yelled while holding his head in his hands. “Don’t go declaring me dead all on your own!” He managed to stand.

Ferris clicked her tongue, then spoke in her usual monotone. “Oh, so you were alive. That’s good.”

“Can you at least try to sound happy about that?”

“Don’t worry about it. In any case, this situation is pretty bad, Ryner. It’s difficult to deal with this many men while protecting the girl you threw away as well. Do something about it.”

“Hah!? Do what?”

“It’s simple. What’s that item you just found? A hero’s sword, no? Then that makes you, who now owns it, a hero, yes? So you can do something about this, can’t you?”

“What kind of reasoning is that? I haven’t even gotten to investigate this thing at all yet. I don’t know how to make it work.”

“Then investigate it now.”

“I don’t have the time for that in this situati—”

“I’ll cover for you,” Ferris said.

“This is absurd,” he muttered. “I don’t even know if anything will come of investigating… whoa!?”

Ferris thrust her sword at Ryner for an instant before turning it back towards the enemy army. “The next time you complain, your head and body are getting a divorce.”

“Uu… Yes, ma’am…”

Ryner panicked and set to investigating the dagger’s pattern. He studied it frantically, exactly as Ferris ordered him to. He really earnestly investigated, investigated, and investigated… 

And then, at last!

“I dooooonnn’ttt geeeettt iiiitt!! There’s no way I can analyze it in a tight situation like this!” Ryner yelled, giving up easily. Then he threw the dagger to the ground, his expression clearly labelling it too much of a pain. The dagger’s tip planted in the ground…

Hiiiiiiiiiiiihhh!!!

The dagger emitted a high-pitched noise as it spun around, burying itself within the earth.

It continued, echoed an ear-piercing, terrible sound.

Ryner couldn’t help but let out a stupid noise in his shock. “Guagh!?”

There was a brief moment between when that happened and when the next oddity occured. The earth began to shake with great vigor.

“What’s happening? Is it an earthquake?”

Ferris and the Nelphan soldiers stopped fighting from the shock of the apparent natural calamity. Ferris’ expression was the same as always, though… 

“What did you do?” Ferris asked.

“How should I know?” Ryner responded and stepped back, taking absolutely no responsibility for this chain of events.

And then it happened.

A massive pillar of fire rose from the hole the dagger disappeared into. No… not just a pillar. It had a massive jaw with sharp fangs and blood red eyes…

It wasn’t normal. It was unbelievable. A beast that should have only existed inside picture books had appeared before them—a legendary dragon itself. Death was before their eyes. It had a horrible intimidating air about it.

“Whoa, a monster!”

“We’ll be kiiillled!!!”

“C-commander!”

The Nelphan soldiers screamed and ran this way and that, screaming bloody murder. But that meant that the battle ended without too much effort, so it was all good.

Ferris spoke to Ryner as he stared up at the dragon with astonishment. “Amazing,” she said. “So that’s the hero of legend?”

“No, no matter how you look at it that’s a dragon… it is pretty legendary though.”

“Hm. Well, it did save us. It did well. But that enough. It’s pointlessly dangerous, so put it away.”

“…How?”

“……”

There was a dragon. A big huge dragon coming from the ground. It was, all things considered, very concerning.

But Ryner and Ferris turned around and walked away.

“But it really seems like that dagger’s a heroic relic, huh?” Ryner said.

“Of course it is. We had information that said it would be.”

The screaming of a sad girl rang out from behind them. “W-wait, Ryner! I told you to untie this rope!”

Did he even hear her? He just kept walking, calm and collected as could be.

Ryner and Ferris just kept walking. “But it’s like, kinda a pain that they actually exist, you know~? That means we gotta go look for the next heroic relic too. I don’t wannaaa.”

“You’re right. It’s horribly dangerous for me to have to go with a lazy sex maniac like you for the whole journey.”

“No, I’m more worried about the danger my neck’s in.”

“What are you going to do about the dragon!?” The same girl yelled, even louder than before. “Are you just going to abandon it!?”

They must’ve had an exceptionally grand mission that they couldn’t bear to turn from to deal with the dragon and the girl, even for a moment.

“Where to next?”

“I guess Runa, since they’re basically right next door.”

They resumed their journey, which had only just begun.

“Aw, shit! I’ll definitely catch you, Ryner! Uuh, uuh, bathroom… ah. ♡”

It seemed that this would be a road lined with difficulties.