Once I was in place, I put my right hand over my rapidly beating heart and took several slow, deep breaths to calm my emotions. Sheesh, who knew one of my oldest friends could be scarier than a dragon? Elna was certainly a force of nature. Of course, my own carelessness didn't help, either.
I'd figure a way out of that situation later. I could always transfer myself away without giving her any answers, or I could make up some story. The immediate danger to myself had passed. All I had to deal with was the sea dragon looming before me.
"It has been a very long time since I bore an injury...and at the hands of a human, no less."
"I told you not to underestimate us."
"The girl. She's a descendant of the one who slayed the demon king. I could tell as soon as I was struck by that infernal sword."
"So? What are you going to do now? Retreat?"
"Retreat? Don't make me laugh. No dragon would ever retreat out of fear of a human!"
Leviatano opened its giant mouth and let out a roar.
A dragon's roar was a daunting and spirit-crushing assault on the senses that struck fear into all creatures. The sound could make those weak of heart faint from fear. Indeed, the sailors out on the ships surrounding Leviatano were in a panicked frenzy. That wasn't good. I wished they'd get themselves out of the area to safety already, but the majority of the ships were still within striking range.
"You will pay for injuring my body!"
"That's rich, coming from the one who attacked first. Typical dragon," I quipped back while gradually gaining altitude. I needed to buy a little more time.
"You, Amsberg heroine. Come here. I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"Why are you staying so far away?"
"Because you might try and hurl me down into the ocean!" Elna responded while warily keeping her distance. She was as jumpy as a cat around bathwater.
I really wished she hadn't picked such a vital moment to react like that. Good grief.
"I'm not going to do that. Even I don't have the self-confidence to take on both a sea dragon and the holy sword at the same time."
"Yeah right!"
Despite her sarcasm, Elna was keeping a vigilant eye on Leviatano.
The sea dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a second water breath attack.
I used defense magic to slow it down while we got ourselves out of the way.
The watery breath shot high into the sky and broke through the clouds. Nothing stood a chance against a direct hit by something like that. If its breath hit the city center, all would be destroyed.
"Do you have any ideas?!"
"Can you get in another hit with your sword?"
"No. Not after I hit it once already. It'll be expecting that. I'd have a million options if only it weren't in the ocean..."
Elna even worked up the courage to look down at the water, but her shoulders immediately slumped in defeat.
Meanwhile, Leviatano was firing off dozens of water bombs. As I countered them, I gave Elna a suggestion.
"Could you manage if the water wasn't there?"
"What are you suggesting?"
"We part the ocean."
"What?!" Elna shouted back in disbelief.
But I was perfectly serious. I had also considered using a barrier to trap Leviatano and float it up into the air, but with that strategy, if it managed to get away from us, we'd be in trouble. It was a dragon, after all. Its wing was injured, but it could probably still manage to fly if necessary.
"I can use a barrier to isolate one area of the ocean. You could fight with no problem then, right?"
"You mean, like creating an empty box in the middle of the water?"
"Yeah, basically."
"And if the barrier breaks?"
"You'd be underwater," I answered simply.
Elna must have been imagining it, because her expression momentarily twitched with fear.
"No way! You might break the barrier once I kill the dragon!"
"I wouldn't do anything to make an enemy of the empire. Speaking of which, as a knight of the empire, you do realize it's your duty to think of others before worrying about yourself, don't you?"
"U-umm..."
"I can't finish Leviatano off by myself. I'd probably get interrupted if I tried using a magic spell. And the longer this takes, the worse the damage will be. As far as I can see, I think my idea will be advantageous to the both of us."
"...You want me to trust you?"
"Yes. Trust me."
"How am I supposed to trust someone who won't even show their face?"
Elna stared at my mask with a disapproving frown. Knock it off, I wanted to say, I'm not the bad guy. It wasn't like I wanted to send someone with a phobia of the water down into the middle of the ocean, but it was the simplest solution we had.
After a long silence she finally asked, "Tell me one thing. Who told you I was afraid of the water?"
"I did promise I wouldn't say..."
"I don't care! Tell me!"
"All right... It was Prince Arnold. We exchanged information back in Rondine, and that's when he told me."
"Arn? Told you that? Just so you know, Arn doesn't trust many people, and he also doesn't share important information with people he doesn't trust. I hope you're not deceiving me, because I won't tolerate being lied to."
Geez, that was harsh. Not that she was wrong.
"I'm not deceiving you. What can I do to prove it?"
"...What exactly did Arn say, when he was telling you about my weakness?"
I quietly thought for a moment. How would I describe Elna's weakness to someone? Under what circumstances would I ever even reveal she had a phobia? Those questions led me to my answer.
"He apologized for any trouble your fear of water might cause and asked me to 'look out for my childhood friend.' He seemed to be worried about you, in his own way."
"He what?!"
Elna immediately blushed then hung her head and began muttering, "That stupid man... He always worries too much..."
Eventually she sighed deeply and slowly began to descend toward the water.
"Can I take that to mean you'll go along with my idea?"
"Yes. But this doesn't mean I trust you. I only trust Arn, who apparently decided to trust you. If he thought it was safe to share my weakness with you... Well, whatever. I'm not happy about it, but I'll forgive him."
Elna continued descending until she was close to Leviatano.