“Huh?”
A strange tingling ran through the curly-haired girl’s legs. All of a sudden, and against her will, her body jumped out of the line and began running straight ahead.
“Hey! What’re you doing?!”
“Stop! Don’t get any closer to the parade!”
Both boys shouted, noticing a step too late. But the girl’s legs wouldn’t stop. Fortunately, she had control of her head, and she shook it from side to side.
“I—I know! But I can’t—my legs are moving on their own!” she shouted back shrilly. Realizing something was amiss, both boys took off at the same time. They ran as fast as they could toward her, streaking past the gaggle of stunned students. As they got closer to the parade, they noticed something that made their eyes go wide.
“…?! Hey! Is it just me, or is that troll heading this way?!” the tall boy bellowed in confusion. He was pointing at the great creature that had been the subject of their debate earlier. Its giant body shook the ground with every step as it loped toward them. And behind it…
“Grrrrrr!”
“Rrrrarf!”
Two wargs had split off from the parade and were racing toward the troll. Wargs possessed strong instincts to protect the order of the herd, which meant they were often used similarly to how shepherds would use herding dogs. Their repeated barks were warning the troll to return to the herd immediately. However, the massive demi-human wouldn’t stop, completely ignoring the creatures. One of the wargs lost its temper and attempted to use force, biting into the troll’s ankle with enough jaw strength to snap a human neck.
“Hmph!”
The next moment, a massive fist cut through the air and smashed into the warg, reducing it to a pile of twisted flesh and bone.
“What the—?!”
“…!”
The warg’s formless remains filled the gap between the troll’s fist and the ground. The raw sight of pulverized flesh and flying bones made the tall boy grimace. Oliver, running next to him, recalled a bit of trivia he’d learned long ago.
What magical beast has killed the most humans? It’s a famous question. A mage’s naive instincts might lead them to say dragons or behemoths, but the reality is quite different. Such high-tier magical beasts don’t inhabit the same living spaces as humans.
Then what’s the correct answer? Many might be disappointed to learn it’s actually an extremely familiar creature: kobolds. With their outstanding reproductive abilities and pack instincts, they take first place. In third are bogeys, who use their malevolent brains to trick humans. Alone, they pose no real threat, but these creatures are responsible for over ten thousand human deaths a year. Their victims are mostly nonmagical folk, but it isn’t uncommon for misfortune to befall mages as well.
Then there’s second place… While they lack the barbarian tendencies and reproductive ability of the aforementioned creatures, their physical strength and obstinance are unsurpassed. They possess the intellect of a seven-year-old human child, but one must never forget that comes with a body that towers over ten feet tall. Beasts of similar size can be hunted with traps, but these can even set up traps themselves from time to time.
“ROOOOOAAAAARRR!”
This is, of course, referring to trolls, humanity’s reticent neighbors. Their big, muscular bodies and lesser brains make them perfect candidates for servants. And so, humans invaded their territories in an effort to domesticate them. Like the curly-haired girl said, trolls don’t attack humans simply for sport. And yet, every year the bodies pile up—the majority of which met their end trying to capture a troll.
“Gyaooow!”
The troll’s massive hand scooped up the second warg and crushed it before it had a chance to struggle. Its death howl echoed in the boys’ ears as bloody reality slapped them in the face.
“…Wh-whoa…”
“Yeah. It’s gone insane…!”
The moment he accepted what was happening, Oliver drew his athame from the sheath at his waist. Unlike the white wand he’d used earlier, this was a short sword that also served the role of a wand. This blade was inextricably associated with modern mages. Drawing it meant a fight was about to begin.
Ahead of the two boys, the curly-haired girl still didn’t seem to understand the situation she was in.
“Wh-wh-what’s happening?! What’s going on—? Bwah!”
Immediately, her disobedient legs ceased all movement, and she tumbled forward spectacularly from the momentum. Unable to catch herself, she rolled and rolled until finally stopping headfirst in the grass.
“Ugh… I finally stopped— Ow!”
Her relief only lasted for a second as pain shot through her now-freed right ankle. During her tumble, she’d twisted it badly. The pain was so intense that it was all she could do to sit up.
“Huh…?”
Right before her eyes was a wall of green-tinged muscle, towering like a small mountain. A pair of bloodshot eyes filled with hate stared down at her, the troll’s body heaving with malice. This was nothing like the one she’d grown so fond of back home.
“…Oh… O-oh…”
“Run! Get up and run, now!” Oliver shouted, the tip of his athame pointed at the troll. But the girl couldn’t move. More than her injury, it was fear that paralyzed her; she was so stiff, she could hardly even breathe. The demi-human’s leg rose, thick as an elephant’s, as it prepared to mercilessly crush her.
“Damn, I’m not gonna make it!” he cursed. She was too far away to help. Even so, Oliver was about to unleash a desperate magical attack when…
“Haaaah!”
No one could have predicted what came next. Gallantly, a figure leaped between the troll and the curly-haired girl.
“…?!”
The air quivered from the force of the shout. The next moment, Oliver felt as if the world had turned upside down. There, standing in front of the curly-haired girl, was the Azian girl. The troll paused for a moment, taken aback by her imposing presence.
“…You gotta be kiddin’ me. That samurai just stopped a troll dead in its tracks by shouting,” the tall boy said stiffly, his athame also drawn.
Completely unaware of their shock and still carefully facing off against the troll, the Azian girl called out to the girl behind her.
“Milady, can you stand and run?”
Her oddly formal Yelglish carried a strange undertone. The curly-haired girl came to her senses and quickly tried to stand—only to realize her legs had completely given out on her.
“I—I can’t. My legs, they’re numb…! Forget me—just go! Otherwise we’ll both get—”
“Hmm. I see,” the Azian girl answered, not particularly bothered. Her eyes were still locked on the troll. “Very well, then. Stay behind me, milady.”
With her next move, she placed her right hand on the blade at her left hip and, in one smooth motion, drew it from the sheath.