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Orders were given, instructions flew. People started trusting themselves to the soldiers, who guided them out of confusion and into safety. The guards, who had fallen into panic when the monsters attacked, began to regain their composure and coherence. Yes, the situation was dangerous—but it wasn’t fatal.
“Fantastic, fantastic work…,” said Guild Girl with a sigh of relief and a voice full of admiration.
Cow Girl goggled; she could only find one word to describe what she had seen: “Amazing…!”
“Hee-hee…” Priestess smiled with just a hint of shyness, but then she tensed her cheeks again, forcing the smile away. “It’s only because Goblin Slayer—and everyone else—has taught me so much!”
That’s right… If you have no hands left, you just have to borrow some!
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“Yikes… Yikes!”
That was all well and good—but not everyone was capable of immediately leaping to such distinguished action.
The black-haired girl felt the huge lump of stone graze her as it went over her head: She ducked and rolled to avoid it. It was a very close call. If she’d been wearing a hat, it might not have survived. After a second of thought, she pushed up her protective headband. She had decided to act, and this would be the best defense. Yes, this was best.
She scuttled amid the spectator seats, then gave a swing of a sword that was almost longer than she was tall.
“Hiii…yah!”
The blade sliced through the air, wumph, wumph. Of course, it couldn’t reach the monster that floated above. The red creature arced out of the way, then came diving through the air again.
“AAAARREEMMEEEERRRRR!!!!!”
“Eeek!”
The girl with the name of the primal whirlpool rolled again, evading the deadly blow from above. She wove amid the seats once more, racing to find a different position. The monster’s movements were irregular, highly unpredictable. So she stopped and observed, watching how it moved, evading when it attacked.
Move, wait, attack, dodge. That was her entire focus as she carried on the fight. She didn’t have any brilliant ideas. She had simply decided to do all she could, as best she could.
“Yah! Hiyah! …Ack! Whaaa—?!”
If she could draw even one enemy to herself, it would help the others. That was the only thought in her head—and she wasn’t wrong.
The rhea fencer’s blade sang out, followed by a vermilion lance that prized justice, and the half-dragon girl who planned to slay a dragon howled.
Some of the adventurers here were known; others were not. All had come from each of the four corners to be at this coliseum. And one of the monsters who would have moved to accost those adventurers didn’t, because he was pinned down by this girl with the name of a storm.
The battle spreading among the spectator seats was a brutal affair, but the people held the advantage.
As for the girl, she could hardly be said to have distinguished herself. She was pathetic, even silly, but she was desperate.
“Why…you…!”
She bled from a scrape, but in her eyes and in the magic wand at her chest, there was an unmistakable spark.
This was her adventure. And if that was true, then…
“Magna…nodos…facio! Form, magical binding!”
…the heavenly players would certainly not leave her side.
Words of binding rumbled from somewhere, and with a crack, the monster’s wings were tied up.
The girl made a sound that wasn’t quite a “what?!” and wasn’t quite an “oh!” She looked up and saw two adventurers.
“It’s paralyzed—do it!” shouted a young woman who looked to be a wizard. At that moment, the black-haired girl thought she saw a colorful breeze slip past her.
This breeze was also in the shape of a young woman, and there came a terrible grating noise. Before the black-haired girl could register that it was the sound of feet cracking the stone beneath them, there was a shout:
“Diiiie!”
The cry was as sharp as any sword, and along with it, a long leg lashed out, slamming against the monster’s wings. They crumbled into dust, and the red creature succumbed to gravity.
It was, however, still dangerous as it continued to struggle despite half of its body having been reduced to rubble.
“Oops! Ah!” The girl hefted a sword that looked very heavy, shouted “Yaah!” and whacked it against the creature. The huge weapon, polished with care every day, made a terrific racket as it slammed into the creature’s head, pulverizing it.
Even then, the girl wasn’t sure the monster was dead. She sucked in desperate breaths. Her hands were shaking, she stood frozen as if paralyzed, and sweat poured down her forehead. She wiped it away vigorously with her arm.
“Excellent work.” The woman’s partner, the mage, lazily waved a hand. Only then did the black-haired girl realize the wizard was standing in front of her.
“Oh! Um… Um!” She looked up at the other woman, and one simple word passed through her mind: beauty. She thought she had understood the word before, but now she realized she had known nothing. The person in front of her wore a man’s outfit, and as becoming as it looked on her, she was without question a woman and a beautiful one.
She’s wonderful…
The thought didn’t cause the girl to forget the first thing she needed to say. “Thank you…very much!” She bowed deeply, the pack on her back shifting and rattling as she did so. She blushed furiously at it, but the other woman surprised her.
“You’ve nothing to be ashamed of,” she said and got down on one knee so that she was eye to eye with the smaller, black-haired girl. Only then did the girl realize that the other woman had just one eye. It was sharp and perceptive—but also had a kind warmth. Like the person from the dungeoneering contest, she thought. “You survive, you take a step forward. One step at a time. Just keep moving.”
Yeah… That I can do.
“That’s…sort of my specialty.”
“Very good!” The woman grinned, and her gorgeous, clear eye gazed hard at the girl, remembering her.
Seeing such a lovely older woman from this proximity naturally caused the girl to feel a bit out of sorts.
Could I…be like her?
Could she become so beautiful, so wonderful? It was hard for her to imagine.
“Uh, um…”
“Oh, pardon me.” The woman smiled that luscious smile again, then brushed away the hair that hid her eye. “You just reminded me of someone I know.”
“Someone you know…?”
“Mm.”
Not that he was here. Most likely—
“That boy is off on a goblin hunt somewhere.”
Even though he was too old for such things.