Chapter 36: Monster Dispatch, Part 2
THE monster’s crimson blood splattered onto Iris’s green curls. She ran a hand through her hair. “I’m really going to need a shower after this,” she muttered, then looked over her shoulder at Camille. “Are you all right, my dear?”
“Lady…Iris…!” she sputtered, dazed. Iris offered her hand.
“On your feet, now. There’s more where that came from.”
Camille took Iris’s hand, and Iris pulled her up.
Why does she always help me? Camille wondered. We’re not on the same side here—we’re rivals for the same title! But at school, she always looks out for me… That’s exactly why SHE deserves to win!
“Miss Camille, you’re going to take down the target monster, and I’m going to help you.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, I don’t have any mana. And you know as well as I do that physical attacks won’t be enough to defeat a midsized monster.”
Iris smiled. Goosebumps shot up Camille’s arms as she realized: She doesn’t have any mana, yet she came here anyway? She’s willing to put herself in danger to help me?
“Come on now. I want to get this over with so I can change out of these clothes.”
With that, Iris led her by the hand. Meanwhile, Camille struggled not to cry. She saw Iris’s glove was ripped and that she was bleeding. Camille couldn’t sense any mana from Iris, either, proving that she hadn’t—or rather, couldn’t—cast a shield spell.
Camille’s shields, on the other hand, were thick and sturdy. She was endowed with a large mana supply, and she worked hard every day to ensure she could control it.
I’ll protect her, she thought. There was a POP, and then an iridescent white light spread out in a small sphere around Camille. This sphere decimated any small monster that came into contact with it. “Wha?”
“Marvelous work, Miss Camille!” Iris exclaimed, stopping short and raising both hands for a double high-five.
Camille stared blankly for a moment, then shyly obliged. When was the last time anyone had prompted her for a high-five? It was a small gesture, but it meant so much.
“Now let’s get going!”
Iris took her hand once more, and as they walked, Camille cast a shield spell on her. A milky white veil descended all around Iris, enveloping her.
“What’s this?”
“Let me protect you, Lady Iris,” Camille declared, looking straight into Iris’s eyes.
Iris smiled brightly. “Very well.”
And so the two girls ran hand in hand to the old camphor tree. At the base of the trunk was a lion monster, its fur like scarlet flames. Growling, it bared its teeth at them. Frightened, Camille shrank back; Iris stood in front of her and held her sword at the ready. Thanks to Camille’s magic, Iris’s body was shining like an iridescent seashell.
Iris wasn’t afraid of this thing—she had already defeated it dozens of times while playing HanaKoro, and she knew its weak point. She didn’t know what level Camille was currently, but Nigel had trained her in sword skills. Surely the two of them could take it down together.
The monster attacked out of nowhere, slashing at Iris. She swung her blade at its furry body, and Camille’s shield magic crackled like electricity. Then the monster’s movements synced up with hers, and they became locked in a tight tango, face to face.
Beautiful, Camille thought. Moments ago, she was terrified, but now she was practically entranced. Wait, something’s not right. She’s having trouble fighting… Oh, because she’s trying to shield me at the same time. But then why is the lion doing the same thing?
Then she realized: the monster seemed to be fiercely guarding the camphor tree. Was it…protecting something…? Shakily, she pointed inside the tree.
“Miss Camille?”
The monster suddenly switched to targeting Camille. Hastily, Iris positioned herself between them, and as the beast tried to slash at her, Iris sliced its thick foreleg with her sword. Red fire shot out at her.
“Miss Camille, what are you doing?! You need to be casting attack magic!”
“But Lady Iris—something’s not right! I think there’s something inside the tree!”
With that, Camille dove into the hollow. Enraged, the monster tried to lunge after her while Iris desperately fought it back. Its flames were white-hot and said heat was currently transmitting down Iris’s metal blade right to her palm.
Iris didn’t understand what was going on. Camille never went into the tree in the game! She just defeated the monster, and that was it!
“Ouch!”
With a pained whimper, Camille pulled the monster’s cub out of the tree. The little one sported a coat of blue flames, except for its left hind leg, which was red.
“Wait, so…this thing is supposed to be blue?” she murmured.
At this, an epiphany struck Iris. “The red flames might actually be an injury of some kind! I once heard that red fire burns at a much lower temperature than blue… Miss Camille, can you use healing magic?”
“I’ll try!”
Camille raised her hand over the cub’s red flames, and her iridescent light mingled with the scarlet. Silently, she prayed, “Get well soon,” just as her mother had taught her. The flames shot up in protest, licking at her palm and making her protective shield crackle. It was searing hot—but nevertheless, she didn’t pull away.
Meanwhile, the mother monster was starting to overpower Iris. It had already backed her right up against Camille. Oh no… At this rate, I can’t defeat it!
In HanaKoro, losing this battle meant losing the Holy Maiden race. If Camille wasn’t the Holy Maiden, her love life would never be happy, and she would never be accepted among the nobility—ultimately, the Baron of Pont would just throw her out on the street. So, if it ever looked like Iris was going to lose, she simply reloaded her save.
But there was no restart option in real life.
That was the moment Iris realized: this whole time, she was treating this fight like it was just a game—just another quest to be completed. In HanaKoro, no one ever died during this segment, and even if Camille lost, no one got hurt.
But what if that only applied to the game?
Iris sucked in a breath. The monster roared as if it had seen straight through her, right down to her feeble heart. She squeezed her eyes shut. The smell of burnt hair was on the breeze.
It’s no use… I’m going to lose… What do I do? I can’t protect Camille!
“It’s okay!” Camille shouted encouragingly at the little cub. “It’s all okay now! I’m going to help you and heal your wounds!”
Iris wasn’t the only one flustered by this declaration; it caught the monster’s attention, too. And while its guard was down, Iris drove it back with her sword. Meanwhile, Camille turned around to face them, cradling the cub in her arms. Then she offered it to its mother. Its body was now fully blue.
“Your baby was hurt, and you were trying to protect it, weren’t you, Mama? …Or are you the papa? Well, either way, you’re a good parent!”
The monster cub made a little trilling sound; Camille set it down on the ground. It waddled up to its mother and trilled again. The mother’s flames weakened, pulling away from the girls. Still, it growled threateningly.
“And I bet you’re injured, too, aren’t you? Because you’re supposed to be blue. Can I heal you, too?” Camille asked.
The monster stopped growling and sat down, quietly swishing its tail.
Iris fell to her knees in disbelief.