“It’s a dragon. A dragon is outside causin’ us issues!”
“...A dragon? That’s the reason for Nanami’s current predicament?” She asked back to the man whose name she didn’t care to catch.
“Yeah, that’s right! We got chased by that damn dragon and ran into this room. Now it’s waiting outside, and we can’t get outta here!”
“You were chased by the dragon... and ran into this room?!” The dragon that came to Ristia’s mind was the type that stood a few dozen meters tall and could turn an entire area into a sea of flames with its breath. And upon hearing that there was a giant dragon inside the labyrinth, the only way Ristia could picture it was to imagine a boneheaded dragon that got itself stuck in the narrow corridors of the labyrinth so snugly that it couldn’t even move. ...Hee hee, I would like to see that. I can’t imagine that a lowly dragon could ever ruin the labyrinth that I constructed, but perhaps I should check just to be sure? Ristia thought as the man once again opened his mouth.
“Hey, who are you, anyway?”
“Who am I? ...Just a normal girl.”
“A normal girl?! Tch, you’re no use. Don’cha at least know a back way out?”
“There is no back way out.”
“Hmph, you really are useless.”
“But I can slay a simple dragon for you.”
Right after Ristia declared that, the man’s face took a dumbfounded turn... before showing anger.
“Are you tryin’ to screw with us? Or are you just out of your goddamn mind? You’re not even an adventurer, little girl. There ain’t no way you can beat that monster!”
“—Nanami, will slaying that dragon help you?” Ristia asked the frightened Nanami.
“Slay it... Don’t tell me that you plan on defeating that dragon?!”
“I do. What of it?”
“Y-You can’t! Dragons are fearsome foes who can only be defeated by a combined effort of several of trained adventurers!”
“Ehehe, you’re showing concern for me, I see. Thank you.” Ristia found herself pleased, kindly petting the head of the shorter Nanami.
“Th-This isn’t a matter of ‘concern,’ per se. But wait, why are you petting me?!”
“Because your display of concern has made me happy. But don’t worry. I will be fine. Defeating a dragon is light work. Once I defeat that dragon, will you tell me whether or not that helps you out, Nanami-chan?”
“Well, it would make me happy if you were really able to defeat it, but...”
“Mm, okie dokie, then.” Ristia replied with a composed expression as she thought to herself in a calculated manner. If I defeat the dragon, she’d be happy. In other words, if I defeat the dragon, Nanami will be impressed. She might even call me ‘Big Sis’! And as those thoughts ran through her head, she opened her Item Box and pulled out a magic rapier that she had made via some of her past enchantment practicing.
“Wha? Wh-Where did you get that from?!”
“Hm? From where? My Item Box, silly.”
“I-Item Box? You mean that legendary storage magic?!”
“...Legendary? Hmm, but it’s just a regular old Item Box, isn’t it?” To Ristia, an Item Box was Level Four Magic and not rare at all, much less legendary. She never imagined someone would ever treat it as such, so it made her tilt her head in perplexment. Well, anyway, all I have to do is beat that dragon, she thought, turning herself around and heading toward the door leading outside the room.
“Wait just a second, please! As we said, there is a dragon right outside the room!”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be fine.” Nanami reached out to try and restrain her from leaving, but Ristia nimbly avoided her and put her hand on the handle of the door leading outside. Incidentally, everything this labyrinth had to offer was being protected by Ristia’s magic, so nothing would easily break so long as it wasn’t rotted out. That was why the ancient door opened slowly without even a single creak, leading to the expansive floor. The floor that Ristia used for her magical practice was meters wide, and plopped right in the middle... was a five-meter tall dragon.
“...What is that?”
“The dragon! I told you that just a second ago!”
“...You mean a dragon’s... child, correct?”
“In what way?! That is an adult dragon, no matter how you slice it!” Nanami argued vehemently that it was an adult, practically with tears in her eyes, but what Ristia saw inhabiting the floor was a young dragon, only about a few centuries old, no matter how she looked at it. While it was true that the dragon was a few centuries older than Ristia, it was still a child in dragonic terms. It was no big threat, but... Nanami seemed to honestly be afraid of that baby dragon.
Being afraid of a dragon of this caliber is obviously strange! Ristia thought hard about it, took another long look at Nanami, and came to the realization that she was a regular human being. A human being? A human girl... in a bind...? If I impress her, she will surely adore me as a result. If she does, she might allow herself to be a kinswoman and my official stepsister! Oh yes!
Holding onto that faint hope, Ristia stuck her rapier into the ground, pulled a normal ribbon from her item box, and tied her long, glossy hair together. Not because she thought it would get in her way, but because she thought it made her look cooler. Truth was, it actually made her look less cool and more obscenely cute.
“Alrighty, we’re all set and ready to go~!”
Ristia once again took up her rapier and started her stride toward the dragon.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m telling you, it’s dangerous! ...Wait, why won’t you let me grab you?!” Avoiding Nanami’s hand reaching to stop her, the young girl was headed on to challenge the dragon with reckless abandon. Gawain saw this, thinking this to be their chance, and grabbed on to Nanami’s hand.
“Hey, let’s make a break for it while that girl is getting attacked!”
“Wh-What are you talking about... Are you saying we abandon her?!”
“Whuh?! Then do you wanna be the bait? There’s no beatin’ that dragon either way. In which case, sacrificing someone is the only way!” Gawain shouted in anger, causing Nanami to wince in fear. Seeing Nanami’s weak display, Gawain clicked his tongue in disgust. A dozen or so experienced adventurers attacking all at the same time were needed to defeat a dragon. And even if you did have that many, you had to be prepared to take some hefty losses. No matter how many weak-willed sorcerers and weird little girls were present, all they could do was serve as shields. Of course I’m choosin’ the option where as many people as possible can get away! thought Gawain.
Naturally, the reason he was urging Nanami to escape was to use her as his next piece of bait if he wasn’t able to run away while the weird girl was getting herself killed. He was ultimately prioritizing survival for himself.
“Anyway, let’s get out of here!” Gawain tried to pull on Nanami’s arm and start their escape. Nanami, however, resisted his advances.
“...What do you think you’re doing?”
“U-Um, I...”
Perhaps it was the guilt of leaving the girl behind to escape and the fear of dying at odds with one another that was making her freeze in place. Deciding that any further argument would be a waste of time, Gawain decided to abandon Nanami and leave by himself.
“Fine, do whatever you want. I’m out of here!” The second Gawain started to turn around, the dragon’s gigantic body lunged forward to attack the mysterious girl.
“Watch out!!”
Gawain’s eyes shot back over once he heard Nanami’s warning cry, which came while the dragon was right in the middle of its charge toward her. In response to the dragon’s rushing advance, the young girl prepped her rapier to about hip level, ready to strike. You freakin’ moron! You’re not gonna make a dent on a dragon with some flimsy rapier! If you’re going to do any attack that worthless, then you might as well try to avoid an attack or two and buy me more time to hightail it outta here, for crying out loud! In his mind, Gawain was spewing as much abuse as he could think up.
However...
“Hee-yah!”
The girl swung her rapier with a cute little cry. After which... all hell broke loose.