The morning’s conversation was over, and it was now just past noon. I was walking around the forest, making it clear to the island’s monsters that this was my territory, and to stay away. Then again, Tailtiu had said that the monsters already knew my scent and knew to keep their distance...
“This wasn’t what we talked about this morning, but still, I have to keep threats as far away as possible.”
If just going on walks could make things safer for Reina, then I would walk as long as my legs could carry me.
“Come to think of it, how are Zelos and Merlyn doing?”
I suddenly remembered the pair who had arrived on the island the day before. Seeing as I was already outside, I made my way to the river. I saw two tents set up side by side; while they weren’t as large as the military tent Reina and I had used, both of them were more than roomy enough to house a single person. Next to the river, Merlyn had created a massive dragon out of a whirl of water, while Zelos adopted a fighting stance with fearsome speed.
“Wha—” I exclaimed. I rushed out from the forest, wondering what was happening, when I saw Elga and Luna.
“’Sup, Arata,” Elga said.
“Oh, Mister Arata!” Luna said. “I’m here to play!”
“Uh, yeah... You’re as full of energy as ever, Luna. By the way...” I looked at Merlyn and Zelos, who were staring at Elga and Luna and getting ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Their faces were haggard, as if to say, Just give us a break already. In contrast, Luna was acting the same as always. She was probably witnessing the most powerful spells in the world, but she was completely unfazed.
“What’s going on here?” I asked Elga. He seemed like he would have the most reasonable grasp of the situation.
Elga roughly scratched his head, a troubled look on his face. “Oh, we were just going to visit you guys like usual, but...Luna noticed an unfamiliar scent and suddenly ran off, and then this happened.”
“I see...”
I looked at Luna. She had a blank expression on her face, like she had absolutely no clue why this was happening. This meant that as long as I could persuade Zelos and Merlyn, the situation would probably be resolved. Looking at them, I saw that they both seemed fiercely determined. And they were clearly afraid.
“Hmm... What should I do?” I said. They seemed to have noticed that I was here, but they showed no sign of letting their guard down. I wondered why this was, even though they had relaxed around me yesterday. Maybe instinct had something to do with it.
I put both hands in the air to show that I meant no harm, and raised my voice to call out to them while keeping my distance. “Zelos! Merlyn! It’s all right! These two don’t mean any harm!”
However, neither of them were willing to listen. Merlyn flinched, and Zelos shouted, “She’s releasing such a freakish amount of mana, and you’re telling me she isn’t dangerous?! You’ve gotta be joking!”
That made me realize that their gazes weren’t on me, but on Luna.
“Hey, it looks like they’re both wary of you. Did you do something?” I asked her.
“Whaaat? I’m not doing anything.”
“Huh...” I raised my voice again. “Did you hear that?! She says she hasn’t done anything!”
“And I’m saying she’s dangerous because she might do something at any moment!”
This was an issue. They weren’t lowering their guards at all. Zelos seemed like he had a wild disposition, which was only amplified by his roughness, but I had assumed that Merlyn would be willing to listen to what I had to say. However, she was still creating a whirling water dragon out of the river, just as tense as before.
“Hmm. I’m beat.”
I could now see that it was Luna they were wary of, though, so as long as I got her away from them, the situation would probably be resolved. Still, I was hesitant to drive away Luna when she wasn’t even doing anything wrong. As I racked my brains to try and come up with a solution, the ground suddenly darkened.
“Ah!”
“Oh?”
“Hm?”
Luna, Elga, then I—in that order—noticed the presence of an assailant coming from the sky. With large, outstretched wings, a monstrous, chicken-like bird was looking down on us. This was the first time I’d ever seen a monster like this on the island; including its wings, it was easily more than thirty feet wide. Noticing our gazes, Zelos and Merlyn looked up at the sky too. They were so shocked by the sight of the massive bird that it seemed like their eyes were going to bulge out of their sockets.
“Wh-What the hell is thaaaaat?!” Zelos shouted.
“Wh-Wh-Wha— Is this a joke?! Why do monsters more terrifying than the Hellfire Dragon keep showing up?!” Merlyn shouted.
“Hey, Luna, what is that?” I asked.
“It’s a Shantak! Yaaay!” she replied happily. Judging from her delighted tone of voice, the bird probably tasted delicious.
On this island, it was survival of the fittest. Noticing that Zelos’s and Merlyn’s voices were tinged with fear, the Shantak turned and rushed them, speeding through the air as fast as its wings could carry it. It seemed to have realized who the unfit ones in this situation were.
“Ngh... Who do you think I am? I’m Merlyn Mareen: the Divine Water, and Number Five of the Seven Celestial Archmageeees!”
“Graaaahh! I’m Zelos Grinder: the Flame of Ruin, and Number Six in the Seven Celestial Archmages! I don’t care what kind of monster you are, I’ll burn you completely to aaaaash!”
Does being a Celestial Archmage mean you’re required to introduce yourself? Reina did the same thing when she first encountered a monster on this island.
The two of them both released their mana at the same time, and a water dragon and a tempest of powerful flames assaulted the Shantak.
“Kuckwehhh!”
However, the bird let out a piercing screech and brilliantly contorted its body to dodge the flame spell. It advanced, skirting around the water dragon and assaulting the two magicians.
“No way!” Merlyn exclaimed.
“What movement!” Zelos shouted.
It sure is nimble for its size, I idly thought, but when I saw the approaching Shantak, I suddenly returned to my senses. “This is no time to be standing still!”
My sense of danger had become less pronounced, probably because my body couldn’t be harmed by most attacks, but there was no way any ordinary human would come out unscathed after sustaining an attack from such a massive foe. I broke into a run, but before I could get moving, a single waist-high figure rushed out ahead of me.
“Meeeeaaaat!”
“Kuckwehhhh?!”
Closing in on the Shantak in an instant, Luna leaped onto the bird. I didn’t know what she was doing to it, but it let out a pained screech. I could hear a dull sound, probably of her hitting it, but their bodies differed so much in size that I couldn’t make out what exactly was going on. However, the Shantak sounded hurt, so it was clear that it was helpless against her attacks. It continued to run wildly around, then soon collapsed to the ground and died. Luna emerged from beneath the large, fallen bird, grinning from ear to ear.
“Now it’s my meat!” she said, looking eager to be praised for her kill.
Meanwhile, Zelos and Merlyn watched all of this with dumbfounded expressions. However, the looks on their faces didn’t seem to be ones of fear.
“Huh... In any case, all’s well that ends well?” I said.
“I guess?” Elga replied. He was tilting his head to the side, unconvinced. I forced myself to think of this as just the way the world was.