“G-Grr... GRAAAHHH!” The dragon belched a massive flame from its mouth, as if to say, Stay back!
This reminded me of when I’d first met Tailtiu. I had been on the receiving end of her flames in a similar fashion, and just like then, I felt hardly anything at all.
“Ah... Ahhhh... I-It’s all my fault,” Ceres said.
“No, it’s mine, for not being able to save him,” Ark said.
“You idiots, there’s no use blaming yourselves! We have to avenge— Wait, huh?”
At the end, I could hear the confused voice of the girl they called the Witch of Destruction. The flames had slowly subsided, and it must have been enough for her to be able to make out that I was still standing.
“Hold on... Is he alive?!” she continued.
“What are you talking about, Ellie?” Ark said. “You can feel the mana in those flames, can’t you? There’s no way he could survive a direct hit from something so— Hm?”
“He’s right, Ellie... In the history of the Church, those horrible flames are infamous for destroying a great many countries, and— Hweh?”
Walpurgis must have grown tired of breathing fire, because the flames gradually weakened. And as for me, I was unscathed, of course.
“GRAH?!”
“Huh?!” the three exclaimed in surprise.
Still, I had largely gotten used to this kind of baffled response. First Reina, then Zelos and Merlyn—they had all reacted in a similar fashion, so it was too late for me to be complaining about it now. Though I’d rather they gave it a rest on the recent trend of handwaving everything away with a “Well, that’s just Arata for you.”
“I’m still human, after all...”
It’s too cruel to act like I’m my own strange species!
All that aside, this Walpurgis seemed like an enemy of humanity, so it was probably fine to treat it like an Emperor Boar or any other monster. But I’d be a bit hesitant if, like Tailtiu, it could transform into a person. Then again, it attacked me first...
“It’s my turn now, right?” I said.
Walpurgis almost looked as if it were vehemently shaking its head, but it probably couldn’t understand what I was saying. Surely I was just imagining things.
I tensed up my leg just a little, then took a single step. At the same time, I thrust my fist forward, puncturing the dragon’s abdomen in one hit and sending the monster flying high into the sky.
“Huh?!” the three exclaimed again.
Then, after a few dozen seconds, Walpurgis’s massive body hit the ground with a tremendous crash. I must have killed it in a single blow, as it showed no signs of stirring. The Emperor Boar had survived a punch of similar force, but it seemed that the dragon hadn’t been as sturdy.
“So, is this good enough?” I said, turning around with a smile.
Behind me, the three stood there with mouths agape in disbelief. Their extraordinarily good looks made those expressions a bit comical, and I unconsciously let out a laugh.
“Anyway, I took down that noisy dragon, so would it be possible for you to return me to where I’m from?” I asked the saint.
“Huh? Oh... Huh?”
I had asked her because she seemed like she would know the most about what was going on, but she was still bewildered, like she hadn’t quite returned to reality yet. Oh well, I guess I’ll wait until she composes herself. Come to think of it, does dragon taste any good?
“Should I take it back with me?” I wondered out loud. I could bring the dragon home with Storage magic... But Tailtiu, for instance, might not like that, so I passed up on it. I decided that the next time I had the chance, I’d ask someone else whether dragons tasted good.
Just then, the ground at my feet shone with a golden light, exactly as when I’d come here.
“Oh?”
“U-Um! Are you God?!” the saint hurriedly asked, as if she had just rebooted.
Was it because the magic circle had appeared? I’d met a god in person, and I knew full well that I wasn’t one. So, I shook my head.
“No, I’m a human.”
The two standing behind the saint didn’t seem to believe me, but it was the truth...probably. Lately, even I had come to doubt it somewhat, but then I admonished myself: if I didn’t believe myself, then nobody else would!
As I was thinking this, the magic circle at my feet rapidly grew brighter. My duty was seemingly over, because it felt like it was telling me to go home already.
“Now then, it looks like I’ll be able to return home, so I’m going now.”
“No way... But I haven’t even been able to thank you yet!” the saint said.
“Oh, it’s all right. It’s not like I did anything too important.”
Actually, the monsters I hunted on the island were all stronger and faster. Monsters that didn’t run or hide, like that dragon, were nothing more than easy prey.
“If that’s the case, then...please, at least tell me your name!”
I paused. “It’s Arata.”
Just telling her my name should be fine. It’s not like it’ll do any harm, I thought.
Then, Saint Ceres smiled happily.
“Lord Arata... I understand! I, Saint Ceres, shall tell the Church of your great deed, and your glory will go down in history forever!”
“Huh? Oh, wait, I—” Don’t want you to do anything so embarrassing! I thought. I reached out a hand, and at that moment, the light of the magic circle reached its brightest point.
“I won’t let you down! I’ll take on the duty of spreading far and wide the tale of the divine envoy...no, the demigod Lord Arata!”
“I’m telling you to wait a moment and calm—”
“Thank you, Lord Arata, our messiah...”
The moment I was about to stop her, the scenery changed once more. I found myself in the middle of a familiar-looking forest. Time must have passed at some point, because it was a dark night.
“What was all that?” I said to myself. It must have been a dream or something. If it wasn’t, I’d be made out to be something absurd, like a messiah, or a divine envoy, or the incarnation of a god.
“Have Reina and Tailtiu settled down by now?” I wondered.
Regardless, I wouldn’t be leaving this island again, so there was no need for me to worry about it. Besides, no one would ever believe a crazy story about a single human bringing down a dragon that could defeat those three hero-looking people.
With those thoughts occupying me, I returned home.
“Oh, Arata! Umm, I...”
As soon as she saw me, Reina turned bright red with embarrassment. It seemed that she could vividly recall what had happened earlier in the day. When she acted like that, I couldn’t help but feel conscious of her too...
“Mwa ha ha! Welcome home, Arata,” Mina said.
“You sure seem like you’re having fun,” I replied.
“Actually, it was fun!”
She was relaxing in my house. It seemed that she had kept her promise, at least. That in itself was fine, but there was this...aura about her that I couldn’t accept, like she was going to tease me with everything she had.
“Darliiing! Wel-come-home!” Tailtiu said, emphasizing each syllable.
“Oof...”
After I withstood an impact from her that was impossibly strong compared to her appearance, Tailtiu looked up at me happily, her usual self. It seemed that she had returned to normal...though there hadn’t really been much of a difference.
“Hey, I’m back,” I said.
“Mhmph.”
Tailtiu nuzzled up against me, so I patted her head, and as I did I went up to Reina.
“Hey, Reina.”
Reina paused. “Hello. Welcome back, Arata.”
Though her face was still red, she smiled at me. Seeing that was a relief, somehow. It seemed that, more than I’d thought, I was—
“All right then, Arata, now that you’re back, I think it’s about time I take my leave,” Mina said.
“You can stay the night here if you want, you know,” I said.
“Hmph. I won’t do anything so tactless. Hey, Bahamut, you’re going home too.”
“No! I am going to sleep next to my darling tonight!”
“Oh, come on, that won’t be entertaining, now will it?”
“Hrm?! Wh-What are you doing?!”
“I’ll play with you again, so we’re leaving.”
“N-Nooo! Tonight my darling is going to treat me— Mmph!”
While casting shadow magic on the struggling Tailtiu, Mina managed to capture her and cover her mouth. She then headed outside, ignoring Tailtiu’s muffled shouts.
“Now then... Arata! Reina! Your fun night has only just begun!”
With that, the two of them disappeared into the darkness of the night. The only ones left were Reina and I.
“Umm... Okay, Arata? About earlier, well...”
Reina sounded like she wanted to say something, but to me, it didn’t seem quite right to expect anything to progress right now. So, I interrupted her.
“All sorts of things happened today, but for now, let’s rest. We’ll go back to normal tomorrow.”
“Yeah. You’re right,” Reina said after a pause. “But you know, Arata... That doesn’t mean we have to go back to normal yet today, does it?”
“Huh?”
As I was feeling bewildered by what she said, she hugged me tightly.
“Because, what happened earlier wasn’t just because of the alcohol.”
“Reina...”
“Just for today,” she whispered. “I’ll go back to my normal self starting tomorrow, so just for today, could you indulge me?”
Her whisper was such a shock that it was enough to blast apart any of the reason I possessed. Then, as if I were touching a precious gemstone, I slowly and gently wrapped my arms around Reina’s slender, yet soft body. And I realized anew that right now, this was where I belonged.