One day, young Henry made up his mind. He must defeat that Dark Lord of cunning atrocities.
“All right! I’m ready!”
In a forest on the outskirts of the city, he thrust his stick high in the air. He’d picked out this weapon very carefully in the woods; it was perfect in thickness and length. And with a bright red scarf that he sneaked out of a drawer at home wrapped around his neck, he was now a true warrior.
Henry called out to his comrades in high spirits. “You ready to take him on? Flatt! Karim!”
“Y-Yeah...”
“Sure...”
Only feeble answers came from his friends. In contrast to Henry, who was fired up, his best friends stood by, their arms limp at their sides, with reluctance written over their faces. They’d brought weapons just as Henry had told them to, like a slingshot and a small kid’s baseball bat, but their hearts didn’t seem to be in it.
Henry glowered at his unreliable friends. “What’s wrong, you guys? Are you scared now? We’re gonna take down the Dark Lord, remember?” he said, pointing toward the mansion that stood beyond the woods. That was their target: the evil Dark Lord’s fortress. The squad was driven by a single mission. “We have to overthrow him...and we’ll rescue that princess!”
It was three days ago that Henry had met the princess. The three of them had been playing in the forest when Henry tripped and hurt his leg. Just as he was trudging back home, his friends holding him up, the princess had walked by.
The princess—she had to be a princess, with her flowing golden hair, shining beauty, and a bearing full of grace—introduced herself as Charlotte, and offered a vial of potion to him straightaway to heal his wound.
“You’re welcome to come along to the mansion sometime, if you like,” she said with a soft smile, pointing at the mansion. It was the mansion where the “Dark Lord” Allen lived—everyone in town knew he was a weirdo wizard. With her gesture, the boys had realized that she was living with him.
Henry thrust his fist at the sky. “The Dark Lord must’ve snatched her away from a castle somewhere! We’ve got to save her!”
“But why would he let her walk around freely like that, if he kidnapped her?” Flatt asked doubtfully.
“U-Umm, well...maybe he’s making her stand outside like a guard?”
“He’s the Dark Lord. Wouldn’t he have minions or something?” Karim pointed out.
“Yeah. Why would he use her like that when he’s just stolen her away?” Flatt added. Neither one looked convinced. They exchanged glances and mumbled to each other.
“Besides, that wizard might actually be a pretty good guy. He saved our cat the other day.”
“He comes to our cake shop all the time too. He even fixed our oven for free. My dad was really happy.”
“Those must be part of his tricks! Don’t fall for it!” Henry stomped his feet.
Henry’s family, too, owned a shop of stationery and small trinkets. Since the Dark Lord tended to be generous with his purchases, his mother was especially fond of the wizard. These days, it was her habit to remind Henry: “You can go play in the forest, but make sure you don’t give the Dark Lord any trouble, you hear?”
The people of the town, who had once only looked at the wizard with detached curiosity, now had favorable opinions of him. But Henry knew better. The Dark Lord couldn’t fool him. “Just look at his face! There’s no way a guy who looks so evil would be up to any good!”
“Well, you’ve got a point... He does look shady.”
“And he totally acts like it too.”
The two boys who’d originally sided with the Dark Lord nodded in agreement this time.
Pleased that he was getting his way, Henry eagerly said, “Right?! That’s why we have to take him down! It’s our chance to be heroes!”
“But how? I heard he’s crazy strong.”
“Well, we just gotta take him by surprise and whack him hard.”
“Hmm...that doesn’t sound very heroic.”
“So basically, you have zero plan. I don’t know if this is gonna work.”
“Of course it will! Justice always wins!”
And so, Henry strode on toward the Dark Lord’s mansion, the other two trailing reluctantly behind him. They headed for the expansive garden at the back of the house instead of the front door. They would sneak into the mansion unnoticed and strike the Dark Lord when he least expected it. That was their perfect plan—but they were quickly met with an obstacle.
“What’s that...?” Henry peered out from behind the bushes and cocked his head in puzzlement.
“No idea...” Flatt was puzzled too.
On the other side of the lawn, just across from them, was the back door to the mansion. And right in front of it was a strange creature napping in the sun. If they had to describe it simply, they’d call it a big brown rat. The beast, about as big as the boys, was sleeping comfortably on a straw bed.
They had expected a watchdog or something like that, but they hadn’t expected to encounter a giant rat. Henry’s determination was a little shaken. The rat’s face looked so peaceful and dull that there was not a hint of danger in the air.
But as soon as he caught sight of the rat, Karim went pale and staggered back. “N-No, that can’t be...an Infernal Capybara?!”
“You know what it is, Karim?”
“I’ve read about it in a book! They’re really, really powerful. And if you make them mad, you’re screwed!”
“N-No way. That sleepy-faced rat? It can’t be that strong.” Henry was doubtful.
But Karim’s fear was genuine. “There are stories, like one of them destroyed an entire country all by itself...!”
Flatt’s face stiffened too, and he tugged at Henry’s sleeve. “C-Come on, let’s call it off. We don’t have a chance against a beast like that.”
“So what? We can’t give up now!”
“Henry! Wait!”
Henry jumped out of the bushes and sprinted toward the Infernal Capybara. “Rahhhh!” He swung the stick back and thrust it down at the beast’s forehead, aiming for the old cross-shaped scar. Henry thought he hit the mark—but the creature vanished in the split second before the stick made contact. He immediately lost his balance. “Oww...wh-what the heck?! M-My weapon’s gone...!”
His hand was empty. He heard Flatt and Karim shouting from a distance, and when he spun around, he found the beast standing right behind him.
“Eep?!”
The Infernal Capybara held Henry’s stick in its front paw, and it gave the stick a light flick in the air.