Her cryptic reasoning confirmed two things to Anima. First, as Shaer had reported, the monster was indeed a girl. Second, and even more importantly, she hadn’t gone too far off the deep end. Their small exchange revealed that she wasn’t looking to fight; if she were, she wouldn’t have offered to let him escape. She had to have some sort of goal in mind in blocking the bridge. If Anima was able to grant her wish, it was possible that he could settle things without hurting the girl.
“I won’t fight you.”
He raised his hands and started slowly walking toward the monster. Clearly suspicious, she bared her fangs.
“If you’re not gonna fight, why’re you coming over here, hmm? You’d better have something up your sleeve if you wanna beat me up close, m’kay?”
“I could beat you from miles away if I wanted to.”
He could burn her to ash, or even crush her to death with his earth magic. He could, but he had no plans to use any magic—or his fists, for that matter. He was firmly against hitting girls.
“You say that like you’re stronger than me. You sure are funny, m’kay?”
“I say that because I am.”
“Then take this, m’kay?”
She turned around and sliced through the air with her sharp tail, aiming at Anima’s abdomen. Without so much as flinching, he caught it with a single hand, sending pieces of something across the ground. The impact of the strike had torn off some of her scales, scattering them around him.
“I took it,” he informed her in a calm, collected voice.
In doing so, he made the beast shudder, a reaction he had experienced before. It meant that she was either deathly afraid of his overwhelming strength or immeasurably angry at his perceived arrogance. Much to his surprise, however, the reason was something entirely different.
“Incredible! That power is amazing, m’kay? You sure can take a hit, m’kay?” Her voice was filled with awe at Anima’s unbelievable strength. She had shuddered from the overwhelming happiness it filled her with.
“Yes, I’m strong. Much stronger than you can ever hope to be. So please, surrender. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“Answer me first, m’kay?”
“I’m listening.”
“Do you have any chronic diseases? And tell me about the last time you caught a cold too, m’kay?”
A strange question that put a lot on the line. She would surrender, but only if Anima gave a favorable answer. He didn’t know what she was looking for, but he was not one to lie to children.
“I don’t have any chronic diseases, and I’ve never suffered from a cold. Send me to the highest peaks wearing only a loincloth, have me cross a scorching desert, I’ll come back like nothing ever happened. I have traversed the Desert of Perish and eaten the most toxic of demons, yet I’ve never had as much as an upset stomach.”
“You pass, m’kay?!”
“I... ‘pass’?”
“With flying colors, m’kay?! You’re sturdy! Sturdier than I ever imagined! No matter what happens, you’re bound to survive, m’kay?!”
Her euphoric cheers made Anima wonder if she was the type who reveled in defeating strong foes. If she was, it was nothing but bad news. He knew from experience that people like that wouldn’t give up until they won.
“Do you still want to fight me?”
“Nope! I lost, m’kay?”
She admitted defeat, to which Anima let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to hurt a child.
“Then why don’t you stop using that magic stone for me.”
“Gladly, m’kay?” Her immediate response was followed by a blinding light. It enveloped her dark-green scales, and the monster’s body shrunk down and transformed into the form of a human. “I hope we’re all good now, m’kay?”
The light faded to reveal a small girl. No more than ten or eleven years old, her small stature and tan skin contrasted with her long silver hair and the big ribbon tied into it to give her a very unique appearance. She wore a beautiful, colorful dress, complete with a dark-green earring.
“Tell me, m’kay?”
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me I’m cute, m’kay?”
“Hm? Ah, yes, you’re very cute.”
Anima admitted to her cuteness. Despite having feared them for the longest time, he had come to find children adorable. Back in his own world, his heart had shattered every time a child had broken into tears the moment they spotted him. But ever since his summoning by Luina, he’d had no reason to worry about making a child cry. Not a single child in this world had looked at him with fear in their eyes, and the tan girl in front of him was no exception.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“I’m Bram, m’kay?” she answered with a beaming smile. Being told she was cute must have thrilled her.
“Incredible! Truly spectacular! You extinguished the great danger in a matter of minutes!” Disrupting their conversation, Shaer joyously complimented Anima on his work. Descending toward them, she kept her eyes fixed on Bram, a hand on the hilt of her sword all the while. “Now, hand over that dragon stone. And don’t try anything funny.”
“I’m not giving you anything, m’kay?” Bram contested. She put a small hand over her earring and glared at Shaer, who took a step back upon feeling the pressure on herself.
“Lord Anima, please allow me to confirm: did she surrender to you?”
“Yes, she admitted defeat.”
“Thank goodness!” she said with a relieved smile. “So, may I have that stone now?”
“Argh, quit it already, m’kay?! What aren’t you getting here?! I’m not giving you anything! Ask me again and I’ll punch you, m’kay?!”
“Lord Anima, I’ll need you to take that stone from her by force.”
“I will not.”
“Wh-Why not?” Shaer asked, utterly shocked by his response. “She might create this same problem again somewhere else!”
“I’m not doing this again, m’kay?!”
“And why would I believe your words?”
“I believe her,” Anima interrupted, causing Shaer’s eyes to nearly pop out of her skull.
“B-But why?!”
“Adults are responsible for believing children.” He turned to Bram and looked deep into her eyes. “Are you going to use that stone to hurt others, Bram?”
“I swear I won’t, m’kay?”
“See?” Anima flashed a gentle smile. “There’s no reason to take the stone away from her.”
“E-Excuse my ignorance, but what are you going to do if she betrays her promise?”
“I’ll scold her. Adults are responsible for scolding children when they do something mischievous.”
Shaer fell silent for a second before letting out a drawn sigh.
“Understood. I’ll trust your judgment, Lord Anima.”
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one expressing gratitude. Thanks to your efforts in liberating this bridge, life here can return to normal. Now, shall we head back?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
As he turned around, he felt a tug on his robe.
“What’s the rush? Tell me where you’re going, m’kay?”
“To Barjyo.”
“Is that where you live? M’kay...”
“No, I’m actually on a trip. Once we get back to the city, we’re going to head to the port.”
“Ooh, the port! Sounds good, m’kay?”
Wearing a big smile, Bram let go of Anima’s robe, setting him free. As soon as she did so, he rushed back to his beloved family at top speed.