It's not so easy to actually slay the dragon, even if you say so lightly.
　As mentioned above, dragons are powerful beings and are not just the most powerful monsters.
　The fact that the country mobilizes its soldiers to slay the dragon means it is worth it, but it also means it has to be done.

　A brave man is also a powerful being, but he is certainly not strong enough to take on a nation.
　The longer a dragon lives, the more powerful it becomes.
　You'll be able to see that it's a good decision to honestly ask for help, although I wouldn't say that it's a heavy burden for the brave man alone.

　You'll be able to see that you're not the only one.
　This includes a previous life.
　There were dragons in the previous world as well, and I've met them, but I never fought them.
　Well, not all dragons are the same, even though they have the same name to begin with, so even if you had fought them, that experience wouldn't necessarily have helped.

　You will be able to use the information as a weapon against any opponent, and sometimes its presence or absence can mean the difference between life and death.
　When dealing with a dragon, it is only natural to gather as much information as possible and prepare well in advance.

　However, the choice was to head straight for the dragon.
　The story up to this point is as meaningless as the action, but of course there is a meaning to it.
　Or rather, it was simply because you couldn't do those things even if you wanted to.

　Where to get information in this situation would be from the villagers.
　But they don't want the dragon to be defeated, and they know that Akira is trying to defeat the dragon.
　They won't tell you what to do if you ask them to tell you something.

　The same is true even if Aren and the others turn to gather information.
　The villagers knew that Aren and his team had gone outside the village with Akira, and although they never came outside the village, they watched their battle from afar.
　If these people come to learn about the dragon, it will be obvious that they are trying to help Akira.
　There's no doubt that they won't tell you anything.

　In fact, he didn't tell us.
　What Allen and the others said earlier was based on reasoning, and they could have been wrong.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it by going back to the village and lightly discussing it .......
　I knew my former family was a shitty family, but this was the moment when even more shitty behavior was confirmed.

　Well, there's nothing Allen can do about it, but there's someone who can do something about it.
　Let the right person do what needs to be done.

　Anyway, that's why we can't seem to gather information, and that goes for the preparation as well.
　You can't sell anything you try to buy.

　There is also the question of whether there is anything in the village that would be useful in fighting the dragon.
　As long as the dragon is keeping the area safe, there is no need for fighting power in the village, and as far as tools are concerned, they don't have any.

　So, considering the situation, I had no choice but to head straight for the dragon.

I'm sure you're not going to be able to find out what's going on with the child you said Akira protected.

　It was only when the foot of the mountain came into view that Allen suddenly asked such a question.
　They were confirming and speculating about all the information they could about the dragon, when they remembered the only person who seemed to be able to confirm the information.
　The girl must have told him that Akira knew some information about the dragon, and there might be something he hadn't heard yet.

　That's what I thought, but...

"Hmm?　Oh, that's him. He's supposed to be sleeping in a cave not far from that village, right?
It is alone, right?
"Can't help it, right?　I can't bring you back to that village, and I'm not going to be with you.
...... It may seem dangerous to have just one child, but I don't see any demons in the area, so it's safer than taking them around, right?
Hmmm ...... That may be true, but didn't you have the choice to stay out of the dragon in the first place?　If you had stayed far enough away, there would have been somewhere to leave your children, and you wouldn't have put yourself in a dangerous situation.
...... that village is still home for the kid. But if you run away from your home, you'll have a hard time later. And you can't say you saved her like that.
"I see. ...... will have to do.

　Oh, then, it can't be helped.

　As an added bonus, judging by Akira's behavior, you may have come out without saying anything to the child.
　Then it would be a bit too silly to return to the child.
　I'm sure Akira has heard the bare minimum, so it's fine that we continue on our way.

Now, ...... is this as far as we can take the carriage for now?
You can feel his presence here ....... If we go on in a carriage, we'll be too late to respond to an attack.
To begin with, the horses would be too frightened to go any further. Well, we won't have to worry about them stealing or attacking us here, so all we have to do is walk to them.

　By the way, after all this time, we've been traveling by carriage and all of us have been here together.
　The reason why we used a carriage is because we didn't need to walk, and we couldn't leave them near the village once they became hostile to us.

　It's a similar reason why Leeds and the others came together--

"So, are you really coming?　I don't mind waiting here with the horses, I think it would be better,
...... I promise not to slow you down. So please take me with you.

　Yes, it seems that Leeds is going to go to the dragon's place with him.

　We've already established that Leeds has some self-defense skills.
　But it's still only for self-defense, and I don't think it would work on the dragon.

　But to be frank, Allen and Leeds aren't traveling together.
　They just happened to meet again and went together because it was mutually beneficial.
　If Leeds said he was going, there was nothing to stop him.

　Besides, Allen is still Leeds' ex-fiancée, after all.
　I knew she was pretty stubborn.

"Huh ...... is that an epiphany?
...... Well, I haven't really had any revelations, but I know for a fact that I have to go. And that it's similar to the feeling you get when you have an epiphany. But that's not why I'm going. I go because I want to go.

　There was not the slightest fear or hesitation in the eyes that stared at me.


　There must be something in her that was unspoken but clear.

　And Allen didn't have the words to deny it.

...... All right. But never do anything reckless. If I don't think I can do it, I'll force you to back off, so just keep that in mind.
"I understand. Thank you.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to be able to get your hands on it.
　I'm sure that if you really think about her, you should leave her here even if she is going to be resented ...... Well, if push comes to shove, it's just a matter of Allen protecting her.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.
No, that's basically it, right?　But Mister Allen is rather sweet,
I see. ...... That's something I don't understand. I don't know, are you two a thing?
"Ex, but...
You've got a lot of things going on. ...... As usual, the powers that be seem to be in a lot of trouble. I'm sure they don't mind the fact that you don't seem to mind.
Shut up there. I mean, that's nothing.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.
　I've noticed that I can talk to Akira as casually as if we were old acquaintances, but that's probably because of Akira's personality.
　Although his language is a little rough, it doesn't mean that he is violent.

　Rather, she's a lively and easy girl to talk to.
　Moreover, she doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she just lost a ragged battle.
　She is also quick to apologize for using her magic, and it seems that she has seen that we are not the type to back down.

　In general, it is easy to get in people's pocket.

　Well, if you're going to be on a joint front, it's better to be at ease than to be on edge.
　It doesn't feel bad to be able to talk easily and ...... well, that's as far as it goes.

　I let out a breath and pulled myself together.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the marketplace. Akira, you're in charge, okay?
Oh, come on.

　While his face tightens at Allen's words, Akira has a strong smile on his lips.
　He doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by the fact that he is about to play a major role.
　That's what I'm talking about.

　From now on, Aren and the others were going to split up and head up the mountain.
　The dragons are generally huge and the terrain underfoot is precarious.
　Rather than fearing that they would be destroyed individually, they feared that they would be defeated together.

　And I'm going to ask Akira to create a diversion as well.
　I'm not sure how much sense it makes against a dragon, but there's no need to proceed too cautiously when the opponent's strength is unknown.

　In fact, I was actually planning on having Aren do the diversion, but Akira took over the role with some joking or serious words, such as, "If Aren does it, he's going to beat it, not as a diversion.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do that. ...... As for the path forward, it seems that there is no need to worry about it.
"Ah. I thought that perhaps the sacrifices were carried directly by the villagers into the mountains. ...... I guess I was right.

　There was a well-marked, if not paved, path in the mountain that was reasonably easy to follow.
　If you follow that, you'll be able to reach the dragon.

Then I'll go on ahead, okay?　Aren't you and your friends better get a move on?　Otherwise, I'm going to beat you up by myself.

　While saying such encouraging words, Akira ran away from the mountain.
　You can see its back, which is quickly becoming smaller and smaller, and then Allen and the others begin to move as well.

Well then, shall we go too?
"Yes.
"Yeah. . with that kind of momentum, I'm really going to take him down by myself.

　With a wry smile on my face, I quickly walked around the back side of the mountain.
　As expected, there is no easy place to walk, but still, when you find a relatively better place to start climbing.

　I thought to myself, "I really need to hurry up a little bit or I won't be able to talk about a diversion anymore.

Hmm ...... I've been thinking about this development for a while now, but I didn't really want it to be true. ......

　In front of the scene that unfolded in front of him, Allen let out a sigh.
　The worst I could have imagined was that the dragon would ignore Akira, Allen and the others and flee this mountain prematurely, but honestly, this was about the third worst.

　There were dozens of demons there.

The demons ......!　How can you have a dragon when you have ......
...... So, you think humanity is not alone in wanting to take shelter of the dragon? Does this mean that humanity is not the only one who wants to take shelter of the dragon?

　Demons and people cannot communicate with each other, simply because they have different values.
　Some demons have wisdom, and demons fight with each other.
　There is no mystery in a demon's presence with the dragon.

　Even if there was no mystery, it was an imagination that should have been left out if possible, but--

...... Well, let's just think of it as a good prep workout before we fight the dragon.
...... Surely there is no way you can fight a dragon if you're lagging behind a monster like this?

　It was then that the roar came from around the summit with a slight tremor - with a slight shake - as they let Leeds step back as they said.