It was about ten days' ride from Midriver, the commercial capital.
　It is a mountain village with a few small houses scattered about.
　The houses are empty and unpopular, and it would be more appropriate to say that they have been cleaned up rather than ransacked. They probably escaped when the dragon of Argis appeared.

There's only one village left now," Celestia said, looking annoyed.

Don't look so disgusted. You want to bring in the top adventurers, right?

It doesn't have to be that high.

"That doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from someone who's talking about defeating the raging dragon Yra at a guild meeting.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

　It's not good. ----
　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not. It would take a lot of people with that level of skill. I'm sure higher level adventurers and mages have also received this request. At any rate, if you can make some connections with them, it will come in handy later.

...... Yes, Walth is a slave, but he knows a lot more about the Crown system, adventurers and guilds than I do.

---- Are you mad at me, by any chance?

"I'm not mad. I'm just complimenting you on your skills.

　I wonder if it's my imagination that I hear anger in her voice.
　Well, I remembered that when I was Ars, the Knight Commander, Dallas, once told me to think about the feelings of others when I could do anything. It's been a long time since then, but I don't seem to have grown up at all.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong with you? Celestia shook my shoulder and said, "I was a little out of line, I'm sorry," she apologized.

'No, I was just thinking. I'm sorry, too.

　As soon as she bowed to Seretia, a scream cut through the air.

It wasn't me!

I know. It's the voice of the dragon of Argis.

　The scream seemed to be coming from the other side of the mountain.
　Luckily, the voice didn't send the horse running.

We're on our way. Seretia, stay close to me.

What are you talking about? Do you know that Walth is not supposed to be away from me?



　　　　　　　What are you talking about?

　While we were running through the mountains, Algis's dragon's voice did not cease, and we thought that he was already engaged with someone. The only thing we could hear were the voices of the Algis dragons, and since there were no explosions or anything, we knew immediately that it was not a battle using magic.

　The battle was taking place in the village where I was supposed to come last. Six armored warriors were surrounding an Argyz dragon, and the one who seemed to be leading them was watching from a distance with his sword propped up on the ground.
　The skin of the Argyz dragon is hard and resistant to both physical and magical attacks, but magic is generally considered to have an advantage. It's quite impressive that the six of them are able to fight the dragon without magic.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.

　All of them are completely covered from head to toe in purple armor, and they are all moving in a coordinated fashion. Each one of them may be a mid-level adventurer, but their coordination is flawless, backed by trust.

They all seem to be women, and it would be more convenient to keep their faces hidden.

　Their faces are hidden by masks with hollowed-out eyes, which is eerie, but they are not that tall, and their armor is all female.
　The commander, who was far away, seemed to have noticed us, but he paid no attention to us and let the battle continue.

"Walth, you don't want me to help you, do you? Celestia said in a slightly frightened voice.

It's not a problem, since the Algis dragon seems to be an O(us).

　The really dangerous Algis dragons are the females, which are larger than the males. The females are more dangerous than the males.
　The only time they attack is when they're not getting enough nutrients for their babies, or when they're messing with you while you're raising them, which is right around this time of year.

"Hey Walth, did you hear something about the dragon of Argis?

"Really? If you listen carefully, you will hear a voice coming from far away, different from the dragon in front of you. And it was approaching us at great speed.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, look at that!　It's coming this way! Celestia grabbed my arm with an impatient voice, not like a princess.

　Celestia is pointing above my head as if she's seeing something impossible, as if the heavens and earth have been turned upside down.
　There was the figure of a dragon spreading its wings and swooping down.
　Even from a distance, I can see that it is more massive than the dragon that is currently fighting in front of me.

"...... Ah, that's the ...... female of the dragon of Argis. It's a big one.

You can't be impressed, it's coming this way, we have to get out of here!

There's no point in running now, it'll catch up with us.

Walth, kill that dragon!　Kill it now!

　It's hard to keep a level head in the face of a real dragon.
　It's hard to keep a level head in the face of a real dragon. This is the power of the blood qi spell, and the first time I experienced this feeling, I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

What are you laughing at?　I can't do this anymore!

　Celestia sat down with her head in her hands.
　She sat down with her head in her hands. The fact that she didn't even try to cast a spell was unavoidable.
　It might affect the rest of the trip if this was the first big one.

Just keep your eyes there for a while," I said to him gently.

　When I was Ars, I could have ended this with a single shot of long-range magic, but that's not possible now. But this is a good opponent to test my body.

　The female dragon swung her huge claws at me.
　A swooping blow.


　Normally, it would be a blow that could blow away a hundred adults, but now I can take it with just my sword.
　The moment my claws collided with the sword, a high-pitched sound spread out, and my feet sank into the ground as the shockwave caused countless cracks to appear on the ground.

That's not so bad. Now we need to see how much of that skin we can cut.

　This female dragon is too big to be cut down with a single blow.
　I put magic power into my sword and gave it a serious blow, flashing it vertically from the dragon's head to its tail.
　Unlike before, there was no sound, no shockwave, nothing flashy, and the area felt quiet.

There's no response from --------.

　The female dragon did not move.
　I'm not sure what to do.
　It's strange that it doesn't react even though it hasn't been cut, so I kicked the dragon's legs.

I kicked the dragon's leg. "It's cutting well, isn't it?

　The female Algis dragon split in half from the head and fell to the left and right, spewing blood.