Sarasa Vargard and Cecil Ribom were born and raised in the same city.

　Salasa's family was a toolmaker.
　Cecil's family ran a blacksmith shop.
　The two lived in a house and were close in age in the "Black Market", which was mainly filled with blacksmiths, and from a young age, they did everything together, no matter what they did.

　Sarasa, the reclusive one, and Cecil, the active one.
　Sarasa, a sleek blonde elf, and Cecil, a short red-haired dwarf tribe.
　Their personalities, looks, and races were opposites, but it seemed to have worked out rather well for them.
　Cecil became the whip that beat the horse's ass, and Sarasa always played the role of the reins.

　At one point, Cecil said.
　I'm going to take over the family blacksmith shop and make it easier on my parents.
　He enrolled in an adventurer's school to get his blacksmith's license.
　He confessed his innocent aspirations to his number one friend.
　It's a dream he's been thinking about ever since he found out he had a profession as a [Blacksmith (Blacksmith)].

'Let's join a school too, Sarasa, shall we?　Sarasa is going to take over the tool shop. So let's make our city's 'Black Market' a reality for the two of us.

　Cecil invited Sarasa to join him.
　Cecil is a blacksmith and Sarasa is a toolmaker.
　The two of them will make the 'Black Market' more exciting.
　How wonderful it would be if we could do that.
　That's what I thought.
　But Sarasa wasn't sure.

　Sarasa is a [Scholar(Professor)].
　As a toolmaker, there is no such natural talent as this.
　But she was puzzled.
　Her own power........

　But even so, Sarasa decided to take the exam to the Adventurer's School.

　More than the tool shop and the city, Sarasa hated the thought of being away from Cecil.

　And when she turned 12, the two left the city for the first time to enroll in the Adventurer's School.


　◆◇◆◆◆.


I don't like the look of this sign.

　What Cecil looked into was a sign that had been erected at a fork in the road.
　It is written on it: 'There are many bandits. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way around.
　It's a very kind sign.
　But Cecil is not young enough to believe it.

　I'm not the only one with the distinctive brown skin and wine-red eyes of the dwarves.
　I've been known to have a "lava head" (Volcano) among my tribe, with its twangy red hair, and I'm taller than my kin.
　She is taller than her relatives, and has exquisite proportions.
　Moreover, she was naturally exposed because of her hot temperament.
　Her limbs would catch the eye even if she wasn't a bandit.

''What do you think, Sarasa?''

　I looked back at my great friend.

　She has pale skin that is the complete opposite of Cecil's.
　Unlike my best friend who is working out in any way, this one has a soft, rounded body that is feminine.
　The most eye-catching part of her body is her breasts.
　It is reminiscent of fruit that has been laden with fruit.
　Despite the fact that it was unenhanced, it possessed the attribute of 【Fascination】 enough.

　A cool breeze that passed through the forest made her shoulder-length blonde hair sway in the cool breeze.
　At the same time, the eyes behind the round glasses hung powerlessly, and the pale green irises were also shaking.
　Eventually, she opens her heavy mouth.

''I have a bad feeling about this. Vaguely...''

Yeah. Sarasa's hunch is right.

'I'm sorry. I'm not always clear...

It's okay. I'm fine. I don't mind.

But you know what, Cecil?

Hmm?

'I have a very bad feeling about this.... I have a feeling I'm about to meet someone very good.

'What's that.... Sounds interesting.

　Cecil's eyes sparkled.
　Seeing her best friend's eyes light up like a child's, Sarasa thought, "Shucks.
　She hurriedly withdrew it, but Cecil's curiosity, once it had flared up, wouldn't subside.

'It's okay, Sarasa. You know I'm pretty strong.

　Certainly Cecil is strong. (From the context it seems like it's Cecil, not Sarasa?) (Sorry if I'm right)
　For the Adventurer's School examinations, there is a mock battle, common to all professions.
　That's why he goes to a dojo in town, and among them, Cecil's sword skills are the best in his generation.
　He was praised by his master for his good sword streak, though his magic handling was not so good.

　It's because of Cecil's skill that a pre-15-year-old girl was allowed to travel alone.

　However, the real battle is not easy.

''Kyaaaaaaaah!

　In no time at all, Cecil was wounded when the bandits surrounded him.
　A large slash was made on her back, and a spray of blood danced around her.
　The girl fell to the ground, screaming in agony, and lost consciousness from the pain.

　We have to help him!

　Sarasa reached out her hand.
　But she retreats back, foolishly approaching her best friend as she flees from the bandits.
　Cecil's figure moves away.
　The only people approaching are the bandits with their prickly smiles on their faces.

'Oi, no!　Don't come any closer!　Cecil-chan!

　I reach out.
　But my best friend isn't coming to help.
　On the contrary, the brightness in his eyes seems to be diminishing rapidly.

'Hey, hey. Don't run away without your friend. Hey.........

　One man points the tip of his blade at the fallen Cecil.
　It's obvious what he's going to do.

'No, stop...'

　Tears came to Sarasa's eyes.
　She stops and reaches out her hand.
　But the cutting edge is swung down unceremoniously.

''Gyaaaaaaahhhh!

　Cecil's screams, like nothing I've ever heard before, echoed through the mountains.
　My best friend flails around like a madman as consciousness awakens.
　A sea of blood spreads further.

''Stop......... Stop........... Ceci.......... Cecil-chan will.........go away.

　It was a powerless protest.

　Cecil was a brave man to Sarasa.
　She admired him.
　Many times she wished she could be like that.

'Mi, don't look at me!

　But I am still the same person.
　Without Cecil, I can't do anything.
　I'm just a weak girl who only grows breasts and remains a weak girl.

　So I can only scream like this.
　That was my weakness.

'Somebody!　Somebody help me!

　No one will come when you shout in the depths of the mountains like this.
　The only ones who would come would be the bandits who responded to the voice.

　Sarasa looked up.
　The sun was floating in the bright blue sky, shining so brightly that it hurt her eyes.
　And a bird.........

　No.......... No--.

　It's not a bird!

　People!


　Dang!


　The next thing I noticed was the sound of impact shaking the air.
　The one who appeared was a boy not much older than Sarasa.
　Without pausing, a caustic expression appeared on his face and he shouted.

''Get down!''

　In fact, the boy's voice hadn't reached Sarasa's ears at this time.
　She was just surprised.
　A boy who was clearly the same age as himself.
　However, the air he wore was more overwhelming than any human being he had ever met.

　For some reason, the boy had his head in his hands.
　He suddenly realized.
　It was not Sarasa who had been lying down.
　It was the thief.

　Then the boy holds up Sarasa.

　[Stormy foam]

　[Mage (Wizard)] magic.
　Unexpectedly, the boy activated it with his feet.
　Then, Sarasa jumped up like a dragon.

''Kyaaaaaaaaaah!

　Her body was getting further and further away from the ground.
　Sarasa couldn't help but scream at the incomprehensible situation.
　The next thing she knew, the sky was 360 degrees blue.
　The bandits below her were as small as insects.

　Sarasa looked up.
　She looked at the boy's face.
　Jet black hair like wet feathers.
　Sharp black eyes like a demon god.
　And yet, his still childish face was somewhat like an angel.....

　I felt my face heat up.

　Then the boy laughed.
　I was throbbing.
　I could see right through me.
　Because it felt like that.

　But no.

　The boy raised his hand and called in a dark cloud.
　With a merciless voice, he chanted a magic.

　[Lightning Punishment]!

　In a moment, Sarasa witnessed seven blades of light.
　They fell at high speed to the ground.
　They skewered the bandits.

　The intermediate magic of a [Mage (Wizard)]--.
　What kind of magic is that? Its nature is........
　Sarasa, who is a [Scholar (Professor)], was unable to appraise it due to certain circumstances (I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do so), but I just saw an intense magical power swirling around the boy.

　In an instant, he conquered seven bandits.

''Amazing......... In a single blow........''

　Raising her head, Sarasa could only marvel at it.
　Gently looking at the boy, she saw that his blue eyes, which seemed to be absorbed, were also looking at the girl.

　Strange eyes.

　A receptive power that seems to cover everything.
　On the other hand, the strength that seems to swallow it all.
　On the other hand, the boy had an atmosphere of opposites.


　I have a very good feeling we're going to meet.


　Sarasa suddenly realized what she had said.
　In a moment, her own heart pulsed again.

　This was the meeting between Sarasa Vogarde and Lasser Singh Stark.


　◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆


'Cecil!　Cecil!　Get a grip!

　The girl named Sarasa called out.
　But the results were not good.
　Cecil, who seems to be her best friend, is barely breathing.
　It was a miracle that she was conscious.

　Blood continued to drip from the wounds on his back and shoulder.
　There was already a pool of blood all around.

　Salasa opens her tool bag in front of me.
　I took out a recovery pill.
　I poured it into Cecil's mouth.

'Gofu!　Gosh, gosh!

　However, instead of swallowing the recovery medication, it would result in him spitting out blood from his mouth.
　The blood already pooled in his stomach and lungs, and it would be difficult to even swallow it.

　Then, Sarasa poured it directly on the wound on her back.
　But the wound didn't close up. The blood didn't stop either.
　Still, Sarasa would not give up.
　She took out all the recovery medicine she could find and poured it over the wound or tried to get it into her mouth to drink.

　But--

No.........

　At last, tears came to Sarasa's eyes.
　The teardrops splashed on Cecil's skin as it began to turn an earthy color.
　It's a staple in heroic tales for a knight to be revived by the tears of a maiden.
　But the miracle did not happen.

'Give it up, Sarasa,'

'No!　I can't give up!　Hey, Cecil!　Hey, Cecil!　He's my only friend!

Yeah. All right.

What did you find out?

　Sarasa said pithily.
　I took the question terribly calmly and replied admonishingly.

I've been told that Cecil is very important to Sarasa. And don't get me wrong. When I told you to give up, I was referring to the treatment with the restorative medication.

'What?　Then how!　You mean by magic?　And yet.... you're a [wizard], as I recall.

I'm not a [wizard].


　[Villagers].


What..........?

　I sit down beside Sarasa.
　I held out my hand to Cecil who was lying down.
　Eventually, I activated the [Cleric] magic.

　[Archangel's Blessing]

　A pure white light enveloped Cecil.
　Then the injured body began to regenerate.
　The wounds on her back and shoulders are closing up in no time, and her earthen skin has returned to life.

"Great recovery magic........ That's not--I'm sure it's the highest level skill in the [Cleric]....... Why?　[You are a wizard]...

I told you. I'm a villager. Look, my best friend is awake.

　Cecil's eyelids lifted.
　The cochineal irises were shining beautifully, as if they were polished.

''Sarah........sa......?''

Cecil!

　Sarasa reflexively hugged him.
　She had large tears in her eyes.
　She called out her best friend's words over and over again and sobbed.

　The best friend, on the other hand, didn't seem to know what had happened.
　He continued to stroke Sarasa's shiny hair while Kyoton continued to stroke it.