The whole area smelled of iron.
　Falling down limp in a pool of blood, Floria felt nothing but helplessness at the border of her fading consciousness.

　The best user of all time.
　Everyone in the village praised Floria for allowing her to communicate with the great spirits of wind and water in her heart.

　Floria's life was all about training as a guardian. She has honed her overflowing talents and has defended her village on the front lines more than anyone else.
　It's good that she's become strong, but because of that, the men in her village either fear her or admire her, so she's not even a proper love interest, and she's still single even though she's over four hundred.
　However, that didn't seem so bad when you consider that it was the price of a peaceful life.

　The warriors of the long-lived ear chiefs (elves) were all fierce warriors in their own right.
　Among them, there is a Chieftain who has lived thousands of hours with himself. No matter what kind of enemy they are facing, they can repel it, he thought.
　Somewhere along the line, he may have thought so and was proud of himself.

　As if to ask for a price for that, the village of the elves had been stained with blood overnight.

　Only one.
　The demon standing in front of Floria stood in fresh blood.

　Floria's arrow, filled with the power of the Great Spirit, split Gailzak's brow, but it didn't penetrate his brain, and the fire that Uris had unleashed with a desperate determination didn't come close to consuming the huge body's flesh.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on one of them.

'Splendid.'

　A word.
　Murmuring in praise of the battle, Gailzak turns his back to the fallen Floria.

''Don't you........stop........?

I don't like fighting women and children, even if they are warriors. The situation is such that I have settled it myself, but there is no need to do anything else. You can take the door, but you can rest assured that I won't let the woman get to you.



　Floria, who actually fought, understands.
　Gailzak is a genuine warrior, and the words he utters must be the truth, she said.

　In any case, he's not going to be able to move even a finger at the earliest.
　I'm sure he's shed too much blood and won't be able to last much longer.

I'm sure you're not going to die a virgin.

　Chief-sama's voice echoed in my head like a running lamp.



　My eyes were misty and I couldn't even keep them open anymore.

Oi... you... --Oh, God, what a mess this is... --

　Somewhere in my fading consciousness, I thought I heard such a voice.






◆





　Unable to bear the terrible suffocation and the heat that invaded my body, my consciousness was suddenly drawn back to reality.
　Thinly, the unfamiliar ceiling entered my open eyes.

　My body was heavy like lead and my whole body was hot as if it was burning.

''Huh..........................''

　He couldn't even get up and could only let out a ragged breath.

'--Hmm, oh, you're back to consciousness!　I mean, hey, don't take it easy. I was dying, or at least I'm dying now.

　The fever and the bitterness made it impossible for me to think properly.
　For some reason, there was a boyish young man in front of me who should have been rotting in the forest, looking at me with concern.

'Can you drink?'

　Then he propped me up on my back and poured water into my mouth, but I couldn't even drink it well and wet the sheets.
　I can't even afford to be ashamed of my baby-like state, and I squirm profusely.

''Huh--!　You know, I'm sorry, I don't have much experience in nursing and such...

　The man's eyes in his dimly blurred vision are red and bloodshot, with dark circles.

'Can you drink?'

　I swallowed a faint amount of water, and now he offered me another bottle.
　To be honest, I wanted to shut my eyes so badly I couldn't even speak.

"Hey, hey, come on - get a grip - oh, shit!　I was going to have Belinda do this for me, but I'm sulking and I'm not going to let him do it because it's not cool to spill it. --

　Something about a lone man mumbling to himself sounded like a lullaby.

'--No, seriously, I'm sorry -- it's a medical procedure, so you're missing out, seriously --'

　Something warm touched her lips, and an awful, bitter liquid poured down her throat.
　Softly.
　With the sensation of heat easing, Floria again lost consciousness.



◆



　She would wake up and then go back to sleep.
　After three days and three nights of this kind of day and night, Floria finally regained a decent consciousness.

　The small room, faintly filled with the faint smell of blood and sweat, must be a room in an inn somewhere.
　Every time she opened her eyes.

Hey, you're awake. You okay, you want some water?

　What a man says to Floria.

''Oh I'm sorry. I'll take it....

Oh, wait a minute...

　Then he supports my back and brings the water to my mouth.
　When on earth is he sleeping?
　Every time it seems so, the man calls out to Floria.

".........why did you save me.......?

　Taking a breath, Floria opened her mouth to fight the pain all over her body.

'There's someone hurt in front of me. And it's a beautiful elf-sama. That's reason enough to help, right?

　What a laugh, the man says with a laugh.
　Such a smile was so serious, and he was trying to say that he meant it, that Floria couldn't help but smile.

''Haha, you're a goody-goody.''

Well I've been told I'm normal.

　An ordinary human would not go to the extent of using a precious recovery drug to help someone, a stranger, a stranger of a different species, at the scene of a nuisance.

''.........Wasn't there a young man by my side.......?''

"I'm sorry, my friend. I looked around, but you were the only one who was breathing. I didn't have time to look around, but I left pretty quickly, so I can't say for sure.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that I'm having a hard time saying it. .....

　The man says worriedly to Floria, who looks down.

'Well I'm sorry about your girlfriend, but anyway, for now, just look forward and focus on healing your wounds. It looks like you're over the pass, but the doctors even said it's a miracle you're alive.

'　Yeah, I'm sorry. It was more of a misunderstanding than an afterthought. The young man is my protégé, he's just a bad boy - well, I wish he were alive instead of me... ...

　I couldn't even protect my village, let alone a single disciple, and I was disgraced for life.
　It was clumsy, regrettable, why me?
　An ache ran through the back of my mind.

　My crazy emotions were on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Ow!

　He tapped me on the forehead.

"Don't be stupid - I don't know what happened to you, but I'd rather you be alive than all of us dead...

But... but...

But even if you end up wishing you were dead, at least there's one person in front of me who wishes you were alive. -- so get your wounds fixed first -- and then we'll figure out the rest.

　A single drop of tears spills over unexpectedly.
　I try to say something, but my mouth won't move, and my body won't move any further.

''I'm--I'm sorry--I'll take care of you--well--''

Roland, what's yours?

"Floria.

All right, then, Floria. Well, looking after a beautiful woman is just a perk, don't you think?

　That's how they met.