It seems the mountain where the Earth Dragon resides is called Mount Sula.
It’s about a two-hour walk from Silas.
It’s a mountain with a lot of exposed rock and little greenery.
“Lyall-san, could I ask you something?”
Midway up the mountain path, I felt like asking Lyall-san what he thought about something.
“What is it? You sure ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”
“I make it a policy to ask as much as possible when I have the chance.”
In my previous life, I was increasingly told to think for myself and look things up as soon as I stopped being a university student.
If I don’t ask, learn, and practice as much as I can while I’m still inexperienced, I’ll end up an empty shell of a person when I grow up.
Like I was in my previous life.
“If you borrowed something important and couldn’t return it, what would you do, Lyall-san?”
“What’s with that? Some kind of Zen koan? … Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
I felt that Lyall-san might have the kind of thinking that could shake off my hesitation.
Does Zen even exist in this world?
Or is it just the word that exists independently?
“I see. Hmm… Speaking of borrowing, I still owe Tim one.”
“Is that the one where you never managed to beat him in the end?”
“Well, that’s part of it. But I also learned a lot from him. I intended to repay him by winning.”
“I see.”
Repaying someone for their teachings by winning against them… That’s a very Lyall-san-like way of thinking.
“In the end, I haven’t been able to see him to this day. The Information Department stubbornly refuses to disclose any information about him. But,”
Lyall-san paused and pointed at me.
“You appeared before me, Katia.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. If I fight you, and if there’s anything I can teach you, it might indirectly repay my debt to Tim.”
“Might?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what Tim would think. In the first place, he might not even think of it as a debt. What would Tim think if he were looking at you?”
“Grandpa wouldn’t think of it as a debt, I’m sure.”
“Right? That’s why I’m just thinking that way on my own and repaying it on my own. It might be a bother to you.”
“A bother? Not at all.”
Certainly, being challenged to battles every day is another matter, but I gained a lot from the last fight.
The feeling when entering that counter is something I can’t get anywhere else.
Even now, I’m getting to hear your thoughts like this.
“But if possible, it’s best to return a debt directly to the person you owe. What about the person you owe a debt to?”
“Huh?”
“Can’t you meet them?”
“… What if there’s a risk involved in meeting them?”
“That’s already decided. You should meet them, no matter the obstacles. You can think about it again after you meet.”
“After I meet them?”
“That’s right. You can think of ways to repay the debt over and over again. As long as you’re alive. Besides, the other person might not even think of it as a debt. First, nothing will start if you don’t meet.”
“…”
If possible, I’d like to return her body to her.
But considering what Lumia-san said, even if I returned her body to her, she probably wouldn’t be able to adapt to it anymore and would die before long.
Because the fire magic and aura are no longer being supplied to her soul, apparently.
… Meet her first, huh?
“Thank you, Lyall-san.”
“Are you alright now?”
“Yes.”
Any form is fine.
I’ll listen to her feelings.
And then, I’ll obey any wish she has.
If she tells me to die, I’m prepared to do so, and if she wants to return to this body, I’ll definitely find a way.
I have to meet her.
Even if it’s an act that turns her into something inhuman.
“I don’t know who you owe a debt to, but it seems you’ve made up your mind. But for now, concentrate on the enemy in front of you. … It’s coming.”
The ground shook.
The birds nearby flew away.
“Neil-san, Fina-san!”
I called out to the two behind me to warn them.
…?
“Um, Lyall-san, it’s making a rumbling sound, but I can’t see it.”
“Look closely. That’s it.”
In the direction Lyall-san pointed… a rock?
But that rock, when you look closely… it’s moving?
“Grrrrooooaaarrrrr…”
Whoa, it roared.
So that’s the Earth Dragon.
It seems to have an outer shell similar to rock, so you can’t tell from a distance.
Its body length is probably fifty meters or more.
When I strained my eyes to look closely, weapons and arrows that seemed to belong to victims of the Earth Dragon were stuck in its body.
“By the way, Lyall-san, what about your armor?”
“Ah, I do have a spare… but I don’t need it this time. Either way, if I get hit by an attack, I’ll die instantly. I only brought my gauntlets.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring… It doesn’t seem to have noticed us yet, what should we do?”
While hiding behind a rock, I asked Lyall-san for instructions in a slightly hushed voice.
Considering the difference in experience, he’s the most suitable as a commander among us.
“Then a surprise attack it is. Neil!”
Lyall-san called Neil-san in a low voice.
“You calling me, not the two of you?”
“Your attack power is the highest, right? If it’s just one hit. Okay, aim for the eyes. Fina, cover Neil’s retreat. The rest is up to us.”
Certainly, the area around its face has relatively little of the rock-like outer shell.
The position of the head is also low, making it the easiest to attack.
“Aren’t there any easier-to-spot weak points?”
That was Fina-san’s question.
Lyall-san answered.
“Nope. That’s what makes it a dragon. If I had to say, water magic is slightly more effective.”
“Understood, water it is. Neil, trust your big sister and jump in!”
“Y-yes. I’ll do my best.”
“Now’s the time, go!”
Lyall-san patted him on the back, and Neil-san wrapped himself in aura and drew his sword.
He rushes towards the Earth Dragon.
A strong and violent aura bursts from the Damascus sword.
The Earth Dragon still hasn’t noticed.
We can do it!
“!”
The sword that Neil-san swung deeply slashed the Earth Dragon’s face!
Good power, no complaints!
“GAAAAAHHHHH!”
“Fina!”
At the same time as Lyall-san shouted, the Earth Dragon roared and thrashed about in pain.
Neil-san has already begun to retreat, but because of its massive size, he’s still within the range of the Earth Dragon’s flailing head.
A dangerous situation.
“Stop it, stay still!”
Fina-san fired a stream of compressed water!
… Aiming for the eye wound that Neil-san cut.
Big sister is merciless.
But that’s probably the best solution in the current situation.
“GOOOOAAAAAHHHHH!?”
The Earth Dragon flinched after receiving a torrent of water on its wound.
At the same time, I saw Neil-san retreat to a safe zone.
“Let’s go! Katia, you take the right!”
“Yes.”
We run towards the Earth Dragon, which has begun to rampage again.
Dodging the limbs that are being swung around aimlessly because it lost an eye.
Left foreleg, I got it!
I pulled out the Black Sword and slammed it into the Earth Dragon’s leg.
–However, it was deflected with a ging sound.
“Hard!”
The blade doesn’t penetrate.
Apparently, the Earth Dragon is wrapped in aura.
Its shell is too thick to see it clearly, though.
High-ranking monsters are a pain because of this.
What about Lyall-san?
“Oraaaah! Eat this! –Not enough!”
He’s forcefully crushing it from on top of the outer shell…
I can’t imitate that.
The Earth Dragon groans in pain every time he punches it.
… Then, shall I rely on a magic sword?
While dodging the Earth Dragon’s attacks, I gather magic power.
I’m not good at releasing fire magic outside with high output, but I’m good at compressing it within the range that my hands can touch.
The downside is that it takes a considerable amount of time, but that’s not a problem in the current situation.
I store magic power mixed with aura in the Black Sword, store it, store it, and just keep storing it.
The air around the sword begins to distort from the heat.
Even with this much heat, the Black Sword seems to be fine.
As expected of a mysterious metal, made of Orichalcum.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
I obtained the conviction that I could do it, so I headed to the Earth Dragon’s left leg again.
A squishy dochuu sound.
The Black Sword, which had raised the temperature to its limit, easily melted the outer shell and pierced into the left leg.
I keep running while slashing the thick leg!
“Gogeh, gaaah!”
With a heavy zun sound, dust danced in the air.
Next, hind leg!
With my magic power, I don’t have the energy to store fire magic again.
I’ll decide it like this!
… Before long, the Earth Dragon, whose limbs and tail had all been crushed, collapsed to the ground.
Lyall-san delivered the finishing blow.
“Wow, I punched, I punched… By the way, Katia, how did you cut this guy’s leg? –And your close proximity is hot!”
“Eh? I raised the temperature of fire magic to the point where it could melt the shell–”
“Ah, I understand, that’s enough. I wouldn’t understand it anyway. The theory of attacking this guy is to aim for the gaps in the outer shell.”
“If you’re going to say that, Lyall-san, weren’t you punching it from on top of the outer shell?”
“… Neil, your first strike was great! Because you crushed its eye, it made it a lot easier!”
He blatantly changed the subject.
I wish he wouldn’t put his own absurdity on the back burner.
“I’m glad if I was able to help.”
Certainly, Neil-san’s attack was wonderful.
Although his ability to continue fighting is low, I think he can be a trump card in terms of tactics.
“Alright, if we’re done, let’s go home! Fireworks, fireworks!”
Fina-san is in a good mood.
Fireworks in this world… I wonder what they’re like.