by Fujino Omori
The man’s eyes shine with anger, and he looks to be an adventurer, too.
He seems to be—perhaps twenty years old? He has a relatively large sword strapped to his back and looks much more experienced than me.
“Yer not getting away…!”
The man is like a demon breathing hellfire as he looks down on his prey.
He’s not even looking at me directly, and I still lean back a bit out of fright. This guy is scary…
—What was he going to do to this prum girl?
My body moves on its own after that thought runs through my head.
I step into his path, hiding the girl behind me.
“…What the?! Kid, yer in the way! Beat it!”
The man had been so focused on the girl that he just now realized I was here.
My cheeks twitch. I’ve stared down hundreds of monsters, but I’m not used to this feeling.
Facing down the man’s powerful aura, I square my stance and lock my legs in place.
“Umm…What are you going to do with this girl?”
“Shut it, brat! If ya don’t scram right now, I’ll carve ya up along with the piece of shit behind ya!”
—Nope, can’t move.
My eyes moisten up a bit, but I’ve made up my mind.
I don’t know the details, but this man is about to do something very cruel to the girl behind me.
I pull my backpack off my shoulders and lightly toss it to the side of the nearest building. Of course the man is surprised, but I can see a look of shock on the girl’s face just behind me, too.
The glazed look in the man’s eyes vanishes as a new wave of red rage overtakes him.
“Kid…! Do ya want to die?!”
“W-wait…just a minute. If you can just calm down…!”
“Shaddup!! The hell is wrong with ya?! Is short stack there yer friend or something?!”
“N-never seen her before in my life.”
“Then why the hell are ya protecting that piece of shit?!”
“…B-because she’s a girl.”
“The hell are ya saying…!”
Really, what am I saying…? But I don’t think I have a choice. That really is the reason. That’s what real men do, right? It’s normal to help a girl in trouble. Do I need any more reason than that?!
“Fine…I’ll slit yer throat first, kid…!”
The man reaches behind his back and draws his sword.
I can feel his intent to kill all over my body. I pull out the Divine Knife in response.
Ahh…I hear something gulp air behind me. Stealing a quick glance, I see the girl has her eyes fixed on me.
No, not me…the Divine Knife?
The man is taken aback at first, but soon assumes a ready stance and glares at me with pure hatred.
—This is bad.
This is my first time facing off against another human…My legs won’t stop shaking. Can I…fight this fight?
I’m already nervous, but his killing energy is starting to make me panic. Sweat pours down my face. I swallow spit in my mouth over and over again. A ferocious smile grows on the man’s lips as he sees my pitiful excuse for courage in the face of danger. He probably realizes that his opponent isn’t ready for this.
He takes a few steps forward. I would like nothing more than to take a few steps back, but I force the urge down with pure willpower.
I can’t see this ending well for me. But I can’t back down.
It takes all of my power just to raise my eyes to meet his.
The next heartbeat, the man jumps straight for me.
“Stop right there.”
The man never brings down his blade.
A forceful voice fills the area.
The man and I both look toward the source of the voice. An elvish girl holding a large paper bag stands just a few feet away.
Like Eina, her eyes and nose are high on her face. The main difference between her and the half-elf is that this girl’s ears come to a full point.
Sky-blue, almond-shaped eyes bore straight through the male adventurer.
Wait, isn’t she…Lyu? One of the waitresses who works at The Benevolent Mistress?
“Where do these rats keep coming from…?! What’s yer deal?!”
“The one you intend to kill…He is destined to become the companion of a person irreplaceable to me. I will not allow you to injure him.”
What did she just say…?
“What the hell is wrong with people today?! Ya really wanna die so bad?!”
“Silence!”
—The air itself seems to freeze.
The man who was yelling at the top of his lungs swallows his words. Lyu stands before us, her eyes sharp slits on her face. The sheer pressure of her presence is intense. A look of panic works its way onto the man’s face.
I don’t have any room to criticize him; I’m shaking in my boots, too.
“…—…?!”
“I don’t want to cross blades with you. I have a bad habit of going too far.” Lyu sounds detached, almost bored. She is bathed in red light from the setting sun shining in behind her from West Main.
I’ll bet—yes, that’s the truth.
It has to be true; I can tell how strong she is just by her posture.
The adventurer starts to flap his lips, like he’s trying to deliver on his last warning. I hear a sharp shing, and suddenly there’s a stiletto in Lyu’s free hand.
C-couldn’t see it at all…
“D-DAMN IT!”
The man turns slightly blue in the face before making a hasty retreat.
“……”
“Are you all right?”
The girl in front of me managed to fend off an adventurer without having to even throw a punch…I’m more than a little scared of her now.
I wipe off the sweat that built up under my chin.
Whether I’m sweating this much from staring down the man or from Lyu’s display of power, I’m not sure.
Is Lyu, maybe, an adventurer herself…?
“Th-thank you very much. I was in a bit of a pinch there…”
“No, I’m sorry for getting in your way. I’m sure you could have dealt with this situation on your own just fine.”
“I’m not so sure about that…”
I’d been petrified. I couldn’t see myself getting out of that alive.
I scratch my chin and avoid looking at her. “Um, Lyu, why are you here?”
“I was shopping for supplies to prepare for this evening. Unlike in the afternoon, adventurers visit our establishment in the evening. So if we are not fully stocked, many problems tend to occur. I happened to see you in the middle of my errand, and you know the rest.”
That makes sense. The Benevolent Mistress is a popular bar, so they would run out of ingredients and wine rather quickly.
Then again, “I know the rest”…We don’t know each other very well. Maybe Lyu has a strong sense of justice?
“What about you? Why are you here?”
“Well, you see, this girl here…Huh?”
I spin around, looking for the prum girl, but she’s gone. She’s vanished into thin air.
“Was someone there?”
“Y-yeah. At least, I thought so…”
She must have gotten scared and run away.
It can’t be helped; even I was scared out of my wits.
But that does seem kind of strange…
“If you will excuse me, I will take my leave now.”
“All right,” I say. “And really, thank you so much.”
We exchange a quick bow and go our separate ways.
“Alrighty…”
Bell, fully equipped in the new armor he bought the previous day, took a look at himself in the mirror.
It went very well with his black inner clothing and pants. The new armor was so light that he could barely feel it. He would be able to move freely in combat.
His new emerald-green protector lightly sparkled on his left arm.
Bell
ran his fingers down the outer edge of the gift from Eina with a smile on his face.
“Goddess, I’m heading out!”
“Gotcha…Have a good day…”
He grimaced a little at the sight of his exhausted goddess, sinking ever lower into the middle of the bed. Bell reached for the door. He had already given up on getting an explanation as to why the goddess was working at Hephaistos Familia.
Bell took one last look into the mirror. Now that he no longer had to wear Guild provision equipment, he looked more like a full-fledged adventurer. Bell smiled at his reflection and gave a nod of approval.
He left the hidden room under the only church, dagger and Divine Knife tucked into the armor behind his lower back.
Nice weather today…
The sky that opened up before him was blue and clear.
A smile perked up his lips as he gazed at the sky. He felt like something good was going to happen today.
He followed the side roads to West Main, and then down to Central Park.
Bell joined the waves of adventurers gathering at Babel Tower.
Seize the day…Bell mouthed to himself, a certain blond-haired, golden-eyed girl on his mind.
“Mister, mister. Mister with the white hair.”
Bell stopped in his tracks, trying to figure out if the voice was addressing him.
“Huh?”
He turned in the direction the voice came from, but all he could see were other adventurers coming and going, all of them avoiding making eye contact. None of them could have been the owner of the voice.
“Mister, down…down here.”
The voice of a little girl tickled his ear. Dropping his chin, he saw she was there.
The girl stood about 100 celch tall, dressed in a plain cream-colored robe. A hood covered most of her face with a little bit of chestnut-colored hair sticking out. A backpack at least twice, no, three times her size, big enough to surprise Bell, was strapped to her tiny shoulders.
Bell’s eyes went wide as he felt a strong sense of déjà vu. Memories of the event on the side street the day before came flooding back into his mind.
“A-aren’t you…?”
“Pleased to meetcha, mister! If you don’t mind me asking, are you looking for a supporter?”
Interrupting Bell’s words, the girl pointed an almost infant-sized finger toward the boy’s back.
She was pointing to his backpack.
Anyone could guess that an adventurer walking alone and equipped with a backpack was going solo—perhaps thinking If only I had a supporter…
So the girl had come to confirm and asked him directly.
“W…what…?”
“Are you confused? This is a pretty simple situation, you know. A poor supporter has come to you, an adventurer, to sell her services in the Dungeon.”
Opposite Bell’s wide-eyed, confused look, the girl squinted her eyes and smiled from ear to ear.
“No, I mean, but…aren’t you…from yesterday…?”
“……? Mister, have you met Lilly before? Lilly doesn’t remember.”
Many adventurers gave them annoyed looks as they passed by, wondering what these two were doing in the middle of the road.
“Are you sure?”
“So, mister, do you want a supporter?”
“Well…if I could find one…Yeah, I’d like one.”
“Really? Then please take Lilly with you, mister!”
The girl looked so happy and innocent, her round eyes shining through her bangs from under her hood. Those big eyes found their way to the knife tucked nicely into Bell’s waist.
“I suppose that’d be okay…”
“Ah! Names? Sorry, Lilly didn’t introduce herself.”
The girl took a few steps back and cheerfully smiled at Bell.
“Lilly’s name is Lilliluka Erde. What’s your name, mister?”
The eyes looking up at Bell twinkled suspiciously under her hood.
Chapter 2
THE SUPPORTER’S SITUATION
“So, you aren’t a free supporter…?”
“Nope, Lilly’s in a Familia.”
We’re on the second floor of Babel Tower, in the cafeteria. It’s midmorning; most adventurers are prowling the Dungeon. The cafeteria is mostly empty. The small girl and I sit facing each other across a table in the middle of the wide-open lunchroom. I have a few questions I want to ask this Lilliluka Erde.
“What’s the name of your Familia?”
“It’s Soma Familia, mister. Lilly thinks her Familia is pretty well known.”
It seems like this girl who’s approached me about going into the Dungeon together had been released from a contract with members of a different party. She has spent every day since then making trips between the Guild and Babel, trying to find someone to hire her to make money. She’s in dire straits. Today, she happened to see me.
She saw someone without a party or a supporter, a solo adventurer.
She jumped at the opportunity without a second of hesitation.
Sure, I said I’d like a supporter, but to have someone just show up right when I wanted one…I’m not that naïve.
I take another look at her. Her body is very thin, and the slender lips that I can see beneath her hood always have the same happy smile plastered on them. While I can’t see her eyes, she’s got a cute little nose in the middle of her small face. She seems like an adorable kid.
I don’t want to doubt what this innocent-looking girl is saying, but I don’t think it’s right to just agree to something straightaway without asking a few questions first. It’s just common sense.
Something just doesn’t feel right, so I keep asking the girl more questions.
“But, why me? I’m not in your Familia. It’s not good for two members of different Familias to have a connection like this. Why don’t you join adventurers in your own group?”
“Eh-heh, Lilly is so tiny, and not strong at all. ‘Lilly is slow and will hold us back,’ all the honorable members of Lilly’s Familia always say. Lilly is treated like a burden. Even if Lilly asked them, they won’t say yes.”
She’s being left out? Now I want to help her.
“Lilly’s so useless in a fight it’s embarrassing. The air at home is so bad; Lilly has been going from cheap hotel to cheap hotel every night to sleep.”
Wait…She can’t sleep at home? Not even relax…? What’s with that?!
Her words shock me to the core. I can’t believe anyone would treat a member of their own Familia like that.
For me, a Familia is a family.
Sure, there are only two members of Hestia Familia, but there is a strong bond. Not just a friendly connection but a real, warm family tie between us. Even if another person were to join our Familia, I don’t think that would ever change.
A Familia is there to help you through thick and thin, that’s how it should be.
But this girl’s family is…shutting her out?
I feel a little dizzy. I know I shouldn’t just take her at her word, but my whole world just turned upside down. I’m shaken.
“Lilly doesn’t have enough money to stay at the same hotel tonight. So please, please, please, mister! Take Lilly with you into the Dungeon today!”
“Well…um…”
“Ah! If you’re worried about the Familia thing, there shouldn’t be a problem. Lilly’s god, God Soma, doesn’t talk to any other gods or goddesses, ever. So, unless your god already has something against God Soma, I don’t think any fighting will break out between our Familias.”
She must have misunderstood why I was mumbling. Lilliluka didn’t let any silence into the conversation and added that piece of information.
…I do have a few thoughts on this, but for now, let’s change the topic.
Now’s as good a time as any to put some of my misgivings about her to rest.
“I understand your situation, Lilliluka…but can I check one thing?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“We se
riously haven’t met before?”
Is she really not the prum girl I met in the side street yesterday?
That’s what has been bugging me. I don’t know the face of the prum girl or her voice, but physically Lilliluka looks almost exactly like her. It happened yesterday; my memory isn’t that bad.
“Today was the first time Lilly met you…Are you confusing Lilly for someone else?”
“…If it’s okay, could you take off your hood?”
If I could see under that long hood, then I could make up my mind. I feel like they could be the same person because I have only seen half of Lilliluka’s face.
Lilliluka looks at me for a moment after my request. Looking all around the room very quickly, I hear a soft “Okay…” come from beneath her hood. Her tiny hands reach up and pull it back.
“…Huh?”
“T-this enough?”
On the top of her head, cutely fluttering from side to side, are two animal ears.
My jaw drops. If this is true…
“…So, you’re animal people?”
“Y-yes. Lilly is a Chienthrope—a dog person.”
A few second pass until…pop. I stand up and lean over the table.
Lilliluka fidgets in her chair; maybe she can feel my gaze. A tail is swishing back and forth under her robe. I can see the chestnut fur on it poke out from under the hem.
She’s no prum…But a little animal girl?
…No way.
My mind is still in shock, but my hands move on their own. They reach up and grab hold of both of the girl’s animal ears, barely noticing how her small shoulders cringe.
“Hnnn…”
The ears between my fingers are soft and warm. They’re tender.
I rub my fingers up and down the ears, Lilliluka getting redder and redder.
…They’re real.
The soft fur, the muscles beneath the skin, the pink and moist inner ear—everything is real. There is no mistake.
It’s not her…
I have no doubt. They may look similar, but they’re not even the same race. There’s nothing left to ask.
I let go of all of the trivial questions and just go with it.
“Ummm…mister…?”
“—?! S-sorry!!”
