A single cow was led to a small hill a little distance from the village and tied to the trees.
Of course, "The Red Oath" was also present.
Perhaps it would have been enough to lure the wyvern by hiding all the livestock and standing on the hill, but if the wyvern were to learn the taste of human flesh, it would be disastrous. Therefore, the villagers insisted on providing the cow and did not yield.
Perhaps they were concerned for the safety of Mile and the other three girls. If there were cows to eat instead of humans, the wyern might just grab the cow and leave, sparing the girls. While it would be best if they succeeded in slaying the wyvern, the villagers, being kind-hearted, thought it would be better to lose a cow than to see the young girls in a terrible state, with one or two of them being carried away by the wyvern.
The villagers who had tied the cow to the trees returned, leaving the four girls to wait quietly for the wyvern.
Since the wyvern would be flying in from a distance, it seemed that making a little noise wouldn't be a problem, but there was a certain hesitation about talking while lying in wait for prey, perhaps a hunter's instinct.
In fact, at this moment, a brave young man who "loves cute girls" was secretly staying at the scene, watching from the shade of a tree, ready to immediately inform the village if the girls were seriously injured and the wyvern flew away.
He was a brave young man who, though not entirely satisfied with the rough and strong village girls, would not shy away from danger for the sake of innocent and cute girls. He wasn't particularly unattractive and was good with children, but for some reason, he wasn't well-liked by the village girls. Perhaps it was because he only took care of young girls.
Still, compared to those who didn't take care of children at all, he was much better. But the young man couldn't understand what was wrong.
Mile was using a detection spell to check the surroundings and, of course, had noticed the young man's presence.
However, she thought he might be a witness representing the villagers and possibly a messenger to quickly call for help if needed, so she ignored him.
Even if he saw something problematic, he would likely exaggerate the story so much that no one would believe him. Stories of wyverns seen by villagers were not easily believed unless the witness was highly credible or multiple people gave the same testimony. If it involved human life, a preliminary investigation would be conducted, knowing it might be a lie, but a story about "seeing an amazing battle" would likely be met with a wry smile and ignored.
In other words, he was harmless and not a problem.
"…It's coming!"
As expected, Mavis was the first to spot the wyvern.
This was not just a matter of height giving her a better vantage point; it was a natural ability.
The three others looked in the direction Mavis pointed, and indeed, they could see a black dot gradually growing larger.
"…Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
Reina asked, puzzled by the strange sound from Mile, who should have been the first to spot the wyvern with her superior eyesight.
"No, that wyvern seems to already have something in its grasp…"
Upon closer inspection, it did indeed seem to be holding something cow-like in its talons.
"That's strange… It should have hunted elsewhere today and come to this village next time…"
Reina muttered, but the wyvern was flying straight toward them.
When it got quite close to the hill, the wyvern descended and disappeared behind the trees.
"…What…"
Mile and the others were surprised by the wyvern's unexpected action but quickly regained their composure.
When the wyvern reappeared above the trees, it was holding not a cow but a log about 30 centimeters in diameter in its talons.
"…It's coming!"
"…Yeah!"
Reina's call was answered by the other three. It was a somewhat un-ladylike battle cry, but it was the hunter's way.
The wyvern seemed to have identified "The Red Oath" as an enemy from the start. Probably, from their attire and equipment, it recognized them as the same kind of beings that had attacked it several times before. It was in attack mode from the beginning.
The log it held in its talons was likely a fallen tree. The wyvern's chosen tactic to use it effectively was a shallow dive bombing.
This method, more accurate than horizontal bombing, put a lot of strain on the body, but if it could endure, it was highly effective. A steep dive bombing, at an angle of 30 degrees or more, was too much for the wyvern's body without air brakes, but even at a shallower angle, its massive body was accelerated by gravity and vibrated from the wind pressure. There was no need to increase speed to penetrate thick armor; in fact, flying slowly allowed it to maintain accurate aim on a fleeing target and prolong the time of terror.
There was no time to run into the trees.
Mile, judging from the wyvern's experienced manner, recognized this as the wyvern's usual fighting style and called out instructions to the others.
The three, though skeptical, decided to follow Mile's instructions. While Mile was often quirky, her magical abilities and extensive knowledge were respected by all. The three, who usually teased her for her quirks, did not think she was stupid. She was just naive, socially awkward, lacking common sense, and prone to making unbelievable mistakes. …In the world, such people are often called "stupid."
As the wyvern approached, the four stood their ground. When it seemed to be in the final stage of its throw, Mile shouted,
"Run!"
Following her earlier instructions, the four of "The Red Oath" sprinted in the opposite direction of the wyvern.
The wyvern, as if laughing, moved its beak.
Yes, prey always runs like this. And the thrown log would bounce and roll, crushing the fleeing prey from behind. If thrown slightly ahead of the target, it would either hit or roll forward after landing. The wyvern had been taught this and had confirmed its effectiveness many times.
From behind the fleeing prey, …now!
"Turn around!"
At that moment, Mile, who had been running with ease and checking behind her, saw the movement of the wyvern's talons with her excellent dynamic vision and shouted.
In the next instant, the four braced their feet, stopped abruptly, and sprinted in the opposite direction, toward the wyvern.
The log, already released from the wyvern's talons, flew over their heads and continued behind them.
"Attack!"
Following Mile's next command, Reina and Pauline, who had been chanting while running, released their attack spells.
"…Fire Burst!"
"…Water Burst!"
Boom!!
The wyvern, in shock, desperately twisted its body to dodge the incoming magical attacks. First one, then the other…
"…You're good."
Mile, watching the wyvern desperately dodging and trying to gain altitude, crossed her arms and had a smug look on her face.
"You're good, but that's not the point! What are we going to do now that it's escaping! …Well, we were saved just now…"
"It's fine. It hasn't taken any damage, and it's not the kind of creature that would run away from this."
As if in response to Mile's words, after gaining sufficient altitude, the wyvern did not fly away but began circling in the sky.
And as usual, Reina's shout echoed.
"Why can you read the minds of monsters but not humans?!"