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Vol 1: Chapter 27
There is nothing I can do even if I turn back. Even if I turned back, I would only be a hindrance.
Those are all just excuses so I don’t go back to the fight.
At my current state, there is a risk of exhausting my mana, but I can still pull off one or two shots with magic. I could even take a sniper position from the shadows. With that, I should at least be able to distract the dragon.
But my legs just won’t turn back.
Even if I am reincarnated, even if I have a 10-star skill, even if I can learn other people’s skills…
I started walking. Amidst people who were desperately running for their lives, I was the only one walking.
…Without courage, it’s all meaningless.
I recalled the incident that occured at the mine.
I recalled the person who jumped between me and the duke who was trying to kill me – my sister.
What would Lark do?
Would she say, “Aah, I’m outta here!”‘ and run away?
Or would she say, “To hell with running away! I’m gonna go give that dragon a piece of my mind!” and return to the fight with her cunning tactics?
「I want to see you… I want to see you so bad, Lark…」
My cheeks were so wet. I had been crying without realizing. How pitiful! How foolish! Even so, I can’t do anything about it because my feet were moving away from the battlefield.
The second intersection was a big intersection. Turn right and I will reach the Adventurer’s Guild.
The final turning point.
Once I turn here, I’m sure I will not look back again.
「You should just escape. There’s not a single thing you can do by pondering about it… little brother.」
I heard a voice.
I immediately stopped and looked around.
However, the only people there were those who were trying to escape; people running with luggage, people colliding with each other, and the soldiers running for intercession.
…That’s not possible. I must be hallucinating.
「…Yeah. I just heard the words I wanted to hear.」
I didn’t understand why the adventurer party, “Silver Balance”, would fight putting their lives on the line. Because he didn’t intend to live long in the first place? To repay the debt of being “picked up”? To keep her father alive as long as possible?
Or was it… simply because they were adventurers?
Words like “responsibility” and “duty” sound good, and you can bask in sweet victory afterwards.
But somehow, I felt that, right now more than ever, there might be no reason at all.
Perhaps their bodies move on its own – because there is an enemy, because there is a threat, because there is honor to be gained when you defeat it.
Even though it is a battle with clearly low chances of victory, even the “Eternal Star”, who just seemed like flashy, show-off guys, are seriously fighting with their lives on the line. Isn’t it because they don’t think about the complicated things?
「There’s no point simply walking like this. If I’m gonna do it, I gotta run.」
I rubbed my eyes on the sleeves of my clothes.
To wipe away the tears blocking my view.
To wipe away my pitiful self.
「There’s no point in thinking.」
I then turned back.
「I’m going now. I’m also a member of Silver Balance.」
I inhaled, bent down, and started sprinting. 【Sprinting Technique】 activated naturally, and my body was pushed forward.
As I weaved my way through the crowd, the density of people gradually decreased, and I came to a deserted street.
I ran at the fastest speed my body was capable of.
…To think that the situation has changed this drastically in just a short time.
The area of collapsed buildings had expanded, and fires broke out everywhere.
The flea market stalls were burning, and the fire had spread to a nearby flower shop.
「Severely injured people, withdraw from the front! Only minor injuries will be healed immediately!」
「A healing mage, huh? Thank goodness. My leg is injured…」
「My right hand is injured. I can’t hold my sword.」
「Dammit! How the hell are we supposed to fight that thing?!」
Non-san was healing an adventurer under a shade, like a field hospital. A few adventurers were waiting for their turn.
「Raikira! You’re getting too close!」
「I can’t hit it otherwise!」
「If you get hurt, our formation will collapse. Restrain yourself!」
「Tsk…!」
On the front line, Raikira-san was jumping from left to right, leading the dragon by the nose, and when there’s an opening, the adventurers rush in and attack the dragon.
There were a number of injuries on the dragon’s body. Blood was flowing out of them.
…I see. So it isn’t necessary to fight the dragon head-on, huh.
…Raikira-san is like an evasive tank, I guess.
「That guy is amazing.」
「Who is he?」
「A fellow party member of “Silver GreatShield”.」
「That beastman is not half bad.」
In this situation, it seems that your race doesn’t matter. Adventurers were honestly praising him.
However, Raikira-san wasn’t easily dodging the dragon’s attacks, either.
Even without the input from 【Word Ruler】, I could clearly see with 【Eyesight Enhancement】 that Raikira-san was running out of breath and sweating all over.
「Kuh!」
Raikira-san wasn’t able to land properly. The dragon did not miss that chance and swung down its tail from right above. He rolled out of the way, avoiding it at the last minute.
But the dragon’s mouth was already wide open to spit out flames.
「Oh shi–!」
Right before the flames were shot – a flower bloomed before the dragon’s nose tip.
I threw a branch that I borrowed from the flower shop and made it bloom with 【Flower Magic】.
The dragon froze for just the briefest moment.
That was more than enough time for the two, gold and silver-rank adventurers.
「ORAAAAA!」
「OHHHHHH!」
With his two-handed axe, Joseph-san cut off the dragon’s tail at the spot where it was already half cut, and Dante-san’s large sword sunk into the dragon’s body through the mouth of a wound.
《OOOOOOOOOOO!!!》
The sound pressure from the roar sent nearby adventurers flying, and even scattered the debris lying around. I promptly hid behind a building, but Raikira-san was already there.
「Damn brat, Reiji! Why did you come back?!」
「Ouch!」
His fist came down on my head. The next moment, Raikira-san’s thick arms hugged my head.
「You saved me. Thanks.」
「…Yes.」
Although his arms felt soggy due to his body hair and sweat, Raikira-san was alive. He might’ve been able to escape even if I didn’t intervene. But, even still, I was happy to receive his gratitude.