CH 6

“… Fikar, what are you doing?”

I asked Fikar, who was 30cm in front of me and lifting his unevenly-grown bangs with one hand.

Wait, that’s not what I should be focusing on.

“Um… Fikar… did you follow me?”

A nod. He then took out the leather card case hanging around his neck from beneath his clothes and pointed to the receptionist, then to the request paper in my hand.

“… You registered?”

A nod.

I turned towards the receptionist, Cecile-san, and she smiled and nodded. Fikar was still standing there, his forehead exposed. I also noticed that he was wearing freshly washed clothes, different from what he was wearing earlier, and he had a sword at his waist.

This was the kind of request that you could take as many times as you wanted, so it’d be fine if someone wanted to take it again for no reason. However, there was nothing to gain from doing that. The number of 0-star requests you’ve taken will increase by one in the guild’s records, but it won’t help you increase your rank like more difficult requests would.

Additionally, Basero ink is a magic meant to prevent children from accidentally injuring themselves, so there wasn’t any use for an adult to have it applied. If we were to strictly follow the request’s instructions, everyone would have to use it, but there weren’t actually any penalties for adult adventurers that decided not to.

Fikar continued to stare at me.

“…”

“…”

For now, I wrote the kanji for ‘meat’ — 肉. Unaware of what it meant, Fikar looked happy.

“Everyone~ This onii-chan will be coming with us, too. Please get along~”

“Fikar! Long time no see!”

“It’s Fikar! You’re back?!”

As I called out with a somewhat stiff voice, the three of them replied with smiles on their faces. They were talking to Fikar, who was only nodding in response. He was quiet and not particularly friendly, but he was still well-liked by the children.

“Sumire! It’s almost time to leave!”

“Okaay~”

Mesil-san’s body shook as she shouted. In response, I took out some candies from a leather pouch in my handbag and put one in each of the children’s mouths.

“bleh–”

“Sumire-chan, this isn’t tasty~”

“… bittersweet…”

“It’s a candy to ward off evil~”

Like usual, since he was patiently waiting his turn, I threw one into Fikar’s mouth and then one into my own. Then, I lit an incense talisman and placed it in the basket made of haganezuta that was tied to my waist.

There were several types of incense talisman to choose from and I chose a hard, square one made by kneading dried mayokegusa and wormwood that keeps magic beasts up to a meter in length at bay. Incidentally, it smells good to larger magic beasts, so it should never be used in areas with a lot of them. On the other hand, incense made from the mayokegusa tree’s bark, dried for 5 years, would make it harder for large beasts to find you, yet easier for the smaller ones.

“Alright, we’re all set! Let’s go!”

“Yay!!”

“Dad, I’m off~”

“See you later.”

That was the end of spectated events. There were some adventurers on guard to prevent us from going deep into the forest, but there would basically be no other people during the quest. I’ve heard that taking a request near the forest entrance will get you teased as if you were still an egg, so most adventurers, other than leaders and guards, wouldn’t be working here today.

Well, there’s one adventurer coming with us, but he doesn’t care what the others think.

“So, so, are you two going out?”

With Marth’s energetic singing serving as background music, Liliana cupped her hand over her mouth and asked me secretly. Even though we were close together, literally holding hands, Fikar was on the other side of Liliana. Thinking it would be awkward if he heard me, I replied.

“Hmmm, I don’t think we’re like that~”

“Then, Sumire-chan, is there someone else you like? Mama says there’s no woman who wouldn’t fall for such a handsome guy.”

What are you teaching a 6-year-old, Liliana’s mom?

“Well, I used to have a dog before I came here, and Fikar’s kind of like that dog… So when I started living here and missing my old place, it was reassuring to know he was there.”

And I can’t say that it was just my imagination.

He looked very similar to Pochirou (mutt, medium-sized), with his white-ish fur and the way he slinked around silently. Fikar was more like a pedigree dog and had a well-built body, so maybe a big dog was a better fit…

Fikar, who had noticed me looking up at him, looked between Liliana and I, saw my right hand hanging in mid-air, then nodded in satisfaction. No, no.

Leonardo, who was walking on the other side of Fikar, looked a little tense.

“Su, Sumire-chan, you had a dog? So big and ferocious?”

“Leonardo, wha~t’s a dog?”

“A monster 10 times bigger than a wolf with a violent temper. It eats about one cow a day.”

Wait a sec. That sounds a little different from the definition of a dog that I know.

“… My dog was smaller and more docile…”

“Oi, Sumire!! Is this a scale?”

Marth, who had been walking ahead of us, picked and held something up. It looked a bit like a cherry blossom petal, about the size of a thumbnail, and there were many more on the ground beside him. Their beautiful, glossy surfaces glistened in the sunlight through the trees.

“That’s it! Dragon scales have slightly different colors when in the shade and under sunlight. These are small and pink, so they’re from the himekoryuu1.”

“Marth, amazing~!”

“Isn’t it!”

“If you look at them in the shade, they’re closer to purple.”

Liliana praised Marth with open arms and he puffed out his chest, while Leonardo’s gaze flickered between his hands and the ground. I crouched down and picked up a few scales.

“But look closely. This one is missing the root and this one is cracked. Marth’s is also cracked.”

“Ah, that’s true!”

“It looks like one of them molted here. Himekoryuu roll when they molt, so the fallen scales are often broken.”

Realizing that their scales hadn’t met the quest requirements, the three crouched head-to-head and began to look for scales that weren’t broken. I stood up and look around. You know, it’s easier to find something beautiful when you stand up and start walking instead of rolling around where the himekoryuu molted.

Then, Fikar tapped my shoulder. I turned to look in the direction he was pointing.

“Hmm, no beautiful ones here~”

“Here! Ah, it’s broken again. This one! Just a piece!”

“I found a nice one, but… this is hard…”

“Kue~”

“Hey, Leonardo, lemme see yours.”

“Kuekue~”

“Shut up, don’t hit my shoulders… … Who the hell are you?!”

A himekoryuu had joined the circle of three and was looking at Marth’s hand. It had lizard-like eyes, horns that curved out from its forehead, a beak-like dinosaur mouth, small hands, and wings that weren’t big enough for it to fly, although it had well-developed legs instead. The little dragon, about as tall as the children with its tail swaying from side to side, stuck its nose in the pile of scales as if to imitate the children.

“Uwawawawawawawawawa~! Sumire!!”

“It’s fine~. Himekoryuu are docile.”

It tilted its head, seeing Marth fall on his butt in surprise. It was of the smallest species in the himeryuu genus, the smallest of dragon genera, and it was so docile that some people even kept one as a pet. Like other dragons, it was very curious, so it wasn’t uncommon for them to approach humans when they were working in the forest. It was a kind of fire dragon, but it only shot fire when threatened. And even then, it was only at the level of a lighter, so it mostly attacked with its well-developed hind legs.

I watched with a smile, since the appearance of a himekoryuu was within my expectations. Fikar stood next to me, expressionless.

Its pink, glossy scales shone as it moved. The children stared at it for a while, then Marth opened his mouth.

“… Can’t we get scales from this guy?”

With that, a hand to capture it shot out, but the himekoryuu stepped back. It went “kue” at Marth. Its vertical pupils narrowed and glittered as it stared at him.

“Hey! Wait! You!”

“Kue! Kue! Kue!”

Now that it had someone to play with, it ducked and jump everywhere, leaving Marth at its mercy. Liliana was rooting for Marth, but Leonardo calmly returned to collecting scales. He continued checking them one by one and put the bad ones in a separate pile.

“Dragons are quick. There’s no way you’ll be able to catch it.”

Yep. As Leonardo said, dragons are said to be the fastest of all creatures. Even himekoryuu, whose wings only help it jump high, can be as fast as an arrow shot from a bow when running seriously. The only way to catch one would be with bait or toys.

“Maa~, there’s still time, so take your time–”

G U O O O O O ! ! !

An ominous roar echoed.

Everyone stopped moving and looked at each other. The three of them attached themselves to me with anxious faces, quickly abandoning their happy atmosphere. 

“Kue~”

Correction.

The three of them plus one animal were clinging to me, all looking up at me with faces that asked “what’s going on?” And it wasn’t like it was just copying the children — its frightened look told me who the voice belonged to. 

Dragons are wise, quick, and brave animals. The only thing they instinctively fear… is a dragon stronger than themselves.