As I stared at the sky with my unmoving body, Daniela suddenly entered my vision .

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t move . ”

“d.a.m.n it…”

Daniela sighed and then disappeared . Then I suddenly felt very light . Daniela reappeared in my vision . Her face was now very close .

“Hey, Daniela . ”

“What, Asagi . ”

“I’m sure it’s not the case…but you wouldn’t happen to be carrying me, would you?”

“Indeed I am . Just like you carried me earlier . ”

“…”

A man being carried like a princess by a woman . Asagi Kamiyas.h.i.+ro did not mind falling . That was how much he wished to struggle and break free . However, it seemed his body was not one with his mind . In fact, his body seemed to like it . It wouldn’t listen to him at all .

I suddenly felt that people were gathering towards us . Are you kidding me? What now?

“Wh-what happened…? Hah…Boss…!?”

They must be bandits . And there were easily at least one hundred of them . Until now, they had avoided this place and searched for Daniela and me in areas that were safe .

“You killed…the Boss…!”

“I’ll crush you!!”

They began to shout at us . But Daniela held me so that I faced the other direction, so I could not see them . But when I looked at her, she had a devilish grin on her face .

“I did kill Eve . If you wish to get your revenge, come forth . I will send you to meet your master . ”

“Kk…!”

Daniela was so imposing now that the bandits found that they could not move . I could sense that some of the men towards the back were running away . In any case, I wished she would drop me . Being carried like this in front of such an audience was unbearable .

“By the way, here is the man who slew the dragon . You can come at him as a horde, and you will still be no match for him . ”

“Liar! Some coward who has to be carried like a princess wouldn’t stand a chance!”

It wasn’t a lie, and did they have to call me a princess?

“Well, it is no business of mine whether you believe it or not . But he has taken off the head of a wind dragon . You should face reality . Here is a man who can kill dragons!”

Even more of them fled as she unleashed these powerful words . It was wonderful that the bandits knew they had no chance and were fleeing . That meant the town would be cleaner . Still, I wish there had not been so many witnesses to my shame .

“Now, for those of you who still wish to fight, unsheath your swords!!”

“d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n it…!”

A wind started to blow along with Daniela’s voice . It picked up the dust from the area and it increased in power . The display was enough to make the bandits cower . Of course, she did this for that very reason .

And it was very effective too . They all knew for certain now that there was no hope of winning, and they ran, without a single man remaining .

Once they were out of range of Presence Detection, Daniela sighed with relief .

“We should be going then…but first…”

“Hmm…?”

Daniela started do something behind my back . I think she had opened my backpack .

“We must take this wind dragon with us . ”

“What? You can do that?’

“Hm? Why not?”

In my head I had just a.s.sumed that any monster summoned by magic would eventually return to its world whether dead or alive .  

The idea of a ‘summon beast’ had taken over my mind .

“It is magic that summons monsters . It is not a monster created by magic, so it should be fine…I think . ”

“Oh, so you’re not even sure . ”

“I have never witnessed such magic before . But theoretically, it should be alright . ”

I see . Well, if you say so . If it disappears later then, well, that would just be too bad .

Daniela was still carrying me when we arrived at the riverbank . The river that spread out before us was immense . It looked like it could be a whole kilometer to cross? It was like one of those great foreign rivers I once saw on tv . Well, this was a foreign country to me . A foreign world .

“Asagi . Are you still unable to move?”

“Hmm…I can move a little . But I still need more rest . ”

The only thing I could do was move my hands . I doubt that Legs of the Forest Wolf would do me much good in this condition . Unless I wanted to be fanned by some weak wind, which I didn’t .

“Then we should pitch our tent and rest for a while… I am tired from carrying you for so long, and I have not rested since the fight . ”

“Sorry . I’ve been the only one taking it easy . ”

“It is nothing . ”

Daniela leaned me against the fence of someone’s house . Phew . We could finally rest… I was a little anxious about the bandits wanting to get revenge, but there were some, like the bandits in the tower, who hated her at least . In any case, I would keep Presence Detection up and rest .

It was night time before we knew it . My recovery was a lot slower than I thought it would be . That maximum speed thing really took its toll on me . Not being able to move on the battlefield like this was a lethal flaw . I would have to avoid using it in the future… But it had felt so good to use . I felt as if I had become a comic book protagonist . Being able to attack after practically teleporting . Well, I suppose the fact that there was such a deadly price to using it just showed that I wasn’t cut out for the protagonist role… But it felt good to have that feeling, even if it was just temporary .

Daniela cared for me that night during dinner and then let me rest .  

I fell into a deep sleep, and thanks to that, I felt much better the next morning . Though, it ended up putting a bigger burden on Daniela, but we at least we came out of it fine the next day . The bandits also seemed to have actually fled, as they did not attack us . The rest was up to the military . It shouldn’t be too difficult to clean things up now that Eve was gone . Though, I had no intention of helping them further…

“Hmm…alright, we can go now . ”

I checked to see if all of my gear was in good condition . Then I folded the tent and put it in the bag and went to gently pick up the sleeping Daniela . As I was carrying the bag in the front, I was able to carry her on my back without disturbing her sleep . It did look a little stupid, but it was still better than being carried like a princess . Seriously . …seriously .

I could use the wind around my legs without problem as well . If anything, there was something about it that felt more comfortable now, as if it had become a part of me . It was so easy to control now . Not that it was that difficult before, but I always felt that it restrained me in some ways . Though, I probably shouldn’t complain considering how much it had helped me up until now…

“Well, it’s great . That’s all that matters . ”

I should be able to cross the river without too much trouble then . And so I began by jumping into the air and running . I decided to keep a distance from the surface of the water, just in case there were monsters who would leap out towards us . Ah, the wind felt so nice . I glanced to the side and saw Daniela sleeping comfortably . I couldn’t help but smile .

There were several boats floating on the water . Their pa.s.sengers looked up at us and their mouths dropped . They were dumb-founded, but I suppose they would be .

…Ah, that’s right . I wanted to ask them something, and so I descended .

“Um, excuse me . ”

“…Yes…”

“I just have a question . The town on the other side of this river, it’s also called Nicora?”

“Ah, yes…no, it’s not . ”

So which is it?

“It is the trading town of Usk . ”

“Usk… Thank you . ”

“No, don’t mention it…hahaha . ”

I thanked the old man with the forced laugh and left the boat . I see . So the town on the other side had a different name . I had a.s.sumed they were two parts of the same place . It was a good thing I decided to ask .

“Usk… How exciting . ”

And with that, I increased my speed . The weather really was nice today .

I felt quite cheerful as the town came into view . Yes, I could see the port . That must be the entrance to Usk . They might be annoyed that I came without a boat, but surely they would understand when I explained it to them . Well, I was hoping for the best, but how would it be?