“I don’t believe I was waiting for you . ”

“Oh, what a funny joke . ”

There was quite the discrepancy in warmth between us in the conversation . But we were also in the forest five days away from Fhiraldo . We weren’t in the guild where we usually talked .

“What business do you have here?”

“I came chasing after Asagi of course!”

“We should get going, Daniela . ”

I adjust the hollow bag on my back and start to walk away . Fiona immediately begins to follow me on her horse .

Really, what was she doing here?

“Actually, there was a notice regarding personnel changes at Spiris . ”

Fiona begins as if nothing had happened . I listen to her but continue to walk .

“I think it was about three days after you left… I thought that I might still make it in time, so I came riding the best half unicorn that the guild had . ”

“Half unicorn?”

I knew about unicorns . But half?

“Oh, it’s a domesticated horse that is born between an ordinary horse and a unicorn . They are much better than the average horse!”

Fiona wore a smug expression as she slapped the half unicorn . Now that I look carefully, it did look different compared to the usual horse you would see drawing carriages . It was slender and beautiful . I had seen such thoroughbreds back in j.a.pan . Its eyes were a deep violet . Perhaps it was a feature of its monster heritage . However, this horse did not have a single horn as unicorns did .

In any case, apparently, this horse had the energy and strength to cover our five-day journey in just two . I could see what she meant about them being excellent horses .

“But I didn’t think that you would be so close to Spiris already… I was expecting to enjoy a nice long journey with you…”

“Oh, it was a fun journey alright . We even killed some orcs last night . ”

“Orcs!? Why!? I thought Gardo and Ness killed them all!”

Ah, so they had gone out to fight orcs then . It seems that I had been right about that .

“A few happened to escape . And they wandered all the way into this forest . ”

Daniela explains to her . Fiona crosses her arms and thinks about this revelation .

It is now nearly midday . Just as I was starting to feel hungry and rubbing my stomach, Fiona cried out with a loud ‘Ah!’ I turn to look, and she is pointing at something . My gaze follows her finger to an opening in the trees ahead . There’s an open field . Daniela nods with a smile . It seems that we have finally reached the exit .

I try not to look too eager, but my legs definitely start to move faster as we near it . The light s.h.i.+ning down on us increases . Then we are out of the dim forest and bathed in a strong light that forces me to squint . But I quickly become accustomed to it and take in the scene before me . The plains ahead, the road to Spiris . There were many small hills here on this undulating terrain . Nothing obstructed your vision here . You could clearly see the gra.s.s in the far off distance moving in the wind . Was that the work of wind spirits?

I take in a slow, deep breath . It’s a different kind of refres.h.i.+ng air compared to the dampness of the forest . I did love the forest, but these gra.s.slands were also great…

“Well, can we move along now?”

Daniela taps me on the back . I might have forgotten myself for a second there . How embarra.s.sing .

I look down the road and I can see the town in the far off distance . Well, I had heard that it was a town, but it looked more like a city . There were ma.s.sive walls surrounding it . I couldn’t tell from this distance, but they looked very high .

“That is Spiris, City of the Plains . ”

Fiona says as she points to it . So it was a city .

“A city… The last time I visited here, it was but a town . ”

Daniela whispers .

“When was that?”

“It was shortly after leaving my homeland . So nearly sixty years ago . ”

“I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t a city after that much time . ”

Daniela scratches her cheek and glares at me sulkily . Hey, it’s the truth .

“Come on . You wanted to go, right?”

I tap her on the back for good measure and begin walking . After slowly walking down the hill, I look behind me to see if Daniela and Fiona were following . Well, we were a company of three now . I’m sure that Spiris will turn out to be a lively place .

We talked about inconsequential things as we continued to walk under the warm sunlight . Such a beautiful day would be perfect for just taking a nap on the fresh gra.s.s . Even Fiona had gotten off the half unicorn and was enjoying stretching her limbs .

I suddenly glance to my right and see a wild rabbit running in the gra.s.s . It stops chasing a b.u.t.terfly for a second and our eyes meet . After freezing for a second, it turns around and bounds off into a hole . It was so adorable that I couldn’t help but chuckle, which Fiona reacts to by jabbing her elbow into my sides . “What’s so funny?”

I offer her a random answer before once again looking towards the high gra.s.s where the rabbit disappeared . Then the leaves begin to shake and divide as its face pops out to look at me . I elbow Fiona and point to the rabbit .

“Aha! It’s so cute . ”

“Aye, it looks delicious . ”

Daniela was as unfortunate as ever . Though, I was starting to find that very appealing somehow . The masked woman who I met at a street stall . We ate together, fought together and became comrades . At first, I had just been amazed at the strangeness of fate . But I began to realize more and more that she was a rare beauty . Her hair was short but smooth . Evoking the most artistic paintings whenever it moved in the wind . Her almond eyes sometimes looked very intense but they were the most expressive eyes I had ever seen . They shone brightly whenever she saw something cute, something tasty, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face .

Even now, her eyes were glimmering as she looked at the rabbit .

“Ah . ”

Daniela let out a disappointed sound . The rabbit had once again hidden itself in the gra.s.s .

The gleam of metal enters my vision . Daniela was holding her short sword . It was really quite unfortunate for such a pretty woman… Of course, the rabbit would run .

We continue our walk . There would be plenty of delicious food once we reach Spiris . It made me happy just thinking about it .

I wondered how long it would take us to reach it . Just as I am about to look up in order to check the sun’s position, our surroundings are quickly covered in shadows . d.a.m.n, the clouds had come up . The sky had been so clear a moment ago .

Perhaps it was about to rain? I look up and immediately notice that something is strange .

There was not a cloud in the sky .

“What…how…”

“What is wrong, Asagi?”

“The sky . ”

Both of them look up . I too look up and squint my eyes .

There was something huge flying in the sky .

“Whatwhatwhat.w.a.twat is that!!!”

I say without a semblance of calmness and point at the sky . They look directly above their heads and become speechless . However, Fiona was the first to regain control and shouted .

“It’s a wyvern!! Run!!”

She got up onto her half unicorn .

“Let’s move, Daniela!”

I begin running as I call for her to follow .

But, she doesn’t move .

It is as if she were stunned .

“Daniela!? Daniela!!!”

She shudders as if finally hearing, then she looks at me . There were tears in the corners of her eyes .

“Ahh, Asagi…the dragons…”

Her hand shakes as she stretches out to me . And then it occurred to me that the memories she had told me about, the stampede must have…

Just when I realize this, the shadow around us seems to get bigger . I look up and can clearly make out the wyvern’s shape now . The sun is behind its back, but it is obvious that it is staring at us . It’s about to attack .

Daniela doesn’t move . She cannot move . For a second I hesitate . But no, I had no choice but to use it now .

I run over to her and pick her up .

“Asa…gi?”

I ignore her confused voice . Concentrating hard, I imagine the four-part split screen in my brain . Jack of all trades, Master of none . And at the same time, the gift that he had given .

“I’m counting on you, Beowulf…!”

I use ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf . ’ Just like the picture in my head, a silver and emerald wind envelopes my legs . I lean ahead, dig my heels into the ground and dash forward . In an instant, it is as if I have left my surroundings behind me . Like I’ve suddenly appeared on an expressway . It doesn’t take more than a second to catch up with Fiona and her half unicorn .

“Hurry Fiona! Full speed toward Spiris!”

“Asagi!? You’re so fast!?”

I’m sorry . I couldn’t adjust my speed very well . I didn’t know how . I quickly pa.s.s the half unicorn . The angry force that is chasing us does not seem to want to let us go . I look over my shoulder to see Fiona riding behind me, the wyvern glides down and toward us through the sky . The half unicorn also seems to have had something stir in it, as it blows air from its nostrils and picks up speed .

I hold Daniela even tighter so that she does not fall . She clutches me back . Holding her close like this, I increase my speed in the direction of Spiris . But it still looks so far away .

“I don’t believe I was waiting for you . ”. . .

“Oh, what a funny joke . ”.

 .

There was quite the discrepancy in warmth between us in the conversation . But we were also in the forest five days away from Fhiraldo . We weren’t in the guild where we usually talked

 .

“What business do you have here?”.

“I came chasing after Asagi of course!”.

“We should get going, Daniela . ”.

 .

I adjust the hollow bag on my back and start to walk away . Fiona immediately begins to follow me on her horse

Really, what was she doing here?.

“Actually, there was a notice regarding personnel changes at Spiris . ”.

 .

Fiona begins as if nothing had happened . I listen to her but continue to walk

 .

“I think it was about three days after you left… I thought that I might still make it in time, so I came riding the best half unicorn that the guild had . ”.

“Half unicorn?”.

 .

I knew about unicorns . But half?.

 .

“Oh, it’s a domesticated horse that is born between an ordinary horse and a unicorn . They are much better than the average horse!”.

 .

Fiona wore a smug expression as she slapped the half unicorn . Now that I look carefully, it did look different compared to the usual horse you would see drawing carriages . It was slender and beautiful . I had seen such thoroughbreds back in j.a.pan . Its eyes were a deep violet . Perhaps it was a feature of its monster heritage . However, this horse did not have a single horn as unicorns did

In any case, apparently, this horse had the energy and strength to cover our five-day journey in just two . I could see what she meant about them being excellent horses

 .

“But I didn’t think that you would be so close to Spiris already… I was expecting to enjoy a nice long journey with you…”.

“Oh, it was a fun journey alright . We even killed some orcs last night . ”. . .

“Orcs!? Why!? I thought Gardo and Ness killed them all!”.

 .

Ah, so they had gone out to fight orcs then . It seems that I had been right about that

 .

“A few happened to escape . And they wandered all the way into this forest . ”.

 .

Daniela explains to her . Fiona crosses her arms and thinks about this revelation

 .

It is now nearly midday . Just as I was starting to feel hungry and rubbing my stomach, Fiona cried out with a loud ‘Ah!’ I turn to look, and she is pointing at something . My gaze follows her finger to an opening in the trees ahead . There’s an open field . Daniela nods with a smile . It seems that we have finally reached the exit

 .

I try not to look too eager, but my legs definitely start to move faster as we near it . The light s.h.i.+ning down on us increases . Then we are out of the dim forest and bathed in a strong light that forces me to squint . But I quickly become accustomed to it and take in the scene before me . The plains ahead, the road to Spiris . There were many small hills here on this undulating terrain . Nothing obstructed your vision here . You could clearly see the gra.s.s in the far off distance moving in the wind . Was that the work of wind spirits?.

I take in a slow, deep breath . It’s a different kind of refres.h.i.+ng air compared to the dampness of the forest . I did love the forest, but these gra.s.slands were also great….

 .

“Well, can we move along now?”.

 .

Daniela taps me on the back . I might have forgotten myself for a second there . How embarra.s.sing

I look down the road and I can see the town in the far off distance . Well, I had heard that it was a town, but it looked more like a city . There were ma.s.sive walls surrounding it . I couldn’t tell from this distance, but they looked very high

 .

“That is Spiris, City of the Plains . ”.

 .

Fiona says as she points to it . So it was a city

 .

“A city… The last time I visited here, it was but a town . ”.

 .

Daniela whispers

 . . .

“When was that?”.

“It was shortly after leaving my homeland . So nearly sixty years ago . ”.

“I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t a city after that much time . ”.

 .

Daniela scratches her cheek and glares at me sulkily . Hey, it’s the truth

 .

“Come on . You wanted to go, right?”.

 .

I tap her on the back for good measure and begin walking . After slowly walking down the hill, I look behind me to see if Daniela and Fiona were following . Well, we were a company of three now . I’m sure that Spiris will turn out to be a lively place

□ □ □ □.

 .

We talked about inconsequential things as we continued to walk under the warm sunlight . Such a beautiful day would be perfect for just taking a nap on the fresh gra.s.s . Even Fiona had gotten off the half unicorn and was enjoying stretching her limbs

I suddenly glance to my right and see a wild rabbit running in the gra.s.s . It stops chasing a b.u.t.terfly for a second and our eyes meet . After freezing for a second, it turns around and bounds off into a hole . It was so adorable that I couldn’t help but chuckle, which Fiona reacts to by jabbing her elbow into my sides . “What’s so funny?”.

I offer her a random answer before once again looking towards the high gra.s.s where the rabbit disappeared . Then the leaves begin to shake and divide as its face pops out to look at me . I elbow Fiona and point to the rabbit

 .

“Aha! It’s so cute . ”.

“Aye, it looks delicious . ”.

 .

Daniela was as unfortunate as ever . Though, I was starting to find that very appealing somehow . The masked woman who I met at a street stall . We ate together, fought together and became comrades . At first, I had just been amazed at the strangeness of fate . But I began to realize more and more that she was a rare beauty . Her hair was short but smooth . Evoking the most artistic paintings whenever it moved in the wind . Her almond eyes sometimes looked very intense but they were the most expressive eyes I had ever seen . They shone brightly whenever she saw something cute, something tasty, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face

Even now, her eyes were glimmering as she looked at the rabbit

 .

“Ah . ”.

 .

Daniela let out a disappointed sound . The rabbit had once again hidden itself in the gra.s.s

The gleam of metal enters my vision . Daniela was holding her short sword . It was really quite unfortunate for such a pretty woman… Of course, the rabbit would run

 .

We continue our walk . There would be plenty of delicious food once we reach Spiris . It made me happy just thinking about it

I wondered how long it would take us to reach it . Just as I am about to look up in order to check the sun’s position, our surroundings are quickly covered in shadows . d.a.m.n, the clouds had come up . The sky had been so clear a moment ago

Perhaps it was about to rain? I look up and immediately notice that something is strange

There was not a cloud in the sky

 .

“What…how…”.

“What is wrong, Asagi?”.

“The sky . ”.

 .

Both of them look up . I too look up and squint my eyes

 .

There was something huge flying in the sky

 .

“Whatwhatwhat.w.a.twat is that!!!”.

 .

I say without a semblance of calmness and point at the sky . They look directly above their heads and become speechless . However, Fiona was the first to regain control and shouted

 .

“It’s a wyvern!! Run!!”.

 .

She got up onto her half unicorn

 .

“Let’s move, Daniela!”.

 .

I begin running as I call for her to follow

But, she doesn’t move

It is as if she were stunned

 .

“Daniela!? Daniela!!!”.

 .

She shudders as if finally hearing, then she looks at me . There were tears in the corners of her eyes

 .

“Ahh, Asagi…the dragons…”.

 .

Her hand shakes as she stretches out to me . And then it occurred to me that the memories she had told me about, the stampede must have….

Just when I realize this, the shadow around us seems to get bigger . I look up and can clearly make out the wyvern’s shape now . The sun is behind its back, but it is obvious that it is staring at us . It’s about to attack

Daniela doesn’t move . She cannot move . For a second I hesitate . But no, I had no choice but to use it now

 .

I run over to her and pick her up

 .

“Asa…gi?”.

 .

I ignore her confused voice . Concentrating hard, I imagine the four-part split screen in my brain . Jack of all trades, Master of none . And at the same time, the gift that he had given

 .

“I’m counting on you, Beowulf…!”.

 .

I use ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf . ’ Just like the picture in my head, a silver and emerald wind envelopes my legs . I lean ahead, dig my heels into the ground and dash forward . In an instant, it is as if I have left my surroundings behind me . Like I’ve suddenly appeared on an expressway . It doesn’t take more than a second to catch up with Fiona and her half unicorn

 .

“Hurry Fiona! Full speed toward Spiris!”.

“Asagi!? You’re so fast!?”.

 .

I’m sorry . I couldn’t adjust my speed very well . I didn’t know how . I quickly pa.s.s the half unicorn . The angry force that is chasing us does not seem to want to let us go . I look over my shoulder to see Fiona riding behind me, the wyvern glides down and toward us through the sky . The half unicorn also seems to have had something stir in it, as it blows air from its nostrils and picks up speed

I hold Daniela even tighter so that she does not fall . She clutches me back . Holding her close like this, I increase my speed in the direction of Spiris . But it still looks so far away