Chapter 5

My head hurts.

The alarm clock with a broken bell, placed in the changing room, pointed to one in the afternoon.

Izumi slowly took off her clothes and opened the bathroom door.

As she inhaled the white steam, the pain seemed to recede for a moment like a wave pulling back, but it quickly returned.

Izumi was in the midst of a hangover.

The peak of the pain, described as if her head was splitting, had passed, but a lingering dull ache continued. It felt as if the New Year's bell was being rung inside her head.

She turned the faucet to let out a hot shower.

The small droplets of water, which usually felt gentle, now brought a pain as if she was being pelted with pebbles.

Frowning, Izumi reached for the facial cleanser but quickly pulled her hand back when she noticed a shiny object.

—Dangerous.

As the fog cleared, her fuzzy head became clearer. As her head became clearer, the pain also became sharper, but part of the cause might be this shiny object.

Izumi looked at the object, a sword with a sharp blade stuck in a bucket, and sighed deeply. The blade was piercing the forehead of a cute frog illustration—Keroron—drawn on the bucket.

Last night, a woman on the verge of suicide and a stern man with a seemingly hard head appeared outside the bathroom.

Without fully understanding the situation, she helped the two, and due to some mysterious connection, they ended up drinking in the bathroom.

When the centaur, with a head as hard as reinforced concrete, started sobbing after just one cup of alcohol, the woman, Yunosana, who had already finished three cups, began lecturing the centaur.

She said, "Loyalty is fine, but everything has its limits," "Do you know why I've been alone until this age?" "I've been waiting for someone all this time." "Yes, the person right in front of me now." "But you, you keep talking about your sword and your brother."

Before long, the lecture turned into a confession, and Izumi watched the proceedings with a drink in hand.

Despite being told all this, the centaur's dullness in not understanding Yunosana's feelings began to irritate Izumi. Just as she was about to kick the centaur, a cheer rose from outside the window.

"Setken-sama has returned!"

The moment he heard this, the centaur, who was about to fall asleep, sprang up like a spring, shouted "Setken-sama~!" and ran off by jumping over the window.

Yunosana tidied up the cups, empty bottles, and the towels and cushions laid on the bathroom floor, then pointed at Izumi. Incidentally, she remained silent the entire time. Izumi was chilled by her quiet anger.

"Divine Master, I will never forget this kindness in my life."

She bowed deeply, her forehead touching the floor, and with a flip of her long robe, she leaped out of the window frame and ran off like the centaur.

She must have wanted to quickly confirm her brother Setken's safety. But as Izumi watched her back, she reconsidered and thought it might be to kick the dull centaur.

While listening to the distant cheers, she closed the window and noticed their forgotten item—

It was the sword stuck in the bucket, now in front of her.

"What should I do?"

If she left the room, the sword would disappear.

But the hole in the bucket wouldn't.

Moreover, she wondered if it was right to simply eliminate a sword with such sharpness just because it was in the way.

Izumi looked out the window.

Could it connect to the centaur's place again? Or to someone who needs the sword?

As she folded her arms in thought, the outside of the window turned red as if illuminated by the setting sun.

Before Izumi's eyes, the red light flickered. It was a familiar sight.

The red of the flames dancing.

"Fire!?"

Forgetting her headache, she opened the window.

There was a person in Western armor, dirty with soot and mud.

"...Ah, that's it."

Izumi felt tired and leaned on the window frame.

The space where the Western armor stood was covered with rough rock walls, a dim place. It seemed to be inside a cave.

On a whim, she stuck her head out the window and saw that the window frame was floating in the air as if suspended from the ceiling. The light leaking from the bathroom illuminated the cave, and the puddles of mud and water at the feet of the armor sparkled.

—How does it look from the side or behind...

"I don't understand what you're agreeing to, but do you have anything that can be used as a weapon, angel?"

"Huh? A weapon?"

"My spear is being used as a fence, so it's useless."

Izumi looked in the direction indicated by the armored fingers covered in silver gauntlets.

Not far from where the armor stood, the cave cut off, and bright light shone through. A spear was stuck in the entrance, blocking it. Not just a spear, but arrows and a bow were also used to build a barricade. Beyond the barricade, in the sunlight, a creature was dragging its heavy belly.

"What is that...?"

"A type of dragon called Trangon."

She stared intently at the gray object crawling on the ground. It looked like a Komodo dragon.

"A dragon? More like a large lizard."

"Do lizards breathe fire?"

Izumi was surprised. Was the flame she saw through the glass spewed by that lizard?

"Amazing, does it breathe fire? ...If it did, there would be forest fires all the time."

The cave was only filled with rocks and muddy water, but behind the Trangon, trees were growing.

"Trangons are rare. Moreover, only the males breathe fire, and only once in their lifetime, when their life is threatened, so it doesn't often cause fires."

I see.

The Trangon, which had been slowly moving around the cave entrance, gradually turned its back. Izumi tilted her head, wondering what it was going to do, but the answer was soon clear.

The Trangon hit the barricade with its long tail.

A creaking sound was heard.

"It won't last much longer."

The armor's words were probably correct.

With just one hit, cracks appeared in the bow, and several arrows were broken.

"Anything will do. Can you lend me something that can counter it?"

At the tense voice of the armor, Izumi hurriedly looked around the bathroom.

What caught her eye was the centaur's sword. The bucket was stuck at the junction of the hilt and the blade, but if you think of it as a slightly larger, fancy tsuba, it might still be usable.

"If the Keroron Sword is okay..."

The armor, looking at the sword hesitantly offered by Izumi, paused for a moment before saying, "This is quite an original design."

Confusion could be felt even through the armor that covered the entire body.

—Well, maybe the Keroron Sword isn't suitable after all.

Just as Izumi was about to pull back the sword, a louder sound was heard.

"Damn it, the spear is broken."

The Trangon was trying to enter the cave, breaking the remains of the barricade with its sharp claws.

"I'll borrow it!"

As soon as he said that, the armor grabbed the sword and ran, splashing mud. In the next moment, the armor quickly raised the sword while running, and a high-pitched sound echoed in the cave. The armor had deflected the Trangon's sharp claws with the Keroron Sword. As the armor swung the sword, it smoothly sank into the Trangon's back.

Squish

It made a light sound, like a fork piercing a pie.

"Amazing."

Izumi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Even to a layman, the armor's sword skills were clearly extraordinary.

The armor didn't pause for a moment. The tip of the sword was thrust at the throat of the Trangon, which had reared back from the blow to its back. The dragon, which resembled a large lizard, spat blood once and stopped moving.

As the armor pulled out the sword and swung it, a whistling sound was heard.

With just one swing, the blood on the blade flew off, and the Keroron Sword regained its original shine.

The armor returned with the sword.

"What a terrifying edge. Thanks to you, I've saved my life."

The armor plopped down on the mud.

"Angel, I'm sorry, but can I borrow this sword for a little longer?"

"If you want, you can have it."

Izumi didn't want to touch the sword, which was now stained with the blood of the large lizard, even though it had fallen.

The armor raised the visor. Blue eyes were wide open with joy.

"To be given a sword by an angel, what a stroke of luck."

Moved by the armor's gratitude, Izumi frowned and asked,

"By the way, if you still need the sword, does that mean there are more Trangons?"

"Yes, there's one more. They take turns to patrol and act within their territory. The female will come when she smells the blood of the male."

Izumi looked at the soot-covered armor.

"But only the males breathe fire, right?"

If she was hit by fire again outside the window, it would be a problem.

The armor nodded.

"Yes, but the real trouble is the female."

"Why?"

"The female's cry lulls people to sleep. That's why I brought a band to block out the sound, following the literature."

Izumi looked around.

"There's no one here?"

The armor sighed deeply. Fatigue was evident on his face.

"On the way here, there was a suspension bridge."

Izumi put her hand on her forehead. She didn't need to hear more to guess why the band was gone.

"They couldn't bear the weight of the instruments and fell."

As expected. Silence filled the dark cave.

"...So, what are you going to do? It might be better to run before the female arrives?"

The armor shook his head at Izumi's suggestion.

"The king's order is to bring back the heart of the female Trangon."

"But even if it's the king's order, it's impossible if the band is gone."

Life comes first. It would be reckless to go back.

The armor shook his head again.

"I am a knight who has sworn loyalty to the royal family. I cannot run away, even if it costs my life."

"Such..."

Izumi, who had never had anyone to swear loyalty to, found it hard to understand, but for the armor, the king's order seemed to be more important than life itself.

The armor smiled weakly.

"Angel, if you pity me, pray that I can take down the female before she starts to cry."

It seemed impossible to change the armor's mind. If left alone, he would face the Trangon, prepared to die.

"Wait a moment."

Izumi stood up.

It would be a shame to throw away the life that was saved thanks to the centaur's sword so easily.

Izumi quickly left the bathroom, still dripping wet, and reached into the bag left in the living room.

"Ah, here it is."

She found what she was looking for immediately. It was a portable music player she often used during commuting and breaks. She also took the high-sealing earphones that fit inside the ear and returned to the bathroom, not forgetting to wrap a towel around herself on the way.

The armor was looking at the Keroron Sword, waiting. His eyes seemed to soften slightly as he gazed at the sword. Despite his initial confusion when shown the sword, he seemed to really like its sharpness.

"Sorry for the wait."

Izumi handed the items in her hand to the armor. The armor got up and peered into Izumi's palm, still holding the sword.

"What is this?"

"It's a portable music player. Put these in your ears."

As she explained, the armor obediently took off his helmet, looking puzzled.

Golden hair spilled out. His white skin and stubble made him look different from the people of York Zai and Treet.

The armor put the earphones in his ears as instructed.

"Are these earplugs? But I can still hear sounds."

"They're not. I'll set the volume to maximum, so it will be loud, but bear with it."

Izumi pressed the play button, and the armor literally jumped.

"What is this!?"

Surprised, the armor knocked the earphones off. Izumi shrugged.

"I told you it would be loud, didn't I?"

"But what is this!?"

The armor, looking at the player in fear, made Izumi wonder how to explain.

Izumi herself didn't know the detailed principles.

"It's a tool from the heavens. It's filled with the songs of gods and angels."

Reluctantly, Izumi decided to take advantage of the armor's mistaken belief that she was an angel.

"Listening to it for a long time at high volume is bad for your ears