chapter 22

After Veig, Glenn, and I beat up the leader of Pandemonium, I used Gravity to have him and his underlings sink into the ground.

“By the way, Veig, what were you doing here? Were you here to apprehend Pandemonium?”

“No, that was just coincidence. I had something to tell you and Meryl.”

Something to tell us?

“Tell us what?”

Veig answered Meryl, who tilted her head while asking the question.

“So we’re based in the imperial city of Gheil, and… The emperor, Meld Gheil-sama, wishes to meet you.”

“The emperor wishes to meet Aruto-san…?”

Could this be about the Shielin Town incident?

“Is it about that time…?”

“That time? Aruto, what exactly did you do?”

No, Glenn. You know what I did.

“The Shielin Town case.”

“Ah, that.”

“What do you mean ‘ah, that’” I said to Glenn.

While smirking, Veig returned his gaze to me.

“How’s it sound?”

“If it’s the emperor, we can’t refuse. How about it, Meryl?”

“Sure!”

Meryl nodded with a smile at my question.

Afterward, Glenn started speaking.

“If you’re going to Gheil, let me follow you. I have to report on the completion of a quest anyway.”

Are we seriously going to use a knight’s carriage like a taxi…?

“I don’t mind.”

He agreed to it much easier than I thought.

Veig was too good of a person.

“Is it really alright?!”

“You’re not a bad person.”

And so, Meryl, Veig, Glenn, and I rode the carriage Veig had prepared to the imperial city of Gheil.

Speaking of which, this was my first time riding a carriage.

“Hey, Aruto?”

“Hm? What, Glenn?”

As I was looking at the scenery, Glenn asked me. I turned towards him.

“You guys wanna join my guild?”

Well, there’s that offer.

A guild, huh… It sounded good, but…

“No can do, Glenn, I’ve already refused the knights’ offer too, anyway.”

“Seriously?! You refused the knights?!”

Stop looking at me like you don’t believe me!

“I’m not prudish like them. But a guild… would sound nice.”

At the unexpected positivity, Glenn’s face lit up.

“Oh! Guilds are good!”

“…Why? …Aruto, you’re really going to pick Glenn over me?”

Huh…?

“No, wait…”

“Instead of staying with me, who’s been with you all this time, you’re going to choose Glenn, who you’ve just met?!”

“Don’t misunderstand me! Besides, you haven’t known me for that long either!”

Veig couldn’t believe my words.

Playing the straight man to him was a pain.

Anyway, Meryl.

Why are you blushing?

He isn’t into me.

As we were having that conversation, the carriage suddenly stopped.

We asked the driver about it.

“What’s up?”

“A… a horde of monsters is coming from up ahead! They’re attacking a carriage!”

“What!?”

We exited the carriage upon hearing the driver’s words to have a look at the situation for ourselves.

A horde of monsters was indeed attacking a carriage. There were around four knights the carriage, seemingly defending it.

“Could that carriage be…”

But among us, only Veig looked at the carriage and made a gesture as though in thought.

“What’s up, Veig?”

“…no, it’s nothing. I want to help those people. Mind lending a hand?”

“Alright!”

“Of course!”

Seeing us nod, Veig ran off with us to help the knights.

Seeing one of the knights about to be attacked by monsters, I used Barrier to put up a wall of light in front of the knight to block the attack.

Both the monsters and the knight were confused by the sudden barrier, but Veig slashed through the monsters and called out.

“It’s alright! We’re here as reinforcements!”

“Commander Veig!”

“If it’s like this, we can win!”

As the knights’ commander, Veig’s reinforcement raised the morale of the knights.

Meryl used Heal on the injured knights.

“You guys focus on protecting that carriage. Leave the enemies to us!”

The knights saluted Veig’s command and bolstered their defenses around the carriage.

Veig looked back at the monsters and saw that I was already fighting the enemy with my revolver and Enzetta. At another area, Glenn was using his flame skills to mow down the enemy.

“Don’t even think of taking all the spotlight.”

Amazed at the whole scene, we cut down the monsters attacking us.

A few minutes later, we completely wiped out the monsters.

“Well, that didn’t take long.”

“Anyway, why were they focusing their attacks on that carriage?”

Meryl tilted her head, looking back at the carriage mysteriously beset by monsters.

Hearing her, Veig started to speak.

“Ah, that’s because…”

Just was Veig was about to explain…

“…!? You guys, fall back!

I felt something’s presence and retreated with Meryl in my arms.

In the same way, Veig and Glenn retreated.

Then, the place we were just talking at suddenly froze.

Above us, the sun was blocked out by a gigantic thing.

The gigantic thing landed on the ground with a thump.

Oi, oi…!

Of all the things, it had to be a Frost Dragon…!

Possessing a silver body and frosty breath, the Frost Dragon’s appearance put us all on edge.

Why was a Frost Dragon, which only appeared in icy mountains, here of all places?

Frost Dragons were known to be guardians of icy mountains.

For it to come down in human territory…

The Frost Dragon let out a brave roar and froze the air around it, creating icicles and sending them at us.

“Stone Dome!”

I was the first to move, creating a dome of rock enveloping the carriage and the knights, protecting them from the icicles.

“As soon as the dome is gone, we attack. Let’s go!”

I got rid of the dome as a signal, and Veig, Glenn, and I dashed in together.

Meryl threw out fireballs from behind.

However, the Frost Dragon cooled down the fireballs, sending them tumbling to the ground.

“Flame Pillar!”

As Glenn used Flame Pillar, the Frost Dragon sent out rays of frost towards the pillars, making them vanish.

However, Veig jumped out from behind Glenn, got into stance, and thrust his sword into the Frost Dragon’s foot.

“Swift Blade!”

The Frost Dragon’s leg was slashed about eight times, but it kicked Veig away as if it had not taken any damage at all.

Next, I used Wing, and rained bullets down on it from above using Fire Blast.

However, its tough body and cold mist blocked my shots.

“If it’s like this…!”

While covering my body in flames, I rushed towards the Frost Dragon.

“Fire Tackle!”

After slamming into the dragon with a technique reminiscent of the Flame Eagle and creating an explosion, the behemoth collapsed.

“Did you do it?!”

Hey, don’t do that!

As Glenn jinxed it, the Frost Dragon stood up, wobbling.

It then flapped its wings and soared high into the sky, before filling its mouth with cold air and shooting a ray of frost at us.

Veig and I stood in front of everyone to protect them and blocked the freezing rays with Barrier and Light Wall.

However. against the sheer power of the ray, we began to get pushed back.

If the barrier breaks, the guys behind us would be done for!

I tried to figure out what to do in this situation, and as I was thinking…

“Tornado!”

From behind us, a tornado sped towards the Frost Dragon. It stopped as it hit the ray of frost and dissipated together with it.

Turning around, I saw a girl around my age alight from the carriage.

“Now!”

I nodded at the girl’s words.

Glenn and I ran in, and Veig used Slash twice, cutting at the Frost Dragon’s wings.

“Don’t be slow, Glenn!”

“Of course!”

As we ran, Glenn and I called out to each other, both our swords covered in flames.

And so, facing the fallen Frost Dragon, we jumped at the same time, swinging both our swords.

“Fire Slash!”

“Searing Slash!”

With both our swords, we slashed a cross into the Frost Dragon’s body and landed on the ground.

After checking to see that I got experience, I faced the dragon and used skill copy, learning new abilities.

After gaining new powers, I went back to my allies.

“So that’s Skill Copy, huh. Being able to take monsters’ abilities and making them your own is a hell of a cheat.”

“Yeah, he’s probably used to that.”

“It’s Aruto-san, of course he would be.”

“What the hell do you guys think of me?!”

I retorted as Veig, Glenn, and Meryl treated me as a cheat.

The girl who had saved us earlier walked up to us.

“Everyone, thank you for your help earlier.”

Seeing the girl, Veig paid respects, and Glenn was overcome with shock.

“No, thanks for helping us earlier too.”

Hearing me speak so carefreely, Glenn slapped my shoulder.

“Are you an idiot?!”

“Ow, what the hell?!”

I complain due to Glenn slapping me, but Veig let out an exasperated sigh and started to speak.

“Aruto-san, do you not know who the person before you is?”

“Eh… no, sorry.”

As a matter of fact, I really didn’t know…

Then the girl stepped forward, did a bow and curtsy, and introduced herself.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Rifill Gheil… the first princess of the imperial city of Gheil.”

Rifill Gheil…

Gheil’s first princess…

Eh?

“Princess?!”

In unison, Meryl and I were caught by surprise at her identity.