Chapter 30

Comprehensive daily ranking 4th place! Daily high fantasy ranking 2nd place!

Thank you very much!

The male elf introduced himself as Klaus.

His wife is Edith, and his son is Keito.

Their village is located in a forest a little away from Amrus, but it is covered by a barrier to remain hidden from external enemies, including humans.

The village is now in crisis.

—It’s a dragon attack.

It’s not as if the elf village has never been attacked before.

There have been humans who tried to enslave the beautiful elves.

Starving monsters.

And, this time, a dragon.

It’s not the first time they’ve been attacked by a dragon.

The capricious and most powerful species sometimes attack for fun, regardless of race.

However, it had been over a hundred years since the last dragon attack.

But a few days ago, a sudden attack occurred, and the village was forced into battle, resulting in many injuries.

Klaus came to the town of Amrus to get as many potions as he could, bringing his wife with him.

However, he never dreamed that his son, who insisted on coming to help the village, would be attacked by a monster and poisoned.

Potions alone could heal wounds but not the poison.

That’s when Reta appeared.

(If an elf village that can defeat a Ruby Tiger is in trouble, just how strong are dragons?)

Reta knew that dragons are the strongest species.

But she had never encountered one before.

She had come across Wyverns, a closely related species, a few times during her adventures, and they were formidable enemies. She still couldn’t forget the many casualties they caused.

Even Wyverns are worlds apart from dragons.

“...Hey, Mina.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Me...”

“Yeah, I get it. Reta wants to help these people. I feel the same!”

Mina nodded as if she already knew what Reta was thinking.

The middle-aged adventurer, more kind-hearted than anything, wanted to help the elves suffering from the dragon attack.

She wouldn’t be much help in combat.

But Reta had healing magic recognized by the guild.

“I’m worried about the elves too.”

“Thank you, Mina!”

The kind-hearted girl was picked up and spun around by the middle-aged man.

Klaus, unable to understand their situation, seemed hesitant to speak.

“Your name is Klaus, right?”

“Just Klaus, human.”

“Then call me Reta. So, can you take us to your village right away? My healing magic will definitely be useful.”

“...Is that alright? But as I’ve said, there’s no money left in the village. We’ve already spent it on potions.”

“That’s fine.”

“Why? Why would you, a human, help us elves, whom you’ve just met?”

“Hmm, I don’t think it matters much whether someone is human or elf. You don’t just leave people in trouble, right?”

“—Ah, so you are that kind of person, Reta.”

Klaus bowed deeply to Reta and Mina.

“Please, help our village’s warriors. Many are injured and suffering. I beg you.”

“Sure, leave it to me!”

“Yeah!”

After their quest, Reta and the others decided to head to the elf village.

—They forgot to report to the adventurer guild.

A few days later, when Reta and the others returned, the town of Amrus was in chaos, wondering where the kind healer had gone. But that’s another story.

※

Keito is a young elf who lives in a village deep in the forest.

He is twelve years old, still a child. For the long-lived elves, he is practically an infant.

But Keito dislikes being treated like a child. Especially now, with the village suffering from dragon attacks, he wants to do something.

But there’s nothing a child can do. The best he can do is not get in the way of the adults.

Feeling frustrated, Keito sneaked into the cart when he heard his parents were going to the human town to buy potions.

Of course, he was quickly caught, but his parents, perhaps valuing time, agreed to let him come on the condition that he would listen carefully.

After successfully gathering the potions, they hurried back to the village.

But on their way back, they were attacked by a Ruby Tiger.

While his parents could fight, there were too many monsters. Seizing a momentary opening, the monsters began attacking the cart.

Keito stood in front of the potions to protect them and was clawed.

It hurt, but more than that, it was hot.

His parents were calling his name, but his consciousness was fading, and he couldn’t respond.

But he was satisfied that he had protected the potions that everyone needed, and he let go of consciousness.

(…Huh? Where am I?)

When Keito opened his eyes, he was in the cart.

The creaking and the feeling of the cart moving told him that they had survived the monster attack.

(The potions… they’re still here, thank goodness!)

He checked the wooden box containing the bottled potions and sighed in relief.

(…Huh? Didn’t I get attacked by a monster?)

Realizing he wasn’t in pain, he wondered if they had used one of the precious potions on him and felt like crying over his reckless decision to come along.

“…Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

Keito, who hadn’t noticed anyone else in the cart, let out a surprised sound.

Then he was speechless.

“Does it still hurt? Are you okay?”

There was an angel.

She didn’t have visible wings, but she was beautiful, delicate, and adorable—simply a beautiful girl.

Her fluffy hair was like clouds floating in the sky, truly fitting for an angel.

“Can you hear me? Hey, are you okay now?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“That’s good.”

Keito’s heart raced at the sight of the girl’s gentle, relieved smile.

It felt like he had run a full sprint.

He noticed an old man snoring next to the girl, but he didn’t care.

He wanted to focus only on the angel in front of him.

—Keito, twelve years old. The moment he fell in love.