"The Forbidden Witch...?"
"No one has confirmed her location even now, right? Which conversely makes it the perfect place to hide."
"Y-Yes, that's true, but..."
I glanced at my pack.
I could offer a Seiryu Stone in exchange for sheltering Seras.
To be honest, Seras's wind spirit ability was highly useful.
The power to detect lies.
If negotiation with the Forbidden Witch became necessary...
The ability to judge truth would be invaluable.
I had heard elves rarely appeared in human settlements.
Moreover, Seras's spirits seemed to be of a special type.
That meant her abilities were likely irreplaceable.
And besides...
I looked at Seras's face.
"?"
She was, in fact, someone I found "easy to work with."
"You're heading to the Forbidden Witch's location to hide. The Golden Habitat Monster Zone itself is considered a danger zone that people avoid, isn't it?"
Dangerous monsters gathered in the monster zone.
But against golden-eyed monsters, my skills had a high chance of success.
With Seras along, safety would increase even further.
I explained this to her.
"To obtain information on those ancient characters, I need to enter the monster zone anyway. If things go well, the zone might serve as the perfect hiding place for you too."
"That... might be true, but..."
"Then the contract continues, right?"
"Touka-dono... why go this far for me?"
After thinking for a moment, I answered.
"You remind me a little of my aunt."
"I remind you of your aunt...?"
"Yeah. My aunt and uncle took me in and raised me after my real parents abandoned me... Unlike my birth parents who treated me like a nuisance, my aunt and uncle were genuinely kind. I've never forgotten my gratitude to them, and I still respect them."
Memories of my aunt and uncle suddenly resurfaced.
The tension naturally eased from my mouth.
"Our appearances and ways of speaking are different, and our personalities aren't that similar either... but if I had to say, maybe it's the atmosphere..."
She was smart but occasionally reckless in a way that reminded me.
Seras was useful as an escort.
She could use special spirit techniques.
Pigi-maru had taken to her.
But the real reason I had come here was still——
"Abandoning you here... it felt too much like abandoning my aunt and running away. I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Touka-dono..."
Seras smiled.
A smile overflowing with light, if I had to describe it.
"You truly are a kind person."
"Well... I'll admit I tend to go soft on people who remind me of my aunt and uncle. I'm at least aware of it."
At that moment,
"Gueee..."
The black dragon drew its final breath.
My level didn't rise.
"Now then."
The dragon knight was still alive.
"I hope I can extract some useful information about the Black Dragon Knights from him."
I released paralysis from the head area only.
While I was at it, I also lifted [Sleep].
The paralysis gauge still had plenty left.
"——Guh, a...? Guu... it hurts...! It, it hurts...!"
I looked down at the dragon knight who couldn't die from the poison.
What he had been about to do to Seras.
His words and actions right before I paralyzed him.
Even from those alone, he was clearly no good person.
Someone I could kill without hesitation.
He had seen my face.
There was no reason to keep him alive.
I spoke calmly.
"Answer our questions honestly, and I'll save you."
I'll save you.
I wasn't lying.
I would release the non-lethal setting and save him from "suffering."
First, I would extract information on the Black Dragon Knights' current situation.
Then their forces, location, movements, and future plans.
"If you have anything you want to ask, go ahead."
After a moment of silence, Seras spoke.
"Who is the one targeting my life?"
"The others... what happened to them!?"
The dragon knight ignored Seras's question.
I let out a breath.
"I took them down on my way here."
"You're joking... guh... a brat like you!? Kuh!? Was it with this strange technique!? Who are you!?"
"You already know, don't you? Just a shitty brat."
"D-Don't think you can oppose the Black Dragon Knights and get away with it...!? Guh... that fallen Holy Knight over there too! Gu, ugh!? Heh, hehehe... once you're caught, you'll be kept as the Black Dragon Knights' plaything for a long time! And those women of the Nea Holy Kingdom you protected will make quite the——"
Seras dropped to one knee.
She looked down at the dragon knight with cold eyes.
"I'm asking who gave the order."
The dragon knight showed a slightly intimidated reaction.
"F-Fine...! This Gizun is a little curious too... what kind of face the former high elf princess who once pledged her sword to the Holy Kingdom will make when she learns the truth——"
A chill ran down my spine.
"Seras!"
——*Shunk!*——
It was a white spear.
A single white spear came flying from the sky.
It pierced straight through the person in its path.
Gizun's head was skewered.
The dragon knight pinned to the ground was unmistakably dead.
I shifted my gaze upward.
"..."
Both Seras and I could barely react.
Seras turned and looked up into the sky.
"What... is——!?"
Dusk was approaching.
Three black dragons.
Larger in size than the previous ones.
And one more——something mixed in among them.
"..."
Currently out of range.
No.
More than that, that person——
"Seras Ashrain."
A hard, emotionless voice brushed against our ears.
A white man.
Clothing white.
Hair white.
Only his eyes were a vivid red.
He stood out as utterly alien.
The sole figure in white attire amid the black dragon knights and black dragons.
The only one not even wearing armor.
Riding a white dragon.
I glanced beside me.
Seras's eyes were wide open.
"N-No way——!"
The white man opened his mouth.
"My name is Shibito."
The man named Shibito narrowed his eyes.
But strangely, he wasn't looking at Seras.
He fixed his gaze on me.
"However, many in the world call me by another name. It seems they refer to me as this."
He stated the other name calmly.
"The Strongest Human."