105: I’m telling you, family’s absolutely getting protected

“Master Javir, it’s Craft. If you’re able, please establish mental contact.”

I cut the link with Raidock and immediately sent a signal to Master Javir.

She answered right away.

‘Ah, it’s you. Been waiting.’

Her reply came with her vision shared.

Same milky haze—but I could see Kyle, Alphard, and Van.

“Good. You’re all safe.”

‘Mm. Nearly got us. But Raidock and the adventurers showed up. They lured the Hydra off, gave us a chance to escape.’

I exhaled, relieved.

Damn right Raidock’s reliable.

‘But this fog’s completely thrown us off course. We’re camped now.’

“Raidock told me.”

‘Is Maina safe?’

“Yes. She’s with me.”

You can see it, right? Saying it out loud just made the teacher feel better.

‘Just a sec.’

The teacher calls out to Kyle.

‘Master Kyle. I’m connected to Craft right now. Is there anything you’d like to say?’

Kyle jerks his head up, jumps to his feet, and rushes over.

‘Thank goodness! You’re safe! Craft-sama! Is Maina alright?’

‘Yeah. Not a scratch.’

The teacher quickly relays my words.

I could link with Kyle mentally, but that’d drain all my magic. Better to let the teacher handle it.

‘Good.’

Kyle’s tense face visibly relaxes.

‘So, Kyle. What now?’

‘There’s a split—pull back or go in for the kill. Both have risks.’

‘Yeah.’

If Kyle’s group pulls back, it’ll be just me and Maina—and Raidock’s squad—that get cornered.

Yeah, Raidock’s unit could probably break through by force.

But if we take down the Eight-Headed Hydral, everyone can regroup.

Trade-offs either way.

‘I’ve asked Raidock to scout the Hydral. I’ll decide once I’ve seen how it’s going.’

‘Yeah. Either way, this fog’s not going anywhere. No point rushing.’

Kyle’s really stepping up as commander. Just like my brother.

‘Craft, if you and Raidock could talk it over and give us your thoughts, that’d be a big help.’

‘Of course.’

After a quick exchange, we agreed to wait and assess the Hydral’s situation before deciding, then cut the comms.

‘Good news, Maina. Kyle’s fine. All the soldiers made it out safe.’

‘...Yeah.’

She leans into me, finally letting go.

I pulled the robe over her body and ran my hand over her head.

"Alright, time to get in touch with Raidock."

"Mm."

I poured magic into the communication ring. Handy, but it guzzles magic—can't use it recklessly.

Especially now. No telling what’s gonna happen. I gave all the mana potions to Eva already.

"Raidock, connect if you can."

『Just in time, Craft. Can you see my view?』

"Yeah."

Her vision flooded into my mind.

Hiding in the bushes with Solar, the massive hydra came into view from a distance.

Normally, an eight-headed hydra like that would be a quick kill for Raidock. But this one... something’s off.

Size. Aura. No doubt it’s on par with a dragon.

But why the hell isn’t it moving from right in the middle of the camp?

‘Look closer. One of its heads.’

I squinted—meaningless, but I looked anyway.

‘Ah… it’s scavenging abandoned rations?’

The hydra was rooted right where Maina had been, just a moment ago, setting up food.

No—scavenging, sure, but that barrel the hydra’s head’s stuck in…

‘Alcohol!’

‘Told ya. That damn hydra’s been stuck in that barrel the whole time.’

‘Some monsters like booze. Guess hydra’s one of them.’

Damn. That’s a shock.

Raidock nods.

‘Funny thing—hydra raids on villages? Maybe they’re just after the drink.’

‘Could be.’

Leifan’s village had been wiped out by a horde of hydra.

I’d figured it was a stampede, but maybe they were after the drink all along. Dwarves and gnomes seem to like their booze.

Waste of time thinking about it now.

“Still, that eight-headed hydra—just lapping up the stuff like it’s nothing.”

‘Could buy us time till it’s done drinking… but what now?’

What now. He meant whether to kill it or pull Kyle back.

“If the mist clears, we could scatter and split up….”

‘Like that eight-headed one brought the fog with it. Wait—remember that hydra? It was eating that black plant.’

‘…What?’

The mysterious plant dragons ate regularly, and cockatrices too!

‘We’ll talk about that later. Just wanted to say we’re dealing with something dangerous.’

‘Yeah.’

The mystery of the black plant’s still nagging, but right now, what matters is what we’re gonna do about that hydra.

……Gotta think on it. Don’t want to waste magic—cut the link for now. I’ll contact you later.

Got it. I’ll keep an eye on things a bit longer before heading back to the unit.

Understood.

Cutting the mental link with Raidock. Knowing the hydra’s movements is a big help.

Still, booze… Damn it. Can’t we just slip something strong into its drink?

Kill it or pull back?

But retreating right now? Higher risk.

Prefer to go with killing it, if possible. That hydra’s tough.

But fighting it? Problem’s the location. And the prep.

Dragon fights took weeks of planning, drills. This is the hydra’s territory.

And we didn’t prep for something this big.

Even if we go through with it, we need some kind of edge.

I was lost in thought when Maina tugged at my cloak.

"...Ah. I was thinking about what to do next, after Raidock. Sorry for the silence."

I ruffled her hair, and her expression eased a little.

She's scared. Right now, she only has me to lean on. I gotta be more careful with her.

Better say something. Anything.

I scanned around for something to talk about, but all I saw was thick fog, like spilled milk.

So I just blurted it out, no thought at all.

"...Feels just like a witch's forest from a fairy tale."

I should've kept my mouth shut.

Maina flinched hard, her face twisted.

"Witch... forest... can't go back... hic..."

And then, like all her restraint broke, big tears spilled out one after another.

"Aaaah! Sorry! That’s not what I meant! It’s fine! I’ll fix this—no matter what!"

Seriously, am I an idiot?

What good does it do to make someone I’m supposed to protect so anxious?

"Protect...?"

Maina looked up, her eyes clinging to me like she was drowning.

"Yeah! Kyle, Maina—I’ll protect you both, no matter what! I promise! So stop crying, okay?"

"..."

Maina hiccupped, throat trembling, but she held onto me tighter, breathing slow, slow, steady.

"Sorry I scared you. This fog, that hydra—doesn’t matter. We’ll handle it. I’ll fix it. We will."

It was bravado. But I had good people with me. And some stupid, stubborn kind of faith that we’d pull through.

She felt it. The truth in it. Her breathing eased, little by little.

"...forever?"

She whispered it, barely audible.

"Ah! I’ll protect you forever, that’s a promise!"

Maina nodded slowly, her voice firm.

"...mhm."

Seemed the doubt had vanished.

But the tears still wouldn’t stop.

"So stop crying already..."

Gently, I caught a tear sliding down her cheek with my fingertip.

With my left hand.

Her tear fell onto the evening alchemist’s sigil.

That’s when it happened.

Like lightning, knowledge flooded into me from the sigil.

"Wha—!?"

"...?"

A wave of new insight—what they called the sigil’s whisper—made my head spin slightly. Doesn’t matter. Not important.

What matters is Maina’s tears.

I used鉴定 on her tear, to confirm the knowledge whispering through me.

Saint’s Tear.

That was the name of Maina’s tear.

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