Chapter 89: Serendipity

With eager anticipation held in check, I ran down the road lined with barricades and leapt over the school's main gate.

And then,

"Check!"

Seeing Mr. Sasaki and Gōzō Asada calmly playing shogi, I feel myself about to collapse from beneath my feet.

"Ah... wait, that's a good one! H-hey, wait!"

No time to lose, now.

Asami-san, smiling brightly.

Damn, this is tough... umm... huh?

Seemingly noticing me then,

"Ah, already leaving? Surprisingly quick."

Mr. Sasaki raises one hand lightly.

"You seem lively. Well, I wasn't really worried much."

"……Uh, no. I feel like I barely made it here after crossing the line of death."

"What's this? You want to be hugged out of gratitude, or have your head patted?"

"No, that's really not necessary."

"Exactly."

Now that you mention it, that kind of thing wasn't really Mr. Sasaki's style.

Then suddenly, I glance at the go board.

"Oh, this? Ever since we acquired supplies from a local toy shop, our school has been swept up in an unprecedented go craze."

"Oh, is that so?"

So things were peaceful while I was gone, huh?

……

………….

Wait—no, no!

Forget that!

"What's that! The thing flying in the sky! What is it?!"

"Huh? Ah. You mean that 'dragon' up in the sky?"

"Yeah, well..."

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

Their calmness made me wonder if I'd gone mad from fear.

Perhaps my confusion showed on my face, because

"Kukkukkuku..."

The two men suddenly started laughing, childishly.

"——?"

"I wanted to see that expression. You've always been the one getting startled, after all."

Mada Gōzō.

"……huh?"

"There's no danger from that. In fact, it's protecting us."

Protecting?

A "monster"? Protecting people?

Confused, I heard,

"Just after you left, a young girl appeared."

"A girl?"

"She said she'd been searching for you all along."

"Searching...?"

"When I told her you'd be back soon, she offered to help make things comfortable here while you were gone."

"Huh...?"

"She wouldn't go into detail, but she's someone you know, right?"

I tilt my head.

I have no idea who she's talking about.

"Anyway, just go meet her. She should be resting on the roof right now. She spent the whole night helping build the barricades yesterday."

"But..."

"Trust me—she's a really good kid."

If Mr. Sasaki vouches for her this strongly, then I suppose it's fine.

"What's going on? Sis, what's wrong?"

Noticing Ayaka-chan catching up behind us,

"Ah, she's a new companion."

I'll introduce her properly.

"Hmm. So you must be Ayaka Haneuma?"

"Huh?"

We both looked confused, yet they both seemed to know Ayaka-chan's name.

Seeing our heads full of questions, Mr. Sasaki hurried us along.

"Well, I'll leave the explanation to her. Just go ahead now."

It seemed there was no choice but to do as the teacher said.

▼

When we arrived on the rooftop of the school building, we were suddenly confronted by a "dragon" resting its wings right before our eyes, and we were instantly frozen with fear.

Eep...

Keeping a careful watch around, I counted a total of four "Dragons."

One of them was a creature that seemed to be the leader, its body covered in obsidian-like scales.

...and there, at the mouth of one of those "Dragons," stood a young girl.

"Hmm?"

I recognized her.

Rui Ryui.

The poor girl whose grandfather and father had been taken by "zombies," and whose mother had been taken by a "monster."

"Rui-chan...?"

When I called out to her, the girl—still too young to be called anything more—paused, her hand stopping mid-motion as she gently stroked the Dragon's scale, her expression flickering with surprise.

"You're...?"

Just to be sure, I used [Skill Assessment].

...but it was a miss. She's just an ordinary human.

Rui-chan quickly stepped away from me the moment she saw me, hurrying off.

Hmm.

So who exactly...?

By then, I'd already formed a rough guess about that "player" searching for me.

—“Beast Tamer.”

If someone has the power to command a "Dragon," that job is the only possibility.

"Hey, big sis..."

At that moment, Saya let out an odd sound.

Something like an animal instinctively fearing something.

"That person... isn't him, is it...?"

With her sharp intuition, she seemed to have spotted that "player" earlier than I had.

As I activated my [Skill Assessment], I turned my gaze toward them.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Long ears.

An appearance so unlike a Japanese person it seemed unreal.

A being that only appeared in fantasy worlds— an "Elf."

Job: Divine Beast Tamer

Level: 108

Skills: "Spatial Magic I–VIII", "Luck III", "Combat Technique (Advanced)", "Critical Skills I–III", "Nature Healing (Strong)", "Skin Reinforcement", "Bone Reinforcement", "Hunger Resistance (Strong)", "Skill Evaluation", "Karma Evaluation", "Achievement Condition Reference", "Fire Magic I–V", "Water Magic I–IV", "Lightning Magic I–IV", "Healing Magic I–VIII", "Light Magic I", "Dark Magic I", "Magic Eye", "Mana Control VII", "Magic Barrier VI", "Beast Taming VIII", "Dragon Species Taming", "Domination VIII", "Whip Handling (Advanced)", "Carrot and Stick", "Nebula", "Divine Beasts Taming VIII", "Divine Beasts' Blessing III", "Summoning X"

"L,...Level, h-hundred and eight?"

What's that? Scary.

If my level is 35, doesn't that mean... a difference of more than three times the level?!

Anyway, what exactly is a "Beastmaster"? I've never heard of that job before.

No way, we can't win this.

The very next moment after I began to wonder how exactly I should bow down to avoid the fight.

When I first met you, I kept wondering how to say it...

The girl opened her mouth and quietly shed a tear.

"Surprisingly, words just won't come out."

"Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh?"

Then, overcome with emotion, she suddenly hugged me tightly.

"Long time no see... really, it's been so long, 'Sensei'."

Huh?

Sensei? Teacher?

You're not mistaking me for someone else, are you?

I have no idea what you're talking about—I don't know any elves, really.

Ignoring my confusion, she said:

—Please lend me your power. You're the one I need. To save the world.