(Sara POV)
*KABOOM*
A tornado made from lightning started to go across from the point where Rudeus might be. It's evident that he had to use drastic measures for this fight, making me more worried than I already was.
"Can we go help him now?" I said irritated.
"""""No."""""
Soldat and his party all disapproved in unison. I don't understand why they all act so scared. What kind of technique is Rudeus using that makes them so scared?
"Is that technique really that powerful, Soldat?" Timothy asked. "It sounds like it has a lot of risk if you insist on letting him do it alone."
Soldat, who was sitting on a tree stump, was scratching the back of his head.
"It's not that. It's that he hasn't resolved the issues it causes. He said something about his brain getting damaged or whatever and causing him to lose his sense of pain and run wield."
"That's a perfect reason to go and help him." I told him.
"You understand just as well as I do how his mana absorption condition is making it difficult for him to go serious with people fighting with him. Besides, it's because he is fighting alone that he used it in the first place. He developed that technique specifically to fend off against any quick swordsman. And trust me, it could even come close to what he has shown us back when he fought the Sea Dragon and Black Dragon."
His reasoning made me pout. What else besides his cursed form could he have developed that makes him that dangerous? If he hasn't used before taking in Hiryū, how useful can that form even be?
"Did he give it a name?" Patris asked.
"Something weird in a different language. His naming sense is quite odd. I mean, [Specter Force]? Where did he come up with that?"
"Well, at least he gave it a name. He hasn't even given that storage spell one yet." Kaleb commented.
"Hey everyone, look."
On Susanne's call, we all looked in the direction she pointed at. Rudeus came back.
Immediately I ran towards to him, to see if he was alright.
But as I got close to him, I noticed that he was holding someone who wore his robe.
"Is that a little girl?"
"She was the person who got chased by the monster."
As I turned my attention to it, she got scared and hid into Rudeus's robe by pulling up the collar.
"Let me guess. It was a mutation, right?" Soldat asked as he came closer to us.
"Not sure. It was definitely not from around here, that's for sure."
"Was it another dragon?" I asked concerned.
"It was an insect type monster with the stature of a human. It was as fast as a Sword King but still at the Saint level in terms of strength. My only option was to out speed it and damage the joints good enough to kill it off with a large spell."
Once I heard his report, I felt amazed at how quick and easy he handled it. A monster like that should be S rank at minimum. And he doesn't look like he got harmed at all.
After that day when he found out that the symbol at the monument had changed, he really put an effort to strengthen his skills and develop new techniques.
But it's still evident that he is stressed from all of this.
When I hugged him after Hiryū flew up, I could practically feel how his face relaxed and enjoyed the gesture of comforting another person.
All of us understood how he secretly wanted this after hearing that he didn't notice the explosion that dragon caused.
Timothy and Susanne already pushed me to ask him out, but I feel too embarrassed to ask him.
"So~, any idea where her parents are?" Soldat asked, getting closer to the little girl.
She started screaming and hugged Rudeus harder while bawling her eyes out.
"There there, everything is alright. You don't have to be scared." Said Rudeus while rubbing her back a little before signing Soldat to back off a bit.
"What did I do?"
"Don't take it so serious. She was getting hunted by that monster. It wasn't even serious about killing her. More like, it wanted to see her struggle for her life as if it got a kick out of it. She was covered in minor cuts that were obviously not meant to kill her."
I was at a loose for words. It is a miracle that she is still alive. If Rudeus didn't go after her, she would've been tortured to death.
I got closer to her and Rudeus. Luckily, she didn't seem to be afraid of me, and I was able to pat her head to help to calm her down.
"Did you already ask her how she got outside the city in the first place?" I asked.
"She doesn't seem to be much of a talker. And I'm actually afraid to ask about her parents."
For a second, I thought about why he didn't, but then realized what he was getting at. Her parents must've gotten killed by that monster while trying to buy her time to flee. Rudeus did the right thing not to ask about it.
"I think the problem might be that she doesn't understand you." Timothy said.
"What do you mean?" Rudeus inquired.
"Given her hair color, I'm guessing that she is a Dwarf and can only speak Beast God tongue." Timothy added, pointing at the little girl's head.
"Oh, you're right. It was so filthy that I haven't noticed it. Hold on a sec."
Rudeus then put one of his hands on the girl's head, water coming from it and cleaning her hair.
It became relatively cleaner but still had some lingering filth in it since she may not have taken a proper bath in a while.
Then, Rudeus spoke in a language I didn't understand, probably speaking to her in Beast God tongue.
The little girl replied to him in a clear voice, proving that she couldn't understand him this whole time.
After they exchanged a few sentences with each other, Rudeus turned his attention back to us.
"She said that her parents should be in the city. Some people came over, and her parents told her to runaway. She understood it as running as far away as possible and snuck past the gate guards and ending up in the forest."
"So her parents are alive?"
I felt relieved to hear that. Seeing someone else get orphaned after a monster attack just brings back my memories of how my parents died.
"Well, that means we only have to hand her over to the authorities to send her to her parents." Soldat said.
"Yeah. Her parents must be worried sick."
"Did you already ask for her name?"
After he said that, Rudeus turned his head back to the girl and spoke to her. The little girl's answer was somewhat long and Rudeus looked dumbfounded.
"What is it?"
After a small pause, Rudeus replied.
"She says she goes by 'Bazelle of the Sacred Iron and Lilitella of the Beautiful Snowy Ridge's child'."
"... are you serious?"
What kind of name is that? Who gives their child such a name? They fully marked her as their daughter by putting their names into hers?
Rudeus looked like he remembered something then.
"I forgot. Oseye once told me that Dwarfs don't get a name until they are seven years old to see how their characteristics to help decide on one."
"… that sounds weird." I remarked.
"It's cultural for them."
"Wait, did you already store away the monster's parts?" Anastasia asked.
"No. I got into that second stage of my technique and obliterated everything from that thing, leaving nothing but dust particles behind. And honestly, I'm glad I did. I wouldn't want to use anything of it anyway, since it could have killed her parents."
There was no objection from anyone. Just like me, they wouldn't feel good about it.
The parts me and Rudeus use are of lesser weight since those were from monsters that killed adventurers, a kind of people that are supposed to be confronted with the fought of death all along.
I was glad how thoughtful Rudeus was for this kid. It's a side he rarely shows, and when he does, it's usually towards those that don't mock him.
This side is what made me change my perspective of him a while ago.
We then moved towards the city to hand her over to some guards and find her parents.
It was a bit difficult as she feared anyone except Rudeus. Even when she was handed over to the city guards, she was retaliating a bit.
Rudeus spoke to her in her language before handing her a cut to her size from a Luster Grizzly pelt. She was finally willing to let go and follow the guards.
It was good to see that someone of her age got saved from the gruesome situation she was in.
***
The next morning, Susanne and Timothy pushed me to ask Rudeus out already. They were really persistent about it.
And it's not like I wouldn't want to go out with him myself, but with things getting serious again with an abnormal monster appearing, he must be even more stressed.
But Susanne said that even if that happens, doing it later could turn out to become too late.
It just gives to show how much Rudeus has to carry. Aren't there any more people who could handle these monsters like he does?
As I entered the inn Rudeus and his party were staying at, I instantly located Soldat and the others sitting together around a table.
Something was wrong. All of them looked tense. I got close and a few of them noticed me approaching.
"Did something happen again?" I asked.
"We have a slight problem."
Soldat was the one to answer me, his tone more tense than ever before. He turned to me and spoke with a hint of concern in his voice.
"There is the possibility that Dragon God Orsted, number two of the Seven Great World Powers, is after Rudeus."
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