(Melon)
"Greetings, y'all! I, the second princess o' Teigitan, am now gonna explain the raid details."
The female that walked onstage looks about twenty, and has a height of 170cm. Her long silver hair is tied into a ponytail.
Covering her right eye is a leather eyepatch, and her left eye is a beautiful azure. She wore black, light clothing beneath a brown jacket, and boots paired with brown pants.
This kind of casual clothing is very recognizable in the crowd of fully armored adventurers, as it's unsuitable for battle, only a novice would dress like this... but my instincts
tell me that this princess isn't someone to be messed with.
After coming onstage, the second princess addressed the part of the plan I'm most untrusting of. This battle plan — is undoubtedly a one-sided pact.
"We only require y'all to..." She frowned upon speaking.
"Excuse me, my princess, I'm the commander this time, let me do the explaining."
A middle-aged man wearing an elegant purple robe walked upstage, his black hair combed neatly as if he's showing off his own value to the world.
"...You should ha' came up if you were already her', I don't get wha' you're thinkin'." The Princess that stood briefly on stage was soon jumping off it, complaining in a cold tone.
Rowendemay, the commander of this mission, specializes in creating stone projectiles using earth-type magic, and is a S-rank adventurer nicknamed "Booming Rock"... butto be honest, I've never heard of him.
Of course, It's because I lived in a remote area where news often doesn't reach. As an S-rank, there should be a lot of public information available.
"This is the vice commander of the raid, Philip Rex, also an S-rank. Coming from the distinguished Rex family, he has knowledge of advanced level fire magic, and with a specialty of "Magic Swordsman", he is truly a genius of geniuses!"
"All of you will cover us during the raid, that is the purpose of recruiting you. Listen to our commands at all times, I believe none of you want to defy a noble."
It was a young man with golden hair who said that. The armor he wears is more splendid than Rowendemay's robe, shining a silver color with golden outlines, along with many kinds of jewelry.
...Isn't this a bit too conspicuous for battle?
The plan is quite strange, the adventurer groups are in charge of holding the mobs down, and the real offense is dealt by the S-ranks.
The contract emphasized the things above, and also included that we should obey the commanders no matter what.
...It is because of the contents of the contract that I think this is a one-sided pact.
It's not like there aren't any rewards other than the distribution of materials based on each groups' damage output, but the B-rank adventurers are paid only 5 gold coins each for defeating A-rank salamanders. I personally do not think it fair.
And about the damage output? It's not written in detail on the contract, but it says that the commander can determine it subjectively. Plus the contract says the groups are in charge of holding the mobs down, and the damage is to be dealt by the S-ranks.
Doesn't that mean the groups can't get the drops from the mobs? Plus, calling B-ranks adventurers to raid A-rank targets is underestimating the enemy according to my knowledge of demi-dragons.
It was a miner from a mine 12 kilometers west of the Capital who entrusted this mission, the reason being they dug out a sleeping demi-dragon, and that it destroyed the mine when it woke up. From the report, it appears to be a Salamander, a type of demi-dragon.
Unlike the flying creatures of disaster Master described, Ms. Mirabelle told me that the dragons commonly referred to are actually demi-dragons. There are many different species, each has its own unique habitat, and they are considered as magical beasts. I've encountered one before when I was living in the forest.
About the flying creatures of disaster, those are the actual dragon species, they possess long lifespans, high intellect, and natural magical powers. It's just that they are rarely seen or discovered, and have become creatures of myth since a long time ago.
...How powerful would those kinds of things be? Normal demi-dragons are rare and powerful already, and judging by general stats, they would be able to hold their own against powerful magical beasts. I barely escaped the last encounter with one, but this time, I came prepared.
I wouldn't leave Master's side normally, but I needed to prepare a gift for his coming of age.
Defeating these kinds of powerful beasts should earn me some nice materials and rewards, so for that reason, I had to participate.
It wasn't the royal family or the adventurer's guild that sent the recruitment request, but the nobles.
... I accepted the request without thinking much, and I only saw the contract this morning... with contents like that, I may not get the rewards, so I'll have to think of another solution.
I hope to get materials from the Salamander, find a blacksmith, and make those into accessories or armor... maybe I could give Master a dagger.
In my hometown's culture and customs, we gift daggers to celebrate coming of age.
One reason is due to the dangers of the jungle, and another is for hoping that they could become an outstanding warrior, and it slowly turned into wishing for someone to have great achievements.
With that in mind, we arrived at the target location on the report in horse carriages.
However, I couldn't control my emotions as I was still feeling suspicious when I started to battle.
...
...
Sien Mine, the place where the event took place — is now no more than broken buildings and rubble, the miners have also been evacuated by the adventurers' guild, so the place seemed very lonely.
"oooo,oooo,oooo — [Rock Burst]!"
"[Slashing Flames]!"
Being attacked by falling rocks and continuous burning slashes, the scarlet-scaled lizard let out a roar of rage. It struggled by swaying its body, trying to break free, but to no avail.
The adventurers formed four groups and pulled each of the Salamander's limbs with a special rope. Meanwhile, all kinds of magic hits the Salamander, restricting its movement while blocking its vision, at last, the 7 meters long Salamander fell to the ground, giving one last howl.
The adventurers surrounded the corpse and cheered, as the raid went very smoothly.
Amidst the cheering, Mirabelle found Melon wandering around by herself.
This was Melon's first experience as an adventurer, and even though the rewards may be sparse, it was good that the raid ended successfully, though there's nothing to complain about for getting paid by doing some easy work.
About the Salamander's drops, anyone could see that the contract is one-sided, and that the main operators are nobles, so the materials should be what they're going after.
Its a pity, since Melon has a huge interest in these materials, but it's not a bright idea to upset nobles for materials that could be found another day.
"It's good that there's not much danger, right, Melon?" Mirabelle went to comfort Melon, only to find her going through the ruins, trying to find something.
She looks upset.
"Melon, take it easy, there's always a next time to get the materials..." As an elder, Mirabelle felt obliged and responsible to lecture Melon.
"It's not that, Ms. Mirabelle." However, Melon interrupted her right away, "Has none of you realized? The scent in the air... and so many vibrations...!"
Melon was still in a state ready for battle, right now, she looks very tense, while looking around and smelling the smell in the air.
Mirabelle wanted to calm her down, but after seeing the place Melon was standing, her expression changed.
After the ruins were cleared away, a gigantic reptile footprint appeared! The foot itself is even bigger than an entire Salamander!
Is this... an appropriate size for a demi-dragon? At that moment, the question appeared in Mirabelle's mind.
There was a myth saying that some dragons live together with demi-dragons, which act as the dragons' servants...
Mirabelle didn't dare to keep thinking, no, it should be that the situation didn't allow her to keep thinking, because the ruckus awakened something unimaginable.
The ground shakes and quakes!
There came a shriek from the crowd, dust flew in the wind, and the ground fell apart! At the same time, roars of anger continuously echoed, then, numerous Salamanders came out of the holes and trampled over the crowd.
These Salamanders don't look like they're going to attack the adventurers, they seem rather nervous for a change.
A scared Salamander charged in the direction of Melon and Mirabelle, but was stopped before being able to tackle them.
Because, the squished creature couldn't crawl anymore, as a giant claw came out from the dust and stomped the many Salamanders flat.
A figure as huge as a small mountain emerged from the ground along with the crowds' cries
"HOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
"Monster!" Even Melon, who had monstrous beasts as neighbors for years in the Jungle of Nakula, could not help but get frightened when she met this creature!
Its body stretched more than 40 meters from its three massive horns to the end of its fat tail. Its bulk was as enormous as a hill and was covered by thick mossy scales. It causes a frightening earthquake every time it lays a foot on the ground.
It's a dragon! An actual dragon! Who could have imagined that such a being lived right down in a mineshaft that was merely a few miles away from the capital!?
The unexpected threat forced the expedition of approximately fifty members to give up their formation. Half of them were trapped in the dents that the dragon made when it crawled out from the ground. The rest of them attempted to escape from the awakened monster and the massive amount of scattered salamanders. But no opportunity was available in the ruckus.
When the dragon gave a harsh roar, the situation went from bad to worse, for all the salamanders suddenly stopped running randomly and turned to charge at the adventurers as if they had received an order!
"Dammit! What the bloody hell is that!?"
"Wahhhh! Ahhhhhhhhh!"
"Help me! Help!"
A salamander was about to bite an adventurer when a green ray of light dropped right through its head and stamped it upon the ground! Next to the glowing spear stood a lithe, handsome, confident figure with floating white hair.
"Oh! Goddess-have-mercy, my princess!"
"Run! Do y'all want to become their dinner?" replied the princess without turning her gaze away from the enemies. Then she pulled out her spear immediately and dashed toward another salamander.
Meanwhile, Melon was dodging the stampeding salamanders, grabbing Gabab and Lawrence in her hands, escaping the chaotic battlefield as fast as she could.
"Stay here," said Melon tersely to the team of four when she successfully brought the original four members together, "I'll try to snatch some other guys out." Then she left them and returned to the battlefield.
"What a horrible mess," she thought. Compared to her own experience of hunting boss monsters in Nakula, which always took her several days to track and to make plans, the situation down in this mineshaft was undoubtedly a desperate one. The dragon is much mightier, and it appeared so suddenly. She would definitely give up and withdraw right away—if people didn't keep dying!
The white-hair princess also found the crisis hard to solve. She was rushing here and there with her spear, killing five salamanders in a row. She frowned and clicked her tongue as she saw the surface of her spear cracking due to repeated mana pulses rushing through it, wearing down its durability.
In this "picnic" expedition being so close to the king's castle, she was included as a backup help. Nevertheless, a gigantic dragon, which appeared to be able to control salamanders, was far beyond her ability. Since it would be unreasonable to expect these B-rank adventurers to hunt down the dragon, she pondered whether she should stay to cover the others' retreat. However, even when she stopped moving to consider the decision, the dragon seemed to notice her moves, and consequently, lots of salamanders charged at her and blocked her way.
Some adventurers formed small groups to cover each other and withdrew gradually until they heard Philip Rex yelling at them: "Remain at your positions and pin those salamanders down at where they are! Dare you hedge-borns forget about your contract with me and challenge the Rex family?" Hearing the irrational command of the young nobleman, the expedition members exchanged looks and hence saw each other pulling a long face.
"That's right, Sir! With the reputation for killing a dragon, you will surely replace your elder brother as the heir!" spoke Rowendemay loud enough that everyone could hear.
"Alright!" added Philip, "I, as the heir of Rex, WILL award you all when this ends! Now, forward! Cover me!"
At Rowendemay's flattering words, Philip even started to daydream. Once the dragon is killed, he would become a hero for people as well as the heir of the family. What's more, the dragon's body itself was indeed a treasure: dragon bones and scales were some of the most invaluable and the rarest materials. What a bright, beautiful future just over there!
"That moronic IDIOT!" cried the princess. She knew that she must reach Philip to prevent him from leading a mass suicide, but she just could not get rid of the salamanders!
At the same time, she saw a salamander "flew" toward the adventurers and crashed upon Rowendemay and Philip. The crash was so powerful that the former blacked out, while the latter was significantly injured and spat a mouthful of blood.
…
…
…
*Dakka Dakka*
The Insignificant sound of bullets being loaded.
The lizardkin girl landed in front of the confused adventurers with her "Bands of the Bold" equipped on her limbs and well-charged with gunpowder and ammunition.
"Sorry, my Master. You told me not to use your 'Bands of the Bold' in public, and thus I always avoid growing depending on usage of any weapon. But still, I have to use it right now, for there is no other way to make a breakthrough." While she confessed in silence, she made a few steps toward the dragon and the salamanders. Then she whispered the name of the only magic skill she had: "[Physical Reinforcement]."
She learned this basic-level skill when she was 11. Though the effect was modest, she certainly understood that it was her only talent that she could depend on. Thus she not only practiced it repeatedly but tried to advance beyond its limit. On a particular day, she felt some essential change in her body. Since she could not explain much about the difference, she could only wish that it might help her.
"You, lizard ..., obey ... my order ...," lying on the ground, Philip demanded with a shivering tone and unbelieving eyes.
Melon ignored him and focused on the growling dragon. She lowered her position, raised her hands before her chest, and slightly bent her fingers inward. While she examined the battlefield and waited for the best moment to strike, her skin generated some white, faint wisps of smoke!
"I forgot a basic fact, that I never have to obey THAT IDIOT, or anyone else," Thought Melon.
"For I am a slave of my Master, before only whom I kneel and obey.
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