Episode 5
(Bookmark inserted)
When I looked closely, I realized that the wolf was actually wearing pants—and his hands looked oddly human.
“Wait… do wolves even have five fingers?”
As I muttered that, the wolf barked loudly, “Grah!”
“They don’t! I’m a werewolf, you idiot!”
Yelling in anger, the werewolf bit my collar again and leapt high into the air.
The spot we had just been standing in was blasted by the dragon’s fiery breath, scorching the ground black.
“Tch, quit getting in my way.”
Landing in a grassy field beside the road, he set me down and charged straight toward the red dragon.
The dragon turned its gaze toward him, its jaws opening wide.
He’s going to get roasted alive…!
Panicking, I clasped my hands together and began to chant a prayer rapidly.
My prayers can create protective barriers.
“Goddess, please—grant me your merciful blessing, I—”
Just then, the werewolf shouted,
“Stefan, now!”
From near the burning carriage, a human silhouette appeared.
The person kicked off the flaming wagon bed and leapt high—straight toward the dragon, which was lifting its long neck to breathe fire again.
Sunlight flashed on the edge of the sword raised high in his hand.
The dragon’s flames burst forth, and the werewolf vanished from sight with blinding speed.
If this keeps up, the dragon’s neck is going to be sliced clean in two—!?
I screamed out,
“I—I pray! Um—please protect that red dragon!”
Clang!
The sword descending from midair was suddenly deflected by something invisible.
At the same time, the figure was knocked back—but instead of crashing down, he twisted gracefully in the air and landed lightly on the ground.
I almost clapped without thinking.
“Stefan! You all right!?”
The werewolf sprinted over at incredible speed to the swordsman—apparently named Stefan—who had just landed with that neat little spin.
“Yeah, I’m fine. More importantly—what was that just now? The sword was repelled… was that a defensive spell?”
As he raised his sword again, the man looked at me.
He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and seemed a little older than me.
“Was that you?”
The werewolf glared at me with fierce green eyes.
Under that pressure, my body froze.
The reason the sword that was about to cut the dragon’s neck got deflected… was because I’d just prayed for the dragon to be protected, wasn’t it?
I’d never prayed in a situation like this before, so I hadn’t realized something like that could even happen…
“S-sorry… but that dragon, um, I just… felt like it wasn’t evil…”
My words came out broken and awkward.
He was baring his fangs—his face was terrifying. That fluffy, cute impression I had earlier? Totally wrong.
“Not evil!? You’re saying the dragon that burned our wagon isn’t evil!?”
The werewolf’s growl deepened, but Stefan placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Calm down, Raiga. We’ve got bigger problems right now.”
The dragon was starting to inhale again, preparing to unleash another blast of fire.
I clasped my hands once more and began to pray again.
It was my first time facing an actual monster—but I’d been told that my daily prayers helped calm the monsters around the kingdom.
So this should work… it has to.
“I pray that the dragon’s heart may find peace…”
A warm, bright light suddenly enveloped the dragon for a brief moment.
Then its massive body went limp—and with a heavy thud, it collapsed to the ground.
