When the Dragon's Fury Ignited, the Maned Wolves Were Left Without Even Bones

"There was a pack-dwelling magical beast called the Maned Wolf around the Red Dragon Mountain Range, and it had an extremely strong sense of territoriality.

"Individually, these magical beasts were only D-rank and had low attack power, but when they acted as a group, adventurers generally considered them an A-rank magical beast disaster. Hundreds of magical beasts attacking together could be quite troublesome."

Under the candlelight, Lokkishi told them about the magical beasts of the Central Continent.

After watching the fireworks, they should have gone to rest, but Sylphy did not want to sleep, so Lokkishi had no choice but to tell them another story.

"That sounds scary."

Lokkishi looked at Sylphy and Rudy, who were lying on the table and already half-asleep.

Though they were both very sleepy, they did not seem inclined to go back and rest.

"Yes, and once their territory was invaded, they would tirelessly tear their opponent apart no matter who it was.

"They would even attack magical beasts far stronger than themselves. Even if it was a lone S-rank Red Dragon that had left its group to forage, they would still do the same."

"...Would the Red Dragon eat them?"

"Uh, no, it would not. Red Dragons generally were not interested in magical beasts that could not even bite through their skin. Their bites probably felt like mosquito bites."

"Then would the Red Dragon just let them keep bothering it? Wouldn't the Red Dragon get angry? And after it got angry... would those... Maned Wolves... run... away?"

Hearing the childish question beneath Sylphy's soft, sleepy voice, Lokkishi could not help but smile.

"The dragon's fury ignited blazing flames, and when those flames swept through, the Maned Wolves were left without even bones."

She looked at Sylphy and Rudy's closed eyelids and softly finished her final sentence.

"They would not have had any chance to run away."

Lokkishi lifted her eyes and looked at Allen, who sat upright in a chair nearby.

He was squinting at the map in his hands, smiling cryptically as though he had thought of something.

Then he noticed Lokkishi's gaze and turned to look at Rudy and Sylphy.

"They're asleep. Shall I carry Rudy back to his bedroom?"

Lokkishi nodded.

"I'll help too."

Allen rolled up the map and put it into his pocket, then lifted Rudy.

Lokkishi looked around and found nowhere she could lend a hand, so she simply picked up Rudy's Magic Textbook and followed Allen to Rudy's room.

Allen gently laid Rudy on the bed, then heard a hesitant question at his side, spoken in a breathy voice.

"Were you serious?"

Allen was taking off Rudy's shoes and looked confused.

"What?"

Lokkishi's eyes darted around before finally settling on the black leather Bucket Bag peeking out from beneath the bed.

"Are you certain... that you'll see each other again in the future?"

Allen's hand paused slightly as he removed Rudy's shoes.

"Well..."

As Lokkishi spoke, her hand unconsciously picked up the Bucket Bag by her feet and pinched the Terminator Boar hide over and over.

"...It's fine even if it was a lie. Even if it was just a pretty lie to comfort Rudy and Sylphy, it was still effective."

Allen blinked, then grinned.

"They'll meet again."

Lokkishi said nothing.

Allen set Rudy's shoes beside the bed and added,

"As for when... it could be tomorrow, or it could be years from now. There's no telling. But one thing is certain."

Lokkishi still said nothing. Allen looked up at her and finished his sentence.

"They definitely will meet ag—?!"

The moment Allen saw Lokkishi's expression, he froze.

The final word, "again," would not come out.

In his field of vision, Lokkishi stared wide-eyed at the small shrine in her hands, looking both lost and shocked.

Inside was a pair of her own worn panties.

Allen swallowed hard in terror, and their eyes met in that instant.

The next moment, the entire shrine, along with the boar hide, smacked onto Allen's face.

He hurriedly caught it with Flow Arcana and looked up at Lokkishi.

She hurriedly stuffed the panties away and ran out of Rudy's room with a thump-thump-thump, leaving Allen with nothing but her retreating figure.

Allen stood there with his mouth open, at a complete loss. He looked at the open door, then at Rudy's peaceful sleeping face.

Rudy's eyelashes fluttered slightly. It looked like Lokkishi's hurried footsteps were about to wake him.

So fast!

Allen's Sword God Style displayed astonishing usefulness in that instant!

In a flash, he darted to the wardrobe, pulled out a pair of Rudy's own little white underwear, and stuffed it into the shrine.

Then he shoved the shrine back into the Bucket Bag exactly as it had been, kicked it under Rudy's bed, and promptly slapped the pervert lying on the bed.

Rudy's eyes snapped open.

Allen hurriedly patted his arm.

"Ah! Did you have a nightmare? Sleep, sleep. It's fine, it's fine. I'll definitely wake you before Lokkishi leaves. Sleep now~"

Rudy covered his face in confusion.

"Tea... Teacher hasn't left yet?"

"It's still early~ Sleep~"

"Oh, then remember to wake me up."

"Don't worry~ I definitely will~ Be good now~ Sleep~"

"...Okay. Thank you, Allen. You're such a good person."

Rudy tilted his head and fell asleep again.

Allen's eyes and mouth twisted as he forced out words through clenched teeth.

"You're welcome."

The next morning, Rudy was awakened by Zenith.

By the time he went downstairs, Lokkishi had already packed up and was cradling the crying Sylphy in her arms, comforting her.

He looked around but found no sign of Allen.

"Where's Allen?"

Zenith looked confused.

"I saw him when I got up this morning."

Paul looked confused as well.

"I just saw him washing up. Allen! Allen!!"

Lokkishi blinked, unable to help thinking of yesterday's embarrassing scene. She subconsciously blurted out,

"Um! There's no need to call him! We already met and said goodbye this morning. He might be in the bathroom."

Rudy patted his slightly dazed face.

Excellent! Allen, I won this round! ...Well, finding joy in misery wasn't so bad either.

They stepped outside into the courtyard, but Allen still did not appear.

Everyone waved goodbye to one another. Lokkishi patted Sylphy's head, then turned to Rudy.

She had originally wanted to pat his head too, but in the end, she irritably flicked his forehead instead.

Rudy was delighted.

Allen, I really won this time!! But why didn't she pat my head? Uh, why did the goddess look so unhappy? Did she not sleep well last night?

Lokkishi glanced at the door behind everyone and let out a soft breath.

"Well then... this is goodbye. If fate is kind in the future, we will meet again."

Just like their first farewell, Zenith's eyes were brimming with tears.

Paul warmly pulled her into his arms, conveniently resting his hand on his wife's backside.

No one saw that scene except Lilia, who stood beside them.

"G-Goodbye, Teacher! In the future, Allen and I will definitely come find you!"

Rudy waved goodbye as well, but hearing that made his vision go dark.

?? What about me?

Unlike last time, they had arranged for a carriage in advance, with Rolls covering the expense.

As he put it, they had Allen to thank. If the Terminator Boar hide had not been preserved so well and sold for such a good price, they would not have had enough savings to offer even a small token for the apprenticeship fee.

And so, Lokkishi left Buena Village.

The rising sun shone upon the little road outside Buena Village, while the clip-clop of hooves carried a passing traveler away.

Inside the carriage, Lokkishi rested her cheek on one hand and stared distractedly at the grassland passing beyond the window.

The rotten fences by the roadside slowly drifted backward as the carriage moved.

They drifted backward.

Then they stopped.

Lokkishi was still in a daze and did not notice.

It seemed like there was a sound by her ear.

"Miss... there's... a carriage..."

It was the coachman's voice, gradually becoming clearer and louder until it reached Lokkishi's ears and pulled her from her trance.

"Miss!"

Lokkishi jolted, only then realizing that the carriage had stopped at some point.

"Ah!? What is it?"

The coachman's voice carried some helplessness.

"Miss, did you hear what I said? Someone is blocking the road and insisting on catching a ride."

Lokkishi did not know how to respond, but she instinctively lifted the curtain at the front of the carriage and looked ahead.

Then she froze.

The morning glow was dazzling. A figure stood before the carriage, his dark gray eyes sharp enough to make one instinctively feel a cold sense of distance.

But when Lokkishi looked at him, she felt only familiarity.

The person blocking the road smiled and spoke, his lazy voice as familiar as ever.

"Hello, ma'am. Would it be convenient for me to hitch a ride?"

The dawn shone upon Lokkishi's face, and orange flames of sunrise danced endlessly in her eyes.

"Sure."

Greyrat Family.

Lilia, Zenith, Paul, Rudy, and Sylphy all stared at the letter on the table in astonishment.

Lord:

I went to clear out the Maned Wolves.

It will take at least one month, at most two. I'll be back soon.

Uh... sorry, I did not want to leave without saying goodbye either, but if I brought it up directly, you probably would have made me stay.

Don't worry. I can take care of myself.

Also: you do not need to pay me for these two months. It's fine if you deduct even more months.

Allen.

Give me some sweetness! More tomorrow!