He Reminds Her of An Important Figure, But...

As Faruk arrives in his speed of light, what he does at first is almost expectable by the dying child:

"ORIA!"

"Eh...ehehe... h-hi, F-Faruk... it seems that... uhh... I'm in a bit of trouble... heehee..."

That floating iron ball is heating to melting temperature, almost as if fumes will erect from it. Faruk becomes livid with wrath when he appraises her status. Seeing her 7 HP, he rains down on her like a rapid and relentless meteor shower of rant and shouting.

"You utter FOOL! You're not just in a 'bit' of trouble, you almost DIE!"

Indeed, the dragon scolds her hard time. But even in his rage, he fully-activated his healing magic. It is surprising for the child that he can both furious and sincere: He sits her up, then recovers her from that terrible state while rejuvenating her lost HP, all the while raining down fury.

"Grr... This is the result of your carelessness! Didn't I tell you to NOT run deep into the dungeon all by yourself!? And now what, you're nearly dead! Praise the Goddess for allowing you to live, Oria. But what if She didn't give you the chance to live anymore? It's not only YOU that will die."

Oria dare not say a word to the dragon. She keeps her head down, hiding her crying face in her silver bangs, gluing her sights to the stone floor.

"...Hn," she slightly nodded. She's remorseful for her actions, naturally. "I'm... I'm really sorry... I wasn't careful at all..."

"Indeed, thine are! Huff... in the name of Goddess... what have I done wrong to let this happen...?"

The furious Faruk wails to himself for a short while. The child is burdened heavily just by listening to his grievance. The dim light coming from the Observer sphere--the only source of light--further emphasized her sadness.

In a low voice, she speaks:

"...'m sorry..."

"...Hm?" the dragon could barely hear her. His voice is still geyser-like.

Oria raises her voice a little. Her jade eyes are clouded by her tears as she speaks out her apology:

"I'm... I'm really sorry, Faruk... I... I know that even a thousand sorry won't be sufficient. I... I neglected the fact that you could've died because of my carelessness... because of that, I'm truly sorry..."

Moving her muscles even by an inch hurts her heart. Her eyes are still tied to earth, fearing to see the Observer's furious eye. After that incident she got herself into, Oria totally realizes where she's at and just how weak she is.

"...Please, Faruk, I promise you. I will not... I will not venture out of your sights again. I promise I won't. I realized that I was weak, too weak to survive on my own. I promise I won't go against your order again. So, please... forgive me... *hic* forgive... me..."

Hearing the child's cry and seeing her pitiful look, Faruk lets out a long breath. "Huff... goodness me. Thy really art one kind of a human child."

His gentle voice returns once again. No longer can she sense wrath flowing from him.

"...What's past let it be buried in the past. What matters now is that you are alive and, in my sights, again. To say that you're at fault is... a bit overreacting, I admit."

"...Huh?" the teary child responded, surprised.

"...To be honest, I was at fault, too. I could've averted this near-death experience if only I hadn't panicked."

Oria did not expect him, a creature of legend, to be in state of such, "You panicked...?"

The Observer ball nods.

"Yeah... it's most unpleasant, I tell you, child. My mind was a mess, thinking that you went out of my sight meant that you're in for a whole load of danger. I already thought the death's door was in front of me already, waiting for the grim reaper to knock on it."

"Ehehe... m-maybe that 'door' was already knocked a few times..." Oria mumbled quietly, but her voice is heard by Faruk.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. Hmph, 'twas no longer a knock, but a fatal kick," he added to the sarcasm. A short while, he pauses. Soon, he speaks again in a low voice.

"...And that thought made me unable to process my sensibility correctly. I... took the wrong way. It is but an error on my part. Pardon me, Oria. I should've been able to avert this tragedy from happening."

Faruk sincerely regretted. It is all clearly shown by his eyes, which are no longer showing animosity. Listening to him, word by word resonated within her mind. For a long minute, she let silence pass between them.

"(Faruk... our meeting wasn't even a full week, yet I already find you as someone dear to me, like a certain figure. I can't remember what kind of figure you've been like... but I feel nostalgic. Your anger isn't out of malice. I... I can sense that. It's different from those scary people from the camp!

I cower in fear when you're angry, but I realized that you never intended to hurt me...

...and all your shouting and screaming reminded me of someone. Someone... important. But... I can't tell who it was. Someone who would come and shout to me for my wrongdoings but apologizing afterwards. Someone who guides me with their wise advice.

It grieved me that I can't remember who, for I've no memory of my past aside from serving my days as a slave.

I thought my life is over the moment I formed some kind of magical contract with you, almost like I'm becoming your slave.

But after several days with you, I quickly realize that you are different. You're huge, scary looking, but I can feel warmth and comfort when I'm near you. You took care of me, even though I'm a weak human.

I don't realize it myself. But my fear towards you fades.)"

...

Faruk feels a bit awkward that the silence has gone quite long. He then tries to break the atmosphere by saying a few words.

"E-Err... i-if you can't see why you should forgive me, then I guess—"

"Heehee... of course I will forgive you, Faruk."

Almost notably, he's letting out a relieved breath longer than him letting out his rage.

"Phew... I thank you for your easiness in forgiving me—though it took you a while. Well, then... how are you feeling, Oria?"

"Hehe. I can't feel more alive, Faruk," the girl smiled widely. "Thanks to you, that is."

"Hm. That's good to know. So, mind telling me what you faced until you find yourself by the brink of death?"

"Oh... that's..."

Oria explains to Faruk about the snake monster she killed. She tells him about the poisoning effect up to the point she signaled Faruk to come.

"That monster snake... s-seriously? *sigh*... ooooh, Goddess..." Faruk moaned while looking away. If the iron ball sprouts hands, he would've facepalmed by now.

"Faruk?"

Quickly responding, he turns to her again, saying, "No, it's nothing. It's just that... you're lucky that that monster is horribly weak to fire. Even the weakest fire magic can burn it to death. But still... how did you know about the [Signal Lord] ability?"

"Umm... it's by pure coincidence I found out."

"Hmph. I'd say it's more of thine curiosity than coincidence."

"Ehehe... m-maybe..."

"Then... judging by how you perform and your lack of knowledge of that foul creature, I suppose you did NOT appraise it?"

"Eep. Y-Yeah... I didn't. I'm sorry."

"Haah... I guess it couldn't be helped. After all, you just survived a poison that could've killed a Gangboar within five seconds."

"(T-That strong!? W-Well... I think that Poison Resistance kicked in just in the nick of time, too... if not, I might really die.)"

"That monster... I didn't expect to see it roaming in this section of the dungeon. Though... I do expect roughly 4 extra monsters by this passage. But they're not as powerful as that venomous monster."

"Eh, they're not?"

"Yes. That snake... isn't supposed to be in this dungeon. I thank the Great Goddess Altria for protecting you. It really relieves me that you're still alive."

"O-Oh..."

"I'm glad, though. You managed to win against the odds. Moreover, you discovered a way to get out of death's embrace by summoning me. So, I guess this is worth a congratulation from me."

"Oh, haha... umm... thanks."

"The lethal poison bite should've given you [Poison Resistance]. And your fire magic should've reached [Albus Ignis II] by now."

"Eh? H-How did you know? I didn't tell you about it, yet, you know."

"Hmph. Naturally, almost every dungeon crawler that fought against that fearsome snake got a poison resistance. Meanwhile, your fire magic was being used several times already, so I can't see why it wouldn't evolve."

"Ooh... that's really nice..."

"Hm. Now, let us go. From now on, I will call it a day for you to travel on your own. Don't get too far from me. Are we understood?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Whatever you do, don't do anything rash! Use [Appraisal] first on your enemy when you encounter one. If you're attacked, retreat and change your approach."

"Got it!"

"Don't forget! This dungeon is crawling with monsters that are immune to physical attacks. Use your magic, specifically the [Weapon Witchcraft] skill if you need to use a weapon!"

"Yes... (H-Here he goes again...)"

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"W-Wha—ah, yes, I am, sir!"

"Hm. With that in mind, let us finish this dungeon. We're halfway through. So, brace yourself. If I deem the situation to be too dangerous, I want you to stand behind me as far as possible as I take care of the problem. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Faruk!"

"Good. Let us be off, then! Don't stray too far from me!"

"I know, I know!"

And with that, they depart again. This time, Faruk acts as the source of light. The giant eyeball is rinsed in comforting mint light. Faruk pays a close attention to her, making absolutely sure that no unexpected monster shall come to harm her again.

The Silver Dragon suddenly turns overprotective.