Chapter 3「Alberto, age 12. Death in the Dark Forest」 (middle part)

As I approached my destination, I was surprised by the loudness of the noise.

　In the distance, I spotted a small figure fleeing.

　Long hair and small.

　A woman?

　And there was little distance between her and the beast.

　The beast's claws were aiming at the girl.

　The girl running away at a glance doesn't notice it.

　I cast wind magic on myself, gaining explosive speed.

　I grabbed the girl from the side as if hugging her, just in time to save her from the beast's attack.

　The girl is startled and confused by the sudden hug, and tries to lash out.

「No, no, let me go!　Let go of me!」

　I held her down with my arms and desperately told her to let go.

「Be quiet!　Close your eyes now!」

　Immediately after saying that, I quickly pull out a baseball-sized sphere from the bag at my waist and hurl it at the beast.

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

　At that moment, a tremendous sound and light illuminated the forest.

　The disposable magic tool I had brought along just in case, filled with "flash" magic and "noise" magic, came in handy.

　This tool is still under development and is very costly. I had brought one as a prototype to evaluate its use.

　Frowning at the ringing in my ears, I looked at the beast illuminated by the cantera.

　There is no doubt in my mind. This is a king bear. It is a powerful monster that is rarely seen in the forests around here, and one that I honestly don't want to take on in a one-on-one fight.

「Hey, are you okay?」

「Let's get the hell out of here before King Bear gets his eyesight back!」

　With that, I looked at the girl who had saying that.

　She was a child.

　About my age, maybe a little younger. She had long, beautiful black hair and a face that was elegant and pretty, even for a little girl.

　And on her head were big animal ears.

　Yes, that's right. This girl was a demi-human girl who had the status of a slave in this country.

　She was so dazzled that her eyes were glazed over.

　She turned her big red eyes toward me, but still said clearly, 「No, you can't go that place again」

I told her clearly,「..No If I run away now, King Bear will head for our village. That's why I have to go deeper into the forest with it」

　The girl had small wounds all over her body, as if she had been scraped here and there.

　She was apparently fully wounded.

　And the fact that she was heading deeper into the forest by herself meant that she wasn't planning on returning alive.

「Big-brother, thank you for your help I am glad to know that there were good people like you in this country at the end. I'm okay now. So you too, run away as fast as you can」

　The girl tells me with a transparent smile.

　But what is it?

　Running away without a little girl like her?

　That's just unbelievable.

「Don't be so enlightened, i'm a kid too, but I'm older than you. Then there's no reason for me to run away」

「Big brother, ...」

「And let me correct your mistake. I have no intention of dying. I'm going to defeat him and save you and your village」

　I will face King Bear head-on and declare.

I will defeat you.