On the third night after finding the bandits' scouts, I did not return to the rock shelter in the forest.
I lay on the north side of the village, on a slope overlooking both the fence and the forest.
The villagers weren’t asleep either.
New stakes had been put into the broken fence, and carts and bundles of firewood were placed in the wide open areas. The livestock had also been herded closer to the houses than usual, and there were guards on the paths leading into the forest.
The only thing I had managed to tell them was "three days from now."
There was no way I could tell them that the bandits were aiming for the hours before daylight.
Even so, the village chief increased the number of guards after the sun set, just to be safe, and Dario and the others took turns watching the forest.
"If you're sleepy, swap with me."
"You're the sleepy one."
"It's a little better if we just talk."
I could hear voices like that from a place far off.
They weren't relying on me alone.
That made me feel a little relieved.
I was a young dragon that couldn't even fly yet. Protecting the entire village by myself from the start would be impossible.
The night grew deep.
A deer-like beast crossed the forest several times, and each time both I and the men on guard reacted, but no humans appeared.
The edge of the sky began to turn slightly white.
Maybe they wouldn't come.
There was also a possibility that the bandits had changed their plans.
As I was thinking about this, I heard a bird call from the east side of the village.
Once.
After a pause, twice.
It wasn't a real bird.
It was the signal Dario had decided on.
"East!"
A voice rose in the village.
I stood up as well.
The injured right hind leg had healed considerably, but it still hurt if I kept running with all my might. I descended the slope, adjusting the force with which I kicked the ground.
As I approached the fence on the east side, I saw two figures.
One had a bow.
The other had a torch.
"The lookout's moved."
"Set it on fire!"
The man with the torch tried to run towards the pile of dry grass next to the fence.
I emerged from the forest.
“Gururu…”
The two of them stiffened.
"A dragon…!"
"It really was here?"
The man with the torch stepped back.
I would have preferred it if he had just run away.
However, the man with the bow looked at my body and immediately changed his expression.
"It's small. It's still a child."
He fitted an arrow.
I spread my wings.
Don't come any closer.
No matter what I said, to human ears it only sounded like a growl.
An arrow flew.
I pulled my neck back.
The wind passed right next to my cheek.
I closed the distance before he could fire a second shot.
The man with the bow hurriedly stepped back.
I swung my front leg and hit the arm holding the bow from the side.
“Argh!”
The man went down on one knee.
The bow fell to the ground.
I didn't raise my claws.
Next, I broke the bow with my front leg.
Now he can't fight.
That’s what I thought.
The man with the torch looked at me and his companion in turn, then ran into the forest.
“Wait!”
The man who had lost his weapon followed him.
I didn’t chase.
If I could get them both away from the village, then—
"North!"
Another voice rang out.
I looked back.
The other side of the village.
Multiple people were running towards the fence.
The two in the east were decoys.
It seemed they had planned to enter from another place while the villagers' eyes turned towards them.
I kicked the ground.
Pain ran through my right leg.
I ran regardless.
On the north side, a fight had already begun.
"Stay away from the fence!"
The village chief's voice flew.
The villagers got behind the carts and thrust out spears and long farming tools.
One bandit grabbed onto the fence.
Dario's bow sounded.
“Gah!”
An arrow stuck in the bandit's shoulder.
The man fell from the fence and was dragged away by his companions.
Dario was already preparing the next arrow.
It wasn't a warning.
He was seriously trying to stop the men who were trying to enter the village.
Of course.
These men had come to attack with weapons.
"The right side is thin!"
A bandit's voice.
Several of them ran to the edge of the fence.
That area couldn't be repaired in time, so it had been blocked off with bundles of firewood.
Two villagers were holding it down.
A bandit pulled a bundle of firewood down from outside.
“I’m in!”
One of them slipped his body through the gap.
A thick stick in his hand.
A young villager stood in the way, holding a hoe.
“Get out!”
"You're in the way!"
The stick was swung.
The villager took it on his hoe, and his body leaned.
I slammed into him from the side.
I didn't have enough power to send him flying.
Even so, the bandit was caught off guard, his legs tangled, and he fell to the ground.
The stick left his hand.
I placed my front leg on him.
The bandit's face tightened.
"Hii…"
I didn't raise my claws.
I didn't let them dig into his body either.
If he moved, I would hold him down.
I thought that was enough.
"Take his weapon!"
That's what I meant to shout at the villagers.
“Glua!”
The young villager probably didn’t understand the meaning, but he picked up the fallen stick and stepped back.
That was fine now.
I looked in another direction.
On the other side of the fence, two more people were trying to climb over it.
I had to head there.
I lifted my front leg off the bandit I was holding down.
It was only a few seconds.
"It's dangerous!"
I heard Lina’s voice.
I looked back.
The man who had fallen down had pulled a dagger from his waist.
Not at me.
It was aimed at the young villager nearby.
I wouldn't make it in time.
The dagger was swung.
"Gwah!"
The villager's arm was cut and blood splattered.
The bandit didn't stop.
He tried once more to thrust the blade into the chest of the opponent who had lost his balance.
I threw my whole body in between.
This time I didn't hold back my claws.
My front leg went into the bandit's flank.
The cloth tore, and my claws sank into the flesh underneath.
“G…”
The strength left the man's body.
The dagger fell.
I pulled my claws out in a panic.
The bandit fell to the ground.
He didn't get up.
The smell of blood suddenly became stronger.
It was on my front leg as well.
It was the blood of a human who had been moving just a moment ago.
My body stiffened.
I killed him.
It took me a moment to understand that fact.
“Val!”
Dario’s voice.
I looked up reflexively.
Another bandit had climbed over the fence and was raising his sword towards me.
I didn't have the luxury of hesitating this time.
Rather than take it head-on, I slipped in on the side that held the sword.
I slammed my front leg into his arm.
The blade fell to the ground.
Then I bit the man's wrist.
"Gyaaaah!"
The taste of blood.
Not enough to break the bones.
However, the man could no longer pick up the sword.
I immediately removed my mouth and kicked the weapon far away.
The man stepped back, holding his injured arm.
I didn't chase.
Instead, I turned my body towards the men who were still approaching the fence.
Heat gathered in the back of my throat.
“Gah!”
The flames were not directed at the humans, but at the ground outside the fence.
A short burst of flame burned the dry grass.
The bandits stopped on the other side of the fire.
"Nobody said there was a dragon!"
"I told you it was a child!"
"Men are dying!"
A villager was pointing a spear from inside the fence.
Dario was also preparing his next arrow.
I suppose it wasn't the attack they had expected.
A large man a little further away looked around.
"Fall back!"
"But the boss—!"
"What's left of us if we push any further? Get out!"
The bandits began to withdraw.
One of the villagers tried to follow.
"Don't go out!"
The village chief stopped him.
"Don't leave the fence! If you go into the forest, they'll have the advantage!"
Dario also watched the fleeing bandits without lowering his bow.
I didn't chase them either.
I couldn't fly yet.
My right leg wasn't in perfect condition either.
If I were surrounded in the forest, it would be dangerous.
The last bandit disappeared behind the trees.
Silence finally returned to the village.
Immediately, other voices started flying around.
"Cloth!"
"Bring water!"
"Hold his arm!"
The young villager I had tried to help was sitting down, and another man was wrapping a cloth around his wound.
"Is it deep?"
"His arm moves. It didn't reach the bone."
“Don’t force it to move.”
The man himself was conscious.
It didn’t seem like the injury was life-threatening.
Even so, I didn’t look away.
When I first knocked that bandit down, I took his stick and held him to the ground.
It was fine up to that point.
However, thinking that he could no longer fight, I let go of him to face another enemy.
I didn't even check whether he had a dagger at his waist.
Even if it wasn't necessary to kill him, I should have at least made sure he couldn't use a weapon again before leaving.
Because I didn't do that, a villager was cut.
I looked at my claws.
The human blood was starting to dry.
The man I killed was still lying on the ground.
It wasn't that I had wanted to kill him.
In fact, I hadn't wanted to kill him.
That's why I tried not to hurt him at first.
However, that feeling alone did not make the opponent's weapon disappear.
If I were to find myself in the same situation next time, I still wouldn’t know what the correct answer would be.
I have no intention of killing anyone who throws away their weapon and runs away.
I don't want to kill someone who has surrendered either.
However, going easy on someone who is pointing a blade at a person right in front of me is a different matter.
"Val."
I heard Lina’s voice.
She was next to the village chief.
Seeing my claws and the fallen bandit, she didn’t come close as she usually did.
I thought she was scared.
However, Lina was not looking at the corpse, but at me beside it.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t reply to those words for a moment.
I was the one she was worried about.
The number of scratch-like wounds hadn't increased.
Even so, I couldn’t agree right away.
“Guru…”
I rumbled a little.
Dario walked over.
Until now this man had always stopped at a certain distance, but today he came within a few steps.
"You saved us."
I looked up.
"If you hadn't come, I don't know how many of them would have gotten in from there."
You.
For the first time, the way he addressed me had changed.
But right now, I wasn't in the mood to be happy about that.
Dario also looked at the fallen bandit.
"I'm not the one who did that. So I can't say anything easy about it."
He paused a moment.
"But if that blade had come down again, Hans wouldn't have gotten off with just his arm."
I looked at the young villager who had been cut.
It seemed his name was Hans.
He turned his head towards me while his wound was being bound.
"…You saved me."
I just snorted.
The village chief also approached.
“Carry the injured home. We’ll clean up the dead… later.”
The villagers began to move.
The village chief watched me until the end.
"They call you Val, I hear."
Lina looked at the village chief in surprise.
I looked up as well.
"I don't know how much you understand of what I say. But I already know that you're not a beast that moves without thinking."
I listened silently.
“I want you to come back here once you’ve finished treating your wounds.”
He didn't know for certain that I understood words.
Still, the village chief didn't speak in the manner of someone addressing a mere monster.
"As a village, we have something to ask of you."
Instead of replying, I slowly nodded once.
The village chief's eyes widened slightly.
Dario looked at me as well.
Lina was the only one smiling, as if to say, "I knew it."
I looked down at the blood on my front leg.
The bandits retreated.
However, there was no guarantee that the ones who escaped would never come again.
I also learned that dealing with humans was completely different from driving off Tusk Boars and Horned Wolves.
It couldn't be divided up so easily.
Still, the next time the same thing happened, I couldn't let my hesitation hurt the people I was protecting.
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