The monster is talking to me, asking me a question.
I don’t have time, mister Sileva is being dragged into its mouth.
What do I do?
I can’t afford to spend a lot of time thinking.
I have to decide on my own, I can’t even ask someone else.
I… I…
“Scifo!”
Before I know it, I call out to Scifo.
Scifo responds to my voice, and comes to my side. Gaius and the others are telling me to stop, but I ignore them and hop on top of Scifo.
“Scifo, please take me, there.”
I don’t have time to hesitate, I have to do what comes to my mind. I don’t want to lose anyone else, so I…
I have no time to listen to the voices telling me to stop, or to be held back by the hands reaching out to me.
Scifo looks into my eyes, sees I’m trying to do something, and does as I say. Scifo believes in me, even though I’m sure he doesn’t know what I’m doing. That’s why he lets me fly with him.
We get closer to the monster, and I get the feeling that it’s laughing.
It looks happy that it gets to eat prey like me.
I’m scared. This monster in front of me is terrifying. This whole time, I’ve been scared of the idea of getting close to a monster like this, but I can’t just sit still because I’m scared.
I made a vow because I don’t want to lose anyone else, so I can’t just stay back and do nothing. No, I don’t want to.
The monster sees me getting close, and let’s go of mister Sileva. And then, it reaches out to me.
But I’m not going to let it wrap around me. The monster realizes this, and stops.
“I’m… Not letting you, eat me!”
I say, from atop Scifo.
The monster still isn’t moving. I’m sure it thought I would sacrifice myself to it.
It’s true… Up until a while back, I probably would have done that. Back when my parents abandoned me and I met everyone.
But now I know they care about me. I know it very well. It’s not just me being conceited, it’s the truth, and I’m very happy about it.
I remember what Gaius said when I used holy magic for the first time. I thought it didn’t matter what happened to me as long as everyone else was alright, because I love them, but Gaius was mad. He said I’m important to them too. It was the first time anyone got mad at me in that way, and the first time someone told me I’m important to them.
I also remember what miss Lan told me when we met. We talked about someone offering themselves to save everyone else, and at the time I thought that was a good thing.
But miss Lan told me that the people being saved are not necessarily going to be happy, even if they really are saved. There’s also the possibility that the other side is lying and will hurt them instead.
She also said that no one wishes for people dear to them to be sacrificed.
The actions and words of people around me show me that what they say is right.
Even if I do offer myself here, people won’t be happy, and I don’t even know if the monster really is going to do as it says and not eat everyone, even if I do offer myself to it.
I got this close to the monster because I knew it would think it was going to eat me and get careless.
I stare at the monster, while on top of Scifo, and the monster sneers.
《Hou, a foolish decision. If that is the case, I will just have to forcibly take you and eat you.》
As it says this, the monster begins moving again.
Scifo runs quickly through the sky, while skillfully dodging the green stalks and leaves aiming for us.
The monster thinks I’m a very good prey, so everyone is just an extra as far as it’s concerned, and it would rather eat me than them.
It’s after me.
This thought is scary. I’ve been on top of Scifo as he runs many times before, but never at this speed. I have to do my best to hang onto Scifo’s body.
What should I do now? I managed to make it release mister Sileva and draw its attention, so I’m sure everyone’s going to do something in the meantime. I can tell that even after everything that happened, they haven’t given up on defeating the monster.
Should I just keep running around? Since I managed to get so close, is there anything I can do from here?
I have magic energy and holy magic aptitude, but what about other kinds of magic? Can I use them if I really try? Can I use magic that’s effective against this monster?
As I struggle to hang on to Scifo, I wish that I can use magic that works against the monster. I want to do something to help them.
And as I make my wish, I see a faint light coming from the spirit tree.
—Girl and monster extermination – Part three
(The girl that is probably the miko gives the monster her response, and it reacts by going after what it thinks is an exquisite prey.)
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