“Hmm…”

“... Is there something wrong, Sir?”

“Fraone, what are you doing?”

Around midday, Fraone had arrived to pick up the medicine, at the exact same time as Koski who came to pick up his answer.

“... Spar with me,” Fraone said, taking a rapier from the cargo hold of his airplane. Fraone’s rapier was a well-made weapon, Raphel noting its sharp, silver blade. He didn’t like being on the receiving end of any blade, but that blade in particular scared him, particularly because it felt more like a real weapon rather than a training one. Fraone was nice enough to let him try wielding it a while back, and Raphael still remembered how light it felt. Not a weapon master, but if someone told him to describe it, he would describe it as a weapon that fused well with its master, letting the person control it with minimum effort.

“Very well.” The two walked toward the center of the open field, away from other objects like Fraone’s plane. Standing down the middle, the two prepared their fighting stances. Raphael took a good look at the two contestants, before lifting his hand.

“Begin!”

Fraone was the first to leap. Jumping forward, the boy slipped across the grassy plain like a fighter jet after its target. Within seconds, the tip of his rapier stood just a single centipeb away from the dragon’s neck.

“... That’s it?” Fraone asked, rather surprised.

Koski leaped back and swung his massive tail around. The tail crashed into the ground, Fraone managing to leap away, dodging it and the massive dust cloud that followed. A powerful move, but with a fatal weakness.

Fraone ran forward, jumping on the tail that was now stuck in the dirt. Koski jumped to the side, trying to get him off, yet he stuck like glue. He carefully dodged the spines on the dragon’s back, soon running past the wing. Stopping behind the neck, he pointed the weapon downward. Again, one centipeb away from Koski’s neck.

“... I lost.”

Fraone jumped off Koski, who looked down with downcast eyes.

“It’s going to take a long while before you can at least have a chance.”

“I know. My family is always the first to fail.”

Fraone then turned toward Raphael.

“So?”

Raphael sighed.

“Fine, I’m in.”

“Really, Sir!?”

“But no promises about winning, okay?”

“No worries, Sir. Thank you very much!” Koski bowed down before him.

“You’re calling him master from now on,” Fraone said, elbowing Raphael.

“What!? No no no, just Sir is fine.”

Master is reserved for Carol in a maid costume.

“So, when are the preliminaries? Same as always?”

“Correct, Sir. The thirty-first.”

"Send me an invitation, will you? I'll bring the entire university with me," Fraone grinned.

"Please don’t.”

"You're no fun."

"Besides, I can't bring that many humans."

"Actually, Sir, we usually have a lot of space reserved for humans, but not many humans came."

"You don't exactly market the event to humans, though. To most people, it looked like a school fight instead of a proper tournament."

"I couldn't deny that, Sir."

"Well, the more people come, the closer relationships between humans and dragons would be, right?" Raphael said, Fraone nodding to the idea.

"But I feel like I'm already close to humans even now."

"Really?”

“What do you do for a living?” Fraone asked out of curiosity.

“VA.”

“VA?” Raphael and Fraone looked at each other.

“Don’t say…”

“Yes, Sir. Virtual Artist. I make videos with 2D avatars.”

“...” Raphael and Fraone remained silent.

That night, after all was said and done, Raphael searched for Koski’s channel. Safe to say he learned something he didn’t need to.

* ••

“Hiyaaah!” a loud roar echoed throughout the training hall. Carol took a step back, recovering from her attack, while looking at the man in front of her. He leaped back, successfully dodging her strike. He tidied up his brown hair as he waited for Carol’s next attack.

“That’s one great attack.” The man praised her.

“Thank you,” Carol replied, before stepping forward again. She stabbed the training sword at her teacher, targeting his stomach. The training sword had the properties of an oversized stick more than an actual sword, so she didn’t need to worry about harming her teacher. Both of them also had magic shields, so she could go all out. She slashed and struck. Her teacher could do nothing but block the attacks.

“Come on, Carol. Integrate your magic, feel the world around you,” he smirked, doing his best to defend himself.

Carol watched his eyes, knowing that he was looking for an opening. She made sure to cover all her sides, not leaving any chance of a counterstrike. She hurled a number of perfect cuts, fast enough to overwhelm the person who taught her how to swing a sword. She integrated her magic into her strikes, using various spells to help hide her movements. She sent several droplets of water straight for him.

He leaped to the side and attempted to cut Carol from her left. Carol managed to dodge in time and swing her sword in counterattack. The strike almost connected, only one centipeb away from her teacher. The teacher managed to dodge in time. Carol continued fighting, chasing down her target, like a hungry lion hunting its prey.

Any part that isn’t the limbs will count.

She reminded herself. They were the easiest to hit, and at the same time, the most distracting. She must strike her opponent’s torso. Mr. Martus, Her teacher, was overwhelmed by her. She knew that, but she couldn’t touch him if he kept dodging back. Despite having an advantage, he continued slipping from her grasp. She needed to both close the distance and deal the final blow at the same time.

Which spell, which spell.

She stepped back, going on the defensive, letting her opponent strike. She stopped all his attacks, deflecting them one by one.

Ah!

She examined the teacher’s pattern. Her teacher may not be the most powerful fighter among the Rangers, but he had the capabilities to keep changing his attack patterns, simulating various different kinds of enemies, hence why hitting just his torso became frustratingly hard. He had full control of his body, using his hands as a shield.

!

Using wind magic, she threw the opponent’s attack off its mark, but just a bit off. Mr. Martus pulled the sword, trying to correct his course.

Now!

She slid under the attack, before using wind magic to throw herself forward as fast as she could. She leaped up on the teacher’s side and cut at his chest. Mr, Martus leaped back, but Carol chased him down. She stabbed her sword at his chest.

“Strike!”

“Nice one, Carol.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Rest up a bit. You’re up against her next.” Mr. Martus pointed toward a girl who stood at the corner of the training hall. She did a little clap, before turning away.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Good luck.” He turned around and left. She went to the side, sitting down next to the wall. She opened her bag and took out a bottle of water before gazing at the ceiling above her. The training hall had metal beams supporting the roof, lights embedded between them.

“That’s awesome, Carol-sis!” A girl with short light green hair approached her. Emmaluela Ortinto, her underclassmen.

“Thanks,” Carol replied with a smile before wiping the sweat off her head.

"You'll take the dragons off their heads in no time!" Emma said, her eyes sparkling.

"I would rather not." Carol smiled wryly. She would rather there be no other great dragon war, or in the dragon's terms, the humans’ invasion. It had happened long, long in the past. Even Carol's great-grandparents didn't exist during that time. Most of the hatred and pain from that era had dissipated now, but saying that absolutely none left would be underestimating its effects.

Now that humans could live in peace side by side with the dragons, as a Ranger, she would do everything to protect the peace.

"I'll be going there as a representative, not as an enemy," Carol added. It was originally supposed to be a secret, but for one reason or another, Carol representing the Rangers had been leaked. Almost everyone knew about it by now. Some acted indifferent, while others were excited. Some even started betting on how far this trainee-but-strong Ranger would go.

“I'll be rooting for you! Make sure you absolutely destroy them and take first place!" Emma beamed. Carol gave her a light nod.

About that…

* ••

Later that night, she went up against the head of the Kaleya’s Ranger force, the ‘scarred-face lady’ herself. Lerus Iota. The battle went for five whole minutes, both sides trading blows, insistent on being the victor. In the end, Carol came out on top.

"Impressive," she said while clapping. From her smile, Carol could tell what her boss felt.

She didn't make a mistake choosing her.

Yet she let out a sigh. After the battle ended, she took a little rest and headed to her bag that she left on the side of the training field, reaching inside and taking out her phone. She examined the message her boyfriend sent her.

‘What do you think I should do?’

‘Just enter. I think the dragons will see fighting you as an honor. I certainly will.’

She sighed once more. She wasn’t lying when she said that. Fighting against him in the tournament would be a great honor, and she didn’t want him to stop just because of her, yet…

Why did I say yes…

The Rangers had just seen one of their most powerful recruits in years, so they had placed high hopes for her. This may be a dragon event, and human warriors winning the prize was practically impossible. In fact, only one person ever won over the dragons. The Great Moluart Knight, a powerful knight who lived hundreds of years ago, managed to defeat the dragons and reign supreme for twenty consecutive years before resigning from his job. He remained undefeated, although partly because he retired and never fought again.

Still, the dragons had nineteen years to take back their victory, but they failed to do so. And now, hundreds of years later, Carol felt the weight of all the Ranger's hopes and dreams riding on her shoulders.

"Is this what he felt when making medicine?" she muttered.

“Something wrong, Carol?” Lerus approached her.

Carol waved her hand. “Ah, nothing. Just, a bit tired… That’s all.”

“Understandable. You can go back now.”

“Thank you.”

She packed her belongings and headed out of headquarters. She couldn’t shake her mind off him as she made her walk home. Having talent beyond ordinary human beings, but at the same time shouldering the weight of all expectations. She told him to slow down, but he refused to cast away all his weight. Now, feeling all this weight on her shoulders, she too doubted what she wanted to do.

Not wanting to force herself, but didn’t want to throw away the hopes, either.

"..."

She brought out her phone, opening Raphael’s contact. Her hand hovered above the screen, wanting to type something, but not knowing what. She didn't want to tell him about this. For some reason, she just didn’t want Raphael knowing about her entering the tournament.

“Argh… what is wrong with me,” she groaned.

"Carol!" she heard someone call her name. She looked up from her phone.

When did I get here?

"Carol!" that person called again. She looked down at the person. It was Meky. The girl ran up toward her, her dark blue hair swaying left and right as she approached.

“Meky. What are you doing here?”

“We will be opening soon. Care to be our first customer?”

“Well…” Carol had been busy these last few days. She spent most of her time training in the Ranger’s headquarters. If she could, rather, as she approached the tournament, she would eventually find herself sleeping there. With that in mind, maybe taking it slow for one or two days would be fine. Carol nodded hesitantly, still wondering if she should. Meky beamed and grabbed her arm, pulling her down the street.

As the sun set in the west, more and more shutters started being opened while others began closing.

“Ah, Carol. Good afternoon,” one of the store owners, who happened to be closing shop, greeted her.

“Good afternoon,” Carol and Meky replied. They continued down the street, basking under the evening sky. The street lights flickered on and off before lighting up to life.

“It’d been a while since we last walked together like this.”

“Has it really?”

Meky brought out her hand and started counting her fingers.

“Hmm… Just the two of us… three or four weeks ago, I think? All four of us, half a year ago.”

“It’s been a while, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“When should we hang out again? Even in the restaurant is fine, I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind.”

“Well… I guess sometime?”

Meky looked into Carol’s eyes, before raising an eyebrow.

“Carol, is something bothering you?”

“Ah, what do you mean? There’s nothing.” Carol waved her off.

“Hmm…” Meky continued staring, but she eventually relented. The two entered Meky’s restaurant. The simple restaurant had been decorated in a minimalistic style. Light gray color painted the walls, while on one side there were several wooden racks with plastic plants and pictures of menu items decorating them.

“Welcome.”

“I’m back.”

“Meky, and Carol as well, welcome,” Meky’s father greeted the two.

“We’re just about to open. Make yourselves at home. Meky, you can be with Carol for the night, but do you mind taking care of some of the plates first?”

“Sure, I’ll be back.” Meky walked toward the cashier. Her father handed her the menu. She gave it to Carol before heading to the rear.

Carol searched for an empty seat near the rear end of the restaurant and sat down, looking at the menu. The restaurant served various kinds of dishes, focusing on beef and milk-based soup. The menu had many photos of delicious-looking food items, making Carol drool over them.

… Should I really?

She had a competition coming up. Her opponent wouldn’t be easy. Even forgetting about Raphael for a moment, she still needed to face literal dragons. Could she really be eating these kinds of food just before the tournament?

“Carol, it’s been a while,” Meky’s mother came from the rear, greeting her.

“Ma’am, good evening.”

Meky’s mother looked outside the restaurant, noticing the darkening skies.

“It’s evening already, huh? So, Carol, what do you want?”

“...” Carol looked back down to the menu. There were so many things she wanted, but she knew many of them weren’t good for her diet.

“Umm…” she pointed toward the salad. Meky’s mother smiled and wrote down the order on her notepad. With a wide grin, she returned to the rear, not saying anything else.

“... I haven’t ordered my drink,” Carol mumbled after seeing her disappear. She shrugged, planning on ordering the drink when the food came. She thought of taking plain old water anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’m back.” Meky returned from the kitchen and sat down. A family came into the restaurant, prompting Meky to stand up, but her father signaled her to sit down.

“So, what is it?” Meky eyed Carol.

“Is Lucas in the kitchen?”

“You’re dodging the question,” Meky shot her down. Carol smiled wryly.

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to talk, but if you ever need someone to listen to you, there’s me or your husband. Just don’t call Lucas.”

“Future husband, and no, I won’t.”

Meky’s father returned from picking up the order. He headed back to the counter, putting the slip of paper through the small window connecting the restaurant and the kitchen. Two glasses of lemon tea came out. He brought them to Carol and Meky.

“But I haven’t ordered?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Meky’s father then kneeled down beside Meky and whispered something to her. Meky nodded before saying ‘yes’.

“What did he say?” Carol asked after Meky’s father returned to the counter.

“Nothing.” Meky grinned.

“You’re only making me more curious.”

“Couldn’t be helped. By the way, how is your training going?”

“Hmm… decent, I guess.”

Almost everyone in the organization should know that Carol would be representing the Rangers in the tournament. She didn’t remember Meky having a connection inside the organization, however, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility, especially considering how small this town was.

“Decent? You don’t look so well.”

“Sorry, there’s just something else on my mind,” she said, careful in choosing her words.

“Hmm? What is it? Got a teddy bear you want?”

“Nothing of the sort, no,” if Carol wanted something, then it would be that miniature railgun they started selling the other day. The R-9071, a railgun that appeared in a television show Carol was a fan of. The fictional railgun had an X-shape base, with rapid-firing cannons on each of its legs providing point-blank defense.

“... Your eyes definitely say you want something.” Meky aimed a fork at her.

“... That model kit of the R-9071.”

“You watch that as well?”

Carol nodded meekly. She always enjoyed model kits, whether it was based on fictional giant robots, fast fighter jets, or tough realistic tanks and ships, she had many in her room. The R-9071 would be a perfect addition to her collection.

Meky brought out her phone and started typing. Carol didn’t ask, but she was shocked when Meky turned the phone around to her.

‘Carol wants the R-9071 model kit.’

Recipient: Raphael.

“Wait wait wait!”

“Sent.”

“Meky!”

* ••

While Carol was begging Meky to unsend what she had just sent, a notification arrived on Raphael’s phone. He had just finished eating dinner and was about to return to making medicine.

Meky?

He opened the notification.

‘Carol wants the R-9071 model kit.’

‘Buy it for her.’

“...”

‘She’s asking me to unsend enteak aejdaaskn easer’

“...”

He was about to reply when all three messages were unsent. He opened his online shopping application and input the name into the search bar.

“Is it this one?” Raphael tried recalling his memories. He remembered her telling him just how much she liked this show. He checked the item description, making sure that it was the correct item before putting it into his shopping cart. He changed the address to Carol’s and paid for the item.

“I hope she’s happy with that,” Raphael smiled, returning to his work.