Dragon and Ogre, Sacrifice and Sin (5)

"Nngh, nghoooh, I-I was so glaaad, young maaaaster... Nngh, nghh..."

A huge man came out from the back of the guild, shouting, "Get out if you're going to fight!" Zelly-san and I were tossed out, and as we sat on the roadside in a back alley, Zelly-san rubbed her tear-and-snot-streaked face against me. My cloak grew even dirtier.

I had used an iron claw on Zelly-san, so the marks of all five fingers were clearly stamped on her face. But her joy outweighed the pain... and that made me happy too.

The bridge of my nose tingled a little.

"Zelly-san, please tell me. Why are you in a place like this?"

When I wiped her face with a hand towel, a long string of snot stretched out. Honestly, what a face for a grown adult to be making...

"I-I was in Lef until they managed to make a magic device that could tell whether you were alive or not, young master..."

Zelly-san told me everything.

It was truly amazing that Zelly-san had managed to create a magic device for checking whether I was alive. Thank goodness I had kept the bracelet they gave me when I entered the Lef Magitech Empire, just in case.

Once Zelly-san learned that I was alive...