The Worrywart Childhood Friend

Before words like "This is bad" or "We're in trouble" could cross my mind, I first told myself, "Calm down."

Calm down. If I stay calm, there won't be a problem.

Repeating that to myself over and over, I kept my agitation to a minimum.

I am Silver now. Not Arnold.

If that's the case, I don't need to offer any explanation.

Rather, I mustn't offer one. Silver has nothing he needs to hide.

"Does it bother you?"

"Of course it does! Who told you!?"

"I have neither the obligation nor the responsibility to tell you that."

I put on a relaxed smile and did my best to respond like Silver. Erna was dangerous in battle. Even a trivial turn of phrase could give me away. If I made her suspect something, it was over.

Given Erna's personality, I couldn't let her discover my identity, at least not yet.

"What did you say!?"

"Look, it seems to be making a move. Are you going to leave things like this?"

"Tch! You'd better tell me later!"

"That depends on how I feel at the time."

I smoothly deflected the matter and directed her attention toward Leviatano.

Then, in Erna's place, I descended to just above the sea and stood before Leviatano as it prepared itself.

There, I quietly exhaled and pressed my right hand against my pounding heart. I regulated my breathing and somehow managed to calm myself down.

I never expected her to scare me more than a dragon. As expected of my strongest childhood friend. Though it was my own carelessness.

From here on, I could deal with things one way or another. I could simply escape by teleportation without answering, or make up a convincing story.

My personal crisis had passed. All that remained was the sea dragon before me.

'Damn you... How long has it been since I've been wounded? And to think a human was the one to do it...'

"That's why I told you not to underestimate humans."

'I understood after taking that blow. That girl must be a descendant of the one who slew the Demon King. And she carries such an infuriating sword...'

"So what will you do? Retreat?"

'Don't make me laugh... A dragon must never retreat out of fear of a human!!'

Saying that, Leviatano opened its enormous mouth and let out a roar.

A dragon's roar. It made everything tremble. It was a blow that shattered the spirit.

Anyone faint of heart would have passed out. In fact, the fleet surrounding Leviatano had descended into an uproar.

This is bad. I wanted them to withdraw as soon as possible, but there were still a great many ships in the battle zone.

'You will pay the price for wounding my body!'

"You attacked first, yet you're acting so entitled. Typical dragon."

As I retorted, I slowly rose higher.

I needed to buy a little more time.

"Female Hero, lend me your ear."

"What...?"

"Why are you keeping your distance?"

"Because you might suddenly push me into the sea...!"

Like a wary cat, Erna backed away and trembled.

Please don't react like a cat that hates taking a bath at such an important moment.

Honestly.

"I won't do that. I don't have the confidence to fight both a sea dragon and a hero at the same time."

"Who knows!"

Even as she said that, Erna never lowered her guard against Leviatano.

Leviatano opened its mouth and released the same water breath as before.

We slowed it with defensive magic and used that time to leave the area.

Leviatano's breath rose all the way to the heavens and tore through the clouds. We wouldn't stand a chance if it hit us directly.

If something like that were fired at the city, it would be over.

"Do you have some kind of plan!?"

"Can you cut it again?"

"No. It's on guard now, so the same trick won't work. If we weren't over the sea, I could deal with it in any number of ways, but..."

Erna looked toward the sea with some determination, but her shoulders soon drooped as though she had been intimidated.

Meanwhile, Leviatano fired a huge number of water bullets at us. I canceled them all out as I proposed something to Erna.

"Then you can manage if we weren't over the sea?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Split the sea."

"Huh!?"

Erna shouted as though she couldn't believe me, but unfortunately, I was serious.

I had considered trapping the dragon in a barrier and sending it into the sky, but that would be troublesome if it escaped.

It was a dragon, after all. Its wings were injured, but it could probably still fly if it really wanted to.

"I'll isolate part of the sea with a barrier. Then you can fight without any problems, right?"

"You mean you'll create an empty box in the middle of the sea?"

"That's what it amounts to."

"What happens when you remove the barrier?"

"Then you'll be underwater."

When I said that flatly, Erna's face briefly contorted with fear.

She must have imagined it.

"No! You might remove the barrier after we defeat it!"

"I won't do something that would make the Empire my enemy. Besides, as an Imperial knight, you should know that this isn't the time to make selfish demands."

"Ugh... That's..."

"I don't have a decisive move. If I try chanting a spell, it will probably be interrupted. The longer we take, the more casualties there will be. I think this is best for both of us."

"You expect me to trust you?"

"That's right. Trust me."

"How am I supposed to trust someone who won't even show his face...?"

Erna glared at me resentfully.

Don't look at me like that. This isn't my fault.

I didn't want to send a woman with a fear of water into the sea either, but this was about the only simple method available.

After remaining silent for a while, Erna broke her silence with a single question.

"—Tell me. Who did you hear about my fear of water from?"

"...I've been sworn to secrecy, though?"

"Just tell me!"

"Prince Arnold. We exchanged information while we were in Rondine. That's when I heard it."

"Al? He told you? I'll have you know that Al doesn't trust people easily. He doesn't give important information to people he doesn't trust, either. If you're lying, I won't show you any mercy."

That was a harsh way to put it.

Though she wasn't wrong.

"I'm not lying. How can I convince you?"

"...What did Al say when he told you about my weakness?"

I fell silent for a moment.

If I were telling someone about Erna's weakness, what would I say?

What reason would I have to reveal someone else's weakness?

When I thought about it that way, the words came to me naturally.

"He said, 'She's a handful of a childhood friend, but please look after her.' He must have been worried about you, in his own way, because of your fear of water."

"Huh!?"

For an instant, Erna's face turned red, and then she lowered her head.

And then...

"He's such a worrywart... Honestly... Stupid Al..."

After muttering a few words, Erna sighed and began slowly descending.

"So I take that as your consent?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I trust you. I trust Al, who trusted you. If Al thought it was all right to tell you about my weakness... well, fine. I don't like it much, but I'll let it go because it's Al."

Saying that, Erna descended until she was right beside Leviatano.

Calling it beside Leviatano was a bit of a stretch. Leviatano was enormous, so even when Erna reached its head, she was still far above the sea. But to Erna, it must have been practically a death zone.

Let's get started.

I formed a square barrier centered on Leviatano and Erna's position, then expanded it farther and farther.

The barrier pushed the sea apart, forcing the nearby ships to leave the area.

The barrier eventually reached all the way to the seafloor, bringing the ground into view.

'Hmph! Putting up a barrier and making this a one-on-one fight is bold. Are you really that confident, girl?'

"I'm not confident at all... I can say this much for certain: this is the worst place I've ever been."

I could understand why Erna felt that way.

Even though the barrier kept the water out, she was surrounded on all four sides by walls of water.

To Erna, it must have been no different from hell.

Even so, Erna raised the Holy Sword overhead.

"But even so... I will fight! I can't make my childhood friend worry about me any more than I already have!"

Saying that, Erna filled the Holy Sword with mana.

The Holy Sword converted that mana into radiant holy energy, shining brighter and brighter.

'Nnh!? What is this!?'

"Star Holy Sword... Release your power... and annihilate my enemy!!"

As she said that, light gathered more and more densely along the Holy Sword's blade.

An overwhelming amount of light gathered on the blade. It was practically a miniature sun.

Holding that sword, Erna charged straight ahead.

'Don't underestimate me!!'

Leviatano countered with its water breath.

The water breath that could slice through all things rushed toward Erna, but she caught it with the Holy Sword and continued advancing.

'What!?'

"Haaaaaaa!!"

The Holy Sword cut through even Leviatano's water breath.

Then Erna accelerated.

"Heavenly Light Severing Slash!!"

Erna's deadly strike cleaved Leviatano, a dragon over fifty meters in size, in two with a single blow.

But that wasn't all.

It also cut through the barrier I had erected with ease.

"Damn!"

I descended into the barrier as water poured inside, grabbed Erna, and evacuated into the sky.

"Hey!? Let go!"

"You were panicking at the sight of water, and that's what you say? How about saying thank you?"

"It was your job to save me from that state! Don't act like I owe you! Besides, isn't this your barrier's fault for being so flimsy!?"

I wondered how many people on this continent would describe my barrier as flimsy. At the very least, it was the first time I'd ever heard that.

I almost replied in my usual tone, but somehow managed to restrain myself.

Besides, it wasn't over yet.

"Sorry it was flimsy. It's a lot of work because you broke it."

Saying that, I sealed the hole in the barrier, raised it out of the sea, and opened a small hole to drain the water inside.

Erna looked at me suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

"A dragon's body sells for a high price. And this is an S-rank dragon. It should provide more than enough money to rebuild the city."

"Oh? I thought you were going to keep it for yourself since you defeated it, but I guess not."

"Normally, it would belong to the person who defeated it, but this case is unusual. The country that suffered the damage should be the one to make use of it."

"Hmm... I've reconsidered you a little. So you think about things like that, too."

"I'm not like some sword-swinging female hero."

"What!?"

Erna's shoulders trembled with anger.

Even so, I gently placed Leviatano's corpse in the ruined harbor.

I could have Erna explain my intentions later.

Well, it was about time I took my leave.

"Then I'll be going."

"Wait! What kind of relationship do you have with Al!?"

"What kind of relationship...? We're co-conspirators. We devised a plan together and are putting it into practice. Ask him for more details. Whether he'll answer you is up to him."

Saying that, I teleported a short distance to the castle of the Albatro Duchy.

I had thought I shouldn't leave Brother Trau behind, but...

"M-Miss Eva... W-would you model for me sometime? If possible, if you could imagine me as your big brother and call me 'Big Brother,' it would really help my creative process...!"

"Huh...? Um..."

Right. Let's leave him behind.

I gave up on him immediately and hurried back to my room in Rondine.

I quickly changed my clothes, cast an illusion over them, and put them away in my luggage.

After eliminating every trace of myself as Silver, I lay down on the bed.

"Ah... I'm exhausted again..."

Muttering that, I fell asleep.

I felt as though I had forgotten something important, but I had neither the energy nor the willpower left to think about it.