"…Fical? What are you doing?"

  I asked Fical, who stood just thirty centimeters in front of me. He lifted his unevenly grown bangs with one hand.

  No, that wasn’t it.

  “Um, Fical… are you coming with me?”

  He nodded once. Then, pulling the leather card case from beneath his clothes, he pointed with that hand at the receptionist and my request form.

  “...You registered?”

  Another nod.

  I gnced involuntarily at the receptionist. Cisil smiled warmly and nodded. Fical stood there waiting, forehead fully exposed. He wore a freshly undered outfit different from before, with a sword hanging from his waist.

  This request could be accepted multiple times, so it wasn’t a problem if someone already in the guild accepted it without real reason. However, there was no benefit either. The number in the “no stars” category for completed requests on the guild record would increase by one, but unlike difficult quests, it had no effect on promotions.

  Also, Basero Ink was a charm to prevent children from careless injuries; it was meaningless for adults. Strictly speaking, everyone had to apply it according to the request form, but adult adventurers faced no penalty for skipping it.

  Fical stared intently.

  “…”

  “…”

  For now, I wrote the word “meat.” Fical’s expression brightened with satisfaction, apparently unaware of what was written.

  “Everyone—this big brother will be joining us now. Please be nice to him.”

  “Fical! Long time no see!”

  “Fical! When did you come back!?”

  “…Nice to meet you, Fical.”

  He greeted them with a slightly stiff voice. The three returned with smiles. They spoke animatedly to Fical, who only nodded silently. Despite being taciturn and not particurly friendly, Fical was well-liked by children.

  “Sumire! It’s almost time to leave!”

  “Okay!”

  Mesil, who had returned from outside, swayed her body and called out. I replied and took candy from a leather pouch in my pocket, handing it to the children’s mouths.

  “Bitter!”

  “Sumire-chan, this isn’t tasty.”

  “...Bitter sweet...”

  “It’s a protective charm candy.”

  I fed some to Fical, who quietly waited his turn, then popped one into my own mouth. After that, I lit the protective incense and pced it into the steel vine basket tied to my right hip.

  There were several types of protective incense. Today’s was a hard, square incense made by kneading and drying mugwort and wormwood. It repelled creatures up to about one meter tall and magical beasts that didn’t use magic attacks. Incidentally, it attracted rge magical beasts, so it was forbidden in areas with many strong creatures. Another incense made from bark of the Mayoke tree, dried for five years, made one less detectable to rge magical beasts but attracted smaller ones.

  “All right, ready! Let’s go!”

  “Yay!!”

  “Dad, we’re off!”

  “Take care.”

  Spectators could only come this far. Inside the forest, a few watchful adventurers guarded the inner areas, but no one else was around today. If an adventurer was caught in the shallow forest area, they’d be teased as a newbie adventurer, which was embarrassing. So, most adventurers not on guard or leadership duty didn’t work today.

  Well, there was one adventurer who didn’t care what others thought, and he came along anyway.

  “Hey, hey, Sumire-chan and Fical, are you two dating?”

  With Mars’ lively singing as background, Liliana leaned in and whispered. Despite holding hands so close, Fical followed just on the other side of me. I worried it might be awkward if he heard and answered.

  “Hmm, I don’t think it’s like that.”

  “Then, Sumire-chan, do you like someone else? My mom says no woman can resist a handsome guy like him.”

  What is Liliana’s mom teaching a six-year-old?

  “Well, I used to have a dog where I lived before. Fical somehow reminds me of that dog… so when I started living here and missed that pce, having him around felt reassuring.”

  I wouldn’t admit I thought of him as a dog exactly.

  His pale fur and silent nuzzling were very much like Pochiro, my mixed-breed medium-sized dog. Fical seemed more like a purebred, with a rger build closer to a big dog.

  Noticing I was looking up, Fical gnced between Liliana and me, then linked his left hand with my right, which I had been swinging gently, and nodded with satisfaction. No, no.

  Leonard, who was walking just ahead of Fical, suddenly spoke with a strained expression.

  “S-Sumire-chan, you had a dog? One so big and ferocious?”

  “Leonard, what is a dog?”

  “Like a wolf made ten times bigger and more aggressive. It eats about one cow a day.”

  Wait. That definition doesn’t match the dogs I know.

  “…My dog was smaller and calmer…”

  “Hey, Sumire!! Is this a scale?”

  Mars, who was leading the way, held something up. It was about the size of a rge adult’s thumbnail, translucent and resembling a cherry shell. Many of the same y scattered near where he stood. The glossy surface glittered in the dappled sunlight, beautiful.

  “That’s it! The difference in color between sunlight and shadow is a characteristic of dragon scales. Because it’s small and pink, it’s from a Princess Dragon.”

  “Mars, that’s amazing!”

  “Right?”

  “It looks almost purple in the dark.”

  Liliana praised him enthusiastically. Mars puffed up his chest, Leonard squinted to examine the scales between his hands. I crouched and picked up a few to expin.

  “But look closely. This one’s base is broken, this one’s cracked. Mars’ has a fracture too.”

  “Really!”

  “Looks like a few shed here. Princess Dragons shed by rolling, so their dropped scales are often damaged.”

  Realizing the scales they held didn’t meet the quest’s requirements, the three crouched together to search for intact ones. I stood and scanned the area. In fact, intact scales were more likely found where the Princess Dragon had gotten up and started walking than where it rolled to shed.

  Fical tapped my shoulder. I turned to where he pointed.

  “Hmm, nothing really clean here.”

  “This one! Ah, cracked again! This one’s just a fragment!”

  “Found one clean, but it’s tough…”

  “Quet.”

  “Hey Leonard, show us yours.”

  “Queque.”

  “Shut up, stop tapping my shoulder… What is that thing?!”

  Joining the circle, peering into Mars’ hands, was a Princess Dragon itself. It had lizard-like eyes, slightly backward-curved horns from its forehead, a beak-like mouth reminiscent of dinosaurs, small hands, wings too small to fly, but well-developed hind legs. About the size of the children, the little dragon poked its nose into the scattered scales, moving its tail tip left and right like mimicking the three of them.

  “Whoa, Sumire!!”

  “The Princess Dragon is gentle, it’s okay.”

  Startled, Mars fell backward, while the dragon tilted its head at him. This was the smallest species of the smallest genus of dragons, often kept as pets for their gentle nature. Curious by nature, it often approached humans working in the forest. Though a fire dragon, it only breathed fire when threatened, barely more than a lighter’s fme. When attacking, it mainly used its strong hind legs.

  A Princess Dragon showing up was expected, so I watched with a fond smile. Fical stood expressionless beside me.

  The pink, glossy scales glimmered as they moved. The three locked eyes with the dragon for a while before Mars spoke.

  “...I wonder if we could take a scale off this guy?”

  At once, he reached to catch it—but missed. The dragon stepped back and chirped at Mars. Its vertical pupils narrowed sharply, sparkling as it looked at him.

  It was as if a bell had rung between them.

  “Hey! Wait! You—!”

  “Quet! Quet! Quet!”

  The dragon bounced here and there like a pymate, with Mars chasing helplessly. Liliana cheered him on, but Leonard calmly resumed collecting scales, sorting out broken ones elsewhere.

  “Dragons are quick. There’s no way to catch one.”

  Just as Leonard, the encyclopedia expert, said—dragons are among the fastest creatures alive. Even the Princess Dragon, whose wings only allow it to jump high, can run as fast as an arrow shot from a bow. Larger flying dragons move with such ease that their weight feels nonexistent. Catching a Princess Dragon requires bait or toys.

  “Well, we still have time. Let’s take our time…”

  GROOOOOOOWL!!!

  A sinister growl echoed around.

  Everyone froze, exchanging gnces. The three went from cheerful to anxious and clung tightly to me. The low growl stirred unease.

  “Quet.”

  Correction.

  The three children and the one dragon, pressed close to me, looked up as if asking, What’s happening? The Princess Dragon’s frightened behavior revealed the source of the voice.

  Dragons are intelligent, swift, and brave. The only thing a dragon instinctively fears is another stronger dragon.

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