The Bad Girl

It was a battle we had hoped to avoid, but it wasn't exactly hopeless. The atmosphere was less "How on earth are we going to win this?" and more "Do we really have to fight this right now?" The enemy's formation was actually in our favor. The battlefield was divided into three distinct groups based on distance.

The first group consisted of two warriors who had approached Meredith and me. This was the main theater of the battle. However, regardless of its importance, the fighting itself was destined to be a slog. Given the battles we’d faced so far, it was clear that this group would take quite a long time to settle things on their own.

Then there was the second group, a shaman and a warrior, standing at a moderate distance. This was the shaman our protagonist was targeting. Under normal circumstances, the warrior would make it impossible to get close, but with the help of invisibility, our protagonist should be able to handle it without much trouble.

Finally, there was the chieftain and the shaman behind him, the furthest group of all. They were the most dangerous, yet paradoxically, the safest because of the distance. The battle plan, inferred from our protagonist’s brief words, was simple: our protagonist would eliminate the mid-range shaman while Meredith took down the long-range one. Once those two were successfully removed, the variables would decrease, saving us a massive headache. After that, our protagonist would return to us. It would be faster for him to return to our fierce skirmish than for the distant chieftain to intervene. By leveraging a brief numerical advantage, we could thin out the warriors and reorganize our lines to gain a strategic edge.

Ultimately, the core of this operation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rested on me. While Meredith cast her magic, I had to hold the attention of the two warriors. I tightened my grip on my staff. A gnoll lunged, but as it had been until now, it was blocked by the wall of spears—or rather, the wall of staves—that Meredith and I formed. I finally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understood why the spear had dominated the battlefield for so long. The stability provided by its long reach and the ability to cover a wide area with minimal movement was incredible.

Still, it was a precarious standoff. Meredith’s weapon was in the form of a staff, and while the pole I used was similar to a spear, it was shorter. Being short myself only made it feel even more stunted. If the gnolls had been wielding standard longswords instead of cleavers, I would have been finished without any way to retaliate.

"Once you take out one shaman!" I shouted. I pushed back a gnoll that flinched and lunged at me with my staff. "Shoot the remaining one!"

"I heard you!"

Well, of course she did; she was standing right next to me. I seemed incredibly tense, but it looked like she was listening to everything. It wasn't good to lose focus, but my eyes kept searching for our protagonist. Is he here now? Or there? Please, hurry. I stabbed at the torso of a gnoll trying to push through and dodged the movement of a shield intended to knock my staff away. In my heart, I was desperately calling out for him.

And then.

Whizz—!

A sharp sound rang out. It was just the high-pitched noise of metal vibrating, but right now, it was sweeter than any instrument. A thin, iron-like branch sprouted from the shaman’s body. Our protagonist followed up by slicing the calf of the gnoll warrior next to him with the dagger held in his left hand. Perhaps due to a physique where the lower body was weaker compared to the upper, the warrior collapsed right where he stood. With that unexpected blow, both mid-range gnolls were down. Our protagonist, who had pulled off such a feat as if it were nothing, had a whistle clamped in his mouth. He had even drawn their attention. It was an opportunity he had created for us.

He really pulled it off. A smile spread across my face. Then I should do my part, too.

I shoved my way between Meredith and the gnolls, pushing back the ones who had been momentarily distracted by the sound of the whistle.

Just once. For a single moment. I gripped my staff horizontally and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leaned my body forward without a second thought. My heart was pounding like crazy. The gnolls were in the middle of a full-on charge, so they couldn't react with any finesse. They just swung their cleavers wildly. The gap closed completely. We collided, becoming a tangled mass of bodies. I lacked the mass, but because we were leaning into each other, I wasn't sent flying immediately. I heard the sound of an ice spear growing nearby. Crack, crunch. The sound of ice growing and shattering from within echoed.

"Hazel!"

Meredith struck the gnoll that was slowly pushing in with the thick end of her staff. The gnoll, hit in the head, was knocked away from the trio we had formed. We did it. Once our protagonist arrived, the situation would reverse. I believed that firmly. At least, until the chieftain and our protagonist collided like a gale and vanished from my sight.

"Hey, Hazel! Are you okay?"

After pushing the last remaining gnoll away with her staff, Meredith grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. My mind felt numb. Had I used too much strength? "Snap out of it! Jun will be fine!"

Just as she said, our protagonist was locked in a brawl with the chieftain not far away. The chieftain had lunged with a speed I hadn't anticipated. How? A spell flashed through my mind: Light Creation, Water Creation, Telekinesis, Magic Detection, Magic Arrow, ..., Acceleration. Ah. During that brief window before the shaman was taken out. He must have closed the distance while the effects of the shaman's magic were still active. Still, it wasn't the worst-case scenario. We had achieved all our goals. It was just that our protagonist was tied up in the middle of it.

My left forearm burned as if it had been scorched by fire. It felt like something sticky was flowing down it. It hurt. But it was bearable. Compared to rolling on cloth inscribed with spells in a room where not even light could enter, back at the slave trader's... this was nothing. If our protagonist was tied up, we had to break through.

I threw my staff at a gnoll trying to sneak past Meredith. Then, I pushed off the ground. I drew the multi-purpose dagger I had bought with the intention of cutting ropes, holding it in a reverse grip. I could do this. I had to. I was a beastkin, after all. I didn't need petty attacks. It was impossible for me to inflict a meaningful wound by cutting through gnoll hide with my own strength. Just once. One powerful blow to compensate for my lack of muscle and fragile flesh.

The off-balance gnoll struggled and swung its arm. A blue-tinged blade came toward my face. Thank goodness. I wouldn't have been able to dodge it if it had been a shield. I twisted my head as much as I could. Even then, I felt the sensation of raw flesh being torn. The wound didn't matter. The enemy's torso was wide open. I stepped on its bent leg and climbed up. Perhaps because they were closer to beasts, its protruding thigh was quite high. I grabbed its shoulder with my left hand and pulled it down. Using that momentum, I leaped from the gnoll’s thigh and squeezed its chest tightly with both legs. My body moved naturally, just like a squirrel climbing a tree. And with my left hand, I firmly supported the hilt and drove it down.

Between the neck and the shoulder. The sword was buried deep in that vicinity. The gnoll’s body greedily swallowed the entire blade. My heart hammered. The world was red. As the gnoll collapsed, my vision slowly tilted along with it. It fell completely, rolling on the ground. I looked to the side and saw Meredith focusing on smashing the ankles of the remaining gnoll. She was truly persistent. I couldn't help but laugh. That gnoll wouldn't be able to stop me.

I placed my hands on the ground and managed to stand. I dragged my heavy body forward. I had no energy left. Every time I breathed, I tasted the metallic tang of blood. Our protagonist was fighting the chieftain fiercely. It was an even match. The side effect of Acceleration was intense dizziness. To think he could fight like that while bearing that burden. He was, quite literally, a monster.

I took out the blowgun I had tucked away. I never thought it would be this difficult to get to the point of using it. I blew into the tube with all my might. A crude, poison-tipped dart flew silently. The dart embedded itself into the chieftain’s arm as if it had been sucked in. The giant gnoll’s movements began to dull, little by little. Its movements grew slower and slower, and it began to allow more attacks from our protagonist. Finally, along with the sound of Meredith shattering the skull of the warrior she was facing, our protagonist’s sword pierced the chieftain’s heart. The massive frame collapsed.

Ah. I'm exhausted. I collapsed right there on the spot. I closed my eyes. The breeze blowing by felt so cool. I heard the sound of feet crunching on stones and sand. The sound grew louder and stopped in front of me. As I lay there breathing quietly, a red liquid was poured onto my face. It stung. The wound felt like it was burning. At the same time, I felt an itchy sensation, as if the wound were healing.

How much time had passed? The remaining liquid from a potion bottle, which had been emptied, dripped from the tip of the bottle. "Hazel, how are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"After you graduate from the Academy and go to the Magic Tower, you won't have to do things like this anymore."

"It's a bit tempting right now."

"Then do you want to go?"

"No."

When I answered, I heard a sound of stifled laughter. I wondered what was so funny. I had that thought, but when I came to my senses, I was laughing, too. It must have been contagious. We both laughed for a long time. Meredith, her laughter having subsided to some extent, caught her breath and said, "You bad girl."

At those words, I laughed for a long time again.