Pawahara Seijo no Osananajimi to Zetsuen Shitara, Nanimokamo ga Umaku Iku Yō ni Natte Saikyō no Bōke

[I Want to Soak and Relax in a Hot Spring]

A few days after the dragon incident.

Having become completely known as Dragon Slayer, I left the port town of Hargay alone and headed for the southern volcanic island by ship.

Lisa-san was kind, so I had really wanted to stay in town a little longer, but as a stranger had called out to me and had said, “Yo, Dragon Slayer. Let’s go hunting!” I had decided that I couldn’t stay any longer and had finally made my determination to set off.

After all, Elma was vulnerable to such a title.

If she got the wind of it, she would definitely try to add the rumored Dragon Slayer to her party for her own benefit.

I was her childhood friend.

So I was 100% sure of it.

That was why, although I was very sad to leave Lisa-san, I had decided to choke back my tears.

At that time, when I asked for a good place to relax, she told me of a hot spring resort on the volcanic island, so I had decided to go there.

“But man, the sea is so beautiful,” I muttered to myself while looking at the blue sea.

When I had boarded a ship with Elma before, I was fully occupied with doing my best to take care of her, who was grumbling she was bored.

Just the calm alone healed me.

“Ah, please come here, mom. There’s a flock of narwhal over there!”

“Oh my, you’re right. They’re cute, aren’t they?”

“Yes!”

The mother and child pair looked like they were really enjoying themselves.

Or rather, that person was the child’s mother, huh.

I had thought that she was her older sister, but… mothers nowadays sure were young……

◇ ◇

After arriving at the volcanic island, Magrid, I try to soak and relax in a hot spring but.

“I deeply apologize. Currently, there is an Adamantia settling down near the source of the spring, so the area is off limits for caution’s sake.”

“Ah, I see…”

To think it was currently off limits.

Adamantia was a giant turtle-shaped monster with a hard scarlet shell, and although it was mild-tempered, it was kind of troublesome as an opponent because physical attacks hardly worked on it.

According to one theory, its shell could be used as a raw material to create the legendary alloy—— Hihiirokane, and if I remembered correctly, I had once heard that Elma’s Holy Sword was made by an ancient blacksmith by processing Hihiirokane, but it seemed that there was no one who could do so in the present age.

In short, what I wanted to say was, “I give up on the hot spring”.

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

As I was considering if I should go eating something delicious instead, the conversation between the mother and child pair I had met on the ship reached my ears.

“I’m sorry… Even though I want Mom to finally enjoy the hot spring after a long time…”

“Fufu, it’s okay. Just your feeling already makes me plenty happy.”

The girl in her early-teens was being gently patted and comforted by her mother.

I was sure she had done her best to save money all this time to give this trip as a present to her mother.

It ended up ruined.

The girl’s face became messy due to her tears that was overflowing non-stop.

“……” Come to think of it, I—— am a ‘dragon slayer’, am I not?

In that case, this wasn’t the time to be afraid of a mere turtle.

“——Don’t worry.”

“Eh…?”

To reassure the girl, I smiled at her and said, “Onii-chan will do something about that big turtle.”

◇ ◇

Though I said that.

“Isn’t this turtle too big…” I was standing dumbfoundedly in front of the Adamantia.

It was clearly bigger than the flying dragon that ate me the other day, but what the heck should I do?

However, if I didn’t do something about it, that girl would be very sad.

So, I gotta do something about it, but…

“Oryaah!”

――Clang!

“My dagger!?”

My new dagger was broken in one hit.

That was the shell said to be the raw material for the legendary metal for you.

It was uselessly hard.

“It can’t be helped. Then, I have no choice but to get eaten, after all.”

Yosh, making up my resolve, I decided to get in front of Adamantia.

Then, I prodded its face, which was hidden inside its shell, with the handle of my broken short sword for a couple of times.

And then.

“——Kigyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Uwah!?”

――BOOM!

The infuriated Adamantia stretched out its neck and headbutted me.

While I managed to dodge at the last second, the power of its headbutt was tremendous, the boulders it hit shattered into pieces.

Had I got hit directly, I would have turn into pieces too.

Well, I would return back to normal immediately, though.

Anyway, at that time,

――BUSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Water… no, hot water jetted out from gaps of the broken boulders.

It was the source of the hot spring.

“Hothothothothot!?” As I was writhing alone, getting rained by boiling water, Adamantia, who was hit directly by it, began to twist itself as if it disliked it.

Although it was heat resistant, it seemed to dislike the hot water that constantly hit its face.

Adamantia tried to move away with its heavy body to escape, but it seemed that the ground surface under its feet could not support the weight of its violent movements— the rock face slowly collapsed.

“Kigaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?”

“Owah!?”

Then, Adamantia, who slipped on the rock face, fell from the cliff to the sea like a falling rock.

“It was an extremely close call, but it surprisingly worked out somehow…” I patted my chest in relief as Adamantia sank into the sea.

Although it was quite different from the original plan, the result was good, I would say.

With this, the hot spring would be reopened.

I was glad I managed to keep my promise.

“I hope she’ll be happy with this.” I smiled broadly, before walking down toward the town at the foot of the mountain with the rainbow created by the hot water geyser behind me.