Chapter 2:

“Listen! When I grow up, I’m going to protect this village together with you and the others, Father!”

“Is that so? Well then, you’ll have to get much stronger than you are now!”

“Yeah!”

Not long after that, my father, who was a Protector, died fighting a monster to protect the village.

Then, around the time I grew up and was chosen to be a Protector myself, my mother also passed away from wounds she sustained fighting a monster.

Having lost both my father and mother, I trained myself with the promise I made to them as a child held tight in my heart. Never allowing myself to grow conceited, I simply pursued strength.

It wasn’t long after I began to be called the strongest Protector in the village that I met him.

Bandits had snuck into the village unnoticed, kidnapped Siena, and I, accompanied by Yuyuna and Ruruna, was facing off against them in the forest.

As I stared intently at the bandits, ready to spring into action at any moment, a person with a small dragon on his head appeared from the direction the arrow shot by one of the bandits had come from. A person wearing clothes that seemed to be made of monster fur and leather.

But for someone like that, he had no weapons in his hands or at his waist.

I thought I should be on guard, but upon sensing no hostility from him, I refocused my attention, deciding that my current priority was saving Siena.

Just then, one of the bandits headed toward the newcomer, but… the bandit suddenly flew through the air and disappeared into the forest.

While I was wondering what in the world had just happened, the person suddenly appeared right in front of me carrying Siena, handed her over to us, and vanished again.

When I moved my eyes from Siena back to the bandits, they were flying off into the forest just like the first one.

For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming.

Seeing the last remaining bandit charging toward us, I killed him with magic. A fitting end for such scum.

We exchanged introductions with the person who had saved Siena and brought him back to the village as a form of thanks.

The name of the benefactor who saved Siena was “Wazu.”

He said he was aiming to build a harem, but it was my first time seeing someone actually say such a thing.

As Yuyuna and I continued talking with Wazu-san, Siena suddenly hugged him.

“Wazu-onii-chan saved me, so I’m going to join Wazu-onii-chan’s harem!”

I thought it was still too early for Siena to be saying things like that.

When we arrived at the village, Siena’s mother rushed out, and the parent and child embraced. I was truly glad she had been saved.

It seemed Wazu-san would be staying in our village for a while. Ruruna told me he was staying at the twins’ house.

She asked if I wanted to stay over too, but I politely declined.

Wanting strength like Wazu-san’s, I imposed even more rigorous training on myself.

Then, one day, I headed to the river to wash off the sweat from my morning training. After I finished washing up, Wazu-san suddenly surfaced from the water.

Panicking because a man saw me completely naked, I impulsively fired magic at him, yet Wazu-san remained standing there, completely unbothered.

I was a little startled when Wazu-san suddenly rubbed his head against the ground in front of me and spouted words of apology.

Seeing him stay in that posture even after I told him I wasn’t angry, and watching his expressions rapidly change after he stood up, I found it a little amusing and teased him a bit.

I wasn’t particularly conscious of him yet at this point.

While patrolling the forest as usual, a scream reached my ears.

I immediately rushed over and saw a giant scorpion about to attack two young elves.

Without a second thought, I moved, drew the giant scorpion’s attention to myself, and let the two elves escape.

After that, I fought the giant scorpion while constantly changing locations, but lacking proper equipment, I gradually began to be pushed back.

Unable to fully dodge the giant scorpion’s pincer, I was thrown into the air, and my intuition screamed that this was bad.

As if to prove my intuition correct, the giant scorpion’s tail came straight at me, but that tail never reached me.

With a single strike from Wazu-san, the tail burst, and I was caught in his arms just like that.

For some reason, I suddenly felt deeply embarrassed and thrashed about, but Wazu-san didn’t budge an inch. How unreasonable! I thought, yet my heart skipped a beat feeling the sturdy arms that held me so easily. Suddenly realizing I was covered in sweat, I inadvertently blurted it out—the greatest blunder of my life.

Walking alongside Wazu-san under the starlight.

Feeling Wazu-san’s gaze on me as we walked side-by-side, my heart pounded annoyingly loud.

Trying to ignore the beating of my heart, I spun words of gratitude for saving me, but a mischievous urge sprouted, and I couldn’t help but say it.

“Because… if I’m saved by you, Wazu-san, that means I have to join your harem, doesn’t it?”

“That is absolutely not a fact!”

Being instantly rejected made my chest feel a little murky.

“Fufu… I’m joking.”

I accidentally let those words slip, but if it meant being with Wazu-san, I couldn’t help but think that such a future wouldn’t be so bad.

Since then, my state of mind changed slightly.

I was happy whenever Wazu-san talked to me, and my heart felt at peace when I was with him.

But when I saw Wazu-san talking with other women, a sharp pain ran through my chest, and I felt irritated and displeased.

By this time, I had realized the feelings inside my own heart.

That I was attracted to Wazu-san. Wazu-san said his looks were plain, but to me, I think he has a very cute appearance.

I found every excuse I could to spend time with him.

Then, one day, I was summoned by the Village Chief and challenged to a duel by Gazna, with the condition that the loser must leave the village.

It’s true that Gazna is an unsavory person who always finds a reason to pick a fight with me, but he’s still a fellow villager. I wasn’t overly confident in my own abilities, but no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine Gazna beating me.

However, to challenge me to a duel like this meant he must have considerable resolve and determination.

I agonized over whether I should accept.

Well, I knew I had to accept, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the final decision.

Perhaps because of that… holding liquor I don’t usually drink, my feet naturally carried me to where Wazu-san was. I just wanted Wazu-san to be by my side until my resolve hardened…

The next day, I faced off against Gazna.

I was surprised by the abilities of the black robe Gazna wore, but I still thought I could win.

However, when a massive horde of monsters swarmed the village, I honestly didn’t know what to do.

Monsters of the forest meant they were at least B-rank. Monsters that even I couldn’t defeat alone were everywhere.

My heart filled with a sense of impatience…

I tried to cast magic at Gazna, but the words wouldn’t come out.

I wouldn’t hesitate against monsters or bandits, but to use magic against a fellow villager, even an unsavory one… just as Gazna said, I couldn’t do it.

But then, Wazu-san appeared before me, and courage lit up in my heart…

However, when I shot a quick glance behind Wazu-san, the area was covered in a massive pile of monster corpses. Did Wazu-san really do all this by himself? Just how much power does he have…?

“Alright then, Sarona-san! I’m going to kick the asses of all the monsters up ahead, so you hurry up and finish things with that guy! I believe in your victory! Do your best!”

“Ah! Yes! W-Wazu-san, you um… do your best, too?”

I felt a little uneasy wondering what would happen if Wazu-san actually did his best.

I launched another attack on Gazna, and as the offense and defense continued, my stamina and Gazna’s magical power were on the verge of running out.

Even so, Gazna showed no intention of stopping the duel.

Then, Gazna swallowed a red orb and transformed drastically.

His appearance could no longer be called an elf; he had become something else entirely.

I never took my eyes off Gazna, but due to my declining stamina, my reaction was slightly delayed. I instinctively thrust my knife at him, but I was blown away, crashing my body against the wall of the barrier.

My body screamed from the impact running through it, but I somehow managed to hold onto my consciousness.

With my body refusing to move properly, what reflected in my eyes was the sight of my parents’ memento, my knife, being crushed.

Even so, I am the Protector of this village. I must protect everyone in the village.

I told Wazu-san, who was behind the barrier, to take everyone and escape. But as if to say there was no need for that—Wazu-san smashed the barrier to pieces.

Right before my eyes, Wazu-san cornered the transformed Gazna.

During that time, I stood up and checked my body’s condition, making sure never to take my eyes off Wazu-san.

Then, Wazu-san’s voice reached my ears.

“Because! I’m attracted to Sarona-san, and I don’t want her to die!”

……………………Eh?

What did Wazu-san just say?

Attracted? To me? Does that mean he likes me?

My face, my entire body instantly flared with heat.

My heart beat so fast and hard it hurt.

I told that to Wazu-san when he turned around.

My chest tightened in agony, as if rejecting my own words, but even so…

Wazu-san forced a smile so he wouldn’t hurt me and left the village.

Once his figure was no longer in sight, tears naturally overflowed.

“Ah~ man, that ended up being like a public execution for Wazu… As a fellow man, I sympathize with him… Still, Sarona, you really overthink things way too much.”

“Yeah, yeah, you really should just be a little more honest with your own feelings.”

Yuyuna and Ruruna, who had come to my side at some point, called out to me.

I hurriedly wiped my tears, turned to the two of them, and asked:

“What do you mean, ‘overthink’? Besides, I believe I spoke honestly?”

“You weren’t honest at all! I mean, you actually want to go with him, right?”

At Ruruna’s words, I choked up, unable to speak.

“Th-That’s… uh…”

“Also, you’re misunderstanding something, Sarona.”

“…What am I misunderstanding?”

“Everyone in the village isn’t so weak that they need only you to protect them!”

As Ruruna said that, voices rose up from everyone in the village, one after another.

“That’s right, that’s right! I’m still an active Protector, you know!”

“I can fight too!”

“So you can leave the village with peace of mind!”

“We’ll protect the village properly!”

“Your parents would surely want that, too!”

“Sarona-onee-chan is already a member of Wazu-onii-chan’s harem, so you have to be with him!”

All of those voices were trying to send me off.

Telling me to leave the village to them, telling me I could chase after him with peace of mind. Every single voice was thinking of me, pushing me forward.

I broke down crying right there, repeating, “Thank you… thank you…” over and over.

Of course, I can’t chase after him right this second. Even if I’m leaving the village, there are various things I need to do.

It might take a little time, but I swear I will reach Wazu-san’s side.

I firmly wiped away my tears and stood up.

“…Well, we have a lot of things to think about from now on… but for starters, what do we do about that?”

In the direction Yuyuna pointed, Gazna was still stuck headfirst in the ground.

“Leave him be. We’ll let the Chief handle the rest. More importantly, I’m going to be very busy with things from now on.”

I turned on my heel and began to walk away.

“…Was Sarona always like that?”

“Her head is completely full of Wazu right now.”