"Of course it's terrifying. It's a divine beast," came a girl's voice behind him.
A blonde girl in an ornate red dress descended from the sky, landing lightly. A sharp sword hung at her waist. She'd probably jumped from a nearby building.
"If you can see that thing, you must be a mage. But you don't look like one of our local magic associations," she said, narrowing her eyes as she noticed Hajime's black hair and eyes.
On the field where the divine beast had gone on a rampage, a young girl confronted a mysterious mage.
"You, the unfamiliar mage lingering on the battlefield—don't tell me you summoned that beast?"
Her hand rested on her sword hilt, prepared to strike if the answer was yes.
If this man really was the culprit, she would be arresting the source of all this chaos right on the spot.
Even if he denied it… the timing was just too suspicious.
But Hajime wasn't fazed in the least by being mistaken for a criminal. Instead, he calmly studied the girl in front of him.
"And you are?"
He had a good idea who she was, but wanted to confirm.
"Erica Blandelli, Grand Knight of the Copper Black Cross."
The girl declared her name with pride.
"Just so you know, if you are the culprit, it'd be best to come clean now. You might get a lighter sentence."
She smiled like a fox, clearly trying to coax him into a confession.
If any fool actually fell for that, they'd find out real quick just how cruel the world could be.
Unfortunately, that trick didn't work on Hajime.
Especially since… this incident had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Sorry to disappoint," Hajime said, hands raised slightly, "but I'm not your guy. This has nothing to do with me."
His gaze shifted toward the distant divine beast—an enormous wild boar.
"Although... I was thinking of stepping in now."
"Oh?"
Erica raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"You're saying... you want to help take down the divine beast?"
But without waiting for a reply, she quickly shook her head.
"Sorry, I'm not the type to work with others. And as a knight sworn to protect Italy, there's no way I can just stand by and let this beast rampage."
More and more buildings were being destroyed in the distance. Even though civilians had been evacuated, the economic damage was skyrocketing.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait here!"
She added confidently, "My uncle once fought several divine beasts. I may not be quite at his level yet, but I should be able to handle one."
Without another word, she activated the spell [Sandles of Hermes].
Light as a bird, she leapt dozens of stories upward and dashed across rooftops toward the boar.
"Coure di Leone!"
She called out as she ran, summoning her magic sword.
Erica was ready for a fierce battle.
In truth, she was capable of teaming up with others—she just didn't trust Hajime yet. In high-level battles, unreliable allies could be more dangerous than enemies.
Better to fight alone than worry about betrayal.
As one of the most gifted magicians in the world, Elrica had reached the rank of Grand Knight by age sixteen. She bore the title of "Crimson Devil" with pride.
She was confident in her strength.
Sure, she hadn't reached the level of a Paladin like her uncle Paul—but that didn't mean the gap was unbridgeable.
If her uncle could protect Princess Alice from six divine beasts, then she—his niece—should at least be able to handle one.
Especially after boasting so boldly in front of that mysterious mage.
If she failed, where would her pride go?
Fueled by determination, Erica charged straight ahead.
But what she didn't know was—
This boar wasn't like the usual divine beasts—dormant and unprovoked.
Earlier, it had clashed with the [Wind] incarnation and been driven into a rage.
A furious divine boar was easily three times more dangerous than normal.
So yes, Erica bravely charged in.
Yes, she bravely drew her sword.
Yes, she bravely swung it toward the boar.
But before her blade could even touch the beast—
BOOM!!
The boar let out a furious roar, unleashing a shockwave from its mouth.
The blast stormed across the battlefield—
"—!"
Erica was launched hundreds of meters by the shockwave's backlash.
Then
Thud!
She crashed to the ground, rolling several times.
As she struggled to get up and brush the dust from her outfit—
She looked up... and saw a familiar figure.
It was that same black-haired, black-eyed mage from before.
Hajime was standing there, looking at her with a very peculiar expression.
Elrica recalled the confident things she had said earlier...
Her face flushed red.
She wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
How embarrassing!