BSS 39

Chapter 39

A massive shadow thud—landed right in front of my nose. Its chilling eyes glowed red, and rows of razor-sharp teeth shimmered like those of a shark.

My body froze stiff. The same symptom I’d experienced once before struck again. My legs refused to move.

Why does nothing ever go right for me?

Even as I stood rigid, I could see the ogre’s hand slowly rising through the air. I needed to run, but my mind suddenly went blank.

There was no way I could avoid the attack of an ogre—one of the fastest, strongest, and most agile top‑tier monsters. I simply shut my eyes.

As I heard the wind whistle by with a whoosh, I was sure I was about to die.

Damn it!

But after a few seconds passed, I felt nothing. I cracked an eye open.

[Hiss! How dare you!]

Rai was tightly coiled around the ogre’s wrist.

He defended me before I even ordered him to. You’ve grown, Rai! It was worth raising you harshly. Well, technically, I raised you by letting you run wild but… details.

The ogre shook its arm violently in annoyance, swinging Rai through the air.

As I watched blankly, the ogre seemed to realize Rai wasn’t doing much damage and stretched its hand toward me again.

Was it because young humans are tender… and delicious?

“Jeanie!”

Someone grabbed me and sent me tumbling messily across the ground.

It was Anel who shoved me away—and Kenta who now confronted the ogre.

The sword Kenta wielded was absurdly huge, nearly the size of a person.

Lifting my head, hair disheveled, I saw craters everywhere in the ground.

Dirt fell from my clothes in clumps as I scrambled up.

Angry from missing its attack, the ogre raised its foot this time.

“Attack!”

Other mercenaries quickly rushed in with spears and swords aimed at the ogre.

Some threw ropes, managing to restrain its hands and feet—though only long enough for the ogre to fling them through the air.

Apparently fed up with humans, the ogre yanked a tree from the ground and began swinging it like a club. No wonder ogres were famous for brute strength… so this was the level.

But Rai wouldn’t lose in raw strength either.

[Rai! Help the others!]

We had to finish this before the ogre jumped again.

Even mercenaries had limits.

I was sure Rai could be a huge help in this battle—even though he was acting strangely defiant.

[Nope.]

[What!?]

[These idiots tried to eat me earlier! I only need to protect Master!]

Rai was still hanging onto the ogre’s wrist.

It was so thick it felt wrong to even call it a wrist—it was wider than most people’s torsos.

[Twist that wrist or something!]

[No.]

That brat… Suddenly I thought of a perfect way to coax him.

“Rai!”

[Gyaah! You idiots, watch where you’re hitting! You’re peeling my scales off!]

I understood why Rai hated the mercenaries.

Even now, their attacks weren’t distinguishing between him and the ogre.

The situation was dire, so it couldn’t be helped… but Rai had a petty personality.

[Rai, think of that ogre as Kenta!]

[…Kenta!]

[Go wild! Use all your mana if you want!]

[Understood!]

He liked that command. A moment later, I heard a cracking noise—much louder and more brutal than the one I’d heard before.

Crunch, crackle!

The sound of bones shattering was always horrifying.

My face twisted in disgust.

“Uuugh! Gaaaah! Grraagh!”

The ogre’s thick hide kept its wrist from completely breaking, but it definitely thinned—and the ogre screamed in pain.

Still clinging to its wrist, Rai shouted proudly:

[Mwahaha! Master, I did good, right? Right? This one was kinda hard, you know!]

“Of course! You did great! Rai, you’re the best!”

“Stab it! Go for the eyes!”

“Damn it, my sword broke!”

My praise was drowned out by mercenaries’ screams, but whatever.

They had no time to admire Rai’s strength. The ogre, writhing in pain, became even more vicious.

I backed away to observe the situation.

Weapons that failed to pierce the ogre’s hide shattered, and several mercenaries were knocked aside—vomiting blood after being struck by its blindly flailing hand.

About ten mercenaries were still holding the ogre off.

Five or so were lying scattered around—most seemed like low‑rank mercenaries.

“Damn it! Spirit user! Where’s that kid?”

A shout searching for me rang out from somewhere.

Of course I wasn’t happy about that.

It was Shabel, the mercenary commander. He clutched his bleeding side as he looked around.

“There you are hiding! Go fight.”

He jerked his chin toward the ogre. For a moment, I thought I misheard him.

“…Are you crazy?”

I am a ten‑year‑old girl, you know?

A delicate, lovely, super adorable blonde noble young lady…

Shabel grabbed me and hurled me straight toward the ogre. He literally threw me.

“Aaah!”

Right back into the bloody battlefield I barely escaped from.

That ogre smell! That foul carnivore stench made fear crawl up my spine.

“I’m not crazy! Physical attacks barely work unless you have aura. So use your spirit thing or whatever! It won’t be as good as magic, but better than nothing!”

“…You really know how to piss a girl off!”

“Earn your keep!”

Those few pieces of bread I ate weren’t worth that much! I should puke them back up out of spite!

“Ugh!”

I was furious. Why did so many humans underestimate spirits?

Sure, Rai was inefficient, and Ador was rebellious… Come to think of it, none of my spirits were really useful. Without my command system, they were even more useless.

Blaming my spirits’ incompetence always circled back to one thing—my own lack of ability.

Mana, mental strength, courage, decisiveness—all that crap!

“Damn it! I just want to live elegantly!”

I was born a noble—why the hell was I fighting an ogre?

“What’s wrong, kid! Scared after all? Why frozen? You’ll die like that!”

Shabel kicked me lightly to provoke me. A man on death’s door sure talked a lot.

“Fine, I’ll help! But!”

“But? This is your life on the line!”

“If I’m helping, you can’t ignore me anymore! And you’ll pay me!”

“Ha! I save you from becoming monster food, and you get arrogant!”

The situation was dire. Even after Rai destroyed its wrist, the ogre was still going strong—and five of our side were already incapacitated.

While I trembled in the corner, another mercenary got crushed under the ogre’s foot, coughing blood.

Glancing at the remaining forces, I saw only Anel, Kenta, and four or five competent-looking mercenaries still able to fight. The rest were injured.

The ogre’s monstrous strength was horrifying—even Kenta was forced to dodge instead of counterattacking.

“Pay me! I’m a high‑value worker!”

As our numbers dwindled, even I felt the urgency.

But I was also terrified of angering the ogre and becoming its next target.

If I was risking my life, they’d better pay!

Even though I yelled rudely, Shabel ignored that part.

“Fine, contribute and you’ll get paid. Now hurry and help! A mercenary’s comrades are their life! You naked little brat!”

With Rai alone, we couldn’t beat the ogre. Even with Undine… even if I summoned Ador too, the chances were slim.

But there was no choice—we had to try.