As the next day began, I observed the dragon open its wings and look up at the sky. Suddenly, it leapt into the air, only to immediately fall back down. Within moments, a thunderous roar echoed through the air. Yet not long after that, I saw it begin to swim, and despite what had just transpired, I could tell that the dragon looked a bit happier than it did yesterday, which was a relief to see. But as I watched, I saw how the dragon was able to move, to act, and to sense—things that, in my current state, I was unable to do. Watching this was bittersweet, to say the least. Shortly thereafter, the dragon returned to the opposite side of the lake and began to sleep.

A few hours later, I began to hear rustling from behind me. I thought this may have been the peasant; perhaps she believed the dragon had left. But unfortunately, I was wrong. I saw, to my surprise, an ordinary high school boy stepping out of the thicket. He had somewhat messy black hair and blue eyes, and he seemed to be wearing a standard high school uniform, a gakuran, that was worn like a long coat, billowing in the wind. Back in Japan, a boy like this would look average in every way, just like any other high school student that I had seen on my way to work. But in this place, he looked completely abnormal. Everyone else I had seen so far had some sort of fantasy motif. Following closely behind him were five other individuals, all of whom were female. Compared to the boy, these girls stuck out like a sore thumb. They all looked like they came right out of an anime.

First was a girl with blonde hair fashioned into two gigantic hair-drills. She wore an elegant red dress with white and gold trimming, and she had a smug expression on her face. She looked like a princess. Next to her was a more plain-looking girl, with widened eyes, brown hair, some basic armor, a cape, and bows on her hair and on one of her legs. On her back was a sack with some arrows, and she wore a bright smile on her face.

The other three girls, though still quite human-like in appearance, had features that made them look less human. There was a girl with pointed horns and a tail with a heart-shaped tip. She had long, fiery-orange hair and was dressed in clothing that emphasized her figure. But this girl was scowling and had a blush on her face. She was crossing her arms around her chest. There was another girl with pointed ears, blonde hair, a headband, and a simple, flowing green dress. Her face was expressionless, and she kept a small distance from the others.

But the last girl unsettled me the most. She had long blue hair, with giant cat ears sprouting from above them, along with giant blue eyes. She wore a white dress with white sandals and a black collar around her neck. The problem? She was clearly just a child—a mere child. What was a little girl doing here, especially around characters such as these? I was scared to find out.

“I can get its attention!” the wide-eyed girl exclaimed as she reached for her bag.

“You don't have to worry about it,” the boy assured her. “I can handle this.”

“Oh, ok, Arthur-san.” She responded with a disappointed look on her face. The princess turned towards her, but I was unable to make out her expression.

I watched as the boy, apparently named Arthur, stood still, silently and stoically gazing towards the dragon. At the same time, I noticed the demon girl put on some sunglasses, as if whatever was about to happen was a frequent occurrence. The elf girl just leaned against a tree. I saw the catgirl try to climb onto the princess, who simply pushed her away, seemingly in disgust. The wide-eyed girl picked her instead, and the catgirl began to sway her legs back and forth.

Arthur stuck out his hand, which started to glow brightly. I guessed it was some sort of magic. And this bright light alerted the dragon, which leapt into the water, rapidly swimming towards us.

“ARROW OF LIGHT!” Arthur shouted.

A beam of light came from his hand, quickly striking and engulfing the dragon. And in an instant, it was over. The dragon was gone, reduced to a few bones protruding out of the water. And it wasn’t just the dragon. The entire hill had been reduced to smoldering ashes.

I was appalled at what I had just witnessed. How did this boy get such power? Did 'SHE' give it to him? She must have, but why him of all people? And furthermore, why didn't he show so much as a hint of hesitation? Did the life of that dragon mean nothing to him? I looked towards the girls, expecting to see some sort of shock or revulsion. But instead, they... applauded?

“That was amazing, Arthur-san!” the wide-eyed girl exclaimed.

“Yeah, cool,” the elf girl remarked.

“Eh, it was whatever,” the demon girl muttered to herself.

“Oh, stop being such a downer!” The princess scolded the demon girl. "You know he’ll never choose you if you keep acting like this.”

“Choose who for what?” Arthur interrupted.

“Oh… Nothing… Arthur-san,” the demon girl responded.

“Sephie-san has a crush on you, Master-sama!” the catgirl chimed in.

Wait… Master-sama? I wondered. Is this catgirl that boy’s slave?

“What! No, I don’t! Shut up, Kit!” The demon girl protested.

“Sephie-san's got a crush! Sephie-san's got a crush!” The catgirl, named Kit, taunted as she ran away.

“Get back here, you brat!” she shouted, chasing after her.

When I was still human, I didn’t really talk to people that much. Still, I couldn’t help but question if people normally behave like this in the presence of the deceased. It just felt extremely disrespectful, and yet none of them seemed to care in the slightest.

Suddenly, the wide-eyed girl shouted. “Hey! Look at the hill over there!”

Everyone turned.

“Oops. I guess sometimes I don’t even know my own strength. Haha,” Arthur responded, with a smile on his face. “It looks like I made a big mess again. Hopefully the locals won't be too mad at us, right?”

Not be mad; you KILLED one of them! And what do you mean by 'again'?

"I doubt it," the princess answered, cuddling up to the boy. "You're a hero after all; I'm sure they'll let it slide. Still, it would be a good idea not to tell anyone, right?"

What am I hearing from these people?

"I guess you have a point," Arthur responded. "You girls can keep a secret, right?”

“Sure.”

“Of course!”

“Why couldn’t we?”

I watched these murderers with disgust. How could they be so content after what they just did? How can they go on like any other day when their hands are drenched in blood? If they had faced death before, as I suspect they have, then how could they place so little value on the life of an innocent?

“We should head back to the guild before sundown," Arthur suggested.

“Hold on a moment!" the princess interjected. "We need to bring back some proof first. How else will we get our reward?” The princess asked.

“Umm. How about the head?” the wide-eyed girl suggested.

“Great idea, Amelia,” Arthur replied, causing her to giggle.

“So then, who’s the one who has to get it?” The elf girl asked.

Why were they treating it as if it were a trophy? And honestly, what had any of them done to earn such a thing?

“How about Persephone?" the princess suggested. "She might as well be in a swimsuit already.”

“I am n-”. The demon girl, Persephone, froze, seemingly about to say something.

“What? Are you scared? Is the demon afraid of a little water?”

“Wha-No! Of course not!”

“Then what's keeping you from getting in the water?”

“N-... W… What about you? Sophia! Why don’t you pull your weight for once?”

“Me… ohohohohoho!” The princess, Sophia, laughed obnoxiously. “Don’t be ridiculous! A princess such as I would never engage in something as filthy as swimming in a lake.”

“Wanna bet?” Persephone smirked, clenching her fists.

“Wait... ha-ha” Sophia stammered. “Let's not make any rash decisions. Besides, this petty squabbling is unnecessary! Look!”

While the two were bickering, Arthur held out his hand. Suddenly, the dragon’s skull dislodged from its body and floated to the boy's hand. He seemed to carry the skull effortlessly, despite it being far larger than himself. After a moment, the five girls turned their attention towards him.

“Why's everyone looking at me?” Arthur asked.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Amelia exclaimed, looking up at the dragon's head. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, this?" Arthur glanced at the head he was holding. "I just thought about what I wanted to do, and then it just happened. It's really not a big deal."

There was a brief pause.

“That’s incredible!” Amelia responded.

“How did you get so strong, Master-sama?” Kit asked.

He paused. “Well, it's hard to say. I guess I was just… blessed.”

Watching this scene disgusted me. This boy was flaunting a power that he neither earned nor deserved, accompanied by those who were clearly given nothing of the sort and surrounded by countless others who weren’t even given that.

“So, how about we head over to the guild now?” The elf girl asked, interrupting their conversation.

“Awww!" Kit whined, "I wanna se-swim!"

“Again?” Arthur asked, “We just went to the beach last week.”

Kit looked at him and begged, “Please, Master-sama?”

Arthur sighed. “I guess I can’t say no to a face like that," he conceded, stroking Kit’s cat ears.

In an instant, all of the girls were dressed in swimsuits, none of which they were wearing before.

“Last one in is a rotten egg!” Kit shouted as she ran into the lake, the others quickly following suit.

I watched as the group swam in the lake without a care in the world. Did they know that they were swimming in a sea filled with corpses? They might as well have been dancing on the dragon's grave. I looked at the dragon's skeleton, its bones now jutting out from the lake. Did it find peace? Or was it now trapped, just like me? But before I could answer that question, everything suddenly went dark.

“Hey Myrtle! Wanna get in for a group hug?” One of the girls shouted.

“Oh, sure,” ‘Myrtle’ responded. As my vision returned to me, I saw the elf girl, Myrtle, running in the water towards the others.

I watched as all five of the girls cuddled with the boy. As I looked closely, I noticed some blood coming from out of Arthur's nose, something all the girls seemed all too willing to ignore. But in my periphery, I noticed something in the sky above. I looked up and saw two translucent yet enormous eyes staring towards the ground. It was her! I just knew it was her! She was watching...

Why did you choose these people? I asked, hoping that she could hear me. What makes them so special? What made you give that boy everything that he could ever want while discarding people like me as if we were insignificant? I took a glance at the dragon’s carcass before looking up again.

And why do you allow them to act so recklessly toward us? Why do you sit on your gilded throne and let us suffer? Nay, why did you subject us all to this torment in the first place? Why did you play with our lives like this? If we were just meant to be destroyed, then what was even the point of all this? Tell me! If you can hear me, please tell me! Please, free us from this nightmare.

But there was no response. And as the group got out of the water, her eyes disappeared as well. Of course. It appears she had only come for them...

“We should be heading back to town now,” Arthur said. “Before the sun sets.”

"Yeah, especially if we want to make it to ‘happy hour’." Myrtle spoke in a monotone voice.

“Absolutely! A glass of champagne would be absolutely wonderful! Ohohoho!” Sophia exclaimed.

“Kit wants beer too!” Kit shouted.

“Kit...” Arthur said, “You know you’re far too young for that.”

Kit grumbled, kicking a nearby pebble.

Observing this interaction, I couldn't help but feel disgusted by this boy's attempt at moral superiority. After all, he was the one who slayed the dragon, and he didn't seem to have any problem with keeping this catgirl as his slave.

As I watched the group begin to pack their things, Sophia stood up.

“Wait everyone!” She called out.

Could she finally be having an epiphany?
“Before we leave, I’d like to make a toast. To the boy who has made all of our lives so much more interesting! To Arthur-san!”

“To Arthur-san!” all the girls shouted, as the boy in question smiled radiantly.

I felt ashamed that I ever wanted a life like his—a life so shallow and self-indulgent. But I couldn't help but feel that even his life was preferable to the one I was currently trapped in.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventure!” Amelia exclaimed as she stepped into the thicket, the others following shortly behind.

Adventure? You call this massacre an adventure? I thought with disgust.

After the boy’s party left, I found myself alone once again, now facing the charred remains of the place I had been trapped in for so long. But still, it was a shame to see it all reduced to ashes. Countless innocents had perished—not just the dragon, but also the trees, the grass, the rocks on the hill, and all the people who were trapped within them. Who knows how many lives were lost in the end.

But it was all for the greater good, right? After all, justice prevailed, good triumphed over evil, and the hero saved the day. Of course, that’s how they’ll tell this story. History is told by the victors, after all. But what about the rest of us? In a just world, these murderers would pay dearly for their actions. But unfortunately, this was not a just world. No, it was a world filled with haves and have-nots, yet no one else seemed to care.

And as night fell, I found myself isolated once again. But strangely, I thought I could hear a faint roar in the distance. Was I hearing things—perhaps a sign of my sanity slipping? I didn’t know. Regardless, with the dragon now gone, all I had to look forward to was the day that I would finally be thrown into the lake. Or so I thought.

Fate, however, would have something far different in store for me.