It was not easy to find the direction where the sound was coming from, as we were surrounded by grass and trees on all sides.

As I hurriedly surveyed the surroundings with my eyes dancing hula.

Thud!

Dante suddenly embraced me and hastily rolled his body.

“Ugh, mmmph!”

I tried my best to stifle the scream that almost escaped from my lips out of surprise.

But it was a meaningless effort.

There was no need to hide the sound anymore.

“…Damn it.”

A huge, black four-legged beast was glaring at us, dripping black saliva.

Wow. A monstrous beast. A monster.

I had guessed earlier, but seeing with my own eyes confirmed it was a monster.

Its feet were the size of a child, and its face was larger than an adult’s upper body.

Its eyes had a strange green glow, and the black saliva dripping from its mouth made a sizzling sound as it slowly eroded the ground.

In the spot where we had been just a moment ago, there were traces of huge claws tearing through, no, a pit was dug.

If that had been a real beast and not a monster, the empire would have already perished and disappeared.

Dante seemed to agonize for a moment, then quickly lifted me up and tucked me under his waist.

Huh?

What’s this.

“I’m going to run now.”

Ah. I see.

“Yes. I’ll stay still.”

Even I thought it would be better for both of us if I was carried like a piece of luggage rather than trying to run in sync together.

Dante slowly backed away from the monster with slow steps.

And at a certain point, he turned around and started running.

Can a human be this fast?

It was the first time I realized that humans could reach this level of speed.

But no matter how fast he ran, he could not outrun the monster’s speed.

Kraaaang!

The monster followed, pounding the ground with its huge feet, like a cat angered by a fleeing mouse.

To make matters worse, the place we arrived at was near a cliff.

Dante, forced to stop running, embraced me and avoided the monster’s attack, then confronted it again.

His huge muscles repeatedly swelled and subsided.

In the still silence, I could feel his eyes moving busily.

He must be assessing the situation.

I kept my mouth tightly shut, hoping not to be a hindrance.

Not long after.

“Listen carefully, Serpina.”

Dante whispered as he carefully set me down.

“I will draw the monster’s attention, so hide behind the tree in that grass over there.”

The tree in the grass?

Where he pointed with his fingertips, there was a lush grassy area and a huge tree.

It certainly seemed like a good place to hide the body, but…

“Ca-Can I make it there?”

I felt like I would be torn to shreds by that monster while going there.

“It’s okay. You won’t get hurt. I won’t let that happen.”

Dante’s large hand patted my shoulder a couple of times as if to encourage me.

“Trust me.”

It was strange.

The moment I heard those words from Dante, I felt the fear that had frozen my body dissipate a little.

Right. Let’s trust Dante.

Anyway, even if I cling to Dante like playing tag here, it would only be a hindrance.

It would be better for me to hide in a safe place so Dante can fight with a peace of mind.

Above all…

“It’s the law for the male lead to be the strongest in the worldview.”

“…Pardon?”

“It means you are probably 200 times stronger than that monster.”

Right. It’s the law of the world that the male lead is originally stronger than monsters.

Whew.

I took a deep breath while tightly grasping the hem of Dante’s clothes.

“Dante.”

“Yes.”

“You must not get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“Okay. Promise.”

“Promise.”

That’s all I need.

The Dante I know is not someone who would break a promise.

I let go of Dante’s clothes without hesitation. And I ran to the side.

As soon as I started running, Dante drew his sword and charged head-on towards the monster.

Damn it, don’t look back!

Although I desperately wanted to look back countless times, I focused on running while repeating to myself, ‘Don’t be a nuisance character who hinders with unnecessary worries!’

Finally.

Huff, puff!

I arrived at my destination, almost sliding as I squeezed out every ounce of strength, and hid behind the tree.

Gasp, gasp, gasp.

Ah. My lungs are killing me!

But there was no time to groan in pain.

What about Dante? Is Dante safe?

Clutching my aching lungs, I checked the direction where Dante was.

Dante and the monster were engaged in a fierce battle.

It was a tremendous fight that could not be compared to my full-speed running.

Amidst the dusty haze, Dante adjusted his grip on the sword.

His hand holding the sword felt numb after repeatedly blocking the ferocious claws with it.

‘That level should be A-grade.’

Monsters are usually classified from S-grade to C-grade according to their level of danger.

Judging by the size and ferocity of the monster before his eyes, it should be A-grade.

However, something was strange.

‘There were definitely no traces of monsters.’

No matter how hastily he carried out the scouting schedule due to the news of an unwelcome guest, he did not do the work half-heartedly.

Confirming the existence of monsters is a very important task.

When he conducted the investigation, he couldn’t find any traces of monsters.

Moreover, if it was such a huge and ferocious monster, it would be impossible for it to leave no traces.

Did he miss something?

Or is it a newly born monster within the past ten days?

Monsters are originally created by absorbing the magical energy leaking from beasts or plants.

That means magical energy leaked from the icy land.

‘…Dew.’

At that moment, the water droplets that had formed on the icy land flashed through his mind.

He thought that it might not be a ‘slight change’ that could be easily overlooked.

Damn it. Things got more complicated than he thought.

But re-investigating the icy land was something that could only be done after safely overcoming the current situation.

So.

‘Let’s focus on the monster in front of us.’

He struggled to hold back his gaze that kept trying to turn towards Serpina.

He desperately wanted to check if Serpina was okay, but if he accidentally diverted his attention now, it would rather put Serpina in danger.

He didn’t care if he got hurt, but he had to somehow prevent Serpina from getting hurt.

Grrrrr.

The monster, which had been scratching the ground with its hind legs, charged at Dante as if it would no longer give him time to rest.

Dante narrowly avoided the sharp claws and stabbed the monster’s paw with his sword.

Kraaaang!

The monster, writhing in pain, screamed and shook its body.

The tail that swung around from the reaction hit Dante’s side.

“Ugh.”

After briefly groaning from the intense pain, Dante gritted his teeth and continued the attack.

As time passed, the end of the fierce battle began to appear.

The scales of victory gradually tipped towards Dante. The tired beast’s body staggered, unable to easily maintain its balance.

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down.

‘I think my shoulder was slashed…’

He felt a liquid trickling down from his burning shoulder.

Fortunately, it was not the right side.

He adjusted his grip on the sword several times with his tattered hand.

The opportunity came.

Kraaang!

With a roar that seemed like a final struggle, the monster threw its body at Dante.

Dante slid under the monster’s chest and thrust his sword into it.

Then he twisted his body and pulled out the sword.

With a painful groan, black blood gushed out. Before long, the monster that had been staggering in place collapsed.

After taking a few gasping breaths, it no longer showed any movement.

Only after confirming that the monster’s breath was completely cut off could Dante exhale the breath he had been holding.

As the battle ended, Serpina quickly stood up and ran towards Dante.

She had wanted to run to him the moment the monster fell, but she couldn’t come out, wondering if she might create an embarrassing scene by rushing out when the battle wasn’t even over yet.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Are you alright?”

Serpina, who had run over almost flying, hastily examined every corner of Dante’s body.

“I’m fine. I’m alright.”

He casually hid his bleeding shoulder and replied nonchalantly.

He maintained his composure even under Serpina’s suspicious gaze.

In the end, it was Serpina who backed down first.

“Phew.”

She sat down on the spot with a deep sigh as if expelling the breath she had been holding.

“Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.”

Dante felt a pang of conscience at her greatly relieved expression.

But on the other hand, he was glad he had hidden his injury.

If she was so relieved that he was unharmed, how sad would she have been if she knew he was hurt?

Dante did not want Serpina to be sad.

This was enough for him.

Just having someone who was relieved and happy that he was alright, just the fact that it was Serpina, was enough for him.

The wound on his shoulder was nothing.

“Still, just in case, let’s call a doctor when we return to the ducal residence.”

“Yes. You seem to have been quite startled too, so let’s hurry back…”

But it was at that moment.

Rustle.

A new presence was heard from the bushes.