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Chapter 67

「I said I’d protect you, didn’t I?」

「T-That’s insane! Lute-onii-chan!」

Seeing Liz in a panic, I responded with a bewildered laugh.

「Well, watch me.」

「But it’s an Orthros, right? An A-rank? This is reckless! It’s dangerous—」

The Orthros lunged at us.

It is about 2 meters tall with a body length of 4 meters.

Well, it looks like a black dog.

Truly an A-rank creature, its speed almost approaching the speed of sound.

In small border countries where they can’t afford to have A-rank individuals from the guild as permanent military personnel, there are three actions taken when such a creature appears.

The first is to pay the adventurer’s guild to dispatch top-tier adventurers.

The second is to prepare a reward for a major country and ask for the dispatch of their knights.

The third, if the creature appears in a remote part even within a border country—let the villages or towns be abandoned.

By the way, the last method is the most cost-effective, so it has become a popular choice.

The evil dragon Amantha I once exterminated had a difficulty rank of lower A-rank. 

Purely in terms of difficulty, it wasn’t that significant, but it was recognized as a calamity due to its immortality beyond its physical body.

It would revive and cause trouble despite being defeated numerous times, which was incredibly annoying for humanity.

Well, I eradicated its soul this time, so it probably won’t come back ever again.

However, that’s in the realm counted as S-rank or higher, so it’s considered quite powerful in general.

Well, it’s still a calamity, after all.

「Hmm…」

The Orthros charged.

Honestly, when I thought about yawning at its approaching speed I ended up actually yawning.

No feints, just a straightforward leap… Well, not the kind of attack you’d use against a superior opponent.

Its attack methods are fangs or claws.

Against creatures of this rank… maybe at most, either one would give me a scratch.

「Here we go.」

As the Orthros lunged at me with its wide-open mouth, I thrust both my hands forward.

With my right palm, I held its upper jaw, and with the left, the lower one, restraining them both.

Then, I forcefully widened Orthros’s mouth even further, both top and bottom.

The creature appeared momentarily perplexed, yet it tried with all its might to clamp down, activating its jaw muscles.

However, my palms remained unmoved.

「Hey there, puppy? I’m gonna seal away your greatest weapon.」

「Gr… gu… guh…」

Clack.

With a light sound, Orthros’s jaw dislocated.

The lower jaw dangled lazily, creating quite a surreal sight.

「Well, this should settle it.」

Disarmed with its jaw removed, the Orthros attempted to slash at me with its claws.

I expected at least a graze from its full-force attack…

But it left me completely unscathed.

It was totally unexpected; I intentionally took the attack to show the difference in strength, but coming out unscathed was beyond anticipation.

If I’m surprised, the Orthros’s astonishment must be off the charts.

Its eyes blinked rapidly, rolling, and it slowly began to retreat.

「…Lute?」

「What is it, Lilith?」

「…I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now.」

「What is it?」

「…Honestly, Lute… you’re almost a supernatural being. Calling yourself human seems like a joke.」

Yeah, I knew that.

But being told directly stung a bit.

「…So, what about it?」

In Lilith’s gaze, the Orthros was observing my situation, almost in tears, while hanging back. 

Its tail was lowered, showing a hint of nervousness.

Tremors shook its body intermittently…

「Hey, Lilith?」

「…What?」

「He looks just like a dog… this thing’s pretty smart, isn’t it?」

「…According to some literature, it’s incredibly intelligent. In other words… it is fundamentally a dog.」

「I see.」

I cracked my knuckles decisively.

The Orthros stiffened its body with a twitch, letting out a pleading whimper, 

「Kuun…」

I took a step closer to the Orthros.

「Kuun…」

The Orthros whimpered with a voice pleading for forgiveness as I stepped closer.

「Kuun…」

I approached the trembling Orthros.

「Kuun…」

Getting closer to the Orthros, who now had teary eyes.

「Kuun…」

When I reached a meter in front of the Orthros, I proudly declared,

「Sit!」

Simultaneously with the command, wind blew around. 

It was a shockwave generated by Orthros breaking the sound barrier. 

Although the world is vast, witnessing a supersonic sit is quite a rare sight.

Continuing immediately, I shouted,

「Lie down!」

Again, wind resonated through the surroundings.

—A supersonic lie down.

The Orthros laid on the ground and then rolled over, presenting its belly to me. 

Wild animals exposing their vulnerable spot— their belly—is generally a submissive pose that dogs show to an overwhelmingly stronger figure.

「A-An Orthros… showing its belly…」

In an astonished expression, Liz murmured as if talking to herself.

「What’s wrong, Liz?」

「Even if it’s a highly intelligent magical beast, unless there’s an astonishing difference in power, it wouldn’t end up like this. To make Orthros lie down as an A-rank magical beast, you need a power gap of double-rank or more. In other words, SS-rank… or even higher… I mean, SSS is already beyond humans… It’s in the realm of demons or demon lords.」

In other words… Liz nodded with satisfaction.

「Lute-san is at least SS-rank… or even higher… Th-that means… e-eh, eh, eh, ehh… eeeehhhhh!?」

It seems like Liz is a quick learner. 

She catches on fast, which is very helpful.