I Became a Raid Boss

The garden was vibrant with a variety of brightly blooming flowers.

A man with a rugged face opened the fence and stepped into the garden.

Garid, who looked around with a pleased expression that didn’t match his appearance, felt his heart swell.

Soon, his voice erupted like thunder.

“Hey! Kana!”

A passerby, who happened to be nearby, was startled by Garid’s sudden shout and jumped.

Garid scratched his head awkwardly and lowered it at the sharp glare from the passerby.

Although his shout attracted attention, the person he wanted was nowhere to be seen.

As Garid pondered whether to shout again or enter through the door.

Creak.

“…What’s going on?”

A cute girl with pink hair and pink eyes peeked out from the opened door.

Kana still had a drowsy look on her face as if she had just woken up.

“What’s up? The sun’s already high in the sky, and you’re still sleeping? It’s important to sleep well, but if you want to grow taller, you need to get up early and move around!”

“If moving around made one grow taller, I would have grown long ago… Don’t annoy me when you know it’s pointless.”

Kana always showed a dull response to whatever was said, but when height was mentioned, she would become prickly.

Naturally, Garid knew this fact.

Still, he brought up Kana’s height purely for comedic effect.

‘Is that why those guys teased her?’

As mentioned before, Kana usually had little reaction, so when she snapped, the contrast was much stronger.

“So, what is it this time?”

Kana shook her head to shake off the drowsiness and asked with a clearer voice than before.

“What do you mean, what is it? If someone heard you, they’d think I do this every day.”

“…”

Kana didn’t say anything.

Reading between the lines of the silence, Garid pretended to be disappointed.

He quickly returned to his original demeanor, but he extended his hand, which he had been hiding behind his back, toward Kana.

“Here, what do you think?”

“…A flower? You made a fuss just to show me this?”

“Hey, this isn’t just any flower. Here, look again.”

As he said this, he brought his hand closer to Kana.

In his hand was a pot containing impressive little pink flowers.

Kana, looking down at the flowers, seemed to ask ‘so what?’ with her gaze directed at Garid.

“How is it? Doesn’t it resemble you?”

“…Not particularly.”

“It looks exactly like you. The little one is just like you… Just kidding, just kidding! Why would I joke around with something scary like that! Ugh, why did I even teach that kid swordsmanship….”

He had already predicted that there wouldn’t be a reaction, but it still left him feeling a bit regretful.

Why do kids never understand their parents’ feelings?

Sighing, Garid set the pot down and said.

“Kana.”

“?”

“I wish you would be like this flower.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Look.”

Holding a trowel, Garid started to dig into the soil, transplanting the flower from the pot.

It was a task that took quite some time, but Kana silently watched him.

Once the task was done, the flower that had been blooming alone in the pot was now shyly smiling among the other flowers.

“How is it? It was already beautiful, but doesn’t it look even prettier like this?”

“…”

“You too, like this flower, would look much prettier if you blended in with others. Make friends, meet trustworthy companions… And, huh? Get married to a guy you like!”

“That’s just your unnecessary meddling.”

Kana, who had been quietly listening, scoffed with a ‘humph’ and went back inside the house as if she didn’t need to hear anymore.

As Kana’s figure disappeared into the house, Garid clicked his tongue, left alone.

“If you just calmed down a bit, guys would line up to get to her. Who would want to deal with a girl like that.”

Garid suddenly imagined a scene where a man desperately sought Kana’s affection.

A young man holding out a bouquet, while Kana shyly smiles accepting it.

As they gazed at each other lovingly, the distance between them slowly closed…

While he hoped that someday Kana would meet a good man and get married to build a happy family, picturing such a scene made his face scrunch up.

What if Kana brought home some random guy she likes…?

“…I’d have to check if he’s a good guy or not.”

And whether the guy had the ability to protect Kana.

Garid’s mumbling was eerily reminiscent of the pathetic comrades he had tried so hard to avoid.

*

‘…That happened, didn’t it?’

Although it had already been several years, it seemed to spring back to life in his memory as if it had just happened yesterday.

He never expected to hear those embarrassing words again.

“How is it? Doesn’t it resemble you?”

“This flower, doesn’t it resemble Kana?”

Different yet the same words.

Recalling the past made me blankly stare at Joanie, then hurriedly took my leave.

There really was no reason for me to leave, so why did I flee like that?

“…”

Perhaps it was because I was enchanted by the same flower that Garid had brought.

“Did you come here?”

Of course, it could be that Garid’s unnamed pink flower didn’t only bloom here.

However, I couldn’t rid myself of the thought that he had visited this village in the past.

I knew that it wasn’t a logical speculation but simply a desire.

But…

‘I want to feel Garid’s traces, even if just a little.’

If I could receive a fleeting feeling of togetherness, that would be enough for me.

However, it was already time to wake up from this sweet dream.

“There’s an ogre carcass here!”

“D-Did you really take it down?!”

“…Huff! A dimension monster…!”

I had thought they would run away, but the merchants and townspeople rushed over, shocked at the sight of the ogre and the dimensional monster.

Those who had hesitated to approach now relaxed as they recognized that the beings were merely lifeless carcasses.

‘One isn’t dead yet.’

When a dimensional monster completely loses its life, it disappears, leaving only its core behind.

Thus, the fact that it still retained its form means it was still hanging on to life.

With its three pairs of legs and sharp teeth all but gone, it was practically a corpse, just waiting for death.

Pssh…

“Huff!”

Just as I contemplated this, the dimensional monster’s corpse scattered into dust.

It was quite amusing to see the panicked crowd return after thinking the dimensional monster had revived.

As the people, cautiously looking around, met my eyes.

“Wasn’t that the kid who disappeared before? Could it really be that kid who took down the ogre group and the dimensional monster…?”

“She looks younger than our daughter; there’s no way that’s possible. It must have been the apostles who handled it.”

“The apostles? They didn’t seem that strong, did they…?”

“Oh dear, don’t say such dangerous things…!”

Some of the people muttering among themselves approached me.

“Ahem… kid, did you see what happened here?”

“….”

“Hey, are you there?”

“Is your rugged face scaring her?”

“If that’s the case, it must be your face that scared her. Didn’t the butcher’s son cry when he saw you? The kid who would smile at the sight of a pig carcass.”

Umm…

What are they on about?

“Oh, wait a moment!”

At that moment, I noticed the neglected translator… I meant, Joanie, rushing over.

“My little sister doesn’t know Arkish. If you have any questions, just ask me instead.”

“Ah… no wonder it felt strange that she wasn’t talking. Your sister is quite adorable.”

“Right?”

“But did the apostles really take down these ogres and the dimensional monsters?”

“Ah, um….”

Joanie hesitated as if troubled and then turned to me.

“…Kana? Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

“…Nothing.”

I found it awkward to meet her eyes for some reason.

I spoke without looking at Joanie.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, well… They’re asking if we took down the ogres and the dimensional monsters?”

“…So?”

“To be honest, I thought it might be troublesome for Kana if I told them the truth….”

Ah.

Only then did I realize Joanie’s concern.

I guessed she thought she didn’t want to be recognized since she was covering herself up with a cape.

That was indeed the case.

“….”

Hmm, what should I do?

Honestly, it wouldn’t matter much if it became known now.

There were already many people, including the snake brat from the Empire or the apostles, who were aware of me.

If I was going to wear a cape anyway, it wouldn’t make much difference if I became a little more known.

But it would definitely be more troublesome than before.

“It’s okay to tell the truth.”

After a long deliberation, I made my decision.

The best answer I arrived at after much consideration wasn’t exactly the best choice.

If I had to quibble… No, there was no need to mention that.

This was nothing but a whim.

It could be like this today, but the next could be different, just like a child’s capriciousness.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t mind.”

I was just burdened by the way Joanie showed concern.

If one wished for glory, they could simply say they did it, and if they felt uneasy, they could claim I did.

Yet, she asked me instead.

Such a trivial consideration that anyone could have made.

The reason I whimpered was due to that trivial consideration.

“Instead, there’s a condition.”

“…It’s not something difficult, right? You’re not about to say go fight monsters or something…?”

I shook my head.

Of course not.

That would be neither difficult nor necessary to state as a condition anyway.

Shiver…

“Why, suddenly I feel chilled…?”

Joanie shivered.

Even though it was nighttime, it shouldn’t be that cold.

I tilted my head at Joanie, seeing her shivering, but shrugged and let it go.

She might just be the type to feel cold.

I spoke to Joanie.

“To me—”

Her eyes widened like lanterns upon hearing my words.

She suddenly raised her hand to pinch her cheek, then struck her face, displaying strange behavior.

At last, after a series of odd antics, Joanie grabbed my hand tightly.

“I’ll gladly do that!”

In the end, even though more work was added, I wondered what made her so happy.

A bright smile blossomed on Joanie’s face.

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