“A Red Dragon, out here……!?”
The sight of it — one size larger than the wyverns — instantly froze the adventurers in place.
——A Red Dragon.
True to the name, the most common dragon species, distinguished by its dark red scales.
It’s classified as lower-tier among dragons, but its power is in a completely different league from sub-dragons like wyverns — a single one is enough to level a small town.
They were occasionally spotted in the earldom too, and every time, the earl’s own knight order had mobilized in full.
“Failnote!! Maximum power!”
I immediately ordered Failnote to fire.
——Twaaaang!!
The string, drawn to its limit, released with a sound like it was about to snap.
The bolt shot forward at tremendous speed, slicing through the air, driving toward the dragon’s body.
But——
“Shaaaa!!“
“It — it didn’t pierce!”
There was a hard, blunt clack, and the bolt bounced off.
You’ve got to be kidding me, not even a scratch!
I was still reeling from the shock when Alicia called out, sword in hand.
“Run, now! We’ll buy you time!”
“But if you do that——!”
Top-tier adventurers or not, the enemy was a dragon.
Frankly, a total wipe was almost inevitable.
Guarding me was their job, sure — but could I really let them take this on?
I stood there frozen, and Alicia pressed on.
“Hurry! Your talent for building golems will without a doubt benefit this world! You cannot die here!”
“Alicia!!”
She waved her hand broadly as if to say stop dithering.
She recognized my talent. She genuinely did.
And for that, she was willing to fight without even a thought for her own life.
Even in the middle of this hopeless situation, I felt something I couldn’t put into words.
No one had ever believed in my golems like this before.
Then I’d better live up to that belief——!
“Just give me a little time! I’m going to activate the new model!”
“……We won’t last long!”
“Right!”
I immediately moved to where the maid golem Makina was propped in front of the cabin.
I sat her body upright, and hurriedly slotted a magic stone into the hollow on her chest.
——Crack!
With a faint flash, her eyes began slowly opening.
Then her whole body trembled, and a faint driving sound, like the buzz of an insect’s wings, could be heard.
“……Good morning, Master. I am Makina, your maid golem.”
“Sorry to throw you in immediately, but take that thing down!”
“That Red Dragon over there? Understood.”
Makina nodded — composed and unhurried, exactly as a golem should be.
All the while, the fight between Alicia’s party and the Red Dragon was still raging.
Makina fixed her gaze on it, and then broke into a silent run.
“What the——!? A woman!?”
“Wait, is this the new model golem!?”
“Are you serious!”
Alicia and the others were visibly rattled at the sight of Makina charging into the battle line.
But Makina paid that absolutely no mind — she kicked off the ground and launched herself into the air.
“GISHAAAA!!“
Makina flew higher than the dragon itself, then drove a brutal kick straight into its head.
The dragon shrieked immediately, and fixed Makina with eyes blazing with rage.
“Look out! It’s going to breathe!”
The moment Alicia screamed it, flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth.
Magic fire, hot enough to melt iron.
But that wasn’t nearly enough to put Makina down.
Her body was built with the highest grade mithril, and on top of that, five layers of enhancement magic had been engraved into it.
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!“
Punching straight through the flames, Makina drove a devastating iron fist into the dragon’s belly.
The dragon foamed at the mouth and went staggering and crashing toward the ground.
And then——
“Terminating.”
Makina dropped from high above, accelerating all the way down.
Like a meteorite.
A crushing kick drove into the dragon’s stomach, and the massive body buckled.
“Target eliminated, Master.”
Once she confirmed the dragon wasn’t moving, Makina returned to me.
Then she looked down at her torn maid outfit and bowed apologetically.
“I have damaged my uniform. I apologize.”
“Don’t worry about that — you really saved us.”
“I am very glad to have been of service to my master, as a maid.”
Makina bowed elegantly.
At which point, Alicia and the others looked over at us with expressions of utter disbelief.
“……What is that golem?”
“I told you earlier — the new model maid golem.”
“No no no! What do you mean, that kind of performance! And why on earth can a maid golem take down a dragon!?”
“Well, she’s a maid. Taking down a dragon or two is the bare minimum.”
A maid has to be strong in order to protect her master, after all.
Overwhelming capability to sweep aside any and all obstacles — that’s an absolute must.
In that sense, Makina still has a long way to go.
A Red Dragon is lower-tier among dragons — once we’re inside the Great Forest, there’ll be plenty of things far stronger.
“What world do you live in where maids need to be that powerful……”
“The kind where they don’t exist naturally, so I built one as a golem.”
“That’s not the point! The very idea of demanding that level of ability from a maid is what’s wrong in the first place!!”
Alicia raised her voice to a shout.
Honestly, people who can’t appreciate a man’s romance……
“There is nothing wrong with it! A powerful maid is humanity’s dream!”
“No it is not!!”
The resounding retort from everyone present.
Either way, the night wore on.