Part 3
"Rina wants to stay with Haruto. Wants friends…" she said, wagging her tail enthusiastically, as if the conversation were more of a game than an important decision.
"Rina likes nature, but feels lonely… had to sneak around for food…"
Everyone watched her in silence.
"I already told you," Haruto cut in, arms crossed. "She's not dangerous. If she attacked livestock, it's because she went days—maybe even weeks—without eating. It's only natural her instincts took over."
Yuna sighed, then nodded slowly.
"I see your point…"
Thalindra, who had been studying Rina with narrowed eyes, finally sighed.
"Fine by me. I've got no complaints."
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"That easy?"
"You guys let me go back to my forge whenever I want, and you don't bother me with your flashy fighting styles." Thalindra grinned confidently. "But…"
Haruto rolled his eyes.
"Knew there'd be a 'but'…"
The dwarf smirked fiercely and made her hammer vanish.
"But… if I'm going to risk my life for someone, I want to know they'd do the same for me."
Rina tilted her head, not fully understanding.
"Rina can fight… and is very trustworthy… I promise not to disappoint!"
"That's right! Don't be such a stickler, Thalindra," Kizuna said, fluttering near the dwarf and throwing her a playful wink.
Thalindra clicked her tongue.
"Don't get me wrong. We dwarves value strength."
Rina puffed up proudly, smiling with confidence.
"Rina is strong!"
"Yeah, yeah—but I want to see it with my own eyes." Thalindra rolled her shoulders, limbering up. "Disabling traps and turning invisible is useful. But when it comes to raw strength…"
Yuna gave her a sharp look, like she already knew where this was going.
"You just want to fight, don't you?" the elf said, folding her arms with a sigh of resignation.
Thalindra pulled a golden crown from her inventory and placed it on her head with dramatic flair. Then, she summoned her elemental gauntlets and entered her defensive mode.
"Here's the deal," she announced with a challenging smile. "If she proves her strength to me, she gets my approval."
Haruto sighed.
"Let me guess…"
"The challenge is simple," Thalindra continued, completely ignoring him. "All she has to do… is take my crown."
Haruto and Yuna exchanged looks.
"Knew it would end like this…" Yuna muttered, sitting down on a rock with an exaggerated sigh.
"Yuna?" Haruto blinked in surprise.
He never thought he'd see Yuna throwing a mini tantrum, but there she was.
"Seems like my opinion doesn't matter," the elf huffed, puffing her cheeks slightly and crossing her arms, looking away with a pout.
Haruto had to hold back a laugh.So Yuna did have a childish side.
"Well, looks like we're not getting out of this," he muttered, turning toward Thalindra. "Sounds good. What do you say, Rina?"
Rina wagged her tail eagerly and stepped forward with a confident grin.
"Of course! Rina's more than ready to fight!"
Thalindra clashed her gauntlets together, activating them with a flash of fire and earth.
"Come on! Hit me with everything you've got!"
Rina crouched low like a predator stalking its prey, her golden eyes glowing with determination.
"Come closer, don't hold back…" Thalindra taunted, motioning her forward with one massive gauntlet.
In the blink of an eye—Rina vanished.
All that remained was the brief glint of her golden eyes before she faded into the air. Her magical presence disappeared completely.
Thalindra held her guard high, her ears twitching, alert to the faintest sound.
"Tsk… stealthy, but not completely silent…" she muttered, catching a faint crunch of grass.
Rina emerged from her camouflage, her expression sharp and calculating. With a swift motion, she launched a direct strike with her dagger.
Thalindra blocked it with her gauntlets with ease.
"Heh. You're good at hiding, but you've got a long way to—"
She didn't get to finish.
A second Rina appeared from her blind spot and launched another strike.
"What the—?"
Thalindra spun and blocked the second attack, but the impact was strong enough to push her back a step.
"Are these… illusions?" she muttered, a mix of surprise and excitement in her voice.
Before she could process it, the blows kept coming.Two Rinas attacked in unison, striking in perfect rhythm against her armor.
And then…
A third Rina appeared right in front of her, fist crackling with concentrated energy.
"Raptor Impact!"
Rina launched herself with explosive speed, pouring all her strength into the blow.
BOOM!
The impact sent Thalindra flying, rolling across the ground.
But the dwarf was up in an instant, her defensive stance solid.
A wide grin spread across her face.
Thalindra blinked as the dust cleared—Rina was no longer in front of her.
Haruto narrowed his eyes, realizing something strange.
"Don't tell me… she copied the move from my favorite ninja manga…" he muttered in disbelief.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Thalindra.
She looked up… and blinked in disbelief.
Ten Rina clones hovered in the air, surrounded by a glowing green electrical aura.
"What the hell…?!" Thalindra exclaimed, eyes wide.
The clones extended their arms, charging crackling green energy in their hands.
"Jurassic Thunder!"
With a deafening roar, the clones descended at full speed, ready to strike.
But instead of panicking, Thalindra smiled with fiery excitement.
"Now this… this is how a real battle should feel!" she shouted, slamming her gauntlets together.
The runes of fire and darkness on her gauntlets lit up brightly, and a powerful black and crimson aura surged around her fists.
"Dark Forge!"
The clash was imminent—the ultimate face-off just seconds away…
But then—
"Why is the lightning green?!" Haruto shouted, shocked by the bizarre color of the electricity Rina was generating.
Yuna shook her head, equally baffled.
"I don't know… I've never seen lightning that color before."
Rina suddenly appeared between them, casually spinning something with her tail.
Haruto turned his head toward her—and nearly fell over in shock.
"What are you doing?! Don't sneak up like that!" he shouted, pointing incredulously at the object dangling from the tip of her tail."When did you even TAKE the crown?!"
Rina looked at the crown with mild curiosity, as if only just remembering it was there.
"This little thing on my tail?" she asked, spinning it a bit more."I took it at the start of the fight."
Silence fell.
Rina's clones vanished—fading away as if they'd never existed.
Thalindra, still surrounded by her combat aura, looked up at her head…then at the crown on Rina's tail…
Her expression shifted—from surprise, to disbelief, and finally… to resignation.
"…Damn it."
With a heavy sigh, she raised her gauntlets skyward and released all the energy she'd gathered.
Haruto stood there, arms crossed, staring in stunned disbelief.
"So… all that buildup, the titan duel, the whole 'this is what a real battle looks like'…was completely pointless because Rina already won at the beginning."
Yuna sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"Were you really expecting anything different?"
Rina blinked innocently, still not fully grasping what had just happened.
"So… Rina won?"
Thalindra, shoulders slumped, rubbed her forehead and exhaled.
"Yeah, yeah… I wanted to keep fighting, but… yeah."
Haruto smiled.
"Welcome to the team, Rina."
She beamed with joy, her tail swaying back and forth.For the first time in a long while…She felt truly happy.