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A little over a hundred years ago…

“Grandpa! Come quick!! Please, you have to help!”

It was in a certain hamlet tucked deep into the mountains. A young girl came running to the village chief, her hands stained dark red with blood—though none of it was hers.

“Y-Yukina?! What’s with all that blood?!”

“There’s a little kid who collapsed over there! Hurry!!”

The girl named Yukina grabbed the chief’s hand and dragged him to the forest near the village.

“There he is!”

Leaning against a tree—or rather, slumped beneath it—was a boy covered in deep wounds all over his small body. A pool of blood had formed beneath him, so much that it looked like a lethal amount for someone his size.

“Heavens, what horrible wounds! Hmm? These horns… Ah, so this kid’s a monster.”

The blood-soaked boy had small horns protruding from his head.

“Yukina, stay back.”

“Why?! He looks like he’s in so much pain!”

The boy’s body was trembling faintly, evidence that he was still alive. That was exactly why the chief thought he was dangerous.

“This is a monster. He might look weak now, but he could kill us without breaking a sweat. He’s a danger to us.”

“That’s not true! This kid saved me when I was about to get attacked by a bird monster! I know he’s a good kid!!”

Yukina paid the chief’s words no heed. She knelt beside the monster boy.

She’d been gathering nuts in the forest when a monster—one that shouldn’t have been in these woods—attacked her. The boy had saved her.

“…He got hurt saving you?”

“No. He was already hurt when I found him.”

The elderly chief was silent for a long moment. Then, gently, he lifted the monster boy into his arms.

“Grandpa?”

“If he protected you, maybe he’s a monster we can communicate with. I don’t know if we can save him, but we’ll do what we can.”

The chief decided to trust the girl’s words.

　──＊＊＊──

Years later…

The boy who’d been found bleeding out had fully recovered. Now he served as the village’s guardian, protecting the people from other monsters. The boy was an ogre, a monster known to be an A-rank threat and one of the strongest monster races. Even as a kid, he could easily handle the D-to-F-rank threats that occasionally appeared in the region.

He’d nearly died years ago because of his youthful arrogance. He’d picked a fight with a pack of C-rank Wolves and gotten torn apart.  

“Little Ogre-sama! Food’s ready!”

“Yukina, huh. Got it.”

The girl came to fetch him from a hill overlooking the village, where he kept watch.

“Today it’s mountain fish, your favorite.”

“Oh, nice one. Ah, but as I told you a million times already, being called ‘Little Ogre’…”

In common parlance, “little ogre” meant goblin—a monster far weaker than an actual Ogre. But goblins hadn’t been seen in this region for centuries. The villagers had started calling him Little Ogre-sama, since he was a child of an Ogre.

“Is something wrong with that?”

“Mmph. Well, if it’s easier for you to say, I suppose it’s fine, Yukina.”

The girl who saved the ogre boy had become his caretaker. It was still true to this day, despite the ogre serving as the village’s guardian deity.

“Yukina, I’m hungry. Want me to do ‘that’ so we can get back faster?”

“Really?!”

She beamed, then climbed onto his back.

“I’m ready now!”

“Okay, hold on tight.”

“Yes!!”

Yukina wrapped her arms around his neck. The Ogre boy wore a barely-hidden expression of contentment—something Yukina, on his back, couldn’t see.

“Here we go!”

He pushed off the ground, running faster than the wind, though he did limit his speed so a human girl could handle it.

“Ahahaha! So fast, so fast!”

“Don’t talk. You’ll bite your tongue.”

“Mmph!”

The boy reprimanded Yukina, so she clamped her mouth shut and just enjoyed the ride.

They reached the village in moments.

“Welcome back, Little Ogre-sama.”

“Yukina got a ride again, huh?”

“Hehe. It was super fast.”

“I heard it’s mountain fish today! Is that true?!”

“Yes, we’ve prepared plenty.”

The villagers had genuinely accepted the ogre boy.

Ogres could speak human languages, and friendly individuals like this boy were often revered as protectors. The villagers and the Ogre boy had built a good relationship—they lived peacefully, side by side.

　──＊＊＊──

One overcast, gloomy day…

“Hm?”

A distant rumbling reached his ears. Humans couldn’t hear it, but the Ogre boy caught the ominous sound.

“What… how many are there?!”

The sheer number of monsters heading their way was staggering.

He’d dealt with monster packs approaching the village before, but nothing on this scale.

“Yukina! Are you there?!”

“Yes? What is it?”

The boy called down from the watchtower, and Yukina poked her head out from a nearby building where she’d been knitting.

“A massive wave of monsters is coming! Tell the chief—NOW!”

“M-monsters?—R-right away!”

The Ogre boy always left the village calmly and returned unharmed after dealing with threats. The villagers had never heard this urgency in his voice.

A monster stampede was bearing down on them.

At that time, a demon named Velt—the reigning Demon Lord—was unleashing hordes of monsters across the world to spread terror. One of those hordes was headed straight for this village.

“Evacuation… nah, impossible, huh.”

With the speed of the stampede against how long it would take the elderly to flee… they’d never make it.

“Little Ogre-sama! I told the chief!”

Yukina had returned from warning the chief.

“Yukina. Gather anyone who can run and get as far away as you can. Head west. I swear I won’t let any monsters through that way.”

“Is this different from the packs that show up sometimes?”

“Yeah, seems like it. There are probably several monsters that even I’ll struggle with. I can’t protect everyone while fighting them off.”

His expression darkened. He knew—he couldn’t save every single one of the villagers this time around.

“Then perhaps it’s time we old folks fought too.”

“Chief?! Wha, what’s that gear?!”

The chief and several other elderly villagers emerged in combat gear.

“Before you came to protect us, we fought monsters ourselves.”

“We defend our own village.”

“So, Little Ogre-sama. Take Yukina and the young ones who can run. Leave this place.”

“Please, look after Yukina and the other kids for us.”

The elderly intended to buy time, fighting the monsters so the younger generation could escape. They did this despite knowing full well that they didn’t stand a chance against enemies even the Ogre boy would struggle with.

“Chief! Everyone! No, no—we should all run together!!”

“Right. I’ll buy us time—YUKINA!!”

He lunged at her.

An instant later, sharp talons slashed through the spot where she’d been standing. Fast-moving bird-type monsters had reached the village and targeted her.

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m—I’m not hurt.”

Once the Ogre boy confirmed Yukina’s safety, relief flooded through him as he pressed his chest. The thought of anything happening to her… a horrible future had flashed through his mind.

He had to save her. Even if it meant abandoning everyone else.

“Little Ogre-sama. Go.”

“At least save Yukina.”

“May you two find happiness together.”

The chiefs spoke as if they’d read his thoughts.

But it had the opposite effect. He couldn’t betray these people—the ones who’d been so kind to him, a monster.

“…I’m sorry, Yukina. Maybe this is the wrong call. But I’m going to give it everything I have. I swear I’ll protect you. I’ll protect everyone!”

Despair was closing in.

Then—

The Ogre boy noticed something first.

“The number of monsters… is dropping?”

The stampede rushing toward the village seemed… smaller.

“Hey, where’d those bird monsters go?”

“W-we have no idea?”

The elders had been watching the skies, but the flying monsters had vanished.

And since the one that attacked Yukina fled, there’d been no follow-up attacks.

Weapons ready, the Ogre boy and villagers kept their guard up. Then, from the forest—

“Phew! Made it just in time—!”

A black-haired young man emerged, carrying an onyx blade.

“Who… who are you?!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Haruto, and I’m a hero.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep