「When we rush in, you guys have to run, okay?」
Marcus said while looking at us, the girls.
「Marcus, Timor……」
Cattleya hesitated a bit, then nodded.
「Okay. We will absolutely make it out alive. Shia-san, Yuna-san, we will be going.」
With her trembling hands, Cattleya grasped ours.
「Yuna-san…」
Shia looked at me with a worried expression.
「Timor, let’s go!」
「Y-yes.」
The moment they tried to leave the thicket, I grabbed their clothes.
「What!?」
「From here on, it’s my job.」
As expected, I couldn’t just let them go.
「What are you saying!?」
「It’s my fault that I didn’t find the Black Tiger. Also, my job is to protect each and every one of you.」
I stepped in front of Marcus and left the thicket.
I used the detection magic and saw wolves coming this way as if they were gathering under the Black Tiger.
Even if the students were able to flee from the Black Tiger, they would be attacked by the wolves.
I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
「Protect these four, okay?」
Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear answered with a “Kuun” and went to the students.
「What are those!?」
Marcus, Timor, and Cattleya were all shocked when they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
「They are Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.」
Shia told them.
「But, their size is…」
「That’s their real size, you know.」
「The four of you have to stay near Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear. Wolves are gathering from all around here, after all.」
「Yuna-san…」
Shia looked at me with a worried expression again.
「Shia, I leave these three to you.」
「Okay. Please don’t die, you hear me?」
I smiled and waved.
「Shia, what are you saying? It’s definitely impossible for her.」
「Marcus. Please leave it to Yuna-san from now on.」
「There is no way I could do that!」
Shia stopped Marcus, who tried to stop me.
「There is no problem. Yuna-san can defeat it.」
I left the other three students to Shia and went to defeat the Black Tiger by myself.
When the Black Tiger saw me, it stopped advancing and started to circle around me, as if to see what I would do.
It was huge. It was way bigger than the Tiger Wolf I had defeated before.
After looking at me for a while, the Black Tiger recognized me as its prey, roared and leapt at me, reducing the distance between us in an instant, and bared its sharp fangs at me.
I dodged by taking a big step to the right.
It was fast.
It was faster than the Tiger Wolves, and there was also a lot strength behind its attacks.
I was also stronger than I was in the past, though.
If it was just defeating it, there was no problem. I would just kill with a Fire Bear.
The problem was that if I used fire, its beautiful fur would be burned to a crisp, and that would be a waste.
I really wanted its fur to become a carpet in my home, if possible, in a perfect state. Fina should be able to skin it perfectly.