One afternoon, I decided to head out to pick up a book. Since I had been living in the Sinfonia Royal Capital for quite some time now, I had a perfect mental map of the neighborhoods near my house.
I was walking along, weighing my options between a few bookstores I knew, when a strange sight caught my eye.
A crowd had formed... or rather, a group of people had gathered around a single, petite girl. From where I stood, it looked like they had her completely surrounded.
The men encircling her looked rather intimidating. I try not to judge people based on their appearance, but it looked like she might be getting harassed. However, I didn't sense any tension from them. If anything, the emotions I picked up through Sympathy Magic were surprisingly jovial.
Well, there were plenty of people in this world whose looks didn't match their age; they might have just been a group of friends hanging out. Either way, it didn't seem like there was any trouble.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the girl turned around, and I found myself staring. Her long, crimson hair was as vivid as a flickering flame. Her features were strikingly well-proportioned, but it was the countless scars etched into her face that truly shocked me.
A vertical claw mark ran over her right eye, a horizontal slash cut across the bridge of her nose, and another scar on her cheek looked like an old puncture wound. A single glance told me her skin was a map of past battles.
Her upper body was just as scarred as her face. She wore nothing but a sarashi wrap around her chest beneath a long, black coat embroidered with flame patterns—a garment that looked like a modified school uniform. Her trousers were excessively baggy, the sort of style that reminded me of delinquent fashion back home. To top it off, she had a long-stemmed kiseru pipe clamped between her teeth. She looked exactly like a female gang leader from an old period drama.
Her iridescent eyes had pupils slit vertically like a predator's. They were sharp and piercing, radiating an almost physical pressure that felt like a heavy weight in the air.
I was still reeling from the disconnect between her height and her ferocious appearance when our eyes met. Her gaze seemed to sharpen instantly.
It was a little... okay, it was a lot scary. There was something about the way she carried herself. She was small, but she possessed a massive, commanding presence.
She took the pipe from her mouth and began walking toward me with a swaggering, confident stride. Wait, why? Why was she coming this way? Was it because I looked at her? Was this that classic "what are you looking at" development from delinquent manga?
The girl stopped right in front of me and tilted her head back to look me in the eye. Her gaze was incredibly intense.
"If it isn't my comrade! To think we would run into each other here. What a happy coincidence!"
"...Huh?"
This wasn't at all what I had expected. Why was a girl I had never met before calling me her "comrade"? This was definitely our first meeting, right? I couldn't imagine forgetting someone with such a striking appearance.
Regardless of my confusion, she gave me a wide, delighted grin.
"I have been wanting to sit down and have a proper chat with you, my comrade. What do you say? Since fate has brought us together like this, why don't we talk for a bit?"
"Huh? Er, well..."
I was still trying to process the situation when the group that had been surrounding her earlier approached us. I hadn't noticed before, but every one of them wore an emblem of a red claw mark on their clothes.
"Boss, we would love to pay our respects too, but we are out of time. We need to get moving..."
"Hmm? Ah, is it that late already? You're right. I will introduce you to my comrade another time. Head to the site. Do not be late."
"Yes, ma'am! Thank you for coming to see us off, Boss!!"
"Think nothing of it. Just make sure you do not cause any trouble for our hosts. Remember, the thoughtless actions of one reflects on the reputation of the entire Crimson Fang. Go and do your duty."
"Understood! Please excuse us!!"
As she spoke, the members of the so-called Crimson Fang bowed in perfect unison and marched away. I felt completely left in the dust. What on earth was going on?
"Apologies, my comrade. Under normal circumstances, I would have had those runts introduce themselves properly, but we are on a tight schedule today. I hope you can forgive the rudeness."
"Oh, no, it's fine... I don't mind that at all, but... I'm sorry. Have we actually met before?"
She chuckled, but I was still drawing a total blank. I racked my brain, but I had no memory of her. When I finally worked up the nerve to ask, she looked stunned for a moment before scratching her head awkwardly.
"Ah, right. Now that you mention it, you wouldn't know me, would you? My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself. The name I was born with is Flarebell, but the name the King gave me is Needsveld... Flarebell Needsveld. I hold the lowest seat among the Dragon King's executives, the Four Great Magic Dragons. But you can just call me Flare."
"Huh? Yes... I'm Kaito Miyama. It's nice to meet you... Flare-san."
I had lost count of how many times I had been shocked today. And at that exact moment, a vision of Lilia-san’s face—looking as though she were prepared to march into a hellish battle—flickered through my mind. I prayed it was just my imagination.
???: "Any story that starts with Kaito-san walking alone through the capital is a guaranteed, high-tier flag for a new character encounter."
Serious-senpai: "Now that you mention it, most of his random encounters start exactly like this... No wonder Lilia is constantly stressed. The guy can't even go for a walk without bringing home another powerhouse."