Ziger felt he must be dreaming.
[I will do my utmost to fulfill your requirements.]
A young woman more beautiful and lovely than any he had ever seen, like a goddess, saying such words to him, wanting him to sign a contract with her—this kind of thing that looked like a pie falling from the sky, Ziger had never believed would happen to him.
Because there was never such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky in this world. Especially not for someone like him who had been accompanied by misfortune since childhood. What accompanied him had always been departure, death, and disaster. Things like [good fortune] had never been part of his life.
(After such a clear rejection, she probably won't pester me anymore, right?)
(Leaving dragon slaying to other Dragon Hunters or the Sun God Cult is better. If it weren't for survival, I wouldn't want to slay dragons either.)
Ziger had no obsession with slaying dragons. Like many Dragon Hunters, he killed dragons continuously merely to satisfy basic needs and survive; he didn't possess the resolve to exterminate all dragonkind.
"Huff... huff... running here should be okay, right?"
After running for who knows how far in one breath, Ziger leaned against a tree to catch his breath and glanced behind him.
He hadn't paid attention to his surroundings while running, nor had he specifically looked for a direction, so now he didn't know where he had run to. But if even he didn't know, that goddess-like girl named Brynhildr certainly wouldn't know, and probably couldn't catch up to him, right?
He had run at full speed.
[Are you tired?]
Then, the moment Ziger relaxed internally, Brynhildr's voice suddenly reached him, and her goddess-like figure swiftly entered Ziger's field of vision.
(Wh-why did she catch up——?!)
Ziger was somewhat dumbfounded.
Brynhildr, however, smiled and said:
[Your running this time lasted for 7 minutes and 33 seconds, with an average speed of 10.23 m/s. An excellent result. Achieving this speed relying purely on physical ability without any enhancements—considering a human body, your physique is quite outstanding.]
Ziger: "...You caught up?"
[My maximum speed can reach the second cosmic velocity.]
[Now, regarding the suggestion I made earlier—judging from your reaction and behavior, did my actions cause you trouble?]
[If so, then I sincerely apologize. I'm sorry my words and actions troubled you.]
"No, that..."
Seeing Brynhildr bow her head in apology, Ziger quickly waved his hands and took another half-step back. "Miss Brynhildr, I, I really don't necessarily need to slay dragons. I'm also really not as outstanding as you. And I don't want to find a partner to hunt dragons with me, so... that..."
Ziger had probably spoken more today than in the last five years combined.
"You... please don't keep pestering me. Find someone else to slay dragons with you."
[If you are worried about whether I can die, then I cannot die.]
[If you have any dissatisfaction with me, then, without affecting dragon slaying, I will correct and improve step by step.]
[Also, Mr. Warrior, even among my past contractors, in terms of initial power at the time of contracting, you undoubtedly rank among the top. You are actually excellent; please do not undervalue yourself.]
"..."
This was something Ziger had never experienced before.
From childhood to adulthood, accompanied by death and disaster, within the short span of less than an hour, he was being pursued, entangled, and repeatedly praised by a goddess-level beauty... Such good fortune was really a bit too much even for a dream, wasn't it?
But like this...
"You really... must have me and no one else?"
[Yes.]
Brynhildr nodded.
[I know you have reasons for not wanting to accept the contract. But from my standpoint, in order to continue slaying dragons, you are my current sole target. I do not believe that before the Dragon Slayer System ceases activity and enters dormancy, I can find a more suitable candidate than you.]
"...You really want to slay dragons that much?"
[Yes.]
[The Dragon Slayer System and I were created as weapons for slaying dragons. Slaying dragons is the core concept of both the system and me.]
"..."
Brynhildr's words caused Ziger to fall silent.
Even among Dragon Hunters, people with thoughts like Brynhildr's were exceedingly rare. As Ziger had thought earlier, most Dragon Hunters became hunters for livelihood; very few became Dragon Hunters purely to slay dragons.
Much less someone like Brynhildr who possessed such a powerful obsession with slaying dragons—Ziger had never seen one.
But like this...
[By the way, could you accompany me to a place?]
Suddenly, Brynhildr changed the subject.
[It won't take much of your time. It's not far ahead, a straight-line distance of only 538.3 meters.]
"...What are we going there for?"
[My previous contractor crashed and died there. Also, the main body of the Dragon Slayer System is there. If possible, I hope you can take a look.]
The main body of the Dragon Slayer System?
Ziger frowned. "Looking... is there a point?"
[I merely hope you can look and reconsider the contract matter. I know that in your eyes, I am a very suspicious existence. It is understandable that you don't trust me. But I am willing to swear to you—I bear no ill will towards you. I merely wish to continue executing the mission of slaying dragons.]
[I sincerely hope that an excellent warrior like you can become a dragon-slaying hero and exterminate all dragonkind together with me.]
"..."
Silence.
As if needing a buffer after too many words earlier, Ziger remained silent for a moment before helplessly sighing. "Fine, lead the way. I... I'll take a look first, then consider it."
[Thank you very much.]
"But I really am just considering! If I refuse afterward, then you must not keep pestering me!"
[Agreed—Then, please follow me.]
Brynhildr gave a slight nod, then proactively began walking in a certain direction.
After hesitating, Ziger also abandoned the idea of immediately turning and running away again, following Brynhildr's steps.
Not long after, just as she said, after walking a not-too-far distance, accompanied by a wave of heat rushing towards his face, Ziger saw the [shooting star] that had fallen from the sky earlier—a silver-white, very strangely shaped [ship], now stuck in the ground like a radish planted there.
"That's..."
[Yes. That is the interstellar spacecraft passed down through generations of Dragon Slayer System contractors since the first contractor—the *Kriemhild*.]