Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side Volume 10

dragon girl shouting, it all fell into place. The past and

present overlapped. The moonlit scene before her eyes and

the desolate winter scenery sleeping deep in her memories

—the dragon girl and the other, younger version of her

melted together. They blended and merged into one person.
Reflecting in her eyes was…Me…A crying Aiz.
It’s me…

Aiz’s composure melted away.
She’s the same as me!

The one who had lost everything, who was always alone
in the cold and dark, who no one would save.

But—

The boy had appeared for the dragon.

And no one had come for Aiz.

The boy had held out a hand for the dragon.

And no one had taken Aiz’s hand.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you met a wonderful partner, too?”
“I hope that, someday, you find a hero—your hero.”

She remembered the mother’s and father’s words.
You both lied to me!! her heart cried out.
A hero never came for me!

It didn’t matter how much and how long she cried; no

one appeared, until she finally realized that no one would

come save her. That was why Aiz had taken up the sword

herself!

The dragon before her, that other her, had her hero

appear before her!
No fair! No fair! No fair!
No one came for me! I had no choice but to choose the

sword!

Inside her crumbling heart, the young Aiz’s whines

echoed. The girl was crying, the sobs of the weaker version

of her she’d left behind.

Aiz looked at Bell, at the dragon girl’s one and only hero

holding her tight.

Anguish filled her. Sorrow enveloped her. Her golden

eyes trembled in envy.
“…………”
As she sealed away the remnants of her past with her

last scraps of willpower…Aiz slumped over, like a doll
whose strings had snapped. The sword she’d thrust out
clattered to the floor.

“…I can’t kill this vouivre anymore,” she admitted in a
hoarse voice, all she could wring out of her worn-down
mind and body.

“Miss…Aiz…”
“I…I can’t help feeling you two were right…That’s why I
can’t do it.”
“…”
“I can’t fight you anymore.”
She was bathed in moonlight, not raising her head.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at the dragon girl or
the boy’s face, because she was afraid she might start
hurling absurdities at them.
Upon losing her composure as the Sword Princess and
the armor of an adventurer, Aiz was just a girl. A ground-
down, empty shell of longing that had always waited for a
hero.
“…—Gh.”
Left frozen by that shape, Bell pulled back the hand he’d
started to extend, averting his eyes. He hugged the dragon
girl close so her slender shoulders wouldn’t leave his
hands.
Aiz didn’t say anything.
No self-deprecating laugh, no mournful voice, no falling
tears. As she resigned herself, she mustered the last
conscious thought of her rational mind and clumsily took an
elixir out of her pouch.
“I can’t help you…I’ll be here.”
“Miss Aiz…”
She placed it on the stone pavement and stepped back,
turning away.

“Go.”
“…Thank you.”
Bell took the elixir and left with the girl. Aiz didn’t turn
around. Her golden hair fluttered in the wind. Forgetting to
sheathe her sword, she let her gaze fall to the ground as
the white moonlight bathed her in its glow.
On this day, Aiz broke her vow, the precious promise
she’d made with herself: that monsters were to be killed.

“Aiz.”
“…”
“Is this okay?”
“…Yes.”
“…”
“…”
“I’ll head back.”
“…Thank…you.”
“What do you have to thank me for?”
The young man who’d appeared, the werewolf who’d
seen it all from start to finish, left without saying anything.
Tranquility set in again. She was left behind.
The girl moved her lips as she looked up at the night sky.
“Someone…help me.”









Afterword

I’m sure that some people may have noticed, but the
sequence of events in this book was shifted from the main
series to make it easier to follow. It might be interesting to
compare the two stories.

On that note, this is the tenth book of the side story.
I often wonder what I should show in this offshoot, but
this time, I went with “the victims of Bell Cranell.” That
might not be the best way to put it. I may have been
affected by the main character of the main series.
The protagonist of the main series is weaker than the
team in the side story, and his relationship to them isn’t
that straightforward. I couldn’t use the standard literary
technique of having him arrive to help them in a pinch. If
he went to help, he would end up getting saved himself.
Then what to do? Was there some other way to show his
attitude toward life?
As we grow up, there are moments when we’re jealous of
children. When I wrote the phrase “man-made hero” in this
book, I thought it was mean, even though I was the one
writing it. I suspect there are a lot of people who think that
something they’re doing is superficial and they have no
choice but to keep going at it. The truth is, I wanted to do a
plot where Thousand Elf betrayed them and joined the side
of the hero in the main series, leading a clash between her
and her elven teacher à la the color insert in the eleventh
book of the main series with master and disciple squaring
off. But in the process of writing, I ended up wanting to see
a certain character’s true feelings, which is why I changed

course. I’m sorry, Miss Fairy Heroine. Please keep up all
your hard work, Mr. Hero, for her sake.

I’d like to move to giving my thanks, albeit sooner than
usual.

To my editors Takahashi and Matsumoto, I’m incredibly
sorry for turning in my manuscript late as always. To chief
editor Kitamura, I’m sorry for making you worry about this
indecisive author. To Kiyotaka Haimura, who provided
these wonderful illustrations, your drawings are always an
incredible help. Thank you. And to everyone who helped
make this book happen, I extend my thanks.

There will be a drama CD going on sale with this tenth
volume of the side story. To all those who helped with that
endeavor, you have my sincere gratitude. And to the cast
who managed to overcome a terrible script, thank you. I
thought I would die of embarrassment listening to it. I’m
sorry (particularly to —nishi and —moto).

With this book, the side series has reached its third arc,
and it’s about time to put a period on the plot that’s been
continuing since the first book. It would be wonderful if you
could keep watching over the characters as they reach
their respective fates.

To all the readers, thank you for reading this far.
Let’s meet again in the next volume.

Fujino Omori

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Contents

Cover
Insert
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue: The Monologue of a Certain Girl
Chapter 1: Omen
Chapter 2: Someone Named Fool
Interlude: The Fairy’s Rage
Chapter 3: The Melancholy of a Hero. The Anguish of the
Sword Princess.
Interlude: A Private Conversation Between Gods
Chapter 4: The Skirmish on Daedalus Street: Behind the
Scenes
Interlude: Their Respective Battles
Chapter 5: Brave Soul!
Interlude: The Whereabouts of a Scheme
Chapter 6: The Hero’s Self-Denial
Epilogue: The Resolution of a Girl
Afterword
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