I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon

"Since you were nine! How on earth did you manage to catch a wolf at that age? I don’t think your parents would have allowed it."

"That was a chance encounter, a miracle, I suppose."

When Iola showed interest in the story of how she caught the wolf at the age of nine, Viretta’s voice rose a pitch.

She began to tell the story she had shared dozens of times, shaking her toes as she spoke.

"It happened 14 years ago. As a child, I was wandering around a quiet country villa when curiosity struck, and I went into the mountains. I suppose it was fate that led me there."

Every time she told the story, she thought to herself that the origin of her life was that very day.

The Medlit family was spending a family vacation at a country villa one day.

"The mountains are dangerous for a nine-year-old, aren't they?"

"That's true. But who would stop me? Even back then, I was good at sneaking away. No one could stop a curious genius like me."

Normally, no adult would let a nine-year-old child wander off into the mountains.

But that day, everyone in the Medlit family was frantically busy.

It was the day when her father, Cadelon Medlit, decided to inherit full authority over the business from his father, Calin Medlit.

The villa, crowded with her grandfather’s children, grandchildren, and even his siblings and their children, was chaos.

Amidst all this, nine-year-old Viretta was completely overlooked.

"It was that kind of day. A day when no one noticed if I sneaked away."

There were many children in the Medlit family. Cadelon, the heir, had four children. When you added all the extended family, the children of her generation numbered more than ten.

Her uncle's second son was clever.

Her aunt's first son was skilled with a sword, and her first daughter was good at writing.

Her grandfather’s brother’s grandson was well-built.

Her uncle's daughter had just returned from a foreign trip and had many stories to tell, and the youngest son had recently started learning tumbling.

Viretta's sister was the most beautiful of the family and sang well.

Dillon, at that age, was already good with money and earned his father's attention as a sharp boy.

The youngest, Derek, was a recent baby who had captured everyone's hearts with his cuteness. Babies, after all, are irresistibly adorable.

So, on that day, no one paid attention to Viretta.

No one noticed when the sulking Viretta sneaked out of the house.

"It was near my grandfather’s birthday. I wanted to find something fun. After all, I was nine."

A fearless nine-year-old child climbed up the mountain alone.

She thought that if she found something interesting or strange, it would get the attention of her family.

"I met a princess there."

"You met a princess in the mountains?"

"Yes. She was a cute princess, just like me, with bright red hair, just like a rose. The princess was alone, just like me."

Viretta envisioned the little girl with rose-red hair in her mind. The princess in her memory had been crying, holding Viretta's hand.

"Why was the princess alone?"

"She was with her maid, but she lost her way after the maid briefly looked away. The princess and I were talking as we walked and then suddenly, we saw the wolf."

It was an abrupt turn of events, but that's how reality works. Disasters in real life don't come with a sense of plausibility.

The two nine-year-old girls suddenly found themselves face-to-face with the wolf, completely panicked.

"A huge wolf was blocking the path we were trying to take. It was terrifying."

The wolf seemed enormous to the nine-year-old. The exact size wasn't clear, but it left an impression of being gigantic.

Viretta spread her arms wide to indicate the size of the wolf.

"So, I blocked the princess’s path and fought the wolf. I grabbed a stick and lured the wolf away, running in the opposite direction from the princess."

"You fought a wolf?"

"Yes, I fought a wolf! The wolf chased after me, and I ran a little, then threw myself between two trees."

Viretta demonstrated, throwing herself between two narrow trees.

"I managed to squeeze through, but the wolf couldn’t. It hit the trees awkwardly, and its front paw got stuck, unable to move."

"It must have been a tight squeeze."

"Yes! But as long as it was alive, I threw rocks at it until it stopped breathing. That’s how, at the age of nine, I hunted the wolf and saved the princess."

"At nine years old, that kind of judgment! You were already a skilled hunter from the start."

"Such tactics come naturally to me. It's as easy as breathing."

In other words, she was implying, "It wasn’t something I thought deeply about."

But there was no doubt that it was an impressive feat.

Whether the wolf was sick or smaller than expected, Viretta fought and won against it at the age of nine.

It was an achievement worthy of boasting about, and indeed, Viretta did boast about it everywhere.

"Which princess did you save, Viretta?"

"...I couldn’t find that out."

But no one believed her.

The wolf’s body was taken by the maid who had arrived later, and no kingdom nearby had a red-haired princess of nine years old.

All that Viretta was left with was a handful of fur from the wolf.

That alone could not prove she had killed the wolf.

"Well, the fact remains that I saved the princess from the wolf’s claws!"

She said it cheerfully, but when she thought back to that day, it always felt odd.

"Even though my family didn’t believe me because their minds weren’t big enough."

When Viretta returned home and told her family that she had hunted a wolf and saved a princess, no one believed her.

A nine-year-old’s word. Her family didn’t believe that she had killed a wolf when she came back without a scratch. It was only natural.

They thought she was just boasting to get attention, so they patted her head and moved on.

"That’s why Ranken and the people around us call me a liar."

"Ah, they sometimes say that."

"Ordinary minds can’t understand what someone as exceptional as me has experienced, so they think it’s a lie. It’s frustrating, but it’s a trial I must endure, so I accept it."

Viretta used this moment to turn the situation and excuse her nickname.

Then, Iola would certainly accept the beautiful packaging she had put around it.

But the reason that memory of that day remained in her mind wasn’t because she had protected the cute princess and killed the wolf.

That day was the day that Viretta Medlit's way of life was set.

It was nice that even the relatives who had always treated her as the fifth or sixth most important person were now listening to her stories.

It was nice to see their surprised faces for a moment when she told them something strange.

Although it was frustrating that they would laugh and dismiss it as a fun joke after hearing her out, it didn’t bother her too much.

Most of all, it was nice that her grandfather laughed and hugged her.

"You really have some funny stories," he said, sitting her on his lap.

"So what happened next? You’re so creative. Come on, tell me the next one," he said, giving her some pocket money.

From that day on, she began exaggerating even the smallest things.

Whenever she told a strange story, everyone would pay attention to her.

When she said something amusing, her grandfather would treat her very kindly and want to hear more of her antics.

Back then, Viretta could be the center of attention.

It didn’t matter if she wasn’t the most beautiful, the smartest, the best at singing, or the best at calculating. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t use swords or magic well, or if she wasn’t the first or the youngest. She could still be the center of attention.

She liked that fact.

She also liked making her grandfather laugh and enjoy himself with her performances.

Well, it wasn’t a complete lie, was it?

It was just a fun story with a little bit of embellishment.

If others enjoyed laughing at it, playing the fool wasn’t so bad.

Thus, the years passed, and it had been fourteen years.

She had some awareness of what kind of person she had become, and didn’t regret the years gone by.

But when she thought of that first memory, she always felt something strange.

Viretta crossed her legs and placed her hands on top, gazing at the sky.

"Still, sometimes, I close my eyes and think."

The large wolf and the tearful red-haired princess who appeared before them.

The desperate run to save the princess and the wolf that lost its life.

Yet, no matter what country she searched, there was no trace of a small, red-haired princess.

No matter how many times she searched that mountain, no one remembered the little girl.

The memory of that day, which no one believed and could never be proven.

"Did it really happen?"

Or was it just a fantasy that her younger self made up?