Reincarnated as an Orphaned Dragon!

Chapter 10 - "Resolve"

As dawn broke, Aya and I rushed to the village on a horse.

If it was up to me, I would have just enhanced myself with magic and ran all the way there even faster, but it would look crazy for a child like me to be able to do that.
Instead, I chose to give the horse we were riding a speed boost.

Thanks to that, we managed up arrive in half a day instead of the normal day's travel from the city.
Before I can even see the village, I can smell the metallic lingering of blood in the air.

And when I am finally able to see the village, the situation is horrific.
Destroyed homes, barely living injured, claw marks...

Aya didn't waste time going to start healing everyone, but I was already looking for Kale and Mino.

Gramps had to be okay, no matter what!

The orphanage was in shambles, but everyone was still alive.

"Gramps! Are you okay!" I yell.

"I'm fine, little one. Everyone was able to keep it away from the kids at the last minute." Gramps soothed.

"What is it?" I asked desperately.

"It looks like a giant bear with small crystals on each part of its body. None of our weapons were able to harm it, and my magic wasn't able to damage it either..." He explains, "It's taken refuge in the nearby cave, and we're sure it's going to attack again."

That cave must be where I used to live.
It must be getting stronger there since my former mother was gone and no longer using it.

"How strong is it?" I ask.

"The adventurers guild would probably reckon it as a D-rank monster, but we don't have anyone strong enough to fight it. Don't get any ideas, little dragon. I know you want to help, but we can't burden a child with having to fight." Gramps says while patting my bright red hair.

'I have to do something! But what can I do?!'  I think.

I've never fought anything across two whole lives!
Would trying to go find and defeat it now work out? I'm not even an adult yet...

I couldn't muster up enough courage to force myself to take action.
I've helped everyone with many things in the year I've lived here, but risking my second life like this is just asking too much.

If it was my last life, I would not hesitate to throw it away, but now I have a long life to look forward to, the weight of which is hard to ignore the value of.

There was little I could do besides try to help with healing.

As the village begins to recover from the immediate aftermath, I notice a group of concerned villagers huddled together, discussing the situation.

"We need a plan to deal with that thing!" One of them says.

"It'll take an entire day at the least to get help from the city. What else can we do?" Another adds.

"We need to get the children away from the village at least, then."

Amidst the discussions, an elderly woman named Elora steps forward, her face etched with determination.

"We can't wait for help. We need a temporary solution to protect our village until reinforcements arrive," Elora declares, her gaze unwavering.

Aya finishes tending to the wounded and joins the conversation, her healing abilities a small beacon of hope.
"I can create a barrier around the village, but it won't hold for long. We must buy time until more experienced fighters arrive."