The sickle-wielding saviour

As the canine in front of me opens its maw, the spell circle in front of its head starts to fade and sparks leave its nostrils before a blazing stream comes flying at me.
Honestly, does this world really need to rub it in like that?

For the past year and a half I have been trying to study magic beasts in order to learn more about magic, in the hopes of one day being able to become a great magus myself. As such, when I heard there was a magic beast laying waste to a nearby village, I quickly grabbed my dad's sickle and ran there. The nearby townfolk hail me as a hero, but my dad keeps pestering me about how dangerous it is and how he can't afford the smithing fee for all the tools I've broken so far...
Most of the tools I've broken may have been melted... And I guess we can add one to the counter.

The only way I can think to survive this attack is to cut and split the blazing stream. As the last of the fire passes, I dash towards the source, quickly glancing at the formerly sickle in my hands. "Formerly" because the front half may have melted just a little and now it looks more like a weird kind of bent hammer than anything. Father is going to be mad again...

Good thing Ember wolves take a long time between breath attacks and because they mostly rely on their fire, their claws and fangs are honestly not much stronger than a dog's.
My sickle is not quite as sharp as it should have been either, so I guess that makes 2 of us.

As I'm closing the distance, the ember wolf is honestly just staring at me dumbfounded.
I guess it might be confusing to see a small human with a bent shiny thing on a stick running at you through a fire breath.
Especially if it typically sends crowds of adults scurrying away in a panic.

As I get within 10 metres of the wolf, it snaps back to reality and the will to fight burns in its soul once again, and it's in his mouth; it's certainly burning in his mouth as well.
Guess I overestimated the time it takes to recover his breath.

*flash*

A magic circle almost instantaneously forms and fades as sparks start flying out his nostrils again.

I was hoping to get a little bit closer, but it appears my canine companion has seen through this and decided to fire while he still has the range advantage.
I dodge to my left as soon as I see the magic circle form

*Sizzzz*

Okay... Rude much?
I mostly dodged, but my right arm is still mildly seared and hurts like hell.
On a positive note, because I only got hit by the initial part of the attack and could diagonally run closer, I am almost within striking range by the time the wolf realises I managed to survive the second breath, too.
As I reach the wolf, I slice at its flank with my sickle.

*Bonk*

Ohhh, yeah...
Someone used that sickle to stop an inferno...
The pain may have made me forget about that part.

*Whimper*
Is it me, or did that howl sound kind of sad?
Let's just pretend clubbing at his stomach was my intent all along. I mean, it still sort of worked... the wolf has to muster all his strength to not get knocked down, which means I get a tiny new opening to attack.

My bludgeoning sickle bouncing off kind of caught me off guard, too.
I'm not perfectly stable myself either, so I decide to go with a swift kick off his ribs, jumping back to dodge any counterattacks.

*sshhh*

Ahhh look what you did now!
My shoe is on fire... I may not have realised his fur was this hot. I thought he used all his mana on that last breath.

*Chomp*

As I clumsily stomp my shoe on the ground, the wolf goes in for my left arm.
It's probably trying to disarm me. Honestly, people underestimate how smart magic beasts are when it comes to battle.
Me, though? This isn't my first encounter, so I anticipate as much and go in for a quick jab to its eyes with my mildly cooked right arm.

*Whine*

That hurt like a mothe** 

Right, I shouldn't be swearing...
That hurt A LOT!!!
At least I'm fairly certain it hurt the wolf more than me, considering it is not opening its left eye for now.
Quickly follow it up with a very swift kick to the face from my charred right geta.
It didn't catch fire this time, nice!

As the wolf seems a little stunned and confused, I finish it off with an overhead two-handed swing from my sickle, AKA lump of iron on a handle. The wolf falls down as the fur loses its glistening glow. 
Phew, that was way closer than I had hoped!
I may have acted all confident, but I honestly feel like lying down for a few hours before I start moving again.

And that's just the physical exhaustion. I also don't really feel like explaining how a sickle turned into whatever it is now. 

*rustle*
*rustle*

As I was deciding if I'd lay down on my back or left side (for sure not my right, that's bound to hurt), a small figure gets up from the rice paddy next to my battlefield. It's a girl, probably around 5 years younger than me. She must have passed by while I was fighting the ember wolf and stayed to watch.

...

...

Why is she just staring at me like that?

"Hey there, do you live around here?"

"Y-Yes, Mister"

She talks so silently as she faces away from me, it's hard to even understand what she's saying.
I guess it takes a lot of courage to even go up to the person who just slew the monster that was laying waste to your entire village, never mind looking them straight in the face when they talk to you...

"Can you pretend you didn't see me or any of this fighting and telling the villagers to come look here when you get home?"

"Why?"
"I think mommy and daddy would be very happy to see the great hero who slew the evil wolf!"

"Sometimes people just need to keep secrets: it's hard to explain."
"Can you help keep this secret?"

"I think my sister also heard your secret"
as she points behind me

Wait wait wait
*note to self: situational awareness still needs some work.
Not noticing the girl during my fight is one thing, but her sister is about as tall as me and I didn't even realise she was there. Standing only three metres away from me...
I should be glad neither was a secondary magic beast ready to pounce on me, but who says that won't happen in the future if I relax right after the fight?

OH right, that is a little rude.
Now I'm the one just staring at her in confusion...

"Hey, sorry I didn't see you there. Can you and your sister keep my involvement in this pest control a secret?"
"My parents don't exactly like it when I sneak out during working hours to fight magic beasts and ruin their tools in the process as well"

*Giggle*
Her smile is cute, even if she's only wearing work clothes, I can tell she's got a pretty figure as well.

"Well, you're not exactly going to be able to hide that with your sickle looking like this, now are you?"

"Considering you can tell this was a sickle, I suppose you've been looking at my battle for a while?"

"Our father is the local blacksmith. I've seen my share of tools: broken, failed, and finished ones." 
"But this one for sure takes the crown of least recognisable thing I've ever seen"
There her smile is again.
Can I just stop time for a moment to bask in her gentle glow for a little longer?

"It's also the worst I've ever bent a tool, but it did save my life for sure"

"And you saved ours, if not the entire village! At least let me tend your wounds."
"If you trust me, I could also ask my father to fix this sickle."
"With this wolf around, between people fleeing and trying to contact our lord to send soldiers, there are not many orders for blacksmithing right now."

She doesn't waste time and starts wrapping some grass around my burns. the liquid she took from a small jar in her bag stings, but at this point I might have to trust her.
I've heard people with burns have lost their limbs before...
I don't think I want to become the one armed magus once I figure out magic...
But it does sound kind of cool, doesn't it?

"It's not like we can use it as is... How long would it take?"

"I think it should be finished in three days."
"We could meet here first thing in the morning, shortly before the sun rises. I assume you do not want the farmers to see us."

"Yeah that would be great, thank you"

"This is the least we can do to help"
She turns to face her sister, who is now meekly hiding behind her and whispers:
"Can you bring this sickle home? Just tell daddy I asked, and not to ask questions"

The village is only a few minutes walk out, so I suppose her sister will be fine by herself.
More importantly, I hope I'm not blushing too much now that it's just us two here...
I doubt she sees me that way, but I can't help getting a little worked up.

"I didn't really want my sister to hear this, but"
"honestly, how reckless can you be?!"
"Knowing how fast the wolf is, I figured it didn't matter if we tried to run home or hid nearby, but did you seriously take on a class 3 magic beast by yourself? You're not even an adult yet, are you?"
"Considering your weapon and armour, or lack thereof , I doubt you're a samurai in training either."

Yeah... that doesn't sound like a confession, does it?
I guess that's one short-lived dream shattered...
I won't give up on my other dream this easily though!

"I have my reasons to fight magic beasts, but I will confess this one may have been a little stronger than I anticipated."

As she finishes the last bandage, she looks me in the eyes. Her eyes are confident, fierce and powerful.
"I will be here with your sickle in 3 days, I'm willing to wait till noon at the latest. Make sure you're here and try to be pick something smaller to fight in the future."

"Thanks again about the sickle, I will be here. I can't make any promises about that last part, I can only promise I will think twice from now on"

"As I said before, I should be the one thanking you"
"See you in 3 nights"

"See you then"