Chapter 36
“A s-strong and cute familiar? What is this thing? Huh? A Blue Dove... No, it isn't, is it?”
Deputy Captain Gideon asked, looking flustered as he stared at Zabiria.
Wow, my sewing skills are amazing! He guessed it right away.
“Correct! It's a Blue Dove.”
“No way! Blue Doves are pigeon-shaped! Why is this one's neck so long?!”
“Huh? Its neck? ...Oh, that was quite a battle. When we formed the familiar contract, we fought a truly grueling battle. In short, we pulled on each other's necks, and this little one's neck stretched out.”
“No, your mark is incredibly thin! The contract must've been over in an instant!”
“Huh? Well, now that you mention it, the monster's neck did stretch in an instant.”
The deputy captain kept tilting his head as he stared at Zabiria, but since the neck was only a little long and Zabiria looked exactly like a Blue Dove from every other angle, he seemed to stop questioning it. Heh heh heh, a victory for my sewing skills.
“When the master's a failure, their familiar turns out weird, too. As if being the weakest monster weren't bad enough, can it even fly with a body that unbalanced? A useless familiar is nothing but a burden!”
“Now, whatever do you mean? Something this cute is bound to be strong and useful.”
“Everything you're saying is wrong! Being cute has nothing to do with being strong and useful, and that thing isn't cute in the first place!”
What is Deputy Captain Gideon talking about?
It's small and fluffy. How could it not be cute? The deputy captain is an amateur who doesn't understand the definition of cute.
I let out a small sigh.
Ah, do I have to teach him the definition of cute from the very beginning? What a pain.
“Hey, you! You just spouted some incomprehensible theory to make fun of me, didn't you? I can tell that sort of thing right away! Why are you so confident when you're partnered with the weakest monster? I have serious doubts about how your brain works!”
As usual, the deputy captain continued to rant at me with great vigor.
Zabiria had been quietly sitting there until now, but perhaps the conversation he couldn't take part in had grown boring. He glanced at the deputy captain, then snuggled up to me.
Then Zabiria opened his mouth and started making a strange sound.
“Idiot, idiot.”
“...Huh? What did your familiar just say?”
The deputy captain asked, a deep furrow forming between his brows.
“Idiot, idiot, dummy.”
Zabiria continued chirping in his adorable voice.
Honestly, Zabiria...
You're trying to avenge me, since I'm part of a rigid hierarchy and can never defy my superiors. What a clever boy.
I put on a solemn expression and answered the deputy captain's question.
“It seems he injured his syrinx when his neck stretched, so his voice is a little distorted. I'm sorry if it's unpleasant to listen to.”
“Dummy, dummy, big dummy.”
“No, that's not a birdcall! You're insulting me, aren't you?!”
“Haha, what are you talking about? Blue Doves are the weakest monsters. There's no way one could speak human language.”
“...”
The deputy captain clenched his back teeth and glared at Zabiria, but Zabiria chirped on without a care.
“Idiot, idiot, big dummy.”
Heh heh, Zabiria. Don't overdo it.
I gently patted Zabiria's head, then looked straight at the deputy captain.
“Well then, Fia Rudo will be in charge of healing the monsters starting today. Excuse me.”
As I turned and started back the way I'd come, Zabiria rested his head against my shoulder and continued chirping at the deputy captain.
“Dummy, dummy, a hundred times dumber!”
“You damn familiar―――――!!!”
I heard the deputy captain's scream from behind me.
Heh heh, getting thrown off by a few chirps? You've still got a long way to go, Deputy Captain.
“Well then...”
After stepping outside the building and looking around, I started walking toward the castle.
Let's see, first I have to get healing potions from the Saint.
Most Saints live at a church if they're unmarried, or at home if they're married, but a certain number are stationed inside the castle in case of emergencies. To be precise, I heard they live together in a separate palace beside the royal castle, but it was quite a long walk to get there.
And sure enough, it took me about thirty minutes to finally reach the separate palace.
Carrying Zabiria against my stomach must've made for good training. Though, Zabiria's stopped moving. Zabiria fell asleep again.
At the entrance to the separate palace, I showed the butler the voucher for healing potions I'd received from Patty, the deputy captain's assistant.
He glanced at my collar insignia with a puzzled look, then showed me to the guest reception room near the entrance.
I suppose it isn't often that a knight from the First Knight Order comes to pick up healing potions for the familiars of the Fourth Monster Knight Order.
I stood by the reception room window, gazing outside, when I noticed several women.
They were wearing white robes, so I assumed they were Saints, but what were they doing?
They were sitting on benches set up around the garden, chatting. Beside them, a servant drew water from a well and poured it into several bottles that had been prepared in advance.
Then he mixed in a green liquid from another container, capped the bottles, shook them, and handed them to the Saints.
The Saints lounged on the benches with the bottles resting on their stomachs. Each murmured something, then went back to chatting. After a while, their hands glowed faintly, and the servant collected the bottles when he noticed.
...Ah―――could this be...?”
After waiting for a while, the butler who had greeted me at the entrance came in carrying a tray with a bottle of sparkling, clear liquid on it.
...Yeah, this is definitely the bottle the Saints were holding earlier.
“Thank you very much.”
I thanked him, took the bottle, bowed, and left the separate palace.
As I walked, a vague uneasiness began to nag at me.
I tried to dispel it, repeating the same things to myself over and over.
...Yeah, well, I suppose that's the modern way.
A lot can change in three hundred years. There aren't many Saints, and they must have plenty of other things to do, so efficiency is important.
This is normal now. This is normal now...
But my efforts to reassure myself didn't seem to be working very well. Scenes from my previous life kept flickering before my eyes.
―――Nature has power.
The lush green trees, the flowers in full bloom. Their roots spread through the earth, and even when trampled or buried in snow, they rise again and continue to grow, their life force undaunted. Nature is overflowing with beauty and strength.
What would happen if I drew some of that abundant power into my body?
Healing potions were born from that awe and reverence for nature.
Three hundred years ago, the Saints would go to places where spring water welled up whenever they had the time.
There were springs everywhere, and in such places, little trees, flowers, and medicinal herbs always grew.
In awe of nature's beauty and strength, they picked medicinal herbs.
They drew the spring water, floated the herbs they'd gathered in it, and poured in their magic while imagining an injured person regaining their strength by taking in nature's power. Then the herbs dissolved into the water in a sparkling shimmer, creating a healing potion. It should have been deep green, the color of the herbs' leaves.
...So why are healing potions colorless now?
I peered into the bottle of healing potion I'd just received and tilted my head.
They must have changed the process so much that some of its effects were lost. And the effect that definitely vanished was the pain relief!
Remembering the pain when I used a healing potion, I shuddered.
Right. Even if I get hurt, I'll never use a healing potion again.
Nodding to myself, I started walking toward the familiar stable.