Fourth Monster Knight Order (8)

Charlotte froze, staring blankly.

"...........The entire spring is healing potion?"

After speaking in a dazed voice, she looked apologetic.

"Um, Fia. You see, healing potions are clear. This spring has turned green, so I don't think it's a healing potion."

"Hehe, clear healing potions are failures. This is the real thing—ta-da!"

I said proudly, but Charlotte didn't seem to believe me. She just fell silent with an apologetic look.

Zabiria, for their part, sprawled on the grass, pretending not to hear.

Hmmph. I did something pretty useful, yet nobody seems interested...

I scooped some spring water into the small bottle I'd brought, then picked up Zabiria.

"For now, let's go get lunch. I'm completely out of ma—stamina, so I'm starving and wobbly."

"Well, your magic control is as impressive as ever, Fia. Your magic is completely empty, but you haven't used even a sliver of mine. How do you control it so precisely?"

Zabiria muttered admiringly, then slipped inside my clothes.

"Um, Charlotte. I'm sorry it's gotten so late, but would you like to have lunch with me? Afterward, I'm planning to go back to the familiar stable and give the monsters more healing potion. Would you like to come with me?"

"I will!"

Charlotte squeezed my hand.

Ah, she's just so cute.

I'd controlled the amount of magic Charlotte used, so she should still have twenty or thirty percent left.

So she probably isn't as unsteady as I am, but I should be more mindful of pushing lunch so far back. Every meal is important for a child.

Yeah, getting so absorbed in something that I lose sight of everything around me has always been a bad habit...

I headed to the dining hall inside the castle with Charlotte.

Since we'd missed lunchtime, the dining hall was deserted.

"Oh, Fia?"

Just as Charlotte and I sat across from each other and started eating, I heard a familiar voice.

I turned around and saw Fabian standing there with a tray.

"Are you having lunch now too, Fabian?"

"I was handling a special assignment from the deputy captain, so lunch got pushed back a little. But I'm glad I ran into you, Fia."

Then Fabian turned to Charlotte.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Fabian Weiner of the First Knight Order. May I join you, Saint-sama?"

After confirming Charlotte's nod, Fabian sat beside me.

Then he asked, looking curious.

"I heard you were working with the Fourth Monster Knight Order, Fia, so why are you with Saint-sama? Also, what did you eat to make your stomach so big?"

"Honestly, knights are so blind. Why does everyone assume this bulge is my own stomach? Do you lose all common sense from working so much? I've got a familiar inside my clothes. And Charlotte and I were just doing a little practice together."

"...So Fia has a familiar. And she's on a first-name basis with Saint-sama, close enough to spend time together. Fia, you're really impossible to predict. I leave you alone for a moment, and you get yourself into something outrageous."

Fabian looked at me with an exasperated expression.

"Well, I'm relieved to see you're doing well, Fia. Captain Cyril was worried about whether the Fourth Monster Knight Order had properly accepted you. Speaking of Captain Cyril, he seems a little worn out lately, so it would ease his worries if you could come back soon."

I tilted my head as I chewed on a piece of meat.

...Captain Cyril's tired? Did something happen?

Ah, could he still be affected by that time he was criticized to his face?

Captain Cyril seems like the type who's always been at the top, so I bet he doesn't take criticism well.

After that, perhaps feeling bad for having spoken only to me, Fabian addressed Charlotte with his sparkling smile. Charlotte turned bright red and answered in short phrases.

Well, even this little girl is susceptible to Fabian's sparkling rays. Honestly, he's invincible.

Afterward, I parted ways with Fabian and headed to the familiar stable hand in hand with Charlotte.

I didn't feel wobbly from having run out of magic, and my body felt light.

Huh? I'm supposed to be completely out of magic right now, so why do I feel so energetic?

Actually, about half my magic has already come back. Huh...

I peeked at Zabiria through the gap in my collar.

Yep, Zabiria must have shared some with me. Hehe, what a sweet child.

When we reached the familiar stable, all the monsters turned to look at us at once.

Then they faced us, pressed their noses against the cages, and began making needy little noises.

"Huh? W-what? Charlotte, do you know what's going on?"

"I-I don't know. I've never seen monsters like this either..."

Faced with the monsters clamoring for affection with surprising enthusiasm, Charlotte and I were a little intimidated and instinctively backed away.

But work is work. I have to do my job.

I poured the healing potion Charlotte and I had just made into a dish, then slid it into the cage of an injured monster.

I wondered if I'd have to ask Zabiria to help again, but for some reason, the monster promptly started drinking the potion.

Huh? Why?

As I tilted my head, Zabiria whispered to me from inside my clothes, in a voice only I could hear.

"Fia, you used healing magic earlier, right? So your magic is circulating through your body, and a sweet scent is wafting from that injured spot. The scent of a Saint's blood is exquisite to monsters. An ordinary monster would probably try to eat you, but familiars with human contractors seem to just want to be friends with you."

"W-wow..."

Come to think of it, I hadn't healed the wound the Violet Boar had scratched into me earlier. Yep, it's bleeding.

And now that I think about it, when Zabiria attacked me before and I nearly died, Zabiria took down a lot of monsters, didn't they?

Zabiria said those monsters had been drawn there by the scent of a Saint's blood, too...

Hmm? But in my previous life, I don't think monsters were ever attracted to my blood...

As I wondered about it, Zabiria answered as if they'd read my mind.

"In your previous life, you had a contract with spirits, right? I think they were lending you their power."

...I see. I'd been receiving help in all sorts of ways without even knowing it.

After that, I went around giving the injured monsters the green healing potion.

The monsters were unusually docile—or rather, clingy—rubbing against me through the bars and making needy little sounds.

W-what is this? They're so cute...

And this time, the monsters who drank the healing potion didn't suffer at all.

The monsters kept nuzzling affectionately, no matter how much time passed, and Charlotte murmured uncertainly.

"...Fia, I still don't think this green water is a healing potion. Maybe the medicine isn't working, which is why they aren't in pain..."

"Hehe, I think you're a wonderful Saint, Charlotte, and that this green water is a healing potion. Let's see how they are in the morning."

After promising to check on the monsters together the next morning, I said goodbye to Charlotte.

That night, I suddenly got the urge to sew one more thing for Zabiria.

After gazing at the finished item with satisfaction, I quietly lay down on the bed, careful not to wake Zabiria, who was already asleep.

Then, just before falling asleep, I suddenly thought of Captain Cyril.

Fabian said he was tired. I wonder if he's all right?

I hope he's sleeping well...

And with that, I fell asleep. Yep, I seem to be in good health.