Chapter 49
“Zabiria, you’re so adorable!”
As before, the Saint seemed likely to arrive late, so I had some free time while we waited. I decided to go greet the other familiars.
In the world of familiars, Zabiria was the newcomer. It’s only natural for the newcomer to introduce himself, right?
As I adjusted the ribbon at Zabiria’s chest so he wouldn’t look shabby next to the other familiars, I took another look at him and realized just how cute he was.
“He’s adorable to begin with, but just adding a ribbon and flower crown makes him dangerously cute! It’s wonderful!”
“Thank you. I’ve lived a long time, but Fia is the first person to call me adorable or cute.”
“Hehe, what are you talking about? You’re zero years old, aren’t you? You haven’t lived long enough for people to say things like that about you.”
As I spoke, I set Zabiria on my shoulder and headed for the familiars.
“Oh my...”
I couldn’t help exclaiming when I saw the familiars. Every monster there was both large and beautiful.
Commander Quentin had clearly gone all out choosing them.
Among them, one particularly large and beautiful monster caught my eye.
It was a griffin, a fearsome monster with golden wings, the head of a hawk, and the lower body of a lion.
...Ah, so this was Commander Quentin’s familiar.
Even at a glance, the griffin was a cut above all the other monsters in strength.
It was a beautiful monster worthy of its A-rank status...
Once I started looking at the griffin, I could hardly tear my eyes away from its beauty.
Come to think of it, when greeting someone, you should start with those of higher rank.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Fia Ruud of the First Knight Order. And this is my familiar, Zabi...”
I began introducing myself to the griffin, but wasn’t sure if it was okay to give Zabiria’s name.
...Um? Commander Quentin advised me not to reveal Zabiria’s name, but did that apply to the other familiars, too? ...I wasn’t sure, so I decided not to risk it.
“He’s my familiar, commonly known as the Happy B Dragon.”
Since a griffin should understand human speech, I introduced myself as politely as I could.
Then, to show I meant no harm, I approached with both arms spread wide.
The griffin watched me warily, but didn’t seem about to attack.
Come to think of it, Commander Quentin had watched me warily like this when we first met. I found it amusing that his familiar was so much like its master. As I approached, I noticed that it was standing strangely.
Huh? It’s injured.
It wasn’t putting any weight on one of its hind legs, and part of its wing was bent out of shape.
Maybe it had been injured on the expedition with Commander Quentin, which they’d only returned from yesterday.
What a devoted familiar, coming along on a new search before it had even fully recovered.
Or was Commander Quentin the sort who worked his familiar to the bone?
The griffin hadn’t been in the familiar stable yesterday, so it must not have had any of the green healing potion. I touched its leg.
“Heal.”
I cast the spell while suppressing the glow effect.
Good, now it just looked like I was touching the griffin. Perfectly ordinary.
“Fia, maybe griffins are small fry compared to the monsters you defeated in your previous life, but they’re high-ranking monsters, you know? Getting close enough to touch one isn’t ordinary at all. Besides, if you heal it that easily...”
Zabiria spoke up as if to warn me.
Yeah, sorry, Zabiria. Whenever I see an injury, I reflexively want to heal it. I don’t think it’ll cause much trouble if the other party is a monster.
As I spoke to Zabiria in my mind, figuring he could understand my thoughts, the griffin affectionately rubbed its large head against me.
Huh? As I wondered what was going on, the other familiars let out dissatisfied, almost threatening noises.
I looked over, and sure enough, several of the other familiars were injured, too. I hadn’t seen any of them in the familiar stable, either, so perhaps they belonged to knights who’d accompanied Commander Quentin on his expedition. If they’d just returned as well, they must be tired.
I raised one hand and cast healing magic on the other familiars, too. They all had injuries, great or small, and there was no harm in helping them feel better.
After finishing the spell, I looked over the monsters to check their condition. For some reason, the familiars started closing in on me. While I stared in surprise, they nuzzled my legs and rubbed their bodies against me.
W-What is this? It doesn’t really suit their huge bodies, but it’s kind of cute...
“I was going to say that if you healed them that easily, they’d get attached to you and you’d be in trouble... but as always, monsters love you, huh?”
Zabiria muttered, turning his face away.
Ah, he’s sulking.
As I gently petted Zabiria, I hurried to explain.
“You’re the cutest, Zabiria. You’re my strong-and-cute little one, after all! You’re the strongest and the cutest! You’re the only one I want to dress up with ribbons and flower crowns!”
In response, Zabiria murmured, “Hmm,” sounding not entirely displeased.
That’s right, that’s right. Kids get jealous so easily. I have to be careful.
As I petted the familiars that had gathered around to settle them down, a strained voice called to me from behind.
“F-Fia-sama...”
I turned around to see Commander Quentin and Deputy Commander Gidion, both wearing expressions as strained as their voices.
I tilted my head, wondering what was wrong, then suddenly realized something and blurted out,
“Ah! Is it forbidden to touch another knight’s familiar? I’m sorry! I touched them without thinking!”
Realizing why Commander Quentin and the others looked so strained, I hurriedly moved away from the familiars.
The monsters let out dissatisfied sounds, but no, it looked like I was about to get scolded, so please let me retreat!
It must be something serious if the commander and deputy commander of the Monster Knight Order were both making such strained faces.
I hurriedly jumped back and put some careful distance between us.
But the distance I’d left, thinking I could run if things went wrong, was covered in just a few steps by Commander Quentin. Then he seized both my hands and lifted them up.
“Eek! S-sorry...”
“Are Fia-sama’s hands made of gold?!”
“.......................Huh?”
I didn’t understand what he meant, so I looked up at Commander Quentin, who stared back at me with glittering eyes.
“Eek! Y-You’re angry after all...!!”
I desperately tried to wrench my hands free and escape, but he was a Knight Commander, after all. He only seemed to be holding them lightly, yet no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn’t get loose! Nghh!!
“I always thought familiars only grew attached to their contractors. And yet, to see every single familiar frolicking around like little animals...! As the commander of the Monster Knight Order, I am ashamed of my own ignorance!!”
“Huh? Um, I don’t really understand, but it’s not that big a deal...”
As always, Commander Quentin’s remarks came out of nowhere and made no sense.
But when I saw Commander Quentin bowing his head with a pained expression, looking truly ashamed, I opened my mouth to try to calm him down.
As I did, I looked around for something that might help, and my eyes met Deputy Commander Gidion’s.
The moment our eyes met, Deputy Commander Gidion’s eyes widened as if he’d realized something. Then, just like Commander Quentin had, he strode toward me. His manner seemed friendlier than usual, so I hoped he might help.
But whatever he was thinking, Deputy Commander Gidion stopped in front of me and suddenly bowed his head.
“I’m terribly sorry, Fia-san!!”
“.......................Yes?”
After Commander Quentin, now Deputy Commander Gidion was doing something incomprehensible. All I could manage was a befuddled response.
“The commander told me that you came to our order on the Commander-in-Chief’s orders, Fia-san! The Commander-in-Chief must have had some profound reason for issuing a direct order!! And yet, until I just witnessed that extraordinary sight of the familiars frolicking with you despite you not being their contractor, I never even realized it! I am ashamed of myself!!”
“Um, no...”
“The Commander-in-Chief sent our order the finest knight there is, and I! I have always resented the way other orders look down on ours, and because I let that resentment guide me, I treated you unfairly, Fia-san!! The only way I can express my apology is to resign my post as deputy commander!!”
“Wait, nooooo!!!”
I hurriedly turned to Deputy Commander Gidion.
P-Please calm down, Deputy Commander Gidion!
Everything you’d said was strange, but the last thing you said was especially strange!!
Sure, Deputy Commander Gidion had made snide remarks to me, but they weren’t all that cutting, and they hadn’t hurt me much. So if he resigned as deputy commander, the punishment wouldn’t fit the crime!
And besides, what reason would you give for wanting to be demoted? “I made snide remarks to a rookie knight, so I want to be demoted”? ...That’s so pathetic!!
I opened my mouth to try to change Deputy Commander Gidion’s mind, but a voice called out from behind me before I could.
“What are you all doing?”
I turned around and saw Commander Zachary standing with his arms crossed and an exasperated expression.
“Quentin’s gripping Fia’s hands and pleading with her about something, and Gidion’s kneeling and begging for something... Hey, Fia. Are they fighting over you?!”
Commander Zachary’s words made me look at Deputy Commander Gidion. He’d been bowing his head in apology, but at some point he’d ended up kneeling at my feet.
“Huh? When did that happen...?!”
Ignoring my surprise, Commander Zachary shook his head in exasperation.
“The Queen’s getting more and more worshippers, huh? Fia, you’re quite the player!”
“N-No, no, wait, Commander Zachary!!”
“Yeah, got it. If choosing either of them would cause trouble, then choose me.”
As he spoke, Commander Zachary pulled me away from Commander Quentin.
“The Saints have arrived. We need to treat them with the utmost respect, or they’ll be displeased. In other words, treat the Saints as if they were Fia. Got it?”
Commander Zachary gave the two men he’d left behind a warning, then led me over to the others.
I thought my introduction of Zabiria to the familiars had been left unfinished, but I followed Commander Zachary as he urged me along.
Seven Saints had arrived, and Charlotte wasn’t among them.
Well, of course. Charlotte was far too young to accompany us into battle.
Since it would be too many people to move as one group, we were split into squads of fifteen, fifteen, and twenty. Apparently, we’d move while keeping track of one another’s positions by sounding whistles at regular intervals.
Commanders Quentin and Deputy Commander Gidion, who were leading the respective squads, insisted that they wanted me on their teams, but Commander Zachary made the unilateral decision to put me in his squad.
Commander Zachary, what a wise decision!
Then we headed to the Starfall Forest on horseback and by carriage, and each squad entered the forest in turn as they arrived.
As we walked, I was thinking that I’d been coming to this forest a lot lately, when suddenly it hit me.
...Wait a minute.
Come to think of it, this expedition was supposed to end when the Black Dragon appeared. When was that supposed to happen?
Right now... would be too soon, right?
Oh no, I hadn’t discussed the timing with Commander Quentin!
I was mulling over what to do, but then remembered we’d meet up at lunch, so I decided to ask him then.
Commander Zachary was prepared to camp for about a week, so there was no need for it to happen right away.
Ten minutes after entering the forest, the first monster we encountered was a beautiful rainbow-colored bird.
“Hey, what’s a Dreambird doing this close to the entrance of the forest?”
Commander Zachary asked in surprise.
Dreambirds are troublesome monsters that show people illusions. They aren’t very strong in combat, but once you’re caught in an illusion, you can no longer judge distances or sizes correctly, making it difficult to land an attack.
Since your sense of distance is thrown off completely, you might even end up attacking a fellow knight when you think you’re attacking a Dreambird.
At Commander Zachary’s orders, four archers and three mages began attacking from a distance, but their attacks weren’t dealing fatal damage.
I’d been ordered to “stay put” and assigned to guard the Saints, so I stood close to four of them and watched the battle.
Come to think of it, I’d assumed mages were assigned only to the Third Magic Knight Order, but apparently they were distributed among all the orders. I was only just thinking of that now.
During the previous subjugation, the mages had been in charge of scouting, so it hadn’t really registered that offensive spellcasters had joined the expedition. It was interesting how the knights’ deployment and their methods of fighting changed depending on who was in command.
...Actually, was I really so bored that I was thinking about this? I frowned as I watched Commander Zachary fighting.
Wasn’t the Dreambird a B-rank monster?
I thought as I watched the Dreambird flapping gently through the air, keeping a certain distance from the knights.
The rule of thumb with this monster is to defeat it as quickly as possible.
That’s because if it manages to circle everyone once, the people within that circle will begin to see illusions.
Then, once it has secured a safe place for itself in the illusionary space, the Dreambird’s body starts turning green.
Once it turns completely green, the Dreambird evolves into a Dreamgreen, an A-rank monster. It retains its ability to create illusions, while its attack and defense increase. An ordinary knight probably wouldn’t even be able to scratch it.
...Ah, no. While they were failing to deal a fatal blow, it circled around them once.
The knights began to fall under the illusion.
Their sight, hearing, and sense of smell were beginning to be affected. Their sense of distance and direction was going haywire.
Then, as the knights watched, the Dreambird swelled and grew gigantic. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an illusion. Its body was actually growing larger, and its strength was increasing.
Then its body color gradually began to change. Its feather-covered surface turned into green scales.
―――And so, in the space of just a moment...
Before my eyes stood a fearsome monster covered in green scales, far larger than a giant lizard: the Dreamgreen...