Chapter 6
It’s hard to breathe.
My throat, lungs, and organs feel like they’re burning, and I’m overcome by unbearable pain.
“Cough...”
I cough up blood along with my breath.
It hurts. I’m burning up. I can’t take it. ...I just want it to stop.
Then, slowly, the pain begins to fade.
Little by little, breathing gets easier, and the heat and pain start to ease.
As I feel the breeze brushing softly across my cheeks, smell the trees, and sense the sunlight, my hazy consciousness gradually clears.
“...Huh? What was I doing? Let me think...”
I start to sit up, but immediately spot the blood-covered Black Dragon peering down at me from right beside me, and let out a scream.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!”
Then I draw my sword and turn to face the Black Dragon, swaying unsteadily as I do.
“I-if you c-come, I’ll k-kill you!”
The Black Dragon looks at me with a puzzled expression and asks,
“What does ‘c-come’ mean? I’ve never heard the word ‘k-kill’ either.”
Grrr...
I just had a really bad stutter, that’s all.
Was it making fun of me because it understood, or was it asking sincerely because it didn’t?
I was about to give serious thought to its question, but then remembered that the Black Dragon in front of me had nearly killed me just moments ago.
“Eek! Oh, right, my injuries! My shoulder was gone! It ate my side, too! I’ve lost so much blood...”
I frantically felt all over my body, but my shoulder and side were both right where they belonged.
I was covered in blood from head to toe, but I didn’t feel any pain from an injury.
“Huh?”
The Black Dragon drooped its head sadly as I tilted mine in confusion.
“...I’m sorry I mistook the excruciating pain from the healing potion you gave me for an attack and bit you. And thank you for saving me with healing magic.”
“...What?”
I didn’t understand the second half.
Saved it with healing magic? What?
...Wait, was I a Saint? No, was that just a dream I had? No, it wasn’t a dream...
“Ugh, I don’t get it. I’m going home. I’m going to sleep. I can’t think right now...”
I sank down onto the ground.
I said I was going home, but my whole body felt like jelly. I didn’t think I could stand up, let alone walk.
I’d jumped to my feet without thinking when I saw the Black Dragon and thought, “It might kill me,” but it didn’t seem like I was about to be killed anymore. Now that the tension had left me, exhaustion hit all at once.
“I’m just going to sleep here after all. Good night...”
I closed my eyes, still lying on the ground, and heard the Black Dragon speak as if to itself.
“You used an advanced spell like ‘Full Recovery,’ so you’re out of mana. I wish I could share some with you...”
Its voice grew faint, then I felt someone shake my shoulder just as I was drifting off.
“Hey, miss. For us dragons, if someone saves our life, we devote that life to them. So I belong to you now.”
“...Okay.”
“It’s okay if I form a servitude contract with you now, right? Then I can share my mana with you. So, hey, tell me your name.”
“...My name? Fia Ruud.”
“Thank you! ...I, Zabiria, Black Dragon King, hereby enter into a contract with my master, Fia Ruud. With my blood, flesh, and soul, I pledge eternal loyalty to my master!”
Behind my closed eyelids, light crossed and recrossed in countless layers.
“Hehe, now I belong to Fia. It gets cold at night, and monsters show up more often. If you’re going to spread the scent of such sweet Saint blood everywhere, you might as well be inviting them to attack you. You’re pretty carefree, Fia...”
The Black Dragon seemed to mutter something else, but at that point, my consciousness faded away.
◇◇◇
When I woke up, it was morning.
I’d probably slept for a long time. My body and mind both felt refreshed.
As I tried to turn over, I realized I was wrapped in something cool and smooth.
“...Hmm? Was my blanket always like this...?”
I patted the blanket, but for some reason, it curled around my hand in return.
Puzzled, I slowly opened my eyes and met a pair of blue ones.
“The Black Dragon!”
I hurriedly sat up.
It seemed I’d spent the night in the forest.
Even so, I hadn’t felt cold, and I seemed to have slept quite peacefully.
“...Did you stay close to me all night?”
“Yeah. It’s my job to protect my master.”
It really seemed to have kept me warm all night. What a kind monster.
“Thank you, Black Dragon.”
As I thanked it and stroked its body, the Black Dragon spoke in a sulky voice.
“I’m Zabiria. Can I call you Fia, too, Master?”
Ah, I was starting to remember things...
“Black Dra... Zabiria. I had a dream last night that I made a familiar contract with you.”
“Hehe, of course it was real. I made the familiar contract your people talk about properly, using my name, so I belong to Fia now. Look at your left wrist. You see the mark?”
I looked and saw a black ring about a millimeter wide encircling my left wrist—the mark proving that the contract was complete.
“From now on, I can rush to your side whenever you call, even if we’re apart, and I can share my mana with you, too. Oh, Fia, you ran out of mana yesterday from using too much healing magic. I shared some of mine with you, so you should be feeling better now. How are you?”
“...I had a dream that I was a Saint in my previous life...”
“Hehehe, of course that was real, too. Though I don’t know what you were like in your previous life, there’s no doubt that you’re a Saint now, Fia. I messed up a little and nearly died. I changed into a juvenile, but I wasn’t recovering fast enough, so I’d given up and thought, ‘Well, guess I’m going to die.’ Then Fia saved me with healing magic. I was practically dead, so it was almost like resurrection. There isn’t another Saint besides you who can use such an advanced spell.”
“...But I couldn’t use magic.”
“Yeah, your mana must have returned along with your memories. It’s something we dragons do, too. As death approaches, dragons pass their memories to their children, and that’s how we pass our power on to the next generation. Memories are power.”
So much information had come at me all at once that I couldn’t sort through it properly. But I knew I had to tell Zabiria the one thing that mattered right now.
“...Um, could you keep it a secret that I’m a Saint? ...I think I was killed in my previous life because I was a Saint. I was killed pretty horribly. ...I’m scared that if people find out I’m a Saint, I’ll be killed again.”
The first thing that had crossed my mind when my memories of my previous life returned was, “If anyone finds out I’m a Saint, they’ll kill me.”
Because the monster that killed me had said so.
It said I was tormented, tortured, humiliated, and killed because I was a Saint.
And that if I were reborn as a Saint, it would find me and kill me the same way all over again.
As I began to tremble, Zabiria answered me with a serious expression.
“Of course I’ll keep it a secret that you’re a Saint, Fia. It’s my job to help you do what you want. But remember this: I’ll protect you with everything I have.”
His words were so reassuring that I couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed. I looked away, then noticed monster corpses scattered everywhere around Zabiria and me, and my face went stiff.
“...What are these?”
“The monsters that tried to attack you, Fia. You’ve got Saint blood all over you, and you’re letting such a sweet scent waft around. That’s basically an invitation to attack you. Monsters kept coming at us all night long. You sure are popular, Fia.”
“No, how many of these are there? Fifty? Sixty? And they all look so strong...”
I trailed off as I remembered why I’d come to this forest in the first place.
“The Coming-of-Age Ceremony! Oh no, it’s morning! A whole day has passed. Sis will be worried!”
I took out my dagger and looked up at Zabiria.
“Can I take the magic stones from these monsters?”
After Zabiria nodded, I plunged my dagger into the nearest monster and pulled out its magic stone.
“Sorry, Sis will be worried, so I have to go!”
“Wait. I’ll carry you.”
With that, Zabiria crouched down so I could climb on more easily.
I had a feeling that letting anyone see a Black Dragon would cause a huge commotion, but I didn’t have a choice.
I had to get home as quickly as possible. Otherwise, Sis would gather all the knights in the territory and form a search party.
I clung to Zabiria as we hurried home.