Chapter 62
I let out a sigh, expelling the irritation I'd been harboring toward my own inadequacy.
Then I turned my thoughts to what lay ahead.
Looking back, I saw the knights eating lunch in the squads they'd been divided into for the Black Dragon search.
As I watched them, I found myself saying, "What should I do...?"
The knights who took part in the Black Dragon search had been divided into three squads, but each squad had a different understanding of Fia.
Should we share the information with everyone so more people could respond if something happened to Fia, or keep it secret among as few people as possible, given how serious the matter was...?
Torn between those two choices, I glanced at Quentin, standing beside me.
...At this point, I have far too little information to make the right decision.
First, I need to gather as much information as I can.
"Quentin, there's something I want to ask you. Come with me."
I led Quentin into a grove away from the knights, then peered into his face from close range, a habit of mine when questioning someone.
"Quentin, when I asked you this morning about the odds of encountering the Black Dragon during this expedition, you said one hundred percent. You... already knew Fia's familiar was the Black Dragon, didn't you?"
"That's right."
Quentin answered with perfect composure, which only stoked my anger.
"Don't just say 'that's right'! Why have you kept something that important to yourself?!"
"Neither Fia-sama nor the Black Dragon King-sama has ever said anything that would conclusively establish that Fia-sama's familiar is the Black Dragon King-sama. ...In other words, it would be wrong for me to blab about something Fia-sama herself hasn't made public."
"No, this isn't about right or wrong! It's the Black Dragon! You of all people know how incredible it is to have a Black Dragon as a familiar! Why would you leave Fia in that situation?!"
"Because I'm the one who knows the most about monsters. Zachary, you know that the width of a familiar mark is proportional to the time it takes to subdue a monster, don't you?"
As he spoke, Quentin began rolling up his sleeve.
Beneath Quentin's clothes, I caught sight of a scaly familiar mark spiraling diagonally like a snake, from his wrist all the way up to his upper arm.
"Look. This is my familiar mark from when I made an A-rank griffin my familiar. It took a long time to subdue, so the mark reaches up to my shoulder, and because the griffin resisted, it isn't one unbroken line; it has gaps here and there. That's normal. ...But Fia-sama is completely different. Even though she made the SS-rank Black Dragon King-sama her familiar, the mark is only one millimeter wide, and it's a single, unbroken line. The shortest, most complete familiar mark, only one millimeter wide and completed in a single loop. ...It means that the strongest monster, the Black Dragon King-sama, was completely subdued in the blink of an eye."
"...I see."
As I nodded, Quentin shook his head from side to side as if to deny it.
"No, Zachary, you don't understand. ...They say that a completely subdued monster can read its contractor's emotions. In other words, even without a command from its contractor, a familiar can anticipate its contractor's wishes and fulfill them. ...Listen. If you reveal that Fia-sama's familiar is the Black Dragon King-sama without her consent, even though she has never once explicitly said so, the Black Dragon King-sama will anticipate her wishes in an instant, and everyone involved—the person who spoke and everyone who heard it—will be turned into lumps of meat! At the very least, that's a possibility."
"........................"
As I began to understand what Quentin was saying, a chill crept down my back.
Quentin saw my reaction and nodded, then continued.
"I heard from Fia-sama about how she made the Black Dragon King-sama her familiar. Apparently, she healed the Black Dragon King-sama, who had been badly injured and reduced to a juvenile form, by giving the dragon a healing potion. ...Honestly, that only raises questions. No matter how I think about it, it's impossible for an external treatment to heal an injury that an Ancient Dragon species, with its extraordinarily powerful self-healing ability, couldn't heal."
As if imagining what had happened, Quentin gazed into empty space, running a hand through his hair.
"But Fia-sama has no reason to lie, so it must be true. Still, she undoubtedly left out the core of the story. That's why I can't grasp the whole picture. I can't grasp it, but I would never ask her about something she doesn't intend to tell me. If the Black Dragon King-sama decided even for a moment that it wasn't what Fia-sama wanted, I'd become a lump of meat on the spot."
"That's terrifying..."
After hearing something I'd never imagined, I muttered without thinking.
"...Listen. The terrifying part is that it's up to the Black Dragon King-sama to decide. Whether it actually went against Fia-sama's wishes doesn't matter. The moment the Black Dragon King-sama decides it might have gone against her wishes, it's over."
"...What the hell has Fia got living with her?"
Understanding Quentin's point, I couldn't help saying that aloud.
...Even if it was injured, Fia shouldn't have just picked up a Black Dragon like it was nothing.
Not that it's something one could just pick up, anyway.
As I sagged with exhaustion, Quentin continued, sounding excited.
"Of course! The Black Dragon King-sama is a legendary Ancient species! Listen, apparently the Black Dragon King-sama can read Fia-sama's emotions even from a distance, so don't do anything foolish, all right?"
"...We're trapped from every direction."
With that additional information from Quentin, the exit seemed even farther away.
Quentin looked at me slumping with pity, then seemed to remember something and added:
"Zachary, you need to be more careful around Fia-sama. Just now, for instance. Because you asked Fia-sama a careless question, she was suddenly overcome by a fit of distress. If she'd instinctively resented you then, the Black Dragon King-sama would have ripped through space and appeared, turning you into a lump of meat."
"......You! Now that you mention it, you suddenly put some distance between us then! I thought you'd backed away so your presence wouldn't disturb Fia while she calmed down! You moved away so you wouldn't get caught up in it if the Black Dragon attacked!"
"It was a division of roles. If you became a lump of meat, someone would have to report everything that happened. If you couldn't fulfill that role, then I'd be the only one who could."
"What you're saying isn't wrong. It isn't wrong, but... why does it make me want to punch you?"
"Because you're narrow-minded."
"Hahaha. You'd better shut up now. You're only making me want to kill you more."
To suppress the urge to punch Quentin, I let out a long, deep breath, folded my arms, and leaned against a nearby tree.
Quentin watched me, then continued in a perfectly serious tone.
"So we have to be extremely cautious. If we report every detail of this incident to the Commander-in-Chief and he decides that report goes against Fia-sama's wishes, then the Commander-in-Chief will be among the Black Dragon King-sama's targets."
"........................"
...Seriously, there's no way out of this.
"However, we have been granted the great honor of the Black Dragon King-sama leaving one of its horns behind."
"...What does that have to do with anything?"
"If we made a sword out of such a unique material, it would draw far too much attention. And since it would be nearly impossible for anyone to break off one of the Black Dragon King-sama's horns, everyone would realize the Black Dragon King-sama had offered it to us. In other words, I believe the fact that the Black Dragon King-sama gave us a horn may be permission to make it known that the dragon is on our side. So... perhaps we could tell the bare minimum number of people that the Black Dragon King-sama is Fia-sama's familiar..."
"How certain are you?"
"At most, thirty percent."
"You... what happened to that confidence when you said there was a hundred-percent chance we'd encounter the Black Dragon?"
"This is a matter of the lives of the knights, starting with the Commander-in-Chief. It's not something I can discuss based on wishful thinking."
"You... when you're away from Fia, your brain actually starts working properly."
My voice came out with an exasperated edge, though I hadn't intended it to.
"The Black Dragon King-sama cherishes Fia-sama very much. So even if we revealed something without Fia-sama's permission, if it ultimately benefited her, the Black Dragon King-sama should forgive us."
"For Fia's sake, huh...? If she's got a Black Dragon backing her, isn't she already the strongest? Is there anything we can do for her?"
I rubbed my neck, muttering despite myself.
"More than that, Fia's a seriously dangerous person. From what you've said, Fia and the Black Dragon are practically one and the same now. Can we really keep letting her roam free like before...?"
"There's no problem. Fia-sama is a person of great compassion."
"Huh?"
I looked at Quentin, who had suddenly said something completely out of left field.
"Human emotions are fickle. A person can suddenly feel tremendous anger or murderous intent over a single thing someone says or does... normally. Of course, those feelings eventually pass, but monsters probably can't understand that kind of emotional shift. After all, if a monster dislikes someone, it kills them on the spot instead of holding back."
"Well, yeah. For monsters, their own emotions and strength are everything."
Though I couldn't see where he was going with this, I nodded along.
"So until the Black Dragon King-sama learned that human emotions can change, it wouldn't have been surprising if the dragon had turned people into lumps of meat every time Fia-sama got angry. But so far, not a single person has been turned into a lump of meat by the Black Dragon King-sama. ...Fia-sama probably doesn't deeply hate or resent anyone. Even when our Gidion treated Fia-sama quite rudely, apparently the Black Dragon King-sama only retaliated with childish pranks. Fia-sama's anger must have been no more than the sort that would prompt a prank."
"...Well, true. Fia doesn't seem like the type to resent or hate other people."
"People don't change that easily. As long as Fia-sama stays as she is, there should be no problem. Besides, if we have to isolate anyone with power just because they have power, then you, me, the Commander-in-Chief, and Cyril would all have to be isolated, too. If you set your mind to it, you could wipe out a hundred knights or so, couldn't you?"
"........................"
"But I wouldn't treat you as a dangerous person just because the knights would be massacred if you changed."
"That's mighty kind of you."
I replied, thinking my voice sounded rather devoid of feeling, and then I suddenly found myself wondering about Fia's family.
"...She's the youngest, right? Her family must have cherished her a great deal. She was raised with everyone caring for her, so she never learned about malice and doesn't suspect or hate people."
When I voiced the thought that had occurred to me, Quentin agreed.
"That's very likely. Fia-sama is so innocent and carefree. Surely she was loved by everyone—not just her family, but everyone in her domain—and grew up free."
I pushed myself away from the tree I'd been leaning against and returned to the knights with Quentin.
As we walked, I made up my mind.
...This isn't information we should be actively spreading.
Having decided how to handle things, I went around to each squad.
I questioned each squad and sorted out the details, while instructing them to keep the information within their own squad.
Then I headed to the Commander-in-Chief with Quentin and Gidion.
To make a thoroughly superficial report.
I reported to the Commander-in-Chief only that we'd encountered the Black Dragon, but it was far too large to subdue, and that it had returned to its lair after we threw a stone from Mount Kurotake, the sacred peak.
When I added that I would provide further details when the time came, the Commander-in-Chief seemed to sense something and dismissed us with a word of praise: "Well done."
...That's right. Reporting everything with foolish honesty isn't necessarily what's best for the Commander-in-Chief.
If receiving the report would put the Commander-in-Chief at risk of being targeted by the Black Dragon, then it's my duty to pick and choose what information to report.
As for the risk... I'll have the hot-blooded Commander Cyril of the First Knight Order and Desmond, the Chief of the Military Police, who is supposed to know everything, shoulder it.
If I disclose all the information to those two and the Black Dragon leaves them alone for a while, we can assume that the Black Dragon allows that information to be shared.
Only then will I report it to the Commander-in-Chief.
Along with Quentin and Gidion, I headed for the conference room where Cyril and Desmond were waiting.
―――In the end, both Cyril and Desmond accepted what I'd told them.
They accepted it, but... to put it mildly, the report was met with fierce opposition and descended into utter chaos.
But I convinced myself that it was only natural, since three people who were afflicted with a condition that caused abnormal behavior whenever Fia was involved—Cyril, Quentin, and Gidion—were all there.
...Or so I intended to, but there must have been something I still couldn't swallow.
That night, the knights held another meat festival with the Flowerhorn Deer they'd slain, and I admit I drank a little too much.
Still, since Cyril and Quentin—who were unaffected by alcohol—were behaving in ways they normally never would, my own disgrace was probably within acceptable limits.
Fia was laughing happily and eating more and more without worrying that her stomach was getting rounder, saying how delicious the meat was... so all in all, it was probably a pretty good day.
...Yeah, looking back on the day, despite everything that had happened, not a single person died. That's something to be grateful for.
In the end, Fia returned to the First Knight Order without accomplishing any of the objectives she'd been sent to the Fourth Monster Knights to fulfill.
From an outsider's perspective, Fia would look like she'd spent several days at the Fourth Monster Knights without doing her job and just playing around. I worried that the knights who didn't like that might treat her harshly.
...I need to keep an eye on Fia for a while.
Though I was worried that me keeping an eye on Fia might look like I was giving her special treatment, leading to even more resentment toward her...
To ease my colleagues' dissatisfaction, I advised that Fia stay with the Fourth Monster Knights for a few more days and fulfill her duties, but Cyril wouldn't listen.
No good. Cyril right now is just like a mother bird trying to protect her chick.
By order of Cyril, Commander of the First Knight Order, Fia will be accompanying him on duty for a while, starting tomorrow...