Chapter 8
As expected, about twenty people had gathered near the entrance. They were probably my search party. After all, I could see Sis right in the middle of them.
I had Zabiria descend about fifty meters away, then hurriedly jumped off the dragon's back and ran toward Sis.
But before I could reach her, my eldest brother stepped in between us.
Ardio Ruud.
He was the eldest son of the Ruud family, and a genius who had joined the Knights at the youngest age ever: twelve.
With his striking features, ice-blue hair, and keen swordsmanship, he had earned the title of 'Ice Knight' at the young age of twenty-three.
“What is your relationship with that Black Dragon?”
He asked in a perfectly flat voice, without a hint of emotion.
...Huh? He's asking me, right?
It's okay for me to answer, right?
Ever since we were children, my brother Ardio, a born genius, had been obsessed with becoming a powerful knight.
He spared no effort in training to grow stronger and seemed to have no desire to spend time on anything else.
So at some point, my brother Ardio stopped seeing me.
Perhaps he could still see me, actually.
But he never met my eyes or spoke to me.
I had ceased to exist in my brother Ardio's world.
It had been that way for the past five years.
And now our eyes had met, and he was asking me a question!
Oh no. This is the sort of situation where I get nervous and stumble over my words.
I carefully opened my mouth.
“...Zabiria and I are friends.”
Yes! A perfect answer!
If I'd honestly said that I'd formed a familiar contract with a legendary monster, he'd definitely grill me about how that had happened.
Then I'd probably be made to confess, “Actually, I was a Saint!”
But saying, “He's just a Black Dragon I happened to run into,” would sound unnatural, too.
That was the perfect answer in between. Well done, me!
Even as I praised myself, Zabiria turned away with an exasperated look.
Ardio raised one eyebrow slightly, then spoke again.
“...Only monsters above a certain level of strength have names. Since a name is directly linked to power, monsters keep their names secret. They only reveal their names to someone they're willing to enter a contract with.”
“Huh? Is that so? ...Oh, right. I was with Zabiria's master until just now, and they called him Zabiria, so I happened to hear it, that's all.”
“A monster only allows those it has personally given permission to call it by name. If you say it just because you overheard it, you'll be torn limb from limb on the spot.”
...This is bad.
As expected of an elite knight in active service, renowned as a genius.
His knowledge of monsters is extraordinary, and his argument is perfectly logical.
I'm losing. This is a completely lost cause.
...At times like this, I just have to boldly change the subject!
“I'm here for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony! I brought back a magic stone! Please inspect it!”
Saying that, I forcibly placed the magic stone in my brother's hand.
When my brother saw the magic stone, about five centimeters in diameter, he gave me a half-lidded look.
...Huh?
From what I remember of my childhood, whenever Ardio made that expression, it meant he was about to lecture me.
Behind me, my second older brother, Leon, shouted in disbelief.
“...What? What is with that ridiculous size?! You only get those from A-class monsters!”
Ardio stared at me with half-lidded eyes, then spoke with emphasis.
That was one of his habits when he was angry.
“Monsters are ranked from A to H based on how difficult they are to defeat, with A being the most difficult. To be precise, there are S and SS ranks above A, and the Black Dragon you've brought with you is SS-rank. It would take several knight commanders and three hundred elite knights just to have a chance of defeating it.”
“...Huh? I thought it took a hundred mid-ranking knights to defeat a dragon?”
“That's true of ordinary dragons. But Black Dragons are an ancient, higher-ranking species. They're different from ordinary dragons.”
“...I see.”
“As for the magic stone, its size is proportional to the strength of the monster. A magic stone this large only comes from an A-rank monster. A-rank monsters are difficult enough that it takes a team of fifty knights to defeat one. Are you saying you got this magic stone all by yourself?”
“I'm... so, so sorry!”
No. This was impossible. I had no choice but to apologize outright!
There was no way an ordinary person could beat a genius.
Trying not to look at my brother, I bowed my head as low as I could and told him everything except that I was a Saint.
“I found an injured Black Dragon in the forest. It had taken on a juvenile form while healing its wounds, so I thought it was a baby bird. I used the healing potion Sis gave me, and its wounds healed. Then it thanked me and formed a familiar contract with me. I was tired, so I spent the night in the forest. It seems monsters appeared during the night, and Zabiria defeated them. I took the magic stones from those monsters. I'm sorry for lying!”
“A familiar contract? You mean with...the legendary Black Dragon King...”
Leon murmured, stunned.
“A chick? Did you say a baby bird? ...You thought I was a baby bird? Me, the Black Dragon King?”
Zabiria murmured, looking even more stunned.
“At first glance, your story sounds plausible, but it's full of holes. A wound that can be healed by a mere healing potion must be trivial. Compared to an ancient dragon's healing ability, the amount healed would be negligible. And yet the Black Dragon felt so indebted to you that it formed a familiar contract?”
Ardio kept cornering me, utterly composed.
This is bad. Things were getting chaotic.
More than that, this genius was persistent. Or maybe it was precisely that persistence that let him get to the truth.
The one who came to my rescue as cold sweat trickled down my back was, once again, Sis.
She pushed past my brothers, stepped forward, looked around at everyone, and began to speak.
“So Fia formed a familiar contract with the Black Dragon, right? In that case, the monsters her familiar defeated count as monsters Fia defeated herself. There, you passed the Coming-of-Age Ceremony!”
“...Huh? Well, yes, that's true, but that's not the point anymore...”
Cutting Ardio off, Sis gave me a push in the back.
“Fia, you're a mess. Your hair's all tangled, and your face and clothes are covered in blood. Monster blood is gross, isn't it? Go wash up. And thank you all for gathering here! Fia's returned safely, so we're all dismissed!”
Actually, this wasn't monster blood. It was my own.
I thought that, but kept quiet, since saying so would probably cause a huge commotion.
Sometimes the truth isn't necessary.
Remembering that I hadn't thanked Zabiria for bringing me back, I turned around and met the dragon's eyes.
“If anything happens, call me. Because of our contract, I'll hear you no matter how far away you are.”
A legendary ancient Black Dragon King. The one who had eaten my shoulder and side, and driven me to the very brink of the land of the dead.
But strangely, I wasn't afraid of Zabiria at all anymore.
“Thank you, Zabiria. See you later.”
...It was only later that I realized Zabiria was my first monster friend, even counting my previous life.