"Fia, this is just a question, what is the purpose of that head ornament?" (Green)
Five days had passed since we left the royal capital, and we had reached the foot of the mountain that was the entrance to the Gazzard borderland. As I changed into my travel gear to cross the mountain, I heard Green's voice.
I looked back at Green proudly and let out a triumphant cry.
"Hehehe, thank you for listening! Ta-dah, this is a hair ornament decorated with the familiar's feathers from the Monster Knight Order Captain's familiar that Nav Kingdom is proud of!!" (Fia)
As I spoke, I tilted my head back so that the fluffy feathers in my hair accessory could be seen clearly.
The familiar of the Monster Knight Order Captain was, of course, the griffin that Captain Quentin doted on. I received feathers that the griffon had dropped during the molting season, and I used it to create a hair ornament using my sewing skills. Using three large golden feathers and adorned with a ribbon, I created an exquisitely pretty hair ornament that I was eager to show off.
Hearing my reply, Green exclaimed in surprise.
"Hair accessories! What, are such bizarre accessories in fashion now?! Ah, I bought my sister a classic, modest butterfly-shaped hair accessory. If I gave her something like that, she'd surely be laughed at for being too old-fashioned and plain!" (Green)
However, Captain Curtis glanced at Green, who was holding his head, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Green, your purchase is more generally accepted, so there will be no problem. Lady Fi's ornaments are only as good as Lady Fi's fine contents. It only uites Lady Fi." (Curtis)
…My my, even though I am being praised, why do I feel like I am being subtly insulted?
Feeling dissatisfied, I looked at Green and saw that he had a pathetic look on his face.
"Curtis, I agree with what you say, but my sister has an extraordinary admiration for Fia. I'm sure she would want the same thing as Fia's." (Green)
As he spoke, Green looked puzzled at my shiny hair accessory, then muttered, "No, but if my sister wore this hair accessory, everyone in the house would be freaked out."
Well, it's true that the feathers I use are gold, so they might stand out a bit. Thinking this, I presented Green with an alternative.
"In that case, if I can get some feathers in a more subdued color, I'll make a matching hair accessory for your sister, okay?" (Fia)
"What? You're going to make it for my sister with your own hands?! If it's handmade by you, even a hair accessory made of dead leaves will make her cry! Yes, that's right, make it out of dead leaves instead. If you give her such a beautiful hair accessory, she'll surely die of joy." (Green)
"No, no, a hair ornament made from dead leaves... It seems like the leaves would fall apart during the process, so it would be quite difficult to make, you know." (Fia)
Saying that, I looked at Green in amazement.
It's nice that Green cared about his sister, but there was something a bit off. First of all, in what world is there a woman of a certain age who would be happy to wear a hair ornament made from dead leaves?
While thinking that, I also thought that compared to my older brothers, their level of caring for their sister was completely different. In both my past and current life, I was always a nuisance to my brothers, so it was a real surprise to see them doting on their sister like Green and Blue did.
Hehe, but I have the most wonderful sister in the world, so it's okay!
—— Having such exchanges, the four of us made our way smoothly across the mountain. It took two days and we crossed two mountains. Although monsters appeared on the way, I barely had time to draw my sword. This was because all three of them—Captain Curtis, Green and Blue—were incredibly strong.
As we were leaving the royal capital, Captain Curtis announced, "At last night's celebration, we all agreed that Lady Fi had once again been infected by the curse, and that she was now able to use the powers of the Saint."
...Huh? So no one would question it if I used the power of the Saint? I looked up at Captain Curtis in surprise, but he nodded with a straight face, so it seemed that that was it.
Knowing Captain Curtis, he must have managed to convince those two with some clever words. Ah, what you need is capable companions! It was only the other day that I had smiled to myself at the thought, yet I had never had the opportunity to exercise that power. If I didn't fight with my sword, and didn't use my powers as a saint, then I was just a burden!
Although I felt very sorry about this, I actually arrived at the fortress where the 11th Knight Order were stationed without using my powers even once.
———The Knights' fortress was a towering stone building so sturdy it was hard to believe it stood in land surrounded by mountains. There were several knight flags with black dragons on a red background fluttering in the air, so I knew this was definitely the fortress.
When I realized that my sister was here, I suddenly wanted to meet her, so I hopped off my horse. Then I ran towards the knights guarding the fort at the entrance.
During my stay in the margrave territory, I was wearing my knight's uniform as it was considered part of my duties as a knight. Therefore, I thought I would be accepted as a fellow knight without any problems, but for some reason, the moment the knights acting as the gatekeepers saw my face, their eyes widened in shock.
Although I was thinking that, I gave a polite bow and greeted the rookie knight like a normal rookie.
"I'm Fia Ruud of the First Knight Order! I've come here with Captain Curtis of the 13th Knights. I'll be in your care for a while." (Fia)
"Ah, yes. I have heard about Captain Curtis' visit... But seriously, you're incredible! Wearing such flashy hair accessories and knight uniforms. Is that kind of thing popular in the royal capital?"
It seemed that the reason the gatekeepers had been so surprised earlier was because they had been captivated by my hair accessory.
Hehehe, you have good taste! But that's not true, it's not something that's popular now, it's something that will become popular in the future! Just as I was about to reply, Captain Curtis, Green, and Blue stood behind me, causing the knights to widen their eyes in surprise.
...Ah, all three of them are big, so you might wonder who they are, right? Actually, Green and Blue had declined to enter the fortress, saying "We'll wait outside," but Captain Curtis had dismissed them, saying "You two are treated as cooperative knights. You'll be accompanying us in Gazzard territory from now on, so it would be too inefficient for you to leave every time we enter the fortress."
The two were still hesitant, so Captain Curtis continued, "I understand that you have good eyes. From one thing you see, you would naturally pick up 10 or 20 pieces of information. That's why you're hesitant to enter the fortress, but... you won't misuse that information, will you?", causing the two to gasp in surprise. After that, I saw them getting along well as the guys were flirting with each other, so I looked on from the sidelines, but it seemed that they had settled on treating each other as cooperative knights, as suggested by Captain Curtis.
By the way, the term "cooperative knight" referred to knights who were employed by nobles from various regions and temporarily cooperate with the Kingdom's Knights.
I thought of Green and his brother as adventurers, but I wonder if Captain Curtis is going to be treated as a knight for the time being? Oh, now that I think about it, when we first met they were wearing splendid armor, so I remember thinking they were knights. His behavior after that was too bad for a knight, so I started to think of him as an adventurer... While I was thinking about this, we were let through the gates of the fortress and was shown to a room where we were waiting when I heard the sound of brisk footsteps walking towards me.
I stood up from my seat in surprise, and a beautiful woman with dark brown hair came through the door.
"Big Sister!" (Fia)
Approaching me with sparkling eyes was my older sister, Oria, whom I hadn't seen since the Coming of Age Ceremony. I was so happy that I ran over to her, and she welcomed me with open arms.
"You've come a long way, Fia! You're a fine knight now!" (Oria)
My sister hugged me tightly and laughed happily.
"Big Sister Oria!" (Fia)
I was also happy and hugged her back tightly.
After I had been enjoying my reunion with my older sister for a while, I heard a muttered voice coming from near the door.
"Wow, she's able to tame the enchanting Red Witch, Oria is amazing!"
"Huh?" (Fia)
Feeling like she had been called something strange, I turned around to see a tanned knight in white knight uniform standing in the doorway, blocking it.
He had a good physique and was tall enough to look up at, with long blonde hair that stood up like a mane. His golden hair was mixed with a few black strands.
Oh, I know this hair, I thought, and when I shifted my gaze to the man's face, I saw a pair of black eyes with distinctive golden irises in the center of his handsome face.
Th-those eyes...!!
"The legendary demon, Ghai Ozburn!!" (Fia)
Staring at the knight, I cried out in shock, and the knight's eyes widened as I called his name.
"How do you know my name? You must be a wicked witch!"
A knight in a white captain's uniform —— Captain Ghai Ozburn, the eleventh knight in charge of guarding the north, shouted back at me.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
I apologize for the long gap between updates.
And to everyone who waited, thank you so much.
Thank you to everyone who was concerned about my health. I'm fine.
I think the problem is that I'm a bit busy and a slow writer.
We apologize for the long wait.
I apologize for this being the first update in a while, but I would like to make an announcement.
The second volume of the comic will be released on Saturday, September 12th.
Yes, sorry for the last minute announcement, but it's today.
It depicts the monster slaying with the Sixth Knights, the meat festival, and the form of the saint.
This time, we also had a short story published.
This is a story about the "Fia Evaluation Record by the Top Three Knights," which is one scene in the "Interview by the Top Three Knights."
If you are interested, we would be happy if you would pick up a copy!
I read it and it made me feel very happy.