Meanwhile, Green and Blue who rode on Zoil arrived, so we all approached the colorful dragons.
It was a strange feeling to see dragons from different habitats all gathered together, such as red dragons that live near craters, blue dragons that prefer waterside areas, and yellow dragons that live in desert areas.
Even if it was only temporarily, it must be no mean feat to bring these dragons together, and it made me feel like I was witnessing once again how amazing Zavilia was at making it happen.
...Ah, Zavilia is truly trying to become king.
This fact hit me home with the weight of reality.
It was said that dragons felt comfortable being with their friends. Perhaps Zavilia would continue to live on this mountain with his friends.
As I thought about this and felt a bit of sadness, Zavilia himself clearly denied it, saying, "No, there isn't."
"The reason I decided to become the Dragon King was to gain strength in numbers in order to protect Fia. My purpose is to protect Fia, and for that purpose, it's best to be near Fia." (Zavilia)
I was happy to see Zavilia spoke in a tone that seemed natural, and I hugged his belly.
"Zavilia!" (Fia)
However, at that moment, a surprised noise spread among the dragons.
"What?" (Fia)
Oh, uh, maybe dragons don't hug people in public?
Are my actions outside of dragon etiquette?
Thinking that, I hurried away and Zavilia looked at me with a funny expression.
"I guess Fia can do whatever she wants. The dragons are just confused by the fact that someone calling my name has appeared for the first time, so they'll get used to it soon." (Zavilia)
"Oh, that’s what it is!" (Fia)
Just as a familiar disliked being called by name by anyone other than its master, there might be a rule that only monsters of the same rank could call each other by name.
That was probably why no monster called out Zavilia's name.
When I was satisfied with Zavilia's answer, I tried to make a good impression on Zavilia's friends by straightening the ribbon on my head.
Ever since I entered the Gazzard region, I had been using ribbons made from griffon feathers, so of course I was still using it today.
Then, as I came down from the sky with Zavilia, I touched the ribbon to see if it had been disturbed by the wind, and as expected, the ribbon was bent...but just as the dragons were looking at me, I was trying to straighten the ribbon. When I saw them gathered near me, I was shocked! I think
I hoped that they would recognize and accept that I liked monsters that used monster feathers, not flowers or jewels.
Thinking of this, I put on a smile as wide as I could and greeted the dragons lined up.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. I'm Fia Ruud. Today I came to see my friend Zavilia. I won't disturb you all, so please show me around for a moment." (Fia)
It seemed that my innocent smile was effective, and the dragons did not complain.
Or perhaps it was the presence of Zavilia, who was positioned diagonally behind me, that prevented them from voicing dissatisfaction.
Afterwards, under Zavilia's guidance, we toured the area where Zavilia and his friends lived.
A large depression resembling a crater was created for the red dragon, and a fire was always lit there, a pond was built for the blue dragon, and an area was sprinkled with smooth sand for the yellow dragon. When I saw what they were doing, I was impressed.
Apparently, various things had been devised so that different types of dragons could live comfortably here.
While being surprised by all of them, I looked around to see how the dragons living there seemed to be comfortable.
To my delight, all the dragons I passed looked healthy and happy, which naturally made me smile.
Yes, Zavilia is a good dragon!
I think he would make a very fine king.
While thinking this, I entered the cave where Zavilia was said to be roosting.
It was a comfortable place with high ceilings, multiple entrances, and no stagnation of wind.
When I was led to the corner where Zavilia usually sleeps, a spacious and cool space appeared.
"Well, that's wonderful, Zavilia!" (Fia)
When I instinctively looked up at Zavilia, I noticed that the ceiling behind Zavilia was shining brightly.
As I tilted my head wondering what was going on, Zavilia noticed my gaze, stretched his neck, and scraped part of the ceiling off.
What Zavilia handed me was a black shiny stone.
At first glance, it looked like a magic stone, but since it didn't come out of a monster's body, it couldn't be a magic stone... Just as I was thinking that, the red dragon came to call me and said that the meal was ready.
That night, we lit a large fire in red dragon's favorite pseudo-crater and ate dinner surrounded by it.
The meats of high-class monsters that the dragons brought to us were grilled by Green and Blue with the adventurer's practiced hands.
"Delicious, delicious!" (Fia)
Everyone saw me biting into the meat with all my heart, muttering as if I had forgotten what else to say, and they all offered me new pieces of meat one after another.
"No, thank you, but my stomach can't hold that much food!" (Fia)
Perhaps everyone was using themselves as a standard, but there was clearly a difference in capacity between the stomachs of giant men, dragons, and maidens!
Even though I thought so, I couldn't help but regret that I was a failure as a maiden because I lost in the deliciousness and ate beyond my limits...
Then, my stomach calmed down...or perhaps I felt sick from eating too much, so I relaxed and leaned against Zavilia next to me, watching the crackling fire.
I let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"I'm glad I met Zavilia. Also, I felt relieved that I got to see how the dragons live together. I mean, I've been climbing the mountain since morning, I've eaten delicious food, I'm full, and the fire is warm. It feels so good. I'm almost falling asleep." (Fia)
"Then, are you going to sleep?" (Zavilia)
While I was relaxed and satisfied with everything, Zavilia glanced at me and whispered seductively to me.
Well, it was a very tempting invitation, but I just met my sweet Zavilia for the first time in a while!
"Of course, it would feel really good to sleep like this, but I'd rather hear about Zavilia, what he's doing on this mountain. Or maybe talk about Green and Blue. I haven't heard much about what Green and the others have been up to for the past six months. Oh, no, I don't know anything about Curtis' past stories, so I'd like to hear about it." (Fia)
However, after hearing my words, the three of them and one of them looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
"Our stories aren't interesting at all." (Green)
Green answered as if he was speaking for everyone, but... well, I wondered what he was saying!
In the first place, Green was a strange person with "bleeding on his face" from the first time we met.
Despite this, he was acting normal while bleeding profusely, so I was sure that "facial bleeding" was "normal" for Green.
There was no way that Green's "not interesting" in this sense was actually not interesting!
With that in mind, I tentatively made a proposal.
"I thought of a good idea! In that case, how about we tell each person a special story? It could be any story, but it's about telling a special story that goes beyond the person before you, how about it?" (Fia)
I clapped my hands together as if I had thought of something good, but the three of them and one of them had strange expressions on their faces.
"Special is a standard that relies too much on intuition." (Green)
When Green muttered that, Blue also opened his mouth in confusion.
"Of course I'll talk to Fia about whatever she wants, but I think it's more useful to hear Fia's story than mine." (Blue)
"Useful! Why do I have to think about things that are useful or not, or difficult things, during the fun conversation time after a meal? If I have to say that, it’s either fun or not!" (Fia)
Blue was the most polite and intelligent of the siblings, but sometimes he had a problem with saying difficult things.
Thinking of this, I insisted with a disappointed look on my face, and Captain Curtis nodded with an expression of approval.
"Lady Fi, that makes sense. Well then, if you don't mind, may I start?" (Curtis)
Immediately, I heard things like "Ah, you're dirty!" and "Oh, you're just trying to dress nice!" from beside Captain Curtis, but I ignored them completely and looked at Captain Curtis with a big smile on my face.
"Of course, Curtis!" (Fia)
Well, since I casually set the condition that "I'll tell you a special story that will surpass the previous person," he knew that it would be better to tell sooner rather than later, and he acted as expected!
In front of my impressed eyes, Captain Curtis opened his mouth.
Author's Note
Thank you very much for reading!
Volume 4 of the novel was successfully released today. Thank you very much and look forward to your continued support.
When I write a web version, I try to make it the web version, and when I turn it into a book, I try to make the book version the most enjoyable.
We've packed a lot of fun into Volume 4, so we hope you pick it up and enjoy it o(^▽^)o