Zavilia's words hit me, and I suddenly looked down at my arm.
Come to think of it, I had injured himself to trap the demon in the box.
The wound itself had already healed, but the blood was still sticky.
I didn't know, but this blood smelt sweet and seemed to attract monsters.
When I thought back on it, the monsters did come closer to me, such as the night of the "Coming of Age Ceremony" when I first met Zavilia, and when I was looking around at the familiars at the familiar stable.
So, as Zavilia said, maybe the dragons were attracted to my blood? I thought to myself as I looked up at the sky again, and my eyes widened in surprise.
A hoarse voice leaked from the back of my throat.
"Hi!"
This was because the number of dragons had increased in this short amount of time, and so many dragons had gathered that the sky could no longer be seen.
Among the colorful dragons, I could even see grayish brown.
I was surprised that Zoil, who didn't seem to get along well, would approach me, so I hurriedly asked Zavilia.
"Zavilia, even Zoil is here! Some of the reason why the dragons gathered together may be my fault, but there's no way Zoil would be attracted to me, so I don't think it's all my fault! I'm sure it's just a little bit." (Fia)
This was because dragons were a superior species among monsters.
Dragons themselves understood this, so they thought it's unforgivable to be attracted to someone like a human, so they probably wouldn't come near you.
"Perhaps Zavilia had something to do and they came to receive instructions?" (Fia)
"...Hmm. Let's check it out." (Zavilia)
Zavilia replied indifferently and then raised his head high.
Then, as if it were a signal, dragons descended one after another, with Zoil in the lead.
The dragons landed on the ground making loud noises, some knocking down growing trees, others kicking up dust, and before I knew it, we were surrounded by ten or twenty dragons.
It was so impressive that as I watched the situation in silence, the dragons landed on the ground and turned their heads towards me, tilting their heads and spreading their wings as if they were pampering me.
Oh, that's strange.
I thought that all the dragons were looking at me, not Zavilia, but I was captivated by the gestures of the dragons I was seeing for the first time.
It was so cute to see them staring at me so intently, as if they were pleading, even though they were many times bigger than me.
"...Well, they're cute! Zavilia, what are the dragons doing?" (Fia)
When I asked Zavilia who was next to me, he made a boring sound.
"I think it's just what Fia sees. The dragons are probably trying to be nice to Fia and get her attention." (Zavilia)
"A-Attention?" (Fia)
"As I said before, Fia is a little too popular with monsters. There was an example in "Starry Forest" where the blue dragons were attracted to Fia, and the saint who also closed the "Sealing Box." There's no way a dragon race could resist that blood." (Zavilia)
"Huh? What are blue dragons?" (Fia)
When I stared at Zavilia with a blank stare, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, it's fine if you haven't noticed. I don't go out of my way to explain how popular Fia is... Fia's blood is amazing. Even I, or maybe it's just me, are dizzy." (Zavilia)
My eyes widen in surprise at Zavilia's words.
"Huh, Zavilia too? In my previous life, only spirits were attracted to the blood of the saint, so that sounds really surprising. …Ah, but that’s because the spirits lent me their power." (Fia)
"Yeah, the nature of monsters hasn't changed in 300 years, so monsters must have been attracted to the blood of the saints. I think the spirits were blinding them." (Zavilia)
"That's it?" (Fia)
I tilted my head sharply.
When I thought about it again, I thought it was a strange story that not only spirits but also monsters were attracted to the blood of a saint.
In the first place, why did the "Sealing Box" reacted to the blood of the Saint?
Even 300 years ago, it was known that the blood of the saint reacted to the "Sealing Box," but the reason remained unknown. I wondered if there were any new discoveries after my death.
When I glanced at Curtis, I felt a sense of discomfort as he stared back at me without saying a word.
Well, there was no way Curtis, who was extremely talented at his job, didn't know what I wanted to hear.
However, I didn't want to say anything because I wouldn't open my mouth. I meant, he must know something.
"Curtis, why does the 'Sealing Box' react to the blood of the Saint?" (Fia)
But I asked him a question.
The great thing about Curtis was that if I asked a question, he always had an answer.
As I had guessed, Curtis' face suddenly distorted, but he quickly regained his normal expression and spoke in an indifferent voice.
"...As you know, that box is made from parts of demons that were sealed in the past. Demons have a tendency to try to capture their compatriots, so we take advantage of that trait to create a Sealing Box." (Curtis)
"Yeah, I guess so." (Fia)
This was something I had heard in my previous life.
And for some reason, the saint's blood was responsible for the bond that closed the box.
"The part of the demon used in the box has no life or ego, it just retains its characteristics as a demon. As a result of research, the sealing box has more than just an attempt to capture its compatriots. Because of this, it is now thought that demons have a tendency to be attracted to the blood of saints." (Curtis)
"What?" (Fia)
Was the demon obsessed with the blood of the saint?
"Didn’t the sealing box have the property of combining with the blood of the saint, but was it trying to absorb the blood of the saint?" (Fia)
That was an idea I had never thought of.
And yet, for some reason, I felt as if Curtis' words had stirred up a glimmer of my past memory.
However, before I could figure out why, Curtis continued speaking, and my attention was drawn to that.
"Just as Lord Black Dragon said, wasn’t the spirit lending her power to you in the past so that no one would be attracted to the saint’s blood? I think it is that’s why we too misjudged the truth." (Curtis)
"The spirit..." (Fia)
As soon as I said those words, an image of the spirit that had been protecting me came to mind.
...Certainly, the spirit that had a contract with me was very powerful.
Did that mean that she was protecting me without me even realizing it?
As soon as I thought that I had been helped before I knew it, I felt a desire to meet the spirit I had made a contract with in my previous life.
"Curtis, where did the spirit go?" (Fia)
I wondered where that child of mine was.
They were spirits that lived much longer than humans, so they must never have disappeared.
Curtis looked away and stared at the ground.
"...I don't know where the spirits are. There is no one who is loved by spirits as much as Lady Fi, so if you can't feel the presence of spirits, they are probably somewhere far away from this land." (Curtis)
"Thought so." (Fia)
After 300 years, many things had changed.
The countries and borders around me were completely different than they were 300 years ago, and the forest where I first encountered spirits was now part of the Arteaga Empire.
"...I'd like to visit the Empire someday and step into that forest again." (Fia)
When it spilled out, Green's and Blue's eyes widened in surprise.
"Fia, if you come to the Empire, I will show you anywhere!"
"Ah, if you have a place you want to go, we will liberate all places within the empire."
The exaggerated way these two people said things was so funny that it made me laugh.
"Well, it came out big!" (Fia)
What would they do if I told them I wanted to go to the imperial castle of the Arteaga Empire?
Of course, the place I wanted to go was in the forest, where I didn't need permission, so I guessed there's no problem even if I went far.
I suddenly remembered something I was curious about and asked Curtis a question.
"By the way, why did Curtis have the 'Sealing Box'?" (Fia)
Curtis looked up and opened his mouth with a serious expression.
"Before, I vowed to myself that if I ever encountered demons again, I would definitely seal them away. At that time, I obtained multiple boxes and hid them in different locations. The box I mentioned earlier is the one I brought back from Sutherland." (Curtis)
I see, this is a move typical of Curtis, who is very well-prepared.
"The reason the box didn't close properly earlier was because it had been a long time since it was made, so there might have been a problem somewhere." (Curtis)
As I said this, I looked at Curtis with admiration.
I was impressed by how no one noticed that Curtis had the box from the beginning.
"Curtis was so quick to pretend he didn't have the box so the demon wouldn't take notice! Even the cautious person like me was easily tricked." (Fia)
"Hey," I said, looking up at Zavilia as if asking for approval, but instead of giving a direct answer, my wise dragon responded with a question.
"Everyone has different standards for caution. I'll just answer that mine and Fia's standards seem to be different. Rather than that...Is Fia okay?" (Zavilia)
Zavilia's question was simple but to the point.
Behind his words, I could see Zavilia's compassion.
He was worried because he knew that I was hiding in fear of demons.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Curtis gasp and look back at me.
...That's right, that's what Curtis was most interested in, but given his personality, I couldn't ask him directly.
I answered Zavilia loud enough for Curtis to hear.
"Thank you for worrying about me. I told myself that Bird Imitator is a completely different demon from the Demon King's right-hand man, and everything was fine!" (Fia)
When Zavilia and Curtis heard my words, they stared at my face for a while, as if searching for something, but at the same time, they suddenly relaxed.
Then, Zavilia smiled as if relieved.
"Yeah, that's good." (Zavilia)
When I saw one of my precious animals and one of them relieved, I was also feeling relieved when Zavilia opened his mouth as if it was nothing.
"Well then, it's starting to smell weird, so I'm going to go down the mountain with Fia after all." (Zavilia)
"Huh?" (Fia)
When I widened my eyes in surprise, Zavilia laughed funny.
"Hehehe, what I said earlier was not a joke. The most important thing to me is Fia, and we will return to the capital together." (Zavilia)
"So……" (Fia)
"Hgyaaaaaa!" (Zoil)
Before I could answer anything, Zoil heard Zavilia's words and fell to the ground, letting out a groan as if he was dying.
Zoil must have been shocked by this, since it was something he had never heard before.
However, when Zavilia looked down at Zoil, who had a pleading expression on his face, he shook his head in astonishment.
"No, I never thought I'd be here forever. Zoil, you're a superior species, so I'll leave the rest to you." (Zavilia)
Hearing Zavilia's words, Zoil pressed his head to the ground with a desperate expression.
Author's Note
Sorry to keep you waiting. (I would like to update it regularly in the future.)
Thank you for you continued support.