To descend Blackpeak Mountain, as on our previous visit, Curtis and I were given a ride by Zavilia, and Green and Blue were given a ride by Zoil.
Although it was very convenient and comfortable to fly in the sky, it would be a disaster if we continued to the Knights' fortress while riding the dragon, so I had them drop us off near the foot of the mountain.
"Zoil, thank you for everything. I look forward to working with you later." (Fia)
Looking up at Zoil, I asked him about the future plans, and the grey-brown dragon nodded loudly as if he understood.
Seeing how he obediently obeyed me, I was glad to see that we were able to become friends in the end.
I thanked Zoil with a smile and waved goodbye.
Now, I didn't know where anyone would see me from here on out, so as soon as I decided to continue on foot, Zavilia shrank down to a small size and climbed onto my shoulder.
Blue, who saw this, hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Lord Black Dragon, if you would like, would you like to sit on my shoulder?" (Blue)
Blue seemed to be worried that I might get tired from carrying Zavilia on my shoulder, but as expected, Zavilia didn't respond.
"I'm fine, Blue. Thank you for your concern." (Fia)
As I was responding, I thought I heard a faint voice in the distance.
As I was squinting to see if there was anyone in this mountain, I started to see what looked like knight uniforms flickering through the trees.
"Huh, a knight?" (Fia)
While I was wondering why there was a knight in a place like this, the figure drew closer and closer, and I saw a familiar face at the front.
"Sister!" (Fia)
I became happy and ran towards her, and my eyes met with my sister who looked surprised.
"Fia! I see you're okay."
"Huh?" (Fia)
I panicked and jumped into my sister's arms, thinking that she was worried about me again, and she hugged me tightly.
"I saw dozens of dragons gathered halfway up Blackpeak Mountain, so I quickly formed a search party and came to pick you up! I'm glad you were safe."
When I looked behind my sister, I saw about ten knights, including Captain Ghai.
Well, I felt sorry for asking the busy knights to search for me.
As I thought about this and lowered my eyebrows, Captain Ghai slowly walked up to me from among the knights and yelled in a panic.
"For now, let's go back to the fort! We're no longer talking about dozens of dragons like Oria said! Look, the 'Black King' is lurking around here!! I saw a grey-brown dragon that looked like the 'King' and his entourage descending down around here. However, only the grey-brown dragon took off again. In other words, the 'Black King' was definitely lurking around here!"
"Oh, uh, is that so?" (Fia)
Sorry, it was a mistake to come this far on Zavilia, and I regretted that, but I repled as if I didn't know anything.
Unlike me, whose heart was racing and my behavior becoming suspicious, none of Curtis, Green, and Blue showed any signs of panic, nor did they look at Zavilia, who was sitting on my shoulder.
All of them were listening to Captain Ghai's story without knowing anything.
It's not a story about the culprit returning to the crime scene, but even though you would normally think he'd try to deceive you, it's amazing how all eyes were inevitably drawn to Zavilia.
I watched the progress with great admiration, but no one was willing to explain, probably because they didn't want to do the dirty work.
Therefore, I decided that I had no choice but to lie, and I opened my mouth to fabricate such a story.
"Well, actually... it looks like the black dragon has gained weight." (Fia)
Captain Ghai asked me if it was a bad idea to keep my voice low because I wanted to give the impression that this was just a topic.
"He suddenly…what?"
Deciding to fool Captain Ghai by telling him that if he ate poison, I would give him a plate, I put on a serious expression and continue speaking.
"Actually, for the past few days, I've been hiding near the black dragon's nest and secretly observing it, and it seems that the black dragon has gained weight and is walking around in various places to lose weight. Maybe Captain Ghai saw it. This is the scene where the black dragon flew to the starting point of the walk, and I think by now he's probably walking as hard as he can to his nest, trying to lose some weight." (Fia)
"Did the black dragon have such an ecology!?"
When I saw Captain Ghai shout out in surprise, I was so happy that he believed me.
Good thing Captain Ghai was the type to take people's stories seriously.
"So, the 'Black King' is walking towards the top, right? Okay, the danger of running into each other is gone!!"
Seeing that the leader had a relieved smile on his face, Curtis and my sister giving him cold stares.
The meaning of their gaze was probably to tell him, in his position as the commander of the knights, to be a little more suspicious of other people's words.
It's a valid story, but in this case, I was really good at deceiving him, so I mentally asked them to ignore it.
"For now, we're all safe and well! Now, let's go back to the fort."
After Captain Ghai said that, he let Curtis, Green, Blue, and me go ahead, and then he followed us as if to protect us. My sister and the other knights also followed suit.
After walking a little further, Captain Ghai seemed to notice Zavilia and looked at him seriously.
"Fia, what's wrong with that bird on your shoulder? Did you catch it in the mountains? It's very used to you, but it's so dirty it's pitch black! I'm afraid it'll stain your clothes just by putting it on your shoulder." (Ghai)
Even after searching all over the world, the only thing with black wings was a black dragon, so this statement was based on Captain Ghai's interpretation.
However, the question was what Zavilia thought of that statement.
When I looked at Zavilia in fear, I saw that he was glaring at Captain Ghai with a dissatisfied expression, so I hurriedly reprimanded the captain, saying that this was bad.
"Captain Ghai, it seems like I'm getting back to you, but black is a very nice color! It's not necessarily a dirty color. At least I love black." (Fia)
"I see?" (Ghai)
Next to Captain Ghai, who was tilting his head, my sister was looking at Zavilia with kind eyes.
My sister had seen Zavilia in our territory, so she probably knew exactly what the black creature sitting on my shoulder was.
A smart sister would rarely said such things, but I opened my mouth thinking that an explanation was necessary.
"Sister, I heard a while ago that many monsters are overflowing from Blackpeak and the knights are having trouble dealing with them, but I think things will improve in the future. Because the black dragon is seeking a new world. He's planning to leave for another place!" (Fia)
However, Captain Ghai immediately retorted.
"Huh!? That can't be true! Dragons basically don't change their habitat. There's no reason for the 'Black King' to leave this mountain now!!" (Ghai)
Captain Ghai's statements were based on common knowledge and made sense.
Therefore, normally this would have been approved, but my sister, who was aware of all the circumstances, placed her hand on her chin as if thinking about it and flatly denied it.
"The ecology of common dragons and legendary ancient dragons may be completely different. Perhaps the 'Black King' has found a place that is easier to live in. For example, the royal capital?" (Oria)
Captain Ghai jumped in shock when he heard my sister's statement.
"Huh, Oria! You seem like a commonsense person, but don't make outrageous statements every now and then. If the 'Black King' appears in the royal capital, that beautiful cityscape will be reduced to ashes in an instant. But you will understand that the 'Black King' is not the kingdom's sacred beast, but the strongest and worst demonic beast." (Ghai)
"...But before that happens, it looks like Captain Ghai is going to be burned to the ground."
Seeing Zavilia glaring at Captain Ghai, my sister Oria gave a very useful warning.
However, Captain Ghai, who was given the warning, didn't seem to notice at all and was talking to Curtis.
"By the way, Curtis, what have you guys been doing in the mountains these past few days? Fia said that you were observing the Black King from afar, but I'm sure you're tired of doing that. She wasn't injured at all, and looking at her beautiful figure, it looks like she almost never encountered a monster." (Ghai)
While saying this, Curtis stared at Captain Ghai, who was patting him on the back, with a shocked expression.
"You're at peace." (Curtis)
I could understand why Curtis wanted to respond that way.
All of his injuries had been healed with magic, and he looked better now that he had changed his clothes, but Curtis had just fought a deadly battle with a demon.
Nevertheless, when someone said something so careless to me with a face that didn't seem to bother me, he felt like letting out a sigh.
However, Captain Ghai seemed to have won in a sense, as he continued with a worried look on his face, saying, "I see. If you hadn't encountered the monsters, you mush have had trouble with food."
Then, he said, "There's a lot of food in the fort! Eat until you puke!" and patted Curtis on the back.
...Captain Ghai was not a bad person, just horribly dull.