The first thing I should do after returning to the capital is—of course, that would be a report to Captain Cyril.
To be frank, I had exceeded my original vacation period by quite a bit.
My excuse was that Captain Cyril told me, "While I stay at the Eleventh Knights' fort, it will be treated as business," and since I followed that correctly, there shouldn't be any problems.
――The reason for extending the period of stay due to non-substantive work is that "Check the movement status of the dragons at the sacred mountain Kurodake when the black dragon is absent." There's no way Commander Cyril would know, so he should be dignified.
When I knocked on the door of Commander Cyril's office, I spoke louder than usual.
"Good morning, Commander Cyril! This is Fia Ruud." (Fia)
Then, when I opened the door and entered the room, I met the eyes of Captain Cyril, who was running a pen on his office desk.
"Fia, welcome home. How was your vacation?" (Cyril)
Captain Cyril immediately put his pen on the desk and looked at me with a smile.
I walked up to the office desk and cheerfully reply.
"It was amazing! I got to see my sister for the first time in a while, and I got to meet my friends too." (Fia)
That friend came with me to the royal capital and was probably staying quiet in my room right now, I thought as I continued talking.
Unlike the Monster Tamer Knight Brigade, where all knights had familiars to follow, the knights of the First Knights Brigade did not have familiars, and there was no idea that they could follow a monster in the first place.
Therefore, unlike when I was in the Monster Tamer Knight Brigade, I thought it would be better to stop carrying Zavilia on my shoulder, so I decided to act separately from Zavilia during work hours.
Zavilia himself seemed to have things to do, such as contacting the dragons, so he easily accepted the separation.
After listening to my report, Captain Cyril made a happy sound with a smile on his face.
"I'm glad to see that your vacation was a fruitful one. By the way, Fia, I have a meeting with His Majesty the King that I had announced before you vacation, but I would like to hold it as soon as Commander Savvis returns to the capital. Is that okay?" (Cyril)
Yes, I had been forewarned that I was scheduled to meet with the King.
But did that have anything to do with Commander Savvis' return?
The question that came to mind seemed too rude, so I couldn't just say it, so I changed it to something easier to ask.
"Is Commander Savvis going anywhere?" (Fia)
Commander Cyril was a busy leader of the Knights, so he probably had a lot of things to do. When I asked him, his lips suddenly curled.
"Yes, it happens every year, but when the time comes for the Commander to meet with His Majesty, he always comes up with business to leave the royal capital. This time, he went out to inspect the local knight order, and he's planning to return in a few days." (Cyril)
I wondered if there was something wrong with Captain Cyril's words, but I kept a smile on my face and didn't reply, thinking I might get caught up in the situation.
Then, Captain Cyril smiled beautifully and continued speaking.
"Huhuhu, but His Majesty is the Commander’s older brother, and I think it would be a bad idea to force everything on me, so I have adjusted the schedule so that the president will also be present at your interview. There will be no problem if your beloved Commander Savis is present, right?" (Cyril)
Of course, as a resident of a vertical society, I had no right to say no.
"Well, all meetings with His Majesty have been completed except for me, right? So, is it only for me Commander Savvis will be present at meetings with His Majesty the King? It's my honor." (Fia)
Ah, now I understood why Captain Cyril generously offered to extend my vacation as long as I wanted.
Of course, he was a kind-hearted leader, so there was no doubt that he said this out of kindness, but he also has an incredibly good memory, so there was no doubt that I expected something like this from his actions every year.
"Y-you did it!!" (Fia)
I was forced to visit Sutherland in the name of a friend, and lately I felt like I was being carried around by Captain Cyril's palm.
Of course, if you just looked at the results, both the visit to Sutherland and the extension of the visit period to Blackpeak Mountain were good things, but I found it frustrating how things were being carried out according to the leader's wishes.
When I told the leader, he gave me a look of disappointment.
"If you think about it, I’m the one who’s always being swayed. I wish I could control you, but life is always unpredictable." (Cyril)
When I tried to make a small complaint, it came back to me as a big story called life.
Feeling exhausted, I left the leader's office, feeling lucky that I had been given permission, and saying my apologies.
When I returned to my room after a day's work, Zavilia was gone.
"As expected" (Fia)
There was no way that naughty child would stay quiet in his room.
I knew that, I thought as I picked up the sword that was placed in the bay window.
The beautiful sword in my hand was Sirius's, which had been brought back from the fort of the Eleventh Knights Brigade.
It was made to fit Sirius, who was tall, so it was too long for me to use, but I decided to display it in my room as a talisman.
"…………"
Every time I pick up a sword, my eyes were drawn to the same part.
This was because Sirius's black sword had only one difference from 300 years ago.
There was a jewel inlaid at the bottom of the handle, and 300 years ago it was a beautiful silver jewel representing the silver-haired, silver-eyed Sirius.
Nowadays, it had been replaced by red gemstones.
I wonder if the owner changed hands and the ornamental jewelry changed over the course of 300 years.
While I was deep in thought, my friend jumped in through the window.
"Fia, I'm back! Also, thank you for your hard work." (Zavilia)
"Zavilia!" (Fia)
I put the sword back where it was and quickly ran towards Zavilia.
Zavilia was not wearing the Blue Dove goods I had prepared, and was in the form of a black dragon, albeit in a smaller size.
As I stuck my head out the window and looked around, hoping no one would see me, I heard Zavilia's leisurely voice.
"I haven't messed up enough to be seen. Besides, I thought in the northern fortress that I don't think the black dragon would ever think about shrinking, so I guess I can go on as I am." (Zavilia)
Indeed, Zavilia was spending time in the fort of the Eleventh Knights in a reduced form.
When I visited Blackpeak Mountain, I didn't think that Zavilia would come back to the capital with me, so I didn't bring any Blue Dove transformation set with me.
Therefore, Zavilia was wandering around the fort in the form of a mini black dragon, but none of the knights of the fort who saw Zavilia said, "Is it a black dragon??" Without any doubts, on the contrary, they began their own interpretation.
"Fia, is that a bird you're carrying on your shoulder? It looks like a lizard, but it has wings, so it's a bird, right? It's the first time I've seen a bird like this from Blackpeak Mountain."
"You should take care of itself a little. Its feathers are stiff, and you can see the scales. Why don't you wash it? It's so dirty that it's pitch black."
"Hahaha, it's definitely dirty and has a blackish color. Black is the best color for monsters, so be careful not to get eaten by monsters who are jealous of that color. It looks so weak. If you don't let your guard down, you'll be eaten by this creature in one shot."
It's like no one suspects anything.
...But, it might be something like that.
They would never have thought that the black dragon would be in front of me in a small size.
"Hmm, it's true that if you're dealing with knights who don't pay attention to details, you might not be able to find out. However, it's almost cold season, so if you think it's necessary, please wear the Blue Dove set. Fortunately, even if we were to find out, the black dragon is the guardian sacred beast of the kingdom, so you can run away while everyone else is kneeling." (Fia)
"I see, the moment they found out I was a black dragon, the knights would kneel to me in fear? It seems like they were seriously thinking about that, and they didn't have to revise their thoughts. Fia is a big deal, isn't she?"
"…Is that an advanced technique that seems to be praising but also disparaging?" (Fia)
When I stared at Zavilia, he stared back at me with an expression that didn't seem to be malicious.
"No way, there's a high possibility that Fia won't notice, but I didn't make any sarcastic euphemisms. I was just giving a genuine compliment." (Zavilia)
"Well, thank you for that. It's a great honor to be praised by the king!" (Fia)
After enjoying the same conversation with Zavilia as before, I went to bed early.
Because it was only yesterday that I returned to the royal capital.
For some reason, I was very tired.
I approached the window, picked up Sirius's sword, and pulled it into my bed.
I decided to sleep with Sirius's sword next to my pillow as a talisman.
Zavilia and the sword of Sirius. I thought for a moment that I would be completely safe if I slept with these two, and soon I fell asleep.
And since I usually fell asleep as soon as I got into bed, it remained unclear how effective Zavilia and Sirius' swords were at helping me sleep.
The correlation between Sirius's sword and good sleep was still unknown.