While I was wondering how to respond, I heard a knock from outside.
"Come in!" Vice-Captain Gideon called out, and a slender female knight in her mid-twenties with light green hair entered the room.
Wow, what a beautiful lady. I love her!
"Sorry to interrupt, Vice-Captain. R is calling for you."
"What?! I'll be right there!" (Gideon)
Vice-Captain Gideon hurriedly headed for the door, then looked back at me as if he had just remembered something, and said, "I don't ask you to do anything. Do as you like," before quickly leaving the room.
Only the light-green-haired knight and I were left in the room.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fia Ruud of the First Knight Order." (Fia)
"Nice to meet you. I'm Patty Conahan of the Fourth Monster Knight Order. I'm the Vice Captain's assistant." (Patty)
"Vice-captain Assistant! That means you're the person in charge of managing the work within the group. Umm, it seems like there isn't any urgent work to be done, so if you ask me, I'll do anything." (Fia)
"Hehe, since you are a knight specifically recommended by First Knight Order Captain Cyril, I was expecting a veteran warrior, but it's surprising to see such a young knight... I'm sorry about Vice Captain Gideon's attitude. The vice-captain has always felt that the Monster Knight Order are treated poorly, so he particularly dislikes the First Knights, who are the top knight order." (Patty)
Well, maybe that's what they call taking out your anger on others.
"The vice-captain may be a little childish at times, but he's serious at heart and not that stupid, so I'm sure he'll come to his senses soon and ask you to do the job. Could you please wait a little while until then?" (Patty)
Oh... Even so, he is loved by his subordinates. In that case, he must not be a bad knight after all.
"Understood, I'll wait. By the way, who is R-san? I saw that Vice Captain Gideon flew off, so is it his lover?" (Fia)
"Hahaha, a lover to Vice Captain?! No, it's not! R is a monster that is enslaved to Vice Captain." (Patty)
"Ah, a monster!" (Fia)
Patty pointed to a sofa in the corner of the room and said, "Shall we sit down?" When I sat down as instructed, she gave me a hot drink. Then, saying, "I'm sure it's around here...," she rummaged through the cupboard next to the sofa, found a silver can, and took out a few cookies and arranged them on a plate.
"Despite his appearance, Vice Captain likes sweet things, you know." (Patty)
Wow, that's surprising. I thought he liked meat, meat, and more meat.
"This is probably your first time with the Monster Knights, Fia, so let me explain a bit. Simply put, the Monster Knights are an order that exerts its power by enslaving and controlling monsters. The most difficult part of enslaving a monster is enslaving it, but it requires continued care even after that. It depends on the individual, but monsters can be clingy or have unique demands, so it requires a lot of care, and the degree to which the monster will obey its master is determined by how much care is given to it." (Patty)
...Oh, is that so? Umm, I made a contract with the Black Dragon, Zavilia, but I haven't seen him since then. Is that a bad thing?
"They won't attack if we leave them alone, right?" (Fia)
I became worried and couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, they won't attack their contractor, but they may get sulky and ram into you, or if the monster has a tail, they may swing their tail around, so if it's a powerful monster, you may get injured." (Patty)
The black dragon's body slams in! The black dragon's tail attacks!
I'm gonna die. This is definitely a surefire way to die.
"What's the matter?" (Patty)
Patty called out to me, apparently worried about me because I had gone quiet.
"Well, I made a contract with a monster, but I left him alone for a long time after that, so I was worried that it might be angry..." (Fia)
"What?! Do you have any familiar?! Show me your skills!" (Patty)
And before I could reply, the sleeves of my uniform were pulled up.
When Patty saw the one-millimeter-wide mark on my left wrist, she couldn't help but look disappointed.
"That's true. It's quite an amazing thing for a knight other than the Monster Knights to make a contract." (Patty)
Then, I murmured as if I understood.
"Since Vice Captain is in such a state, there is no urgent work for a while. If Fia's familiar is in the nearby forest or woods, why don't you go and pick them up?" (Patty)
"Oh, is that okay? I'll go! I'm off!" (Fia)
I jumped up from the sofa and bowed to Patty.
"Well, I'm off!" (Fia)
"Huh, are you really going that suddenly? Actually, monsters appear in forests and woods, so you shouldn't go alone. I think it would be a better idea to join the Sixth Knight Order's extermination mission, which has jurisdiction over the area around the royal capital." (Patty)
"It's okay! I can only go as far as the entrance to the forest." (Fia)
"...Ah. If the mark is that thin, then it must be a monster near the entrance, right?" (Patty)
Patty seemed convinced, so I hurried out of the room.
Suddenly, I became very curious about the black dragon, Zavilia.
Zavilia was seriously injured when we first met.
Since he had defeated an A-rank monster, it's not like he was weak, but there might be stronger bullies out there.
Also, what if he got injured?
I galloped on my horse and headed to the nearest forest.
Zavilia said that I had signed a familiar contract, so I could hear him from anywhere if I called.
However, if a dragon were to suddenly appear it would be a big deal, so I avoided castles and towns and chose forest.
"Zavilia――! Zavilia――――――――!!" (Fia)
I yelled as I got off my horse.
My voice echoed through the quiet forest.
——In that moment, the sky splitted open.
Suddenly, a line appeared in the cloudless blue sky as if cut by a sword, and where the line split open, an elliptical space revealed a completely different scene: black clouds, heavy rain, and thunder. Then, out of the sky, a black dragon descended with its wings spread out majestically.
It was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.
Despite its size of about 10 meters, each of its scales shined like a work of art made by a master craftsman. I learned for the first time that black was not simply one color, but that there were many different shades.
The dragon was said to be the creature of the beginning and the most perfect in form, and this was certainly true.
What a beautiful sight it was to see a dragon swooping down with its large wings spread and its magnificent body!
...But.
Ah, wait? Zavilia was much smaller when he was younger. Her scales weren't as shiny as this, and his physique wasn't as robust.
...Um, which black dragon is it?
Author's Note
Thank you for reading.
[Thank you] Thank you for your feedback, reports of typos, reviews, bookmarks, and ratings. Thanks to you, we have been ranked number one in the genre for the day, month, and quarter. Thank you very much!