As I was absentmindedly watching the conversation between Vice Captain Gideon and Vice Captain Assistant Patty, the vice-captain noticed and yelled at me forcefully.
"You're not eavesdropping on the group's secrets! Get out of here!" (Gideon)
"My apologies!" (Fia)
…Wow, does this mean I've officially been given permission to return to the dorm?
I was told there was no urgent work to be done, and things seem pretty hectic at the moment, so it wouldn't be good for me to be here and accidentally overhear any classified information or anything. Yes, this was permission to return to the dorm.
Although it felt like it was still work hours, I took this opportunity to head back to the dorm.
There was something I wanted to do before my roommate, Olga, returned. On the way, I stopped at a restaurant and got a bucket of hot water. Then, I placed the two bird-type monsters that Zavilia had hunted into the bucket and left them there for a while.
Zavilia seemed to still be asleep, so I left him inside my uniform without moving him.
As the water in the bucket started to get warm, I took out the bird-shaped monster and, being careful not to make a mess of the room, began plucking its feathers. The feathers came off easily because it was soaking in the hot water.
Once I'd plucked off as many feathers as I needed, I poured the hot water out of the bucket and placed the monster in it.
All right, now I just need to wash the wings and dry them. I'm not going to use the meat, so maybe I should donate it to a restaurant.
I wrapped the feathers in a dry towel several times and patted them gently to remove any excess water. Once the feathers had dried, I took out a piece of blue cloth and sewed the monster's feathers onto it.
Zavilia moved just as the sun was setting over the horizon.
"I had a dream about the past..." (Zavilia)
Yes, when I saw Zavilia muttering with a blank look on his face, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh my, Zavilia. When was the time when you were 0 years old?" (Fia)
With a smug look on my face, I took out what I'd hidden in front of Zavilia.
"Ta-dah! Here's a transformation item just for Zavilia!!" (Fia)
It was a piece of cloth with a large number of feathers from a blue bird-like monster, Blue Dove, sewn onto it. Zavilia must have been very happy because he was speechless for a while. Then he muttered in a dazed voice.
"Fia, you're not trying to turn me into a Blue Dove, are you?" (Zavilia)
"As expected of Zavilia! That's right." (Fia)
Zavilia looked like she wanted to say something, but then decided to keep quiet and spread her wings out on my lap.
"Please, Fia. Turn me into a Blue Dove." (Zavilia)
I carefully transformed Zavilia. There were strings under the neck and under the belly to tie, but the feathers were designed to cover them, so the strings should not be visible. I also attached the beak properly. Looking at the completed Zavilia, I let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"It's perfect, Zavilia! There's no black in it at all, it's just Blue Dove!" (Fia)
"Yeah, my eyesight is poor and I can't see very well, but is that okay?" (Zavilia)
"Yes, it uses the feathers of two birds. It's fluffier than a normal Blue Dove. Hehe, isn't it gorgeous?" (Fia)
"Yeah, I guess I should focus on whether I look like a Blue Dove or not. But thank you for making me look gorgeous. I'm happy, you know." (Zavilia)
Feeling a little downcast, I stroked the blue feathers of Zavilia, who had now become Blue Dove.
"The truth is, Captain Cyril gave me a brilliant plan, but it failed. Apparently, human imagination is the strongest, so rather than showing Zavilia to the other person, it's better to make them imagine what kind of monster it is, as they'll imagine a scary monster and be terrified." (Fia)
"Hmm... That's an interesting way of thinking." (Zavilia)
"But this plan didn't work, so I'm going to stop it. If you think about it, there's no point in being scared of how great my familiar is." (Fia)
"I think that's a good thing, because the strength of familiars will affect the hierarchical relationships between knights. Well, Fia isn't interested in that sort of thing." (Zavilia)
"That's why!" (Fia)
I picked up Zavilia in both arms and brought him to my eye level.
"That's why, I decided to take Zavilia with me! Since you took the trouble to come with me, I want to be with you. Of course, if you're bored with me, you can sleep in my bed or play in the castle gardens. However, Zavilia seems stronger than I thought, so I thought it might be better to hide the fact that you're a black dragon for a while. So, I decided to make these Blue Dove thing that I was thinking of making just in case, and it'll come in handy right away! Of course, if the other knights' familiars are as strong as Zavilia and introducing you doesn't make me stand out, I'll officially introduce you as my familiar as a black dragon." (Fia)
"If I think about it that way, I'll always be this blue bird. Ah, I'm so happy to be by Fia's side, but having to disguise myself as the weakest monster is a pain so intense it eats away at my soul." (Zavilia)
Zavilia was grumbling, but I could hear her say she was happy to be near me.
I'm glad I brought him. Now...
"...Is it just flirting?... I might need this in the future, so I need to practice more, right" (Fia)
"Fia, that's not helping anyone so I think you should stop." (Zavilia)
"Hehe, Zavilia, you're still a cute child. But as an adult I need to become more cunning." (Fia)
"...Yeah, do your best, okay?" (Zavilia)
Zavilia made a resigned noise and closed his eyes.
It's okay, Zavilia. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone bully you anymore.
The next morning, I headed directly to the Fourth Monster Knight Order.
Now, wondering where I was going, I entered the building reserved for the Monster Knight Order. As I walked down the corridor, I felt like the knights passing by kept glancing at my belly, but I didn't think they realized it was my belly.
Just in time, Vice Captain Assistant Patty appeared walking towards me from the other side of the hallway, so I called out to her.
"Vica Captain Assistant Patty!" (Fia)
Patty stared at my stomach in shock, then came running over to me.
"What's wrong with your stomach? You seem a little overweight if you've eaten too much..." (Patty)
"I brought along a familiar today. He's still asleep, so I'm letting him sleep in my clothes." (Fia)
"Ah, I see. Fia, the knights of the Monster Knights spend a lot of their time looking after their familiars. The familiars building is an annex, so why don't you take a look at it later? Normally, I should start by showing you around the Monster Knights, but an urgent matter has come up and I don't think I'll have time to show you around for a while. I'm sorry, but would it be okay if I showed you around at a later date?" (Patty)
"Of course! If you give me permission, I'll go and look around on my own and find some work." (Fia)
I replied cheerfully.
Serving monsters was a novel idea. It's a technique that didn't exist in my previous life. By chance I was able to make a contract with Zavilia, but I didn't really understand how it worked, so I was really interested in the Monster Knight Order.
I bowed and was about to leave, but then I noticed Vice Captain Gideon walking towards me and I greeted him.
"Good morning, Vice Captain Gideon." (Fia)
"You're still here?" (Gideon)
He didn't return the greeting, and just stared at me with a sour look on his face.
"Really, you always seem to wander around in front of me. Are you hoping to catch the eye of me, the vice captain, and get me to take you up on your laurels? Let me tell you, I'm a complete meritocracy! You have no real talent, so even if you fawn over me or lick my shoes, I'm not going to give you any preferential treatment!" (Gideon)
Vice Captain Assistant Patty looked displeased at what Vice Captain Gideon said.
"Vice Captain, I thought you would have a bit more courtesy..." (Patty)
However, the vice-captain completely ignored what Patty had said and looked as if he had just remembered something.
"That's right, I'll give you a job. There are many injured familiars in the familiar stables. Get some healing potions from the saints in the castle and give them to the familiars twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. Do that every day for a while!" (Gideon)
"Vice Captain, that's a bit much..." (Patty)
"Shut up! Patty, you go tell the person in charge of this week's healing potions that we've found a replacement." (Gideon)
As I watched the vice-captain rambled on, I thought to myself that he was quite harsh on outsiders, but that once we got to know him, maybe this type of person was actually quite good at taking care of people, when I heard the vice-captain's loud voice, Zavilia seemed to wake up, and he stirred in my clothes.
Then, he popped his head out from around my neck.
"Whoa! What is this?!" (Gideon)
The Vice Captain was startled by the sudden appearance of a monster from within my clothes and jumped back a step.
Oh, I'm glad you listened.
I was so happy to be able to introduce Zavilia that a smile naturally came to my face.
"Uhuhu, this is my cute and strong familiar." (Fia)
After I proudly introduced her to me, Zavilia looked at the vice-captain from under his fluffy feathers with his clear blue eyes.