The next morning, I was excited as I waited for Zavilia to wake up.
Zavilia seemed to have a bad sleeping posture. Although he always slept on the bed with me, when he woke up, he got out of bed and slept softly on my stomach. Maybe that because he slept wearing Blue Dove costume, it did keep him warm a little, but I wondered what it would be like to get out of the bed every night. I was worried that he might catch a cold, so last night I made some cold-weather clothes just for Zavilia. I couldn't wait to show it off.
As I watched him, hoping that he would wake up soon, Zavilia shifted on my stomach. Then he started rubbing his head against my stomach.
Uhuhu, I wonder what he's dreaming about...
After watching for a while, Zavilia suddenly opened his eyes. Then, noticing me staring, he called out to me.
"Good morning, Fia. What's the matter?" (Zavilia)
"Uhuhu, Zavilia. Even though it's spring, the mornings and evenings are still chilly this time of year. Are you having trouble with the cold?" (Fia)
"... I suppose this is a bit cold for an obedient familiar, but... I already have the wonderful Blue Dove transformation set that Fia made for me, right? Greed will destroy you, so I think I'll be satisfied with this." (Zavilia)
"Zavilia, how humble and modest you are! But, you know, it's been said since ancient times that it's that kind of humble attitude that brings good fortune!" (Fia)
"...I see. I see. It seems I misunderstood. ...The answer has already been decided, right? And no matter what I answer, the outcome will not change, right?" (Zavilia)
Zavilia dropped his head onto the futon as if giving up, and wagged his tail.
"Wow, wow, I was just feeling a bit chilly. Is there anything you can do to warm myself up?" (Zavilia)
It felt a bit monotone, but since it was the answer I wanted, I decided to be satisfied.
"Uhuhu, Zavilia! Actually, you see... ta-daa! I made some special winter clothing for Zavilia!!" (Fia)
I proudly show off my last night's work to Zavilia.
"...Um, is that a degraded version of Blue Dove goods? Or something like that?" (Zavilia)
"No, it's Zavilia's winter coat. I made it so that you can wear it over your clothes when you get cold, you know." (Fia)
I spread out Zavilia's special winter clothing in front of him so that he could see it clearly.
"Look, I sewed Blue Dove feathers onto the blue fabric. However, I used the feathers left over from last time, so there aren't many, and it looks a bit hollow, but I made up for that by doubling the fabric, right?" (Fia)
Next, I would explain about the hole in the tail, which was a unique feature of this product.
"As I said, I originally made this so that Zavilia could wear it over when it was cold to protect you from the cold, but there was a reason why I specifically used Blue Dove's feathers. I made a hole in the tail of the winter wear. When I put my hand in through there, lo and behold, a Blue Dove puppet is complete!" (Fia)
I put my hand inside the winter jacket and started moving it around. The hood looked like a head, and it looked as if there was another Blue Dove.
"Um... hm, wouldn't it have been better to specialize it in cold weather clothing? When would you use that puppet?" (Zavilia)
"Well, maybe when Zavilia felt lonely. Also, I became friends with Charlotte. She's a child, so I thought she might like stuffed toys like these." (Fia)
"Yes, I see. Someone her age might like stuffed toys. But, Fia, when you show it to Charlotte, I think you should start by explaining that it's a puppet and winter clothing modeled after Blue Dove. If you were to suddenly show it to her, it might be hard for her to understand that it's a Blue Dove." (Zavilia)
Hmm. Explanations are important, right?
I put the puppet on my left hand, picked up Zavilia and held him in front of my chest.
"I’ve arranged to meet Charlotte in the morning when I administer my healing potions, so I guess I’ll show her then. But first, I need to go to the captain’s room of the Fourth Monster Knights…" (Fia)
When I woke up, I thought it would be a good idea to report the current situation to Vice Captain Gideon.
...I'm sure the Vice Captain is also curious about the progress of the work he has ordered, right?
Since my promise with Charlotte was still a while away, I first headed to the Fourth Demon Knight Order Captain's room. I knocked on the door to the captain's room and heard a voice giving me permission to enter.
"Excuse me." (Fia)
When I opened the door, I saw Vice Captain Gideon sitting slackly in a chair, with Vice Captain Assistant Patty standing next to him, holding some documents.
"Good morning, Fia. What's the matter?" (Patty)
Patty noticed me and called out to me.
"Good morning, Vice Captain Assistant Patty. I came here to report that yesterday we were able to administer healing potions to the familiars without any issues." (Fia)
"That's wonderful. To tell the truth, I was worried that it might be too difficult for you since you're not used to it, so I sent several knights to check on you yesterday evening. When they did, they reported that it looked like all of the injured monsters had already been given healing potions, which I was impressed with. As expected from a knight recommended by the First Knight Captain, you did an excellent job." (Patty)
Patty smiled and praised me.
As I opened my mouth to reply, Vice Captain Gideon snorted exaggeratedly.
"Hmmm, to be praised for administering a healing potion to a monster, you have a position to be envied. On my side, an unexpected incident has occurred, and I've barely had time to sleep, yet the First Knights are still so elegant." (Gideon)
Oh, he's in a stable bad mood, right?
"Good morning, Vice Captain Gideon. I'm sorry to offend you, but I also didn't get enough sleep last night. I was making winter clothes for my adorable Familiar so that he wouldn't catch a cold. Hehe, I'm sure that as the Vice Captain of the Monster Knights, you can understand the overflowing love I have for my Familiar." (Fia)
"...If your familiar was attached to you, I would have noticed it a long time ago! Well, that's not a bad thing. But, the way you're telling me all that about yourself is obviously an attempt to curry favor with me, and I don't like it! You need to learn to stand on your own two feet!" (Gideon)
"Oh, isn't that a bit prejudiced? If a knight from the Monster Knights said the same thing, wouldn't you praise him and say, 'It's a good thing to love your familiars'?" (Fia)
I couldn't help but argue, and the vice captain's assistant, Patty, burst out laughing.
"Hehe, I'm sure I heard a similar line recently from Vice Captain speaking to a member of the guild. Was it when the member was especially fond of a familiar and was bragging about it?" (Patty)
Vice Captain Gideon must have glared at his assistant Patty, but Patty simply looked back at the vice captain with a cool face.
There was a brief silence before there was a knock on the captain's door.
"Enter!" (Gideon)
When the vice-captain gave permission, the door was opened from the outside. And on the other side of the open door stood the First Knight Captain Cyril.
His knight's uniform, with its dazzling white base and black accents, which represented trust and integrity and was only reserved for those of vice-captain or above, was a sight to behold, and the epaulettes and sashes sparkled from under the sash that showed the captain's rank. With his well-proportioned body wrapped in his uniform and standing with good posture, Captain Cyril gave the impression of a truly capable and high-ranking commander.
Hmm. From an outsider's perspective, Captain Cyril seems like quite a person, right?
When Vice Captain Gideon saw Captain Cyril, he quickly rose from his chair. Seeing this, Captain Cyril stopped it with one hand and smiled brightly.
"I'm sorry for bothering you so early in the morning. I don't have any particular business to attend to, I just stopped by to check on the progress of the members, so I hope you won't mind." (Cyril)
Then, Captain Cyril turned to me and gave me a bright smile.
"Have you gotten used to the Fourth Monster Knights? Also, how is your work going? I came to check on you, as I was wondering if I could have you return to the First Knights early, depending on your progress." (Cyril)
"Progress?" (Fia)
I thought to myself how caring he was, still looking after me even though I had left the group, and I thought for a moment.
"Well, I've been giving healing medicine to the injured familiars since yesterday, so I think they'll all be better by tomorrow..." (Fia)
When Captain Cyril heard my answer, he looked puzzled.
"What are you talking about? I loaned you to the Fourth Monster Knights to quantify the life force of monsters. And yet you are administering healing potions to monsters?" (Cyril)
"Huh? Ah, that's right. Originally, we were talking about quantifying the life force of monsters. Umm..." (Fia)
When we first met, Vice Captain Gideon refused to allow us to quantify the life force of monsters. But if I said that, wouldn't Vice Captain Gideon get angry with Captain Cyril?
Hmmm...? Should we talk about something else at a time like this?
"Well, you were wondering if I was getting used to the Fourth Monster Knights, right? I was able to go and pick up my familiar, and Vice Captain's assistant, Patty, was kind..." (Fia)
"Fia, I will hear your story later." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril interrupted me in the middle of what I was saying and turned to Vice-Captain Gideon.
Then, with a calm expression on his face, he spoke to Vice Captain Gideon.
"Unfortunately, it seems that my members have not even begun the work I have assigned to do. Do you know what the reason is?" (Cyril)
"Huh………………" (Gideon)
Vice Captain Gideon was so taken aback by the unexpected question that he couldn't prepare a response. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Captain Cyril stared at Vice Captain Gideon for a while, then tilted his head, perhaps impatient that he received no reply.
"Either she is voluntarily neglecting her duties, or someone from the Fourth Monster Knights is interfering with her normal duties." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril stopped speaking for a moment and looked at Vice Captain GIDION, but as the silence continued, he continued.
"... Either way, Gideon, you are currently in a position to command this Monster Knight Order, so if there are any irregularities in the operations of the order, it should be up to you to correct them, right? Now, please tell me, person in charge. What do you think is the reason why my members are not following my orders?" (Cyril)
"Ah………………" (Gideon)
Captain Cyril stopped speaking, folded his arms, and looked at Vice Captain Gideon as if waiting for a reply. Looking puzzled at Vice Captain Gideon, who still didn't say a word, Captain Cyril continued as if he had remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, I heard you yelling from outside the door just now. What was it?" (Cyril)
"Huh………………" (Gideon)
"Were you shouting at your aide here? Or were you threatening my subordinate? If so, what kind of blunder could they have committed?" (Cyril)
"Ha………………" (Gideon)
The Vice-Captain Gideon opened his mouth several times to say something, but no meaningful words came out other than his quick breaths. Captain Cyril patiently waited for Vice Captain Gideon to speak, but when he realized that Gideon was unlikely to respond, he gave a small chuckle as if to say there was nothing he could do. Then, with a smile on her face, he lifted one leg slightly and swung his heel down in one swift motion onto the low table that was placed next to Captain Cyril!
Thud!! There was a loud noise, and the low table broke into two.
"......wha-?! Huh?!!" (Gideon)
Vice Captain Gideon opened his mouth in shock and stared at the low table. That's probably it. Captain Cyril barely raised his leg. How could he have smashed the table by swinging his leg down from such a low position?
With a smile on his face, Captain Cyril approached Vice Captain Gideon, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and got close enough that their faces were almost touching. Then, with a cold smile on his face, he opened his mouth.
"Are you showing disrespect to a knight whom I, the Captain of the First Knight Order, personally appointed and sent out? Do you wish to be punished for dereliction of duty? Or do you wish to be crushed by me, right here and now?" (Cyril)
His beautiful face makes his smile even more frightening. Or rather, what's most frightening was that he had both the authority and physical strength to carry out the threats he made.
Vice Captain Gideon's face turned pale as he strained his voice.
"Oh, I, I..." (Gideon)
Even from a distance, it was clear that Vice Captain Gideon's teeth were not aligned properly and were making a clicking noise.
…Yeah, this was terrifying.
As expected of someone who had risen to the rank of the leader of knight orders, Captain Cyril had a different impact.
The fact that he had the skill to back it up makes it even more frightening.
The sheer amount of power that allows most things to be handled as if they are within their authority is also a cause of fear, huh——?
I was watching from a distance as if it was none of my business, but I began to feel sympathy for Vice Captain Gideon, who was silent and simply trembling, appearing in such a pitiful state.
Hmm——. Vice Captain Gideon always said mean things to me, so I didn't like him. But I didn't hate him either... In terms of insults, he's beneath my brother Leon, and in terms of malice, he's beneath my brothers from my previous life, but either way, he's not much of a villain.
Besides, no matter how I looked at it, Captain Cyril and Vice Captain Gideon were on different levels. This was like an adult abusing a child.
I let out a sigh.
There was no other way. Reluctantly, I was about to go and help Vice Captain Gideon, but the door suddenly slid open. I turned around and saw a knight I'd never seen before standing there.
As I tilted my head, wondering who it could be, Vice Captain Gideon's whole body relaxed in relief as soon as he saw the knight.
"...Cap, Captain Quentin!" (Gideon)
Perhaps because his throat was being squeezed, Vice Captain Gideon could only make a hoarse noise.
As if responding to the voice of Vice Captain Gideon, the knight who was called Captain Quentin glanced over at Gideon.
And then, he looked at me next.
——The Fourth Monster Knight Order Captain was a large knight with dark skin and feather-colored hair. At first glance, it brought to mind the image of a large, lithe, black carnivorous beast. Yep, it was a beautiful beast...
As I gazed on in admiration, the large beast's expression twisted as it ruffled its curls.
"Please spare me… Why did two disaster-level monsters end up in my room just because I was away for a short while?" (Quentin)
As Captain Quentin said this, he watched us from a cautious distance.