"Zavilia, you're so cute, aren't you!" (Fia)
Just like last time, the saints seemed to be late, so with the leisure time I had while waiting for her, I decided to go and say hello to the other familiars. In the familiar world, Zavilia was a newcomer. It's standard for newcomers to be the first to say hello. As I talked to Zavilia I adjusted the ribbon around his chest so that he didn't look inferior to the other familiars, but when I looked at him again, I realized that he was really cute.
"You're already adorable, but just by adding a ribbon and a flower crown, you become wickedly cute. It's just too amazing!" (Fia)
"Thank you. I've lived a long life, but Fia is the first person to describe me as adorable or cute, you know." (Zavilia)
"Hehehe, what are you talking about? You're still 0 years old, right? You haven't lived that long as people say." (Fia)
As I said this, I put Zavilia on my shoulder and headed towards the familiars.
"Well..." (Fia)
It was no wonder that I couldn't help but gasp when I saw the familiars, because all of them were large and beautiful. Maybe Captain Quentin made a serious choice.
Among them, one particularly large and beautiful monster caught my eye. It was a griffin, a vicious monster with golden wings, the head of a hawk and the lower body of a lion.
...Ah, this is Captain Quentin's familiar, right?
Looking around, the griffon was the only one that stood out as being stronger than the other monsters.
What a beautiful monster, worthy of its A-rank name...
Once you set your eyes on a griffin, it's hard to take your eyes off its beauty.
Come to think of it, greetings should be given first to those who were superiors, right?
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fia Ruud of the First Knight Order. This is my familiar, Zavi..." (Fia)
I started to introduce myself to the griffin, but I wasn't sure if it was okay to give his name as Zavilia.
…Hmm? Captain Quentin advised me not to reveal Zavilia's name, but I wonder if that applies to other familiars too? …I don't know, so I'll refrain.
"My Familiar, known as B Dragon of Happiness." (Fia)
A griffon should be able to understand human language, so I introduced myself as politely as possible.
Then I approached him with my arms outstretched to show I had no hostility. The griffon eyed me warily, but showed no signs of attacking. Come to think of it, Captain Quentin also looked at me warily the first time I met him. I thought it was odd that he looked just like his master, so I approached him, but then I noticed that his posture was strange.
Hmm? You're injured.
One of his hind legs was weak and part of his wing was bent. He only just returned from an expedition with Captain Quentin yesterday, so I wondered if he's injured.
What a brave familiar, willing to go on a new adventure even though he's not fully recovered. Or maybe Captain Quentin was the type to make him work hard?
The griffon wasn't in the familiar stables yesterday, so maybe it hadn't had any green recovery potion, I thought to myself as I touch his paw.
"Recovery" (Fia)
The luminous effect was suppressed, and the technique was activated. Yep, this would just look like a normal scene of me interacting with a griffon.
"Among the monsters Fia defeated in the previous life, they may be classified as small, but griffins are high-ranking monsters, right? It's not a normal sight to approach and touch them. Besides, if you can heal it so easily..." (Zavilia)
Zavilia spoke as if to give a warning.
Yes, sorry, Zavilia. When I see an injury, I have a reflex to heal it. But if the opponent is a monster, I don't think it's that bad.
As I was talking to Zavilia, who seemed to be able to understand what I was thinking, the griffin rubbed its large head against me in a pampering manner. Just as I was thinking, "What?", a threatening, dissatisfied voice came from the other familiars.
I looked around and see that some of the other familiars were also injured. I hadn't seen any of them at the familiar stables, so I wondered if they were the familiars of the knights who accompanied Captain Quentin on his expedition. If they've just returned, they must be tired. I raised one hand and cast healing magic on the other familiars. They were all injured, big and small, so it would be best if they got better.
After I finished casting the spell, I looked around at the monsters to see what was going on, and for some reason the familiars started to close the distance between us. While I was surprised, they started to rub up against my feet and rubbed their bodies against me.
What is this? It doesn't suit their big body, but it's cute if you like that kind of thing...
"If you heal them that easily, they'll get attached to you and there'll be nothing you can do about it. ...That's what I was going to say, but you seem to be as popular as ever with monsters., huh?" (Zavilia)
Zavilia suddenly turned away and muttered.
Oh, he's sulky.
As I stroked Zavilia gently, I frantically pleaded.
"Zavilia is the cutest. After all, you're my strong and cute child! The strongest and the cutest! Zavilia is the only one I want to wear ribbons and flower crowns on!!" (Fia)
Then Zavilia muttered "Hmmph," not seeming completely opposed.
That's right, that's right. Kids get jealous easily, right? You have to be careful.
As I was gently stroking the monsters that had come over to me in order to bring the situation under control, I heard a distorted voice from behind me.
"Fi, Lady Fia..." (Quentin)
When I turned around, I saw Captain Quentin and Vice Captain Gideon standing there, their expressions as tense as their voices.
I tilted my head to the side, wondering what was wrong, but then I suddenly started and cried out.
"Ah! Maybe I'm not allowed to touch other knights' familiars? I'm sorry, I touched them carelessly!" (Fia)
Realizing the reason why Captain Quentin's faces were so tensed, I quickly separated from the familiars.
There were cries of dissatisfaction from the monsters, but no, it looks like they're going to get angry, please retreat!
It must have been quite something for the Captain and Vice Captain of the Monster Knight Order to both have such grimaces.
I jumped back in a panic and carefully put some distance between us.
However, although I had kept a sufficient distance so that I could quickly escape if things got bad, Captain Quentin closed in on me in just a few steps. Then, he grabbed both of my hands and lifted them up.
"Aagh, s-sorry..." (Fia)
"Are Lady Fia's hands made of gold?!" (Quentin)
"……………………Hah?" (Fia)
Not understanding what he meant, I looked up at Captain Quentin and was met with glaring eyes.
"Eeek! I-I knew it, he's angry...!!" (Fia)
I desperately tried to pull my hands away and escape, but as expected of a knight captain. Although it only looked like he was holding them lightly, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull them out! Arghhh!!
"In my common sense, I thought that only familiars could get used to their patrons. And yet, all the familiars are frolicking around like small animals...! As a monster knight captain, I am ashamed of my shallowness!!" (Quentin)
"Huh? Well, I don't really get it, but it doesn't seem like such a big deal..." (Fia)
As always, Captain Quentin's story was too abrupt and hard to understand. However, just as he had said, Captain Quentin was looking ashamed and his face was twisted, and he hung his head, so I opened my mouth to try to calm him down. As I was doing this, I looked around to see if there was anything I could do to help, and my eyes met with Vice Captain Gideon. As soon as our eyes met, Vice Captain Gideon's eyes widened in surprise and, just like Captain Quentin, he strode over to close the gap. He seemed friendlier than usual, so I expected he might be willing to help me.
However, for some reason, Vice Captain Gideon suddenly stopped in front of me and bowed his head.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Fia!!" (Gideon)
"……………………yes?" (Fia)
Following Captain Quentin, he behaved in a way that made no sense and all he could say were silly words.
"I heard from Captain that Miss Fia came to our troupe on the orders of the knight commander! There must have been deep thought behind it for the commander to give such orders directly! And yet, I didn't even think about it until I saw the transcendental sight of familiars frolicking with Miss Fia, who is not even their contractor! I am ashamed of myself!" (Gideon)
"Huh, no..." (Fia)
"Commander sent the best knights to our troupe, and yet I! I have always felt resentful that other troupes look down on us, and I let those feelings get the better of me by treating you unfairly! I will now express my apologies by relinquishing my position as vice captain!" (Gideon)
"Waittttttt!!!" (Fia)
I turned hastily to Vice Captain Gideon.
Hey, calm down, Vice Captain Gideon!
Every his word was strange, but the last one was especially strange!!
It's true that Vice Captain Gideon said some nasty things to me, but they weren't particularly harsh words, so I wasn't really hurt. So even if Vice Captain Gideon told me he was quitting his position, the punishment didn't really match his crime!
What's the reason for wanting to be demoted anyway? You want to be demoted because you said something nasty to a new knight? ...That's too pathetic!!
I opened my mouth and try to change Vice Captain Gideon's mind, but before I could do so, a voice called out from behind.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" (Zachary)
When I turned around, Captain Zachary was standing there with his arms crossed and a shocked look on his face.
"Quentin is clutching Fia's hand and pleading for something, and Gideon is on his knees begging for something... come on, Fia. Are you being taken seriously?!" (Zachary)
Startled by Captain Zachary's words, I looked over at Vice Captain Gideon, who was supposed to have been bowing his head in apology, but had now suddenly begun kneeling at my feet.
"Huh, when did this happen...?!" (Fia)
Ignoring my surprise, Captain Zachary shook his head in exasperation.
"Are the Queen's followers increasing? Fia, you're a real go-getter!" (Zachary)
"No, no, wait, Captain Zachary!!" (Fia)
"Yeah, I get it. If either choice will cause trouble, then choose me." (Zachary)
As he spoke, Captain Zachary pulled me away from Captain Quentin.
"The saints have arrived. You must treat them with the utmost care, or they will become displeased. In other words, treat the saints as if they were Fia, get it?" (Zachary)
Captain Zachary warned the two who were left behind, and led them back to the others. Although I felt that my introduction of Zavilia to the familiars had ended halfway, I followed Captain Zachary at his urging.
Seven saints arrived, but Charlotte was not there.
Well, I guess so, huh? Charlotte was too young to accompany you in battle.
Since it was too many for everyone to move together, we decided to split into platoons of 15, 15, and 20 people. We would periodically blow whistles to check the distance between us as we moved. The vice captains in charge of each platoon, Captain Quentin and Gideon, insisted on making me a member, but Captain Zachary unilaterally placed me in his squad.
Captain Zachary, that was a wise decision!
And so, we headed for Starry Forest on horseback and in carriages, and we entered the forest in the order in which the platoons arrived.
As I was walking, I was thinking about how I'd been coming to this forest a lot lately, when suddenly an idea occurred to me.
...Huh? Wait a sec? By the way, this march is supposed to end with the appearance of the black dragon. When will that happen? Right now...is, isn't it too early?
Damn, I didn't discuss the timing with Captain Quentin! I thought that was odd, but then decided that we would probably meet up for lunch and I would ask then. Captain Zachary was planning on staying for about a week, so it shouldn't have to be so soon.
10 minutes into the forest, the first monster I encountered was a beautiful rainbow-colored bird.
"Hey, what's going on here, why is the Dreambird here, right near the entrance to this forest?" (Zachary)
Captain Zachary spoke in surprise.
The Dreambird was a troublesome monster that caused hallucinations. Its fighting power was not high, but once we were attacked by its hallucination, it became difficult to judge its distance or size correctly, and attacks became difficult. All sense of distance became distorted, and if you're not careful, you might think you're attacking the Dreambird but ended up attacking a fellow knight instead.
At Captain Zachary's command, four archers and three mages began ranged attacks, but they were unable to land any fatal blows.
I was appointed as the saint's bodyguard with the instruction to "be quiet," so I stood close to the four saints and watched the battle from the sidelines. Come to think of it, I thought that mages were only assigned to the Third Mage Knights, but it turned out they were evenly distributed across each order. During the previous raid, the magician was in charge of reconnaissance, so I didn't realize that an offensive magic user was accompanying the raid. Maybe it's interesting that the knights' positions changed depending on who was in charge, and the fighting method also changed.
...I mean, what kind of free time do you have to think about something like this? I frowned and looked at Captain Zachary in the middle of the battle.
Was Dreambird a B-rank monster?
While keeping a certain distance from the knights, I thought as I watched the Dreambird fluttering its wings softly.
The golden rule for this monster was to defeat it as quickly as possible. This was because if you were surrounded in its circle, anyone within that circle would start to have hallucinations. Once the safe place of the hallucinatory space was secured, the Dreambird's body began to turn green. Once it had turned completely green, the Dreambird would rise to Dreamgreen[1] and its strength would be A-rank. Its ability to cause hallucinations will remain the same, but its attack and defense power will increase. No ordinary knight will be able to inflict a wound on it.
...Ah, it's no good. Before they could land a fatal blow, it circled around them.
The knights began to suffer from hallucinations. Their senses of sight, hearing and smell began to be affected. Distance and direction became distorted. As the knights gazed on, the Dreambird began to swell and grow in size. Unfortunately, this was no hallucination. It actually grew in length and strength.
Then, little by little, its body color began to change. Its feathery body surface changed to green scales.
——And so, in just a short space of time.
Appearing before me was a vicious monster covered in green scales, far larger than a monitor lizard, the Dreamgreen...
Translation Note
[1] The monster name is 夢見鳥 (yumemi dori) = dream bird; transforms to 夢緑 (yume midori) = dream green