It seems the Holy Maiden will be late again, so I have some free time while waiting for her. I decided to go and greet the other familiars. Zabiria is new to the world of familiars, and it's only natural for a newcomer to go and greet others.
While adjusting Zabiria's ribbon at her chest to make sure she doesn't look inferior to the other familiars, I can't help but notice how incredibly cute she is.
"Originally adorable, but just by adding a ribbon and a flower crown, you become irresistibly cute. It's too wonderful!"
"Thank you. I've lived a long time, but this is the first time someone has called me adorable or cute."
"Hehe, what are you talking about? You're zero years old, right? You haven't lived long enough to hear that from others."
As I say this, I place Zabiria on my shoulder and head towards the other familiars.
"Oh my..."
I can't help but exclaim when I see the familiars. Each of the monsters is large and beautiful. I think Quentin, the captain, must have chosen them carefully.
Among them, one particularly large and beautiful monster catches my eye. It's a Griffin, a fearsome creature with golden wings, the head of an eagle, and the lower body of a lion.
...Ah, this must be Quentin's familiar.
Just by looking around, the Griffin stands out as the strongest among the other familiars. It's a beautiful creature that lives up to its A-rank status...
Once I start looking at the Griffin, I can't easily take my eyes off its beauty.
By the way, I should greet the higher-ranking ones first, shouldn't I?
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fia Rude of the First Knight Order. This is my familiar, Zabiria..."
I start to introduce myself to the Griffin, but I'm not sure if I should reveal Zabiria's name.
...Hmm? Quentin advised me not to reveal Zabiria's name, but was that just for him or for the other familiars too? ...I don't know, so I'll hold off.
"I'm a familiar, known as the Happy B Dragon."
Since the Griffin should understand human language, I introduce myself as politely as possible.
To show that I have no ill intentions, I approach with my hands open.
The Griffin watches me warily, but there's no sign of an attack.
I remember Quentin also looked at me warily the first time we met. This familiar is just like its master, I think, and find it amusing as I get closer. Then I notice something odd about its posture.
Huh? It's injured.
One of its hind legs isn't bearing weight, and part of its wing is bent.
Quentin and I just returned from an expedition yesterday, so it must be injured from that.
It's a brave familiar to go on a new exploration before fully recovering.
Or maybe Quentin is the type who overworks his familiar?
The Griffin wasn't in the familiar quarters yesterday, so it didn't take the green healing potion. I touch its leg.
"Heal"
I activate the spell while suppressing the glowing effect.
Yeah, this way, it just looks like I'm touching the Griffin, which is a normal scene.
"Fia, among the monsters you defeated in your past life, a Griffin might be considered a minor one, but it's an upper-class monster. Touching and healing it so easily... "
Zabiria opens her mouth to warn me.
Yeah, sorry, Zabiria. When I see an injury, I reflexively want to heal it. I don't think it will cause any inconvenience if the other is a monster.
While talking to Zabiria, who seems to understand my thoughts, the Griffin rubs its large head against me affectionately.
What? I think, and then I hear a warning or dissatisfied voice from the other familiars.
Looking around, yeah, several of the other familiars are also injured. I haven't seen them in the familiar quarters, so they must be the familiars of the knights who accompanied Quentin on the expedition. If they just returned, they must be tired.
I raise one hand and cast a healing spell on the other familiars as well. They're all injured to some degree, and it's better for them to feel better.
After casting the spell and checking their condition, I notice the familiars are closing in on me. Before I can react, they start to nuzzle my feet and rub against me.
What is this? Despite their large size, they're kind of cute...
"It's going to be hard to get rid of them if you heal them so easily. ...I was going to say that, but you're still as popular with monsters as ever."
Zabiria turns her head away and mutters.
Ah, she's pouting.
I pat Zabiria and try to reassure her.
"Zabiria is the cutest. After all, you're my strong and cute child! You're the strongest and the cutest! I only want to put ribbons and flower crowns on you!"
Zabiria mutters, "Hmm," but doesn't seem entirely displeased.
Right, right. Kids get jealous so easily. I need to be careful.
To calm things down, I pat the familiars that are nuzzling me. Then, a strained voice calls out from behind.
"Fia... Fia-sama..."
I turn around to see Quentin, the captain, and Gideon, the vice-captain, standing there with strained expressions.
What's going on? I start to tilt my head in confusion but gasp in realization.
"Ah! Is it not allowed to touch other knights' familiars? I'm sorry, I touched them without thinking!"
Realizing why Quentin and Gideon's faces were strained, I quickly move away from the familiars.
The familiars grumble in dissatisfaction, but I'm in a situation where I might get scolded, so please let me back off!
For the captain and vice-captain of the Monster Knight Order to have such strained faces together, it must be a serious matter.
I quickly step back and keep a safe distance from them.
However, the distance I thought would allow me to escape quickly if things got bad is closed in just a few steps by Quentin. He then grabs both of my hands.
"Ah, s-sorry..."
"Fia-sama, do you have golden hands?!"
"......Huh?"
Not understanding what he means, I look up at Quentin, who stares back with a fierce look.
"Ah! Y-You're really angry...!!"
I try to pull my hands away and run, but as expected of the captain, he holds on tightly. No matter how hard I try, I can't break free! Ugh!!
"In my understanding, familiars only get used to their contract holders. Yet, all the familiars are acting like small animals around you...! As the captain of the Monster Knight Order, I am ashamed of my superficiality!!"
"Um, I don't really understand, but it's not that big of a deal..."
As usual, Quentin's words are too abrupt to understand.
But seeing him bow his head in shame, I instinctively try to calm him down.
While doing so, I look around for something that might help. My eyes meet Gideon's.
Gideon, looking startled, quickly closes the distance with large strides, just like Quentin did. He seemed more friendly than usual, so I hoped he would help me.
However, for some reason, he stops in front of me and suddenly bows.
"I'm sorry, Fia-sama!!"
"......Huh?"
Following Quentin's strange actions, I can only manage a blank response.
"Captain Quentin told me that Fia-sama's assignment to our order was based on the direct instructions of the Grand Knight. If the Grand Knight gave such direct instructions, there must have been a deep reason! Yet, I didn't realize it until just now, seeing the transcendent scene of the familiars playing with Fia-sama, who is not their contract holder! I am ashamed of myself!!"
"Um, no..."
"The Grand Knight sent us the best knight, yet I! I have harbored a personal grudge that our order is looked down upon by other orders and treated Fia-sama unfairly out of that emotion! In this situation, I will resign from my position as vice-captain to show my apology!!"
"Wait, wait, wait!!!"
I quickly turn to Gideon.
Hey, calm down, Gideon!
Everything he said was strange, but the last part was especially odd!
True, Gideon did say some mean things to me, but they weren't that bad, and I didn't take much damage. So, if he resigns as vice-captain, the punishment doesn't fit the crime!
Besides, what would be his reason for demotion? "I said mean things to a new knight, so I want to be demoted"? ...That's too trivial!
I open my mouth to try to change Gideon's mind, but a voice calls out from behind.
"What are you guys doing?"
I turn around to see Zachary, the captain, standing there with his arms crossed and a bewildered look on his face.
"Quentin is holding Fia's hands and pleading, and Gideon is kneeling and begging... Hey, Fia, are you being fought over?!"
Zachary's words make me realize that Gideon, who was supposed to be apologizing, is now kneeling at my feet.
"Huh, when did...?!"
Ignoring my surprise, Zachary shakes his head in disbelief.
"Are you gaining more followers, Fia? You're quite the charmer!"
"Th-that's not it, Zachary Captain!!"
"Got it. If choosing either of them will cause problems, just pick me."
Saying this, Zachary pulls me away from Quentin.
"The Holy Maidens have arrived. We need to treat them with the utmost respect to avoid upsetting them. In other words, treat the Holy Maidens as if they were Fia, understood?"
Zachary warns the two, who are left behind, and guides everyone to the Holy Maidens.
While thinking that my introduction to the familiars was cut short, I follow Zachary as he leads the way.
Seven Holy Maidens arrived, and Charlotte was not among them.
Well, that makes sense. Charlotte is too young to accompany us in battle.
Since acting as a group is too much, we decided to split into squads of 15, 15, and 20. We would confirm our distances by blowing whistles at regular intervals while moving.
Quentin and Gideon, who were to lead the squads, both wanted me on their teams, but Zachary decided to put me on his team.
Zachary, your decision is wise!
As we head to the "Forest of Falling Stars" on horseback and in carriages, we enter the forest in the order of arrival.
While walking, I think about how often I've been coming to this forest recently, and then it hits me.
...Wait, what?
Right, this expedition ends when the Black Dragon appears. When is that supposed to happen?
Now... is it too early?
I realize I didn't discuss the timing with Quentin!
Thinking about it, I decide to ask him when we regroup for lunch. Zachary is preparing to stay for about a week, so it shouldn't be too soon.
Ten minutes into the forest, the first monster we encounter is a beautiful rainbow bird.
"Wow, a Dreambird at the entrance of the forest? What's going on here?"
Zachary asks in surprise.
A Dreambird is a troublesome monster that shows illusions. While it's not very powerful, once it starts showing illusions, it becomes difficult to judge distances and sizes correctly, making it hard to land attacks.
If the distance perception is off, it's possible to accidentally attack a fellow knight while trying to attack the Dreambird.
Following Zachary's orders, four archers and three mages start attacking from a distance, but they can't deal a fatal blow.
I'm assigned to guard the Holy Maidens, so I stand near the four of them and observe the battle.
By the way, I thought mages were only assigned to the Third Magic Knight Order, but they are evenly distributed among all the orders. During the last hunt, the mages were responsible for reconnaissance, so I didn't realize that attack mages also accompanied the hunt. It's interesting how the knight formations and battle tactics change depending on who is in command.
...But, is it really that idle to be thinking about this? I frown and look at Zachary, who is in the middle of the battle.
Is the Dreambird a B-rank monster?
While the knights keep a certain distance, I watch the Dreambird fluttering in a circle.
The rule is to defeat this monster as quickly as possible.
If it manages to circle around and complete a loop, anyone inside that circle will start seeing illusions.
Once it secures a safe space in the illusion, the Dreambird's body starts to turn green.
If it turns completely green, it becomes a Dreamgreen, an A-rank monster. It retains its ability to show illusions but gains increased attack and defense power. Regular knights won't be able to hurt it.
...Ah, no. It's too late. Before a fatal blow could be dealt, it has circled around.
The knights start to fall under the illusion.
Their vision, hearing, and sense of smell are affected. Their perception of distance and direction starts to go awry.
In the midst of the knights' confusion, the Dreambird starts to swell and grow larger. The unfortunate part is that this is not an illusion; it's actually growing and becoming stronger.
Gradually, its body color starts to change. The feathers covering its body turn into green scales.
---And in just a short moment.
Before my eyes, a monstrous creature, far larger than a lizard, covered in green scales, the "Dreamgreen," appears...