I'm sorry for being late. Thank you to those who waited for me.
I felt ashamed and apologetic as I looked up at Zabiria, who stood before me.
There, towering and beautiful, was the symbol of terror, the "Black Dragon."
Zabiria glared at the two blue dragons that had once again taken to the sky and let out a roar.
Instantly, I cast a sound-blocking spell around the knights. If they were to hear Zabiria's roar directly, it wouldn't end well.
The two blue dragons, despite seeing Zabiria, showed no signs of retreating. They bared their fangs and circled in the sky, issuing warnings.
...Zabiria said,
In the past, Zabiria was a blue dragon, so he didn't want to fight them.
If I can't even grant his one wish, I'm a terrible friend.
I reached out and touched Zabiria, patting his body.
"Thank you for protecting me. And thank you for the warning. From now on, please leave it to me and the knights."
I turned to the knights, and they all had the same expression.
Their mouths were agape, and their eyes wide open.
"Th-the Black Dragon King...?"
"Th-this is an ancient species, a legendary dragon. It really exists...!!"
They looked at me in shock.
"F-F-F-Fia! The Black Dragon King is the enemy, right? S-stay away!!"
"Y-you'll be killed! S-stay away!!"
Only Quentin, the captain, had a different expression. He clenched his hands and stared at Zabiria, deeply moved.
"What a... what a noble presence! Oh, what a privilege to see you in person! You are beautiful, majestic, divine... Oh, how meaningless words are!!"
...Yeah, as always, completely incomprehensible.
It wasn't as if he was influenced by Quentin, but one of the knights started laughing as if his emotions had burst.
"...Shit. I'm having hallucinations and auditory hallucinations from fear. I heard Fia call the Black Dragon King by name and talk to him, and it looked like Fia was patting the Black Dragon King affectionately. Shit. My eyes and ears are broken!!"
Yeah, everyone is confused. This is my chance.
...In this state of confusion, I might be able to cast an enhancement spell on the knights without them noticing...
I raised both hands toward the knights and was about to activate the enhancement spell.
But just as I was about to activate it, Zabiria gently touched my head from behind.
Surprised by this unusual affectionate gesture, I turned to look at Zabiria.
"...Zabiria?"
"Fia, thank you for taking my ramblings seriously. I was out of my mind. I was mistaken about what was important. ...I was about to make a mistake I shouldn't have."
He then turned his gaze to the two blue dragons circling in the sky.
"Leave those two to me. Fia, my reluctance to fight blue dragons was a misunderstanding. What I want to do is protect Fia."
Without waiting for my response, he spread his magnificent wings and took off into the sky.
With just a few flaps, Zabiria positioned himself above the blue dragons.
The blue dragons, wary of Zabiria's sudden approach, positioned themselves to the right and left of him, opening their large mouths in warning from both sides.
I looked up at the three dragons facing off in the sky, feeling my mouth dry up.
...What should I do? Zabiria is bigger, but it's a disadvantage to be one against two.
The two blue dragons are a pair and can coordinate their attacks, making it difficult to counter.
Blue dragon scales are already hard, and Zabiria hasn't even become an adult dragon yet. Will Zabiria's fangs even reach the blue dragons?
As I worried, only more concerns filled my mind.
But Zabiria, seemingly unaware of my worries, descended gracefully.
He didn't seem to care about the formation where he was sandwiched between the blue dragons, and he descended casually amidst their warning roars.
Then, without any warning, he suddenly targeted one of the blue dragons and, before it could prepare, sank his fangs into its neck.
"......Huh?"
From my vantage point below, it looked like Zabiria had bitten the blue dragon, causing it to be injured. That's all it looked like.
But then, in front of me, the blue dragon split in two at the neck where Zabiria had bitten it, and the two halves fell apart, pulled by gravity.
"Hey, get out of the way!!"
The knights shouted and ran to get away from where the blue dragon was falling.
Right where the knights had just fled, the bisected blue dragon fell with a loud thud, causing a huge cloud of dust to rise.
Some of the knights were blown away by the impact of the blue dragon's fall.
The knights who had fallen on their butts looked up at Zabiria in a daze.
"......W-what was that?"
"Is the Black Dragon King this strong?"
"F-fear! That is black fear...!!"
The knights, who were looking up at Zabiria in awe, saw the other enraged blue dragon.
For a blue dragon in breeding season, the anger at having its mate killed must have been immense.
It let out a loud roar and ascended toward Zabiria, only to be knocked away by Zabiria's tail, which was waiting for it.
Zabiria then opened his mouth wide and roared at the blue dragon as it was being knocked away.
Even with the sound-blocking spell in place, Zabiria's roar was accompanied by a shock. I stiffened instinctively.
But what came out of Zabiria's mouth was not a deafening roar, but a pillar of flame.
The pillar of flame shot straight toward the blue dragon.
It accurately pierced the throat of the blue dragon, which had been knocked away diagonally in the air, and then scorched part of the forest behind it with its undiminished power.
The blue dragon, now dead, fell straight down and hit the ground with a loud thud.
"......Huh."
I had never seen Zabiria fight before, but his overwhelming strength left me speechless, and I could only open and close my mouth.
...What was that just now?
Is Zabiria that strong?
But he's still a child, right...
The knights around me were equally shocked, unable to move, and just stood there in a daze.
As everyone stared blankly, Zabiria descended gracefully and landed near me.
He straightened his back and looked at me calmly.
I was still in a daze, but I looked up at Zabiria to thank him for his help.
Then, I noticed something odd about his appearance.
"...Zabiria, did you always have horns?"
Upon closer inspection, a single magnificent horn had grown from the center of Zabiria's forehead.
But I don't remember him having one before... Did he?
"...Fia, I want to become a king."
Zabiria whispered to me, filled with determination.
"Huh? A king?"
Surprised by the sudden statement, I asked for clarification.
I mean, I think Quentin and the others already called Zabiria the Black Dragon King, right?
Seeing my surprise, Zabiria whispered, "Yeah."
"There are many creatures that act in groups, so I might be overwhelmed by their numbers. That's why I want to become a dragon king and command all the dragons."
"O-oh... I see... If that's what Zabiria wants..."
I remembered we had talked about whether he should become a king before. If it's Zabiria's wish... I have to support it.
I wanted to acknowledge Zabiria's wish, but I felt a pang of sadness at the thought of him leaving.
"Fia, black dragons grow three horns when they become kings. I never wanted to be a king, and I didn't know how to become one, but one horn grew when I wanted to protect you. ...Right? A king alone doesn't exist, so I'll become a king when I protect and command many dragons, and the three horns will grow as proof."
Zabiria looked at me intently and chuckled.
"Fia, your recklessness exceeds my expectations. I'll come back as a being capable of protecting you."
As he said this, he used his front paw to snap off the horn that had grown from the center of his forehead.
"......Huh?!"
I was shocked and looked up at Zabiria, but by then, the horn, which was as tall as an adult, had already fallen to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Even though it just grew...! What are you doing...?"
"Th-the Black Dragon King's horn...!!"
Quentin, the captain, shouted so loudly that my voice was completely drowned out.
Zabiria glared at Quentin and Zachary, the captains, and opened his mouth as if to issue a warning.
"I'm entrusting Fia to you. Keep her safe until I return."
He then kicked the horn he had just dropped in front of the captains.
"That's your payment. Use it to protect Fia instead of your dull swords."
"U-use the Black Dragon King's horn on my sword...!!"
Quentin, the captain, was so moved that he was speechless.
"I will protect Lady Fia with my life!!"
He made a grand promise, driven by his desire for Zabiria's horn.
"Captain Quentin, you can't break a promise with a monster! It becomes a contract!! Think more before...!"
"Don't worry, Lady Fia! I can do anything for the Black Dragon King's horn!!"
"Is that so..."
If it's his wish, there's nothing I can do. As I thought this, Zabiria lowered his head and brought his face close to mine.
He looked at me seriously and said,
"Fia and I are connected. If something happens to Fia, I'll die first."
"Wh-what?!"
Surprised by his words, I gasped, and Zabiria chuckled.
"So, I still want to do many things with Fia, so I'd be happy if you don't take unnecessary risks."
"I won't! I'll definitely behave!!"
"Hehe, that's not like you, Fia. Just be yourself. If you call me, I'll always come."
Zabiria winked and tilted his head playfully.
"I'll come back soon, before you forget about me. ...See you."
I touched Zabiria's face with both hands and gently pressed my forehead against his.
"...Yes, Zabiria. I love you. I'll be waiting for you to come back."
After hearing my words, Zabiria flapped his wings and took off into the sky.
In no time, he was gone.
I remembered the procedure decided at the knights' meeting only after Zabiria was out of sight.
"Captain Quentin, we need to throw the stone! Please throw the stone from the Black Peak!!"
Quentin, the captain, who had been startled by my voice, finally threw the stone in the direction Zabiria had disappeared.
"Well, the order was different, but we followed the procedure, right?"
There was no response to my question.
Looking around, all the knights, including Captain Zachary, were staring blankly at the sky where Zabiria had flown away.
...Yeah, Zabiria was just too intense.
I followed the knights' example and looked up at the sky where Zabiria had flown away, the same sky he was probably looking at too.
The beautiful yet terrifying "Black Dragon," an ancient species of legendary status.
A dragon with the strength to easily defeat blue dragons and the pride to aim for kingship, the future dragon king.
And a friend who is affectionate, sleepy, jealous, and sarcastic, always there for me, my dear friend.