I let out a sigh, expelling the frustration I felt towards myself, and then shifted my focus to the future.
Looking back, I saw the knights taking their lunch in groups, divided as they were during the black dragon exploration. As I watched the knights, I couldn't help but mutter, "What should I do..."
The knights who participated in the black dragon exploration were divided into three teams, but there were differences in their understanding and perception of Fia. Should we share all the information so that many can respond if something happens to Fia in the future, or should we keep the information secret among as few people as possible, considering the severity of the issue...
I wavered between these two options and glanced at Quentin, who stood next to me.
...At this point, there's not enough information to make the right decision. First, I need to gather as much information as possible.
"Quentin, I have something to ask you. Come here for a moment."
I led Quentin away from the knights into a grove of trees and, out of habit when questioning someone, leaned in close to his face.
"Quentin, when I asked you this morning about the probability of encountering the black dragon during this exploration, you said it was 100%, right? You... knew all along that Fia's familiar was the black dragon, didn't you?"
"Indeed."
Quentin's calm response ignited my anger.
"Not 'indeed'! Why did you keep such an important thing to yourself!?"
"Fia-sama has never explicitly stated that her familiar is the Black Dragon King, neither from Fia-sama nor the Black Dragon King himself. ...In other words, it would be a mistake for me to blab about something Fia-sama hasn't declared."
"No, it's not a matter of being right or wrong! It's a black dragon! You should know how incredible it is to have a black dragon as a familiar! Why did you leave Fia in that state!"
"That's because I know the most about monsters. Zachary, you know that the width of the familiar mark is proportional to the time it takes to subdue a monster, right?"
As he spoke, Quentin rolled up his sleeve.
Under Quentin's clothes, a scale-like familiar mark, resembling a snake coiling around his wrist and forearm, was visible.
"Look, this is my familiar mark when I subdued an A-rank Griffin. It took a long time to subdue, so the mark extends to my shoulder, and because the Griffin resisted, the mark is not a single line but is broken in places. This is normal. ...But Fia-sama is completely different. The width of the familiar mark for subduing the SS-rank Black Dragon King is only 1 millimeter, and it's a single, unbroken line that completes in just one loop. The shortest and most complete familiar mark for the strongest monster, the Black Dragon King, means that the Black Dragon King was completely subdued in the blink of an eye."
"...I see."
Nodding, I saw Quentin shake his head in disagreement.
"No, Zachary, you don't understand. ...A completely subdued monster can read the contractor's emotions. This means that the familiar can anticipate and fulfill the contractor's wishes without being explicitly ordered. ...Do you understand? If you expose that Fia-sama's familiar is the Black Dragon King without her explicit consent, even if she has never explicitly stated it, the Black Dragon King will immediately understand and turn everyone who spoke and heard about it into meat! At the very least, there's that risk."
"......"
As I began to understand what Quentin meant, a chill ran down my spine.
Quentin nodded at my reaction and continued.
"I heard from Fia-sama about the time she made the Black Dragon King her familiar. She said she healed the Black Dragon King, who was severely injured and had regressed to a juvenile form, by giving him healing potions. ...To be honest, I have nothing but questions. It's impossible to heal an injury that even the ancient dragon, with its highest self-healing ability, couldn't heal, through external means."
Quentin seemed to be imagining the scene as he ran his hand through his hair and stared into space.
"But, Fia-sama has no reason to lie, so it must be true. However, she is definitely omitting the core of the story. That's why I can't grasp the whole picture. I can't grasp it, but I can't ask her about it either. If the Black Dragon King judges that it's not in line with Fia-sama's wishes, I'll be turned into meat in an instant."
"That's a scary story..."
I muttered, hearing something I had never imagined.
"...Do you understand? The scary part is that the Black Dragon King makes the judgment. The fact is, it doesn't matter whether it's in line with Fia-sama's wishes or not. If the Black Dragon King judges that it's not in line, it's over."
"...What kind of thing does Fia have as a familiar?"
I couldn't help but say that, understanding what Quentin was saying.
...Fia, how could you just pick up a black dragon so easily, even if it was injured? It's not something you can just pick up easily, right?
Feeling drained, I listened as Quentin continued, almost excitedly.
"Of course, it's the legendary ancient species, the Black Dragon King! Listen, the Black Dragon King can apparently read Fia-sama's emotions even from a distance, so don't do anything reckless, okay?"
"...We're in a bind, aren't we?"
Receiving additional information from Quentin, I felt even more trapped. Quentin looked at me, who had slumped over, with a pitying gaze and added something as if he had just remembered.
"Zachary, you should be more careful around Fia-sama. Just now, for example. Because of your careless question, Fia-sama was suddenly overwhelmed with pain. If she had immediately resented you, the Black Dragon King would have torn through space and turned you into meat."
"...You! Come to think of it, you suddenly distanced yourself from us then! I thought you were trying to calm Fia down and not interfere with your presence! You were just trying to avoid getting caught in the black dragon's attack, weren't you!"
"It's a division of roles. If you were turned into meat, someone would have to report this whole incident. If you can't fulfill that role, I'm the only one left."
"You're not wrong. You're not wrong, but... why do I feel like punching you?"
"That's because you're narrow-minded."
"Haha, you should just shut up. You're just piling up my murderous intent."
To suppress the urge to punch Quentin, I let out a deep breath and leaned against a nearby tree with my arms crossed.
Quentin looked at me and continued in a serious tone.
"That's why we need to be extremely cautious. Even if we report everything to the Chancellor, if the Black Dragon King judges that the report is not in line with Fia-sama's wishes, the Chancellor will also be a target."
"......"
...This is a really hopeless situation.
"But, thankfully, the Black Dragon King left one of its horns behind."
"...So what?"
"If you make a sword or something out of a material that doesn't exist anywhere else, it will be too conspicuous. Since breaking the Black Dragon King's horn is almost impossible, anyone would know that the Black Dragon King gave us its horn. In other words, the Black Dragon King giving us its horn is a sign that it's okay to reveal that it's Fia-sama's familiar... to a minimum number of people, I think."
"How confident are you?"
"About 30% at most."
"You... what happened to your confidence when you said the black dragon encounter rate was 100%?"
"This is a matter of life and death for the Chancellor and the knights. It's not something that can be discussed with hopeful speculation."
"You... you think more clearly when you're away from Fia, don't you?"
My voice unintentionally carried a tone of exasperation.
"The Black Dragon King cares deeply for Fia-sama. So, even if you reveal something without Fia-sama's permission, if it ultimately benefits her, the Black Dragon King will forgive you."
"For Fia... if she has the Black Dragon King backing her, isn't she already the strongest? What can we even do?"
I rubbed my neck, muttering to myself.
"More than that, Fia is an incredibly dangerous person. From what you've told me, Fia and the Black Dragon are now synonymous. Is it even safe to let her roam free as usual?"
"There's no problem. Fia-sama is a merciful person."
"Huh?"
I looked at Quentin, who suddenly said something unexpected.
"Human emotions are fickle. A single action can instantly trigger intense anger or murderous intent... usually. Of course, the emotion will subside after a while, but monsters can't understand that. That's because if a monster dislikes someone, it will kill them on the spot without hesitation."
"Yeah, that's true. For monsters, their emotions and power are everything."
I nodded in agreement, even though I couldn't see where Quentin was going with this.
"So, it wouldn't be surprising if several people were turned into meat every time Fia-sama felt angry, until the Black Dragon King learned that human emotions are fickle. However, no one has ever been turned into meat by the Black Dragon King. ...Probably, Fia-sama doesn't deeply dislike or resent anyone. Even when Gideon was extremely rude to Fia-sama, the Black Dragon King apparently retaliated with childish pranks. It must have been because Fia-sama's anger was at the level of a prank."
"...Yeah, Fia doesn't seem like the type to hate or resent others."
"Human nature doesn't change easily. If Fia-sama remains as she is, there's no problem. Besides, if we isolate powerful people just because they are powerful, then you, me, the Chancellor, and Cyril would be isolated too. If you were to decide to kill 100 knights, you could, right?"
"......"
"But, I don't think of you as a dangerous person just because you might kill all the knights if you changed."
"That's a reassuring statement."
I replied, realizing my voice lacked emotion. Then, I suddenly thought of Fia's family.
"...She was the youngest daughter, right? Maybe she was raised with a lot of love from her family. Maybe she grew up without knowing malice or resentment because everyone treated her with kindness."
As I voiced my thoughts, Quentin agreed.
"That's a high possibility. Fia-sama is carefree. She must have been loved by everyone, not just her family, and raised freely."
I stood up from the tree I was leaning against and returned to the knights with Quentin.
As I walked, I made up my mind.
...This information shouldn't be spread widely.
With a clear direction, I went to each team, took statements, and organized the events, instructing the knights to keep the information within their team.
Then, I went to the Chancellor with Quentin and Gideon to give a superficial report.
I reported that we encountered the black dragon, but it was too large to subdue, and that we threw a stone from the Black Peak, which made the black dragon return to its nest. I added that I would provide additional reports when the time came, and the Chancellor, sensing something, dismissed us with a word of thanks.
...That's right. It's not necessarily in the Chancellor's best interest to report everything bluntly. If the Chancellor is at risk of being targeted by the black dragon just by receiving the report, it's my duty to selectively report the information.
The risk... I'll let the hot-headed First Knight Commander Cyril and the Intelligence Chief Desmond bear it.
If I disclose all the information to these two and wait for a while, and the black dragon doesn't interfere, it can be considered that the black dragon has allowed the information to be public. When that happens, I'll report to the Chancellor.
I went to the conference room where Cyril and Desmond were waiting with Quentin and Gideon.
--- In the end, both Cyril and Desmond accepted the situation.
They accepted it, but... to put it mildly, the report session was chaotic and chaotic.
But, with three people who act abnormally when it comes to Fia—Cyril, Quentin, and Gideon—it was understandable.
...I thought I had accepted it, but there was still something I couldn't swallow.
That night, a meat festival was held again with the meat of the Flowerhorn Deer the knights had slain, and I was aware that I had drunk a bit too much.
But, since Cyril and Quentin, who are unaffected by alcohol, were acting unusually, my behavior was within acceptable limits.
Fia was laughing happily and eating the meat without caring about her expanding belly... so, in the end, it was a good day.
...Yeah, when I think back on the day, it's a relief that no one died despite everything that happened.
In the end, Fia was sent back to the First Knight Corps without achieving her mission in the Fourth Monster Knight Corps.
From an outsider's perspective, it might look like Fia spent a few days in the Fourth Monster Knight Corps without fulfilling any role and just played around. I'm worried that the knights who don't like this will treat Fia harshly.
...I need to keep an eye on Fia for a while.
However, my concern for Fia might be seen as special treatment and lead to more dissatisfaction with her...
To alleviate the dissatisfaction of my colleagues, I advised that Fia be left in the Fourth Monster Knight Corps for a few more days to fulfill her duties, but Cyril wouldn't listen.
It's no good; the current Cyril is like a mother bird protecting her chick.
By Cyril's decision, Fia will be accompanying him on his duties from tomorrow...
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