It Is A Mighty Red Dragon

When Kikori returned to the Fortress City several days later, one of the gate guards let out an “Oh.”

“Kikori, is it? Looks like you made it back safely.”

“Yes, I have returned.”

It was probably because of the matter with Orphe, but even so, Kikori felt a small flicker of happiness that his name had been remembered as he bowed his head.

He started to walk past, but the guard called out, “Hold on a moment.”

“I was told by the Defense Count-sama to report it when you returned. Sorry, but I need you to wait just a little.”

“The Defense Count-sama said that?”

“That is right. It is an honor, you know. You could say he has taken notice of you.”

Even as he nodded and said yes, Kikori thought to himself, Has he really?

Had the man taken notice of him, or had he been put under watch?

Either way, perhaps he was being expected to bring back some noteworthy report, or perhaps he was being assessed to see whether he was worth expecting anything from at all.

Whichever it was, it was an awfully heavy burden.

And so, after waiting for a while just inside the gate, Defense Count Seims arrived with his guards.

“Oh, Kikori. It seems you have not been injured either. Excellent.”

“Yes, I have just returned.”

As Kikori knelt on the spot, Defense Count Seims said, “That is fine, that is fine. You may stand.”

“It is a good thing to know proper manners. Even adults fail at that… but I have no intention of demanding it of you here and now.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Just because he had no intention of demanding it did not mean Kikori was being told that it was fine to be disrespectful, and that was the important point… or so Kikori thought, though of course he did not say it aloud.

He stood up and once again bowed to Defense Count Seims.

“Mm, mm, you are a polite one. Now then, do you have any idea why I came here?”

“I believe you are hoping for some sort of new discovery.”

“Precisely. Of course, everything is a new discovery at present, but I thought that perhaps you might have found at least one interesting thing.”

That is quite the pressure, Kikori thought.

He was nothing more than a child, yet he was being evaluated far too highly.

And on top of that, he really had come back with something.

Thinking about what would happen once he reported it was enough to make him feel depressed, but… he could not exactly say nothing.

“There is one thing.”

“Oh? Hahaha, to tell the truth, I was not expecting that much… what is it, then? What have you found this time?”

“I met a dragon.”

At those words, a silence fell as if the air itself had frozen.

Even Defense Count Seims’s expression had gone completely rigid.

The gazes of those around them were fixed on Kikori and Orphe as well.

“M-my apologies. Could you say that one more time?”

“I met a dragon. Its name is ‘Volcanion of the Blazing Inferno.’ It is a mighty red dragon.”

What followed was a chorus of shocked voices.

Dragon. That single word spread through those nearby, and then to those beyond them, in no time at all.