CH 23

When I turned my attention in the direction of the guild office, I noticed that Su had climbed back up onto its roof and was staring down at the plaza. Lawrence-san’s northern ohryuu, right in her line of sight, was sitting quietly with its wings tucked in. Adventurers were gathering around and at the center of it all was Lawrence-san. He was talking with Gartis-san, but paused and smiled when he noticed us.

“Fikar, it’s a gift from me. I hope you like it.”

Lawrence-san pointed to a saddle. It was a beautiful ebony-like color and was much larger than a horse’s saddle, not to mention the different shape. There were some inlaid jewels here and there and carvings were made in the form of what looked like a magical emblem. There were also separate patterns engraved in white that, from a distance, looked like lace ornaments.

“This– Is this a saddle for Su?!”

“Bingo. A dragon can be mounted once it’s registered, but it’s more or less required to use a saddle. Fikar, try it on.”

Fikar nodded and, for the first time in a while, I was standing on my own two feet. When he called Su over to land in a space opened by the adventurers, she quickly came down, snapping at the ohryuu once before setting her nose in front of Fikar. The saddle was quite big, so Gartis-san and his friends helped put it on. Although Su was a bit uncomfortable with the other adventurers touching her, she was patient, knowing what they were doing.

The saddle was secured with belts around her neck and chest, and Fikar climbed onto Su’s back to secure the upper belt. The benihiryuu‘s bright-red scales shone against the ebony saddle, the patterns and jewels engraved on the saddle further enhancing her beauty.

“Uwaa… looks really expensive.”

“Does it? It wasn’t that much; it’s more that it seats two people. I had to have it made in a hurry because no one had it in stock.”

“Eh?”

“That’s not all… I put a lot of magic into those patterns… It’s rare for me to do that as is… No doubt this is a national treasure.”

“Kilris-san! You came out of nowhere.”

Appearing between myself and Lawrence-san, Kilris-san snorted. As it got darker, his robe melted more and more into the night.

“To think there’s someone who can talk a little about magic in this peaceful town…”

“Aah… Kontos-san looks rather amazing. I don’t really understand what he does, though.”

“I wouldn’t expect the average person to understand.”

Kilris-san laughed condescendingly, bringing his hand out from under his robe and placing it in front of my face. His knobby fingers curled into a cup, and a circle 5cm in diameter appeared and began glowing green. The detailed magic circle spun as it moved towards my forehead. When it reached me, I felt its warmth for only a moment before the light disappeared.

“Ack–”

Before I could ask what that was, Kilris-san was pushed away and I was recaptured by Fikar. Ignoring Kilris-san’s hysterical complaints, Fikar lifted my bangs and stared at me.

“It’s just a blessing! It’s harmless! It’s my obligation to give you a gift.”

“Eh, how come I’m taking Fikar’s place?”

“A 10-star rank can probably defend himself.”

“Fair enough.”

I bowed my head in thanks, receiving a tsundere comment along the lines of ‘It’s not like it was for you or anything.’ In the meantime, Fikar had finished inspecting the saddle, but still looked a little unsure. Su, left in the middle of the street, was grumbling, probably less than pleased with the new addition.

“Now then, let’s get back to the main plaza. The party’s not over yet, is it?”

I still wanted to eat more avaleyu meat, gifted by Degis-san. Looking up at Fikar, he nodded knowingly, so I said my thanks to Lawrence-san and Kilris-san, who smiled back.

Later on, I got on Su’s back with Fikar for the first time and screamed endlessly because of my fear of heights, but that’s a story for another time.

No-safety-device scream-machine? Nope, absolutely not.