LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 47 - Chapter 47: Pact with the Familiar
Chapter 47: Pact with the Familiar
“Constant, I’ll leave the investigation of the temple to the Second. From what we’ve seen so far, it seems neither the Holy Knights nor the Saint knew anything, so it’s best to focus on individuals connected to the High Priest. For now, I need to inform His Majesty about what just happened… the extent of the damage, the dragon, the Saint, and the High Priest… it’s doubtful whether he’ll believe it.”
Just thinking about it makes my head ache. Speaking of headaches, there were a few Second Knights lying unconscious where we first found the dragon.
“Come to think of it, the Second Knights must have been attacked. Even though they were being controlled, the fact remains that the dragon killed them… I wonder what will happen…”
The more I think about it, the more problems arise. However, Constant delivered some good news.
“I found some of our men on the way and confirmed they’re alive, though unconscious. They should be receiving treatment with the Second now.”
“Good, that’s a relief,” I said, letting out a sigh. This might spare us from unwarranted executions. Although it’s not like it’s not known on this side, precisely because I’m taming it, it seems to sense my mood, as the dragon approached with its appealing, round eyes.
“Sir, what should we do?” Orel asked, gripping the hilt of his sword with a tense expression.
“Calm down. I told you earlier, it won’t cause any trouble since I’m taming it.”
The dragon stared intently at the magic stone I held, expressing a desire to eat it. As I held it out, it emitted a slightly high-pitched, affectionate sound. Come to think of it, it was eating magic stones back when I first saw it at the magic stone shop. It gently took the softball-sized magic stone I offered, crunching it with a satisfying sound.
“Hmm… Is your magic stone not turning into a reverse scale?” I asked. Upon closer inspection, the magic stone had transformed into something resembling a scale. Even when I tried to communicate, it only tilted its head in apparent confusion, looking rather cute. Since it was a magic stone purified by the Saint, it shouldn’t be a problem to leave it embedded.
“For now… let’s head back to the Order,” I suggested.
“Kyukyu!” the dragon chirped.
“Huh? Oh, you want a name?”
“Sir… can you understand the dragon’s words!?” Orel asked from about two meters away.
“Sort of. It’s more like I can sense its emotions rather than having a conversation. As for a name… are you a male or a female? …Ah, you’re a male, huh? How about Jest? It’s similar to my name, Justin,” I proposed.
“Krrr!” It seemed to like it. As I stroked the tip of its nose, it closed its eyes in contentment. Right after that, I realized that a higher level of taming, known as a familiar pact, had been activated. Taming is said to be a preliminary contract for a familiar pact.
“Yay! Now we can talk! Nice to meet you, Justin! From now on, let’s get along!” A boyish voice echoed in my mind.
“Was that… you, Jest?”
“Yes!”
It’s what they call telepathy, I guess. Being a dragon, it probably knows various magic that humans can’t use. Being able to communicate with it is convenient; there are many things I want to ask.
“Alright, let’s head back to the barracks for now. Jest, come with me.”
“Got it!”
I’ll postpone my thoughts for later. It’s already time for the residents to wake up, and I don’t want Jest to attract too much attention.
“If you can hide on my back, I could conceal you with my cloak. But it’s impossible for you to become smaller than you are now, right?”
“I can do it!”
With those words, Jest chanted a spell-like incantation similar to the one it used to shrink earlier. In no time, it shrank to the size of a human baby. I attached it to my armor’s back and covered it with my cloak. As I mounted my beloved horse Eleanor, who seemed rather displeased, I chuckled.
“Haha, you had a rough time earlier. Just bear with it a little longer. Constant! Let’s head back to the Third first, then proceed to the royal castle to report!”
As I spoke with Jest, I informed Constant, who had been giving instructions to the Second’s subordinates. He responded with a raised hand. Although we surrounded ourselves with the Third’s subordinates to conceal Jest as much as possible during the journey, the Second Knights, who had learned about Jest’s existence, were staring at my back intently.
Let’s leave this uncomfortable situation behind. On the way back, unlike the dim dawn, the snow had stopped, and the morning sun illuminated the town, making the extent of the damage to the city clear.
“Hey, you know… The magic stone that was hanging around my neck until a moment ago made me feel uncomfortable, so I wanted to escape from its commands and ate it. The one who was in tune with you earlier was just full of a desire to become superior and only wanted me to obey its orders, and I sensed that coming from the magic stone. By maximizing my own magical power over the one imposed by the magic stone, I wouldn’t have to obey its commands anymore.”
“I see. Come to think of it, the High Priest and the Head of the Temple didn’t have a good relationship, did they? They probably wanted to overthrow the Head of the Temple by using the Saint.”
“Captain! Are you talking to the dragon!? All we can hear is it chirping!”
“Yeah! It seems that naming it upgraded the taming to a familiar pact. Since then, I can understand what it’s saying!”
As I answered Simon’s question while running, the amazed voices of my subordinates echoed throughout the city as Jest’s figure disappeared from view, attracting onlookers.