Chapter 4

Ronie rushed into the dragon stable a full two hours later than usual and was

greeted by a slightly disgruntled Tsukigake.

"Kwoooo!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know I'm late."

The moment she opened the one-mel gate, the juvenile dragon covered in

downy fur of a pale-yellow hue came rushing out to her, beating her wings. She

caught Tsukigake with both arms, and the juvenile dragon pressed her head,

rounded horn nubs and all, against the base of Ronie's neck.

In the adjacent stall, Tiese was receiving a similarly energetic greeting from

Shimosaki. For now, the two dragons were still small enough that the girls could

just barely lift them, but that wouldn't be possible a year from now.

"Miss Arabel, may I have a word?"

The voice over her shoulder caused Ronie to jump. She turned around and

saw a tall and willowy man. He was wearing an outfit made of a mysterious

fabric with scalelike patterning, and the band around his waist supported a

number of leather sacks of varying sizes. There was a long wooden handle in his

hand like some kind of spear, yet the head was not a metal point but a large

brush of tough-looking hair.

His face with sunken cheeks looked a bit older than Deusolbert's, but his

actual age was a mystery. He'd been in charge of the cathedral's dragon stable

for ages, and people said that, like Airy, his life had been frozen through sacred

arts.

"Yes? What is it, Mr. Hainag?" asked Ronie. The stablemaster reached out a

hand that was thin but wired with firm muscle. He scratched the dragon under

her chin.

"Sometimes when I give Tsukigake fish these days, she leaves a little bit

behind. Dragons have their own individual tastes, but you can't choose your

food on the battlefield. It's best to correct that kind of picky eating while

they're young."

"I…I see. Hey, Tsukigake, you shouldn't be picky about your food!" she said,

lightly scolding the juvenile. Tsukigake seemed to understand Ronie, drooping

her feathered ears and crooning.

"How should I fix a dragon that doesn't like fish?" she asked.

"The most effective way is to catch the fish for her yourself. They'll usually get

over it once they've eaten fresh, lively fish, but that's difficult to do in the

cathedral. In the past, I took the juveniles to a lake outside the city with Sir

Bercouli's permission."

"F-fresh and lively…? Then I'll ask Commander Fanatio or Kiri…or the

swordsman delegate if I can try that."

"Please do. That's all."

With a small bow, Stablemaster Hainag headed farther through the building

toward the adult dragons. Nearby, Tiese looked down at her own dragon

partner and said, "Do you think they're able to catch their own fish?"

"I don't even know if they can swim…"

In the meantime, the two little dragons wagged their tails back and forth,

clearly excited about the thought of going outside.

"All right, all right…"

They left the stable and set down the dragons on the grass lawn surrounding

the building. The creatures promptly raced around, squawking and cavorting.

Watching them brought smiles to the girls' faces, but it wasn't enough to get

them running around after them. At this very moment, Kirito and Asuna were

still talking with the senior knights high up in the cathedral building.

They went to the nearest guard station to ask about the name of the South

Centorian official who took the three mountain goblins away in his carriage, but

they got no answer. They did find the man who'd been standing guard at the

inn door, and he said that the transfer order the official provided for the goblins

had the proper government seal stamped upon it.

Their next step would be to ask the city government directly, but it wouldn't

be easy. The upper nobles' influence was still strong among the local

governments, and they did not see eye to eye with the Human Unification

Council. The South Centorian office in particular had taken a hard line after they

were booted from control over Yazen's murder case. With the assumption that

an official written order would be necessary to investigate the goblins' transfer,

Kirito returned to Central Cathedral to prepare the necessary materials from

the council and the Integrity Knighthood.

Fanatio and Deusolbert would not protest an order to investigate the city

government. But Kirito was already certain that the transfer order and the

official the guards saw were fakes arranged by the culprit. The real problem was

what to do after that.

Kirito felt responsible that the goblins had been spirited away from under his

nose, and he wouldn't want to leave the search and rescue up to someone else.

But the swordsman delegate's life had just been endangered (if indirectly) at

Obsidia Palace, so Fanatio and the others would certainly bristle at the

suggestion that they should sit back and allow him to do everything.

"…I bet that meeting's a very contentious one…," murmured Tiese, who was

clearly thinking about the same thing.

Ronie nodded. "It might have to go into tomorrow."

"Let's hope he doesn't slip out in the middle of the night…"

But that sounded very plausible. Ronie wanted Kirito to be free to do as he

pleased, but as his former page, she needed to keep him in line when the

situation called for it. She looked up at the chalky-white monument and said,

"I'll ask Lady Asuna to keep a close eye on him."

Tiese was about to reply to that, but no words came out, only breath. Ronie

looked over and saw her pursing her lips with a searching expression.

"…What?"

"No. Nothing."

The juvenile dragons, upset by the lack of attention they were receiving,

chirped at the two in an attempt to get them to chase.

"Fine, fine, but we're not going to roll in the grass!" Ronie called out as she

ran toward Tsukigake and Shimosaki.