Chapter 16

......I woke up in a daze. I felt like I had a dream, but when I tried to recall it, I couldn't remember anything.

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar landscape.

The floor and walls were made of dark gray stone. When I rolled over, the ceiling was also stone. Then... the wall opposite to the one I was initially facing was a metal grate. And next to the metal grate, Redgard was lying down.

...I suddenly remembered what happened before I fell asleep, and tried to move, but I couldn't. When the will to move overflows, the mind gets confused and you can't act, as the teacher once said.

After a couple of breaths, I finally managed to start moving my body.

My limbs didn't move well, apparently because I was tied up. My wrists and ankles seemed to be bound.

Since there was no other way, I wriggled and rolled over to get to Redgard.

Every time I rolled, dust from the floor stuck to my body. But I couldn't worry about that. The cold of the floor wasn't something to be concerned about either.

"...Redgard?"

I finally reached Redgard and called out to him, but he didn't respond.

"Redgard!"

I called out again and tried to wake him up. Since I couldn't use my hands, I felt a bit guilty, but I kicked his leg a little.

"Ugh..."

Redgard groaned, then started to move and turned towards me.

"...Tougo? Are you okay?"

"Probably."

Redgard seemed to be half-asleep, but he blinked a few times and slowly shook his head, finally getting up. Seeing this, I also struggled to get up. ...It was a bit difficult to get up without using my hands, like doing sit-ups.

"Damn... where the hell are we?"

"I don't know."

Redgard looked around and said, "It's a cell." Yeah, I could tell that much.

"Damn, those bastards... I won't forgive them."

While groaning and speaking in a voice that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, Redgard glared at the outside of the cell, the metal grate. There was no one there, but he eventually let out a big sigh.

"Damn, sorry, Tougo. I got you involved because of my mistake."

"Yeah, well, it couldn't be helped."

The first words he said were an apology to me, so... he really is a good person.

"It's fine. Those people are probably poachers' allies. If so, I can't say I'm completely uninvolved."

"Even so, you shouldn't have been involved..."

Redgard seemed about to continue apologizing, so I interrupted him and asked.

"But you are involved. So, I want to know. What's the situation here?"

First, let's get a handle on the situation. Just lying on the stone floor won't improve things.

"...The ones who threw us in here are probably, as you guessed, the poachers' allies... the ones who 'bought' Pegasus and unicorn materials."

Ah, the ones who were connected through the warrant.

"When we took down the poachers, we also went after the 'buyers,' but that didn't sit well with the black market people. They're holding a grudge."

I think it's a common story. Yeah, from the perspective of poachers and black market people, getting caught must feel bad.

"So, they've been targeting us for the past few days."

Oh, that's how it was. That must have been tough.

I looked at Redgard with a sense of "good job," and he looked a bit uncomfortable... then, as if making a decision, he said,

"They might have said it... but, you see, I can't fight in the rain. So, when I saw it was going to rain, I fled to your place. I didn't think they would chase me into the forest... and as a result, I got you involved. I'm really sorry."

Then, Redgard told me about his abilities.

"I'm not much of a magic user, and I can't use swords. ...I'm 'useless.' That's what they say."

Redgard said this first. I don't think so, but he probably sees himself as 'useless.' That's the tone he used.

"So... I bought my abilities. Do you remember my earrings, bracelets, and brooch? Those are my weapons. I have summoned creatures in them."

"Summoned creatures?"

"Yeah. Four fire spirits. Two in the shape of wolves and two in the shape of birds."

Fire spirits...? I can't imagine them at all. I want to see them when we get out of here.

Still, fire spirits in the shape of wolves and birds... Ah.

"...Did you ride them to get to the forest?"

"Haha, you're sharp. Yeah, that's right. I ride the wolves in the forest and the birds outside."

I see. That's why a half-day journey took only an hour. ...That's incredibly fast. Hmm, a bit scary, but I want to see them.

"But they're made of fire, so they can't be used in the rain."

"They'd go out, right?"

I don't know what fire spirits are like, but they're probably fire. So, it would be sad to bring them out in the rain.

"Yeah. Ideally, I wanted to use non-fire summoned creatures... but I don't have the talent for anything other than fire spirits."

Redgard made a self-deprecating face.

"I can't use proper magic on my own, so I bought abilities with money, and even then, I can't use them. It's pathetic, right?"

"That's not true."

I don't think so. To me, it's pretty amazing that fire spirits live in gems and that you can command them.

But I know that's not how Redgard feels. So, no matter what I say, it won't help him.

I think I understand that, to some extent.

"...The Redgard family has a long history of being monster tamers. Our ancestors used to command red dragons in battle."

Then, as if changing the subject, Redgard showed me the emblem on his belt buckle.

"See? The dragon is in the family crest."

"...Dragon."

The emblem seems to be the family crest of the Redgard family. And there was a dragon embracing flames.

"Cool, right?"

"Yeah."

I nodded honestly at his grin. It's cool. The dragon is well-drawn. Even though it's stylized for the emblem, it's still clearly a dragon and clearly fire. It's nice. I want to study design someday, even if it's just once.

"I wish I could command a dragon, even once."

Redgard said this with a distant look in his eyes.

"Well, red dragons are apparently extinct, but regular dragons still exist, so it's not impossible. ...But even if it's not impossible, I don't think it will happen."

His eyes darkened a bit.

"My father and brother can use summoned creatures other than fire, but not dragons. So, if I..."

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"...Well, for someone who can only use fire spirits, commanding a dragon is too much to hope for."

...His eyes were closed for only a few seconds.

"But imagining it is free!"

Redgard laughed, with a dream in his eyes.

"...Yeah."

That's right. Imagining it is free.

You can dream whatever you want. Even if it's impossible or you don't really intend to achieve it, it's fine. Dreaming is free.

Yeah. Dreaming is free.

...That's why I draw pictures.

"Okay. So, do you understand the situation now?"

"Mostly, yeah."

After listening to Redgard's story, I understood the situation.

In short, the black market people connected to the poachers are holding a grudge and trying to harm Redgard. Okay.

"I'm sorry for hiding things and getting you involved... but I'll definitely get you out of here. Consider that as my apology."

I'm not worried about apologies. The poachers and black market people are the bad ones, not Redgard. I think I would have been involved somewhere eventually if they continued poaching.

...But when he saw my face, he probably thought I was worried. Redgard smiled at me.

"Don't worry! I'll figure something out! I don't want to repay kindness with malice."

"Figure something out...?"

Hmm, I don't hate Redgard or want an apology, but I'm worried about whether he can "figure something out" in this situation. After all, my hands and feet are tied.

...But Redgard was impressive.

"...So, let's start by getting our hands and feet free."

He started moving around.

"They underestimated us. Haha, look."

After wriggling around, he pulled out something that glinted from his boot.

"It's a knife."

Oh.

...Doesn't that hurt your foot? Are you okay?