Chapter 75

I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

I stared intently at the entrance of the cave.

I braced myself, ready to deal with anything that might come out.

--But.

Nothing else came out of the cave.

Feeling slightly anticlimactic, I remained on guard and asked Chris,

"Is it okay to go in now?"

"Yes, if there are any stragglers, a close friend should be sufficient."

"I see."

"I will accompany you, Sir Cyril!"

As always, Jeanne, who had understood the flow of our conversation, offered to come along.

"Alright, let's go."

"Yes! I'll do my best!!"

"Jeanne is fine, but--what about you, Chris?"

"Hmm?"

"Your size, you can't fit, right?"

"That's the matter, but it's not a problem."

Chris nodded and skillfully peeled off a scale from her skin with her front claws.

She held it in front of her face and blew on it.

The scale was blown away, danced in the air for a few seconds, and then--transformed.

The scale turned into a small dragon.

Smaller than a newborn Rea.

About the size of a small dog.

"Cute!!"

The moment she saw it, Jeanne's eyes lit up, and she became very excited.

"Is this Sir Chris's?"

"What is it... Chris?"

"Hahaha, this is my avatar."

"Avatar?"

"Nice to meet you, call me Chibikurisu."

"Chibikurisu..."

I was momentarily speechless.

The small dragon that called itself Chibikurisu.

Indeed, it looked very similar to Chris, which made sense when she said it was her avatar.

If someone explained that this small dragon would grow up to be like Chris, everyone would nod in agreement.

But.

The similarity was only in appearance.

"What's the matter?"

Chibikurisu tilted her head.

I compared her to Chris--the original.

They didn't look like the same person at all.

"It's good to bring this. It will only last for about an hour, but it has all my knowledge and memories."

"Only an hour?"

"Yes. Just like human skin, when it's freshly peeled, it's soft and moist, but it dries and hardens over time."

"What kind of analogy is that?"

I smiled slightly and teased her.

I teased her, but I somehow understood.

I was still a bit surprised, but I couldn't be surprised by everything Chris did anymore.

I turned to Jeanne, who would probably find the story complicated and hard to understand, and explained it to her.

I told her almost exactly what Chris had said.

"Amazing... as expected of Sir Chris, the child of a god."

"Hahaha, you should worship me more."

"Hehehe, praise me more."

"Laughing like that, but you can ignore that."

Saying that, I picked up Chibikurisu and placed her on my head, like a hat.

Chibikurisu clung to me with her four legs.

"Do I not need to walk?"

"Yes, just guide us and provide knowledge."

"Understood. Leave it to me."

"Right, if it starts to disappear, roast it with fire. It will last longer by absorbing the flames."

"Water, right?"

"Hahaha, I am a Phoenix. It has to be fire."

"That makes sense."

Chris, a Phoenix.

A legendary dragon that revives from flames.

Having witnessed the revival and contracted with a Phoenix, I could understand the advice, "If it starts to wither, roast it with fire."

"Alright, let's go."

"Yes!"

"Go, go, go!"

With Chibikurisu on my head and Jeanne by my side, I stepped into the cave--Thunder Mountain.

The cave was still dripping water from the ceiling because it had been flooded until just before.

It was also very dark inside.

"It's dark. Should I have brought a torch?"

"No problem."

Chibikurisu, who was on my head, started to emit light.

"Whoa!"

Jeanne was surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"It's... on fire."

"On fire?"

"Yes, Lady Chibikurisu's body is on fire."

"Ah, I see."

I nodded in understanding.

So, Chibikurisu was acting as a torch.

"Is it okay to do that?"

"For me, producing flames is as natural as breathing for humans."

"I see."

There was no need to worry.

However, the Phoenix species was really specialized in fire.

At this rate,

"You can probably eat or drink fire too."

I said honestly.

But,

"It's impossible. I am the one and only immortal being. I can't eat anything."

"Ah, right."

I remembered the catchphrase of the original Chris.

In any case,

We proceeded through the cave, illuminated by Chibikurisu.

As we moved forward, something rose up from the ground.

It was the paper dragon we had seen outside.

Two of them appeared, as if they had noticed our intrusion.

"Leave it to me!"

Before I could react, Jeanne rushed forward.

She transformed and charged at the paper dragons with her double-headed spear.

The strength of the paper dragons was about the same as the ones outside.

In the narrow cave, with only two of them, Jeanne, who had taken the initiative, quickly defeated them.

"...Phew. It's safe now!"

She turned around and showed me a bright smile.

"Thank you. You're amazing, Jeanne."

"N-no... I'm still not good enough."

Jeanne humbly replied but smiled happily.

At the same time, this victory seemed to boost her confidence.

"Leave the rest to me."

"Alright, I'll count on you."

"Yes!!"

Jeanne nodded happily.

Seeing her so happy, I felt like letting her do as she pleased.

We continued through the cave.

It was a straight path, so Chibikurisu's guidance wasn't necessary.

Instead, paper dragons appeared a few times, and Jeanne instantly defeated them each time.

In the narrow cave, it was always a one-on-one or similar situation, so Jeanne dominated the paper dragons.

We eventually reached a dead end.

There was no path, only a low pedestal and a pot-like object.

"Hmm... what do we do with this?"

"It's a barrier. We need to perform a ritual to open the path."

"I see, how do we do that?"

"Do the same as the contract."

Chibikurisu said this and jumped off my head.

She cast a spell on the pot.

It was a familiar magic circle, the one used to contract with a dragon.

"Hmm."

I nodded and, with practiced movements, slit the pad of my index finger and dripped a drop of blood into the pot.

Immediately, a rumbling sound echoed throughout the cave.

"What is it!?"

"This is... uh!"

Instantly, water gushed out of the walls, quickly flooding the cave.

"Sir Cyril!"

"...It should be fine."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Yes."

I remained calm thanks to Chibikurisu.

...Or rather, because of her.

Well, it was trust in Chris.

Chris wouldn't trap me.

Even if there was some mischief, she wouldn't trap me.

This situation would be life-threatening for a "normal" person, but that's why I thought it would be fine.

Sure enough, Chibikurisu remained calm.

"Just watch."

She said.

"Just watch?"

"Yes."

Hearing my message, Jeanne gradually calmed down.

During this time, the water level rose to about knee-high.

Then--it was absorbed into the pot on the low pedestal.

I immediately noticed something strange.

The water being absorbed into the pot.

It was clearly exceeding the pot's capacity but continued to be absorbed.

"Oh..."

Jeanne also seemed to notice and completely relaxed.

I asked Chibikurisu for an explanation.

"Can you explain?"

"Yes. It's proportional to the size of the close friend's vessel."

"Size of the vessel?"

"Yes. I mentioned it before."

"Before?"

I furrowed my brow and tilted my head.

I searched my memory for a conversation with Chibikurisu--or rather, Chris--about the "size of the vessel."

Then,

"...Ah, the first time we contracted?"

"Yes, the size of the close friend's vessel."

"Hmm."

I nodded, remembering.

Yes, she had said something like that.

Since we hadn't talked about it since, I had completely forgotten.

"This is the seal of the cave. If the person's vessel isn't large enough, they won't be able to withstand the trap and will drown."

"I see."

"The size of the close friend's vessel is the key."

Being indirectly praised, I felt a bit embarrassed.

Then--the water stopped.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

The wall behind the pot opened to the sides.