Black Badger

What a strange eye color.

I stared blankly at the man who was clearly the summoner Kyle had mentioned.

So there really are people with eyes like that.

I’d thought violet eyes were unusual enough, but now orange?

A color you wouldn’t forget once you’d seen it.

For a brief moment, I even wondered if they were an extremely deep shade of gold.

Of course, that couldn’t be it. Kyle had said that within his tribe, he was the only Child of the World Tree....

“What is that?”

Rei muttered, sounding completely stunned.

“What is he riding?”

That’s exactly what I wanted to know.

What in the world was that pitch-black, enormous lizard the man was mounted on?

It was a monster I had never seen before.

Where did he even find something like that to bind, and how did he manage to appear riding a creature that didn’t look like it could fly at all—and from where?

With that question in mind, I looked toward the figures standing amid the settling dust.

A summoner who had made his first appearance in a fairly shocking way.

He bent at the waist and looked down at Kyle.

There was a smile on his lips. Not awkward, not excessive—more like the kind of smile that seemed permanently affixed to the corners of his mouth.

“Looks like you received the reply I sent by swallow.”

The red-haired man spoke.

“It’s a truly delightful proposal. Shall we depart immediately?”

“That’s the plan, but calm down first.”

Kyle replied.

His voice was indifferent.

“Get down from there. And what is that supposed to be?”

“She lives at a nearby waterfall.”

The red-haired summoner answered as he hopped lightly off the lizard.

“I went to visit the waterfall just now and we got along.”

Good movement.

That was my first thought when I saw his landing.

I knew that hunting on horseback was considered a basic virtue among the men of Kyle’s tribe, but even so, it was impressive. From the looks of it, he’d kept himself trained consistently.

Maybe it was because he mainly bound large monsters as mounts?

Summoners usually didn’t place much importance on physical training.

On the battlefield, they tended to stay in the rear, and the more skilled a summoner was, the less likely they were to stand on the front lines. There was simply no real need for them to train their bodies.

Binding didn’t require physical strength, either.

Because of that, none of the summoners I’d met before had seemed particularly agile or sturdy. But the one standing in front of me now clearly showed signs of training.

You could take him in as a trainee knight without hesitation.

“Whatever it is, don’t let it loose near the children.”

Kyle grumbled.

“She was docile even before I bound her, so there’s nothing to worry about. I have her well under control.”

The summoner replied briskly to Kyle’s irritation.

“I plan to send her back soon, anyway. By the way, are the two behind you the knights crossing the mountain range with you?”

Rei and I straightened our posture.

That meant we lowered the hands we’d had resting on our sword hilts. After glancing back at us, Kyle nodded his chin, and Rei and I stepped forward slowly.

The red-haired man, wrapped in a worn traveler’s cloak, smiled as he looked at us.

The summoner tilted his head slightly and met Rei Renyr’s eyes.

Then he bowed his head and dropped to one knee.

“Sir Reny—”

“Don’t.”

Rei cut him off coldly.

“Get up. Don’t kneel.”

The summoner lifted his head and looked up at Rei with puzzled eyes.

Kyle glanced at Rei as well.

But the black-haired knight quickly turned and grabbed the summoner by the shoulder, pulling him back to his feet. The summoner rose without resistance, still wearing a confused expression.

Rei spoke once Kairos had fully stood up.

“I’m nothing more than an ordinary knight assigned ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to the western unit right now. I didn’t come here as the third son of House Renyr, but as Knight Renyr. So from now on, never kneel to me or offer formal homage.”

“Yes.”

It would’ve been natural to be startled, but the summoner seemed to grasp the situation immediately and smiled lightly.

“I’ll remember that.”

Rei snorted softly.

Kyle let out something like a scoff as well, though it was hard to tell who it was directed at.

In any case, the frozen atmosphere thawed quickly. Introductions resumed. Kyle looked at us and formally introduced Kairos.

“Kairos. He’s about the same age as me. So probably close to your age too.”

“You may call me Kairos.”

“...Kairos, thank you for coming out at such a late hour.”

“Pleased to meet you, Kairos.”

Rei greeted him with an awkward expression, and I nodded as I offered my own introduction.

“I’m Hildebert. Please call me Hilde.”

Rei turned toward me with a look of disbelief.

Kyle and Kairos blinked, clearly surprised.

What?

“Why?”

“What is wrong with you? I told you to have some awareness as a knight!”

Rei snapped.

“How many times do I have to say it? The moment you became an imperial knight, you were formally granted a title! Even if the nobles refuse to acknowledge it, a title is still a title. In front of commoners, you should act like someone who is addressed as ‘sir’!”

“Ah.”

I forgot again.

I’d grown up in a place where everyone who came to the temple was spoken to with honorifics, regardless of status, so I made mistakes like this from time to time. At least I no longer slipped up in places with many eyes on me—but the moment I entered districts with only commoners, I always reverted to old habits.

That was probably why people in the unit called me a country bumpkin.

But this man seemed to be Kyle’s friend.

I didn’t want to treat Kyle’s friend like someone beneath me.

As if he’d seen through my thoughts, Kyle chuckled.

“Do whatever you’re comfortable with. You even use honorifics with our elders in this alley.”

“Ah, is that really okay?”

“Just don’t get caught.”

Kyle said slowly.

“If you do, not only you, but this guy will be in trouble too.”

The black-haired knight gestured toward Kairos.

Beside us, Rei let out a heavy sigh.

He looked fed up with my attitude, but thankfully didn’t say anything further. He just gave me a tired look, as if to say, do whatever you want.

I offered him a faint smile of gratitude, then turned back to the summoner.

The man around my age was staring at me intently.

“You’re a unique individual.”

Kairos said with a soft smile.

Kyle, who had been standing beside us with a sulky expression, suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ha, hahaha!”

It was almost a guffaw.

What part of that was funny?

I couldn’t ask. Because the summoner—who still didn’t seem all that crazy, smiling pleasantly—said this.

“You seem like you’d be quite skilled at binding.”

“Pardon?”

“Have you ever ridden a Bambi Winged Bird?”

He asked politely.

“What about a Skybird?”

***

Skybirds that were completely controlled by summoners were one of the Empire’s means of transportation.

As such, there were Skybird binding zones scattered throughout the Empire. People would go there, pay a fee, and ride a Skybird. The more skilled the summoner, the less severe the motion sickness.

Those with money or high rank sought out Skybirds bound by summoners with proven ability. Riding one guided by a novice summoner was a nightmare.

Bambi Winged Birds, on the other hand, were practically never ridden. I’d heard in passing that only those in desperate situations who needed to travel at night would ride them, but the binding difficulty was so high that accidents were frequent.

Finding and binding a Bambi Winged Bird in the first place wasn’t easy.

They weren’t just conveniently nearby like Skybirds....

“What? So you’re saying we have to find Bambi Winged Birds first?”

Rei asked, sounding oddly pleased.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be faster to just take a Skybird tomorrow morning and go the long way around the peak with the giant? What do you think?”

“I can call four Bambi Winged Birds.”

Kyle ignored Rei and spoke directly to Kairos.

Kairos smiled faintly.

“Ah, of course.”

Had he already bound them?

We moved locations.

Not far. In the imperial capital, now draped in deep darkness. We crossed a night so dark that only Children of the World Tree could see clearly, heading to an empty clearing lit by torches.

During the day, the children of Kyle’s tribe gathered here to play, kicking around Redhorn bladders.

I’d heard that at the start of winter, people prepared food here to last through the cold season.

That was how empty the space was.

Standing at the center of the clearing, Kairos waved his hand toward the retreating black lizard.

After seeing it off, he tilted his head back and looked up at the night sky.

A night without moonlight.

Staring at something that was neither moon nor constellation, the summoner stretched both hands out, as if trying to catch a falling leaf.

Then, something stirred.

Four distinct beams of light appeared in the night sky.

“Those aren’t Bambi Winged Birds.”

Rei said in confusion.

“Those are insect-type monsters—”

The monsters emerged.

The very ones we were looking for. Four vivid presences followed behind the beams of light, chasing them at terrifying speed.

I opened my mouth as I watched the massive birds flying in from afar.

The sound of flapping wings drew closer.

They were nearly as large as Skybirds, their eyes glowing in the darkness.

They had a total of eight heads—two heads per bird.

A violent gust swept across the clearing, scouring the sand.

WHOOOOOSH!

A whirlwind erupted.

I raised my arm to shield my face from the flying sand and looked ahead. Kyle shouted, his voice tinged with irritation, “Call them properly!” but it didn’t seem to reach them.

The Bambi Winged Birds, which had been chasing the trails of light, twisted their bodies and descended.

At some point, they’d been fully bound. The birds landed lightly, surrounding the red-haired man.

Kairos’s figure was obscured by their dark blue-black wings.

Only his soft laughter could be heard.

“They’re difficult creatures to bind.”

Rei muttered blankly.

“They’re hardly ever seen near the imperial capital....”

The wind died down.

The noise vanished as well. The massive birds folded their wings and stretched their necks toward Kairos.

The summoner stroked the two heads closest to him.

After playing with the monsters for a moment, he turned back to us.

Looking at Rei and me, both stunned by how easily he’d accomplished something that should have been extremely difficult, he asked:

“Would you like to try riding?”

Crossing the mountain range wasn’t an easy task, so a test ride would be necessary.

***

The conclusion was reached quickly—and rather drastically.

The summoner decided that four people would split between two Bambi Winged Birds.

He said Rei and I would need to be separated.

It was likely because we weren’t accustomed to riding birds, but he phrased it gently.

“By nature, they aren’t creatures that willingly carry cargo on their backs.”

Kyle said that while he hadn’t ridden Bambi Winged Birds, he’d flown often on birds back when he lived on the plains, so he was relatively experienced.

Another new fact.

He was so skilled on horseback and suited it so well that I’d never imagined him riding birds.

In any case, Kairos briefly considered whether to pair me with Kyle or Rei with Kyle.

The deliberation didn’t last long.

“Considering weight, this seems appropriate. Though the difference isn’t great.” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Kairos would ride with me, while Kyle would ride with Rei.

That was the final decision, and we didn’t hesitate.

As soon as it was settled, we approached the two comparatively docile birds the summoner indicated.

There were no saddles.

That was one of the reasons Kairos had decided not to seat one person per bird.

“They don’t accept reins or saddles willingly.”

Kairos, already mounted on a Bambi Winged Bird, reached a hand out to me.

On the other side, Kyle was helping Rei up.

I took the summoner’s hand and offered a faint smile.

“Thank you—”

Flap—

The Bambi Winged Bird took off while I was still climbing on.

Straight into the night sky.

“Wait—!”

“Let’s go.”

Kairos laughed as he hauled me up with astonishing arm strength.

“It’s been a while since I last flew on a Bambi Winged Bird!”

Is this right?

Is this really okay, Kyle?!