With every word Shamash-san whispered, light spilled forth, growing into a massive, surging torrent that seemed to saturate the entire meadow.

An almost infinite amount of mana was sucked out of the oversized Magic Crystals, channeled through Shamash-san and focused into a single point.

Shamash-san had said that summoned beasts were living creatures brought over from something like a "Demon Realm", but watching this, it felt more like a life form being woven directly from raw magical energy. Or perhaps the spell was opening a literal gate from this world to the other.

Whatever the truth was, the incantation continued.

This chant was significantly longer than the one she had used for Ai-chan. Eventually, the crystals were completely converted into power, all of it pouring into a thick, glowing cocoon of light.

〈I am the dream-wielder Nightmare, Shamash Aureole.〉

〈Manifest according to my wish—Land Dragon!〉

"Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu-kyuuun!"

A high-pitched birth cry—if you could call it that—rang out as it manifested in this world.

"Success! I did it! It was my first time trying this, so I was a bit worried, but thank goodness!"

Shamash-san struck a victory pose.

"Whoa! Incredible, de-arimasu! It's so cute, de-arimasu!"

Marina's eyes were sparkling.

"We're going to ride this? It's certainly... flashy."

Rebecca-san noted. She looked calm, but she was clearly dying to get closer.

"It's smaller than I imagined. I heard ‘Dragon' and pictured something the size of the mansion, nodesu."

Diana added with her usual cool composure.

"It's so cute! Like a giant lizard!"

Ion couldn't hide her excitement. Maybe she was a reptile lover?

"...Wa, wa... waa..."

Elepipi was speechless.

"I've never seen such a huge living thing!"

Etowa looked up, her tail standing straight up in shock.

Everyone had their own reaction, the whole squad bustling with excitement. They were all young women, after all—they had a weakness for "cute" things.

Whether a dragon qualified as "cute" was debatable, but this one really was. It wasn't intimidating at all, despite being a dragon. Every time it tilted its head with a "Kyururu~?" the girls erupted in cheers.

Its total length was about five meters, with a height of roughly three.

Its forelegs were small, but its hind legs were impressively thick—it looked like it could run insanely fast. There were wings attached, almost as an afterthought, but given the body mass, there was no way it could actually fly. Its neck was long, its tail quite lengthy, and its head on the small side—about the size of a horse's.

Its cry was a high-pitched "Kyu-kyu," and its eyes were wide with surprisingly long, adorable eyelashes. It didn't feel very lizard-like. Well, it was a lizard, but its face was incredibly expressive—more like a leopard gecko than a dragon.

But more than any of that...

"It's... really pink. Like, aggressively flashy."

Yes. Our dragon's skin was a vibrant pink. A Pink Dragon. To be precise, the scales were pink, while the parts without scales were white or brown.

Well, we were an all-female Knight squad. A pink dragon fit right in, I guessed.

"Thank you, Shamash-san. This little one... oh, should we give it a name?"

"I think so. It would probably be happy to have one."

"Kyu-kyu-kyuuun!"

A name, huh? Salamander... no, that sounded like it would catch fire. Since Rebecca-san was the one who would be riding it, I figured I should let her name it. It wasn't my place to butt in.

"Rebecca-san, what do you think? Think you can ride it? It looks pretty powerful."

Rebecca-san stroked the back of the newborn dragon. Its body was two or three times the size of a horse. If it swung that tail, you weren't getting anywhere near it. It was a mass of pure muscle with sharp teeth and claws. Those pink scales looked tough, too.

"Eh? It's totally gentle and adorable. No problem at all—see?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Rebecca-san hopped onto the dragon's back. The dragon remained perfectly calm, letting her do as she pleased.

She gave its neck a couple of pats, and through some mysterious form of communication, it began to trot forward. It moved quite differently from a horse, but Rebecca-san looked completely at ease, as if she'd been doing this for years.

Maybe it was the [Dragon Riding] skill? She seemed to be having fun, so she started to let it run around the area.

Watching a pink dragon gallop around with a rider was quite the spectacle. It was great for a Dragon Knight, but she was never going to pull off a scouting mission on that thing.

I watched the two of them—the woman and the dragon—move as one for a while. It really was big. Small for a dragon, sure, but huge for anything else. If it was that big, it must eat a ton...

"Ah! I forgot about food! With something this big, the food costs would be—!"

This was a dire situation. We'd end up being a Knight squad that only worked to pay for dragon kibble!

"Hm? Oh, it's a summoned beast," Shamash-san chimed in. "It doesn't need food."

Seriously?

Apparently, a beast summoned from a crystal that size had a massive "Mana Core" inside its body. It absorbed ambient mana to sustain itself, so it didn't need to eat.

The trade-off was that if it used too much magic power, it became physically weak and had to stay still until its mana recharged. It had nearly infinite stamina for just walking or running, but its metabolism was very "cold-blooded." Well... it was a lizard, after all.

When Rebecca-san finished her test drive and came back, the rest of the girls swarmed the dragon. Everyone wanted a turn—it was a full-blown "let me ride!" frenzy. To be fair, I wanted a turn, too.

We all gave it a shot, but not a single one of us could get it to run. It seemed the "Moving" part was strictly locked to those with the proper skill. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any point in Rebecca-san getting the [Dragon Knight] job in the first place.

Even if we couldn't make it run, just sitting on its back was a blast for everyone. I started thinking... I could probably make a fortune just charging people to take pictures on its back.

Anyway, this dragon was definitely a gold mine... Sorry, my brain just went to "profit" automatically.

Later, the Land Dragon was given the "dignified" name of Morokoshi (Corn) by Rebecca-san.

Why Morokoshi? Apparently, she just liked the sound of it. "Otherworld aesthetics," I guessed.

Regardless of the name, Morokoshi the dragon was going to be the star of the upcoming parade. Now I just needed to commission some custom "Dragon Tack"—like a saddle and reins—instead of standard horse gear.

It was another expense, but a necessary one.

* * *

That night.

Diana asked me to keep her company, so the two of us ended up having a quiet drink together.

"Last time, I waited for you so long, but Goshujin-sama stayed up late... so this time I decided to make a proper reservation, nodesu."

"The other day" likely referred to the night I had stayed over at the mansion for the Clan rank-up. What happened with Marina was a secret between the two of us.

I mean, it wasn't like it would be a disaster if it came out... but at the same time, I had a feeling it could lead to something terrifying.

So, not as an apology, but rather just because it had been a while, we spent the night as a pair. Marina had fallen asleep quite early—probably worn out from the excitement of the dragon summoning—and Ion and Aurica had already retired to their rooms.

"If you just say the word, I'll join you anytime. Though, I'm not much of a heavy drinker... Still, you've got quite a high tolerance, Diana."

"The drinks Goshujin-sama brings are so delicious that I end up drinking too much, nodesu."

Tonight, we were keeping it simple with whiskey on the rocks. For a snack: bitter chocolate.

The room was dim, lit only by a lantern and a candelabra. We sat side by side on the sofa, tilting our glasses. The deep amber of the whiskey caught the soft light, looking even more vibrant than usual.

"Goshujin-sama, do you not plan to do business with this chocolate?"

Diana asked, holding a piece between her fingers.

"Chocolate, huh..."

Whiskey is a drink that fundamentally doesn't need a snack. You drink it on its own, maybe neat. But chocolate is the rare exception that pairs perfectly, so when I drank whiskey at the mansion, this was my go-to. I kept it stocked at the house, but I'd never sold it in Erishe.

"Food is tricky; you never know what might happen, and I can't take responsibility for it. However, I'm thinking of serving some to customers at the new shop. I don't have plans to sell it as a standalone product yet."

"But it seems like it would sell extremely well, nodesu."

"Yeah, it probably would. But there are actually a lot of things like that. If anything, I'd rather sell things that don't seem like they'd sell that well."

Not becoming too much of a topic was important.

What I was aiming for wasn't becoming insanely rich or a tycoon. I didn't need that much money. What scared me was drawing too much attention and ending up in situations I couldn't handle with my own power.

"Even though the chocolate is so delicious, nodesu..."

"Well, when it comes to cheap chocolate, Japan's is one of the best."

Setting aside high-end stuff made by master chocolatiers, Japanese brand-name bars are delicious. Or rather, they suit the Japanese palate. I didn't know which ones would best suit people in this world, but everyone seemed to love chocolate regardless.

"Anyway, I'm not selling it. It's just for us to enjoy. Honestly, I plan to handle most food items that way."

"Do you not intend to earn a vast fortune, Goshujin-sama?"

"I mean, I'm not overthinking it, so if there's a chance to make money, I'll take it. But food over here is already plenty delicious, so there isn't much of an ‘advantage' for me. It's strange, really—everything in this world tastes great for some reason."

It was true.

While there wasn't the staggering variety you find in Japan, I'd rarely felt stressed about food while living here. At most, I just thought the portions were a bit heavy. The yakitori, yakisoba, yakiudon, and fried rice were all excellent.

There were sweets, too. Fruit came in constantly from the "Land of Fire" to the south, and since sugar was sold normally, they had almost any pastry you could make with wheat and sugar. In that sense, chocolate might actually be an easy sell, but...

"You did say you didn't want to stand out too much, nodesu."

"In the beginning, yeah. Now that I'd built a bit of a foundation, I didn't worry about it as much as I used to."

I had my own military force, money, and an established position now.

"...Still, I think that dragon might be overdoing it a bit."

"Fufu, it certainly is quite conspicuous, nodesu."

A pink dragon was bound to stand out. An all-female Knight Order was already pushing the boundaries of belief, and then you added a High Elf, a Demon, and a dragon. It was a "Limit Break" of absurdity.

"That's why I don't plan to be the public face of the Knights. I'm going to set things up so the Knight Order manages itself without always going through me as the ‘owner.'"

"Come to think of it, what exactly will the Knights do?"

"Hmm... I wonder. There's a lot we can do, but first, we need to make money. We should probably start by making the order itself profitable."

Even if it was a hobby group, we'd already invested quite a bit.

Equipment was steadily arriving from the master craftsman, and materials weren't free either.

The dragon cost nothing to maintain, but horses were expensive. If the Knight Order grew larger, we might even need to start paying salaries.

Well, I planned to have them work at the shop normally, so it wasn't like we were desperate to earn through knight work alone.

"Will you use the Knights like mercenaries, then?"

"I don't really want to get involved in wars... Mostly guarding, monster extermination, hunting magic beasts—stuff like that. We'll figure it out after the parade. Someone might see us and come to us with a request."

To be honest, I didn't know how an all-female Knight squad would be received. Based on the reactions from the Priestess and the Mayor, it seemed like we'd be viewed favorably. But there were bound to be conservatives who thought, "Knights must be men!"

At the very least, I had the understanding of the Mayor—the top official in Erishe—so it shouldn't go too sideways. Conservatives were likely stronger in the Imperial Capital, so it was probably best to stay away from there.

We drank in silence for a while. The only sound in the quiet room was the clink-clink of ice settling in the glasses. It was 9:00 PM.

"......"

Without saying a word, Diana rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't have to worry about her long ears poking me; we just leaned into each other as time drifted lazily by.

"Hey, Goshujin-sama. What exactly is our relationship, nodesu?"

"Slave and Master, right?"

"...No, I mean seriously."

Diana, cheeks still resting on my shoulder, looked up at me. Our eyes met. The look in hers was full of sincerity; she clearly wanted a real talk.

"Our relationship, huh..."

We'd been going with the "Master and Slave" labels. We had a contract, so on paper, it wasn't wrong.

But if my relationship with Marina was a "correct" version of Master and Slave, then my relationship with Diana was... well, quite different. I'd considered it a formality from the start. Of course, Diana was also in the middle of her "Special Guidance," but she'd said she wanted to be with me forever...

"...That demon came, Ion came, the Knight Order started. I want our relationship to be more... well, properly defined, nodesu. No, it doesn't have to be something grand like a ‘relationship'; I just want to confirm the feelings themselves..."

"Our relationship hasn't really changed, has it? And my feelings—"

"I don't know anymore. Things with Marina feel strange lately too."

"Strange? Not really..."

Even as I said that, it was obvious I wasn't fooling anyone.

I mean, Marina kept saying things like, "You can touch my boobs anytime!"

And it was true—the household had been getting bigger.

At meals, there was me, Diana, Marina, Aurica, Ion, Shamash-san. Sometimes Rebecca-san and Shello-san came by too.

It was different from when the four of us lived together.

"To be blunt, I never thought of you as a slave from the beginning."

"Even though we have a contract?"

"The contract is full of holes... and you never really acted like a slave, did you?"

"T-That is true, but... if you had asked, I was always okay with 'slave-like' things, nodesu..."

"What even are ‘slave-like' things...? I've never forced you into anything. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is—this isn't about you being a slave. It's about being together... uh, because I want you to be with me."

I was starting to get embarrassed.

Come on, you're supposed to just pick up on this stuff. I know putting it into words is important, but while I can talk like this with Marina, it's incredibly awkward with Diana. I wondered why.

"You want a woman covered in Spirit Markings like this to stay with you?"

"Yeah, well. You know... they're actually pretty cute once you get used to them."

And I had gotten used to them. At first, I'd thought they were incredibly intense, but they didn't hide her expressions. I could still see her well-defined features, her slender jaw, her cool gaze, and those deep, azure eyes.

".........Hmm~"

Diana nuzzled her forehead against my shoulder. She'd had quite a bit to drink; maybe she was tipsy.

"Do you want to be with me more than Marina?"

"I guess so."

"More than Rebecca?"

"Sure."

"More than Ion or that Demon?"

"Of course."

"More than Priestess? Aurica? Elepipi?"

"Yeah."

"Am I... the number one?"

"You're definitely drunk."

"I want you to answer. Which is it?"

"Diana is number one."

"Uhehehe. I'm number one. Master...... zzzzz."

"She fell asleep!"

I laid the sleeping Diana down on the sofa and covered her with a blanket.

"Who's number one, huh... I never really thought about it and just gave a random answer, but... in some way, maybe Diana really is number one..."

I brushed the hair away from her face and touched her cheek.

The Spirit Markings were drawn in a four-colored geometric pattern. These markings—essentially Diana's Spirit Stone—were a mass of spirit power. Because of them, her power was constantly being drained, leaving her unable to use almost any Spirit Magic.

Someday, the "Special Guidance" would end, and these markings would be released. When that happened, the true nature of our relationship would be put to the test.

I had a feeling that day was coming.