‘Dragon familiar?!'

“Yes. I am a dragon.”

“....”

‘Dragons still exist?’

Rodemaine thought hard. From the books he had read, they all mentioned that the dragon familiar race had died out. 

So how was one standing in front of him?

But at the same time, he couldn’t deny that she was.

If he looked at her carefully, he could sense it. Beyond the surface level… 

‘An immense depth of mana.’ 

Thinking she was a regular familiar, he hadn’t done so before. But now, there was no doubting it.

“…Your name?”

“It’s Ruelle.”

So it really was her. He remembered her previous owner calling out to her with that name. 

However, solving one mystery led to two more. 

For one,

‘How did a mighty dragon end as a familiar of that sleaze…’ 

And, secondly.

‘If she really came all the way here to thank me…’

Sigh. It was another one of those bothersome cases. 

Since a few months ago, Rodemaine had been severing ties between familiars and keepers. Keepers who abused their familiars and desecrated the pact, and Familiars who wanted to get away from their tyrants.  

Occasionally, when he did so, the unbound familiars would follow him home. Then they would ask to form a pact with him. 

But Rodemaine had no mana.

So he could not form pacts with familiars. 

“By the way, did you come all this way to thank me?”

“Yes! I’m truly grateful!”

The dragon-turned-human smiled and placed a hand on her heart. It seemed she was incredibly sincere. 

Rodemaine sighed. 

“It’s fine. You didn’t need to, but you’re welcome. Now, you should return… Maybe find a better human to form a pact with.”

“Ah…”

It was at that moment. 

[Master Rodemaine! Someone’s coming!]

A voice squeaked loudly in his mind.

‘...!!’

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

Rodemain suddenly held her hand again, dragging her towards the door. He briefly paused in the centre of the room, looking around. 

Then he spotted a good place. 

He led her to a bookshelf, old books gathering dust and miscellaneous items placed randomly. At the bottom, about the height of his knees was a cabinet. 

Creak.

“Hide in here.”

“W, what?”

“Hide, hurry. Someone is coming.”

He ushered her towards the cabinet. It wouldn’t be good if she was found here. 

“Wait…!”

Ruelle’s face paled as she stared at the cabinet.

“I don’t want to!” 

She grabbed onto his hands, looking at Rodemaine with shaking eyes. 

“...”

Before he could find another solution– 

[He’s here! It's the police detective! Squeak!]

[We’re sorry, Master! We couldn’t spot him earlier. He must have concealed his presence.]

“No, don’t worry about it.”

Rodemaine said aloud. He had since let go of Ruelle. He already had a feeling he knew the reason for her desperate reaction. In that case, there was nothing he could do to make her hide. 

“Well, this day was bound to happen one day.”

Knock, knock.

For the second time in just one day, Rodemaine had another visitor. 

“Excuse me. Are you home, Resident? This is the police. Please open the door.”

A muffled voice came from behind the front door. 

“Stay behind me, dragon.” 

Rodemaine walked to the door and opened it. Then he was faced with a young man with neat, black hair in a blueish-coloured suit. On his shoulder, a small, wolf-like creature sat, looking at Rodemaine with low eyes. 

“My name is Detective Johann Halson. I have some questions regarding the recent Familiar incident…”

His black eyes naturally trailed behind Rodemaine, landing squarely on Ruelle.

***

Johann had been working on a certain case for a few months. As time passed, the more stressed he became. The number of victims had slowly been increasing.

It was the case of the Familiar Thief. 

It had started in the towns, the folk complaining that someone was severing ties between familiar and keeper. 

The first instance had been passed off as an accident, the victim mistakenly breaking his bond while drunk. 

But the second victim hadn’t been heavily drunk, and claimed to have met a person just moments before.  

When the third keeper was struck, the town’s mages started to panic.

A criminal was on the loose severing the bond between keeper and familiar. 

And, the number of victims was increasing, reaching as far as the nobility. 

Johann couldn’t ignore it. This was a case that fell under his jurisdiction. A crime involving Familiars. 

He began his investigation, calling on his own familiar to help as usual. But there were few clues to be found, hardly anything he could work with. The method used to sever an unbreakable bond was an even further mystery. 

Such a person was incredibly dangerous. 

The culprit’s face was never caught, and he was always dressed in a cloak from head to toe. A person with that appearance was barely seen. There was nothing physical left behind at the scenes either. 

Every trace of the culprit, just like the familiars, had disappeared. 

One afternoon, he was looking over the investigative materials, his familiar Tayl, resting on the corner of the table. Tayl had been attempting to track down the Familiar Thief for many weeks, to no avail. Frustratingly, he could not sense a trail of mana.

Suddenly. 

Bang!

“I’m sorry, Sir! I tried to stop him–”

His junior officer's voice was cut off.

“Detective Halson!” 

Ingst Routte, the son of Count Routte, had burst into Johann’s office. Tayl flinched and almost fell off the table. 

“My Familiar is gone!” 

Despite the rude and loud entrance, Johann retained his composure. Moreover, the news was rather shocking. 

The Familiar Thief had struck again, and this time, the victim was none other than the Count’s son. 

“Find her!”

“Lord Routte. Please do not worry. I am working on the case.”

“Work harder! My Ruelle… She can’t be gone…. There has to be a way…!”

Ingst Routte began to despair on his own. 

“Detective! If you had just done your job properly, this wouldn’t have happened!”

Tayl frowned bitterly. Johann simply kept his mouth shut.

But he couldn’t help the disturbing feeling either. Ingst wasn’t incorrect. 

“I apologise, my lord. I assure you, we are doing our best. Then, may I ask you questions regarding your Familiar?”

And so, a brief questioning session began. 

Shortly after,  Johann found himself on the street where the keeper had his bond severed. 

“Tayl. Can you sense anything? Any traces to follow?”

He turned his head to his shoulder, the pup resting on it.

[...]

Tayl seemed to be focussing. 

[Something.]

“...! Did you find a clue?”

For once, maybe there was a hint. 

[The scent of azaleas.]

“Azaleas…?”

It was an unexpected scent. Had Tayl never picked up on the smell before? Did the culprit do something different this time?

Johann couldn’t tell if the azalea scent truly belonged to the culprit, or perhaps the lost familiar. 

But given his surroundings, he made a more sound judgement. 

A back alley, a tavern around the corner, poor street condition. 

Where would an azalea scent have come from in a place like this?

“You’re sure?”

[... Yes.]

“Then. Let’s follow it.”

***

Johann and Tayl now stood face to face with Rodemaine.

Johann looked to Ruelle. Rodemaine glanced at Tayl.

“....”

[Sorry.]

A voice entered Rodemaine’s mind, unbeknownst to Johann.

[Because it was the Routte boy. I couldn’t help it.]

Rodemaine nodded, as if to say ‘that’s alright.’

Tayl lowered his head apologetically. 

Johann spoke again.

“Are you the owner of this cottage?”

“Yes.”

Rodemaine readily answered. 

“And the girl…?”

“An acquaintance of mine.”

“Your names?”

“I am Rodemaine, and…”

He trailed for a moment, his lips helplessly stretching into a smile.

“This is Ruelle.”

“…!”

Johann clenched his fist. 

‘It’s him.’

Undoubtedly, the man in front of him was the culprit. 

He had his suspicions the moment Rodemaine answered the door. His tall build and broad shoulders matched the victims’ testimonies, as well as the black, hooded cloak he wore. The azalea scent trail from the scene even led to this place. 

But the moment he said “Ruelle”, Johann became sure. 

Ruelle. The latest missing Familiar. 

Even though it was a human girl that was behind him, the name was too coincidental to waste any time. 

Without hesitation, Johann stepped backwards and pulled out his pistol, pointing it at Rodemaine. He would deal with the girl after.

“Mister!”

Ruelle exclaimed, staggering forward. But Rodemaine stopped her with a hand, then calmly lifted both of them in defense.

“… What is the meaning of this, Detective?”

“Familiar Thief.”

“….”

“It’s you, isn't it?”

Rodemaine stayed silent. 

“Tayl. Stay alert.”

This was a man who could somehow destroy unseeable bonds of powerful magic. 

Since Tayl was also a Familiar, there was a chance he could become the next victim. 

If that happened… 

He would lose the partner he had known since childhood. 

Tayl jumped down from Johann’s shoulder, not wanting to get in the way. He glanced at Rodemaine. 

“Mister Rodemaine. Were you the one who severed ties between nine Keepers and their Familiars in the last six months?”

Johann asked.

“.…”

Rodemaine continued to look at Johann. 

He wondered what he should do. Come clean? Lie? 

It was difficult to lie. Ruelle was right behind him, and he had just given her name away. 

While he was silent…

“How did you do it?”

Johann’s voice sounded. 

Rather than ‘why’, his first question was ‘how’...

Rodemaine was quite amused. Impressed enough, he answered honestly. 

“I stole it.”

“The Familiars?”

“The mana that binds a familiar and keeper. I took that mana, and the connection naturally disappeared.”

Johann still held the pistol up. He seemed to process for a second what Rodemaine had said. 

“…Why?”

He finally asked. 

“They deserved it.”

“What did familiars ever do to you?”

Wrong again. As expected, this was rather entertaining for Rodemaine. 

“The Keepers. They did not deserve their Familiars. So I freed the Familiars. With their consent, of course.”

He added the last bit a little smugly, tilting his head. 

Unfortunately, it only made Johann even more uncomfortable. 

Click. He cocked the pistol with a grim face. 

Only, a scene he never expected unfolded as a result. 

Whoosh! 

Flap, flap! 

The windows flew open, and two creatures flew in. 

An owl-like creature shot towards the pistol and pinched Johann’s wrist. 

Clatter. The pistol fell and rolled across the floor. The creature responsible for it landed on top of it, securely. 

"...!"

Johann’s eyes darted up in shock. 

There, on Rodemaine's shoulder a small bird-type familiar was perched. It was reminiscent of a sparrow, squeaking.

Around him, a rodent-looking creature with long whiskers scurried in and stood by Rodemaine’s feet. 

[We won’t let you hurt Master!]

Sparkles flew around the room, glittering. 

“….”

They were Familiars. 

At that, the ones reported as missing. 

‘Master?’

“You… You really stole them!”

Johann shouted, his anger fueled. 

“I didn’t. These guys keep clinging to me.”

Rodemaine almost sounded disappointed. 

“Didn’t I tell you guys to stay put?”

He clicked his tongue lightly. 

Johann grit his teeth. 

“Tayl!”

[….]

But unexpected things continued to happen.

Tayl moved slowly. He stood in front of Rodemaine, looking at Johann. 

“… Tayl?”

[Rodemaine hasn’t done anything wrong.]

[That’s right! He saved us!]

Squeak, squeak. 

Johann looked down to his Familiar, at a loss for words. 

He could only continue to wonder about the statement of his longtime friend. 

The Familiar he entered the police force with, the training they had been in together, the many missions they had completed over the years. The being with which he shared a powerful and sacred bond. 

Right now. His Familiar was defending a dangerous criminal capable of cutting such a special tie.

Tayl’s voice permeated the tense air, for everyone to hear.

[Physical and verbal abuse of Familiars. The use of Familiars for unlawful purposes and assault. Neglect of Familiars.]

[These are crimes we have previously dealt with together. Those kinds of criminals, we lock them up in mana-restricting cells. So that they cannot contact their Familiars.]

Tayl explained what Johann was already well aware of. The acts and laws regarding Familiars that Johann protected as a detective. And the dealings of people who broke those laws. 

[…These are the Familiars of such Keepers.]

Rodemaine looked at Tayl, the back of the wolf creature facing him. 

It was a few months ago that he had met the Familiar that was named Tayl. 

Tayl had been following orders, to track any trace of the Familiar Thief. 

He had picked up a scent, one that was peculiarly out-of-place. The scene of azaleas. 

That was how he ended up in the forests, meeting Rodemaine. 

The suspected Familiar Thief was trying to shoo away a nagging sparrow that kept clinging to his feet, when he was caught.

Tayl was initially hostile. But it didn’t take him long to realise what the reality of the situation was. 

The sparrow Familiar with an injured wing despite being a mystical beast. And that injury was bandaged, evidently taken care of. 

It was the Keeper who had abused his Familiar, and the Thief who had broken the bond and nursed the small beast. 

Tayl quickly came to understand what Rodemaine’s intentions were. 

Rather than anger, he was filled with empathy. 

At the sight of the injured sparrow that would rather stay unbound with a dangerous man than return, bound to a keeper.

Remaining unbound made a Familiar weak. Forming a pact made with a mage both parties stronger. 

It was only natural that Familiars made pacts. Tayl knew it too. 

Perhaps it was because he was a Familiar himself. He instinctively understood the position of the sparrow-like beast. 

Tayl and Rodemaine came to an agreement. 

[If you continue to side with us, I will do my best to help you.]

“....”

Tayl shortly returned to his keeper at the police station with unremarkable results. His keeper had patted him gently, telling him that it was alright. That he had worked hard. 

Tayl was grateful that his Keeper was a good person. 

But the same could not be said for every keeper.