Are you... a dragon priestess?

"Win four times and we're champions, Arthur."

"Gyuaon"

Communication with one's tamed beast. Such exchanges served as a key indicator of a Tamer's skill, and these two were clearly in perfect sync.

The opposing competitor had managed to line up his tamed beasts, a boar and some snakes, but… they were trembling pitifully. This was the opening match, an undercard bout between contestants who weren't expected to draw crowds based on the betting odds.

In other words, the opponent was frankly weak, despite having enough skill to enter the Familiar Cup.

"… Arthur, try roaring a bit. At them."

Gyua! GYAOOOOOOON!!!

"Eek!?"

"""!!!"""

The Tamer and his beasts cowered in fear.

"D-Dea-senshu! Please don't intimidate your opponent before the match starts!"

"Then hurry up and start it… Arthur, no eating them, okay?"

"Gyi? Gyaoon?"

The Thunder Dragon tilted its head innocently. Where did that perfect sync from earlier go…? No, wait. This duo knew exactly what they were doing.

They were threatening the opponent despite being told not to, implying that accidents happen and they might get eaten.

But since the actual words were a reprimand, the announcer couldn't call them out on it.

"I forfeit…! I-I can't let my partners become dragon food!"

"W-Winner, Dea-senshu!!"

First match. Dea won without fighting.

"A wise decision. Come on, let's head back to the waiting room, Arthur."

"Gyua!"

Dea pointed the ball at the dragon and clicked a switch. A red beam of light extended toward the Thunder Dragon, enveloping it. The Thunder Dragon vanished as if sucked into the small ball.

At this point, the announcer nervously called out to Dea.

"Um, Dea-senshu. If you don't mind, could you tell us about that ball?"

"Hm? Oh, right. It would be boring for everyone if we left the whole match time slot empty, and I'm sure it throws off the schedule too. I don't mind explaining a bit."

Dea held up the ball for all to see.

"This is called a Monster Ball. It's a Magic Tool I borrowed from a certain dwarven prince."

"A Magic Tool from the dwarven royal family! I see, so that's how you control the dragon!"

"Eh? No. This is just for storage."

Dea tilted his head in confusion, and the announcer's eyes went wide.

"Eh?… So you're saying you command the dragon purely on your own, without the Magic Tool's power?"

"Well, yes. That's correct."

"By the way, Dea-senshu, what other monsters do you command?"

"None at all. I've never commanded anything other than Arthur."

Hearing this, the announcer could only conclude that Dea must have been bonded with the dragon since childhood.

And then, a certain rumor came to mind.

"… Are you a Dragon Priestess?"

The Dragon Priestess. A title referring to royalty from a fallen nation who had lived alongside dragons, specifically the princesses who could draw out a dragon's true power.

Dragons, who supposedly only respected strength, would bow their heads unconditionally to these princesses.

A legendary figure among Tamers. The announcer found themselves instinctively slipping into formal speech.

"… I'll leave that to your imagination."

"… !!!"

And then Dea smiled softly. An elegant smile befitting royalty.

The announcer was captivated and lost for words.

"Well then, I should head back to the waiting room."

With that, Dea gracefully descended from the stage and headed toward the waiting room.

The dazed announcer finally snapped out of it and raised their voice to recover.

"Th-This is an unexpected dark horse! An incredible contender has crashed into the Familiar Cup!! If you're holding betting tickets for Dea-senshu, I recommend hiding them before the others catch on!"

Starting with a walkover victory in the first match, the tournament was already hinting at great excitement to come.

As a side note, because of Dea and Arthur, future tournaments would require listing the species of tamed beasts on entry forms. But that's just between us.