‘A familiar?’
“A familiar? This airheaded perverted fox?”
“That’s right. If keeping by your side feels too burdenso, I shall beco your familiar, Master.”
The lovesick fox puffed out her chest as if she were making so grand gesture, but I couldn’t find the words to respond.
Her offering to beco a familiar was, admittedly, worth that kind of reaction.
At Soul Academy, familiars are basically like pets. You ta a specific creature and use it as you see fit.
Like most systems in the ga, though, you can’t ta just any creature, and the stronger a creature is, the harder it becos to control.
Especially with sothing as powerful as the ruler of a forest—taming a creature of such strength is considered impossible.
How could a being that rules over an entire forest bow its head to another living creature?
I would know, because I tried to ta every single creature in Soul Academy.
The rulers of the forest are beings who would choose death over becoming soone’s familiar.
This airheaded perverted fox in front of was no different. Even if she acted like a lunatic, she was still the ruler of her forest.
And yet, here she was, offering to beco my familiar.
Sure, she was giggling to herself and repeating “Master” under her breath now, but there must have been a lot of thought behind that decision.
…Right? There had to be, right?
Though, with this airheaded fox, I couldn’t be sure.
Whether she wanted to be my pet just for fun or if she had so deeper motive, I couldn’t tell. But if she beca my familiar, it would definitely make keeping her around less burdenso.
According to what I knew about Soul Academy, the familiar contract process allows you to set certain terms.
Since I’d be contracting with a creature stronger than , I wouldn’t be able to force much. But if I could at least put a stop to her perverted antics, that would be enough.
Besides, rejecting her wouldn’t stop her from following . If she’s willing to put on a collar, I’m all for it.
‘Fine.’
“Alright, if you really want to be my pet so badly, I’ll put a collar on you, you masochistic fox.”
“Thank you, Master. Here, I’ve even prepared a collar for you…”
Ignoring the nonsense coming from the airheaded fox, I went into the room and picked up the old man (Ruell).
‘Grandpa, did that airheaded fox do anything weird while I was gone?’
‘She obviously did.’
I an, this pervert had already begged to step on her, so there’s no way she didn’t do sothing.
Co on, Grandpa. Be honest with . I’m ntally prepared for whatever she did, so just tell .
‘Liar.’
Huh?
Really, nothing?
Are you serious?
The old man was a stiff, noble knight—he wouldn’t vouch for this perverted fox if it weren’t true.
So that ans she actually behaved. Now that’s a shock.
‘Yes. She’s already latched onto , so I might as well put a collar on her.’
Who knows what kind of weird stuff she’ll do if I don’t? I just want so kind of safeguard in place.
‘So please, help out, Grandpa. You’re the expert in this kind of thing.’
I don’t care whether she fights for or not.
Most of the threats, I can handle on my own like I always have.
What I care about is making sure we craft a contract that minimizes her perverted behavior.
I can’t force much since she’s the one accepting the contract, but I want to be as thorough as possible!
The old man imdiately started outlining the contract, as if he’d prepared it beforehand.
‘Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted!’
He laid out a plan that would minimize as much of the discomfort caused by the airheaded fox as possible.
We couldn’t change her basic nature, but at least we could stop any sexual harassnt.
As expected of Grandpa! I knew I could count on him! I guess I’ll save my academy dungeon run for another ti.
When I told the fox about the terms Grandpa had co up with, she noticeably pouted.
“What’s all this, Master? No clinging to you, no following you around in secret, no sneaking peeks at you? That defeats the whole purpose of coming here!”
Is it really that hard to stop doing perverted things? I guess for you, it is.
‘If you don’t like it, you can leave. Please, I’m begging you.’
“Ugh. No, leave if you want! I don’t need an airheaded perverted fox like you. In fact, it’d be great to not have to hear your annoying voice anymore.”
“Mmm...”
The airheaded fox didn’t really have much of a choice, though.
You’re the one who suggested the familiar contract! Suck it up and deal with it!
If you don’t like it, just go back to your forest!
But thinking about it now, it’s strange, isn’t it? Is my charm stat really that high?
If this airheaded fox is this obsessed, I must’ve maxed out my charm stat. But if that’s true, why isn’t everyone else looking at that way?
Even if all my other stats were garbage, people should at least be treating more favorably.
…Wait, could it be? Is my reputation so trashy that it cancels out my high charm stat?!
Is that it?!
Is my reputation really that bad?!
“I understand. I accept.”
As I realized the harsh reality and spiraled into despair, the airheaded fox reluctantly nodded.
She figured that being my familiar with a few restrictions was better than leaving my side.
I wonder how much the fact that she’d get to call Master influenced her decision.
“Then let’s proceed with the contract.”
The airheaded fox spoke and pulled out a talisman from her robe.
“This is a talisman imbued with my power. Hold it and recite the terms of the contract to yourself. Then...”
The contract process she described was similar to the cutscene in the ga.
There was nothing new, but the familiarity made a little excited. It felt like I was recreating sothing from the ga.
But that excitent quickly faded. Unlike the flashy cutscenes in the ga, the contract in real life was pretty boring.
After holding the talisman and doing as she instructed, the talisman glowed and rged into my body. That was it.
It was mysterious, sure, but compared to the ga’s dazzling effects, I couldn’t help but think, That’s it?
Reality can be disappointing sotis.
As I stared at the spot where the talisman had disappeared, there was a sudden poof sound, followed by smoke.
What the heck? Is this an explosion? Did sothing go wrong with the contract?
Maybe the reason the contract process was so dull was because sothing went wrong!
“As expected, it turned out this way.”
When the smoke cleared, what appeared was a tiny fox.
The airheaded fox had transford into a small, fluffy version of herself.
She sat on the floor, glancing at her new form before raising her head.
“Don’t worry. The contract didn’t fail. It’s just that your power isn’t strong enough yet for to fully manifest. Over ti…”
...Wow.
I never thought I’d say this about the airheaded fox.
It feels weird to even think this, but…
She’s cute.
Those sparkling eyes.
Those tiny paws.
That soft-looking fur.
That wagging tail.
She’s like a stuffed animal.
So fluffy. So fluffy!
“Master?”
Knowing that it was still the airheaded fox inside was a bit annoying, but if I could just ignore that, this wasn’t so bad.
I’ve always liked animals! Especially tiny ones!
“Master?”
Seeing her tilt her head in confusion made lose my focus for a mont.
It was like when I saw my friend’s puppy back in the day. I reached out and stroked her head, and the soft warmth filled my hand.
This. This is what I wanted.
The warmth and softness I could never feel through the monitor.
Even in her true form, the airheaded fox had always taken good care of her appearance, so her fur was incredibly soft.
This had to be top-quality fur, right?
I got so hooked on that fluffy feeling that I kept stroking her head. But then, the airheaded fox quickly jumped up and darted away.
‘Where are you going?!’
“Airheaded fox! Where are you going?!”
Where do you think you’re going?! If you’re my familiar, you should stay here and let enjoy your warmth and fluffiness!
“Wa-wait! Um. Wh-what? Don’t you think you’re getting a bit too close?!”
What is she saying? She’s the one who always clings to , but now I can’t touch her?
You like this too! This is what you’ve been wanting!
Why are you acting all innocent and running away now?
Co here! Determined to feel more of that fluffy fur, I chased after the airheaded fox, but she dodged my every attempt with swift, nimble movents.
What the heck?! How is she so fast?! My stats should be pretty decent by now, but she’s still quicker?!
Is that because she’s the ruler of the forest?!
Knock, knock.
Just as I was about to catch her, soone knocked on my door again.
Who is it this ti?! I’m busy right now!
If they’re interrupting my fun for no good reason, I’m not going to forgive them!
“Oh, my lady? Is everything alright?”
Panting as I opened the door, I was greeted by Karl.
‘What is it?’
“What do you want, weakling?”
If he interrupted my chase for no reason, there’d be hell to pay. I shot him a glare, and Karl, looking a bit uneasy, continued speaking.
“Ah. Well, it’s just that Alsatin sent a ssage. He says he found what you asked him for.”
Alsatin?
...If it’s that, then it’s important.
Sigh. Fine. The airheaded fox is my familiar now anyway. I’ll enjoy that fluffy fur later.
The Church of the Principal God, the largest religion in Soul Academy, is so huge that it rivals an entire country. In fact, its influence surpasses many nations.
There are even places that have been wiped off the map because they angered the Church. Officially, the reasons are always sothing else.
In gas like these, organizations this overwhelmingly powerful are rarely purely good.
On the surface, they claim to stand for justice and possess enormous power, but in reality, they’re rotten to the core, held together only by a few good people.
That’s exactly what the Church of the Principal God is.
It’s no wonder I agreed with Grandpa when he said that if he revealed himself as an Apostle, he’d disappear without a trace.
The Church really is that kind of place.
So you can imagine, right? Faybi’s backstory is going to be dark as hell.
“You’ve arrived.”
The mont I opened the door to the shady back-alley bar, Alsatin greeted with a grim look.
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