‘A familiar?’
“A familiar? This airheaded perverted fox?”
“That’s right. If keeping me by your side feels too burdensome, I shall become your familiar, Master.”
The lovesick fox puffed out her chest as if she were making some grand gesture, but I couldn’t find the words to respond.
Her offering to become a familiar was, admittedly, worth that kind of reaction.
At Soul Academy, familiars are basically like pets. You tame a specific creature and use it as you see fit.
Like most systems in the game, though, you can’t tame just any creature, and the stronger a creature is, the harder it becomes to control.
Especially with something 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 tame every single creature in Soul Academy.
The rulers of the forest are beings who would choose death over becoming someone’s familiar.
This airheaded perverted fox in front of me 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 become 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 some deeper motive, I couldn’t tell. But if she became my familiar, it would definitely make keeping her around less burdensome.
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 me, 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 me. 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?’
<You assume she did something?>
‘She obviously did.’
I mean, this pervert had already begged me to step on her, so there’s no way she didn’t do something.
Come on, Grandpa. Be honest with me. I’m mentally prepared for whatever she did, so just tell me.
<She did nothing. Surprisingly.>
‘Liar.’
<I swear on my honor, it’s the truth.>
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 means she actually behaved. Now that’s a shock.
<More importantly, are you really going to contract her as a familiar?>
‘Yes. She’s already latched onto me, 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 some kind of safeguard in place.
‘So please, help me out, Grandpa. You’re the expert in this kind of thing.’
I don’t care whether she fights for me 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!
<Understood. Wait a moment. I’ve been thinking about it since I overheard the conversation.>
The old man immediately started outlining the contract, as if he’d prepared it beforehand.
<Let’s focus on preventing any criminal behavior first and foremost.>
‘Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted!’
<I don’t know how much of this can be enforced, but let’s start by...>
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 harassment.
As expected of Grandpa! I knew I could count on him! I guess I’ll save my academy dungeon run for another time.
When I told the fox about the terms Grandpa had come 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 me 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 me that way?
Even if all my other stats were garbage, people should at least be treating me 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 me 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 game.
There was nothing new, but the familiarity made me a little excited. It felt like I was recreating something from the game.
But that excitement quickly faded. Unlike the flashy cutscenes in the game, the contract in real life was pretty boring.
After holding the talisman and doing as she instructed, the talisman glowed and merged into my body. That was it.
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It was mysterious, sure, but compared to the game’s dazzling effects, I couldn’t help but think, That’s it?
Reality can be disappointing sometimes.
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 something go wrong with the contract?
Maybe the reason the contract process was so dull was because something went wrong!
“As expected, it turned out this way.”
When the smoke cleared, what appeared was a tiny fox.
The airheaded fox had transformed 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 me to fully manifest. Over time...”
...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 me lose my focus for a moment.
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 me 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 me, 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?
Come here! Determined to feel more of that fluffy fur, I chased after the airheaded fox, but she dodged my every attempt with swift, nimble movements.
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, someone knocked on my door again.
Who is it this time?! 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 message. 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.
There are even places that have been wiped off the map because they angered the Church. Officially, the reasons are always something else.
In games 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 moment I opened the door to the shady back-alley bar, Alsatin greeted me with a grim look.