I nodded slightly.
“Eat slowly.”
Elysia said that and lightly stroked my back.
The dining hall was almost empty now.
From the kitchen came the sounds of the last bits of cleaning, and afternoon sunlight streamed long across the windows.
It was quiet.
In that quiet, another thought suddenly came to me.
‘Come to think of it… can Elysia and I enter into a formal familiar contract?’
Right now, I had a familiar authorization tag.
Proof that I was Elysia’s registered familiar.
A sort of identification that allowed me to move around the academy with her.
But, as the word implied, it was only a registration.
Elysia and I had not actually formed a magical contract.
The Special Familiar Studies Department had measured our resonance level, but we had not stepped into an official contract circle and performed a ritual.
Then what exactly should our current relationship be called?
Master and familiar.
But no contract.
Abnormally high resonance.
Our thoughts connect a little.
I can help Elysia’s aura flow with my demonic power.
‘…Isn’t this strange even from an administrative standpoint?’
I lifted my head from the plate.
If I was a nine-tailed fox, then surely I had a fox bead.
I couldn’t feel it now, but it had to be somewhere inside my body.
With this body, there was no way it didn’t exist.
In old tales, the bead of a nine-tailed fox was often described as the core of its power,
something close to its soul and life force.
I didn’t know exactly what kind of concept it was in this world, but at the very least, it wouldn’t be something trivial.
‘Is that what contracts are made with, too?’
I carefully tried to grope around inside myself.
Demonic power.
A force like moonlight, faintly blooming from the depths within me.
If I followed that flow, I felt like I might one day reach its core.
But for now, it was still too hazy.
It felt as though something was submerged at the bottom of a fog-covered lake.
I knew for certain that it was there, but even if I reached out, I couldn’t touch it.
It didn’t seem like it would be good to force it.
My memories, the power of my tails, and probably the fox bead as well.
They were not things the current me could touch recklessly.
‘First, I should look into how contracts are formed.’
How formal familiar contracts were carried out.
How ordinary familiar contracts and high-ranking spirit contracts differed.
Whether there were records concerning divine beasts or ancient species.
And whether a concept like a fox bead existed in this world as well.
The places to search were obvious.
The Central Library.
Or the Special Familiar Studies Department.
I looked up at Elysia.
‘Elysia.’
“Hm?”
‘Can we look into formal familiar contracts?’
Elysia’s hand stopped for a moment.
“Formal familiar contracts?”
I nodded.
Elysia closed her eyes, as though trying to read my intentions a little more deeply.
Perhaps my vague thoughts had been transmitted through the resonance, because her expression soon turned serious.
“So… right now, you’re only registered, and we haven’t actually made a contract.
Haku, you want to know whether a formal contract is possible?”
I nodded again.
Elysia thought for a moment.
“That’s true.
At the Special Familiar Studies Department, we only completed registration and measured our resonance level.
We haven’t made a formal contract through a contract circle yet.”
Her gaze deepened slightly.
“But Haku, you’re not an ordinary familiar…
So I don’t know whether it would be all right to apply a standard contract as it is.”
She was right.
That was what bothered me too.
If an ordinary familiar contract simply involved location tracking and resonance support, it might be fine.
But if it bound the soul, life force, or part of one’s core power, it would be dangerous.
Especially if there was something like a fox bead inside me.
This body belonged to Wolyeong.
I didn’t know in what form her power had been sealed within it.
If we touched the wrong thing and ended up stimulating Wolyeong’s memories or something like the tenth tail, that would be troublesome.
As if Elysia sensed that possibility as well, she spoke carefully.
“Rather than trying to make a contract right away, I think we should first look into how contracts work.”
‘Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.’
“Then shall we go to the Central Library after classes this afternoon?
There should be basic books related to familiar contracts.
For more detailed information, we’ll have to ask a professor from the Special Familiar Studies Department.”
The Central Library.
It was a place I had yet to properly enter.
A place where ancient texts, familiar encyclopedias, family histories, and magic books were gathered.
Perhaps one day, I might even find faint records related to Wolyeong there.
I gave a small nod.
‘Sounds good.’
Elysia smiled faintly.
“But Haku, promise me one thing.”
‘What?’
“Even if a formal contract is possible, if it’s a method that places a burden on you, we won’t do it.”
I looked at her.
Elysia’s expression was gentle, but firm.
“I’m happy that you’re with me as my familiar. But if that means forcibly binding you, I don’t want it.”
At those words, I couldn’t think of anything for a moment.
Familiar.
Master.
Contract.
In this world, perhaps those were only natural words.
But Elysia did not try to bind me as a tool.
She had been like that from the moment we first met.
When she saw a little fox collapsed in the rain, she held me in her arms, brought me to the academy, and drew a line when I was harassed.
It was the same now.
Even though a formal contract might benefit her, she was worried about the burden on me first.
For no reason, I turned my gaze away.
‘…All right.’
“Really?”
I nodded.
Only then did Elysia smile in relief.
“Okay. Then let’s look into it together.”
At that moment, the kitchen lady carefully approached.
“Are you finished?”
I looked down at the plate.
Before I knew it, the second bowl of soup was almost empty too.
I nodded.
“Oh my, you ate well.”
The woman took the empty bowl and smiled warmly.
“If Haku likes it, I’ll make it even softer next time. Not too salty.”
Elysia bowed politely.
“Thank you. I’m sorry we troubled you so late again today.”
“Not at all. I heard Lady Valerion and Haku both had a hard day. You went to the Starlight Council, didn’t you?”
At those words, my ears twitched.
Even the kitchen already knew.
The academy’s rumor network really was terrifying.
The woman smiled playfully.
“When the notice goes up, the students should calm down a bit. Haku needs to rest too, after all.”
‘I really hope so.’
Elysia, having read my thoughts, laughed softly and spoke in my place.
“Haku seems to think so too.”
“Then I’m glad.”
The woman carried the empty dishes back to the kitchen.
The dining hall had now become truly quiet.
Elysia gathered me into her arms again.
I let my body settle into her embrace.
The contact rules set by the Starlight Council.
The investigation into Richard.
The formal familiar contract.
And the fox bead that might be somewhere inside me.
There were even more things to think about now.
All I had wanted was to live quietly at the academy, but it felt like problems were increasing day by day.
But this problem was a little different.
This was not something that had arisen because someone was bothering me.
It was a question of how Elysia and I would define our relationship going forward.
Would I remain merely a registered familiar?
Would we form a formal contract?
If we did, would it bind me, or would it become a connection that protected us both?
I didn’t know the answer yet.
So first, I had to look into it.
What a contract was.
What a fox bead was.
And in what way I could be connected to Elysia.
When Elysia opened the dining hall door and stepped outside, the afternoon sunlight in the corridor came into view.
Looking at that light, I thought quietly.
That afternoon passed more quietly than expected.
Perhaps because of the notice posted after we returned from the Starlight Council, no students approached to touch me after lunchtime.
Of course, there were still plenty of gazes sparkling at me from afar, but at least no one sidled up and reached out like before.
The name of the Starlight Council was more effective than I had expected.
Temporary Regulations Regarding Contact with the Registered Familiar Haku.
The moment those words were posted on the bulletin board,
I had officially become “a fox who must not be touched whenever one pleases” at the academy.
…I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy or sad about that.
Afternoon classes ended without any major problems as well.
In the Department of Magic Knights class, Elysia held her sword in a slightly more stable stance than usual.
To my eyes, her aura flow was still tangled, but it was no longer in a state where it simply crashed around at random like when we first met.
Little by little, a path was forming.
Perhaps the professor sensed it too, because he cast several strange glances toward Elysia.
But he did not ask anything during class.
He probably was not certain yet.
After school, Elysia held me in her arms and climbed into the House Valerion carriage.
The faint mana vibration unique to a magic carriage rose up through the floor.
Before, I would have immediately felt nauseous, but today it was at least bearable.
I curled up on Elysia’s lap.
‘I’m kind of tired today.’
“You went to the Starlight Council. You were tense, weren’t you?”
‘A little.’
Elysia slowly stroked the fur on my back with her fingertips.
Her touch gave me a strange sense of comfort.
The Starlight Council.
The investigation into Richard.
The regulations on contact with Haku.
The formal familiar contract.
The fox bead.
There were many things to think about.
But at least no more incidents occurred today.
The carriage arrived safely at the Valerion estate, and Mina came out to the entrance to greet us.
“Welcome back, my lady. Lord Haku, you must have had a difficult day as well.”
‘I told you, you can drop the “Lord.”’
Of course, my thoughts did not reach her.
As soon as Mina saw my condition, her face filled with worry.
“Oh my, you look a little tired today.”
“We went to the Starlight Council.”
“Ah…”
Mina quickly nodded as though she understood.
“Then I’ll tell the kitchen to prepare something easy for Lord Haku to eat tonight.”
The people of this house took care of me far too naturally.
At first, that had felt burdensome, but the problem was that I had been growing somewhat used to it lately.
That evening, I ate a little soft chicken and thin soup, then returned to Elysia’s room.
As usual, Elysia brushed my fur, and I did not resist.
No, to be precise, I didn’t have the strength to resist.
The time spent at the Starlight Council had consumed more mental energy than I expected.
Maybe because I was in the body of a young fox, once the tension eased, drowsiness quickly washed over me.
“Haku, let’s look for materials related to contracts tomorrow.”
‘During lunch?’
“I think lunch break will be too short. And there will still be a lot of students around, so after school would be better.”
‘After school?’
“Mm. Let’s go to the Central Library after classes end.
As long as we go before the academy closes, we should be able to check a little.”
With my eyes half-closed, I nodded.
A formal familiar contract.
I had not decided yet whether to do it or not.
But I needed to look into it.
What kind of method ordinary familiar contracts used.
How resonance levels and contracts differed.
And whether something like the fox bead that might exist inside me could be connected to a contract.
I couldn’t move without knowing.
‘Okay. Tomorrow after school, the stacks.’
“Mm. Let’s go to the Central Library.”
Elysia’s hand lightly scratched behind my ear.
My eyes closed instantly.
Dangerous.
This body really relaxed far too easily.
‘…I’ll think about it tomorrow.’
And so, that day ended without any particular incident.