Interlude: The Kind Familiar

"Nnn...gh, ugh...! How could I have done something so shameless...!" I moaned, burying my head into my pillow.

On the top floor of the girls' dormitory at Aurora Magic Academy, inside a bedroom bathed only in moonlight, I—Alphiria Glastonbury—was pressing my face firmly against a top-tier duvet, flailing my legs while muffling silent screams.

Even though I had doused myself in cold water to thoroughly cool my flushed skin before crawling into bed, sleep was nowhere to be found. If anything, the moment I closed my eyes, vivid flashbacks of today's utterly intense, scandalous events came rushing back, reigniting the heat inside me.

First came the unexpected duel between Taron Muramor and Shinya. Driven by the critical mission of Mana Generation, I had dragged Shinya into the waiting room, stripped off my blouse, and embraced him while clad in nothing but my underwear, sharing a deep, passionate kiss.

"Up to that point, I could excuse it..." she babbled into the mattress. "The real problem started when Cyril almost caught us, forcing us to hide inside that cramped locker...!"

In a tense, high-stakes situation where a single mistake meant ruin, I had taken his fingers into my mouth to keep from crying out, sucking on them while making the most obscene, squelching sounds.

"In-Inside a locker... to do something like that with Shinya's fingers...!" I squeaked, squirming under the covers.

And that wasn't all. Unbelievably, I had unhooked my own bra and guided his hands directly onto my bare breasts.

Just recalling the rough, solid texture and warmth radiating from his palms—and that thrilling electric shock that shot straight through my brain when the pads of his fingers flicked my tips—made me feel utterly shameless.

"Ah... nnn, haah..." I gasped softly into the dark.

Remembering his bewildered face as he desperately tried to endure it caused a sweet, deep ache in my lower stomach, drawing out a damp, trembling breath I couldn't believe came from me. Yet what tormented me even more was the memory of the bathroom from just a few hours ago.

"I must have lost my mind in the bath, too..." I groaned, hiding my glowing face. "Acting like some shameless courtesan...!"

Joining Shinya in the bath under the pretext of rewarding him after his exhausting duel had been nothing more than an excuse. Prompted by my maid, I had put on an ultra-thin black competition swimsuit, squeezed his arm between my sudsy cleavage, and tried to wash away every trace of Cyril's scent that lingered on him.

Every time I swayed back and forth, the vivid sensation of flesh rubbing together through the flimsy fabric sent squelching, wet sounds echoing through the room. And as my erect tips beneath the swimsuit rubbed against his surprisingly firm, muscular arm, the sweet, sharp pleasure it yielded had been divine.

Shinya's arms are so firm... Where we're rubbing together... it feels so warm...

This arm is stiff, too... I need to work out all that tension for him...

I couldn't believe such lewd thoughts had crossed my mind. Jealous of another woman's scent on Shinya, I had recklessly rubbed my chest against him to overwrite it with my own. My possessiveness was completely out of control.

To top it off, I had straddled his thighs, washing his hot, tensed arms against me while seeking my own pleasure in the process. If he hadn't doused me with the showerhead, I undoubtedly would have crossed the point of no return.

"Uuuugh... I'm going to die of embarrassment...!" I wailed, curling into a ball.

As the next head of the prestigious Glastonbury family, I was supposed to remain noble and refined, yet here I was, completely stripped of my composure and turned to mush by a single boy who happened to be my familiar.

Cupping my burning cheeks with both hands, I let out a long breath and turned onto my back, staring up at the ceiling.

My heart gave a heavy thud in my chest. Otherworld Summoning magic was considered forbidden. As the price for casting it, I had lost the vast majority of the mana I once prided myself on. The title of "genius" was nothing more than an empty fiction for me now. And yet—

"Shinya..." I whispered softly.

Just saying his name brought a soothing warmth spreading from deep within my core. It was the warm, blissful mana that flooded into me whenever we touched, joined skin to skin, and shared deep kisses.

During our life-or-death battle against the Goblin Lord, he had embraced me while I trembled with fear. The torrent of mana that streamed through our pressed lips was more than powerful enough to make up for everything I had lost—and above all, it was exceedingly gentle.

As long as I had the heat he gave me, I felt like I couldn't lose to anyone. Compared to my solitary past as an isolated genius, being connected with him now left me far more fulfilled. Simply having him by my side made me feel invincible.

Slipping quietly out of bed, I opened the door without making a sound and headed to the adjoining bedroom where he slept. Illuminated by the moonlight, Shinya lay on his bed with a peaceful expression, breathing softly in sleep.

"..." I watched him silently.

Looking down at his defenseless, adorable sleeping face, the sweet heat inside my chest squeezed tightly with pangs of guilt.

He was just an ordinary boy—gentle, kind, and brave when it mattered most. In his peaceful home world of Japan, devoid of monsters or dungeons, he should have laughed with friends, fallen in love, and walked toward an ordinary, happy future. I was the one who had robbed him of that life.

When the Variant Goblin Lord swung its deadly club down upon us at that critical moment, he had leaped forward to shield me, completely unarmed and devoid of mana.

What kind of familiar runs away and leaves his master behind? If we die, we die together.

The memory of his smile as he tried to reassure me rose in my mind, blurring my vision with tears. Every time he showed me kindness, every time he took injuries to protect me, every time he gave me that sweetly melting heat... I was forcefully reminded of the weight of my sin.

"...I'm sorry, Shinya. I'm so, so sorry..." I whispered, my voice trembling.

Gently brushing aside the bangs falling over his cheek, I fought desperately to hold back the tears welling in my eyes.

I couldn't expose Shinya to any more danger. I could never allow him to lose his life just to protect mine.

"I swear I will send you back to your world. So please, just stay with me a little longer..." I murmured softly.

Swallowing the rest of my sentence, I lifted my head. Even if I had to do the impossible, I would return everything I had stolen from him. That was the absolute least I could do to make amends.

"Headmistress Ortea must know something..." I resolved quietly.

The headmistress had claimed there was no way to send him back, but there was no way a wizard of Ortea Welt's caliber truly knew nothing. No matter what price I had to pay, I would extract that knowledge from her.

"Thank you for your hard work today. Rest well... my precious familiar... my Shinya," she murmured.

Bending down gently, I placed a soft kiss on his forehead, sealing it with my penance, my vow, and my affection.

Tomorrow, I would visit the headmistress. All to set Shinya free—

＊＊＊＊＊

The headmistress's office at Aurora Magic Academy was filled with the scent of mahogany and sweet incense. Though I had entered this room only a handful of times, I could never quite get used to its heavy, unique atmosphere.

"A way to return Shinya to his original world, hm...?" Ortea mused softly.

The morning after Shinya's duel with Taron, I had stormed into the headmistress's office first thing. My goal, naturally, was to extract a method for sending my butler-slash-guard-slash-familiar back home.

"Didn't I tell you at the very beginning?" Headmistress Ortea Welt said, crossing her legs gracefully without looking up from the ancient grimoire in her hands. "There is no magic in existence that can send someone summoned through Otherworld Summoning back to their original world. Surely a young lady of the Glastonbury House hasn't forgotten that already?"

She spoke with cool indifference, thoroughly crushing my sliver of hope before I could even frame my request.

This was a living legend speaking—the sole disciple of Albion Aurora, the progenitor of magic, and the world's oldest and most powerful archmage. Normally, anyone else would have given up and retreated, but unfortunately for her, I had come prepared for the absolute worst.

"Is there truly no way to return him?" I pleaded, bowing my head deeply as if spitting blood. "I don't care if it requires forbidden magic or risking my own life! If there is anything you know, please tell me! I beg of you, Headmistress Ortea!"

I knew how selfish I sounded, begging for help when this entire situation was the direct result of my own shallow, arrogant actions. But she was the only person I could possibly cling to.

"Whatever is the matter, Alphiria?" Ortea remarked dryly. "You look terribly tragic. That's quite a change of heart coming from the girl who egged him into a duel in the first place."

"...I simply realized the truth," I replied grimly. "Things cannot go on like this."

"Oh?" Ortea hummed, raising an eyebrow.

"I realized how much danger I'm exposing him to just for the sake of my own pride..." I confessed, my voice tight with regret. "Yesterday, if he hadn't blocked Taron's magic, who knows what would have happened to him? He deserves a peaceful, safe life of his own. A person like me has no right to steal that away."

Enduring the crushing pain in my chest, I gripped the hem of my skirt tightly and laid bare my true feelings like a confession.

Hearing my desperate plea, the headmistress snapped her grimoire shut, letting out a smirk that brimmed with deeply out-of-place amusement.

"Heh-heh... I see, so that's what this is about," Ortea chuckled warmly. "You burst in here looking like the world was ending, so I assumed you and Shinya had gotten into a lovers' spat."

"Why would you jump to that conclusion?!" I blurted out. "Shinya and I haven't fought..."

Well, not that we never bickered, but that was completely beside the point.

"Is that so?" Ortea teased playfully. "When a young man and woman live under the same roof, it's only natural for a romantic complication or two to arise, wouldn't you say?"

"T-T-That's not it at all!" I protested, flushing red. "My relationship with Shinya is exceptionally good! In fact, it's so good it's almost terrifying!"

I raised my voice to object, but the realization that our "exceptionally good relationship" was precisely what led to those intense encounters in the locker and the bath caused heat to rush right back to my face.

"Heh-heh, I bet," Ortea purred, leaning forward with a wicked grin. "Considering you two were busy flirting—er, performing 'Mana Generation' in the waiting room before the duel, why don't you enlighten me on what exactly you did, just for reference?"

"W-We weren't flirting!" I stammered, flustered. "I-I just embraced him a little, nothing more...!"

There was no way in hell I could admit to sucking his fingers, unhooking my own bra, and letting him feel up my breasts. I shook my head frantically, desperate to cover up the truth.

"Is that really true?" Ortea cooed, her eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. "I won't let it slide if you're lying, you know. I could easily drag that cute familiar of yours off for some private late-night lessons myself..."

"A-Absolutely not!" I shrieked in horror. "It's the truth! It really was just a hug!"

As the headmistress narrowed her eyes and threatened me with a predatory smile, I protested with every fiber of my being. My pride as a prodigy of a noble house was in tatters, but I couldn't possibly surrender Shinya to this dangerous carnivore.

"Kuh-kuh-kuh... Very well," Ortea chuckled, satisfied. "Looking at that face of yours, bright red like a boiled octopus, tells me more than enough. ...Now then, shall we return to the main topic?"

In an instant, the playful smirk vanished from the headmistress's face. A tense aura pierced through the room, making it feel as though the temperature had plummeted in a split second.

"As for returning him," Ortea explained in a grave tone, "sending him back via magic is impossible, but that doesn't mean there is no way at all. It is a fundamental law of this world that the moment a familiar contract is annulled, the familiar is returned to their origin. Whether spirit or otherworldly human, the rule should apply all the same."

"If it was that simple, why didn't you tell me sooner?!" I demanded, leaning forward.

"Because that, too, is impossible through magic," Ortea stated coldly. "No incantation or spell crafted by human hands can overwrite an absolute master-servant bond formed across world boundaries."

"...Then we're right back where we started!" I cried out in frustration.

As despair began to creep back into my heart, the headmistress continued in a low, measured voice.

"Calm yourself," Ortea advised. "Magic cannot achieve it, but an Artifact is another story. Though I have never seen one with my own eyes, legends speak of Artifacts created by the gods of the Age of Myths that possess the power to forcibly break any contract or curse. If such a relic exists..."

"It could sever my contract with Shinya...! And once the contract is broken, he'll be sent back to his world! Is that right?!" I exclaimed, her eyes wide with newfound hope.

I shouted, pressing up against her executive desk. It felt as though a ray of hope was clawing its way up from the bottom of a muddy abyss. Deep within my chest, joy trembled alongside a poignant, aching sorrow at the thought of losing him.

"Mind you, this is purely theoretical," Ortea cautioned, maintaining a cold, unreadable gaze as she squashed my rising excitement. "And searching for such an Artifact will be no easy feat."

She fixed me with a piercing look, cooling my enthusiasm with harsh reality.

"While Artifacts are uncovered from time to time, you would need to delve at least to the tenth floor of the Aurora Underground Labyrinth—or deeper," Ortea warned. "To find something powerful enough to dissolve a cross-realm contract, you will have to step into a realm of death infested by monsters that make that Variant Goblin Lord look like a cute household pet."

With those words, the headmistress stood up from her chair, grabbed me firmly by the collar, and pierced me with a glare dripping with deadly intent as she posed her question.

"Do you possess the resolve to stake your life and your future for the sake of a single man, Alphiria Glastonbury?" Ortea demanded.

"—I do," I declared without hesitation. "It is the least I can do to make amends."

Surprised by my unwavering answer, the headmistress widened her eyes slightly. Then, letting her bloodlust recede, a soft smile touched her lips as she released her grip on my collar and sat back down.

"Splendid. Spoken like a true 'Witch of Rainbow Flame,' Alphiria Glastonbury," Ortea praised quietly before her expression shifted. "Or so I'd like to say... but haven't you forgotten something rather important?"

"...Huh?" I blinked, caught off guard.

"You wish to retrieve an Artifact to send Shinya back to his world," Ortea reminded her with a knowing smile. "Yet to accomplish that, the strength of Shinya himself will be absolutely indispensable."

ToC