Chapter 1-7 : The Girl, The Cat, And The Dark Red Night (part 2)
Now that they had decided to spend the night there, Elle started to set up camp.
First, she would create a barrier to prevent monsters from attacking them while they were sleeping.
She took out her magic rod from her magic bag and drew a magic circle on the ground with it.
There was a blue crystal attached to the tip of the rod that she got from Moritz, and as soon as she finished drawing the magic circle, the blue crystal shone, and a small barrier with the shape of a cube was deployed. It was small but enough to protect her and Yoyo.
After that, she put four fire magic stones on all four sides and activated them to warm the air inside the barrier.
Lastly, she took out a thin mattress she made herself from animal skin. She spread it on the ground and lay down on it.
Yoyo then lay down next to her.
「Ahh~ It’s so warm and comfortable.」(Yoyo)
「Yeah.」(Elle)
「By the way, you want to eat something?」(Yoyo)
「No. I’m not hungry.」(Elle)
「I see.」(Yoyo)
「Yoyo, thank you.」(Elle)
「What is it all of a sudden?」(Yoyo)
「You saved my life. If you didn’t wake me up, I would have died in the flame.」(Elle)
「Ah, don’t mention it. Of course, I would wake you up.」(Yoyo)
「Un. But, how did you know the villagers were coming? Were you not sleeping?」(Elle)
「I was sleeping, but we fairies are sensitive to human negative emotions, so I woke up when they started burning the house and the surrounding area.」(Yoyo)
「I see.」(Elle)
Fairies also sleep like humans. However, they still could sense things around them while sleeping especially negative emotions.
「The sun will rise soon, so we better sleep now. Good night, Elle.」(Yoyo)
「Un. Good night, Yoyo.」(Elle)
Elle pulled up the blanket, covered her and Yoyo’s body with it, and closed her eyes.
She was very exhausted after running through the forest to escape the fire. She wanted to fall asleep right away, but she couldn’t
She kept remembering the engulfing flames burning Moritz’s house to the ground and the villagers who wanted her dead.
She closed her eyes but then opened them again. She did it multiple times.
Yoyo, who realized that Elle was feeling uneasy, opened his eyes and asked.
「You can’t sleep?」(Yoyo)
「Un… Whenever I close my eyes, I keep seeing flames and those villagers’ faces…」(Elle)
Elle started having a hard time sleeping sometimes ever since her father, Hugo, left the house, but it was the first time she had trouble sleeping because she was thinking of something other than her father.
The scenery of the burning house and the villagers’ faces with black spots that she saw when she closed her eyes bothered her so much that she kept opening her eyes.
「Yoyo… Why would those people do such a horrible thing…? Didn’t they understand the consequences? Didn’t they realize they would burn themselves and the entire forest?」(Elle)
「Hmm, I think they knew. They realized they would die anyway, so they decided to do that.」(Yoyo)
「Is that so…? If only I could persuade them to take the medicine…」(Elle)
「No, Elle, it wasn’t your fault. I don’t think they would listen to you no matter how hard you try to persuade them. They die because of their own foolishness.」(Yoyo)
「They are indeed foolish people, but… Why do they hate me in the first place? Why did I do to them?」(Elle)
「They thought Moritz was a Monster Eater who would bring disaster to their village. That’s why. Elle, you should stop worrying about those people. Why would you waste your energy to think about people who hate you? You should think more about the people who care about you. For example, the awesome cat fairy next to you~」(Yoyo)
「Fufu. You’re right. Thank you, Yoyo. I’m glad I still have you.」(Elle)
Saying that, Elle stretched her arms toward Yoyo and hugged him tightly.
Yoyo usually hated when he was hugged, but he let Elle do that for a while for now.
「By the way, Yoyo, when and how did you meet Master?」(Elle)
「Hmm… If I’m not mistaken, it was fifty years agoー No, sixty? Seventy? I don’t quite remember, but I remember clearly how I met him. I found him lying in the forest with some mushrooms on his robe.」(Yoyo)
「Mushrooms on his robe? What do you mean?」(Elle)
「I mean he had been lying on the ground for at least three weeks. Probably a month, I don’t know. I thought he was dead at first, but when I was about to leave, his arm suddenly moved and he grabbed my tail.」(Yoyo)
「That’s… Kinda creepy…」(Elle)
「I know, right? He was so weak that he couldn’t even speak back then but I knew he was asking me for help, so I took him to an abandoned hut nearby and let him eat and rest there. I planned to leave him after he regained his strength. I thought it would be the last time I would see him, but then he kept asking me to do a lot of things for him. And… We had been together for decades before I even realized it. I think I decided to stay with him because I was lonely and needed a friend.」(Yoyo)
「Hee~ I didn’t know you get lonely easily.」(Elle)
「Oh, don’t tease me. Anyway, after we lived together for a while, he asked me if I wanted to make a contract with him, but I refused.」(Yoyo)
By making a contract with a magician, fairies can receive benefits such as a huge increase in their amount and quality of mana.
However, they have to obey the magicians and have to live with them for the rest of their lives. If the magician dies, the fairy will die too.
「I didn’t hate Moritz and I acknowledged his ability as a magician, but I thought his orders could be very troublesome sometimes, you know?」(Yoyo)
「Ah, I think I can understand.」(Elle)
「Well, I’m glad I refused. If I made a contract with him, I would have died with him and wouldn’t have been able to stay by your side.」(Yoyo)
「I see. You may be right.」(Elle)
「…Elle, you know what…」(Yoyo)
Suddenly, Yoyo raised his body and looked at Elle with a serious face for some reason.
「I refused to make a contract with Moritz, but I don’t mind making a contract with you.」(Yoyo)
「Eh? Are you serious?」(Elle)
「I’m serious. I will be able to protect you with all my strength if I make a contract with you.」(Yoyo)
「But… If I die, you will die too, right? I don’t want that.」(Elle)
「If you die, I will die of loneliness anyway, so it’s better if we die together.」(Yoyo)
「But… Did you really mean that?」(Elle)
「Geez. I’m dead serious. Have I ever lied to you?」(Yoyo)
「But…」(Elle)
「Oh, come on. Enough with ‘buts’ already. Alright, I’ll change the way I’ll say it… Elle, please, make a contract with me! I beg you, please!」(Yoyo)
「Ugh, now you’re being weird…」(Elle)
「I wouldn’t have if you said yes right away.」(Yoyo)
Elle started thinking while looking at the starry sky through the branches of the surrounding trees.
If she made a contract with Yoyo, he had to stay with her forever. She would never lose him like she lost her master, and he would never leave her without saying anything like her father.
She said Yoyo was easy to get lonely, but she herself was too.
「Umm… How do I make a contract with you?」(Elle)
「Oh? So you accept it then! You just need to let me lick your blood.」(Yoyo)
「My blood? Do I need to cast some spells?」(Elle)
「No. All I need is the information about you, and your blood will tell me everything.」(Yoyo)
「I see. Alright.」(Elle)
Elle nodded and took out a knife from her magic bag. She then cut the tip of her index finger a little and stretched her hand toward Yoyo.
「Alright. Here we go.」(Yoyo)
As soon as Yoyo licked the blood on the tip of Elle’s index finger, his body shone and a magic circle appeared between the two. It then slowly disappeared into thin air and Yoyo’s body gradually became normal, indicating that the contract was complete.
「Whoa…!! I feel the mana flowing from you. It feels amazing! Elle, how about you? What do you feel?」(Yoyo)
「Umm… I don’t know. I don’t feel anything in particular.」(Elle)
「I see. The one who is affected the most by this contract is the fairy, not the magician after all, so that’s probably why you barely feel anything.」(Yoyo)
「I see. Anyway, I will be in your care, Yoyo!」(Elle)
「Please take care of me too, Elle!」(Yoyo)
From that moment on, Yoyo has officially become Elle’s familiar/partner.
Their strong bond will never be broken by anything.
Thanks to Yoyo, Elle had calmed down and was finally able to close her eyes with peace of mind.
She fell asleep while hugging Yoyo’s warm and fluffy body.
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