CH 524.1

Form a contract with me!

The one who descended into the magic circle with a thump had characteristically long ears… eh, is that… a rabbit?

It sniffed the scent around restlessly.

For some reason, it was wearing a bow tie and vest, and had a small cap on its head… reminiscent of a rabbit from a certain fairy tale.

“Eh, no way, is this perhaps an academy? If I didn’t feel interesting magic power, I wouldn’t have responded to the summons if I knew this was an academy. I’m poor with children’s high-pitched voices.”

The rabbit grumbled and locked onto Mariel-chan, who was staring blankly at it.

“Ah, it’s you, isn’t it? The one who summoned me.”

She approached Mariel-chan with a bounce.

Mariel-chan remained silent while she stared at the rabbit.

“… Hey, you. I’m asking you whether it was you who summoned me!?”

The rabbit clapped its feet, bam! Bam! Onto the floor, and Mariel-chan finally came to her senses and replied, “Y, yesh!”

“Ah, sheesh. Letting myself get summoned by such a foolish child, I must have lost my touch. Oh well. You seem amusing enough. I will allow you to enter a contract with me.”

The rabbit took off its cap and bowed grandly. On its forehead shone a sparkling red gem.

“Eh!?”

Mariel-chan was taken aback by the sudden offer from the summoned monster.

The students in the barrier behind her were also unable to hide their confusion at the fact that the monster spoke human language and its appearance.

The one person who was not affected and was as usual was Teacher Neil.

“Yo… you, are you perhaps a Carbuncle!?”

Teacher Neil, who was close to the very edge of the magic circle, looked at the monster excitedly from all angles while licking his lips.

“Oh my, you must be quite a connoisseur to know me… that being said, could you not approach me any further? You are a bit revolting.”

“R, revolting!? That’s cruel!”

The reason being, the fact that the actual time is not as long as the actual time is.

Teacher Neil was shocked when he was rejected in disgust.

Well, if he approaches it the way he usually is… huh, Carbuncle?

Err, isn’t Carbuncle a kind of legendary species? The one they call phantoms whose ecology is widely unknown…?

(Ah~ that certainly is a Carbuncle. That fella Neil knows his stuff.)

Byakko-sama said, looking ahead as if leaning forward with his small body.

“I, is that really a Carbuncle?”

(Yeah. You see that bright red jewel on its forehead? That’s the main feature of the Carbuncle. With the power of that jewel, it can read people’s minds and bewitch them. Well, it is said that the ability varies from individual to individual, though. I don’t think people know much about their abilities, so the only thing they know is that the jewel is valuable.)

Heeh… uhh, read people’s minds?

Isn’t that dangerous?

I looked over at Mariel-chan and the others and saw that the Carbuncle had just pressed near her face.

“So, are we forming a contract? Or not? You are not so foolish to reject me, are you?”

The Carbuncle swung its paws against the floor as if threatening the panicked Mariel-chan.

“E, err, umm, that…”

The Carbuncle went bam! And slammed its foot down… and Mariel-chan hurriedly held out her hands.

Mariel-chan grasped its paws, and the contact point started glowing, enveloping them both.

“Wah…”

When the light faded, the Carbuncle emerged from the magic circle with a bounce.

“Yep, with this, the contract is formed.”

“In, incredible, Mariel-kun! You made a contract with Carbuncle!”

The students in the barrier also cheered, following Teacher Neil’s praise.