Chapter 437: The Important Talk

Chapter 437: The Important Talk

“So, what are we doing today, Master?”

Pochi and I have arrived at the foot of Kamiyama, the forbidden mountain north of Eddo.

No one will be here to interrupt us, and even if someone approaches the area, we’ll know.

With that in mind, I brought Pochi here... for reasons she does not yet know.

Despite that, she agreed to come without question. Maybe my intentions were written all over my face? Or did I subtly alter my words in a way that Pochi could see through? Well, none of that really matters — Pochi agreeing to follow me here is the only important part.

“Hup.”

Finding a nice boulder, I sat down on it, and Pochi did the same.

Now she’s tilting her head, waiting for me to speak.

...Now that I think about it, it’s been over 800 years since I first met Pochi.

Strangely enough, though, I’m not feeling nervous at all. Is it because we’ve been friends for so long, or have I become so desensitized to this kind of thing now? Well, I guess there’s no way for me to know the exact reason...RêAd lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

In any case, it’s probably thanks to all our memories together that I can talk about this... right here and right now.

“No.”

Pochi said before I could even open my mouth.

Well then, talk about preemptive.

“Huh...?”

Voicing my surprise, I turned to her.

Pochi looks... grumpier than usual, and is giving me quite a strong reproachful look.

“Uh, I haven’t said anything yet, though?”

“No means no! Whatever you’re gonna say, I don’t wanna hear it!”

Is Pochi able to tell what I’m thinking or something?

Well, I can’t afford to pull back now — and she absolutely must not be the one who controls the pace of this conversation.

Preventing my emotions from exploding, I lowered my voice and kept my tone straightforward... or at least I tried my best to sound that way.

“...Listen.”

“N-no! You can’t intimidate me into listening to that! Nuh-uh!”

“Please, Pochi, you have to listen.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“This is important, Pochi!”

Pochi stiffened up in response to my tone — which must have sounded as close to actual intimidation as it got.

...Yeah, I know was being unfair there, but Pochi wouldn’t have listened to me if I hadn’t resorted to that.

And by unfair, I mean VERY unfair — even worse so than the tricks employed by all other Masters I’ve ever met.

Pochi knows that, too. And exactly because of that, she’s saying she’ll oppose my order even if she dies.

I mean... yeah, of course I know that. She would never run away, even if it meant she was facing certain death. And exactly because of that, I’m going to write my clause in a little bit differently...

“If the command is not abided by, the Master, Asley, shall lose his life.”

“...!!”

I drew the Spell Circle with almost instantaneous speed and, exploiting the opening resulting from Pochi’s surprise, invoked the spell.

Out here, all is silent — no howling winds, no hustle and bustle of the city, no beasts and monsters.

The only sound entering my ears is the sobs of my Familiar... the likes of which I have never heard before.

“It’s... it’s not fair...”

Her rejection, anger, and fear are no more — only sadness and endlessly overflowing tears, wringing away at my heart.

“...We’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve always known... from the very beginning... how much you value that, so...!”

Before I knew it, streams of tears also ran down my cheeks.

It’s like... Pochi’s sadness has transferred over to me.

“Master... You... YOU FOOL!”

“Okay, look! It’s not like I WANT to die, dammit!”

I gave Pochi a big hug and started shouting my excuses, as if that would make her agree with me.

Then she... cried. A whole lot. Delivering to my ears over 800 years’ worth of sadness.

Our tears soaked the earth.

But it’s fine. This is fine.

Maybe Pochi will curse me for millennia to come — calling me the worst Master she’s ever had — but this was the only choice I could make.

Even without a Master, she’s powerful enough to continue living in the wild for about as long as a normal human. Even if Lucifer wins and conquers the world, she’ll be able to keep on living.

That’s what I want. A selfish wish. A hope I’m clinging to.

I’m sure no one will blame either of us for this... except Pochi herself, that is.

I’d rather not let her die. EVEN if she hates me for it... well, she already hates me for a whole lot of irrelevant reasons anyway.

It’s fine. This is fine.

Sure, I might be the worst Master in history, abusing my power like this... but it’s so that I can face Lucifer without any regrets.

And I’ll never let this choice I made be overturned. No one will convince me to — not Lina, not Tifa, not Fuyu, not Haruhana, not Irene, not anyone.

I understand Pochi’s pain well... so well that I hate it.

She’s the best partner and friend I’ve ever had. The one who understands me the most. That’s including the part where she keeps calling me a fool, of course.

What can I say, though? I love her. Hell, I’d proudly say I love her more than she loves me!

So... yeah. This is fine.