“Hey mister. Looks like you’ve got something other than Lucky now.”
As we leave the basement, we bump into Yuri of Organic. I’m guessing she was in a training room. She’s wearing a tracksuit and sweating a little.
“Good morning Yuri. This is Tina the fairy queen, my new familiar. And she is riding on an autonomous magic device called four hands.”
“Good morning big sister Yuri. I saw your videos.”
Says Tina while waving, as she sits cross-legged on the fake sunflower growing from four hands’ head.
Yuri’s eyes are glued on Tina, and she looks terribly surprised.
Incidentally, Tina has been using my seeker device in place of a tablet to watch Matube, so that’s how she watched Yuri’s videos.
Well, I say in place of a tablet, but Tina is fifteen centimeters tall, so to her it feels like a large touchscreen TV.
“My videos!? Eh, did this girl just talk? Which one? What am I gonna be surprised about the most!?”
Oh, Yuri seems shaken. Fairy type magic beasts are not often seen in Japan, but I think they are common in gates that opened in Europe.
“Hum, Yuri, is Tina a rare magic beast?”
“Yes, super rare. Fairy types are rare in Japan, but a talking one… There are familiars that can be taught words, but I’ve never seen one that talks like this. Most of the ones that look like they’d be able to talk are broken.”
“Broken?”
I tilt my head, and she nods while saying yep.
“They’re called stuff like mad beasts and lunatic monsters. All magic beasts with some level of intelligence go crazy. So if one can talk, it means either something must’ve happened for it to have become an exception, or it’s been taught words but isn’t actually all that intelligent.”
So magic beasts with some intelligence are broken? It sounds weird, but it doesn’t look like that applies to Tina. She spoke a language I didn’t understand at first, so she was intelligent even then.
“Tina is a very smart girl.”
“I think so too. That’s what got me so surprised. M-mister, remember what I asked about Lucky? Can Tina come too!? I’ll stop if you wanna keep her hidden.”
Asks Yuri while bending down and looking up at me, and I frown.
I think streaming with a familiar is pretty popular, but Lucky is a summon beast, and Tina is a very rare talking fairy.
The Seeker Association treats Tina like a regular familiar, so there is no problem there, and Lucky shouldn’t be a problem either if I keep the fact that it’s a summon beast hidden. I think the Washington Convention applies to red pandas, but Lucky just looks like one. Then I guess it’s up to Tina.
“Stream… I’m interested, Zenjurou.”
Tina nods with a sparkle in her eyes. I guess that’s settled then. If Tina wants to, I have to respect it.
And so, it’s been decided that Tina will also be on Yuri’s stream. And me? No no. I politely decline, because what could be interesting about a regular old man?
The man and the others will sharpen their fangs before a new journey.
Their destination is Chichibu, the gate in his land. And beyond it is a lush forest.
And the forest will invite them, waiting to drag them into its stomach.
Thanks for the treat.