Chapter 382, The Secrets of Chiquiata

Blue.

That’s right… she’s Chiquiata’s Familiar.
Supposed to be, at least.

 

“What in the… how are you here, Blue?”

“Perhaps you aren’t asking the right question, Poer.
I think it should be ‘how am I in this era?’ instead.”

“Uh, that’s true, but still…”

 

Come to think of it, I’ve barely even talked to Blue back then.

Not enough to have an idea what her personality was, even.

 

“For the particulars, you should ask her.”

 

Blue looked at Minerva, then bent her neck down for me to get on.

Although I still had questions left to ask, I sat on Blue’s back first, then Minerva did so as well.

 

“Come, let us be on our way.”

 

Blue gradually sped up as if she was swimming in mid-air.
When she was high in the sky, I felt… a sense of comfort that I could not quite get from flying with the Levitation spell.

When we reached an altitude from which we could see all of T’oued, Minerva invoked the Flare Torch spell that I had taught her during class.

It’s probably a sign that she wants to discuss the topic here, away from any kind of eavesdropping — a thousand times better than a room in a building.

And so, before Minerva started talking, I asked the questions I still wanted to ask.

 

“Professor Minerva, do you… have an ancestor who went by the name ‘Chiquiata’?”

“Oh my… This is the first time anyone has assumed that to be the nature of my connection with the Grand Master.”

“Grand Master…?”

“Hehehe.
So you see, following the great battle of ages past, the Mage of the North — Grand Master Chiquiata — has taken many students under her wing.”

“Huh, she did…?”

“She was superior in both magic and magecraft… and even built the foundations of what is known as magitek today.
Those who respected her power gathered around her, and strove to surpass her.
Before long, those students started calling her the Grand Master.”

 

Hmm, before that battle, I did ask Chiquiata for help because we needed all the power we could get… Looks like she did come after all, even though I wasn’t there to see her.
Now that I know, I’m quite thankful for that.
Still, I’m not getting the connection — Chiquiata and Blue were bound by a Familiar Contract.
So how did that bond transfer over to Minerva — and presumably the earlier generations of students, too?

 

“She was also the one to develop a method for a third party to intervene in a Familiar Contract.”

“So, in other words… the contract can be modified?”

“Yes.
Using this Contract Transfer magecraft, a Familiar can temporarily be bound to two Masters.”

“…! That’s it! Since it’s not a permanent transfer, it’s possible to have two Masters despite the instability of the binds’ structure.
From there, by voiding the contract with the original Master…”

“…Blue is able to be transferred from one Master to the next.”

 

I see…

 

“Dragon-type monsters are long-lived by nature.
It’s not unusual for their lives to span thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
Even with how short an individual human Master’s life is, Blue will be able to live much longer by changing from one to the next.”

 

Right.
I know quite well how much Chiquiata loved Blue — I couldn’t bring myself to look at her, at how devastated she was when Blue’s heart stopped beating that time.

And so — in a way different from me, Kaoru, Jun’ko, and Tūs — she had worked out a way to extend her Familiar’s life.
Easier said than done, but Blue only had to keep that link alive.

 

“And to answer the earlier question, Mister Asley… I am not the Grand Master’s descendant.
She remained unattached all her life.”

“So that means…”

“The best among each generation’s students would be granted Blue as their Familiar.”

“Not decided by blood, but by a bond of trust and strength… Hmm.”

 

Minerva nodded.

The best of them were granted knowledge and power… and Blue, who holds memories of battles long past.

That was the solution that Chiquiata had come up with for the future. 

And that solution… has saved me.

I, Pochi, Lylia, and Weldhun have lived through a chaotic era… and so did Blue, who is also in front of me right now.

Knowledge of just how bad that era was caused a great deal of fear and anxiety to linger in my mind.
By having another individual to relate to in that aspect, I feel as if those negative feelings would eventually stop haunting me.

As if seeing through my thoughts, Minerva giggled.

 

“That is right, Mister Asley.
You are not in this alone — the rest of us are as well.
There is no need to hurry.
All we have to do is break down all the objectives we can, one at a time.”

“……All right.”

 

Back then, I told Chiquiata that she owed me one… well, she’s definitely paid it back now, in a big way.

 

“Also, I will now pass on one piece of advice to you… from a certain individual.”

“Huh?”

 

As I was caught off-guard, Minerva got closer and whispered into my ear, almost resting her chin on my shoulder.

 

“Wha–!?”

“…Well?”

 

She’s smiling… but that question of hers at the end came off as more like a sigh.

For a moment, I was horrified — taken aback by the content of that question.

Minerva proceeded to preemptively plug her ears while still cracking the same smile.

 

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!?!?”

 

My voice loudly echoed through the clear, moonlit sky.

 

[“KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN, YOU FOOL!!!!”]

 

I heard Pochi’s voice from below; she seemed to have heard my voice just now.

 

“Wha–!?”

 

Minerva and Blue laughed at my second instance of surprise that followed.

 

“”Hehehe…””

“Wait, did I just hear Pochi’s voice…?”

“Have you not noticed? We already are directly above the Silver Mansion in Eddo.”

“I-I haven’t noticed, no…”

 

Looks like Blue’s flying was so smooth, as if she was flowing with the wind, that I did not even feel like I was being carried.

And then Minerva waited for exactly the right moment to tell me… THAT.

Since Pochi heard my voice, she must have also realized that I’m fine now… Or, no, it was probably Blue and Minerva who gave Pochi the signal that I was back.

Ugh… I can’t shake the feeling that these two have played me like a damn fiddle.

 

“Go on, then.
Everyone is waiting for you.”

“Never forget, Poer.
You are not alone in this fight.”

 

Minerva and Blue’s words gave me a push… No, not literally.
I meant the support kind of push.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

This time, they only smiled.
And so, as Blue gently descended, I jumped off her back.

Pochi, seeming to have seen me coming, jumped onto the mansion’s roof… presumably in an attempt to catch me.

 

“Get out of the way! I can land by myself just fine!”

 

I said, trying to control my fall as I plunged toward Pochi.

 

“You’re no good without me around, Master!”

 

Pochi said, happily moving toward me.

 

“I really can land just fine!”

“No, you can’t! TOH–!”

 

Pochi shouted, and then…

 

“”Ah.””

 

…She failed to catch me.

 

“Damn it! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“Y-you’re too fast, Master!!”

 

Having expected Pochi to actually catch me after all that, I was left without enough time to properly stick my landing.

 

“GYAAAAAAHHHHHH!?!?”

 

Busting through the mansion’s roof, I landed right on my mattress in my lab– I mean, bedroom.
It… kinda hurts, actually.
This pain I’m feeling really makes me realize how much I should appreciate the magic, magecraft, and magitek I’m usually able to use.

But then the relief from the pain came before I could even suffer from it.

 

“”Rise, A-rise, High Cure!””

 

The advanced-level healing spell came from three different casters, invoked at almost the same time.
It did not take long for me to realize that they were Lina, Tifa, and Fuyu.

 

“Ah… everyone’s here?”

 

There were other visitors in my messy room aside from the three of them.

Haruhana, holding with great care the katana Kozakura that I had bought for her quite some time ago…

Lylia, looking embarrassed as she cast the elementary-level spell, Cure.

And then…

 

“Ahahaha! Your face… It’s all covered in soot!”

 

…This furball of a dog, who hurried back in here after the stunt she had failed to pull off.

I thought about shutting Pochi up, but I had something else I must do first.

After the recovery spells were done doing their thing, I got off my mattress and bowed down to everyone.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

…Because, out of my earlier frustration, I had pushed everyone away.

But when I looked back up, all that welcomed me were… the reassuring smiles of my friends.