~Chapter 17~
『Witch, why does that less stupid human’s face look so gloomy?』
The monster, which had been staring at Christan for a while, suddenly asked.
“Who’s the less stupid human… Wait, you mean His Highness?”
Amelie lowered her voice to a whisper as she responded. The monster nodded its slimy body to confirm.
『After he glanced at me earlier, his face turned sour. It’s unpleasant. Could you tell him to stop making that face?』
“…”
Amelie didn’t pass on the monster’s complaint to Christan. Perhaps because of the previous order to “stay quiet,” the monster didn’t argue with her either.
‘Is he worried because I’m carrying this dangerous monster?’
Her heartbeat rose for no reason. Of course, Christan’s expression was hardened because he was worrying about the fate of the world, but Amelie interpreted it her own way.
She moved closer to him and spoke.
“I’m fine.”
“…What do you mean?”
“As long as my control ability is active, the monster can’t harm me. So you really don’t need to worry so much!”
Christan blinked slowly a couple of times. Her confident words and the expression clearly trying to reassure him caught his eyes.
He almost let out a quiet laugh but quickly suppressed it, keeping his face stern.
“Alright.”
Christan walked ahead of her with steady steps. His slightly cold attitude made Amelie tilt her head.
‘Why’s he acting like that all of a sudden? Did something happen? I’ll have to ask Sir Siard later.’
She hurried to follow him, but no matter how much she tried, the distance between them didn’t seem to close.
The subjugation squad camped for a day outside the territory and then, without rest, finally arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle.
“Lady Amelie! Thank goodness you’re safe… Huh! What is that horrible thing?!”
“Nina! This is the top-tier monster we captured during the subjugation. It listens to me well. Later, researchers will analyze it.”
Nina, Amelie’s personal maid, looked like she would faint on the spot when she saw the monster inside the cage.
“W-why are you the one carrying such a dangerous thing?! You could have asked a knight to do it!”
“Well, the thing is… I made this cage myself, so I’ve never tested if it works properly when someone else carries it.”
Amelie put on a serious expression.
“Who knows, the monster could suddenly break out…”
“Hiiiik!”
Frightened by the warning, Nina didn’t mention the monster again.
After comfortably setting the cage inside her room, Amelie turned to the monster.
“Hey monster, are you asleep?”
『…』
“By the way, what’s your name? I don’t like just calling you ‘monster’ all the time.”
The monster didn’t respond. Earlier, it had conversed without complaint, but now it sat curled up like a lump of mud in the corner of the cage.
Amelie tilted her head.
“Are you really asleep…?”
『My name is Kamaritanes.』
“Huh?”
The monster—no, Kamaritanes—finally spoke. But now, it wasn’t acting obedient anymore.
Amelie fiddled with the bars and muttered,
“Did the control wear off already? I guess I didn’t use much blood… But then, how can we still talk?”
『When you cast your control ability on me, I learned your pronunciation and language data. It seems to remain permanently.』
“Ah, I see…”
Kamaritanes shifted its muddy body and said,
『Now explain the situation, witch.』
“…”
Amelie was a bit annoyed by its arrogant tone, but she still explained.
“His Highness was going to kill you at first, but since you’re useful for research and I was able to control you, we decided to capture you alive.”
『Those insolent humans…』
“Hey now, we spared your life. You should be grateful, Kamarin.”
『…?』
Kamaritanes blinked its black eyes at the sudden nickname.
“Your name is too long.”
Kamarin turned its back in irritation. A curt telepathic voice followed.
『So what will happen to me now?』
“As I said, you’ll be used for research. After that… I don’t really know. They’ll probably kill you…”
She spoke casually, but Kamarin went silent in shock.
『I endured the humiliation just to survive… And I’ll die like a dog anyway? At the hands of foolish humans…』
“That’s why you should’ve behaved better! Because of you, we had to do an unscheduled subjugation. Well, I didn’t really mind it though…”
『Ridiculous. Do you think I crossed over just to bother humans?』
“Huh?”
Amelie, who had been only half-listening, suddenly focused.
“Then why did you come here?”
Kamarin’s eyes grew serious.
『Those of us with some status in our homeland don’t recklessly cross over just because a rift appears. But this time was different. I was forced here by some unknown power.』
“…”
Humans had no reason to summon monsters—they would gain nothing from it.
Amelie pressed down on Kamarin’s sticky body.
“Liar.”
『I don’t lie!』
“True or not, it won’t change anything. His Highness or the others won’t care about your circumstances.”
That was the truth. Christan had wanted to kill Kamarin from the beginning, and once the research was over, the other nobles would demand the monster’s death as well.
Even if it survived, it would spend the rest of its life locked in a research lab’s underground prison.
『…』
Kamarin was about to give up completely but suddenly looked up.
Those red eyes, sharp and commanding. The agile figure who had thrown potions in battle. The one who could even temporarily control a top-tier monster like him.
A thought struck him.
‘If it’s her… maybe it’s worth staying with her.’
『…What about you?』
“Huh?”
Kamarin decided to gamble.
『Witch, would you consider my situation?』
“…”
Amelie stared at Kamarin. He looked genuinely desperate, even if others couldn’t tell.
But when she showed little interest, Kamarin spoke frantically.
『If you make me your servant, it’ll be very convenient! You won’t have to waste blood using your ability every time you fight monsters!』
“Hmm… That does sound nice. But you could betray me. Who would take responsibility then?”
『T-that…』
Kamarin stuttered. He looked so pitiful that Amelie sighed.
‘Fine. He’s begging this much… If I make Kamarin my familiar and use his control ability instead, I can save my strength for other skills.’
She finally nodded.
“Alright.”
『!』
“But wait. I need to get His Highness’s permission first.”
『Okay! I’ll wait quietly. I promise I won’t cause trouble.』
And Kamarin really did curl up quietly inside the cage.
Though it made her uneasy to leave the top-tier monster alone with Nina, a normal human, he was locked up securely for now. Amelie decided to quickly go to Christan.
‘Well… nothing bad should happen.’
