Novel Full 244 244 Shrewd Negotiator
Wolfe laughed at the Demon’s forward attitude, but Alice shook her head. “If you want to play with Wolfe, you have to ask his Familiars. They get jealous and territorial. Even I don’t get to do that just because I’m feeling horny, and I’ve been with him a long time.”
The Fox Demon giggled, then looked around. “So, where are these Familiars?”
Wolfe pointed at his feet. “Down in our room in the Den where the mana is denser, still asleep. They were up late last night. How about we head down there, and you can meet Cassie and Ella, maybe Stephanie as well, if she’s feeling sociable.”
The Fox Demon raised an eyebrow. “You have three witches in Familiar Bonds? How does that even happen? Once is uncommon, twice is beyond rare, but three times? That’s just unheard of.”
Wolfe shrugged. “I was summoned by two at once, to begin with, and then I formed a Familiar Bond with the third on my own. She originally wanted to be closer to the others, but she decided that she was not going to stop being a cat. Apparently, it’s a pretty good life.”
The Demon smirked. “You can nap all day. Nobody asks you stupid questions. There are warm spots in the sun or in front of a fire. It’s a good life. I spend a lot of time in Fox form for that reason.”
ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm
“They’re cute. Fortune must favour you to have gotten those two as Familiars, even if they were the ones that summoned you back from the dead.” The Kitsune laughed quietly so she didn’t wake them up.
“Oh, I wasn’t dead. I was working as a Teacher’s Assistant awaiting trial for being a Magi when they did their Familiar Summoning Ritual, and I got pulled to them. It was a huge mess the first few days since the Academy wasn’t sure what to do about two Witches sharing a Familiar.
I don’t think they ever realized that I was always in control of the link, we were drafted for the battle against the Monster Tide in our first year, and we haven’t been back since.
Now, everyone accepts that I am the one with the power here. They’ve both reached Rank Two already, and it hasn’t even been a year since they joined the Academy, so I think we’re doing pretty well.”
The Fox Demon looked incredibly impressed, but Cassie rolling over as she began to wake up distracted them both from their conversation.
“Wolfe, come back to bed. It’s still too early. Oh, we’ve got company. You could have warned me so that I could get dressed.” Cassie complained.
“That’s fine. Our fine Fox friend here has a proposition for us. She wants to trade for a book of weapon creation techniques.”
Ella cracked an eye open to give Wolfe a suspicious look. “And if you’re bringing it to us, that means that she wants something lewd in exchange.”
The Fox Demon smiled. “I didn’t ask for much, just help to break through ranks. You have no idea how rare it is to find a catch like a Rank Four Demon in the wild, even I was tempted to ask for pups, and I never wanted any.”
“Great, so now we have to worry about Demons looking for offspring. I wonder how Demonic they would be born since you’re starting to cleanse your bloodline. Would they be born as like half breeds?” Cassie muttered.
“Maybe once his bloodline was clear, it would be half, but if he still carries the curse, then it would be fully Demonic. The problem is that when Demons mix, the lineage doesn’t always breed in the expected way. A humanoid and a Fox Demon won’t always make one of the two or a mix. The Curse will warp them. Only when a Demon picks a human or a witch, who doesn’t have the Demonic Curse, will they get the same type of Demon.”
That explanation didn’t really help Cassie’s concerns, but she sighed and patted the bed. “If you’re legitimately willing to help him learn new techniques, then I won’t complain about your price.”
“I knew I could count on you to be reasonable. All I need is a belly full of mana to break through. With that, I’ll have plenty.” The Demon smiled.
“And you didn’t think that you could just ask him for Mana? He’s got four Mana Focuses full of it. I’m sure there is more there than in even a stomach full.” Ella laughed.
“You know, he suggested the same thing, and he was going to do it right there at the picnic table like it wouldn’t bother anyone to see him turn someone into a drooling mess.” The Kitsune laughed.
“It likely wouldn’t. He’s done that to us with mana transfers to refine our Mana Systems more than once in the past, and the Witches get a sort of twisted joy out of seeing it be someone else’s turn to go through it.” Cassie pointed out.
“Interesting. So you prefer to transfer mana and break their minds a little to keep them loyal? That’s an easier way than trying to convince them all to become your concubines. It’s not nearly as much fun, in my opinion, though. Call it animal instinct, but I still prefer the old-fashioned way.”
“In that case, we will leave you to it. Just scream for mercy if you need it, and we will come to rescue you.” Ella joked, then picked up Stephanie and began to head for the door.
“I’m trusting that this is worth it, and you’re not just turning into a perverted version of Mary and doing lewd things to the fluffy creatures. This one’s even fluffier than the last one, with a whole extra tail.” Cassie warned him.
The Witches left, followed by a confused Ember, who realized that he was the last one left on the bed, and the Kitsune smiled at Wolfe as she removed her cloak. There was nothing under it but Demoness, and Wolfe smiled at her enthusiasm. You could never accuse this woman of not knowing what she wanted.