Chapter 29: Friend Acquired
"So," I began, sitting down in the passenger seat of Martha's P1 as we raced back home. "Any plans on telling me about what this is? You cut the butler guy off before he could finish back there." I reached into the antique box containing my Evil Pieces. Holding out the Bishop and Knight that had undergone noteworthy physical change while they were binding themselves to me.
She glanced at the pieces, allowing me to pick up on a subtle spark of interest kindling within her eyes.
"They're called Mutation Pieces, it's technically a bug in the Evil Piece system—but the egghead decided to keep it in because he found it amusing. All it does is give the piece more value than it would usually have, for example, that Bishop and Knight you have could be worth twice their traditional value or more. It varies from person to person."
Looking past her lack of interest, haven't I obtained something rather extraordinary? From the sound of it, I've been given the ability to create a peerage with higher value than the norm.
That said, there's still the issue of actually finding a Knight and Bishop worthy of a "Mutation Piece," so I suppose I shouldn't celebrate early.
"Pieces usually only mutate once someone's been reincarnated with it and experienced a change powerful enough to serve as a catalyst for the mutation. However, it seems your circumstances are special. Off the top of my head, I can only recall the little Phenex and Belial child awakening Mutation Pieces from the get-go."
Little Phenex? Well, I know for a fact she isn't talking about Riser, his peerage might have a bit of experience under their belt, but their total value hardly equates to that of my hand.
The left one, to be precise.
She must be talking about Ruval, that doesn't surprise me—he's in the Top 10 after all. Honestly, it wouldn't shock me if all of the Underworld's Rankers had mutation pieces.
As for the "Belial child," that one's more than obvious. It's the Emperor himself, Sebastian's former student—Diehauser Belial.
"Hold on a second," I stroked my chin, contemplating the realization that I had replicated a feat of two of the Underworld's strongest Rating Games participants. "Doesn't that make me… a genius?"
"Hah!" She scoffed, covering her mouth and diverting her gaze temporarily. "You're many things, sweetie, but if I were you, I'd save myself the embarrassment and wipe that word from my dictionary." In the most condescending manner possible, she patted me on the head.
"Hmph! You're just acting smug because you know it's true." I pouted, crossing my arms and slouching into the carbon fiber seat.
"Sure, sure."
Soon enough, we were back inside the glassy shell that was her greenhouse. My eyes immediately picked up on the addition of a dozen plant species which I had yet to lay eyes upon before—again. At this point, I'm pretty sure most of the plants she tends to are unknown even to the Sitri Clan.
"Am I finally going to get this 'reward' you've been talking about?" I asked, my voice teeming with impatience. Part of me even deliberated whether or not she had been leading me by the nose for the sake of her own amusement.
It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
"What are you talking about? I've already given you your reward, it's not my fault your senses are too lacking to notice it." She insisted, pointing at my torso for some reason.
With a questioning gaze, I proceeded to track her gaze.
Hisssssssssss!
And upon doing so, I felt my face burst into a nervous sweat.
"S-Sn…"
"What's wrong? Don't you like your mother's gift?" A malicious grin pulled at the corners of her mouth.
Coiling around my waist was a ten-foot-long, absolute specimen of a King Cobra. Coated in pristine white scales, and adorning two beady, frightening crimson pupils. Like that of an albino.
Its forked tongue flicked back and forth out of its orifice as it tasted the air around me, with its head facing directly towards mine, and its emotions completely unreadable even to my Senjutsu.
"S-SNAKE!" I recoiled, stepping back in panic and nearly tripping on my behind—almost startling the creature which may or may not have resulted in its fangs sinking themselves into my skin.
Fortunately, a dragon's sense of balance isn't so easily broken.
"That's a Ryuichi Snake to be particular, I own quite a few of them thanks to a contract I have with their birthplace—but that's none of your concern."
With my attention completely fixated on the slithering serpent, registering her words was proving to be quite the challenge. If there's anyone watching over me from above or below, please don't let me get bit!
"They're an exceptional species when it comes to reconnaissance, and the one wrapped around you is the most sought-after breed—it was a challenge even for me to obtain it, so you should be thankful that I did so for your sake."
It continued to move upwards, tightening its length around my chest and raising its head right up to mine. Flicking its tongue directly against my face.
And that instant, for some reason entirely alien to me, my perception of the creature started to change. I suddenly started to find it… cute? I can't really explain the feeling, but I somehow feel as if I'm compatible with it—like a feeling of kinship.
I mean, snakes and dragons are often associated with one another. There might be some symbolic meaning at play.
"H-hello?" I attempted to communicate with it, but was met with complete silence, along with some indiscernible tongue movements. "Not much of a talker, I take it…"
"It won't communicate with you until you contract it—and by the way, it's been attached to you since morning. You don't have to worry about it attacking you or anything, it's become considerably familiar with your scent at this point. If it didn't like you, you'd already be writhing on the ground in an unimaginable amount of searing pain. Its venom isn't something to be taken lightly."
I swallowed a nervous gulp, taking what little reassurance I could.
Wait a minute, I did a double-take, retracing what she had just told me.
"Since morning?! That can't be!" I found it hard to come to terms with the fact that this thing bypassed both my physical sense of touch and my Senjutsu. It was a significant blow to my pride.
"Putting aside the fact that your baggy robes made for a convenient hiding space, its scales secrete a specialized numbing agent, which is why you didn't feel a thing. They're a species born to stealth, hence why they make such excellent recon units."
"And what about my Senjutsu?"
"It's home, Ryuichi Cave, is an esteemed sage region that countless Senjutsu practitioners have visited in an attempt to learn its secrets—though only a handful have succeeded, myself included." She said with a proud grin. "Ryuichi Snakes are a species with Sage Arts running through their blood. The one around you might only be a baby, but its Senjutsu talent eclipses yours at least a hundredfold—you could learn a thing or two by studying it."
"Hold on a second," I raised my hand. I'm pretty sure she just tried to gloss over a MAJOR problem there. "Did you just say he's a—baby?" I'm not much of a herpetologist, but from eyeballing it, I'd say this thing should almost be fully grown.
"First of all, she's a girl. Female Ryuichi Snakes are always stronger in both size, strength, and technical ability; there's no point in acquiring the males unless you want to breed them. Second of all, yes, she's still a newborn. Do you really think I'd trust someone of your lackluster intelligence with one that was already grown? You'd be dead within milliseconds."
Ah, I suppose she has a point there. Still, if it's already this big as a newborn, what kind of behemoth will I end up carrying with me once it's fully grown?
"Besides, it's better to contract them when they're young. It helps solidify the bond between you and the snake if they're with you while they're still in their formative years."
Hmm. It's already proven to be formadiable with its speciality, and considering my intentions and future responsibilities—having a scout as reliable as this would be a huge boon.
All in all, this is actually a pretty solid reward, even if Martha's intentions for rewarding me are questionable.
What a strange feeling.
"You keep mentioning this 'contract', would it be safe to assume that it functions like a familiar?" I know I still have the envelope from the Familiar Master, but if I get a familiar now, I'll be able to save that exclusive trip for when I have some peerage members under my wing.
Additionally, there's no law stating that someone can't have more than one familiar. I could always use the trip as an opportunity to acquire something with a different specialty if needed.
"You're free to think of it that way, all you have to do is hold out your finger—she'll do the rest."
"Like this?" I did as Martha instructed, my eyes fixated on the snake as her head drew closer to my index finger. My nerves were wavering a little as I inspected the appendage intently.
Prick!
"GAH! It bit me!" I started to panic, wondering if I was about to drop dead any second now.
"Calm that deficient head of yours, it was a dry bite. You weren't envenomated." Her words caused me to release a deep, hearty sigh of relief. Thank goodness, I'm far too young, handsome, and talented to die a second time. "It's just going to take some of your blood, establishing the contract between you."
The snake did precisely as Martha said she would, scooping up a droplet of my blood and swallowing it in one gulp.
Thump!
It didn't take long for the feeling to kick in, my heart skipping a beat as I felt an increasing sense of familiarity build up between me and the creature. Like our very souls were tied to one another by a fine thread.
"I'll check on your progress with her regularly, if you do a good enough job of raising her—I'll consider taking you to Ryuichi Cave itself. There are special techniques there that you may or may not be capable of learning, but if you do end up proving capable, it'll be a huge boost to your strength."
"Hehe, don't you worry, by the time I'm done with her, she'll make a Leviathan look about as threatening as a hamster in comparison." I smiled, my expression overflowing with confidence.
"Oh, please, with you at the helm, I'd be thoroughly stunned if it ended up stronger than a corgi."
"No, I have full faith in my massster's competence." A hoarse, serene yet mildly intimidating feminine voice echoed out of the snake's maw.
"She talked!" I yelped in surprise, staring at my newfound familiar with widened eyes.
"Didn't I just say she would once you contracted her?" Martha sighed in exasperation, gripping her head. "She's now connected to your demonic power, giving her access to our translation ability."
Oh, right, I forgot about that handy little passive trait.
"Indeed," my scaly little companion confirmed. "It's a pleasssure to be contracted you massster, I look forward to being of ssservice."
Honestly, that speech mannerism is fucking adorable. At least to me.
"Likewise—uhm, how should I refer to you?"
"Whatever the massster finds most sssuitable isss fine with me."
"I mean, I'd rather not refer to you as 'you' all the time. Do you have a name or something I could use?"
"Sssurely you jessst, only thossse who gain the Sssage's recognition are granted an official name. However, if you wisssh to give me one asss a placeholder, I won't complain."
"The Sage?" I looked at Martha, hoping for some elaboration.
"She's talking about the White Snake Sage." I'm not sure whether I'm imagining it or not, but I swear I'm detecting a note of camaraderie in her voice. "She's the only good conversation partner I've found in all my years of living, and she's also the leader of Ryuichi Cave. Much of my current Senjutsu prowess is thanks to her, ah, but someone like you has no chance of meeting her. Not unless you can gain the recognition of her daughters first."
Woah.
I can't believe it! Martha actually has someone she considers a friend!
But if that's the case, then I probably don't want to be anywhere near such a person, despite my curiosity about a figure capable of befriending someone with my mother's character.
"Lady Martha makesss a good point," she began. Also, 'Lady Martha'? I'm not sure how a newborn knows about my mother, but that's probably a story for another day. "Massster, your Sssenjutsu isssn't terrible. However, you ssstill have a long way to go before you're ready to tread my homeland."
Isn't terrible, huh? Well, that's coming from a creature that literally stuck to my body for hours on end without me noticing. So I'll take what little praise I can get.
"Hmph, that's fine with me. I don't need the help of that Sage or those princesses, after all, I've got you here to teach me—isn't that right?" I smiled at her, and even though her serpentine face wasn't capable of expressing much emotion, I could tell that her sentiment had shifted by virtue of our established connection.
"While I find your vote of confidence misssplaced on one asss inexperienced asss I, I ssshall do my bessst to match your expectationsss of me."
"Don't worry, you'll do just fine—Sylvie." I smiled, honestly, that was about the best I could come up with. I'm not very good with naming, but at least it's somewhat fitting. 'Sylvie the Snake', or something.
"Alright, that's enough with the chick flick moment you two have going on." Martha breathed a disgusted groan, interrupting our little starting contest. Heh, she's probably just jealous. "Your father wants to see you in his office, apparently, it's something of great importance."
"Yeah, I'm sure it is." I chuckled knowingly.
Of course, I was well aware about the subject of I and Sebastian's upcoming conversation.
How?
Thora told me, or more accurately, she didn't have a choice. After I disclosed the contents of the deal between me, Lady Leviathan, and Lord Lucifer. She felt obligated to disclose something to me in return, since it was bound to interfere with the deal.
Roygun Belphegor.
My fiancée.
———
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