"Fate?"
"An ill-fated connection is still a connection."
As Asakura spoke, he held out his right hand. "Follow me and make this gesture."
He pressed his middle and ring fingers against his thumb, while his index and pinky fingers stood tall.
"A fox?" Fujiwara Chika looked at the hand seal often used to represent a fox in Japan, vaguely realizing something.
"The trigger command is 'Kon'."
"'Kon'?"
Accompanied by the girl's unconscious repetition—after all, the essence of a human is a repeating machine—a strange sensation spread from her heart, as if a link had been formed between her and something else.
In the next instant, the shadow beneath the girl's feet suddenly expanded. Then, the fox monstrosity that had once nearly become her lifelong psychological trauma slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its form was so immense that the ceiling height of Wagnaria could barely contain its existence. Just by straightening its body, the lights on the ceiling that were kept on to illuminate the shop began to flicker eerily, as if interfered with by an invisible force. As that massive form brushed past the tables, in the eyes of those who could not see spirits, supernatural phenomena occurred—plates shifted and utensils flew about.
Whether it was an accompanying mist or some natural phenomenon, a white fog swirled around the monstrosity. That sense of non-ordinary abnormality instinctively made one's skin crawl.
Although Miko was wearing the Demon Eye Killer, because Asakura was by her side, she still secretly pulled the glasses down a bit. Through the gap above the frames, she witnessed the existence of the fox monstrosity. That sense of presence, far surpassing the evil spirits she usually encountered, shook her to her core. If she hadn't just seen Asakura's even more shocking true form—or so she thought—she might have wet herself.
If the appearance of the fox monstrosity was merely a standard shock for Miko, then for Fujiwara Chika, it was a direct strike against the fear buried deep in her heart that she thought had long since healed. Even though her spirit vision had nearly vanished, wearing the bracelet allowed her to regain the ability to see it, forcing her to face her past terror once again.
At this moment, the girl's heart was racing, and cold sweat poured from her forehead. Despite it being midsummer, she felt as if she were in an ice cellar; her hands and feet were cold, her body was numb, and she, who was usually cheerful and talkative, found her tongue frozen like a block of ice, unable to utter a single word.
In the next instant, the terrifying fox monstrosity moved.
It lay flat on the ground, exposing its belly, showing an incredibly fawning posture toward Asakura, like a dog obeying its master.
The expressions on Fujiwara Chika and Miko's faces suddenly became very interesting.
"S-so amazing! As expected of Asakura-kun!" Fujiwara Chika's eyes sparkled as she looked at Asakura.
With a dark expression, Asakura gave the fox monstrosity two kicks to make it act with more restraint; this fellow had become a bit too much of a "licking dog" lately. However, he wasn't surprised why it acted so sycophantic.
During this period, in order to complete his tasks, Asakura had been searching for traces of so-called "Evil Gods." One day, he had a sudden thought and called out the fox monstrosity. After checking it with the Nameless Grimoire, he found that this thing actually fell under the category of an "Evil God"—after all, it was an existence that had once been enshrined in a temple. It seemed that killing it directly would complete the task.
However, considering this fellow had always been quite obedient, and he occasionally needed this type of familiar-like creature to help run errands, Asakura eventually spared its life. It seemed that from that moment on, the fox monstrosity had turned into a total sycophant.
"You once prayed at this fellow's shrine, and it granted your wish to some extent. Originally, there was an 'ill-fated connection' between you two, like 'God and Believer.' Although this connection became much thinner because I blew it up once, it's still fine to use it as a catalyst to turn it into something like a guardian spirit..." Asakura explained to Fujiwara Chika. "But you aren't a pure witch, nor do you have the power to command familiars. So, the most you can do is 'call it out.' You can't control what it does after that; at most, you can only terminate the contract to make it leave."
If she were a witch, she could influence the fox monstrosity's actions to some extent by controlling it as a familiar—just like Yuigahama Yui. Even without prior experience, once she had Napoleon, she quickly learned how to direct him as if by instinct.
Even if it couldn't be controlled, the fox monstrosity had been strictly forbidden from eating people by Asakura after being defeated. Currently, it relied entirely on the mana Asakura provided to survive. In other words, if Fujiwara Chika had sufficient mana, she could use it as bait to guide its behavior. Unfortunately, the pink-haired girl had plenty of bust but no mana; she was just a muggle.
As he spoke, Asakura showed the girl how to terminate the contract: simply by taking off the bracelet.
"Of course, even though it won't directly follow your orders, according to my agreement with it, this fellow will protect you to the maximum extent..." Asakura added finally. "Consider it a second insurance policy I'm giving you."
"Thank you, Asakura-kun, I really..." The girl gazed at Asakura, wanting to say something heartfelt.
But the commotion caused by the fox monstrosity had already drawn the Wagnaria servers out. They were scurrying around them, putting the bizarrely dropped utensils and plates back in their places. The chaotic scene caused Fujiwara Chika's built-up emotions to deflate, and she ended up saying nothing.
"Huh?" Suddenly, the small, youthful-faced, busty waitress looked up in confusion. "Why does it seem like there's a table knife missing?"
"Ah, that... I accidentally broke it..." Asakura said upon hearing her. "Just add it to the bill when I pay later."
"No, no, as long as it wasn't intentional, we don't charge guests for broken utensils. But our shop's utensils are supposed to be high quality; how did it break..." The girl pressed her index finger to her lower lip, looking quite puzzled. "Um, where is the broken knife..."
Her eyes glanced toward the trash can next to Asakura, but she didn't see anything like a knife inside. She looked at him in confusion.
Asakura went silent for a moment, then said cheerfully:
"I ate it."
"Ehhh?!"