I became baffled by Mimi’s reaction toward my words. She awkwardly smiles and tries to laugh it off but the fierce redness of her face won’t come off. I don’t know why but she looks like she is confused about her own emotion right now.

“Mimi, are you perhaps…still trying to get used being a person?”

“Niyehehehe….you found me out. Well, that would have been obvious from the start if you knew my true identity.”

If that’s the case, she is trying to imitate people by observing them but instead of learning from them she became more interested in the people themselves and didn’t give any attention to her own self.

“Did you discover anything from your observation?”

“Did I? I don’t know since the people I meet is limited…until you and the others came. Well, it’s really confusing for me when I started you know. I can’t differentiate people from people unless they are master Astlan, Lady Hinoki, Lady Izuna, Lady Senya, Lady Nivalis and some other old residents of this mansion.”

“Wait, you know mother? No, that would be natural…”

“I kind of base some of my basic personalities from her, playful and a little idiotic.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. That only means that you, by nature, not really that bad. You just got some weird personality complex.”

“Niyahahaha! Just how cruel and mean that is.”

I stare hard at Mimi and she stares back at me with a blank face. Both our eyes lock into each other like we are some kind of idiots.

“Pffft! Hahahaha!”

“Laughing at me like that when I want to get a good closure with you.”

“I can’t help it! Mimi, if you can become less violent, I think I’m fine being with you.”

“Then why don’t you form a contract with me, a master and familiar contract!”

“Eh?”

I can feel a question mark popping out of my head as I tilt it slightly. I know that such relationship exists in this world but I don’t know if something like a contract can be made between me and Mimi. I mean I am no expert in magic and less, I can’t even use any magic except barrier and dimensional storage.

“How do we do it?”

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me. Let’s do it.”

“Right this instant?! But we are still in the bath…”

“And that’s ideal. Give me some of your blood.”

“O-Okay…I’ll just remind you, I am not human, I am a transcendental being so trying to bound me reversely in a contract won’t work…I guess.”

“I know that.”

Mimi grabs my hand and pulls it closer to her mouth. With her fang, she bit into my finger and slightly sunk it until blood comes out from it. She spills some in her palm and after getting a considerable amount, she bit her own finger too to bleed.

Mimi mixes her and my blood in her palm and shows it to me.

“Asagao, dip your finger in it and make a crest sign wherever you want in my body. It doesn’t matter what kind of sigil you traces, as long as it is there, we can activate it.”

“How do we activate it?”

“I’ll be taking your own magic to do it. I’ll invoke it myself but the magic power comes from you. My body will recognize your blood and your very own existence will be carved into my flesh as someone important.”

“Ah, so with that, you will also absorb some magic from me too?”

“Being your familiar, I have an exclusive access to your magic power, don’t worry about it, you have a high magic energy, maybe because you trained your barrier every day that you developed that.”

“Isn’t this my loss?”

“No, no. In a certain degree, you have control over me.”

“I see. Then, let’s do it. I’ll put it in your chest so puff it out a little.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I dipped my forefinger at the mixed blood from me and Mimi. Mimi puffs her chest out and places the bloodied finger between her moderately grown chests.  Somehow, Mimi becomes a little tense and her body shivers a little.

I stroke my finger downward creating a short vertical line of blood. After that, I dipped my finger again into the mixture of blood and created a half circle atop of the vertical line. After that, I created another two half circles that overlap with the previous circle atop the line. The two circles curve outward while the first half-circle curves upward.

The random doodle became a flower on a stalk.

I look at Mimi’s eyes. Her eyes widen as I gesture that it is done. I just smile at her and she became a little flabbergasted.

“Why are you shaking? You’re really doing so many unexpected things today.”

“Well, what if what you did came out uglier than I expected.”

“Want me to hit you?!”

“Anyway, give me your hand again. I’ll be using your magic now.”

“Go on.”

I reach out my hand to her and she gently took it and places it in the mark that I made. She then holds my hand with her own and squeezes it tightly. Our hands began shining as magic energy brims and concentrated in there.

I can feel her draining magical energy from me but not that much. From our connected hands, I can faintly feel her magic energy too. It’s a little cold and a little painful but I endured it.

Mimi then opens her mouth and did the invocation.

“---! -----! ---!”

I wasn’t able to understand any of her words. I’ve never of it before and I don’t have any idea what it is. Maybe it is a language only exclusive to monsters or magical beasts.

Magic courses throughout her body and she were covered with my color. With our naked bodies bared to each other, I can feel that we are reaching something even deeper. The steam in the bathroom starts swirling around us as it is swayed by the magical energy that was being infused together.

After that, every magical power was absorbed to Mimi's chest where the mark I made is located. She parted my hand from her chest and my amazement just escalated.

As she separates my hand from her chest, a blue chain was tied around my wrists, clanking and dangling as I move my hand. I follow the trace of the chain as where it leads. It turns out that the chain is deeply lodged within Mimi’s chest.

The phantasmal chain connects me and Mimi like what the contract implies, master and familiar. After a dozen of a second, the phantasmal chain disappears from my sight.

“That’s…”

“It’s done! You saw the chain, right? We are now connected, Asagao.”

“I see…”

“Now, I am bound to you. It’s your responsibility to carry me around now! You should know that this kind of contract is even deeper than a marriage.”

“Ah! You tricked me again?!”

“Niyahahaha! What’s done is done! However, tricked is not the exact word for it. It is more like I assured myself that…you are going to take me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes…”

“Then let’s finish bathing, come on, scrub my back.”

“Yes!~”

She is too unpredictable and fickle. I just thought that maybe if I was still a man, she is the type of woman that will be good to cheat with in a relationship. It’s a little sinful but she would be that type of woman is readily going to sin with you.

The problem is Mimi can be either boy or girl or even genderless. Mimi is not even a person but a creature called behemoth.

.

.

.

Mimi left my room after we took a bath. She helped me groom my hair and pick out my clothes of the day which consist of a gray hoodie with a white pleated shirt with collar inside. The bottom is consists of black short cargo shorts fastened with linen belt and fashioned with coffee colored knee boots.

I got to say, Mimi is quite good at fashion. I used to sew clothes and fix things but I guess I’ll try to learn more about fashion from now on.

Since I still have a bit of time before noon, I think I’ll grab a quick breakfast and head to Mimosa and Ardisia.

However before I could even leave my room, a knock disturbs my train of thought.

“Enter!”

As I shouted, the knob was turned and from there, the sound of the wheelchair is heard and Senya’s figure sitting on it appears before me as she enters the room. She has a worried countenance as her brows are knitted.

She moves her wheelchair towards me and greets me.

“How do you do Asagao?”

“I’m fine. I’ve rested long enough.”

“I see. I was thinking about your training…”

“Don’t worry! I’ve already learned how to use counter!”

“Oh? How?”

“It’s not exactly like how you taught me…rather than using magic…I used divine power.”

“That’s amazing! So, how was it?”

“I don’t know, I was able to reflect some attacks from behemoth but I don’t think I can do the same with physical attacks.”

“Behemoth? When?”

“Ah…?! I mean…Um…”

“You…you made a familiar contract with Mimi, right?”

“Eh?!”

I stumble backward a little from Senya’s words. Senya’s intuition is spot on or rather she already knows what’s up. She is truly the master of this mansion, nothing gets past her detection.

“You…already know that Mimi is…”

“I do pretend to not know but, even if she change her appearance or hide her magical powers, she cannot hide or alter her Ki, the very life energy of every being.”

“Ahahaha…”

“Asagao, what are her intentions? What kind of talk did you have with her? Tell me.”

“Senya…?”

“I will have to take precautions depending on what kind of talk you had with her. Asagao, she is dangerous when her instinct is triggered!”

“I know that. Topaz and I experienced it firsthand.”

“I see…”

“Senya…what kind of…circumstances does Mimi have?”

“Circumstances?”

“Yes…Is…Mimi…really trying to blend with people?”

“That’s how it is. Asagao, Mimi is probably telling the truth, however, she had a lot of complexes.  She fully understands how society works. She fully understands how people act. She fully understands the every action has consequences, but, she cannot understand herself.”

I already know that. I am already aware that Mimi is someone who cannot understand emotions and only runs on logic and instinct. She has accumulated knowledge and experience but she still doesn't understand emotions, that’s why for her, emotions of others are appealing and interesting for her.

She uses us to learn more about expression. She makes plots and troubles for her own good. It may sound twisted but I do think that her own heart is seeking genuine emotion.

In a sense, she is like Topaz…

“I already know that…I just became aware of it earlier. The reason she got attached to me and to Topaz really quick is that she seeks something from us because like her, we are also different. We are not exactly anything normal in this realm after all and she feels like she is the same…”

“Asagao! You…you already understand that much…”

“That’s why I told her that I will take her out from this place so…she can see more of this world. The reason we made a contract is that I can control her anytime. Miss Senya…”

“What?”

“I will take responsibility for Mimi.”

As I said so, Senya smiles at me with delight.

“Asagao…you may not be a genius or some sort, however, you…you know when someone needs help, physically…or emotionally… Asagao…you are really like your mother in this aspect…”

“Thank you!”

“However, you have a similarity with your father, Astlan.”

“What could it be?”

“You’re both quite a lady killer.”

“That’s not something I’d like to hear as a compliment at this timing…”

It kind of ruined the atmosphere.

“Per your words, Asagao, I’ll let you have Mimi. Just do take care and watch over her. After all, even though she is far older than anyone here, she has a young heart.”

“I know that and she is kind of tricky and fickle but I’ll do my best.”

“It may be earlier than what we planned but let’s go where the guys are.”

“Eh…okay…”

With Senya’s invitation, we head towards the wooden lodge…not without getting that breakfast though.

However, as we arrived, what we saw is utter chaos…

……

Bottles of wine and liquor are scattered everywhere...

Ichirou sloppily slouches at Fang who also seems intoxicated while Shouta hangs in a thick tree branch upside down seemingly, like the others, intoxicated too. Gria is also lying on a grass with his face planted on the soil while still holding on a bottle and lastly, Susanoo is sleeping at the entrance of the wooden lodge.

“What in…what happened here?!”