Screaming, while briefly satisfying, didn't end up accomplishing much beyond freaking the girl out, causing her to jump backwards and eye Jonathan nervously.

On the plus side, this did finally give him a chance to get a word in edgewise. "Look, could we maybe quit with the insults and get on with this contract or whatever so I can get some clothes. That sound good?"

"…Yeah, sure."

"Good. Great. So what do you mean we need to make a contract?"

"Riiight, so you're still pretending you're not a demon. Well, whatever makes you happy, I guess. Summoning rituals allow a demon to answer a single request, but in order to remain outside the Infernal Abyss they need to make a contract with their summoner."

"Wonderful, let's do that, then! I'd really like not to get sent to the Infernal Abyss. So how do we go about making a contract?"

The girl eyed him. "You are one weird demon. I really don't understand what benefit you think you're going to gain from pretending ignorance about this stuff."

"I'm not preten—look, can you just describe how we make a contract so we I can get some damn pants?!"

"Keep your shirt on."

Jonathan gave her his best demonic death glare. "Very funny. What does a contract entail?"

"We just have to agree on terms, and then it's a really simple ritual to formally create the contract."

"So it's just a verbal contract, then?"

"Mm, well, sort of. I've never formed a demonic contract before, but from what I've read there's a magical component so that if you're about to break it you'll be able to sense that somehow."

"Sounds fun. So what are your terms, then?"

The girl smiled smugly. "Wiggle out of these terms, demon! You will agree to cause no harm to me through either your direct or indirect actions, or through intentional neglect. You will agree to serve as my guardian, feeding me three full meals a day and providing for my general well-being, until I come of age or voluntarily release you from this responsibility. You will agree to protect me from danger to the best of your ability. You will help me obtain the skills necessary to support myself on my own before I reach my majority. Should you break any of these agreements, I will have the right to banish you to the Infernal Abyss without requiring a ritual."

Good grief, this wasn't a demonic contract. This was like some unholy combination of a prenuptial agreement and adoption papers. Jonathan eyed the girl. "And what do I get out of this, may I ask?"

"What do you want to get out of it? What are your terms for the contract?"

Jonathan pondered that. What did he really need? Aside from pants, of course.

Well, first thing's first, that final requirement of hers couldn't stand. "I'm okay with most of your demands, but that last one is absurd. I'm not agreeing to anything unless you agree to have a nice long talk with me when you think I've broken the agreement. No banishing me just because you're angry I told you no cookies before dinner or something stupid."

The girl scowled. "No, that's not alright. I will agree that I cannot banish you to the Infernal Abyss without a ritual prior to discussing your infractions with you, unless you are putting me in imminent physical danger."

"Make it unless I'm putting you in imminent danger of death or severe bodily injury. I'm not getting banished for accidentally knocking you over because I didn't realize you were behind me."

"Fine. I will agree that I will have the right to banish you to the Infernal Abyss without requiring a ritual only if you are putting me in imminent danger of death or severe bodily injury, or if you continue to willfully breach our contract after discussing it with you."

"Good enough." Jonathan noticed that she'd left unstated the fact that she could still banish him with a ritual, but figured it wasn't worth pushing the point. Based on her demands and the fact that she'd wasted her first request from him on a sandwich, of all things, it sure seemed like she needed him just as much as he was likely to need her. Now, what else did he need? He was a stranger in a completely new world, which meant his most pressing problem was information. They apparently spoke English, but he hadn't recognized the language in the girl's massive grimoire so who knew if he would even be able to read? "Okay, first real demand from me. You agree to answer my questions in a reasonable timeframe, and to answer truthfully."

She eyed him. "I'll agree to answer your questions, but I'm not swearing to never lie to you."

"No, that's important. I know you don't believe me, but I really have no idea how your world works. But how about this? If you're not willing to tell the truth, then at least tell me that you won't talk about whatever I asked."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"So I'll agree to answer your questions in a reasonable timeframe, and to either answer honestly or tell you that I will not answer? Fine, I can accept that. Anything else?"

"Yes. If I'm going to be protecting you as your guardian, then you need to protect me. No outing me as a demon and getting me hunted down by holy orders or anything, and you'll need to help me socially because I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes and have completely inaccurate assumptions about how the world works."

The girl looked confused. "Why would a holy order…? You know what, nevermind. I will agree to protect you as my guardian and help you not make an idiot of yourself with other people."

Okay, mutual co-dependence established! Although… "Oh, one last thing: if I'm going to act as your guardian, then you have to agree to act as my ward. That means respecting my authority and working to achieve the goals you stated. No lounging around doing nothing because you think your summoned demon can give you the easy life. Because I can't. Since I'm not a demon."

"Right, right, you're not a demon. Okay, I'll agree to act as your ward, but I'm not going to simply do whatever you tell me to do just because you say it!"

Jonathan rolled his eyes. This was clearly going to be great. "I'm not demanding perfect obedience, I'm saying that if you have a problem with what I'm telling you to do you need to talk about it with me, and that you'll need to respect me as the adult in charge of you."

"I get it, I get it. Now are you ready to make this contract?"

Jonathan stood up from the trunk, thankfully no longer feeling like he'd been run over by the demonic equivalent of a truck. "So how do we do this?"

"Boy, you're really dedicated to this whole 'I'm not a demon' act, aren't you?"

"You know that stipulation about answering questions? How about you start making good on that, pipsqueak?"

The girl frowned. "Ugh, fine. We grasp one another's forearms—" she walked closer to him, reached out, and grabbed his right forearm with her right hand, indicating with a gesture that he reciprocate "—and then state our agreements as part of the contract. After we've both done that, we say at the same time 'As the Infernal Abyss is our witness, our contract is sealed' and the contract will be completed."

"That's it? You don't have to draw another fancy magic circle or whatever?"

"No, this is all part of the original ritual."

"And you squirreling around all over it and smearing it onto your clothes isn't going to affect anything?"

The girl glanced over her shoulder at the smeared mess of chalk that she'd left behind. "…it'll be fine."

Jonathan eyed her. If the contract were already in effect, he would have called her out on lying over that one, but whatever. "Oh, I almost forgot. If I break the contract, you get to banish me, but what do I get if you break the contract?"

"Shoot, I was hoping you wouldn't think of that. How about you get to renegotiate our contract?"

"What, I don't get my freedom to go and do whatever I like?"

"What? No, how would that even work?" The girl was looking at him like he was making no sense whatsoever.

Jonathan let go of her forearm and took a half step back. "What am I missing here?"

"Well, if you dissolve our contract completely, then you'll end up back in the Infernal Abyss, won't you? The only reason you're able to stay in the mortal world is because you were summoned and have a contract in the first place."

Did that actually make sense, though? He was human. Then again…he did perform some sort of magical sandwich summoning not that long ago, and had no idea how that could have worked. It was scarily possible that he was under some sort of weirdly arbitrary rules, despite the fact that he wasn't a demon, simply from the summoning. He…really couldn't afford to risk that. "Alright, fine; if you break the contract, we renegotiate."

"Okay, I'll start." The girl grabbed his forearm again, shut her eyes and took a breath, and then looked him with determination. "I agree to sustain your existence in the mortal realm." Wait, what? He hadn't said anything about that, but some instinct was urging him not to interrupt. "I agree to answer the questions you ask in a reasonable timeframe, and either answer truthfully or tell you I will not answer. I agree to do my best to protect you as my guardian and help you in social situations. I agree to act as your ward, respect your position as my guardian, discuss with you if I feel your guidance is poor, and work to help myself rather than relying on you to provide everything for me. I agree to renegotiate our contract if I break the terms."

She nodded at him. His turn, he guessed. He was honestly impressed that she'd remembered the things they'd discussed so clearly, although as he opened his mouth to speak he realized that he had a really accurate sense of them, too. Maybe it was a magic thing. "I agree to avoid causing physical or emotional harm to you, either through direct or indirect actions, or through intentional neglect. I agree to serve as your guardian, feeding you meals and providing for your general well-being, until you come of age or voluntarily release me from these responsibilities. I agree to protect you from danger to the best of my ability. I agree to help you obtain the skills necessary to support yourself before you reach your majority. I agree that if I break the contract, you will have the right to banish me to the Infernal Abyss without a ritual if I put you in imminent danger of death or severe bodily injury, or if I continue to willfully breach our contract after you discuss it with me."

She tightened her grip on his forearm, and Jonathan reflexively did the same. They said at the same time, "As the Infernal Abyss is our witness, our contract is sealed."

Something shifted inside of Jonathan. It was a similar feeling to when he'd been on a vacation with his family as a teenager, looking down through crystal clear tropical waters at the sand below, when suddenly the ocean floor had buckled and shifted, and he realized that he wasn't looking at sand, he was actually looking at the back of a massive ray. Something big that he'd thought he understood was suddenly in motion, and it left him with a dizzying feeling of disassociation.

Then whatever it was slotted into his chest like a key into a lock, and the moment passed.

Jonathan waited a couple seconds just to be sure, then looked around the attic, which was still as dusty and cluttered as before. "So, we good? The contract is all established?"

The girl let go of his forearm. "I think so. I certainly felt…something, there."

"Great. Peachy. So, I've got two questions for you: what's your name, oh miniature master of mine, and where can I get some pants?!"