Out
“Umm, so… when I did a self-search, something kind of surprising came up… Could you take a look?”
Everyone nodded, so—
“Search Open.”
——————————————————
[Joan Lampail]
Lampail family, eldest daughter. Ten years old.
Attribute
Null
Status
Extremely healthy child
Notes
Due to reincarnation, mental age is being influenced by physical age.
As the body matures, the mind becomes younger.
Mental age
20s
Contracts
Pegasus [Snowy]
Pegasus [Blau]
Fenrir [Pearl]
——————————————————
“Wait, you died at 82, right? And now you’re in your twenties…?”
“Ahaha, that’s not so different from me.”
“I mean, just having this many familiars is insane. Joan, you really are something else.”
Aunt Julie… I wonder if that was a compliment?
“When your mental age got younger, did anything change?”
“No, Grandfather. Nothing’s changed so far.”
“I see. Well, growing younger mentally isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“So, you had something to say about Pearl, too? What’s up?”
I’m glad Father asked.
I was starting to forget about that…
“Umm… first, could you look at this? Pearl, could we do it again?”
(Hm? Oh, the search? Sure thing~)
Pearl, who had been napping by the fireplace, came over to Joan.
“Thank you, Pearl. Search Open.”
Joan gently stroked Pearl’s head and activated the search.
——————————————————
[Pearl]
Fenrir. Adult.
Contracted with
Joan
Attributes
Lightning
Water
Status
Healthy.
Note
Able to speak with humans due to contract.
Can communicate telepathically with Joan only.
Can alter body size at will
Favorite food
Jet Bull Jerky
——————————————————
“Lightning and Water? Two attributes?”
“Sure, high-ranked monsters usually have attributes, but having two is pretty rare…”
“Whoa, Pearl, you’re awesome!”
Brother Gene said as he ruffled Pearl’s head—
(Eeeek, you’re messing up my fur~! And I prefer being cute over being cool!)
Pearl said, then went back to lie by the fireplace.
“……”
I’ll have to give her a proper brushing again later.
And now Brother Gene looks all down again… He tends to miss the mark sometimes.
“U-um, I haven’t checked yet, but should I try searching Blau too?”
“Jo-Joan! Let’s go!”
Aunt Julie suddenly stood up and held out her hand to me. Wait, don’t tell me—
“Um… are you thinking of teleporting?”
“Bingo!! I mean, I heard not just your brother, but your parents have done it too~”
“Ah… right. Well then—”
“I wanna go too!”
“Can I come as well?”
Vee and Uncle Gil raised their hands at the same time.
“Three people… give me just a second.
—Hey! Assist-chan, got a moment?
—A: Yes~? What is it, Master? … Also, happy birthday~!
—J: Ah, thanks. So, how many people can I bring with me when I teleport now?
—A: Now that you're 10, short-distance allows 3 people. Mid-distance allows 2. Long-distance is still not possible. Oh, familiars count as one.
—J: Oh, nice! By the way, how far is considered long-distance?
—A: Like Phantasmo or the royal capital, that sort of range.
“It looks like short-distance is fine, so we can go.”
“You asked Assist?”
Aunt Julie, Uncle Gil, and Brother Noel all had that sparkly magic nerd look in their eyes...
“Y-yeah. Short-distance works for three, mid-distance for two.”
“So long-distance still isn’t doable?”
“Right, I can’t bring anyone along for that yet.”
“Hey, Jo. What counts as long-distance exactly?”
“Apparently places like Phantasmo or the capital. Also, I can only go to places I’ve been to before…”
“““I see.”””
“C’mon, let’s go already.”
Vee was getting impatient and urged me.
“All right, let’s go. Please hold on to me.”
As I said that, Aunt Julie and Uncle Gil each took one of my hands, and after a moment of thought, Vee came up behind me and hugged me from behind.
“...!!”
I could feel all the blood rushing to my face. I’m definitely beet red right now… I can’t even lift my head…
“Hm? Joan, what’s wrong?”
“Hyah… Don’t talk… right in my ear…”
“Huh? … Wait, you’re all red.”
“Oh wow, you really are. What’s wrong, Joan? Are you okay?”
Aunt Julie looked at my face and sounded concerned.
“Aah! I think I get it.”
Brother Gene raised his voice.
Please don’t say anything unnecessary…
“Hehehe… Jo, you’re blushing because Vee hugged you from behind, right?”
And there it is—OUT.
“Huh? Seriously? Hey, Joan.”
“That’s why… don’t talk in my ear…”
Vee’s voice had dropped from voice change, and it now sounded a lot like Uncle Gil’s deep voice. Plus, he got even more handsome since I last saw him…
“”Ahahaha…””
Brother Gene and Vee burst out laughing…
“Joan? Maybe this is what it means for your mental age to grow younger.”
Mother said.
“What do you mean by that, Mother?”
Brother Noel tilted his head and asked.
“Up until now, your mental age was much older, right? So you probably saw Vince as more of a grandchild-type. But now that your mind is younger, you’re seeing him as someone of the opposite sex instead. And anyone would be startled by a surprise hug from behind, don’t you think?”
As she said that, everyone looked at me.
“I… think that’s probably it. I’m not totally sure, but… the truth is, this is really embarrassing.”
Grandmother, Mother, Aunt Julie… please stop looking at me like that with those warm, knowing smiles…
You too, Nancy by the door! And Sarah, stop squealing like that—I’m the one who’s embarrassed here, okay!? Come on!!
What do you think about this chapter?
