I Messed Up...
Watching the little one eat its bread porridge, my suppressed urge to touch its fluffiness boiled over... I gently stroked its back. It flinched and stopped eating for a moment, but as I kept petting it, it resumed eating.
Yes! I’ve been accepted!
Ahh... so fluffy... This fluff feels different from Pearl's...
Oh, wait, this part's a little matted. I wanna give it a bath and brush it so badly~ Can’t I take it home with me~?
Then I could sleep sandwiched between Pearl and this little one… hehehe.
(Joan… you're drooling.)
“Ah, sorry… Are you full now? Want some fruit or something else?”
—Munch munch… This is enough.
“Whoa… I accidentally triggered Animal Talk. Wait, it works on monsters too? Well, I guess I don’t really get many chances to talk to them.”
(Yeah, usually they’re rampaging and we have to fight them.)
“Right. Once I’ve defeated them, I can’t use it.”
(Yeah… because they’re dead.)
While chatting with Pearl, the little one suddenly flinched again after finishing its porridge.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
—A-Are you going to capture me too?
Lifting its head, the little one finally revealed its face to us.
“‘Ehhhhh!?’”
On its forehead was a red gemstone.
“W-Wait… could you be… a Carbuncle?”
—Yeah, that’s right.
“Oh no…”
I’ve stumbled upon yet another rare creature…
[Carbuncle] A small creature with a crimson gem on its forehead. It's said that whoever obtains this gem will gain wealth and fame.—So… are you going to capture me?
“Eh? No, I’m not.”
—Why not?
“Why…? Well, wouldn’t anyone hate being forcibly taken away?”
—Yeah… but humans always try to capture me.
“Well, considering how rare you are, I guess that makes sense.”
—Yeah… huh? Wait… Fenrir? Why are you with the human?
(Because I’m Joan’s contracted beast. I’m always with her.)
—Why? How did you become a contracted beast?
(Joan saved me when I was little. She’s always been kind to me since.)
—…C-Can I… become one too?
“Become what?”
—A contracted beast.
“(Huh!?)”
No, no, no. If I take on another contracted beast, everyone’s going to say something again…
“U-Um… but you don’t like being with humans, right?”
—…I don’t like being forced… but if it’s with you, I think I’d be okay. You’re kind.
“B-But if you’re with me, you’ll have to deal with other humans too, you know?”
—If I’m by your side, I think I’ll be fine.
“N-No, but—”
—Do you hate me?
Staring at me with big, sparkling, pale violet eyes, tilting its head and asking that… I mean, how am I supposed to resist that!?
“Yes! Gladly!!”
(Haaah… Joan…)
Pearl let out an exasperated sigh at my overly enthusiastic response.
—Then, give me a name?
“Um, you’re a boy, right? Let’s see… you’ve got that red gem on your forehead so… Garnet, Rouge, Rosso—”
—That one.
“Hm? Rosso?”
—Yeah, that one.
“... One last time, are you really sure you want to be with me?”
—Yeah. I want to be with you.
“I see… okay then, nice to meet you, Rosso.”
—Yeah. Nice to meet you.
The little one—Rosso—responded, and suddenly a light burst forth from him.
Even after I lifted my hand off his back, I could still hear him clearly, so I guess the contract was complete.
Pearl and Rosso explained the situation and expressed our gratitude to the Treant, who happily shook its body. Finding that adorable, I couldn’t help but playfully spray a mist of Aqua water over the Treant.
Suddenly, the Treant stretched and grew taller, from about 2 meters to roughly 4 meters.
“Ah… I messed up, didn’t I?”
(Haaah… Joan… without a doubt.)
(Wow~ amazing, Joan.)
Pearl sighed again, and Rosso was simply impressed.
As for the Treant, the leaves on its branch-like hands disappeared, and its branches split into five, resembling fingers, moving nimbly as it opened and closed its hand repeatedly.
After testing its movements—
—Thank you, child. Thanks to you, I evolved.
“Whoa… it talks! You can speak after evolving?”
—I don’t know. But I tried, and I could.
“Oooh, I see…”
Please don’t tell me this only happened because of me…
It was just a whim… I didn’t think much of it…
(Come on, Joan. Face reality and get off all fours.)
“Yes… Anyway, I should probably report this to Father.”
(Obviously. Reports, communication, and consultation are important!!)
“Yes…”
Lately, I feel like Pearl is more reliable than me…
Why, though?
(Grandmother, Mama, and Nancy told me to keep a close eye on you so you don’t cause trouble.)
“Hey, don’t read my mind!”
(Huh? You said that out loud.)
“Eh, really?”
(((Really.)))
All three—two beasts and a tree—said it together.
“… Anyway, let’s head back to the mansion.”
I climbed onto Pearl’s back, Rosso perched on my shoulder.
The Treant… held my hand? Or was it really a hand?
—It is a hand.
It might be a hand to them, but to me it looked like a branch. Still, I carefully took the Treant’s hand, making sure not to break it.
“Alright, teleporting now. Teleport.”
Poof.
Poof.
“Whoa.”
“Wow.”
We teleported to the mansion’s courtyard. I figured teleporting in front of the house would be troublesome if anyone saw us. But in the courtyard were Old Tom and Koa, tending the garden.
“Sorry, Old Tom, Koa.”
“No, no, you startled me… What on earth is this?”
“Joan… you brought back more again, didn’t you?”
“Ahaha… I couldn’t help it…”
(Joan, I’ll go get Papa.)
“Ah, please do.”
Pearl went to fetch Father for me.
… What’s going to happen now?
… Well, I’m definitely getting scolded. Probably.
What do you think about this chapter?
Imagine if the treant came too LMAO