The next day, Yamato woke up feeling something placed in the palm of his hand. As he looked past Yuki, whose head was on the arm of said palm, he saw Iky curled up to a ball in it. Wondering how he got out of his cage, he looked over to the shelf it eas standing on, completely intact. Careful not to wake Yuki, as it seemed to be one of the rare instances of her actually sleeping, he took Iky off the by Yuki occupied arm onto his free one studied him.
"What an odd creature you are… Such destructive power, rivaling Yuki's, in the palm of my hand. Seems like you are aw clingy as she is as well. Which is a little odd since you weren't hunting in a pack, so I can only assume your species is not very social. Or maybe it's just so rare that you never had the chance to not be alone, who knows. Oh, looks like you changed color… Pure black, instead of the unique metallic silver you had before… I'd guess that is probably so you can turn invisible. Bending the light around you, or something like that. Also, even though I we categorized you as a salamander, your bone structure seems to be unique as well. Then again, other world, other animals, obviously. For the sake of simplicity, I will just keep calling you a salamander though. The way you trust me reminds me of Yuki… I wonder if you will become like her. Which will probably not make her like you more. I do wonder to what extent your awareness goes… Can you feel? Can you understand human language? I also wonder how much he is aware of Yuki, and how it views her… My little pet, I can tell you will be m one of my most useful possessions in the future… But in case not… I suppose Yuki wants to kill you anyway, so it wouldn't be too complicated to get rid of you again. Or maybe I can just crush you in my fist while you are that small… Though you probably keep enough durability to withstand that."
By now Yuki had woken up already and stared at Iky which Yamato was studying in its sleep. In her mind, Yuki pictured Yamato and her killing it together, but simultaneously grabbed it with a repulsed look and put it back in its cage.
"Urgh… I swear next time it's dead, Master!"
Before she could fully turn around, Iky sat next to Yamato again. She turned around to look at the cage she just closed with it inside, now empty without any signs of forced exit.
"Why are you getting so worked up over an animal?"
"Because it's useless compared to me!"
"Even so, do you genuinely see no use in it?"
"…I guess it is pretty strong… And smart too, for an animal… So kinda practical to have under certain circumstances…"
"Right? Now be good and get along. Maybe it will start to like you too then."
"Why wouldn't it like me already?! I'm sure it sees me as its likable superior!"
She tried poking it with her finger in an attempt to play with it. To show how much it respected her, it bit her.
"Ah, you stupid frog!"
She climbed over Yamato to reach Iky, who rushed behind Yamato and from there to the wall.
"Very likable superior, I'm sure…"
"Despicable creature, submit to my authority!"
She jumped off Yamato against the wall where Iky sat, only for him to crawl back onto Yamato where she just left, so she just ended up jumping into the wall and catching nothing.
"Ouch… Master, it won't do what I tell it to!"
"You haven't told it to do anything yet…"
Yamato poked it with his finger the same way Yuki did, at which Iky climbed on top of his hand and looked at him expectantly. Yamato then drew a circle in the air with his other hand in front of it, at which it turned around itself once before continuing to look at him. Yamato pat its head.
"See?"
"Don't pat it! Only I get head pats!"
"It's a pet, Yuki… It's kind of what they are named after. Or maybe it's the other way around?"
"Pet came first… From which petting formed and than patting."
"So knowledgeable, you're so smart Yuki."
Yamato petted her head.
"Ah… Thank you, Master! Ask me anything and give me head pets!"
"There, there…"
"So easy, by a single compliment… Even though I could think of that information by myself already, validating her knowledge must give her some sort of kick. Validation in general, I'd assume. Sometimes it's hard to tell if she is aware of her simplicity, just acts like it to seem cute or if she just subconsciously gets like that when flustered and happy. Still, what a silly fear to have. Replacement by magical creature… As if. I wouldn't trade a thousand Iky's for a single Yuki."
"Ah, Master, I can tell you just thought something super nice about me!"
"Is your assumption based on having acted cute just now and seeing my head pets as sign of me getting seduced by that?"
"Uhh… No!"
"Oh, well alright then."
"…Fine it was that! But it doesn't matter cause it was correct! I can tell without any proof! What was it?! Tell me, pleeeeease!"
"You're so smart, I'm sure you will figure it out."
"What?! How would I figure out a random thought you just had!"
"I think you could guess the general thing if you really tried."
"Explain how you would do that, at least!"
"Well, just think back on what happened. You got jealous of a pet, meaning you were upset about its importance to me, fought said pet and then received praise for your wide range of knowledge."
"So?"
"So a logical compliment would be one that fits your needs in that situation."
"Which saying I wouldn't trade a thousand Iky's for one Yuki does, of course, though I can see how that is a stretch. Still, I think the general idea should be guessable. What a weird game we play here… Even though I have so much to do today…"
"Did your compliment include my boobs?"
"No. You only get that one guess. I'm going to the library now."
"What?! That's so unfair! I was obviously just teasing! It wasn't even an actual guess!"
"That sucks. Have fun here with Iky while I'm gone. Oh, and make sure it doesn't cause any trouble. Same goes for yourself."
"Alright… You will just leave me all alone here with this lizard…?"
"I'm sure you will be just fine. Bye."
With that he just left, on his way to find a teacher to get permission to enter the library. Meanwhile Yuki was left alone with Iky, her new arch nemesis, she had decided.
"If you bite me again, I swear I will snap your neck and make it look like you got crushed by a falling book shelf."
"…"
Of course, Iky did not respond. It just stared at her, before looking at the door, where Yamato left through. As it started walking towards it, Yuki stepped in its way.
"No closer! Master said to keep an eye on you. While I do understand your longing for his presence… You shall not leave my sight!"
"…"
"Urgh… Do you even understand a word I'm saying? I hate animals… You're not even cute, like a cat or something… though, a cute cat might steal Master away… Fuck cats, but fuck you too still!"
"…"
"Y'know, I could be with him right now if it weren't for you. If I had just killed you when we first met, then our day would have been so much beter… But what to do… I can't kill you anymore just like that, because Master will scold me… Ah, I miss him already…"
"…"
"Yeah, you must miss him too… The pathetic little creature that you are, you must be scared and confused… That's nice. Hey, do a trick!"
"…"
"…Stupid frog. I wonder if Master has more fun right now…"
While Yuki kept talking to Iky, who seemed to be a good listener, Yamato had gained access to the library with his number one teacher supporter professor Reed, his own description of himself by the way.
"If you tell me what you are looking for I might be able to help, y'know?"
"I'm looking for various things…"
"Ooh, sounds interesting! Tell me more!"
"What do you mean, how can it be interesting? I didn't tell you anything yet…"
"That's my supportive standard response!"
"Ahh…"
"And? Did it work? Do you feel motivated and supported?"
"…Anyway, I'm looking for old texts, like prophecies, books about strong magical creatures, and odd magical objects."
"Odd magical objects, eh… Strong magical creatures and old prophecies… From where comes this sudden interest in topics such as these, if I may ask?"
"Idle curiosity."
"Specific requests for that, don't you think?"
"…"
"Aha, I'm just messing with you! No biggy, you won't find what you are looking for here though. You remember when I said I had to finance my book collection? I'll grabt you access to said book collection, since you helped me out with the class 1 situation. Congratulations to becoming class 1 yourself by the way. I'm sure you are very excited about the graduation prize! I will give you and your class details soon."
"Thanks?"
"You're welcome! Am I not your nhmber one supporter?"
"What is up with that supporter thing…"
"Ah, well, even though we handled that situation better than I imagined, I am now under investigation for incompetence! Can you believe that? There dies one student outside an exam and all of the sudden everyone says I might need to rethink my career. But I will show them what a great, supportive teacher I can be! But don't worry, my favorite student, Yamato! Even if they get through, the process of replacing me will take at least 12 years, and by then those old fools probably died by a heart attack, haha! What a bunch of suckers."
"…Should you talk to me about those sort if things? And are you allowed to have favorite students?"
"Oh, Yamato… Of course I am allowed to do whatever I want! I'm the headmaster, and like I said, they will be dead before I even have to go to a single court date! But your worry moves me! Let's get to the restricted book section right away!"