"Of course."
With her assent, Sawada Tsunayoshi finally began to think things through.
'I seem to have entered a Western-style fantasy world built on a European framework—a world of swords and magic.'
'This Miss Loki has the ability to discern lies; she's probably a local lord in her own right, or the young lady of a powerful family.'
'I still need more intel to flesh out any conclusions. For now, this is as far as I can go.'
There wasn't much he could confirm yet, and Tsunayoshi even found Loki a little… odd.
Her mannerisms were undeniably unusual. Compared to a sheltered noble lady, her reactions leaned more toward a bold prankster having fun. At the very least, Tsunayoshi couldn't imagine any proper young lady staying naked while being peeped at and continuing a conversation like nothing had happened.
But that wasn't the main issue.
What he needed to consider now were his immediate necessities.
"I'll need a certain bias in resource allocation."
Since things had come this far, Tsunayoshi decided to use the opportunity to grow stronger.
"Monster Creation" was a thoroughly broken ability, but he didn't want to let that power become his greatest weakness. At minimum, he needed a degree of personal combat capability in extreme situations.
"And what else?" Loki asked.
"I'll need a certain degree of autonomy."
"Oh? For example?"
"When I gain the ability to go back, I hope Loki-sama will let me leave."
"Ma—if you can do that, you won't need my permission, will you? Still, since you brought it up, I'll agree. But in return, when you leave, I want to visit your world."
Loki offered her own term, and after a brief moment of thought, Tsunayoshi nodded.
"Alright. If I can find the way home, I'll definitely take Loki-sama to see it. And I'll bring you back afterward."
If he had the power to find the road home, that would mean he had the means to open the door between worlds. Coming and going wouldn't be a problem then.
Tsunayoshi believed that by the time that day came, he would also have the right to choose for himself.
Resources and autonomy were what he needed most right now; with that, plus his promise to Loki, the day he could open that door would also be the day he could stand before Loki as an equal.
"Nothing else? Aren't you worried I'll treat you like a toy?"
Loki's teasing didn't ruffle Tsunayoshi at all.
"I'm not worried. I can tell Loki-sama wouldn't bother with something so troublesome. If you wanted that, you'd have already called people in. Besides, if that were your plan, you wouldn't have let me state terms."
"Mhm~ pretty clever, aren't you~"
A faint laugh colored Loki's voice again.
"Good. If that settles the terms, then take off your clothes."
"Take off… my clothes?"
Tsunayoshi blinked. He hadn't expected Loki to say "take off your clothes" right after concluding negotiations.
"What are you imagining?"
She rapped him lightly on the back of the head.
"This is for the contract we're about to perform. It has to be written on your back, so you need your shirt off."
A contract? That was certainly in line with a world of swords and magic. Tsunayoshi rubbed the spot she'd tapped. It didn't hurt—in fact, Loki's strength was very light.
Understanding why she wanted him to undress, Tsunayoshi simply took off his shirt.
A hand pressed against his bare back.
"Oh ho~ looks like you do train."
Her touch tickled, and Tsunayoshi couldn't help feeling a bit unaccustomed to it.
"I guess so. I like swimming, rock climbing—stuff like that. So I'm probably in a bit better shape than most people my age."
"No wonder. Your basics are quite good."
Better than I expected by far, Loki thought as her hand drifted lightly over his back.
A treasure has fallen right into my lap. A small smile touched Loki's lips.
She didn't delay. Lifting her fingers to her mouth, she bit down—hard enough to break the skin. Fresh, bright blood welled from the wound.
She pressed the bleeding fingertip to Tsunayoshi's back.
"Fshh!"
The instant the blood touched his skin, a strange light flared, nearly flooding the entire bath with radiance.
The intensity exceeded Loki's expectations. The glare stung her eyes, and for a moment she couldn't keep them open.
Only once the light subsided could Loki look again—
—and the sight left her stunned.
The clown emblem—her Familia's crest—had changed. By rights, that should have been impossible to alter. And yet, here it was, undeniably changed.
Seven flames of different colors and shapes encircled a shell, and among them, an orange flame looked as if it were literally burning.
My crest was replaced? Loki's face froze in shock, and then slowly filled with keen interest.
This wasn't supposed to happen. Ever.
But precisely because it was impossible, Loki found herself all the more fascinated by the one who had made it happen.
She kept reading the text. The Blessing still functioned.
The Blessing still worked, but the crest wasn't hers. Loki pouted, then let it go.
Onward.
Name, Level—normal. All base stats at their initial values. The most important parts to check were Magic and Skills.
Magic was listed as [???]. No effect, no chant—thoroughly mysterious.
Skills, there were more of, but the first was also [???], completely unknown—just like the Magic entry.
The second skill, however, had details.
[Vongola Blood]: Hyper Intuition and ???
[Monster Creation]: Can create monsters with differing abilities through imagination.
So many unknowns? Loki's eyes went wide.
She'd known Tsunayoshi hid a lot, and she thought the Blessing would lay it bare. The result far exceeded her expectations.
One unknown in Magic, a half-unknown in Skills, and only one fully known entry: "Monster Creation."
Even from the text alone, Loki could tell "Monster Creation" was abnormal.
Shouldn't that be under "Magic"? Loki felt that by description alone it should be categorized as a Magic, yet it sat under "Skills." That, in itself, was unreasonable.
And creating monsters through imagination alone? You could just imagine a monster and it would be made? Wasn't that a bit too much? Even Loki found the skill frighteningly strong.
'So that's why he fell from another world—because he possessed this skill?'
Within moments, Loki had sketched out a likely chain of cause and effect.
She lifted her gaze to the ceiling. For the first time, Loki felt just how unfathomable the gap between people could be.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]