There was a knock at Chuluk's door.
Sora walked over and opened it, and Louise was standing there, her face full of worry. Seeing Sora unharmed, she finally relaxed and whispered to herself, "Thank goodness… you're okay."
Sora smiled gently. "Well, I'm sorry for making you worry."
Louise blushed and quickly turned her head away.
"Hmph! Who's worried about you, you bad familiar!" she muttered.
Tsundere, Sora thought to himself.
Louise glanced at him, her eyes flickering, and said, "Well, if the master cares about you so much… then maybe it's not impossible. Come on, praise your master!"
Sora's face darkened at the words. "You can go back now knowing I'm fine, Louise," he said, closing the door.
"Bang bang!" Louise knocked frantically. "Wait! You evil familiar! How dare you shut your master out! Open the door, open it now!"
Sora ignored her and sank back into his chair.
Chuluk waved her wand with amusement, and the door swung open on its own.
"Boom!" Louise, still knocking, stumbled forward and fell face-first onto the floor.
So clumsy. Sora was speechless.
Chuluk laughed loudly. "You really deserve the title Louise Zero."
Louise stood up, rubbing her red, swollen nose, stubbornly refusing to admit pain. "Yeah… it doesn't hurt!"
Sora raised an eyebrow and maliciously pinched her nose.
"Ah! Pain! Pain! Pain! What are you doing? Let go, you evil familiar!" Louise pounded his hand with all her strength, but Sora refused to let go.
Finally, she gave up, panting, "Ah… please, let go!"
Sora released her with a satisfied smile. Louise touched her nose, glancing at him with a mix of fear and irritation.
"Chuluk, do you have anything to treat this?" Sora asked.
Chuluk dug out a bottle of green liquid from the bedside table. "It's a special product from my homeland. Works wonders on bruises."
Sora took it. "Thanks." He looked at Louise, who seemed a little tense. "Sit down, Louise."
A little scared, Louise reluctantly moved beside him, only for Sora to pull her onto his lap. She flailed her arms, hitting his face in panic.
"Don't move," Sora scolded.
Louise froze, shrinking her neck. Sora dipped his hands into the liquid and carefully applied it to her red, swollen nose, his expression serious and focused.
She felt the initial chill of the medicine, then warmth spread as the pain melted away. This familiar… Louise blushed.
Chuluk propped her chin on her hand, watching the scene with amusement.
"All done," Sora said, standing up. "Do you have anything else to do?"
Louise looked between him and Chuluk, her eyes darting nervously. "You… you're my familiar, so you're not allowed to be so friendly with women of the Zerupst family!" she declared, grabbing Sora's hand and glaring at Chuluk.
Chuluk didn't back down. She wrapped her other hand around Sora's, pressing her plump chest against his left hand. Sora squinted, showing a slight look of lustful enjoyment.
"Looks like Sora likes me better," Chuluk teased, shaking her chest provocatively.
Louise stared at Chuluk's chest, astonished. "It's… so big!"
"It's not about size. The charm of a woman isn't measured by her chest," Chuluk shot back.
"Just self-comforting, huh? Louise Zero has… zero chest," Chuluk laughed mercilessly.
"That's not true! I'm just developing slowly… I'll grow up!" Louise pouted.
Hehe, Chuluk sneered. Louise slumped, completely defeated.
"Alright, let's put the chest debate aside," Sora said. "Why do you and Chuluk get along so badly? Chuluk is important to me, and you summoned me. I want you two to get along."
Both women looked surprised.
Chuluk recovered first. "Ah… that's right. You're not from this world."
"Wait, what did you say?" Louise demanded.
Chuluk looked at her with pride. "That's right. You don't know yet… Sora is a human from another world."
Louise looked devastated. She hadn't been told first… and now the Zerupst woman knew. Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced at Sora.
There was no handling a girl's tears.
"I'll explain later," Sora said. "You fell asleep yesterday. That's why." Louise seemed to accept the explanation.
Chuluk and Louise stood facing each other in front of Sora.
"Listen. There's no way I can get along with the women of the Zerupst—Variel—family. They took my grandfather's lover… killed my grandfather's siblings… It's a feud! A real feud!" Chuluk slammed the table.
Sora thought to himself. Maybe the grandparents messed around and hurt each other… seriously. "Why did it happen?"
Chuluk explained, "The Valier family, where Louise lives, and the Zerupst family, where I live, are duke families on the border between Torristine and Garmania. They've been fighting for generations, and countless relatives have died at each other's hands. So… don't get too close to Louise."
"Hmph, I don't want to be friends with Chuluk either," Louise said.
"That's fine, but there's no war between the countries now. Otherwise, Chuluk wouldn't be studying here," Sora reasoned.
"Even so…" Chuluk began.
"No 'even so.' You can get along. Don't let family grudges hold you back. Chuluk is Chuluk. Louise is Louise. Not some Zerupst or Valier woman. Just be good friends, please," Sora said calmly and sincerely.
Both women froze, unsure how to respond.
Sora grabbed their hands one by one and held them together. "There. You two are friends from now on."
Chuluk and Louise stared at each other.
Sora thought to himself. If I want to build my harem, I still have a lot of work to do.