Furoh interrupted our daze for a bit. I'm pretty sure that Nepheline, Aquarina's mother, was also a pretty lady, and then there's my own mother who's almost angelical in beauty. Then, there was the handsome Shade and my own father, both being handsome studs!
And then… there's this lady. One would assume that I would be used to pretty people, but what's going on with this world with everyone being so pretty? In my previous world, there wasn't so many pretty people. In fact, I was actually quite ugly myself!
Maybe she's more stunning because she's almost nude.
Anyways, there was no time to just stand there, looking at her while she teased us. There were so many questions that I want to ask!
"Ninhursag… Lady Ninhursag, you want… to kill Furoh? But that's wrong!" I said as I quickly decided to stand with Furoh.
"Sigh… I have already noticed that you've been trying to protect him all this time, dear… But why? Do you know that demons are vicious creatures? They might have intelligence, but all of them only think about slaughtering us," replied Ninhursag.
She had a very biased look on demons…
"But they're people! Don't we humans also think about slaughtering each other too? Don't we do that all the time?" I asked back.
"Ah… Well, I'm not really a human, I'm actually closer to beast-kin… but… I suppose that even beast-kin slaughter one another regularly…" she replied.
"That doesn't change the fact that they're a dangerous race of critters." She seemed adamant.
"It does! They're people. You can't judge all of them just because a group of them had done bad things. It's like trying to blame all of humanity because a group of them killed others indiscriminately…" I said in response.
"…you're good with words, girl." Ninhursag said with a sigh.
"S-Sylphy is right… Furoh had killed people, but he said it was because he was in a war where they were already trying to kill him… I can detect other people's intentions. But I didn't detect any bad intentions from him… if anything, he's always very afraid," said Aquarina, backing me up.
"O-Oi! Don't say that about me! What's wrong with being a bit of a… runner? I'm not a coward!" replied Furoh.
"I also wanted to kill it, but Sylphy is insisting all the time that she wants to make him her friend," said Zack.
"Huh… alright then. I will let you do that only because you're way too cute and intelligent. However, I cannot simply let him be. You know that demons are cunning, right? Maybe this is all an act. If you truly intend to make him your ally, you gotta tie him with a contract where his life is on the line. Only there and then will you be able to truly see who he is," said Ninhursag to me.
"You're right! That's why, Furoh, become my familiar!" I said in response.
"Again with that?! I can't! I am a demon! Demons can't be familiars! …right?" he asked.
"Technically every living being can become a familiar as long as they haven't taken any familiar themselves already. When a living being takes a familiar, they become familiar vessels, and stop being able to become a familiar themselves. Unless they drop all the familiars they got, they cannot become familiars," replied Ninhursag. Wow. She knew a lot.
"Wow! You know a lot, lady Ninhursag!" Aquarina could not help but say.
"Yeah, I didn't know all of that. Thanks a lot, lady Ninhursag," I said soon after.
"Don't worry, dear. I'm here to guide the children that get lost… and I remember him too," said Ninhursag in response to our words before pointing at Zack.
"Eh? Me?" Zack was confused.
"The past two years or so you spent living outside the Amazon Village, I was always watching over you. I often left you food nearby, such as dead animals, or even gathered fruits in a pile. Don't you remember all those fortuitous encounters?" asked Ninhursag.
"Eeeh?! I thought I was just lucky…!" replied Zack.
"Foolish little boy, you were always under my watch. Nothing escapes these eyes!" said Ninhursag while smiling pridefully.
"Oooh, you did that for him? Thanks a lot," I said soon after, thanking her.
"Hehe, he was so cute as he tried to survive. I couldn't possibly let him die in the wild… I had thought many times about meeting him but… I'm actually quite shy…" she told us with a sigh.
"Eh? You're shy?!" we asked at the same time, noticing how she was almost naked. How come a woman was "shy"? That's bullshit!
"Hahaha… I never developed my… social skills…" she replied, sighing once more.
"I guess living in the wild makes you different," Aquarina could not help but say.
"I guess so," I replied.
"Hmm… t-thanks for doing that for me," said Zack.
Ninhursag smiled gently and petted Zack.
"No problem, child of the forest. You're my child and so are all of you," she soon said in a gentle tone.
"Ahem! Don't forget about me! We were just talking about me! Remember? Me! The demon!" said Furoh not long after.
Everyone shifted their glares at Furoh after that.
"Ah… d-don't stare at me like that though, it's a bit embarrassing…" he murmured.
"Okay. Sylph, right? Dear, are you really going to make him your familiar? You sure? If you make him your familiar, he'll infect you with his evil thoughts. Familiars make a contract of souls, your souls will become bonded… it might affect your mentality if you contract a dangerous being," asked Ninhursag, trying to dissuade me from doing it.
"I am ready," I said, my determination unwavering.
"Unwavering, huh? I like you already. Very well, I will supervise the familiar ritual," replied Ninhursag, looking at me with a smile while nodding confidently.
I nodded back as I looked at Furoh and extended my hand.
"Furoh, I'm sorry for burning your tongue… I promise you I will try to find a way for it to grow back!" I told him.
"Y-you're really going to do it, huh…? Agh… o-okay… sure… fine! Whatever! Agh! I-I've never met such a stubborn girl before in my entire life!" he said with a sigh.
He moved near me and then extended a little tentacle out of his worm-like body, touching my hand.
It was warm and slippery. Like the texture of a tongue, actually.
"If both agree, it should automatically start the moment you two say 'form familiar contract'," Ninhursag told us.
"Form familiar contract."