My Classmate Became My Familiar - Chapter 0.1 (Prologue)

Prologue – A Story That Begins With An Unusual Master-Slave Relationship

“Hmph. It’s just a Stone Golem, the lowest-ranked monster.”

I looked for the voice’s owner and found a female student with strikingly shiny black hair leaning against the wall looking at me.

She was my classmate, Chikage Fujiwara.

I wondered what she was doing here. Since I had no time, I ignored her and looked back at the examiners.

A middle-aged male teacher wearing a black robe, the classic formal attire of a sorcerer, gave me a slight nod.

“Very well. Souta Ashiya, you have passed the summoning exam and will be allowed to advance to the next grade.”

I patted my chest at those words.

A mage.

It is the term used to describe those who can use magic power to cause supernatural phenomena.

There are only a few people in the world who wield magic. There have been many disputes with the public in the past because of this. But after several twists and turns, they have settled down to the point where mages are considered ‘rare, but they do exist.’

“Well then…”

I looked at the summoning formation on the floor and the familiar which was entirely made up of stone.

The Stone Golem. It was the first monster I had summoned from another world.

Getting a familiar means that you have obtained a provisional license as a Summoner, and at the same time, it means that you have been promoted to the second year of the International Mage Association’s affiliated school in Japan, the Boundary Interference Department.

In other words, I had now taken my first step as a Sorcerer.

… Yes. As a person who doesn’t like to work, I’m not as happy as I should be, but I’m more depressed that my moratorium was steadily diminishing.

“Wait a minute.”

When I was about to leave the exam room with the familiar, Fujiwara stopped me.

Ah, you were still here!

“Aren’t you ashamed to have such a weak familiar?”

Fujiwara is the top student in our grade and a talented girl. She was next in line to become student council president.

Yet, for some reason, she is a strange girl who always gets involved with what I did at every turn. This time, she even went out of her way to observe my exam and complain about it.

Is watching other people’s exams without permission even allowed? I don’t think so.

 “Oh, are you talking to me?”

“Who else is here?”

There were three examiners. You could’ve asked any of them.

“No, I don’t think so, oh future great sorcerer, Chikage Fujiwara-san. You shouldn’t be talking to a piece of trash like me. Are you bored by any chance? Even so, you shouldn’t. You need to make the most of your time.”

“Aren’t you ashamed of being such a pathetic Summoner?”

It can’t help it even if I self-deprecate myself. But still, she’s a pain. I bet she was going to preach to me again anyway.

“Nope. I guess I don’t know the word ‘worthy,’ Fujiwara. It is enough for me.”

She clenched her fists in annoyance and stepped in front of me.

Oh, no. I raised my hands in panic.

“Wait, violence is not good! Let’s just talk it out! What’s wrong with you? What is it you don’t like so much? Please don’t! I’m ready to rub my forehead on the ground if I have to… Hiii—.”

She grabbed me by the collar.

“Why are you still unaware? Why can’t you aim for something higher?”

“I don’t deny that I’m unaware, but please don’t try to physically lift me higher instead.”

I groaned as she lifted my collar.

“I can’t breathe.”

“I’m going to summon a Demon right now. Even though I’m just a student, I will challenge a difficult feat, even for a first-class summoner. And you, sit tight watch with your low-level monster.”

A Demon is a humanoid monster that can manipulate powerful magic at will. They have extremely high physical capabilities and magical power. They are considered to be the highest-ranking summons that can be used by mages.

It’s said that there are only a few sorcerers in existence who can summon Demons as their familiar.

I snickered.

“How can you pass the exam with just your self-esteem? What if I try too hard, fail, and fail? Fujiwara, you should relax and live more comfortably. Just like me.”

Fujiwara’s eyebrows furrowed. She loosened her grip and then just stared at me.

“I’m dumbfounded. Enough. Just stay here and watch my examination. I’m sure that even a bonehead like you will have a change of heart once you see my feats firsthand! Yes, that must be it! You should tremble at the sheer fortune of witnessing my feats from a privileged seat! It’ll be special!”

She pointed a finger at my face.

Please get rid of it. It was depressing.

“Well, I’ve to go to a party with my friends to celebrate my graduation. Yei!”

“For that kind of thing… Why can’t you just… understand?”

“Wait! That was a lie! It’s a lie, and I’m going to watch, so pull back your fist!”

As Fujiwara prepared her fist with killing intent, I hurriedly pleaded.

… Geez. She’s too hot-headed.

Contemplating, I took the Stone Golem and stood by the wall, away from Fujiwara.

“You have to watch me. I won’t forgive you if you run away!”

She shouted, and I waved my hand in the air.

She stared at me suspiciously and picked up a brush dipped in magic paint. She ran the tip of the brush across the floor.

She was drawing a summoning formation. It was far more complex than the one I had drawn to summon the golem.

Just looking at it was depressing. I’m sure if I worked hard, I could understand the formation to some extent, but I just didn’t feel like it.

Hmm?

As I stared blankly at it, Fujiwara, who had completed the summoning formation, gave me a smug look.

“What do you think? Doesn’t it look artistic?”

“It’s amazing. By the way, in addition to the main magic circuit, are you using three auxiliary circuits outside of the system?”

She raised her eyes when I asked a question without thinking.

“You can tell! You do have talent, don’t you?”

Her gaze was fixed on me.

“Don’t you think you’re wasting your talent? If you work hard enough and develop your talent, you can become a great mage.”

“There’s no way I have such great talent. Motivation is the most important talent.”

“When people are rotten to the core, they can’t take even well-intended advice seriously.”

“Are you the kind of person who can’t even breathe unless you make fun of me every now and then?”

She ignored me and picked up the grimoire from the floor.

She placed her palm on the cover, and after a beat, the magic formation started to glow with blue light.

She had activated the summoning formation through the grimoire.

A grimoire is an auxiliary device that helps mages control the magic power released from the magicians into its desired form.

Even though we mages can generate magic power in our bodies, we don’t have the means to convert it into magic directly. Therefore, when we want to use magic, we have to process it through an auxiliary device or chant a ridiculously long spell for minutes on end.

Well, in modern magic, using auxiliary devices is the mainstream.

Whatever technology needed was refined and optimized throughout history.

However, you still need to make your grimoire, and you have to come up with your formulas for activating magic. It’s where the difference in ability as a Mage, especially as a Summoner, comes in.

In other words, Fujiwara, who has an enormous amount of magical power and could create the formula for such flashy magic, was much better than the professionals around the world.

She’s the epitome of talent. I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so full of herself.

“Here I go.”

She muttered, and at the same time, the magic formation shone particularly strongly.

The woman who suddenly appeared on top of the magic formation was like a personification of hellfire.

Her hair flowed down to her waist like a veil, her eyes were big as if to show her strong will, and her dress was gorgeous.

The atmosphere surrounding her was dyed deep red. In contrast to her translucent white skin, all of the red stood out. Her face was more well-shaped than any woman I’ve ever seen.

The woman glanced around the room and then caught Fujiwara’s eye.

“Is that you? You are the one who summoned this lady to such a lowly world.”

“Yes. I want you to be my servant.”

The demon narrowed her eyes at Fujiwara’s fearless attitude.

“Huh? What’s this nonsense? Don’t you know that this lady is the third princess of Eilam, the Imperial Kingdom?”

“Where is that? How am I supposed to know when I’m just looking for an individual who might be useful as a familiar?”

“… Fufu, you think this is a joke, monkey? How amusing. I shall grant you death as a reward. Begone.”

The demon pointed her index finger at Fujiwara. The moment that fingertip glowed red, she fired a light bullet.

It must be offensive magic. How easy it was for a demon to unleash such an attack without any assistive devices or chanting…

However, the light bullets were blocked by the barrier on the summoning formation and dispersed before reaching Fujiwara.

However, the transparent barrier still wavered considerably. That was a hell lot of firepower.

Fujiwara gulped as the demon narrowed her eyes in displeasure, but she didn’t falter and began to inject magic power into her grimoire. 

Immediately, the demon’s expression turned grim, and she covered her face with one hand.

“Ugh… You’re getting carried away! I had enough of this.”

She might have been under obedience magic, but the demon resisted as her eyes flashed.

She probably had a very strong resistance to magic.

“Kuh” Fujiwara groaned in pain.

Such an intense battle was going on between them.

But if it was too intense, it wasn’t very helpful for me to look at, was it? Hmm, I had no time for this.

I was bored, so I glanced at the stone golem standing next to me. It was a low-grade monster with a simple mind, but it was more than enough for me. I didn’t think I needed anything better.

A power that is too much for someone to handle is like poison. People with more power have to do more things.

And while I was wondering, the grimoire Fujiwara was holding suddenly ignited.

“Agh!”

Fujiwara threw the grimoire in surprise. It was instantly engulfed in flames, and before falling to the floor, it disappeared without leaving ashes behind!

Ha! Why did it burn?

Fujiwara was astonished, “H-how?”

It seemed to be an unforeseen problem. Whether the grimoire couldn’t withstand Fujiwara’s magic, or whether the grimoire itself was inadequate, the obedience magic had failed.

She had done it. She was doomed to fail this exam.

I’ll have to make her use honorifics starting next year.

Anyway, the most concerning problem was the demon. Without the grimoire, there would be no barrier protecting her anymore, and the unleashed demon would start rampaging.

In fact, the demon was looking down at Fujiwara with a daring smile on her face.

“Fujiwara, back off!”

The teachers shouted as they injected magic power into their grimoires and summoned their familiars.

A werewolf, an ogre, and a fox demon. All of them were considered high-ranking summons, though none of them are as good as the demon.

The three familiars attacked the demon under the command of the summoner.  　

But,

“Turn to ashes, you vermin!”

The demon brandished her right arm in a horizontal line.

Then, explosive flames were created in its path, engulfing the three familiars.

They burned up without a trace. Wow, that was amazing. It was no ordinary flame.

Oh no! Does this mean that all of the teachers’ familiars are dead?

“You damn Mages. Know your place.”

The demon fired an extra-large burst of light at the teachers. It easily broke through the barriers they had created and blew the three of them away.

I could hear them groaning, so they were not dead, but the teachers showed no signs of getting up.

No way. She was too strong.

“Now-now, little monkey. Are you ready for this?”

“Hah-hah…”

Unable to keep standing, Fujiwara collapsed to the ground.

“Don’t think that you’ll get a swift death… Your crime is being an inferior species and misbehaviour.”

The demon’s eyes completely focused on Fujiwara.

Gulp, I should go and get some help.

No matter how strong that demon was, if the school’s teachers worked together, they might not lose. Hopefully.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Fujiwara would be able to survive long enough to call for help, but there was nothing else I could do. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel guilty, but I didn’t want to die in vain.

I’m sorry.

I ran toward the doorway.

“Humph, you can’t escape!”

The demon snapped her fingers. As if in tandem, the entire room was covered with a thin layer of invisible magic.

I reached out to the door, but it didn’t budge. It was stuck. A barrier?

When I turned around, the demon was looking at me with a grin.

I reflexively put my hand on the grimoire and shouted, “Golem, go!”

The golem, which had been standing near the wall, obediently ran towards the demon.

But it was crushed by a single light bullet.

I’m stupid. A moving stone is no match for a Demon.

“You won’t be a man if you run away without your woman.”

Cold sweat broke all over my body.

“… No-no, I’m not running away. I was just going to call for help.”

“Why do you need help? It’s a man’s duty to protect his woman at all costs, you scum. You deserve death. Fine, I’ll grant you death as well.”

I’ve been told many things, but I understood what she was saying.

I knew that I was a pathetic piece of shit right now.

But you know what?

“Ah, you see. Onee-san has a good point, but even if I risked my life to protect her, I would only die in vain, and Fujiwara would be killed in the end. If that’s the case, I think the chances of both of us being saved would be much higher if I went to call for help.”

“Fumu. I’ll finish you off even after that.”

“Then, there’s no point in defending Fujiwara.”

“There is no point, you say? But if you are a man, you have to protect her, even if it’s for nothing. Do you understand? Then be prepared.”

I couldn’t understand a word she was saying.

I was sure she would kill me no matter what I said.

I was done with this b*llsh*t

I didn’t want to die for nothing. I was going to make her as uncomfortable as possible before I die.

“Then I’ll die, but… Fool.”

Her lips twitched…

“Huh? What did you just say?”

Oh no, I couldn’t stop sweating.

“Ha! Are you deaf? Is that head of yours full of whipped cream instead of brains?”

I couldn’t even stop swearing.

Her face appeared to turn grim.

I was scared. It was really scary. 

But I wouldn’t stop.

“Ho, Hou? Whipped cream, huh? Do you know whom you have spoken to with such disrespect? If you don’t know what you’re doing, you will die horribly.”

Looking at the demon, who was still acting like a big shot, something snapped in my head.

“Shut up, you idiot!!”

I found myself yelling.

“Do you think a person who is about to be killed is going to be intimidated by a threat like that? Or will you let go of me if this humble me carefully licks your feet?”

“I’ll kill you if you do that…”

“Right? Then who’s going to respect you? You’re an idiot! I’m ready to die. I’m invincible, and I’ve decided that I’ll make fun of you until I die. In this day and age, there are equal rights between men and women. Why should I care about an old hag like you? And what’s with that outfit of yours, are you an underground idol? Or some kind of pervert?”

“Y-you!!”

The demon roared, and her face turned red. Her mouth was open like a goldfish that was trying to breathe. 

It was as if she couldn’t find the right words to describe the emotions raging inside.

Good luck to me!

“In the first place, I’m ten times weaker than Fujiwara, who’s lying over there. I have to save Fujiwara? That’s ridiculous! Can’t you even understand that? You can probably kill me here, but I’m losing my mind! I’m going to make a fool out of you! Do you understand me, you muscle brain? I hope that in your next life, you’ll be born a civilized person who can have constructive discussions.”

“Y-y-you… you deserve death!”

She pointed her palm at me and fired a light bullet!

My body was blown away by the impact as if I had been hit by a rock, and I rolled on the floor.

My vision blurred, and I couldn’t think of anything.

“Geho! You’re a savage woman who resorts to violence because you can’t talk back. Is your mouth just for decoration? Use your brain, barbarian. Go ahead, kill me. Kill me now! Intelligence wins! Come on.”

“Y-you are still saying that! That’s enough. I’ll crush that filthy mouth of yours.”

In a flash, she came right in front of me. Her arms were glowing like they were on fire as she was concentrating her magic power. The magic power in the air was shimmering in the response.

It was a beautiful sight that made me feel scared. I never thought I’d be able to see the magic of the atmosphere.

Whatever it is, I’m dead. Yes, it was over. May I be reborn as a giant tree deep in the mountains in my next life?

The demon who was right in front of me raised her arms.

I’ll keep my eyes open until the moment I die.

Our gazes met, and she smiled wickedly… and then blew up.

It wasn’t me. The demon, who was right in front of me, just blew up.

She flew to the edge of the testing room and crashed into the wall. The mortar shattered, and half of her body sunk into the wall.

“Get out while you still can! We’ll buy you some time!”

One of the teachers, who seemed to have woken up, shouted out in a daze. The remaining two also got up and unleashed several offensive magic on the demon while slamming magic power into the grimoire.

However, the demon didn’t seem to be particularly hurt and began to fight back irritably.

She was too tough. Was she made up of tungsten?

“Thanks for the help… but where are you telling me to run to?”

There was a very powerful barrier.

Guess I should head to a corner of the hall so I would not get caught up in the battle. 

I grabbed Fujiwara by the arm and dragged her, coughing, to the wall.

“What a mess you’ve made. If the teachers lose, she will kill us next.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Fujiwara shouted…

“It’s ridiculous… I wasn’t going to summon such a powerful demon.”

I thought for a moment that she was making an excuse, but after looking at the desperate look on her face, it didn’t seem like she wasn’t lying.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t care whose fault it is anymore. We’re going to die anyway. Look at the teachers who are helpless despite being outnumbering her. That woman is too strong. Hey, do you think I’ll get in the way of the teachers if I yell at that demon now?”

Fujiwara ignored me, swept her gaze suspiciously, and caught sight of the grimoire in my hand.

She mumbled with a tense expression and seemed to be thinking about something, 

And,

“We can’t defeat her, but we can turn that demon into a familiar.”

“Didn’t you fail already? I mean, you don’t even have a grimoire.”

Fujiwara ignored me again and snatched my grimoire. Then, she started flipping through the pages with great speed and stopped her fingers at a certain… page.

It was a page about magic to subjugate a summoned demon.

After staring at it for a few seconds, she started to unbutton her blouse.

“Oi-oi! What are you doing? Are you so scared that you lost your mind?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I have an idea! We’re going to turn that demon into a familiar.”

What did that have to do with your stripping?

“It’s impossible. We can’t escape. I should die peacefully. I guess I’ll die with a foul mouth…”

Fujiwara took off her blouse and revealed only her upper body. Of course, she was still wearing her skirt underneath. Even so, I can’t help but notice her slim belly and armpits, which are rare.

What a disappointment. Hmm, why do you have small breasts?

As I stared at Fujiwara, thinking that I was going to die anyway, she took the bucket that had been left in the corner of the room. It contained a brush, and magical paint, a complete set for drawing a magic formation.

Fujiwara dipped the brush in the liquid, ran it over her abdomen, and began to draw something on herself.

“Oi! You’ve lost your mind. Why are you painting your body? Even if you’re out of your mind and your morality got out of control, you shouldn’t be painting your body… And please don’t take off the bra.”

“No, I’m drawing a magic formation that will match your magic circuits. Why do you keep talking like this? You’re distracting me, so shut up.”

I didn’t understand, but she told me to shut up, so I did.

Fujiwara moved her hand craftily and drew a magic circle on her stomach.

Apparently, she read my grimoire and constructed a corresponding magic formation.

She’s so smart. It’s usually impossible to immediately understand and apply someone else’s magic circuits.

“It’s done!”

It was almost the same time that Fujiwara finished drawing the magic circle that one of the teachers went missing.

The balance that had barely been maintained, was broken, and the demon intensified her attacks, and another one fell swoop.

At any moment, the two of us would be next. Our end was near.

Ah, I can’t think of a good death poem. The great old men were amazing.

Just as I was about to give up, Fujiwara grabbed my arm.

“Ashiya-kun, please! You’re the only one I can rely on!”

She looked at me with a strong will.

“You can do it! You will if you put your mind to it! So please, don’t give up.”

You’re still saying things like that?

Why does this girl have so many expectations of me?

Argh… This misunderstanding was terrible.

But anyway, she had a plan.

“Okay. If there’s something I can do, I’ll do it. It’s not like I want to die. What should I do?”

For a brief moment, I saw a thin smile on her face.

“Originally, to engrave a mark of obedience on a demon, it would be necessary for the target to be inside the magic formation. But it’s hard to lead that demon to one. So, I’ll act as a magic formation and stick to that woman.”

Fujiwara pointed to her abdomen and said. 

She had drawn a small magic formation on herself.

“After I stick to her, I want you to use obedience magic. Our magic circuits should be evenly connected.”

“I see. But Fujiwara, will you be okay with that? Using a human body as a magic circle is absurd.”

“Yes, I am. There’s no precedent for this, and it might be reckless, but this is the only way. I can’t back down. This happened because of me, and she will kill me even if I don’t try anything… I’m not a fool. If I’m going to die, I’ll do anything! Otherwise, you won’t forgive me…!”

You could see the determination in Fujiwara’s eyes…

“I see. If you’re ready, it’s fine. Just don’t hold a grudge against me if I fail and you die.”

“No hard feelings. You’ll be dead by then too.”

So be it.

Fujiwara took a detour and headed behind the demon.

And at the same time, when the two remaining teachers fell, Fujiwara jumped on her back.

She grabbed her shoulders and put her legs around her waist. There was no distance between them.

“Ngh… What are you doing?”

Convinced of victory, the demon who was completely off guard raised a surprised voice.

“Ashiya-kun!”

“I know!”

As I circulated my magic power into the grimoire, Fujiwara’s body began to glow blue.

The demon rolled her eyes and fell to her knees.

The glow from Fujiwara’s body increased without bounds, becoming a mass of light in the shape of a person.

The light was so bright that it seemed to burn through my retinas, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

The demon who seemed to have finally understood what was happening to him shouted, 

“Stop… Guha, get off… Get off… Get off me! I’m warning you… Stop it. Are you deaf, monkey?”

The distraught demon was swallowed by the overwhelming light.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and turned my face away but continued to channel my magic through the grimoire.

Eventually, the dazzling light disappeared.

The demon was lying on the ground.

A small pattern was carved onto her forehead. There was no doubt that it was the mark of obedience.

Did we succeed? I thought I was going to die!!

I don’t know what to say, but where is Fujiwara?

I could only see the demon, and Fujiwara was nowhere to be found.

She’s dead! No way! Guess it was inevitable after such a reckless act, but… Damn, that left a bad aftertaste.

Is that for real? I should at least pray for her soul.

She was annoying, but she wasn’t a bad girl.

Nanmu-nanmu. I hope she won’t haunt me like a ghost.

“Ugh…”

When I held my palms, the fallen demon groaned and meekly opened her eyes.

She blinked in a daze. 

“Hn… Ashiya-kun? H-hey… What’s going on? What happened to that demon?”

She muttered.　

*Shivers*

I felt uncomfortable with her tone of voice.

Don’t tell me. N-No, that’s impossible.

The demon sat and looked around in awe.

“Ashiya-kun, are you listening? Did we succeed? Where’s that demon…? What’s with that face? Why do you look like a fool…? Huh? There’s something wrong with my voice… Eh…?”

I took my smartphone out of my pocket and took a picture of the demon (?).

Then I showed the photo to the demon who was looking at me curiously.

The demon… Fujiwara squeezed her face.

“W-w-wha… What is this? Why did I become a demon…? Ehhhhh?!”

That’s what I’d like to know.