My Classmate Became My Familiar - Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.4

As the three of us walked down the hallway side by side, we were stared at by students passing by.

Those who seemed to be from the East looked at us with resentment.

Those from the West looked at us with curiosity.

Hmm, I had forgotten about it, because I was depressed, but

“What did you choose as your familiar, Asahi?”

I asked Asahi as she was next to me to cover up my uncomfortable feeling.

As she was able to advance to the second year of the Boundary Interference Department, Asahi must have succeeded in summoning a familiar. However, there was no sign of the familiar beside her. I’m sure she had it waiting in the dormitory or their original world, summoning as needed.

That’s how it usually went. It was just the exceptions like Fujiwara and me who can’t stay away from each other.

“M-my familiar… you see. Umm… I’m sorry!”

I didn’t know what to expect when she slumped down and mumbled.

“Why?”

“Um… well… It’s a… Su-Su-Succubus… that’s why.”

I couldn’t help but look at Fujiwara at the sound of her muffled voice.

I thought I had misheard Asahi, but judging from the way Fujiwara reacted, I was wrong.

“That’s surprising. I thought Hirano-san would’ve summoned a unicorn and or another similar monster… Oh, sorry, maybe you can’t get close to unicorns anymore?”

“Why are you saying? I can still get close to a unicorn!” [EN: In Renaissance, only virgin maidens can approach unicorns.]

“Is that so? Then you’re one of us!”

Fujiwara mumbled quietly.

I didn’t care if you’re a virgin or not.

“Succubus. They’re kinda like…”

“Uu. Nothing n-naughty happened between us…”

“You summoned a succubus, and you don’t want to do anything naughty? It’s too dubious!”

“N-no… I mean… I don’t have such dirty… thoughts.”

“Is that so?”

“Un. So, I thought that if I summoned a succubus, I could learn how to be more proactive… Also, I wanted to get to know Souta-kun better!”

“Eh!? We’re still close enough, right? Wai— Uwa— I’m sad!”

“That’s not what I mean! Not really!”

“Such a waste of talent!”

Fujiwara unleashed her merciless fury.

“I think it would be much more beneficial to talk to different people and have more opportunities to communicate with them rather than using a succubus as a familiar. In the first place, referring to a succubus, it seems like the only thing you’d get good at is how to seduce and handle men.”

“I-is that so? B-but I don’t think so. It’s kinda… Ehee.”

Fujiwara stared at Asahi for a while with half-closed eyes, then said,

“Hirano-san, you’re a bit chubbier than I thought.”

“Ou!’

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, … Oh! There are so many people over there.”

When we arrived at the bulletin board, it was crowded with students.

Everyone was looking over the quest outlines posted on the bulletin board.

All of them were second-year students, and I could sense that they were on the lookout to get a feeling of the new quest.

As we approached to join in the excitement, one of them noticed us and shouted, “Ah!”

The surprise quickly spread, causing a murmur.

Oh, God.

I swallowed my growing annoyance, ignored the noise, and looked over the posted quests…

“Whoa! Look who it is, Souta Ashiya, the rising star of the Boundary Interference Department!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice rang out.

When I turned around, I saw a tall female student and a few cronies looking at us with a grin.

She was Ryoka Sanjo. With her long, loosely permed brown hair and well-trained physique, she looked like someone from ancient times. I sensed a similar vibe from her cronies.

As students of the Department of Spatial Manipulation, they are apprentice magic warriors who fight with their bodies. Their bodies are their strength, and they train according to their magic spells, so they’re physically too strong. It reflected in her natural attire. That’s scary.

Incidentally, the Department of Spatial Manipulation was for those who wished to major in magic, whether physical or magical, to create some phenomenon in space. This includes offensive magic.

Because of its nature, those who graduated from this department often became mages specialized in direct combat, like magic warriors.

The Department of Boundary Interference, to which we belong, is a department that specializes in summoning, that is, interfering with the boundaries that exist between worlds and summoning creatures as familiars. Of course, in addition to summoning, they also taught us all basic magic so we can handle offensive magic.

“They’re a bunch of troublemakers.”

Fujiwara spat out in a whisper. As the two leaders of their respective departments in the second year, they were often at odds. In addition, because they are the top executives of the East and West, they often have skirmishes. Even their personalities were not on the same page.

“Iyaa~ So unfortunate. It’s such a shame that Chikage Fujiwara failed to summon a demon and ended up becoming her classmate’s familiar! It was a terrible mistake! Such a blunder!”

Fujiwara clucked her tongue at Sanjo-san’s deliberate, exaggerated and heartfelt statement.

Sanjo-san grinned as if she was amused by her situation.

“On the other hand, Ashiya-kun! I never thought you’d be able to turn this talented young lady, who is thought to be the next head of the Fujiwara family, into a demon on the spur of the moment. I can’t help but admire you. You’re amazing, really amazing! Aren’t you even more talented than Fujiwara?”

It’s impossible! Please don’t lift me just to lower Fujiwara.

I was too scared to complain, though.

If she hit me, I’d end up with broken bones.

“Ashiya-kun! I fell in love with you! Would you like to join the West Branch?”

Her tongue worked hard to humiliate Fujiwara.

I didn’t want her to drag me into their faction drama.

“Sanjo-san, the thing is…”

“Oi-Oi. What’s the matter with you? You don’t have to call me that! You can call me Ryoka.”

Isn’t she being too friendly for a stranger? She’s weird.

Before Fujiwara became familiar, she didn’t even look at me.

But if I kept calling by her last name, it wouldn’t be good.

I’ll just clear myself.

“I’ll call you Ryoka. Anyway, I’m sorry, but I have no intention of joining any faction.”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry to hear that. But if you change your mind, just let me know anytime, okay? You’re more than welcome. I can even get you a seat on the executive board if you want. And Mari, I mean… the student council president, cares about you a lot.”

“Such nonsense!”

Fujiwara spat out as if she finally lost her temper.

“Look at this. To trick Ashiya-kun, they sent a woman who had such a bad personality. Disgusting. Do you really want to harass me that badly? How shallow of you. It’s exactly what I mean when I say that you guys are no better than an animal.”

Ryoka’s cheeks twitched at Fujiwara’s counterattack.

But she quickly regained her composure.

“Ashiya-kun? Your demon is talking too much. I think she should be disciplined. Otherwise, your dignity as a summoner will be questioned. Or maybe, people from the East generally have no manners, right? They’re all barbarians.”

To her last words, the students who had gathered in front of the bulletin board and belonged to the East became frantic.

Seeing this, the people from the West started laughing… What the hell is wrong with these people?

In the midst of all of this, the minority of unaffiliated people couldn’t stand the tense atmosphere and ran away from the scene. Asahi was also looking concerned.

It was not good. It could turn into a brawl, and someone will get hurt.

Ryoka was too strong in a fistfight.

But now, Fujiwara was even stronger than an ogre.

But then,

“What’s going on here?”

In the tense air that seemed filled with magic power, a dignified voice sounded.

The person who appeared was a ponytailed female student, the student council president, Marika Sanjo.

“I just happened to be passing by. What is this about, Ryoka?”

As you might tell from her last name, the president is a relative of Ryoka.

Marika is a legitimate daughter of the Sanjo family, while Ryoka is from a branch family. I remember that the two were cousins.

Ryoka smiled fondly at the president.

“Iya~ I was having a quick chat with Ashiya-kun, who is the talk of the town. We had a minor misunderstanding, and Fujiwara and I ended up arguing. But it’s nothing serious. You don’t have to worry, Mari-nee.”

“Ryoka, I’m sure you said something inappropriate again. You’re always like that. I’ve been telling you not to agitate the East. When will you learn that?”

“I didn’t mean to say that…”

When Ryoka lowered her head, the president sighed and looked at us apologetically and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Souta-kun, Fujiwara-san, I’m sorry about our Ryoka. I know I’m repeating this, but I hope you’ll forgive her.”

“If that’s what you want then, I don’t care…”

Fujiwara replied without even trying to hide her reluctance. She must be very upset about it.

I thanked the student council president in my heart for dissolving this matter.

I don’t know why she calls me by my first name. She often takes care of me, but I couldn’t think of any reason why she would do so. I still wonder.

“I’m really sorry… Ryoka, come with me!”

“Wait! I was looking for a… quest. Ah, Mou~! Ashiya-kun, I meant what I said earlier! If you join the West, I’m sure not only me but also Mari-nee will be happy to see you…”

“Enough babbling!!”

“Heee—”

Ryoka was dragged away by the president.

The remaining people from the East giggled as if they were amused, while the people from the West walked away, looking uncomfortable.

Hmm, insidious.

“Humph!”

In the midst of all this, Fujiwara snorted.

As the three of us were looking at the bulletin board, Asahi pointed to a printout.

She might be interested in this one.

The printout, an A4-size sheet pinned to the board with thumbtacks, contained an outline of a quest.

“I-I’m a little curious about this one.”

Defeat a Thought Entity

A request from a woman being stalked by a telekinetic entity. Please help her get rid of it.

Difficulty level: F

 People required: One or two people.

Reward: 10,000 yen + 3,000 points (not including expenses)

Note: The party must include at least one female student.

For details, please contact the Student Affairs Division.

I see. It’s a quest with no special requirements. It’s just the easiest way to earn some money. I guess it’ll be a good first challenge. I mean, I didn’t want to get involved in a difficult quest.

“It may seem too easy, but it’s my first time. It’s good for a little test, right?”

I was expecting Fujiwara to have some quibbles, but she readily agreed.

And so, our first quest was decided.