Because these creatures were originally forest dwellers, Leo found the Fairies' habitat without much trouble. Tiny beings no bigger than insects drifted through the dark like living fireflies, scattering soft light as they fluttered about.
"They're so cute..."
Asuna fell for them at first sight. They were tiny, sure, but the butterfly-winged little girl forms were exactly the kind of aesthetic that hit a human's sweet spot. Even Utaha looked a little tempted.
Seeing the unrestrained affection shining in Asuna's eyes, Leo felt like this perfect-wife type had suddenly awakened some intense maternal instinct.
"How do I form a contract with them? Do I have to defeat them?"
Asuna made her intentions clear with one line — she wanted a Fairy as her familiar.
"You don't need to fight them. Just give them something they like."
To Leo, Asuna didn't look like she was trying to get a familiar at all. She looked like she was trying to adopt a daughter. It made him feel weird, but he still gave her the guidance she needed.
"Fairies are basically vegetarians. They like honey, cheese, bird eggs, berries, fruit, grains, vegetables. They especially love cake. They don't like milk. They drink dew or spring water, and sometimes they'll brew nectar from flowers. They get into conflicts with other creatures while gathering food. But if you offer them something they like, they'll immediately hold you in absolute goodwill."
Fairies were simple creatures. They repaid kindness and held grudges. Give them food, and they'd try their hardest to help you. Offend them, and they'd torment you without mercy until you broke.
They were graceful and sensitive, unable to understand human clumsiness or stupidity. Sometimes they'd pull pranks on people — and their idea of a prank could be downright nasty, even unbearable to humans.
In Western folklore, Fairies were known for stealing beautiful human babies and swapping them with ugly, ill-tempered ones — supposedly because they loved cute babies and wanted them for themselves.
But another belief said the reason they stole human infants was to offer them to devils so the devils would leave them alone.
Leo couldn't say for sure how much of that was false. Human flesh and souls were valuable to devils, used in all sorts of evil rituals, and devils could strengthen themselves by consuming them. It wasn't impossible that some devils would contract Fairies as familiars just to steal human children for their own desires.
Either way, having a Fairy as a familiar was never a bad thing for a devil. They could be incredibly helpful.
Under Leo's guidance, Asuna approached the Fairies with several pieces of her homemade cake.
All three of his servants were basically perfect straight-A students — top grades and excellent cooks. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to live alone outside.
Asuna also cooked often back at the manor, including pastries. Leo simply opened a small Teleportation Magic Circle in his palm, and the cakes she'd left in the manor were transported over.
With their favorite cake as bait, contracting with a Fairy went ridiculously smoothly for Asuna. Before long, she brought back a younger-looking Fairy wearing a petal dress, long straight hair flowing down her back.
"Her name is Yui. I just came up with it."
Asuna let the little Fairy sit on her shoulder, swinging her legs as she happily ate cake.
"Yui..."
Leo's mouth twitched. He stared at the tiny Fairy for a few seconds.
"Is something wrong?" Asuna asked, confused.
"No, nothing." Leo rubbed his nose. "Good name. Let's go with that."
It was fate in its own strange way.
"Should I give mine a name too?"
Still buried in petting her Ice Spirit, Yukino suddenly looked up and asked Utaha for her opinion.
"I think that's fine." Utaha was already mentally checked out after seeing her two teammates happily bonding with their familiars. She waved lazily. "Why not call it Hirano?"
"—Cough!"
Leo had been drinking water and nearly choked.
"What kind of name is that? It's not cute at all!" Yukino frowned. "I'd rather call it Blue."
That name… Leo could only sweat bullets.
"What do you think, President?"
Asuna poked the Fairy on her shoulder while turning to Leo.
"Anything works." Leo wiped his forehead. "Blue, Yuki, or Fuyu — all sound fine."
He was terrible at naming things. His naming skills were only slightly better than that shining idiot from the film set next door. At least he wouldn't name anything something like "Spiral Flash Ultra Wheel Roar Type III." But expecting him to come up with a genuinely cute name? Wrong person.
Yukino clearly wasn't counting on Leo anyway. After thinking seriously for a bit, she made a decision.
"Let's call her Fuyufuyu."
Yes. Leo personally found that name pretty cute.
"Alright, whatever." Leo didn't want to waste more time on this. He clapped his hands. "Asuna's contract is done. That leaves senpai. Come on, let's move."
He turned and walked off, making the girls scramble to follow.
"What familiar are you planning to give me?" Utaha finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"What do you think of a siren?"
Leo asked while walking.
"A siren?" Utaha blinked. "You mean a mermaid?"
Being a literature girl, Utaha's knowledge base was solid. She immediately grasped what he meant.
"Yeah. Half-human, half-fish. Beautiful upper body, fish tail, the mermaids from legends."
Leo nodded to confirm.
Sirens were known for their beautiful singing voices. In myth, they lured sailors to their doom — though fairy tales later romanticized them. In reality, they were man-eating monsters, very deserving of the title "yōkai."
They usually lived in the sea, but the Familiar Forest had a massive lake. Many sirens lived there, feeding on fish, singing along the shore, and desperately craving interaction with people. They were also very intelligent.
Leo wasn't sure if sirens could help Utaha write, but as far as he knew, sirens were among the smartest creatures in this forest.
"Siren, huh…"
Utaha hesitated.
She wanted to be a novelist, not a pop star.
A singing-type familiar seemed better suited for someone aiming for an idol career.
But since they were legendary mermaids, capable of seducing sailors and communicating with humans, they were probably as clever as Leo claimed.
Maybe… they could write too?
Utaha wasn't confident, but she still wanted to see for herself.
So the four of them trekked through the forest for over an hour before reaching an open area where a lake came into view.
But to their surprise, chaos was erupting at the lake.
"ROAR!"
"ROAR!"
"ROAR!"
A massive creature was thrashing through the water, churning the lake into a storm.
The lake's inhabitants fled in terror, scattering in all directions. Several half-human, half-fish sirens were among the panicked swimmers, desperately trying to escape — only to be chased by the monster.
"What is that?!"
Yukino, Asuna, and Utaha shouted in unison. Even the Ice Spirit in Yukino's arms and the Fairy on Asuna's shoulder trembled in fear — one tensing up and letting out a sharp cry, the other hiding in Asuna's hair.
"It's a Hydra."
Leo recognized the creature immediately.
It was massive, like something out of a tokusatsu movie — a giant serpent body with nine horrifying heads.
"A Hydra?"
"The one from Greek mythology?"
"The one said to be able to kill gods?"
The three girls blanched. They all knew the name.
"It can't kill gods, but it is extremely poisonous. If you get bitten or touched by its venom, anyone below Maou-Class might as well start writing a will."
Leo's words did nothing to calm them — their faces only paled further.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
All nine heads lunged toward the group at the shore.
Yukino and the others instinctively prepared to fight, but Leo stopped them.
"This thing is dangerous. At your current level, you'd get yourselves hurt."
Leo stepped forward, eyes sharp.
"So I'll handle this one."
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50 p.s for extra chapter!
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You can read up to chapter 124 on patreon.com/NiaXD.