After successfully forming a contract with Rias, Ethan's skill bar gained a new skill.
[Soul Mate]: Contract-type skill, cannot be broken, current limit nine.
The skill name indicated that after the mutation, this contract was no longer a simple Master-Servant contract; "Companion Contract" or "Dual Cultivation Contract" would be more suitable.
The restrictions did not change much: after signing the contract with Ethan, the companion must be loyal and obedient. If violated, the curse would activate, producing an unimaginable aphrodisiac effect.
Unlike Maria's Master-Servant contract, this state could not be relieved by any means other than Ethan's personal soothing.
Using other methods would not only fail to relieve it but would cause greater pain.
In terms of effects, in addition to retaining the original effects, two others were added.
First, after signing the contract with Ethan, the Dual Cultivation effect was greatly enhanced.
The second was soul binding.
As long as Ethan was alive—more accurately, as long as one of the contracted individuals was alive—the rest could maintain a fragment of their true spirit intact.
This fragment of the true spirit would reside in the soul of the living person, remaining dormant, slowly awaiting the opportunity for resurrection.
However, there was also a side effect.
With the death of each contracted person, the souls of the remaining individuals would also be harmed.
Ethan, in particular, was the center of this contract, and his importance was paramount.
If the souls of the contracted individuals were not strong enough, Ethan's death could directly lead to the annihilation of their souls.
Similarly, with the death of each contracted companion, Ethan's soul would suffer extreme damage, and the remaining damage would then be distributed among the souls of the remaining people.
If three people signed the contract, for example, Ethan, Rias, and Akeno Himejima.
If Ethan and Rias died first, Akeno Himejima would have to withstand two soul shocks to nourish their two true spirits within her soul.
Then, she would slowly accumulate the power and resources for resurrection to resurrect them one by one.
Ethan's current soul power could only sign this contract with nine people, and these nine people could not be chosen casually.
They needed at least sufficient potential, let alone powerful strength.
Ethan didn't know if the contract slots would increase as his strength continued to grow and his soul power expanded.
Even if they could increase, it likely wouldn't be by much. Each slot was extremely precious.
The current nine slots were already a result of his unique soul. A normal SS-Class powerhouse would only have one or two slots at most.
Well... others don't have the Spiritual Contract and Dual Cultivation talents, so they can't sign a Companion Contract anyway.
Once the contract was signed, it meant eternal union.
They would either live forever together, or their souls would be annihilated together, their true spirits scattered, becoming a wisp of breeze in the world.
Ethan did not conceal the details of the newly acquired contract from the girls in the club room.
He intended to select the remaining eight slots from among them.
Of course, this still depended on whether Akeno Himejima and the others agreed.
"Akira..."
Yuuto Kiba looked distressed. "I want to sign the contract with you, but the contract must be completed through Dual Cultivation..."
Ethan also felt a headache. Maria's Master-Servant contract didn't specify gender.
But after the mutation, the contract absolutely required internal ejaculation for successful completion.
This implicitly restricted the contract partners to be female, and Yuuto Kiba was currently in a special physical state.
Even if both Ethan and Yuuto Kiba were willing, they couldn't sign the contract.
"After the Three Factions Conference, we will immediately prepare to address your issue."
Ultimately, Ethan could only give this answer.
They really needed to hurry and solve this. If it continued, Yuuto Kiba would truly become completely marginalized.
If she suddenly had a breakdown one day, she might become evil.
Ethan would rather she became feminine... ahem, regained her female body than turned evil.
Excluding Yuuto Kiba, there were exactly eight girls remaining:
Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, Asia, Yuma Amano, Mitelt, Kalawarner, Naruse Mio, and Maria.
The six girls of the Occult Research Club didn't take long to think and quickly nodded in agreement.
"Oh my, the President has signed a contract with you~"
Akeno Himejima smiled charmingly and leaned close to Ethan. Her fair hand subtly reached into his crotch, teasingly saying, "As the President's servants, we naturally follow our master~"
The white-haired LOLI's cute ears twitched. She nodded solemnly, showing approval for the Vice President's words.
"Oh dear~ Am I finally crossing the step into adulthood with Akira-san..."
The blonde little nun shyly covered her face, murmuring filled with hope.
The Yuma Amano trio exchanged glances. Ultimately, Mitelt and Kalawarner focused their gaze on Yuma Amano.
"Mitelt, Kalawarner, we are no longer superiors and subordinates."
Yuma Amano sighed. Forming cliques like this was bad, and having been Rias's servant for so long, she genuinely wanted to integrate.
But looking at her two fiercely loyal companions, she ultimately didn't say it too bluntly.
Mitelt and Kalawarner also knew this wasn't ideal.
In fact, they had established good relationships with the other girls earlier than Yuma Amano.
Mitelt, Koneko Toujou, and Asia had formed a LOLI trio, and their relationship couldn't be better.
With the recent arrival of Maria, the succubus LOLI, there seemed to be a trend toward evolving into a foursome.
Kalawarner was a woman of few words but was actually very gentle and reliable in her work.
Akeno Himejima and Rias occasionally asked her for help. Coupled with her tall, slender figure and her position as an advisor, she subtly held the position of the third in command.
In contrast, Yuma Amano, who was single-mindedly focused on getting stronger, hadn't integrated further into the group except for her decent relationship with Yuuto Kiba, with whom she frequently sparred.
This was why Mitelt and Kalawarner had always been a bit worried about Yuma Amano, and deliberately maintained the appearance of a small clique.
Yuma Amano vaguely sensed this, but everyone had different personalities. It would take her some time to fully integrate into this big family.
As her thoughts raced, she made her decision.
Yuma Amano nodded to Mitelt and Kalawarner, then stated, "We have no problem either."
Ethan was actually somewhat unimpressed with the potential of the Fallen Angel trio, but as a person... one shouldn't look only at benefits.
Besides, bloodline potential wasn't something that couldn't be changed.
While cultivating SSRs was easy and comfortable, personally promoting R-Cards to SR, or even SSR, also held a unique flavor.
After nodding readily, he looked at the Naruse sisters.
He knew his chances were slim, but he couldn't help but feel a flicker of expectation.
Naruse Mio's potential went without saying. As the main heroine of Shinmai Maou no Testament, the Devil King's daughter was a textbook example of a favored genius.
The succubus LOLI was also excellent, one of the female leads, and the offspring of a Devil King and a Succubus Queen. Her potential was also one in a million.
"Hmph, you perverted ecchi, exhibitionist! Who would sign a contract with you!"
Naruse Mio stamped her foot, her face flushed as she angrily scolded him, then spun around and headed out of the club room.
She knew what kind of scene was about to unfold, felt extremely annoyed, but couldn't stop it, so she decided that what she didn't see couldn't hurt her.
"Ah, Mio-sama, wait for me~"
Maria hurried to follow. Midway, she turned back, stuck out her small tongue, and whispered, "I actually want to sign the contract with Akira-nii, but Mio-sama refuses, so I can only regretfully decline."
Ethan shrugged, noncommittal about the succubus LOLI's words.
He knew his effect on Succubi, especially since Maria's eyes hadn't left Little Akira the entire time.
As long as Naruse Mio nodded, Maria would definitely follow suit.
Naruse Mio's rejection was expected, but still a little disappointing.
A tsundere was already difficult to conquer, let alone make her actively and frankly express her feelings.
Add to that Ethan's involvement with so many girls, and their short acquaintance, it would be a miracle if Naruse Mio agreed.
Through their time together, the Naruse sisters could sense that Ethan's relationship with the other girls was unusual.
But only now was it completely confirmed, and they gained a deeper understanding of Ethan's Dual Cultivation ability and Yuuto Kiba's special situation.
Ethan and Rias hadn't treated them as outsiders at all, but some things couldn't be proactively stated and had to be observed by them.
Shortly after the Naruse sisters left, Rias returned to the club room, wearing a semi-transparent lace nightgown.
"It seems everyone understands."
After a quick glance around, Rias said, "Let's continue the contract while the full moon hasn't passed."
The mutated contract was time-consuming and had to be performed on a full moon night. No matter how unrestrained Ethan was, he probably couldn't complete all the signings.
While Ethan drew the magic circle, the girls also determined the order for signing the contract.
The first was Akeno Himejima.