"You didn't answer me." I held up a hand, halting Alicia. Her brows twitched with annoyance. "Why do you want me to enter a pact with him?"
"Oh, gracious! Would you cooperate already? It'd be difficult if Ruby wakes up, I'll have you know."
She sighed, then continued. "I... want Ruby to fawn over me..."
Huh?
"You know, I wish to be taken care of by him. I want him to be my knight in shining armor. Therefore, he'll need a powerful servant to watch his back while he watches mine."
"Then who'll watch MY back?" I asked.
"You're just a tool. I couldn't care less."
Well, I asked, so that's my fault.
Alicia went on. "Who better to make a pact with him than one who loves and cherishes him?"
For the first time—though it was slight—Alicia smiled.
I see.
She wanted me to provide the contract spell.
But...
"Alicia? There's a problem."
"What is it now?" She sounded exasperated.
"We cannot enact a pact while he's sleeping. Both parties must give their full consent before the heavenly pieces recognize and bind us in a covenant."
Alicia rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Hmmm. You said something about how spells were keys, I believe?"
Hm? Did I tell her that?
I suppose I did.
"Yes. Spells are keys that grant us access to power."
"Good. So why don't we take the keys for pacts and rearrange them in a way that I can represent Ruby?"
Hah. Alicia was quite creative, but a lack of knowledge about magic could make anyone sound foolish.
Of course, I wouldn't dare laugh in her presence.
"Uhm... No, Alicia," I said. "It is possible to do that, but only specific heavenly beings and the Great Heavenly One can manipulate reality in such a way."
Alicia's brow furrowed.
"Haaahhh. If you're going to be a companion of mine, you'd best banish such pessimistic thoughts."
Was I... being scolded?
"We haven't even tried to see if it would work, and you're already predicting failure. I bet you even think I'm stupid for coming up with it in the first place."
'YELP! She is sharp.'
"O-of course not!" I denied immediately. "Okay, let's give it a try. I don't think there'll be any side effects if we fail."
We began.
I taught her the Pact spell, and Alicia recited the incantations flawlessly, as if magic were her native tongue.
Shapes and runes materialized around us, a pristine white magic circle glowing beneath our feet.
Before I could even start explaining the significance of the runes and shapes, Alicia began rearranging them—roughly, almost disrespectfully.
This was bound to fail.
Yet her confidence was infectious, and I found myself hoping against all logic.
Not even a few minutes passed, and she had completely bent the nature of the pact into... something unrecognizable.
Alicia had strong-armed the management of heaven and the world's advanced calculations, reshaping divine laws with brute will.
I had not witnessed anything like it since the dawn of creation—and from a mortal, no less.
Honestly, who is Alicia?!
And she still wasn't done.
She shortened spells, used abbreviations, and even mixed symbols in ways that should have shattered the spellwork entirely.
Yet, against all odds, the Pact was completed.
And, unbelievably, I now had a Master-Servant Pact with Ravenswood—without his consent.
Alicia leaned closer, her voice a dangerous whisper. "Do NOT tell him. Ever."
I nodded, too stunned to do anything else.
*
"Change that appearance," Alicia began, eyeing me up and down. "You look like something out of a horror novel. And aren't you naked right now?!"
So much fuss over appearances. No wonder humans are obsessed with clothing.
"Isn't this fine?" I asked, spreading my arms. "I have the shape of a human, and I never needed clothes in the sea."
"Oh? Then would you like to return to said sea, you sea monster?"
Her tone held a threat sharp enough to cut.
"I'm sorry! I'll do my best to resemble humans, ma'am." I scrambled to comply, sensing she would absolutely send me back if I didn't.
Using shapeshifting magic, I began my transformation. This advanced magic allowed me to reconstruct my body into anything living I could imagine—a feat humans could only manage once in their lifetime, if at all.
I morphed into a more slender, delicate form, using Alicia as inspiration.
My new appearance was that of a young woman on the cusp of maturity. My eyes shone yellow with black, slitted pupils. My nails were onyx, and my hair and lashes remained white, though their tips of my hair turned a deep, pitch black—a subtle reminder that I was not truly human, maybe.
"Wait a second! Do something about your clothes!"
Argh, these human customs!
I looked down at myself. My new form was perfect—more appealing than most human women, if I said so myself.
Didn't human men like when women displayed their endowments in the open? Why didn't human women embrace this logic?
But I didn't want to be sent back to the sea, so I obeyed.
Dipping into creation magic—another hopelessly advanced art humans could only dream of wielding—I conjured clothing.
What to wear... Ah, yes!
I decided to mimic the attire of the brat who often came to challenge me. Speaking of her, wasn't it around this time of year she usually showed up?
Magic wove itself around me, forming human garments.
A grey fabric wrapped around my chest, tying neatly at the front. A black cloth encircled my hips, sitting a few inches above my knees. A coil of leather—a belt, perhaps—wound around my waist, holding everything in place.
"Unacceptable! Are you trying to seduce my Ruby?!" Alicia huffed, her face a mix of offense and suspicion.
And yes, I would absolutely try to seduce him if given the opportunity.
With a long-suffering sigh, she ordered me to put on "pants" under the "skirt."
Humans and their layers...
I didn't fully grasp those clothing terms, so Alicia performed the impossible yet again. At this point, her feats barely surprised me.
From just watching me, she learned it?
She wove a snug, grey garment that hugged my legs from the crotch region to just above my ankles. She called it a "leg-in" or something along those lines.
Satisfied, Alicia began orienting me on my new role. "Listen up. I'm the first wife and first baby, you hear? If Ruby ever decides to sleep with you behind my back, you need my permission first!"
"And if I ask for permission, will you grant it?"
"Of course not. Over my dead body." She deadpanned.
Well then, I suppose mating with Ravenswood was out of the question. Unless...
Alicia continued lecturing me as if I had committed some grievous crime. I endured it, nodding along until—
"Oh, he's waking up!" She hissed, signaling me to get into position. "Remember, I'm a weak maiden in distress. If you spill the beans about me, all hell will break loose."
She wasn't exaggerating. I could feel the weight of her threat.
"I won't," I promised. "If anything, I'm grateful to you."
Grateful... Yes, that was the word.
A few hours ago, I thought I had lost Ravenswood forever. I thought I'd be dragged back into isolation, doomed to the abyss of deep sleep.
But now—now I had a chance.
My life, which had been nothing but an endless cycle of waiting and wandering, was about to change. With Ravenswood—the wonder Fenrir—and Alicia—a mysterious anomaly in the fabric of life—I knew I'd never be bored again.
A grin crept onto my face. 'I'd better tighten this belt. It's going to be a most wonderful adventure!'
"Hey! You're smiling suspiciously! Ruby better not catch on!"
Can Alicia give me a break?!
And while I was at it, I needed to think of a pet name for him too. Something endearing... or maybe just a little mischievous.