‘No… Flay…’ it giggles. ‘It has a nice ring to it, sir.’
Glad it seems pleased, but why the sudden formality?
Flay rolls over, lies on its belly and utters the following:
‘Despite capturing me, you’ve chosen to save my life. What’s more, you have bestowed upon me a new name. A contract has been sealed.’
Eh? What do you mean, contract?
Flay bows deeply and continues.
‘My master, I shall devote my whole being to serve you. Even if you have no memory, you are my sworn ally and master. I failed to fulfill my allegiance to you once, but I pledge, this time, to follow through!’
What are you, a samurai?
I sense I’ve gotten myself into something more bothersome than what I’d bargained for. But more importantly…
Right now, I’m plunging into a severely dangerous state.
“I’m hungry.”
‘Pardon?’
“I…need a titty.”
As a wee baby, I can only have breast milk.
★
Since my birth two days earlier, I haven’t had anything to eat. I did go to the bathroom that one time.
The feeling of hunger is bearable, but obtaining nutrition is rapidly becoming a priority.
The forest is plentiful with food.
But I am a wee baby.
Even if I blend up meat and vegetables into a gloppy soup─I could probably manage that with a barrier─I don’t know if my body will be able to digest it.
Breast milk, or something similar in liquid form, is my best bet, right?
On the other hand, to ask for breast milk from an animal of unconfirmed gender with no way of knowing if it’s currently nursing is likely a futile request.
I know this master-servant relationship is just something I fell into, but I’m a crap boss for making such unreasonable demands to my subordinate.
‘Titty… You want breast milk? Yes, I can manage that…’
“For realz?!”
My distorted, high-pitched voice gets even higher. I’m genuinely shocked.
‘My wound is… Yes, it seems to be fine. For you, sir, I will do this,’ Flay says, as she closes her eyes.
Suddenly, her gigantic form glows with light. The light swells so brightly, it dazzles my eyes. Her body begins to shrink before me and…take on human form?!
Bright red hair, the same color as the dog’s furry body, tumbles down to her waist. Atop her head are perky little doggy ears. From her butt flows her fluffy red tail.
A voluptuous chest. A slim waistline. Long, slender arms and legs. Well-proportioned and beautiful in every way.
A stark-naked, gorgeous girl is standing before me.
“Whew. All is in order. Transformation into human form is complete.”
The melodious voice that echoed in my head is now audible through my ears. But never mind that.
“Put on some clothes!” I shout, just as I remember that I’m naked as well.
An animal wouldn’t be an issue, but this is a human being, not to mention a young woman. I may be a baby, but I have some decorum. I cross my legs and arms to hide my crotch and chest.
It’s only natural to conceal my privates, of course, but in my past life, I was embarrassed by the fact that there were several long hairs growing from each of my nipples. My reaction is a relic from that memory. In this life, the hair on my head is peach fuzz, and from the neck down I’m as smooth as an egg.
“P-Please forgive me for sullying your eyes. However, this body is based on the characteristics of my original form, so I’m afraid I cannot alter it. It will take some time before I can return to my original form. I am terribly sorry.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s just that… I don’t know where to look, so… Here!”
I create a barrier based on her silhouette, and give it color. It’s the first thing that came to mind, but basically, it’s a women’s rider suit.
“Aah! That’s surprisingly more erotic!”
The fact that I made it black makes her look like a sexy female raider.
“Apologies again! I am terribly sorry. You have been so kind as to present me with a garment, and I am not pulling it off.”
No. That’s not the problem… Never mind. It’s hard to explain.
The sudden appearance of a buck-naked babe, and now a sexily-dressed babe, did fluster me. But I’m not aroused, perhaps due to my infancy. To put it bluntly, my little guy is still a little guy.
“Sir, you created this garment magically, did you not? The ability to create something from nothing truly surpasses the realm of the divine…”
How could I tell her it’s only made of a barrier?
What would Flay think if she learned I’m non-elemental and only possess Barrier magic?
“Why, you useless noob! How dare you trick me!”
She’d probably berate me and devour me whole, headfirst.
Yep. I better keep my mouth shut.
But I want to know more about what Barrier magic is. Time to fact-check what I overheard from the king’s henchmen at the castle.
“May I ask you a question, Ms. Flay?”
“Oh, my master. There is no need for you to address me with such deference. We should make our master-servant relationship clear. From now on I will call you Sir Haruto. Please just call me Flay, and order me to do as you wish.”
She takes a knee and bows her head submissively. That could get to my head, you know?
“I’m practicing my Barrier magic. But I still don’t really know what it is.”
“Barrier magic? Sir Haruto, why would you bother with something so basic when you already command such high-level magic? Why not focus on greater heights? Since Fire magic is my specialty─”
“No! Barrier magic, please!”
Right now, I’m not looking to learn anything else.
“Ah. Very well… Ahem.”
For some reason, Flay sits on the ground Japanese-style, and begins to explain.
“Barrier magic is a means of establishing your territory. By creating a barrier, you form an environment that is advantageous to your offense/defense moves, or one that is disadvantageous to the enemy.”
“You don’t need an element to use it, right?”
“You wish to use Barrier magic without the confines of an element? I see.”
Flay begins to explain, using herself as an example.
She specializes in offensive Fire magic. If she uses it within a fire-designated barrier, it amplifies the power of Fire magic. On the other hand, within a water-designated barrier, her Fire magic loses power.
“Interesting. That sounds useful.”
But it’s probably pointless info for me, since I’m non-elemental.
“Actually, it is not very versatile.”
“Really?”
“It’s really just supplementary. Another major disadvantage is that once a barrier is established, it is anchored in place and cannot be moved.”
“Huh? I can move them fine.”
Just to show off, I create a colorful barrier and send it flying around. Flay stares, stunned.
“It… It is indeed moving. On its own, with nothing inside. I beg your pardon, but is that even a barrier?”
I make twenty more of them and play around for funsies.
“Sir Haruto, please don’t overdo it. When you create multiple barriers, the amount of mana it takes just to maintain them increases dramatically. The toll on the brain is tremendous!”
“But it doesn’t consume any mana to maintain them,” I reply.
Once again, Flay looks dumbfounded.
“It does consume a little bit to move them around, but it doesn’t feel like a heavy toll.”
I’ll admit that sticking together a bunch of individual cells was tiresome.
“Like I said before, barriers cannot be moved around…” Flay murmurs.
She seems disappointed in me.
“Are those really barriers? But…creation magic is a lost art… To put it bluntly, Sir Haruto, your Barrier magic defies common sense. Of course, Barrier magic can be used regardless of elements. And because it’s so basic, no one ever gives it much consideration…but… Huh?”
Judging by her short-circuit reaction, I suspect my Barrier magic is an oddity.
Which means no matter how many questions I pepper Flay with, she won’t have the answers.
Changing the subject…
“By the way, can I get that titty now?”
I want to fill my stomach while I can.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Of course. Err… How do I remove this garment?”
“There should be a tab up at the neck. Just pull that down.”
“This? Very well. Beg pardon.”
Flay pulls the zipper all the way down to her belly button, and wiggles out of the suit─Is that really necessary? Why are you buck naked again?!
“Just your chest! Just your chest is enough!”
I am aware this totally sounds like sexual harassment.
“Surely you jest, Sir Haruto. We cannot perform the act with only my chest exposed.”
“The…act?”
Flay sits upright, fully nude, and with a big smug grin on her face, utters the most absurd proposition:
“The act of procreation, of course. I am not well-versed in human mechanisms, but the mother’s body must be impregnated to discharge breast milk, correct? Please, go ahead and sow your seed in me.”
Oh, I get it. A bit of a ditz, are we?
It seems my food problem is hitting yet another wall.
★
Why am I teaching human sex ed to a member of another species?
“So, to make a baby, first you have to ovulate, and then the egg has to get fertilized and implanted in the uterus. Even if the egg gets fertilized and implanted, it’ll take a long time for the mother to start lactating, and by then, I’ll be dead. Understand?”
Still sitting in full nudity, the red-haired beauty called Flay quivers.
“I…I beg your forgiveness. I have disappointed you by promising what I could not deliver.”
Tears well in her eyes.
At this rate, she’s bound to perform seppuku. Quickly, I intervene.
“Now, don’t take it so hard. I’m sure there’s some other way. For the time being…”
I hastily wrap myself in the white cloth and hop into bed─my baby basket, that is.
“We have an intruder to deal with,” I announce.
The alarm from my security-system barrier is sounding frantically. This is no bird or small animal. It’s a human being with magic abilities.
“I’m picking it up too. It’s headed this way at an extremely high speed…and it stopped just now,” agrees Flay.
It did. It’s pausing at the site of the mangled soldiers who left me out here. Then, quickly, it resumes its approach.
We don’t have much time.
Flay fumbles to put her rider suit back on, leaving us both in plain sight.
“Keep quiet about the fact that I can stand up and fly around and stuff. First, let’s find out what they want.”
Just as I’m finishing my sentence, a large man clad in armor hacks through the bushes.
It’s that fierce-looking older guy. His name’s Gold Zenfis, if I recall. The military commander. He’s the man who begged to spare my life.
Still, I can’t let my guard down.
“Shall I kill him, sir?” Flay suggests.
“Wait… Let’s talk with him first. This man is…”
I create a sort of string-telephone barrier to explain what I know about Gold Zenfis.