Something about what the teacher had said bothered me. “Monster”? Who are you talking about, again?
“Is he truly a monster? He looks like a human to me.”
I am indeed a human, yes.
“He possesses the magical energy specific to monsters. As an elf, I am able to distinguish between the different magic signatures of beings.”
Oh, so she really was an elf. But there was something wrong, because I was unmistakably human. I felt basically as offended as if she were saying I was as stinky as a monster.
“What manner of monster is he?”
“Please allow me to correct myself. He is a demon, not a monster. Judging by his mana levels, he is a Baron-Class vampire.”
Vampire? As in the ones who suck blood? Sorry to disappoint, but I’ve been a human all my life.
“The signature sharp fangs in his mouth should be proof enough of that,” she went on.
At the mention of this, I reached up and felt around inside my mouth...and sure enough, I had fangs. Looking again at the two women in front of me, a sudden hunger came over me. Or was this thirst? Was I starved or parched? I couldn’t really tell, but at any rate, that’s what I was experiencing. The blonde girl looked especially tasty. Maybe it was her virgin’s blood. Hey, wait a second. First I switched classes, then I almost got tortured, and now I’ve switched races too?
“A demon? Can he converse with us?”
“Despite demons possessing a high level of intelligence, mutual conversation is only possible for those in the highest echelons.”
“Uh, I can talk.”
“D-D-Did he just speak?!” the teacher screamed.
Look, the reason I’ve been quiet this whole time isn’t because I can’t talk, but because I was just listening, okay?
“Oh, he really did. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Liediana Liede. Please, call me Liede.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Inori.”
“H-His speech is so fluent! Could he be a Count-Class vampire? But his mana levels are not nearly high enough. Plus, he’s named... Just what is he?” the teacher muttered, as Liede and I exchanged greetings.
Is it that rare for vampires to have names here? Huh. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Would you mind explaining what you meant by Baron-Class and Count-Class?” Liede asked her teacher.
“Hm, but if that was the case... A-Ah, y-yes! The demon hierarchy has many different levels. Unlike the system used by human nobility, these levels are instead an index of their strength. For demons, strength determines their status in society.”
Dude, the world of demons sounded way too simple. Not to mention, if most of them couldn’t even talk, then I had no clue how their society even functioned.
“Thank you for the explanation. I understand now,” said the girl. “What should I do next?”
“Oh, my apologies, Lady Liede. I should have explained this earlier. You will need to make him your familiar by using a contract.”
Wait, I’m gonna be her familiar? Well, she seems like a really good, purehearted person, so I guess I can trust her. On the other hand, I don’t think I can accept being someone’s servant. Not because of pride or anything like that, but because I’m severely self-serving. Me being the person I am, I don’t think I could stand being anyone else’s possession. Becoming a “thing” that belonged to her was not acceptable to me. However, trying to run away in this foreign land was probably not the greatest idea either.
Apparently, all I had to do for the contract was have her drink my blood. As such, the elven teacher took my hand and moved a needle to my finger to prick it. Ugh, guess there’s nothing I can really do... At the very least, I figured I should be happy that I was alive. I would’ve loved to escape being her familiar, but staying alive was my top priority. Besides, this is a million times better than waking up in a new world just to be tortured. I can handle this. After I get a better handle on my abilities, I can probably kill her and escape servitude anyway.
Just as I had begun to prepare myself for what awaited me in my future life, another magic circle appeared underneath me. This time, it was red, completely different from any of the other summoning circles I’d seen until now.
The two of them were stunned by this sudden development, but I already knew what was about to happen.
“Uh... Sorry,” I muttered with a grimace, before my body was enveloped in a red light and I disappeared from their world.
“Hey, guess who’s back?”
“Looks like someone’s enjoying himself. Also, when did you stop being human?”
Indeed, I was back in the goddess’s blank world, and just like ten minutes ago, the goddess was yet again standing before me. Hey, is that a new outfit?
“Yes, I just changed.”
Huh? I didn’t say that out loud, did I? That must mean that she can read minds.
“Precisely.”
“Why’d you change?” I asked, eyeing her new outfit, which was a stark contrast to the rather exhibitionist dress she had worn before. The thin, tight, beige dress she was wearing now covered her breasts completely, which was even more alluring.
“Because you said that when it comes to boobs, a little modesty goes a long way.”
She was reading my mind back then?! So does that mean she heard my compliments too?!
“Embarrassed?”
“Not really. Those were my true, unfiltered opinions, after all.”
“Oh, I’m impressed. Hm, maybe that’s why I... Well, anyway—what do you think? Do I look good in this?”
In response, I smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Heh heh.” A triumphant look surfaced on her face.
She’s cute. She’s really cute.
“So, did you figure out what’s going on?” I asked her.
“I have a guess, yes.”
“What are you thinking?”
“There’s not much time, so I’ll keep it short. It takes a strong soul to be able to cross worlds, which is why summoning only selects those with strong souls. I believe you have an abnormally strong soul.”
“And that’s why I keep getting summoned?”
“If you enter a hero’s contract or something similar, it will fix your soul into the world in which you signed the contract.”
Makes sense. But do I really have that strong of a soul? I wouldn’t consider myself a saint, a good person, or anything in between.