Side: Prim
While Yamato and Mako were lecturing at Memoria General Academy, I was taking a stroll along the lake with Fluorite, my Hippogriff Philia, with whom I had a Summon Contract.
Since I became pregnant, I’ve refrained from riding Fluorite to consider the baby, but Fluorite understands that, and we’ve been spending more time together, which she seems to appreciate.
“Prim-san.”
“Flam. Are you walking with Flo too?”
“Yes. However, I can’t swim with Flo right now.”
“That’s true.”
Flam, who was walking with her familiar, Ridoseros Flo, is also pregnant like me.
Flam is an Undine, so when she dispels her human transformation magic, her lower body becomes fish-like, allowing her to swim freely underwater. Before her pregnancy, she often swam with Flo in the lake, but now, with her due date approaching, she’s not pushing herself.
Flo seems a little sad, but there’s nothing I can do but ask her to be patient.
“Speaking of which, didn’t you say that the Fusang trees you planted in the lake took root?”
“Yes. The ones you see over there are them.”
The Fusang trees, which I brought from Valt, were planted by the pond in the forest, and that pond is now called Fusang Pond.
At Fusang Pond, ten Silkest Crawlers, with whom Butler Alice has a Summon Contract, are kept freely, living their lives to the fullest.
Since we brought a lot of Fusang trees then, we also planted about ten of them in this lake. However, because they are in the lake, and only Athui the homunculus can use Tree Magic, I had heard that it was taking time for them to take root.
But hearing Flam, it seems they successfully took root last month and have now grown to extend over the lake.
“Wow, as expected of Fusang. It’s become like a small island.”
“Flo likes it there too and often takes naps there.”
“Ah, that’s why she was often looking in on them while they were being planted.”
“It seems so.”
I heard from Flam and Athui that Flo often came to see them even while they were using Tree Magic. Did she know it would turn out like this?
Flo should be from the Nadal Sea, and there shouldn’t have been any Fusang trees around there. It makes me wonder how she knew about Fusang.
Well, it’s possible she just liked them due to instinct or intuition.
“By the way, not just Fluorite but Jade too, weren’t they predicted to evolve when they grew up?”
At this point, Flam recalled something she wanted to mention.
“Ah, that story. Yamato and I thought so too, but it seems there’s a slight difference between wild monsters and familiars.”
“Is that so?”
According to the beast tamers, there’s a slight difference in growth speed between wild monsters and familiars contracted with humans.
Wild monsters, due to the presence of external threats, aim to leave as many offspring as possible, growing to adulthood within a few days of birth, or at the latest, within a year.
However, familiars and summoned beasts, being contracted with humans, don’t need to be as vigilant about external threats.
Therefore, even fast-growing monsters might take up to a year to reach adulthood.
“So, does that mean Jade and Fluorite haven’t become adults yet?”
“We don’t know for sure, but that’s what’s believed.”
Jade and Fluorite, who are about two years old, evolved into the rare species Hippogriff Philius and Hippogriff Philia, respectively, at the same time we formed our familiar contracts with them.
At that time, it was said that they might evolve into An species upon reaching adulthood, but neither has evolved yet.
“Kaede evolved into a War Horse after Mako became an Element Human, but is that unrelated?”
“That seems to be under research too. However, the evolution of familiars and summoned beasts is not very popular, even among scholars, as it’s difficult to research. Who knows when it will be figured out.”
I thought that since Yamato evolved into an Element Human, Jade might evolve too, but in the end, there wasn’t even a hint of evolution, let alone actual evolution.
On the other hand, Kaede, contracted by Mako, evolved into a War Horse around the same time as Mako’s evolution.
However, Snow Mirage Tiger Shirayuki, also contracted by Mako, has not evolved, so the conditions are completely unknown.
“Ah, that’s right, Shirayuki hadn’t evolved either.”
“There’s also the possibility that it’s difficult for rare species to evolve, but I wish the Scholar’s Guild would research it. The problem is, they can’t use Magic Stones so MARS is unusable.”
“It’s become a trend for current scholars to rely on MARS.”
Even though it’s just been established, the research at the Scholar’s Guild is starting to be based on the use of MARS.
MARS is only available in Memoria and Glacian, so not all scholars can use it. However, because they have to go out of their way for verifications and practical applications, research that cannot use MARS is unpopular.
This is a problem in itself, but research using MARS also involves monster research and leads to safety, so it’s understandable that it takes priority over research on familiars and summoned beasts, even if it’s also monster research.
“I’m also interested in that, so I’ve submitted a research request to the Scholar’s Guild.”
“Mana. You came too?”
“Yes. Saki, Asuma, and Satsuki all fell asleep after drinking their milk. So I asked Feena to watch them, and I came to clear my head.”
A break from childcare.
Both Flam and I have a lot of free time, so we often help out, but it’s truly exhausting.
Although they spend most of the day sleeping, they start crying the moment they wake up, and we’re constantly on the go. Besides, Feena just gave birth to Satsuki, so it’s problematic to leave everything to her.
“I know. I’ll take over in a little while.”
“Feena-san also seems to be having a hard time. So, Mana-sama, you mentioned submitting a research request to the Scholar’s Guild. Is that about the evolution of familiars and summoned beasts?”
“For summoned beasts, the contractor’s magic power is a factor, so it’s more about familiars.”
I don’t know when she submitted such a request, but Mana is also a Summoning Magic user, and all three of her contracted summoned beasts have already evolved.
They all evolved after Mana evolved into an Ancient Elf. There was a theory that when one evolves into an Ancient Class, their summoned beasts also become easier to evolve.
So, she applied for research on the evolution of familiars, not summoned beasts. Besides, didn’t Mana research that herself?
“That’s right. I believe familiars can also evolve due to the magic of Ancient Class beings, but unlike Summoning Magic users, there’s no direct exchange of magic power, so I think other factors are more significant. Therefore, I’m researching that, but if I’m alone, no matter how much time I have, it won’t be enough.”
“Ah, so that’s why you submitted the research request.”
I see.
Mana transferred from the Trader’s Guild to the Scholar’s Guild at its establishment, and her research content was submitted. That’s why I was wondering why she specifically submitted a request, but it turns out she wanted diverse opinions.
Indeed, she would definitely get stuck if she worked alone, so she’d want to hear other opinions. However, due to the unpopularity of the research, scholars willing to accept her request are rare, and Mana’s research is progressing very slowly.
“Even though verification with MARS is not possible, I didn’t expect it to be this unpopular. Not all scholars are researching with MARS, but some other research is also stagnating, which is becoming a problem.”
In a way, it’s a side effect of MARS.
However, isn’t research at the Scholar’s Guild basically self-funded?
“Isn’t research at the Scholar’s Guild basically self-funded?”
“Yes. When a research request is accepted, research funds are provided by the client, and rewards are given upon achieving a certain level of results. Therefore, not all research is stagnating, but it seems some scholars are saving on research expenses from the client, and by forming joint research partnerships, costs can be reduced. Thus, few scholars are covering all expenses themselves.”
And then, if they achieve results, they get rewards even for voluntary research?
There are system issues, but it feels like fundamental reform is needed.
Especially saving on research expenses for research requests could be considered embezzlement if not handled carefully.
“That matter is already being addressed. Detailed expense reports must be submitted, and any surplus will be refunded. I hear they are using Temple Magic, so deception should not be possible.”
“Temple Magic means Pledging, right? That’s certainly better.”
“Yes. Research funds are provided as necessary expenses, so trying to deceive is akin to embezzlement and they would have no grounds to complain if accused of it. While it might be for research purposes for the scholars, the clients also have their reasons for requesting the research, so it cannot be left unattended.”
If more scholars started doing that, the operation of the Scholar’s Guild would become unsustainable.
Well, the conversation about familiars has turned into a discussion about the Scholar’s Guild, but since that is being reformed, I’ll hear more about it later.
“So, regarding the evolution of familiars, what are Mana’s thoughts?”
“For normal monsters, the first thing would be whether they’ve reached adulthood. Next, there’s the sub-rank of the familiar, and then whether the contractor has evolved. I believe even specially evolved familiars follow these basic principles.”
Mana believes that monsters are more likely to evolve once they reach adulthood, and that familiars also benefit from the magic of their contractors. Therefore, she thinks it’s easier to evolve regular species and higher species.
Furthermore, she believes that if the contractor has evolved, the benefits of magic become even greater.
This is especially true for categorizations like sub-ranks, normal species, higher species, rare species, An species, Catastrophe Species, and Demise Species. Considering the population, it makes sense.
The story is different in the deep levels of labyrinths, but it’s undeniable that higher beings are fewer in number.
Also, familiars are influenced by their contractor’s magic at the time of the contract, and subsequently, when exchanging magic through communication, so the idea that they are influenced if their contractor evolves is understandable.
I’ve heard that some monsters evolve immediately upon reaching adulthood, so it might be related to familiar evolution as well.
“However, since verification with MARS is not possible, and there are other factors, we’ve reached a standstill here.”
“Does this mean you can’t proceed unless Jade, Fluorite, and Shirayuki evolve?”
“Those three have undergone special evolution. It’s more about Flo and Breeze.”
Ah, there was that too.
“However, since Flam is pregnant, Flo’s evolution will be quite far off, and Breeze has also recently evolved, so this is similar.”
Indeed.
Meena’s familiar Breeze evolved into a War Horse, but its Monster Rank is S-R.
Flo’s rank is S-N, but currently, with Flam being pregnant, she hasn’t been hunting.
Both have undoubtedly reached adulthood, but that’s precisely why it’s impossible to predict when they will evolve.
Moreover, if Mana’s assumptions are correct, while Flo, a normal species, might be fine, it would be quite difficult for Breeze, a rare species, to evolve.
“That’s also a reason why it’s difficult to achieve results. This is another reason for its unpopularity.”
Ah, so because it takes too long, scholars can’t casually accept it.
I thought it was just a problem with the Scholar’s Guild, but research takes time, so that’s also a reason.
However, embezzlement of research funds is a serious issue, and that needs to be dealt with separately.
Still, I never expected to be this immobile during pregnancy.
If I had known, I should have transferred to the Scholar’s Guild like Mana.
Given the timing, I probably won’t be permitted, so I’ll consider it after I give birth.
