The next morning.
At breakfast, Kousuke looked at Scott as if he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, I’d completely forgotten, but if Scott-sama also has a Slime, you might be able to make it your familiar?”
“Really!?”
Kousuke had suggested it assuming Scott would be disappointed since it was a Slime, but he was surprised by Scott’s enthusiastic reaction.
“Y-yes. It’s not guaranteed, but I think it’s worth a try.”
As Kousuke said that, Scott looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Scott, though supposed to be the head of a ducal family, looked no different than a young boy when he acted like that.
When Kousuke glanced at Renne, who was giving a wry smile beside him, she nodded slightly.
Judging that it was okay to proceed with the conversation, Kousuke continued, “However, it might be a little dangerous to try it immediately with a wild Slime.”
Even with Slimes, if one carelessly approached them, they could be burned by acid or other substances depending on the species.
That’s why those recognized as Tamers always have a senior Tamer accompany them when they first contract with a monster.
It was unthinkable in terms of common sense to be instantly befriended and played with like Renka was.
Scott’s expression fell with disappointment at Kousuke’s words, but then Renka, tilting her head, interrupted.
“Perhaps, Kou, you also have a Slime?”
“Oh? Why do you think so?”
“Well, just a feeling. There’s no particular reason.”
When Kousuke asked, Renka shrugged her shoulders and replied.
“Just a feeling… huh.”
Kousuke mumbled to himself at Renka’s answer, but Floria, standing next to him, seemed to have heard him clearly.
“What is it? Is something bothering you?”
“No. I just thought it was quite perceptive.”
Scott, who was about to dismiss the conversation happening so casually, suddenly realized it contained important content.
Scott’s expression changed a beat later, and he hurriedly looked at Kousuke.
“If you say it’s perceptive, does that mean Lord Kou really has a Slime as a familiar?”
Kousuke knew Scott was an Avatar, but it seemed he didn’t know that Slimes were Divine Beasts and that he actually possessed one.
“Yes. I do.”
“Then…?”
As Scott turned his expectant gaze towards him, Kousuke returned a wry smile.
“Perhaps there’s a Slime that would suit you, Scott-sama.”
“Lord Kou…!”
At Kousuke’s words, Scott stood up as if deeply moved.
Generally, Slimes were known as useless familiars.
Recently, Crown had improved their standing somewhat by enabling their use as fuel for lighting, but they were still at the bottom compared to other familiars.
Moreover, to use them as fuel for lighting, Slimes had to be subjugated, so they were undeniably useless as familiars.
It made Kousuke happy that Scott valued a Slime this much.
However, next to Scott, Renne was gazing at him with a hint of exasperation.
Whether he noticed Renne’s gaze or not, Scott continued to look at Kousuke with an expectant expression.
Anyone could tell what Scott was expecting, but before Kousuke could say anything, Renne cut in and warned Scott.
“You. No further than that.”
Depending on how you heard it, it could sound like a noble exerting pressure on a commoner, but Renne didn’t mean it that way.
Scott, excited by the prospect of getting a familiar, didn’t realize that this exchange amounted to begging an Avatar.
“Ah…”
Returned to his senses by Renne’s words, Scott’s face paled slightly.
Renka, sensing a strange atmosphere, looked at Scott and Renne’s exchange with curiosity. However, Kousuke and the others understood the meaning perfectly.
“Lady Renne. It’s no trouble at all. Rather, if I intended to refuse, I wouldn’t have started this conversation in the first place.”
As Kousuke said that, Scott visibly relaxed, and Renne nodded slightly.
“Is that so? However, I apologize. My husband has apparently wanted to obtain a familiar for a long time.”
“Is that so?”
Renka, hearing Renne’s words, pounced on the topic. Her expression clearly showed she had never heard this before.
Renner replied to Renka with a slight smile.
“That’s right. When Renka brought those children, I immediately allowed her to keep them because it was my dream to have familiars in our home.”
“Renne…”
Scott put on a forlorn face at his secret being so easily revealed, while Renka looked surprised.
“I never noticed at all…”
“Well, of course. Even if it was a childhood dream, if you could guess it so easily from Renka, then…”
Though Renne spoke in a very gentle tone, for some reason, Scott shivered on the spot.
Seeing this, Kousuke, sensing the power dynamic between Scott and Renne, offered a way out.
“Well, I don’t have a Slime with me today, so it will have to be at a later date, but what do you say?”
“R-right. I’ll be busy for the next week or so as well, so how about after that?”
Kousuke nodded at Scott’s proposal and began to discuss the detailed schedule.
Renka, who was listening, was also delighted that Kousuke would be visiting the mansion again.
Thus, it was swiftly decided that Kousuke and the others would visit this mansion once more.
***
On the way back to the Tower Management Layer, Floria asked Kousuke.
“You seem to be quite invested in that father and daughter. Is there a reason for that?”
“Huh? No, there’s no particular reason?”
For Kousuke, it was simply a matter of how the conversation had flowed. Therefore, he could only answer Floria’s question with a puzzled look.
However, at this point, Silvia joined the conversation with a slight smile.
“Perhaps you saw yourselves in Scott-sama’s situation?”
“Hohou. I see. If that’s the case, I understand.”
“Wha—!? No, wait a minute. How does that lead to that!?”
Floria nodded with a triumphant look at Silvia’s words, while Kousuke started to panic.
Kousuke had no self-awareness of this, but in Silvia’s mind, that’s how it happened.
Looking at Kousuke’s reaction, Silvia tilted her head.
“Oh. Was I wrong? I thought the interaction between Scott-sama and Renne-sama resembled Kousuke-san being scolded by Colette or Floria.”
“Silvia…”
Kousuke sagged in defeat at Silvia’s clear statement, and Floria burst out laughing without restraint.
The reason Kousuke didn’t refute clearly here was that he had some degree of self-awareness.
And so, while engaging in their usual comedic husband-and-wife routine (?), Kousuke and the others returned to the Management Layer.
The final punchline (?) has no relation to the main story.
It was just added because some character space was left lol
Next time, a week later with the Slime… but before that. (Top secret from here on)
