Chapter 21
Maiya asked back about Weavre's question.
"...Really? You can do it again?"
Weavre squirmed like a rabbit-shaped water pouch, as if giving up on mimicking a rabbit, and climbed onto Koshe's corpse.
Weavre sat on Koshe's corpse and said.
"Death cannot be reversed. But it is possible to attend school with your friend, create memories, and graduate together. Your friend will whisper secrets to you, show you smiles visible only to you, and do things that can only be done for you. If only you forget, people will still see, feel, and treat Koshe as Koshe. How about it?"
"Th-That's fine, too."
"Understood."
Maiya, like a Black Mage, didn't forget to ask the question.
"The price?"
"The corpse of Koshe Ludirock."
"...Alright."
Ethan was the first to regain his composure.
"Maiya, what is going on..."
As Ethan carelessly walked towards Weavre, Maiya held up both hands and looked back.
"Stop!"
Ethan saw an expression on Maiya's face that he hadn't thought she could make.
Bien pointed at Weavre and Koshe's corpse.
"...Ethan, look at that."
Transparent drops of water seemed to form on the tips of Weavre's fur, then fell with a pattering sound at Weavre's feet, which was on Koshe's stomach. Each time a drop fell, white smoke seemed to rise, melting Koshe's clothes and flesh and creating a pool of blood. Within seconds, Weavre began to pour out liquid to the extent that its form was barely visible, and the pool of blood mixed with the liquid rose from inside Koshe's body and flowed out. And it began to melt even the wooden floor of the Great Library Labyrinth.
"It's a strong acid. It's dangerous to inhale the smoke. We must step back."
Ethan covered his mouth with his sleeve and stepped back, following Bien, but Maiya dropped her arms and stared at Weavre and the melting Koshe.
Ethan whispered his question to Bien.
"Do you know what that is?"
"I think I do."
Weavre suddenly opened its mouth wide. Ethan knew a rabbit's mouth was bigger than it looked, but not to that extent. Weavre began to vomit a red mass that looked like a bundle of organs or blood vessels, which was several times larger than Weavre's size no matter how you looked at it. The red mass shot out, took on a size similar to a human, and then swallowed the part that had been its rabbit form. The inside had turned inside out. The red mass, except for the head that was now just a maw, split apart, crudely mimicking human arms and legs, and swallowed the remaining parts of Koshe with its mouth.
"It's a magical creature called a Cochliod Mimic. It's one of the mimics. It's a creature that undergoes mimicry, and that's its original appearance. Its stomach can emit strong acid and can mimic the form of the creature it ate almost perfectly. Originally, it would mimic small animals, enter burrows where small animals live, or enter ranches raised by humans, live as if it were livestock, and eat them."
"Ah, so that's what it is."
It was only after hearing Bien's story that Ethan recalled the information about Cochliod Mimics from his memory. When he was in the Charasen territory, he had occasionally heard stories from ranch owners complaining about damage caused by Cochliod Mimics or hunters who had hunted Cochliod Mimics.
"But Cochliod Mimics aren't supposed to have intelligence, are they?"
"If you make any creature a familiar, it can gain enough intelligence to communicate. Depending on the contract, its intelligence can increase even further."
"But as far as I know, making a creature like that, not a normal animal, into a familiar requires an immense amount of Magical Power."
Bien said.
"Yes. At the level of a first-year magic school student, at least, it's absurd. There are always talents that are outside the norm, like your sister, but as far as I know, Maiya's abilities aren't that level."
"That can only be explained by Black Magic."
Maiya slowly turned to look at the two of them.
Maiya was wearing a surprisingly awkward smile. But it seemed so difficult to maintain that smile that the corners of her mouth twitched.
"You two, you must be very surprised?"
The Cochliod Weavre made crunching sounds as it swallowed Koshe's head.
Ethan and Bien looked into each other's eyes. And Ethan spoke to Maiya.
"Maiya, are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. As you can see, Weavre isn't actually a rabbit."
"...Right."
The Cochliod Mimic seemed to be clearly enjoying its meal. It wasn't hurried at all, slowly putting Koshe's corpse, separated by the strong acid, into its maw as if savoring it.
Ethan mustered the courage to ask.
"Is Koshe going to be okay like that?"
"Ah, yes. Koshe... Actually, she probably wouldn't like this outcome. But she always tried for me, so I, even if I'm being stubborn... I think she'll forgive me."
"...Is that so?"
"I'm going to apologize when Koshe comes back."
Crunch, crunch.
"Apologize? She's not coming back in the true sense."
"It's as Weavre said. Death cannot be reversed. But the feeling that Koshe is by my side can be maintained somehow. I definitely think I'll be less lonely."
"If that's okay with you, then that's fortunate."
"Yeah."
Crunch, crunch.
"You, you two won't tell anyone else, will you? The professors or other friends? If you talk, you'll both be punished for secretly entering the Great Library."
"I don't have friends. Neither does he."
"That's a relief."
"Then we should get going first. Finish up and come back."
"Alright."
As Ethan turned away, he heard the sound of Maiya taking out her magic wand.
Ethan stopped.
"Ethan, didn't you miss answering a question?"
"Did I?"
"You won't tell the professors either, right?"
Bien pushed up his glasses and said.
"I'm sorry, but I will tell them."
"Why?"
"First, that is an excessively dangerous magical creature. It's a familiar, and it's already controlling its master."
"Weavre is controlling me? No. I just think Weavre's words are right."
"Second, if you are using a Cochliod Mimic as a familiar, it means you have much more Magical Power than is known, Maiya. And there aren't many ways to possess that much Magical Power. No. To be precise, that is not a familiar you are commanding with your Magical Power. It's Black Magic, isn't it?"
"...It, it's because of the curse."
"Third, this isn't the first time this has happened to you. When you saw Koshe's corpse, you said 'you too'. And you asked if you 'can do it again'. Who else around you have you replaced, Maiya?"
Maiya's expression hardened, and for a moment she didn't answer.
"Weavre, how long will it take?"
"30 minutes."
"Can you eat more?"
"Still hungry."
"Then let's eat this first."
Maiya pointed her magic wand at Ethan. Weavre leaped up, aiming for Ethan's back.
"Ethan!"
Ethan rolled forward, seeing Bien's crystal shards shoot towards him. Five crystals struck Weavre's arms and legs, pushing it back. Due to the sensory synchronization between the familiar and the master, Maiya screamed. But neither Weavre nor Maiya could be taken down.
"→Pitiful fickle one who disappears if not called,"
Ethan picked up his sword and rushed towards Weavre.
"→Time to overturn, ...Push!"
The moment Ethan was suspended in mid-air, a gust of wind blew, throwing Ethan behind Bien.
Weavre roughly pulled out the crystals embedded in its body, then stretched its snout long and pointed it at Ethan and Bien.
"Duck!"
"Cough!"
Ethan, along with Bien, fell to the ground from the body slam.
A lump of white strong acid shot over their heads.
"→Cute entertainer who returns if not called, time for target practice, shoot!"
At Maiya's command, the wooden floor panels tore up and rained down on Ethan and Bien. Ethan blocked Bien with his back, pulling up Ruure's Breathing. The wooden fragments embedded themselves in Ethan's back, but didn't cause deep wounds due to his enhanced body.
"Ethan, you!"
"A long fight is disadvantageous."
For now, she was chanting the spells of Whirling, but with enough Magical Power to make a Cochliod Mimic her familiar, it wouldn't be strange to assume she had reserves. And there's nothing more frightening than a mage with ample time.
In fact, Ethan and Bien already knew how they could win. The familiar didn't seem to intend to protect its master, and the master couldn't control the familiar.
"...Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Maiya's faster Whirling spells sent wooden fragments flying at the two from both sides. From the front, Weavre was charging, extending its snout.
Bien's crystals were shot in sequence, aiming for Weavre's head. Weavre blocked one with its hand, but the second struck its neck, and the rest split Weavre's head open. The strong acid pulled up from Weavre's stomach spilled out from the cracks in its body.
Ethan, closing one eye through the fragments, threw a dagger towards Weavre. But Cochliods are almost unharmed by their own strong acid.
Weavre nimbly dodged the dagger, then laughed mockingly at Ethan.
"Hahaha!"
But seeing the wooden fragments in the air fall with a clatter, it looked back belatedly.
A dagger was embedded in Maiya's forehead. Maiya fell to her knees and then collapsed backward. Just as a familiar's injury is transmitted to its master, the reverse is also true. And if the master disappears, the familiar's intelligence also vanishes. The familiar isn't important. The mage is always important.
Freed from the influence, the Cochliod Mimic crumpled and collapsed, gooey, with pain and confusion as to why it was there. Ethan walked over, picked up his sword, and hacked at the Cochliod Mimic until it stopped moving.