Chapter 7

No matter what monster I encountered on the way to my second familiar—and my rivals—the task at hand never changed.

"Come out, Sylph!"

I summoned Sylph, whom I'd stored in a card during the journey.

"I shall obey your command!"

Sylph made a flashy debut amid a gust of wind.

Unfortunately, though.

Just like with Slamming at the start, none of her initial skills included a type-specific move. It made sense—Sylph had the exact same skill set in the original game. That's why I'd put her up front in the first place: to fix that issue.

"Sylph! Swing!"

"Yes, my lord! Here I go!"

Sylph charged forward at my command. Time to see what she could do.

Slash—!

"Cricket...? Cricket...!!"

Without hesitation, she cleaved the Cricket with her sword.

She wasn't as good as Slamming, but even anthropomorphized, the Cricket was kinda cute in her own way. Was it because she was the enemy? Or maybe my orders? Either way, it was the right attitude.

Then it was the enemy's turn.

"Cricket...!"

The Cricket's turn. Even with her HP slashed in half to a vivid red, those round eyes still burned with fighting spirit.

In retaliation, the Cricket used Rage Hold!

"...Uh... huh?"

And nothing happened!

Sylph looked utterly baffled and turned to me.

"...Is that... normal, my lord?"

"Yeah, pretty surprising, right?"

I'm surprised too. Rage Hold was a counter skill that never failed to amaze me, no matter how many times I saw it. The sheer uselessness of holding attacks for two turns, only countering on the third. Add that to why Crickets were called pest monsters, and it was obvious.

"Sylph! Swing again!"

"Ah... yes."

She seemed a bit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deflated, but true to her dutiful nature, Sylph swung her sword again with poise.

"Cricket...!"

This time, the Cricket held on without fainting. Maybe bad RNG, but her HP bar hit solid red without quite hitting zero.

That was it. Her turn ended with that text.

"...Uh... um, shall I finish it off, my lord?"

"Nah, no need."

Since she'd survived anyway, I figured I'd catch her for the hell of it.

I pulled out my equipment—the card—and cautiously approached the capture zone.

"...M-my lord? Is something wr-wr-wrooong...!!"

Then I casually stripped the Cricket of her clothes. Beige underwear, huh. Definitely gave off that "bug" vibe. Made her kinda unappealing to fuck.

"Wh-what are you doing all of a sudden!? My lord!"

Sylph, her face beet red, stammered back at me, her gaze flicking shakily between me and the Cricket in her undies.

To calm her excited state, I asked coolly,

"Doing what? Is something weird?"

"Y-you're... t-taking off her... cl-clothes... exposing her... b-bare skin...!"

Her words were barely coherent anymore. Technically not human, but still.

"Stripping her is weird? I'm just scouting for weak points."

"W-weak points...?"

Of course, by normal standards, I was the weird one. Stripping didn't reveal weak points or anything. But acting shameless like this was key to a fulfilling sex life going forward.

I stared at Sylph calmly, turning the question back on her.

"...Looks like it's still too early for you. Was Slamming just special...?"

"Senior Slamming, you mean?"

"Nah, no need to push it. Everyone's got their strengths and weaknesses."

Not a lie. The genius Slamming had been startled at first by even wilder sights, but quickly composed herself and started masturbating—teasing her breasts and pussy at once.

"Senior Slamming stayed so... c-composed even in... that...?"

I gave her an edited version, and Sylph's eyes went vacant, pupils darting lostly.

Then—

"I-I'm sorry!"

She bowed her head, dropping to her knees in apology.

"To show such inadequacy as your familiar, my lord—and as Senior Slamming's junior—fills me with shame."

"No need to apologize that much."

If anything, that embarrassed reaction was turning me on. Slamming's slutty side was delicious, but innocence to sex had its own appeal.

"I know it's impudent, but on this journey, I will overcome this flaw."

And now she was vowing to learn the lewd stuff herself. Adorable.

"Please, grant me your permission?"

"Of course."

How could I not? I wanted to dote on her right then.

"...Th-thank youuu...!?"

But her immunity was still low, so I'd hold back at just an appreciation session.

As I pulled down her panties with her thanks, Sylph's voice jumped an octave—music to my ears. Just seeing another girl's naked body, yet her reaction made it seem like hers was being stripped. That virgin panic was the best part.

Just the beginning, so to save stamina, I called it here.

Tossing the card from close range, the Cricket was swallowed in light—her scattered clothes sucked in too, counted as part of her.

Thump, thump, thump.

With her HP whittled down beforehand...

Sizzle...!

The Cricket was captured smoothly.

I went to pick up the fallen card.

"My lord, surely... you don't plan to use her in battle?"

"Why? You against it?"

"N-not exactly... but her skills worry me..."

In other words, she was too weak to be useful. Recalling the loyalty she'd shown me, Sylph probably wanted to say outright not to use trash like this as a main familiar. But that was no issue.

"I caught her to keep my promise to the PhD, not for fighting."

"Ah..."

As I picked up the card, Cricket registered in the Pokedex. I already knew her info by heart, so I skimmed past.

At the nickname prompt, I hit [Yes] without hesitation this time.

I typed in the name on the keyboard window. I'd decided on it long ago—I always named Crickets this.

I have this friend who's a pro at the game. He lovedCrickets way too much, so that's how the nickname stuck. Note: every familiar in this world is 100% female, but I call her "son" because my friend always raised male ones.

After confirming the EXP gain,

"Return, Sylph!"

I recalled Sylph to her card. Instead—

"Come out, My Friend's Son!"

I summoned the freshly caught My Friend's Son (Cricket). She had uses beyond the Pokedex.

"Y-yes...! M-Master...! Cricket, cricket...!"

Clueless to my intentions, she forced out a response. She'd redressed in seconds, but her face looked pale and sickly.

"You okay?"

I already knew she wasn't—successful capture didn't restore lost HP.

"...Y-yeah, just a bit heavy... but I'm fine! Cricket!"

"Remember how you ended up like this?"

"...N-not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really... Cricket...! I woke up like this! Cricket...!"

"Aha..."

I got it now, piecing together the monsters' reactions so far. "Woke up" was the clincher.

They only gain personalities after I capture them.

And once they did, they pledged absolute loyalty as my familiars.

...Ha.

Best damn setting ever. At least for sloppy fun.

Yeah, getting kidnapped to this world? Fair play if there's entertainment like this.

"...Master? Cricket?"

"Oh, sorry—just thinking. Let's go."

I replied and pushed through the brush in my original direction. A few blocks to chase Black.

"Cricket~ Cricket~"

In the meantime, I'd run a few more tests on My Friend's Son.

*

How long since I knocked out that Cricket?

"Sylph! Swing!"

"As you command!"

For EXP grinding, leading with Sylph.

"...Cricket!"

The moment she one-shot another Cricket.

Now at Level 9, Sylph had finally learned her type skill.

"I feel... a bit stronger now, my lord!"

"Yeah?"

Intriguing comment—hoping she'd grown in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other ways too.

"...Kuh..."

"Chased her here thinking she was tough."

We'd arrived where Black was. White was there too.

Her familiar had fought, yet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠White knelt on one knee, panting like she'd taken the hits herself.

Looking down at her, Black smirked and continued her line.

"Pathetic. A waste of a familiar. Maybe I'll take yours too."

"N-no...! Not my partner...!"

Then Black's gaze shifted to me—but her eyes told me she wasn't really seeing me. Having seen so many familiars with real souls lately, a true human gaze felt alien, almost unpleasant in the uncanny valley.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, Ji-woo! We ended up on the same path...!"

The story progressed, oblivious to my mood.

"Fine by me. Numbers don't matter—weaklings are weaklings. I'll take your familiar too!"

Battle with Black began.

"Come out, Slamming!"

To the tense BGM, I switched order and summoned my first familiar first.

"My turn! Just give the order, Master!"

"Got it—return!"

"Eh... yes?"

Confused, flustered, or mishearing? Slamming turned back. I knew recalling her right away undercut her long-awaited appearance, but it was a solid strategy.

"Come out, Gnome!"

"Gnome, gnome!"

Opponent was earth-type Gnome. Water was weak to earth by default.

So I swapped—from engaged Slamming to standby Sylph.

"Return, Slamming!"

"Eh... yeees!?"

She vanished into the card with an ambiguous yelp. Sorry, it's for your own good.

Seemed pointless, but mid-battle swaps made EXP sharing easier. When Sylph beat Gnome, Slamming would get EXP too.

"Come out, Sylph!"

"Leave it to me, my lord!"

Our turn.

Black's turn—Gnome attacked.

"...Hng...!"

More precisely, she just curled up briefly.

Still, compared to Cricket, it was a valid tactic. Defense did go up.

"...Shall I attack, my lord?"

"Yeah, Sylph—Wind Blade!"

She nodded and swung, wind gathering on her blade toward Gnome.

A meaty thwack, and Gnome flew back. Wind beat earth, as expected.

"...Gnome..."

She survived thanks to the prior defense boost. Her HP bar now blazed red.

The meaning was clear.

"M-my lord? Kyaa...!"

Fun sex ed time.

I peeled off Gnome's clothes layer by layer.

"Ah, aaah...! Nn, hng...! Kyaaang...!"

Sylph filled in the missing sex sounds.