Chapter 12
If you’re willing to take a few risks, there’s always something to be gained. While Fay was hesitating, Alnazir moved in behind her.
“All this over a stomachache from eating something bad?”
“Mm.”
Fay mumbled, her answer muffled. Her guilty conscience making it hard to respond directly.
Swish. As she crawled on all fours, a tentacle slid around her waist. So that’s where he’d been hiding them—in the palm of his hand!
The tentacle around her waist lifted her right up off the ground.
“L-Let me go!”
As her feet left the floor, Fay flailed in shock. She tried to pry the tentacle off, but the moment her hand touched it, a sharp pain shot through her, making her cry out.
It hurt—a lot. There must have been something in the slimy mucus coating the tentacle, because the pain was instant and electric.
Thankfully, as long as she didn’t touch it directly, she wasn’t hurt. The tentacle around her waist was tolerable thanks to the cloth between it and her skin.
Alnazir, thinking her cries were just from a stomachache, let out a thoughtful sigh.
“The more I get to know this body, the stranger it seems. You can’t even revive yourself. Honestly, it’s a miracle you’re still alive.”
He sounded genuinely curious, but somehow, it felt like an insult. Fay wanted to talk back but couldn’t find the courage. Instead, she wiped sweat from her forehead and answered,
“I-It’s been a hard life.”
“So that’s why you summoned me? Because you needed help?”
“Y-yes, you could say that. I really do need your help, Alnazir.”
At that, the tentacle around her waist relaxed its grip slightly.
Maybe he liked hearing his name. Fay decided to test her theory.
“Alnazir.”
The tentacle became noticeably gentler. Yup, he definitely liked hearing his name.
“Alnazir. Is it okay if I just call you that? Your full name is such a mouthful, I’m afraid I’ll run out of breath halfway through.”
“You want to shorten it? To just a few syllables?”
“It’s normal here! Especially with people you’ll be seeing a lot, it’s more comfortable that way.”
Alnazir rolled his eyes as if thinking it over, then nodded. It made sense when he thought about it.
“I permit it.”
With his permission, Fay let out a sigh of relief. At least this way, she could hide the fact she didn’t know his full name.
“Witch, you said you wanted to get out of here?”
Alnazir asked.
“Do you know the way out, Alnazir?”
Fay hurriedly tacked on his name, hoping to keep him from attacking.
“No.”
What kind of confident answer was that? Fay’s face fell in disappointment, but Alnazir simply looked up at the ceiling.
“If there’s no exit, you just make one.”
Before Fay could ask what he meant, there was a loud boom and the ceiling shattered. The black tentacle that had been holding her slipped away, leaving a gaping hole. Debris tumbled down onto the stairs, and beams of light poured through, making the dust sparkle beautifully.
“Ah, right. If there isn’t a way out, just make one. Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
Fay’s voice shook.
She wondered just how long those tentacles could stretch, and how he managed to punch through such a solid ceiling so easily. The way he’d created a path out so simply was as impressive as it was terrifying.
“Now that we have an exit, let’s… let’s think about how to get up there—ugh!”
Suddenly, her belly was squeezed tight and her words were cut off. The tentacle had grabbed her waist and leapt straight upward.
Thanks to that, they were on the ground floor in no time. She was grateful for the help technically.
But it didn’t actually make her feel better. She was still too shocked to even scream, and her stomach was aching from the pressure of the tentacle. It felt like her organs had been crushed.
Could she really form a contract with such a dangerous invoked?
She’d made up her mind once, but now she was having serious second thoughts. But what could she do now, anyway? The only way to send him back was to erase the summoning circle, and they were already too far away from it.
Was this one of those disasters you could never undo…?
“I’ll just have to figure it out after we get out of the tower.”
Fay looked around and was relieved to spot the bookshelf where Zynie had found the summoning book. That meant the exit should be on the opposite side.
“That way.”
“Where do you think you’re going, you perverts—dressed like that?”
Just as Fay was about to confidently lead the way, golden hair fluttered in the air.
“Oh my, you’re the brat I knocked into the basement earlier. How are you still wandering around alive?”
The doll had missed out on catching the crow, but it wasn’t going to let these two get away. With a chilling laugh, the tower’s guardian—the one who’d pushed her into the depths before—blocked their path once more.
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