Chapter Sixty-Seven: Franca

"Are you my master?"
Under the inorganic, pure radiance, the young knight clad in silver armor raised her head, her deep blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on Faeron. The clear, sword-like aura of battle that surrounded her was so intense it was hard to look directly at her. Seeing the girl before him, Faeron's lips curled into a charming smile. He stepped forward, about to speak…

Suddenly, with a soft splat, the girl standing before Faeron seemed to melt like a snowman, collapsing onto the ground and transforming into a blob—a water-blue, viscous mass reminiscent of a slime. This unexpected turn left everyone dumbfounded, and to make matters even more absurd, the little blue slime wriggled over to Faeron, rubbing against his leg like a puppy searching for its master.

"Delin, what is this thing?"
Watching the bizarre slime wriggle and act like a dog trying to roll over and beg for attention, even Faeron found himself at a loss, his lips twitching as he discreetly edged backward, then asked. Hearing Faeron’s question, Delin, equally stunned, stepped forward, tilted her head, and scrutinized the strange creature.

(Hmm... Fran... Master, if my guess is correct, this should be a Franka...)

"What is that?"

(A low-level familiar, and one of the rare types with a collective consciousness. Or rather, only in groups do these familiars possess consciousness—individuals do not. Moreover, their consciousness isn’t their own, but belongs to whatever they attach to... These familiars absorb information to fuse and condense, meaning if they absorb enough information from a cat, they become a cat and act with a cat's mindset. If they absorb enough from a dog, they'll act as a dog. They seem to lack a will of their own, more like elements for merging bodies with other information entities... Because of this, most familiars don’t even consider them kin.)

At this point, Delin softly meowed, stretching out her paw to wipe her face.

(Perhaps that’s why the Pumpkin King sent it to the master—after all, whether this thing even counts as a familiar is debatable.)

"But... wasn’t this familiar just a moment ago transformed into a powerful big sister?"
Kurona poked her head out, cautiously asking. Delin nodded.

(Frankas need energy to transform. That previous change was probably triggered by the energy you used to awaken it, activating some residual information element inside, so it could take shape—but only briefly. In truth, you only gave it enough energy to maintain that mimicry for a short time.)

"Not even half a minute?!"
Hearing this, Eluca shrieked in disbelief. Faeron had spent three whole energy crystals on this familiar, and it could only keep its human form for less than thirty seconds?

(The simpler the structure and the smaller the volume, the longer it can maintain form; the more complex, the shorter.)

"Then, could it transform into a bullet and..."

(The number of Frankas is limited, and the energy required to split off a single bullet is enough to buy a million bullets.)

"Then, could Franka become a really tall pillar, straight up to the sky..."

(The volume Franka can take is limited; it can't transform infinitely...)

"So what good is this thing?"
At that, Eluca was completely speechless. She stared at the tiny blue slime, at a loss for words.

(Maybe... you could keep it as a pet?)

That was the only suggestion Delin could offer.

In the end, Eluca had to accept the little slime from Faeron, becoming its "caretaker." Faeron, though tempted to dissect a familiar, had no interest in something that seemed as simple as a single-celled organism. Fortunately, while unremarkable in appearance, this familiar at least understood human speech, so it wasn’t particularly troublesome.

Still, looking at Kurona’s cuddly bear and then at her own blue slime, Eluca couldn’t help but feel she’d gotten the short end of the stick.

As for Fran, Faeron didn’t pay it much mind, even though it had cost him three energy crystals. With his abilities, he wouldn’t waste time fretting over a handful of crystals and a slime that could barely communicate and only roll around acting cute. Every month, he had to feed Delin quite a few energy crystals; though she didn’t require three meals a day like humans, as a high-level familiar, her monthly needs were enough to make most people hang themselves in despair. Compared to her, what the slime needed was negligible, barely worth mentioning.

So, after handing the slime over to Eluca, Faeron ordered the Harmony to set off and return home—at least, that was his plan. But as always, plans could never keep up with unexpected changes.

"I must admit, you did pick the perfect time, Mr. Teck."
Seated in his chair, Faeron gazed at the sweating Teck, his smile unchanged. Teck, on the other hand, was pale and drenched in sweat, paying no attention to the luxurious comforts of the Harmony’s interior, only lowering his head like a condemned criminal awaiting sentence.

Moments ago, Chris’s bullet had barely grazed him; if Faeron hadn’t insisted on keeping him alive, he’d have ended up like the zombies.

"I never imagined you’d be able to find us."

"I—I knew that you, Doctor, wouldn’t leave so quickly, so I thought... maybe I could catch up with you..."

"How did you find us?"

"By following their tracks."
At this, Teck glanced apologetically at the grim-faced Eluca and the deathly pale Kurona.

"I tracked the footprints of those two and found this place... Doctor, I didn’t mean any harm, but... I hope you can help me. I know it won’t be easy, but I’m willing to pay any price for your agreement!"

"Even your life?"

"Yes! Doctor, even if it costs me my life, I won’t hesitate!"

"Very well."
Hearing Teck’s reply, Faeron smiled and nodded, glancing at his watch.

"It’s now one fifteen in the morning... A new day has begun. I’m a man of principle, so... I accept your request."

With that, Faeron gave his answer.