Reincarnated as a Farmer Gamer: Rising to the Top with the Evolution of the Weakest Job that Only I Know About!? - 14.2

“Huh, um… Well… Why…?”

“Hmm? Aren’t you also a witch, Lady Lisa? Shouldn’t I call you that?”

“Just… calling me… normally… is fine?”

“Oh, okay then. In that case, Lisa.”

“Eep!?”

“Oh, sorry, is calling you by your name not okay? Then—”

“N-No, it’s fine!”

“O-Okay…”

Since the only women I’ve properly spoken to are Mom and Sophia, I figured it would be better to interact as if I were talking to Sophia, who’s close in age. And it ended up like this.

“I think… maybe that one.”

She pointed to something placed at the far end of the bottom shelf.

Because I’m still short, I hadn’t looked down much.

“Hmm… this?”

I picked up a piece of paper and showed it to her, and she nodded approvingly.

In the middle of the white paper were intricate black characters forming a magic circle.

“Is this the recommended one?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, I’ll choose this.”

“Huh!? I-Is that okay?”

“Well, you recommended it, Lisa. I don’t really understand the value of magical tools, so I think you recommended it for my sake.”

“Wow…”

“What does this do?”

“Um, it activates when a drop of blood is shed.”

“Blood, huh. Got it.”

I took out a knife from the Magic Bag and lightly pricked my index finger. A single drop of red blood appeared. Following Lisa’s instructions, I touched the magic circle with it.

The next moment, a menacing black mist overflowed from the magic circle, and I involuntarily let go of the paper.

As the paper fell to the ground, the black mist expanded rapidly and formed the shape of an animal.

It wasn’t a Black Wolf… Its black fur was similar, but it was completely different from a Black Wolf.

It was about a meter long overall. A four-legged dog about the size of a large dog. Or rather, a wolf.

Huh…? Have I seen this somewhere before…? Where was it again?

“Ah! Could this be it!?”

“Beryl, do you know it?”

“Ah, no, I don’t.”

“Haha.”

Her laughter was amusing. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyes narrowed. It was a scary image of laughter, reminiscent of the witches I knew.

Anyway, this wolf. It’s probably… the boss-level magical beast Cerberus that appears in a certain dungeon’s depths.

However, strangely, the Cerberus I know has a more ferocious expression and three faces. Yet, the wolf that appeared had only one face. And it had a gentle expression.

“Lisa, what was that paper earlier?”

“It’s called the [Familiar Contract Paper]. It summons the heart’s beast within the contractor.”

“Heart’s beast… So this is like a magical creature that exists within my heart?”

“It’s not entirely accurate, but it’s something like that.”

Isn’t that contradictory?

“Once a contract with a familiar is made, you can summon it anytime, so it’s very convenient…”

“I see. Having a familiar who listens to me is more helpful than being alone. Thank you for choosing something wonderful for me, Lisa.”

“Wow…!”

“Since I’ve chosen, let’s go back. Oh, and please guide me back too.”

“Yeah…”

Again, I held hands with Lisa and left the treasure trove, returning to the living room.

—

“You’ve pulled the best one… indeed.”

“Huh? Was that contract paper such a valuable item?”

“Well, yes. It’s by far the most valuable one in there. Equivalent to that Magic Bag, maybe?”

“Eeeh~!?”

“Hehe. Well, that’s beside the point. You should give it a name. Otherwise, you won’t be able to summon or return it, right?”

“Summon? Return?”

“Well, it’d be a bother if it just stayed there, right? If it’s not needed, return it to your heart, and call it back when you need it.”

“I see. Hmm, a name, huh?”

I met eyes with the Cerberus-like familiar and stared at it intently.

I’m not good with naming things… Black Size was like that too…

Hmm… Cerberus-like, so maybe Cerberus as a name isn’t bad either.

Well, let’s go with something random…

“Alright. Your name is—Pochi.”

For a pet dog, Pochi is just right. Unlike names like Alex, which sound like human names and are hard to distinguish, a name like Pochi is clearly recognizable as a dog.

—

The familiar of the spellcaster [Beryl] has been fixed to the name [Pochi].

—

Pochi seems to feel proud of his name with a dignified expression. At least, I’d like to think so.

“From now on, let’s get along, Pochi.”

“Arf!”

I gently stroked his neck and returned him to my heart.

Oh… this is very convenient.

Lady Evans and Lisa seemed to really like the name Pochi, as they were laughing so hard on the sofa that it seemed like they might see up their skirts.