Chapter 132: Underestimation ; Annual Familiar Showoff (1/2)
”Here,” I say while raising the arm my new familiar is attached to, ”Meet my new little familiar.”
Seeing the snake latched to my arm, Henrietta hesitates a little before speaking up,
”Are you sure that's what you summoned?”
Giving her a dubious look, I reply,
”Of course.”
Henrietta doesn't say anymore, but that's not the case for those who are accompanying her.
”Is that the prince's familiar?” one girl mutters.
”It looks so weak…” another girl adds.
I'm tempted to teach them a nice lesson on being respectful and not judging others by their appearance, but it seems like that's unnecessary.
The snake that was on my hand suddenly lunges at one of the female knights.
In response to this, the girl instinctively turns the hilt of her weapon, which is surprisingly a gun, towards it.
Why didn't these appear within my database? Is there something that I've yet to find out which is causing this?
Setting those thoughts aside, I watch the snake suddenly disappearing from where it was and appearing right behind the girl.
Not being able to react in time, the girl's nape gets bitten.
As retaliation, she shakes the snake off, resulting in to speedily slither back to my arm.
Before I can properly think of what just transpired, the girl that was bitten screams loudly while holding her head.
”Clarisse!” one of the girls shouts with concern apparent on her face.
The next moment, the bitten girl, Clarisse, grabs something wrapped on her back and unwraps it, revealing a double-edged sword.
Before the other girls can make sense of what's happening, Clarisse swings her swords at a girl that's closest to her.
Fortunately, the girl instinctively steps back and barely dodges the sword.
Alerted, the strict blonde-haired girl says,
”Don't falter! She's probably under some effect by that vile snake!”
While Clarisse continuously slashes at the girls, they respond by doing nothing other than dodging, most likely hesitating to attack their former comrade.
All of a sudden, Clarisse throws her sword into the sky, surprising the girls.
The sword spins in the air a couple of times before falling right on top of the blonde-haired girl's head.
Seeing this, the girl attempts to dodge it by simply sidestepping, but what she doesn't expect is that Clarisse would dash toward her and throw a punch.
Caught off guard, the blonde-haired girl gets punched square in the nose, causing her to stumble backward a few steps.
Clarisse takes this chance to kick the girl's head sideways, ultimately knocking her out.
A few seconds later, Clarisse's body limply falls to the ground.
I suddenly feel a tickle on my arm.
Examining it, I see my snake happily rubbing its head against it once again.
Right, I should investigate my new partner's capabilities. First, I should see if it is intelligent.
”So, cute one,” I say, ”Are you capable of understanding what I say?”
Turns out that the answer is – yes. The reason for that is because the snake begins to 'nod' its head while facing me.
I use my finger to stroke under its lower mouth before asking,
”Do you have a name?”
The snake responds by 'shaking' its head.
”I see. So, I'll have to name you.”
Taking a moment to think of a suitable name, I realize that I don't know its gender. I extend two of my fingers near its mouth and say while twitching my index finger,
”Are you a male or a female? If you're a male, press your head against this finger, otherwise, press it against the other one.”
Understanding what I'm saying, the snake presses its head against my middle finger, indicating that it's a female.
”Female, huh? Then, I have the perfect name for you.”
Raising the snake a little, I look at its glowing red eyes and say,
”From now on, your name is going to be Aurora.”
{Familiar (-) has been successfully named Aurora. Updating system status…}
As I'm about to check out the system status, the blonde-haired girl suddenly exclaims,
”Prince Wales! What's the meaning of this?!”
Moving my head to face her, I nonchalantly say,
”Your friends over there insulted my cute little familiar. I don't know what they were expecting to happen, but it's pretty obvious that they will have their asses handed to them for their actions.”
The girl seems like she wants to rebuke me, however, Henrietta raises her arm as a gesture for silence and says,
”We don't have much time to waste. They're wall waiting for us back at the stage, so let's go.”
Agreeing with her, all of us accompany Henrietta and the platoon to the stage.
--
After finally reaching the stage, I find most of the academy's pupils sitting on several long rows of seats.
On the stage, Jean is standing with a paper pamphlet in his hand, which I assume contains the order assigned to the participants of the competition.
Creating a large illusory space, I make my over to Jean and say,
”Add me to the competition.”
Surprised by my words, Jean looks at me for a few seconds before asking,
”Your Grace summoned a familiar?”
In response to his inquiry, I raise my arm and roll my sleeve up, revealing Aurora who is still fondly rubbing her head against my arm.
”Are you sure about this, Sir Wales?” Jean asks after a moment of hesitation.
Nodding my head serenely, I say,
”Just do it. Oh, right. Make sure that I'm the last one to appear on stage.”
”I understand.”
Leaving him to his own devices, I dispel the illusion that prevented others from seeing me and regroup with Gabriel, Aruru, and Ddraig.
”What are you planning?” Ddraig asks me the moment I reach them.
”Something entertaining,” I reply.
Before Ddraig can ask any further, Jean who is still on the stage exclaims,
”Welcome everyone, to the Annual Familiar Showoff.”
In response to his words, the crowd begins to cheer loudly.
”Today, we have several students who have summoned spectacular familiars and wish to display their capabilities.
”As you're all aware, the winner of the competition will be awarded by an important individual.”
After saying this, Jean raises the arm holding the pamphlet and points somewhere behind the crowd, resulting in everyone turning around.
”The Crown Princess of Tristain, Henrietta!” Jean exclaims.
The crowd cheers once again, much louder as Henrietta waves at them.