Vram, Josephine, and Yohana both are on their way from the elder hall, the previous place where they talked about what to do with Maria. Though the problem may have seemed to be solved thoroughly, Yohana didn’t look satisfied at all.

[This is unacceptable…]

[I don’t think you have any right to protest, Miss Yohana.] [Since their sanction was finally left to Josephine to choose, I think that’s quite a satisfying result.]

[BY TELLING THEM TO KEEP CLEANING THE WHOLE GRAVEYARD FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS TO COME?!?] [Too soft, “Fina”! You’re just too soft!!]

[Fina?] Vram pointed out such unfamiliar name that Yohana call all of a sudden.

[Oh, I usually called her either “Junior” or “Fina”.] [To call her full name is tiring, so I shorten it.] [At any rate, you should’ve given her a more grave punishment!]

[Umm… but….]

[What kind of punishment are you talking about?]

[What else?] [A capital punishment! Whipped hundred times! Being hanged on the central area! And other else!!!]

[Wha… Senior, that’s a bit too much!!!]

[She deserved that!!!] [After what she has done to you this whole time, it is not an exaggeration to do the same to her.]

[But I don’t like it!] [I know, maybe she really deserves it…!] [But… even if I do that… they would never return….] [Even if I used the same material used to call them, it would still call a different monster….]

[Wait…] [Don’t tell me, the reason you used your own familiar’s remnant to summon a new familiar was….!]

Josephine just went silent as she slowly nods her heads.

[… And instead of the ones you’ve lost returned, you’ve gained a new one, stronger than your last ones….] [I don’t know what to say about that….]

Suddenly the conversation abruptly stopped, either did because of such awkward answer that comes from Josephine’s mouth, or the sensitive-question which Yohana had thrown first.

[So, are you done?]

As they keep walking, Hildegarde suddenly showed up from behind the tree she was hiding all this time. Together with Christine and Rosalinda, they approached Josephine, Yohana, and Vram altogether.

[I see that you’ve made up your mind, Josephine’s familiar.]

[It’s all thanks to you, Lady Hilda.] As Vram bowed his head toward Hildegarde. Though she may have already known, she still looks quite shocked as she took a half-step backward.

[… Quite a creature you are.] [Yet your master still haven’t grown as much.]

[I… I can’t kill her…] [I just can’t….]

[Who told you to kill her?] [What I’m going to ask of you is what you are going to do after this.]

[Eh?] [What do you mean?]

Hilda somehow put off a gesture of disbelief, shaking her head left and right while putting her hands on her forehead.

[You think just because your familiar had busted the entire people whom were trying to aim you, everything would end?] [That surely isn’t the case at all.]

[But why!?] [I haven’t done anything wrong to them!!]

Vram suddenly interrupted the conversation [I already said it before, Master.] [It was not a case of someone hurting each other.] [Rather, it was them who pricked with us first.]

[It’s just as your familiar said.] [Ever since you were young, you’ve always blamed yourself, sacrificed yourself, put everyone else’s need before you….] [But above all else, you never tried to question people!] [Are you trying to say that every people is a good girl?!]

[But they….]

[NO BUT…!] [Even if it’s a mistake they did make, it doesn’t change the fact that they were attacked you!] [And you’re saying that they were blameless just because there were “circumstances”!?!] [This is why I can’t stand you!!!]

[Then what should I do?!] [I… I just can’t stand to hurts them….]

[Then your familiar’s going to die at this rate, even with you besides him.]

[Eh…!?]

[I’ve observed your familiar quite a bit.] [He’s what you call a “perfect familiar”…] [Fierce Loyalty, Absolute Strength, and wide understanding.] [Yet, no matter how perfect the familiar is, if the master was an idiot, you’re only sending him to death.]

[No way…!]

[It’s not exactly wrong to say that everything’s your fault.] [But then again, are you just going to blame yourself without even thinking what you have done wrong? What should you do to not repeat the same mistake again? What you should’ve done to not make any more mistakes.] [Have you tried to learn so?]

[Learn…?] Josephine somehow responded strongly towards this word.

[Yeah, you’re smart, but you still need to learn how to interact with other people, how to treat people, how to talk with them, and for the most part, how to protect yourself from harm.] [You think just because you didn’t make other people sad, everything’s going to be alright?]

[I… I don’t know….]

Vram then suddenly come closer toward Josephine, and rubbed her shoulder.

[Vram…?]

[Let’s think about it this way, Master.] [You are hurt when I am being hurt, right?]

[… Though it’s not a physical damage, but you’re right….] [I do feel hurt seeing you getting hurts….]

[Then, if I am feeling sad, would you going to feel sad too?]

[O… of course I will!!!]

[Then, if master is sad, what about us?]

[Eh?]

[What about me, whom have sworn to protect you, and Yohana, whom have been teaching you, protecting you, and helping you?] [When you were sad, overwhelmed, hurt….] [What would you think would’ve happen to us?]

[….]

Josephine went quiet after hearing what Vram had to say. She’s thinking hard. Real hard that somehow, the light in her eyes somehow changing. It turned bright. Though it wasn’t clear, she was definitely changed. Something inside her mind had changed.

[… Senior….] [I… I am very sorry; I still think that punishing them that way would do me no good.] [But… I won’t hold back any longer….]

[Hee….] [So… if there are people whom were trying to aim for your familiar again, what would you do?]

[I’ll confront them!] [Though I don’t know what kind of result it’ll bring, I still have to protect my own life… my own family!]

*BWOOSH

All of a sudden, Hildegarde raised her hands as she casted some magic towards Josephine. A fireball flying fast toward Josephine.

[Fina!!!]

*BLAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!

The smoke raised, everything went blurry, Christine, whom just keep her eyes downwards while Rosalinda, acting indifferent, and Hildegarde, whom put of her haughty smile after shooting Josephine with Fireball. Only Yohana who seemed to be panic with what happened.

[HILDA?!?!] [WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?!]

[Just shut up, you overprotective senior.] [Look.]

When the smoke cleared up, Yohana looked quite surprised seeing what has been happened in front of her eyes. Both of them were unscathed. By both, it means that Vram, whom have been protecting Josephine, and Josephine, whom have been protected by Vram, just standing there motionless as the fierce glare on her eyes lit brightly.

[… Though I really can’t stand you, guess that part of yours is your special trait, to be able to execute such feat in no time.]

[Senior Hildegarde….]

[You should be grateful to her, Master.] [All this time, she has been teaching you all kind of things with her own ways.]

[Eh?]

[Wh… what are you talking about?!] Suddenly Hildegarde looked a little bit flustered.

[Well Yohana told me so much about you.] [About how you’ve been forcefully took Master book, and then changed it with something different yet valuable.] [Or when you were browsing some item, then she took Master’s entire item and trade it with something more helpful and useable.] [And even now, she was trying to reform your personality.]

[Wait!] [What are you blabbing about!!!]

[Eh?] [That wasn’t harassment towards Josephine?]

[… Senior….] Josephine somehow changed the way she looked at Hilda, from the eyes of contempt, into something of admiration.

[Wait!] [What’s with those eyes?!] [Stop it!] [I never intended for things to go that way!] As Hilda blushed her face red seeing how Josephine changes her way of looking.

[It’s useless, Lady Hilda.] Somehow Christine, the girl whom have been standing silent behind, put up a faint smile as she speak toward Hilda. [That man already saw through you the whole time.]

[Chris?!?!?]

[I guess some people do think precisely together~.] [You guys both love Josephine that much that you can guess that far~] Though smiled wryly, Rosalinda teased Hilda with her light tone.

[ROSA!!] [SPEAK ONCE MORE, AND I’LL INCINERATE YOU!!!!!]

[IYAA~~N, SCARY~~~~] As Rosa jumped towards Christine’s back.

[So~ Mister black armor over there~~~?]

[The name’s Vram.]

[I guess Lady Hilda took a liking toward you since you’re the one whom were able to interpret and execute her advice perfectly~!] [Be nice to her alright~~~]

[ROSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!]

As if being possessed, Hilda charged ahead toward Rosa as both of them running round and around circling Chris, as Chris can only smiling. Josephine suddenly burst out a laugh while Yohana shake her heads while holding her forehead, smiling.

***

After many things had happened, considering Rosa’s situation that gets omitted, Chris finally excuse herself while dragging both Hilda and Rosa out of the way. And finally, Yohana, Josephine, and Vram reached the house.

[I guess I should head back for now.]

[Thanks for the company, Senior!!]

Somehow, Yohana didn’t reply back to Josephine at all, she was rather looked a little bit gloomy after what had happened.

[I guess… I wasn’t that much of a help to you….]

[Huh?]

[Hilda… though her method may be unthinkable all this time, she has been taking care of you….] [While me here…] [Even the ones whom have stopped Maria were Vram singlehandedly….] [I feel kinda useless as a senior….]

[No… that’s…!]

[I think I have to disagree, Lady Yohana.]

[Vram?]

[It was thanks to you that no serious harm has been done to Josephine.] [Though losing a familiar may have been disheartening, but at least the damage were only limited to that.] [You also volunteered to guard me, in order to ensure my safety when I was being imprisoned, right?]

[… Though you’re too strong that you don’t even need those….] [But thanks a lot.] [You really are quite reliable.]

[I appreciate the compliment.]

[Well then, I shall take my leave.] [Don’t get to crazy inside there, Fina~]

[Wh… Who would!!!] [Muu~!! Senior~!!!]

After teasing Josephine, Yohana finally leaves Vram and Josephine alone. Though it’s been a while, the gap made the relationship between them grows awkward.

[So… shall we go inside, Master?]

[Eh?!] [Ah, yes! It’s cold outside, so let’s get inside!!]

Awkwardly and nervous, Josephine stepped inside the house. And following her on the back was Vram, walking indifferently.

[Umm… Vram….]

[Yes?]

[Can you… wait here for a while?] [I need to prepare something….]

Though it was sudden, Vram just agreed with her and decided to stargaze outside again while waiting.

***

[….]

Continuing to stargaze, he raised his hands toward the sky, where two moons had met each other. No, there is literally a two piece of moon on the sky. Though what does these things entails no people in the world even care. All things were considered natural, even for Vram, whom somehow had experienced something unnatural.

{I should’ve died back then….} {No, maybe I’ve truly died….} {If so, then why am I revived again?} {Does familiar summoning entails to revival magic?} {But has such things be made possible?}

Vram keep moon-gazing as he played around with his two fingers upward and downward, as if counting for something.

[Though I do wonder how she’s been.] [Does she angry that I’ve done that before…] [And more importantly….] [Were that little girl safe, I do wonder….]

[Vram~!]

Just when Vram was doing a monologue by himself, finally Josephine called her out.

[It’s okay now, please enter inside.]

Vram returns back to the room inside, then started to go ahead, onto the inner side of the room, where another room exist. It was Josephine’s bedroom. Though right now he was her familiar, Vram can’t helped but feeling a little bit nervous of entering her room all by himself.

[… I’m entering, Master.]

Slowly he entered the room; the room had been lit bright with the light of the moon entering through the giant loophole on the center of the room. And inside, Josephine had been waiting, only covered half of her legs with a sheet on top of the bed. She returns to wearing nothing again, which almost angered Vram again.

[W… wait!] [I have a reason for this…!!!]

[… Speak.] Suddenly Vram’s tones have turned cold toward Josephine. Though it hurts her much, she keeps ensuring Vram that everything’s fine.

[Umm… look here.] [You’ve been imprisoned for a whole month, without food to eat even.] [Though maybe you were able to endure such, but fighting a whole group of familiar, against Maria’s familiar, defending against Elder’s familiar attack, it must’ve drained your energy so.]

[… I can’t disagree with that.]

[And… though you may be able to regain those energy by digesting some special meat, the process of turning the material into mana actually quite long, and I doubt that it’ll be able to fill your mana in short time.] [That’s why… I prepare this….]

Vram traced and observed the whole room for a while. Though it was pretty rough, a thorough clean-up can be seen and decorated to fill the mood. The lights shone through the sky were also accounted. It was quite obvious what she was trying to do.

[… You want me to sleep together with you?]

[DON’T JUST SAY THAT NONCHALANTLY!!!!]

Awkward silence began to envelopes the whole room. Josephine’s face somehow turned red after Vram mentioned it.

[You sure there aren’t other method of restoring my mana capacity to normal again?]

[… Well, there are various… troublesome method… and confusing ritual to do so, and it’s not like you were unable to do so on your own, but….]

[But?]

[I….] [I want to do it with you….] [… Can’t I…?]

After saying those words, Josephine became meek as her face was flushed red. Deep red color covering her whole face until her ears. Such expression was deadly even for Vram. To think that her master, whom never even bothered to cover her own body, could even produce some expression of that level.

Finally he takes a deep breath, and letting it out. As he tried to calm himself down, he approached Josephine slowly.

[Well, my colleague do told me to never reject a girl’s advance, even more so when you’re actually fallen for her.]

[… Then~❤…!?!]

Then somehow, Vram started to release his gloves, his shoulder pads, his boots, and his armor out of the way.

[It’s actually my first time though, so I don’t think I can hold anything back.] [Are you fine with that, Master?]

[Eh? Eh? I… I am fine?] Somehow Josephine was flustered at the way Vram released every inch of armor that has been covering him, and finally his hand went straight for his head.

[Then do forgive me if I hurt you midway.]

[Eh…] [Vram….] [You’re…] [Eh…??? EH….????] [EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?!?!?!?!?]