“““Huh?”””

At Phonia’s words, the three of us—including Ivan—couldn’t help but let out a voice of surprise.

“Phonia-chan, we’re going to the Adventurers’ Guild, you know.”

Rio tried to soothe her, but Phonia nodded slightly, as if to say she already knew that.

“There are a lot of scary people there, so how about you stay behind, Phonia-chan?”

Rio placed her hands on Phonia’s shoulders and gently spoke to her in a coaxing tone.

“That’s right, Phonia. Don’t cause more trouble for Shu and Rio. …We’ve already been relying on them enough.”

The latter part was said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, but I could hear it clearly. I do feel like we’re looking after them, but he doesn’t need to worry about it so much.

“I don’t know why you want to go… but becoming an adventurer starts at age twelve, right? Phonia wouldn’t be able to become one anyway.”

“That’s right, Phonia-chan. So why don’t you stay with Ivan and watch the house?”

If I remember correctly, even someone under twelve could become a G-rank adventurer. Still, there must be some kind of lower age limit. Considering Phonia looks like an early elementary schooler, it’s more likely she wouldn’t qualify either way.

Come to think of it, I haven’t told Rio yet, but Phonia’s stats are actually quite high. If we go by pure numbers, they rival even Linford, the S-rank adventurer. Regardless of whether she can become an adventurer, she definitely has combat potential.

“No! I want to go on adventures with big brother and big sister! And I don’t want Ivan-nii to get hurt anymore…!”

Phonia wouldn’t give in to their persuasion, and her reason turned out to be Ivan’s injuries.

“Me?!”

“Well, sure, Ivan was on the verge of death… but that wasn’t Phonia’s fault, was it?”

“That’s right. It’s because Ivan’s weak—it’s not Phonia-chan’s fault.”

“No, no, no! Okay, I am weak! And it’s true it wasn’t Phonia’s fault! But I still can’t accept this somehow!”

He clenched his fists and shouted, but no one backed him up.

“I’ll protect you too, Ivan-nii!”

“Wait, I’m supposed to be the one protecting you!”

“Fufu, Phonia-chan…”

Rio gave a smile like she was watching something heartwarming—but honestly, it’s not even that far off from the truth.

“Because my tails increased!”

“Tails?”

Phonia’s words didn’t quite make sense, and both Rio and Ivan tilted their heads in confusion.

“Mama said that when my tails increase, I’ll get stronger!”

“Phonia-chan…”

As soon as she mentioned her mother, Rio murmured weakly. Now that she’s free from slavery, it wouldn’t be strange if she said she wanted to return to her parents. But it seems Phonia’s wish is to go on adventures with us.

I glanced at Ivan, who responded with a slight shake of his head. We haven’t asked Phonia how she became a slave, but perhaps her parents are no longer around or their whereabouts are unknown—either way, it’s unclear.

As she looked up at Ivan with a determined expression, Phonia suddenly began to take off her clothes.

“W-what are you doing, Phonia?!”

She exposed her flat chest and torso, then removed her pants and underwear. Before Ivan could even process it, she transformed into a fox beast.

“Huh?”

Ivan froze, his eyes wide open. Then he slowly turned to me and Rio, moving his head stiffly like a creaky gear, and looked at Phonia again.

“EHHHHH?!”

Ivan’s shout echoed throughout the high-class inn in the imperial capital. So he really didn’t know, huh?

“Phonia’s apparently a type of magical beast called a ‘youko’—a mystical fox.”

“EEEEEEEEEHHHH?!”

“Apparently the more tails they have, the stronger they become exponentially… But, I mean, she turned into her beast form here, so maybe she wants to go on adventures with me as my contracted beast?”

In response to my question, Phonia gave a firm nod. It’s true she probably can’t register as an adventurer as a child, so this might be the only way.

“Hmm…”

Since we’re just traveling the world, we don’t plan to do anything particularly dangerous. It doesn’t seem like there would be any issues bringing a child along.

“Wait… hold on… Phonia!?”

Ivan, clearly flustered, could only manage to call her name.

“What do you want to do, Ivan?”

“Huh…?”

“Phonia says she wants to travel with us. But what about you, Ivan? What do you want to do?”

Ivan seems like the type who wouldn’t want to burden us. I thought he might take Phonia and leave the empire to live on their own. But for Phonia to turn out to be a magical beast and then say she wants to become my contracted beast… I didn’t see that coming.

“…Actually, could she not become Ivan’s contracted beast instead?”

The thought popped into my head, and I voiced it.

Phonia must’ve heard it, because she walked over to Ivan and began rubbing her snout against him.

“What is it, Phonia…”

She looked like it tickled for a moment, but that only lasted briefly. Then, turning back toward us with her ears and tail drooping, she shook her head with a sad expression.

“So I’m no good then…!”

Watching Ivan looking so frustrated, I suddenly felt a sense of connection with Phonia. It was a familiar sensation—like when Nir became my contracted beast.

‘Ivan-nii didn’t work…’

At the same time, Phonia’s voice echoed inside my head.