The Strange Cat from Fuuto

Medusa, laughing maniacally, kept shaking her head. Miku frowned: "Can't you accept the truth? Have you finally gone mad?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you."

"In that case, I will know your true identity. When the Sage rescues me, it will be your death day."

"That's it!"

Miku, whose tail was swishing back and forth, scratched his ear and after a moment said, "No, it won't!"

"What did you say?"

"I said even if you are rescued by the sage, he won't kill me, after all, I have a very important use to him!"

"That guy would never kill me!"

Medusa sneered at Miku's certainty: "That lord is the strongest Phantom, and the mortal enemy of you mages. Do you think he would let go of someone who harmed his most capable subordinate?"

"You've been wrong about one thing all along. That guy, the sage you're talking about, won't kill me. In fact, he's the one who gave me my current driver!"

The tail brushed against the pendant on Miku's neck, a flash of light appeared, and the driver appeared on Miku's back.

"How could that be? The Sage is a Phantom. Why would he give you a driver? As for what you said before about him imprisoning you for half a year, that's utter nonsense!"

"Well, I underestimated that guy's brainwashing abilities."

Miku, muttering to himself, transformed into his knight form, walked up to Medusa, sighed, and said, "Then let me ask you, what is the purpose of your search for the [Door] and the creation of the Phantom within it?"

"Why? Naturally, it's to hold the Witch's Banquet again, and then let more of our compatriots appear in the world!"

"and then?"

"And then?" Medusa asked, somewhat puzzled. "What then?"

Miku, who had been pacing back and forth in front of Medusa, stopped and spread his hands, saying, "I mean, what happens after a new Phantom is born?"

"Conquer the world?"

"I remember your activities were limited to Torii-zaka, right? It's ridiculous to talk about world domination when you've restricted your activities to that area!"

"Or is it that your Sage's true purpose is to find someone who can suppress and control the Phantom, that is, someone qualified as a magician!"

"Impossible! How could the Sage possibly make us go through all this trouble to find the [Door] for something like this?"

“Because it’s harmless to him!” Miku squatted down on the ground, his tail swishing behind him. “Suppose your sage has two identities, two identities that are mutually exclusive, and everything he does is to fulfill his plan.”

"Go and find the [Gate]. If you succeed, the Phantom will be born, increasing your manpower and the number of the Sage's followers."

If they fail, the Phantom within the [Door] will be either removed by the mage or the [Door] will become a mage's trainee, and then the second identity will be used to recruit!

"How is this possible?"

Medusa scoffed, a disdainful smile playing on her lips: "What you're saying is completely unfounded. The Sage is the Sage!"

"There are not two identities at all."

"Let's play a game then." Miku took out a white ring with a book-page symbol and put it on the middle finger of her right hand.

"A game?" Medusa frowned, examining the ring on Miku's hand. "What game?"

"A game that gambles with both of our lives!"

Miku showed Medusa the ring on the middle finger of his right hand, saying, "This ring is called 'Contract,' meaning it's a ring that allows you to sign contracts!"

"I'll sign a betting agreement with you. If you win, you can take everything I have. If you lose, you have to give me everything you have!"

Do you dare to bet?

Medusa, who was staring blankly at the ring in Miku's hand, suddenly spoke up: "I can bet with you, but you have to let me leave after I sign the contract!"

"Sure, you've only been locked up here for less than a day, so going back won't be a big deal!"

"However, I need to add a condition: before the game ends, unless I voluntarily reveal my identity, you must not reveal it yourself. Anyone who violates this rule will be considered to have lost. On the contrary, I will provide you with relevant information to add to the fun of the game!"

"can!"

Medusa nodded as Miku placed his right hand on the driver at his waist, and a loud magical incantation rang out: "Contract Start!"

A white magic circle appeared from the void, revealing a parchment scroll within it.

"Then let's draft the terms of the game!"

Miku began writing on the contract parchment, listing the relevant requirements. After Medusa reviewed it, the two left their magical imprints on it.

The moment the mark appeared, the parchment naturally burned to ashes and split into two parts, which then entered the bodies of the two individuals.

"And so the game begins!"

Miku, having transformed into his jungle form, released Medusa. Suddenly freed from her restraints, Medusa fell toward the ground, but before she could land, Miku caught her.

"I can't let my future possessions get hurt!"

Miku's flippant tone angered Medusa, who pushed him away with difficulty and slowly stood up: "The game hasn't even started yet, and you don't want to win!"

"Well, I think I'm going to win!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Haruto Became Haruko!

In the deep darkness of the night, Miku, standing under the streetlight, watched Medusa stagger away, leaning against the wall.

Even though she was sealed for less than a day, most of the magic in her body was devoured and absorbed by the roots spawned by Miku's magic. With her magic power depleted and her strength failing, Medusa was pale and her eyes were glazed over.

"Step one of the plan is complete!"

Miku chuckled as he tossed the contract ring in his hand. He had killed one of Phantom's three top officers, and the remaining two were subsequently sealed away.

Oh, now it's sealed!

Miku chose Medusa because she was a staunch supporter of the Sage and possessed an extremely calm and rational personality.

Such people are not supposed to betray others easily, but once they realize the cruelty of reality and that they have been fooled and played, they will definitely be on the verge of collapse!

The calmer a person is, the more likely they are to become suspicious, and once they become suspicious, they are trapped in a vicious cycle.

The reason for not choosing the Phoenix is ​​that although it is incredibly powerful, its personality is difficult to control, and no one wants to play with a time bomb.

Those energetic, short-tempered, and single-minded guys are simply not worth taming.

If things go wrong, you might get bitten in return!

In the original storyline, the Phoenix, who had only been defeated by the Wizard once, had his sights set on the Wizard and even threatened to destroy the city to force the Wizard to fight him.

Miku naturally had no intention of recruiting such a guy.

You know, that guy is still sealed hundreds of meters underground, and he probably thinks about how to kill Miku every day.

As for the contract with Medusa, Miku felt it was just a formality.

After all, contracts and agreements are meant to be torn up!

"Let's get this far for now, and we can deal with the rest later." With a glint in his eyes, Miku slowly walked eastward along the street. He needed to think things through.

"I remember there was a very interesting ring in Serena's collection, otherwise...."

"Hey hey hey..."

Low laughter echoed through the silent night sky, startling the birds perched in the trees along the roadside.

........

The next day, at the antique shop, Men's Shadow Hall.

Good morning~~

The mage, yawning, entered the hall and plopped down on the sofa, his sleepy eyes filled with confusion.

"Have some of this to perk you up!"

Alex, who brought the coffee, handed it to the priest. The priest, still half asleep, took it and instinctively put it in his mouth.

"Ouch! It's so hot!"

The scalded mage snapped back to reality and, sipping his coffee, waited for Wajima Shigeru's breakfast.

During this time, the mage noticed that Alex's clothes were a bit worn and realized that he hadn't bought her any new clothes in a long time.

"Hey, Alex."

"Ok?"

Alex, whose face was a little pale, turned his head in confusion. The mage smiled and said, "How about we go out for a walk today? I can buy you some clothes while we're at it!"

"Hey?"

"After all, you see, a girl should have a few sets of clothes. Look at the clothes you're wearing now, they're all old."

It was only after the priest reminded him that Alex realized that the dress he was wearing had faded, not to mention that the shawl he often wore also had several places that he had sewn himself.

After biting his lip and thinking for a long time, Alex murmured softly, "Alright, then I'll leave it to Haruto!"

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!"

After breakfast, the monk and Alex left the Menkage-do. Nara Shunpei and Daimon Rinko, who had just arrived at the Menkage-do, looked at the two who had gone out together with curiosity.

"Wow, Alex actually went out today!" Nara Shunpei, carrying his red backpack, crossed his arms. "That's really unexpected!"

"You probably haven't had a girlfriend yet, have you?" Rinko Daimon glanced at Nara Shunpei with a strange expression on her face.

So what if we haven't talked about it?

"Single people don't deserve to understand!"

Rinko, holding onto the door of Nara Shunpei, pushed it open and the two went inside.

On a street corner, a pair of eyes watched the mage and Alex walk further and further away, seemingly lost in thought.

"Let me see if that guy is telling the truth or not!"

Medusa, tossing her long hair, followed silently, followed by a man in a suit and glasses.

Behind these two, a pair of cat-like eyes stared intently at them.

"Ah~~ I yawn!"

"Damn it, I was busy all night and didn't get any sleep!"