Ch.100100. Desert of Death (4)

Nightmare’s sudden offer to become my subordinate was honestly a bit bewildering, but regardless, her proposal was actually extremely attractive to me.

The Nightmare before me had requested to submit herself as my subordinate, and considering the combat power and pride of a mid-tier magical beast, this was essentially equivalent to gaining a significant fighting force.

As a magical beast that “eats nightmares,” she could provide considerable advantages in the mental realm, and even looking at her specs, it was certainly not a bad deal.

Physically, with her substantial horse-like form, she excels in close combat with her outstanding physical abilities, and while she may not boast tremendous firepower, her cost-effective ignition ability complements her close combat capabilities.

Being horse-shaped, her speed is naturally top-notch, but the physical abilities of Nightmare, originally a carnivorous predator, are quite remarkable.

Her pointed teeth can easily crush metal when she bites, and her hooves can potentially shatter the ribs of mid-tier magical beasts when she tramples them.

Moreover, the Nightmare requesting submission is originally bound to me by fate.

If it were something else, I might refuse outright, but in this case, even I would find it awkward to flatly reject her.

Additionally, thinking carefully, her actions weren’t incomprehensible either.

For a Nightmare, a persecuted species in the Western Continent, would anything change if she parted ways with me now?

At best, she would spend her life suffering from pursuit and hatred until death, and in the worst case, she might never even escape the desert.

On the other hand, if she follows me now, she seems to have the confidence that I would treat her with the respect her value deserves…

“Very well, Nightmare. From now on, you are my subordinate.”

[Th-Thank, thank you so much!!]

Having quickly made my decision to accept Nightmare as my subordinate, I was ready to move on to the next step.

“Nightmare, receive this.”

[What…??]

While she was confused by my seemingly abrupt words, I activated the Animal Friend Contract without any incantation, extending it toward Nightmare, who accepted the contract’s bond without hesitation.

With this, the seventh Animal Friend Contract was established.

As a result of forming the Animal Friend Contract, changes immediately began to occur in Nightmare’s body.

Her originally large horse-sized frame grew to almost the size of a one-ton truck, similar to Robo’s dimensions, and the magical power emanating from her body instantly amplified.

The crimson flame energy that replaced her mane and horsehair now burned more abundantly, and a smoke-like darkness rose from the black fur of her skin.

Visibly different from before the contract, the current Nightmare was at least 140% faster and stronger than before.

And I too, embracing the mystery of Nightmare who had joined my soul… activated my newly acquired power.

-…Whoosh!

[That’s! Could that be my flame?]

“That’s right, Nightmare. Just as you’ve grown stronger, I’ve gained this power.”

What I obtained through this contract was ignition (發火) using skin as a medium… or more precisely, a pyrokinesis ability similar to telekinesis that manipulates fire.

As mentioned earlier, while it’s close to telekinetic ability that creates and controls flames, it’s far from the commonly depicted ability in media where one can snap their fingers and instantly create large flames.

To begin with, the flames generated by this ability are closer to energy (magical power) in the form of fire rather than actual fire, and the ability itself seems quite limited in application since it uses skin as a medium.

The firepower I can produce with this pyrokinesis ability alone, without any auxiliary means, is about that of a low-tier magician.

Additionally, I can’t maintain control if it’s more than a few meters away from my body, and at most, I can only wrap it around my skin, but…

“This is quite a useful ability, Nightmare.”

[Th-Thank you for saying so, Druid!]

In my opinion, it was an ability worth using.

Since it’s energy (magical power) in the form of flames, combustion occurs even without separate oxygen, and I can imbue it with my will to burn only what I want.

Furthermore, this ability differs from typical flame abilities that usually require pouring out magical power like fuel to demonstrate their true value.

It’s so efficient and its output is superior compared to the magical power consumed, allowing me to cause combustion reactions with just a small amount of magical power.

But the true power of this pyrokinesis ability stems from its combination with other magic or special abilities.

Just taking the slash magic that I specialize in and use like a basic attack, the principle itself is a concept of generating a virtual mystical body, so I can cast “slashes wrapped in flames.”

Additionally, if necessary, I can wrap flames around myself in different forms through animal transformation magic, and even gain corrections for flame magic.

Since there are plenty of magics that handle flames among druid spells, this could be an excellent gain.

“Nightmare, do you have a name?”

When I asked without hesitation toward her who was lowering her head, she raised her head and looked at me with eyes filled with respect and awe…

[…Meary, please call me Meary.]

With a voice tinged with a bit of sadness, she revealed her name to me.

※ ※ ※

After Meary joined us as a member of our group, we decided to rest until the next morning, taking a brief respite here.

[Everyone, I look forward to working with you all.]

[Yeah! Horse friend, looking forward to it!]

[…Hello!]

[Nice to meet you, Meary.]

After Nightmare Meary, who joined as a comrade, finished introductions with the Animal Friends staying in this Tarask, we began the first welcome party since Gretel joined.

Of course, given the situation, we couldn’t spend enough time preparing a feast, but nonetheless, the Animal Friends here and Sophia weren’t narrow-minded enough to be upset about such trivial matters.

Thus, a modest yet complete banquet began.

Rabbit meat stew prepared for Corin, my first Animal Friend. A 100% vegan salad for Astra, who doesn’t prefer meat, was basic.

For Robo, who has recently developed a particular craving for meat, I roasted five whole pigs, and for Hydra, I provided 12 alligator sashimi? that were cleaned and simply prepared.

The Squeakers, as always, devoured various foods of their choice, and for Gretel, I provided an unlimited supply of horse meat, which griffins adore.

Of course, there were also many human foods prepared for Sophia and me, and Minerva was beside us eating food containing olives.

Moreover, all these menus were prepared in mountainous quantities, enough for anyone to eat as much as they wanted.

The feast continued, and Nightmare Meary, who had devoured more than half of the food I prepared, seemingly starved for such delicious meals, naturally joined us as a member of our group.

And… the next day.

“Sophia, are you awake?”

As I was preparing breakfast, making a submarine-like sandwich by splitting bread similar to a baguette, Sophia, who seemed half-asleep having just woken up, sluggishly walked toward me.

“Mmm… yaaawn…”

“Here, sandwich and milk.”

The breakfast menu I handed over was a sandwich made with fresh vegetables and thinly sliced preserved meat like bacon. It was Sophia’s usual breakfast.

In addition, I prepared warm milk with honey, and as a result, Sophia seemed to have recovered some energy? through a hearty breakfast, and…

“The prophet saw a sign today.”

As soon as the meal was over, Sophia looked at me seriously and informed me of today’s prophecy.

“A sign? What kind of sign?”

“…A sign of crisis, fear, and overcoming. Something might happen today.”

“Is that all?”

Since she usually doesn’t speak so seriously unless it’s a particularly dangerous matter, I took Sophia’s warning seriously, but…

That said, there wasn’t much I could do right at that moment.

Therefore, after concluding my response to the prophecy by deciding to be a bit more vigilant…

Surprisingly, not long after, I was able to find a clue to that crisis.

[Master! There’s a ruin ahead! A big ruin!]

It was through Corin, whom I had sent for reconnaissance, who had discovered something ominous.