In the end, my sister took Saphire to her room to get her clothes.

Saphire did not want to be separated from me, but after I told her to follow Ley, she agreed reluctantly.

When they were gone, my mother looked at me with a sigh.

“I have been getting a lot of surprises since you awakened. By the way, Jane, did your tier increase?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, a friend gave me a slot to enter a training dungeon. I found Saphire inside.”

“A training dungeon?” My mother was startled. “Do you mean the dungeon that appeared two days ago? I wanted to get you a slot when I learned of it, but all the slots were already sold.”

“Well, that friend of mine managed to get one.”

My mother nodded before narrowing her eyes.

“Now that I think about it, you have been going out a lot recently. Are you going to meet that friend?”

I hesitated before nodding.

My mother looked at me deeply before smiling.

“When are you going to introduce her to me?”

“Mom, we don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Really?” My mother looked at me meaningfully and shrugged. “Well, I don’t care. I think it’s good you are moving on after your breakup with Karime. However, you should focus on the entrance examinations first, understood?”

“I know, mom.”

“That is good.” My mother stood up and kissed my forehead. “Okay, I have to go to work. Take care of your sister and remember to eat in time.”

I nodded and saw my mother off. Then, I went to Ley's room to see how she was faring with Saphire.

When I entered the room, I saw Saphire wearing a blue dress while looking at herself in the mirror with an amazed expression.

“How is it? Do you like it?” Ley asked gently.

Saphire hurriedly nodded her head.

“That is good. This dress should not be damaged even if you change forms. The problem is the underwear. Every time you change between human and lamia, your underwear will be ruined.”

“Under... wear?”

Lamia tilted her head confused, making Ley sigh.

“I guess I need to teach you some common sense.”

I could not help but chuckle when I saw them like that.

“It looks like you two are getting along.”

“Master!” Saphire rushed towards me excitedly and showed e the dress she was wearing. “Dress!”

“Yeah, you look very cute.”

“Cute…? Cute!”

“Yes, yes, very cute.” I smiled wryly and rubbed her head.

Ley watched that with a discontent expression.

“... You two are very close.”

“Could it be you are jealous of Saphire, Ley?”

Ley snorted and looked away without replying.

I giggled and walked towards her, hugging her from behind.

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget my cutest sister. Come, give your brother a hug.”

“Idiot.” Ley hmphed, however, she leaned her body against mine.

“Thank you for helping me with Saphire.”

“Well, she is your familiar, so I have to help. By the wait, I think I should cut her hair so it's easier to take care of it.”

I looked at Saphire and nodded. Saphire’s black hair was long and beautiful, but it was a bit tangled up in several parts. After all, lamias don’t comb her hair.

Cutting her hair short should make it easier to take care of it.

Ley started to work on it immediately. She sat Saphire on a chair and used scissors to cut her hair. Saphire seemed curious about what she was doing, but she behaved during the entire process.

“By the way, brother, how many creatures can you contract with?”

I was startled and frowned.

‘Demon, what do you think?’

[Mm… I'm not sure. It depends on the strength and quality of your soul and how strong the creatures you contracted are. Right now, you should be close to your limit, but you will be able to contract more creatures as you become stronger.]

I told Ley the demon’s words.

Ley fell deep into thought and looked at me.

“Why don’t you try contracting another creature?”

I was startled.

“Huh? But, where can I find another one?”

Ley thought for a moment before looking at her bed.

There, our cat, Scarlet, was sleeping soundly.

I put on a strange expression.

“Scarlet?”

“Well, she should count, right? Plus, Scarlet is weaker than a Tier 0 monster, so perhaps it will work.”

[… Your sister is right. You should try. Anyway, you can cancel the contract if you want to contract another creature later.]

I hesitated briefly before nodding and walking toward the cat.

Scarlet felt my presence and opened her eyes lazily before closing them again.

She seemed to be saying, ‘please don’t disturb my sleep'.

I took a deep breath and touched her head with my right hand, then I started the contract.

Immediately, the magic circle inside my soul space came out. It hovered in the hair and glowed brightly.

It then divided itself into two. One of the magic circles rushed to Scarlet’s head while the other returned to my soul space.

Scarlet stood up startled and hissed threateningly, but she was unable to stop the contract from entering her mind.

In the next instant, I felt a connection forming between Scarlet and me.

The connection was weaker than my connection to Saphire, but it was becoming stronger quickly.

Scarlet’s soul seemed to be resisting the connection, though. I instinctively rubbed her head and sent intimate feelings toward her. That seemed to calm her down and she soon stopped resisting.

But when I thought that the contract would go smoothly, a change happened.

All of sudden, I was attacked by a strong headache.

I felt as though my head was full, and it was about to burst apart. The contract with Scarlet seemed to have surpassed the limit of my soul.

Fortunately, the headache only lasted for an instant before disappearing, and the contract was formed successfully.

I sighed in relief and opened my eyes while rubbing Scarlet’s chin.

“Did it work?” My sister asked concerned.

I nodded. “It did. However, I should have reached my limit for now. I think I need to become stronger before I can form another contract.”

Ley nodded and put her hand on her chin, as though she was thinking about something.

At that moment, I felt a change coming from Scarlet.

I looked towards her, only to see our house’s Somali cat absorbing the mana around her greedily.

The mana quickly filled her body, creating a magic core inside her.

Ley and I were stunned.

“… Did she become a magic beast?” Ley asked surprised.

I nodded dumbly as Scarlet opened her eyes and let out a happy meow.

She then rubbed her body against mine and meowed again.

This time, though, a small ball of fire came out of her mouth.