Chapter 24

"…You talked!?"

Yuri let out a cry when she saw the talking rat.

The rat immediately noticed us.

"Chu!! Y-You, please forgive me! I didn't mean to rub it on you…"

The rat, stammering under the gaze of Elicia and Yuri, apparently had intended to rub Arrowclaw on us.

I spoke to the trembling rat.

"I'm not going to eat you. I just want to ask about this island."

"O-Oh, I can tell you anything… But, why am I so big?"

"Because you became my familiar. Like a subordinate."

"I-I see. Well… since you guys seem strong, it's fine. In return—"

He probably thought that if he stayed near us, he could get food.

I handed him the fruit from the *Pandora Box*.

"You understand, huh!"

As the rat gnawed on the fruit, I said:

"You can listen while you eat. First, do you have a name?"

"…A name… What's that?"

"Let's call you Tia for now, okay?"

"Sure, whatever."

"I'm looking for the largest building on this island. Do you know where it is?"

"If you go straight down this road and then turn right, you should find a wide open area. But… you might not want to get too close."

Tia said this as if recalling something.

"Why not?"

"There are lots of fireballs. They can kill you just by touching them."

"Probably a Wisp gathering place."

I turned to Elicia.

"Exorcism is my specialty."

"I can absorb dark magic too. It seems we can go in."

Yuri asked hesitantly:

"E-Excuse me, but exorcism means—"

"Ghosts."

Elicia's smile made Yuri shudder.

"If you're scared, you can wait in Rohbiron."

"I-It's okay! For Lord Alex, I will too!"

Yuri said this as if convincing herself.

"Then let's go… What about Tia? I can release you from being a familiar if you want."

"No way! I want to stay with you! I can't get such delicious food easily! I really want to guide you!"

Tia said this and started walking energetically in front of me.

"It feels weird because my body is a bit bigger… But I can walk faster than before!"

He can walk on two legs and speak human language now…

Because he became my familiar, he became more human-like.

This makes me wonder why Elik, the slime, didn't change at all.

Maybe there are individual differences.

Some of the blue-haired people didn't have hair either…

Maybe I can ask Tia to bring his friends later and recruit more familiars.

As we walked, an open area came into view at the end of the street. That must be the central square of Ars Island, with buildings that look like government offices.

There, several fireballs—Wisps—were floating.

"Let's get this over with quickly."

"Okay! Here we go!"

Elicia immediately summoned light in her hand and spread it around.

She's definitely experienced. The Wisps disappeared one after another.

I feel like this suits Elicia more than combat…

"Elicia, amazing! You're not just good at fighting!"

Elicia looked proud at Yuri's words.

"To me, this is nothing. Well, is that it?"

Elicia looked at the square where the fireballs had disappeared.

"Yes. Thank you, Elicia."

"Lord Alex… Such kind words from you are too much…"

"S-Such a big deal."

I shifted my gaze to the temple-like building with several white columns.

"This must be the government office. Let's go inside."

I opened the large double doors and peeked inside.

As expected, it was dark.

So I used the *Holy Light* spell, which makes a ball of light float to illuminate the surroundings.

"…Huh? Two?"

Two balls of light floated up.

Before, I could only make one.

Now, I can make two.

"Is something wrong, Lord Alex? Oh, this is rude… I'll make it brighter right away."

Elicia also quickly floated *Holy Light* around us, making ten in total.

For those who have been granted the holy emblem, this isn't a difficult spell.

But for me, who can't handle anything other than dark magic well, this is surprising.

This means that my magic power has increased because I have more familiars.

Not just dark magic, but the amount of magic power converted for other attributes has increased.

But, it doubled with just a little over thirty familiars.

If I develop this island, Thialus, and can support more familiars…

What will happen?

This thought crossed my mind, but I quickly noticed the magic power ahead.

Something wrapped in dark magic…

It was illuminated by the light balls…

"Armor?"

In the large hall of the government office, a suit of armor appeared.