Chapter 4

Before I knew it, a magic circle had risen up around the young man and me.

This means the oath has been accepted.

If I don’t say anything, it will be binding as his own vow.

What kind of play is this, forcing a familiar!?

Sure, I thought I shouldn’t let him get away, but it’s not necessary to go this far!!

A familiar is a magical creature summoned from another world or a wild magical beast captured and bound by a complex magic circle, with detailed contract terms (though usually by force) to serve as a convenient limb for the magic user.

In such cases, the compensation for being given orders is always included.

Usually, the magic user transfers their own magic power, and knowing that this will become their own strength, familiars will follow their master even if they complain a little.

In reality, it can be said that the relationship is equal and based on mutual benefit.

Furthermore, the contract is mediated by something tangible, such as parchment or an ornament. If this is broken or the spell is rewritten, the contract can be easily nullified. However, because it requires less magic power, and the addition or cancellation of contract terms is easier, and because the contract is magical, the contract holder immediately knows if it has been broken, it has become the mainstream due to its ease of use.

Ancient magic oaths are different.

Indeed, the fact that a contract can be made with just magic-infused words is convenient.

However, it becomes a forced oath involving magic and the soul.

Moreover, terrifyingly, the oath is fulfilled in the literal sense of the words.

For example, if you pinky-swear with someone.

The "If I lie, I'll swallow a thousand needles" kind of pinky-swear.

If you do this with magic-infused words in ancient language.

And if you lie about something trivial, like eating a snack without telling anyone or saying you know something you don’t, you will be struck by a pain as if your soul is being wrung out.

Furthermore, the pain will not end until the liar swallows a thousand needles or the person who was lied to makes them swallow a thousand needles, even if both parties don’t care.

It is a sure tragedy and horror.

In other words, it is primitive and inflexible.

Once spoken, the words cannot be taken back, and the soul is bound by the magic that has seeped in, making any breach of even a trivial oath as inevitable as a stone falling to the ground when released in the air.

There is a way to avoid this, but it is essentially not worth it.

Moreover, this person has offered everything without any demands for compensation.

It’s like saying, "Please gut me, slice me up, and eat me as sashimi"?

Do you know that you can’t complain no matter what happens!?

………Calm down, a hasty answer is suicidal. Think, I need to think!

I desperately tried to get my brain working, but it was just spinning in circles. My head was in a state of panic, and after one revolution, I seemed to have escaped into fantasy, and the voice I managed to squeeze out was strangely calm.

"………For now. One who studies the principles of magic does not reveal their true name so easily."

Given the current disparity between me and him, just calling his name could bind him. Even if a magic user cannot do this, it is considered polite not to call out casually.

I thought I was admonishing him, but the young man had a look of satisfaction as if he had accomplished something.

"I am useful, a little. What I receive, much. What I can give, only myself. It balances."

No, no, sir, you should take better care of yourself!?

Besides, receiving a person would just be a burden!

I had intended to come and learn a little bit at a time.

………Or are you planning to stick around forever!?

It would be impossible for him to read my subtle thoughts from his dragon face, and he smoothly brushed them off.

"Besides, I want to know about dragons. I’ve never met anyone smarter than a human. Here, the ley lines are well-aligned. I want to study together. The cycle is beautiful. It feels good. More than anything, dragons are beautiful. What else is there? I want to know very much. So, I want to keep you close."

While asking to make me his familiar, he was so open about wanting to observe me.

He seemed to have gone overboard with curiosity and the desire for knowledge.

His cheeks flushed as if he were a lovesick girl, but his eyes gleamed and his hands trembled, making for a rather off-putting sight despite his good looks.

Still, I was beginning to feel interested in this strange young man.

If I think about it, aside from his mad nature, there is no problem with learning words from him, and such a perfect opportunity might not come again for hundreds of years.

………That’s right, if I’m going to do it, now is the time, now or never!!

Looking back, my thoughts were not at all cool, but at that moment, I was ready to accept it as a convenient situation.

Still, I thought it would be bad to make him a familiar, so I pulled out a slightly pretentious phrase from my head and started to voice my complaints.

"Very well. In the name of the Incarnation of the Night Born from Magma, I accept the oath of Nectar Prominent.

However, the period will be until I learn human language, and as long as he teaches me human language sincerely, I will protect him and respect his will."

As soon as I swore with the same magic power as the young man, a geometric and organic circle began to flicker, and the magic circle turned into two light orbs that flew into our chests.

This is a method to soften the inflexibility of the magical oath.

By having a spirit act as a supervisor, it adjusts the level of commitment to the oath and the nuances of the words, making it a user-friendly feature.

However, a vast amount of magic power is required to form the oath, but for a magic power cheat like a dragon, it is a trivial matter.

To explain with the previous example, if you eat a snack and it is deemed within the acceptable range, you won’t have to swallow a thousand needles.

However, if it is not acceptable, the punishment that both parties unconsciously think is appropriate or believe will be enough to forgive will be imposed.

Still, since the oath is inscribed on the soul as an absolute, if you are careless, you might end up disappearing along with your soul, or dying slowly instead of immediately.

Well, judging from the color of the light orbs this time, it seems to have been determined that it is not of high importance, so breaking it would result in losing just one arm.

"Now, spirit!!"

Despite knowing the oath, it seems he didn’t know about the spirit of the oath.

Maybe it didn’t get through on this side.

Still, he seemed to vaguely understand what had happened and I explained to the young man, who was standing there with a pale, dazed face.

"This oath is made by transforming magic power close to the core of the world into a spirit to act as a supervisor.

We call it the spirit of the oath. This binds us by the oath. This is my sincerity in learning your name."

"…Sincerity?"

"Your oath cannot be changed, but since no period was set, I inserted that part. I will protect you and respect your freedom as long as you teach me words. Even if I don’t, I have no intention of harming you, but it makes a big difference whether it’s there or not.

—After all, I just gained freedom from the country. There’s no need to dedicate everything to a slightly larger black lizard. I’m satisfied as long as we can talk, so do as you please after that. Until then, I will protect you with my body and magic power."

Well, it would be a problem for me if he were taken back to the country, so it’s only natural.

What I want is a teacher of words, so that’s a no-go!

"But, I know the name of the dragon!!"

Just as I was nodding in agreement with my own words, the young man, who seemed on the verge of tears, insisted.

—Oh, is that it?

"I am a part of the world.

I have a name and free will, but only high-ranking spirits or my own kind can call my name. With effort, I can leave the sound as a word, but even if you try to teach me, I won’t be able to pronounce it.

But, since we will be spending time together, it’s boring not to have a name. Then, Nectar, call me Lava."

I tried to smile at the young man, who was blinking his eyes, even with my dragon face.

I hope it gets through a little.

"You know, I’m a little happy. I never thought I would give my name to a human. You are the first human I have ever named myself to."

"First?"

"Didn’t I say? You are the first person I could communicate with. Of course, you are the only one I asked to call me by a nickname."

It was just the two of us with the old man, and the small black dragon and the old man were enough. With the demon Rigrila, the power dynamics were decided when I won the battle, so I wouldn’t call him anything but a title unless I lost.

At the moment, he is the only one who calls me something close to a name.

The young man smiled, on the verge of tears.

It was a complex expression, as if he had received a treasure he never expected and didn’t know what to do with it.

"Lava, thank you. From now on, please take care of me."

"Yes, likewise. Nectar."

The first time I was called by someone else, it felt a little ticklish.

Born a dragon for hundreds of years.

The first step towards making friends, I have acquired a language teacher and temporary familiar (tentative).