The moment I opened my eyes, there was something unfamiliar on the ceiling. A soft, pale purple fabric was undulating abundantly overhead. (…What is this?) Yuu gazed at it with a still-hazy mind. It was soft. The bed was incredibly soft. A world apart from his own bed, with a sinking sensation. The pillow smelled strange too. Like flowers—a sweet scent. (Huh. Did my pillow ever smell this good?) He tried to slowly sit up. There was a person next to him. Yuu's movement stopped. Silver hair, long and flowing. It spread across the sheets like silk. A gentle, steady breathing could be heard. Shoulders rising and falling slightly. Long eyelashes. A pale cheek. By any measure, this was a girl he didn't know. And she was incredibly cute. (What?) Yuu spent three seconds trying to understand the situation. He couldn't. Another three seconds passed. Still couldn't. He tried to back away slowly. At that moment. His left wrist glowed pale blue. "[scared]What is this!?" The words escaped him involuntarily. An unfamiliar pattern was glowing on his left wrist. A faint but distinct light. It didn't hurt to touch. It wouldn't disappear. Startled by the light, the girl opened her eyes. A moment of silence. Clear, water-colored eyes captured Yuu's gaze. And then. "[scared]Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" An enormous scream echoed throughout the castle. The sound of footsteps thundering down the hallway. A door burst open, and six armored guards came tumbling in. "[angry]An intruder!!" "[scared]Wait, no! I don't understand either!!" He wasn't heard. Both his arms were grabbed firmly and he was dragged away. His feet scraped against the cold stone floor of the hallway. Just before the door closed, Yuu shouted. "[angry]I didn't do anything!?" Click. Only the sound of a bolt sliding into place answered him. ─── Yuu thought that dungeons were indeed this dark. Stone walls. A smell like dried straw. The window was small, and the light filtering in from outside was unreliable. The floor was cold, and sitting on it made him feel his body heat escaping through his rear. No backpack. No smartphone. No wallet. Just his school uniform pants and white shirt. His memories of last night cut off at the point where he'd been playing a game and somehow fell asleep. (What is this, seriously?) The pattern on his left wrist still glowed faintly. When he touched it, it was slightly warm. It wouldn't disappear. After about an hour of this, he heard footsteps in the hallway. The door opened. A white-haired woman entered. Her hair was neatly tied back, and she wore thin gold-rimmed glasses. She looked to be in her fifties. Her posture was perfectly straight, and her expression was cool. A long navy robe with long sleeves swayed quietly with each step. The woman glanced at Yuu once, then promptly entered the cell and began drawing a magic circle on the floor without any preamble. "[serious]I will conduct an appraisal. Remain still." "[surprised]Um, shouldn't there be introductions or...?" "[serious]Chief Court Mage, Orthensia. That should suffice." Yuu thought it wasn't sufficient, but the magic circle began to glow, and he closed his mouth. A pale blue ring of light enveloped Yuu. Strangely, it wasn't frightening. Rather, it was slightly warm. Orthensia began speaking matter-of-factly while confirming the magic circle through her glasses. "[serious]This is the Kingdom of Elstria. A magical kingdom located in the central-eastern part of the continent Farneese." "[serious]In this country, approximately fifteen percent of the population can use basic magic. It's a technique of refining magical power within the body and consuming mental energy to activate. Overuse causes a condition called mana corruption. It starts with headaches and can lead to coma in the worst cases." "…Magic." "[serious]And summoning magic. This is a secret art passed down only through the royal bloodline. In four hundred eighty years of history, only twelve entities have been officially summoned. There is no record of a human ever being summoned." "[surprised]Not even once?" "[serious]Not even once. In other words, you are something that shouldn't exist in the records." She said it matter-of-factly. Yuu almost laughed but couldn't. "[serious]There is a Familiar Law. A summoned familiar is the property of the summoner. Escape is treated as high treason, a serious crime punishable by ten or more years of imprisonment. However, since there is no precedent of a human becoming a familiar, the legal treatment is…ambiguous." "[surprised]Property?" "[serious]That is what the law states." Orthensia continued confirming the magic circle after saying that. Yuu sat silently within the ring of light. And then. Her gaze stopped at Yuu's left wrist. Her eyebrows drew together slightly. The eyes behind her glasses narrowed. She stared silently for a while. "[whispers]…This is strange." "[surprised]What is?" "[serious]It's a binding seal. This pattern that appears on a familiar's left wrist normally enforces obedience to the summoner. The mechanism is such that disobeying orders causes pain." "…So it appeared on me too." "[serious]It has. However…its function is severely incomplete." Orthensia spoke while quietly gazing at Yuu's left wrist. "[whispers]Your free will is completely preserved. Why that is…I cannot say." The dungeon seemed to grow a little quieter. ─── The door opened shortly after. A guard hastily jumped aside. Through the gap, a single girl walked in with a brisk stride. Yuu couldn't help but do a double-take. Silver long hair tied into twin tails on both sides. This was the girl who'd been sleeping in the bed. Now she was awake and properly dressed. She was slightly taller than Yuu, and her standing posture was remarkably dignified. Her water-colored eyes were cool, and her expression was entirely serious. She wore white and gold clothing that looked expensive. By any measure, this was the same person who'd screamed with that incredible voice. The girl entered the cell and looked directly at Yuu. Their eyes met. For just a moment, her pale cheeks flushed red. Immediately, she switched to a cold expression. (She definitely blushed just now.) A retort ran through Yuu's mind. Two choices, but really just one. But this wasn't a situation where he could complain. "[cold]I am Princess Liliana." She introduced herself briefly and quietly. Her voice was beautiful, but emotionless. "[cold]I offer you a choice. Become my familiar, or end your life in this cell. One or the other." (These aren't really choices.) A complaint ran through Yuu's mind. Two options, but essentially only one. But he wasn't in a position to object. "…I will become your familiar." "[cold]A wise decision." Liliana said only that, then turned on her heel. As she walked out, Yuu noticed something. Around her neck was a thin chain necklace. A small pendant swayed, but he couldn't tell what it was. Liliana's right hand gripped it gently, then quickly released it. It happened in just an instant, and Liliana left the cell without looking back. Yuu's eyes followed that thin chain. ─── Now formally given a position as a familiar, Yuu was shown around the castle by a guard. The castle hallways were wide, the ceilings high, and the stone floors were smooth. Outside the windows, beautiful white buildings lined the streets. He later learned it was called "Fiorenza, the Silver Capital." It really was white. But the room was a problem. Second floor of the servants' quarters. When he opened the door to what had apparently been a storage room, the smell of dust wafted out. Spider webs hung in the corners of the ceiling. The bed creaked. The view from the window wasn't bad, at least. "[angry]The difference between the princess's bed and this is way too much!!" He said it toward the guard's back disappearing down the hallway, but no one turned around. As he sighed, another person arrived. A man in his early twenties. He wore glasses, was tall, and carried a stack of parchment arranged with meticulous precision. He seemed to be Orthensia's assistant. Yuu forgot to ask his name. "[serious]I will provide you with the basic rules for familiars." He handed over a heavy scroll. Yuu began to unroll it. Article One. Walk three steps behind the summoner. "[surprised]Three steps behind? What is this, the Edo period?" "[serious]Those are the rules." Article Two. Forbidden to enter the summoner's room without permission. "Well, that's normal, I guess." Article Three. Forbidden to act independently within the court. "…Understood." Article Four. Forbidden to use magic without permission. However, this does not apply if the familiar has no magical power. "[sarcastic]I can't use magic anyway." "[serious]We are aware." And the final page. Yuu's hand stopped. The summoner's orders are absolute, and violations are punished with pain from the binding seal. "…" He went pale. The assistant coughed slightly. "[serious]However, your seal is…well, apparently special." "[surprised]Special in what way?" "[serious]Please ask Orthensia about that." He fled. Yuu sat on the bed holding the scroll. It creaked. ─── After the window outside grew dark, Yuu stared out for a long time. Stars were visible. But their arrangement was somehow different from the night sky he knew. There were two moons. One large and one small. Both pale blue, softly illuminating the castle courtyard. (This really is another world.) He understood it intellectually. But seeing two moons made him really understand it. He remembered last night. Falling asleep while holding a game controller. Closing his eyes thinking tomorrow was school. Not telling anyone. His parents, his friends—they must be worried. His eyes started to feel hot. At that moment, he saw a figure in the courtyard below the window. Yuu looked up. In the moonlight, a single girl stood. Her silver hair swayed in the night breeze. It was Liliana. She was alone. Just standing there, looking up at the sky. Her right hand was pressed to her chest. She was gripping the thin chain necklace tightly. Her profile looked tense. Different from the cold, dignified face he'd seen in the cell during the day. More withdrawn. (She's alone too…) He tried to call out to her. He reached to open the window, but his hand stopped. Liliana sensed something and turned her face toward him. Their eyes met in the moonlight. For a moment. Liliana immediately cut her gaze and returned inside the castle. She disappeared silently, without a sound. No one remained in the courtyard. Only the two moons stayed. Yuu stood by the window, watching that place for a while. "…Crying won't help." He murmured it to himself, like a reminder. "I should go back too." He lay down on the creaking bed and closed his eyes. He didn't know if he could sleep, but he closed his eyes. ─── Morning light filtered through the window, and Yuu woke up. The spider web was still on the ceiling. It was real. He was starting to sit up when the door was knocked. Orthensia entered. Same outfit as yesterday, her eyes cool behind her glasses. She carried nothing in her hands. "[serious]A supplement to last night's appraisal results." "…That was fast." "[serious]Sit." He sat on the bed as instructed. It creaked. Orthensia stood by the window and began speaking quietly. "[serious]The binding function of your seal is severely incomplete. Your free will is completely preserved. This is a situation that has never occurred in four hundred eighty years of history." "…" "[serious]There is another problem. There is no evidence that Princess Liliana consciously activated the summoning magic. In other words, the summoning likely occurred unconsciously." "[surprised]Unconsciously?" "[serious]Summoning magic is a secret art of the royal family. It requires royal bloodline and enormous magical power, and normally, failure would pu