ch1-ch20 · 002-ch2
Chapter 2: Descent Arts
After getting home and setting the white cat down, it began exploring my room with what looked like genuine curiosity.
No matter how many times I look at her, she's a gorgeous kitty.
I don't know what breed she is, but she's got long fur and an air of elegance about her.
『Feed it the hair of a virgin.』
"Hah?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
So this was the second directive from the Descent Arts? Apparently, finding a cat and making it my companion wasn't the end of it.
But still... the hair of a virgin? How the hell am I supposed to get my hands on something like——
I silently tap open my phone contacts.
Brrrrring... Brrrrring... Click.
『What?』
"A client gave me a cake. Wanna eat it?"
『Obviously I'm eating it. I'll be right there. Click.*
Thirty minutes later.
Ding-dong.
"Hey, wait, is the cake chocolate? I'm kind of in a cheesecake mood."
The very first thing out of her mouth was a question about the type of cake. The black-haired, long-haired cool beauty — Maeda Akira, 27 years old.
My beloved older sister, currently NEET-ing it up at our parents' house.
The white cat looked at my sister and let out a meow, but it seemed my sister couldn't see the white cat either.
"—And so, I am now officially an Awakener."
"Oh nice. Congrats."
Picking at the cake, I gave her a quick rundown of recent events. I said "I am now" too, because someone in our family was already an Awakener. The sister sitting right in front of me was one of them.
She congratulated me with notably mild enthusiasm while stuffing her face with cheesecake.
"So, you gonna be a Hunter?"
"Nah, probably not. I mean, I'm G-Rank."
"Lmao. G-Rank is basically a normie."
None of your business.
My daily life isn't going to change from here on out anyway... no more dramatic walk-off home runs for me... I'm destined to be worked to the bone at that company until I become an old man alongside this beautiful, pure-white kitty...!
"What're you sulking about?"
"I'm not sulking."
"It's not something you become out of admiration, you know. Being a Hunter."
Tucking her hair behind her ear, my sister murmured those words.
"You ever going back, Sis?"
At my question, her hand stopped for just a moment.
She glanced at me, then said, "I've got my own stuff going on," and went back to stuffing her face with cake.
"Thanks for the meal. You should come home once in a while."
A toothpick in her mouth, she flashed a peace sign with the hand holding the front door open. It's not a distance she can't travel back from, but the fact that I'd rather spend even that commute time sleeping is one of my many flaws.
I waved and said, "Yeah yeah, see you," and she walked off with her two fingers still held up crisp and sharp. Not prying unnecessarily, eating the cake, and heading straight home — her personality was on full display.
"Alright, I've got the hair."
Pinching a long, glossy strand between my fingers, I looked down at the white cat. She sat there obediently and meowed.
I fed her the hair just like that——and,
"A feather...?"
A single feather sprouted from the top of the white cat's head.
Is this... a success? I think?
The white cat glanced up at the top of its own head, tilted its head, and let out a short "Mya?" It didn't seem to understand what happened either.
『Drop the feather into a cup, pour wine, trace the rim with your finger, and chant the following spell――』
The next directive had appeared, which meant it was a success. Apologizing to my sister in my heart, I headed to the convenience store to grab some cheap wine and got to work on the ritual.
"Sorry about this, little one."
Pluck — I pulled the feather from the white cat's head. I dropped it into a tumbler and poured in the wine. The pure-white feather floated gently on the red liquid.
Feeling a sliver of unease about this so-called spell, I slowly traced the rim of the glass and read the words aloud exactly as written.
"Divá... Divá. Silver..."
A sudden chill ran down my spine.
A presence — like something was watching me. In the white cat's eyes, too, I thought I caught a fleeting, mysterious glimmer.
Shaking it off, I resumed chanting the spell.
"〝Divá, Divá. O bearer of silver wings, illuminate the world of darkness with your radiance. Divá Divá, hearken to my plea.〟"
The change came immediately.
The feather started spinning vigorously.
"Ugh—!?"
A dazzling light filled the room — no, it radiated from the white cat. An intense brightness like getting hit with high beams out of nowhere on a dark road.
I timidly opened my eyes——but sitting there was the white cat, looking exactly the same as before. Huh?
The tumbler, however, was now empty. Was that it...?
『Sleep holding it through the night with deep love.』
Apparently, that was not it.
So all that's left is to sleep together, then? In that case, I was done with Descent Arts stuff for the day.
After contacting the property management company, I spent the rest of the day doing nothing particularly different from usual. Then I laid out my futon, held the white cat close, and went to sleep.
The warm, sun-soaked scent reminded me of the dog we had back at my parents' house, and with that nostalgic feeling washing over me, my consciousness drifted into slumber.
And then, the next morning——
"Huh?"
Clinging to me in her sleep — there was a beautiful woman.
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Let me sort out the situation.
My body frozen stiff, I put my brain into overdrive. In short — the white cat was gone, and in its place, a silver-haired beauty was clinging to me as she slept.
I have absolutely no idea what's going on.
"Attach a photo of your pet along with its type and send it back, huh..."
Recalling the property management's words, I drafted a hypothetical form in my head. A photo of a beautiful woman flashing a peace sign. Type: Angel. Yeah, like that's possible.
Yes — she had wings growing from her back.
Beautiful silver-white wings, not unlike the white cat's fur coat.
"Mm..."
The angel stirred.
With slow, languid movements, she sat up properly, rubbed her eyes vigorously, and stared at me.
Gleaming silver straight hair illuminated by the morning sun. Pale pink eyes. Two pairs of silver wings, dressed in a white one-piece. Feather-like horns sprouted above her ears.
I instinctively sat up properly too.
Both of us sitting formally, eyes cast down at the futon.
"..."
"..."
Silence stretched on.
Then, the angel raised her face and spoke with deliberate calm.
"I am Lumiel. Your angel."
Lumiel. That was her name.
Her voice was flat, almost mechanical, yet it carried a strangely pleasant resonance — a mysterious voice that lingered cleanly in my mind.
"My angel?"
"Yes. You and I are bound by a contract."
She turned her inorganic eyes toward me.
A contract? Between me and her? Could it be from last night's spell? But she was a cat then, so who is this girl? A dream? My thoughts couldn't keep up.
So the white cat... regained her true form through the contract... is that it?
"I'm... Maeda Hagane..."
"...Hagane."
"Sorry, but, how should I put this... I was planning to keep a cat, so honestly, um, I'm kind of panicking right now."
At my words, Lumiel looked a little sad. "Would you have preferred the cat...?" she asked, tilting her head.
If that was an act, she was a master manipulator.
What am I even supposed to do from here?
The blond kid said that if I'm G-Rank, my summoned beast would be G-Rank too. So obviously, fighting as a Hunter was off the table — meaning I couldn't quit my job. But I couldn't just leave Lumiel home alone either... especially today, of all days. If she wandered off to Akayama Town, that'd be a disaster.
"So basically, long story short..."
『What about your job, huh!? Ahh!?』
"Yes, yes, understood. Thank you very much. Goodbye now."
I made up a story about a relative suddenly needing me to watch their kid (she looked about 17, give or take) and called in to take the day off. It was an emergency, so it's fine, right? ...Going in to work tomorrow is going to be terrifying, though.
"So, uh, wanna have breakfast?"
"Breakfast?"
"Right, summoned beasts don't eat, do they."
"I am not a summoned beast."
Lumiel flatly denied being a summoned beast. Fair enough — summoned beasts are entities called forth through Summoning Arts, so it's different. In her case, should I call her a "Descent Beast"?
"But... I am interested in breakfast."
"R-right. Then..."
And so, for the first time in probably a few months, I cooked rice for breakfast. It was the best hospitality I could muster for a guest.
White rice, miso soup, grilled salmon, dashimaki tamago, barley tea. She looked fascinated by the spread of dishes in front of her.
"You probably can't use chopsticks, huh..."
I handed her a fork, but she didn't seem to know how to use it either, so I ended up doing the whole "say ahh" thing and feeding her myself.
A small pinch of grilled salmon, brought to her mouth.
"Is it good?"
"...Yeah."
"Want more?"
"Yeah."
What is this happy little bubble?
I found myself thinking, is this what it's like to have a little sister or a daughter? as I let Lumiel enjoy the meal to her heart's content.
"(Then again, she's eating totally normally... I heard they don't need food, but...)"
I recalled the blond kid's words in my mind.
Whether she actually needs food to live, or simply wanted to eat for pleasure, was something I'd need to investigate. If food expenses were permanently doubled, my household budget would go off a cliff in no time.
"(Well, I'll think about that later...)"
Turning on the TV as a form of escapism, every channel was unsurprisingly broadcasting live footage from Akayama Town.
On screen, the World Clock read "00 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds remaining," and the clock's doors creaked open——then, a torrent of monsters came flooding out like muddy water.
"Whoa, so it started."
A World Clock event — how many hundreds of times has this happened worldwide? Thousands?
At this point, it was a familiar sight.
"..."
Lumiel sat motionless, her eyes fixed on the TV screen, but deep within them, I thought I caught the faintest flicker of emotion.
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