106. Kotone and the Familiar
"Senpai! I did it! Look!" Kotone arrived at Shiro’s room the next day.
"This is it!"
Kotone held both hands forward, showing Shiro the contents.
There, a fluffy hamster about three centimeters in size sat on her palms. A dwarf hamster.
"See! Isn’t it cute? It moves just like the real thing!" Kotone giggled, placing the hamster on the table.
The hamster scurried about, truly indistinguishable from the real thing. Still, Shiro thought the whiteness and softness of its fur seemed even more perfect than reality.
— Ah, right. Kotone always loved stuffed animals. This was inevitable. Shiro thought.
"Senpai, there’s more!" Kotone said, muttering something under her breath. As a magical circle flared on the desk, a hundred or so three-centimeter hamsters appeared.
"...Kotone, what exactly are you planning to do with all of these?" Shiro asked.
"Hehe. Watch this," Kotone whispered a spell.
The hundred or so hamsters glowed, then merged into one, forming a pure white scarf.
"Here! A hamster scarf! It’s warm. Try it on," Kotone handed it to Shiro.
Shiro wrapped it around his neck for a test.
"Definitely warm... Wait, is it even alive like this? This thing?" Shiro asked.
"Yes! It’s just merged and gathered together. Magic is amazing, isn’t it?" Kotone replied innocently.
"...Well, okay, I guess," Shiro said, at a loss for words. Then, suddenly, he noticed something.
"Kotone, what if you made it into a small white rabbit instead? I like the feel of Angora wool," Shiro said. Kotone’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Eh! Senior, you like Angora wool? Then I’ll knit you a real scarf from this yarn next time! Just wait for me!” Kotone said, beaming.
No, that was supposed to be about the familiar, Shiro thought—but seeing Kotone’s delighted face, he decided to stay silent.
◇
“Senior! I did it! Look!” Kotone came to Shiro’s room the next day, practically bouncing.
“This one!”
She pointed to her shoulder.
Perched there was a green-and-yellow parakeet, about twenty centimeters long.
“Ah… that’s the same one you used to keep, right?”
“Yes! Lirufi—died when I was little. So I brought her back!” Kotone said, grinning.
“Anyway, Senior,” she continued, “don’t you think it’d be more fun if we made something bigger than just small things?”
“Huh? I don’t mind,” Shiro said.
“No, but don’t you want to try something a little more… substantial? You see, there’s an animal I’ve always dreamed of keeping…” Kotone said.
At that moment, Shiro felt a chill.
Not for nothing had he been her childhood friend and unofficial big brother. He remembered—yes, Kotone had once said she wanted something like… and the memory flooded back in a flash, just as Kotone said, “Ta-da!”
The magic circle flared to life.
There, standing three meters tall, was a winged lion—exactly the “Venetian lion” Kotone had seen as a child during a trip abroad with her parents.
“Whoa!” Shiro blurted out. It was *that* big.
"Senpai, isn’t this amazing?! You have to praise me! I really worked hard on this! And it even moves like a real animal, right? Towa-chan!" Kotone ran her fingers over the lion’s head.
The lion spread its wings, fluttering them slightly, then leaned its head contentedly against Kotone.
Hmm, movements are still like a cat’s, huh? Shiro thought, before snapping back to himself.
"...Kotone, what’re you planning to do with something this big?" he asked.
"Obviously, I’m riding it, Senpai," she said, giving him a look as if he were dense.
"So, Senpai, can you teach me the magic to make it work? I can ride it now, but it still can’t fly yet," Kotone said.
Shiro pictured Kotone astride a lion with wings, a parrot on her shoulder, a ham scarf around her neck—flying through the sky. Well, he thought, that’s not a bad idea. So, how exactly would one pull that off? He began to consider.
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