“… Wait, what?” I asked while tilting my head, Nova and Marble following my gesture in kind.

Melody paled in complexion, “Do you not know how to do it?”

“I mean, I don’t know the specific chant to do it, but I’m sure the summoning process works the same in reverse. Even so, I can’t really do it now as we have to wait until tomorrow night at the same time to be able to send you back,” I explained.

“… Oh, right,” Melody deflated.

“Anyway, that isn’t the point, why do you want to go back to Zaleese after you just got here? Isn’t being someone’s familiar like a huge honor for you guys?” I asked while scratching my head.

“Um, well …” Melody pushed her fingers together while avoiding eye contact. No further words were spoken, and the cavern grew awkwardly quiet.

There has to be something up, I thought, If being someone’s familiar is as big a deal as Sarise implied, there must be a story as to why Melody doesn’t want to do it. Even if there is, though, I can’t let this chance slip by me, not without at least trying to change her mind. How often does one actually make a pact with an angelic familiar? I don’t even know what she’s capable of yet, but I have a feeling that just having her by my side would really improve the situation with Sarise and I. Which means, if I don’t want her to leave, I have to get to the bottom of this …

“You know what? I think you might be onto something with that massage, Nova,” I said as I started popping my knuckles like I was prepping for an all-out brawl, “My Magic Hands have a way of getting my patients to relax and open the floodgates to their troubles. You’re holding something back, Melody. You’re keeping secrets from me, your master, and that’s not acceptable. So, I’m going to give you one of my legendary massages, and you’re going to tell me everything.”

“O-Oh, no, you really don’t need to—”

“That wasn’t a request, Melody,” I interrupted Melody boldly.

“Y-Yes, sir!” Melody folded as easily as a wet blanket.

With Marble’s assistance, I took a few moments to create an Earth Magic-made, box-shaped tank full of sand with a spare blanket I pulled from my Dark Space on top to serve as her massage table. The sand inside the tank was there to cushion and conform around whoever lay on it. The blanket on top served to keep said sand from clinging to Melody’s body, while I made the tank short enough for me to be able to reach across it. Despite how hesitant Melody was, she got on the completed table at my firm command.

Once Melody was on the table and my fairies were hovering to the side, I clapped my hands and quickly rubbed them together. Within seconds, they were completely enveloped by a warm heat like a thermal blanket. I had forgotten this when I was cold outside earlier—the shock from my parents’ news might have also occupied my mind—but this was actually a little trick Agnes taught me back at the party. It was called Heat Armor, a spell that uses Fire Magic to warm up your body to keep it from getting cold. This is especially useful if you’re ever stuck on a mountain in a blizzard, but I only manipulated enough mana to warm up my hands.

I came up with the idea on the fly, but what came next was unexpected even by me.

Mona announced before all of the details of the upgraded gift were automatically downloaded into my mind.

Nova said with telepathy.

Marble added while I tried to make sense of my upgraded gift’s mechanics.

With Mystical Hands’s improved external mana control, I was easily able to adapt the Heat Armor spell into a new one called Warming Touch. It allowed me to convert my neutral mana into fire mana, a term that refers to mana imbued with the aspect of fire, it forms the basis of all Fire Magic. In this case, I was using that fire aspect to warm up areas I touched as I transformed fire mana into heat. Mystical Hands also increased the effectiveness of manipulating mana from my previous gift, Magic Hands, which had already allowed me to transform mana in ways I don’t think is normally possible. The new fire mana control hinted at improving my massage technique enough to make it into an addictive drug. And that wasn’t even taking into account what would happen if I could get a hold of some good oil to work with as well, or could I somehow transform mana into my own oil?

I wouldn’t have thought about doing any of this with magic to this extent prior to this. I had no idea how I even came to such conclusions when I haven’t even read books on magical theories related to this yet, either. Perhaps this is another benefit I received from the Great Sage gift? I thought. I would have to carefully experiment how far I could go during a massage with Mystical Hands without it becoming dangerous, but that could wait. Right now, I had an angel that needed to confess her sins.

“I’m going to start now, Melody,” I said in a gentle, authoritative tone.

She only nodded, probably too nervous to make a proper response.

With my hands warmed-up, I placed them in the middle of Melody’s back, then injected my mana like I had many times before with my other massages. Only this time, I was inserting the fire mana from my Warming Touch into the angel’s large, naked body while exercising tight control over it. Within my mind’s eye, I could actually see how warmth from the contained fire mana spread from her mana channels throughout the inside of Melody’s body. This elicited a large, long, shaky gasp of shock from her. I was still relatively new to both Fire magic and Mystical Hands, so I was careful to keep the fire mana from getting too hot or out of control.

“W-What is this? Why do I feel … so warm?” Melody asked.

“It’s part of a technique I’m using that uses Fire Magic, don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. Just relax, take it all in, let your mind wander, and let me melt all your troubles away,” I whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

I then got to work with the treatment, starting at her shoulders where I melted the minor knots inside her joints while beginning my questioning, “So, Melody, if you could remind me again, being chosen as someone’s familiar by the god in charge of your realm is a great honor. Is that not right?”

“Th-That is right, yes ... but I’m not cut ou—ooooo—t for it,” she responded as I treated one of the tender spots in her shoulders.

I then worked my way down her back, “What makes you so sure? Were you someone else’s familiar before me?”

Melody shook her head. “No, it isn’t that. I just know I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my duties properly as a familiar. The way I had slipped earlier? I’m ashamed to say that I’m that much of a klutz back home, too, and I cause unneeded trouble for others. I chose not to bother with the training to properly serve a master partly because no one would want a clumsy familiar like me. To top it all off, I’m one of the most hideous angels you will ever see in Zaleese where everyone else is a transcendent beauty. It would be an insult to my master for me to be associated with them. Oh, there’s that broken piece of my halo. Excuse me a moment.”

While she was still on the table, Melody moved her finger to make the broken piece float from the ground and over to the hole in her halo with surprising ease. The whole thing didn’t come back together immediately, but the piece was circling in line with the rest of the ring.

Levitation magic? I thought with widened eyes. Nova and Marble had similar expressions.

“I’m sorry, I know that I’m a disappointment as an Angel and that I may have wasted your one chance to summon an angelic familiar, Master Soar,” Melody said. While I couldn’t see from my angle, I could imagine her forcing a smile as she continued, “You’re incredibly kind and gifted to treat all my injuries and listen to my ramblings. You’d do far better with an angel more qualified to be your familiar than me. I don’t want to be a hindrance to you or your family, so I’ll rest here and wait out my delay until tomorrow night. If you could come ba—AAAAck!” she yelped as I treated another of the sore spots on her lower back, “Around the same time and send me back to Zaleese, I promise I’ll talk to my lord and see if he can arrange a better angel for you, one of the quality that you deserve. It’s the least I could do for you after—”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Melody,” I interrupted before sending a burst of fire mana through the mana channels in her body.

What I had been doing up to now was concentrating and directing the fire mana to flow from my hands and directly into specific channels. Now, instead I dumped it out over a large area, letting it flow into many channels at once. It’s like the difference between carefully filling sections of an ice cube tray individually with water, and dumping water over the whole tray and filling it that way. I did this to see how Melody would react to having such a sensation hit her all at once. The effect elicited a deep gasp as she arched her back.

Melody was so shocked by the sudden new sensation that she had difficulty registering it, “H-Huh?”

“Did you seriously think I’d overlook how you just nonchalantly put that halo piece back up there with such finesse in levitation magic?” I asked while moving to massage her arms and hands, “Do you realize how high one’s magical aptitude rank has to be to even pull that off? What else can you do? What are your magic attributes?”

“Th-That was, I mean …” Melody caving in from the pressure of my questions, cleared her throat, and explained, “Well, during my spare time, I practice levitation along with other Aptitude Magics. Aside from lacking the experience and creativity needed to perform clothing magic—which I sincerely apologize for—I’m decent with the rest of Angelic Magic that only we angels can do. Finally, for the element attributes, I can use Light, Water, and Wind Magic. It’s not like I’m good for anything familiar-related, anyway, so I focused on practicing practical magic to help me get around, at least.”

Aptitude Magic is any magic one can do within their aptitude rank. Levitation magic, telepathy magic, strengthening magic, healing magic, search magic, and presence magic are only a handful of the many things one can do if they have the necessary aptitude rank, each with a different set of rules and methods for how to use them. However, even if someone has the aptitude, they won’t instantly become an expert in a specific Aptitude Magic without proper training. Which is why, with so many different types that require thorough practice and understanding, most will settle for a handful of things they want to learn to do well. Since I have S rank magical aptitude I could theoretically do all of them, but I have only invested time into practicing what I felt I really needed to. I haven’t even used levitation magic in public—one has to be at least B rank in magical aptitude to be able to use it—because of how much I’d stand out if I did. It’s almost impossible for a kid in their pre-teens to pull that off, as they would usually only have a basic grasp on the fundamentals of Attribute Magic, mainly the lower tier spells. I, on the other hand, picked it up before I was ten-years-old.

Angelic Magic must be a set of magic and spells that only angel-like familiars can pull off, I thought, It sounds a lot like Demonic Magic, so I’m sure what they’re able to do is similar. Sarise’s changing clothes at will is probably due to her Demonic Magic. However, if Melody isn’t able to use the same kind of clothing magic for angels …

“How do you dress yourself if you can’t do clothing magic?” I asked.

“I was living with a friend back in Zaleese who whipped up clothes for me on a daily basis, but I also bought clothes and set them aside in case she had to be out for more than a couple of days. I can’t bring them here from back home, though … now that I think about it, would I even last a day out here without clothes before getting sent back?” Melody paled and shivered from the prospect.

Huh, is this something that all angels and demons can do based on their capability? I thought, And if angels can use clothing magic on each other, demons should be able to do the same as well, right? Could Sarise provide clothes for Melody while she stays with us? I’ll have to ask her.

“Putting that aside,” I said, “Doesn’t all that magic, especially using three elements, put you pretty high up there as an angel?”

“Usually it would, but I never learned any offensive spells for the elements. I don’t like violence, so I put all my practice into defensive spells to buy me enough time to run away if I’m in danger. I’m slower than most other angels, so anything that can buy me some time is vital. I’m also really good at healing magic after tending to my wounds from all my clumsiness, as well.”

I stopped massaging her arms and quirked a brow, “Melody, aside from some minor faults, the more I hear from you, the more I see how little credit you’re giving yourself. I can think of a bunch of things I could have you do as my familiar where your strengths would be incredibly useful.”

Flustered, Melody looked over her shoulder and erratically shook her hand, “I-I couldn’t! There had to be a mistake, I can’t be a familiar! I’m not that great of an angel! A-And I’m so hideous!”

The more I heard her putting herself down, the more annoyed and ticked off I got. So, while I was standing at Melody’s side, I decided to punish her with a little tickle torture. Despite how many tumbles and falls she probably had in her lifetime, Melody was clearly still sensitive from how she squealed and her body tightened up. When she asked why I was doing it, I explained that it was punishment for her being a stubborn Debbie Downer on herself. She begged me to stop, but didn’t fight me anymore after I ordered her to take it without any resistance. It got me to thinking how prone this angel was to submit to authoritative pressure, or just about any kind of pressure. Despite that, I decided to double down and had Nova and Marble help me out by focusing on Melody’s side opposite from me. From the mischievous smiles on their faces, they were getting as much enjoyment out of this as I was.

“Wasn’t the God Nodem the one who brought you here after I performed the summoning? Are you saying he made a mistake?” I asked as I continued the assault, switching things up by moving from Melody’s side to the soles of her feet. This allowed me to tickle her by massaging her, which elicited an even more severe reaction.

“N-N-No! Hee hee! That’s not—ahahaha!—what I’m saying at all! I’m telling the truth, Lord Nodem! Plea—heehee—se, forgive meeee!” Melody squealed in between laughs as she pleaded to any higher being who may be watching her.

“If you know that, then you know God Nodem sent you here for a reason,” I said while using Earth Magic to expand the tub’s ledge.

This gave me room to get on the table and work each of her legs separately. It also let me see everything, though I didn’t do it to get a better view of her ass, it was necessary to work up her legs, calves, and thighs from a better angle.

“He wouldn’t send you here, even in the manner in which he did, if he didn’t deem you qualified,” I continued.

“B-But why would he send such an ugly angel like me to—”

“For crying out loud, Melody, what part of this body of yours is ugly?!” I exclaimed, fed up with her degrading pessimism,

[To follow the rules on this site's sexual content, this and other parts later in the chapter will be redacted. If you wish to read the full, completed version, please check it out on webnovel as listed in the author note down at the bottom.]

“I’m going to tell you this right now, Melody,” I said as I worked her ass, squeezing and pinching the abundant flesh, “You may not see value in your own body, but I do. I want to keep this beautiful body, to keep you, all to myself and no one else! As my familiar! I want you and your exquisite body by my side until the day I die!”

“M-Master Soar, I can’t—aah!” she yelped as I focused a burst of fire mana

[Redacted]

“I can’t do this, I can’t do that, can’t, can’t, can’t,” I said, “I don’t want to hear any more of what you can’t do! What I want to hear is what you want to do, Melody! Forget what everyone back in Zaleese thinks! Ignore what everyone around here will think! What Nodem thinks! I want to hear your honest opinion on whether you want to be my familiar or not! Say it!”

“I-I want … I want to! To be a dependable familiar!” Melody screamed, “I want to be as dependable a familiar as those I’ve read in the stories! I want to be relied on! To be needed! To receive praise for the hard work I put in as your familiar! I’m tired of not getting asked for help because of my clumsiness! I want to feel like my thoughts and opinions matter too!”

[Redacted]

Despite how tightly wound and vulnerable she seemed, Melody got enough control over her breathing to get a last few words out, “D-Do you really think … I can be like that for you, Master Soar?! Will this body really be that useful to you like it is now?!”

“Absolutely!” I answered while upping my efforts [Redacted] “You better be ready, though, because I’m going to put you to work like you never have been before! I will show you how useful you can be to me, and I will give you praise and compliments where they’re due, because you’re my familiar and mine alone!"

[Redacted]

Melody flopped back down onto the sand tank-massage table, exhausted. Her limbs, covered with sweat, hung limply over the edges, and I saw a dopey grin on her face from where I was kneeling. Easing back on my movements, I let her cool down gently with light squeezes, strokes, and pats. [Redacted]

I then noticed Nova and Marble were off to the side on the ground. [Redacted] For some reason, that sight was enough for me to snap out of whatever spell I was under for the last couple minutes.

Whatever state I was in before was gone as I looked at where my hands were. [Redacted] The reality of the situation suddenly hit me with crystal-clear mental clarity.

What the fuck have I just done?