Saphire did not seem to notice our surprise. She just continued rubbing her head against my chest with a happy smile.
"Mas… ter…" She murmured softly, making me put on a strange expression.
"So she can speak, huh."
The demon frowned. He then put on a pensive look and waved his hand, summoning the contract to the dreamland.
He then observed it carefully and nodded.
[I see… I understand.]
"What is it?"
[Boy, it looks like one of the functions of this contract is to share abilities.]
"Huh?"
[The reason why the lamia can speak is that you can speak, and she can enter the dreamland because you can. She used the contract to learn some of your abilities. If I'm not wrong, you should be able to do the same.]
I was stunned before furrowing my brows.
"Does it mean that I can learn Saphire's abilities? Can I learn to create illusions or manipulate water like her?"
The demon nodded.
[Yes, however, this ability is not as powerful as it sounds. Even if you can learn each other's abilities, you are still limited by your talent. Why don't you try it? You will see what I mean.]
I said as the demon said and focused on my contract with the lamia.
I then tried to see if I could learn how to manipulate water like her.
Instantly, I felt an abstract flow of information entering my mind. It was very vague, however, I knew that it was the method to manipulate water.
Unfortunately, I did not seem able to understand it no matter how much tried.
Eventually, I stopped trying and opened my eyes.
[Do you understand?] The demon asked. [You can learn the lamia's abilities, however, if your talent doesn't match, you won't be able to learn them easily. You don't seem to have the talent to manipulate water, so even if you try to learn it, you won't be able to reach the lamia's level unless you train for a very long time. Instead, I think it's better if you focus on perfecting your current skills.]
I nodded.
Just like Saphire can't speak fluently despite using the contract to learn the human language, I won't necessarily be able to use Saphire's powers proficiently even if I learn them.
Even so, this ability is not bad. If I form a contract with a creature that matches my talent, I will be able to learn its abilities easily.
It's like a cheat.
Plus, even if my talent doesn't match, if my contracted creature has a convenient ability, I can try to learn it.
"Which Immortal created this technique? It's very impressive."
[I have techniques just as impressive. Only that you can't learn them yet.]
I shrugged. Then, I patted the head of Saphire, who was still rubbing her head against my chest.
"What are going to do now, though?" I asked the demon.
[Hmm… Well, now that Saphire can enter the dreamland, you can train with her. You need to learn to coordinate with her if you want to use her in battle.]
I nodded and stroked Saphire's black hair.
I was worried that Saphire would be resistant to training, but to my surprise, she was very sensible. She followed the training obediently even when it was painful. After that, she came to me and asked for praise with a look of anticipation.
Seeing her like that, I could not help but find her cute.
How can such a
lovely creature exist?
Just like that, we trained in the dreamland for several hours. When the training finally came to an end, I had adapted to my strength after the breakthrough, and Saphire and I had learned to fight together.
We still needed to improve our teamwork, but it should not be a problem after a couple of sections of training.
I then woke up from the dreamland, but I was surprised to find something heavy lying on me.
Startled, I looked down, only to see Saphire sleeping on my body with a peaceful expression.
When did she come out of the contract?
Saphire felt my movements and opened her eyes in a daze. She then smiled and licked my cheek playfully.
I smiled wryly and stroked her head, but then, my expression stiffened.
Because I noticed that the door of my room was opened.
And Ley was standing in front of my bed with a stupefied look.
"… Good morning, Ley." I forced out a smile.
Ley looked at me then at Saphire before heaving a sigh.
"I hope you have a good explanation for this."
…
Half an hour later, I was seated on the sofa with my mother and Ley in front of me and Saphire rubbing her body against mine.
"Then, are you telling me that you awakened a new skill yesterday and contracted this monster?" My mother asked with a strange gaze. "Jane, you are not joking, right?"
I smiled bitterly.
"Let me show you." I then recalled Saphire inside the contract before summoning her again.
My mother and Ley looked at that scene in shock.
"Amazing. But, are you sure that she won't harm you?"
"Don't worry, mom. She won't hurt me. I can feel it."
"I… don't… hurt… master… Mas… ter… love…"
Mother and Ley were startled.
"So she can speak, huh." My mother nodded. "Well, I understand. It's a bit troublesome to have a three-meters long creature at home, but I can understand the situation."
I sighed in relief.
"Thanks, mom."
Actually, I would have liked to wait for a better moment to reveal Saphire's existence to my family, but now that it has come to this, it doesn't matter.
Just then, I noticed that Ley was staring at me with a distrustful gaze.
"Brother, you won't try to do something strange to her, right?"
I was speechless.
"Ley, what are you thinking? I won't do something like that!"
Ley thought for a moment and nodded. "That is true. She is not human, after all."
Saphire looked at us and tilted her head.
"Hu… man?"
She then seemed to think about something and became excited.
"Human!"
In the next second, her body lit up and started to shrink.
Her scales faded away, turning into snow-white skin, and her tail disappeared, becoming two human legs.
In less than five seconds, the lamia had become a petite girl 1.55 meters tall (5.1 feet).
However, that was not the point.
The point was that she was completely naked.
"Human!" Saphire shouted excitedly and rubbed her head against my chest, like a puppy asking for praise.
I gulped down a mouthful of saliva, unable to react at all.
This...
All of sudden, I felt a chilling gaze coming from my sister.
"Brother, stop looking!" Ley shouted angrily and pulled Saphire away from me. "I knew I can't trust you!"
Hey, it was not my fault!