I Contracted a Demon, but It Turned Into My Pet

Lucian had a dream.

He found himself in a courtyard, surrounded by children laughing and playing. He too had become a child, but instead of joining them, he sat quietly in a corner, watching from afar.

Suddenly, a girl he had never seen before ran over to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

She was entirely silver—silver skin, silver lashes, silver short hair, and silver shorts and shirt. Everything about her gleamed like polished moonlight, save for her eyes—those were a vivid, blood-red crimson.

She looked… flawless.

Lucian stared at her in a daze before finally asking, "You… you can see me?"

"Of course," the girl blinked, then repeated, "So? What are you doing?"

He shook his head wordlessly.

"Why aren't you playing with them?"

He looked at the others again, eyes flickering with longing—but then his expression dimmed. He shook his head once more, offering no explanation.

"Then I'll play with you!" she said cheerfully.

"Really?" He lifted his head, stunned.

"Really! Come on, let's go to the river and catch fish!"

"Grandpa Headmaster… says no…" He hesitated, lowering his head.

"It's fine!" she said and grabbed his hand without waiting, tugging him along. "What's your name?"

"Lucian… Vale…"

"That's a really nice name."

Looking at her bright smile, he gathered some courage and asked, "W-What's your name?"

"You can call me Aria."

"Aria?"

"Yup~ Aria."

"Oh…"

…

"Aria…" he murmured as he opened his eyes.

Huh?

He jolted upright, eyes clouded with confusion.

Was that… a dream?

A dream?

Or… a memory?

Everything before he turned sixteen was a blank. The doctors said he had amnesia.

So what was that dream?

Was it a fragment of a forgotten past? Or just something his mind conjured?

He tried to remember, but the dream was already slipping away like sand through his fingers. In moments, all the details blurred and faded—except one.

A girl named Aria.

He couldn't remember what she looked like, who she was, or what she meant to him.

But deep down, he had the strange feeling that she was important.

"Aria…" he murmured again, as if trying to etch the name into his soul.

Then he suddenly turned his head.

"Wait, where's Elvira Sol?" he exclaimed. "Lysera? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Lysera's voice responded as her form materialized.

"Where's Elvira Sol?" he asked.

"No idea," Lysera said with a shrug. "Once you lost consciousness, I couldn't manifest, so I've got no clue what happened."

"But I'd say your injuries were mostly healed by her… pfft!" She trailed off, eyes drifting to Lucian's head—and nearly burst out laughing.

Lucian didn't notice.

"My wounds…" he muttered, finally realizing he felt much better. His hands still tingled a bit, but he could feel a gentle flow of magic within them, slowly mending the damage. Soon, he'd be back to normal.

But Elvira Sol… was gone.

A strange sense of emptiness washed over him. It felt like he'd been abandoned. Like everything he'd done… hadn't mattered.

Still, he forced a grin. "Well, I guess I won't have to take care of her every day anymore."

"You getting tired of me already?" a teasing, magnetic voice called from the cave entrance.

Lucian froze.

A tall figure stood silhouetted by the sunlight pouring into the cave, her body outlined in a soft, glowing haze.

She was… stunning.

Elvira Sol strode toward him, leaned down, and brought her face close to his.

So close, he could feel the warmth of her breath brushing against his skin. He instinctively pulled his neck back.

"Why did you save me?" she asked bluntly.

Lucian blinked. "Do you need a reason to save someone?"

Elvira Sol stared at him.

"A reason…" she repeated softly, then broke into laughter. "Hahaha!"

"You're right! No reason needed!" She grinned and clapped him hard on the shoulder. "Not bad!"

Lucian winced—the blow nearly knocked him flat again.

"Ow, ow, ow…" he hissed, sucking in a sharp breath.

Elvira Sol laughed again and turned on her heel. "Come on!"

"Go where?" Lucian blinked.

She turned back with a smirk. "Didn't you want me to teach you magic?"

"Huh?" Lucian froze, his face flushing. "Wait… you heard that?"

"I did," she nodded, her expression playful. "Someone even said I should marry him while I was unconscious. Wonder who that was?"

She bit her lip in mock confusion, eyes twinkling with amusement as they locked onto Lucian.

Lucian took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "That was just a joke…"

Before he could finish, Elvira Sol flashed forward, grabbed his collar, and yanked him close again.

"I don't like jokes," she said, then turned and summoned a roaring blaze that formed into a massive lion's claw.

It clamped down on Lucian's head—and lifted him clean off the ground.

"Wait, I'm cooked! I'm—huh? It's… warm?" Lucian blinked. The flaming lion's claw wasn't burning him at all—it was actually soothing.

Wait a minute!

Where's my hair?!

He panicked as he realized he was bald.

I lost all my hair and didn't even get a power-up out of it?!

He wanted to cry, but his tear ducts were probably scorched too. His hair must've been fried while he was channeling magic into Elvira Sol.

Elvira didn't even glance back as she carried him along. "Your talent is the freakiest I've ever seen. Just a few days ago, you were a total novice—and now you're already Tier Four."

"And all those spells you've got… they're mine, right?"

"Well…" Lucian gave a sheepish smile. "Borrowed, not stolen…"

Elvira Sol: "…"

She burst out laughing. "You're something else!"

"You're not from this world, are you?" she asked suddenly.

Lucian froze. "What?"

"You don't carry this world's aura. You must be from another realm. People from other worlds often have unique abilities. So I'm not surprised."

"Really? Are there many people like me?" Lucian asked, almost forgetting he was still dangling from her flaming paw.

"Not many," Elvira Sol replied. "There are others, but none quite as freakish as you."

She glanced over her shoulder, smiling beautifully. "If you want to be my man, you'd better be ready. It won't be easy."

"Huh?" Lucian blinked, then his eyes widened. "You're actually going to marry me?!"

Elvira Sol shook her head. "It's not about whether I will—it's about whether you can make me want to."

Then she smiled. "I'm Elvira Sol. And you?"

Lucian grinned back.

"Lucian Vale."

"Interesting name," she said, then added with a spark in her eyes, "You've got your chance. I only have one condition."

"Become stronger."

"Strong enough to beat me."

"Then I might consider marrying you."

"No problem!" Lucian said with fiery determination. "At the rate I'm leveling up, I'll surpass you in no time!"

"Is that so?" Elvira Sol chuckled. "I'll be looking forward to it."

…

They arrived at a clearing deep within the forest.

Elvira Sol finally set Lucian down and turned to face him.

"You can copy my magic directly, can't you?"

Lucian froze for a moment but quickly realized—if she had retained some form of awareness while unconscious, it made sense she knew. She must've sensed his ability to copy her spells.

Since the cat was out of the bag, he didn't bother hiding it.

"Pretty much," he admitted with a nod. "As long as I've seen you cast it once, I can learn it. Just give me a little time."

"That so?" Elvira Sol nodded thoughtfully, a sharp, confident smile curling at the corners of her lips. "Terrifying ability."

She raised her hand, then clenched her fist.

In an instant, flames burst forth, twisting around her hand until they formed a blazing claw-shaped gauntlet.

"Tier Four magic—[Scorching Claw]. Can you learn this?"

Lucian immediately activated his skill, his eyes lighting up.

He spread his hands and shouted, "[Scorching Claw]!"

A fiery gauntlet formed over his hands, almost identical to Elvira Sol's—though clearly less intense.

Even with perfect control, the difference was obvious. She was Sacred Rank after all, and her spell output was naturally far more powerful than a mere Tier Four like him.

"Give me half a day and I'll fully master it," Lucian said confidently.

The parsing time for a Tier Four spell: ten hours.

"Not bad." Elvira Sol nodded in approval, recognizing the strength of his ability. Then she asked,

"So—how many spells can you learn?"

"As many as I can get!" Lucian replied, his eyes blazing with excitement.

"Can you copy Sacred Rank spells too?"

"Yeah!" Lucian nodded eagerly, then scratched his head. "I can copy them, but it takes a while."

A long while. Parsing a single Sacred Rank spell could take a year.

"Hmm… good," Elvira Sol said. "Then I'll cast spells from every tier. If you can learn them, do it. If not, just ask—I'll teach you."

"And once you've learned them all…" She paused, giving him a mysterious smile.

"Well, we'll talk after that."

Lucian nodded immediately.

He didn't know what she meant by "after," but he wasn't worried. Elvira Sol didn't seem like the type to hurt him—especially not after everything. She was powerful enough to crush him without needing tricks, and more importantly, he'd saved her life. That had to count for something.

Besides, the chance to learn so many different spells had him so hyped, he didn't think he'd be able to sleep at all tonight.