A Cheap, OP Brawler 64 Chapter 64: To Acknowledge One's Worth

[1. In Chapter 34, I found out I didn't have Winny being a summoner show up in the list of t.i.tles in her 'status' when Jinma first appraised her with 'Size Up' at LV 5, contradicting her capability to summon a familiar when she did it a few chapters later. I decide to go along with this and added '[error; other t.i.tles can't be revealed at this time]' due to the level of his skill not being high enough to reveal everything. I don't think I'll be able to put everything in his appraisal parts and go back to walls of texts again, so I'll figure out how I'll change that when he appraises someone with maxed out 'Size Up.' I also made sure I added this error message in Umeiyon's status when Jinma appraised her in Chapter 42. If there are other cases I missed between Chapter 34 to now, please let me know.

[2. I was pointed out from a reader that one of Jinma's t.i.tles, 'Loved by the Non-Humane,' indicates he attracts those of a more malicious nature. That wasn't what I was intending at all, and so I changed from that to 'Loved by Non-Humans' in all chapters that were mentioned.

[3. I updated Jinma's newly compressed status in Chapter 47 to indicate which skills and t.i.tles have been '[MOVED]' to another window that can't be seen by others thanks to his 'Status Sorting' skill. I'll probably on occasion put up the entirety of his status just to show how much artillery he has in case others are wondering and/or forget what skills he can use that are currently hidden among others.

[If there are other contradictions or questionable content that doesn't seem to make sense, please let me know and I'll try to fix them accordingly, because as a human being, there's only so much I can see and recall within almost 700 pages worth of content in this story. Ugh, I'm already tired just thinking about it. orz

[At least it hasn't been published in print, amirite? Anyway, enjoy the chapter.]

{Oh, G.o.d … this is like sitting through some of my aunts' depressing, drunken ex-boyfriend talks, and she looks like she's been bottling this up for a looooong time. I've never done this with a stranger though, let alone an animal, but since I pulled her out here …}

I take a deep breath and step into the circle before kneeling at the crying cougar's side. Not knowing what else to do, I just do the first thing that comes to mind.

[You have spent 450 SP. Total: 16128 SP

[You have now reached 'Petting' LV 10!

[You have achieved the 'Tamer' t.i.tle!

['Monster Appraisal' LV 1 has been integrated into 'Size Up' LV 6

[You have now reached 'Size Up' LV 7!

['Ma.s.saging' LV 1 has been integrated into 'Ma.s.saging' LV 4.

[You have achieved the 'Master Tamer' t.i.tle!

[You have now learned 'Pet Telepathy*'!

[The two coinciding skills 'Familiar Telepathy*' and 'Pet Telepathy*' have integrated into 'Telepathy' LV 1.

[You have now learned 'Psyche Magic' LV 1!

[You have now learned 'Summon Pet*!'

[You have reached the maximum level of the 'Petting' skill!]

<"holy s.h.i.t!="" i="" didn't="" even="" know="" you="" could="" learn="" psyche="" magic="" like="" that!="" isn't="" this="" just="" downright="" crazy?!="" well,="" f.u.c.k="" it!="" that="" makes="" us="" 'psyche="" f.u.c.k="" buddies!'="" awesome!"=""> Nyra exclaims.

{Wow, okay, I know I decided to give the cougar more than just a scratch behind the ears but isn't this a bit much? Well, I guess this is somewhat to be expected when I suddenly spend SP to max out a skill with 'Skill Point Conversion,' but still …}

Deciding to look at the new skills later, I make my move.

Nade nade nade.

With my mind and body acutely aware of how I move my hands and fingers, I give the cougar the best treatment possible with my maxed out 'Petting,' 'Intimate Touch,' and 'Sweet Spot' skills providing me a.s.sistance.

"W-What are you … oooohhhh~, sweet Zola that feels amaaaziiiiing~." It was a bold move, but the cougar seems to start calming down and enjoy herself in the treatment.

The fact that a sentient being like this cougar is even purring in content is a good sign to me.

"Are you hungry? I have some jerky."

"Jerky?"

I take a big chunk of the same jerky I gave to Ren earlier out of a pouch from my MIB and hold it out in front of the cougar while I continue petting her. She takes a few whiffs before taking it in her maw.

"Oh, my, thish ish … really good. *Gokun.* If you could get that spot where it joins the ear—ooooohh yeaaaah that's the spooooot~." The cougar then falls to her side and melts under my touch.

Despite how lewd she sounds, this is the exact kind of behavior I wanted to see if I were to have a pet cat. Both cats and dogs look so cute when they get spoiled rotten, but if I had to pick one or the other that I like better, I'd have to lean more to the latter. It's a shame I had to die before I even had a chance to get close to anything remotely related to an animal and not get attacked.

{It's so soooooft~. I mean, Ren's hair and ears are also soft, but this cougar's fur is on a whole other level of softness. Haaa~, I just want this sweet cougar to rest on my lap for me to pet all day and fall asleep with, if I could~.}

Before I lose myself in the cougar's fur and become a lazy b.u.m, I shake any further thoughts out of my mind.

"I must apologize," I say while giving her another jerky before I continue petting. "I didn't mean to hurt you and I had no idea you were having such a rough time. This may not be much to make up for my blunder, but I hope it gets somewhere."

"Mm … do not feel so burdened. These summonses can get rather random at times and my problems aren't your fault."

"Still, it sounds like you worked really hard to become a queen. I respect that."

"Yeah, well … being a 'queen' isn't all that's cracked up to be, lately."

"Tell you what," I start as I get in front of her. "I don't want to make this a waste of time for you to go back with nothing to tell, so why don't you give me the toughest trial you got and we'll just do it for the sake of tradition."

"You would lose on purpose for my sake? You'll never have a chance to see me again, though."

"Not on purpose. I gotta pull my own weight to make this trial worth something for the both of us. I acknowledge people who work hard and am willing to meet them halfway. Besides, it wouldn't be a very good story to tell if I don't give it my all like you have done up to this point, right?"

To show my point, I release my 'Hide Magic' skill again and let my aura out to show what I'm made of. I only showed about 50% of what I had this time around to not cause a panic again. The cougar's eyes widen in shock and I could see in my peripheral how Ume and Winny tingled from the sudden exposure to my magic.

"… What is your name?"

"I'm Jinma Kotori, ma'am." The cougar's turning out to be more polite this time around than Kenaka was, so I try to treat her with more respect.

The cougar gets up and moves to sit in front of me. "Jinma Kotori, I believe it is pointless of me to give you a trial now since I have decided to come with you out of my own volition."

"<"huh?!">" Nyra, Ume, and Winny exclaim at once. I'm also feeling shocked at this development.

"As I've said before, there's nothing left for me to do over there, no one would let me lift a paw to do things no matter how much I want to, and the Immortal I represent, the G.o.ddess of Diligence, Zola, is too occupied with her own work to give a d.a.m.n of where I am or what I do. h.e.l.l, the trial I wanted you to do, to fetch me a fish or edible water-type monster that's bigger than the both of us together within 36 hours, I'd want to do it myself just to while away the time if I could. You, while you were honest with your intentions with summoning a familiar, even though you aren't to blame for my circ.u.mstances, you took it upon yourself to humor me just so I'd have something to do. Your magical aura is unlike anything I've seen before and you certainly did not earn the levels of power you possess by doing nothing, I'm sure. I feel a sense of camaraderie from that, and I have a feeling I'll have more things to do worth my time being with you than back in the Holy Realm.

"I may not be a bird, but my own sense of directions along with the honed magic and Huntress cla.s.s skills I possess will more than compensate that. If you would have me, I would be delighted to come with you as your familiar."

"Uh … if you're all right with me, then I'd be thrilled to take you in," I say before putting my 'Hide Magic' back on.

"Then bestow a name upon me, and our contract is sealed."

{Man, I'm really putting my naming senses to work here today.} "Let's see, a diligent cougar, jade, feline, a Huntress sounds skillful, adept, well-rounded in many situations … Mametama." I use magic writing from earlier to write out her name in j.a.panese. [まめ玉] It literally translates to 'Diligent Jade' and 'Tama' seems like a common name for house cats in j.a.pan, so I figured why not? I didn't tell her that much, of course.

"Hm, not bad. From this moment on, I bestow my power to you, accept the name 'Mametama,' and will be your familiar until the end of your days. I look forward to working with you, Milord," she finishes before bowing her head to me.

"Same here. Glad to have you with us, Mametama."

Just like with Kenaka's case, my magical characters dissipate before the magic circle and Mametama emit a yellowish-white light, all condensing and sinking into my chest. Lightness and warmth fill my being before notices appear.

[You have achieved the 'Cougar Queen of Diligence Summoner' t.i.tle!

[You have now learned 'Summon Cougar Queen of Diligence*'!

[You have now learned 'Cougar Queen of Diligence's Blessing*'!

[Your HP, MP, ATK, DEF, SP. DEF and AGI have increased!]

<"h.e.l.loooooo~! can="" you="" hear="" me?!"="">

"… Milord, what is that shrill, annoying noise?"

"That would be Nyra who dwells in this cursed weapon," I answer Mametama as I hold out the weapon to her.

<"how's it="" going?!="" nyra="" the="" pixie="" trapped="" in="" the="" tanto="" and="" jinma's="" main="" partner="" in="" battle,="" at="" your="" service!"="">

"Erm … the pleasure's all mine?"

"Speaking of noise, Winny and Ume have been quiet for a while. Hey, how are you two … doing?"

"Hahaha, Master Jinma did it again, just like that, not even taking a trial to do it. Just some jerky, pets, and sweet-talking were all it took to win the Cougar Queen over. Now he's grown even more powerful from contracts with two of the strongest magical beasts in their respective realms …" Winny mutters and trails off while staring into s.p.a.ce. Ume, on the other hand, is fidgeting with reddened cheeks and shifting glances as she looks to be conflicted about something.

<"oooh~, scalyb.u.t.t's="" really="" teetering="" with="" her="" feelings="" right="" now!="" wonder="" what="" she's="" thinking="" about?"=""> Nyra asks as if subtly asking me to try and use 'Telepathy' on Ume.

Knowledgeable in magic as she is, I'm not sure if Ume knows enough about Psyche Magic to not get freaked out if I suddenly speak to her mind, so I didn't do it, but it's definitely something I want to try at some point.

"So, who are these two, Milord?" Mametama asks.

"Ah, right. The Arch Imp is Winny, a splendid Priestess and Holy Bishop who helped me in summoning you, and the Lizardman is Umeiyon, a talented Sage and my primary wife that I usually call 'Ume.'"

"A human is married to a Lizardman?!"

"Huh, Kenaka also had a similar reaction. Is it really so strange for humans and demons to have that kind of relationship with each other?" I ask.

"I only know the fundamentals and workings of most of the Mortal Realm from the books G.o.ddess Zola gave me access to. I didn't fathom such a genuine relationship between two very different races was even possible!"

"Well, whether it's considered good or bad among others doesn't matter to me." I get up and move to wrap an arm around Ume's waist. "I admit that it was rather a fast development between us, but I love my beautiful wife as she is. The same can be said for the rest of my family that's currently waiting for us back inside the church."

"Jin …"

"There's also another new familiar, Kenaka, who's waiting for us with them and he's from the Cursed Realm. Will it be a problem for you with him being from the opposite realm?" I ask.

"Hm, I did sense a beast of sin the moment we made a connection. The residents between realms may b.u.t.t heads at times, but for me, it really depends on who I'm dealing with. What kind of beast is he?"

"He was formerly the King of Wrath, a red … or more specifically a crimson bear."

"… Really, now? And what trial did you do to make him submit into being your familiar?" she asks with sudden great interest.

"Well, it was sort of like how things turned out between us, except he really intimidated my family with his magical aura and I had to settle him down with my own. I guess that was enough of him to not even do a trial on me. He was kind of frightened by it, too."

"I see … interesting."

I don't know why, but I feel Mametama made a sneer just now. "You think you'll be able to get along with him?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Milord. We'll get along swimmingly. This will honestly be an interesting change of pace since I've grown bored of those worshipping me."

"I guess we'll have to see later. Oh, and you're welcome to stay in this realm if you want. My MP seems to recover pretty quickly, but you'll have to be in a smaller form to walk around in the open."

"I can do that no problem." A puff of smoke envelops Mametama's form, and in her place is a green kitten. "How's this, Milord?" she asks in a higher pitched voice that matches her smaller form.

At that moment, something pierces my heart that I clutch in pain.

{… Yep, I'm currently suffering from the cuteness.}

"Aaaaah! She's so adorable!" Winny squeals before picking Mametama up without a second thought and cradles the kitten in her arm like a baby. "So cuuuuute~! Who's the cutest? Whoooo's the cutest? You are! Yes, you are~."

"I'm gonna have to get used to this attention, aren't I?" Mametama asks.

"At least for a while. You should expect maybe four more girls who'll want to coddle you when they meet you."

"Wait, four girls? Are they the rest of your family? Are they your mates, too?"

"Um, more or less."

"… All of them also of the Demon-kin?"

"Yep. I'm the only human."

"… I'm suddenly questioning my life choices again."

And so, whether the cougar [kitten] regrets her life choices or not, I've gained my second familiar. I didn't know until soon after making that contract that having Kenaka and Mametama together in my party would make things more complicated than I realized.

I also had no idea that these two magical beasts sticking by me would play a significant role in an encounter I would never have expected since coming to this world.