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A bizarre sight that looked like it just popped out of a nightmare.

Jinseong fell into memories as he looked at it.

“Long time no see.”

It was a technique of Anastasia that Jinseong had seen frequently in the past.

Her unique ability to overlay something learned or obtained in a dream onto a real creature.

Anastasia’s ability to mutate creatures, combined with witchcraft and the absurd, unpredictable elements of the dream world, was a perfect match, allowing for the creation of things that displayed powers unimaginable based solely on appearance.

A small teddy bear could act as a walkie-talkie or an antenna, while a monster over ten meters tall, adorned with loudspeakers, could blast addictive kitsch music to demoralize the enemy.

She could create a giant, adorable rabbit that spewed fire or summon a meat chunk that perfectly resembled a concrete wall to use as camouflage.

However, with such strange abilities, she was unable to create a familiar spirit, another family and subordinate of witches.

This was due to the twisted nature of Anastasia’s heart.

Typically, witches connect with their “masterpieces,” the results of repeated experiments in witchcraft, and construct a pyramid of power to command them like servants or subordinates.

These connected ‘masterpieces’ formed a familiar spirit.

Of course, familiars created this way are of immense help to the witch.

They can assist in experiments and be utilized in various ways, much like how a queen ant commands soldier and worker ants to cultivate their habitat or build a fortress-like dwelling.

Moreover, due to the strict pyramid power structure, familiars absolutely obey their witch master, often sacrificing their own soul to protect her in times of crisis. Naturally, since the death of a familiar would also affect the connected witch, such sacrifices rarely occurred, only surfacing in dire situations where survival was impossible without it.

Could it be due to this dedication of the familiars?

They were treated as subordinates, maids, friends, pets, and companions of the soul destined to be together for life.

Yet Anastasia was incapable of creating such a precious being.

Her spirit, trapped in Ella’s body for so long and wandering the dream world without a proper physical form, had become akin to a resident of the dream world itself.

Moreover, with the deeper connection formed with witchcraft, the characteristics of the surface of the collective unconscious also hindered Anastasia from acquiring a familiar spirit.

The collective unconscious.

A human trait residing deep within the spirit.

It is a place only accessible to humans, and anyone lacking even one of soul, body, or spirit cannot even approach its vicinity.

This horrifying exclusivity, which only accommodates humans meeting all conditions, seeped into Anastasia, further twisting her already distorted spirit with exclusivity.

The result of this was the destruction of the familiar spirit.

The familiar connected to Anastasia would either go mad or become completely addled, and for familiars with a lower physical proportion, they could even disintegrate or simply evaporate.

“It’s cute when it eats. Truly, I am amazing.”

Thus, the monster that burst forth from the nightmare that Anastasia handled was not a familiar.

No matter how well it followed her orders, read her heart, and fulfilled her desired actions as if it existed solely for her, it was fundamentally different from a familiar.

This is why the creatures created by Danbi during her mercenary days are referred to as Cryptids.

They are mysterious beings, undefined yet resembling a monster, a fuzzy existence that is both monstrous and not.

“Quite docile, I see.”

“Yes! Eating makes everyone feel good, right?”

“Then if you starve it, it would feel bad, wouldn’t it?”

“Isn’t that right?”

Jinseong indirectly warned her.

To manage that well.

Anastasia, seeming to understand his warning, smiled bashfully and beckoned something over as if to reassure him. Then, it moved awkwardly to her, as if mimicking a child’s haphazard scribbling, and plopped down in front of her.

It then began to create a deep black puddle, as if staining the floor with black ink, and slowly sunk into it.

Before it completely disappeared, it hurled what looked like a black net bundle.

It was a net containing four capybaras.

“Don’t worry. I feed them regularly, and if they get too hungry to handle, I’ve commanded them to come here to eat capybaras. And usually…”

Anastasia pointed to the ground with her finger.

“I had them stay hidden down here. I’ve also ordered them to hide and not come out even when people show up.”

Good job, right?

Anastasia said this with a proud face, wanting praise.

And Jinseong nodded with a smile, as if in response to her wish.

“Well done. Regardless of how well a creature is tamed, there’s always a chance of a problem if one is careless. Hence, thorough management is required.”

“Hehe.”

Anastasia smiled at Jinseong’s words, covering her mouth slightly with her sleeve, half-closing her eyes with a gleeful expression.

“You’re truly a benefactor.”

You get it just by seeing, huh?

In reply to her smile, Jinseong gave a faint smile as well. He then picked up the net lying on the floor and left the basement with her.

Squeak.

As they emerged from the underground, Jinseong and Anastasia went their separate ways.

Jinseong moved to the kitchen to prepare the capybara, while Anastasia, saying something like “I’m the elder sister, and Ella is the younger sister. The younger sister has an obligation to partake in the older sister’s delicacies,” climbed the stairs.

Naturally, it wasn’t long after Anastasia began ascending the stairs that chaos erupted above.

“Sister, the police are here! Open the door!”

“Ah?! W-what?! What’s going on?!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud crashing noise reverberated, startling Ella awake from her slumber, followed by her furious shout as she awoke, and responding to that was Anastasia’s invincible logic: “I’m the elder sister, and you’re the younger sister, so you must follow me.”

Meanwhile, was the restaurant peaceful?

Not at all.

“Hey, brother. Why are you so late? Are you stalling because making food for these bunny-like younger sisters is too bothersome? Huh? No way, right?”

“…You punk, Iarin.”

“No, no. This is a legitimate request. You promised to grill capybara for me later, and it’s your fault for not keeping that promise—so my request is completely justified!”

“What? Did I just hear that I’m called a fool by Iarin, who’s so foolish…?”

His younger sisters were bickering.

Leaving those two behind, Jinseong entered the kitchen with the net and placed it in the middle of the neatly arranged kitchen. Using his honed skills from experience, he sent the capybara to sleep as if to ease into a slumber, igniting Samādhi True Fire and instantly incinerating the skin and fur.

Then, he began to butcher it skillfully and grabbed the spices scattered throughout the kitchen to start grilling the capybara.

Instead of using an oven, he chose to levitate the capybara in the air and burn it with Samādhi True Fire.

Creating a flame-shaped plate of fire just beneath the capybara to cook the meat while also ensuring the excess grease would burn away, he froze the surface of the sprinkler to prevent accidental spraying.

And once the four capybara pieces were completed in an instant.

Creeeak.

“What on earth is going on? Suddenly meat in the middle of the night? Eating at night is terribly bad for a lady’s management. It leads straight to fat!”

“You blockhead sister! If you eat deliciously, there are no calories! The reason why your body is piling on weight is because of your pickiness!”

“W-what? Piling on? How can you use such vulgar language as a lady…! I’ll have to ask my master again to educate you!”

“…Sister? I think I must have made a mistake. Will you please accept my apology? As a lady, you would accept it, right?”

“No way.”

Another sister stepped into the restaurant.

As always, Anastasia teased her younger sister with playful yet piercing words, pulling her sibling along with her stubborn insistence, and the younger sister, clearly half-asleep, stumbled along, sighing heavily.

Ella stumbled after Anastasia, her droopy body moving as if driven by instinct, which showed just how much Anastasia had taken care of and teased her.

Ella gradually made her way to sit in front of Iserin and Iarin, stretching her arms as if to chase away sleep. In the process, she naturally raised her head, and thanks to that, her eyes met Jinseong’s.

Jinseong, who was approaching her with a dish of food floating in the air.

 

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