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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Obsequium_Minaris on 2025-10-01 23:59:16+00:00.


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Chase coughed as smoke filled the room, trying desperately to fan it all out the nearby window. Through it all, he could hear Carmine coughing as well, though the smoke was too thick for him to call out to hear. Finally, after a few seconds of forcing the smoke out the window, he was able to breathe easily enough that he could shout out to her.

“Carmine!” he called out. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine!” she shouted back.

“What happened?!”

“I don’t know! I didn’t think anything would come from that!”

“Well then, why did-”

Chase suddenly paused. Through the remnants of the smoke still filling the room, he was able to see another, third figure lying on the ground in the center of where the summoning circle used to be. As he watched, the figure gave a low groan, then began to pick themselves up off the ground.

“Oh, my aching head…” she muttered, rubbing her temples as she did so. “I hate when this happens…”

Immediately, Chase’s hand drifted to his sword, his grip around its hilt turning white-knuckled when the newcomer waved away the rest of the smoke, finally allowing them to get a good look at her.

She was short, only standing about five feet tall, with very pale skin, dark black hair, and dull gray eyes. She was dressed in a flowing black robe, and had a large scythe strapped to her back, and a tattered brown satchel thrown over her shoulder. Through an opening at the base of her robe, Chase could just barely make out that she was wearing black leggings with some kind of white symbol printed on them, though he couldn’t tell what from the brief view he was given before she drew her robe around herself.

The girl locked eyes with him, and the two of them froze for a moment, neither one making a move. She eyed him up and down after a second, then did her best to stand up as straight as her short stature would allow.

“You rang?” she asked.

Chase blinked in surprise, then shook his head and motioned over to where Carmine was standing. “I think you’re looking for her.”

Carmine immediately bristled. “Chase!”

“Well, you’re the one who called her here. It’s only fair that you be the one to take responsibility.”

For some reason, the girl suddenly flushed a deep red at Chase’s words. He looked over to her in surprise, and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when he saw her standing there fidgeting nervously.

“U-umm…” she offered. “I, uh… appreciate that offer – of you taking responsibility, I mean – but, um… I’m not into girls. Sorry.”

Silence reigned over the room for several seconds before Carmine broke it.

“What.”

It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement of sheer exasperation combined with a sense of being completely dumbfounded. Carmine looked over to Chase for guidance, but he just shook his head.

“Don’t look at me,” he said. “You summoned her, so she’s your responsibility.”

“See, there you go, using that word again,” the girl stated, somehow flushing even redder. “And, again, I appreciate the offer, but I’m not into girls…” She suddenly paused. “…Well, alright, I guess I’m willing to try anything once… although, we’ll have to wait at least a few years, because even I have my limits.”

Again, Carmine was dumbfounded. “What.”

The girl in the black robe suddenly shook her head. “Ah, but where are my manners? I suppose I should introduce myself to my new mistress.”

She cleared her throat, then cocked her head back and let out a deep, throaty laugh that echoed through the room.

“Foolish mortals, you dare summon me?!” she demanded in a haughty voice, bringing a hand up to cover most of her face in the process. “You know not what powers you invoke by calling upon my services, for you see, I am none other than Melanie Vhaeries, Arch-Lich to the Demon Queen herself. Now, speak your desires to me, and I will fulfill them.”

For some reason, the newly-named Melanie flushed red and began to tremble slightly at the word ‘desires.’ Chase blinked again, then looked over to Carmine, who returned his look with one of her own. Slowly, the two of them turned back towards Melanie.

“…Let me get this straight,” Chase began. “You’re the Arch-Lich, which I presume means that you’re someone of importance to the Demon Queen.”

“Indeed.”

“And yet… you look like a regular short eighteen-year-old girl. And what kind of name for a Lich is Melanie, anyway?”

Melanie stared at him for a moment, then scowled and crossed her arms. “Well, what would you know about it, human? I have half a mind to strike you down here and there with a single swing of my scythe.”

“Don’t do that,” Carmine warned.

“Yes, mistress,” Melanie said without missing a beat. Again, she flushed red as the words left her mouth. Chase couldn’t help but scowl at the sight of it.

“Why do you keep blushing so much?” he demanded. “Seriously, it’s like every sentence with you. It’s very unbecoming of a so-called Arch-Lich.”

Melanie glowered at him, then let out a grunt before turning away. “The only reason I’m letting you live is because Mistress told me I had to, otherwise your head would be rolling across the floor right now. You don’t understand the true depths of my power. Why, if I so desired it, I could summon a veritable army of the living dead right now and literally drown this city with bodies.”

“Sounds impressive,” Chase admitted.

“I would hope so.”

“Okay, we need to talk about something real quick,” Carmine interjected.

“Yes, Mistress?” Melanie asked.

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Calling you what?”

“Mistress.”

“Because it’s your relationship to me. You summoned me, and therefore, you control me for the time being. That makes you my mistress, Mistress.”

“Well, can you not call me that?” Carmine asked.

Melanie stared at her. “…It’s not weird, is it?”

“It is now. New order – no more calling me Mistress.”

Melanie nodded. “Okay, Master.”

“That, too. No Master, either. It makes me feel like a slave owner, which I hate.”

“I understand, Madame.”

“See, I don’t like that, either. It just makes me feel old.”

“Naruhodo, onee-sama.”

Carmine didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Chase leaned over to speak with her.

“Well, we know she’s definitely a Demon of some kind, at least,” he said. “A human wouldn’t be able to speak in tongues like that.”

“Oh, shut up,” Carmine hissed at him. She turned back towards Melanie, then let out a tired sigh. “Look, please just address me the same way you would a normal person, okay? Like, the kinds of people you normally interact with – speak to me the same way you speak to them.”

Melanie blinked, but then nodded. “Um, okay… unprecedented for a summoner, but okay…” After a moment, she shook her head. “Well, you’ve summoned me. So what vile acts shall I commit for you today, then? Is there perhaps someone you’d like to have brutally murdered? I’m pretty good at that.”

“No, nothing like that.” Carmine paused. “Actually, there is one drunk in particular-”

“Carmine,” Chase chastised.

“-never mind,” Carmine amended. “Past that, honestly… we were just hoping to see if the spell worked. We couldn’t get it to work for the longest time, for whatever reason. Any idea why that might be?”

Melanie shrugged. “I don’t know. You were probably too young to meet the requirements.”

“…There’s an age requirement for a spell like that?” Carmine asked, surprised.

“And the cutoff is turning thirteen?” Chase questioned, even more surprised. “That seems poorly thought-out.”

Melanie hurriedly shook her head. “No, no, I meant that she probably didn’t have enough mana for the spell to function. You did use a specific Demon-summoning spell, right?”

“Uh, no?” Carmine ventured. “We used Summon Familiar.”

Melanie froze, her eyes widening. Carmine didn’t miss her reaction, and tilted her head, confused. “Is that bad?”

“Uh-oh,” Melanie replied.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” Chase said with a sigh. “Okay, Lich – what did Carmine fuck up this time?”

“What do you mean, this time?” Carmine demanded. “I’ve had way fewer fuck-ups than you have, dickhead.”

“I know what I said. Answer the question, please, Lich.”

Melanie bit her lip. “Um… Demon summoning is a temporary contract, whereas familiar summoning is… a bit more permanent.”

“How permanent are we talking?”

“I’m contractually bound to her until she dies.”

Again, silence reigned over the room for several seconds.

“Well,” Chase began, “perhaps we should have hired a lawyer before attempting to cast the spell.”

“That’s stupid,” Carmine declared.

“In the spell’s defense, it’s not designed to grab someone like me,” Melanie offered. “What level of the spell did you cast, anyway?”

“Ten.”

Melanie stared at her. “…You’re thirteen years old and you have access to Summon Familiar Level 10?”

“It’s a long story,” Chase offered.

“No, I want an explanation. How in the hells-”

“Would you believe me if I told you it involves a lot of milk?”

“Enough!” Carmine said, silencing the two of them. She took a deep breath. “Melanie,” she began, “you said the two of us are bound together until I die.”

“Correct,” Melanie acknowledged.

“And what are the terms of this arra…


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