The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)

Tsalinade was basically becoming my hands and feet now, so it was easy to tell her to make a teleportation scroll for us, including Jade and Ignis. To make sure the scroll was of good quality, I gave her a drop of Amrita.

The moment that elixir entered her system and worked to fix it, she became feverish and almost delirious—which I guessed was how I fared when I got Amrita the first few times too. Only worse.

Unlike me, Tsalinade’s condition wasn’t life-threatening, so the healing process wasn’t as extreme. She did not go as far as fainting, and the Fatia took care of her while the rest of us fixed some meals for our lunch.

Since it was mine now, we foraged the vegetable garden and made a nice stew with potatoes and herbs and the meat Angwi put in my storage ring, as well as fresh late summer vegetable salad with citrus dressing. And of course; a plate of jelly for Jade.

[Master, should Jade stay bird at all times?] Jade asked in the middle of eating its jelly.

Hmm...let’s see first if they can really be trusted, okay? I don’t mind Zarfa and Aina, but I’m not sure about the others or the rest of the citizens

[Why?]

[They might kidnap you and sell you, Jade] Ignis said inside our mind. [My predecessor said humans trade magical beasts and bind them as slaves]

Jade gasped and chirped in fright, diving inside my cloak while trembling that I had to pat it soothingly to calmness. No one can take you away from me, my baby--I told the little bird. But you are weaker in your child form, so let’s be vigilant for now.

[Okay!] Jade nodded profusely. Through our connection, I could feel that rather than the notion of being kidnapped and sold, the little bird was more afraid of being separated from me; for our bond to be broken.

And there was indeed a way to sever the bond and contract between magical beasts and their owner. There was a reason why poaching had always been a business, and why the drows kept patrolling the realm of nature to stave off those wicked entities away.