''Me? I never lied to you. You can't blame me for your reasoning don't match the facts,'' the summoner took off his glasses and put them on the desk, and leaned back sitting on the chair with wheels.
Gritting my teeth, I knew there was nothing I could do. After an hour was up, I would return to my own dimension and get my soul back as soon as possible. Then, our deal would be void as I could choose a different evolution path than becoming a fox girl.
'Yes,' I thought. 'There will be no problem. All I have to do is find something to trade.'
''Tell me about your dimension. What kind of place is there, a fox fantasy world where everyone has fox ears and tails?''
''You have already said that I will be back when the time is up. Why should I bother myself to satisfy your curiosity?'' I said. I knew I was moody, but I felt cheated at the moment. If, just if, I couldn't get my soul back before the next stage of evolution, and if I evolve into a kind of fox girl I would have to come back here because of him.
''Hmm,' He wiped his glasses with a dirty cloth and put them back on. ''You have a point. For every question you answered, I will answer a question of yours. What about that?''
I thought about his suggestion, what harm would it do? Looking at the magic circle, it was obvious that the man was good at these matters. Maybe I could learn how to prevent myself from being dragged into another dimension against my will.
''Fox girls are just a lineage of one breed of demonic creatures. Not everyone has ears or tails. How can I prevent another person from summoning me ever again?''
''Saying no. Why did you accept my offer if you didn't want to come? An hour of your life span and a week of mine were wasted for nothing.''
''I didn't accept anything. I think my mistress accepted the deal and sent me instead.'' I tried to think of a question to ask, but nothing came to mind. ''How does this summon thing happen? I mean, are you going to my dimension now since you exchanged a week for an hour?''
''I wish,'' he said, sighing. ''I guess since your mistress got the payment, she can do whatever she wants with a week of my life. She can raise the dead and walk, sell it to a witch for money...''
'Or... I wonder... can she live for a week without needing to drink someone else's warmth? If so, it can be quite useful for emergencies,' I thought and felt a cold blow on my skin. Looking around, I saw all the windows were closed.
Suddenly, I realized a terrifying possibility. Could the other willpower living dependent on my real body control my body while my will is away from my body? The more you thought about it, the more logical it made.
''When will you evolve?'' the summoner asked. Oh right, it was my turn to answer.
''I'm not sure. I don't know how much time warps between our dimensions. A year here may amount to a month there. Or vice versa...'' and as I said this, I realized another possibility. How long have I been away from my own dimension?
''Heck... I don't want to wait fifty years or so. Maybe I should perform a ritual using another seal,'' he said.
''What seal?'' I asked.
''Don't you know? According to hereisyourdemoness.com, every demon has a specific seal, like phone numbers. One needs to know the seal of the demon they want to summon. I purchased this book thinking it is a scam...'' he pointed to an old-looking book on his desk, ''...but it worked when I followed the instructions and dropped a drop of blood on the candle.''
''I was surprised. Many people commented that it was a scam and requesting a refund. Still, some said it wouldn't work unless you gather enough energy and mind strength. I think I was lucky,'' he said.
''Luck alone doesn't work,'' I said and shivered for an unknown reason. ''Can't you send me back sooner?''
''It is my turn to ask,'' he said. ''How someone travels between dimensions?''
''Astral travel, where the body is not required, is done only with the soul and mind. Someone who wants to travel with their real body must master the space element or use spatial twists that already exist,'' I explained. ''Can you send me back sooner?''
''I can't. The ritual has already been completed, I cannot change the rules.''
''The book,'' I said. ''The book with the seal of the nine-tailed fox. Is there anything else about her?'' Maybe a ritual where she offered a soul in return, I thought.
He opened the book and skimmed through the pages, ''There are two rituals about the nine-tailed fox. One of them is to get service in exchange for life energy, the other is a core in exchange for the soul, I don't know what the core means though.''
Rubbing my forehead, I pondered what to do. What is the value of a soul? Then, my world turned black with a familiar and uncomfortable sense of withdrawal. As soon as I opened my eyes, I trembled with the cold air blowing through the broken window. Sighing, I wondered what two men, one familiar and the other stranger, were doing in the room. At least I could be thankful that I was in my clothes, I guess.