"Fine!" She clapped her hands and jumped around me. "I promise I won't regret it."
"Shouldn't you say, I won't regret it?"
"That's what I just said. I won't regret this." I sighed and handed over the spell focus. "Whatever." And she began looking over the focus as she walked with me. "Hey, give me a piggyback ride."
"What for?"
"If you give me a piggyback ride, I'll upgrade your spell focus, so it gives a boost to all magic." I sighed and squatted down. After which she joyously hopped onto my shoulders... And I had to spin her around because she climbed on facing me. "Oh, you're no fun."
"I still have a girlfriend."
"I'm sure she'll be fine with it." Her legs lightly yet firmly held onto my neck as I walked the distance back to my shared home. When I arrived, I had to explain that I'd summoned a devil who'd immediately taken a liking to me and refused to leave me alone after which my new marks of the contract were revealed to her.
She was more than a little upset but when she learned the assassins coming for me were no longer coming, she softened her protests and just left it as a necessary evil. "Also, she wants me to have a harem, and to be a part of it."
The short girl on my head nodded. "Though if you don't want my protection to extend to you as well that's your decision." The little devil tacked on.
She seemed a bit upset. "When were you going to tell me, you wanted a harem?"
"I don't want one she does." I pointed at the little devil.
"It's no fun with just two people," she said.
She made a face like she was giving the topic serious thought and was going to decide on a negative answer, but she also knew the benefits of having a powerful being as a sworn guardian. "Give me a minute."
"This girl's kind of impatient you wanna spend that minute in the year in a day spell?"
"NO! Why would you even suggest that?" I shrugged.
"Before I make my decision can you answer me one question? …apart from this one."
"Sure, what did you want to know?" she replied.
"Why are you so small but look like you're far away?"
"Ah, you see. When a devil is summoned, their bodies grow smaller depending on how strong they are, and I took this form because I didn't assume, I'd be smaller than an average human when I was summoned so my proportions are a bit off. But then it's been so long since I've been summoned, I didn't even know polygamy wasn't so common a practice anymore."
"People tend to hate change so staying with just one person provides a sort of stability most people can't live without, so polygamy isn't so popular anymore because it's better for everyone's mental health if we just don't" I replied.
"Ugh. Since when did people start caring about their health? Normalcy is boring. The only way to live is to constantly distract yourself from the mind-numbing boredom that comes with living a life that doesn't end. Why else would I choose to watch over some mortal who could die if I touched him wrong."
As she spoke, she began warping the focus in her hands. The arrows that didn't have a domain to go with them began changing in ways I didn't know they could appear. Once the focus was finished the arrows shifted and moved into a crown-like formation comprised of horns on the skull that sat at the centre and the rod that held it up began to warp into the shape of a spine. Shortly after it appeared as though the skull was backlit with an almost blinding rainbow light. But the whole focus was soon shrouded in a darkness that permitted us to view the light without it hurting our eyes.
"The focus is ready; you want me to put it in now or later?"
"Now's fine."
Shortly after this exchange, the focus was integrated into my body via her transmutation spell. I didn't feel anything at first but then the 8 horns from the spell focus began protruding from my skull they went upwards and outwards. It didn't really hurt it just felt strange, like when you first learn how to snap your fingers, how at first no sound is made and you have to try really hard to produce the intended result but after a few minutes I managed to retract the horns.
"Wow, you figured that out all by yourself."
"I'm assuming this means I don't need a spell focus anymore."
"No, but if you did use one it could probably increase your spell's efficiency even more."
"How big of a fireball could I cast if I used an infernal focus while having the boost of the focus within me?"
"I have no idea no one's ever asked me for something so potentially reckless before."
"The focus was purely a magical construct, so it was immaterial in nature, to begin with."
"Ah." She replied.
I turned over to my girlfriend, "By the way do you want to marry me?"
She just stood completely still, unmoving, and not blinking. I waved my hand in front of her face, I checked her pulse. She was definitely still alive. "Give me a minute, I'm still processing the whole Harem thing… but the horns… I stopped listening after seeing the horns."
"Ah, now's probably not the best time to ask then."
"W-wait ask what?"
"No, you're obviously overwhelmed. I'll ask you in the morning if you're still curious."
I then dragged her by the hand back to our room. the little devil girl was still sitting on my shoulders. She was a bit hesitant to sleep on this and come to a decision in the morning, but I figured she just needed time to process this and even if she didn't sleep a few hours in the dark with her thoughts should be just what she needs.
A great deal has happened really quickly and a great deal more is yet to come. She seemed a bit too flabbergasted to do much except question everything around her, so I had to change her into her PJs and after changing myself I laid her down to rest at my side turned out all the lights and fell asleep with my arms around her. The little devil girl wormed her way between us as I slept.
When I awoke to the sounds of muffled heavy breathing, I had assumed the fiend was up to something and decided to pay her no mind and simply held my girlfriend closer while ignoring her when I had realized what she had done.
I quickly jolted out of the bed and put my clothes on. "That's not something you can just do without asking."
"I did say I wanted to watch."
"Did she ask you for something while I was asleep?"
"She did indeed, get back here she wasn't done yet."
"I think you've seen enough."
The little fiend replied with a smile, "Are you sure? You don't even know what she's asked yet."
"What did you ask for?" I turned my attention to my red-faced girlfriend.
"I asked her to help me be Ok with it. I weighed my options and it's better to have her protection than not have it, but I don't really want to share you so I asked her to help me be more Ok with the concept."
She sat with her head down her hair barely covering her exposed chest as the ruffled sheets covered the rest of her. Seeing her embarrassed like this is a rare sight indeed, she's usually so sure of herself to see her doubting, though it shouldn't, is stoking the fires of my heart. "Fine, but you owe us both a favour."
"Don't act like you're not into it."
"The only thing I'm into here is the willingness of this girl to go so far for me even though I've told her plenty of times I'm content with just having her by my side."
I won't describe it but we did fulfil her request, and she promised to protect us both and should we add anyone else to the harem she'd protect them too. After which I voiced my request. "You owe me a favour too. Right?"
"I guess I did say my price was to watch and I did agree to give you your last request for free... So, I guess it couldn't hurt to grant one request for you." She floated over and tapped my nose with her nose playfully.
"I want to learn the domain of magic you use."
"Ah, you've caught on. Yes, devils don't use infernal spells just like celestials don't use radiant spells. There's two domains of magic completely inaccessible to normal people divine and demonic magic. Demonic magic uses the suffering of others as its soul spell components whereas divine magic uses the love and charity of others as its components. Essentially depending on where you are in the world one of these forms of magic will be stronger than the other."
"You use both don't you?"
"What gave it away?" She fluttered her wings as if mockingly. "I'll teach you but you might regret gaining the knowledge as it can only be passed one way. Are you absolutely certain you want to learn it?" as she spoke she began to take her clothes off.
"Perhaps not today but maybe on a day when we have a bit more time."
"Don't you be getting shy on me now boy."
"I'm not I have school today."
She frowned but gave up on trying to convince me. "I didn't even tell you how long the ritual to trade knowledge lasts." She complained as she began slowly putting her clothes back on.
"We barely have time to eat breakfast before class starts."
"Why not just skip school?" the little fiend asked.
"I have something to do."
Nothing ever happens at school so I'm just going to skip to the important part. At the magic club, I asked the vice president if she was prepared to meet her acquaintance and she reminded me we had to wait a day longer for the one we were to meet to be prepared. So I walked up to the club advisor's room and offered her my hand. "We still doing magic experiments in the labyrinth?"
"We never did make those clones with the necrotic spell." She replied.
I teleported us back there and the fiend found me instantly. "I know you said to wait here until you got back but there's nothing to do here except torment your pet."
"Well, I'm sorry a human's life isn't always action and adventure, there are tedious parts of our days we all have to push through. Wait what did you do to her."
She pointed to a corner of the room where I saw my pet twisted and bent out of shape struggling to heal herself as her body looked like the sun peeking out over two depressingly small hills, and the sun is very angry. Her head was locked in place between her thighs as it seems the bones in her arms and legs were either gone or reduced to dust as those limbs were tied up like rope.
"Can I have my ribcage back now?"
I sighed and walked over to her, undid the knots, and left her on her back to wait for everything to regenerate. I saw that a hole had been punctured in her chest, so I reached in there and pulled out the little gold piece of jewellery before the hole in her chest completely closed.
"I'll be taking this."
"What is that," she asked while immobile on the floor.
"It's your phylactery if this thing breaks there's a chance, I won't be able to revive you, but so long as this survives you can't die. Isn't it just great I left yours over a well-known vital organ for a human?"
Her limp broken hands wiggled and writhed in the direction of her chest. As her bones slowly knit themselves back together her fingers dragged the rest of her arm over as she began clutching at her chest with a look of fear on her face. I smiled and turned away and I walked with her life literally in my hands.