Of course, even if her accessory gear was missing, it didn't mean that he couldn't obtain it, and in fact, from now on, for every monsters the party she would hunt in, there was a really small chance, even smaller than obtaining a golden card shard, to find a shard for her missing piece.
He'll still have to get nine of them as well, which meant it wasn't bound to happen by now, but it wasn't impossible, and with enough time, it would happen.
But for now..
" Mariane, I will now summon her. "
" ... "
Receiving a serious nod from her, he made a small hand sign for her to close her eyes, like he's been doing since earlier as he knew when and from which action it would happen.
" ... Come, Stella. "
With a call from him, the card he threw in the middle of the room, suddendly showed bright light, trying to flash them once again, but it also quickly stopped as a small voice was heard.
" ... Please, tell me you are my master.. "
Opening his eyes, Arthur looked forward to the appearance of his second card, and surely, he wasn't disappointed as she was already doing something incredulous.
The girl in front of him, joined her hand in front of her chest, almost as if praying while she was intently staring at him with a clear fever in her eyes that couldn't even hide the smallest part of her feelings, a very different reaction from the composure of Mariane when he first summoned her.
" ... First, calm down, also, yes, I'm your master-. "
Before he could finish his sentence, as he wanted to say that she could just call him Arthur outside, to not raise anymore suspicion if a priest would suddendly be calling him master in front of everyone, his sentence was cut short as the member of the rabbit tribe showed a thing she was really good for, jumping.
That's right, she just jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burrying her head against his chest.
" Hehehe, I'm so happy.. "
Apparently being the cheerful kind of girl, he sensed the stare of Mariane which expressed a strong mix of emotions towards her actions which lacked the grace of a lady, something she wasn't ready to accept, especially as him, the one she loved, was being embraced out of nowhere.
The girl sticking to him like a leech, obviously felt the eyes of the maid on her back, and without taking a step back, she quickly expressed her intentions.
" Master, you can use me however you want, but please, keep me by your sides at all times ! "
" .. Alright alright, but how about you set me free first ? "
Lifting his hand, he just put it on top of her head with a complicated expression, not really knowing how to deal with her, he just patted her head in an attempt to comfort her from releasing the embrace he was in.
" Suuuure.. ! "
Closing her eyes, she easily lowered her arms and quickly lifted her body slightly higher by standing on the tip of her toes, making his hand that was caressing the top of her head now caressing her cheek, to which she rubbed her face against happily.
' ... I think it's my first time dealing with that kind of girl. '
He knew about the bashful type, the confident one, the prideful one, but it surely was his first time with a girl so cheerful for his touch that wouldn't show anything besides pure joy, as if she was blessed by some entity.
' I don't remember her being like that in the game.. Is it because of the favor increasing to the max in one go with no prior experience ? '
Thinking back about the dates he had with her, he didn't have much memory about them since it was during the period where he would spend hours farming for multiple characters at the same time, but at least, he was sure that she never reacted like that to any of the dialogues options.
' Are you trying to prove your point that it's real life and not a game anymore ? '
Talking to the system he was borrowing his power from, he didn't expect to receive an answer from the start, so he wasn't bothered by it's silence, though he had something else on his hands to deal with now.
While in his thoughts, he lowered his hand a bit more and her head followed him down as she got back to a more normal stance.
" Master.. hehehehe... "
Laughing like a little girl discovering a new candy, he could feel a shiver as he sensed the troubles he'll have from now on.
" Stella, can you tell me what you know about me ? "
Hearing her name being called and the question that followed, her bunny ears perked up suddendly as she took a step back, but his hand, which he thought would be free by now, was then grabbed by hers as she looked straight into his eyes, almost in a trance.
" Master Arthurion is the most handsome man on this planet, and I know that I love you the most ! "
" .. I meant about my abilities. "
Taking the exaggerated compliment as an exageration from the first love of a younger woman, along with her love which would be evident by everyone who saw this scene, he was even asking himself how Mariane could just stand idle and watch through it without saying anything.
" Oh, that, then I don't know much, just that I don't need to sleep, eat or drink anymore, and that master can summon us to his will and we can stay by his side at anytime ! "
Her answer, not changing much from the words he received from Mariane's, left him unsurprised, but it was good if it stayed that way.
" So ? Did I do good ? Hehehe.. "
" Yes, you did good. "
Not knowing what to tell her besides that, he turned his face to look at Mariane, where he could see her pouting, which gave him an idea.
Since Stella was holding onto his left hand freely, he wanted to see what Mariane would do if he left his right hand for her, and with a subtle look down, he indicated for her to take his hand, which she apparently understood as she started getting closer.
' As expected from the one who can see through me. '
Think about all the times where he dazed around and she would call out to him to pull him from his thoughts, and the amount of attention she would put into his every moves, he knew that there was no way she would miss something like that.
And with his accord, Mariane took a few steps forward before grabbing his hand with hers, intertwining their fingers as she did so, a move that even him didn't expect, but was caught by the quick witted rabbit.
" Master, who is she ? "
However, she didn't show a hint of annoyance towards Mariane, nor did she seemed jealous or angry, in fact, she was pretty calm, as if it was something to expect.
" Her name is Mariane, she's the same as you, though she was with me for longer and is older than you, so you can consider her like a big sister. "
" Really ? That's great ! I never had a sister before ! But hum.. How to say it... ? "
Her eyes, glancing over what seemed to be Mariane's ears and tail, he knew what she was probably thinking about, like how a wolf, a predator, and a rabbit, a prey, could possibly be siblings, but there was one thing he had to say about it.
" There's no need to worry about anything, while it's true that you both don't know each other much, she won't do you any bad as long as you don't do anything yourself. "
" Well, if master said it, then it must be the truth.. Nice to meet you, my name is Stella, and I'm a priest of the shadow rabbit tribe ! "
" Nice to meet you as well, my name is Mariane, as Arthur said when he introduced me, and I'm a warrior from the silver wolf tribe, currently being a maid for him. "
The smaller girl looking up to Mariane, he could almost feel sparks in the air when there was nothing to see, and he thought about what could be the problem.
' .. Right, the both of them are straight, while they can appreciate me both, there won't be much opportunity for them to 'appreciate' each other. '
" Well, that's it for the introduction. "
Cutting them both in the middle of it, it seemed that while he was thinking, Stella used this opportunity to do the same thing as Mariane with his hand, though she held it closer to her chest.
" And now, I'll explain our current situation to you, Stella. "