"I know I was the one who suggested it first... But are you sure about this?"
At the corner of the small village, under the cover of greenery, a black-haired young man looked concernedly at the girl with long red hair before him.
The girl, in contrast, showed an indifferent front and idly fidgeted with her side bang while glancing at her side.
"So you would rather leave me here? Fine..."
Her name is Jeen, and she is the young man, Rimp's girlfriend.
She was struggling to put on an indifferent look, but a slight pout on her lips spoke of what she kept in her heart.
"No... I mean..."
Rimp is, of course, able to see through her poor act, so he racks his mind to find a way to explain his concern in a way that does not sound like a rejection.
"My talent is only D level. I could at most tame a knight-type beast after I mastered my power. At least that's what they say a Beast Tamer of my level can do... Moreover, what we would do now is something unheard of... So..."
While he was considering his next words, a "hmmph" cut him.
Jeen flicked her hair confidently.
"Don't worry, Rimp. Just believe me. As always, you could just let me handle everything, I am a sister after all!"
A warm smile couldn't help but form on Rimp's face after he heard those familiar words.
"What 'sister'? Aren't you my girlfriend?" He remarked.
Jeen blushed, but she quickly turned her face to hide it.
"W-well... T-that doesn't mean that I couldn't still be your sister, does it!?"
Of course, what 'sister' meant here was not about a biological sister, but more about a figure of a sister.
Even now, Rimp could still remember the first time he met the red-haired girl.
He had just lost his parents due to a Beast Frenzy, a phenomenon where magical beasts from the forest would show up in Human settlements to hunt prey they needed for their partners to safely incubate their unborn children.
He met her when he sat near the rushing river at the southern edge of the village, sobbing and lamenting the deaths of his parents.
She showed up like a thunder, burst out of the river with a fish half as big as herself in her hands.
After she heard of his predicament, she immediately gave him a hand and asked him if he wanted to live with her in her small shanty.
It turned out that Jeen was also like him, a child who had lost their parents in the claws and fangs of the beasts.
They got close pretty quickly after that, and then years passed.
Yesterday, since Rimp and Jeen had reached the age of 15, they went to the nearby town, Garah Town, to check whether they were talented as a Beast Tamer or not.
Jeen, like most, was untalented.
But Rimp, surprisingly, was talented enough.
Though he was nowhere near becoming a prodigy with a talent level higher than B, his D-level talent could at least put him above average in the ranks of the Beast Tamers.
That news was supposed to be something worth celebrating.
But for the two, the shock was too great for them to even feel happy.
To become a Beast Tamer, a talented one should go to the Academy located in the capital of the Alliance.
No need to be said, the capital was, of course, far away from this unnamed village.
If Rimp went to the Academy, it was unknown how long they would be able to meet each other again.
The two had grown too close.
They had became a lover.
They had become too dependent on each other that the thought of parting ways alone was already a suffering.
Rimp didn't know what kind of bizarre wind had struck his mind that night, but he suddenly came out with an idea to 'tame' Jeen with his power as a Beast Tamer. Using the logic that the Beast Tamer's Tamed Beast would always be together with the Tamer, Rimp thought that maybe he would be allowed to bring along Jeen with him if Jeen were his Tamed Beast.
Jeen was shocked at first, but she immediately agreed to him.
Thus they were here now.
"I'll start then," said Rimp.
Jeen nodded in response.
Followed the instructions he was told by the Beast Tamer who had checked his talent before at Garah Town, Rimp sliced the tip of his finger with a small knife.
After his blood began to flow out, Rimp started the 'chant' needed for the Bonding Ritual to tame a beast.
"Though you were born from chaos, I chose you as a part of my soul."
Reacting to his chant, the drop of blood that was about to fall from the tip of his finger floated up from his finger while glowing softly in red light.
"I offer you a part of mine, hoping you will forget your hatred and enmity between us."
Jeen's eyes widened as the red light emanating from the drop of blood intensified.
"Pledge companionship with me."
At that time, Rimp had already closed his eyes, completely absorbed in the ritual process.
"My kind created the chaos. An eternal sin. An error even heaven could cleanse. Yes, and I beg you here to stand with us to fight alongside me in this battle against the chaos, which was also your own parent."
Suddenly—
Something occurred in Jeen.
Her body tensed, heating up.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, questioning what happened to her but her mind suddenly began to be clouded and muddled.
"My sin only doubled with this. So this pledge would only last until the end of the Chaos. When the day truly came, my life was yours to control."
Rimp's voice, which used to be pleasant in her ears, suddenly irked her.
An inexplicable hatred was surging deep from her. She wasn't sure—perhaps it came from her heart, mind, or even soul.
She could feel that his voice suddenly become unpleasant for her.
"Now, answer to my contract, reply to my pledge. Are you willing to stand with me?"
Jeen couldn't think about anything with her now hot body. Rimp's final words piqued her attention.
Her pupils contracted, reformed, becoming reptile-like slit pupils.
She eyed Rimp's youthful face like a hungry beast in front of a high-quality piece of meat.
Amidst heavy breaths, she then reached out..