How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

“So, this cute little thing is your familiar, darling~?” Liyana cooed as her fingers gently brushed through Lavine’s silvery hair, her long nails trailing like a mother stroking a doll.

“…Yes,”

“Stop touching me!” Lavine shrieked, trying to slap away Liyana’s hand with her tiny, fairy-sized arms. Naturally, it had no effect.

“She’s so cute…!” came another voice—Snow, who appeared behind Liyana in a flash and instantly scooped Lavine into her palms like a cherished plush toy.

“W-Wait! What are you—!”

“Hey, hey, let me hold her for a bit, please!” Alice chimed in, bouncing in place like an impatient child.

“I want to squeeze her cheeks…” Rose muttered with an intense gaze, already reaching forward with suspiciously precise fingers.

“Rose, you already had your fair share,” Alice huffed, stepping forward with a glint in her golden eyes. “It’s my turn now. Don’t hog her.”

“Let me go! Masteeeeer! Help meeeeee!”

Lavine’s wailing pierced the room as she kicked and flailed uselessly in Snow’s grip, her wings fluttering erratically in protest.

I turned my gaze away and sighed quietly.

Sorry, dear familiar of mine… but this is a necessary process.

For the sake of absolving suspicion, you’ll have to survive this wave of affection. Even if your dignity takes a hit.

After finally stepping inside the house and enduring the girls’ overwhelming greetings—which, frankly, leaned far too enthusiastic considering I’d only been gone a few hours—I gave them a brief explanation.

Nothing too deep. Just enough.

“She’s my familiar,” I told them. “A fairy type. Special, but nothing crazy.”

I deliberately skipped over the complicated bits—her origin, her age, her former title in the Celestial Realms, the nature of our bond. All of it.

The less they knew, the better. At least for now.

Lavine gave me a betrayed look from behind Rose’s hand as the girl lovingly pinched her cheeks, but I quietly sent her a command through our link:

Just bear with it for now.

Play along.

She grit her teeth in frustration, wings twitching in protest, but obeyed nonetheless—albeit with a glare that promised vengeance once we were alone again.

It might seem unfair to her, especially with her pride as an ascended being who governed fragments of time and fate itself… but this wasn’t the full Lavine.

What Liyana and the others saw right now was only a fraction of her true self, a tiny projection separated from the core still anchored deep within the Celestial Plane.

And even if Liyana could see her and sense the quality of her mana, recognizing what Lavine truly was would take more than just instincts or dragon blood.

After all, seeing through something and understanding it were two very different things.

For now, let the girls treat her like a plushie.

It was far better than letting them realize the ancient being they were currently fawning over once commanded legions across stars.

“Okay okay—at least let me brush her hair a little!” Alie begged as she pulled out a miniature ribbon from seemingly nowhere.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

I was honestly a bit worried that Rose would recognize Lavine the moment she laid eyes on her.

After all, Rose had seen Lavine’s true form before—albeit briefly—during our visit in her realm.

She might’ve only gotten a few words with her, but that alone should’ve been enough to stir her memories.

Yet… nothing.

No suspicion. No hesitation. Just a soft look of curiosity and an urge to squeeze cheeks.

Was it because Lavine’s current form—this delicate, fairy-like projection—was so different from her real self?

Small, glowing, and impossibly adorable… even to someone like Rose, who normally could see through almost anything?

I wasn’t sure. Maybe Rose just didn’t expect the Lavine—one of the ancient upper beings—to appear this… tiny. This cutesy.

I guess…

Even someone who knew Lavine might never imagine she’d look like this.

…Or maybe Rose was just playing along, pretending not to know. It wouldn’t be out of character for her.

Well, whatever the case, I was just glad the situation didn’t spiral out of proportion.

If someone like Rose raised the alarm, the rest of the girls might start digging, and I wasn’t in the mood to do damage control today.

“Riley, I thought you already had a contracted familiar?” Alice said suddenly, pulling back from Lavine and letting go of her cheeks. Lavine yelped softly at the release. “That storm wolf, wasn’t it? Raijin, if I remember correctly?”

“Yes,” I replied, brushing my coat off and sitting down. “I’m still contracted with Raijin. Lavine is… my second familiar.”

The moment I said it, I paused.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last summoned Raijin.

When was the last time I even spoke to him?

It was like… I momentarily forgot he existed.

That’s not like me.

I wonder why?

“Is that so~?” Alice said, a little wistfully. “How nice… I wish I could get a re-contract with another familiar.”

“You can’t? You have the mana reserves for it, right?”

“I do,” Alice replied with a wry smile. “But that’s not the only requirement, is it? Forming a contract depends on finding a familiar willing to bond with you.”

She rested her chin on her hand, her golden eyes glancing toward the window with a distant look.

“Unfortunately for me, most familiars run the moment they sense Cheshire’s presence inside me. I guess the idea of being roommates with him isn’t too appealing, hehe~” she said with a dry laugh.

I looked over at Lavine, who was now stuck between Rose and Snow as they tried to braid her hair while arguing over miniature accessories.

She shot me another pleading look, her lips quivering like a bullied rabbit.

I said nothing.

“I could probably force a contract with a lower-class familiar if I really tried,” Alice continued. “Overpower it with mana, force obedience… but that wouldn’t feel right, you know?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah… I get it.”

I was already aware of that fact about Alice.

Cheshire wasn’t just a familiar—he was something far more complex.

His presence alone probably distorted contracts and to be honest that greedy cat probably won’t let any other familiar near Alice even if she asks him to…

It was a bit surprising to see Alice here when I first entered.

But I guess she probably didn’t have much going on during the day—which, honestly, saved me a lot of time trying to find her later.

Knowing Alice, if she had something urgent to handle, she wouldn’t be here lounging around.

So, it was a small but welcome convenience.

With all the girls gathered in one place, I could finally hand out their respective gifts properly… even if they were all, more or less, the same thing.

I decided to ignore the chaotic scene of the girls playing with Lavine for now.

Her fairy-sized form was getting passed around like some prized stuffed animal, and though she was clearly suffering, she was still following my silent command to behave.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t hold too much of a grudge.

What caught my attention next was the lack of familiar presence in the room.

Oddly enough, my mother wasn’t here.

Normally, she’d be the first one to keep things orderly when guests—especially these kinds of guests—were over.

But there was no sign of her.

No father.

Not even Gramps, who usually stuck around for the free snacks and wine maybe chime in here and there.

‘Did they… escape?’

I glanced toward the head maid and the butler stationed discreetly by the wall, silently questioning them with a look.

They both immediately averted their gazes, quickly serving light snacks and drinks onto the table before retreating as fast as dignity would allow.

That confirmed it—they were abandoning ship.

I let out a soft sigh.

The pressure from being surrounded by these girls was apparently enough to make even the seasoned staff avoid getting involved. I couldn’t really blame them.

Even my loudmouthed little sister, Reina, was nowhere to be found.

That in itself was suspicious. She was the type to stir the pot just to see how the stew would taste.

But if I had to guess, she was probably the one who helped orchestrate this whole retreat, warning the others and giving them a perfect excuse to leave me behind to handle this mess.

Still, I couldn’t complain. In fact, it was probably better this way.

Mother’s been under a lot of stress already ever since the girl’s arrival.

Throwing her back into a room full of my lovers would’ve been… a nightmare.

I glanced back at the girls briefly before turning my eyes toward Liyana, who was lounging comfortably on the sofa like she already owned the place.

“By the way, Liyana,” I began, “are you planning to stay here again tonight?”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she tilted her head, clearly amused.

“Hm~? What’s this, darling? Are you asking me to stay again? My, my… I guess our lovely night together really was too unforgettable for you to handle, hm~?”

“It was hard to forget, yes…” I replied with a straight face, though in truth, it was hard to forget mostly because I couldn’t remember half of it. Not that I needed to say that aloud. “Still, shouldn’t you be heading back to the Duke’s residence soon? Your father’s probably getting worried.”

“Fufu~ You worry too much, darling,” she said, brushing her silver hair behind her ear. “Papa already knows I’m here. I’m sure he mentioned it to you—he is quite supportive, you know~ Besides, I sent a few servants ahead to inform him of my late return. Everything’s under control.”

She leaned forward with a smile that looked suspiciously too innocent.

“And don’t worry, I won’t get in the way of my adorable older sisters tonight~”

Her gaze drifted to Snow and Rose as she said that, and both girls—usually composed—visibly stiffened before glancing away with blushing cheeks.

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