When Ambrose invited Naomi to become his "beast companion," the silent Catherine could hold back no longer.

"How can you do that? That's too much!"

In Catherine's eyes, this was nothing less than coercion backed by divine authority. This wasn't forming a companion bond. It was slavery.

And Naomi was human. That alone violated the very principles of a ranger's beast companion.

If the bond carried even a hint of domination or possession, it simply shouldn't succeed.

Throwing her caution to the wind, Catherine hurried to Naomi's side. "Don't agree! Don't yield just because a god is involved. This contract can't be forced. If you refuse it in your heart, even a god can't turn you into someone's slave!"

The God of Alchemy rubbed his nose awkwardly. Somehow, he had become the villain of this story.

Ambrose sighed. "How did this turn into slavery? Don't you have several beast companions yourself?"

"I've never forced any of them into a contract!" Catherine shot back. "What you're doing is wrong. A true ranger doesn't enslave others, and you won't draw out true power that way!"

She assumed Ambrose was simply being impatient and trying to take a shortcut.

But Ambrose replied calmly, "You're the one who said companionship depends on fate. When I saw her, I felt that it was possible. She's a suitable companion."

"That's impossible!"

Catherine refused to believe it. Humans, with their complex thoughts and tangled emotions, were rarely pure enough for such wholehearted bonds.

The lich was clearly trying to take advantage after hearing Naomi might become a time dragon. There was no sincerity to his words.

She was just about to explain how true beast companions required love and care when a burst of green light flared between Ambrose and Naomi. Intricate magical sigils formed in the air and branded themselves upon both of them.

Catherine gaped in shock. Naomi's body was engulfed in shimmering magic. Power surged into her, strengthening her in every aspect.

The contract had formed. Rangers and their beast companion shared their power. The greater the disparity between them, the more dramatic the effect. Ambrose felt almost nothing, but Naomi had just struck a fortune. Her mana capacity was rising at astonishing speed.

"How... how is this possible?"

The contract required mutual consent. How could this young druid willingly become Ambrose's companion?

Ambrose himself was surprised. The moment he had seen Naomi, the power within him had stirred faintly. Perhaps this was what Catherine had meant: when he met the right companion, he would know.

As for why Naomi was suitable... even he wasn't entirely sure.

Perhaps druids counted as beasts in a way?

After all, many beasts possessed intelligence no less than humans. Dragons could form contracts, so why not a human?

The surge of power overwhelmed Naomi. Her body trembled before she collapsed unconscious. Ambrose quickly caught her and carried her gently to the bed in the inn.

"What happened? Why did she pass out?" he asked.

"When the contract completes, your beast companion will share your power," Catherine explained. "She's too weak, so your strength is overwhelming for her. It may take her some time to adapt." She hesitated before asking quietly, "But... why would she agree? She knows what this means. Even if rangers and their companions are equal in the contract, she'll clearly be subordinate to you. Why would she accept that?"

Ambrose hadn't fully understood, either. But after the bond formed, he could faintly sense her thoughts.

He answered awkwardly, "Probably because I'm the only person in the world who's ever treated her well."

Naomi's life until now had been a cruel joke. Every warm memory had turned out to be false. The people she called family had raised her only to kill her. Yet this stranger, this lich, had reached out to her again and again.

In Alkhemia, druids were despised. Naomi had struggled desperately to save her people, but no one had listened. It was Ambrose who helped her when she was powerless.

The second time, when she panicked, unable to understand why everyone had suddenly become her enemy, it was Ambrose who told her the brutal truth.

The third time, when betrayal drove her toward madness and no one cared whether she lived or died, it was Ambrose who intervened, granting her merciful sleep.

How absurd. A druid whose only kindness in life came from a lich.

The weight of reality had already fractured Naomi's spirit. That was why she chose suicide after waking in the void.

But the cruelest man in her life had even denied her death, leaving her suspended in a state somewhere between life and oblivion.

She was tired. She didn't want to struggle.

When Ambrose offered her the contract, she barely hesitated. Before her stood the only person who had ever shown her kindness, and one powerful enough to protect her. What was there to hesitate about?

Children with tragic childhoods were often easily tricked by those who showed even a little attention to them as they grew older.

Perhaps it was precisely this near-selfless devotion that stirred Ambrose's power in response.

He had long grown accustomed to the existence of the undead. Asking him to nurture a beast companion through love and patience would have been difficult. With Naomi, much of that could be alleviated.

The contract was mutually beneficial. Ambrose was satisfied. Naomi was satisfied. Even the God of Alchemy seemed pleased.

Only Catherine remained unhappy. Even understanding Naomi's reasoning, she still felt Ambrose had taken advantage of her vulnerability.

Ambrose tilted his head. "I've noticed you're rather speciesist. Why is it fine for a black panther to be a companion, but not a human?"

"Humans and elves are humanoid races!" Catherine protested. "We're intelligent beings of a similar form. Of course we wouldn't accept each other as pets. That's perfectly natural!"

Ambrose chuckled. "But I'm a lich. I'm not humanoid anymore. I can reshape myself into a spider or a dragon if I feel like it. If humans can keep black panthers as companions, why can't a lich keep a human?"

Liches were undead by nature, mere frameworks of bone. Ambrose could turn himself into a skeletal dragon on a whim. The only thing unchanged would be his soul.

Catherine opened her mouth, then closed it.

For once, she had no rebuttal, though she still felt something about this was deeply wrong.

Ambrose didn't press the point. Most humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs instinctively regarded those who resembled themselves as "their own kind," extending equality based on appearance.

Judging by looks wasn't unique to elves. Nearly every intelligent race did it.

But when most gods took humanoid form... it wasn't surprising that humanoids assumed superiority. If all the gods manifested as slimes, the continent might well worship slimes instead.

Ambrose had no interest in debating ideology. The contract was done; there was no undoing it.

While Naomi underwent her baptism of power, he urged Catherine to contact the elves and retrieve the artifact.

Harvey had less than two months left. Every second mattered.

Unhappy though she might be, Catherine could find no logical rebuttal to Ambrose's argument. With a huff, she contacted the elves.

She was not the sort to vent her anger on the innocent. Harvey had done nothing wrong, she reminded herself.

The elves responded quickly, clearly concerned for their former queen's safety. First came a lengthy exchange of anxious inquiries. Only after confirming that Catherine was safe and unharmed did they provide the information Ambrose sought.

When Arthur Lyon confronted the Dragon Tyrant, he had indeed stolen the artifact capable of reversing time from the dragon beforehand. That theft had allowed him to slay the tyrant.

However, the artifact could only be used by those with draconic blood. Arthur had therefore secretly entrusted it to the elves for safekeeping. According to the old king's recollection, it had been hidden in the depths of the ocean.

Too much time had passed. The old king could only provide a general location, not precise coordinates.

"Why didn't your people keep it in your own treasury?" Ambrose asked.

Catherine looked embarrassed. "At the time, no one expected Arthur Lyon to actually slay the Dragon Tyrant. If we kept the artifact at the Court of the Silver Moon, the tyrant might have sensed it and attacked us. And since elves couldn't use it anyway... sealing it beneath the sea seemed safer."

In short: they hadn't wanted the hot potato.

The reasoning made sense. Still, after the Dragon Tyrant's death, leaving such an artifact untouched felt wasteful. Even if the elves couldn't use it, they could have traded it to dragons overseas for a fortune.

"Well," Catherine said, shaking off the awkwardness, "we have a rough location. Let's go retrieve the artifact."

She had only recently discovered the thrill of adventure, and she wanted to experience it again.

She'd never been to the ocean before.