Bone-Binding Princess excitedly circled around him.
Her enormous snake body crushed the plants beneath it.
"You should've told me you wanted to sign a Summoning Contract with me! I wouldn't have agreed right away, but if you showed off your best cooking and I liked it, I definitely would've signed one with you. Why did you hit me?!"
Byakuya still couldn't accept the disconnect.
It was simply too hard to imagine.
"Are you nervous?"
"Your body is too big."
"Oh, right! You humans are so tiny, so I must look huge to you. Wait a moment. I haven't learned Sage Art from the Sage yet, but my sisters taught me the Transformation Technique."
"Ryūchi Cave's Transformation Technique?"
"Mm-hmm."
A moment later, a girl in a long azure-black dress stood before Byakuya.
She had a sweet face and a sweet voice.
"You're taller than me."
Bone-Binding Princess compared their heights. "I suppose that makes sense. By the standards of the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, we're the same age."
Byakuya stared at her, dumbfounded.
Bone-Binding Princess asked, "What are you so surprised about?"
"I..."
"Haha, are you embarrassed?"
"I'm not embarrassed. I just can't quite get used to this."
She was very clever. Lifting her round chin, she thought for a moment, then suddenly understood. "Oh, I get it. Is it because, by human standards of beauty, my true form is especially scary?"
"Uh, I wouldn't put it that way."
"So it is scary! Hmph! But by the standards of my snake clan, I'm very pretty."
Byakuya seized on the key point in what she'd said. "The Sage hasn't taught you Sage Art?"
"Mm-hmm. I need to gain enough experience, then pass three insignificant little trials to prove to the Sage that I have the right mindset to learn Sage Art."
"Is