48- Blank card ( 1 )

- Arthur's POV -

" Mariane, are you ready ? "

" I am, Arthur. "

Nodding to her words, it seemed that after the last night, a lot changed with her.

While before, she was somewhat hesitant and shy to call him by his name, it seemed like she had a lot to think, though he couldn't read her mind, he was sure that it was a good change, and that she got closer to him than before.

That could be said just from the act that happened earlier when he woke up, where she was the one hugging him.

Or course, he was hugging her as well, and while she didn't do anything like playing with his crotch during his sleep like before, she now seemed to be more open to normal contacts like hugs and such, as she would now initiate them, and even just call him by his name, once again.

" Alright, then I'll start.. Inventory , Merging table. "

By calling upon two system windows, there was only one thing he needed to do.

After getting out of the bed, and truth be told, they really took their sweet times to get out, as tight hugs and kisses were parts of the morning routine, and finally wearing some clothes after finishing completely naked, they both were ready to summon a new comrade.

Taking out from the inventory, where most of the money, the old booklet and his pyjama from Earth had been put insides, the nine blank cards shards, he took a look at them.

White and rond marbles, resting in his hand, had barely the size of a nail, but those small things weren't made to be overlooked.

The screen of the merging table, was probably the first screen that was displayed horizontally that he saw thus far, but he wasn't much surprised by it, and instead, he started inserting the marbles one after another inside the slots made for it.

Whatever the object was, a shard would always come in the form of a marble, and to craft an item out of it, you'll need nine of them to assemble a single object using the merging table, a boring task one may say, but as he saw the marbles reacting with each others, it never could be bored of it.

Each of them mitting a dim light at first, they slowly melted and the white liquid similar to colored water or milk, flowed through the grooves until it reached the center of the table, where the shape of a card was carved.

From the start, there wasn't many items that could be crafted through the use of the merging table, but all of them came out as cards, be it a gear card, a summoning card, or even an inscription card.

And now, the results there were waiting for was already obvious, and closing his eyes beforehand, Mariane quickly followed the actions of Arthur as soon, a blinding light filled the room, one that wouldn't allow one to open it's eyes.

Once it disappeared, it was the right time, and Arthur quickly grabbed the newly formed card that floated on top of the system window.

" ... Arthur, can you summon her ? "

" Not in this state, as of now, this card is still blank, I have to set the tags first, and depending on those, the result can change greatly. "

Explaining calmly to Mariane how does the processus works in the grand lines, he never expected her to ask about the one thing bothering him the most through the whole summoning process.

" The tags ? "

" Yes, tags, it can be everything, from clothes one are wearing, to the race, the battle class, the sex and sexual orientation, or even kinks. '

Giving the six kind of tags there was to each character entries, he decided that it was good to spill the bean, at least with her.

" ... Does this mean that you also used those to summon me ? "

" To be honest, I did, I also know most cards tags, and I can tell you that there are about more than two thousands cards, you're part of the ones I know by heart, and I used that knowledge to summon you... Does this bother you that I know mostly everything about you ? "

It was such a sensible topic, yet, he didn't wanted to avoid it now, as he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it later in case something happened, yet, her answer really proved that an affinity raised to the level max couldn't be compared to anything else.

" None at all, if anything.. I'm glad that you know me so well and was able to summon me, Arthur, since I want to live each following days by your side... "

Such a sweet answer almost made him tear up as he heard it, but with a smile on his lips, he could only speak his heart, his words mixed with grateful feelings.

" Thank you for everything, Mariane. "

" ... "

To his words, he could see a smile on her lips directed to him, one that warmed his heart, but also made him realize how lucky he was to be able to summon her.

And speaking of summoning..

" Now, let's get this done. "

.. Taking in a deep breath, it was finally time for it to start.

" The tags are.. female, straight, beastkin, priest, and anal. "

The card he was summoning, was one he obtained when he first started the game, though he remember using different tags before, and with the fact that he couldn't remember them all, he still made his choice, using the tags he thought to be the more appropriate to give him the higher chance of obtaining it.

The image in front of him being drawn on top of the card, with the blinding light making it's appearance again, when he opened his eyes, he could see it.

A woman with ink colored hair and eyes, as if colored with a chinese brush, wearing a singular white and black dress cut vertically in two parts at thigh levels, exposing the form of her long legs hidden behind white stockings, was being shown to him, a result that was different than his expectations.

That's right, what he expected to get was a foxgirl with pink purplish hair, wearing clothes that made her ressemble a japanese miko.

She was also one of the community's favorite, almost like a mascot, since a lot of people got her and she was easy to get, yet, he managed to fail his only white ticket to another card.

' But.. '

It's alright, there was no need to panic, as the card in his hand was also a three stars, for which he could only be grateful for as he didn't knew the chances of it happening.

Taking a second look to the card in his hand, the bunny girl inside had the body of a new high schooler, starting her developpement and showing a sign of youth and ignorance that wouldn't be seen on someone like the innkeeper, Luce.

Long ears being the same color as her hair, he couldn't see her tail from her pose on the picture of the card, facing him with her hands joined in front of her chest, as if praying, but he knew that she would have a round tail like every other bunny characters he saw so far.

' Did she stopped aging or something ? How come she's the only one year younger than Mariane but they share such differences ? '

Turning the card around, of course, he was just comparing them and nothing more as he read the back of the card showing her informations.

Reading through it quickly, at least, he was happy to not get a detoxification or a barrier priest, but a healing one, which was the more common type, but he could never be sure what kind of surprise this game reserved him.

And with the affinity already at max level, just like he expected, his next course of action was evident.

" Cards. "

Summoning the pure white book in front of him, he easily put the card on the second slot, before receiving the prompt to receive his rewards, his answer being an obvious yes.

' Alright, with that... '

" Awakening, equipement. "

Calling upon two more windows, he still had his inventory opened, inventory from which he pulled out the three new inscriptions, along with the blank one he received as a gift for the monthly reward.

Refraining himself from swearing at the creator of the game, he felt sorry for Mariane as he put one card after the other as it would emit a light so powerful they would be forced to close their eyes.

Seeing the new and tiny four silver stars next to the name of Stella when he was done, he then proceeded to equip the two piece of gears he received, with it being an armor and a weapon for her, the accessory was missing as her affinity wouldn't be able to reach the level 45.

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Author's note :

Hello everyone ! I'm just writing a small message to say that unfortunately, I don't know how well to describe the priest robe that she is wearing, so I will just drop a reference that most would know.

The robe I had in mind when writing about this character ressemble the one of Priestess, from Goblin Slayer, but behind the two slits making her legs exposed, there would be some sort of inner part, colored black, the lenght of a short skirt, that would hide most of her exposed upper thighs.

I'm not sure if everyone would get the idea, and I won't probably go back through such embarassing low level detailing in the future, so you're free to imagine whatever suits your fancy in the end, and I hope you'll enjoy reading the following story !