After the contract formed, Beatrice instantly felt the connection between herself and Hayashi Maki.
Especially that vast, bottomless sea of mana inside him — it was even more terrifying than Mother Echidna's.
But Beatrice wasn't afraid. She was happy.
As a special kind of great spirit, she couldn't survive on her own by drawing mana from the world.
She could only live by absorbing magic from her contractor.
The reason she had been siphoning mana from others in the mansion through the Forbidden Library was because she had a contract with the mansion itself. Using that loophole in the "protect the library" contract, she barely managed to keep herself alive.
Now that she had Hayashi Maki, she no longer needed those weak trickles of mana.
The more magic Hayashi Maki had, the better it was for her.
Of course, Beatrice hadn't completely, wholeheartedly trusted Hayashi Maki yet.
Even though what he said was logical, to her the only proof of Mother's orders was that Gospel.
But she didn't want to keep waiting anymore. So even if Hayashi Maki was lying, she was willing to "force herself to believe" him.
That way, she could finally be freed from the torment of waiting alone for hundreds of years.
Looking down at the teary, twin-tailed blonde girl in his arms, Hayashi Maki's eyes softened with pity.
"Beatrice, my Betty-chan… stay with me from now on."
Beatrice's cheeks flushed as she looked up at the man who'd freed her.
"You won't lie to Betty, will you?"
"Of course not. Once the time is right, I'll take you to the Sanctuary. We'll bring Echidna out too."
"That's what Roswaal wants as well. After all, he took care of Ram and Rem for so many years — I can at least repay that kindness for my maids."
As soon as he mentioned the maids, Beatrice pouted and leaned in to bite him on the neck.
"Che. You are so unfaithful. If you treat Betty badly in the future, Betty will… will not let you see her for an entire day — no, an hour!"
"Wow, how terrifying," Hayashi Maki laughed. "But I won't give you the chance."
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Ugh… disgusting. You got your drool all over Betty's face!"
"Haha, I only do it because I like you. You can get your drool on my face too, you know."
"Hmph, I refuse~"
Beatrice's face went even redder, but she instinctively wrapped her little arms around his neck.
She was terrified this was all just a dream, so she clung to him even tighter.
Hayashi Maki gently stroked the back of her head, calming her unsettled heart.
"Don't worry. This isn't a dream. We've formed a contract — you can feel it, can't you, Beatrice?"
"Mm. Betty can feel your presence… warm and so very strong!"
She nodded vigorously, subconsciously drawing mana from him, feeling her whole body grow warm.
Hayashi Maki sighed silently, gazing gently at the little loli.
She'd been waiting alone for 400 years in this tiny Forbidden Library. She'd probably already read every book in here several times.
It was hard to imagine how much boredom and loneliness she'd endured — with such a sassy, clingy personality — to hold out this long.
In this world, aside from Roswaal, who knew her, and Puck, everyone else was basically a stranger to her.
And Roswaal had never told Beatrice that he'd been consuming his own descendants' bodies to keep living, so she'd borne her solitude entirely on her own all this time.
Poor little thing.
Sensing his warmth, Beatrice felt her heart turn to melted sugar. She dove into his chest, rubbing her delicate cheek against his neck.
"No matter where you go from now on, you have to take Betty with you! Betty's going to fill that blank book up — with the story of you and Betty!"
"Alright, I'll do whatever you say. But… even when I go to the bathroom?"
Hayashi Maki looked at her strangely.
"Yes!"
The little spirit stared at him seriously, tone full of determination.
"Even when you go to the toilet, you have to bring Betty. Betty can help pull up your pants!"
"Uh… that's… not really necessary, is it?" Hayashi Maki was once again struck by how clingy she was.
"What's wrong with it? Betty has to keep an eye on you. What if you ditch Betty and run off?"
She never wanted to be abandoned again. Never wanted to be alone again.
"Okay, okay. I'll bring you no matter what I'm doing, alright, you clingy little spirit."
Hayashi Maki laughed and pecked her on the cheek again.
Beatrice's face turned even redder, but she leaned forward and kissed him back.
The mood between them grew intensely warm.
"Alright then, Beatrice. Since you're mine now, this Forbidden Library needs to move, too."
"Mm-hmm. Do whatever you like. It's Mother's property, after all — it shouldn't stay here."
Seeing her agree so readily, Hayashi Maki was delighted.
He picked her up and walked out of the library, then raised his hand toward the room before him.
Space compressed as he pulled the entire Forbidden Library into his storage, transforming it into a crystalline pendant.
Then, using alchemy, he inscribed protective magic onto it and gently fastened it around Beatrice's pale neck.
"There you go, my Betty-chan. I've sealed the Forbidden Library inside this necklace. Since Echidna entrusted these books to you, they should stay with you."
Beatrice stared down at the necklace around her throat, eyes shining with joy.
"It's so pretty! This is really for Betty?"
"Of course. It's already around your neck — who else would it be for? To me, the books in that library aren't worth even a single strand of your hair."
He was telling her, in his own way, that he hadn't contracted her just to get his hands on Echidna's grimoires.
At his current level, creating new magic wasn't even difficult for him.
And the truly special, soul-based magics were only known by Echidna herself.
Those grimoires didn't offer Hayashi Maki much in the way of upgrades — he really didn't need them.
Beatrice cupped the pendant in both hands, delighted, then leaned over to kiss his cheek again.
"Thank you, Hayashi Maki. Betty really, really likes this present! Betty will treasure it!"
"As long as you like it. Now then, let's go outside and have some fun. I'll introduce you to the others."
"The others? Who do you mean?" Beatrice frowned slightly, suddenly not so pleased.
"That blonde brat you brought, or that blue-haired woman?"
"Heh, both," Hayashi Maki chuckled. "I also want to tell you more about myself. That blue-haired one is someone very important to me."