The Villainess Doesn't Want to Deal With This Shit

Chapter 3- Familiar Problems and Parental Worries

I made sure not to react, but met Kallen's eyes and looked significantly back towards the window. He followed my gaze, and his own eyes widened.

As I chatted with my parents, keeping them distracted, he flew from the bed to the window, snatching up the snake with his beak and burying it in the feathers on his back before flying back to the others. The couple didn't even notice, too enthralled by me to even look away. I convinced them that instead of having the supplies delivered we would have to go out together to pick out collars and accessories for my new familiars, and ushered them out the door to go prepare the carriage, locking it behind them.

Kallen wasted no time in turning back into his human form, cradling the snake in his palm. It lay there docilely.

"Okay. New problems. First of all. What the fuck are we supposed to do with that? I was already pushing it with three familiars, but I can already tell that little guy makes number four. I cannot have twice the number of familiars as everybody else." I took the snake from him, looking it over. It was barely long enough to wrap around my finger twice, which it was content to do.

Kallen sighed. "If I had known that you were actually powerful enough to draw in three of them, I would not have come in under that form. We should have waited longer to enact that plan."

"Too late for regrets. I don't know a damn thing about snakes though, how big do you think this guy is going to get. What do you even feed a snake this small? Shit, what kind of snake even is it?" I looked over the little guy, even as it regarded me with its bright yellow eyes. Its scales were pitch black, but they shimmered with iridescence when I shifted him in the light. I tilted my hand back and forth for a moment, mesmerised.

Kallen studied him over my shoulder. "I created everything on this planet. Every creature was personally crafted by my hands. But familiars are different, they are a reflection of the soul of their master. I don't recognize what breed that pup is, and you called the kitten a 'maine coon'. I did not create those. I believe that the fact that your soul came from the other world means that you familiars' forms did as well. So... there is nothing I can tell you about this snake."

"You are just a great load of help." I muttered. "Well... we'll have to keep this guy hidden. That's the only answer. They already know about the rest of you, so there's no going back on it being known that I have three. I could probably keep him wrapped around my wrist disguised as a bracelet until he gets too big for that, if he does... we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. So do familiars eat the same thing regular animals eat? That was never specified in the game."

"They do. Though they also feed on your magic, both the kitten and pup will need mother's milk as well at least until they're a bit more grown."

"Wow, they're that young? Alright, we should be able to get that in town. What about the snake? I'm gonna just have to go on the assumption that even if it is from my world, it'll still eat the same thing as snakes here do. So...?"

Kallen nodded. "Probably the best idea, until we know more. I would feed it crickets at its current size, and bigger prey as it grows, like mice and rats."

I wrinkled my nose. "I'm going to have to catch those things myself. It would be weird for me to buy them right now. Okay, that's the plan. Now I'm going to close the window before I draw in any more pets."

"Wait. When you saw your parents... why did you say that there was going to be a new problem?"

"Because in the game, those weren't Celeste's parents. Those were the main character's, Solarias'."

The people who weren't my parents but were stared at me as the carriage clattered down the cobbled way leading from our manor. I tried to ignore them as I comforted the kitten as she mewled pitifully, probably hungry. The puppy was curled up next to my lap, having already chewed a small hole in the upholstery of the seat. Kallen presided over them, regally settled on a perch hastily added to the carriage just for him. The snake was curled up in my pocket.