human
Subaru:  Subaru gave himself a satisfied smirk.
gpt
Puck:  "By the way—did you manage to eat the rice ball Lia made?"
human
Subaru:  "Yeah, the inside part survived. And as gross as it looked, it actually tasted good. And knowing that Emilia shaped it by hand gave it a special flavor…"
gpt
Puck:  "Maybe I’ll help form the rice balls next time. Think you can guess which ones I made?"
human
Subaru:  "Wouldn’t that be too easy? All the furry ones would be yours."
gpt
Puck:  It was a silly conversation, but it was all Puck’s way of keeping Subaru calm. They had been walking uphill to rendezvous with Ram for nearly two hours—and while they had significantly risen in elevation, the forest was getting darker and darker around them. And Subaru’s head swam with the sneaking suspicion that they were going the wrong way. Just after he exhaled in exhaustion, Puck’s voice on his shoulder hit his ear.
human
Puck:  "Subaru—stop." The sensation of the spirit’s breath stopped his own breathing and tensed his hands and feet. Meanwhile, an eerie noise tickled Subaru’s eardrum. His body instinctively recoiled—it was the sound of a predator hunting its prey. Then the source of the sound slowly emerged from the bushes in front of Subaru. Its body was covered with moist, green scales, and the bloodcurdling growls came from a mouth lined with sharp fangs. But most distinctive were the two sets of red eyes shining out from the darkness. The twin-headed snake glared at Subaru. And growing from its heads were short, white horns.
gpt
Subaru:  "A demon beast…impersonation done by a smart snake, maybe?"
human
Puck:  "An amusing interpretation, but no, that’s a demon beast. A two-headed snake. It’s surprisingly aggressive—poisonous, too."
gpt
Subaru:  "A two-headed snake…but it’s not quite what I imagine a two-headed snake would look like." The demon beast before him did not have a long body with two necks growing from it. It was more simply constructed: a long body with a head on either end. It was indeed two-headed. Its name was not incorrect.
human
Subaru:  "I wouldn’t call that a two-headed snake—I’d call that a double-sided snake. How does it even poop?"
gpt
Puck:  "As a rule, demon beasts absorb their food and convert it to mana, so they don’t defecate."
human
Subaru:  "Dang, they’re just like pop idols. And they’re giving a big middle finger to the food chain." Though Subaru acted confident, his instincts were screaming as he beheld the two-headed snake before him. The demon beast was about seven feet long, about thirty feet between it and Subaru. It was a distance the demon beast could probably cross in one breath.
gpt
Subaru:  "I didn’t ask earlier, but can you fight today, Puck?"
human
Puck:  "He-heh, a demon beast like that? Easy-peasy. The only potential difficulty is, since Lia isn’t here, I might not be able to chat with you anymore after I kill it."
gpt
Subaru:  "Since I’d rather that than be dead, by all means, kill it, Professor."
human
Puck:  "If I must, I must."