A supporting character in a romance anime? I became a god using a rat talisman.

It really felt like there was a breeze flowing around me.

Before Kazama Chiba could even discern whether the sensation was merely a psychological effect...

The card in his hand suddenly burst into a dazzling light.

call--!

Immediately afterwards, a small storm suddenly swept through the previously enclosed, cramped apartment.

The wind, with the card in Kazama Chiba's hand as its eye, swept wildly in all directions.

He subconsciously squinted, his clothes fluttering in the wind, and stray hairs on his forehead were haphazardly slapped against his face.

The airflow swirled wildly in the space of a few square meters, like an invisible giant hand stirring it up.

The surrounding objects rattled and rustled in the wind.

Kazama Chiba squinted, raised her hand to shield her forehead, and through her fingers saw the pages of the Book of Seals frantically turning in the gale.

Then, one by one, the fifty-two Clow Cards that had been lying obediently in the grooves broke free from the pages of the book.

They transformed into streaks of light and roared out through the windows that had been smashed open by the gale.

In the blink of an eye, it merged into the sky above Shenshui City and disappeared without a trace.

The whole process took only a few seconds.

As the last glimmer of light disappeared into the distance, the wind in the room stopped instantly.

Only the mess on the floor and the still slightly swaying window proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

Kazama Chiba lowered her hand, her face showing no sign of panic.

"They run really fast."

He casually flipped the card that was emitting a faint glow over, showing no intention of catching up.

In Kazama Chiba's view, the core purpose of the cards is to verify the power of the Rat Talisman.

Now that the wind sign has been successfully activated, it means that his experiment has been successful.

As for the fifty-one cards that escaped?

Anyway, the Rat Talisman is still in the book, so it doesn't matter if the card escaped.

If all else fails, I can just go to Akihabara again tomorrow.

Anyway, this is a mass-produced peripheral product. As long as he has the talisman, it doesn't matter if he buys a hundred copies and slowly activates them.

Just as Kazama Chiba withdrew her gaze, preparing to check if the empty book cover still had any value for recycling...

Suddenly, a sound came from the previously silent cover of the book behind me.

"Aha--"

It was an extremely lazy yawn, as if it had been sleeping for a century before waking up.

Kazama Chiba raised an eyebrow and turned around.

The cover of the Book of Seals was rippling like the surface of water.

Immediately afterwards, a bright yellow toy lion with small white wings slowly squeezed out from the book cover.

With its eyes closed, it raised its two short front paws high, making an extremely relaxed yawning motion, while its slender tail swayed comfortably behind it.

Immediately afterwards, a loud, hoarse voice with a heavy Kansai accent rang out in the quiet room.

"Mmm—that was a really good night's sleep! I probably haven't had such a restful night's sleep in thirty years."

The unidentified creature hovered in mid-air, exclaiming in a cheerful tone as if it had just finished a bath and drunk a bottle of milk.

It rubbed its eyes, seemingly not yet fully adjusted to the outside light.

"I wonder what era this is... But this familiar magical fluctuation must mean a new card user has appeared, right? Hey, I mean, that newcomer..."

As it spoke, it habitually glanced at the books beneath it, as if checking its belongings.

However, this pleasant atmosphere didn't last more than three seconds.

Its gaze fell on the empty pages of the book.

The fifty-two Clow Cards that should have been neatly arranged there were nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?"

The toy lion froze, its eyes, which had been narrowed to slits, suddenly widened as if two light bulbs were shining inside.

"Huh?!"

It flew incredulously to the top of the book pages, its two little hands frantically groping in the empty grooves, as if it thought it was just a visual magic trick, or a hallucination caused by its own sleepiness.

"No? No?! Why isn't it there?!"

It stuck its rear end out, burying its entire head between the pages of the book, as anxious as an ant tap-dancing on a hot pan, uttering a series of strange, incomprehensible cries.

"This isn't right! I clearly felt the shockwave of the seal being broken just now! Where are my cards? Where are my cards? Where are my Clow Cards?! How come there aren't a single one left?! Aaaaaah!"

Kazama Chiba leaned against the table, neither surprised nor amused, silently recalling the original setting of this creature.

It appears that although it looks like a doll, it does possess independent thinking and language abilities.

This is the legendary sealed beast, Keroberos.

That is, the mascot who, apart from eating sweets and playing games, is basically useless in the early part of the story.

Seeing that the guy was about to tear the pages to shreds, Kazama Chiba finally lost her patience to continue watching the show.

He raised his hand and handed over the "Wind" card that was between his fingers.

"You're looking for this?"

Cerberus, who was in a frenzy, paused in his actions.

My eyes were instantly drawn to that familiar pattern.

"Oh! Oh! It's here!"

As if it had found a lifeline, it flapped its little wings and flew up, grabbing the card that was bigger than its body and rubbing its cheek against it desperately.

That soft touch, that familiar magical energy fluctuation—it's definitely the real deal.

"Great! Great! So that's where it was! I was scared to death, I thought it was gone!"

It clutched the tiny card tightly, tears streaming down its face, muttering things like, "That scared me to death!" and "I thought I was going to lose my job."

It took a full five seconds for its reaction arc to finally complete one lap around the Earth.

and many more.

Who handed me this card?

Cerberus turned around abruptly, and only then did it look directly at the human standing by the table for the first time.

Black hair, black eyes, wearing an ordinary home T-shirt, with a cold expression on its face that made it extremely unhappy, as if it were looking at some inferior creature.

This human doesn't possess that kind of magic.

You could even say that, apart from that unfathomable depth, he was just an ordinary high school student.

Cerberus flew backward a distance, striking what he considered a very intimidating pose—hands on hips, brows furrowed, and his tail swishing dramatically behind him.

"Wait a minute! Who are you?! Why are you holding Clow Cards? And where am I?!"

Kazama Chiba looked at its menacing expression, crossed her arms, lowered her head slightly, and used her height advantage to cast a domineering shadow.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"This is my home. And you are a strange, talking creature that suddenly appeared out of my book. Logically, I should throw you in the washing machine to cleanse your brain, or call the police and hand you over to the Abnormal Creature Management Bureau of Shenshui City."

"Uh……"

The rag doll lion was clearly stumped by this unconventional explanation.

It looked around and found that it was indeed an unfamiliar room filled with the atmosphere of modern life.

There were no magic circles on the wall, no potion bottles on the shelf, only a bunch of cheap-looking little plastic figures.

What the other person said seemed to make a lot of sense.

After all, in this unfamiliar environment, it was the uninvited guest.

"Ahem! Um... this was indeed my mistake."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Cerberus scratched the back of his head awkwardly and let out a few dry laughs.

However, as a sealed beast that had lived for countless years, it quickly adjusted its mindset, cleared its throat, and struck what it considered a majestic pose in the air.

"Listen up, kid! Now that you've unlocked the Book of Seals, it means you're qualified to know the truth!"

It puffed out its small chest, which didn't have much muscle, and began to recite the opening lines that it already knew by heart with a serious expression.

"I am not some unknown creature! I am Cerberus! I am a sealed beast created by the great magician Clow Reed! My duty is to guard this 'Clow Book' and prevent the Clow Cards inside from falling into the human world! Because if these cards get out of control, it will cause a catastrophe that will destroy the world!"

As he spoke, Cerberus deliberately flew around the wind card, seemingly to demonstrate his authority.

"Oh."

Kazama Chiba stared at it expressionlessly, without even blinking.

He knew these settings by heart from watching cartoons in his previous life, and even knew that this guy's current appearance was just a disguise to save magic power.

"Oh, what do you mean? You're really being disrespectful!"

"It means I already know."

To fit this comical first meeting, Kazama Chiba reluctantly raised a finger and pointed to the wind talisman in its arms.

"So, this is what you meant by 'dangerous material'?"

"That's right!"

Kerberos nodded with lingering fear, his expression as solemn as if he were discussing the nuclear launch button.

"Each Clow Card possesses a unique personality and powerful magic. If left unchecked, they will wreak havoc in the world and even cause irreparable destruction!"

It patted the card in its arms affectionately and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, although there was a slight mishap just now, it seems that most of the cards should still be in the book... uh?"