The Contractor of Fear
Envy. Hello. I'm Hans, a third-year adventurer. My favorite food is anything that hasn't gone bad, and my least favorite is anything too expensive for me to afford. Yes, as you can see, I was fortunate enough not to be killed or robbed by Mr. Raven. Mr. Raven looks terrifying—not just ordinarily terrifying, but extremely terrifying—yet he isn't a bad person. Ah, that came out wrong. He isn't a bad demon.
"So... Mr. Raven is a demon?"
"That's right."
I can't believe it. But I have no choice. Otherwise, I might end up dead.
—Nonsense! I sense no rank from you at all. How could you possibly be a demon like me?
The sword, which had grown somewhat quiet after being struck against the rock, suddenly began to ring its blade and speak to Mr. Raven.
"...Like you?"
Mr. Raven drew out his words, sounding irritated. Oh no. I had barely survived, and now it feels like I'm being shoved back into the monster's maw. That low voice, like multiple people whispering at once, is something I'll never get used to no matter how many times I hear it. If an ancient serpent could speak, it would probably sound exactly like that.
"Please ignore what Sword is saying. It's a slightly deranged ego sword."
"Oh? An ego sword... You carry something interesting."
With those words, Mr. Raven bent down, bringing his crimson glow close as he peered intently at the traitorous sword—Sword. I flinched.
Whoa, whoa. My heart is pounding. I really won't be getting any sleep tonight.
Even though those empty, murderous eyes weren't looking directly at me, my legs felt weak. Is this what a rabbit feels before a lynx, or a cockroach before a centipede? My heart was hammering wildly. I had always assumed all demons were handsome men or beautiful women, but apparently some of them look this terrifying.
In that case, maybe there are demons that look like swords too...
Possibly. I wanted to continue that line of thought, but Mr. Raven's gaze was so lethal that I couldn't focus.
"Hm? Ah. My apologies. Was this still active?"
After studying the rusty sword for a moment, Mr. Raven noticed my trembling hands, straightened up, and raised one hand to the side of his head. The crimson glow that seemed to pierce through everything faded like a dying candle flame. He was still terrifying, but at least I felt like I might survive a little longer.
Mr. Raven had probably been using one of his demonic powers until now. I had no idea what kind, but even while telling me to relax, he had still been on guard against me. He really wasn't someone you could afford to let your guard down around. I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.
"..."
But why? Strangely, my feet refused to move despite my wishes. It wasn't fear. Rather... something else. I couldn't quite put it into words. It was an emotion I had never felt before. It wasn't some romantic nonsense like falling in love. Mr. Raven was clearly a male demon even from the side, and I was a proper man myself. I liked pretty girls. There were occasionally strange people who mistook me for a girl, but I was definitely male. I had even cut my hair short just in case, yet people still bothered me about it. Every time that happened, I would use Sword's flat to dent their heads, but those idiots just called it "charming" and made things difficult.
If Mr. Raven were around, those kinds of people would probably disappear completely. Ah, my mind wandered again. It's a habit I have when I'm alone. Hard to fix. Because of this, Sword often scolded me during training for getting distracted.
I shook my head lightly to clear my thoughts and cautiously glanced at Mr. Raven again.
"Fishing, huh. Fishing..."
Whew. I had worried he might just stare at me in silence, but thankfully Mr. Raven was leaning against the rock, lost in thought. Since I had given him all my information to survive, he knew our final destination was the twentieth floor of the Green Zone—the torso. Naturally, he also knew I planned to go fishing there. The way he kept muttering the word "fishing" made it seem like he was interested in it, just like me.
The way he suddenly drifted off during conversation or showed interest in fishing made him feel oddly similar to me. At first he had only seemed terrifying, but now, even though he was still scary, I found myself wanting to get closer to him. When I was with other people, I only ever felt awkward, but this was a strange new feeling. Was it because he wasn't human, but a demon? The rejection was weaker. What would it have been like if someone like him had been my demon?
...What am I even thinking right now?
Getting rained on and struggling all day must have broken my brain a little. I needed to reflect on having such disrespectful thoughts about Mr. Raven's contractor.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Raven. Well then, we'll be on our way!"
Dragging my exhausted legs, I approached Mr. Raven, who was still muttering something about "large-mouthed bass," and said my goodbyes. From what I had heard, Mr. Raven was standing guard outside for the safety of his party members. Having me around would only get in the way.
"If you have nowhere else to go, you can just sleep here. I'll light a fire for you."
Was that okay?
"...Is that really all right?"
"Why wouldn't it be? If I just let you go, my sherpa would scold me."
"I see... Then I won't refuse."
"Good."
Mr. Raven was surprisingly kind. I was a little moved. Now that I thought about it, he seemed somewhat embarrassed and kept looking away while speaking. It was a little funny. He didn't seem very honest with his own emotions. If only someone like him had been beside me in the past, things might have been different. What a shame. I almost wanted to trade him for this traitorous talking sword. Could I become Mr. Raven's contractor instead? Probably not. Sorry. I overstepped.
—Fwoosh!
Mr. Raven lit a fire for me as I shivered in the cold.
"Here. Sleep next to this."
Though the fire was a bit large. Was he actually planning to roast me? Crackle. Crackle.
It's warm.
I had my doubts, but the flames climbing the logs were so comforting that my head began to droop. Before I could even say goodnight, I fell asleep sitting upright.
In my half-asleep state, I felt someone laying me down properly. I wondered who it was. Really.
***
Ticklish.
"Mmm..."
Something was tickling my face. I wanted to sleep a little longer, but it was incredibly annoying. Had a cockroach or centipede crawled up? In that case, I could just keep sleeping. Good night.
Ticklish.
Ah, I really couldn't take it anymore. Unable to endure the itch on my face, I opened my eyes. It seemed morning hadn't arrived yet, since the light wasn't blinding... Hm?
"..."
"...?"
Who are you? When I opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful woman squatting down, looking at me upside down... or at least, I thought so. She just looked like a pretty girl around my age. Thump. My heart was racing. Beating quite hard, actually. Part of it was surprise, but mostly it was because I had never seen such a beauty this close before. If this person were a boy instead of a girl, my sense of identity might have been thrown into chaos. One peculiar thing was that one of her eyes was apple-red. Just like Mr. Raven's eyes from yesterday.
Mr. Raven?
"Um... Are you perhaps Mr. Raven's contractor?"
"Yes."
So she said. A curt, indifferent answer. Even with the dying embers beside us, she felt incredibly cold. But why was she staring at me like that? It was starting to feel a little scary. Had I done something wrong? I didn't know it was possible to commit wrongs in your sleep.
The black-haired beauty in the robe stared at me for a long while before asking,
"Are you a girl, by any chance?"
She had asked me the question I wanted to ask her. It felt like I had lost somehow. An unfamiliar sense of defeat. I had never fought with anyone before, so I hadn't known, but apparently I was the type who hated losing.
I tried my best not to focus on the black hair brushing against my cheek and barely managed to speak.
"No. I'm a man."
Ah, that came out a bit aggressive. But it couldn't be helped. If the other person didn't respect me, it was hard for me to respect them either.
"Hmm. Is that so?"
But what was this? Suddenly, I felt like her wariness toward me had decreased slightly. Her expression had softened. That wasn't the reaction I had expected. Both Mr. Raven and his contractor were quite peculiar as a pair.
The beauty who had been quietly watching me shifted positions to sit in front of me. As I sat up with a dazed expression, she extended her hand toward me.
"I apologize for my rudeness earlier. My name is Yuri. The legitimate—and only—contractor of the Demon of Fear, Raven. It's nice to meet you."
The Demon of Fear...?
According to The Dungeon City Chronicles, which I had once picked up and read, demons were the shadows of the goddess—beings born from "dark emotions." And the rank of demons was determined by the influence those dark emotions had on the world. In that case, just how high-ranked was Mr. Raven, the demon who governed "fear," an emotion every living being possessed?
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you, Miss Yuri. I'm just Hans. My class is Spellsword."
I calmed my trembling heart and took the beauty's hand. It was incredibly soft. Nothing like my own rough, calloused hands. Hands that had never done hard labor. Was she perhaps a noble? Nobles held no real authority inside Bastion, but it was still a little worrying. Most nobles had terrible personalities.
"...A Spellsword?"
"Yes. The sword I use is a bit special."
"A special sword?"
"Yes. Um... Sword, say something."
—Don't you dare give me orders, Hans.
"The sword talked!?"
"I was surprised at first too. Suddenly hearing a human voice coming from a pile of dust... Ah, her name is Sword."
"Ooh... It's nice to meet you, Sword."
—Likewise, Contractor of Fear. Hmm, you possess quite strong mana for your appearance. But your rank isn't high. Just how did you form a contract with Fear?
"What?"
"Ah, just ignore what Sword says. She's a slightly deranged ego sword."
"An ego sword... So they really exist. I only ever read about them in books...!"
Fortunately, Miss Yuri didn't seem to be a bad noble. The moment Sword spoke, her eyes lit up and she began asking me all sorts of questions. This was the first time I had ever talked with someone around my age. It was... fun.
***
"Uwaaaah... Good morning, Crow~nya... Huh? Who's that?"
"Shh."
"...Take your finger off my lips, nya."
"Try being quiet for once."
Right now, our hikikomori contractor was trying to make her first friend. Don't ruin the mood, you damn sleepyhead thief. Go back to sleep.