Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Slave Contract
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“There are quite a few demon beasts.”
I muttered as I scanned my surroundings.
Corpses of demon beasts lay slaughtered everywhere, followed by monstrous roars echoing from behind.
“Nya.”
With that short reply—
Whoosh!
Neru’s dagger sliced through the air.
The gleaming blade severed the demon beast’s nape precisely, and its massive body collapsed to the ground without a sound.
“There aren’t any crimson demon beasts mixed in, are there?”
I eyed the demon beasts swarming around us.
Every single one was a bluish type.
Not a problem yet.
But…
Controlling this many on its own was no small feat.
The possibility of taming a crimson demon beast… wasn’t something to brush off lightly.
“This is getting tricky…”
Of course, even if a real crimson one popped out, it wouldn’t be a huge issue.
Just a bit tricky.
I still had 【Word of Command】 left, and Neru was moving almost like an unstoppable force.
As long as it wasn’t something like a blood-reflecting beast that bounces magic…
It should be fine.
“Nyaack!”
That was when it happened.
Clang!
Neru’s dagger… snapped under the demon beast’s sturdy fangs.
“Neru.”
I called her name.
Neru, who had leaped into the air, turned to look at me.
For a brief moment, our eyes met perfectly.
Without hesitation… I pulled 【Black Dragon】 from my inventory and hurled it with all my might.
Snap!
The dagger flying through the air landed perfectly in Neru’s hand.
And then…
Neru simply swung her hand downward.
Swoosh.
A light gesture.
With that single motion… the demon beast split cleanly in half and fell.
“Oh…”
Sparkling eyes.
Neru stared at the blade reflecting the light, utterly entranced.
Sorry, but I was just lending her that dagger for a bit.
No way was I giving it away.
“Hmm…”
I pulled a folded map from my pocket and spread it out.
The map the twins had drawn.
I traced the lines with my fingertip to check our current position.
“It should be this way…”
An area dotted thickly with red marks.
The line connecting those points led straight to where I stood now.
And on the opposite side…
“A dead end.”
The direction Alpaltz had fled.
That place had no escape route.
In other words, a dilemma with no way forward or back…
“That’s weird.”
Alpaltz didn’t seem like a smart guy, but he wasn’t dumb either.
For him to head there despite knowing I was chasing him…
“…Was he just an idiot after all?”
Whether this was a trap… or he’d really just bolted blindly.
Too early to judge…
But I had no confidence in figuring it out.
With that thought, the corners of my mouth slowly curled up.
“Why is that…?”
Yesterday’s me would have run dozens of simulations in a situation like this, agonizing over every detail.
And yet…
Today, I was accepting this scenario as a matter of course, utterly convinced of my ‘victory.’
I toyed with my lips for a moment, mulling over the reason.
“The mask…?”
Was the reason… the presence or absence of the 【Mask of Silence】?
I wasn’t wearing it now, but maybe its very existence had influenced me more than I thought.
I chuckled softly and lowered my hand.
And then…
—Kraaaah!!
Demon beasts swarming from the distance.
I made a disgusted face.
“Eww… gross.”
Demon beasts missing eyes where eyes should be.
Legs where arms should be, and grotesquely twisted arms where legs should be.
All sorts of bizarre shapes filled my vision.
“Neru… can you handle this?”
“Woof woof!”
Neru nodded vigorously.
She seemed to really like 【Black Dragon】.
Gripping the dagger’s handle with both hands, her tail wagged excitedly at the thought of shredding the demon beasts ahead.
“Alright then.”
Turning my back to Neru, I left that spot and started walking.
Behind me came the sounds of demon beasts being cleaved and Neru’s “Hee hee hee” giggles.
Leaving all those noises at my back, I followed Alpaltz’s trail.
“Hmm…”
My footsteps were steady.
Now wasn’t the time to fight.
Lost in thought as I walked.
“The unwritten rule is broken…”
Thanks to Alpartz, the gray zone’s unwritten rule had crumbled.
The boundary was gone, and the bare minimum of order would erode bit by bit.
Which left… only chaos.
And at the end of that chaos—
“…Massacre.”
Someone would seize power in the chaos, and others would become its fertilizer and vanish.
But…
“Perfect.”
Before that, if I—
If ‘Nakwol’ reached that position?
“Let’s become the god of a new world.”
Nakwol.
That name would soon mean the ‘king’ of the gray zone.
“Ooh… great idea!”
Whoosh!
Even from afar, she must have heard me, because Neru’s shout followed.
“Right? You think so too, Neru?”
When I called out again, Neru turned to me with a beaming smile.
***
“Huff… huff…”
Alpaltz ran and ran.
Gasping for breath until his lungs nearly burst, he finally arrived in one space.
Riiiing—
A constant tinnitus rang in his ears.
That unpleasant noise whispered to him.
The name ‘death.’
“Damn it…”
Alpaltz wiped sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.
Then he pulled himself together and straightened his posture.
One step, another step.
“Hello—?”
But…
A voice from afar.
“He’s already here…?”
He’d definitely unleashed countless demon beasts on the way.
He thought that would hold him back for a while…
“Damn it…”
Alpaltz clicked his tongue and headed to the wall.
He reached out and pulled a hidden switch from there.
“Mr. Cabbage—?”
If he pressed this switch…
The crimson demon beast buried underground below would raise its head.
Even if it was half-dead, its color’s majesty couldn’t be ignored.
‘At least we’ll die together…’
Alpaltz tried to comfort himself and tense his finger, but…
“Oh, there you are.”
A strangely familiar voice.
Alpaltz turned at the sound…
“You, you…!”
And confirmed the face.
The one who’d shattered everything in an instant.
The one who’d soiled his honor, mocked him, and torn his ‘future’ to pieces.
“Fancy meeting you again?”
Adel.
He was stepping forward, treading the darkness.
“You damn brat…!”
Alpaltz despised himself.
He’d fled in fear of ‘death’…
But that ‘death’ was just this brat in front of him.
Pathetic.
Humiliating.
“What the hell are you—!!”
Alpaltz couldn’t understand.
What was this being that had ruined all his plans, blocked every path, stolen every possibility?
“Who knows? What am I?”
Swish—
Adel raised his hand and grasped at the air.
And… in that hand, a black mask was clutched.
“The mask…”
The black mask wavered dreamily.
Like mist slipping through fingers when trying to grasp a dream.
And at some point…
The black light faded slowly.
Finally, what remained was a pure white mask.
“That mask… no way…”
Alpartz knew.
What it meant to wear a ‘mask’ in the white zone.
The name bearing that symbol…
“Nakwol…!”
At the same moment, a 【Red Thread】 coiled around Adel’s wrist.
The thread writhed like a snake, grasping the air… and connecting something invisible to something else.
Beyond that red thread—
In Alpartz’s eyes, fates appeared.
Threads crossing and weaving, guided by a conductor, revealing figures.
“What are you—!”
Those wearing pure white masks.
Emerging with darkness at their backs, proclaiming their existence even in silence.
“What… are you… what are you all…!!”
He couldn’t comprehend.
Why, how, for what purpose.
Alpartz shouted.
Laden with rage, swallowing terror at the same time.
““Heh.””
And…
Someone responded to his cry.
“If you’re asking what we are!”
“Then it’s only right to answer!”
Voices popped out.
Followed by two girls suddenly filling his vision.
One with jet-black hair.
One with snow-white hair.
The twins… Seira and Aira shouted in unison.
“To stop the destruction of this world!”
“To protect the peace of this world!”
Grand declarations.
Solemn expressions.
But behind them…
“I’m Neru-meow.”
A blood-splattered ragamuffin cat beastkin popped out.
Neru made a cool entrance with her tail wagging…
“…That was my line.”
“…That line was supposed to come later.”
The twins pouted at Neru, looking disappointed.
“Nya?”
Neru blinked innocently with a bright smile.
And…
Alpartz stared at the whole scene with a hollow expression.
Still clutching the switch in his hand.
‘…No choice but to self-destruct now.’
The thought flashed through his mind.
Defeat was certain.
But… losing alone felt too unfair.
…That was when it happened.
“‘No choice but to self-destruct now,’ right?”
Step.
One step.
Then another.
Adel… was approaching slowly.
“……!”
Alpartz was stunned.
His body reacted instinctively, hiding the switch behind his back.
‘How? Did he read my mind?’
Chills raced up and down his spine.
His hand trembled without him realizing.
“Yes.”
“…….!!”
“There really is a crimson demon beast, huh?”
Adel’s lips curved up.
But… that smile held no emotion.
And in that instant—
Wriggle wriggle……
Waves rippled.
At some point unnoticed…
The space had become a pitch-black sea, and Adel was still smiling within it.
“A demon beast… I raise something similar.”
A massive shadow writhed behind Adel.
Along with it…
─────!!
A dragon revealed itself.
Its jet-black scales glimmered, its radiant eyes flashed.
“Ahh…”
Drop.
The switch slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
…Thud.
Alpartz unknowingly fell to his knees.
And… he raised his trembling hands high.
***
Thud.
Alpartz on his knees, hands thrust up high.
It was an obvious surrender pose anyone could see, but…
The Nakwol members paid it no mind.
“D-Dragon…! Can I take just one scale…!!”
Caramel stared piercingly at Leviathan’s body, eyes sparkling.
“Bite it if you want to try.”
“You… control dragons?”
“My pet.”
At those words, Uncle Beru beside him looked at me with utter disbelief.
I didn’t need 【Cupid’s Arrow】 to read his mind.
The face said, ‘What the hell is this guy?’
His expression said it all, even if his mouth didn’t move.
“Hmm… nothing surprises me anymore.”
“You can be surprised.”
Uncle Beru let out a sigh mixed with half admiration, half resignation.
Meanwhile—
“That was no mere snake…!”
“That was an enormous sea serpent…!!”
The twins synced up again.
At that… glare.
Leviathan narrowed its eyes and glared at the twins.
“Gasp.”
“Eek.”
Apparently…
The term ‘sea serpent’ hadn’t sat well.
“Hmm.”
I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
These people, each with their unique abilities, wearing pure white masks…
I gazed at them blankly and thought.
“We kinda look like a shadowy cabal now.”
The kind that pops up a lot in stories.
Totally fits, doesn’t it?
“…Ahem.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly a few times, then approached Alpartz, who knelt there, morale shattered.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Alpartz von Baisel ]
Attribute
: 「Wind」
Skills / Traits
: 【Beast Taming】
: 【Empathy】
: 【…】
Unique Skills
: 【Yoke of Oppression】
: 【…】
Unique Traits
: 【Crisis Detection】
: 【…】
Stats
: Stamina : 21 (B)
: Strength : 19 (C)
: Intellect : 25 (B)
: Mentality : 24 (B)
: Mana : 20 (C)
Talents
: 【Social Skills(B+)】
: 【Crisis Management(B)】
: 【Eloquence(B-)】
: 【…】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
“Wow… even a slowpoke has its rolling skills, huh…”
This Cabbage guy…
Wasn’t just some lucky human after all.
I squatted down in front of Alpartz.
“Mr. Cabbage. You have two choices.”
“…”
“First, pledge loyalty to Nakwol.”
Abandon all the fame, fortune, status, and face he’d built up so far…
And devote your entire life solely to me—under the name ‘Nakwol.’
If that’s no good…
“Second. Get buried underground as is.”
“…….”
Smirk—
I wickedly lifted the corner of my mouth and added.
“Oh, and by the way, the second option isn’t bad.”
“…W-What?”
“I’ll pick the nicest spot possible to bury you.”
Of course, bullshit.
Alpartz had only one real choice.
He knew it, and I knew it perfectly well.
I naturally pulled out paper and a pen from my inventory.
“Hmm… one sec.”
At the top of the paper, I wrote boldly.
‘Contract’
Then, as I went to write mine and Alpartz’s names below…
“What’s your family name again?”
“……Baisel.”
“Aha.”
I promptly wrote ‘Adel’ and ‘Alpartz von Baisel’ in a row.
But suddenly, I tapped my head with the pen tip.
“But does a family name even matter now? You won’t be able to show your face anymore…”
Just mumbling to myself…
But for some reason, Alpartz’s face turned ashen.
“Here we go.”
I gripped the pen again…
And scribbled down the contract terms.
*
Slave☆ Contract☆
Adel (Party A) and Alpa#!t—rpartz von Baisel (Party B) hereby enter into the following contract.
Contract Period:
- Until one of Party A or Party B dies.
- Automatically extended if reincarnation or undeath occurs.
Location:
- Anywhere.
- Includes reality, dreams, nightmares, bathrooms.
Duties:
- Everything.
- Party B must understand and act first just from Party A’s thoughts.
- Saying “I can’t do it” constitutes a breach. (Penalty: tongue removal)
Compensation:
- Whenever Party A feels like it, as whimsically as desired.
- Not paid if Party B expects it.
- Currency may be substituted with ‘chur’ or ‘emotional rewards.’
Vacation:
- None☆☆
- One paid day off only upon death (unpaid if revived)
Benefits:
- Chur is delicious (important) ☆
- Early access to Caramel’s new potions (personal responsibility if life lost)
*
“All done.”
I massaged my hardworking wrist.
Then… I held the completed contract out to Neru.
“What do you think? Anything to add?”
Neru eyed the paper with sparkling eyes.
Reading line by line, letter by letter, seriously…
“Hmm… perfect!”
“Right?”
I smiled contentedly at Neru’s words, then gazed at Alpartz with a bubbly heart.
“Here.”
“…”
“Stamp it. Hard.”
Alpartz, silent for a long time, slowly raised his head.
Looking up at me with hollow eyes, he… raised his thumb and wiped his nosebleed.
Then, without a word…
Press.