Conversation (1)
Isaac stared at Byna with eyes devoid of any warmth, cold and sharp as if veiled in menace.
Byna swallowed the dry lump in her throat without showing it on her face.
Isaac seemed to believe her current form as a cat was not real, but half of that guess was correct and half was not.
Fundamentally, the body was undeniably a spirit entity. For instance, even if the body mimicking this cat were to vanish, the true self would remain unharmed.
[My current body is a spirit entity, and even if it disappears, the original body remains safe.]
Yet that did not mean there would be zero damage.
Simply put, she would have to expend a significant amount of accumulated mana.
This was the body she had poured so much into, a spirit entity brimming with countless abilities.
She had never wanted to bring something this dangerous here in the first place.
The fact that she had endured such immense peril for no reason was the real problem.
Isaac Havertz. Douglas’s eldest son.
It was a fact only revealed a month ago, but he possessed the talent of a 9th-circle archmage capable of defeating Douglas in a one-on-one duel.
Simply put, he was an irregular not included in Kether’s grand plan at all.
It meant he had not even been considered a target.
Byna’s eyes, embedded with her own soul, sparkled with golden light as her lips curled into a faint smile.
She was a member of Sephirot and even held the position of Wing.
Yet her true desires did not align perfectly with Kether’s.
Even if the paths to certain points were the same, the reasons for walking them might differ.
One day, she might have to turn that inhuman monster into an enemy.
Preparation was necessary.
For these reasons, the young duke standing before her was the most suitable target for recruitment.
She will make one proposal.
Isaac Havertz.
Thus, she had braced herself internally while smiling as if nothing was amiss.
Kether and Sephirot. I will hand over the information you most crave, one piece at a time every time you lend me your strength.
“……”
Let us form a cooperative relationship. Whether it is power or force, I will need your strength only a few times in the future.
She was not entirely lacking in power, but she was nowhere near an 8th-circle archmage like him.
From Byna’s perspective, she wanted to have at least one contingency for unforeseen circumstances.
She had actually considered Adelaide’s case as well.
That bottomless old man… if I approach him wrongly, I might face backlash.
In that regard, Isaac was far easier to deal with.
His principles were too obvious.
A man who killed the strongest mage just to save his own sister?
He might even have some similarities to himself…
So long as she did not provoke Charlotte Havertz, there would be no problem.
Byna had judged so, and she had never doubted that judgment.
“Is that all you have to say?”
She had missed a few things.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
[……Eh?]
Isaac Havertz was, fundamentally, a man who cherished his sister more than any normal person could understand.
He would not forgive those who crossed him lightly.
Byna gulped down the dry lump as the ground began to shake violently.
She glanced down briefly, then leaped up in panic.
Kwakuakwakwa-quak! [Mew, meow?!]
The ground she had been standing on twisted and erupted, threatening to swallow her whole along with the ground itself.
Byna was genuinely shocked, her mouth agape.
She could not help but let out a cat-like cry.
Truly.
Hmph…!
She quickly gathered her mana to respond, but there was little she could do against a completed high-circle spell.
At best, she could create a small gap to avoid instant death.
[……Cough, hah.]
Of course, that did not mean her posture was comfortable.
The jagged rocks had become leashes, chains, and cuffs binding her tightly.
Byna was completely immobilized, sweat dripping down her fur.
She tried rolling her large eyes in search of a gap.
Crack!
[Hic…!]
Isaac had calmly taken her sword from one of his subordinates and driven the blade straight into the rock, leaving only a thin millimeter between the sharp edge and her cheek.
Byna trembled violently in genuine panic, her eyes wide.
She could not break free from the rocky prison.
“One.”
And Isaac spoke in a voice so freezing it sent chills down her spine.
“I cannot trust you. A member of Sephirot’s Wings suddenly proposes cooperation, and how am I supposed to believe that?”
[Ah, no, that’s…]
“Two.”
There was no time for her to speak.
Isaac continued in a calm, indifferent tone.
“Even if you really intend to betray Sephirot, my personal feelings right now are telling me to tear this spirit entity apart.”
[……]
“It looks bad no matter how you look at it. After all, didn’t you help turn Charlotte into that state?”
[……W-what? Harlot?]
Byna asked in genuine confusion, but Isaac paid her no mind and pulled the sword from the rock.
Whoosh!
Dark aura formed along the blade in a sea-like glow.
Byna flinched and shrank her neck.
[You, you can use aura too?]
“I do not neglect my physical training.”
[No, what the hell…]
It was beyond absurd.
If a tenth-circle knight aspirant heard such words, what kind of reaction would they give?
But whether she was flustered or not, it was not important to Isaac.
“Let me tell you one thing first, Byna. I just created a spell.”
[……What?]
“It can strike even beyond a spirit entity or soul entity, into the original body.”
Byna’s eyes widened in surprise.
She took a quick breath, then continued with forced composure.
[……That’s nonsense. Such magic cannot be created so easily─]
Whoosh!
At that exact moment, flames erupted.
Blindingly beautiful pure white flames wrapped around the blade.
[……Ah, ugh.]
Byna had no choice but to swallow the words she had just spoken.
Her instincts told her what that flame would do.
She could not understand its composition or principle, since she was not a mage.
She simply sensed intuitively.
It was certain. If she touched that flame, it would affect her original body in the duchy mansion far beyond her control.
What the exact effect would be, she could not even imagine, but it would not be pleasant.
Now I must abandon this body and run away…
Panicked, she focused her mind to abandon the ‘meow meow’ spirit entity, tears welling in her eyes.
“So I will make you a counter-offer instead.”
Isaac spoke, and Byna lifted her head with a teary, pitiful face.
One knee on the ground to match her height, he said quietly.
“If you have the courage to reveal your true sincerity.”
[……?]
“How about it? Let us form a magic contract.”
[W-what?]
“Although I spoke of the contract, I am also interested in the information you hold.”
Tap!
Isaac snapped his fingers, summoning a contract document.
Both Byna and Cain, as well as Elena, reacted with visible surprise at the appearance of the contract scroll.
“……Master, that magic is…”
Elena, who had been watching carefully, cautiously spoke, but Isaac simply raised a hand to silence her.
“This is the place of dialogue where one swears allegiance to the god of contracts and reveals only the truth. Is there not a magic more necessary for the two of us right now than anything else?”
Isaac explained the nature of the magic, and Byna frowned quietly.
She was familiar with the ‘Contract of Oath’ as well.
[……Even so, don’t we both stand to lose something? For example, if you ask for my name, status, position, or identity, what then?]
“Well, we will need additional rules to prevent awkward situations between us.”
Isaac snapped his fingers again.
A pen fell from the sky.
Without being held, it moved of its own accord and began writing on the contract.
“During the duration of this dialogue, the right to refuse to answer will be granted once. To you and to me.”
[……Oh.]
“And if both exhaust this right, the dialogue ends. The contract will be automatically terminated…
The pen soon vanished as its role was complete, and Isaac’s lips curled upward in a challenge toward Byna.
“Shall we begin? Will you answer, or not?”
[Ha.]
Byna let out a loud, mocking laugh, raising her chin with a voice that was half-prideful.
[Yes, go ahead! I will prove my sincerity as well. What harm is there?]
“Then the contract is formed.”
[Don’t regret it later, you!]
“I will not regret it.”
Isaac kept his arms crossed in a relaxed manner throughout, while Byna glared at him with grinding teeth.
“……”
[……]
There was a brief silence.
Byna lowered her head, then spoke in a voice that sounded as if she were crawling on the ground, her face flushing.
[P-please… loosen the damn leash first before we talk…]
“Ah.”
Isaac feigned forgetting, waving his hand lightly.
Kung, kuwoong! Kugugung.
The bizarre rock formations returned to their original ground, and Byna leaned on her front paws with great effort, panting.
[T-there are all kinds of strange magic. Binding a woman like this. His Highness the Duke of the Altmain Empire has such a refined taste…]
“……What nonsense are you spouting, you harlot.”
[Stop saying harlot! Why do you keep repeating harlot, harlot…!]
Byna shouted, then puffed out her chest for a while before suddenly balancing on her hind legs and performing a bipedal walk.
She walked right up to Isaac’s feet with a sharp glare in her eyes.
[……I will ask first. Answer with yes or no.]
“I will.”
[Isaac Havertz, you─]
Byna lifted her front paw with a sharp look, glaring fiercely at Isaac’s indifferent answer.
[You have no experience with women, do you?!]
“……?”