The Contract's Unbreakable Truth
The conversation hall hummed under the divine authority of the contract magic, a sacred art born from the name of the gods themselves. In a way, it bordered on holy magic, yet it was nothing so grand as absolute spells. Even if I had braced myself, I could have shattered it by force. The very words of the contract had already been altered anyway.
Only one privilege was granted: the right to refuse to answer. That single clause was more than enough to dull any threat. It was not a binding contract at all.
The real problem, of course, was that while the contract was active, not a single lie or deception could slip from my mouth.
Try to erase the magic without using the refusal right, and you would be forced to affirm or deny something whether you wished to or not.
[Isaac Havertz, you have never experienced a woman, have you?]
“….”
That question, coming so bluntly, cut through me like a blade. Vina could not possibly have intended it. She had simply been irritated by the way I treated her and had blurted out the first thought that came to mind.
It was oddly unsettling, yet I crushed every wild guess that rose in my mind and answered lightly.
“No.”
[……?!]
Vina stumbled back a full step, her front paws splaying sideways in shock. If a cat that walked on two legs suddenly found itself in an awkward situation, it would react exactly like this. And since she was a cat in the first place, I could not have described the expression more perfectly.
[You, you can’t be serious……?]
Confusion and disbelief warred in her eyes, followed by clear frustration at the mismatch between question and response.
Vina muttered those emotions in a tone that was somehow both embarrassed and deadpan. She had wasted a golden opportunity with an utterly ridiculous question, only to land right on something strange and off-target.
I answered with a blank expression.
“Even if you were not a mage, you would still feel it. This contract magic binds us. While it is active, neither of us can speak lies.”
[……No, that is not why I asked.]
Then what?
I looked down at her with growing incredulity. Even after our first meeting, I could already sense that this woman was something beyond the fourth dimension.
For example, what did it matter whether I had ever been with a woman or not?
She was one of the Wings of Sephirot. And I had already torn through her appearance with the very urge I had been suppressing with all my strength just to keep this negotiation alive.
I could not understand why she was asking such a weak, pointless question in all seriousness. I had no desire to understand it either.
I took a deep breath and decided to steer the conversation back toward my own questions.
“Enough. It is my turn now.”
[This is ridiculous. A woman who talks like that has definitely never been with one? What kind of fool would make such a stupid choice─]
“……What did you just say?”
[Eh?]
That retort lasted exactly one second before I snapped. Vina had barely finished muttering when I lost my patience.
I snapped my mouth shut in alarm, and Vina blinked in surprise, scanning my face.
A short silence fell.
[……I am sorry for saying something so reckless.]
“….”
[Should I even ask which part of it made you angry……?]
Vina asked in a voice that sounded strained, as if she herself was surprised by the question. I quickly composed my expression and answered immediately.
“No. Right now it is your turn to ask.”
[……Ah, um.]
I had responded with surprising calm, yet I knew it had accomplished nothing.
Vina raised a paw to scratch behind her ear and nodded.
[Alright then. I will ask later.]
“….”
I had already failed at keeping my composure. I continued smoothly, trying not to show my surprise.
“……First, are you truly planning to betray Sephirot?”
The question I had intended as the very first one had somehow become the first again. I had to know the truth. We could not pretend to cooperate with someone we disliked if we did not confirm their sincerity.
In truth, I could have ended the conversation right there.
If the woman in front of me had answered with genuine shock at the idea of betraying Sephirot, we would have parted ways.
[Of course I am.]
“…….”
[I am not entirely sure, but it is only natural, right? The Wings of this ‘Sephirot’ were never bound by such sticky ties.]
I crossed my arms silently. Vina continued rambling on about things she had never asked before.
[I have no intention of explaining everything right now…… but this much I will say: if you hate the Havertz family, I feel the same way toward Kether.]
“Hm.”
[And one more thing.]
“……What else?”
She truly had no resistance to the contract magic. Most mages, aware of the forced honesty, always found ways to fight back.
[For the sake of our constructive relationship, I should tell you this, Isaac Havertz. It seems you will need to lower your hostility toward me somewhat.]
Perhaps she was the type who, when drunk, spilled every secret in her heart.
As I thought that lazily, Vina placed a paw gently on her chest, her expression suddenly serious.
[I have never once participated in any project to cooperate with the Havertz family. Directly or indirectly.]
“….”
Those words alone made my eyes widen.
*Even the contract is still active.*
I glanced sideways at the parchment floating in mid-air. As long as it did not scatter, she could not lie.
Vina immediately lightened her expression and shrugged.
[Well, if you simply want to kill me because we belong to the same group, there is nothing I can do about it, is there?]
She was clearly trying to lighten the mood with a playful laugh, yet I answered twice as seriously.
“If the negotiations broke down, that would be true.”
[……Eh?]
“If I first froze that spirit body, then tracked the soul’s connection, I could locate your exact position. It would have been worth it.”
[……]
Vina’s face drained of color in an instant. A cat’s face, of course, but still pale.
“Hmm.”
When she took a cautious step backward, I casually flicked my fingers and summoned a dozen colorless chains nearby.
*Crack! Crack!*
[Kyaaah……!]
Exactly as I expected. Vina screamed in a high voice and crossed her paws over her face.
I lifted the corner of my mouth.
“You are quite afraid. Were you not the contractee of the Spirit King?”
[……N, no!]
I flicked my fingers again, banishing the chains. As if realizing she had been mocked, Vina bared her teeth and lunged at my ankle.
I had already moved my legs aside, so it was a miss.
She staggered, regained balance, and closed her mouth tightly for a moment.
[……N, now it is my turn……]
The hesitation in her voice was strangely embarrassing. She straightened up and shot me a sharp glare.
I had been slightly tense, wondering if a question linked to the one minutes ago would come out, but
[What was it like to die?]
She asked something surprisingly normal.
Yesod. Like Vina, one of Sephirot’s Wings. Now that he had been exterminated by me, he was no longer a person of this world.
He had infiltrated the Havertz estate under Douglas’s silent approval. To me, he was not a pleasant figure at all.
—You see? Isaac.
“…….”
—I have a younger sister too.
Leaving aside the unavoidable emotions, what I meant was this:
—Only two years younger. Cool, just like you. That is why I was reluctant to take on this mission.
—Be careful. The full moon night, Kether is coming in with a plan…….
I had only pretended to be a butler for about five months. The moment his identity was discovered, that was when it happened.
He had been a monster who could have crushed a 6th-circle beginner like me in an instant.
Yet he had not done so. He had been a fool swept away by personal feelings, even giving away Kether’s plans while dying.
Perhaps the image of the butler had been nothing but a lie.
He had been the one who first gave me the thrill of taking a life. Thanks to him, I had been able to seal Sephirot’s dark currents early. Maybe I could even call him our savior.
I fell silent for a moment, then opened my eyes slightly and murmured the rest.
“He worried a lot about his younger sister. He said he had already revealed Kether’s plans on his own, and that his family would be treated as traitors because of him.”
[……H, that was just like the last words of that guy. I could have guessed it.]
I looked at Vina without a word. She was not smiling like before; there was a bitter edge to her expression.
It felt like a warning light had suddenly flashed on.
I decided to go straight to the point.
“Perhaps you are that younger sister─”
[No way.]
“Ah.”
I received an immediate negative answer. Vina let out a hollow laugh, licked her paw, and continued.
[We are just close, that’s all. That is why I had to know about Yesod’s last moments.]
“So your name is Tiphereth, I see.”
[Why, planning to remember and kill me later?]
“No.”
I shook my head.
“The opposite. Remember, and I will spare you from any dog’s mischief.”
[Wha……]
Vina’s ears drooped as if she could not believe it. She gave me a strange look, then wrinkled her lips.
“Your reaction makes it clear how you think of me. It is extremely unpleasant.”
[Before you feel unpleasant, should you not first think about how I have treated you?]
“Am I supposed to be close to Tiphereth?”
[Eh, when did I ever speak to you so familiarly? It is disgusting.]
Vina’s tone dripped with irritation, like she wanted to be struck by lightning. Yet there was still one question left.
I did not hesitate. I used my opportunity.
“Tell me the location of Sephirot’s headquarters.”
This was far more direct than the simple yes-or-no questions we had exchanged so far.
It was the highest-ranking information she could possibly give me.
[……The right to refuse to answer. Is it still available?]
I had expected the answer to be no, but Vina frowned.
I nodded immediately.
The goal was to confiscate that right.
If I could simply ask my next questions without it, I would be able to tear any answer from her.
“Well, ask. Your turn.”
[Tsk…… Well, fine.]
She must have decided to give me a straightforward answer to almost anything.
If I gave her flesh now, I would be able to gnaw on the bones later.
[Did you sleep with your sister?]
“…….”