The Unfair Contract
The contents of the contract I presented were roughly as follows.
1. Alex shall not inflict harm upon Cain beyond injuries (such as scratches) that could reasonably occur during sparring.
2. Alex shall not threaten Eve Abraham or Shub le Ruelle.
3. Cain may end the match at any time he deems appropriate.
"Uh... this is just..."
"I only put in terms that favor me. That's right."
"Hmm~"
This would get flagged as an unfair contract the second someone reported it back in the modern world.
But that's not my problem.
This place is medieval, and this bastard was stalking me before openly declaring he wanted to figure out what kind of power I had.
Time to be a little shameless. No, make that very shameless.
He's the one who needs this, not me.
Alex signed the contract without the slightest hint of displeasure.
"You signed that pretty readily."
"Nothing bad about it. In the end, I just want to figure out your power, right?"
Besides, he wouldn't even mind killing me here.
Looking into his clear eyes, that thought came to me unbidden. He really did seem twisted enough to try something after that one incident. Hard to read what's going on in his head... Even if I asked outright, he'd just play dumb. Better to keep him close and watch him.
"That's enough for today, then."
"What? Wait, aren't you supposed to help me starting today?"
"The professor gave me something to do with Panzy Vlad."
If it's a quest with Panzy Vlad, then it's Act 1, Chapter 5 — Eliminate the Thugs. A quest to dismantle a violent circle formed inside the academy, working alongside Panzy Vlad. Though it was a request from the professor, it had to be handled like a secret operation, pretending we weren't involved. That made it a tricky quest that required taking them all out at once. I couldn't even count how many times I'd gotten caught and raged during my first playthrough. The fact that he wanted to finish it today meant he'd grown quite a bit while we weren't meeting.
"Then... damn it. You should've said that first. You're just wasting time."
"Hahaha! It's a shame we won't be training today, but it's not like I wasted that much of your time, right?"
"...Well, I guess not."
I'm just pissed because I don't like you.
Annoyed, I waved my hand and told him to get lost. Alex just grinned and ran off like he was happy about it. Watching his retreating back, I gave Eve's head a light pat before heading to the park.
"Um... will you be all right?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I mean, well..."
Shub glanced around nervously, her eyes trembling like aspen leaves. She clearly had something bothering her but didn't seem ready to say it. Just as I was about to ask, Eve exploded with complaints.
"I could've been Cain's sparring partner! Why does that guy with the obviously ominous face have to butt in?!"
"You really do say some pretty unholy things for a former saintess."
"Hmph! I've disliked him from the start! This is all Cain's fault for getting friendly with him!"
"Y-yes... I'll be more careful, Saintess..."
I teased Eve and bought her something tasty on the way back to calm her down, then focused on training again. Spirit magic went smoothly, and my condition was at its peak. Nothing to worry about.
***
The next day, Alex looked even more sinister. The "secret operation" from yesterday must have been rough—dark circles hung under his eyes, and Dainsleif radiated an even more ominous aura. He'd probably sucked up quite a bit of blood...
I kept a bit of distance and asked warily.
"You killed a few people, huh? Your sword's looking pretty vicious."
"Hmm... How much do you know?"
Shub's eyebrows twitched—she'd clearly noticed already—while Eve openly radiated hostility. Alex's eyes flashed with killing intent for a moment at my reaction. Surprised I knew that much, huh? I just shrugged with a grin.
"Instead of worrying about that, how about we focus on our contract?"
"...Fine."
Alex's amused expression vanished as he drew his sword.
Wait, this bastard's pulling out a real sword?
"Hey. A real blade is a bit..."
"It's fine. You won't die."
This fucking lunatic.
I couldn't help but laugh as I took a combat stance.
"The contract says you can't cause harm beyond scratches, remember?"
"I know. Coming at you."
Dainsleif began to hum and vibrate. Its consciousness must have awakened already. When had that happened? It hadn't been like this when we fought the slime...
Alex charged with an awkward gait, probably from training hard as the wielder of a demonic sword. Too straightforward, man.
I summoned Gnome and disrupted the ground beneath his feet. As he stumbled, losing his balance, I ordered Undine to fire a water cannon straight at his head. The compressed blast of water flew true. He looked visibly flustered—he hadn't been in this kind of situation often.
"Straightforward? To catch people off guard, you have to make them drop their guard first."
Alex twisted his body excessively to dodge the water cannon and kept charging forward, even as he staggered.
[Gnome. Can you grab his legs?]
-I'll try, but it won't be easy.
[Why?]
-That sword... it's interfering with my power.
So it's not just any demonic sword.
I calmly retreated using Silph's wind and tried to predict Alex's next move. Even if Dainsleif was a dangerous demonic sword, a sword was still a sword. As long as I kept my distance, he had no way to hit me. I ordered Kasa and Silph to combine their powers and attack.
"Oh... so that's how you fight? You can handle all four elements? You really are a genius!"
Alex's eyes flashed as he cleaved through the flames with his sword. The blade trembled as if excited. Was it reacting to the spirits? Surprise flickered across Alex's face for a moment before his expression twisted back into madness. He moved step by step, zigzagging to check Gnome's attacks. Gnome's hand grazed his foot, but the ground trying to trip him up was shaken off with a burst of power.
How much force should I use to subdue him without breaking the purpose of this sparring match? I hesitated for a moment. Once my vitality could sustain contracts with lower spirits, attacking wasn't a problem. A prolonged fight would be an issue, but I didn't want him noticing that weakness. Still, all my practice and real combat experience had been against assassins or monsters from the Otherworld. It was a clear mistake not to have thought about how to fight someone I couldn't kill.
Should I avoid breaking his limbs? Just drain his strength until he collapses?
While I hesitated, Alex didn't miss the opening.
"Hesitating? Wondering how to take down this pathetic bastard without breaking his arms and legs?!"
"Kugh..."
When Alex swung his sword, the demonic energy coiled around it was released and flew toward me. He wasn't skilled enough to use sword aura yet. That was purely the demonic sword's growth. How had he absorbed that much blood in such a short time? Was it not just blood it could absorb?
"That... energy..."
Shub muttered in surprise as she stared at the demonic energy disguised as sword aura. The way she was glaring at Alex's sword, she seemed to know what it was and why that energy was coming from it.
"Cain! Fight like you did when you were tearing those assassin bastards apart!!!"
"You... bastard!"
He already figured that much out?
I had no choice but to order Gnome to trap him in a sand prison. If Undine attacked at the same time, even he would have to pause for a moment. I couldn't let this affect the story, so I'd just restrain him. That was the best I could do.
"Alex! Such blasphemy!"
At that moment, a sharp voice from behind struck our ears. A pure white light then fell between us.
Kwaaaaa...
I looked at the pillar of light in confusion before turning toward the source of the voice. Alex did the same, looking equally dazed.
Eve Abraham.
Wrapped in holy power that surged like an explosion, she was furious in a way I'd never seen in the game.
"How dare a student wield a sword radiating such sinister energy!"
The gentle Eve was nowhere to be seen. The one chosen by Arpa. The Vessel of God. The Saintess of this world, Eve Abraham, was enraged at Alex. Alex's surprise lasted only a moment before he stared blankly at Eve, then looked back at his sword. He pointed the blade toward the still-raging pillar of light.
"Fuck off, you fucking bitch."