Spirit (5)
"Hmm."
I gazed at the corpse with only its head left. 'Easy.'
Sudden assassins had ambushed me—high-level ones at that—so out of curiosity, I'd spared one and tailed him on purpose. Tracking that assassin had led me to discover a massive underground base beneath the capital's slums, and I'd just decapitated the organization's leader.
'Wonder what this group's deal is.' They were definitely assassins. Even if the Empire didn't have them, plenty of underground guilds like that existed in the kingdoms I'd passed through on my journey here. Even in a hyper-centralized state like Huayeon (not anymore, though), such groups lurked. Pretty standard for this world, all things considered.
But the weird part was...
'Their skill level is seriously high.'
And that wasn't all. The nameless boss who'd vanished leaving only his head, the assassins now sprawled unconscious... something felt off about them. For instance, their mana circuits circulated at an unnaturally rapid rate, and the aura on that dagger earlier had been excessively pure.
...Yeah. It was like someone had forcibly bleached it.
'And he wasn't even a true Master.'
If the pinnacle of a mage was Archmage, then for swordsmen, it was Sword Master. Recalling that laughably one-sided "fight"... the guy had been a Master, sure, but an unnatural one, like his realm had been artificially jacked up. That's why I'd prodded him with, "Not a real Master, are you?"—and gotten a reaction.
'...Feels familiar.'
...Forced realm elevation.
'Ah.'
I remembered. I'd seen someone experimenting with that on purpose before.
'...Demons/Cultists.'
Of course, that experiment had failed back then... but the attempt itself was what mattered. And now, I'd experienced the results firsthand.
"...Whew."
I turned my slightly sunken eyes toward the assassins. I still didn't have a full grasp on the situation, but one thing was crystal clear: this organization was tied to the Demons/Cultists.
"...Let's sort things out first."
After roughly binding the fallen assassins and setting up barriers to prevent escape once they woke, I began slowly exploring the underground base. Fortunately, no one seemed to have sensed the earlier fight—most of the members were still inside.
"!? Who—"
"Hey there?"
"Gurk—"
I ambushed and knocked them all out cold. Oh, and I didn't forget to tie them up and barrier them off, just like upstairs.
Systematically subduing them one by one as I toured the base, I eventually—
"...Hm?"
—reached the deepest level and spotted an odd girl. And not just her, but a bunch of children around her too.
"........."
As I approached, the girl—cloaked head to toe in a robe—looked up at me with hollow eyes. The classic dead-fish stare.
'...What the hell?'
It wasn't a total lack of emotion. I'd sensed faint traces of fear, terror, and resignation just moments ago. Drawing even closer, her body twitched, and the chains binding her rattled.
Clank—
I paused.
'...Slave? Or an experimental subject?'
The thought hit me instinctively. Kids who didn't fit in a shady assassin outfit like this, chained up in front of them. And all the unidentified equipment and facilities I'd seen on the way down here...
...Experiment subject made the most sense. Especially after witnessing that artificial realm boost.
Finally, I knelt right in front of her nose and flashed a kind smile.
"Hey there?"
Twitch.
"Ah, I'm not some weirdo, so no need to be on guard."
"........."
Clank—
...Yeah, words alone wouldn't ease her guard. I chuckled awkwardly to myself. I was a my-way-or-the-highway type, but that didn't mean I lacked common sense.
'...Maybe give her head a little pat?'
Just a tiny one. Very tiny. The kids seemed innocent enough, so as long as it didn't mess with their brain function or cognition, a light massage would—
"...Who are you?"
Golden light gleamed from her eyes through the gaps in her robe.
'...No need for the pat, then.'
Good thing. Even for me, patting kids' heads felt a bit off.
I mustered my kindest smile. "Well... how about 'passerby savior'?"
"...Passerby... savior?"
"Yep. Passerby savior."
Not wrong, right? I was fully willing to help her and the kids, as long as they weren't harmful.
Sensing my sincerity, the nameless girl hesitated before mumbling, "Then... you won't hurt me?"
"Of course not."
"I... see."
I kept my kind smile, one knee still planted, as she pondered. Eye level mattered in these situations. And maybe it worked—because the girl, golden eyes shining from under her robe as she stared at me, slowly shed it.
The chains on her body naturally clinked.
And then.
"............?"
...An angel?
"......"
An angel.
No matter how I looked—left, right, up, down—the girl's appearance screamed angel. The only quirks were the black horns on her head and the black wings on her back, instead of pure white.
...On second thought, she looked more like a demon.
But the subtle divinity radiating from her still fit an angel better. And after hearing her full story from the now-relaxed girl—
"...So, you and all these kids behind you are this organization's test subjects, and your current angel-like form is the result of a successful experiment?"
"...Yeah."
"And the reason you look like an angel is because holy power and spirit force got mixed together, right?"
"...Yeah. Some guys in creepy white robes said that. They mixed holy power and a spirit into my body."
"...Huh."
Mixing holy power and a spirit... That meant the girl in front of me wasn't human anymore. At least, she was the successful product of an experiment that had changed her race.
Roughly speaking, it seemed similar to Adelia's contracted spirit, the holy spirit Rashea...
'...Like an angel spirit, maybe?'
A spirit born from a human turning into an angel.
...Hm.
"What now?"
As I mulled it over, the girl quietly asked. The kids behind her were peeking out, eyes on me too.
"You gonna kill us?"
"As if."
"...You won't?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
She tilted her head like she genuinely couldn't comprehend.
"Let me flip it: why should I kill you all?"
"...Just 'cause?"
"Then same here. No reason to."
For starters, this girl and the kids were clues—proof tying the Red Moon organization to the Demons/Cultists.
"Now let me ask: what do you want?"
"...?"
"You must have wishes."
Like going home, living well-fed and comfy. Escaping this dank basement for a normal life.
But.
"...We got nowhere to go."
The girl thought about it. Herself and all these kids behind her. Everyone here was an orphan with no place to return to.
So when asked what they wanted... she had nothing to say.
"...Hm."
I let out a short hum after hearing her out. The girl stared at me.
This black-haired man who'd appeared out of nowhere. Her fate—and the kids'—rested in my hands. She didn't know the details, but the white-robed experimenters and creepy guys hadn't shown up... so they'd clearly fallen to me.
As tension started building in her—
"Want me to put you to sleep?"
"...Huh?"
"I'll tuck you all in."
She blinked blankly at me.
"...Why?"
"Uh... just 'cause I feel like it?"
"...Liar."
"Haha. Yeah, total lie."
...Knew it. She drooped her head.
But my next words made her snap it back up.
"In exchange for making homeless kids like you happy, there's just one thing I want."
"...What?"
"A contract."
She stared blankly at my captivating smile.
"Contract with me."
"Con...tract?"
"Yep."
I reached out toward her head. She flinched instinctively, but soon trembled under the warm touch stroking her horns and hair.
"You were human once, but now you're a spirit—so a contract's possible, right?"
"...Probably."
"Then just contract with me."
"...Just me?"
"Yeah. Only you."
"If I don't... you won't tuck us in?"
I grinned brightly. "Nah, I'd still do it. Sheltering homeless kids is easy. But contracting with me lets me do way more."
"...Like what?"
"Dunno yet—we'll figure it out. But basically, I'll grant any wish you have."
Any wish.
The girl thought it sounded like the devil's temptation.
...Makes sense. Those words were usually pretty lies.
Normally, she'd refuse... but strangely, she felt drawn to it.
"...If we contract, what do I have to do?"
"Nothing for now. Just eat well, play, rest easy, and wait till I need you."
"...Really?"
"Yep."
...Ah.
She stared blankly at me.
And... nodded without thinking.
Thus began the contract between the girl and me.
. . . , , .
"Oh, right—what's your name?"
"...You ask that now?"
"Eh, could happen."
She gave me a 'really?' look.
"So, name?"
"...Don't have one."
"Huh?"
"Don't."
"You did."
"...Never had one."
I'd picked up a nameless girl. Bonus: came with a ton of kids attached.
'...Full-on orphan squad.'
"...Age?"
"...Twenty."
"Oh, an adult?"
"...Yeah."
Oh.