Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Soul Contract
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“Ugh... heh heh...”
Prim couldn’t hold back her laughter the entire carriage ride. She was the type who smiled easily to begin with, but the way her eyes were crinkled now was downright devilish.
“Princess, didn’t you come to inspect the passage where the adventurers enter? And instead, you’re fleecing the commoners out of their nose-digging money.”
“I didn’t fleece the commoners. The silver coins they each had in their pockets are probably still there. All I took was the dungeon’s money. Either way, I’ve done my part.”
Prim had snuck down to the village to supply mana to the passage adventurers used to enter.
The passage, which had been unstable when it first opened, was now operating quite steadily thanks to Prim frequently infusing it with her mana.
It was Prim who had summoned the adventurers in the first place.
When the empire was in danger of being devoured by monsters, Prim had created a passage to call adventurers, just as she’d seen in her dreams.
They’d exterminated the monsters methodically, exactly as in her dreams, and as a result, the monsters’ momentum had definitely been crushed.
In fact, Prim had needed adventurers for personal reasons beyond that, so she’d shown them keen interest.
And aside from the adventurers, there was one other person who’d caught her eye.
“But why did you have to join in on the village kids’ knuckle game? Do you know that girl named Dun?”
“Hmm. Sort of. I just know her face.”
“What does that mean?”
Her exclusive guard and knight, Wood, asked back.
“She comes to the academy often to deliver magic potions, and she naps in my secret garden a lot.”
Prim thought of Dun.
A girl in a haphazardly worn shirt and green pants, hat pulled low over her head, carrying a box of potions to the professor. At first, Prim had been drawn to her youthful, somewhat cheeky but cute looks.
The delivery route must’ve always worn her out, because afterward, she’d always collapse in the academy’s corner grassy patch and fall asleep.
And the funniest part was how she’d ride back home with the adventurers. The sight of her yelling “Hyah, hyah!” was a spectacle.
Prim had thought she only showed up at the academy, but lately, she’d been coming to the imperial palace like it was her own home. She’d use the palace library freely and even trespassed into Prim’s secret garden to sleep.
“...!! She sneaked into the palace? What could a kid like that have done by breaking in?”
“She just slept. In my rocking chair. Seemed like she liked the wool cushion.”
“Huh?”
“The problem is she left without cleaning up the poop my pet slime had left behind.”
“Bringing a monster into the palace? You’re talking about something huge like it’s nothing. I’ll go give her a piece of my mind right now.”
Prim’s knight, Wood, furrowed his brow and ground his teeth. Prim shook her head as she watched him.
“A piece of your mind? You can’t just scold anyone like that. If you really want to try, you’d have to stake your life on it.”
Prim flicked the silver coin she’d taken from Dun at Wood, who didn’t understand. The coin spun in the air.
“I could only get away with it because it was me.”
Prim caught the coin with a snap and carefully tucked the silver piece into her pocket.
* * *
“Ah, damn it. My entire fortune.”
[Squeak! Squeak!]
Some stranger had popped out of nowhere and ruined her day, leaving Dun in a foul mood.
The slime, syncing with Dun’s mood, got mad along with her. Dun nodded vigorously several times, venting to the slime about the princess.
Yeah, yeah. That’s what she did, right? What kind of personality is that? Acting like a bully, snatching money when she’s a princess and all.
As Dun badmouthed the princess, the slime looked shocked, like, “There’s really people that evil out there?”
[Squeak-! Squeak-!]
The slime soon turned bright red and spat out steam.
[Player ‘Lee Yoo-hyun’ has completed the quest!]
The notification popped up just as Dun was slumping down, her mood plummeting at the memory of the princess’s infuriating smirking eyes.
“Huh, what? Already?”
Dun stopped fuming and let out an exclamation as she looked at the quest completion notice saying Lee Yoo-hyun had reached level 30.
“Leveling up’s gotten fast all of a sudden.”
Lee Yoo-hyun had really sprouted growth wings lately. He was hunting experience points like a madman willing to risk his life for levels.
He’d boosted affinity with the training ground folks by giving them the minor growth items he’d made, picking up small quests to rack up exp. His cheekiness had even built up a decent rapport with Jonathan, who hated adventurers.
For a case like Lee Yoo-hyun, who was weak in combat, grinding exp from hunting alone was tough. So he’d filled the gaps by raising NPC affinity for the exp that hunting couldn’t cover.
“I completed the quest you gave me. I think I’m ready for the next one now.”
Right after finishing, Lee Yoo-hyun came dashing to Rihao Well’s general store.
Her dark purple hair was a mess, probably from running.
“I’ve been waiting.”
Dun stood up from her seat and dusted off her butt where dirt had stuck.
“So now we’re going full throttle on leveling up?”
“No, there’s something we need to do first.”
There were all these things piling up before properly starting the job change quest—enough to complain about—but Lee Yoo-hyun didn’t. He just blinked his eyes wide and tilted his head.
“Something to do?”
With that innocent look on his face, Dun reached into her pocket and rummaged around. She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, unfolded it, and thrust it in front of him. He grimaced.
“What’s this?”
“Soul contract.”
“Huh?”
Lee Yoo-hyun pulled up the item description in front of Dun.
[Unique] Soul Contract
Description: A soul-binding contract with some abilities missing. Party A can forcibly select Party B and enforce the contract. Party A guarantees Party B’s life, and Party B obeys Party A’s demands. Conditions and penalties are set by Party A.
*For players, the account is bound. For NPCs, the soul is bound.
A contract that makes one person obey only the owner’s commands—essentially a slave contract. Party A can issue free commands to Party B, and if Party B violates a request from Party A, heavy penalties apply to Party B.
Party A has obligations too. Protecting Party B.
The contract can be enforced forcibly. Just write Dun’s name in Party A’s spot and the name of whoever Dun wants to enslave in Party B’s spot.
‘But I’m a kind person.’
“If you don’t sign, I’ll tie you up with curse vines.”
“?”
“Kidding. Read it carefully, and sign if you want. Not just anyone can sign this.”
“If I don’t sign, no job change quest?”
“Uh... no. That’s separate. Whether you sign or not, I’ll show you the way.”
Though my motivation to help would drop a lot.
“Straight-up telling me to sign a slave contract. If you wanted me to sign, couldn’t you have packaged it better?”
“Actually, it’s an infinite item supply contract.”
“You’re too late...!”
Lee Yoo-hyun sat next to Dun and kept reading the contract aloud.
“But why make me sign something like this?”
“You’re an adventurer from another world too. I’ve seen a lot of you guys shitting all over the place and backstabbing since it’s not your world. This makes sure you can’t betray me even if you know my secrets.”
She knew from her past life that Lee Yoo-hyun was a good guy, but she was still a game character at heart. People can make unpredictable choices when desperate, so better to lock it down.
“...You sure know a lot about adventurers.”
“I’ve used a lot of you.”
“Anyway, I’m super curious what your secret is.”
Lee Yoo-hyun showed huge interest in Dun’s secret.
Dun’s secret? She was a mysterious character to begin with, but hearing she was hiding something really piqued his curiosity.
“Anyone else signed this contract?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask who?”
“I’ll tell you if you sign. It’s tied to my secret.”
Lee Yoo-hyun let out a deep sigh and rubbed his chin at Dun’s words.
“Can I think it over slowly before signing?”
“No? This is your only chance. I told you—not just anyone gets this contract.”
Lee Yoo-hyun looked at Dun’s face. Gauging her, he sighed long again. She looked like she really wouldn’t wait.
Party A guarantees Party B’s life, right?
He narrowed his eyes and muttered.
“Last thing—one more question. Okay to ask?”
“What.”
“You knew this could be forced, right?”
Only players could see the detailed item description, but Dun didn’t seem clueless. There was a faint trace where she’d started writing her own name in the contractor’s slot and stopped.
“Yeah.”
“Is this a choice or no choice...? Anyway, for such a rare item—not many copies around—why pick me? You could’ve written a stronger adventurer’s name.”
Lee Yoo-hyun caved. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a normal-grade feather pen item.
He smoothed out the crumpled contract on his knee. Licked the nib to check, then brought the pen tip to the paper.
“Why you?”
Lee Yoo-hyun nodded and wrote the first letter of his name.
“Honestly curious about what fellow is.”
As he listened to Dun, he wrote the second letter.
“What I need most right now is a crafter.”
Lee Yoo-hyun tilted his head briefly at her words, then wrote the final “Hyun.”
“And lastly, I owe you a small debt.”
“Debt? What debt?”
Once the contract was fully written, it glowed brightly and began burning on its own.
Dun’s name from the contract floated up and seeped into Lee Yoo-hyun, while his name lifted onto Dun’s hand. She gripped it tight, and the name sank into her palm.
“You bought me something tasty.”
“Huh? That’s a debt? I didn’t even eat it...”
It had even deducted affinity for dumping food waste on her. And she’s calling that a debt. What an unpredictable kid. Wait—could this slave contract be revenge?
While Lee Yoo-hyun floundered in confusion, the soul contract completed.
Dun smiled cutely at the finished contract, looking at Lee Yoo-hyun, who still couldn’t guess her real debt.
“Anyway, first time seeing someone brag this much about a slave contract.”
Lee Yoo-hyun smiled brightly back at Dun’s grin.
And Dun lifted the corner of her mouth even higher at his smile.
“No complaints.”