甲乙 Relationship
You're the contractor, and I'm the client!
The request from Humihumi, the Fairy Queen who had driven her entire clan into a labor hell for popcorn, was to kill someone.
“He is sealed away.”
“Sealed?”
“He is a corrupted fairy.”
She was asking him to kill the corrupted fairy.
“Five hundred years ago, he was the king of the fairy race. But at some point, he began to fall into madness……”
“He went mad and started slaughtering fairies, so the fairies who possessed special powers at the time had no choice but to gather and seal him away. And now that the seal is weakening, you want me to kill him?”
“……”
When Albert cut in and summarized the explanation, Humihumi blinked her cute eyes.
“How did you know?”
“It was obvious.”
“Obvious……”
“Anyway, I'm right, aren't I?”
“Y-Yes, you are.”
It was undeniable. Just as Albert had said, the fairies with special powers had pooled their strength to seal him, but the price of that seal had been harsh. The seal had taken the lives of those special-powered fairies as its cost.
“Time brings aging equally to all things in this world. Even the seal that was thought to be eternal eventually aged……”
It was losing its power. Since it was clear the seal would break in a few years, Humihumi had sent her fairies to find someone who could help.
“Couldn't you do it yourself? You're pretty strong.”
“……I couldn't bring myself to do it.”
She trembled slightly. Fear and terror were evident, but there was also another familiar emotion mixed in.
“Well, whatever.”
The earlier test had probably been to see if he could kill the target. It didn't matter to him. Whatever the reason.
“If I kill him, your people become my sla…… no, my workers, right?”
“……Didn't you just say slaves?”
“You must have misheard. I was going to say workers.”
It's become quite the habit now, hasn't it?
He was going to call them slaves……
“Ahem, anyway.”
If he killed him, the fairy race would come under his command. It was only something he had read in books, but the fairies' brewing ability and sewing skills were said to be unmatched. He needed clothes for Elena and Yumo, too. Clothes made by fairies. These were items that couldn't be bought with money.
‘Perfect for social parties.’
“Fine, I'll do it. Where's the seal?”
Humihumi snapped her fingers, and once again, something hidden revealed itself. In one corner stood a massive red crystal radiating an ominous aura. Inside the crystal was a being that appeared to be a fairy, trapped.
“This is it.”
“It was nearby.”
It's really amazing. I hadn't noticed it until now.
It must be a divine blessing.
Albert had also felt a strange sense of dissonance but hadn't known what was there.
“A curious blessing.”
“It is a blessing granted to us by the fairy god. Thanks to it, we have been able to live hidden from human eyes.”
Because it was a blessing from a god, even Albert couldn't easily perceive it. If he searched deliberately, he could find it, but otherwise, it was hard to notice any sign.
“Anyway, please take care of it.”
Humihumi quietly concealed herself. Before disappearing, she had looked at the seal with sad, mournful eyes.
After Humihumi vanished, an ominous yet powerful energy continuously pumped out from the seal.
“Ugh…… Ah……”
Grating, who had been standing behind, collapsed on the spot as if his legs had given out. He could feel it. The being sealed inside that crystal was, quite literally, an unbelievable monster.
“A-Albert, sir…… I-I think it would be better to give up on this matter.”
“Huh? What kind of coin-crash nonsense is that?”
“Th-The being trapped in there is a monster.”
Even though its power should have been restricted by the seal, the force he felt was undeniable. It sent shivers down his spine. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and it felt as if an imaginary hand born of fear was gripping his heart tightly.
The moment he saw it, an abyss darker and deeper than any pit, along with the terror of death, came rushing in. Nausea surged up. It was overwhelming just to stand properly.
“Haa…… Haa……”
A monster. A monster that should never exist in this world was sealed away. No matter how strong Albert was……
‘That's on a completely different level from the Red Bear.’
Even hundreds of Red Bears wouldn't be able to lay a finger on that being. This was a conviction born from instinct.
“Weakling.”
Albert sighed as he looked at the trembling Grating. To shake like that over something so minor.
The energy coming from that fairy is magi.
Is it corrupted by magi? Or did it do so willingly?
‘How would I know? That's none of my business.’
All he wanted was the fairies' labor. As long as he could get that, nothing else mattered. How that fairy had become corrupted, or why it carried magi like a Main, none of that was important.
“System.”
Summoning Demon Eater.
A small hole opened with a flash of black light. From within a space slightly different from a subspace, the hilt of a jet-black sword emerged. Albert grasped it and drew it as if unsheathing a blade from its scabbard.
Demon Eater. A sword forged from the heart of a demon he had slain while clearing an SSS-rank gate.
“This is perfect for hunting Mains.”
Magi presence confirmed.
Demon Eater's ability activated.
When attacking a being with magi, all stats temporarily increase by 10%.
When attacking a being with magi, all attack power increases by 20%.
Magi can be cut.
Magi can be absorbed and converted into the user's power.
The sword, forged from the heart of a being once called the King of Mains, had now become the natural enemy of Mains. A black light gleamed from Demon Eater.
The next moment—
“Huk.”
Grating couldn't help but be shocked. A line had been drawn in the world. That line, drawn in a black so profound that even light could not touch it, was captivating to all who saw it.
‘Beautiful.’
And terrifying. He understood. That single stroke was not merely beautiful. It contained an unimaginable, immense power. It felt as if the world itself might split in two along that line.
Then, something even more astonishing happened.
Swish!
The crystal, protected by a sturdy seal, was sliced through. But it wasn't just the crystal that was cut—astonishingly, the fairy inside the seal was cut as well.
“Kuaaaaaak!!”
The fairy's dull, rough scream erupted as if echoing through the world. At the same time, the moment it touched the fairy's body, magi that seemed capable of stealing all life burst forth. Albert frowned slightly.
“Noisy.”
When he swung the sword once more, the scream vanished, and the magi that had been thick in the air disappeared along with it. Demon Eater had absorbed the magi with its ability.
But remnants remained. Even though the magi had been absorbed, leaving them alone could be dangerous.
‘Magi can become a powerful bomb. If you're unlucky, it could explode. That won't do.’
They were precious labor. If the queen were to get hurt because of this, it would cause major setbacks in his plans.
“I need to handle the aftermath properly. System.”
Summoning Gluttony.
A small, cute pink slime appeared on Albert's palm. Its bouncy, springy movements seemed as if it were acting cute, saying, “Master! Master!”
Albert pointed at the crystal remnants and the severed fairy in front of him.
“Eat it all.”
Bbyong!
Gluttony dropped to the floor and opened its mouth wide with an “Aang!” Countless tentacles emerged from its body and instantly devoured the remnants there.
“Alright~ Now that you've eaten, go back.”
At Albert's command, Gluttony returned. When he turned around, Grating was sitting collapsed on the floor, staring at him with a dazed expression.
It was a natural reaction for a human.
‘I-I knew he was strong, b-but……’
How could a human be that strong? Grating, too, wielded a sword as a knight, so he understood just how great that beautiful black line slicing through the air had been. It was the ultimate destination that any swordsman must reach. Whether he could reach it even if he coughed up blood and carved away his soul…… it was beyond imagination.
Yet it was a point he must aim for nonetheless.
‘Grand…… Master……’
A position higher than Master, who was called humanity's strongest and a superhuman. Grand Master. Albert stood proudly at that place now. Beyond respect, awe, and longing, even fear was beginning to be felt.
‘How…… a human…… No, more than that, at that age…… even if he's a genius……’
Albert left the dazed Grating behind and called for Humihumi.
“You can come out now. I know you're watching.”
“……”
Humihumi revealed herself. Like Grating, her eyes were wide with shock, unable to believe what she had seen. She had never imagined he would cut through both the seal and the being inside in one strike. And to handle the aftermath so perfectly……
“Who…… are you……?”
Albert looked at her, her pupils trembling and voice shaking as she barely managed to speak, and replied as if the question was obvious.
“Who am I? Did you already forget?”
“Eh?”
Albert confidently held up the contract bearing Humihumi's signature and answered her doubt.
“I am the client, and you are the contractor.”
The client-contractor relationship..
* * *
“……”
After Albert left, Humihumi, left alone in the castle, wore a complicated expression. Deep anguish and thick longing surfaced on her beautiful face.
“I never thought it would end this quickly……”
She hadn't known. There was no way she could have. She had confirmed his strength, but the being sealed in the crystal possessed unimaginable power. It was so powerful that even she, the queen, couldn't gauge her chances of victory.
Yet he had cut down such a being, along with the seal, in a single strike.
‘Is that even possible?’
She had witnessed it with her own eyes, but it was so unrealistic that her mind struggled to accept it.
Still.
“The seal has completely disappeared.”
A human had fulfilled the fairy race's long-cherished wish. And in just a few seconds.
“……”
Humihumi gazed at the place where the seal had been and called out the being's name in a voice filled with longing.
“Homihomi…… Brother……”
Her eyes grew moist. She didn't know why he had made that choice, but he had continued to suffer while sealed. She had always intended to break the seal someday and grant him peace, but for hundreds of years, she hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. His power had been the strongest in history.
What the strongest being of the fairy race had wanted to do, even after falling into corruption, would remain an eternal mystery.
“Now, rest in peace……”
She could only desperately hope that her brother would no longer suffer and would find peaceful rest.