Chapter 30
Ominous Contract (1)
“…How did you get in here?”
“Lady Edith also ca-came in… Is there any reason I shouldn’t be able to enter?”
A voice tinged with laughter brushed past, seeming to hover near the nape of my neck.
Despite clearly seeing legs moving casually in the light, there was an unpleasant sensation as if the upper body was behind my back.
“I… don’t particularly like answering questions with questions.”
I spoke softly. Despite my calm tone, my head was spinning, working overtime.
Even though I was old enough to have subdued the Gigantic Arachne, at present I had no way to deal with Rimos Therion.
My body was at its limit, this place was a cavern buried somewhere in a collapsed ravine, and somewhere a curse was lurking.
Moreover, Ethan, who could have been my ally, had collapsed from overexertion.
Yet, I could be this bold with such a dangerous person because:
“Answer properly. How did you get in here?”
I was certain that he wanted to obtain something from me.
I spoke with my head held high and confidently.
He could have turned me into a knight like Rus at any time.
But he didn’t.
At least not until now.
“Hmm.”
He laughed as if troubled and embarrassed.
“I don’t want to be ha-hated by Lady Edith… Ah, alright. I won’t avoid it. I suppose this is all attention you’re giving me…”
His attitude was one of lowering himself infinitely while infinitely revering me, but underlying his words was a tone as if he were bestowing mercy.
That he would deign to answer my inquiry.
I exhaled the breath that had been caught in my throat and quietly asked what had been bothering me most.
“…Was it you?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“The ‘one’ summoned by the first apostle.”
I threw out bait, combining the passage I had read earlier with the current situation. I heard a sound like Rimos Therion inhaling.
“H-how did you know…?”
“…Really?”
“…As if. It, it wasn’t me. Hehe.”
…Damn it. He’s toying with me.
It seems the bait didn’t work at all.
Left with no choice, I stepped forward and grabbed Rimos Therion’s wrist.
I couldn’t fully grasp the thicker-than-expected wrist with one hand, but when I pulled, he obediently leaned his upper body forward.
Finally, I could see his face.
Unlike the voice that had been coming from various places in the darkness, surprisingly, Rimos Therion’s clear and gentle face was right where it should be.
In his transparent, innocent purple eyes like glass marbles, I saw myself reflected with a cool expression looking at him.
His eyes welled up with tears.
“Ah, you don’t know anything. That’s so cruel.”
His voice was almost like a whine. I felt bewildered.
I don’t know anything? After hundreds of regressions, I’ve come to know more about this world than anyone else.
…More than anyone?
Suddenly, a ray of light flashed through my thoughts.
The only thing I could do in this situation.
Who could be the non-human entity with such intelligence, information, and power to toy with me at this point?
I can deduce who he is.
What is the true nature of the one called ‘Rimos Therion’, wearing a human shell?
…Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
Still holding Rimos Therion’s wrist, I threw my weight to topple his upper body onto the altar and pounced on top of him.
Bang, clatter…
The lamp I had dropped fell and rolled on the floor, making a loud noise. A faint blue light rolled around and stopped. The slanted light illuminated us.
Rimos Therion lay down his upper body obediently, tilting his cheek slightly and smiling faintly.
“How… aggressive…”
I took a deep breath and looked straight at him.
“I understand… what you want.”
“What I want?”
If my thoughts are correct.
One who knows something about the curse.
One who deals with monsters.
One who disguises as a holy mage to blaspheme against God.
One who cannot exert influence without ‘permission’.
“Let’s make a contract.”
Rimos Therion is a demon.
At my confident tone, he shook his shoulders with a small laugh.
“Lady Edith. Wh-what are you saying to a holy mage?”
“You’d better stop the act.”
When I spoke firmly, he slowly stopped laughing.
“……”
For a few seconds, Rimos Therion and I silently locked eyes. A gaze sharp as a thistle crawled up my body.
And then he smiled brightly.
“Lady Edith.”
My whole body reflexively broke out in goosebumps.
As he lifted his head slightly, our faces suddenly came close, with me having pounced on top of him.
His long eyelashes, beautiful to an inhuman degree, lowered slightly.
His eyes, seen up close, were truly beautiful like glass marbles, but they lacked any sense of vitality.
‘This is dangerous.’
Yet I couldn’t avoid it.
His hand, which had been docilely placed on the altar, moved and instantly wrapped around my waist.
With his other hand, he rounded my shoulder and pushed my upper body. Unable to resist his strength, my body was pushed back, naturally ending up in a position sitting on his lap.
Finally, he raised his upper body and sat upright. Holding me in his arms, he whispered.
“Since when did you know?”
A finger slipped through the torn clothes from the monster’s attack, gently rubbing a faint wound like a crack on my shoulder.
“…Ugh.”
“You said you wanted to make a contract, didn’t you?”
It felt like the wound was opening under Rimos’ fingertip. As I hunched my shoulders in pain, I could feel his arm around my waist trembling slightly as if he was laughing silently.
“…Yes.”
“What were you thinking of giving in return, Lady Edith?”
It seems he’s done pretending to be weak now.
Therion asked in a calm voice.
Without stuttering, his voice was smoother and slower than I expected.
I can’t lose focus. We’ve just gotten to the negotiation table. And the one sitting across from me is… a demon.
“What were you planning to demand?”
“You’re playing word games.”
The hand on my waist dropped, then slowly traced down to my wrist and grasped my palm, overlapping it.
His hand was about half a joint larger than mine, but his fingers were thin.
His body temperature was cool enough to make me wonder why I hadn’t noticed earlier. Even the tips of my fingers covering his hand seemed to grow cold.
Lowering his eyes, he whispered softly.
“I thought you didn’t like answering questions with questions, Lady Edith.”
“…I couldn’t help but be curious.”
“Well, that’s fine. I like conversation, you know.”
Trying not to pay attention to his caressing fingers, I straightened my back.
‘…If he’s really a demon.’
It was a rushed guess, but now that it seemed to fit, I was rather confused.
Why was a demon hiding in the academy?
Was he always there?
Did I miss his presence before the regression?
If so, why did he participate in the monster subjugation practice?
Where did the original ‘Rimos Therion’ go?
And why is he showing such interest in me…
As I was lost in these complicated thoughts, he tapped my palm with his finger. I looked up to see him smiling down at me.
“Then how about we start with a light contract, exchanging one curious thing each?”
“…Anything?”
“Yes, anything.”
Therion smiled broadly. In that pure smile without a speck of dust, there was no trace of malice to be found.
Yet this unsettling feeling…
I don’t know much about why demons appear in this world, but I do know that when a demon mentions a ‘contract’, they must abide by it.
As proof, demons could do anything without restriction under the pretext of a ‘contract’… and in most cases, demons interpreted the contents of the ‘contract’ ambiguously, leading the contractor and those around them to ruin.
That’s why contractors of demons were often executed in the name of the temple as the only means to send the demon back.
‘This is the only way to break through this situation.’
This was the only way forward given to me now.
“Alright. Let’s start the first contract that way.”
“Then would you like to ask the first question, Lady Edith?”
I desperately hoped that Ethan Behemoth wouldn’t wake up too early from his faint and see this sight.
Even though he doesn’t question me much, this scene would surely make him ask questions.
I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them and asked the most important thing.
This time, it wasn’t bait or an attempt to probe indirectly.
“Do you know about the curse of life? If you do, what is the true nature of that curse?”
He blinked his eyes quietly, then smiled slightly and tapped my palm once more.
“Please… call me Therion.”
What a random thing to say without answering.
🥀
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