Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

It felt muffled, like listening to sounds from underwater.

“Binaeril?”

The consonants and vowels that Inyakan uttered crumbled before they reached Binaeril’s ears.

Without even realizing it, Binaeril reached out for the magic stone.

The gnolls surrounding them were still waiting with their heads buried to the ground.

“B…i…na…eril!”

Saliva pooled, and he smacked his lips.

If he swallowed the magic stone, the sweet scent of mana would flow into him.

I want to eat it, I want to eat it.

I want to eat it!

An ominous wave of mana emanated from Binaeril.

Awooo!

The gnolls raised their heads and howled in unison.

The spreading mana from Binaeril demanded their obedience.

“This guy’s eyes have gone crazy?”

Even Inyakan, who was insensitive to mana, felt an inexplicable discomfort from the waves Binaeril was emitting.

His entire body hair stood on end, and he got goosebumps for no reason.

If I don’t stop Binaeril now, it’s dangerous!

Inyakan’s instincts told him so.

And Inyakan was the type of person who trusted his intuition more than anyone else.

“You didn’t answer. Don’t blame me later.”

He pulled his fist back and tensed his muscles.

From his experience beating him up before reaching the Belos Fortress, he knew that hitting him lightly wouldn’t hurt much.

“Just say you’re dead.”

With this mindset, he swung his fist.

His tightly clenched fist was about the same size as Binaeril’s head, and thus, Binaeril was hit in the temple with a force comparable to being struck by a flail.

That’s all Binaeril remembered.

Inyakan tucked the fallen Binaeril under his arm and cut off the gnoll chieftain’s head.

The magic stone, which was offered like tribute, went into his pocket.

“…This guy isn’t dead, right?”

He didn’t know. Inyakan decided to head back to Belos Fortress first.

“Mission accomplished.”

Inyakan spoke bluntly and threw the gnoll chieftain’s head onto the table of the inn.

Some of the faint-hearted fell over in surprise at the sight of the severed head.

Since the guards at the castle gate could recognize him, he smeared blood all over his face and body.

He also smeared a lot of the pungent blood on Binaeril’s head, which he was carrying under his arm.

He ran straight to the Dreaming Great Whale Inn.

“Take this to the lord. We’ll rest while preparing to depart.”

Pavel, with wide eyes, nodded vigorously.

Hiccup.

Gillian, who was eating a late lunch in the corner of the inn, hiccuped in surprise at Inyakan’s imposing presence.

He looked at Binaeril dangling at Inyakan’s side.

“…What is this?”

Inyakan creaked his head around.

Inyakan had heard about the relationship between Gillian and Binaeril.

Has he realized who this bloody mess is? If he has, what should I do? Should I kill him?

When their eyes met, Gillian felt as if his breath had stopped.

His swollen fist (from knocking Binaeril out), the heavy breathing (from running all the way here), and his bloodshot single eye.

But thanks to them, Gillian had avoided a crisis.

Gillian wanted to express his gratitude, albeit clumsily.

“If your comrade is injured, shouldn’t we call a doctor?”

He hadn’t realized Binaeril’s identity. Luckily, no more corpses would be made today.

“Not necessary.”

Ignoring the suggestion, Inyakan started to head up to the second-floor rooms but stopped. He realized he wasn’t a guest here.

Even after rummaging through his pockets, he couldn’t find a single coin. Binaeril had all their money.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes!”

Gillian replied sharply.

“Lend me your room.”

“…My room?”

Inyakan had no money.

When Binaeril regained consciousness, he was inside a moving carriage.

“Awake?”

In the spacious and comfortable carriage, only Binaeril and Inyakan were present.

The crest of the Bemes Marquisate  was embossed on the carriage’s ceiling and walls.

“Ouch…”

A searing pain centered on his right temple.

The pain was so intense it felt like his skull might be cracked.

“Why does my head hurt so much…”

“Did you hit it somewhere?”

“I remember you hitting me, Inyakan.”

“Too bad, if I’d hit you a bit harder, you wouldn’t remember even that.”

“On second thought, I should be thankful to be alive.”

Binaeril looked out the window of the moving carriage.

“Have we left the fortress?”

“Yes. We’re heading northeast as you wanted. We’re going quite fast.”

It was the most welcome news he had heard since waking up.

“But what happened? In the forest, I mean.”

“I’m not entirely sure. But one thing’s clear…”

Binaeril didn’t have much time.

In the gnoll forest, they didn’t attack Binaeril.

The gnolls didn’t attack Binaeril. They seemed to revere him.

Almost as if they were honoring their king, the chieftain.

Even the gnoll chieftain treated Binaeril in that manner.

He even offered his heart in reverence to Binaeril.

What does this imply?

“Am I becoming a demon? To the extent that I can exert control over other demons?”

To others, Binaeril still looked like an ordinary human,

but to the demons, he seemed almost like one of their own.

Moreover, when the chieftain’s magic stone was in front of him, Binaeril completely lost control.

This was a bad sign, indicating that he was becoming a creature that craved mana.

“Inyakan, if I lose my senses like that again, do me a favor.”

“Hit you again?”

Inyakan asked jokingly, but Binaeril was not joking.

“Yes. I’m serious.”

The carriage was indeed moving swiftly.

Through the crystal orb, the distance between them and the pursuers was visibly decreasing.

If they kept this pace for a few more days, they would meet the pursuit team.

The merchant caravan, which had been traveling diligently all day, finally set up camp just before sunset.

“Hurry, set up the camp! Light the fire and bring out the food!”

Pavel moved briskly. Binaeril liked that.

The people of the caravan had been avoiding Binaeril and Inyakan throughout the journey, whispering among themselves.

It was probably because of Inyakan, but it was also a good thing for Binaeril.

Maintaining a disguise spell in front of people was quite bothersome.

One of the caravan members recognized Binaeril.

And that person was approaching Binaeril now.

Binaeril, who was warming himself by the fire that someone had lit, frowned as he saw Gillian Bemes approaching.

Behind him trailed a group of obviously young and inexperienced caravan members.

It seemed he still hadn’t fixed his habit of wandering around causing trouble.

Gillian stood before Binaeril and abruptly extended his right hand.

“Are you from Elfenbine?”

Binaeril looked up at him, glared, and then turned his gaze back to the flames.

He decided to ignore him. Talking to this guy was tiring.

Gillian awkwardly retracted his outstretched hand and shrugged at his followers.

‘Always with the bravado.’

“I studied there too.”

He sat down next to Binaeril.

“Let’s chat, mage to mage.”

‘Where’s Inyakan?’

The only reason this guy could act so familiar was that Inyakan wasn’t around.

“I have nothing to say.”

“Oh, come on. When did you graduate? I just left Elfenbine not long ago. If I’d stayed half a year longer, I would have qualified for the Scholar’s exam, but I had to leave because of family matters.”

‘Family matters, my foot. He left after losing a duel with me.’

His bravado hadn’t changed.

Once he started, Gillian continued to chatter on.

Even though Binaeril showed no reaction, poking the fire with a twig, Gillian seemed delighted.

“That’s impressive.”

“Really, my lord?”

“Elfenbine is a mysterious place…”

His followers took care of all the appropriate reactions.

“If I hadn’t met that bastard, I wouldn’t be in this mess…”

“Who was it that troubled you, my lord?”

“There’s someone. Binaeril Dalheim.”

As Binaeril zoned out, the conversation flowed and eventually reached him.

Binaeril perked up, his interest piqued.

“He was a scoundrel. He coaxed me into a fight, then used me to get in good with the professors.”

“What a terrible person!”

Smirk.

Gillian and his followers were having a field day badmouthing Binaeril.

They had no idea the subject of their scorn was sitting right next to them.

‘Go ahead, curse me all you want. We won’t see each other again anyway.’

Hearing the insults right in front of him didn’t upset Binaeril. He just felt sorry for Gillian’s life.

‘He hasn’t changed at all, even here.’

It would have been better if it had ended there.

If Gillian’s lament had stopped at that, it would have just been a bothersome incident.

But Gillian took it a step further.

“That damned princess too. Why does she hide her status when she’s a princess of the empire?”

Binaeril’s action of poking the fire stopped abruptly.

“Gasp.”

The followers, who had been nodding along, swallowed their breath and became wary as an unmanageable name was mentioned.

But Gillian’s loose tongue didn’t stop.

“Oh, should I call her Emperor now? Haha, what a joke. I’ve never seen such a weak emperor in my life. Do you know what your precious Emperor Friederike was nicknamed when she was at Elfenbine?”

The caravan members were busy with camp preparations.

Only Gillian’s followers and Binaeril were paying attention to his words.

With a vile grin, Gillian spat out his final words.

“They called her the Timid Boss Rike. She was so timid and had such little presence that none of the students at Elfenbine knew who she was.”

Snap!

The twig Binaeril was using to poke the fire broke.

Gillian’s gaze met Binaeril’s at the end of that drawn-out silence.

Binaeril slowly undid the disguise magic that concealed his face.

“W-what the…?”

His face seemed to melt away, like wax dripping.

The familiar face that emerged behind the cascading mana was one that Gillian vaguely recognized.

‘Who was that?’

Just as the students at Elfenbine hadn’t immediately recognized Binaeril, Gillian didn’t either.

Binaeril had changed significantly.

But Gillian wasn’t stupid enough to not recognize him after hearing his voice.

“You never change, do you, Gillian Bemes.”

“Y-you’re!”

Gillian jumped up in shock, pointing his finger.

Binaeril shook his head, shaking off the remnants of the magic.

The followers exchanged bewildered glances between the two men.