Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

Since there were no wooden swords for sparring, Baron drew his own sword. In contrast, Binaeril was unarmed. The Duke pointed this out.

“Do you not need a weapon?”

Although he knew that mages typically didn’t use conventional weapons, seeing Binaeril standing barehanded against a real sword was worrisome.

‘Unnecessary worry,’ the Duke thought, shaking his head to clear the concern. He had witnessed Binaeril’s abilities up close during their journey. Binaeril had charged into the middle of demon hordes, moving freely and bursting their heads with uncanny skill. Watching him brought back memories of his own youth, revered by the northern barbarians.

‘But I won’t give him my daughter, ever!’

Baron, too, was a true knight who had honed his skills traveling across various battlefields since childhood. While Binaeril had the upper hand against demons, in a one-on-one duel…

The Duke found it difficult to predict the outcome. If Baron could close the distance, he believed Baron might win.

Looking around, he saw other soldiers watching the duel with keen interest.

“Men, always the same,” he muttered.

“Did you say something, Your Grace?” asked Vivian.

“I said, what are they waiting for? Why don’t they start already?”

Despite the Duke’s scolding, Baron didn’t flinch. Instead, he smiled broadly and called out loudly.

“Are you ready?”

Binaeril nodded. Baron took a ready stance, holding his sword high above his head. In contrast, Binaeril stood relaxed, as if out for a stroll. To an outsider, it might have seemed like a ridiculous scene, but Baron stayed tense.

“Here I come!”

Since it was a sparring match, Baron announced his attack.

“Ha!”

In an instant, Baron charged, thrusting his sword straight ahead. It was a different style from Dominic’s. Baron’s attack was fast and heavy, but…

‘Slower than Dominic.’

Binaeril extended his palm forward. A prepared barrier formed a sphere around him, blocking Baron’s attack. Baron felt a solid resistance but wasn’t deterred, quickly chaining into his next move.

He twisted his sword, aiming for Binaeril’s chest. This follow-up was slower than the initial thrust; unconsciously, Baron was holding back his strength. Binaeril noticed this and, instead of defending, pushed forward, catching Baron off guard.

“Whoa!”

Shocked exclamations erupted from the onlookers. To them, Binaeril’s actions seemed reckless.

Eden’s barrier blocked Baron’s attack. Advancing, Binaeril used his shoulder to shove Baron away. Baron fell back unceremoniously.

“Cluck, cluck. That foolish man!” The sound of the Duke clicking his tongue reached Baron’s ears.

Binaeril extended his hand to the fallen Baron. “Sir Baron, you didn’t request this duel just to go easy on me, did you?”

“N-no.” Baron’s face turned bright red. He had asked for the duel but ended up embarrassing himself by holding back.

“Baron! Stop with the presumptuous courtesy. It’s disgraceful!” The Duke shouted at Baron. He didn’t want to see a half-hearted duel either.

Baron grasped Binaeril’s hand and stood up. Binaeril stepped back to put some distance between them and waited.

“Hoo—.” Baron took a deep breath and assumed his stance once more.

“I’ll go all out.”

“Ha!”

Baron took the initiative again. His first strike was the same thrust as before. Binaeril easily dodged it by tilting his head. Just as he thought he had evaded it, the second strike came crashing in. The first thrust was a feint to draw Binaeril’s defense. This was the real attack.

‘But it’s still slow!’

Speed equaled power. Binaeril cast the same defensive spell, colliding with Baron’s attack. This time, the shout of pain came from Binaeril. What he had expected to block easily had an unexpected force behind it. Binaeril quickly drew on Veritas’s power, reinforcing his defense. He barely deflected the attack, retreating two steps.

“What was that attack?”

He was bewildered. Even when facing Dominic, he had never felt such power. Slow but powerful—an odd combination for a sword technique.

“It’s my specialty.”

From the recent exchange, Binaeril understood Baron’s strategy. His sword was slow but carried tremendous force. He used feints to force a defensive response, hiding his true strike.

“You force defense with the first strike, hiding your real power in the second.”

Baron’s eyebrow twitched.

“You understood immediately.”

Binaeril acknowledged his mistake. He had underestimated his opponent.

“It was arrogant of me to concede the initiative.”

Binaeril prepared to take the offensive seriously. Baron raised his sword again, wondering how a mage would attack in a one-on-one fight.

Clap!

Binaeril clapped his hands lightly. Baron’s eyes darted left and right.

‘Where is it coming from? Where is the attack?’

But there was no sign of anything from either side.

‘Below!’

He could sense a faint vibration through the soles of his feet.

Baron hastily kicked off the ground. A blunt stone pillar shot up, grazing his chin. 

Swish!

Before he could fully comprehend, a sharp sound cut through the air. He instinctively raised his sword straight ahead.

Clang!

A blade of wind, emerging from the shattered stone pillar, collided with his sword. If he hadn’t reacted in time, his neck would have been severed. But it wasn’t over. The severed top of the stone pillar disintegrated into fragments in the air. 

Baron busily swung his sword, deflecting the hailstorm of stone debris. Amidst his defensive maneuvers, he heard another clap. 

‘Again?’

He felt vibrations under his feet. Baron retreated, the distance between him and Binaeril increasing. 

‘This can’t go on.’

The third clap. The repeated pattern made it easy for Baron to anticipate the attack. 

‘If I close the distance, I have a chance!’

He leapt forward. Or rather, he tried to. As he pushed off the ground, he was startled by a powerful resistance holding him back. Glancing down, he saw shadows stretching like sticky glue, binding his limbs.

‘What is this…!’

The vibrations under his feet intensified. Baron was struck in the stomach by a stone pillar emerging like a heavy club, knocking him out cold. 

Sir Baron collapsed to the ground, limp like a frog. Applause erupted from the spectators.

“Wow!”

“He intentionally repeated the same attack to lure Baron into a predictable response, then made his move!”

“That’s impressive. You can’t beat him at a distance. But if Baron hadn’t let down his guard and kept the distance, who knows?”

“Are you stupid? Didn’t you see Sir Binaeril fighting demons? That’s not his main magic style.”

“His specialty is using magic bullets to blow off enemies’ heads in one shot.”

“I didn’t see that. Really?”

Binaeril chuckled at their cheers. It was true. Since mastering the magic bullet, he had used it as his primary weapon. However, given the sparring nature of today and his exhaustion, he had only employed basic magic.

“Enough, enough! Someone wake up that fallen fool. It’s almost dinner time. Let’s give a round of applause to the winner, Sir Binaeril!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Thunderous applause erupted. Binaeril approached the carried-off Baron and checked his condition.

“Was I too harsh? He’s not seriously injured, right?”

“Huh? No, not at all. If you had held back, he wouldn’t have been satisfied. You did well. Hey, you weakling, how long are you going to lie there!”

Another knight slapped the unconscious Baron on the head, trying to wake him. The rough and uncouth wake-up call made Binaeril’s heart skip a beat.

“You rascal, you rascal! Won’t you wake up? How about now?”

“Uh, sir, please be gentle…”

Someone touched Binaeril’s shoulder. It was Duke Dux.

“Good job. That was an impressive duel.”

“Seeing you hunt demons was one thing, but you also excel in psychological warfare in duels. Have you had experience facing knights before?”

“Yes… well.”

Binaeril decided not to bring up Dominic.

“But you made one mistake today.”

“Mistake? What mistake?”

Duke Dux looked at Binaeril with a slightly pitying expression.

“It would have been better if you had lost. You’ll understand what I mean in time. Let’s go, dinner seems to be ready.”

Baron, having awakened, approached Binaeril immediately, even before eating.

“Sir Binaeril, thank you!”

“Are you alright?”

“Perfectly fine.”

Baron was sporting a lump on his head that looked like a bump. Binaeril thought it would be uncomfortable even to wear a helmet.

“It feels like my head hurts more from that than from the duel, but I’m really fine!”

Sir Baron swung his arms energetically.

“But I must apologize.”

“For what exactly…?”

“It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand in a day. Anyway, enjoy your dinner, Sir Binaeril!”

Baron left Binaeril with a cryptic message and joined the other knights.

“Does a loser deserve to eat?”

“You’re fasting tonight!”

Voices teasing Baron could be heard among the noisy crowd.

And it didn’t take a full day for Binaeril to understand the warning.

“Sir Binaeril, are you there?”

The next day, a voice called from outside Binaeril’s tent. It was the same knight who had woken Baron with a slap on the head. His name was Asdal, if Binaeril remembered correctly.

“If you’re not too busy, could we have a duel…?”

“Huh, again?”

It wasn’t just Asdal. Behind him were many people lined up.

“And who are these people? Here to watch?”

“No? They’re all here to challenge you.”

Binaeril blinked, counting the number of people gathered. There seemed to be at least twenty knights waiting in line outside his tent.

At the front, Sir Asdal smiled brightly at Binaeril.

“I came first! I’m number one!”

“I’m number two!”

The people in the front row shot Binaeril expectant looks, making him feel quite pressured.

Binaeril sensed that the remainder of his journey to the duchy would not be smooth.