Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

Binaeril’s fever, which had been tormenting him, had completely vanished. Binaeril and Inyakan, who had escaped from Count Huber’s prison, headed to a shabby inn in the city.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Weren’t the soldiers torturing or beating you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“If you don’t know, who else would?”

While imprisoned, Binaeril’s mind had constantly drifted away from reality. It was natural for him not to know, but he found it hard to explain this to Inyakan. Binaeril examined his body as a doctor would check a patient.

“I’m not hurt anywhere…”

There were no external injuries, and even the right palm, which had been burnt black during the battle with the Hydra, had returned to its original state.

“Original state?”

Binaeril felt a strange sense of incongruity. His palm was clean. Not just back to normal, but as if…

‘It looks like new flesh has grown.’

The minor injuries he had sustained during the battle in the Duchy of Dux were also nowhere to be seen. Binaeril lightly jumped in place.

‘My body feels much lighter.’

It felt as if he had been reborn. His skin was smoother, and his hair seemed longer and shaggier.

‘Did I grow a bit taller?’

“Inyakan, don’t you think I’ve grown a bit taller?”

Inyakan placed his palm on top of Binaeril’s head and compared it to the height of his own chest.

“You still look like a dwarf.”

“…Fine.”

The changes Binaeril felt were not limited to his physical body. He took a deep breath.

‘I can feel the mana much more intensely.’

He tried imagining a breeze running along his forearm and fingertips.

Whoosh―.

He held out his other hand and imagined a light static.

Crackle―.

Then, he spread his fingers and imagined different elemental magic for each finger. Flames, wind, lightning, and moisture, even gathering pebbles.

“What are you doing? Showing off?”

Inyakan’s scolding voice didn’t bother him at all. It felt as if magic was manifesting ahead of Binaeril’s imagination. He could move the mana with his fingers, eyes, breath, and thoughts.

‘Is this the result of absorbing the Hydra’s mana?’

It wasn’t just about the amount of mana increasing or decreasing. It felt like his ability to handle mana naturally, as an extension of his body, had improved.

“I don’t feel bad about this.”

-I told you. When will you stop doubting me? I’m doing my best to help you.

‘Shut up.’

Though the result was good, the process had been so painful that he never wanted to experience it again.

“Alright. Let’s head to Elfenbine.”

He was eager to meet Dean Yulio and confirm his growth. Inyakan stared at Binaeril.

“Are you missing anything?”

“Missing?’

Binaeril felt for his belongings. Inyakan had the Sikrun, and the Miao tribe necklace was securely around his neck. The Book of Truth couldn’t be lost, and the ring on his finger was still there.

“It seems like I have everything.”

“The most important thing is missing.”

“What’s missing?”

“Your coin pouch.”

“My coin pouch?”

Now that he thought about it, it was gone. The coin pouch that had been hanging next to the Book of Truth was missing.

“Really, it’s gone.”

It must have been taken by the guards or ended up with the Count when Binaeril was dragged into the prison. But…

“How did you know my coin pouch was missing?”

Inyakan cleared his throat and avoided Binaeril’s gaze.

“You’ve been quite interested in my wallet, haven’t you?”

His true profession came to mind, one he could never quite forget. Inyakan was a professional thief.

“Anyway! I told you it was missing, so you should thank me. We need to go back and retrieve it from that guy.”

Binaeril felt a suspicion that Inyakan might have stolen the coin pouch himself. But if that were the case, he wouldn’t have helped Binaeril escape from prison or be here with him now. He decided to set aside his doubts for the moment.

“Then we should go see Count Huber.”

-The item you lost is no longer with the Count.

The coin pouch Binaeril had lost was not an ordinary leather pouch. It was an artifact. It had special security magic cast on it by Angelo Yulio, the dean of Elfenbine. Moreover, it was imbued with conveniences like space expansion and weight reduction, making the pouch itself perhaps more valuable than its contents. The symbol of Elfenbine was prominently engraved on its surface with magic, serving as a kind of quality assurance.

Whoever stole Binaeril’s pouch would surely find it a valuable item. Fortunately, Veritas informed him that the Count had failed to open the pouch and also revealed its current whereabouts. But that place was…

“What are we doing here?”

Binaeril and Inyakan stepped into the black market within the Count’s territory. It was debatable if this place could even be called a “black” market. It was situated in the city where the Count’s mansion was located, right under the guards’ noses, sprawling openly.

“They’re certainly turning a blind eye to it.”

“Looks that way.”

Even when slaves with collars or strange items were carried on carts through the main street, the soldiers of the Count’s mansion paid no attention. Binaeril and Inyakan walked through the rows of the black market. There were all sorts of items here: suspiciously ornate lamps, weapons with a sinister aura, questionable monster parts, and low-quality magic stones. There were women selling their bodies, people with collars, and even some from other races.

-The main commodities in this black market seem to be those slaves.

“Are they all slaves?”

-It seems so. The Huber County has the most active slave market in the Empire.

It was a disgusting sight. As they walked deeper into the center of the black market, Binaeril felt the stares of many people.

‘What’s this?’

At first, he thought they were looking at Inyakan. His large frame was certainly attention-grabbing. But that wasn’t it. It was as if they were staring directly at his face.

“Hey, where are you going, Dear?”

“Dear! Great service here.”

“Dear?”

Hearing this unfamiliar term for the first time, Binaeril was taken aback. The women who called out to him didn’t even seem younger than him.

“Wh-what is going on?”

Seeing his flustered state, the women giggled and each grabbed one of his arms, pulling him in different directions.

“Our place is this way. Come on, let’s go.”

“Let go, I grabbed him first.”

The women pulling him in opposite directions even started bickering and fighting among themselves. Binaeril was at a loss and couldn’t bring himself to stop them. This was a first for him.

Just then, Inyakan appeared and placed a hand on Binaeril’s shoulder. Seeing Inyakan’s intimidating demeanor, the women quickly released him and backed off.

“Do you have business with my friend?”

“N-no!”

The women retreated, and only then could Binaeril take a relieved breath.

“You’ve never had experience with women, have you?”

Inyakan smirked openly at Binaeril.

“Maybe not.”

Inyakan patted him on the shoulder, laughing, and then repeated his earlier question.

“So, why are we here?”

“I’m here to get my money back.”

“You passed the Count’s house earlier.”

“My money isn’t there. It’s in this black market.”

Inyakan scratched his chin and gave Binaeril a puzzled look.

“The coin pouch I mentioned. It’s actually magically protected.”

“How?”

“It can’t be opened by anyone other than its owner. Unless they’re a mage more powerful than the creator, but the person who made it is quite exceptional.”

“And who made it?”

“The Dean of Elfenbine.”

Inyakan still looked unimpressed, seemingly unaware of the significance of the Elfenbine’s Dean’s status.

‘What was I expecting?’

Binaeril sighed and elaborated further.

“The pouch is currently up for auction in the black market. As an auction item.”

“Auction item?”

“To put it simply, my entire fortune is in that pouch, and to get it back, I need money.”

“Why does money matter? If we know where it is, we can just take it.”

“That’s one way, but I have a better idea.”

Binaeril stopped in front of a tent and extended his hand to Inyakan.

“You said you couldn’t live without paying your debts, right?”

“So?”

“Can you lend me some money? Even a single Florin coin.”

They had stopped in front of the gambling den of the black market. Inyakan was broke. He emptied his pockets and managed to come up with just two Florin coins—barely enough to buy a loaf of bread. But that didn’t matter.

Binaeril hadn’t chosen to head to the gambling den instead of the auction house to avoid trouble. 

‘I’ve always wanted to try this.’

He had a personal interest and a certainty that he could win money.

“Rolling, rolling. And the result is… twelve! It’s twelve!”

Inside the gambling den, various games were available. One popular game involved guessing whether the dice rolled inside a cup would land on an odd or even number. If guessed correctly, you doubled your money; if wrong, you lost your bet.

Binaeril was on a winning streak, guessing correctly seven times in a row. The two Florin coins he started with had multiplied several dozen times in a flash. In less than half an hour, the amount of money that could barely buy a loaf of bread had transformed into enough to buy a decent sword. It was as if the money was duplicating itself.

“How are you doing this?” Inyakan whispered in Binaeril’s ear, his eyes wide with amazement.

“Trade secret,” Binaeril replied with a sly smile.

The gambling den offered a variety of games, most of which were vulnerable to manipulation. Binaeril didn’t possess any professional gambling skills, but he had the ability to subtly control the dice inside the cup. After all, he was a mage.

The gambling den was located in Count Huber’s territory, which was part of the Albrecht Empire. This meant it was a clean zone regarding magic. None of the games were prepared for tricks involving magic.

However, after winning seven times in a row, the manager began to give him suspicious looks. Sensing it was time to move on, Binaeril licked his lips and left the dice game table.

‘That was the easiest one.’

Yet, none of the other games posed much of a challenge either. After making a round through most of the game tables in the gambling den, Binaeril’s pouch was soon filled not with Florin coins but with gold coins.

“Why aren’t you a professional gambler? With talent like this?” Inyakan’s eyes were glued to the pile of gold coins, clearly fascinated.

Binaeril flicked two gold coins to Inyakan, replacing the two Florin coins he had borrowed.

“Debt repaid?”

Even after that, Binaeril had plenty of gold left, and he juggled the coins between his fingers, shaking them lightly up and down. Watching Inyakan’s head bob up and down in sync with his hand, Binaeril almost burst out laughing.

“Hey, you there, sir.”

Two security guards from the gambling den approached the pair, eyeing the jingling gold coins.