Episode 141 – Mutually Contractual Relationship (1)

Mutually Contractual Relationship (1)

[20]

[Great Success]

The moment the rifle fired the bullet, the world froze.

Thump- Thump-

The beating of my heart echoed clearly.

A thrill that far surpassed Perion.

A speed so fast that my brain couldn’t even perceive the acceleration.

In that place where time seemed to ‘stop’, I drew the dagger from my waist.

The bullet hovered in the air.

No, it was slowly rotating and inching forward.

I ran and pushed dozens of bullets away with my dagger. All of them deflected.

“……Huff.”

But, maybe because the increase in my ability was too excessive.

Even this much made me severely out of breath.

Nausea surged, my muscles trembled, and it felt like my insides were being torn apart.

This is what happens when you don’t diversify your investments.

Well, it’s impossible to withstand 20 「Agility」 with just 1 ‘「Endurance」. Simply put, I’ve become a glass cannon.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.

I approached Dylan first. Still smiling innocently, he had the golden bob hair typical of nobles.

“What kind of man has a bob cut?”

I grabbed him and stood between the firing squad and the party. If they fire again, this guy will become a beehive. In that state, I placed the dagger at his throat.

It’s a perfect setup.

Afterward, I took a small breath──

“End.”

──and ended the acceleration of Agility.

Tadadadada——!

The bullets that were deflected at will. The endlessly twisted trajectory. Then, a gust of wind followed the path I ‘traveled’, and screech──! Skid marks were belatedly engraved on the asphalt.

“Wha-what, uh, ahhhh!”

Dylan, who was kidnapped in an instant, screamed.

“Wha, what is this-”

He blankly looked left and right, his face pale.

“Listen well.”

I pushed the blade into his throat.

“……”

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his trembling Adam’s apple and touched the blade of the dagger. His eyes moved, and he looked at me.

The reflection of me composed, perhaps a poker face.

The passive of the Gambler class. Beyond simply maintaining composure, a face that deceives and intimidates the opponent.

Bluffing.

I spoke with a fitting murderous intent.

“1mm is the boundary of the afterlife. If you move, you cross the river.”

“……Ah, I won’t move. Absolutely.”

Dylan became obedient. Thanks to his bob cut, he looked like a well-groomed Maltese.

“First, let the team members go.”

I sent a message to Soliette.

[I’ll buy time, so go ahead. Contact me after you find a hiding place. Let’s meet there.]

Then her expression became scary. As if she couldn’t tolerate it at all.

[Solize: I refuse. What do you mean you’ll buy time alone, Shion?]

[Do you see the dice I rolled on the ground? It’s 20, right? That number is added to the basic stats. For a while, my Agility is 20. I can buy time and escape alone.]

The power of Agility 20 was temporarily suspended, but the status abnormality itself remained.

Exactly 3 minutes.

[Solize: Shion. Do you know how much HP you have now? It’s 75%.]

I didn’t know that. A mere second of movement and 25% is gone.

[75% is still a lot. It’s okay until it reaches 20%. I’ll catch up quickly, so go ahead for now.]

[Solize: 20%? Are you insane? That’s too dangerous.]

“……Tsk.”

I can somewhat understand Soliette’s constant warnings about the danger.

She doesn’t want to lose a comrade.

[We have two lives anyway. It’s a gain even if I die once.]

[Solize: What a reckless thing to say!]

……No, she doesn’t want to lose a person.

It’s not because I’m particularly special.

In the past, she even tried to protect that bastard Kielli from a monster, risking her life just because they were ‘on the same team’.

Perhaps she has a different kind of PTSD from Elise.

It might be an even more severe trauma than Elise’s. For Soliette, who lost two of her most precious people in an instant.

[It’s more efficient for me to hold them off here, and you guys to run. You know that.]

[Solize: Let’s move together, using Dylan as a hostage.]

[Move together? We’ll stand out too much. We need to hide in the city. Do you want to stage a hostage situation and mess up the quest?]

[Solize: We’ll find a way! Somehow, Shion.]

I know about Soliette’s obsession with loss.

Rather, because I know everything.

She was frustrating.

A hot sigh slipped through my gritted teeth. I threw a distorted gaze at Soliette.

“Hey.”

She flinched for a moment. Nevertheless, she looked straight into my eyes. Her unique stubbornness was strongly present.

“Stop pretending to be close.”

I have to break her. I have to twist her.

Her belief, her desire to handle everything by herself, her ambition not to give up on anyone.

Her defense mechanism to avoid hurting herself under the guise of caring for others.

Because it’s pushing her towards death.

“Did you forget our contract?”

“……”

“It’s the contract you wrote.”

Soliette’s face wavered. She took a deep breath, but I didn’t give her a chance.

“‘In case of contact or meeting in the presence of an observant outsider, we pretend not to know each other.'”

The contract she drafted herself proudly handed to me to cut off emotional exchanges.

I recited its clauses.

“‘All conversations during the mission are only about official matters. Unnecessary conversations, such as asking about each other’s past, are prohibited.'”

The contract clearly stated that.

I also had a promise to myself.

“Focus on the mission during the mission.”

In fact, contracts and promises exist to be broken.

They exist because they can be broken, like ‘promises’……

“Don’t delude yourself. Since when were we friends?”

There’s no room left in her, filled with Jared and Felix.

Because she can’t let go of those two, our relationship can’t even be friendship.

The closer we get, the more unbearable it will be for her.

“So.”

Therefore, we are bound by money, merely tracking and chasing Knightmare together—a business partnership.

The phrase ‘together till the end’ implies that there is an ‘end’ after all.

“You drew the line from the beginning.”

…But.

In fact.

This might be something I’m saying to myself.

“Don’t cross it. Keep it. Don’t do anything annoying.”

I have to do that.

I must do that.

If I let my guard down even a little, I might start liking you again.

Again, I might torment you with something as damn annoying as unrequited love.

“Move. If you keep standing still, it’s a breach of contract.”

She bit her lips tightly. She seemed to want to say something, her body twitching, but she replied with a message instead.

[I’ll return immediately if my HP drops below 30%.]

I pushed my dagger closer to Dylan’s throat.

“Ugh─! What are you all doing! Let, let me go! You can catch them in the city!”

“What? Catch us in the city? You just moved 1mm.”

“No, no. I won’t catch you! I won’t catch you! I won’t catch youuuuuu─!”

Dylan cried out desperately, and Soliette and the party members quickly moved. They scattered into the smog on the opposite side of Dylan, hiding.

“Add not to follow.”

“Don’t follow! Don’t follow, guys! I’ve caught hundreds of users! You can let them go!”

“Are you trying to follow one?”

Dylan’s tantrum was so funny that I made a joke.

“Let go, you bastard, you fucking bastard! Let me go! Let me go, fuckkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!”

Even the gunners and escort knights are sick of his aggressive survival instinct.

Has this guy, by any chance, already died once?

“Have you died once?”

“No.”

“Then you can die.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Then suddenly, sniff sniff-

I smell something. This guy smells like money, like treasure.

In his pocket.

I put my hand into it.

“Ugh! Why, why are you doing this…… Huh.”

“Stop making barking, crazy asshole.”

“……Yes. Take it. Take it all.”

I took Dylan’s wallet and valuables.

“I won’t chase.”

Just then, an escort knight stepped forward.

He put down his sword and ordered the gunners to put down their guns as well.

“Dylan is a close aide to the Earl. If you harm him, there will be bigger trouble. Let’s just end it here. There’s no harm in letting a few users go. Let him go. I won’t chase either.”

“……Yes. I won’t chase. I swear. With the speed you just showed, I can’t chase you anyway. You’re very fast. He, hehe.”

There’s still about a minute left for 「Dice Roll」, but it’s too much to face all of them with just one dagger.

Even if it’s possible, that would be crazy. Even I’m not so off my rocker to massacre thirty people in an instant.

“Remember, Dylan. If you follow, I’ll kill you.”

“Th-th-that’s right. You’re a hidden class, right? I’m jealous…… Hehehehe.”

Dylan suddenly turned into a real Maltese.

“But, but! Since you’re a precious hidden class, I have to tell you, don’t trust [Karl]. I can’t explain why, but you shouldn’t trust him.”

“I don’t care.”

I trust Soliette, not them.

…But still.

[Requesting to add Dylan as a friend.]

Who knows?

I sent him a friend request, pretending to zip my mouth shut. Dylan nodded his head in agreement and accepted the request.

[Status Abnormality: Dice Roll Dissipated.]

The buff from 「Dice Roll」 has ended, but I still need a bit more time. Until Soliette and I find a suitable hiding place for our party. Maybe I can stall for about 10 minutes.

“Wait.”

“Yes, yes. Hey, everyone wait.”

I drew a card. This time, it was a pale blue card.

“Hmm.”

Perfect effect.

Roughly, 「Phase Shift」. I can swap the position of the card and my main body, and the effect range is roughly up to 1 km.

Dylan cautiously said,

“I won’t chase you. You can go now.”

“How can I trust you. Wait for 10 minutes.”

“Te, ten minutes?”

“Yeah. Why. You scared?”

“No!!!!!”

Dylan was still scared of me, and the standoff continued.

I watched the system clock.

1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes…

10 minutes

“Seems like 10 minutes have- Ack!”

I immediately threw Dylan back. I took advantage of the gap when they took the hostage and threw the card into the air.

Whooosh—

The card cut through the wind and stretched out, and I shifted the phase at the appropriate coordinates.

* * *

…Meanwhile, in Room 106 of 「Planarium Academy」. It’s still a peaceful morning, two days before the start of the semester.

“Phew.”

Elise wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“Done.”

She murmured softly and smiled.

She had spent the whole day setting up her dorm room.

The Barrier installed in Room 106 includes [Interior Expansion] and [Security·Defense·Detection], and the always-on formula includes [Automatic Detection] and [Mana Emission].

The room, which was about 6 pyeong, had transformed into a base of nearly 40 pyeong.

“It’s good for studying.”

There are advantages to having a high mana concentration. The natural mana supply doesn’t stop, so even if you install the same formula, it’s implemented at a much higher level.

Although she was a bit dissatisfied with being on the first floor, well, very dissatisfied, she couldn’t help it.

She stepped outside.

She looked at Room 107 next door—Shion’s room.

“…Hmm.”

She glanced around stealthily.

Knock knock.

She knocked.

There was no response.

Again, she glanced around stealthily.

She pushed the doorknob.

It opened right away.

He hadn’t even set up the most basic lock.

“…Look at this. I knew he’d be like this.”

Elise sighed first.

His interior was even worse than his exterior security.

Ignoring the roughly unpacked luggage, his student ID was on the desk. What would he do if someone stole it?

Until now, Shion had been spared from the top-tier struggles thanks to his low grades, but not anymore.

His reputation is already widespread.

Even if you ignore the fact that he beat Gerkhen in the evaluation test, for some reason, a few loose-lipped guys found out about Shion’s growth.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Elise picked up the student ID.

“…!”

Suddenly, a chilling gaze stared at her.

She almost pulled up her magic power in response, but it was just a cat hissing.

“…Ah.”

Elise saw the creature. The creature seemed to recognize her face and relaxed its expression. It even gave her a small smile.

“You…”

It was the child she had seen in the desert.

The child who had kept her sane in the desert museum, the prison where she had been kidnapped. Today, it was wearing a necklace around its neck.

So, it was Shion’s pet after all.

Elise squatted down with a slightly bitter face. She stroked the child’s chin with her finger and murmured softly.

“You can’t protect this place alone. I’ll keep you in my room.”

At that, the cat rubbed its body against her feet. Elise took the opportunity to pick up the student ID.

“Where’s your owner?”

Meow-

The child pointed to a scattered CD case on the floor.

It was Bethune Dungeon.

“Is he playing the game?”

Bethune Dungeon. Elise knew what it was after analyzing the data for about 48 hours.

More importantly, this child is very smart.

“Thanks.”

After stroking the creature, she left.

And then, as she was about to return to her room, murmuring “Bethune Dungeon, Bethune Dungeon,”

“…What.”

Someone was standing there.

Standing dumbly in the middle of the corridor, staring at her, or more precisely, at Shion’s student ID in her hand.

Gerkhen.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

When Elise, whose feet had gone numb, hastily asked, he pointed to the student ID and said one word.

“Stealing.”

“I’m not.”

She answered immediately.

“…”

He seemed not to believe her.

Elise waved her hand sternly and strictly.

“I’m not, okay? I’m not. I’m not stealing, I’m protecting-”

Despite her vehement denial, Gerkhen didn’t say anything. He just raised his eyebrows and walked past her.

Elise shouted at his retreating figure.

“I said I’m not three times. Four times now. Don’t go spreading rumors.”

There was no response.

But Gerkhen’s mouth was the heaviest among the people she knew.

Elise returned to her room, biting her lip.

“…Bethune Dungeon, Bethune Dungeon.”

She pulled out the game console hidden under her bed. She pushed the Bethune Dungeon CD into the CD slot.

“Connect.”

As soon as she pressed the power button, she was sucked in.