Chapter 30 - He... ro?

[Slave Soul Binding Contract]

A contract that permanently destroyed the soul if the contract conditions were violated.

For reference, this contract proceeded with the soul as collateral, so it was said that it couldn't be undone by any means unless both parties declared to break it.

That's why it was an extremely rare item that was difficult to obtain, however…

When I told Dominic Carsaril, the head of the Carsaril family, that I wanted to receive this as the reward I didn't get last time, Dominic Carsaril spent a huge amount of money to give it as a reward, so it wasn't too difficult to obtain.

Anyway, the important thing is that if I use this contract, it's impossible for Dale to get rid of this contract no matter how much he struggles.

Deciding to use this to use Dale as a slave, I placed the contract on the desk.

"...Ugh."

Perhaps because I had hit his head many times, he still seemed unable to come to his senses.

...It seems his mind had gone due to the endless pain.

Looking at Dale like this, I tapped the desk and said, "If you sign here, I'll release you and give you the cure you wanted so badly."

"..."

At those words, Dale just rolled his eyes to look down at the contract.

Seeing that he was still hesitating despite all the physical persuasion, it seemed he still thought there was a way to escape from here.

So, inevitably, I was about to grab the hammer to continue the persuasion with stronger methods when…

"I, I'll do it," Dale said he would make the contract in a slurred voice.

I nodded to Dale, meaning it was a good choice, untied his hands, and handed him a quill pen.

Of course, it could have been that he agreed so easily to make one last struggle.

I gestured to Loraine to hit Dale's head if he tried any tricks, then pointed to the contract.

This much should be enough to ensure there's absolutely no way to escape.

With none other than Loraine watching, no matter what struggle he made, he wouldn't be able to escape from here.

Dale seemed to know this fact too, as he just froze and blankly looked down at the contract.

"You can sign here."

"..."

The scary thing about this contract was that “it doesn't matter what was done to the other party when making the contract”.

In other words, even if one made a contract while threatening like this, once the contract was made, neither the emperor nor the pope could cancel it.

So using this means you could forcibly capture someone and use them like a slave.

In my case, I succeeded in making the contract very peacefully through long persuasion, but they say there were many cases in the world where it was used cruelly, so there must be considerable problems.

Well, of course, it wasn't all advantages.

There were disadvantages like being extremely expensive or not being able to make other binding contracts while under a soul binding contract.

Although these disadvantages existed, the compulsory nature of this contract was too good, so it wasn't much of a problem.

"...I, I did it."

I nodded when I saw Dale write his name on the contract.

It was good to move on to the next step now that the most basic thing was finished.

I asked Loraine to guard me and proceeded with about 10 contract procedures.

***

To conclude, the contract was successful.

Except for the fact that Dale struggled and tried to escape in the middle, there wasn't anything that would be a big problem.

Thinking that repeated persuasion was definitely effective, I looked at Dale sitting in front of me.

"Heh..."

I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to use the expression “broken” for a human, but Dale was broken even though he hadn't been used for long.

Looking at Dale like this, I took out the cure from my chest and fell into contemplation.

It would be good to feed it to him now.

Since the content I wrote in the contract was to give the cure “only once”,

If I let him experience the effect temporarily, he would probably become desperate and keep asking for more.

So I could draw out motivation that couldn't be obtained through the contract.

Thinking it wasn't a bad investment, I made Dale drink the cure without hesitation.

Then, as I was sprinkling a potion on his head to treat his wounds, a question suddenly arose in my mind.

If it's possible to heal all wounds using potions, why is it impossible to cure impotence?

Starting from this, questions like “Why does the cure only work for one day?” circled in my mind.

But since these were not particularly important issues now that the purpose of the cure had been achieved, I lightly shook them off.

Even though I sprinkled the potion on Dale, his condition didn't improve much.

Just in case, I made him drink some tea, and surprisingly, his condition improved.

I was a bit surprised as I didn't know it had such a cheating ability, but considering what appeared in the original work, it was a natural result in a way, as it was said that with just this, even the weakest person could endure harsh training.

I also benefited greatly from it.

Thinking it was more and more amazing the more I looked at it, I recalled what had happened earlier while watching Dale's back as he left.

By the way, “extra”.

Actually, the word “extra” itself wasn't a problem.

The problem was that Dale knew exactly that Damian was an extra when he said, “You extra” to me.

Because of those words, I realized that all sorts of questions that had been continuing until now were connected into one.

...There's a high probability he's a transmigrator or reincarnator.

This was an unrealistic story, but funnily enough, both were possible stories.

After all, I was a transmigrator myself, so I knew that such things actually existed.

Of course, this alone wasn't enough to confirm it, but my intuition kept thinking that he wasn't the Dale from the original work, but someone else, so I was half certain.

So, deciding to act considering that he might be a transmigrator or reincarnator, I fell into contemplation about how to use Dale.

***

The next day, Liana came to my lodgings and delivered one piece of information.

"The council has decided to select Dale as a hero."

It was early but a natural course.

Moreover, since I had captured Dale as a slave, there wasn't much to worry about.

"However, they say they plan to have him undergo some kind of test because his achievements are insufficient to be chosen as a hero."

The fact that he would take a test was a development that wasn't in the original work, but since the council had decided to make Dale a hero, they would pass him somehow no matter how badly Dale messed up, so it could be considered certain that Dale would become a hero.

As I was nodding while hearing this, suddenly Liana asked me a question, "By the way, did you feed Dale the cure?"

Judging by her asking if I had fed him, it seemed there were no items planted by Liana in the secret room I had entered.

Keeping this in mind, I nodded, and Liana smiled faintly and said to me, "Pfft. Ah, ahem. You did well."

"...?"

"It does cure, but it cures in a somewhat different way…” 

“I see, I understand."

I didn't know what it was, but it was a bit strange.

I considered digging into this more, but it wasn't particularly important, so I was about to ignore it when Liana spoke to me again, "If it's not rude, could you brew me a cup of the tea you sent last time? I tried it yesterday and the effect was so good."

Since it wasn't a difficult request, I handed her the tea I had brewed for Loraine—naturally, Loraine growled but let’s ignore that—and Liana received it with a chuckle.

"The moment I drank it, not only did my mind clear up instantly, but my mood improved too. It doesn't seem to be an ordinary tea."

I agreed with this and nodded.

Liana continued speaking to me in a rather serious voice, "Usually, liquids of that kind are likely to be drugs that cause addiction, so I had it investigated, but it turned out not to be."

I looked at her with cold eyes, feeling dumbfounded that she had the tea I served analyzed.

Liana slightly averted her gaze and made an excuse to me.

"When you're in the information guild, there are many assassination attempts like this..."

"..."

"Anyway, it was incredibly amazing. It's to the point where I could call it a product no different from an elixir in the mental field, with a bit of exaggeration."

Loraine seemed to agree with these words and nodded.

I agreed too since I consume it often, but while I was wondering if it was right to put it on the same level as an elixir,

Liana continued speaking to me with a nonchalant face, "So I tried making it last time."

It seemed she had been watching me make tea too, as she had observed my daily life in the North.

Apparently, she had applied her ability to the kettle or pot used to brew the tea, or to clothes, so I looked at her with cold eyes.

Liana, seeming to have a conscience, smiled awkwardly and averted her gaze again.

"Even though I made it exactly the same way, it had no effect at all."

No effect? That can't be.

I looked at Liana in bewilderment, and she crossed her arms and continued speaking, "I'm not sure, but I think it might have had an effect because Damian made it."

The moment I heard those words, I was suddenly reminded of when I went to get the Sun Spirit Daisy.

At that time, Fenrir had said I had a scent that spirits would like.

Thinking that there might be some change different from the original work, like this, I was contemplating when Liana waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "It's an impossible thing, but given that there's even a medicine that turns you into a woman, I think it might be possible that only the tea Damian makes contains an elixir-level effect."

At the mention of a medicine that turned one into a woman, I glanced at Liana.

Liana made an expression of knowing nothing and continued speaking to me, "So... if it's okay with you, could you brew that tea for the Saintess? The Saintess has been having a hard time recently..."

Since it wasn't a difficult request, I nodded.

Liana subtly added herself, "Then for me too..."

"I'll give you some if you bring good information."

"Ah... that's too much."

"I think what's too much is your conscience, though."

"I'm sorry."

I smiled slightly at that reaction and let it pass.

Just as I was about to make plans based on the information I had heard, Siren, who was looking out the window, called me with an expressionless face.

"Damian."

Wondering what was wrong, I looked at Siren, and she said to me with an uncertain expression, "Dale is coming. But his condition is strange."

Needing a more detailed explanation, I asked, and Siren said with a complex expression, "...It's definitely Dale. But she's a woman."

At those words, Liana, who was sitting, suddenly started coughing.