Ch.132132. Ben Guytenping (5)

“······How did I end up like this?”

Red Dragon, Ben Gaitenphang, is now sitting at a desk, transformed into a human.

In his hand, he holds a quill pen used in this country, writing something on what appears to be parchment.

Yes, the noble and great pureblooded dragon Ben was now performing administrative work like a mere human.

And as he resolved the endlessly piling documents with his dragon-intelligence, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

It was the reason why Ben Gaitenphang came to work here like this.

※ ※ ※

Ben Gaitenphang, on the verge of death, closed his eyes to the black and white battle unfolding before him, but…. When he regained consciousness, he had arrived in a dark space of consciousness.

A void-like space where everything stretched endlessly, with only a slightly rippling water floor that could be confirmed with certainty.

Why did he exist at the boundary between mind and unconsciousness?

Ben Gaitenphang harbored such doubts, but they would soon be resolved.

“Pleased to meet you, Red Dragon Ben Gaitenphang.”

[·····.]

Because before him appeared a young female with the appearance of a wolf-human. Based on the circumstances, she was presumed to be the one who had invited his dying self to this place.

At first glance, she appeared to be just an ordinary mortal beastkin with a red appearance, but Ben Gaitenphang watched her with cautious eyes—and then ‘opened’ his eyes.

Spiritual vision, possessed by all dragons and improving with age, allowing one to see things that should be invisible, such as magical power and souls.

The moment Ben Gaitenphang captured the beastkin girl before him with his spiritual vision—

[———?!!!]

Ben Gaitenphang was shocked to the point of momentarily losing his breath.

Beyond the girl, he could see some transcendent soul.

The goddess he had seen beyond the paladin when he encountered one before….

No, the goddess and the being before him were fundamentally different entities.

The goddess is a powerful spiritual being with transcendent power and countless followers, but ultimately no different from the countless mortals bound by the chains of fate.

But the being beyond the red wolf beastkin before him now…. It was something he had never seen since his birth, something he thought couldn’t exist.

Something beyond gods, completely unbound by the Fate of this world.

Because Ben Gaitenphang had devoted himself to exploring the truths of the world, and because he had some divine blood flowing through him as a direct descendant of the Dragon God.

Ben Gaitenphang could feel the radiant body emanating from within the being before him.

Red, red, endlessly red and somber.

A transcendent being made from the amalgamation of countless mortal beings’ cries for revenge, violence, anger—emotions coalesced into a physical form that moved directly.

[········What business do you have with me?]

Having noticed this, Ben Gaitenphang showed respect and politely asked the being before him, to which she(?) smiled very faintly—and opened her maw to speak.

“The Great One desires you.”

[····And?]

To the being before him who had uttered words revealing obvious possessiveness, Ben Gaitenphang maintained his guard and asked in return.

Perhaps they intended to subjugate him, resurrect him, and use him as a slave…. But rather than living such a wretched life, it would be better to just die and go to the Dragon God’s realm.

Therefore, as Ben Gaitenphang was steeling his resolve never to submit.

Swish.

“Here.”

[This····is····?]

Looking at the parchment-like ‘thing’ handed to him by the red transcendent being in wolf beastkin form, Ben Gaitenphang acknowledged her with a serious expression and voice, but….

“It’s a contract. Let’s read it.”

[······What?]

The response was completely unrelated to his expectations.

[A contract, you say?]

An evil god born from darkness, the only being free from fate, treating a material world being as an equal. To think they would personally write and hand over such a contract?

It was a situation completely contrary to all common sense Ben had accumulated, but…. Ben Gaitenphang was clearly in a disadvantaged position right now.

Therefore, he eventually had no choice but to accept the contract and read its contents….

[············?!!??!!]

What was written there was completely different from what he had thought—clauses based on ‘reason’ that were incredibly fair and rational beyond imagination.

To clarify the content, everything ambiguous was thoroughly defined, so the contract was filled with long and complex text, but with his excellent magician-dragon-intelligence, Ben Gaitenphang could summarize the content roughly as follows:

This was…. Yes. From a modern perspective, it was a kind of employment contract.

Red Dragon Ben Gaitenphang would become a believer of the Bleeding Revenge God for the time being and work 10 hours a day for the Bleeding Revenge God.

In return, the Bleeding Revenge God would not only save him from the brink of death but also resurrect him even if he were to die during his employment, even at the god’s own expense.

Also, if he were to truly die, his soul would be respectfully and completely delivered to the Dragon God Tiamat, the deity Ben originally served.

Up to this point, Ben Gaitenphang wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.

But the moment he saw the sentence right below, Ben’s eyes rolled—and he immediately approved the contract without a moment’s hesitation, ignoring all other clauses.

The content was that if Ben Gaitenphang worked under the Bleeding Revenge God for 10 years, the Bleeding Revenge God would reveal to him ‘the truth of the world.’

When such an offer came from the only being who had escaped the absolute Fate of the world, it was a contract that a seeker of truth starving for knowledge could never refuse.

[I, I will do it! I will contract! I will work for you, please, please, the contract!!!]

《A wise choice, Ben Gaitenphang.》

Thus, Ben Gaitenphang and the Bleeding Revenge God made a soul contract, and when he opened his eyes again, Ben Gaitenphang found himself in some underground city.

※ ※ ※

After beginning his life in this unidentified underground city according to the contract terms.

‘….This place is actually quite nice?’

Ben Gaitenphang was, surprisingly, enjoying his life in this underground city.

Although there were disadvantages, such as having to spend all day transformed into an uncomfortable human body, and being surrounded by noisy species and bloodsucking corpses.

However, for Ben, the most sociable and socially developed Red Dragon, this city was like his ideal environment.

First of all, the food is delicious.

Ben, who had thought that food was just about enjoying the taste of ingredients and filling his stomach, became absorbed in gastronomy the moment he encountered properly cooked food.

Whether it was meat roasted with spices brought from somewhere by the expedition team, or grains he normally wouldn’t give a second glance to—he became obsessed the moment he tasted desserts.

What particularly shocked him were the spices brought from the ‘Indiya’ region.

Having spent his life just tearing at meat, when he encountered curry, it was no wonder he fell into culinary pleasure.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t just food that satisfied Ben Gaitenphang.

He developed a great interest, concern, and a kind of attachment to the magic academy (university) operating in this underground city.

Although Ben Gaitenphang was a genius born once a century, even he had limitations to what he could do alone.

So for him, who had been conducting research almost alone in a haphazard manner, how lovely would it be to come across what was probably the world’s ‘only’ specialized magical research institution?

Ben spent almost all his spare time at this magic university, and in the process, provided excellent guidance for various stagnant research projects.

He provided the concept for an engine with ten times the output of existing ones for the new magic train.

He corrected the wrong proportions being mixed in the production process of 41 magical potions.

He even proposed the theory of mass production through primitive conveyor belts.

Thus, while achieving many excellent accomplishments, he was simultaneously experiencing what was perhaps the happiest days of his life.

However, this was just a momentary dream-like achievement.

Every satisfying life always comes with a price.

[········? What is this??]

“These are the documents you need to process today. If you read them, you’ll know what to do.”

From his first day of work under the contract, he had to mechanically process countless documents that were forcibly passed on to him.

Additionally, his job included establishing various policies, making plans, and allocating budgets for use in public institutions.

Sometimes he even had to go on business trips to handle tasks personally, and it was then that he, a dragon with a time perception different from humans, realized that these 10 hours would by no means be easy.

As a dragon who could unconsciously adjust his perceived time, he thought 10 hours would be nothing.

But what do you know. For him, the 10 hours spent on duty felt longer than for ordinary humans—feeling like about 15 hours.

Moreover, his body never tired, so he ultimately ascended to the great administrative throne as a living bio-computer.