Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – The Contractor Must Protect Me!

A man, wrapped snugly in a robe as smooth and delicate as silk, clutched the terrace railing and leaned forward eagerly.

At the end of his gaze was a boy murmuring something to himself, his hair as white as snow – it was Lian.

“Haah, haah -…so, so beautiful!”

The voice that slipped out from between the robe’s folds was husky and deep. Behind him, a hunchback with his hands clasped together like a fly was swallowing his saliva and speaking in a mellifluous voice.

“I prepared the stage especially for you, Lord Totogen. How did you find it?”

“Ah, ah -…it was truly…truly magnificent.”

The voice trembling with excitement seemed almost drunken. The hunchback rubbed his hands vigorously and grinned disgustingly, positively beaming at the praise. Then Totogen, known as the dark merchant, pulled out a heavy purse from within his robe and tossed it.

“Ah – thank you so much! I will make sure to prepare more excellent stages in the future!”

The hunchback’s eyes sparkled as he bowed deeply and carefully pocketed the purse.

“Enjoy the rest -..”

“Wait.”

Before the hunchback could finish speaking, Totogen raised a hand and cut him off.

“Those with the white hair.”

“Y-yes.”

“I will buy them.”

“Pardon…?”

“How much would it be?”

Slaves with outstanding looks and skills were valuable.

Every time they took the stage, numerous big shots who claimed themselves as their fans would come. Of course, these magnates didn’t come to just watch the games without purpose.

Many sought the ‘star’ slaves to be their playthings for one night.

Those who bought a gladiator slave’s night would subject them to all kinds of cruel acts or use them for terrible experiments.

At times the gladiator slaves would die, but in such cases, one could profit an amount greater than what the slaves could earn in their whole lives.

If Totogen wanted such use, it would not be unthinkable to grant, but an outright purchase was something different.

‘Considering the amount those lads could earn in the future…’

Could a buyer for a night with a gladiatorial slave really just be one person? If they were sold each night to big shots like Totogen, the money would rot from abundance.

Including all those considerations, the total sum was enough to make one choke. Even for someone as rich as Totogen, it was definitely a daunting amount.

“That would be… The two with the white hair were specifically brought by Lord Jiso, so it would be difficult to sell them. Ha-ha..”

“Hmm… Then how about purchasing a night?”

“..! That is possible! However, they are still young slaves and rather delicate, so if you handle them too roughly, they might break. In which case-..”

“In that case, I’ll compensate. Reserve them for me for the next year.”

“…..!!”

The idea of monopolizing a slave with star quality for a whole year was akin to saying he would pour out money like a waterfall, not merely splurge like water.

The hunchback’s eyes, which had been hitting an imaginary calculator, wobbled aimlessly, then broke into a foolish grin.

“Then it’s settled! Which one would you prefer?”

“Can I see them and choose myself?”

“Certainly!”

The hunchback nodded rapidly. Totogen, having somewhat calmed down his excitement, left the terrace overlooking the stark arena and ventured into the spacious living room connected to it.

As he sat on the sofa, his personal attendants and secretaries flocked to serve him. The hunchback took a few steps back and said,

“If there’s anything you need, just call me! I will hurry over right away.”

Totogen, without responding, quenched his thirst with the tea an attendant had brought. The hunchback quickly exited the room.

“Hurry and prepare the white-haired one who just fought and his sibling too!”

“Yes!”

As the excited hunchback barked out orders, the attendants ready at hand rushed into action.

***

After stuffing Iris with snacks, I returned to the room holding her hand firmly, she reluctant to part from me.

Whoosh!

As I opened the door, something flew at me. It was the demon sword I had tossed onto the bed.

[Give me blood -… Aaack!]

The demon sword, initially soaring towards my abdomen, was caught by the hilt by Iris.

[Le-let me gooo…]

The demon sword flailed, near-death in its protest.

Clang!

Iris tossed the sword she was holding onto the floor.

[Ahuk…]

The demon sword pitifully rolled on the ground. Iris turned to face me swiftly and pointed at the sword with the tip of her finger.

Having spent all day joined at the hip, I was at a point where I could understand Iris’s intent to some degree, and I realized she was asking if it was okay to destroy the sword.

[Yeech! Damn dog of a god! I am the great demon sword Gargandoa, I’ll have you know! To subject me to such indignity -…!]

Ignoring the demon sword’s rant, I addressed Iris.

“We can’t break that sword. Understand?”

[Then you mean -… Wait, are you saying you’ll break me?]

“Uh…”

At my words, the sword panicked, and Iris looked downtrodden. The sword, scraping the floor, rolled towards my feet and stood upright. The hilt and the side of the blade pressed against my calf.

[Look here, Contractor. Surely you’re not really planning to break me, right?]

“Since when was I a contractor?”

[Well – because! Of course, since the moment you picked me up and swung me around mercilessly!]

The demon sword, not wanting to be annihilated, clung tightly to me, buzzing threateningly. It almost looked like a person holding onto someone’s pant leg.

Fzzzt!

The moment the sword acknowledged me as its contractor, a strange pattern was etched onto the back of my hand. The dark red insignia looked something a high schooler obsessed with their rebellious phase might’ve drawn.

[Now even if you wanted to erase it, there’s no use! We are bonded by a contract. This insignia on your hand is proof… You must protect me well, Contractor!]

Like a mouse in front of a cat, every time Iris’s gaze fell on it, the sword slightly shifted its position, hiding behind my ankle.

‘Now it even plays games… I’m touched.’

Iris, with narrow, focused eyes, tracked the demon sword clinging to my body, reminding me of a cat following a blade of moving grass.

The sight of the once lifelessly sitting child now showing reactions to other things was truly moving.

“Alright, that’s enough; I might get cut on the ankle.”

Though the sword wasn’t cutting my skin because it was lying flat, if it kept moving around, there was a chance of an accident.

‘Cleanup is such a hassle.’

There was nothing more troublesome than cleaning up blood, so I picked up the hilt of the demon sword. As Iris fixed a burning gaze on it, the sword seemed to start dripping droplets like cold sweat.

[Ergh…! Contractor, when you need me, just call for Gargandoa in your mind! You got that?!]

“Oh? Yeah, that.”

Responding to the desperate tone of the sword, it transformed into light and seeped into the back of my hand. The pattern flashed menacingly before settling down.

“Wow, that’s convenient?”

Rubbing the back of my hand, I was about to mentally call the name of Gargandoa when,

Thud!

The door suddenly burst open, and a familiar rat beastman entered. After he checked the faces of Iris and me, he took a step to the side.

Behind him stood about ten people. Wrapped tight in clothes that clung to their skin, they wore turban-like headgear and their faces were veiled with thin cloth.

“Please ensure you prepare them properly for an important guest.”

“Yes!”

They barged in, swiftly lifted Iris and me, and began carrying us off as if they were giving a cheer. Iris, because she wasn’t separated from me, didn’t react much and just kept staring intensely at the back of my hand.

‘Called by an important guest?’

Not understanding what was happening, I looked around wildly. Before I knew it, we had arrived somewhere unfamiliar.

It looked undeniably like a bathhouse.

“Clean up thoroughly and dress them. Fit them with the finest clothes!”

Following the rat beastman’s order, Iris and I were put down. I smartly guessed it was time for a wash.

‘I mustn’t resist here.’

I recalled the stories of ‘iron collars’ I heard during the snack outing.

‘They said it had various magics cast on it to easily manage rebellious slaves.’

There were shock spells, and even magic that made one feel as though their body was being slashed by blades. Idly resisting here would only lead to the magic activating, resulting in a loss for both of us.

“Iris, we’ll meet again soon, so be good and wait. Got it?”

Knowing I couldn’t take a bath while holding Iris’s hand, I whispered to her quietly as the cloth-clad people prepared to clean us.

Then, Iris glanced back and forth between my hand and face, finally sulking and bowing her head. Her twitching hands slowly retreated.

“Move it, move quickly!”

Timed perfectly with the rat beastman’s urging, it turns out my worry was needless as Iris and I were dragged into separate rooms despite the ‘siblings’ setup.

Overhearing the staff’s chatter, it seemed like the preparations for men and women differed.

In an instant, my clothes were confiscated, and I was thrown into a fragrant bath, dotted with floating things. The shame of being undressed in front of others didn’t last long.

‘Uh…?’

Someone was washing my hair, and another person was washing my body. Relaxed in the warm water, floating idly, I mused.

‘This kind of feels… like the therapy sessions I went with mother?’

I floated around blissful as a sea otter, and the hands that washed me grew gentler.