Chapter 10: Contract and Covenant (3)

“……?”

It all happened in an instant.

The 「Guard Captain」’s eyes, staring at me, were filled with bewilderment.

His expression showed he hadn't yet properly processed what had happened.

“What is this…”

It couldn't be helped.

He had surely been charging at me with the intent to split my head open, but the next thing he knew, he was kneeling before me.

“What in the…”

The man looked down at his own knees, still in disbelief.

“…!”

From his movements, it seemed he was desperately trying to stand up.

But his body wouldn't budge an inch.

Well, that was 「Word Command」 for you.

An absolute command that could not be defied.

“What kind of, trick did you pull…!”

The man gritted his teeth in fury and raised his head again.

In response, I met his gaze directly and crossed my arms.

“I told you to kneel before me.”

「Word Command」 was an ability that made the listener unconsciously obey any command, but naturally, it had its limits.

For example, a command like 『Kill yourself』, which went against the survival instinct inherent in all living creatures, would inevitably meet strong resistance from the unconscious mind.

Therefore, making someone obey even such commands required a very high skill level, which was out of the question for a Bard who was only level 3.

However, a command on the level of 『Kneel』 was well within my current capabilities.

“How does it feel?”

Looking down at the 「Guard Captain」, who was still kneeling in obedience to that command, I wore a sneer.

“The feeling of having to obey completely against your will.”

There was also the matter of success rate.

Since it was a skill that could incapacitate an opponent unconditionally if it landed, for the sake of balance, the success rate for even that basic command was generally low.

“How does it feel to be treated the same way as those you treated as products here.”

However, if used on a 'Charmed' opponent with 30 Charisma, it was a different story.

As long as my stats far surpassed the 'resistance' proportional to the man's level and Mentality stat, there was no chance of failure.

“You, son of a bitch……!”

Of course, for now, I had only incapacitated him.

「Word Command」 was fundamentally a crowd control skill, a so-called CC, so I couldn't finish him off with this alone.

Nor could I unleash 「Vicious Mockery」 to deal damage.

The moment I cast it, the ongoing 「Word Command」 would be released.

Well, it wasn't as if I needed to finish him off myself, either.

After all the participants had fled with their tails between their legs, the surrounding chaos had now somewhat subsided.

Except for the messy litter of guards' corpses, wooden fragments, and fires blazing in various places.

All that remained here now were me, the 'Companion', the 「Guard Captain」, the man who had been struck down by his sword and the muscular woman supporting him, and four others watching them with concern.

They could have easily escaped in the confusion since they had their own contracts, but the fact that they still remained here meant that even if they couldn't fight, they wanted to help us in some way.

“Everyone. Could you gather the remaining barrels of liquor?”

Indeed, as soon as they heard my request, they moved swiftly as if they had been waiting, and found and brought the still-intact barrels one by one.

And, they placed all the barrels they brought side by side next to the 「Guard Captain」.

It seemed they had immediately understood my intention.

“You cr──”

Just like this man, whose face had suddenly gone pale.

“You crazy, bastards……!”

The liquors in this brewery were generally high in proof.

The faster you get drunk, the faster your wallet opens.

And, high-proof liquor catches fire.

As the flames currently burning in various places proved.

In that case, what if, for instance.

“Stop──”

What would happen if you gathered a bunch of barrels filled with such liquor, stacked them up, and set them on fire?

“You sons of bitches! Stop it! I said stop!”

One thing was certain: the 「Guard Captain」 did not want to know the answer to that question.

The man seemed to be trying his best to move, but his pale face just turned beet red again with veins popping, and he couldn't stand up.

“Keuk……!”

In the end, it seemed he too had realized that he couldn't escape my 「Word Command」.

“Hey, sla── no, you! Yeah, you! Don't you remember? Huh? How well did I treat you? Huh, yesterday you looked hungry, so I threw you my leftover apple, didn't I?”

The man who had been spewing curses until just a moment ago finally changed his tactics in desperation and began to plead with those placing the barrels around him.

“H-Hey, even if you guys escape like this, you'll all be caught soon because of that brand! Understand? So help me! Then I, I'll take responsibility and set you all free, okay!?”

But they all just silently moved the barrels without even pretending to listen.

Soon enough, the preparations were complete, and all that was left was to light the fire.

Naturally, I had no intention of getting caught up in it.

So I planned to light it from a safe distance, and there was only one way to do that.

“H-Hey, Northern Elf!”

The 「Guard Captain」, seeming to have noticed that as well, immediately turned his head.

I wasn't the only one who had leveled up.

Unlike the others who were treated as temporary party members, she was an 'official companion'.

Meaning, from the moment she joined, she shared my level and experience.

In other words, she had also leveled up, and with that, the number of Circles she could use in battle had increased by one.

We headed for the door, leaving the voice of the 「Guard Captain」 desperately pleading behind us.

It was finally time to bid farewell to this disgusting space.

After letting everyone else out first, when only the 'Companion' and I remained, I put the sack I had taken off back over my face and looked around the brewery one last time.

The 「Guard Captain」, in the middle of the barrels, was still screaming something about how it was pointless to run away and that the merchant association would find us, but it wasn't worth listening to.

“Every time I came here, I always wanted to burn it all down.”

The 'Companion' already had one hand raised and aimed at the barrels, and in front of it, a 'Circle'──a magic circle──was drawn.

“「Fireball」.”

Fwoosh!

A flame ignited.

And, an explosion erupted.

* * *

The raging flames soon engulfed the entire brewery, dispelling the darkness along with the faint moonlight.

This fire would surely be visible even from downtown Stout.

So we had to leave this place before people started to gather.

However, the atmosphere of those who had come out first and were waiting for us outside was a little unusual.

“What is it?”

“Th-This person's wound…!”

They were surrounding the man lying on the ground.

“Eugh… S-Sir….”

It seemed the wound he had gotten earlier had become fatal; at a glance, he was in a 'near-death' state.

“Hey! You can't close your eyes! Stay with me!”

The muscular woman crouching beside him was trying to keep him conscious and apply pressure to the wound, but the man's condition didn't look like it would improve with just that.

Clearly, his breathing and pulse were growing fainter and fainter.

“Just a moment.”

Fortunately, I knew what song to play in a situation like this.

The 「Song of Healing」, that is.

“I will sing.”

But since I didn't have a proper instrument right now, there was no choice but to sing with my own voice.

“……Yes?”

“A-A song?”

It must have sounded absurd.

Even the man who was dying looked a bit flustered.

“What is that…”

But there was no time to explain everything right now.

Receiving the baffled gazes of everyone, I cleared my throat and then began to snap my fingers.

Snap, snap, snap.

Keeping rhythm at 104 BPM.

『Staying alive』

I sang the first line of the song that came to mind.

Snap, snap, snap, snap.

“──Heok!”

At that moment, the man took a sharp breath.

And then, I could hear the sound of his stopping heart thumping back to life.

And above all, he shot up on his own.

I had pulled him back from the brink of death.

“Staying aliiive──”

“S-Sir?”

“──Ah, um. Ahem.”

Perhaps because it was a song recommended for CPR, the effect was faster than I thought.

And the time it took for me to get immersed in the song was much shorter than I thought.

“My instincts as a Bard just took over.”

“You… saved me.”

“You gave something, so I had to give something back.”

“Sir…!”

It wasn't just empty words.

If he and the woman beside him hadn't held back the 「Guard Captain」, I probably would have been struck by his sword and died long ago.

“Let's part ways here.”

After helping the woman get him to his feet, I looked at the other relieved people one by one and said.

“It's fine for now, but it's ultimately a temporary fix. You've lost a lot of blood, so you should find a healer as soon as possible.”

“I know a healer.”

Suddenly raising her hand, the one who had been caught by a guard during the fight answered my words.

“A trustworthy person.”

I looked back at the woman who was still supporting the man, and she nodded silently in agreement.

“Take the contracts and go find the mage Nero in 'Tiaria'. If you find him, you'll be able to remove the brand and nullify the contract formula.”

This was indeed one of the ways to remove the brand after going through the slave route.

“Ah, and this.”

I then took out the bag of gold coins I had taken from the office and handed it to them.

It wasn't a significant amount for us anyway, but for them, it was different.

“Take it. It should be enough travel money for all of you to get to Tiaria.”

The hesitant muscular woman finally took the bag, and the man being supported next to her looked at it and seemed to get a bit choked up.

“How, on earth can we repay this kindness……”

At that, I chuckled and replied.

“I told you, I used you. You were actually used and almost died, what kindness are you talking about.”

“Sir…”

“Go. I wish you luck.”

After they all bowed their heads in farewell, they left together.

They will survive.

They will finally obtain their freedom.

And later, when all our affairs are settled, we might hear news of them someday.

“Master.”

For the sake of that future, I had come to find the 'Companion' who was now left alone by my side.

“Your next command.”

She looked up at me with the same expressionless face as when I first saw her and spoke.

“…Right.”

I drew the dagger at my waist.

And,『As the contractor, I declare.』

I placed its blade against my palm and slit it open.

“…!”

At that moment, she, who had been like a stone statue all this time, showed a hint of surprise for the first time, however slight.

I immediately sheathed the dagger and then took out the rolled-up 'Eastwood's Contract' that I had kept inside my clothes.

『I, Yubin, renounce all rights of the contractor bound to me.』

With my bleeding palm, I grasped it, crumpling it tightly.

『──Contract nullified.』