Chapter 11: Contract and Covenant (4)

With the declaration, the contract, reacting to my blood, emitted the same light as when the contract was first formed.

Simultaneously, the collar on the 'Companion' also began to glow just like then,──Click!

And with a sound, it broke in two on its own, coming undone and falling to the floor with a thud.

You feel the line of mana that connected you and the girl has been completely severed.

The girl is no longer subservient to you.

“──I'm sorry.”

As she looked down at the collar rolling on the floor, I once again, this time properly bowing my waist, apologized.

“Even though there was no other way, I did something to you that I shouldn't have.”

“……”

At that, she raised her head again and looked up at me with her inorganic eyes.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

“It means you're free now.”

Even if I nullified the contract now, it didn't mean I could get rid of this contract right away.

Nor did it mean the brand on the back of her neck would disappear.

It was just that my name written on the contract was erased, and she was now in a state where she could form a contract with a new master.

“Master──”

“I'm no longer your master or anything of the sort.”

So in a way, it might have been nothing more and nothing less than me voluntarily giving up the means to control her.

“From now on, nothing will bind you. You can do whatever you want, and you can go wherever you want.”

Of course, if I had maintained the contract with her, she would have continued to follow me faithfully.

She would have become my greatest asset, unable to ever defy me.

And the guilt that would inevitably be felt from such subjugation could probably have been alleviated through a bit of hypocrisy, by treating her as an equal being despite the formality of the relationship.

That would have probably been the most efficient method.

In fact, many players, saying “it's just a game,” made such a choice solely for efficiency.

Their words certainly had a point.

When you think about it, we were just looking at a script coded with 0s and 1s.

It just looked that way, but it wasn't a real existing being.

But, I couldn't do that.

From the beginning, I never had such an option.

Whether it was a game or not.

It had little to do with the fact that it was no longer a game, but reality.

It wasn't a matter of my conscience bothering me, or anything like that.

I just… couldn't do it.

That was all.

And it was the same now.

“I do not understand.”

“You will, someday.”

“I have nothing I want to do, nor anywhere I want to go.”

I suppose so.

Because, to put it simply, she currently didn't understand the concept of 'freedom' itself.

This was the curse she had received.

Her abilities, status, memories, and even her free will had all been stripped away by those who had betrayed her and reduced her to a slave.

This is why she, who should have been a level 20 archmage, of which there were only a few in this world, was now a level 3 novice mage like me.

“You will, for sure.”

And it was also the reason why she couldn't think of any other option besides obeying someone, or at least depending on them.

“……I do not know your intentions for doing this.”

“I wanted to talk to you on as equal a footing as possible. …Because there's something I need to ask of you.”

“Ask of me… you say?”

“I won't beat around the bush. I need you.”

Looking at her, who was still wearing an expression of incomprehension, I continued.

“To be blunt, I have to find the 'Demon King' and defeat him. I can't go into detail yet, but it's a matter of life and death. But it's absolutely impossible for me to do it alone.”

Not to mention defeating the Demon King, just reaching him in the first place.

“So if possible, I'd like you to become my companion and travel with me from now on.”

“……”

Silence followed.

In the middle of that silence, and even as we had been talking so far, the dice had not rolled even once.

“…I understand.”

In other words, there was no need to [Persuade].

“I will follow you.”

To get this kind of answer.

…Honestly, I knew.

That she would answer like this.

And that this decision to 'follow' was not a decision she made with her own complete will.

It's a bit, I'm aware of how this might sound… but right now, she needed 'protection'.

Just as I needed her protection.

As I said a moment ago, her current thinking doesn't stray from the basics of obedience, at the very least dependence.

Therefore, if I were to just leave her in this state, she would surely become someone's slave again before long.

Even if there was no contract or brand.

And, that was precisely the mechanism and the terror of the curse that was on her.

Therefore, “My name is Yubin. You can call me Bin.”

I couldn't let that happen.

“You are…”

“…Eastwood.”

She said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“The merchants said they found me in the eastern forest, so they have been calling me that.”

In the game, she was called Eastwood, or by the nickname East, until her real name was revealed.

But, I couldn't call her that.

I didn't want to.

Because that wasn't a name.

It was just a product name the slave traders had given her for convenience.

“Any other names? Do you remember anything? Like your original name.”

She shook her head.

“I have no other name.”

Shrine.

That was her real name.

But there was no point in saying this name right now, and I couldn't say it in the first place.

So for now, I couldn't call her by that name.

“…Rine.”

At least until she regained her name on her own.

“Yes?”

“If it's okay, I'll call you 'Rine' from now on. Your name.”

“…I do not mind, but may I ask the reason?”

“I just thought it was a name that suits you. Ah, of course, that's only if you like it.”

She silently nodded with her expressionless face.

“──I promise, Rine.”

To match my eye level with the rather short Rine, I knelt on one knee.

Then, I took off the sack I had over my face.

I felt I had to take it off for a moment, at this moment when I was trying to be as truthful to her as possible.

It would have been impossible with others, but with Rine, it was okay.

As I mentioned before, Rine, true to her setting as an amnesiac archmage, had all sorts of good traits and special abilities (perks).

And one of them was 'Charm Immunity'.

Rine couldn't be 「Charmed」.

So, only in front of Rine, I could freely reveal my face.

“The journey ahead will not only be for me, but for you as well.”

Rine would regain her lost power and memories, and gradually remember who she was.

“During that journey, I will never again act in a way that ignores your will, like I did this time.”

She will remember that she is not some elf slave found in an eastern forest, but a much greater being.

I will make sure of it.

“If a time comes when I must do something against your will, I will do my best to persuade you so that you can understand. If you still cannot understand, I will give up.”

Of course, it was also because I needed her power as an archmage to defeat the Demon King… but more than anything, I just wanted to do it.

“I look forward to working with you, Rine.”

Rine looked at my outstretched hand, tilted her head as if she didn't know what I intended, and hesitated, but, “…I look forward to it as well.”

She finally took my hand in hers.

--

The mage 'Eastwood' officially joins the party.

--

And so, we were connected once again.

--

Companion Quest

「Wires and Chains」

Find clues to recover Eastwood's memories through adventure.

--

This time, not by a contract or a line of mana, but by each other's hands.

* * *

The next day.

The first place we headed after returning to Stout and spending the night was a clothing store.

The inn, the streets, the whole city was in an uproar over the brewery on the outskirts burning down completely last night.

Of course, few knew that its true identity was a slave auction house.

Those who knew, kept their mouths shut.

In such an atmosphere, I couldn't walk around in rags that openly suggested I was a slave.

And I was cautious about showing my face.

But for two people to walk around with sacks over their heads like this… even if the incident at the brewery hadn't happened, wouldn't it be a perfect way to get caught by someone?

“My clothes… you say?”

“Yeah. Pick whatever you want. Something you want to wear.”

“I do not particularly mind my current state.”

“…That's actually a piece of cloth, not clothes.”

“Was that, the case…?”

And leaving all that aside, even if there were no such reasons, it was hard for me to look at.

Not because it was revealing or anything, but in the sense that it was truly pitiful to see.

“…I understand.”

Rine, who answered thus, still had a look of not quite understanding the reason, but she didn't ask any further.

After entering the clothing store, I told Rine to pick clothes she liked and sat down nearby to wait quietly.

A hooded robe would be enough to cover my face anyway, and I wanted Rine to choose the clothes she would normally wear under it herself as much as possible.

“……”

Rine, as expected, looked awkward with the act of choosing for herself.

Rather than hesitating… it was more like an expression of truly not knowing what to do.

Even while looking at the clothes, she kept glancing back at me, and I felt an impulse to help her right away, but I had to hold back.

As long as I had decided not to interfere until she chose the clothes she wanted, it was my job to just watch quietly.

If I couldn't resist and interfered, asking “How about this?”, Rine would surely choose that right away.

That would be meaningless.

I wanted her to realize what she wanted.

Even though it was just choosing clothes, such a small choice would be an important process for the current Rine.

“Are you not going to choose for me?”

“I'm not the one wearing them. You should choose what you want.”

“I thought you wanted to dress me up, since you brought me here even though I said I was fine as I was.”

“What right do I have to dress you up or anything?”

A bitter smile escaped me.

“I'm not your master or anything, I'm your companion.”

Even though it was an unavoidable situation, I was once her 'master' after all.

I felt the guilt of not being qualified to say such things, but I had to say it nonetheless.

“The reason I suggested we come here wasn't because I wanted you to wear clothes I wanted to see. It's just… I wanted you to wear something you chose yourself, not some rags that aren't even clothes that someone threw at you.”

“…But I know nothing about clothes.”

“Same here. Well, take your time and think about it. We have plenty of time.”

In the end, Rine started looking at the clothes again, and after much deliberation, “…I will take this.”

She carefully held up the clothes she had finally chosen and showed them to me.

Seeing those clothes, a smile unknowingly came to my lips.

Because it was the style she, the one I knew before she lost her memories, used to wear.

“You like that?”

Rine nodded.

Does it mean that even if you lose your memories, your tastes don't change easily?

“It looked comfortable to wear…”

“So that was the criterion…”

Come to think of it, because of her always expressionless and quiet appearance, it's not very noticeable, but her setting was that she's actually a very lazy person….

After changing into those clothes right away, Rine came out and looked up at me, slightly raising her arms and lightly swaying her body from side to side as if asking for confirmation.

“…How is it?”

“I'm happy since you like it.”

“Is that so.”

Now that we had decided what to buy, it was time to pay.

For reference, I didn't have a single penny on me right now.

So how do I pay, you ask?

“Put it on my tab.”

“Would you like to wear my tab, customer?”

“I'll be back to pay in three days.”

“No, I've heard enough, really──”

--

[Persuasion]

Success

--

“──That sounds like an excellent idea!”