Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

“Just a little more… just a little more…”

Binaeril stumbled along, his muscles screaming in agony. He hadn’t taken a moment to rest since his fight with Dominic, pushing himself relentlessly northwest. In his current state, he couldn’t face Dominic Schiller again. The trump card he used with the spirit wouldn’t work a second time. His forced mental exertion left him exhausted, and his tattered clothes from the battle with Dominic hung in shreds.

– Didn’t I tell you to avoid catching his eye in the first place?

“Shut up…”

Despite everything, Binaeril found himself walking through a reed field. It was proof that he had entered Thornwinter Swamp. He needed to pull himself together and find Priya, but he had reached his limit.

“I need to… rest for a moment…”

Binaeril collapsed among the reeds. The insects and plants of the swamp buzzed around him. A massive shadow loomed over his fallen form, flicking a long tongue. It was a monster resembling a frog, a bullfrog. Enjoying the midday sun, the bullfrog couldn’t believe its luck. A delicious prey had collapsed right before its eyes. It smacked its lips greedily. As it opened its mouth wide, a space large enough to swallow a person appeared. 

The bullfrog, delighted with its fortune, prepared to swallow the boy in one gulp. 

At that moment, a firm command came from the bushes.

“Die.”

The bullfrog clamped down on its extended tongue. Its blood was highly toxic, and the severed tongue writhed on the ground while the bullfrog drank its own blood. The massive creature fell over, and its body vanished into the ground as if sucked in. Shortly after, a woman emerged from the bushes where the monster had been.

“Ugh, really. Why did I settle in a place like this? So disgusting!”

She waved away the flying insects with a hand gesture.

“…And what is this?”

Binaeril lay collapsed in the mud, his body covered in sweat and dirt. She despised filth but, seeing a human after so long, decided to examine the unconscious boy closely. She sensed traces of magic from him.

“…A mage.”

Normally, she wouldn’t care if some stranger dropped dead, but seeing a young male mage lying there in a land where mages were rare made her hesitate. She plugged her nose and lifted the boy with magic. Mud clung to his clothes, splattering dirty water.

“Ugh! How annoying!”

She carried the inverted boy back to her house.

‘Ugh… my wings feel like they’re about to fall off…’

Her shoulders ached painfully.

Pain that exceeded fatigue forced Binaeril to awaken.

“Oh my, you’re awake.”

‘…What’s going on?’

Binaeril found himself hanging on a laundry line. Judging by the intense heat on his back, there was likely a fireplace right behind him. He felt hot, sore, and exhausted. The unfamiliar woman he saw upon waking was anything but ordinary. She had white hair, white eyebrows, and wore a form-fitting white dress that revealed her body’s curves. The only hint of color on her was her red lips, from which hung a long pipe.

“Who are you?”

“…Could you put me down first?”

“You’re not dry yet.”

It was only then that Binaeril realized his entire body was soaking wet.

‘What am I, a doll?’

“My shoulders hurt, miss.”

“Hmm… Fine.”

The woman gave a barely perceptible mischievous smile. Binaeril quickly noted that she liked being called “miss.” Still seated, the woman used magic to lift Binaeril and set him down. Several layers of cloth were laid out on the floor.

It was magic.

The last place Binaeril remembered was Thornwinter Swamp. Now he was awake, facing an extraordinary woman who wielded magic.

“Are you Priya Merzina?”

“How do you know my name, kid?”

“The spirit Zilph introduced you. Told me to find the mage of Thornwinter Swamp.”

“Oh, that rude spirit.”

When Binaeril tried to stand with his wet clothes dripping, Priya urgently shouted.

Priya’s magic forced Binaeril to sit back down.

“???”

“Please stay still. Don’t splash water everywhere.”

-She has OCD.

‘Ah.’

The all-white attire from head to toe suddenly made sense. Seeing Binaeril obediently comply, Priya calmed down and asked,

“So, did that spirit tell you to come here so I could take care of you like a little servant?”

She licked her lips as she said that.

“Indeed.”

A strip of cloth lifted Binaeril’s chin, turning his head this way and that.

“Now that you’re cleaned up, you suit my taste. I like clean-cut young boys. Just need to bleach your hair…”

Binaeril was at a loss for words, experiencing this kind of reaction for the first time. Priya seemed dangerous in a way different from Dominic.

“No. Zilph advised me to find you and learn magic.”

“That spirit? Told you? Why?”

Binaeril explained his journey across Hoenberg and the events he had experienced. However, he couldn’t tell her everything. Zilph had warned him to beware of the “fragment.” He couldn’t reveal that in front of Veritas. Veritas didn’t want Binaeril to know about the “fragment.”

As Priya listened quietly to his story, she suddenly reacted with surprise at one point.

“A spirit, you say?”

“Do you handle spirits?”

Binaeril summoned Eden to show her. A mage who could also handle spirits? This was an extraordinary talent. But Priya, feeling a familiar yet unsettling aura from the ring Binaeril extended to summon the spirit, forgot everything else.

“Give me your hand.”

Priya examined the ring closely and was certain. It was the aura of a fragment.

She resolved not to get involved with the boy.

“I understand your situation. But I can’t help you. I’m leaving Thornwinter Swamp soon.”

“What? Why?”

“If you stay in one place too long, the rats start to gather. I despise filthy creatures.”

Binaeril then recalled what Dominic Schiller had said.

‘The target is the Enchantress. A mage named Priya Merzina who lives in Thornwinter Swamp.’

He realized that the white mage before him was being hunted. Binaeril informed her that Dominic Schiller was pursuing her.

“Ah, that obsessive man. I figured he’d catch my scent eventually. Obsessed men are never popular, you know, kid?”

Priya didn’t care about dozens or hundreds of soldiers who didn’t know how to deal with a mage, but Dominic Schiller, the so-called Witch Hunter, was a troublesome adversary.

“But he won’t come right away.”

Binaeril then explained his fight with Dominic near Ayaxen.

“You managed to defeat that bastard… I mean, that guy?”

“Well… I managed to escape when Dominic let his guard down.”

The boy before her was very young, an age she found particularly endearing. Yet, he was capable of making Dominic Schiller retreat?

Priya decided she needed to remember this boy’s name.

“Hey, kid. What’s your name?”

“Binaeril Dalheim.”

Priya chuckled at the absurd coincidence.

‘Dalheim.’

Come to think of it, she remembered. Her former lover had mentioned having a younger brother about this boy’s age. The puzzle pieces in her mind clicked into place. Why this strange boy had a fragment. Why she kept getting entangled with men from the Dalheim family.

Priya realized that what she had considered a chance meeting was actually fate. Her former lover, Yunnaeril Dalheim, had once mentioned a younger brother who hated him back in their homeland.

Priya had to reverse her earlier decision.

“If you managed to fend off Dominic Schiller, you’ve bought us some time. I’ll teach you magic during that time.”

But she added one condition.

“But you have to take care of this sister at night, okay?”

***

“Sir, um, your face!”

Dominic, eyes filled with malice, strode through the Schiller estate. He was there to report that their departure would be delayed due to his unexpected injuries. Blood seeped through the bandages wrapped around his face. His once glossy silver hair was now disheveled and matted, making him look unsightly. Without his distinctive attire, no one would have recognized him as the Platinum Knight.

Knock, knock.

“Who is it?”

The Marquis of Schiller remained unfazed at the sight of Dominic’s appearance. He asked calmly,

“Is this the work of a rat?”

“…Yes.”

“It must have been an unusual rat to leave you in that state.”

“I have no excuse.”

“Fine. Setting aside the fact that you lost the rat, why have you come?”

“I’ve come to report that the injury is more severe than anticipated and request a few days’ delay in our departure…”

The Marquis of Schiller set his teacup down with a sharp clink.

“A report?”

“A report, you say? Captain Schiller. Stand up.”

Dominic rose from his kneeling position.

“Draw your sword.”

“Hurry.”

Although puzzled by the command, Dominic complied.

“Swing it once.”

Dominic carefully swung the sword, ensuring he didn’t hit any of the office’s furnishings. The Marquis nodded calmly as he observed Dominic’s technique before speaking.

“What’s the problem?”

“The only report I’m interested in from you is, ‘I’ve captured the Enchantress. All preparations are complete.’ If you can wield a sword without issue, then complaining about your injuries isn’t a report—it’s whining.”

“A delay because of your injury? Fine. I’ll allow it since you look terrible. If, due to your unforeseen injury—your negligence—we miss the opportunity to capture the witch in Thornwinter Swamp, well, it can’t be helped. It’s because of the injury, after all.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. If you’re in pain, go rest. We can always capture the witch later. You can swing your sword perfectly, but if that pretty face of yours is injured, how can you appear in public? Now, be off.”

“…Yes, sir.”

The Marquis never once raised his voice. Dominic bit his lower lip hard in shame and anger, blood seeping from the torn skin.

As he exited, a subordinate knight approached and asked,

“Captain, what are the plans for the departure?”

“We proceed as planned. Gather all the soldiers.”