Chapter 34. Contract (4)

Chapter 34. Contract (4)

“Huh? No, come here. You look even hotter up close.”

“Are you cosplaying? We know a good place. Wanna come with us?”

One of the ogre-like men grabbed Liliana’s left arm while making crude remarks.

Smack!

“Y-You fucking bastard. You dare lay a hand on me?”

Liliana was startled by the filthy, disgusting sensation on her arm and immediately smacked his hand away.

“Oh, you hit me? You bitch, I was going easy on you because you’re a girl, but now you’re dead.”

The man, angered, raised his fist to strike Liliana.

“Tch. A mere human dares to…!”

To Liliana, humans were not known for their physical strength.

She unleashed her mana. She wasn’t powerless enough to remain a spinster for fifty years without reason.

Despite not having used her power for decades, her skills had not rusted. The men before her were instantly charmed.

The ogre-like man’s eyes glazed over as he fell under her spell.

“Tch. Lust-driven creatures are all the same.”

However, moments later, Liliana’s mana was completely drained, and the charm spell was broken.

“Huh? What just happened? I blacked out for a second.”

“This crazy bitch did something, didn’t she? I’ll have you know I’m an Awakened.”

One of the men approached, gathering mana in his hands.

“W-Why…?”

Thud—

A sudden wave of exhaustion and powerlessness overcame her.

Liliana collapsed onto the ground like a deflated balloon. She tried to summon her magic, but it wouldn’t activate.

Having left without reading the contract, she had no idea of her current limitations.

Charm magic, even at its weakest, was classified as mid-tier magic.

Since she had to remain weaker than her contractor, Lee Hoyeon, she lacked the power to sustain it.

“C-Charm!”

“Charm, my ass!”

“Aagh!”

One of the men grabbed Liliana’s hair, yanking her head upward with brute force.

“Hey, hey. Be gentle. It’ll look bad if she gets bruised.”

“You idiot. Lucky for you, I’m an Awakened. But she might be one too.”

“It hurts… It hurts…! Sniff…”

The tighter the man gripped her hair, the more Liliana whimpered in pain.

Ah, this really is hell.

Tears welled up in Liliana’s eyes.

She still couldn’t believe this was happening.

I was just playing games. How did it come to this?

Thoughts raced through her mind.

I should’ve listened to Mom. Why did I act that way?

Is my raid team doing fine without me?

Maybe I should’ve heard out that contractor guy…

“Get up, bitch.”

The man yanked Liliana’s hair even higher.

The force made tears stream down her cheeks, dripping onto the ground.

She wished someone—anyone—would save her.

“You bastards dare put a scratch on my summon’s body?”

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

The same voice she had heard upon first arriving in the human world.

She glanced up slightly and saw her handsome contractor standing there.

“Do you have any idea how much—No, wait. Do you realize how valuable my summon is?!”

Liliana suddenly realized how much she had missed that face.

*

“Where the hell did she run off to?”

I had gone to the shopping district to find Liliana, but the place was too big to search alone.

Eventually, I started questioning random passersby.

“Excuse me, have you seen a girl dressed like a succubus pass by?”

“I can dress up as a succubus for you. If you don’t mind me instead…”

“No, thanks.”

That was the last time I asked a woman for help.

“Hey, did a girl in a succubus outfit run past here recently?”

“Oh, yeah. About five minutes ago, some chick was screaming while running that way.”

Lucky.

After only asking three people, a street vendor selling fish-shaped pastries had an answer.

“I didn’t see much, but she ran toward the central tower.”

“That’s plenty. Thanks.”

“No problem. Is she your girlfriend? Weird taste.”

“...”

Explaining would be a waste of time, so I rushed toward the shopping district’s center.

“Where’d she go?”

Even in the center, there were too many possible paths.

If she was seen five minutes ago, she couldn’t have gone far…

Just in case, I expanded my mana detection range.

With my mana control, I could scan about 500 meters around me.

“Huh?”

Less than 10 meters to my right, I sensed Liliana’s mana.

“Wow, found her already.”

I had been worried she might be in serious trouble, but I was relieved to locate her quickly.

I immediately rushed toward the alley where I detected her presence.

“Are you cosplaying? We know a good place. Wanna come with us?”

Just before I entered, I heard the greasy voice of some fat bastard.

Cosplay? That had to be Liliana.

I peeked into the alley to confirm.

“Y-You fucking bastard. You dare lay a hand on me?”

Smack!

Liliana slapped the tattooed pig-man’s hand away.

From what I could tell, that pig-man had been hitting on her.

“Oh, you hit me? You bitch, I was going easy on you because you’re a girl, but now you’re dead.”

His pride was clearly wounded, and he raised his fist.

Oh, hell no. You’re not touching my summon.

If Liliana got hurt, that would be a huge problem. I prepared to intervene.

“Tch. A mere human dares to…!”

But Liliana’s confident tone made me hold back for a moment.

As mana surged from her body, the tattooed pig-man suddenly froze in place.

‘Oh? A succubus spell?’

That could be useful. Succubi were supposed to have charm magic, right?

My evaluation of Liliana just went up by one point.

‘Wait, isn’t she supposed to be weaker than me? Charm magic is mid-tier at least.’

Just as I had that thought, the pig-man started moving again.

“Huh?! What just happened? I blacked out for a second.”

“This crazy bitch did something! I’m an Awakened, you know?!”

The second pig-man made a dumb comment, living up to his role as an extra.

The first pig-man, though weak, must have sensed the mana shift due to his abilities.

Damn.

As Liliana’s mana was cut off, the charm effect dissipated.

Judging by her bewildered expression, it seemed Liliana was unaware of the contract’s clause that weakened her below her contractor.

I should definitely keep the contract hidden.

Liliana collapsed with a blank expression as the man approached her.

‘Should I step in now?’

Hmm. But I had a better idea.

Would a demonic succubus really die from just a few hits?

No matter how I thought about it, that didn’t seem likely.

The contract explicitly stated that only a fatal or debilitating injury would warrant compensation.

The man’s mana level was pathetic.

He was just a novice who had barely awakened and could use a bit of mana.

He might be able to fool normal people, but not an academy student like me.

Would a few hits from such an amateur really pose a threat to Liliana’s life?

Highly unlikely.

So, I decided to observe.

It was a chance to gauge Liliana’s personality, and she’d be more grateful if I saved her at the right moment.

“C-Charm!”

“Charm my ass!”

“Agh!”

The man grabbed Liliana’s hair and yanked it violently.

‘Ah, that does look painful.’

“I-It hurts… it hurts… sob…”

Tears welled up in Liliana’s eyes.

Maybe it was about time I intervened.

“Get up, you bitch.”

The tattooed pig was trying to drag Liliana somewhere.

That won’t do. Liliana is mine. Do they even know how valuable she is?

“You bastards dare put a scratch on my summon’s body?”

I charged into the alley, cursing.

The pig-faced thug flinched at my sudden arrival but smirked again after seeing my face.

“Huh? Who’s this kid? We’re busy here, so scram while I’m being nice.”

How pathetic. They couldn’t even recognize a Victoria Academy student uniform?

The pig still had his grip on Liliana’s hair.

“P-Please save me…! I’ll take back calling you a beggar! Just help me!”

Our eyes met, and Liliana, now desperate, pleaded for help.

Just a while ago, she was speaking informally, and now she was using honorifics? Guess waiting paid off.

Her expression was much better than before. Earlier, she had a bratty look, but now she was teary-eyed and pitiful. Cute.

Am I a bit of an S-type?

I turned my gaze to the pig still gripping Liliana’s hair and gathered my mana.

“H-Huh? K-Kid, what the hell is that magic?!”

“Why don’t you find out firsthand, dumbass.”

Fwoosh—

“Aaargh!”

A fireball shot from my hand and struck the pig’s right arm. Losing strength, he let go of Liliana, who then collapsed onto the ground.

Thud!

“Huh…?”

“Aaaagh! M-My arm!”

“D-Damn it! That bastard!”

“…”

Liliana wasn’t moving. She had fainted with her face planted on the concrete ground.

The pig-men were wailing, clutching their burning arms.

“Ugh, just get lost already.”

I tossed a few more fireballs at them. Now engulfed in flames, they screamed like slaughtered pigs and ran away.

Their arms were likely beyond recovery. Whether they burned to death or not wasn’t my problem.

“Sigh.”

Slinging the still-unconscious Liliana over my shoulder, I headed back to the dormitory.

*

By some miracle, I didn’t run into anyone on the way back.

“Sob sob… sniffle…”

Liliana woke up once we got back but buried her face in her knees, sobbing non-stop.

“Hic hic… Mom… I miss you…”

“Ugh.”

Delinquents always regret things after trouble hits. But by then, it’s too late.

I was starving, so I ordered two fried chickens while waiting.

I wasn’t sure if she’d eat, but I had some extra cash, so I got two just in case.

Actually, thanks to her, my wallet wasn’t looking so good anymore. Damn it.

Ding-dong—

The bell rang. My chicken had arrived.

“Sniffle… hic… sob…”

Ignoring Liliana’s continued crying, I set the food on the table.

“Hey, eat.”

“Sniff… sniff sniff…”

Liliana slowly lifted her head from her knees, her eyes puffy and red, sniffing the air.

Gulp.

Unbelievable recovery speed for someone who was just crying.

“What’s that smell?”

“…You can’t be serious.”

Liliana, tears still on her face, stared at the table.

“I’m your contractor, so at the very least, I can offer you a meal. Let’s eat together.”

“…Okay.”

Why the sudden politeness?

She sat at the table, eyes sparkling as she looked at me.

Did she not know how to eat it?

Good thing I ordered boneless. Teaching her how to eat around bones would’ve been annoying.

“Just put it in your mouth and chew. Simple, right?”

I took a bite to demonstrate.

Yep. Chicken is always the right choice.

I worried about chopsticks, but it seemed hell had them too.

“D-Delicious! Eating something like this… You must be a royal, right?”

“…Royal?”

What nonsense is she talking about?

“W-What is this divine food?”

“Ah, it’s called chicken.”

“C-Chicken!”

“And drop the formal speech. Just talk like before.”

“Y-Yes! I mean, uh, okay.”

“I don’t know what weird misunderstanding you have, but I’m just your contractor. Relax. And stop hoarding the chicken on your plate. I’m not stealing it.”

“Oh, okay. You’re a good person.”

Liliana stacked ten pieces of chicken on her plate.

At least now that she was eating, she seemed calmer. Hopefully, she’d be easier to talk to.

“I don’t know much about succubi, so tell me about yourself. We’ll be living together, after all.”

“O-Okay.”

And so, the story of the Web-Weaving Master Succubus began.

Chapter end