Chapter 11: Magic Stone(5)

“It will be next early autumn at the earliest before we meet again, Arsene.”
“A little less than a year, then.”

Kyle gave a wry smile at Arsene’s reply.

“That’s the nature of being an Insight Knight. They tell you to find miracles, but when you actually report one, they look at you with suspicion. Well, I can’t say I don’t understand. It’s originally a position meant to get rid of troublesome people, so if you actually find a miracle and return to the center, that creates its own set of problems.”
“…Sir Kyle.”
“No, don’t make that face. Thanks to this incident, I’ve finally broken free from a nearly 20-year curse. All of this must be the Goddess’s arrangement.”

Kyle, mounted on his horse, made the sign of the cross and silently recited a short prayer.

“I’ll be sure to carry out your request.”
“Of course you will. I gave you all the gold I’ve saved up, didn’t I?”

Kyle chuckled and adjusted his reins.

“Asha Village will prosper. Perhaps even more than you think.”
“I hope so.”
“It’s been 700 years since the Insight Knights were established, but the last recorded miracle was the appearance of Saint Eriph 400 years ago.”
“The one who reformed the evil dragon.”
“The city where Saint Eriph was first discovered is now the capital of the Holy Kingdom. The weight of the name ‘miracle’ isn’t light. Perhaps you too will rise to a high position. You are the first witness to a miracle, after all.”

Kyle said so and gently nudged his horse’s flank.
The well-groomed horse, its coat gleaming, began to move slowly.

“May the Goddess’s grace be with you.”
“May the Goddess’s grace be with you. I’ll see you next year, then, Arsene.”

The paladin, his worries resolved, sat upright in the saddle and waved his hand.
Only after Kyle disappeared from sight did Arsene let out a sigh.

‘I’ve taken on a heavy burden.’

He had originally intended to use Kyle, the paladin, to request support for Asha Village from the surrounding authorities.
They had usually managed to survive the winter with the money Bern earned from extracting magic stones, but this year, even that path was blocked.
Arsene thought Kyle, having recently witnessed a miracle, would readily agree to his proposal.
They couldn’t very well let a saintess starve to death.

But the devout paladin had instead tried to silence Arsene.
Kyle had withdrawn all his savings from a bank in a nearby city, kept only the minimum travel expenses, and entrusted the rest to Arsene.

Along with the earnest plea to keep Avalli, the saintess’s, identity absolutely secret.
Arsene’s mission was to prevent Avalli from being exposed to the world until the Holy Kingdom officially dispatched an investigation team.

‘It shouldn’t be too difficult.’

At first glance, Avalli seemed like an ordinary child.
However, Arsene knew she was quite mature for her age.
It might be an overestimation, but perhaps Avalli was doing her best to act like a young girl.

‘Perhaps she’s aware of the power residing within her.’

Her memory loss might even be a self-preservation mechanism.

In any case, being a mature child, Avalli wouldn’t cause any major trouble.
She would quietly spend a year as a member of the village, then enter the Holy Kingdom with Kyle.
Whether the life of a saintess that followed would be happy or not, he didn’t know, but that wasn’t something Arsene could interfere with.

Having reached this conclusion, Arsene stayed in the city for a few more days to address various requests from the villagers.
Unfortunately, contrary to his conclusion, an unexpected situation was already unfolding in Asha Village.

“So. What is this, Bern?”
“As you can see, it’s a magic stone.”

The mage frowned at Bern’s nonchalant reply.

“I can see that, you idiot! What I’m asking is, how did you get such a magic stone in this backwater village!”

The mage roared.
Bern felt annoyed at being called an idiot by a kid so much younger than him…

‘…Compared to a mage, I am an idiot, aren’t I?’

Having met several mages before, he swallowed his annoyance.

“I told you, I found it outside the village.”
“You. Expect. Me. To. Believe. That!”
“Believing it or not is your prerogative, mage, but… I have no obligation to tell you anything more.”

Bern’s nonchalant response stemmed from his experience.
A ‘contract’ had already been established between Bern and the red-haired mage before him, Lucy Ignis.

The magic of ‘contracts’ originated from the pact magic used between demons and mages.

Demons would use any means necessary to deceive mages and take their souls.
The only way for a mage to protect their soul was through the initially established pact.
Therefore, the pact always included the clause, ‘As long as the terms of the pact are fulfilled, no harm shall come to the contractor in any way.’

And the current contracts derived from that pact magic were the same.
As long as he supplied the magic stones as stated in the contract, Lucy Ignis couldn’t harm Bern in any way.

“There’s no way you could produce such a high-purity magic stone! Where did you get it! Are you working for the Southern Magic Tower! Trying to enslave me!”
“…Wouldn’t that be a breach of contract on my part? In that case, you would have already roasted me alive.”

Bern was right.
After the possibility of Bern deceiving her crossed her mind, Lucy had immediately tried to use magic on Bern as an example.
Of course, she hadn’t intended to roast him alive, just to lightly set his hair on fire.
But due to the contract etched into Lucy’s heart, it was impossible for her to even draw out magic power with the intention of attacking Bern.

In other words, Bern was faithfully fulfilling the terms of the contract.
Conspiring with the Southern Magic Tower to corner Lucy was something he couldn’t even attempt from the moment the contract was made.

“As long as you pay the proper price for the magic stone as usual, there shouldn’t be any problem, right? I always supply them at 70% of the market price.”
“That’s…true, but.”

But it was impossible.
This fist-sized magic stone before her eyes was a pure object that even high-ranking mages of the Magic Tower would struggle to obtain.
It wasn’t something Lucy, who had just acquired her own laboratory, could afford.

“…Bern.”
“Yes, Mage.”
“Would it be alright if I just took a small piece…?”

Bern looked at Lucy incredulously.

“Shouldn’t you know better than me that that’s not allowed?”
“Ugh…”

It was because of the contract clause, ‘The product’s value shall not be intentionally diminished.’
It was a relatively common clause to prevent buyers from deliberately damaging magic stones to lower their price.
That clause, which she had thought wouldn’t be a problem, was now holding Lucy back.

‘Partial payment is a breach of contract. Extending the deadline is also a breach of contract.’

Lucy’s expression twisted strangely.
On the other hand, a faint smile appeared on the corners of Bern’s lips.

“Are you laughing right now?”

Lucy yelled, not missing his expression, but Bern smoothly brushed it off.

According to the contract, the moment he failed to supply the magic stones on time, Bern was destined to become Lucy’s property.
Considering the personalities of mages, if he was lucky, he’d become a s*ave; more commonly, he’d become a magical experiment subject and meet a tragic end.

On the other hand, the penalty Lucy had to bear was merely staying in Asha Village as a mage for five years.
Of course, for Lucy, who had just started to establish herself in the Magic Tower, five years was practically a death sentence—

‘But that’s not my problem.’

Bern forced the corners of his twitching lips back down and spoke in as low a voice as possible.

“Lucy Ignis.”

Not ‘Mage’, but ‘Lucy Ignis’.
Understanding the meaning behind the change in address, Lucy instinctively recoiled.

“Y…Yes?”
“I agreed to supply you with magic stones at 70% of the market price in exchange for you purchasing the ‘entire stock’. If I failed to provide the minimum quantity specified in the contract, I was to become your s*ave.”

It was a clause he had inserted to ensure a decent unit price after Lucy tried to haggle down to 50% of the market value.

“Shouldn’t you show some sincerity too, Lucy? If you hurry to the Magic Tower and borrow money now, there’s still a chance you might be able to purchase them.”
“That would be a breach of contract!”

The moment word spread through the Magic Tower that Lucy was borrowing money to purchase high-purity magic stones, someone greedy might infiltrate Asha Village and steal them.
If such a situation occurred, the contract magic would hold Lucy accountable.
After all, it was Lucy who had provided the motive, even though she knew of that ‘possibility’.
In that case, Lucy wouldn’t even obtain the magic stones and would have to become Asha Village’s resident mage for five years due to breach of contract.

“That’s your problem.”

But such circumstances were none of Bern’s concern.