Chapter 25

It was early morning, before the sun had fully risen, and Aint had already finished his preparations and left home.

— What did I tell you?

“That I should read the contract carefully and be careful not to get swindled.”

— Exactly. Don’t forget it. Those damned Pellenbergs are bastards who’ll steal your nose if you close your eyes!

“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit? After all, I’m the one putting my nose to the knife.”

— Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not just your nose — they’ll cut your neck! If they see a weakness, the Pellenbergs strike with brutal force.

With Gardner Alfenparsen’s continuous warnings and the persistent rumors about the Pellenberg family, Aint began to feel nervous.

“Pff… if I believed everything people say, it’d almost feel like I’m about to face a demon.”

— It’s not that bad. No matter how Pellenberg they are, they’re still human. Demons are far worse.

“…I don’t know if that means demons are terrifying or that the Pellenbergs aren’t as scary as they say.”

I guess I’ll find out when I get there.

Aint carefully opened the tavern door. It was the establishment owned by the Golden Turtle Company that Fernan had mentioned.

***

In a private room, isolated from any outside eyes.

“I noted all your requirements. Read it carefully.”

Aint swallowed and began to review the contract Fernan handed him.

【Adamantite Sales Contract】

【Aint Armian and Fernan Pellenberg agree to the present sales contract for adamantite based on mutual trust.】

【Aint Armian will be referred to as Party A, and Fernan Pellenberg as Party B.】

【1. Party A will sell to Party B 70 kg of adamantite. Hereinafter referred to as “the object.”
2. Party B will pay Party A for the object…】

The contract spanned several pages, but in summary, the key points were three:

Aint would hand over the adamantite to Fernan.

Fernan would pay with adamantite equipment, money, and discreet support.

— No abusive clauses. You can sign it as it is.

What happened to all those warnings earlier?

— Precisely because everything is carefully aligned with your demands.

— And I can’t just invent problems when there aren’t any.

After confirming that everything he requested was clearly written, Aint signed the contract.

“I’m fine with it, but… aren’t you losing out with this? Compared to the value of adamantite, the price is pretty low.”

Fernan, while storing a copy of the contract, asked:

“But then, isn’t it advantageous for you?”

“Yes, but even as a merchant, I’m not naïve enough to celebrate a deal with no reason.”

“You gave me the heart of the Saint bird. That alone has immeasurable value.”

The heart of the Saint bird was an elixir as valuable as adamantite. When Gardner suggested approaching Fernan, Aint never thought he’d actually get it.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he was selling the adamantite so cheaply.

“Even if I have the adamantite, I have no way of using it right now…”

“If you auctioned it, you could get much more.”

“I don’t have the power to protect it.”

The extinct imperial family Armian still received respect from many, but that was all.

Adamantite was so precious that it could be enough of a reason for someone to raise a sword against them again.

“Before rumors spread, I’d rather get rid of it.”

“And if I decided to kill you and make it disappear?”

“You could do that, sure. But you gave me the heart of the Saint bird.”

Such a valuable object — perhaps even more than adamantite, depending on the perspective — was given freely, without expecting anything in return.

Would someone like that risk everything just to get discounted adamantite?

Aint didn’t think so.

— Besides, the fact that he signed the contract means he’s taking a risk too.

— It has the Seal of Succession, so if he breaks it, you can make it public. I don’t think he wants that, so he’ll tread carefully.

The Pellenbergs valued their reputation highly. They might exploit loopholes in a contract, but they wouldn’t outright break one.

“So you chose to take a loss on purpose to get rid of it?”

Knock, knock. Fernan tapped his fingers on the table. Then nodded.

“I understand.”

A reasonable explanation. And saying he trusted because of the heart of the Saint bird also made sense.

That heart was considered top-tier even within the family’s vault packed with elixirs.

If Aint weren’t the hero destined to save the world from demons, Fernan would never have handed it over.

“Doesn’t seem like you’re getting the short end of the stick.”

“Thanks.”

“And it was an excellent decision to choose me as your buyer.”

Fernan gave a faint smile.

“If I were to help you, I’d help you. But I’d never betray or kill you, like you said.”

“Never.”

Fernan repeated it firmly.

— What’s with this guy? Did he go dumb from excitement after seeing the adamantite or what?

‘Maybe he just won his favor thanks to the adamantite.’

— I don’t think it’s just that…

Neither Aint nor Gardner, unaware of the contents of the book of prophecies, could fully understand Fernan’s attitude.

***

It was a satisfying deal.

In any case, Fernan had already planned to support Aint both materially and spiritually, but if a merchant could obtain a valuable item at a much lower price, there was no reason to complain.

“Who would’ve thought giving away the heart of the Saint bird would lead to this?”

That deal was possible thanks to the favor earned by giving away the heart of the Saint bird. Without it, Aint probably wouldn’t have told anyone he had obtained adamantite.

“Money really is the best.”

If his family hadn’t had money, they wouldn’t have had the heart of the Saint bird, and none of this would’ve been possible.

Just as he was thinking that—

“…Kugh?”

─!

A massive explosion burst inside his head.

Fernan instantly recognized it as the same thing he had experienced before.

He grabbed his head with both hands and collapsed onto the bed, as a flood of memories overwhelmed his mind.

***

[“What do you think, Aint? Don’t you want to join the club with me?”

“Club?”

“Yes. The seniors invited me. I think it was called the yacht club. It’s a group where they strengthen bonds by sailing once a month.”]

[“So you’re Aint.”

A man sitting comfortably in the main seat was watching him.

Aint bowed his head.

“It’s an honor to greet you, Your Highness.”

“No need for such formality. At the academy, we’re all just students.”

— What are you doing, Aint?! A descendant of Armian bowing to a bastard like that!]

[There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted. Like a tide of horrors.

“They’re monsters!”

“What are monsters doing here?”

“The boat’s shaking! Turn back to the academy right now!”

But the boat was heading in the exact opposite direction of their shouts.]

[—Aint, behind you!

At Gardner’s shout, Aint urgently twisted his body. But his attacker was faster.

Crunch!

The knife pierced his armor and sank into his chest. A burning wave of pain was followed by a sinister poison.

“Kugh…!”

— That’s… demon magic? This guy’s a servant of the demons!

Aint saw the attacker’s face. If his memory served him right, he was one of the yacht staff.

“Die, Armian.”

The employee’s eyes glowed with a chilling black hue.]

[“…This is…”

— Light dispels darkness and annihilates demonic magic.

— Poison made from demonic magic is just trash before the light of Armian.

— This must be what they call “turning crisis into opportunity.” He’s awakened the power of light. And what he gains next will shine even brighter.]

[“Do you think the Pellenbergs are involved?”

— If they knew, then they’re traitors to humanity. If not, they’re more incompetent than I imagined.]

“Khrrrrrrg…!”

Unable to withstand the impact, Fernan fainted on the spot. He missed all his classes that day.

***

“…It’s like a curse. I barely resolve one prophecy and another one arrives.”

Fernan threw off the sweat-drenched sheets and went to get some cold water. The coolness relieved his thirst a bit.

“Is this the third time already?”

Even if it was the third, the pain was as unbearable as the first. Thinking one could get used to the sensation of a burning brain was absurd.

“Now it’s at sea? Damn that Aint, wherever he goes, disaster follows.”

Was it because he was destined to defeat the demons and save the continent that he was always in the midst of chaos, or was it his tendency to attract chaos that let him become a hero?

“The yacht club…”

Clubs at the academy were small groups for building bonds between students.

They were recommended activities, ranging from simple tea sessions to monster hunts.

“I could leave him to his own devices this time, he’ll probably manage…”

The yacht club, in particular, was practically a miniature political stage reserved for the children of noble families.

“Damn it…”

The meetings were held once a month. Fernan, who valued connections greatly, was of course registered and attended regularly unless he had pressing matters.

“This can’t be…”

And not only that. He was the one who, by offering a luxury yacht for those meetings that used to be simple tea gatherings, triggered their outings to sea.

“…And now it turns out that on the ship I provided, a demon servant infiltrated as staff to attack Aint?”

Damn it… this is how that cursed Aint is going to bring me down.

Fernan’s face twisted into an expression of pure resentment.

***

While Fernan, who had just awakened from fainting, still trembled in horror over the demons…

Ding!

“Welcome!”

The bookstore owner, standing behind the counter, greeted the customer.

“Do you have the book Fundamentals of Cooking?”

“If you’re looking for it, it should be in section C21.”

“Thanks.”

Following the owner’s direction, the customer spent about five minutes searching the indicated section, but then returned to the counter.

“It doesn’t seem to be there!”

“If it’s not there, it means all the copies have been sold. One moment, I’ll check the storage room.”

The owner headed to the back storage room. It was packed with books, and the stale scent of paper filled the air.

“Let’s see…”

At that moment, a black shadow suddenly rose behind him.

“I’ve come to report.”

Without replying, the owner continued searching for the book, but the shadow began its report anyway.

“According to confirmation, Aint Armian never engaged Verian Kalburdern, who had lost control due to demonic magic.”

“Furthermore…”

“According to His Excellency’s original plan, Verian Kalburdern was supposed to trace Armian’s mana after being defeated, but someone appears to have intervened.”

“Someone intervened?”

The bookstore owner pulled out Fundamentals of Cooking, which had been deeply buried among the shelves.

“We couldn’t determine who it was. The traces were completely erased…”

It was because Fernan, anticipating the demons’ tracking, had perfectly wiped all traces.

“So you couldn’t identify them because of that?”

“…Sorry. We’ll try to trace it again.”

“No matter. If you’ve come to that point and still can’t, there’s nothing to be done. Forcing you further wouldn’t be wise—stop.”

“My apologies.”

“I was wondering why there was no mention of demonic magic… So that’s what happened.”

He blew the dust off the book he had just retrieved.

“There’s no way someone knows about us… Could it have been mere coincidence?”

There was no other way to explain it. For humans, demons were little more than legends, and someone knowing their plans ahead of time to ruin them was simply impossible.

It was strange that demonic magic wasn’t mentioned at all, but if they didn’t even know what it was, then it made sense.

“From now on, proceed cautiously, but don’t obsess. Just do it right next time.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

“Aint Armian… We can’t leave him alone.”

For some reason, since entering the academy, Aint Armian’s rate of growth had far exceeded expectations.

The owner was convinced it was the work of the first emperor.

“That cursed bloodline must have prepared something. It’s obvious.”

That’s why he couldn’t allow Aint Armian to continue unchecked.

At first, they had only wanted to observe, to test the waters… But after that man, ranked 38th, defeated Verian Kalburdern, who held second place, everything became clear.

“Yes. That will be best.”

“I am ready to receive your order.”

“Take Aint Armian to the sea. If all goes well, we’ll eliminate that cursed bloodline. And if it fails, at least we’ll cause a fracture within the Empire.”

“Yes, I will fulfill your will.”

“We don’t yet have the power to face the Empire, so the most important thing is not being discovered. Don’t fail me a second time.”

At those words, the shadow trembled slightly.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a wave of the hand, the shadow vanished.

Now alone, the bookstore owner’s once-stiff face relaxed into a smile.

“Dear customer, here is the Fundamentals of Cooking book you were looking for.”