Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

“Binaeril, it’s time for you to keep your promise. Tell me.” Inyakan’s left eye glinted in the darkness. He always grew sharp when discussing matters related to the Inya tribe.

“Who is the culprit behind the massacre of my son and our tribesmen? You said you had a way to find out the truth. Did you?”

A short silence followed. Binaeril spoke as calmly as possible, trying not to provoke his anger.

“…I forgot.”

“…Do you want to die?”

It was a brief but heavily loaded statement. Inyakan’s burning gaze was overwhelming. Binaeril, feeling that staying silent might actually lead to his death, hastily added, “Wait, Inyakan. I can find out right now.”

Binaeril delved into his inner self to meet Veritas.

“Veritas!”

He quickly entered Veritas’s secret corridor, executing a graceful landing after a spin. This maneuver was becoming familiar.

Seeing Binaeril fall from midair, Veritas, lying down, remarked, “You’re getting comfortable here, aren’t you?”

“No time for chit-chat. I don’t want to talk to you longer than necessary.”

“That’s hurtful.”

“I need to use my question right.”

‘Question right.’ Every time Binaeril reclaimed a fragment, he could ask Veritas one question, which Veritas had to answer truthfully to the best of his knowledge. This was their agreement—a sort of bonus for recovering the fragments.

“What do you want to ask this time?”

Binaeril always had a mountain of questions for Veritas, but today’s question was clear.

“Tell me what happened to the Inya tribe.”

“Hm… That’s too vague a question.”

“Don’t play dumb. You heard everything. Tell me exactly what Inyakan wants to know.”

“Really?” Veritas asked, his eyes wide. “You’re going to waste your question on that?”

“It’s not a waste. I made a promise to Inyakan.”

“Fine, fine. It’s your choice. Though it might be like a cow catching a rat by stepping backward.”

Veritas got off the reading stand he was lying on.

“Alright.”

“Hey. No more stalling. You promised to answer any question I asked.”

“Alright, alright.”

He started lifting the heavy reading stand, grunting with effort.  

“Don’t just stand there watching. Give me a hand with this, will you?”  

Binaeril summoned his blue mana and moved the stand up the stairs.  

“Phew. That ability sure comes in handy.”  

“Stop joking around. I know you can do this much too.”  

Even before he finished speaking, mana surged from Veritas’ back as well.  

…Damn, it somehow looks bigger and more beautiful than mine.  

“Step up there.”  

Following Veritas’ warning, Binaeril stepped to the top of the stairs. The central part of the corridor was structured to descend gradually in a circular stair-like fashion.  

“What are you planning to do?”  

“The answer to your question.”  

As Binaeril stood at the top of the stairs, the lowest surface began to glow brightly. Soon, the once white floor reflected the scene beyond like a window.  

“…What is this?”  

Binaeril rubbed his eyes and peered beyond the floor. It was a world filled with dense snowflakes falling like cotton and millet. A world of pure white, no matter where he looked. Binaeril had never seen such a snow-covered world before.  

“Wow…”  

A pure exclamation of admiration escaped his lips.  

“What are you doing? If you’re curious, you need to go in.”  

Watching the awe-struck Binaeril, Veritas shot a sharp remark.  

Thunk.  

An innocent push on Binaeril’s backside.  

“Ugh!”  

Binaeril flailed his arms to avoid falling. Instinctively, he summoned his blue mana and grabbed at the floor.  

Plop.  

But there was nothing to hold on to. The white world beyond the floor swallowed Binaeril like a reflection on a lake.  

In the moment of Binaeril’s panic,  

“Let’s go in together!”  

Veritas jumped in, trampling him, and they both fell into the scene.  

Screech, screech, screeeech!  

The ear-piercing sound of the icy wind. Unlike the tranquil view from the corridor, the snowy field they fell into was quite desolate. The biting wind, sounding like someone’s scream, intensified the bleak atmosphere.  

– Ugh…  

Binaeril pulled his head out from the snow and stood up. Everywhere he looked was white. It was as if the world was turned upside down, covered in the monochrome of thick white clouds.  

– Where are we…  

– This is a memory of the past. My answer to your question. How do you like it? Isn’t it magnificent?

Binaeril noticed Veritas floating before him in a semi-transparent blue form. Behind him, the blue wings he had seen earlier were fluttering. Binaeril couldn’t understand why Veritas maintained his human form while flying with wings that resembled those of a book. Was he showing off his wings? Another thing bothered him.

-Why are you naked?

Just as Binaeril said, Veritas was flying naked. More precisely, from the neck down, his body was blending into the scenery like a ghost, with his upper and lower halves barely visible.

-You’re the same.

-Huh?

Binaeril looked down at his own body.

-Ack!

He quickly covered his private parts with both hands.

-Don’t worry. No one can see us anyway. We’re just observers, simply watching within this time.

-What do you mean by that?

-This is the land of barbarians, Barbaroana.

-This place is Barbaroana?

A vast wasteland located north of the Empire and west of the Holy Kingdom, commonly referred to as the land of barbarians. A barren, cold, and undeveloped northern territory. People of the Empire and the rest of the world also called it ‘Barbaroana’ as a nod to its inhabitants, the barbarians (barbaroi). And this is the homeland of Inyakan.

-You asked to know what happened to the Inya tribe.

-…This is serious.

He had expected a vague or cryptic answer, but not something this thorough. 

And yet…

Whistling wind—

-So cold…

Binaeril shivered, hugging his arms against the biting wind. Veritas laughed heartily at his reaction.

-What foolishness is this? This is a memory of the past. Naturally, you wouldn’t feel any cold here.

Binaeril reached out into the snowflakes. Come to think of it, it was true. The sensation of cold was merely an illusion; he couldn’t feel anything at his fingertips.

-It really is…

-Could you stop that habit of doubting everything I say?

-Why blame me? Your track record is why I do that.

As Binaeril bickered with Veritas, new figures emerged in the white expanse. 

“Neigh!”

“Whoa!”

Through the falling snow appeared a procession of carriages. The carriages struggled through the piled snow, looking precarious. The coachmen were having just as hard a time as the horses.

The coachman was sweating profusely in the cold as he precariously balanced the carriage. It was clear he was transporting some very important passengers.

– The insignia of the Order?

The carriage bore an insignia Binaeril was well familiar with: two black lines within a golden circle, intersected by a red line. It was the emblem of the Holy Order of Vitory.

– What is the Order’s insignia doing here?

Binaeril had his suspicions. When Dean Yulio mentioned being unable to read Inyakan’s memories, Binaeril’s first suspicion was the Order’s involvement. However, there was a significant difference between suspecting and accepting it as fact.

– Don’t jump to conclusions. Just wait a bit longer.

Veritas calmly advised Binaeril. The precariously shaking carriage threw the silhouettes of the people inside onto the snowy ground as it traveled along the path. Binaeril and Veritas followed the carriage, flying through the air. Binaeril’s body had shrunk to a small size, like Eden.

At the end of the path, there was a small village. The noise of the carriages racing through the snow had already drawn a few people out to greet them.

– Those items…

Binaeril noticed something familiar among these people. They wore unusual bracers with distinctive grooves on their forearms.

– So, these are the Inya tribe?

It was highly likely that these were Inyakan’s tribespeople. Most of those who had come out to investigate the noise were warriors, each wearing the distinctive bracers and sporting bald heads.

– So, Inyakan’s baldness was a tribal trait.

While Binaeril was having these trivial thoughts, the carriages met with the tribespeople.

“TAN PACABLIYA, BUYU?”  

“ION DAKUN.”

The language they spoke was similar to the words Inyakan used. The carriage door opened, and the passengers disembarked. Binaeril’s eyes widened in surprise as he recognized them.

“The air in the north is cold.”

A man who looked remarkably like Binaeril, with white breath rising in the air, stepped out first.

“Latitude-wise, it’s not much different from the Holy Kingdom. Isn’t it just that this land is special?”  

Following him, a middle-aged knight with a mustache stepped out.  

And finally…

“Ugh, it’s so cold. Truly freezing to death. Riding in a filthy carriage for so long to arrive at such a terribly cold place…!”  

A mage, dressed in pure white clothes that seemed to blend into the landscape, puffed on a pipe.

– Yunnaeril, Callisto, and Priya too?

The first two were somewhat expected, but Priya’s presence was a shock. It felt like someone had hit him hard on the back of his head with a hammer.

A young bald man (as most of them were bald) stepped forward and spoke.  

“Strangers. Here. What business?”  

“What, can’t you speak properly?”  

“Of course not, Priya. This place is far removed from the civilization of the continent.”  

Yunnaeril and Priya conversed as if they were close friends, which felt awkward to Binaeril.  

“Then how are we supposed to communicate?”  

“They seem to have learned just enough to manage a rough conversation.”  

Yunnaeril stepped forward and responded to the bald man’s words.  

“We’ve come to see the Khan.”  

“KHAN?”  

The bald man tilted his head in confusion. He turned to consult with the other tribespeople. Even during this discussion, the half-naked tribesmen glared at the visitors with hostile eyes.  

“…It doesn’t seem like they’re welcoming us.”  

“If we bring a few of them to their knees, they might cooperate. What do you think, Sir Callisto?”  

“That would not be the will of His Eminence, the Cardinal.”  

“Tch, how troublesome.”  

The bald man, who appeared to be the leader of this group, stepped forward again. Binaeril’s ears perked up at the mention of meeting the Khan.  

“Khan. Not here. Go back.”  

The statement that the Khan was not present caused a ripple of confusion among the Order’s people. Yunnaeril responded again.  

“If the Khan is not here, we would like to meet his deputy. We did not come to attack you. We came to make a proposal.”  

The bald man turned back to consult with his people once more.  

“Damn it! When guests arrive, shouldn’t they at least be taken to a warm place? This is outrageous!”  

Finally unable to hold back, Priya shouted. Her voice cut through the snowstorm and echoed across the snowy field.