Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The blacksmith looked at Dominic, who stood frozen. “Are you short on money?”

Dominic hesitated to respond. “I might need to haggle the price a bit…”

Immediately, the man beside him laughed mockingly. “Ha! I knew it. Some penniless vagrant shows up, thinking he can buy a real sword. Didn’t I tell you it wasn’t worth your time, blacksmith?”

The man continued his rude remarks toward Dominic. Binaeril, meanwhile, stared at the back of the man’s head with a hint of irritation. The man wore light armor and had a sword strapped to his waist. Though his gear seemed of high quality, there was nothing else to indicate his background. Regardless, Binaeril didn’t like him.

“Hey, don’t take it too hard. A good weapon should go to someone worthy,” the man sneered, reaching for the sword on the counter.

Before he could grab it, Binaeril spoke up. “I’ll take it.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to Binaeril.

“I’ll pay for it. Give me the sword. You said it was two Florin gold coins, right?” Binaeril pushed the man aside and picked up the sword.

“What’s this now?” The man scoffed, clearly not believing that someone as young as Binaeril could have that kind of money.

“No, wait. This gentleman offered three coins, so I’ll offer more. How about five Florin gold coins?” Binaeril said, raising the stakes.

Dominic was the most surprised by Binaeril’s offer. He had only helped Binaeril for a single day, and five gold coins were far too generous for such a short time.

“Five gold coins? Stop bluffing,” the man beside them scoffed.

One Florin gold coin could buy two or three decent swords anywhere. Offering five coins was equivalent to paying for over ten swords. Both the blacksmith and the man assumed Binaeril was bluffing.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Blacksmith, I’ll double this brat’s offer.”

“Then I’ll quadruple it. Twenty Florin gold coins,” Binaeril calmly replied.

The man shook his head in disbelief. This was too much. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was someone pretending to be something they weren’t.

“Anyone can talk big. Stop pretending you have money you don’t, kid,” the man sneered, clearly losing his patience.

Binaeril met his gaze and smiled. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.

Binaeril reached into his pocket, grabbed a handful of gold coins, and slammed them down onto the counter with a resounding thud. The room fell silent as everyone took in the sight of the enormous pile of coins, clearly more than twenty Florin gold coins. And it was evident that Binaeril’s pocket still held much more.

“Can you top this? Because I can,” Binaeril said with a smug smile, relishing the satisfaction of seeing the man’s confidence waver.

The blacksmith shouted, “I’m no merchant. I’m a craftsman. I can’t accept such a large sum.”

He carefully picked out just two coins from the pile. “The original price I quoted was two Florin gold coins. I’ll take no more than that.”

Binaeril gathered up the remaining coins and returned them to his pocket, then handed the sword to Dominic. Dominic stood there, stunned, his expression a mix of awe and disbelief. Even during his time at the Marquis of Schiller’s estate, he had never handled such a large sum of money.

“Shall we go?” Binaeril said, turning to leave.

Just as Binaeril reached the doorway, he sensed a sharp, piercing intent directed at his back. Without hesitation, he summoned his magic to shield himself. But before he could feel any impact, he realized that Dominic had already intercepted the attack.

“…What do you think you’re doing?” Dominic growled, his voice low and dangerous.

The man had drawn his sword with malice, but Dominic had reacted instantly, meeting the strike with his own blade. The two actions had occurred almost simultaneously. The man’s expression flickered with surprise.

“I was curious to see if your skills matched your arrogance,” the man sneered.

“Judging by your demeanor, you must be some spoiled young master with a bodyguard,” he added, attempting to mask his irritation.

“Are you challenging me?” Dominic replied coldly.

The man withdrew his sword, though his smirk remained. “Don’t get cocky just because you blocked one strike. Do you really think you’re a match for me?”

To Binaeril, the man’s confidence was almost laughable. He was standing in front of none other than Dominic, the famed Platinum Knight, whose reputation was nearly as formidable as that of the Yunnaeril. But Dominic did not scoff at the man’s words.

‘…He’s no amateur,’ Dominic thought, concealing the slight numbness in his hand from the impact.

The tension in the room was palpable, a single move away from erupting into violence. As both men stood ready, the door to the forge suddenly burst open.

“Sir Antero!” 

The intruder wore armor emblazoned with the insignia of the Order.

‘Why is an Order soldier here?’ Binaeril wondered.

“Sir Antero! A sighting of the suspect has been reported in the eastern part of the city!” the soldier addressed the man as if he were his superior.

“Is that true?” Antero responded, his tone shifting to one of urgency.

“Yes, sir! All other soldiers have been ordered to converge on the eastern sector.”

“Understood. Tell them to observe for now and avoid direct contact,” Antero commanded, as he donned a surcoat handed to him by the soldier. The surcoat’s chest bore the insignia of the Order—not just any insignia, but the same ornate design that adorned the Paladins Callisto and Matthias.

‘So he’s a Paladin of the Order too,’ Binaeril noted, memorizing the name Antero.

Antero, now fully outfitted, sheathed his weapon and headed toward the exit of the forge. Even as he left, he couldn’t resist throwing a final warning glance at Binaeril.

“Consider yourselves lucky today,” he sneered before departing.

“Was something wrong?” Dominic asked, noticing the tension in Binaeril’s face.

“…No,” Binaeril replied.

“Then why do you look so grim?”

“What do you mean, *I* look grim?”

“…And why do *you* look so grim?” Dominic fired back.

“Shut up, savage,” Binaeril muttered, feeling the weight of the encounter as they headed back to the inn. It was a rather unpleasant day for both Binaeril and Dominic.

Later that evening, Toin King Ducat sought out Binaeril to inform him of the man the Order was pursuing. At the same time, Binaeril received a message from the Magic Tower, confirming the same news.

The Order was after them—more precisely, after Inyakan.

But that wasn’t the only shocking news.

‘There are reports that two Paladins of the Order have been killed. The names of the slain Paladins are Matthias and… Callisto.’

How could this be?

Paladin Callisto had returned to the Order along with Binaeril’s brother, Yunnaeril, completely unharmed.

Yet now, the official report from the Order stated that Callisto was dead. How could this have happened?

‘Could Yunnaeril have killed Callisto? No, that doesn’t make sense. He had no reason to do so.’

‘But if not him, then what could have happened? Callisto returned unscathed… unless Priya attacked him again. That’s the only possibility I can think of right now.’

Binaeril’s mind was tangled with conflicting thoughts, and Dominic couldn’t shake the memory of the sword strike from the man they had encountered earlier in the day.

‘If I had been even a moment slower, I wouldn’t have been able to block it,’ he thought, recalling the seemingly light strike that had felt heavy through the blade.

‘If that guy had been serious, I might have been in real trouble.’

It had been a long time since Dominic had encountered someone who made him feel this way—uneasy, uncertain, and challenged by another swordsman’s skill.

As the group silently brooded over their individual concerns, Inyakan, who had just woken up from a refreshing nap, found his mood dampened by their somber atmosphere.

“Feels like I’m surrounded by dogs with their tails between their legs,” he grumbled.

As evening approached, Binaeril’s worries began to dissipate. There was only one thing he could do at the moment.

‘No matter what, I must meet the Mother of the Nymphs,’ he resolved.

To do that, he needed to secure a final victory at the Three Names Festival.

With determination, Binaeril and his companions followed a Toin guide to the city square. A stage had been set up in the square, and atop the stage was another platform where a thin thread was coiled.

he purpose of the thread wasn’t immediately clear.

“Is that related to today’s competition?” Dominic asked.

“Seems likely,” Binaeril replied.

The three of them observed the thread closely, and it was Dominic who first noticed something unusual.

“That thread… it’s connected to the lanterns.”

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the thread was indeed tied to the strings of lanterns hanging throughout the city, all gathered into that single coil.

“…Why are you staring at me?” Inyakan asked, catching Dominic’s gaze.

“I just thought you’re better at noticing details like this,” Dominic replied with a slight grin.

Inyakan rolled his eyes. ‘And so what?’

As time passed, more participants gathered on the stage.

“There aren’t many participants today, are there?” Binaeril observed.

“Not just few—it’s barely a handful,” Dominic agreed.

Including Binaeril’s team, there were only four teams in total. Two of them were individual participants.

One was a middle-aged Toin woman, another was the Miao Tribe team they had faced in the finals the previous day, and the third was a young woman with a stoic expression. And finally, there was Binaeril’s team.

Once all the participants had assembled, the announcer’s voice rang out.

“At last, the final event of the Three Names Festival is about to begin! Let’s welcome our participants!”

The crowd cheered loudly as each team was introduced.

Finally, it was Binaeril’s team’s turn.

“And now, aiming for the overall victory at this year’s Three Names Festival—Binaeril’s team!”

“Wooooaaahhh!”

The applause and cheers were louder than any of the previous ones.

“Win it, human!”

“I’ve never seen anyone drink like you!”

“The Catball game was awesome!”

The crowd’s enthusiastic cheers caused both Inyakan and Dominic to wave awkwardly in response.

“And now, let the final event of the Three Names Festival begin!” the announcer declared.

With the introductions over, the first participant stepped forward to the center of the stage. It was the Toin woman, seemingly chosen to demonstrate the event first. She picked up the coil of thread from the platform.

“Hyaah!” With a sharp exclamation, she revealed her technique.

It was *magic.*

Though the other participants might not have noticed, Binaeril could clearly sense it—she was channeling her magical energy into the coil of thread.

*Buuuuung!*

Binaeril was taken aback as he watched the magic being absorbed by the thread, spreading throughout the city and lighting up the previously extinguished lanterns!

As dusk settled over the city, it began to glow with the light of magic, a sight of indescribable beauty.

“Wow…” Binaeril found himself momentarily lost in admiration.

The city, bathed in a soft, white light, looked ethereal. Though the light wasn’t overly bright or harsh, it was vibrant enough to illuminate the streets. The woman had managed to light up several dozen lanterns, enough to brighten the square and its immediate surroundings.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, the participant looked around with a satisfied expression. The crowd murmured in admiration.

The announcer quickly followed up with an explanation.

“In the final event of the Three Names Festival, the participant who lights up the most magical lanterns will be declared the winner!”