Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

A thunderous explosion echoed, and Antero was once again shocked by the impact that reverberated through his sword.

‘This isn’t just any ordinary mage.’

He realized now that the opponent he faced was one who warranted his full strength. Not only was this young mage formidable, but his companions were also of a significant caliber. Finally, Antero understood how two Paladins had been defeated.

‘There’s no way Paladin Matthias and even the Deputy Commander could have been taken down by just one person. They must have been ambushed by all of them together.’

Being appointed as a Paladin was a testament to being among the best knights, but even among Paladins, there were clear differences in strength. While he could somewhat accept that the youngest Paladin, Matthias, might have been killed by someone, the fact that even Deputy Commander Callisto had fallen was something he found hard to believe.

Could there really be someone capable of taking down the Deputy Commander? It would have taken a coordinated attack by several people to accomplish that. These three must have combined their forces to ambush the Deputy Commander, and then, somehow, managed to take down the panicked Matthias afterward.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Antero began to reconsider his situation. He was facing a group that had already taken down two Paladins. Taking them on alone was realistically impossible.

“Grrr…”

He needed to retreat for now, report back to the Order, and request reinforcements. Antero shouted to his soldiers.

“Throw yourselves at them! Capture them!”

“But, Sir Antero! The enemy is too—”

The soldiers hesitated, their fear making them reluctant to obey his command.

“Are you defying orders?”

Antero grabbed one of the soldiers who had spoken up and plunged his sword into the man’s chest.

“Ugh…”

Fear washed over the faces of the retreating soldiers.

“Advance! Anyone who retreats will be cut down by me.”

He raised his sword, commanding the soldiers with a mixture of authority and terror.

“In the name of my father!”

His sword erupted with brilliant white light. The booming power in his voice rallied the other soldiers, reigniting their determination.

“Ch-charge!”

Their waning morale reversed in an instant. Gritting their teeth, the soldiers of the Order charged at Binaeril and his group with renewed fervor.

“Kill them!”

“Capture them!”

With bloodshot eyes, the soldiers surged forward, driven by a desperate, almost fanatical energy. For those defending against them, the situation suddenly became much more dire.

“W-what’s gotten into them?”

The soldiers seemed possessed, charging without fear of death.

“I don’t know! That Paladin must have done something!”  

Binaeril sensed the magic laced within Antero’s commanding shout. It was clear that his orders had pushed the soldiers into some sort of heightened state, almost like a forced awakening.

“Binaeril! He’s escaping!”

Even as Antero drove his soldiers into a desperate charge, he himself turned and began to flee.

“That cowardly SHVALRUM!” Inyakan cursed, his voice dripping with contempt.

“What does that mean?” Binaeril asked.

“Never mind!” Inyakan snapped back.

The soldiers of the Order were no mere rabble. These were trained fighters, and their relentless, suicidal assault made it difficult for Binaeril, Inyakan, and Dominic to fend them off. The three stood back-to-back, defending each other as they repelled the oncoming attacks.

But suddenly, the weapons aimed at them stopped. When they looked around, they realized that most of the remaining soldiers were half-buried in the ground, groaning in pain.

“Binaeril, was this your doing?” Inyakan asked, puzzled.

“Who else could have…” Binaeril’s voice trailed off as he turned to the most likely source.

Kaya stood there, her expression emotionless as she watched the soldiers struggling in the earth.

“Did you do this?” Binaeril asked her.

She nodded. “I didn’t want to see more bloodshed. Especially not on a day like this.”

“What day is it?” Inyakan asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and frustration.

Kaya turned her dry gaze to him. “The day of the festival honoring the nymphs.”

All around them, the fallen bodies of the soldiers they had fought lay scattered.

“I’m sorry,” Binaeril said, his voice tinged with regret.

“Don’t worry about it. They attacked first,” Kaya replied calmly.

“Binaeril, the Paladin who gave the orders has fled,” Dominic said.

“Are you going to chase him?” Dominic asked.

“No, our goal isn’t that man,” Binaeril replied.

“But if we let him go, our identities will be known,” Dominic pointed out, including himself, Binaeril, and Inyakan in the word “our.” Binaeril was slightly surprised by this acknowledgment but chose not to comment on it.

“They already know who we are,” Binaeril said, pulling out a wanted poster from his cloak. He handed it to Inyakan and Dominic.

“Whether it’s sooner or later, we’ll inevitably clash with the Order.”

“What’s this? Why is my face on it?” Inyakan blinked, looking as if he couldn’t understand why he was being targeted.

“It’s probably because of what happened at the border of Ruben,” Binaeril explained.

“That? But that was your….” Inyakan started to speak but quickly closed his mouth when he noticed Dominic watching him.

“Whatever the reason, we’re going to have a lot of bothersome flies buzzing around us now,” Inyakan said, dismissively referring to the soldiers of the Order and the Twelve Paladins who led them as nothing more than “flies.” His bold statement made light of their formidable adversaries.

And that was just like Inyakan.

“Let’s take care of our business first,” Binaeril said, turning to face Kaya.

“You’re the ‘Mother of the Nymphs,’ aren’t you?”

Kaya looked back at Binaeril and answered, “…No, I’m not.”

Binaeril was taken aback. “But you asked me earlier, ‘Who are you?'”

Kaya tilted her head slightly, “…So?”

“Doesn’t that mean, ‘Who are you to know who I am?'”

Binaeril covered his face with his hands in disappointment. Had they been running away with the wrong person all along? This poor woman, who had been dragged into their situation without knowing the reason, had even been forced to fight.

“Great, what do we do now? Should I go back and talk to Lord Ducat again?”

Tap, tap.

“I said I’m not the ‘Mother of the Nymphs,’ but I never said I wasn’t a nymph.”

“Wait, what?”

Binaeril was utterly confused by this new twist.

“You must be looking for our mother,” Kaya continued.

Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t been completely off track.

“Do you want to meet her?” Kaya asked.

“Mother. I can introduce you.”

“Is that true?” Binaeril asked, excitement clear in his voice.

Kaya had been addressing Binaeril informally, but he didn’t mind. He knew that the other nymphs he had met, like Elfenbine of the Magic Tower and Priya, were much older than they appeared. It made sense that Kaya, too, was likely much older than she looked.

“Please, take me to her!” Binaeril eagerly grabbed Kaya’s hand as he made his request.

A flicker of surprise passed across Kaya’s otherwise expressionless face.

“…Alright,” she agreed, gently pulling her hand away. “But no one else can come.”

She gestured toward the people standing behind Binaeril. “Only you.”

Binaeril turned to look at the others. Dominic didn’t seem to mind, but Inyakan was a different story. The whole reason Binaeril was trying to find the ‘Mother of the Nymphs’ and Priya was to learn more about the Inya tribe. This was important for Inyakan.

Inyakan noticed Binaeril’s hesitation and spoke up. “Go. The reason she’s only calling for you is probably because you’re a mage. I don’t think you’d deceive me.”

Binaeril felt a slight pang of emotion at Inyakan’s show of trust.

“Even if you do deceive me, this Sikrun won’t forgive you,” Inyakan added with a chilling joke, licking the blade for effect.

“…I bought that for you,” Binaeril muttered.

“Anyway, go and come back,” Inyakan said, dismissing the matter.

With their exchange concluded, Binaeril turned back to Kaya. “Where do I go?”

“Just stay still,” Kaya replied softly, gently grabbing the end of Binaeril’s sleeve.

Meanwhile, Paladin Antero had already left Steelbelt, riding a stolen horse as he fled north. His pride, as overbearing as his personality, was deeply wounded. Losing all his men and being forced to flee with his tail between his legs was a bitter pill to swallow.

‘Damn it all!’ he cursed, spitting out profanities as he rode.

“It’s all because they didn’t give me proper information!”

The orders from the Order had been barely more informative than what was written on the wanted posters. He hadn’t been told how Matthias and Callisto, two Paladins, were defeated, whether the fugitive had companions, or how strong they were. If he had known the fugitive had powerful allies, he wouldn’t have rushed in alone and lost his men.

“When I get back, I’ll have to find Captain Yunnaeril and get more Paladins to deal with this.”

To do so, he needed the captain’s cooperation, which Antero was certain he would receive since this mission had been officially sanctioned by the Order. He was completely unaware that Captain Yunnaeril had deliberately concealed the existence of the mage Binaeril. And so, Antero sped north, oblivious to the larger scheme.

As for Binaeril, he closed his eyes tightly, feeling a sense of vertigo. The sound of stones and earth scraping around him was unnerving. It was a sensation entirely different from the freefall he had experienced earlier.

“…It’s okay,” Kaya reassured him, lightly touching his trembling fingers.

“…Ugh.”

Just when Binaeril thought the descent would never end, his feet finally touched solid ground. What greeted him was an orderly and brightly colored garden, an astonishing sight deep underground.

“This is…”

“It’s Mother’s garden,” Kaya explained.

The garden was lush with flowers and trees, and even birds chirped happily. Despite the lack of any airflow, the presence of birds in this underground garden didn’t seem to make sense, but Binaeril decided to accept it as it was. After all, the top floor of Elfenbine’s Magic Tower had been an equally surreal place.

If this was where the ‘Mother of the Nymphs’ resided, there was no telling what else might appear.

“Say hello to Tera,”

And Binaeril’s resolve that he wouldn’t be surprised by whatever might appear shattered in less than a minute.

The “person” Kaya introduced wasn’t exactly a person. It was a plant—a massive tree trunk that covered an entire wall of the garden. In the center of the trunk, a woman’s face protruded as if it had been carved into the wood.

When Kaya knocked on the face, Binaeril nearly screamed.

“Tera. Someone has come to see you,” Kaya said.

‘Tera,’ it seemed, was her name.

The wooden eyelids of Tera slowly opened, revealing eyes that appeared to be carved from the bark. Binaeril, trying to hide his shock, forced a crooked smile and bowed.

“H-hello. I greet the ‘Mother of the Nymphs.’”

[…Who are you?] 

The tree-woman didn’t speak with a moving mouth, but her voice resonated deeply within Binaeril’s mind.

“I am Binaeril Dalheim. I’ve come to meet you on the recommendation of Master Elfenbine of the Magic Tower.”

[…For what purpose?]

“I am searching for your daughter, Priya Merzina.”

The wooden eyelids closed and opened again, slowly, as if processing what he had said. A long silence followed, making Binaeril wonder if he had said something wrong.

[…My daughter. Priya is… in a place where you cannot meet her…]

“…What?”

[…The roots that once connected to her have begun to wither…]

Binaeril struggled to understand whether this was a metaphor or something literal.

“What do you mean by that?”

Tera’s voice, full of a harsh, cracking sound, conveyed a deep sorrow.

[…It means my daughter, Priya, is dying…]