I Made a Contract with a Devil, but the Price is Strange

“Kerururuk—!”

The goblins charged with fierce howls.

The number visible before us was as many as twelve. Somehow, it seemed like the goblin groups were growing larger as time passed.

The increasing goblins. With an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, I frowned. I felt like there had been a quest related to this in the game.

Whoosh—!

I was startled by a stone that suddenly flew past my face. Cold sweat ran down my back. I grabbed my clothes tightly with both hands and glared at the goblin holding stones.

Goblin throwers that appear when goblins reach a certain number. They were the most troublesome opponents even in the game. It would be right to deal with them first here as well.

“Ignite.”

“Keaaak-!”

The goblin thrower screamed and rolled on the ground. The stones in its basket spilled out.

“Fire.”

I sent flames toward the goblins that were approaching in a group. Those who had been coming confidently quickly scattered to both sides.

Three to the left. Seven to the right. The remaining one was another thrower.

“Ignite.”

I dealt with the thrower additionally. Meanwhile, Inis headed to the left. She could probably handle three goblins. I would need to deal with the right side.

“Spread out.”

Whoosh—!

The flame shot up dramatically.

In my mind, I pictured a giant wave of flames. With the will to burn everything, I imagined a blazing conflagration using magic power as paint.

Fiercely burning flames. The fire god stretched toward the enemy like a real torrent. Perhaps because the prairie was full of grass, it moved at an especially fast speed.

“Keraak!”

“Keruk. Keruruk!”

The previously clustered goblins scattered in all directions. The stupid ones jumped into the wave and disappeared into ashes.

“Fire.”

I summoned flames in the path where most enemies were escaping. The goblins were confused by the suddenly rising flames.

“Keruk!? Kerururu-ruk!”

When they moved to the left, I moved my finger accordingly. When they moved to the right, I followed in the same way.

“Keruk!”

With the path constantly blocked, one decided to break through. As it dashed to the right, I immediately punished it.

Whoosh-

The flame clung to the goblin’s head.

“Keaaaak-!”

It screamed in pain, slapping its face with its hands. Blisters rose, fluid oozed out and evaporated. The bright red heated skin gradually turned black.

By the time its entire body was blackened, the goblin had already died from shock. All sorts of filth dirtied the lawn.

“Kerwik….”

They seemed to find the scene horrific and watched carefully. The flame had burned one goblin, but it was still licking hungrily as if still hungry.

Behind them was a wave of fire, and in front was a flame targeting them.

Normally they should have fled long ago, but perhaps because they had just witnessed such a scene, no goblin stepped forward readily. I had done well to make an example of one.

“Keruk!”

In the end, what they chose was to offer a sacrifice. The goblin chief kicked the smallest goblin.

Whoosh–!

The flame burned the enemy as if it had been waiting. Behind the screaming goblin, the others fled.

“Fire.”

I abandoned control of the flame and summoned a new one.

“Fire Arrow.”

After quickly forming an arrow shape, I shot it at the back of the nearest one. Normally, a goblin could have seen and avoided it, but.

Thud!

It’s not like they have eyes on their backs, how could they dodge an attack coming from behind? Moreover, they had almost lost their reason due to fear and terror. There was only the instinct to escape.

“Fire. Fire Arrow.”

The continuous use I had practiced earlier finally shone. I kept summoning flames, making them into arrows, and shooting them.

Multiple fire arrows cut through the air. Goblins fell one by one. Even the last remaining goblin chief met its death.

“Master. Good work.”

Inis had approached me at some point. She held out five magic stones. It seemed she had collected the goblin thrower’s as well.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll go collect the magic stones.”

While I was putting the magic stones in my pocket, she brought all the stones from the other goblins. Since magic consumption had been severe, we decided to take a short rest.

“The number of goblins keeps increasing as we go. Is it always like this?”

“No. Unless we’ve gone into tribal territory. Even for me, facing this many in the prairie is a first.”

It seems Inis had experience going to where goblin tribes reside. The condition for advancing to the next level was passing through the portal in tribal lands.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but we should be as careful as possible. If goblins appear this way, the behavior patterns of orcs will also change.”

“I think the same. Recklessness and curiosity only feed the labyrinth’s belly.”

“Is that a famous saying?”

“Yes. It’s written at the very beginning of ‘A Guide for Adventurers Exploring the Labyrinth.’ I’m not sure how many people have read it, though…”

It was a book title that strangely sounded familiar.

“Probably none? I don’t think there are many adventurers with reading as a hobby.”

The adventurer profession inevitably exposes one to the risk of death daily. The stress from that is not insignificant. As a result, Palcion, the Labyrinth City, became the continent’s greatest pleasure district.

Alcohol and women.
Gambling and drugs.

In Palcion, one could taste all kinds of pleasures if they had money. Who would be reading books? Books were little more than trash here.

“When I was active as an adventurer, not a single person had read the guide. They didn’t even know it existed.”

“I just found out now too.”

I nodded and ate some jerky. I spent time with Inis talking about trivial matters.

“Let’s move again.”

Although it didn’t seem like much time had passed, my magic power was fully recovered. More than 30 minutes must have passed.

Having someone to talk to definitely made it more enjoyable. I don’t know how I used to just blank out before.

“Will you continue exploring the labyrinth?”

“We haven’t encountered any dangerous situations yet. Shouldn’t we continue until we feel at risk?”

“I’ll follow your will, Master.”

She opened her mouth but then said that. It seemed she had something to say but didn’t express it further considering her position.

“If it seems too dangerous, I’ll run away. So don’t worry.”

“Yes.”

Every time I took a step, there was a sound like pebbles colliding. It was the noise of goblin magic stones rubbing against each other.

“Master. Are you that happy?”

Inis asked with a smile.

“Of course I am. Who in the world wouldn’t like gold coins? With this much, we can pay for inn accommodation, food, and even get new equipment for you.”

“My equipment? This is enough for me. You should use it for yourself instead.”

She was startled and tried to dissuade me. Someone else would have gladly accepted it. She truly had a good nature.

“No. Although Celeste Trading Company stored your equipment, they didn’t maintain it, so everything is worn or damaged. I can’t feel secure with such equipment.”

“But still….”

“Inis. If you die, I’m the one who suffers in the end. Not only do I lose the slave value, but I also have to face the enemies you were dealing with. I don’t want to experience such a dangerous situation.”

“…My thinking was shallow. I forgot that my death itself would burden you, Master. I’m sorry.”

Inis bowed 90 degrees at the waist. It was a sincere apology. She was so serious that it was almost troubling.

She probably felt a bit hurt. After all, what I said essentially treated Inis not as a person, but as an object.

However, if I hadn’t spoken so strongly, she would have refused until the end. It was better to be definitive even at the cost of hurting her feelings.

“I will continue to invest in you whenever I have money. So absolutely do not die. Understand?”

“Yes. I’ll be a shield and sword that protects Master until the end.”

“Yes, yes.”

As she spoke with a bright smile, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I was glad she took it well.

“Rather than hunting more, should we start heading back?”

“Yes. I think we’ve gained as much as we could. Even when I formed a party of 4 in the past, I don’t think we earned nearly this much…”

She looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“You really are amazing, Master.”

“It’s all thanks to you joining. When I came in alone, I earned much less than this.”

Having someone to protect me allowed me to focus more on using flames. The result was an increase in firepower and efficiency.

Especially significant was her handling of small numbers of goblins. I didn’t have to waste magic power unnecessarily.

“Being able to earn this much here is partly due to you. So you’re amazing too.”

When I patted her head, she blushed and lowered her head.

“…Thank you for saying so.”

“It’s true.”

“Aaaaaaagh—!”

The friendly atmosphere was shattered. We both frowned at the sudden scream. A heavy air began to surround us.

“That was…”

“Yes. It was clearly a human scream.”

I exchanged glances with Inis for a moment. We didn’t speak separately, but our judgments were the same.

“Let’s move away.”

I didn’t know what was happening ahead. But I didn’t feel curious. It was clearly something unfortunate.

“I think the same.”

“Is anyone there!? Is ANYONE there!!!”

The screaming continued, but we moved further away as if we heard nothing. The man’s screams only ceased after we had walked for quite a while.

It was a day that made me newly aware of the harshness of the labyrinth.