Chapter 6: Master-Servant Contract
The instant I yelled 「Don’t look!」 with all my strength at Alicia, an indecent pattern got engraved on her abdomen.
「W-what’s this……?」
My confusion accelerated by the sudden happening, but Alicia spoke calmly.
「……I don’t know but, it seemed to react at Erio’s voice. It might be a skill misfire that often happened during the conferment of Gift. Erio, stop being embarrassed and let me see your status plat again.」
Alicia approached to see my status plate again.
But,
「……?」
The pattern engraved on Alicia’s abdomen shined.
Immediately, her body suddenly turned to another direction.
Alicia looked puzzled and turned toward me again, but the moment she tried to look at my status plate, the patter shined again and she looked to the right.
It was as though she couldn’t go against the yell 「Don’t look (at my status plate)!」 that I screamed just now.
「T-this is……」
I couldn’t believe it, but I tried saying 「You can look at my status plate」 to Alicia.
「……I can see.」
Then this time the patter didn’t shine and Alicia was able to look at my status plate normally.
No way……my eyes widened in surprise but, everything that happened before me was the truth.
The words 「Don’t look」 that I yelled just right before the pattern got engraved.
The pattern shining each time Alicia tried to go against those words.
And then the skill called 「Master-Servant Contract」 that was engraved on my skill column.
It was hard to believe but……there was only one possibility that I could think of before these facts.
「A Master-Servant Contract is, formed between Alicia and me……?」
Master-Servant Contract.
Originally it referred to the monster recruiting skill by those who was bestowed with the Gift called Tamer.
By fulfilling various conditions like driving the target into a state that was unable to fight or touching the target nonstop for a certain period of time, the contract would be formed and the user would be able to order the monster around.
By using special item or going through some complicated procedures, it was also possible to form Master-Servant Contract between humans, and this was usually used for criminal’s forced labor but……if this was really a Master-Servant Contract than something was strange.
「……It’s just as Erio said, I think this is definitely Master-Servant Contract. But, strange. Sacred Knight should have high resistance against that type of skill.」
Yes.
Holy Knight type Gift would give their owner strong resistance against bad status of mental attack category regardless of the skills they had. That was why Holy Knights were especially valued for national defense. Alicia who had the best Class of Holy Knight type Gift should have especially strong resistance against that.
Normally putting her into Master-Servant Contract would be impossible no matter what kind of method was used.
Then the only possibility that came to mind was……the skill that I manifested, it might be something so powerful that could even forcefully bind a Sacred Knight as long as the condition was fulfilled.
……Impossible.
Besides even if that kind of excessively powerful skill really existed, it should have a really strict requirement in order to “tame” something at the caliber of Sacred Knight.
Just when in the world did such requirement get fulfilled?
「No……rather than that right now……」
It was pointless to think about that.
It should be impossible, but the fact was that the impossible had actually happened here.
In that case there was something else that I had to think about first.
「We have to break this kind of contract right away……!」
Something like taming the Sacred Knight was just a blasphemy, and most of all I myself hated to be in this kind of relationship with Alicia.
A state where one party had to listen to any order regardless of their own will couldn’t be said as a healthy relationship at all.
「……I don’t really mind with this though. It will be even harder for us to separate from each other with this Master-Servant Contract. I can be together with master forever with this.」
「Maste-……I’m not fine with it! I want to be in a proper relationship with Alicia!」
「……tsu. As I thought, I love you so much……」
Alicia was still expressionless and in high spirits even in this abnormal situation.
I turned red and yelled at her. Then I tried thinking a way to dispel the contract.
……But, just what should I do.
When applying taming contract to human, usually they needed special magic item like collar or bangle. The contract could be cancelled if the magic item was released combined with the master undergoing various procedures.
On the other hand, Alicia wasn’t wearing any magic item though there was a pattern that got engraved on her.
Even when I tried copying the way to dispel Tamer’s contract by putting my hand over the pattern and saying 「contract dispel」, there wasn’t any reaction from the pattern at all.
I was completely in the dark of what to do.
「If it’s like this……perhaps we can only rely on the contract breaking item……」
There was also some people in this world who misused the taming skill.
In order to save those people who got enslaved forcefully, item that could forcefully destroy contract from outside existed.
But that item was being put under very tight lock and key.
Because taming skill was mainly used for manual labor of criminals, the contract breaking item would get used in helping criminals to escape if it got outside.
And so only a bunch of nobles and the royal family were allowed to use this item freely under their own discretion……or top class adventurer who had accumulated a lot of great achievement and trust.
My family Scarlet House’s main duty was national defense, so we weren’t entrusted with the management of the contract breaking item. Tou-san said that he would help if I was in trouble but, if I asked him for help in using the contract breaking item, he would be asked to explain the situation in detail to other noble house.
If he did that, Alicia’s honor would be greatly damaged. All because of my fault.
Even if one day Alicia had to be taken back to the capital, I had to avoid that from happening until this contract was at least dispelled.
(No, well, we had done that, and on top of that Alicia is fully motivated to have my children so I guess there isn’t any use worrying about that anymore at this point but……being put under Master-Servant Contract is just that dishonorable.)
「In that case……the only option I can take is to climb up the rank as adventurer while keeping our identities hidden……either way we will need to earn money for our living cost and to escape in order for me to continue being together with Alicia.」
At first right after I got banished from the capital, I was at a loss of how to live independently using a Gift like Incubus but, with the Sacred Knight Alicia accompanying me, and with my capability that could win in strength even against that Alicia, surely raising my fame as adventurer was also possible. Maybe.
Although, how long it would take in order to accumulate accomplishment so that we could be allowed to use the contract breaking item……as my mind was filled with a lot of things like that,
「……For breaking the contract, I think that increasing Erio’s level is also one possible method.」
For some reason Alicia who had been staying quiet while staring at me in a daze this whole time suddenly muttered that quietly.
「……Even though you can’t increase the skill level, there are cases where the things you can do increase by increasing your own level, then perhaps a contract breaking skill might manifest as another skill.」
「Ah, I see.」
Certainly that was true.
Well, there wasn’t any precedent for a Gift like Incubus, so it was a complete mystery whether I would be able to so conveniently get a contract dispelling skill like that but……in this situation I ought to try everything that I could.
Also if I leveled up and got strong, it would make it easier for us to run away if pursuers came from the capital to bring back Alicia.
……Even so, for me to level up, that meant……doing perverted things.
As my face turned red.
「……Then Erio, let’s, have sex……」
「Eh!?」
Alicia pushed me down again!?
「……Considering the lewd naming of your Gift and skills, added with your rapid level up this morning……the condition for Erio’s level up might be, doing lewd things, right……?」
She found out!
「……You want to dispel this contract with me right? Then you know, we need to have a lot of sex……」
「You said that Alicia, but you only want to do that kind of thing right!?」
「……So?」
So frankly!?
No, even I, umm, I wanted to do that a lot with Alicia, it wasn’t like I hated it but……even so 「getting along」 for the whole day in this place that was still really close to the capital wasn’t a good thing!
Certainly it was important for me to level up in any case, so I wouldn’t deny that but, as expected I think doing that kind of thing should only be done at night. ……To be honest, I’m confident that I would lose all restraint if a girl who was this cute and in love with me continued to make advance at me. I even had a skill like Peerless…….
「Ah, that’s right!」
I was hit with an idea there.
To be honest I didn’t want to use something like this but……I could stop Alicia with the Master-Servant Contract.
「Alicia, having sex should only be done at night!」
I yelled with all my strength.
But,
「Eh……?」
Alicia didn’t stop!
While I was feeling bewildered, Alicia persistently pushed her face toward my lower body while,
「……Perhaps, because this Master-Servant Contract is based on Incubus, giving order for stopping perverted act isn’t valid. ……Ehehe, lucky.」
She was calmly analyzing my skill.
No way!
Aa geez!
Even though it was equipped with troublesome function like Master-Servant Contract without any way to cancel it, it was actually useless when push came to shove, just how useless this skill could actually be!
With how the Master-Servant contract activated on its own like that……I got to quickly confirm the effect of all the other skills. Or else it would be extremely dangerous.
I mustered out all my self-control while thinking of such thing and somehow managed to shake free from Alicia’s temptation.
.
──Like that.
In order to stay as long as possible with my childhood friend who came chasing after someone like me who obtained a perverted Gift like Incubus, and in order to continue answering her feeling for me, my journey to escape that pursuers from the capital that banished me began, although it looked more like an elopement.
Erio: Even so……although there’s nothing that can be done anymore about you running away from home, as expected, I think your family must be worried about you Alicia. Like your mother for example, she was from a family where something like a training trip is a foreign concept.
Alicia: ……It’s fine. Mother, told me.
Alicia: You’re my daughter, and on top of that you are bestowed with a top rank combat Gift like Sacred Knight. The only one who can possibly satisfy someone like you for nightly activity can only be a person who manifest a skill like Peerless. Furthermore that person is actually your first love. That can only be destiny. You absolutely must not let him slip away no matter what you have to do. She said.
Erio: Eh?
Alicia: That’s why there’s no need to worry about mother. She’s even buying time for me through father so that no pursuer will come right away……I think.
Erio: I, I see……
Erio: (So it might not be just my imagination that Marquis Blueaiz looked haggard sometimes……)