Contract

[How long do you plan on sleeping?]

"..."

After opening and closing his eyes slowly multiple times, his blurred vision turned sharp again.

"Where am I...?" he muttered weakly as he stared at the clean blank ceiling.

There was also a golden chandelier, which was smaller than those in the academy's hallways, hanging down from the ceiling.

His body was still too exhausted, therefore he just moved his head to inspect the room.

He turned his head to the left and then to the right.

Currently, he found himself in a luxurious and soft bed large enough for four people.

"Mika...? Are you awake...?"

The surprised and concerned voice belonged to his teacher, Ophelia Ross.

"Ms. Ross?"

He lifted his head up a little and saw Ophelia, who was sitting at a small and round tea table.

Furthermore, he could fully grasp the room he was in.

From the looks, it seemed like a bedroom, however for a bedroom, it was very spacious and aside from the bed and the tea table, there was almost nothing.

The curtains fluttered as the fresh breeze entered the room.

Based on the sunshine, that illuminated the room, it seemed like it was still in the middle of the day.

Ophelia, who was still in her uniform, put the documents in her hands on the table and came to Mika.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she moved her face closer to his.

It was the first time, he saw Ophelia so worried.

"Take it easy for now. Your body must be still weak." she said soft and caring.

"Where am I...? What happened...?"

"Everything's alright, we're in my personal chamber. The quest is over."

"O-over...?"

"Yes, you have slept for four days. Everyone was worried, you know?"

"F-four days...?"

Then, Ophelia proceeded to explain what happened after Mika defeated Zantar and the monsters.

She talked about how they met Lereon, who happened to come across Lily and Sylvia, and about the events after they escaped from the jungle.

According to her, the group including Lereon traveled directly to Loogam without making a stop.

Compared to him, Sylvia and Lily were not heavily injured and Lily regained consciousness after a short rest in the carriage.

When they arrived here, Lereon and Ophelia wrote a report concerning the events in the Great Jungle of Malnor.

It was not unusual to write a report after a completed quest, however this time a demon was involved, thus Lereon looked over the report.

When he got his copy, Lereon left Loogam in order to report to Malnor's king.

Further investigations concerning the appearance of Zantar were now his responsibilities.

Thus, Ophelia had nothing to do anymore with that case.

Sylvia and Lily were also excluded from the case and were attending the lessons normally.

Naturally, under the order of Lereon, they were not allowed to talk about Zantar yet.

"I see..."

Mika regained enough strength to sit upright again.

"Did you... Did you also talk about me?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"No, I didn't."

He heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Ms. Ross. I owe you one!" he said as if a huge burden was taken off his chest.

"..."

Ophelia looked stern.

"But four days, huh? I can't remember when I slept that long the last time." he joked with a carefree smile.

"..."

It seemed like there was something else she wanted to say.

"Oh, by the way... Why exactly am I in your private chamber and not in the infirmary...?" Mika asked embarrassed with his cheeks blushing lightly.

"..."

She bit her lips.

"Because I had to be the first one to talk to you." she admitted sternly and bluntly.

"Hm? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"I didn't want to put innocent people in danger by leaving you in the infirmary. If you were here, then I could watch over you the entire time."

"Danger...? What are you talking ab-"

"You remember, right? How you fought Zantar in that form?"

Mika's eyes sharpened and his clueless and carefree attitude changed.

"Tell me, Mika. What was that? What are you hiding? Was it really you? Or rather, what are you...?"

"..."

He did not respond for a while.

However, he suddenly shifted his gaze to the front and raised his hand with the palm facing Ophelia.

"Hey system, can I reveal it?" he whispered softly.

Knowing that she should not interrupt, she nervously looked at him.

[...]

"You're always telling me that it could bite me back if I reveal it, however, nothing happened thus far even though the entire village roughly knows about it."

[...]

"I know, I know... That was not a good argument, considering that the village has almost no contact with other big cities like Loogam. And I can understand that you're in doubt as she's a famous person here. But..."

Mika put his arm down.

"...I trust her." he said firmly.

He heard a sigh.

But it was not Ophelia, who sighed.

[Fine. Seeing that she kept it a secret until now, I think that she can be trusted. So do what you want.]

"Thanks." he said with a satisfied smile.

Thus, Mika was allowed to reveal everything to Ophelia.

From his point of view, it was always exhausting to be so secretive about everything, including his abilities.

Even if it was just one person, he wanted to have someone he could tell everything.

He wanted to talk about the great benefits as well as the burden he had to carry.

Thus, he decided that if it was Ophelia, then it would be fine.

It would be fine to talk with her about his contract.

He faced Ophelia, who prepared herself for his story.

"I hear a voice inside my head."

"..."

Despite this being a serious conversation, he started off with a rather strange statement, even throwing off Ophelia.

At first, she looked dumbfounded.

"I-I see..." she smiled wryly with weird sympathy.

Mika sighed as he facepalmed himself.

"Sorry, wrong choice of words..."

He proceeded to correct himself.

"Let's start from the beginning. Just like everyone else in my village, I was born as a normal child with no superpowers. I was just a village boy you could have found anywhere else."

Ophelia listened closely.

"However, one day when I was lost in a forest, I landed in a monster nest. Of course, they instantly noticed me and chased me. I thought that this would have been it for me, after all, I was just a small kid with no powers."

He stopped for a second.

"However, that was the moment when I heard a strange voice in my head. It was a so-called system. It suggested to me to form a contract with it if I wanted to make it out alive."

"A contract?"

"Yes. In the heat of the moment, I just reflexively agreed. Thus, it directed me through that situation and gave me power to slaughter the monsters."

Mika took a glance at the rusty sword, which was leaning against the wall behind Ophelia.

"And among the things it gave me was Excalibur."

"I see... Is Excalibur a relic? I researched a lot but I found nothing even similar to that sword."

Mika shook his head.

"It was not a relic. Well, it would be more correct to say that it was not a relic meant for humans."

"H-huh?"

Ophelia's eyes widened.

"The contract stated the following: I can only use my full power as well as Excalibur for three minutes per day. Furthermore, my physical and magical abilities will be reduced for the time I'm not using my full power."

He sighed again.

"It also stated that the system won't leave my head meaning that I will always hear its voice, whenever it wants to say anything or whenever it gives me a new quest."

"What do you mean with quest?"

"How should I explain... Well, to put it simply, it orders me to do certain tasks and if I fail or fulfill the task, I will receive either a punishment or a reward."

He did not stop talking as Ophelia tried to comprehend everything.

Thus far, the things he said may seem plausible for him, however for someone like Ophelia, it was world-shattering.

Never before had she heard a story like this.

A voice in one's head that practically commands the host and a contract that seals one for most of the time? This was far more than a relic.

"Of course, that's annoying, but I guess that's reasonable. After all, I now have the right to borrow the heavenly relic, Excalibur. I'm sure that you must be familiar with its abilities by now." Mika said without taking a break.

"Heavenly relic... That demon mentioned it, too... But what exactly is a heavenly relic?"

Her head started to ache as she consumed information defying any logic from this world.

"This is something the system told me."

Ophelia gulped down her saliva.

"Heavenly relics are a handful of weapons distributed among a certain kind."

Mika slightly raised his index finger up pointing to the ceiling.

"Angels."