Chapter 140 - Volume 7 (1/2)

Volume 7, Chapter 20: The Hero is Contracted… and then

I did it. I successfully managed to close a deal with Kan-chan, a Hero.

I would surely get an additional amount in my summer bonus! (nonsense).

Moreover, it was even pretty “vague” in its terms of fulfilment. It being ambiguous was going to make the binding weak, but the details wouldn’t matter at all as long as I had her commitment.

Even better was the fact that Kan-chan wasn’t aware of the contract, thinking it to just be a “turn of phrase”.

Any modern person of Earth would have at least some knowledge of “contract language”, and would prove troublesome to a Demon, but only if they noticed that they were a “Demon” in the first place.

At the same time, the subconscious denial of the existence of Demons caused them to assume that those words were “promises” that weren’t binding.

However, this was a [Demon’s contract],

Because, well, you know? She doesn’t know though~

This time, the terms of the contract were such:

In exchange for giving Yurushia giving her what she wanted, she could demand a favor.

That was it. Only that.

There were a few other small details, but the gist of it was that.

At first glance, one might think that this favored Kan-chan. Because she had the freedom to choose what price she would receive.

But that was only in the case that it was “between humans”.

The real rub was the part where it mentioned [Things that Kanzo wished for].

Kan-chan wanted the [Magic Stone Jewels] very, very badly.

At first, it was only at the level of thirsting for something which she could not obtain, a [Desire]. But, as she spent time attempting over and over to attain it, the  personal value of the [Magic Stone Jewel] rose rapidly.

Her collector’s heart was further stimulated by this material’s rarity.

Like a crazy collector, Kanzo’s obsession was so complete that she would sell her home and disown her family for the sake of pursuing this item.

As much as she wanted it…… the amount wasn’t quantifiable, so instead she would receive what her “heart” sought.

So what would be a suitable price?

Kanzo’s “heart” would have to determine that. After only an instant of thought, her soul settled upon a “value”.

I requested the [Hero’s Secret Arts] from Kan-chan.

That was an entirely plausible [Compensation] value, and Kan-chan was more than happy to pay with something that hadn’t been hers in the first place.

And she would have been saved had that been enough for her. But, of course, it wasn’t.

Things that nobody else in the world have, thangs that would garner looks of “envy”, and Kan-chan wanted even more than most.

It was almost like putting a bonus prize into a gacha game.

The next thing she gladly paid with was [the Other Heroes] that weren’t her to give.

Kan-chan was the type that would spare no efforts if it didn’t hurt her to do so, something I understood from our little conversation.

She is going to sell out all of the [Heroes].

But then…… what is left?

To want more, even after she had given all she had to give, exactly what would she give……?

Somehow or other, I feel very Demonic.

Is this supposed to be praise?

I suddenly understand the feelings that generic employee-like [Demon Lords] had after having had hundreds of years’ worth of contracts.

Kan-chan somewhat resembles my friend the “Dwarf princess”, and is even more delicate than she is, so I had to harden my heart so that I could be properly demonic.

Well, for now, I handed over the [Magic Jewel] that had been made with Fannie’s magic power to Kan-chan, and was taught the [Level-up Method] in return.

This was the secret art of [Level-up] that only heroes could use.

I’d heard of it from Yuuki-kun, but since he was a reincarnator, his memories were fuzzy at best, but he could still use it, somewhat. As a Demon, though, I’d rather not risk it, given how incomplete it felt.

Level up. Skills could obviously be levelled up, but ordinarily, you couldn’t improve your physical levels or evolve.

It was clearly irregular to be able to obtain physical power rivalling a dragon just by defeating enemies.

If someone had the muscle density of about lead or platinum, it might have been possible. But then, living properly would be impossible.

What then is this “level up”?

Put simply, it seems to generate something like a [Forcefield] around a person.

An aura-like thing combining both the force of light and magic power, it seemed that it also increased one’s HP since it reduced a percentage of the damage taken from attacks.

MP would also go up, and so would physical ability, resulting in a level-up like in a game.

“……Should I do this too?”

“Yuru-san, what’s the matter?”

As I muttered to myself, I heard Daichi call out towards me.