Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The items they were holding scattered messily to the ground.

“Sorry!”

“No, it’s my fault.”

“Huh?”

The girl who bumped into Binaeril made eye contact with him and let out a small gasp. Binaeril recognized her as well. She was the girl who had been in the same class the day he clashed with Gillian. Her short blonde hair barely touched her shoulders, and despite her youth, she carried an air of inexplicable elegance.

-That hurt!

At Veritas’s complaint, Binaeril glanced down. He couldn’t immediately see where it was amidst the scattered items.

As Binaeril began picking up the items, the girl also gathered her fallen belongings. Something beneath her notebook seemed to wiggle.

“What’s this?”

It was an old novel. It had a musty leather smell but an incongruously melodramatic title.

“Oh, that’s mine.”

Receiving the book from her, Binaeril dusted off its cover. Veritas let out a groan, having inhaled the dust.

Binaeril collected the remaining items and handed them to the girl.

She bowed her head.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. We’re both students here…”

“I know.”

Judging by her expression, the girl also remembered who Binaeril was.

“You didn’t lose anything, right? Well, I need to go to class.”

“Wait!”

As Binaeril prepared to leave, the girl hurriedly called out to him.

“What? Did you lose something?”

“No, it’s not that…”

The girl hesitated, unable to continue immediately.

“My name is Rike.”

“Oh… nice to meet you, Rike. I’m Binaeril.”

“I know. I think all the students know your name.”

‘Am I that famous?’

-When you’re constantly causing trouble, of course, you become famous.

Binaeril ignored Veritas’s snark.

“You’re famous for your magic skills. And for what happened a few days ago.”

“Ah.”

She was referring to his confrontation with Gillian’s gang.

“So, what is it?”

Rike still hesitated to say what she wanted.

Rike herself wasn’t entirely sure why she had stopped Binaeril. Was it because she was glad to see him? Curious? The leathery smell of the old book tickled her nose, making her nostalgic? No.

Rike thought back to the courage Binaeril had shown against Gillian’s gang a few days ago. She wondered how a transfer student, previously considered a perpetual junior, could be so skilled. Questions floated through her mind, but none of them were the key question she wanted to ask.

Rike was simply curious about Binaeril. She didn’t know how to make friends well.

“Perhaps…”

At that moment, someone shouted, interrupting their conversation.

“Here he is! I found Binaeril Dalheim!”

“Oh no.”

As one person shouted, others joined in with cries of “Catch him!” and the sound of people rushing over filled the air. Binaeril recognized a familiar face in the crowd—Gillian Bemes.

“Hello?”

“Hello, my foot! You rat! Finally caught you!”

Gillian, face flushed with anger, stormed forward. Binaeril had thought that if he avoided him long enough, Gillian would eventually give up. But now, it seemed that Gillian was even more determined.

With Gillian leading a group of six or seven people, Binaeril found his escape routes blocked. The delay had led to this inevitable confrontation.

“You bastard, come here.”

“I’ve been hunting you for days.”

“Were you on a date?”

The group surrounded him, throwing taunts as Gillian stepped forward.

“Did you think you could spread rumors about me and get away with it?”

“What rumors?”

“You called me a bastard.”

“I didn’t spread any rumors. Besides, it’s not a rumor, is it?”

Of course, it was true. Information Binaeril shouldn’t have known.

“Shut up!”

Gillian leaned in close, speaking low enough that only Binaeril could hear.

“Whether you just blabbed or heard it somewhere, it doesn’t matter now. You’re going to kneel here and apologize to me.”

Naturally, Binaeril wasn’t scared.

“And then you’ll let me go?”

“Ha! Absolutely not.”

“Then I can’t apologize.”

“Do whatever you want. We’ll see how long that confidence lasts.”

“What, are you going to hit me? That’s against the school rules, you know?”

Elfenbine strictly prohibited fights between students to prevent heated arguments from escalating into magical duels, which could result in accidents, especially among less experienced students.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one notices.”

Gillian laughed darkly, clapping his fist into his palm. Rules mattered less than fists to him, especially now that he was so enraged he couldn’t see straight.

Rike, watching from a step behind, spoke up.

“Stop it!”

She closed her eyes tightly and shouted.

Gillian chuckled in disbelief.

“What’s this?”

“I don’t know her. Just let her go.”

“Shut up.”

He tapped Binaeril’s chest with his fingers.

“Am I your lackey? Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

As the atmosphere grew tense, Rike grabbed Gillian’s shoulder, trying to stop him.

“Stay out of this!”

Gillian swung his arm roughly, causing Rike to fall back onto the ground. Binaeril’s brow furrowed.

“What’s the matter? Are you upset? Then go ahead and hit me first. Hit me!”

Gillian provoked Binaeril, pushing him with his forehead. While Binaeril didn’t mind dealing with those targeting him, seeing them involve an innocent friend and mock her triggered him.

Binaeril looked at Gillian with cold, disdainful eyes.

“Hey, he’s getting mad.”

“Oh, scary~ Should we start by stripping him down?”

The others laughed, but Gillian couldn’t join in. Binaeril’s gaze made him flinch, and he stepped back, then overcompensated with bravado.

“What are you going to do, just staring at me?”

“You really do stick together, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Are you telling me noble families teach you to gang up on other students and bully them? It seems your families don’t teach you proper behavior befitting your status. But then again, looking at minor lords pretending to be nobles, it’s obvious.”

“…Are you crazy?”

The Albrecht Empire had always had a strained relationship with Elfenbine, so most students from prominent families didn’t attend Elfenbine. Most came from minor noble families or ones that had bought their titles with gold, like the Bemes family. Binaeril’s words hit a nerve.

“What? Are you going to gang up on me? Collective violence is grounds for expulsion. How much effort did it take you to get into Elfenbine? Is your camaraderie worth more than that?”

Binaeril pointed to Rike, who was still sitting on the ground, bewildered.

“And we have a witness here.”

Rike, now a surprised witness to the confrontation, watched the scene unfold. The enraged boys hesitated, realizing Binaeril was right. They exchanged glances and looked to Gillian.

“Think about it. Getting expelled over one bastard? Is it worth ruining your lives?”

The repeated mention of “bastard” was the last straw for Gillian. He couldn’t contain his anger and swung a punch, striking Binaeril across the cheek, sending him sprawling backward.

Gillian stood over him, shoulders heaving with rage, and laughed.

“Serves you right!”

Gillian Bemes was confident in his fighting skills. He had grown up as a gang leader in his neighborhood even while living under his merchant father. Fights among children didn’t require complex techniques or training, just size, aggression, and the ability to intimidate. Gillian believed that one punch had completely subdued Binaeril.

He sneered down at Binaeril, who tasted blood in his mouth. Getting hit was nothing new to him. Growing up, he often got beaten by his older brother, unbeknownst to their parents. His brother had always been a figure of overwhelming strength, but that never broke Binaeril’s rebellious spirit.

Now, Binaeril felt old emotions rising from deep within him—anger, humiliation, a desire for revenge.

These were the same emotions he always felt toward his brother. It seemed true that Gillian had taken knight classes as a child, as Binaeril’s cheek throbbed with pain from the punch. He got up and glared at Gillian. His brother had always said he didn’t like the look in Binaeril’s eyes either.

“What the…!”

Gillian felt an inexplicable emotion as he met Binaeril’s gaze. He had beaten countless street kids who defied noble authority, but he had never seen eyes like these—cold, simmering anger that scrutinized his entire being. Gillian was gripped by an instinctive fear.

“This bastard needs more of a beating!”

That unfamiliar fear made him desperate. He swung another punch at Binaeril’s face. Binaeril didn’t dodge; he prided himself on his toughness. 

Rike, still on the ground, heard a fluttering noise from the old book beside her. At first, she thought it was the wind. But she noticed a faint light seeping between the pages. She tried to look, but at that moment, Binaeril crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Binaeril felt strange. Was it because it had been a while since he got hit? Gillian’s punches were weak and slow compared to his brother’s. It wasn’t that it didn’t hurt. Binaeril had no intention of fighting back. He figured if he just took the hits and went to the infirmary, things would resolve themselves.

But as the second punch came flying, an unfamiliar thought crossed Binaeril’s mind. What magic could he use to counter this attack? He thought of a few basic spells he could cast, and considered the optimal one. That was it. He had no intention of actually retaliating or chanting an incantation. 

Yet his internal magic naturally aligned with his thoughts. It was a mystical feeling. To allow the flow of his magic, he reached out his hand toward Gillian. Gillian, now within arm’s reach, heard a faint humming noise from Binaeril’s hand.

“What the…?”

Binaeril’s hand met Gillian’s chest, and the next moment, Gillian’s large frame flew a meter into the air and crashed down. Rike and the other students watched with mouths agape. But no one was more shocked than Binaeril.

“Gillian!”

“Hey, are you alive? Snap out of it, man!”

Gillian’s friends rushed to his side where he lay crumpled on the ground.

“What just happened?”

As he gathered his senses, the previous sticky emotions had vanished. He had no recollection of actively responding. He only felt an unusual exhaustion in his right arm. As he looked around in confusion, his eyes met Rike’s, wide with shock.

Despite the absurdity of the situation, Binaeril knew he had to leave quickly. He grabbed his belongings and helped the bewildered Rike to her feet.

“We need to escape while we can.”

“Uh… okay. But, why?”