Reincarnated as the Adopted Son of a Prestigious Swordsmanship Family

Chapter 41: The Trash’s Contract (1)

The date for Asha’s ingestion was set.

It was to be after the meeting with Mectera was concluded.

After all agendas were discussed and measures were established.

It was to be at the moment when both Aran Lubeil and Jiaren Degrate were convinced.

Simurtr decided to imprint Asha before returning.

“But why aren’t you calling him?”

Despite that decision, Jiaren did not move. She wasn't calling for Aran, who should have been waiting outside the office.

“We need to finish our talk.”

“What’s left?”

Simurtr tilted his head.

Semenu’s last request, the resulting transfer of Asha’s ownership, the schedule for taking Asha, and the help from Jiaren and Semenu in the process.

There was nothing more to talk about. Simurtr wished for all the proceedings, including the meeting and the imprinting, to end quickly. Only then could he have a private conversation with Semenu.

‘I have a lot to ask.’

Aran had said he created the 6th Sword Order to find traces of Exa. He said there was no body at the memorial.

But Semenu didn’t stop there. She was assuming that Exa was alive. That was how she could harbor a doubt disguised as conviction.

‘Does Aran think so too? No way.’

Simurtr recalled Aran’s words and actions, then shook his head. It wasn’t to that extent.

‘He never once called me Young Master.’

Aran was a truly stubborn person.

They had only been together for a mere eight years, and that too in their distant childhood.

Yet, Aran still called the long-dead Exa ‘Young Master’.

As if that title was meant for only one person, he called Jahar and Beden simply by their names.

‘It’s my memorial, but my body is missing. He must be looking for that.’

At some point, Aran had started calling Simurtr ‘Young Master’.

If he had thought the same as Semenu, Aran would not have changed his attitude. He would have continued to call me Sir Simurtr, just as he did at the beginning.

‘That’s also excessive.’

There was nothing to be upset about. In fact, I should have been touched. It meant he was still holding onto a bond from childhood.

‘She’s the peculiar one.’

Simurtr looked at Semenu.

A squad member from my past life. A picked-up Degrate. She had been operating on the premise that Exa still existed.

I didn't know if she had even considered reincarnation, but in any case, my current body was so different that no trace of my past life could be found.

‘Sword Net, Star-Breaking Style, way of speaking.’

The culprits that made Semenu’s thoughts border on conviction, and which Simurtr mistook for conviction.

‘Because she’s a Degrate.’

The flexible idea that even with a different body, it could be the same person, and the attention to culprits that others would dismiss as coincidence, must have originated from her roots.

Most of the continent believed in the god of the Ruo Holy See. The establishment of an afterlife, not reincarnation or transmigration. Degrate was not among that majority.

‘The elves have their own gods they believe in.’

She was a Degrate who inherited elven blood. Though they had desecrated the ashes that were no different from the First’s corpse, that must have been an exception.

As long as elven blood existed, Degrate would follow the ideology of the elves.

Even if not, they wouldn’t believe in Ruo. They didn't embrace other races.

‘The others probably aren’t like that.’

A certain anxiety that the other squad members might be living like Semenu completely subsided. Except for Semenu, all of Baperr were human.

This meant they were closer to Aran than Semenu. They might search for a corpse, but they wouldn't be yearning for a living Exa.

‘Just up to her.’

I've already been found out. Let’s just accept it up to her.

The rest were probably living well. Aran, too, was living well enough. That’s what Simurtr thought.

“You should know too. It’s because of the kid.”

“What.”

Jiaren began with a tone that was suspicious to anyone watching.

“Semenu used a request because of you. Two of them, at that. Those precious things.”

“I’m fine.”

“Semenu, this isn’t a matter that ends just because you’re fine. He should know too, right?

This happened because of him.”

The flow of the conversation was rather ominous. Not a good flow. Simurtr furrowed his brow.

“Degrate’s requests. Semenu had a whopping four of them. It’s an indulgence that other bloodkin would find hard to obtain even with a lifetime of devotion.”

If I focused, it was a strange part.

Four of those hard-to-obtain things. Degrate wouldn't separately commend contributions in the war.

“Do you know why she had four?”

“I don’t.”

Simurtr did not know the stories after his death.

The only thing he learned after reincarnating was about Mectera. He knew nothing of the other squad members, nor the current status of the traitors.

“Two are a token of apology. The bloodline’s apology for the atrocities of the former Phantasm. Semenu went through unspeakable hardships.”

Simurtr nodded. In fact, considering what Semenu had gone through, two was not enough.

“Do you know what Semenu requested with those?”

At those words, Simurtr turned his head.

As if telling her not to speak, Semenu was waving her hand at Jiaren.

“The right to choose her missions, and non-interference. That’s the reason Semenu, our next Phantasm, could roam around so freely.”

“I said I’m not going to be the Phantasm.”

“Is that important right now? And even if you don’t want to, you have to. You’re a Degrate.”

The chain of command was the ideology and structure that permeated Degrate. All Degrates must follow the Phantasm’s words.

With just two requests, Semenu had deviated from that rule. It showed just how significant a request was in Degrate.

“The other two.”

“She used them on you. Those precious things.”

“No. I mean, how did she get them.”

Firmly. Semenu’s hand, which had been trying to stop Jiaren in mid-air, now pressed down on Simurtr’s hand.

“It was a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. A deal. In exchange for getting two requests, she agreed to obey Degrate if they granted all her requests. To become my next Phantasm, to live in Degrate for the rest of her life.”

Simurtr furrowed his brow.

For the rest of her life? She doesn't even like being here now?

“The kid should know, shouldn’t he? Thanks to the kid, Semenu has returned to our fold.”

As if thoroughly pleased with Simurtr’s expression, Jiaren smiled brightly.

The Asha in her hand was still a waste, but at least it felt like she had landed a blow on the kid.

“…….”

Simurtr remained silent for a moment.

Squeeze. A small hand pressed down on the hand holding Asha. As if saying it was enough to have gotten Asha. Semenu was shaking her head.

A deal. An additionally obtained request. That meant Semenu had wished for and anticipated the current situation.

To meet the living Exa and do everything she could for him, while she herself would pay the price.

‘Someone was so worried about causing harm, agonizing over and over.’

And the person in question, Semenu, was desperate to be harmed.

The right to choose her missions. Non-interference. It must have been what Semenu requested to find the captain of Baperr.

Even though she could have chosen all sorts of wealth and glory in Degrate, a peaceful life after retirement. Needlessly.

“You need to be scolded.”

A hollow laugh escaped. Simurtr said casually to Semenu. His eyes, looking at Jiaren, curved deeply.

“Bound to Degrate?”

“Saying it like that makes her sound like an object, doesn’t it? Right? Semenu will now have to stay at the main house as the next Phantasm. Since the requests are finished.”

“By whose authority?” Follow current novels on N0velFire.ɴet

Choice is free. Semenu’s choice could be respected. However, Jiaren Degrate’s decision could not be accepted.

“It was Semenu’s choice. I told you it was a deal, didn’t I?”

The roles seemed to have reversed. Jiaren liked Simurtr’s fierce attitude. It was repaying what she had suffered so far.

“That’s your side of the story. There’s something we need to settle first.”

“Hmm?”

“Degrate will no longer interfere with Semenu. She will be treated as Semenu Baperr, not Semenu Degrate.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jiaren could not understand Simurtr’s words.

“You don’t know? It’s the contract written by the trash Nurmakan Degrate and the trash Exa.”

Nurmakan Degrate.

Hearing that name, Jiaren’s eyes widened. She had never told Simurtr the former Phantasm’s name.

“Did Semenu tell you that name too?”

“Is that important?”

“Right. What could be important? You heard the contract’s contents too. Right? So what about that contract?”

“A deal. Did you write it as a contract? I bet not. You only use those when you’re scared. Right?”

“So? My deal with Semenu means nothing? Because the Dragon’s Contract takes precedence over everything else?”

Jiaren let out a hollow laugh.

He certainly seemed to have come knowing a lot.

“Of course. It states that Semenu does not belong to Degrate. Are you going to embrace her now?”

Does that even make sense? Simurtr said.

“Kid, you saw it earlier, didn’t you? It’s the Dragon’s Contract. What Nurmakan and Exa swore on was that too, you know?”

“I know.”

“It’s a contract bound by souls. But both of them are dead, aren’t they? The contracted souls are not in this world. So what happens to the contract?”

“What happens to it?”

“You may not know, kid, but the Dragon’s Contract’s effect is maintained only if at least one of the contracted souls exists, you see? But now, both are gone, aren’t they?”

What was he trying to pull out?

Jiaren’s eyes, looking at Simurtr, narrowed.

A kid is just a kid. If you want to negotiate or threaten, you should first check what cards you hold in your hand.

“Kid, since Aran Lubeil always babies you, you probably don’t know how scary the world is, but in a place like this, you can’t just blurt things out like that, you know? You have to think before you speak.”

“Enough. Nurmakan’s Unique Phantasmal Realm. What did you do with the items that were in there?”

Simurtr ignored Jiaren’s advice and spoke.

“I moved everything to my Phantasmal Realm, except for the disgusting things.”

“The purple jade box. Do you have it?”

“…Did Semenu tell you that too?”

If so, there was a high probability that Simurtr knew all sorts of Degrate secrets. A sense of caution entered Jiaren’s eyes.

The disgrace of Asha was extremely shameful, but it wasn't a secret that would create variables. The opponent was Mectera, not the Magic Tower. She would be content with having prevented a war for now.

However, the number of assassins, available personnel, and family secrets leaking to the outside would become a huge problem later.

“Just take it out.”

Semenu’s request did not include a clause about not harming Simurtr. Should I kill him?

Jiaren thought. If it weren’t for Aran, she would have killed him already.

Then, during Asha's imprinting? At that time, she could disguise it as a death that Mectera would find acceptable.

Aran would protest, but even the great 6th Head of the Sword was ultimately an individual. If the death was natural, it would be difficult to declare war…….

“Alright.”

Nodding, Jiaren put her hand into her Unique Phantasmal Realm.

“What are you going to do with this?”

The purple jade box. It was rectangular in shape, and quite large, about the size of a person’s torso.

It was an item Jiaren herself didn't know about. She knew it was a jade box, but not what was inside.

It was an object that wouldn't open even with her Phantasmal Ability, no matter what mechanism the former Phantasm, Nurmakan, had left behind.

“Here. Do you know what’s inside?”

Simurtr said. In the meantime, Semenu, whose eyes met Jiaren’s, shook her head. She didn't even know of the jade box’s existence, let alone its contents.

But somehow, Simurtr seemed to know its contents.

The kid from Mectera? It couldn't be a bluff. The kid had pointed out the jade box precisely. A vague anxiety crept over Jiaren.

“It’s a contract.”

Thud. The jade box, which wouldn’t open no matter what was done, opened anticlimatically as soon as Simurtr’s hand touched it.

“The trash’s contract.”

The inside of the jade box was shabby. Only a single sheet of paper lay neatly inside.

The Dragon’s Contract, its contents not visible on the surface, just like the one Aran had signed earlier.

“The contract that fucking idiot Nurmakan Degrate signed with the blood I shed, kneeling before me.”

On the contract that should have disappeared since the pledged soul was no longer in this world, Nurmakan Degrate’s signature was erased.

“Look here. The signature is still there.”

Simurtr’s finger pointed to the bottom of the contract.

“…Exa Baperr?”

Jiaren recited the signature that was shining by itself.

The reason the contract still existed.

If at least one of the contracted souls existed, the contract would not disappear.

“That’s right. That one.”

Exa Baperr.

The hero of Mectera was not dead.

That fact, Jiaren Degrate could not believe.

“That’s my signature, isn’t it?”

Simurtr grinned and made a cut on his finger. The flowing blood dropped onto the contract, and its contents floated in the air.

“If there is any further interference, all future actions of Exa Baperr shall be justified. All of Degrate shall acquiesce to their deaths.”

The annihilation of Degrate.

Nurmakan Degrate had agreed to such a clause.

“I wrote this too, you see?”

They had already embroiled Semenu.

Degrate, who supposedly cared for Semenu so much, shouldn’t just stand by.

“Y-yes…?”

Could this be Semenu’s phantasm?

Jiaren, who had lost her grip on reality, unknowingly used honorifics.

“Are you coming to your senses now?”

Looking at the dumbfounded Jiaren, Simurtr smiled brightly.