The Bookkeeper

A silent calm settled over the afternoon, and yet Raiden propped his hand against the canopy, finally managing to stand for the second time without much difficulty. Even so, he still needed support to keep his balance occasionally.

With steady movements, he cracked his back and began making his way downstairs, still using the walls to keep his balance when his ribs began to give out. His fragile body could give out at any time, but he needed to push through the pain and find his feet.

Not only that, but the phoenix girl had been up for two days, and he knew he needed to start working on his contract and try to find out if she knew anything about the kingdom's delay in attacking.

His path to her room wasn't easy, but he didn't come across any obstacles. Leo was too busy training to worry about him resting.

The moment he reached the girl's room, she instinctively turned to him with panic in her eyes, nearly jumping out of her bed. But she couldn't move—her head wasn't fully healed. She clutched it, adjusting the bandage while her teeth were gritted wide in agony.

Raiden gave her a smirk and leaned against the wall, putting distance between them as he stared at her, her blue aura fluttering around her. "Hey," he said, causing the girl to look at him.

"I remember you… it's you," she said, her voice filled with slight uncertainty, her eyes slightly narrowing.

Raiden's smile deepened. These were the first words she had said since waking up, and they were in Noorian—so clearly she hadn't understood anything Leo said to her. But from the expression she wore, Raiden knew she had more to say, so he simply stared at her and waited.

"Who are you?"

Raiden's expression shifted in an instant. He had expected something about how he nearly killed her—something to deepen her fear and ease the situation.

He let out a sigh and prepared himself to speak Noorian for the first time in a long while. "What do you mean?"

"I've been trying to think about what happened, why I'm here, and how I got here, but the only thing that comes to mind is your face." Her eyes narrowed, filled with confusion and uncertainty.

Raiden stared at her with an unreadable expression, calmly trying to assess the situation. Had she lost her memories somehow?

"It's sad to know you don't remember me correctly." He wore a smile. "Tell me about yourself… you might remember me in the process."

"She hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting to the floor, her expression somber. She then raised her head and turned to Raiden. "I am Freya… Freya Pasha, from Silver City. I am a blue crest bearer, a number 8, and my familiar is a hell phoenix."

Freya's eyes began darting around once more—her confusion didn't get any better.

"Tell me more."

She began massaging her head, searching through her mind. "That's all I can remember… your face, and this kind of fear that comes after it that I can't fully explain."

At that moment, dozens of thoughts ran through Raiden's mind. Should he use this to his advantage and lure her into signing the contract? That would be easy and save time, but is that how he wanted people to serve him?

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. He needed time to think about everything.

He gave her a soft smile. "I will be back in a minute," he said and simply walked out of the room.

Maybe having the wind brush against him and the sun scorch his skin would help. Maybe it would help him think clearly, and that's exactly what he was going for.

The moment he stepped outside, he had to raise his hand to block the sun's rays as they scorched directly into his eyes, piercing through them like a blade. 

Still, his hand remained raised as he took a few steps into the grassy field and slowly, careful not to increase his pain, lay down on the ground. With his eyes slightly squinted, he began staring at the sun until he finally grew accustomed to its bright rays.

He was breathing heavily and unsteadily, the rise and fall of his chest visible even through his white shirt.

Levi had been gone for about five days with no sign of returning with Speed's sister anytime soon. Speed himself had been showing less concern about whether Levi could retrieve his sister or not—he simply believed the task would be very hard to pull off. 

Yet he stuck with his words: if they managed to save his sister, he would form a contract with Raiden.

And if that situation wasn't dire enough, Ash wasn't getting any better. Clearly, though not certain, Raiden had to increase in rank to at least help her. And without her being on her feet, the shadowy chains around Speed could not come off.

Raiden considered all of this as he lay there, and everything would have been easier to assess if he had enough strength—but no. 

His ribs were still shattered, and he seriously doubted he could even stand against a goblin in his current state. So the only person fit enough to protect the book was Leo. And that wasn't a good sign for the kind of bookkeeper he wanted to be.

He then let out a loud, hollow scream of frustration, and it echoed through the distance as if he were locked in a cage. His expression darkened as he turned toward the forest.

"What was that?" It was normal for a scream to carry across distance, but considering how his had echoed, it was perplexing. His voice wasn't that loud.

But after glancing in the forest's direction for a while, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, so he tilted his head back to his original position and continued thinking.

He let out a sigh. This wasn't a situation where he should let his pride get the better of him. Many people had served his parents not from their own interests initially, but later found something within the arrangement that piqued their interest.

He had to give Freya a reason to serve him, but at that moment, he would have to play with lies—and truths could be lies as well, when said right.

He took a deep breath as he finally tried to get to his feet. "Just tell her the truth…" he muttered, but at that very moment, he tilted back and glanced at his surroundings. Something was off, and yet everything was perfectly normal.

Still, he shrugged and began making his way to Freya's room, still using the walls to keep his balance. The moment he entered, once again, Freya panicked, her expression etched with fear as if her soul were leaving her body.

Raiden met her dark eyes with a smirk. "Don't be afraid… at the moment I'm in no shape to hurt you."

Her expression darkened even further. "Hurt me?"

Raiden gave a nod, his expression unreadable. "My ribs are broken, and I can't stand properly." He raised an eyebrow and gestured at his posture. "See?… I need support, otherwise I'll collapse to the ground."

Freya wore a concerned expression. "I'm very sorry about that."

Raiden gave her a pretend smile. "And do you know who did this to me?"

Freya seemed calm and confused as she shook her head, but then her expression shifted in an instant. "Did I do that?"

Raiden adjusted his body slightly against the wall, his expression turning grim as his grey eyes locked directly onto Freya's dark ones. "You and your friend did…"

She attempted to say something, but Raiden gestured for her to stop. "The only reason you're alive right now is because I chose to have sympathy for you… but clearly, that came with a price. You've lost your memories from the concussion I gave you."

"I'm sorry…"

Raiden's expression shifted. "That's why, to prevent you from betraying me, I need you to form a contract with me."

"You believe I will try to kill you again?" Her expression alone showed she didn't doubt a thing Raiden said. Well, it wasn't like he was lying—he lied with the truth.

Raiden was impressed by how quickly she was catching up, so he gave her a nod with a soft smile.

"Okay…" Freya said without hesitation and outstretched her hand for a handshake. She seemed confused about what she was doing, but it was as if her body already knew.

Raiden was perplexed for a moment before he finally recalled what he had read in the book of Aaron. A contract between two blue crest bearers didn't need a seal since they were both contractors—all it needed was an oath and enough mana.

Raiden smirked and began walking toward her. The moment he climbed onto the bed and got to her level, Freya saw how he was struggling, so she sat upright and leaned forward. Raiden finally placed his hand in hers.

She gave Raiden a skeptical look. "Oh, yeah. The name is Raiden Night."

"I, Freya Pasha, swear an oath to be a loyal and faithful servant to Raiden Night for all eternity. Should I go against my oath, let it be the end of me."

The moment she finished taking the oath, their handshake was caught up in blue flames. They were both calm as they watched it burn. It wasn't painful or unpleasant—in fact, it was beautiful, and the flames simply sealed their contract.

As soon as the flames finished burning, Freya reached for her neck, touching her crest. She smiled. "I think I just turned seven."

At that very moment, Raiden's blue screen popped up.

[ALERT]

[NEW CONTRACT MANAGED]

[+30XP]

[DRAGON MANA POOL: 450/5000]

[NEW ABILITY: GAZE BEYOND]

[CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 3

—Name:[ASH]

—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.

—Name: [LEVI]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

—Name: [?]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 8: LEVEL-50/100XP]