Shameless Contract

Isaac's expression didn't even change. It felt like the matter that he was talking about was inconsequential, or something that didn't concern him at all - which only served to further baffle Yolanda.

It took her a bit, but she finally regained her bearings. No matter how bollocks of a claim that he had made, it didn't change the fact that she needed to do her job properly. The truth of the matter would naturally come to light over the course of the proceedings.

'I swear, if this fella only wanted to give me a heart attack for shits and giggles, I'll slap him, consequences be damned!'

A deep breath later, Yolanda at long last noticed something amiss. Although her legs had given out momentarily before, she was still perfectly upright. Even though she had made a commotion, nobody had come to check on her, or had even looked in her direction. But no matter how hard she tried to figure out what had happened, she couldn't find anything amiss, so she carefully sat back down, put these matters to the back of her mind and faced her charge again.

"Then would ya like to go through the verification procedure? Although I want to believe ya, my job forbids me from simply taking ya word for it."

Both of them knew that the Amazoness was lying through her teeth, as a doubtful expression was still written all over her face. But to not prolong the conversation needlessly, Isaac simply shook his head and decided to not prod fun at her for being as easy to read as a picture book.

"I could do that, but I told you that I have something else that is even more important to report right now. As for everything regarding my Level, please contact Loki about it. I honestly can't be bothered, and her word should hold far more weight than mine."

His response reminded Yolanda that he had indeed mentioned that his ridiculous rank-up pace wasn't his prime reason for coming here. What could possibly be even more significant? She was legitimately intrigued.

"Don't leave me hanging! What is that other matter of ya's?"

As if he was carefully deliberating something for a while, Isaac remained silent for a few long moments, before ultimately sighing.

"I've noticed that there are some quite well-paying quests up for grabs. What would you say if I told you that I can fulfill two of the most important ones at once? I can both give you extremely solid information that could lead to the arrest of the person who killed Petbe, as well as the perpetrator themselves."

What followed wasn't the shocked outburst that he had expected, but instead utter and total silence. The Amazoness seemed like she had simply frozen in place. The only thing that made it clear that time was still flowing normally was that her slightly raised hand was slowly but surely lowering, gravity be praised. Only when it touched the counter did the sudden contact awaken Yolanda from this most recent stupor.

"Are ya serious!?"

She was too exhausted to even scream anymore. And maybe a little, she started to grow numb to Isaac's unreasonable claims and exploits. It was too stressful to think about it all, and doing so just gave her a headache. So really, what was even the point of trying to understand anything at all?

A bit embarrassed at seeing the resigned and tired look on his dungeon advisor's face, Isaac scratched his cheek and nodded.

"Yeah. I would like to accept both of these quests, but only under the condition that the Guild agrees to sign a simple contract with me. It's just a formality, so don't worry."

From his backpack, he pulled two carefully folded sheets of paper, which contained the specific terms. They were the exact same and also handwritten, but extremely easily to read. Isaac had already signed them, and now it was up to a representative of the Guild to do the same.

Yolanda had to admit that these were easily amongst the most beautiful manuscripts that she had ever laid her eyes upon. Very quickly, however, the fascination faded and she turned serious again. Carefully, she read every single word.

After she was done, she heaved a long sigh.

'So basically, in exchange for the information and the perpetrator, he wants the reward for the quests to go not to himself, but to his familia. It's a bit strange, especially as he wants to accept the quests as an individual and not as a representative of the Loki Familia, but it's nothing outlandish.'

Even though it wasn't anything too weird, she still felt the need to report this matter to her higher-ups. One could never be too careful, maybe she had missed something.

"Give me a moment to run this by a superior of mine, I'll be right back!"

It only took two or three minutes until the Amazoness returned to her counter. She wasn't alone, though. A beige-haired Chienthrope man with small glasses followed after her. He was also clad in the standard Guild attire, so he was most likely the superior that Yolanda had mentioned.

Right after the man arrived, he focused his suspicious gaze on Isaac, then he addressed him.

"Are you telling the truth? Can you really live up to your claims?"

With the most honest expression that he could muster, Isaac nodded heavily.

"Yes, I wouldn't gain anything from misleading you."

A second or two of silence later, the man nodded with a slight smile. Then he read the two copies of the contract that were still lying on the counter and signed them with his name, Rehmer Kohm. One copy was returned to Isaac's backpack, while one was taken and filed away by Yolanda.

"Alright, then please hand over the information as soon as possible. The sooner that we can get this matter sorted out, the better. As for the perpetrator, I assume you will still have to get them from whatever place that you hid them away at. By the time that both terms have been fulfilled, we will give the payment of 40 million valis and one grimoire to the Loki Familia."

While repositioning his glasses a little, Rehmer looked expectantly at the young man in front of him. And just as he had thought, Isaac hadn't come with empty hands - but he had far more to offer than anyone was prepared for.

"Here is the information. A clear recording of the exact confrontation that led to Petbe's death."

With a bright smile, Isaac put the memory crystal that Ryuu had handed him previously on the counter. His words, although they were spoken in a light and cheerful tone, carried a lot of weight, causing a bead of sweat to form on Rehmer's forehead.

'Is he serious?!'

Although the Chienthrope man was shocked, he didn't let it show too much and instead asked Isaac and Yolanda to follow him to a more secluded location. The Guild had many rooms which were usually utilized for conversations between adventurers and their advisors. Normally, any matters that the former didn't necessarily want to let the whole city know about were discussed here. Isaac, so far, had never really felt the need for such privacy, but in this particular case, he acknowledged that it would be necessary. The circumstances of Petbe's death really shouldn't be aired in the Pantheon's main hall, for everyone to see.

Once they were all alone, Rehmer injected some of his 'mind', or rather, his mana, into the crystal and a smaller-than-life projection of the scene around the Boar's Foot inn showed up in front of the trio. It started a minute or two before any of the Black Blade's members had arrived, so for a while, they just stared at the city's calm and peaceful regular scenery.

Suddenly, the men and women wearing the uniform that Evilus was renowned for sped into the picture, at a speed far faster than the two Guild employees could follow. So to make it easier on their eyes, they rewinded a little and slowed down the recording enough to be certain.

"By the gods! I had already heard that the heads that were found wore veils that were similar to Evilus', but I didn't want to believe it. Now it's for certain, those were really our old enemies!"

Rehmer had grown pale, but even though his hands were trembling, he forced himself to continue playing the recording. He was very curious about how all of this would play out.

They didn't have to wait for long, only about ten seconds in this slowed-down version. With a speed not inferior to most of the surrounding assailants, Isaac appeared in the middle of the street, with a tightly-bound Petbe dangling from his hand.

Both Yolanda and Rehmer were too shocked to react, so the recording didn't pause at this point. Although it all had happened very quickly back then, in this decelerated version, they could clearly follow everything. The terrifyingly fast Manu and Mosi first attracted their attention, but before the Guild employees could even grow too worried about the surrounded adventurer's safety, it happened. They bore witness to Petbe's brutal murder. That calm smile on the recorded Isaac's face caused cold shivers to run down their spines, while the beheadings following the golden pillar's appearance made their blood run cold.

By the time that the entire recording had finished, the room was silent. Only after close to half a minute did Rehmer manage to clear his throat and look at Isaac with a wary expression. To be honest, he was absolutely horrified. He felt like he was staring at a ferocious beast, like the reaper was about to end his life at any moment. But still, he found the strength to speak up and look the calmly smiling young man, this deity slayer, directly into the eyes.

"Is that you in the recording?"

There was honestly no need to even ask, as he already knew the answer. But still, for some reason, he felt the need to make doubly sure, so as to not offend this person. He would probably feel compelled to stay silent and accept whatever excuse this man put forward, just to keep his head on his shoulders.

A slight yawn escaped Isaac's lips, then he nodded.

"Did I fail to mention that? I already brought the perpetrator with me. I'm the one who killed Petbe, and I'm here to turn myself in. Don't forget to send the rewards for my capture to the Loki Familia, okay~?"

'So that's what this was all about! You just wanted to cheat some benefits out of the Guild before your inevitable capture… tsk.'

Even though he inwardly wanted to curse, Rehmer nodded his head. He wasn't foolish enough to betray a contract, even though this one was a little… unusual. To put it nicely. Also, he wanted this troublemaker to stay peaceful, so he could more easily be processed during the legal proceedings.

"But of course. Could you please follow Yolanda here without making a fuss? She will bring you to your holding cell. I will immediately report this matter to the higher-ups."

Leaving the escorting of the criminal to the still shell-shocked Amazoness, Rehmer stormed out of the room with the memory crystal in hand and sprinted towards the Guild Head's office as fast as possible. He left his coworker alone, as he was well aware that neither of them could stop Isaac should he have the intention to resist.

He also didn't just throw her to the wolves to save his own hide, far from it. Instead, he was all too clear on the fact that he would have a far easier time of directly contacting the one in charge of the Pantheon. By delivering the information himself, this top-priority request would be dealt with far more quickly. It was all a matter of speed and efficiency.

This entire time, Yolanda had been completely out of it. It felt difficult for her to reconcile the cold-blooded killings in the recording with the polite and handsome young man that she had grown to know a bit recently. Also, she had never seen such cruelty first-hand, which was honestly what had had the bigger impact on her mental state. Interacting with murderers? She had done that before. But seeing lives ended before her very eyes, even if it was only through a memory crystal? That was a first.

Instead of walking away, escaping or threatening his dungeon advisor in any way, Isaac simply waited in silence, until she finally took a few deep breaths.

"Huh? Where did Rehmer go!?"

Only now did Yolanda realize that she was all alone with the man who had just slain a goddess, causing her to panic a little.

"He said that he would report this matter, and left you behind to bring me to my holding cell. No worries, I won't resist."

Isaac's words made her jolt back like a startled rabbit, before she calmed down again once she realized that he wasn't going to harm her.

"O-Okay… fo-follow me…"

A few stuttered words later, the two left the room and proceeded further into the Pantheon, down a few flights of stairs, until they ultimately reached a more reinforced area. They met a few guards which allowed the two to pass through once Yolanda stated their purpose.

The holding cell that Isaac was brought to was quite small, just enough to fit a magic stone-powered toilet and a bed. It was of quite decent quality, but there were no windows. The only source of light was a small magic stone lamp on the ceiling. The door was heavily reinforced and only an idiot would have assumed that there was no magical formation in play to even further secure the place.

When the two were alone in the cell, Yolanda tightly held onto the key. Finally, she asked him the question that had been on her mind the entire time that they had been walking right next to each other.

"Why did ya turn yaself in?"

Unhurriedly, Isaac sat down on the bed before staring at the ceiling in silence. After enough of a dramatic pause, he finally gave her an explanation.

"I'm not naive enough to believe that I can escape the Guild's notice, especially after such a high-profile action. It was only a matter of time until I was found out, so it was smarter to expect having to turn myself in from the very beginning. That way, I could spare myself the entire hassle. It would also enable me to bring all of the facts to the table, and to plead for a lighter sentence. Should I have resisted arrest, I would undoubtedly have to face a harsher punishment."

His words made sense, but they weren't the ones that she had hoped to hear. It wasn't remorse but cold calculations that had brought him to make this choice, which felt extremely sad to her. Maybe it was because she, just like many others, had been raised to worship the gods, but his act went against many of her fundamental beliefs.

"Thank ya for telling me."

Not sure of what else to say, she left the cell and locked the door, before slowly wandering back to her counter. The entire way, the memory crystal's content replayed itself in her mind, over and over again. The scenes were just far too gruesome…

Because of this, it took her until a long while later to finally realize the key point that she had been missing.

'The Evilus members lost their Falna because of Petbe's death! That means… she actually was an enemy!?'

When her thoughts reached this conclusion, Yolanda started to feel a little guilty for having shunned Isaac. In her mind, what had been cold-blooded murder before had now turned into a heroic act to save the city from one of its most well-known enemies. In a situation where he had been surrounded by enemies far stronger than himself, his only way out had been to eliminate the source of their strength, plain and simple. There had been no other way, unless his goal had been a swift reincarnation.

Although the picture in her mind wasn't entirely correct, she also wasn't too far off.

While sitting at her counter, the Amazoness nervously bit her lips.

'I hope the higher-ups will realize this as well! We can't punish someone who has made this massive of a contribution to Orario's safety too harshly.'

-----

"We need to immediately announce that the culprit has been caught, that the quests have been completed. As for that contract that you signed… hmph. We don't need to honour an agreement that was made with a criminal. Just get his copy as well and then burn them."

The head of the Guild, Royman Mardeel, snorted unhappily. He had just finished watching the recording that Rehmer had brought to his attention and been informed of Isaac turning himself in. He didn't hold any respect in his heart for someone who killed a goddess, as the simple act of doing so was nothing short of blasphemy in his eyes.

Royman was a relatively stubby and fat Elf with short white hair and turquoise eyes. Clear signs of his age and the accumulated stress from his work could be seen, yet he sat perfectly upright in his custom-made black suit. It was similar to the outfit of regular Guild employees, but it was clearly made from far superior materials.

At the mention of breaking a contract, Rehmer frowned a little. It just wouldn't sit right with him to do such a thing, no matter who he had made an agreement with. The words of a contract were supposed to be binding, and they didn't care about the feelings of the parties involved.

Before he could raise his complaint, a magical hologram of their god, Ouranos, appeared on Royman's desk.

"Stop with this foolishness at once. I heard everything and already decided how the Guild will proceed. Take down the quests and announce that the culprit has been apprehended, but don't disclose any other details. Tomorrow, the most influential gods of the city will decide Mr. Blackshaw's fate. Until then, he will be treated with respect! As for the contract and the remuneration that should be sent to the Loki Familia, it shall be honoured. It would be a disgrace to break an agreement of this kind. I will inform you of the results of tomorrow's meeting."

As quickly as it had appeared, Ouranos' hologram vanished again, leaving behind an annoyed Royman and a relieved Rehmer.

"Wipe that smug smile off your face. Now, we will listen to Lord Ouranos, and follow his orders to the letter. You heard him. Leave and arrange for your little contract to be fulfilled."

After shooing the Chienthrope man out of his office, the Guild Head slumped into his chair and sighed to himself, then he diligently started to fill out all of the documents that would be necessary to let his subordinates know what to do. His personal views might conflict with his god's, but he would never go against the latter's wishes or requests.

-----

When it was announced that this shortly after the quests had been issued, everything had already been resolved, many adventurers grew sad at having missed the opportunity to make quite the decent sum of money. Even more, though, were interested in who it had been that had slain a deity. But no matter who asked the various Guild employees, they would always get the same reply.

"It will be announced in due time, please wait for a few days."

This was everything but a satisfying answer, but it was the best that anyone got. As there was no use in swearing at or threatening the employees, the crowds dispersed quickly, and wild speculation was soon abound.

But no matter what, nobody actually thought of naming the man that had recently grown a bit famous, Isaac, as a potential suspect. He wasn't too widely known, except for mostly in Ais' fan club, and he also hadn't made any really negative name for himself. Just because quite a few people were jealous of him, that didn't mean that they were necessarily stupid enough to blame every single unwelcome event that happened on him. Could he be blamed for them stubbing their toes on a closet? No, so why would he have anything to do with the death of a goddess?

Well, there were a few people who thought of the correct person, but they didn't know his name. Aparctias and Kaikias both recalled the figure of a young man stomping the crown jewels and life rod of one of their brethren into mush and were reminded of the fear that they had felt just a few days ago.

'It couldn't be him, right?'

The divine victim in question also had a cold shiver run down his spine when he heard about Petbe being sent back to Heaven. Immediately after, however, a hate-filled smile played across Ferthur's lips. What he thought of was nothing but a pipe dream, an unrealistic guess. But should it turn out to actually be true…

'If this was really this bastard's work, then he'll be in for a horrible time indeed.'