Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage's Book - Chapter 11

“A special class?”

Binaeril responded with a mix of curiosity and confusion. He had expected a reprimand, not an unexpected offer.

“What kind of class is it?”

“It’s a class I run for exceptional students. How about it? Would you like to receive my guidance?”

Binaeril hesitated to respond, not because of any particular reason, but because the offer seemed too good to be true.

The position of Dean at Elfenbine was not taken lightly. A 5th-tier magician was rare, even globally.

Receiving instruction from Dean Yulio could potentially solve the problems Binaeril was facing.

However, Binaeril was naturally suspicious of such generosity. Why was the Dean making this offer to him?

“Do I have to pay for it?”

Dean Yulio blinked, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected response.

“Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

He laughed heartily, wiping away a tear after a moment.

“No, there’s no need for that. Do you think I’m doing this for pocket money?”

A magician of his caliber wouldn’t be concerned with money. The monocle-wearing Dean noticed the boy’s wary expression.

‘It seems he has nowhere he feels comfortable relying on.’

The Dean recalled Binaeril’s records from the paperwork.

Three years of being sidelined in junior classes. His supervising professor was inept, and he reportedly had no friends, living as a loner.

The Dean understood his situation.

“There’s really no need. On the contrary, if you are willing to learn properly, I’ll cover all your tuition fees.”

The conditions grew increasingly strange.

No, they became shockingly generous, but to Binaeril, they seemed progressively bizarre.

He couldn’t find any reason why Dean Yulio would show him such favor.

“Then what do I have to do? If I accept your… terms?”

“Terms? Terms. I don’t set any conditions. I simply wish to nurture talented magicians. Ah, but there is one thing I do ask.”

Binaeril tensed. What could he possibly want in return for such privileges?

“I’d like you to befriend your classmates.”

“I won’t be teaching you alone. If you accept, there will be a total of three students.”

Unless the classmates were exceedingly difficult to get along with, his social situation couldn’t get any worse than it already was.

If they were problematic, Dean Yulio wouldn’t have taken them on as students in the first place. It wasn’t a difficult condition.

“Who are the other students?”

The Dean blinked momentarily, seemingly reluctant to disclose their identities.

“They are both female students. Their names are Rike and Sylvia. They have special circumstances, which is why I am personally teaching them.”

Binaeril was surprised to hear a familiar name.

In his memory, Rike wasn’t particularly outstanding.

She showed decent skills in other magic classes, but that was all.

He tried to guess what “special circumstances” the Dean was referring to.

– She is a princess of the empire.

Veritas, who had been quiet, suddenly dropped this truth.

Empire? There was only one place in this land referred to as an empire: the Albrecht Empire.

She was a princess from there?

“Rike is an imperial princess?”

Dean Yulio was the one taken aback by Binaeril’s instinctive utterance, surprised by his sharp deduction.

“How did you know? Yes, she is Princess Friederike, the second princess.”

“Really?”

Binaeril’s surprise wasn’t just due to her royal status.

The Albrecht Empire was the only nation that persecuted magic and magicians.

Dean Yulio quickly added an explanation, almost defending her.

“The situation in the empire has changed a lot recently. Although high-ranking nobles still believe the magic tower has usurped the empire’s power… the current first and second princesses do not share that belief.”

The reason for the Albrecht Empire’s hatred of the magic tower was straightforward.

After the emergence of demons, the weakened empire saw the magic tower and magicians rapidly expand their influence.

Thus, the old empire remained the most strained diplomatically with Elfenbine.

While frontier nobles tried to send their children to Elfenbine to forge ties with the magic tower, the central nobility still rejected magic.

And yet, here was an Albrecht princess.

“A princess of the old empire? That shy girl? How? Why don’t the other students know?”

“Watch your words. That’s no way to speak of a princess.”

“…Of course, she does have a quiet and demure demeanor.”

“She could barely speak properly.”

“I hardly noticed her presence.”

“Ah, maybe that’s why she’s managed to stay unnoticed.”

“But shouldn’t she not be here? The emperor won’t stand for this.”

“The current king of Albrecht is bedridden and not handling state affairs. The first princess, Princess Friederike’s sister, is acting as regent.”

“Won’t her sister be angry?”

“No, she’s the one who sent the second princess here.”

Dean Yulio recalled the events of a few years back.

Princess Friederike and her sister, Princess Charlotte, were in a precarious position in their homeland.

The late king had only daughters; there was no son to inherit the throne.

The kingdom’s nobles opposed the idea of the throne being passed to daughters, and Charlotte Albrecht fought against these nobles.

Fortunately, the two sisters had opposite personalities. While Friederike was timid… no, reserved, Charlotte was a strong and formidable figure.

Charlotte ultimately secured the position of regent, ensuring that as long as the former king lived, the succession issue would not be discussed further. However, safety was not guaranteed. While Charlotte, the regent, was protected, her younger sister was vulnerable. Thus, Charlotte devised a plan to send her sister to the safest place away from the kingdom’s grasp: Elfenbine. She left a long letter for Dean Yulio, with whom she had a childhood connection.

“That’s enough of that story. Binaeril Dalheim.”

Dean Yulio called Binaeril by name and paused before continuing.

As the sun set, the research lab was bathed in a golden sunset through the window.

The elderly magician spoke again from the golden backlight.

“If you don’t want to, you can forget everything we discussed and leave the lab. I won’t blame you for your decision. So, what will you do?”

Binaeril swallowed hard. He felt his body trembling slightly.

“I… I will…”

***

“Did you call for me?”

Gospelt Louis entered the room, his attitude showing clear annoyance.

Professor Freud, sitting back in his chair with his fist supporting his chin, greeted him without a word.

“Are you prepared for the hunting exercise?”

“Yes, well… there’s not much to prepare. As usual, I’ve been diligently following your training instructions.”

“Is that all?”

“Is that all the preparation?”

‘Why is he being difficult again?’

Gospelt didn’t understand what else Professor Freud could want when he was doing as instructed.

He felt frustrated; whether he followed instructions or not, the professor always seemed dissatisfied. If it weren’t for the professor’s position, he would have argued back.

Despite his numerous complaints, Gospelt tried hard not to show his irritation.

However, Professor Freud could see Gospelt’s frustration clearly.

‘He can’t even manage his expressions.’

Their conversations always ended up building more resentment between them. Professor Freud felt it was necessary to get straight to the point.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

What he handed over was a small vial containing what appeared to be capsule-like pills.

“This is something I prepared to ensure you take first place in the hunting exercise.”

“What does it do? Give me the strength of a troll or something?”

“Something like that.”

Though Gospelt had meant it as a joke, Professor Freud responded seriously. He wasn’t in the mood for banter with the boy in front of him.

“It’s an elixir made from processed magic stones. It will temporarily make your magic surge. No matter how lacking your skills are, if your magic flows like a river, you can take first place, right?”

“Oh, this is amazing!”

Even though Professor Freud subtly insulted his abilities, Gospelt didn’t notice.

The foolish student simply stared in awe at the contents of the vial.

Magic stones, which could be harvested from the corpses of monsters, were a versatile resource.

Their most significant feature was that they contained magical energy proportional to the strength of the monster from which they were taken.

High-purity magic stones from dangerous monsters were considered more valuable than gold of the same volume.

“I specially procured a product made from a third-grade magic stone just for you. Losing after taking this would be unthinkable.”

Magic stones were graded based on the purity and size of their magic. The lowest grade, first-grade, was occasionally obtained from hunting small monsters, with higher grades containing purer magic.

Using processed magic stones in Elfenbine’s classes or exams was strictly prohibited.

Not only were they hard to come by, but over-reliance on them could also lead to mental corruption.

Gospelt knew these cautions but didn’t care. He was easily tempted by the promise of strength.

“All this time, I’ve been training like an idiot when I could have used something like this! Ha, thank you, Professor! I’ll definitely come back in first place!”

“Be careful. Don’t let anyone find out. Using excessive magic power all of a sudden can raise suspicion, so use it judiciously.”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry about it!”

Despite Gospelt’s confident reply, his demeanor made him seem even less trustworthy.

Watching his student leave the lab, Professor Freud let out a long, frustrated sigh.

He felt a wave of weariness wash over him.

Knock, knock, knock.

Binaeril knocked on the door of the private training room.

At Elfenbine, professors and higher-ranking individuals were provided with personal training rooms for their research and to hone their magic.

This was Dean Yulio’s private training room.

Though called a training “room,” it was more like a large hall, as a spell from a magician of the Dean’s caliber could easily demolish an entire building.

“Yes, Professor.”

He heard a familiar voice from inside.

Binaeril remembered Dean Yulio’s request from the previous day.

‘Keep the princess’s identity a secret.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s just that….’

‘Isn’t she supposed to be a quiet and gentle princess?’

‘She’s scary when she’s angry.’

The Dean had seemed like a grandfather doting on his precious granddaughter.

Binaeril opened the door to the training room.