I Made a Contract with a Devil, but the Price is Strange

Inis raised her longsword up. She positioned her hands near her face while keeping the sword behind her. It was a perfect high guard stance.

“Kerururuk!”

A goblin rushed toward her with its tongue out. Even with multiple monsters approaching simultaneously, she showed absolutely no fear.

As the goblin entered within a certain distance, Inis’s eyes sharpened.

Slash—!

The blade came down like lightning, beheading the enemy in one stroke. It was truly a momentary instant.

Inis’s offensive didn’t end there. No, it was just beginning.

“Keruruk—”

—Shunk!

She extended her left foot and raised her longsword. The advancing sword tip penetrated the enemy’s neck. It was a very precise attack against the small and nimble goblin.

After dispatching two goblins in an instant, Inis stepped back three paces. The goblin’s attack fell where she had been.

“Keruruk?”

To the creatures, it must have felt like the enemy had suddenly disappeared. That’s how swift her movement was.

Slash—!

The goblin that failed its attack immediately paid the price. A single line drawn across its neck. Red blood gushed out as the corpse collapsed.

As the spilled blood rained down on the enemy’s head, she launched another attack. Inis’s leg kicked the goblin’s waist hard.

Thud!

“Kek!”

Due to her thinness, the attack didn’t fully connect. But it disrupted the goblin’s attempt to jump, and that was enough.

Shunk!

The longsword, which had risen again at some point, dug into the goblin’s mouth.

“Ke, kegek…”

The teeth clashed with the blade, making a loud noise. Blood poured from the broken teeth and severed tongue.

“Ugh…!”

She twisted the sword, trying to pull it out, but the goblin bit down hard. It grabbed the blade with both hands, holding on as much as possible. There was a clear intent to create an opportunity for its comrade.

“Fire Arrow.”

The goblin chief behind raised the corners of its mouth and charged. I transformed the flame I had summoned into an arrow shape and shot it.

Whoosh—!

The fire arrow that cut through the air hit the goblin chief’s chest. With the impact, its entire body burst into flames in an instant.

“Keeeek!”

It screamed frantically and rolled on the ground. Being fire created by magic, it wouldn’t extinguish easily.

Eventually, the flame disappeared only when it turned to ash. She stood in place holding her blood-stained sword. She looked tired from the battle.

“Inis. Are you alright?”

“My body is fine. More than that, I’m sorry for disappointing you. I could have done better, but I made a mistake there…”

“Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so it can’t be helped. I don’t intend to criticize you for that, so don’t worry.”

“May I dare ask… how would you evaluate my skill?”

“You fought well?”

She fought much better than when I was active as a mercenary. With skills like this, it was surprising that she couldn’t breakthrough to the next level.

“R-really?”

“Really. I was surprised by how well you fought, beyond my expectations. But there will be no change to the approach I mentioned. I’ll buy a shield as soon as this exploration is over. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes. I have no complaints.”

To be honest, I had been contemplating. She handled the longsword so well, was it right to give her a shield?

Isn’t attack the best defense, as they say? What if Inis ran wild among the enemies, drawing aggro? Wouldn’t that be no different from protecting me?

I had such thoughts, but leaned back toward the shield option. After all, this would be much safer until her body recovered.

I decided to think about future matters later.

“Master. Here.”

While I was lost in thought, Inis had found magic stones from the corpses. Her hands were covered in blood, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Thanks.”

To think I would obtain magic stones like this when I wasn’t even the one hunting. It felt like I had turned on auto-hunting.

This must be why people desire unearned income so much. In my case, I was literally earning income through fire…

Clap-

“Master? W-why are you doing that?”

“It’s nothing.”

Having been in this game world for so long, I think I’m gradually going insane. Thinking of such unfunny jokes.

“Now that I’ve confirmed your skills, let’s go down to the greenskin territory.”

“Yes.”

She silently followed my words. Obediently submissive like a slave. I liked that.

We walked through the passage in the cave. After passing through the 5th floor via the stairs, we emerged onto a vast plain.

“Before we meet enemies, can you fight orcs?”

“I think it would be difficult now. They’re a species with very strong power, so I would need to use technique to face them, but with my leg like this… I’m sorry.”

“It can’t be helped.”

I had no intention of criticizing her for being unable to do the impossible. I knew how shitty that felt, having experienced it myself.

“Then for now, let’s mainly face goblins to coordinate with each other and revive your combat sense.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I nodded and walked across the field. Orc roars could be heard from various places. It seemed many adventurers had come to the greenskin territory today.

“It might be uncomfortable, but keep wearing the robe. If you take it off carelessly, you might become a target of crime.”

“Yes. I won’t take it off at all.”

We moved as far away as possible from the direction of the sounds. We couldn’t let our abilities be discovered yet.

“Keruruk!”

It didn’t take long to find goblins. The open plains made them easy to spot.

“As I said before, you don’t need to attack proactively. Just protect me. Only deal with those that come too close. Understand?”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

She clenched both fists and nodded. I smiled slightly and uttered the spell.

“Fire.”

A small flame appeared before my eyes. Inis still looked at it with wonder. Such gazes would probably disappear as she got more accustomed to it.

“Fire Arrow.”

I transformed the blazing fire into an arrow shape and placed it beside me. When all preparations were complete, I looked at the goblin chief and said:

“Ignite.”

Whoosh-

“Keruruk!?”

A sudden flame engulfed its face. The goblin chief let out an unpleasant scream and beat its head frantically.

“Keruk! Kerururuk!”

The subordinates around babbled incoherently. It was understandable to be confused when fire suddenly appeared.

One goblin pointed in our direction and shouted. All eyes focused on us. They began to approach me, wielding their weapons.

Whoosh—

“Fire.”

After sending a fire arrow, I summoned fire again. I created arrows, launched them, and then summoned more fire to make more arrows.

I discovered this by chance. While it was difficult to summon two flames simultaneously, if I sent the arrow away like this, I lost control over it and could continue using the ability.

“Ah. It dodged!”

The problem was that the arrows had no tracking capability, so they could be dodged if seen. The speed was also slower than real arrows, making the hit rate even lower.

“Fire Arrow.”

Yet I kept shooting like this to become proficient. And I thought maybe I could shoot them like a machine gun later.

Thud!

The goblins dodged the arrows nimbly. Out of nine, only three were hit. Including the goblin chief whose head was burning, I had only killed four.

“Kehehehehek-!”

They became excited after dodging all my attacks. They approached, mocking us.

“Fire.”

As always, I summoned a flame. The goblins moved noisily. It felt like they were saying “Hit us if you can.”

I could have directly controlled the arrows to hit them, but there was a more certain method.

Whoosh—!

The flame, reading my imagination and will, increased its power and size. At some point, the flame that had been fist-sized grew as large as a head.

Whoooosh—

I made the flame long and wide. The flame occupied one plane. A wave too high for goblins to jump over was completed.

“Spread out.”

As I sent it forward, the goblins were startled and began to move.

“Fire. Fire Arrow.”

I created another fire arrow and launched it toward the goblins. They had dodged well earlier, but could they avoid this torrent of flame?

Thud!

The arrows I shot consistently hit the goblins. Bodies burning as they fell to the ground. Even if they somehow avoided the flames, the wave of fire remained.

“Kiaaaak!”

Eventually, the goblins’ entire bodies caught fire. After the torrent passed, their bodies were covered in blisters. Goblins trembled in pain, wetting themselves. Some even convulsed.

The battle ended with all of them turning to ash or dying from shock.

Although I killed them all, objectively speaking, the battle wasn’t efficient. Almost no magic power remained.

‘Maybe I got too excited because of Inis…’

Even though she was a slave, was it because there was a woman beside me? I ended up showing off my abilities.

Then I started to worry. The ability I just demonstrated would be terrifying to anyone. Even I would have been a bit scared.

I glanced slightly at Inis. Since she was in front of me, I couldn’t see her face. Now I was nervously wondering what she thought of my combat.

“…Wow.”

After a moment came an exclamation. An exclamation?

“Master, you’re really amazing….”

She turned her body toward me, and Inis was smiling brightly. While I felt relief at her expression, it was also a bit eerie. Because I sensed a hint of madness.