The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 130

At Aden’s words, Unknown momentarily burst out in indignation.

“A pervert! That’s slander!”

“If you send a warning in advance, watch your opponent get flustered, and then steal the item after breaking through the security they painstakingly set up, what else would you call that but perverted?”

“Th-That’s because Seere made me do it…!”

-The demon sword Seere proudly declared, “A true phantom thief sends a warning notice before the crime!” It then scolded its pitiful wielder, “But you agreed it would be fun!” pushing the blame onto him.

“Shut up, Seere!”

“…”

Aden looked at the two of them and thought they made a perfect ‘disastrous combination.’

The demon sword and its wielder were on the same level.

Aden, feeling a headache coming on, pressed his temples and spoke to Unknown.

“Anyway, no matter how far you run or hide, you’re now in the palm of my hand. You have two choices. So, choose.”

“Ch-Choice? Who do you think you are!”

“First, before that…”

As Unknown shouted in indignation, Aden showed his fist with a bright smile.

“Let’s start by taking a few punches.”

* * *

A little while later.

“Hic, sniff.”

-The demon sword Seere mocked, “The contractor is a crybaby, nya nya nya~.”

“Shut up…”

Unknown, kneeling on the ground with his hands raised, sniffled.

Aden spoke to the now obedient Unknown.

“You have two choices. First, I catch you and take you to the viscount’s house.”

“…”

“You’re a repeat offender who robbed over ten noble houses. The bounty on you would be substantial. You’d end up on the guillotine.”

“Hic, hic!”

Was he afraid of getting his head cut off?

Just imagining it made Unknown tremble and hiccup in fear.

Seeing such a pathetic sight, Aden felt a bit deflated.

‘To think Unknown is such a brat…’

When they met in his previous life, there wouldn’t have been much of an age difference.

It was embarrassing to think he had suffered such humiliation from such a kid in his past life.

Aden continued.

“Second, you become my subordinate—no, my underling.”

“Un-Underling?”

“No, I mean subordinate.”

“But earlier you said underling…”

“Do you want to get hit again?”

“N-No…”

Unknown added a polite suffix to his response while watching Aden’s expression.

Aden looked into Unknown’s gray eyes and spoke calmly.

“I need your abilities, Unknown.”

Unknown’s infiltration skills and trap disarming techniques.

Aden needed these skills to fill in the gaps in his plans.

Seeing Unknown dismantle the barrier around the jewel had already proven his capabilities.

‘Even if it’s not for this Slaughter Tower incident, he could be useful in many ways.’

Although it was a skill obtained through a contract with a demon sword, Aden needed someone like him.

Thinking this, Aden suddenly asked him.

“But how did you manage to contract with a demon sword?”

To form a contract with one of the 72 demon swords, one had to first be able to read the language of the underworld inscribed on the sword, and a small amount of Talos’s demonic energy was necessary.

Because of this, all current contractors of the 72 demon swords were those who had learned black magic.

However, the young man in front of him didn’t have even a trace of demonic energy, nor any signs of having learned black magic.

It was impossible to understand how he had made the contract.

“Th-That is…”

When Unknown hesitated and stalled, Aden raised his fist.

“Do you need to be hit a bit more to come to your senses?”

“It was a coincidence! It happened by chance… sir!”

He desperately blurted out in a survival instinct.

Unknown then explained how he became a contractor of a demon sword, and it went roughly like this:

Originally, Unknown lived by picking pockets and petty theft on the streets.

One day, while rummaging for food in a warehouse of some merchant group, he accidentally knocked over some boxes, and Seere was in one of them.

Unknown picked up the dagger and accidentally cut his palm on it.

“Ouch, that hurt!”

The demon sword Seere absorbed his blood and its spirit half-awakened.

-The demon sword Seere said, ‘From here, let me explain!’

Seere was a remnant of the Thief and the Lord of Desires.

Because of this, it possessed a talent for theft and a strong sense of ‘desire,’ and it took a liking to Unknown, who had a natural talent for theft and a strong desire.

Thus, Seere’s awakened spirit chose Unknown as its contractor on its own.

When the demon sword chose first, there was no need to read the underworld language or have demonic energy; the contract could be formed immediately.

“Do you know how shocked I was then? A talking sword! At first, I thought someone had broken into the warehouse.”

-The demon sword Seere laughed at its contractor, saying, “That’s because you’re a coward.”

“What? Did you just call me a coward?”

-The demon sword Seere retorted, “Yes, what of it?”

Ignoring the two bickering lowly, Aden fell into thought.

‘So, this can happen too.’

It was the first time Aden learned that a demon sword could proactively choose its master and form a contract.

Moreover, this demon sword seemed quite lowly and human-friendly.

It was different from other demon swords that sought to control and use humans.

Curs then spoke.

-The Lord of Desires was a being with an interest in humans. Especially those with strong ‘desires.’ Because of this, the dagger, as its remnant, is also friendly to humans, Dragon Slayer.

‘To me, it just seems somewhat deficient. Desire, huh…’

Aden asked Unknown.

“Why did you target noble families’ treasures so dangerously? You can’t sell them anyway.”

Aden was right.

The items Unknown stole were all famous treasures.

Even if he tried to sell them on the black market, his trail would soon be caught.

‘And in the past life, none of the items Unknown stole ever reappeared in the world.’

No matter how valuable the items were, stealing them was meaningless unless he turned them into money.

“That’s to enhance Seere’s abilities…”

“Enhance?”

Aden furrowed his brows slightly, puzzled.

According to Unknown, this was the case:

The contractors of the 72 demon swords could enhance the sword’s spirit by achieving feats that matched the sword’s nature. The more feats achieved, the more abilities and range they could use.

And Seere’s feats involved ‘theft.’

“The more valuable the item, the more difficult it is to steal, the stronger Seere’s abilities become… sir.”

Unknown said that the reason Seere’s spirit was so strong was because of the feats he had accumulated through theft.

‘It’s true.’

Aden, who wondered if it might be a lie, even activated his Flame of Truth to check, but it was indeed the truth.

‘Gaining and strengthening spirits through feats… It’s similar to the system achievements I have.’

This was also the first time Aden had learned of this fact.

It couldn’t be helped.

In his previous life, the number of contractors of the 72 Demon Swords he had encountered could be counted on one hand, and they were all enemies, so there was no opportunity to share such detailed stories.

Moreover, in Aden’s case, because Curse had devoured Baalzebul’s spirit, he hadn’t had the chance to experience such abilities.

-“The power of a demon sword strengthening isn’t always a good thing, Aden. As the spirit gets stronger, the sword will try to control the contractor.”

The 72 Demon Swords were all made from the remnants of beings who once had their own bodies.

Because of this, the spirits embedded in the swords instinctively craved to have a body again.

Thus, the demon swords sought to take over the contractor’s body.

-“The demonic sword Seere’s disposition is unique. Normally, if the spirit and power were as strong as that, it wouldn’t be strange for it to have already taken over the body, Dragon Slayer. In fact, even now, the sword’s spirit and soul must be somewhat assimilated.”

To be dominated by a sword meant to be wielded was an ironic situation.

Unknown muttered with clenched teeth.

“I have something I must do. Even if it means sacrificing my soul….”

It seemed that Unknown was aware of the risks of strengthening a demon sword to some extent.

Aden sensed intense hatred and a desire for revenge in Unknown’s muttering.

There must be a story behind it.

-“Seeing how the Lord of Origin likes it so much, it must not be an ordinary ‘origin.’ It probably harbors an obsession close to that.”

“Hmm.”

At Curse’s words, Aden scratched his chin in thought before suddenly speaking to Unknown.

“Hey.”

“Hic, y-yes!”

“I don’t know what your story is or what you’re trying to do. I don’t particularly want to know.”

“…….”

“But if you help me with what I’m trying to do, I will also help you achieve what you ‘wish’ for.”

“…What?”

Unknown’s eyes widened.

Aden was confident that he could keep his promise.

He was currently a warrior at the level of a superhuman.

At the same time, he had the support of the Sacred Fire Order, one of the three major orders, as well as the Fire of Florence and the Maedala Guild.

He could handle most problems.

Was it because of these unexpected words?

Unknown’s gray eyes, which had been shaking as if disturbed, now harbored doubt.

“…Can you promise? Will you help no matter what?”

Aden silently took out a piece of parchment and unfolded it.

The parchment was covered with complex and peculiar patterns drawn in blood.

“T-that’s…?”

“It’s a curse.”

“Hiik, a c-curse…?”

Unknown flinched at the word “curse.”

What Aden had pulled out was a contract imbued with the power of one of the dark magic arts, the Death Oath.

It was an item specially crafted through the master-level dark mage, Niketa.

“Anyone who breaks a promise made while touching this parchment will die instantly.”

Aden placed his hand on the parchment.

“Thief Unknown becomes my subordinate and performs the tasks I assign. In return, I, Aden Remes, promise to sincerely help Unknown achieve his ‘wish.’”

Fwoosh.

As Aden finished speaking, the patterns on the parchment emitted an ominous light.

“Now, if you place your hand on it, the contract is established. Place your hand.”

“….”

“If you refuse, just get captured and executed.”

“Damn it…”

Unknown swore.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, Unknown’s eyes changed, and he placed his hand on the parchment.

“You promise?”

Then, the cursed parchment glowed with a red light.

Fwaaaar!

Suddenly, it caught fire, burned, and disappeared.

Aden smiled broadly.

“Of course.”

-You are bound by the curse, ‘Death Oath.’

-Due to the user’s arbitrary will, the curse nullification operation is delayed.

-The curse can be destroyed at any time.

Aden intentionally accepted the power of the curse that bound his body.

However, with the system in place, he could remove the curse whenever it posed a danger.

In other words, there was no downside for Aden.

Curse looked at Aden in disbelief.

-You’re such a scammer…

‘Well, whatever. I didn’t lie, not really.’

Anyway, with this, he successfully recruited the mysterious thief, Unknown.

“I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Tsk. Since it’s come to this, I’ll do my best to serve. But just so you know, I’m high-level talent.”

Despite his words, a faint smile appeared on Unknown’s face.

Although Unknown was frustrated that his life was now tied to Aden, strangely, he didn’t feel too bad about it.

“Yes, I know well. There’s a place where you need to give 100% of your abilities.”

“Yeah, yeah. Where is it? I can easily handle any noble’s vault…”

“Slaughter Cult.”

“…”

“…”

A brief silence followed.

The leisurely smile quickly disappeared from Unknown’s face.

Unknown began to slowly inch toward the window…

Clatter!

He quickly opened the window and attempted to jump out to escape.

Thump.

Aden grabbed the collar of Unknown’s neck, stopping his escape.

Unknown resisted desperately.

“No way! Either way, it’s certain death! Are you crazy? I’m getting out of here!”

“You can come in as you please, but you can’t leave just like that. And if you try to leave, the curse will kill you.”

“Ahhhh! Aahhhh!”

After struggling like a live fish for a while, Unknown eventually gave up in exhaustion.

“Huh, I can’t believe my life is ending so futilely…”

-The demonic sword Seere mocks its foolish contractor, saying, “You should be careful with scam contracts!”

“Who said I was going to kill you? Really.”

Aden looked down at Unknown with exasperation and then noticed the sapphire that Unknown had stolen.

The treasure of the Viscount Heraide family, the Tear of the Blue Sky.

Aden picked it up.

“Hmm, there’s no need to return this.”

Aden had only said he would ‘cooperate’ in catching Unknown, not that he would catch him outright.

‘Besides, the Viscount family will soon collapse.’

Aden recalled the double ledger hidden in his subspace pouch.

He had swiped it before chasing after Unknown.

Even just sending this to the Grand Duke’s family would result in Viscount Heraide losing at least his territory.

There was no reason to return the treasure to a corrupt noble destined for ruin.

Not that it was of any particular use to him, though.

At that moment…

“Kyuu!”

The spirit dragon Leo, who had been quietly resting inside Aden’s body, suddenly leaped out.

Unknown, startled by the sudden appearance of Leo, stumbled back.

“W-What is that!”

“Leo? Why all of a sudden…?”

Aden asked, but Leo’s round, amber eyes were fixed on the sapphire in Aden’s hand.

The little creature flapped its wings and darted towards the gem…

“Kyuu, Kyuu!”

Gulp!

The valuable gem, Tear of the Blue Sky, worth a fortune, was swallowed whole!