62 — Chapter 62

Having received my proposal, Michael bit his lip, agonized. He was struggling to decide whether or not to accept the negotiation. His internal conflict was plain to see. After glaring at the floor for a moment, he furrowed his brows and looked up at me.

“…Before that, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Ho? Go ahead.”

I prompted him to continue with a smile. I wondered what he wanted to know. Since I’m a kind person, I’ll give him a polite answer.

Michael took a step forward, his face flushed with rage as he barked at me. “Why… why did you target us!?”

Michael’s breathing was heavy as he posed the question. He seemed to genuinely want the answer. A chuckle leaked out of me, eventually turning into a full-blown fit of laughter.

“Hah-hah-hah! Now that’s a hilarious joke! I didn’t think you could still say something like that at this stage. If I were a judge, I’d be holding up a ‘10 out of 10’ scorecard.”

“What…?”

“When we were summoned to this world, you made fun of me. That’s why.”

As I stepped forward, Michael recoiled. His face was a mask of sheer disbelief, tinged with heavy condemnation.

“Y-You can’t be serious… Just because of something like that?”

“—Something like that? Did you just say ‘something like that’?”

Upon hearing that slip of the tongue, I closed the distance until I was right in Michael’s face. I pushed aside the magic sword he had reflexively pointed at me and let out a sigh.

“Hey now, Michael. Don’t underestimate an insult. It’s a despicable act, you know?”

“Th-That doesn’t mean you have to… to kill those girls…!”

“Besides, I have a policy of never letting a target escape. Once you managed to survive the explosion of the Imperial Capital, I decided I would definitely finish you off. I’ll get rid of anyone who gets in my way. That’s just the kind of person I am.”

I stated my opinion slowly, as if lecturing him. Michael swallowed hard in silence. A clear sense of dread was seeping into his expression.

How pathetic. Despite possessing the absolute power of time-stop, Michael had been utterly defeated and left in tatters. And now, he had been dragged into a negotiation he couldn’t escape. Well, it was a good turn of events for me. I had no complaints.

I clapped my hands together to lighten the mood. “But, I’ve had a slight change of heart. I’ve had my fill of getting back at you. You’ve suffered plenty, so I figured we could make up right about now.”

“That’s… ridiculous…”

“Even I have a conscience. Let’s just call it a draw and end this, shall we?”

I pressed Michael for an answer. He looked at me with pure revulsion.

“You’re insane.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m crazy as a loon. About two dozen of my mental nuts and bolts have gone missing. If you find ’em, be sure to return ’em to me.”

I walked over to Michael and threw an arm around his shoulder. His body stiffened. He was clearly under extreme tension.

“Listen, Michael. Think about this calmly. If you let your pride get the better of you and cut me down, you won’t get the antidote.”

“……”

“Or would you rather use your fancy time-stop to go looking for it? If you think you can manage it with that body of yours, be my guest. Though, I’ll warn you now: it’s not the smart choice.”

“But…”

“If you want to save her, throw away your personal grudges. Just by forgiving me, her life and safety are guaranteed. Isn’t that a bargain?”

He didn’t have the time to go searching with time-stop now. Michael’s body wouldn’t hold out that long anyway. Hesitating, Michael attempted a desperate rebuttal.

“Even if… we make a verbal promise… you’ll just break it. I can’t… trust you…”

“I figured you’d say that, so I prepared these.”

I pulled out two sheets of parchment and a pen.

I held the sheets up so Michael could see them.

“It’s a contract. A magical one, at that. If we use this, it won’t just be a verbal promise anymore. If you break the terms, you’ll be punished. I’ve already written out the contents. Take a look.”

I handed the contract and the pen to Michael.

The terms weren’t particularly complicated. I would hand over the antidote and release the red-haired girl. From that point on, Michael and I were forbidden from attacking each other. Should either of us violate these terms, a curse would trigger, crushing the offender’s heart.

As Michael read through it with deadly seriousness, I spoke to him in a sympathetic tone.

“Well, what’s it going to be? If you sign, you and the girl are saved. If you refuse, you die of poison. Choose whichever you like.”

“Ugh… nngh…”

Michael gripped the contract, groaning. He was clearly agonizing over the choice. After thinking it through for a good two minutes, he finally answered in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“Fine… I’ll sign…”

“Wonderful! A wise decision. I knew you’d come around, Michael.”

Overjoyed, I slapped Michael on the back. Looking thoroughly annoyed, he held out his hand.

“The… the antidote, hurry…”

“Contract first. Sign here. And it goes without saying, but don’t use a fake name like ‘Michael,’ okay? You need to use your real name for the magic to work.”

Even as I spoke, Michael scribbled his signature onto the parchment. Once he made up his mind, he moved fast. I peered down at the two copies of the contract.

“Heh, ‘Minoru Yamahashi,’ is it? That’s a nice name. Good to meet you, Minoru.”

“……”

Minoru—formerly Michael—ignored my words and rushed over to the red-haired girl. He began undoing her restraints. As expected, her safety was his top priority. When someone is this consistent, I can’t help but respect them.

Leaving him to break the bindings, I gripped the pen and faced the contract.

“Alright, my turn next.”

As I ran the pen across the designated spot, the parchment suddenly began to glow. The light gradually dimmed before fading away completely. I rolled up the contracts, tied them with string, and tossed one copy to Minoru.

“That makes it official. We’re officially best buds now.”

Catching the contract roughly, Minoru wiped away his tears of blood and muttered, “I don’t… give a damn about that… Give me… the antidote…”

“Now, now, don’t be in such a rush. What you’re looking for is closer than you think.”

I pointed toward the pocket of the red-haired girl’s clothes. When Minoru searched it, he found a bottle filled with tablets.

“Take two tablets each, once a day for three days. That’ll completely cure the symptoms.”

“I can… trust you on this… right?”

“There’s no benefit to me lying here.”

As I shrugged, Minoru swallowed the antidote on the spot. He then fed it to the sleeping girl via mouth-to-mouth. Hoisting the girl onto his back, Minoru headed toward the exit. He turned back just once.

“Don’t ever… come near us again… Stay out of our lives… forever…”

“Yeah, of course. Don’t you worry. I’m a man of my word.”

After I gave him a firm nod, Minoru left the room. I walked to the exit to see him off. His figure, carrying the girl, disappeared into the alleyways that had been turned into half-ruined wastes. Soon, even the sound of his slow footsteps faded away.

In the silence, Alice leaned in close beside me.

“He’s gone.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you really going to do it?”

“Naturally.”

I pulled a switch from my pocket. I rested my finger on the button, but I didn’t press it yet. Instead, I counted the seconds one by one. Conscious of my racing heartbeat, I maintained a steady count.

Once thirty seconds had passed, I spoke with a wide grin.

“Goodbye, Minoru. Here’s a parting gift.”

I pressed the switch.

Beyond the trap-riddled alleys, an ear-splitting explosion tore through the air.