Chapter 344: Mana Contract

For a moment, Loden said nothing, his narrow eyes lowering toward the chair Ruvian had formed. He studied it with open interest before slowly lifting his gaze back toward Ruvian’s face.

"So, how did the fight with the demon go, did the Chancellor kill Julian, and did anyone else die during the whole incident?"

He tilted his head slightly, the chains behind his back giving a soft clink as he shifted.

"You see, I’m rather curious about what happened after I’ve been transported, but the academy officials have been terribly unwilling to tell me anything useful... and the Chancellor was even less generous."

Ruvian stared at him for a moment before one of his brows slowly rose.

"And you somehow assumed that asking me would make me tell you all of that, are you missing a screw in that head of yours?"

Loden merely gave a small shrug, his smile turning almost playful as he replied, "Well, there’s no harm in trying to ask, is there?"

Ruvian did not answer right away. Rather, he simply leaned back in his chair and let the silence stretch between them.

Before anything else, he activated [Bookmarks].

Then, with a faint reluctance concealed beneath his casual tone, Ruvian said, "Julian is dead. I killed him... it was unfortunate, but there wasn’t much choice in the end. At least, the rest of the scholars were kept safe."

Loden was subtly taken aback, but he concealed it well. Still, not well enough to hide it from Ruvian, who could easily hear the thoughts running through his mind.

[’Loden Armand was startled by the news.’]

[’What? That bastard actually died? Huh... so in the end, he really was nothing more than a sacrificial vessel for him. Poor bastard.’]

"Ah, that’s... very unfortunate indeed to hear."

Ruvian’s gaze remained fixed on Loden as he continued.

"We also discovered that a certain potion he drank was what caused him to suddenly lose control of his body before the demon took possession of him. That potion... from what we gathered, came from you."

Those were among the few things Julian had managed to reveal about what happened before he was possessed. Ophelia knew nothing about that part yet, so if she was listening carefully, the revelation would likely come as a shock to her.

Loden’s smile widened again, smooth and playful as ever.

[’Loden Armand is currently being cautious of your questions.’]

[’Oh damn... he noticed that too? Haha, what the hell, is this bastard some kind of bloodhound?’]

"Hoho~ That sounds dangerously close to accusing me of something... I’m afraid I know nothing about any of that, friend. I merely received it from one of my fellow squadmates, and as far as I was aware, it was nothing more than a healing and strengthening potion."

Ruvian raised one brow.

"Accusing you? How amusing."

Ruvian repeated calmly before a faint smile crept across his face.

"You dragged yourself into this, Loden. From the logs we recovered from your teammates’ bracelets, there was no record of any such potion among them. And furthermore... weren’t you the one who eliminated your own squadmates?" (+500 PP)

Now, the part about the logs was a complete lie, while the latter was nothing more than a calculated accusation.

Ruvian had no idea how Loden’s squadmates had actually been eliminated, but it seemed far too convenient for Loden to be the only one who survived.

So, he decided to gamble on it.

Sometimes, a convincing lie was enough to make the guilty betray themselves.

For just a second, Loden went still. Then his smile returned as though nothing had happened, perhaps even wider than before.

[’Loden Armand is currently reassessing how much information you possess.’]

[’I can’t really tell whether he was lying or not... but this bastard is seriously something else, haha. Just as I expected, he really is an anomaly.’]

"My, my~ what a vicious little way of asking questions. And it seems you did your digging rather quickly."

He clicked his tongue in a rather disappointed tone.

"Alright, alright~ I admit it. Oh my, looks like I need to be much cleaner with covering my tracks next time, I left far too many obvious traces behind. I expected to get caught eventually, but certainly not this soon."

’Huh? He actually admitted it that easily...?’

[’Loden Armand has decided there is little point in denying it any further.’]

Ruvian sighed, then finally spoke again.

"Anyway, you specifically asked to see me, so I assume there’s something you wanted to discuss with me... and only me, am I right?"

Loden smiled cunningly.

"Yeah, you hit that one right in the womb, as they say."

*****

After another quiet moment, Loden shifted slightly in his uncomfortable sitting posture before speaking again.

"There’s something I want to ask you, Ruvian Castelor. And depending on how you answer my question, I’ll cooperate and tell you anything you want to know after that."

His smile thinned slightly.

"I’m even willing to bind myself to a [Mana Contract] over it. No, in fact, why don’t we do that first?"

A [Mana Contract] was more than just a contract.

Once both sides agreed to the terms, their mana would be used to bind the agreement itself. Each person’s mana signature became part of the contract, and from that moment onward, breaking the agreed conditions would come with consequences.

The exact punishment depended entirely on what had been written into it.

Sometimes it was nothing more than temporary mana suppression. In harsher contracts, the penalty could damage a person’s Spellcore, cripple their ability to use magic, or, in extreme cases, kill them outright.

That was why [Mana Contracts] were usually reserved for situations where trust alone was not enough.

Merchants used them for expensive deals. Nobles used them when exchanging sensitive information. Mercenaries, criminals, and even magus working together under uneasy circumstances sometimes relied on them for the same reason.

Of course, they were not perfect.

A contract could only bind someone who willingly accepted its terms, and the wording mattered far more than most people realized. If something was written poorly, there was always a chance that someone clever enough could find a loophole.

Still, once a properly written [Mana Contract] was formed, simply going back on your word was no longer an option.

Which made Loden’s offer rather difficult to dismiss.

For someone like him to willingly bind himself to one meant that whatever he wanted to ask Ruvian was clearly important.

Ruvian considered it for a moment before finally saying,

"Alright then. I’ll speak with the Chancellor and have a [Mana Contract] prepared first. What exactly do you want the terms to be? Or are you fine with leaving the details to me?"

Loden let out a thoughtful hum.

"How about this? We each get three questions. We’re allowed to refuse one question if we don’t want to answer it, but only once."

His smile curled slightly.

"And no lying. Not even a little."

"Sure, I’ll get it done."

Ruvian smiled before adding.

"Also, stay put. Don’t go anywhere."

Loden scoffed with a chuckle.

"Bastard, look... there’s nowhere for me to go."

He shifted his body slightly, making the cuffs and chains rattle against one another as if to emphasize just how thoroughly he was restrained.

"Yeah, I know," Ruvian replied. "It just feels good to say it."

After a while, having explained everything that had happened to the Chancellor and discussed the matter with her at some length, Ruvian finally returned with a....

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[Chapter 344: Mana Contract]

Plot Points = 277,500