EFLOB 36

Chapter 36

My conditions were quite demanding, but the Duke grumbled while still agreeing to all of them.

“You’re going to pay me even on my days off, right?”

“You really are a shameless robber.”

“Robber? What are you talking about? That’s basic! Do people here have no concept of labor law?”

“That’s rich coming from my diver who only brings clam soup.”

We bickered while rewriting the contract from the beginning.

“You haven’t forgotten the clause about not cooking for anyone else, have you?”

“Ah, right! Add that here too.”

When the new contract was completed, the Duke took out a new contract quill, signed his name, and handed it to me.

I wrote my name beneath his.

“Nox Lufellen.”
“Jiana Hertin.”

The moment our two names shimmered faintly with magic, a tingling sensation coursed through my entire body.

“Huh?”

I flinched and looked at the Duke.

“What was that? Did you feel it too?”

He looked puzzled.

“Feel what?”

“When I wrote my name, it felt like—zing!—something electric ran through me.”

“Ah, that. It’s a common reaction when you use a contract quill.”

The Duke tucked the newly written contract into his breast pocket and explained as if it were nothing.

“They say the quill needs a tiny bit of the signers’ life force to complete a contract that can never be broken. The Pen-Sing Factory that made it guaranteed it’s completely safe.”

“What?”

I gasped and looked at him incredulously.

“It needs life force, but it’s safe? That makes no sense!”

“Look at me. I’ve used that quill dozens, maybe hundreds of times, and I’m perfectly fine.”

“You can’t judge everything by your own experience! Things go fine hundreds of times, then—bam—something happens out of nowhere.”

“My diver worries too much for her own good.”

He brushed it off lightly with a laugh, but I couldn’t.

A contract that can never be broken must have a price, sure, but using someone’s life force? That’s insane.

Suddenly, I remembered when I met Karun. At first, I thought he was just a jerk. But the more I heard, the more it seemed like there was something shady about the Pen-Sing Factory itself.

In the original story, the contract quill and the Pen-Sing Factory appeared briefly, but they weren’t that important…

The more I thought about it, the stranger it felt. The world seemed slightly off from the one I’d created with Choi Dahae—the fact that a character named “Jiana” existed at all, and how influential the Pen-Sing Factory seemed to be now.

And since there was so little known information about that company, I was getting frustrated.

I need to meet the factory’s director, Mr. Jang, as soon as possible. I can’t waste any more time like this.

Feeling an increasing sense of urgency, I pushed the Duke.

“Let’s hurry back to the Tian Kingdom.”

“You’re just eager to return to the Empire, aren’t you? But rushing won’t help. The Belltine ship’s repairs won’t be finished yet.”

“Still! I’d rather watch the repairs in person than sit around doing nothing—it’s driving me crazy.”

The Duke, seeing my impatience, ordered the crew to increase speed as much as possible.

When we had first departed for the Kinsia Sea, the ocean had seemed so beautiful. But now, with my mind restless, it didn’t look beautiful at all.

Thanks to the Duke’s orders, we arrived in the Tian Kingdom about two days earlier than scheduled.

*******

Late that night, the docks finally came into view.

But something felt wrong.

There are a lot of people here for this hour…

And the air was strangely tense.

Why are all those lights on so brightly? There aren’t supposed to be any ships docking this late.

Sensing something was amiss, the Duke came up to the deck and called out orders.

“Dock the ship quickly. Something’s happened.”

“Yes, my lord!”

As soon as the ship was moored and we stepped onto land, a crowd swarmed us.

“Hero! Duke! It’s terrible—something’s happened!”

“What’s going on to cause such chaos at this hour?”

“Strange goblin-like creatures have appeared on the coast! There’s no time—please, come with us!”

“What?”

Goblins? Out of nowhere?

Seeing my disbelief, one of them quickly explained further.

“We’re from the Tian Kingdom Guard. For several days now, strange beings have been appearing along the shoreline. They don’t respond when we speak, and our attacks have no effect. Nothing works on them.”

“That can’t be right.”

“Spears go straight through them, swords don’t cut them. And the more we attack, the more aggressive they become. We’ve run out of options—we were waiting for you to return, Hero.”

Ugh. Sounded like trouble. But I couldn’t ignore people who had been anxiously waiting for me.

And honestly, I was curious.

“What do they look like?”

“They’re human-shaped but over two meters tall—and half-transparent, like you can see through them. Like they’re made of blue water.”

I’d never seen anything like that.

“They appear after sunset and vanish at dawn, but their numbers keep increasing. The coastal villagers are terrified. Ah—there’s one now!”

Following the guard’s gaze, I saw a faint, ghostly figure standing tall in the distance.

As I started toward it, the Duke stopped me, concern in his voice.

“Be careful, Jiana. It might attack you.”

“Don’t worry. I just want a closer look.”

“Still, we don’t know what they are—wait!”

The goblin turned its head toward us, having sensed movement.

Its translucent eyes glowed eerily.

“Watch out!”

The Duke quickly stepped in front of me, drawing his sword and slashing with a burst of sword energy.

The strike pierced through the creature—and vanished into thin air.

“It didn’t even leave a scratch…?”

He looked stunned.

“That’s impossible!”

The goblin-like being twitched, then began moving toward us—slowly, but unmistakably hostile.

“It looks dangerous…”

“Please be careful. Once it shows aggression, it becomes violently hostile.”

I gathered a thread of magic and fired a beam of light at it. But, just like the Duke’s attack, my magic passed straight through it.

“Ha…!”

“Even the Hero’s magic has no effect…?” one of the guards murmured in despair.

“Its attacks, however, are deadly. One of our men took a single hit, and his bones shattered.”

“Then we should retreat for now,” I said grimly.

“We need to regroup and find a solution. Close off the entire coastline. And make sure no one leaves their homes after dark.”

“Understood.”

I gathered everyone and withdrew from the area.

*******

“O Hero, what are those goblins?”

The next morning, I was summoned urgently to the royal palace.

The King looked visibly shaken—much more so than during my hero investiture ceremony.

“Oh my, Your Majesty, you look half your usual self. You must’ve been under terrible stress.”

“What can I do? None of our attacks work, and their numbers keep growing each night!”

He was clearly hoping I’d have a solution.

Understandable—after all, I was the one who had captured and tamed the dragon no one else could defeat for decades.

“The citizens’ fear is through the roof. Physical attacks don’t work at all—we’re at a loss.”

“What about the Tower Master and the mages?”

“You know what that bastard’s like!”

The King snapped angrily.

“Even if a war broke out, that man would hole up in his tower and refuse to move. All he cares about is his research!”

Right, the Tower Master. That antisocial research maniac.

“And to make things worse, what did he say? Some ‘period of concentrated study’? He’s recalled every skilled mage to the tower! All the competent mages in the kingdom are locked up there. I’ve sent word to the provincial mages, but it’ll take time for them to reach the capital.”