Chapter 18
“……!”
“Jiana, don’t tell me you boarded that ship?”
When I turned my head, there stood Karun, the cook of the Belletin.
“You got on that dangerous ship? You went along to catch the dragon too?”
“Karun, we meet again here.”
I greeted him calmly with a smile. But Karun looked far too anxious to return the greeting.
“I’ve been looking all over for you, I—no, never mind. At least it’s lucky we’ve run into each other like this.”
Still clutching my arm tightly, Karun tugged me along in hurried little steps toward somewhere.
“Jiana, have you thought about what I told you before? The employment agency I was going to introduce you to? The slots are already full. I begged and pleaded, and barely got them to leave just one place open.”
Look at this guy. He still hasn’t given up that dream?
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to go along with Karun obediently.
“I’ll have another chance to greet people as a Hero later.”
By now I had grown so used to magic that I felt confident I wouldn’t fall behind no matter what happened. Besides, if I didn’t cut off Karun’s tail now, he’d probably keep pestering me forever.
“I’ve gone through so much lately. The Grand Duke dragged me along when he went off to hunt a dragon, you know?”
I deliberately whined a little, and Karun’s expression relaxed somewhat.
“The Grand Duke, huh? Didn’t expect him to be such a cruel employer.”
“Exactly! He knew full well I get seasick, and he still dragged me all the way to the dragon’s waters. His heart’s really mean, seriously.”
Since I offered no resistance and followed him quietly, Karun, looking reassured, finally let go of my arm.
Soon we arrived at the employment agency Karun had mentioned earlier. It was late, and the place was nearly empty.
The moment he pulled me into the office, Karun shoved a contract right in front of me.
“The place I’m recommending is a factory that makes contract quills. You know well enough, Jiana, how expensive they are, and how not just anyone can make them.”
I pretended to listen attentively as I accepted the contract from him.
“This factory is the very first one to develop and produce contract quills! Doesn’t it just ooze reliability?”
Reliable, my foot.
I skimmed down the contract and nearly choked inside.
‘Grand Duke Rupellen was an angel compared to this!’
This was unfair labor terms at their finest.
「Jiana Hertin will make ten contract quills per day and deliver them to Pen-Sing Factory. The intermediary is Karun Davis, and Pen-Sing Factory shall pay Jiana one gold coin per month.」
First, only one gold coin per month—what a robbery.
「If Jiana fails to deliver ten contract quills per day, she must compensate Pen-Sing Factory double their value.」
And then this vicious clause demanding double compensation.
「This contract lasts for ten years from the date of signing. Should she fail to fulfill the term, she must compensate under the same conditions.」
A ten-year slavery contract, confirmed!
‘Trash. Absolute trash.’
And really, to call Karun trash was an insult to trash itself. Contract quills were high-class magical tools that consumed so much energy that even three per day was pushing it.
But to make ten every single day without a break?
‘He just wants to suck every ounce of magical power out of a mage until they die before the ten years are up!’
And beneath it all, a so-called “bonus clause”:
「Two weeks of unpaid vacation per year will be provided.」
“What kind of company in this world offers as much as two whole weeks off per year? Jiana, sign it now and you can immediately take your vacation. Use that time to visit the Astria Kingdom before starting work.”
Karun puffed himself up as though he were doing me a grand favor.
I had never seen someone brag so proudly about unpaid leave.
How many years of office life had I endured already!
I pressed down my rage and tried negotiating.
“But, Karun, how could I possibly make ten quills a day? I’m not even good with my hands.”
“You don’t have to craft the quills themselves. You just infuse them with magic after they’re made. Super easy, right?”
“Even so, isn’t one gold coin per month too little…?”
“Fine, I’ll talk to the factory and get them to raise it to 1.2 coins. I can pull that string.”
“Then would it be possible to get at least one day off a month?”
“Hmm… fine! You can even have two days off a month.”
Seeing me waver, Karun sweetened the terms to lure me in.
I nodded, looking satisfied at last.
“Alright then. One point two gold coins a month, plus two days off. I suppose you’ll need to draft a new contract?”
“Wait here, I’ll grab some new paper.”
Karun rushed out and soon returned with fresh sheets.
“…The factory will pay Jiana one million, one hundred eleven thousand, one hundred eleven gold coins per month… huh?”
Karun frowned and leapt to his feet.
“Ugh, why did my finger just cramp up? Sorry, Jiana.”
He dashed out again and came back with another sheet.
“…Days off per month total twenty-two thousand, two hundred twenty-two… what the—?”
This time he hauled back an entire stack of paper.
“This contract lasts for one day from the date of signing… oh, for crying out loud!”
Every single time he tried, he messed up—his fingers cramped, the paper slipped, ink spilled everywhere.
Finally, Karun exploded.
“Damn it, what’s wrong with me today!”
“Calm down, Karun.”
“Sorry, Jiana. Did I scare you?”
He forced a crooked smile, trying to compose himself.
“My hand just won’t obey today. Could you write it out for me instead?”
“Of course, I’ll do it.”
I obediently accepted the paper and pen from him.
He flung open the window to cool himself off, while I sat down and carefully rewrote the contract from scratch—smiling inwardly the whole time.
Karun hadn’t realized a thing.
‘You’d never guess. You’ve only seen me use magic threads to catch fish or clams before.’
Foolish Karun.
He still thought of me as some simple island girl, easy to push around. He thought my magical skills stopped at that level.
‘But I’ve grown far, far stronger!’
Through practice, I had mastered the art of shooting invisible threads of light.
They couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, but they caused pain when they struck.
Those invisible spells were what had been nudging Karun’s hand, spilling ink, ruining his drafts.
Naturally, every contract he tried to write had ended in disaster.
“Here you go, all done.”
Karun turned from the window and took the fresh contract from me.
“Good. Now let’s see… huh?”
His eyes widened as he read.
“Karun Davis shall, from the date of signing, serve Jiana Hertin with absolute loyalty until death. The term is unlimited, and the condition is until all mages contracted through Karun gain their freedom…?”
“Hurry and sign.”
I beamed and gestured at the paper.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
Karun’s face flushed red with rage as he lunged forward and seized me by the collar.
“You knew from the start, didn’t you? You did all this on purpose!”
“You’ve got it right. And you tried to scam me first, didn’t you?”
“Some nameless island rat I dragged out of nowhere, and I tried to set you up with honest work, and this is how you repay me?”
“Let’s be clear—was it you who saved me, or Grand Duke Rupellen?”
“Shut up and sign this!”
Still gripping my collar, Karun shoved the very first contract at me.
“One gold coin a month, no days off. Sign here!”
“Karun, you’re the one who should be signing the new contract.”
“Do you still not get the situation?!”
His grip tightened like he might strangle me then and there. But I only sneered.
I tapped my bag with a tiny flicker of magic. The bag twitched, then suddenly a blue face popped out.
“Is it time for me to come out, Creator?”
“What the—what’s that voice?!”
Startled, Karun whipped his head around.
From the bag wriggled out Gari, stretching with a long yawn.
“Even a clueless youngster like me can tell. This guy’s a total scammer.”
“Wh-what the hell is that?!”
Karun recoiled in horror as he spotted Gari.
“What do you mean? This is the great Dragon, of course.”
“Gari, not the full form. You’ll wreck the whole building.”
“Don’t worry, Creator. I can control myself.”
With a shrug, Gari slowly began to expand his body.
