Debt Man's Harem Revolution ~Absolutely Obedient to the Sadistic Grimoire~
Leon is a super broke adventurer, spending his days dodging debt collectors. One day, he picks up a dusty old book from the guild's trash heap. It turns out to be the legendary grimoire, the 'Black Apocalypse'. But his contract greeting is a slap from its sadistic spirit, Lilia!
'You useless worm! Prepare yourself, because I'm going to whip you into a proper contractor!'
Under Lilia's brutal training, Leon's skills skyrocket, even through his tears. After saving his childhood friend and recept
Debt Man's Harem Revolution ~Absolutely Obedient to the Sadistic Grimoire~ - Hellish Training from a Sadistic Spirit — My Childhood Friend's Heartbeat and the Softness I Touched
Deep in his head, someone was furiously ringing a bell.
"……"
Leon Crawford drifted between dreams and reality beneath his thin blanket. His whole body felt heavy. The ribs Vincent the debt collector had punched yesterday throbbed with every breath. Just a little longer, just a little more—.
Suddenly, a warmth spread deep in his chest.
"……Hm?"
He looked at the back of his hand. The contract mark was faintly glowing red. Until yesterday, it had been nothing but a black pattern, but now it radiated heat like a small ember pressed against his skin.
"……Oh crap!"
He bolted upright. Outside the window, the sky was already a brilliant morning blue. He peered at the battered clock hanging on the wall. The hands pointed to five fifty-five.
"You've gotta be kidding me, why?!"
Even at a full sprint, Glowden Forest was fifteen minutes away. If he messed up, he wouldn't make it. Lilia's face surfaced in his mind. Those crimson eyes, smiling sweetly—.
*'If you're late, I'll activate the contract mark at full power for half a quarter-hour.'*
Last night, she had definitely said that.
"I'm gonna die!"
He snatched his patchwork leather armor and grabbed a piece of bread off the desk. He shoved his wallet—containing only two copper coins—into his pocket. He flew down the stairs three at a time.
"Oh, Leon! Breakfast is—"
The innkeeper Hanna called out to him, but he had no time to look back. With the bread still in his mouth, he shouted back, half-yelling.
"I-I'm off!"
He burst through the inn's door as if kicking it down. Canalberg's Old Town—a slum crammed with narrow alleys and leaning stone buildings. It was still early, so the streets were sparse. The day's sunlight was beginning to whiten the cobblestones.
He ran at full speed. His dull blond hair fluttered wildly in the wind. The old scar on his left cheek pulled tight.
(*Make it, make it, make it—*)
He cut through the Old Town and crossed one of the Seven Stone Bridges, the "Western Drum Bridge." The surface of the Rugen River sparkled brilliantly in the morning sun. He could hear the bustle of the market on the opposite bank, but Leon just kept running along the highway leading northeast.
The town receded, and soon the road turned to packed earth. The trees grew denser, and the air became damp. Glowden Forest was near.
By the time he reached the forest entrance, his lungs felt like they were about to burst. Sweat stung his eyes. Gasping for breath, he put his hands on his hips and looked up.
There—.
"Late."
Lilia was floating in the air. Her jet-black long hair swayed gently despite the lack of wind. Her crimson eyes looked down coldly at Leon. The contract chains entwined around her hand jingled softly.
"W-Wait! It's still exactly six o'clock! I made it—"
Lilia's lips twisted just a little.
"Too bad. According to my internal clock, you're already one second late."
"Huh?!"
Lilia held up her left hand. The contract mark flared brilliantly.
The next instant—.
His entire body burned, as if boiling water had been poured inside him.
"Guh, aaaahhh!"
Leon collapsed to his knees. He planted both hands on the ground. His fingers dug into the mud. A sickly sweet heat raced through his blood vessels, scorching his nerves until the line between pain and pleasure became a jumbled mess.
(*What is this, what the hell is this—!*)
His body writhed. His back arched like a bow. He clenched his teeth, but an uncontrollable groan escaped his lips. The edges of his vision exploded white.
"How is it? Feels rather good, doesn't it."
Lilia floated beside Leon's face and whispered in his ear. Her voice was terribly gentle, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.
"L-Like hell it does!"
Three, two, one—.
The heat abruptly subsided.
Leon lay face down in the mud, panting raggedly. The sweat all over his body had gone cold, and now a shiver ran through him.
"That is the contract mark's punishment. Next time, if you're half a quarter-hour late, it'll be ten times this. An hour late, a hundred times. If you skip a whole day—"
Lilia paused there and smiled sweetly.
"You might die, you know."
Leon raised his mud-caked face.
"……Are you serious?"
"I'm serious. Now, let's begin training. Your break is already over."
Lilia waved her right hand lightly. Then, the surrounding thickets began to rustle. Several low, growling voices could be heard.
Five goblets crept out from between the trees.
Green skin, lanky limbs, goggling yellow eyes. They stood about a meter and a half tall. They held sharpened stones and battered short swords in their hands. Even for a G-rank like Leon, one of them was an opponent he could somehow manage to defeat.
But—.
"H-Hold on! What about a weapon?!"
"Bare hands. Defeat them using only magical power."
"That's impossible!"
"You won't know until you try. Or would you like to receive punishment again?"
Lilia's left hand rose slightly. Leon reflexively jumped back.
"A-Alright! I just have to do it, right?!"
The goblets steadily closed the distance. Leon picked up a stone lying on the ground and hurled it with all his might.
"Oryaa!"
The stone hit one of them in the shoulder. It screeched and staggered, but immediately came at him again. Another one leaped at him from the side.
"Whoa!"
He frantically rolled to dodge. Sharp claws grazed his shoulder, tearing his leather armor. Blood slowly seeped out. It hurt.
(*Crap, there's too many—*)
He grabbed a stick lying nearby and swung it, trying to mow down two at once. He felt a solid hit on one, but whiffed the other. As he lost his balance, a third one lunged in, trying to bite his thigh.
"As if I'd let you!"
He kicked it away. The goblet tumbled with a shriek. But the remaining four had already surrounded him. His breathing grew ragged, sweat dripped into his eyes. His arms felt heavy.
"You're useless."
Lilia spoke with exasperation.
"I know that without you telling me!"
That was when it happened.
A soft sensation pressed against his back.
"……Huh?"
Lilia had grabbed Leon's right hand from behind, wrapping it in both of hers. The softness of her chest transmitted through his back. Her face was right next to his ear, close enough for him to feel her breath.
"Close your eyes."
Her voice tickled his eardrums. It was sweet, yet carried a commanding undertone.
"W-What—"
"No complaints. Close your eyes and feel the flow of my magical power."
Leon's face instantly flushed hot. He turned bright red to the tips of his ears.
(*You're way too close!*)
But if he disobeyed, that punishment would come again. That was the one thing he absolutely wanted to avoid.
Leon squeezed his eyes shut.
Then—.
"……Hm?"
Something flowed into him from Lilia's hands. A contradictory sensation, cold and hot. He intuitively knew it was dark magical power. It slowly circulated through his arm, filling him all the way to his fingertips.
(*So this is…… the flow of magical power.*)
He had never felt it before. People who could use normal magic probably manipulated this themselves to produce fire or stir up wind. But the quality of what was now flowing through Leon's body was completely different from what the city's mages used.
Deeper, heavier, and rather pleasant.
"Yes. That sensation. I'm going to let go now, so maintain that flow—"
Lilia released his hand.
Immediately, magical power concentrated in Leon's right hand. He couldn't control it. It was building up too much. It felt like a dam had collapsed inside his body.
"Ooh, oooooh—!"
He thrust his right hand forward. His eyes snapped open.
A jet-black wave erupted from his palm.
One of the goblets took a direct hit and was sent flying. With a stupid-sounding dying shriek of *Gyaaa*, it slammed into a tree trunk. It went still with a flop.
The remaining four stopped in their tracks and cowered, backing away. Soon, they fled into the depths of the thicket like scattering baby spiders.
Leon stared at his own right hand, breathing raggedly.
"……What the hell was that."
A faint dark residue still flickered in his palm.
"Well, for a first time, that was fairly well done."
Lilia muttered, turning her face away abruptly. Her cheeks seemed just the tiniest bit red. Though it might have been his imagination.
"That was me, right? I did that! Awesome!"
"Don't get cocky, you trash mob. That was a fluke, a fluke. Your magical power quantity and control are still completely lacking. It's going to be hell from here on."
Even as she said that, Lilia's lips relaxed ever so slightly. *She's a tsundere*, he thought. She insults him relentlessly with her words, but she actually seems a little pleased.
For the next thirty minutes or so, they repeated the same training. After he grasped the sensation of magical power, his success rate improved, and he managed to fire off the wave several times, but it only hit about one out of five attempts. Still, Lilia continued the training, even while complaining, "Your progress is too slow."
"Break time. There's a stream over there. Go wash off the blood."
Hearing that, Leon looked down at his own body. Blood from the scratches on his shoulder and thigh had flowed down, staining his leather armor. He was a mess of sweat, mud, and blood.
He walked for a few minutes, listening to the babbling of the stream. In a clearing within the forest, a transparent flow sparkled.
"Take off your clothes."
"……Huh?"
"I can't treat your wounds with that ragged armor on. Or would you prefer your wounds to fester?"
"No, but—"
Lilia sighed and snapped her fingers.
The next instant, Leon's jacket and leather armor vanished in a flash.
"Whaaa—!? What did you do?!"
Leon frantically covered his chest. He was naked from the waist up. He was thin, his ribs visible. His body bore several old scars.
"Relax. I feel absolutely nothing for such a scrawny body."
Lilia chuckled softly and turned her back. But the tips of her ears were a little red.
Leon reluctantly entered the river and washed his wounds in the cold water. The water stung as it seeped in. But the quiet of the forest and the babbling of the stream eased the tension from earlier, just a little.
(*How long is this kind of life going to continue?*)
His debt was fifteen gold coins. The monthly repayment was thirty silver coins. With the reward from G-rank requests, he could earn ten silver coins a month at best. If he got stronger through Lilia's training and rose to around D-rank, he could supposedly earn fifty coins a month—.
"Leon, hurry and put your clothes on. Someone's coming."
Lilia's voice made him look up with a start. She was floating by the riverbank, staring intently towards the forest path.
That was when it happened.
"—Kyaaa!"
A scream echoed through the forest.
Leon leaped out of the river, still soaking wet. The jacket Lilia had erased was already back to normal, so he frantically threw it on. The armor…… well, that could wait.
"That voice just now—"
"Go help her. For once, don't dawdle."
The contract mark glowed faintly. His body moved on its own. As he ran, he probed his surroundings. The sensation of magical power he had been feeling during training still lingered in his fingertips.
He passed through the path and emerged into a clearing.
"……Misha!"
There was Misha Irving, her fluffy flaxen bob in disarray. She had dropped her herb-gathering basket and was surrounded by six goblins. Her white blouse was soiled with sweat and mud, and the hem of her skirt was starting to tear.
"L-Leon……!"
Goblins were a size larger than goblets and had a fiercer temperament. They had a habit of hunting prey in packs. Misha's legs were trembling, and she seemed unable to move.
"Hey, over here!"
Leon shouted and lunged at the nearest goblin. Recalling the sensation of magical power, he focused a dark wave into his fist. When he slammed it into the goblin's face, it was sent flying and crashed into a tree.
"W-Whoa—"
He surprised even himself. It felt like the power h
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