Debt Man's Harem Revolution ~Absolutely Obedient to the Sadistic Grimoire~
In the garbage dump of the royal capital Mistoria, debt-ridden poor adventurer Leon picks up an old grimoire. The moment he opens it, Lilia, the spirit of the legendary Seven Great Grimoires 'Black Apocalypse', appears. But despite her cute, small appearance, she's an ultra-sadist!
'Since we've made a contract, you're my slave now. Your only replies are "Yes" or "I'll kill you"!'
Bound by a contract of absolute obedience, Leon endures her unreasonable training every day. But thanks to that, he
Debt Man's Harem Revolution ~Absolutely Obedient to the Sadistic Grimoire~ - The Black Book in the Garbage Dump and the Noisy Silver-Haired Master
Wait right there, you little brat!
The outer district of the royal capital, Mistoria. Smoke thick with the smell of charred meat fat and pungent herbs hung heavy in the narrow alleyways.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the ground. A young man with dull blond hair ran, gasping for breath. His patchwork leather armor had soaked up sweat and the stench of the slums.
Dammit, they're persistent!
Leon shouted without looking back. Two rough-looking men chased after him, clutching short blades like kitchen knives.
You still haven't paid this month's share, you bastard! Old man Gardo says he can't let you run a tab any longer!
(Ah, seriously... Why does my life always end up like this?)
Leon sighed inwardly.
I'm Leon, eighteen years old. The shabbiest adventurer in the royal capital. Raised in an orphanage, no education, no money. Even so, I somehow managed to scrape my way into D-rank, but for three years now, I've been stuck there. Between the debts my parents left behind and my own failures, I'm currently three gold coins in the red. I pay back ten silver coins a month, but living expenses eat everything up, so the debt never shrinks.
That's just what debt means in this world. In the Kingdom of Mistoria, slavery was supposedly abolished long ago, but in reality, "debt labor contracts" are common—a system where you're worked to death to pay off what you owe. For a commoner like me, once the debt collectors catch you, you get sold off to the underground arenas or the mines for ten years.
As he ran, he felt the old scar on his left cheek pull tight. That was a wound one of the debt collectors had given him before.
A street stall merchant shouted from the roadside.
"Hey! If you're gonna run, don't come this way!"
Angry shouts. The neighing of horses. Somewhere, a child was crying. The royal capital of Mistoria—the inner district with its Felgrade Castle was certainly magnificent, but this outer district beyond the walls was far more chaotic, always steeped in a rough, gritty atmosphere.
Then he spotted it—a large stone building further down the road. Brave Hall... the Adventurer's Guild headquarters. His childhood friend Misha worked the reception desk there.
(No, now's not the time for that.)
Leon recklessly threw himself around a corner and ran south, toward the less crowded areas.
A short while later, gasping for air, he arrived at a dim, vacant lot.
"Ashen Hollow"—a dumping ground at the very edge of the outer district.
Old lumber, shattered jars, rusted swords, bones of some creature, and every kind of garbage imaginable lay piled high. A few emaciated children, trying to scavenge anything usable, picked through the mountains of scrap.
Leon quietly crouched down in the shadow of some discarded timber.
Hah... hah... Maybe I've really hit rock bottom here.
He muttered quietly, a self-deprecating edge to his voice.
D-rank was barely enough to survive on. Completing requests earned you five to fifteen silver coins. But the guild took fifteen percent as a brokerage fee. After paying for the inn, maintaining your weapons, and making debt repayments from what was left, you'd be lucky to have a few copper coins remaining.
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, he spotted something black in a gap between the rubble.
He reached out. His fingers brushed against a rough leather binding.
A book. Thick and terribly old, yet for some reason, not a speck of dust clung to its cover. As if it were protected by some invisible force.
"What is this...?"
Without much thought, Leon opened the page.
—The next instant.
"Ugh, aaaah!?"
All the strength drained from his body at once.
Mana. The energy inside him was being siphoned away with terrifying speed. His head spun, and his vision flared white.
(Mana... right, it's mana. The essence of magical power that flows through the body. The fuel for using magic—if you run out, you lose consciousness, and if it's bad enough... you die, or so I've heard...!)
He tried to let go. But his fingers wouldn't move, as if they were glued to the book.
"Ugh... no..."
At that moment.
The black book emitted a dazzling silver light.
The light swirled, taking on a human shape.
"—Oh my."
A voice, clear as crystal.
Where the light had settled, a girl stood.
She looked to be around fourteen or fifteen. Yet she carried an aura that was anything but ordinary. Straight, glossy silver hair flowed smoothly down to her waist. Her violet eyes gleamed coldly, like jewels. She was probably about 145 centimeters tall—small in stature, but her slender, graceful limbs gave her the elegance of a royal noblewoman.
So, you are my new contractor.
The girl—Lilia—placed a hand on her hip and looked down at Leon appraisingly. A faint, slight smile played on her lips.
...Well, I suppose this is fitting for a book found in the trash.
"Huh?"
Leon blinked rapidly.
"Wha— What's going on!? Who are you!? And more importantly, why do I feel so drained right now!?"
So many questions. Troublesome.
Lilia raised one hand with a casual flick. Just that made the surrounding air grow heavy. The children scavenging through the garbage sensed something and hurriedly fled.
Listen well. I will explain only once.
Lilia began to speak, like a teacher lecturing a child.
I am Lilia. I am the spirit dwelling within the fourth of the Seven Great Grimoires, the 'Black Apocalypse.'
"The Seven Great Grimoires...?"
Approximately a thousand years ago, seven great sages sealed a part of their own souls to create them—the oldest collection of grimoires. And approximately eight hundred years ago, the war between their contractors—the Great Collapse of Logres—reduced a third of the continent to scorched earth.
Leon gasped.
The Great Collapse of Logres. He had heard the name before. Long ago, in a history book he'd read at the orphanage, there had been a story about that terrible war.
Well, most were scattered and lost in that war. And now, the one who finds me is, of all things, a D-rank adventurer drowning in debt in this garbage dump.
Lilia tilted her head slightly, looking amused.
"Hey, wait a minute! Then what's this contract about!?"
Exactly what it sounds like. Look at the back of your hand.
Lilia pointed. Leon looked at the back of his right hand and saw an unfamiliar crest, glowing with a black pattern, rising to the surface.
"Wha—"
The contract is already complete. As the contractor, you will gain power beyond the limits of your mana. In exchange, however, you will obey me absolutely. There is no right of refusal.
"Wait, what about my consent!? And what do you mean, absolute obedience!?"
He tried to resist, but his body wouldn't move. No, it was more like—when he tried to move, the moment Lilia's voice echoed in his head, his body turned that way on its own. That kind of sensation.
Lilia pointed at a somewhat large wooden crate at her feet.
As a test, lift that crate.
"Something like that—right now, after having my mana drained, I'm completely exhausted, there's no way I can—"
The moment he started to say it, Leon's arms moved on their own.
"Ugh, whoa!?"
He dropped his hips and grabbed the crate. The crate, which should have been heavy, lifted up effortlessly.
"N-No way... My body's moving on its own..."
A cold sweat ran down his spine.
It seems you possess some intelligence. I am slightly relieved.
Lilia nodded, looking just a little satisfied.
"Now then. I will assign you your task for tonight."
"T-Task?"
The outskirts of the Verde Forest. Go there and slay a single Boarwolf. The deadline is the twelfth bell tonight. Bring back its ear as proof.
"The Verde Forest—that one, north of Mistoria!? Boarwolves move in packs, it's impossible!"
It is an order.
Despite her gentle voice, with that single phrase, Leon's legs took a step forward on their own.
"My body moves when you give an order!?"
What, so you do understand.
Lilia smiled faintly. Precisely because she was beautiful, it looked incredibly mean-spirited.
If you fail—I shall be borrowing a little of your mana.
At those words, Leon's shoulders slumped in defeat.
In the evening, as the sky began to stain red, Leon trudged wearily back to his inn.
The inn, "Silver Moon Pavilion," was a cheap place at eight copper coins a night. From the tavern on the first floor, the sour smell of cheap liquor and the laughter of adventurers leaked out.
The moment he opened the door, a voice flew at him.
Leon!
A girl with fluffy, chestnut-brown bobbed hair and large green eyes. Wearing the gray uniform of the guild receptionist—Misha—she shot up from her seat in the dining hall and ran toward him, looking like she was about to cry.
"You're so late! I was looking all over for you!"
"S-Sorry, Misha... A lot of things happened..."
"What do you mean, 'a lot of things'! More importantly, I have a message from Mr. Baldo! He says if you can't pay this month's share, you either pay the full amount in a lump sum this week, or sign a debt labor contract...!"
At that moment.
Misha's eyes stopped on the black book in Leon's hand.
"Leon... That's not... a grimoire, is it?"
"Huh? Ah, this, I just picked it up—"
"Why do you have it!? Something this dangerous!"
Misha grabbed Leon's arm tightly.
That instant.
Do not touch my toy without permission.
Silver hair appeared, cutting between the two of them. Lilia materialized and coldly brushed Misha's hand away.
The air in the dining hall froze.
"Huh...?"
"Toy!? Who is this kid!? Leon, explain!"
Behind the counter, the innkeeper Razel sighed as he wiped a glass, looking like he was thinking, "Ah, this is going to be troublesome again."
"Wait! Both of you, calm down! Misha, Lilia is a spirit, she dwells in this book I picked up called one of the Seven Great Grimoires—"
All of this one's mana and time belong to me. It is no concern of a mundane person like you.
"Mundane!? I'm Leon's childhood friend! I've been the person closest to him since forever!"
Misha didn't back down an inch. A light of frustration flickered in her large green eyes.
"Both of you—"
Just as Leon tried to step between them.
Lilia silently grabbed Leon by the scruff of his neck.
"Whoa."
He was yanked close. Lilia's face neared his ear, bringing a faintly sweet, cold scent.
Don't think I'll let you forget tonight's hunt.
A whispering voice. Her breath tickled, making Leon's heart pound hard.
"W-Wait! Too close, you're way too close!!"
Misha turned bright red and tried to pull Leon away from Lilia. Lilia lightly brushed Misha's wrist aside.
If you dislike this proximity, would you like to become a contractor too?—Ah, but you have no such talent, do you.
"Ngh...! ~~~~~~!!"
Her face bright red, Misha pressed her lips tightly together and glared.
...This is going to take a while.
Leon thought that absently.
A short while later.
After somehow managing to calm the two of them down, Misha spoke with a serious expression.
But still, that grimoire—you have to report it to the guild, or it'll be bad. Something like the Seven Great Grimoires... the kingdom itself might get involved.
At those words, Lilia let out a soft, derisive snort.
Report it? An amusing joke. The moment it's handed over to the kingdom, his life is forfeit. Have you never studied the history of the Great Collapse of Logres from eight hundred years ago?
"Huh...?"
"In that war, what turned people and cities alike to scorched earth was the power of these grimoires. Do you think any authority that learns of this would let the contractor live?"
Misha gasped and looked at Leon anxiously.
Lilia turned back to face Leon.
More importantly, when do you intend to carry out your orders? Bring me the Boarwolf's ear by the twelfth bell.
"...Fine."
Leon stood up.
"Wait, you're going alone? I'm coming too!"
Come alone. This is a test.
Shut down flatly by Lilia, Misha bit her lip. Then, she gently tugged on the sleeve of Leon's shirt.
Promise me you'll come back safe.
Being gazed at from such a close distance, a warmth
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