Chapter 76 – A Proposal for a Blood Pact
Through the entrance Nella had co through, the sounds of a lively commotion filtered in.
Ah, that’s right—it was nightti now.
It seed that the Blue Rose had officially opened for business. As always, throngs of n eager to pluck a beautiful “rose” crowded the entrance.
Of course, in my eyes, they all looked like suckers walking straight into a trap to have their blood sucked dry.
But why had she co looking for ? I had only just been kicked out of the reception room not even half a day ago.
“I’m in the middle of personal training. Don’t you have any manners?”
“I ca to get so fresh air and decided to stop by.”
“This training area—is it the kind of place you can just drop by when you feel like it?”
“Don’t want to pay back your debt?”
“Oh, I’ll pay it. Please, have a seat.”
I brushed off a chair next to the table where the lamp was placed and smiled warmly to welco her.
What a filthy world, where money is power and rules over all.
“Did you co because you missed my face?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what brings you here, especially during such a busy ti for your business?”
“I heard that soone who just regained consciousness is engaging in so highly unusual activities in the training grounds. I ca to check on it.”
“Unusual activities?”
“Running around all day in full plate armor, for instance.”
“…And that’s suspicious?”
“It’s not normal behavior. Nor is it sothing just anyone can do. So I ca to confirm a few things.”
“And what exactly are you trying to confirm?”
Under the soft glow of the lamp, Nella fixed her gaze on . Unlike earlier in the morning, she was now dressed to perfection, like a flower in full bloom. Seeing her like this was oddly unsettling. Her stare, in particular, carried an uneasy weight.
“To see if you’ve been consud by the Heart and turned into a monster.”
“……”
“Unfortunately, it seems you’re still normal. And here I thought I’d prepared so thoroughly.”
At Nella’s subtle gesture, the entire roof quivered slightly, and faint movents could be heard from all directions.
…Damn it, how many of them are there?
What’s scarier is that they managed to avoid my senses entirely.
This ant there were exceptionally skilled Black Roses here, and they’d been lying in wait on the roof long before I even arrived.
“…Wh-what’s going on?”
“The Master instructed us to mobilize the entire organization and eliminate you if you were deed a monster consud by the Heart.”
“So you’ve been keeping an eye on ?”
“You’re under the watchful eyes of the Roses. What did you think this place was?”
What else?
It’s the Black Roses’ headquarters.
“Haha…”
No wonder she’d been scrutinizing so carefully all morning. She must have been entertaining such terrifying thoughts all along.
Of course, I understood Fenry’s reasoning. Every previous owner of the Heart had devolved into mindless monsters. In a way, I was an exception.
An exception that ca with a strange degree of certainty.
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
“I know.”
“So… am I off the hook?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“‘Unfortunately’? That has a bit of bite to it.”
“Didn’t I say earlier? It’s an unpleasant night.”
“And what does that have to do with ?”
At my question, Nella offered a faint smile and crossed her legs. The slit in her dress revealed her alluring legs, pale and flawless under the soft light.
The contrast between her radiant skin and the dress made it look almost faded. And under this subtle lighting, it was no wonder n lost their minds over her.
Was this the sa plain elf I’d seen this morning? Her provocative deanor made question everything. Won really are creatures of transformation.
“It does concern you. Tonight is a ‘shadowless night,’ after all—a night heavy with clouds.”
Her response made scratch my cheek.
It was a loaded answer.
A “shadowless night” referred to the phenonon where shadow magic was rendered ineffective—a veiled way of referencing Fenry’s weakness.
Judging by her look, this wasn’t just speculation.
She seed convinced that I knew about shadow magic.
She now viewed as soone aware of the Master’s vulnerabilities. That’s why her deanor here was different from the one in the VIP room or the reception hall.
She wasn’t looking at as just another client but as a figure connected to the inner workings of the Black Roses.
“Did she tell you?”
“It was the first ti the Master ever brought soone to our hideout after saving them. I was persistent with my questions.”
“And how much did she tell you?”
“Everything—your life-saving mark, the battle, and the rescue.”
She was saying she’d heard every detail about the incident in the Laup Forest.
If Fenry had divulged everything, it ant Nella held a significant position within the organization.
It beca clear after clashing with her a few tis—she wasn’t an ordinary woman.
Beautiful and dangerous, like a rose with hidden thorns.
‘Can’t seem to catch a break in this world.’
Just when I thought I’d survived death and could finally relax, could this be the last supper of a condemned man?
“Wasn’t her weakness already known?”
“If the Master heard you say that, she’d probably snap your neck twice over. The Master has always completed every mission solo, precisely to keep her abilities hidden.”
Now that I thought about it, she had worked alone even during the Sharbadin mission.
Moving with had been an exception, aning the situation must have been that desperate.
Though she had hidden her shadow powers until now, she exposed them during the battle with the Crystal Mimic in front of a crowd of dwarves.
That damned mimic bastard should’ve held out longer.
“So, you’re saying her weakness was revealed because of ?”
“I heard you were the mastermind behind the plan.”
“Well, that’s not wrong… So, does she resent for it?”
“No, she doesn’t. In return, the organization received five years’ worth of funding from Dorneth. In other words, we’re sitting on a mountain of money.”
“Any cut of that for ?”
“I saved your life, didn’t I?”
Cold woman.
The rich are always like this.
But wait, how did she even know the term “cut”?
“Then why bring up the shadowless night? What’s your point?”
“I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“To swear to secrecy regarding the Master’s abilities.”
“They’ve already been exposed—”
“It’s fine if it’s the dwarves. They wouldn’t understand even if they saw it. The problem is you—the one who stood back-to-back with the Master and witnessed her full strength.”
She was referring to the fight against Arena Huaton.
True, Fenry had revealed all her cards in a desperate struggle back then.
Although to be honest, it was less “back-to-back” and more “ being carried on her back.”
She had run around with sweat pouring down her face to save , but I suppose she didn’t want to phrase it that way when explaining it to Nella.
“I do have so sha, you know. She saved my life, so I wouldn’t want to hinder her. I’ll take the Master’s secrets to my grave.”
“I don’t trust humans. None of us elves do.”
“What do you want, then?”
“I’m proposing a Blood Pact with you.”
“…A Blood Pact? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
A Blood Pact.
It was a union sealed with blood.
But the elves’ concept of a Blood Pact was different from how humans understood it.
Humans, prone to betrayal, treated alliances like disposable tools, breaking them as easily as making them. Elves, on the other hand, did not.
For them, it was a matter of life and death.
There was a reason Fenry had gone to such lengths to save .
An elf’s vow was as binding as it was unbreakable—a sad consequence of their affinity for magical oaths.
“I’m human, you know. The kind you can’t trust.”
“I know. Humans betray easily, unlike us.”
“And yet you’re proposing a Blood Pact? Are you joking with ?”
“I don’t lie.”
“Why? Haven’t you been betrayed enough tis already?”
“……”
Would elves sell liquor and laughter out of sheer joy?
No—it was all for survival.
They had lost their forests and hos and now needed money to survive.
And who had destroyed their lands?
Humans.
More specifically, the mage factions that dominated the world’s power structure.
“Don’t tell … did she approve this?”
“This is my personal proposal. But ultimately, the Master will have to agree. She’ll be forced to face the truth soon enough.”
“The truth?”
Nella simply shrugged at my question.
What had she seen in to make her push for this so strongly?
It was hard to read her intentions. Did she not see Fenry’s note telling to “wash my neck and wait”?
A long silence hung between us.
Nella broke it first, stretching languidly before rising from her chair and approaching slowly.
“Do you know who has the sharpest ears in all of Beneta?”
“That would be you, Nella.”
The Blue Rose gathered countless pieces of information, and Nella was its master.
“Correct. Not to brag, but even across the entire Tobaron region, I’m one of the sharpest listeners. A lot has happened in the three months you were unconscious.”
Three months.
I was just as curious about what had occurred during that ti.
Especially regarding Kal Blazer.
That bastard’s movents were what I was most eager to know.
“The biggest topic of interest lately is the newly awakened Masters of the Divine.”
“Masters of the Divine?”
My brow furrowed sharply.
Masters?
Why is it plural?
In the original story, no new awakenings were supposed to occur for a while after One Hundred Hearts was triggered.
“…How many are we talking about?”
Nella stopped in front of and raised five fingers.
F-five? No way.
“There are five awakened Masters of the Divine.”
Her answer left chuckling bitterly.
This didn’t make any sense.
“One of them has already died, and another remains shrouded in mystery. The identities of the other three are known—they’re famous figures within Tobaron.”
“……”
I stared silently at Nella.
She knew the identities of the remaining three?
The Divine wasn’t sothing that could be easily uncovered through information.
It was Divine Power. Simply speaking of it could bring a curse.
“Did you purchase this information?”
“Not yet.”
“Wait… don’t tell —you’re a receiver of Divine Will?”
“You look surprised. Being a Divine receiver isn’t all that rare. Though I have a knack for reading Divine Power better than most.”
So she really was a Divine receiver.
If she was an elf, that ant she was either an exceptional spirit master or a priestess.
After all, mages were inherently rejected by Divine Power. That was the unspoken rule of this world.
Elf Nella.
She seed like an important figure, yet I couldn’t recall her from the original story.
‘Which ans she must’ve died before becoming prominent.’
She was likely one of the casualties when One Hundred Hearts swept through Beneta.
I found myself intrigued by Nella. Though, to be clear, it wasn’t out of admiration or affection.
“The dead Master of the Divine you’re referring to… that’s Arena Huaton, right?”
“…You don’t mind saying that?”
“Any receiver of Divine Will can confirm whether a Divine Master is alive or dead. A dead Master has no influence on this world. It’s fine.”
One na confird.
And it was soone I already knew: Arena Huaton, who had awakened in place of Dominic Huaton.
I didn’t know who the other four were, but one thing was certain.
By altering the future, I had triggered the awakening of four additional Masters of the Divine.
“If you agree to the Blood Pact, I can reveal information about three of the Masters.”
“That’s possible?”
“The Master will share the information when she returns. That’s the reason she’s gone now—to obtain it.”
So it was possible, if I agreed to the Blood Pact.
Wait… now that I think about it, this Blood Pact…
‘I don’t really have a reason to refuse, do I?’
A Blood Pact with an elf was a ridiculously advantageous deal for a human like .
They were far more likely to be tied to than the other way around.
Unlike , who could betray if I wanted to, they couldn’t.
The Black Roses were an organization that calculated everything down to the smallest detail.
Why were they willing to take such a loss to bind ?
The answer was sothing Nella knew, but I felt I’d need to wait for Fenry’s return to uncover it.
Divine Power and information.
I had a good idea where Fenry had gone.
The Black Market.
An underground trade network tacitly acknowledged by the powerful for its utility.
If you wanted to know about the Masters of the Divine, it was the first place that ca to mind.
The Black Market was ho to “Cursed Slaves,” individuals who sold their lives to provide information about Divine Power.
“Let know your decision regarding the proposal once you’ve made up your mind.”
With that, Nella gave a slight bow and left the training grounds.
Through the doorway she exited, pitch-black darkness spread out beyond.
A truly clouded, shadowless night.
The kind of night Fenry hated most.
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