The Author's POV

"...Actually, there might be a way."

Angelica said with a complicated look on her face.

Her words reignited hope within me, however, that was quickly dashed away when I realized that there was no free lunch in this world.

Indeed, there may have been a way, but there was most definitely going to be a cost associated with that way.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to collect myself, I opened them up again and asked.

"What is the way? Breaking the contract?… You know that's not really possible."

Mana contracts, regardless of the party's will could not be broken. The reason for this was unknown, the same went for skills, no one really knew why they existed…well, that was back in the past, I now knew.

It was because of the Akashic records. They were the entity responsible for creating the laws of the world, and in this case, the law that they had set was that mana contracts couldn't be broken.

Was there a deeper reason for this? ...I really wasn't sure.

That aside, It was because of this 'rule' that people were extremely apprehensive when signing a mana contract.

Since both parties couldn't break the contract, if both were unable to fill the requirements set in the contract, both parties may end up bound together for life.

Furthermore, I didn't want to break my contract with Angelica.

Not only was she a powerful ally that I could trust, but all the previous plans that I had made with Silug would go to waste.

I couldn't really afford to lose those.

Angelica also seemed to have understood this point as she quickly shook her head.

"No, it's not that."

Pausing, Angelica stroked her ears with her paw and carefully said.

"…the contract we signed back then, if I don't recall wrongly, its grade is not that strong."

"Right..." I nodded my head.

As I've said before, there were different grades to a mana contract. Each grade meant for a different rank an individual it could bind.

The grades went from [I] to [V], with [V] being the highest.

For obvious reasons, back then I couldn't have afforded a [V] mana contract, in fact, even now I couldn't afford a [V[ mana contract, its price was way too high. Those kinds of contracts were not only hard to get but had little to no supply and extremely high demand.

It wasn't something I could get my hands on.

Back then, with the money I had, I only managed to get my hands on a grade [III] contract.

This was the standard grade contract and could bind individuals whose strength was around <C> to <B> rank. Which was my exact rank.

"Back when we signed it, if I don't remember incorrectly, I think I was baron ranked while you were still somewhere around D to E rank."

"Yes."

I was indeed around that rank when I first met her. Still, my eyes squinted as I tried to understand what she was trying to get at.

"...That was back then, right now I'm a count ranked demon while you're <B> ranked. Just around the threshold of the mana contract rank effectiveness."

"Aah!"

Hearing Angelica's words, I suddenly slapped the palm of my hand.

'How come I didn't think of that!'

It didn't take too long for me to understand what she was trying to hint at, and when I realized what her plan was, a mixture of surprise and caution washed over my face.

She was basically hinting at the fact that there was a chance for me to survive the backlash of the contract.

As long as I managed to break through to <B+> rank, I would have a very real possibility of surviving the ordeal.

That being said, even if I exceeded the rank grade, there was still a very real chance for me to suffer serious consequences. The possibility of death may have been significantly lowered, but it wasn't exactly off the table.

To make matters worse, even if I did end up surviving the backlash of the contract, it wouldn't break.

It would just repeat the same thing at the next violation.

"…You know the consequences of forcefully enduring the backlash of the contract, right?" Angelica asked, her voice deepening as she leaped off the ledge.

"Yes."

I closed my eyes and nodded. Then, opening them up again, I looked at Angelica and asked.

"…but what about you, won't you suffer a backlash from breaking the curse?"

"I will."

Angelica replied with a soft voice.

"However, the backlash will not be too troublesome for me. Maybe by a month's time, I will recover…about you…"

Angelica suddenly frowned. Before she could say anything else, I cut her off.

"It's fine. I can take it."

Raising my head and staring towards the ceiling of the room, I softly murmured.

"I don't think it will be a problem..."

Honestly, I know this might be a dumb move on my part, but, I felt that this was the only way to resolve everything perfectly.

There was a probability of me dying, but I think with enough preparations I could avoid it.

Even then, I would without a doubt suffer heavy consequences.

I wasn't sure how much. Perhaps it could even go as far as me losing a rank, and obviously kicking me out of the tournament due to the injuries, but I felt like this was the right thing to do.

"Eh?"

My mind suddenly halted as my thoughts paused there. A sudden thought struck me.

'...Do I perhaps like Amanda?'

Was the reason why I was going to make such a rash decision because I had feelings for Amanda?

If I thought about it, I wasn't the type to risk my life for the sake of others unless it jeopardized my own. It just wasn't me…yet, here I was now, just about to do that same exact thing.

...I couldn't quite comprehend the feelings I was having.

Sure, Amanda was beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous if I had to add, but I had seen plenty of other beautiful girls in my life.

Yet, thinking about the possibility of her hating me, my decision in letting Amanda hand her mother the fruit became more resolute.

Deep down inside, I knew that if I did nothing about the situation, and Amanda found out everything, our relationship would reach a point where we would never be able to talk again, and I really didn't want that.

But did this mean that I liked her?

'Uh…I really don't know.'

I ruffled my hair into a mess.

The more I tried to rack my brain over the matter, the more confused I became.

I really knew nothing about romance, and honestly, I had not been with Amanda long enough to think of her as a romantic interest...yet, why did I not want her to hate me?

Clank—!

Just as the storm Inside my mind was starting to stir even more wildly, the door to the room opened up and Amanda walked in.

In her hand was my bracelet. Walking up to me, her soft footsteps rang throughout the room before she handed me the bracelet.

"Here."

"Thank you."

Taking the bracelet from her, I quickly focused my attention on the bracelet. Somehow, I couldn't muster the courage to see her face.

Channeling my mana into it, after a couple of seconds, I took out a familiar-looking fruit.

The Xurin fruit, and the fruit responsible for curing Amanda's mother of her curse.

Feeling the fruit in my hand, it suddenly felt a lot heavier than I thought. It felt as though I was holding onto a large five-hundred-kilogram dumbbell.

I knew that this was all fruit of my imagination and a complicated look flashed across my face, however, realizing that Amanda was here, I forced a smile and handed it to her.

"…This is the fruit that can cure your mother."

With her eyes locked onto the fruit in my hand, Amanda didn't speak. However, I could see hope glimmer inside of her as she eyed the fruit in my hand.

Extending her hand, Amanda flinched and retrieved it before turning to look at me and politely asking.

"…May I?"

"Go ahead."

I replied whilst extending my hand, urging her to take the fruit.

Mustering some courage, Amanda eventually extended her hand and took the fruit. Then, retrieving it, she started to carefully examine it in her hand.

As all of her attention was focused on the fruit, I took this chance to finally take a good look at her, and the moment I did, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. 'She looks like a cat that just found its favorite toy.' It was quite cute.

The way that her eyes would dart around the fruit, and her subtle changes in facial expressions were quite a comical scene for me to see.

"Hahaha."

Before I knew it, a small laugh escaped from my mouth. I instantly covered my mouth when I realized what I did.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though I had laughed a little bit too loudly as Amanda's voice soon reached my ears.

"Is something funny?"

"...Ehm."

Glancing around the room and seeing that we were the only two people present aside from Angelica, I just decided to come clean.

"You."

My response seemed to have taken Amanda by surprise as she cocked her head to the side, letting her glossy black hair fall off her shoulders.

"What did I do?"

"...You just looked really funny. You reminded me of Pudding."

I shrugged and replied honestly.

The way she curiously looked at the fruit, and how she usually never displayed her emotions. The more I thought about it, the more similarities I found between the two.

I chuckled once again.

"...pudding?"

As I was laughing, Amanda's eyes turned into slits before she turned to face Angelica who was looking back at her.

The moment the eyes of the two met, Amanda's hand flinched once again.

With a look of uncertainty, raising and lowering her hand a couple of times, Amanda eventually lowered it.

It seemed as though Angelica's stare was just too much for her.

'She must really want to pet her.'

I thought when I saw her act that way.

Pulling me down from the cheerful moment, I suddenly heard Angelica's solemn voice in my head.

[So you're really going to do this?]

'...Yeah.'

I replied back inside of my mind. This time my voice was a lot firmer.

[I understand.]

Angelica nodded before curling her body on the ledge.

The moment she did that, from the corner of my eyes, I saw Amanda lower her head as a trace of disappointment flashed across her face.

I secretly smiled when I saw that. But that smile did not last for long as I remembered the conversation I previously had with Angelica. About what happened with her mother.

Frankly speaking, I did not hold any resentment nor blame Angelica for what she did. I did not have the right to.

Angelica was a demon through and through. Her actions were something she did for her race, and I understood that.

The situation was messed up but I couldn't blame Angelica for anything.

Just the fact that she was willing to go through the pain of having the curse broken was proof to me that she was different in the past. And even if she wasn't, I honestly didn't care.

She was not my pet. She was herself.

Closing my eyes and pursing my lips, I turned my attention toward Amanda.

"...Amanda, when are you going to give your mother the fruit?"

"After the next round."

Amanda replied after a short pause.

"I see."

Nodding my head, I didn't question why she decided to delay her mother's cure, but this was good.

By the time the next round happened, I would have made enough preparations to be able to survive the ordeal.

I may end up having to forfeit the tournament, but that was fine.

Although there was a certain item that interested me, it wasn't going to be the end of the world.

Despite the fact that the memories inside of my head no longer coincided with reality, I still knew of a couple of items that I could collect to further boost my strength.

This little setback was nothing to me, and honestly, I was tired.

Tired of all the fighting and constant problems that would show up one after another.

I just wanted to go back home.