BXBX NOVEL Chapter 281: Unique Contract
"Who cares? You have tied them so hard and even used the Cold Iron to bind them. They won\'t be able to do anything to me." The mayor frowned, pressuring them to accept his demand.
"That\'s…" They looked worried, but the mayor continued pressuring them. "Hurry up!"
"Y-Yes!"
The soldiers had no other choice but to bring Nathan out and drag him to the interrogation room. It was a cold room, especially since it was night. With only a small window for the moonlight and a small candle to illuminate the room, it would be quite hard to see each other in this room.
The mayor acted mighty in front of his subordinates, but the moment they were left alone within the interrogation room, the mayor hurriedly untied Nathan and kneeled on the ground, scratching his forehead with the cold stone floor.
"My apologies…"
Nathan\'s expression turned solemn. While feeling his wrists, he asked, "You know me?"
"You are at least the guest of the Forest Queen Vivian. However, I don\'t know your identity, esteemed guest."
Nathan understood what happened a bit more. He asked, "Why are you acting in front of your subordinates?"
"Yes, sir. Actually, the situation in the city is concerning. Because of the recent incident, I can\'t really trust anyone at this rate.
"From the investigation they\'ve conducted, it\'s clear that this person has several identities. I don\'t know how he does it, but there\'s a chance he will be beside me without me realizing it."
Nathan squinted his eyes. "And it might even be you?"
The mayor gulped down. Just like him being suspicious of everyone, Nathan had the right to suspect him as well.
That was why the mayor didn\'t try to deny that accusation. "Indeed. If you think I\'m the culprit, please don\'t believe what I\'m saying. This is better for you as well."
Nathan looked down, wondering if he should use his Soul Contract. There was something he wanted to test, and this mayor seemed to be perfect as an experiment. He wasn\'t an ally like Selena, who would accept everything, but a neutral party.
After some careful thought, Nathan summoned Anubis.
"!!!" The mayor took a step back, scared that he would lose his life.
However, Nathan immediately assured him. "This is my familiar."
"A familiar? A dog… no, a jackal? Wait. I think I have heard of a summoner who can summon a complete beast as his familiar… You…" The mayor gasped, realizing Nathan\'s identity.
"Indeed. I\'m Nathan, the disciple of the Forest Queen Vivian."
"Sire…" The mayor immediately lowered his head, not daring to look Nathan in the eyes.
"It\'s fine. You don\'t have to give me special treatment. I just want your cooperation."
"Y-Yes." The mayor nodded multiple times.
"My familiar has a contract ability. This contract will allow us to trust each other." Nathan glanced at Anubis.
Anubis knew Nathan wanted him to act. He raised his palm while Nathan sneakily put his palm underneath him.
"What\'s your name?"
"Exical Luren."
A contract was soon formed.
[For the next two weeks, Exical Luren is unable to hide information or allowed to lie to Nathan. In exchange, Nathan will help Exical Luren solve the problem in the city.]
Of course, Nathan had to add one more rule.
[For the rest of their lives, Exical Luren and Nathan are unable to disclose information regarding this contract in any form, like answering other parties\' questions in other forms, such as blinking, indirect reply, etc.]
Nathan wanted to find a perfect solution, such as forgetting this contract after it was fulfilled or a punishment like instant death, but after thinking about it, he added only the condition.
"This is…" The mayor gasped. This was the first time he saw such a magical contract.
Nathan simply bit his thumb and signed the contract. "As long as you sign here, it means I can trust you. And the condition is as you can see right now. What do you think, Mayor?"
The mayor trembled, scared to enter something he didn\'t understand. But Nathan was Vivian\'s disciple. There was no way such a reputable person would be a bad guy. He could easily kill him here as well.
Hence, the mayor imitated him and signed the contract.
The moment the contract was active, Nathan tried to open his mouth, telling Anubis about the contract.
To his surprise, it wasn\'t that his voice couldn\'t come out. He couldn\'t even open his mouth.
"!!!" Nathan was surprised at first, but he finally realized the Soul Contract was actually much more powerful than he thought.
This contract didn\'t even involve Ena, so he thought the binding would be weak. But if he couldn\'t even do anything about it, it meant this clause was extremely strong. At least he had confirmed what he could do with the contract in the future.
If he could force someone to enter the contract, he could even interrogate people with it while ensuring everything they said was true.
Now that the contract was active, Nathan asked, "Mayor. Are you my enemy?"
"No."
"Can you trust me?"
"I will do my best."
"Can you confirm that everything you say is true, or is there a lie in it?"
"Everything I\'ve said until now is true."
Nathan nodded in understanding. After confirming these three questions, Nathan could finally begin his next step.
"In that case, tell me everything you know about this incident."
"Yes." The mayor gave all the information he had, which wasn\'t that different from Bella. Then again, he didn\'t have Ena, and the commander was a normal knight. There were limited things they could do to solve the problem.
Nathan thought for a moment.
"I will immediately release you and your people," the mayor assured Nathan, not wanting to get on his bad side.
Nathan nodded. "But there\'s something I\'d like you to cooperate with."
"What is it?" The mayor tilted his head in confusion.
The fact that the enemy attacked the mansion as soon as Nathan left meant they knew something about him. If that was the case, there were a few things he could do. Of course, the first thing he should do was to bait the enemy out.
With a sly smile on his face, Nathan said, "There are some goods that I want to bring in the city. I need permission for that trade."