Adrian briefly froze as he heard that abyssal voice, but quickly collected himself. He turned to look at the corner.
Sir Joran's gaze was still fixed on the glowing circle while Cadet Sable looked at him expectantly. He instantly realized.
'They can't hear it. This voice, it seems I'm the only one who can hear it.'
Not only that, they didn't seem to have felt the strange sensation of two worlds connecting either.
"Young Master…? Do you, perhaps, feel strange in any way? Maybe there is a voice in your head, or you feel the presence of an unknown entity?"
"I do. I heard a voice in my head. It was asking what I have to offer."
Relief washed over the girl's face as she adjusted her glasses. Perhaps she was afraid that the summoning would fail again. Sir Joran sat down on the bed nearby, watching intently.
"Oh, congratulations! An Eternarch has answered your call. About the offering, it is asking for the terms of the contract. You need to offer it something that will convince it to become your familiar. But please remember! The contract is established by the Eternal Realm's power, so it's absolutely binding."
"I've written the instructions on the back of the paper. Please follow them and be careful," she added.
Adrian looked at the back of the paper and read its contents. Then he asked the voice in his head.
'My terms are that whenever I call you, you must absolutely answer and follow my commands. Tell me, what do you wish in return?'
He decided to follow the instructions perfectly. The paper mentioned that the contract doesn't need to be fair; it simply needs to be agreed upon by both parties.
[Hmm, is that all, feeble one? Disappointing. As for my own desire, I wish for you to perform a task for me in the future, that is all.]
Adrian frowned slightly.
'Elaborate, what sort of task? I will not agree to something without knowing.'
[I will not, not until it is time. If you refuse, then so be it. It seems you have nothing to offer me.]
Adrian paused.
The voice in his head was being unreasonable. This deal bound Adrian to do absolutely anything this being wanted in the future. This was something no sane person would agree to.
Briefly, he questioned why Sir Joran and that girl would leave something so dangerous completely up to him. He was only five! But he quickly shook away those thoughts. After all, nobody would make a five-year-old learn how to swing a sword; he couldn't expect logic from these people.
Adrian didn't have much of a choice in the matter; the voice in his head had the leverage. No, perhaps he did have a choice—to simply decline forming a contract with this being.
'No, I can't.'
Maybe he would get a better opportunity, or maybe this creature would be the only one to ever answer his call. In the end, Adrian had no way to tell. But letting go of the current opportunity in favour of future uncertainty was something only a fool would do.
Thus, he only had one option left. Negotiation.
'I am not refusing the task itself. I just don't wish to be forced into something I cannot decide. You don't wish to tell me about the task? That is fine, but at least make it so that the deal is fair to both of us.'
The voice in his head went silent. Adrian didn't know if that being even cared about things like fairness; he could only hope that it did. The being spoke after a long moment of silence.
[Fairness? Is that what you wish for, feeble one? It's merely an illusion made real through belief. Though I can offer you such an illusion.]
Adrian didn't know what those words were supposed to mean, but somehow, he sensed a hint of melancholy in that deep abyssal voice.
[You will have the choice to refuse the task when the time comes, but if you do refuse, then my own part of the deal will become void.]
He unconsciously tensed his muscles.
Indeed, this contract now seemed completely fair to both parties. Unlike before, this deal didn't give an absolute advantage to anyone.
But that was why Adrian had tensed up.
'It's too good to be true.'
The previous deal was completely unfair, and then suddenly it became completely fair. This was not how negotiations worked. That being's attitude had also had a sudden shift.
But the problem was that if Adrian expressed his doubts, it would seem as though he was questioning the being's goodwill.
He let out a sigh.
'I wish to add one more term to the contract. You must always speak the truth and never try to deceive me. This would make it completely fair.'
The voice in his head paused once again.
[Feeble one, your mind seems to be overly skeptical. But fine, I agree to those terms. I will never utter a single lie or attempt to deceive you. With this, we have both agreed to the contract.]
As soon as the voice finished speaking, Adrian felt a change occur. Unlike before, this change didn't affect the surroundings; it affected Adrian.
He felt a burning pain in his left arm. The light of mana shone over a small part of his skin. As the light faded, a dark mark resembling a feather revealed itself. At the same time, Adrian felt a strange sensation, as though his existence was connected to another.
Before he could examine that connection further, unknown information suddenly entered his mind, making him freeze.
As he digested the knowledge, he understood what he had to do. Raising his hands forward, he focused on the new feather mark on his arm. A name surfaced in his mind.
"Answer my call, Alisardarc."
As soon as those words left his mouth, the bluish light of the circle beneath his feet began to flicker violently. Then slowly, the mana in the circle began to condense in one place.
As the three people watched, the condensed mana began to take shape. The form flickered several times before solidifying. As the light faded, the being that appeared before their eyes was…
'A Crow…?'
It was a raven-black bird, floating in front of him while gently flapping its wings. Its size was similar to that of a crow.
After staring at the black bird without blinking, Adrian turned to Cadet Sable. He had hoped that it wouldn't be what he was thinking, but seeing her expression shattered all his nonexistent hope.
"Well, it, um, seems like a Rank One Eternarch."
Glancing at Sir Joran, Adrian could see the burly man giving him a look of pity. Although doubtful, he asked his final question.
"Can I summon more of them?"
Cadet Sable, too, looked at him with pity.
"You can indeed summon them, but making a contract would be almost impossible. You have already bound yourself to one Eternarch."
Adrian let out a sigh in defeat.
"Well, something is better than nothing, at least."
***
Adrian sat in the library, holding a large book in his hands. Yet his gaze was not focused on the book, unlike usual.
'Is there really any point in doing research about this world?'
Although still uncertain, Adrian doubted that it was the world of a story. He couldn't deny it anymore; he had most likely been brought to this world by another being. He still couldn't guess what the motive behind his reincarnation was, nor could he guess why he was chosen specifically.
Adrian exhaled a sigh and leaned back in his cushioned chair.
A day had passed since Adrian returned from the Caelis Research Society after summoning that crow-like bird. Nothing had really changed after his return, not that he had expected any change.
"Alisardarc."
As soon as he spoke those words, a significant amount of his mana was consumed, condensing into a raven-black bird.
The bird flew around the room before it sat on the nearby window, staring at Adrian with what seemed like curiosity.
[Feeble one, for what purpose did you summon me?]
A slight frown appeared on Adrian's otherwise expressionless face.
"Could you stop calling me that?"
Coming from the bird barely the size of Adrian's small face, it sounded incredibly strange. It also gave the illusion that the speaker was someone strong.
Adrian carefully observed the bird. He could feel a small amount of mana constantly being consumed the longer he maintained the summoning.
Even though Adrian barely had any related knowledge, he could sense that the bird's physical form was made entirely from Adrian's own mana.
In that sense, it was more like Adrian was materializing a being into existence rather than summoning something that already exists in a physical form.
Suddenly curious, Adrian asked.
"What even are you? What are Eternarchs? And what is this Eternal Realm?"
The black bird tilted its head.
[You summoned me without even knowing any of those things?]
Adrian remained silent.
[Eternal Realm is a world where beings of this world can live for eternity. As long as one possesses the qualifications, they can enter that realm after their death and exist there for eternity.]
"And what sort of world is this Eternal Realm?"
This time, the bird didn't answer. It remained silent as it stared at Adrian. Confused, he decided to use the power of the contract, exerting his authority.
"Answer me, this is a command."
The bird must follow Adrian's every command, which was part of the pact. And according to what that girl with round glasses had told him, the contract was absolutely binding.
Yet the bird remained silent, which made Adrian tense. But before he could speak, Alisardarc's deep, abyssal voice reached him.
[I cannot speak about that topic. Not because I do not want to, but because I am incapable of doing so; thus, the contract hasn't been violated.]
Remaining silent for a few moments, Adrian sighed as he changed the topic. He asked the most important question.
"So, what can you do?"
Even though it was only Rank One, supposedly the weakest, it must have some sort of power. Although Adrian didn't have too high expectations.
Instead of answering, Alisardarc suddenly divided itself in half, cleanly through the middle. The two parts began to glow with bluish light.
At the same time, a significant amount of his mana was consumed. The two divided halves then regenerated and became two identical birds. They floated in the air while flapping their wings before sitting down on the window frame.
Adrian stared at the two identical birds expressionlessly, and the two black birds also stared back. After a long moment of silence, a sigh escaped Adrian's lips.
'Is that all this bird can do? Create clones of itself? How useless…'
At this point, Adrian felt as though luck itself was against him.