So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

"Barus!"

At that, Pelerian corrected me.

"It's not Barus, it's Baras. Why say it differently when you wrote it correctly?"

'Just felt like it, that's all.'

Though the pronunciation was Baras, I just wanted to try shouting Barus.

Rune words themselves possess magical power.

Bluebeard was bound by the contract he made with Pelerian.

Heaven Defier Magician Pelerian had made it so that he could collect the penalty with just one rune word.

It was a terrifying contract that could turn the Dwarf Mine Lord into a slave just by speaking the rune word 'Baras'.

'But why did Bluebeard agree to such a terrifying contract?'

"People are always different going into the bathroom than coming out, aren't they?"

'What a crude analogy.'

"That's how the world works. People's attitudes are different when borrowing money versus paying it back. That foolish dwarf truly believed he would never violate the contract."

Pelerian wasn't just old in appearance - he had plenty of real-world experience.

Having seen all sorts of unsavory things, he certainly had a cynical side.

"But situations change, and when he needed the Celestium, he probably just violated the contract thinking I was dead."

'Hooh.'

"And above all..."

Pelerian said shamelessly.

"He probably didn't know one rune word could reduce him to this state. I carefully hid the relevant clauses in the contract."

'Gasp.'

How very Pelerian-like.

Whatever the case, his cunning arrangements were now of great help to me.

Bluebeard had frozen like a wax figure.

'Raise your hands, Bluebeard!'

At my command, he raised both hands with stiff, mechanical movements.

It felt similar to when I 'dominated' monsters.

'Wow, how does this work?'

"It's similar to having one's soul mortgaged in a contract."

'...Isn't that demonic?'

"How did you know? That's exactly the method demons often use."

Complete Lucifer.

Pelerian was someone who believed tools and methods required no value judgments.

I ordered Bluebeard to pull up the chains and bucket.

Bluebeard pulled up the Celestium bucket without a word.

Hiss-

Droplets of sweat instantly evaporated as they fell on the chains.

It really was as hot as hell here. It wouldn't be strange if demons lived somewhere around.

"Uh... are you alright?"

"Mine Lord."

The dwarves were bewildered by Bluebeard's sudden docility.

But Bluebeard just kept pulling the chains silently.

Getting cocky now.

I now held the power of life and death over their king!

I proudly held my head high before them.

The mummy-like dwarves could only watch helplessly.

'There's no chance the domination will break, right?'

"Didn't I tell you? It's no different from having his soul mortgaged. The magic won't break until Bluebeard dies."

In that case, I should recover the remaining Celestium besides the bucket and chains, and have weapons made with it.

I also need to firmly tell them to stop barbaric acts like human sacrifices.

However, something caught my sharp observation.

Bluebeard's arms were trembling slightly as he pulled the chains.

Was it because the chains he was holding were hot?

But by the time he had almost pulled up the bucket completely, even his lips started trembling.

Bluebeard's lips quivered as he uttered a word.

"...Ah."

"Yes?"

"...Ca-catch."

This is ominous.

"Catch... the, snake."

The dwarves' gazes turned to me.

I quickly ordered Bluebeard.

'Shut up! And hand over the bucket to me!'

The command worked.

Inside the bucket was a mysterious orange flame.

It wasn't like lava. It was clearly the same flame that had been dancing on that lava lake.

Bad fire that entrances dwarves and attacks their minds.

The bucket had a rattling lid attached.

I quickly closed the lid and locked it.

The Celestium's heat resistance must be impressive - though hot, it was bearable.

But Bluebeard wouldn't let go of the chain he was holding.

'Let go!'

"Must... catch...!"

He shouted while bleeding from his mouth.

Only then did the dwarves rush at me.

The situation was obvious.

Contrary to Pelerian's confident claims...

Bluebeard was gradually breaking free from the magic's control.

"Th-this can't be!"

'What, wasn't this supposed to be unbreakable magic?!'

Could this dwarf perhaps have Mental Power of around 19?

"This isn't a contract that can be broken by mere Mental Power. It's literally a contract bound to the soul!"

No matter how much Pelerian protested, the current situation was clearly reality.

I bit down hard on Bluebeard's hand.

Then I injected an appropriate amount of neurotoxin.

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[Dwarf Mine Lord Bluebeard Lv159]

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He's definitely stronger than me, that's for sure.

He probably won't die.

Well, I don't care if he does.

Only then did Bluebeard let go of the chains.

I put the bucket and chains into my subspace as they were.

Little snake, this is dangerous so don't touch it!

"Uwaaaaah!"

And finally, Bluebeard broke free from the contract's magic.

He lunged at me.

I dodged by diving past his side.

A dwarf who had tried to catch me from behind got tangled up with Bluebeard.

Ah!

I almost fell into the lava lake.

Behind me was the lava lake.

And in front were dwarves trying to block my escape.

Bluebeard grabbed his bitten wrist and roared.

"Catch-!"

"Aaaargh!"

And I shouted back.

'Protect me, Bluebeard!'

It seems some control still remained.

Instead of rushing at me, Bluebeard struck down his subordinate.

The hit dwarf tumbled to the ground.

I didn't miss that opening and broke through the encirclement.

「Using Acceleration Lv7」

It's not something to be proud of, but...

Running away has been my specialty since way back.

The problem was how hot this place was.

'I feel like I could even enjoy swimming right now.'

Even swimming, which I hate the most, would feel pleasant right now.

The dwarves shouted and chased after me.

Bluebeard too seemed to have completely broken free from my control.

I was about to grumble at Pelerian again but held back.

He himself seemed most shocked by what happened.

"Was the contract incomplete from the start? No, if that were the case, the rune word wouldn't have worked at all. Then was there a structural flaw in my contract design... Rather than that, it's more likely the dwarf had some countermeasure. But how?"

He kept muttering to himself, seemingly having taken a big hit to his pride.

But how Bluebeard broke free from Pelerian's magic wasn't important.

What mattered most now was escaping from those fire-entranced dwarves.

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