"Now then, there are six slaves beside me here."
"I can count, dipshit."
He turned to one of the slaves unlucky enough to be next to his seat and immediately slashed them across the face.
"Now, now. That's not very polite, is it? I was so shocked at your lack of decorum that my hand slipped, but I wouldn't expect a commoner to understand! Kyahahaha!"
This only served to piss me off further, but I held my tongue. It wasn't like I could break through the barrier right now, and Lucrezia's gaze seemed to be pleading with me to remain silent.
Her gaze was fixed on a white-haired girl inside the dome who had caused her to gasp earlier. That was probably Aurelia, though she was unconscious at the moment.
Probably for the better, given our circumstances.
I was searching through the rulebook to find anything that would let me bypass this goddamn barrier, but there wasn't a single skill other than [Demonic Interference], a skill in the Forbidden section which negated abilities with the (Divine) property.
Originally, my plan had been to use [Devouring Healing] next to the barrier so I could disrupt the mana that was maintaining it, but [Complete Analysis] informed me that the barrier was in fact maintained through "divine energy" instead of mana.
Divine energy was a resource that only individuals who possessed class levels in a devout class such as Cleric could access and couldn't be negated by things that interfered with mana.
All in all, it was fucking annoying.
"Where was I?" The count smirked as he wiped the blood off his dagger. "Ah, yes. You have six minutes to hand over the offering vessel. For each minute that you hesitate, I will kill one of them. How about it? Kihihihi!"
I was getting really ticked off at the fact that he simply had to laugh every time he said something. It was unnecessary, and quite frankly horrible to listen to.
Maybe it was preordained, or maybe it was just sheer dumb fucking misfortune, but the worst part of this whole thing was that Aurelia was inside the dome.
Thanks to my dumbass dropping every level I had left into dexterity, I couldn't even grab [Demonic Interference] even if I wanted to.
Damn it! What do I do? What's the solution here!?
The only idea that came to mind was using [Fa jin] in order to break through the barrier by dint of it being a Non-System Skill, but before I could brainlessly charge forward again, I heard a voice from behind me.
"Very well. I'll do it."
All color drained from my face as Lucrezia walked toward me.
"Wait, what!? No way! J-Just gimme a second, Lucrezia! There's no way I'm gonna let this rat bastard take you!"
She placed her hands on my shoulders. Although I wanted to protest further, she had a determined light in her eyes.
I wouldn't be able to sway her decision no matter what I said.
"...Then, at least let me come with you."
"You just need to be a knight to enter that barrier, right?"
"I—Huh?"
"I'm asking if you only need to be a knight to enter the barrier."
"Well, yeah. That's what the guy sai—"
"Kneel."
"L-Lucrezia! You can't possibly be thinking of that!" Antenora shouted, her eyes wide in shock.
"This is my decision, and my decision alone, Antenora."
Things were happening too fast. I didn't know what Antenora and Lucrezia were talking about. The Count didn't seem to care about whatever we were doing. He was only occupied with counting down.
At least the shithead was a man of his word.
The only one who paid us any attention was Reginault. I could feel his gaze on me, but he made no moves to stop us.
Probably because I would grab his neck and pound him into the ground the moment he stepped outside of his bitch bubble.
"Alright, can we take a step back before you two keep brain-blasting me?"
"Please kneel, Ryuuko. It will only be for a moment." Lucrezia said.
I glanced at Antenora, but she kept her lips firmly shut, so I shrugged and did as Lucrezia said.
A moment later, her crimson eyes flashed and turned silver. A purple magic circle shimmered into existence in the center of her head.
"I am Lucrezia reg Zaltsel, eighty-seventh princess of the Zaltsel Clan. As of this moment, I designate you as my knight and champion, Mikado Ryuuko. Do you accept?"
Oh... Shit. Well, that was unexpected.
I kicked my brain into high gear for a moment.
Swearing myself to Lucrezia would bring about some inconveniences if we ever had any disagreements (which we probably would down the line), especially since this looked like it would be a magic contract.
However, there really wasn't any way to get past the barrier, and I doubted my cheese tactic of using [Fa jin] to bypass its ability would work. I was still the one performing the technique, after all.
None of this was important, though.
"Antenora and I can never truly be friends."
That sole line rang loudly in my memory. It was a sentence spoken only for me.
The moment Lucrezia revealed her true identity, the dots connected themselves.
It was obvious why Antenora placed Lucrezia's concerns over her own so often, and why she was willing to trust me despite her burning hatred for humans.
That was enough for me to make my decision, even if it would cost us our victory here.
I stood and grasped Lucrezia's hand, surprising her.
"I apologize, but I cannot, Lucrezia. I swore that we would walk together as friends. How can I do that as your servant?"
Lucrezia's entire face turned beet red the moment I finished speaking. Honestly, it was pretty cute despite the situation.
"I cannot forgive such insolence even from you, Ryuuko!" Antenora burst out. I saw two daggers in her hands, and she was damn well ready to throw them at me.
"S-Stop, Antenora! I-If that's the case, then we need only forge a new contract!" Lucrezia's eyes were spinning like pinwheels from embarrassment, but I admired her tenacity. "Mikado Ryuuko! Enter into the Zaltsel Clan at my side!"
I thought it would be completely unbecoming of me to simply say "Yes", so instead, I said:
"There would be no greater honor in life than to stand by your side, Your Highness."
"Awawawa...!"
It seemed like Lucrezia's embarrassment inhibitors were about to explode which seemed pretty amusing to me. It would be much later until I understood the full ramifications of what I just promised.
The magic circle in the center of her head changed color to silver and pulsed once brightly. I felt a sharp pain in my forehead as it branded itself onto my skin and then immediately faded.
[You have joined the Zaltsel Clan.]
[Warning: You have joined a barbaric tribe. Your Corruption will be modified accordingly. Status: PENDING.]
[Alert: You have joined a barbaric tribe. You have unlocked Corruption skills.]
[Congratulations! You have earned a title: Zaltsel Inheritor (Noble).]
I dismissed all four system alerts for now. I'd deal with the Corruption bullshit later. It sounded worrying, but the skills would no doubt make up for that.
I squeezed Lucrezia's hand once before releasing her.
"Back me up, alright? I'm gonna smash right through that barrier."
I cracked my knuckles and smirked at Reginault.
He wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but I could feel the instinctual fear that caused him to tremble from his very core. Unfortunately for Count Dipshit, he still hadn't understood the position he was now in.
Yeah, you just keep counting, asshole.
I stepped toward the barrier and raised my fist, and the sound of thunder was heard.