Chapter 59: The Contract Trap

Alfredo’s face stiffened.

He absolutely did not want to say it.

Even his older brother could barely bring himself to say it, so how could he possibly call someone “Hyung-ah”?

He hated it with every fiber of his being.

— [Wow, look at that disgusted expression.]

— [Disgust MAX!!!]

— [Oh yeah, that disgusted look is a reward~]

— [If that’s a reward to you, then what even are you…]

“Why? Don’t tell me you forgot about this?”

Exitra shook the contract.

It was something written just before the bet to make everything clear.

Both Alfredo and Exitra’s signatures were on it.

“I… didn’t forget.”

“Right? Then go on, call me Hyung-ah~.”

Alfredo clenched his teeth.

All kinds of emotions twisted across his face.

“Hy-Hyungnim… I’m sorry, but that…”

“Why Hyungnim? Come on, don’t tell me you’re trying to change the terms of the contract now that you lost. That’d be pretty petty, wouldn’t it? You know what they say: a man’s word is worth a thousand gold. A man doesn’t go back on his word.”

The old proverb meant that a man’s promise weighed as much as gold.

Adding the word “petty” into the mix, Exitra completely blocked Alfredo’s escape.

— [Exitra’s so good with words.]

— [This guy could survive in another world just by talking, lol.]

— [Living off his silver tongue? hahahaha]

***

Alfredo pressed his lips tightly shut.

His face looked painfully conflicted.

Exitra simply waited for him with a leisurely smile.

Time was on his side.

He could wait as long as it took.

“Hy… Hyu…”

After a moment, Alfredo finally opened his mouth.

He seemed to have made up his mind.

“Hyung-ah…”

His voice trembled faintly.

Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Calling Exitra “Hyung-ah” was unbearably embarrassing, shameful, humiliating, and degrading.

His hands shook uncontrollably, unable to contain the flood of emotions.

— [Hahahahahaha!!]

— [He said it! He actually said it!!]

— [So cute! My little brother! Hahaha… I’m taking him home! Little brother! How much do you cost?!]

— [Ahhh… I love it…]

The chat exploded into chaos.

Everyone was absolutely thrilled.

Exitra smiled in satisfaction.

“That’s right~ little brother.”

He smirked and raised the corner of his mouth.

“Khk!!”

Alfredo gritted his teeth in frustration.

Seeing that, Exitra pulled out the contract again.

“By the way, you do know this isn’t a one-time thing, right? You’re going to have to keep calling me that.”

“…!”

Alfredo’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-what do you mean by that?!”

“Take a look. Do you see anything in here about time limits or number of times?”

“Gasp!!”

Alfredo was horrified.

There was nothing!

No mention of “until when” or “how many times.”

Which meant Alfredo would have to call Exitra “Hyung-ah” for the rest of his life.

“T-this can’t be happening!”

— [Whoa~ amazing. So we get to hear it forever?]

— [Tsk tsk, that’s why you have to read contracts carefully!]

— [Sign a contract carelessly and boom—your life’s over in one shot, lol.]

— [Look at the little brother panicking~ Dear customer~ are you very surprised~?]

“T-there must be something! I’m sure of it…!!”

Alfredo frantically checked the contract again.

But there was no such clause.

Truthfully, he had skimmed it since he never imagined he would lose.

And because of that, such a ridiculous situation had come to pass.

***

Alfredo’s face was filled with despair.

If this continued, he might have to call Exitra “Hyung-ah” for the rest of his life.

‘If that’s the case…!’

Alfredo made up his mind and acted immediately.

Ripppp!!

He tore the contract to shreds.

Throwing the pieces up into the air, Alfredo shouted, “T-then our contract is null and void!!”

By destroying the document, he intended to cancel the agreement.

Since there was no physical proof left besides the contract itself, Alfredo figured that if he destroyed it and simply denied it, the deal could be considered void.

That was his bold plan.

But Exitra only sighed and pulled another sheet of paper from his pocket.

“That was just a fake. This is the real contract.”

“You actually tore it up… I didn’t think you’d go that far.”

Exitra spoke with a calm, amused smile.

But was he really surprised?

If not, why had he prepared two copies of the contract and only shown one to Alfredo?

Most likely, Exitra had already anticipated Alfredo might try to rip it apart, so he had made a spare.

His level of preparation was absurdly thorough.

[Ooooh! Thorough to the extreme~]

[That was brilliant~]

***

“Hy-Hyungnim…”

“Hyungnim? Ohhh, what’s with that title again?”

Alfredo fell silent.

That day, Alfredo realized one important truth.

‘Always read the contract carefully…’

He had learned a very painful but valuable lesson.

“Time to get ready to leave.”

Exitra and Alfredo prepared for their departure.

Although the serum could be stored for a long time, it still had an expiration date.

That meant they needed to hurry.

They prepared a carriage.

Fortunately, there was a decent one in the territory.

There was even a single horse to pull it.

“Well, it’s not too bad.”

The carriage itself wasn’t bad, but the horse’s condition wasn’t great.

“This one’s way too old.”

— [If the horse lacks strength? Mana shortage~]

— [Ah, ahhh? Ugh, that was so lame…]

— [But seriously, the horse looks like it’s about to keel over.]

— [??? : You wretched humans, I will have my revenge…]

“Yeah… we should probably let it go when we stop at the Count of Britain’s estate.”

Exitra placed his hand on the horse’s head and used Undine’s healing power.

A cool, refreshing force of restoration spread through the animal, reviving its stamina.

“This should be fine now.”

Neighhh!

The horse lifted its head high and neighed happily, as if its strength had returned.

At this rate, it should be able to make the journey to the Count of Britain’s estate.

‘Once we arrive, I’ll swap it out.’

***

After finishing their business at the estate, he planned to buy a new carriage and a few healthy horses.

He would need reliable mounts for future travels.

“Then let’s set out.”

“Right.”

[Would you like to begin Fast Travel? (Y/N)]

[While Fast Travel is in progress, if any events occur, Fast Travel will be paused.]

Time in reality and time in the game flowed at a 1:1 ratio.

If they traveled by carriage normally, the journey would take an entire month—watching that in real time was unthinkable.

That was why the convenience feature, “Fast Travel,” existed.

As long as one was riding in a carriage or on a mount, the option could be used, compressing a month-long journey into an instant.

Of course, game time still advanced by one month.

It was similar to “fast-forward,” except Fast Travel could automatically stop if something happened along the way.

“Alright, I’ll activate Fast Travel.”

Just as he moved to press Y, a message appeared.

[The horse is not in good condition.]

[The journey to the Count of Britain’s estate will take longer.]

“Damn it…”

Exitra frowned at the message.

Because the horse wasn’t in top condition, the trip would take extra time.

That was inevitable.

A healthy horse meant arriving earlier; a weak one meant delays.

With the horse as it was, the one-month journey would take a little longer than usual.

Managing the horse’s condition was important.

Neglecting it could cause serious trouble later.

[The realism is insane lol]

[Yeah, freedom and realism are exactly what set Molgahub apart.]

“Alright, let’s go!”

Exitra pressed Y to begin Fast Travel.

[Fast Travel initiated.]

Wooooong!

The scenery blurred and time began rushing forward.

[Ooooh~ is this spacetime or what?]

[Seriously, what would you do without Fast Travel?]

[Run, oppa! Wooo! So fast!!!]

“Exactly.”

Without Fast Travel, they would have been stuck just watching the carriage crawl forward.

That would be unbearable for both the streamer and the viewers.

“Lululu~”

Exitra leaned back and enjoyed watching the flow of compressed time.

Thanks to Fast Travel, a good deal of game time passed smoothly.

Nothing happened during the entire stretch.

“Oh wow, at this rate we’ll just arrive without a problem.”

[Nah~ no way that happens~]

[You’re Exitra. Since when has nothing ever happened to you?]

[Careful, don’t underestimate yourself!]

‘It’s not because I’m unlucky—it’s because the territory’s condition was bottom tier, haha!’

“This has nothing to do with me, okay?”

[Then what about “Zombie Survival”?]

[Yeah, remember that giant zombie at Stage 10?]

[Unlucky streamer class~ three giant zombies at Stage 20 lololol]

Exitra shut his mouth.

He regretted even bringing it up.

If “Zombie Survival” came into the discussion, he had no defense.

“S-Still! That won’t happen now! Look! See how smooth the Fast Travel is going? So…”

[Fast Travel has been halted due to physical interference.]

The timing was golden.

Like a miracle, Fast Travel stopped.

[After Fast Travel ends, you will regain movement in 10 seconds.]

The system granted ten seconds to observe the surroundings before resuming.

As the countdown ticked down, Exitra scanned the area.

***

Bandits stood blocking the road ahead.

When Exitra stepped out of the carriage, he saw Alfredo brandishing a dagger.

“Are we being ambushed by bandits…?”

[Look at him triggering flags faster than lightning lol]

[As expected—Unlucky Streamer!]

[Though, bandits are kinda cliché lol]

Bandits were one of the classic encounters players could run into while traveling.

It was a staple fantasy cliché—ambushed by roadside thieves!

“Well… bandits aren’t too bad.”

They didn’t look particularly strong.

With Alfredo by his side, they could handle it.

“Alright then…!”

The countdown ended. Time began flowing again.

“Dammit! Brother… big brother! We have to chase after him!!”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing?! Hurry!!”

“What? Chase who…?”

At that moment, a new quest window popped up in front of Exitra.

[Stolen Serum!]

[Description: A bandit-trained monkey suddenly leapt into the carriage and stole the serum before running off. You must chase it down and retrieve the serum. If you fail to catch it quickly, the serum will vanish.]

[Success Condition: Capture the thieving monkey and recover the serum.]

[Reward: 3 Points]

[Failure: Unlocks the follow-up quest “Lost Serum.”]

***

The ambush was real, but the true problem wasn’t the bandits.

Who could have imagined a monkey would steal the serum?!

“This is ridiculous…!!”

[An unexpected quest appears~ (⊙0⊙)ﾉ]

[Difficulty spike, engaged!!]

[Unlucky Streamer class! Built different!!]

[Forget the bandits, the monkey’s the real issue lolololol]

Ding~

[You have been recognized as the Unlucky Streamer.]

“Haah… this is driving me insane…”