Moon-Crowned Unicorn

Isolde's eyelid twitched lightly.

The scope of this business sounded like some kind of flagship store from another world, stocked with every strange and bizarre thing imaginable.

Ullr raised a hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

A roll of parchment flew out from a drawer in the general store behind him, unfurled itself before him, then turned toward Isolde.

[Special Body Transport Contract]

[Purchaser: Duke Valen Silvien]

[Goods: One high-grade holy body]

[Deposit: Paid]

[Remaining payment: Pending collection]

The moment Isolde saw the words "remaining payment," she realized this was not some complimentary gift package.

"Valen is already dead." Her tone was gentle. "You can collect it from him personally."

Ullr spread his hands, and the smile on his mask seemed to deepen.

"My apologies, esteemed lady. According to Clause Thirty-Seven of the contract, should the purchaser die, their heir shall assume the remaining debt."

As he spoke, his neck twisted stiffly, and the white mask slowly turned toward her.

"And you are now the new owner of the Castle."

Isolde rolled her eyes inwardly. She had clearly known nothing about this, yet the debt had been forcibly transferred to her. How was that any different from an unfair contract?

"Are all wandering merchants this shameless?"

Ullr raised a hand and lightly tapped the white smiling mask with his fingertip.

"Esteemed lady, the face is fake. The contract is real."

Isolde: "..."

It was the first time she had heard someone make shamelessness sound so commercially artistic.

Ullr added unhurriedly,

"And wandering merchants do not make a living with their faces."

He bowed slightly, placing his right hand over his heart like a devout believer.

"We rely on honest transactions, fair terms, and the occasional benevolent smile of the Contract God."

Isolde nearly laughed in exasperation.

"You call that benevolence?"

"Of course," Ullr said. "If the gods had not shown you benevolence, you would not be facing the remaining payment right now, but the backlash of breach of contract."

Isolde looked at the parchment.

"So Valen placed the order, Valen died, and I got stuck with it?"

"More precisely, you inherited Duke Valen's Castle, authority, estate, and every unsettled obligation he left behind."

Ullr's voice was mild. "Inheritance has never been picky about whether something is good or bad."

Isolde smiled. "Then what if I don't want this body?"

Ullr immediately replied, "The goods have already been delivered."

"I didn't sign for them."

"The Castle gates were opened."

"That was out of politeness."

"Politeness is also part of receiving guests."

"Does your Contract God specialize in taking in scammers?"

Ullr lifted his head, the smile on his mask utterly still.

"Scammers violate the facts. Merchants merely selectively emphasize them."

Isolde: "..."

She understood now.

This man was not merely shameless. He had practically welded the words "unscrupulous merchant" directly onto his face.

Isolde had only just sent Valen on his way. Before she could even enjoy the thrill of "inheriting a Castle, becoming the BOSS, life on easy mode," reality slapped an invoice right into her hands.

People could be reborn, but debts could not disappear. A father's debt passed to his daughter—somehow, that had become reality for her.

Isolde took a deep breath and tried to maintain the elegant image of the new Castle mistress.

"Fine. Let me inspect the goods first."

She wanted to see whether the "material" Valen had spent a fortune ordering was truly worth making her foot the bill.

Ullr seemed to have been waiting for those words. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

The small drawers on both sides of the carriage sprang open at once. Countless thin, withered branches crawled out like a group of well-trained arms, wrapping around the enormous coffin behind the mountain of clutter.

The coffin landed on the ground, making the floor tremble slightly.

Its surface was carved with moon patterns. Its four corners were nailed with ice iron, and white mist continuously seeped from its seams.

The moment the mist touched the ground, it condensed into a thin layer of frost.

Isolde narrowed her eyes slightly. "What's inside?"

Ullr lifted a finger lightly.

The withered branches deftly pried apart the ice iron and pushed open the coffin lid.

The instant the lid shifted aside, a wave of cold spilled out, as though someone had shoved an entire winter night before the Castle gates.

Lia stepped forward silently and draped a fur-lined cloak over Isolde's shoulders.

"Thank you," Isolde murmured instinctively.

She quickly turned her attention back to the coffin.

She lowered her gaze. In the next instant, her pupils contracted slightly.

Inside lay the shattered body of a Unicorn.

Its entire body was stained with dried blood. What should have been smooth, gleaming fur had tangled into clumps, while its chest, abdomen, and limbs bore obvious cutting marks.

The silver-gold horn on its forehead lay broken beside it. Dark patterns covered the fracture, as though it had been contaminated by some dark power.

Isolde had heard of Unicorns in her previous life.

In this world, Unicorns were extraordinarily rare holy beasts.

They were close to holy light and naturally suppressed the undead, corruption, and dark arts.

No matter how she looked at it, such a creature should not have appeared on Valen's shopping list.

What had Valen bought it for?

To serve himself some palate-cleansing appetizers before his own feast?

Ullr seemed to notice her confusion and took the initiative to explain.

"The last adult Moon-Crowned Unicorn of the northern lands."

"Its blood can purify corruption, its bones can bear holy arts, and its horn can break dark barriers. If used for equipment modification or potion refinement, it is also a legendary core material."

At that point, Ullr's tone became noticeably more cheerful.

"Duke Valen had originally intended to embed fragments of its horn into his own spine."

He spread his hands slightly. "Unfortunately, he did not live to receive the goods."

Isolde looked at the corpse.

A gray screen slowly appeared before her eyes.

[Special Body: Moon-Crowned Unicorn]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Status: Dead]

[Notice: This body retains a Last Wish Echo.]

[Echo: If the name of holiness is destined to bring calamity, I shall drink every curse dry and stain the final dawn of the holy altar.]

Isolde's gaze paused slightly.

She had originally thought that even if a Unicorn died, its final wish would be some standard line like, "May holy light shine upon all, may all beings be forgiven, may the world know no more darkness."

Yet every word in the line before her was filled with hatred. Even the word "hatred" felt far too mild.

Isolde lowered her eyes and looked at the broken horn.

That horn should have been as clean as moonlight, yet it now seemed to have been dyed black inch by inch by resentment.

She asked softly, "How did it die?"

As though he had been waiting for that question, Ullr's voice behind the white mask remained courteous, even carrying a hint of unsettling brightness.

"Esteemed lady, Unicorns are difficult to obtain, especially living ones."

"They are kind, pure, repulsed by filth, and rarely enter human territory. But this species has one fatal weakness."

Isolde looked up. "What is it?"

Ullr slowly tilted his head.

"Memory."

"Before every Moon-Crowned Unicorn dies, it passes everything it last saw, heard, and felt to its surviving kin."

Isolde frowned. "That counts as a weakness?"

"Of course it does."

Ullr gave a soft laugh.

"Because what they pass on is not merely memory."

He looked at the Unicorn in the coffin, and his voice slowed.

"It also includes fear, pain, regret, despair, and hatred."

"When one dies, the remaining kin bears the burden of one more death."

"If ten die, it hears ten cries of anguish. If a hundred die, it personally endures a hundred massacres."

Ullr paused, his voice heavy as a low chant. "And if it is the last one..."

The smiling face on his mask seemed especially eerie in the mist.

"Esteemed lady, what do you think it will do?"

"Revenge," Isolde said softly.

Ullr snapped his fingers happily.

"Correct. It took revenge, but unfortunately, it did not succeed."

Isolde frowned. "They tortured it?"

Ullr tilted his head. "For a long time."

"I made a deal with the people guarding it before I barely managed to retrieve these remains."

Then Ullr's tone shifted, becoming as light as though he had finally turned to the quotation page.

"So naturally, the price could not be cheap."

Isolde looked up at him. "Are you taking credit with me?"

"Of course not." Ullr lowered his head politely. "Merchants never take credit."

"Merchants merely add every cost honestly into the price."

Isolde was speechless.

The heavy emotions she had felt just moments ago were nearly kicked flat by that sentence.

This man truly had a talent.

One second he was telling an epic tragedy; the next, he could seamlessly switch back to invoices and reimbursement.

Was this the ugly face of capitalism?

Isolde inhaled and looked once more at the Moon-Crowned Unicorn.

It was already dead.

Yet that Last Wish Echo still burned like an unextinguished flame, pressing deep within the broken body.

Isolde withdrew her gaze and looked at Ullr.

"I'll take it. How much do you want for the remaining payment?"