Contract Loophole

"The remaining payment will be made as agreed: a portion of your future."

Ullr said it lightly, but it made Isolde laugh.

"A portion of my future? What does that even mean? Are all your transaction balances this abstract?"

Ullr replied softly, "The item being traded must naturally be of equal value. A unicorn is a unique holy beast. Exchanging it for a possibility that should have belonged to you is most appropriate."

"Perhaps it will be an escape from certain death, perhaps a victory, perhaps someone who should have stood by your side."

"Once the transaction is complete, that portion of the future will belong to me."

Isolde's gaze darkened slightly.

This was troublesome.

If gold was gone, she could earn more. If an item was gone, she could steal it back.

But the future was something she could neither see nor touch. If it was taken away, she would not even know whether it might cause some kind of butterfly effect.

She hated that uncertainty. She hated it very much.

Isolde looked at Ullr. He stood bent at the waist, his movements elegant and proper. Aside from his rather bizarre attire, there was genuinely nothing to criticize about his manners.

"You may take your time considering it," he said. "We wandering merchants never force anyone to buy or sell."

The moment he finished speaking, the black contract suddenly dropped down from midair, a ring of tiny teeth growing along its edges.

[Remaining Payment Countdown: 10 minutes]

[Failure to pay before the deadline will trigger forced collateralization]

[Available collateral: ownership of the ancient castle.]

Isolde: "..."

They never forced anyone to buy or sell, but they did conduct timed robberies.

Well played.

She said nothing. Instead, she raised a hand and pressed the [Secretsight Button] at her cuff, attempting to search for loopholes hidden within the contract.

[Secretsight activated]

[Searching contract...]

The densely packed tiny print on the parchment began to surface layer by layer.

Isolde narrowed her eyes and quickly read on.

[Article 37 of the contract: Upon the purchaser's death, the remaining debt shall be assumed by the legal heir.]

[Supplementary clause: The heir must simultaneously inherit the purchaser's title, bloodline, and estate in order to be considered a complete debt successor.]

Isolde's gaze paused, and delight rose in her heart.

A contract loophole—hadn't she found one?

She had indeed obtained authority over the ancient castle.

But she had not inherited Valen's title, did not possess Valen's bloodline, and had not inherited his estate.

Thinking of that, Isolde felt puzzled.

Did directly dismantling his body count as an inheritance?

Ahem. Not important.

In any case, strictly speaking, she did not qualify as a "complete debt successor."

She had merely killed the homeowner and taken his house while she was at it.

Was that called inheritance? That was called a forced transfer of ownership.

Isolde's mood suddenly improved considerably.

As expected, no matter how sinister a capitalist's contract was, it still feared being read word by word.

She continued reading, and the gray light flashed again.

At the very bottom of the parchment, a line of text so small it was nearly impossible to see slowly surfaced.

[Supplementary explanation for special goods: If the goods contain hidden risks such as echoes of unfulfilled wishes, curse backlash, or faction retrieval, the buyer has the right to redefine the remaining payment within seven days.]

[If hidden risks affect the normal use of the goods, the buyer may request one free after-sales service from the seller.]

After reading it, the corners of Isolde's lips slowly curved upward.

So this was not a creditor coming to collect a debt. This was after-sales service coming to her door.

Isolde looked leisurely at Ullr and spoke gently.

"Mr. Ullr."

Ullr replied, "Honored lady?"

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!

Isolde raised a hand and tapped the parchment.

"I just saw a very interesting little detail."

The smile on Ullr's mask did not change, but his voice grew slightly softer.

"The contract contents are complicated. There are inevitably some unimportant supplementary notes."

"Unimportant?" Isolde's smile deepened. "Echoes of unfulfilled wishes, curse backlash, faction retrieval."

She looked toward the Moon-Crowned Unicorn's body.

Gray-blue holy light still flowed slowly over its ruined hide. Black patterns coiled around the horn on its forehead, like a piece of white jade corroded by mold.

"It has all three."

Ullr fell silent.

"What you sold me was not an ordinary item. It was a legendary body carrying an unfulfilled wish, a curse, and the risk of being confiscated. According to the contract, the remaining payment is postponed for seven days."

She paused, then continued.

"And you need to provide one free after-sales service."

Ullr: "..."

The little teeth along the black parchment's edges clicked together twice, as though even they had not expected to bite their own master.

Ullr slowly straightened.

His neck gave a faint crack, and the smiling face on his white mask curved upward again.

"Honored lady, your secretsight item is quite special."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Isolde said flatly, "Your wandering merchant contracts are quite special too."

"The writing is smaller than ants, and the schemes are denser than needlepoints."

"But unfortunately." She touched her cuff. "My eyesight is quite good."

Lia stood behind her and calmly added, "The lady's eyesight is indeed better than Duke Valen's."

Isolde: "..."

There was really no need to compare her already deceased adoptive father unfavorably at a time like this.

Ullr gave a low laugh. "You are more troublesome than Duke Valen. He never read contracts."

Isolde said softly, "That was why he died."

Ullr: "..."

There was, admittedly, no way to refute that.

The ten-minute countdown still hung in the air, but in the next instant, its blood-red numbers suddenly flickered.

[Contract dispute triggered]

[Remaining payment countdown paused]

[Inspection period activated: 7 days]

[Seller must fulfill one after-sales obligation]

[After-sales service content shall be proposed by the buyer within reasonable limits]

Ullr sighed and gave a slight bow. "Then, honored lady, what after-sales service would you like me to provide?"

Isolde did not answer immediately. She walked over to the Moon-Crowned Unicorn's body. The holy beast was already dead, yet faint moonlight still lingered in its empty eye sockets.

It was as though she could hear countless distant cries of grief, as if they came from the depths of the northern snowstorm.

In the end, all of them had been crushed into this ruined body. No wonder its final wish was not forgiveness.

Isolde lowered her eyes for a moment, then suddenly said, "I need to think about it. You can stay here for the time being."

Ullr froze slightly. Even the corners of his smiling mouth stiffened a little.

Isolde glanced at him. "What, dissatisfied?"

As Ullr, who had fooled countless customers, suffered a setback at the hands of a young lady for what was perhaps the first time, he was not angry at all. Instead, he seemed delighted as he stared at Isolde and spoke faintly.

"Of course not. I merely hope the honored lady will make good use of her time. After all, time is also a merchant's most valuable possession."

Isolde's tone was firm. "Your time being valuable is your business. My future is valuable too. Besides, I am your client now. If you want to recover the remaining payment smoothly, you had better cooperate with my pace."

After saying that, she added unhurriedly, "And besides, I will not let you stay for free."

Ullr: "?"

Isolde said, "Lodging fees, protection fees, meal fees, service fees."

"Oh, right. Your mobile general store is parked outside my door, so there will be an additional parking fee. That needs to be included too."

Ullr's voice carried helpless amusement. "Honored lady, you have quite the talent for business."

"Thank you," Isolde said blandly. "Mostly, I was inspired by you."

Isolde withdrew her hand and looked once more at the Moon-Crowned Unicorn's ruined body.

"Don't worry. I will not drag this out for too long. This is not an ordinary commodity."

"It carries an unfulfilled wish and a curse. If you asked me to casually name an after-sales request right now, that would be an irrational and impulsive thing to do."