How to Redeem a Trashy Side Villain

Chapter 152: The Wrong Contract

Not to rain on Tavros' parade but wow, this ritual and process of becoming his friend was long.

I sat down, had time to make myself tea, read a hundred books, have grandchildren, and come back from the dead in the time that he took to utter the last word finally.

Are we finally done?

"Tick tock. Tick tock." There wasn't a clock in the room, but if there had been, that would've been the theme song of my day.

Thud!

Tavros fell to his knees, releasing this loud and heavy sound that echoed throughout the room so fiercely that it even shook me who was seated. At one point, I was nearly a few inches off the ground.

He then uttered in the human tongue with a voice that was as sharp as Gon, "Will you… What's your full name?"

"Bell Agnus."

"Will you, Bell Agnus, accept this offer I place before you?" he asked.

Before I could give him an answer, a scroll materialized before me and it opened up. It was about the size of a typical sheet of notebook paper.

Thinking that it was going to be written in the same language that Tavros had been chanting in, I was surprised to see that it was in the human language.

"It's automatically translated for you," Tavros explained as he could see the confusion on my face.

"Oh. That's convenient."

His silhouette behind the scroll in front of me remained kneeling. His hands were on his knees as he awaited my response.

I began reading it. The more I read, the more my brows raised.

"Tavros… this… this isn't…"

At some point, I stopped looking at the scroll and stared directly at Tavros.

I asked him, "Are you sure this is the right scroll? This contract doesn't seem like it's meant to be signed by a friend."

With a wave of his hand, the scroll hovered over to him and he quickly read it. "This is the right one." Then another wave and the scroll returned to me.

"But… It's more like… a master and servant contract."

"That's correct."

"I thought you wanted to be friends. I didn't know that you wanted to enslave me," I said, scratching my head.

Tavros went quiet for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Look at the contract more closely. Are you sure you're reading it right?"

I reread it and realized I indeed made a mistake. But that just made me even more confused.

"Why would I become your master? I thought you wanted to be my friend. A friend is an equal. A master is not your equal. They are above you."

"Where I come from, my people, my tribe, a friend is very precious. Your language doesn't have the word that probably describes the relationship, but the closest thing would be a friend. I told you, I'll die for my friend. Their enemies are my enemies. It's not just empty words. I'll die before you, unless the cause of death is old age. If I fail and the opposite occurs, I've shamed my tribe."

"...I… I can't. We just met. I don't deserve to be your master."

"Not master. Friend."

"Right. Friend."

This isn't what a friend is buddy!

"I can't be your friend."

"Why not?"

"I'm not worthy," I answered earnestly.

He gave me a smile with his eyes. "I told you, at first it was a whim and a matter of circumstances that I gave you the opportunity to be my friend. But the test I gave you, is meant to be impossible. A minute… only one in ten million would be able to succeed. But you… If I didn't ask you to stop, I believe you could've lasted hours. How? How are you able to do that?"

"..."

"I have no answers, no clue, no idea. Whatever the case may be, if you're the mentally toughest person or the most emotionless scarecrow, it doesn't matter to me. You've grabbed my complete attention. When I'm free, I will show you just how beneficial it is to be my friend," he said as he pounded his chest a few times.

"...I'm honored. But I can't."

"I insist."

"I really can't. It's a burden too heavy for me to carry."

"You don't even believe that I'll be free."

"I…"

"I can tell," he smiled. "So why does it matter that you sign the contract? You'll die before I ever get out of this prison anyway."

"I mean, when you put it that way…"

"Sign it."

No matter how logical his explanation was, becoming the master of someone this powerful just because I was in the right place at the right time felt too "plot-armorish". It's something that only a protagonist would ever experience.

Wait… I'm a protagonist now.

"Fine. I'll guess I sign it."

"Thank you."

"...No need to thank me. If anything, it should be the other way around. Now, how do I sign it?" I asked him. I didn't need an answer from him as a pen suddenly materialized in my hand. "Here goes nothing."

As I signed my signature, I told myself that even if there was no treasure waiting for me in the labyrinth, it was still worth it going on the quest because I acquired the demon tongue and now made a new friend.

I'll remember you forever. If I can free you someday, I'll come back and do it.

Freedom. I chewed on that word as I finished signing.

I never really thought about it that deeply, but seeing someone void of that concept for so long, I was starting to understand just how precious that resource is.

"Thank you, Bell Agnus, for being my friend," Tavros bowed his head as he pulled his index finger towards him and the scroll came over to where he was. It enlarged itself and when he pinched his fingers, a pen larger than my body appeared between them.

As he signed on the other line, he gave me this faint smile as the scroll lit on fire and burned into nothingness.

Putting my hand on my heart, I could feel the connection between us.

"I can't believe I'm your master—"

"!!!" His eyes glared at me in a disturbing way.

"I mean friend…" I cleared my throat. "I can't believe I'm your friend now," I said in a sincere manner.

Though it was only for a brief second, I could see something glimmer in Tavros' eyes. Was it joy? Sadness? I couldn't tell but having lived in confinement for so long, this moment probably meant more to him than I could ever imagine.

Wanting to learn more about my new friend, I asked, "What happened to your old friend?"

Tavros stared at me for a moment before responding, "Can I choose not to answer?"

The reason he asked for my permission was that if I wanted to abuse my power, I could force the answer out of Tavros. But because I genuinely wanted to be his friend, I chose not to do so.

However, in the back of my mind, I thought to myself that they probably didn't die from old age.

Which means that Tavros was already a shamed member of his tribe.

"If it's difficult to answer, then it's fine. But can I at least ask how long the two of you were friends?"

"Three hundred years? Give or take," Tavros replied.

"Wow… that's quite a long time. Was your first friend a demon?"

Tavros nodded. "He was the finest demon of demons. I… If he were alive, this Underworld would be a much different place than it is now."

"...What's their name?" I asked, to which Tavros shook his head. He didn't want to answer that either.

Tavros just looked at me in silence. I began to wonder if he was comparing me to his old friend. His previous master.

The two of us continued talking for about an hour or so. I learned more about his past, and he learned more of mine. I didn't tell him everything, such as the fact that I was from another world, but for the most part, he knew about most of my achievements as well as the people I consider friends and family.

Tavros opened his mouth and was about to say something, but stopped at the last second.

"The demons are returning to this room," he told me.

I got up in a hurry and asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. But I doubt you want to hide in my mouth again."

Truthfully, no. However, I would be willing to do it if I meant I could accompany this lonely friend for a little longer.

But before I could express that, Tavros told me, "It's time for you to leave this place, my friend. You have better things to do than waste your time here."

At his words, the corner of my mouth twitched slightly. It was true that I had things to accomplish, but what was a couple of hours in the grand scheme of things?

"Don't worry about me, Bell. I've dealt with this for hundreds of years. It'll just be a return to my daily life," he said as he stood up. His shadow covered me, and it felt like I was standing in the darkness.

He walked over a wall and crouched down. He placed the tip of his claw at a spot on the wall and injected it with mana.

Suddenly, a secret tunnel appeared.

"I found this about ten years into my confinement. It seems to be a secret way out. Sadly, I can't use it but you can. If you go through there, it should lead you to the exit… I think."

"You think?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I haven't exactly gotten the chance to go through it," he replied as he moved out of the way, creating an open path for me to take.

As I stepped towards the tunnel, I looked up at him and asked, "Are you going to continue playing the fool?"

"..."

He didn't give me a reply but I could tell that the answer was a yes.

I chose not to speak about it again. That wasn't the right way for us to separate. "It was nice to meet you, my new friend, Tavros. I'm glad that I chose to explore this labyrinth."

"The honor belongs to me," he said.

I was walking at a regular pace, but it felt like each step was lasting an hour.

I guess this will be the last time we see each other?

Unless some sort of miracle occurs on either of our ends, that was likely the case.

"Goodbye, Tavros."

"Goodbye, Bell. See you soon," he said.

As I walked down the tunnel, the light behind me got dimmer and dimmer. Just as I was in a spot where the light from the room was about to vanish entirely and was going to be replaced by one of the crystals that emitted light, Violet popped out of my shirt and jumped out.

I tried to catch her midair but missed and she began slithering back where we came.

"Violet! Come back here!" I yelled as I chased after her.

I wasn't sure why she was heading back, but for some reason, I was missing her by mere inches every time I tried to grab her from the ground.

"I don't want to hurt you by accident, Violet! We have to go!"

This would make the farewell I just gave Tavros become an awkward and cringe moment rather than something emotional, bittersweet, and fond to look back upon.

Skidding to a stop as the tunnel spat me back into the room, my breath was a little heavy from the short chase where Violet turned out to be quicker and slipperier than I could ever imagine.

Tavros had already been turning to face us when we popped out, likely having already sensed our presence heading back.

I held my face awkwardly.

Tavros looked confused and he asked, "Why did you guys return? They're going to be here any time now. Did you perhaps forget something?"

Violet reached the center of the room first, her small body coiling and uncoiling as she chirped up at Tavros in her quiet and bird-like voice.

Stopping just a step behind her, I let her finish what she had to say while thinking to myself:

I was hoping you could tell me that. Why did my pet, which has never disobeyed me, suddenly run off on its own?

Straightening my posture, I took a few deep breaths to gather myself.

Violet continued chirping. It was so fast that it sounded like there was an entire flock of birds in the room chirping all at once.

Her tiny snake body was trembling with an intensity that I didn't understand whatsoever.

At first, Tavros listened to her intently with a confused expression. However, the more she spoke, the more her expression changed.

The confusion faded into disbelief. His eyes widened slightly and then they were so large that they couldn't widen any further.

Every chirp that came out of Violet seemed to hit him harder and harder, breaking through that calm, composed nature that he had.

"What?" he muttered. "Are you being serious?"

"Chirp!"

Looking between them, I could tell that something incredible was happening but I was completely lost.

"Uh, Tavros, what's going on here?" I asked.

Violet chirped again, this time even louder.

Before I could ask my question again, I stopped in my tracks as I saw the smile on Tavros bull face.

"I see,' he said quietly. "So that's what you are. I thought I knew what you were but no. You're even more than I could ever imagine."

Blinking, I felt like I was being spun around in a washing machine. I didn't understand anything!

"What is she? Tell me!"

Tavros turned his gaze towards me, "You, my friend, are indeed a blessing given to me by the universe."

Freezing on the spot, I uttered, "What?"

Before I could say anything else, Tavros looked back at Violet and said, "I agree to your proposition. But before we go ahead with it, let me release some of that anger I had been holding in all these years."