Hearing Luo Shu declare they'd scam the demon, Natsuki Minamiya froze momentarily before looking at him in confusion.
Seeing this, Luo Shu confidently countered:
"You think I haven't properly understood your current situation, and that it contradicts my earlier display of knowledge about the prison barrier?"
"...That's correct."
After a moment's thought, Natsuki nodded, then turned to Lacus - likely the only one present unaware of the specifics:
"In the past, I made a contract with a demon in my homeland, Itogami Island."
"As Luo Shu mentioned, this contract resulted in the creation of the prison barrier on Itogami Island. I became both the key and warden, sleeping deep within the barrier, supervised by the demon's familiar"
"However, when I accidentally crossed worlds and arrived here, a loophole appeared in the contract."
"A loophole?"
Lacus seemed to realise something:
"You mean the location of your slumber became problematic?"
Natsuki looked surprised at Lacus before replying:
"Yes."
"Because my original body accidentally crossed worlds, in the eyes of the demon I contracted with, I've actually been sleeping inside the prison barrier this whole time."
"But in reality, my original body has already left the prison barrier and is freely active in this world."
"Originally, the guardian responsible for watching over me—who also serves as my attendant—could have reported this situation and judged me for violating the contract."
"But apparently, due to the distance between worlds, the guardian couldn't contact the demon, so it couldn't punish me for breaching the contract. Moreover, since the guardian is bound by the demon's orders to obey my commands, it couldn't defy my orders either."
"Because the highest authority giving those orders—the demon—couldn't be reached."
At this point, Natsuki Minamiya couldn't help but give Luo Shu a strange look:
"Judging by your expression, you don't seem unaware of this."
"Since you know, you should also understand that I've effectively broken free from my original contract with the demon."
Hearing this, Lacus's expression darkened, because she knew Natsuki Minamiya was being overly optimistic.
Just because the guardian couldn't contact the demon now didn't mean it never would.
And once the guardian reconnected with the demon and confirmed Natsuki Minamiya's breach of contract, her fate would be...
Luo Shu simply smiled and countered:
"Is that so?"
"Are you absolutely certain the demon will never find you?"
"Or have you simply given up resisting?"
At this, Natsuki Minamiya fell silent.
She truly wasn't sure whether the demon could locate her. The only thing she knew for certain was that she'd already been judged in breach.
And the price for breaking a demon's contract was having her soul devoured by the demon.
Natsuki Minamiya had understood this outcome from the moment she first crossed into this world.
She was already a person with no future.
"So that's why you called yourself retired, is it?"
Lacus murmured to herself, recalling her first meeting with Natsuki Minamiya in America.
Back then, Natsuki Minamiya had introduced herself as a retired teacher. Now that she thought about it, Natsuki must have already known her fate was sealed.
That was why she'd called herself retired.
"I was the one who violated the contract first."
Natsuki sighed. Even if it wasn't by choice, she had indeed left the prison barrier in her original body.
Ultimately, even after crossing worlds, if she'd restricted her movements to an area the size of the prison barrier, the guardian wouldn't have judged her in breach.
But after arriving in this world, driven by curiosity or perhaps the joy of freedom, Natsuki had actively travelled across this world, encountering various people and events—even returning to Japan to become a teacher again.
It was these actions that had led the guardian to judge her in violation.
She had erred first, so naturally, she must bear the consequences.
"Since you've already broken the contract once, why not break it again?"
Luo Shu grinned as he produced a sheet of paper with gold backing and black lettering, its edges adorned with irregular patterns.
He offered it to Natsuki Minamiya while extending an invitation:
"This is a retainer contract from a Divine Rank Abyss Artefact."
"It allows the contractor to awaken their own abilities and gain the power of a higher being, with the side effect of making them a Familia of a god."
"Natsuki Minamiya, if you've truly given up on yourself, why not give this a try?"
"After all, I'm also very curious what would happen when a god's contract clashes with a demon's contract."
Hearing this, Natsuki Minamiya froze.
'How is this any different from throwing a cursed videotape into a temple's donation box?'
'Good grief, so because you want to see gods and demons fighting over someone, you're using me as your test subject?'
'Have you... completely stopped being human?'
Suppressing the urge to hit someone, Natsuki tentatively asked:
"Is this what you meant by deceiving the demon?"
She clung to the hope that Luo Shu had just been joking.
However, Luo Shu now spoke with complete seriousness:
"Selling someone who's already been sold to a demon - doesn't that count as deception?"
Natsuki's expression went through countless changes.
Because what Luo Shu said was just begging for a punch!
Did he not care about her life at all?
And while this might technically deceive the demon, wasn't he forgetting they'd also be deceiving the god?
Not content with making enemies of demons, you want me to offend a god, too?
"If you want me dead, just say so directly. No need for all this trouble." Natsuki practically spat the words through gritted teeth.
At this point, Lacus covered her face and sighed:
"Natsuki, calm down a little."
"Luo Shu he..."
Lacus wanted to explain, but considering Natsuki's current state, she softened some details:
"This contract has actually been verified for safety within the SDS. Of course, many details are classified, so I can't explain..."
"Let me tell you one thing."
Here, Lacus paused before continuing:
"My contract with the Kusanagi Sword... has ended."
Hearing this, Natsuki immediately believed her.
Because she'd been present when Lacus originally made that contract, Natsuki knew full well its side effects.
Now, Lacus claimed the contract had ended, strongly suggesting this divine contract had terminated it - clearly demonstrating this method's safety.
While deceiving a god seemed absurd to Natsuki, Lacus's endorsement meant it must be feasible.
After all, the SDS had done this themselves, using their own Supreme Chairwoman, no less, proof enough of its safety.
Without proper verification, who in the SDS would dare use Lacus as a test subject?
"Such a reckless approach."
Natsuki sighed and took the documents from Luo Shu:
"Sometimes I wonder if the SDS inherited this from you - the whole organisation acts so recklessly."
Lacus smiled nostalgically at this. Her original subduing of the Kusanagi Sword had indeed been reckless, something Natsuki still held against her.
As the two reminisced, Luo Shu pretended to be invisible, silently handing Natsuki a pen to sign with.
Seeing this, Natsuki Minamiya couldn't help but glance at Luo Shu before letting out an exasperated snort:
"Though I don't know what scheme you're plotting, nor do I understand how you came up with such a reckless method while still guaranteeing safety..."
"I'll trust you this once."
"After all, no one truly wants to die when they can live."
As Natsuki's words fell, a massive knight clad in golden armour materialised behind her, its crimson eyes beneath the helmet fixed intently upon her.
This was the demon's familiar - Natsuki Minamiya's watcher, the guardian she had named Tenrin-Ō.
Now, having sensed Natsuki's intention to actively breach their contract, Tenrin-Ō manifested of its own accord to deliver its warning.
Natsuki Minamiya glanced back at Tenrin-Ō, then lowered her head to look at the contract in her hand before finally turning to Luo Shu with a sudden laugh:
"To be honest, I'm rather curious myself."
"Between gods and demons, whose contract holds greater power..."
"And whether the so-called gods would actually inflict divine punishment for my deception?"
With those words, Natsuki Minamiya signed her name on the document.
At that very moment, she saw Luo Shu smile:
"Let's not talk about divine punishment just yet."
Luo Shu then said meaningfully:
"Natsuki-chan, what if I told you there's a possibility... that the god this contract points to is actually me?"
Natsuki Minamiya: "???"