Chapter 216: The Broken Contract

Gray tightened his grip around Luna as the footsteps outside the tent grew increasingly louder.

"Lady Luna! Answer me!" William’s voice rang out from the other side. "We’re coming in!"

’Damn. They’re already here.’

Gray glanced toward the entrance. He hadn’t expected Luna to scream so quickly, especially after he had explicitly threatened her. He had underestimated how stubborn she was.

There was no longer any opportunity to continue questioning her privately.

’I wanted to find out about Cindy and that locket first. Now I’ve got an entire expedition breathing down my neck.’

He couldn’t help feeling that he had made a terrible decision.

Still, there was no point dwelling on it.

Gray leaned closer to Luna’s ear.

"Listen carefully. You’re going to come outside with me. Don’t scream, don’t struggle, and don’t try to cast any spells."

Luna remained silent, her eyes watching him carefully.

"If you do anything suspicious, I’ll kill you."

His tone was sufficiently cold that Luna understood he wasn’t bluffing.

She reluctantly nodded.

Gray then loosened his hand from her mouth, but kept one tentacle wrapped around her upper body while another secured her bound arms. He carefully pulled her to her feet.

Luna stumbled slightly.

’Just who is this person?’

She tried to sense his mana, but his presence was difficult to understand.

’His body... What kind of creature is he?’

Gray ignored her curious gaze and slowly approached the entrance.

Outside, William had already gathered several knights. Their weapons were drawn, and the mages behind them were preparing their spells.

"Stand aside!" William ordered. "I’m going in!"

However, before he could pull the tent flap open, a voice came from within.

"Don’t move."

William immediately stopped.

The voice was unfamiliar, and its calmness made the situation even more unsettling.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

There was a brief silence.

Then the tent flap moved.

Gray stepped outside, holding Luna firmly in front of him.

The moment they saw her condition, the expressions of everyone present changed.

"Lady Luna!"

One of the mages instinctively stepped forward, but William immediately raised his arm to stop him.

Luna’s wrists were bound with strips of cloth, while a strange tentacle wrapped around her waist. Behind her stood an unfamiliar figure whose body was difficult to distinguish in the darkness.

"Release her!" William shouted.

Gray didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked around and observed the people gathered before him.

There were more knights than he had anticipated. Several mages were also positioned behind them, ready to attack.

’This is getting worse by the second.’

He had hoped to leave quietly after obtaining some information, but now he was standing in front of an entire expedition with one of their most important members as a hostage.

William tightened his grip on his sword.

"Listen carefully. Whatever you want, we can discuss it. But release Lady Luna first."

"Discuss?" Gray repeated.

He tilted his head slightly.

"Do you really think I’m stupid enough to release my only bargaining chip?"

William’s expression grew grim.

"You won’t escape this place alive. You’re surrounded."

’Yeah, I noticed.’

Gray silently cursed.

He knew he couldn’t fight all these people simultaneously. Even if he managed to escape, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t pursue him. And if they started searching the surrounding area, Cindy and Lily could be discovered.

He needed to settle this as quickly as possible.

"Everyone, stay where you are!" William ordered, noticing several knights preparing to move.

Jooquin, who had just arrived from the campfire, looked at the situation with considerable interest.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

He glanced at Luna before shifting his attention toward Gray.

"Someone managed to sneak into our camp and kidnap our lovely mage? That’s quite impressive."

His eyes lingered on the strange tentacles protruding from Gray’s body.

"Though I have to say, I’ve never seen anything quite like you before."

Gray ignored his comment.

He was far more concerned about the pirate captain than the others.

’That guy is dangerous. I definitely don’t want to provoke him.’

Instead, Gray focused his attention on William.

"I have some questions for your mage. Answer them, and I’ll consider letting her go."

William frowned.

"What questions?"

Gray paused briefly before looking toward Luna.

"Cindy Maxwell."

The moment he mentioned that name, Luna’s expression changed.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly, and her body stiffened.

Gray immediately noticed.

’So she knows that name.’

He had been suspicious ever since discovering Cindy’s locket inside her tent. Now, seeing Luna’s reaction only strengthened his suspicion.

He tightened his grip around her.

"Tell me what you know about her."

Luna didn’t answer immediately.

Her eyes remained fixed on Gray, trying to understand why this strange intruder was asking about someone from her past.

’How does he know Cindy?’

Gray noticed her silence and continued.

"Don’t pretend you don’t know her. I saw the locket inside your tent."

Luna’s expression shifted noticeably.

’So this intruder had seen it.’

Gray leaned closer, his voice becoming more serious.

"I want to know why you have that thing and what your relationship with Cindy is."

His thoughts briefly returned to his companions.

’If this woman is responsible for what happened to Cindy, then...’

Gray’s eyes narrowed.

’I won’t let her get away with it.’

Jooquin, who had been watching the exchange with considerable interest, suddenly let out a hearty laugh.

"Well, isn’t this interesting?"

His gaze shifted toward Gray, examining the strange creature holding Luna hostage.

"Tell me, are you an explorer as well, or are you perhaps one of the inhabitants of this island?"

Gray remained silent.

He hadn’t expected the question, and more importantly, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to answer it. Claiming to be an explorer would be risky, but admitting that he lived here would only invite more questions.

Seeing that Gray had no intention of responding, Jooquin grinned.

"Hah! I see. I’ll take that silence as confirmation."

He took a few steps forward, seemingly unconcerned by the hostage situation.

"Well, since we’re both interested in this place, how about making a deal? I’m here to find treasure, but this island is enormous. You must know where something valuable is hidden, don’t you?"

Gray’s tentacles tightened slightly around Luna as he listened.

"If you tell me where to find it, I’ll give you this mage."

Jooquin pointed casually at Luna, as though she were nothing more than an item he was willing to trade.

"Judging by the way you’re holding her, you seem to have some personal business with her anyway. So, what do you say?"

Gray couldn’t help but consider the offer.

It was certainly an interesting proposition. If Jooquin was willing to hand Luna over, Gray could get the answers he wanted without having to fight the entire expedition. Of course, he still couldn’t trust the pirate’s intentions.

Before he could respond, William stepped forward with an angry expression.

"Jooquin! What exactly are you suggesting?!"

Jooquin glanced at him.

"What? Our business here is finished, isn’t it? We’ve already broken through the barrier and fulfilled the main objective. There’s no reason for us to keep working together."

"That’s not how our agreement works!" William retorted. "The contract is still in effect. If you attempt to abandon it, the contract will detect the violation and punish you!"

Jooquin merely shrugged.

"Then I suppose we’ll just have to avoid breaking it."

William frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

"What are you talking about?"

Jooquin’s grin widened.

"Contracts are rather troublesome things. But they can’t punish you for something that isn’t considered a violation, can they?"

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Besides, the contract won’t be violated if you happen to die in an unfortunate accident."

William’s expression stiffened.

"...Are you planning to kill us all?"

"Hahaha! Don’t look at me like that. If I personally kill you, I’m sure the contract will recognize my involvement and impose a penalty."

Jooquin casually rested his curved sword against his shoulder.

"After all, I’m the one who signed the agreement. But my crew?"

His grin turned noticeably colder.

"They aren’t part of the contract."