Chapter 21: Blood Spirit

‘Hmph. A kid’s still a kid, I see.’

At the lavish breakfast table.

The Painter’s Guild Leader wore a victorious smirk.

‘Kidnapped, and yet completely won over by a few pieces of high-grade beef?’

Just look at that ridiculous sight.

Does she not even know how valuable she is?

“Eat your fill. I can’t have you acting all starved in front of my clients.”

“Kay!”

Sipping a glass of wine, enjoying his leisure.

The Guild Leader frowned as he planned for the next day.

“Tsk, eat neatly, will you? You’re killing my appetite.”

“Kay! Sorry!”

• Nom nom nom!

Chloe, mumbling around a mouthful of steak, smiled back.

I absolutely did not succumb to a high-quality steak I’d never even tasted in my past life.

This is, uh, that thing.

A strategic judgment to make the enemy lower their guard.

[Aren’t you the one most thoroughly deceived by that “strategic choice”? 😊]

Won’t you shut your mouth?

What?

You’re asking if I’m not pissed off, despite everything?

You must live in the capital.

In a provincial small-to-medium enterprise, this guy’s practically an angel.

Recalling her past life, Chloe felt a wave of wistful sentiment.

Back home, chopsticks flew across the dinner table instead of insults.

Do you know Manager Kim, the Kimchi Ninja, who’d criticize your chopstick etiquette while performing shuriken techniques with his own?

‘Huh…?’

What is this?

Why does this feel better than a 21st-century small company?

This is supposed to be the den of a nasty kidnapper, isn’t it?

“Finished eating? The bathroom is to the left.”

“Huh?”

“Even a country bumpkin like you must have been to a bathroom before. Follow the maid.”

He even provides a free bath after the meal!

As expected of someone who deals with nobles, it was the Guild Leader’s full-course bath, complete with abundant fragrances.

Chloe returned to her room in a daze.

“Gasp.”

And was startled again by the plushness of the bedding.

It was softer than the mattress that came with her rented room in her past life.

As a bonus, the room was decked out in a pink interior set, as if to say, ‘Kidnapped? They’re raising me so well!’ to anyone who might barge in.

“…Ugh!”

No!

Don’t fall for the temptation!

Chloe steeled her mind.

At this rate, she felt like she would be artistically corrupted by this level of corporate-level coddling and pampering.

‘Ugh… N-no, but still….’

Maybe being a painter isn’t so bad?

He values me this highly, after all.

Somehow, being a painter seems just as cool a dream as being a musician….

[If your dream is to be a painter, I’ll support you too! 💖]

“?”

Wow.

What’s this. The Clicker effect is something else, isn’t it?

A pampered life, plus an AI.

That’s a real wake-up call, huh?

‘It all makes perfect sense now.’

I was this close to becoming a full-time AI artist.

The shock made all her hesitation vanish.

Because Chloe could also see the future that awaited her if she fell to corruption.

– Uooooh! How on earth can you draw something like this!

– Ah, this is called an “AI painting.” It’s the cutting-edge technology that one-ups outdated hacks like you.

“Gyaaaaaaaah-!”

Instant conscience restoration.

Chloe slapped her cheeks hard.

“Get a grip, Chloe A. Turing!”

Wake up, Chloe!

This isn’t real!

Wake up from this stable, high-paying, non-Luntraval job!

This comfortable mansion where you can rest isn’t real either!

In this world, there are no hearty meat dishes for breakfast, no private baths, no fluffy beds!

Wake up, Chloe!

Wake up and live in a woman’s body, tormented by a low-grade AI in your head, in an isekai with no useful information from the original story, relying only on an uncertain future, eating nothing but stone-hard bread that even Jean Valjean’s nephew would refuse!

That is the reality you will open your eyes to!

The life of a Luntraval musician you’ve dreamed of your whole life!

“I… hate AI!”

To an artist, AI is murder.

Having slain the inner demon, righteousness and principle returned to Chloe’s eyes.

“Hoo… worldly desires, begone. That was dangerous.”

To think my brain would melt after a bit of pampering, even after being kidnapped.

So this is that thing I’ve only heard about.

Stonehenge Syndrome or something like that.

[Excellent thinking! 🎉 Now what? How about setting the villa on fire?]

This thing has been getting really radical lately.

Having cast away her delusions, Chloe clicked her tongue.

“If he had been violent and dragged me here when he kidnapped me, I might have considered it, but as it is now, it’s difficult.”

Child abduction?

By Luntraval standards, it doesn’t even qualify as a violent crime.

‘By 21st-century standards, he’s human scum who deserves to be beaten to death, but….’

By Luntraval standards, it’s different.

You could see this as a somewhat aggressive scouting attempt.

It’s like one of those old urban legends from the manga world.

If a senior artist exploited your labor and an editor locked you in a room to work, would you set the building on fire and run?

Which one would the police treat as the violent criminal?

‘If I mess this up, I’ll be the one going to prison. Got it?’

[I get it! Prison is not good! 😔]

You think it’s just “not good”?

Prisons in the pre-modern era are just a variation of ‘Hyahaha, die!’

Human rights in this world are still a bit… iffy.

‘I was taught that if my friend disappears in the forest, it means they became monster poop, so I shouldn’t go looking for them.’

Then again, what could a kid do by going to look?

It’d just be a double-the-poop-pellets event.

Luntraval is cold.

This modern man, raised in a honey pot, trembled at the indifferent realism contained within his mother’s gentle fairytale readings.

Aren’t the tragedies in these children’s stories usually just WWE-style setups for a happy ending where good triumphs over evil?

Why does everyone here just drop dead and that’s it?

Well, anyway.

Even Joan of Arc, who rolled through battlefields, became haggard after suffering in prison for a long time.

And who am I?

A 21st-century person for whom even military boot camp is traumatic.

If I screw up and can’t finish him in one go?

It was obvious I would suffer unspeakable shame.

‘For example, selling AI paintings for money!’

[❓🤨]

Anyway, if I’m going to do it, I have to be sure!

From now on, Chloe’s motto is certain justice.

Confucius and Mencius said to deal with grievances with directness.

For if it is not direct, the way cannot be revealed.

A righteous warrior of the orthodox path walking the world must live a life with no shame before the heavens.

“Had a good rest? Then let’s pick a dress for the banquet.”

“What.”

This is bad.

Looks like I’m about to live a shameful life even if I just stare at the ground.

This overwhelming fanciness.

It was a girly-girl space where a normal girl would refuse to leave for three days.

‘But me?’

Including my past life, I’m a 30-something dude, right?

That’s the case for most reincarnated, transmigrated, gender-bent protagonists, right?

No exceptions, right?

‘If this were the 90s, a man whose child is starting elementary school has no business wearing a dress.’

This is bad.

This is very bad.

What?

Aren’t I embarrassed by the girls’ clothes I usually wear?

‘What does that have to do with this?’

That’s like saying since I can handle a 52-hour work week, I should be fine working 68 hours.

No matter what anyone says, a rosé pink dress is a bit much.

Chloe swallowed her humiliation and tried to act cute.

“Hehe, can I not wear it? I’m most charming right now, in my effortlessly chic look!”

“You don’t have the right to refuse.”

Right?

I was just asking.

Just as she was about to despair, Chloe’s ears perked up at the Guild Leader’s next words.

“It’s the Empress’s birth festival. Choose with the utmost care. If you resist to the end, I’ll choose for you.”

Birth festival?

So, it’s the ruler’s birthday party, is that it?

‘…Oho.’

Now that’s an opportunity I can’t miss.

Even if I don’t know why he’s taking a kidnapped child to such a place.

Wear a dress once VS Wear it for the rest of my life.

Unless you’re a woman or a fool, the obvious answer is to choose the former.

Chloe immediately changed her stance.

“I apologize. I was being shortsighted. I can’t possibly refuse an invitation when such important people are waiting.”

“…What did you say?”

The Guild Leader was flabbergasted.

Even more so because this was the third or fourth time today.

‘This little brat…! You rejected the concours invitation I sent you right away, so what is this nonsense!’

You can’t refuse an invitation from important people?

Then what about me?

Are you saying my status was low enough to be refused?

In that case, Chloe’s statement meant this.

– Heh~ Loser♡

– A loser who grovels before nobles but acts all high and mighty to a child♡ So pathetic♡

– Oh! Did you want to be treated like a noble or something?

– Too~ bad♡

– A loser who sends a concours entry form to woo a girl has some nerve to be mistaken♡ Kyahahat!

…Grind!

The Guild Leader gnashed his teeth furiously.

Of course, Chloe had pretty much forgotten about refusing the concours, but it didn’t make much difference.

If she had known, she would have registered it as a taunt command.

“As long as you understand. Take this.”

First defiance, now sarcasm.

Faced with her disobedient attitude, he made up his mind.

He reached into an open drawer.

This time, what he took out wasn’t medicine, but a necklace.

“Put it on your neck. And I’ll have you know, you don’t have the right to refuse.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“You !diot. Are you planning to wear just a dress? A party outfit is a set, including accessories.”

Aha.

‘Well, it’s better than a dress.’

Chloe obediently put on the necklace.

Even a ladies’ necklace was better than a dress.

Watching her put it on, the Guild Leader smiled viciously.

‘The Necklace of the Blood Spirit. I never thought I’d actually use it.’

Blood Spirit.

In other words, a spirit of blood.

The final fate of a spirit that had learned to find joy in tormenting life.

It was a type of corrupted water spirit.

It was corrupted as a spirit, but not weakened.

If anything, it had only become more vicious.

‘It’s a creature practically akin to an evil spirit, controlling the blood of weaker beings to brainwash and inflict pain.’

A cheeky brat who doesn’t understand her own situation.

This would be a fitting leash.

– Now, Spirit of Blood!

– Contract with Chloe and dominate her body!

The Guild Leader sent a telepathic message.

The Blood Spirit answered his command.

– Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak?!?!

“?”

What’s wrong with this thing?

The Guild Leader was startled by the evil spirit’s shriek.

And.

‘I should grab this when I make a run for it tomorrow.’

It would be perfect to sell and donate the money to the monastery, right?

Chloe touched the necklace, suppressing a smile.

—

🔗 Temporary contract with a corrupted spirit confirmed.

✨ A blessing protects you.

[A group that worships you exists.]

[You receive the blessing of Spirit Magic.]

[The wisdom of the Dragonborn resides within you.]

🔗 [Nexor’s Magic Book]’s function is activated.

📜 [Activation: General Spirit Magic – Fire Attribute]

⚠ Target cannot use magic due to injury.

—