"W-What do you mean a contract?" I am slightly proud of myself I can choke that out fairly clearly. The man looks at me silently, then tilts his head slightly to the side.
"You want to have revenge, don't you? I can give you the opportunity, if you establish a contract with me."
I can't hold back a snort at his word. "Hmph! I could've done that, if you didn't summon me in the first place!" I don't even register when I crossed my hand.
"Interesting... How do you know you were summoned?" The man caresses his beautiful sharp chin.
This time, I develop the audacity to raise my chin. "I have read enough fiction to know that."
"Very well." The man nods his head in understanding. "Do you want to establish a contract?"
'Is this man a broken doll or something?' I can plainly see the eagerness this man is trying to hide; his eyes gleam in excitement everytime he mentions about the contract. "What is the contract you are talking about?" I have to properly hear his explanation.
"A slave contract," the man answers unblinkingly.
I blink, then exclaim vigorously. "Just kill me, bitch!" I would rather die than being someone's slave. 'What kind of slave he wants me to be? "That" slave?! Hell, no!'
I have readied myself to get my head chopped or get tortured to death upon my rejection, but none of that happens even after some few seconds.
Raising my head in slight bewilderment, I meet the man's face. "Relax. I was just joking." He is looking at me with a smile. 'Heh... So, you're joking, huh? Fuck you!' Of course, I am smart enough to never let just anything in my mind come out of my mouth.
"You don't have to worry about that. I am used to getting cursed at." The man nods his head in understanding. 'Just what are you? A natural disaster? And why do you seem so happy about it?!' I momentarily forgot the fact he has just read my mind due to how well he reacts to it.
Uncaring towards my bewilderment, the man swipes his hand in the air graciously. A highly realistic projection of a grandiose throne room with two people inside it appears in the air right after.
The man sitting in the throne is likely the king, and the beautiful woman in white dress is either his daughter or the Kingdom's Holy Maiden. The scene reminds me of the start of an Isekai Light Novel I read.
"This is...?" I can't help asking though. I don't really get his purpose of showing me the scene, and what correlation it has with our contract establishment.
"You want to have revenge, don't you?" Again, the man shows me that same irritating smile. I don't remember when I loosened up myself, but I'm glad I am relax enough to be able to feel annoyed at him. "Look." The man gestures at the projection.
I turn my head to the projection, and I can see the previously well-lit room is now shining intensely in golden light. Or to be precise, the ground is shining intensely due to the circular pattern on it.
The pattern shines even brighter to the point I can barely see the room, before slowly losing its light. When the pattern has completely lost its light, around 30 people magically appear in the room.
'Just like the scene I have seen in every light novel's illustration, huh?' I admire the magical scene, until I notice something that makes my blood boil once again. "That people ... Aren't they my classmates?" It is a low muttering, but I have made sure to pour my hatred wholeheartedly in it.
"You have killed 20 of your classmates, Layland." At the man's word, I turn my eyes to him. He is showing me a soft smile that can either mean he is trying to placate me or he is satisfied with my reaction. "However, when they were summoned, they were resurrected."
I clench my hand so tight, if my nails were long I would have pierced through its skin. My vision starts to darken, as I am once again overwhelmed with rage. "The reason they were summoned is the same as why I summoned you."
I want to ask what kind of contract they are going to establish when the projection produces a sound; the king is speaking. "I greet you, O mighty Heroes!" Upon hearing it, I feel like a lightning strikes the back of my head.
'Heroes? They are summoned as Heroes? What is this bullshit?!' The gaze I plant on the projection is so intense, I am sure I would have pierced the world if I was Superman. "My condolence on you, some of the Heroes, for your untimely death." The king bows his head.
"However, you have no need to feel sad. I can assure you in this life you will be able to enjoy every kind of luxury you didn't get to enjoy in your previous life ... if you want to become the Heroes of our Kingdom, that is."
My head turns to the man who has summoned me. I can get everything now. "If you want to have your revenge, you can. They are on the other side of this world." My classmates are summoned to become Heroes, while I was summoned to become ...
"A Demon. You will become a part of our family if you choose to establish a contract with me, Layland." I am amused at how funny fate works. Just a few minutes before, I was just a victim trying to seek justice. But now, I have become the villain.
The man extends his hand, then smiles. "I am the Ninth Demon King, Ilschevar Verniculos. Will you establish a contract with me, Layland Kleinhaus?" Again, I don't immediately grasp his hand; he hasn't told me what the contract is yet.
"I accept your offer. Let me be your Kingdom's hero." Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice from the projection. Upon turning my head to it, I can see Mark is standing in front of the king with a smirk eternally etched on his face. Then, the projection disappears.
Every thought of hesitation, consideration, and anxiousness is wiped clean off my head. My head turns blank as the only thing filling it is rage—my rage at the unfairness of the world. My entire body shakes, as I am overwhelmed with the extreme rage.
'Ah, I see. The world is unfair—no, it hates me in particular.' A hollow laugh unconsciously escapes my mouth. "If that is the case, I might as well screw the world back." Turning my intense gaze to Ilschevar, he welcomes it gladly.
'I don't care if I have to sell my soul to the Demon. As long as I can kill those bastards and screw the world over, it's a fair trade.' I don't know how I exactly look at that moment, but I am sure I have a manic grin on my face. "Let's establish the contract."
This time, Ilschevar smiles at me—genuinely. "Very well. Give me your hand." I extend my hand, and Ilschevar grabs it with his significantly bigger hand. Like mine, his hand is as soft as a woman's. He pricks my palm with the nail of his thumb, and blood quickly oozes out of it.
The blood drops to the floor, and a circular pattern appears on it. Unlike the one I saw in the projection, the circular pattern is shining in crimson light. "I will start the process." At Ilschevar's word, I merely nod my head.
I have expected the process will be painful, but I also have determined myself to endure every pain I will receive in the process of gaining power; I'm tired of being a weakling. Therefore, Ilschevar's warning is unnecessary.
As long as I can stomp everyone who dares to look down on me, I will endure every pain and suffering I am about to experience. "I, Ilschevar Verniculos, hereby nominate Layland Kleinhaus as my successor."
The circular pattern on the floor shines even more intense, and contrary to my expectation, the process isn't painful at all; it is strangely comforting even. However, that is not the focus of my mind.
'What does he mean by successor? Has he just nominated me to be the next Demon King? This weak me?!' I look at Ilschevar in disbelief, and he just smiles at me sweetly. I don't care if he's a Demon King; I really want to break those horns on his forehead.
'Who in their right mind nominates a puny human as the next Demon King?!' Still, the process keeps going. A couple of seconds later, the light dies down and a symbol appears on my hand.
"The symbol you are looking at is a Demon King's Mark. It signifies your status as a Demon King Candidate." He lets go of my hand, letting me admire the glowing symbol. "You have to hide it well, though. If someone sees that, you will lose your head immediately."
Quickly raising my head, I ask, "How should I do it?"
"You have to figure it out by yourself." The son of a bitch even dares to wink. "Now, now. Don't be too anxious. I will assign someone who will teach you many things about how to be a good Demon King. She's a bit rough, but she knows what she is doing." Ilschevar nods his head, as if he is convincing himself.
Lucky him, I will ignore that as I have determined myself to endure every hardship I will endure in the future. Instead, I ask him the more important thing. "You summoned me just because you want to nominate me as a Demon King?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ilschevar scratches the side of his cheek rather awkwardly. "Well, I didn't have any intention to summon you at first. You were supposed to be summoned 'there,' but I snatched you in the middle of the summoning."
'So I was supposed to be a hero?! This bastard didn't say anything about that until I established a contract with him!' Still, what happened happened; it's no use thinking about it. "Why did you choose me?"
"Well, I merely wanted to sabotage the summoning of Heroes when I saw you. Since you have already established a grudge against the heroes, you instantly become my perfect candidate." Ilschevar smiles as if he is proud with what he has done.
"I mean, I have been a Demon King for too long; I need vacation. By being my successor, you can have your revenge, and when you become a Demon King, I can retire. It's a win-win, right?"
With this answer, I can conclude that this bastard has dragged me into this matter just because he is bored of being a Demon King. But, I do agree with him: it's a win-win.