Reo led them to one of the rooms in the palace. As the King's Paladin, he naturally had access to almost all of the rooms, except for the one forbidden by the King.

The room was quite spacious, with only bookshelves, a couch, and a desk inside.

Reo sat at the desk and gestured for Lark and Steve to sit down. With his eyes still closed, he turned his head toward them for a few minutes before finally speaking.

"Lark Ygein, aged 26, a hunter for almost 7 years. Hunter rank: B. Core color: Light Orange. Currently stationed at the West headquarters..."

"Steve Einstrup, aged 24, hunter rank: C. Core color: Orange..."

He began discussing the information that the Hunters had provided him, ranging from their ranks and powers to their origins. Given his position, it was only natural for the Hunters to provide such information for the mission. Doing so was a way to show to Reo their cooperation and trust.

After a few moments, Reo finally stopped talking. He took the piles of folders beside him and handed them to Lark and Steve.

Confusion appeared on Lark's face as he received the folder. He had a guess about what might be inside, but it was only a guess as he couldn't be sure. He stared at it for a second before looking back at the handsome Paladin, whose lips curled upward.

Lark opened the folder and saw a stack of papers clipped together.

-Gasp!

At the same time, he heard a gasping sound beside him. Without hesitation, with his heart beating faster, he read the first words written on the paper.

"Exclusive Contract..."

Even though Lark's guess was correct, he couldn't help but blink several times to make sure he was seeing it right. Sure enough, it was indeed an exclusive contract.

'An exclusive contract with the Paladin?' he muttered underneath his breath. 'With this, I can gain not only immense wealth but also the power that will help me wipe out the demon race!'

His hands shook with these thoughts, realizing that the opportunity to achieve his dreams had finally arrived. A wide smile appeared on his face as he thought about the future.

On the other side of the couch, Steve was drooling as he stared blankly at the contract. He was lucky enough to be chosen by the Hunters to participate in the mission, and now he had received an exclusive contract, not just any contract, but one from the Paladin!

He couldn't imagine the money he would make from the future missions assigned to them.

'Hahahaha... I'm rich! I WILL BE F*CKING RICH!' he mumbled to himself as he flipped through the pages of the contract.

He flipped through it so fast that one would wonder if he was even reading it. After reaching the last page, without hesitation, he bit his thumb and stamped it on the paper with his crimson blood.

Then, the contract glowed with a blinding light, and Steve could feel a force enter his body, flowing through his veins. The force stayed there for a second before vanishing.

This was the effect of the contract, ensuring that no one broke it. If one were to break it, the force that entered their body would destroy their mana veins, crippling their magic. In this world full of dangers from demons, monsters, and even humans, not being able to use magic was akin to death. That's why no one should break a contract they signed if they wanted to survive in this world.

After signing the contract, Steve gave it back to Reo with a creepy smile on his face. Then he looked at Lark, who was still reading the contents of the contract.

Steve clicked his tongue when he saw this. 'What the hell is he reading for?! The contract was made by the Paladin himself, and even if there's a clause that's unfavorable to us, we can't do anything!' he muttered inwardly, as he didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

After several minutes, Lark finally reached the last page, but instead of stamping it with his blood, he turned back to the first page and started reading it again.

His action annoyed Steve even more, but he couldn't do anything but clench his jaw tightly and look at the Paladin, hoping for him to punish this imprudent hunter.

Reo sensed his stare and understood what he was trying to convey. He was indeed annoyed at Lark for wasting his time, but not to the point where punishment was necessary. For the sake of gaining His Majesty's trust, he was ready to endure and wait for him, as Lark was an important piece in his plan.

"Take your time," he said, taking out a copy of the contract. He started reading it to pass the time and find any loopholes he may have missed.

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"Contractee shall undertake missions given by Contractor Reo, without any questions..."

"Contractee shall maintain utmost confidentiality regarding all matters discussed or encountered during the course of their missions. They shall not disclose any classified information..."

"Contractee shall refrain from engaging in any activities that may undermine the authority of the Paladin, the contractor..."

"The Contractor shall provide necessary resources and equipment to the Contractee for the successful execution of their missions..."

"The Contractee will be given rest and rewards after each completed mission..."

"Contractee shall report to the Contractor on a regular basis..."

"This exclusive contract shall remain effective unless terminated by the Contractor or in the event of the Contractee's death..."

Reo continued to read the contract as he waited for Lark to finish.

A few hours later, Lark finally finished reading. He knew that he had wasted some of the Paladin's time, so without further ado, he bit his thumb and stamped it on the paper.

Then another blinding light appeared as Lark also experienced a force entering his body.

"Good. May we have a fruitful partnership," Reo said, sensing that the contract was finally signed. He took the folder from Lark's hands and stacked them together.

Then he opened his eyes, revealing majestic golden pupils gleaming like precious metal.

Lark and Steve trembled as the gaze of Reo's profound eyes landed on them. They felt naked, as if all their secrets were revealed. Both of them lowered their heads without any kind of struggle.

Of course, this didn't escape Reo's notice, but he ignored it, not caring as he spoke in a serious tone.

"Now let's get down to your first mission."

***

Centuries after the last great war between all races and demons, known as the Bloodiest War, a large crack suddenly appeared in the sky, causing the mana and demonic energy to quiver.

All creatures watched as the crack vanished, spewing six mysterious lights that headed in different directions as if attracted to something.

Some witnessed the lights hitting and enveloping a human, a demon, an elf, a dwarf, and an orc.

The creatures enveloped by the light initially felt nothing, but after some time, they all experienced changes, especially in their eyes. They noticed that not only did their eye color change, but they also emanated a certain power.

The entire world went into chaos with the appearance of these optical powers. They were shocked by this unprecedented phenomenon, but they also felt greed as they craved to possess those powers for themselves.

The demons were the first to succumb to their desires, particularly the Greed Clan. Humans followed suit, believing that these powers were gifts from heaven, weapons they could use to hasten the extinction of demons.

Thus began the search for all possessors of these eyes.

They started hunting the possessors from the edges of the world. This hunt bore fruit as they discovered five types of eyes: the Eyes of Insight, Eyes of Lustre, Eyes of Manipulation, Eyes of Sentinel, and the Eyes of Transcendence.

These eyes possessed the power to discern truth, enhance visual perception, manipulate, defend, and transcend physical limitations.

The world descended into turmoil when they learned about the effects of these eyes. They immediately began experimenting, hoping to transfer these godly powers.

Yet, the heavens proved elusive, defying all attempts to comprehend the mechanisms behind the eyes. No matter how diligently they studied their structure or pursued transplant procedures, the power inherent in the eyes faded away upon transference, leaving them perplexed and frustrated.

After a series of failed experiments, it was believed that all five types of eyes had been irrevocably lost, destroyed beyond recovery. However, to their astonishment, new bearers emerged when previous possessors perished or their eyes were destroyed.

This perplexing phenomenon defied explanation, but one thing remained clear: a slim chance persisted for others to acquire these powers, as long as the possessors met their untimely end.

Time passed, and the cycle of new possessors emerging and dying started.

It only stopped when the possessors learned to hide and use the eyes to protect themselves.

Of course, the masses didn't take this well, but they couldn't do anything unless the possessors revealed themselves. And even if that happened, their eyes were simply too powerful. Who knew if they have fully grasped the extent of their power?

So, they could only bite their tongues and wait for the possessors to die or be killed. Who knows, maybe there were hidden requirements needed, and they possessed them unknowingly?

But this didn't bring them comfort; they could only give up. However, before they could, they realized that if the powerful eyes were the lights that emerged from the crack, why were there only five? Where was the last one?

The nearly extinguished hope flared up again with this thought, as they all searched for the last eye, believing it to be the strongest and most powerful of them all.

Their journey began, and even to this day, they are still searching for the last eye. Rumors say it is already in someone's possession, hidden like the others, or perhaps held by a creature that cannot be found.

-Wrooo!

An abrupt sound of a creature's howl resounded in Lark's ears, snapping him out of his thoughts about the books he had read in the Headquarters about The Six Heavenly Eyes.

He looked at the kingdom, which was getting further and further away from his sight as the carriage was pulled by a thestral¹.

He stared blankly at it for a few minutes before looking away, shivering as he remembered golden eyes that had gazed at him, as if reading all of his intentions and emotions.

'That's definitely the Eyes of Insight,' he thought.

"Boss, when do we start hunting demons?" Steve asked beside him, excitement evident in his voice.

"As soon as we buy better equipment for ourselves," Lark answered, casting his eyes to his broadsword, which had some cracks on it. "Even for us, it won't be easy to hunt that many demons, let alone capture them alive."

"You're right," Steve replied, as he thought, 'Hmph! Just an excuse for your cowardice!'

"I wonder what the Paladin uses to handle so many demons."

"I don't know, given the clause of the contract we can only obey without any question and even if we have the freedom, it's not like we could actually ask him," Lark answered truthfully.

'Don't lump me with you! You coward!' Steve thought, forgetting that he had nearly wet himself from the fright caused by a mere stare from the Paladin. 'If it weren't for my polite manner, I would have asked him right away!'

Seeing Steve fall silent, Lark turned his attention to the direction in front of him, completely unaware of his companion's thoughts.

________________

[1] Thestrals are creatures from Harry Potter. You can search for them on Google.