It is my Destiny to be the Savior of the Protagonist

Axel read the contract again. The boy who lived alone with his father learned everything from him. His adoptive father was a highly educated man, but he was much closer to the sword than the pen. Therefore, what Axel learned was also biased toward the sword. At least he was young and didn’t learn much. From his point of view, it was a clear and reasonable contract. He didn’t see anything like a problem. However, he had a question.

“What exactly is a piece?”

“A person who is sponsored by the masters of the chess association is called a piece. That one over there is also my piece.”

The man pointed to a young man in armor guarding the entrance. The young man bowed his head. It was a bright expression. It didn’t seem that hard or painful to be a piece of equipment. Axel asked another question.

“What are the missions?”

“Not diverse. It’s not much different from what mercenaries do. It’s mostly things like bodyguards and monster subjugation. Unlike mercenaries, they only accept requests from association members.”

The man shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Of course, there are also unusual missions such as matches between masters and promotion matches.”

“Matches? Promotion? What is it?”

“You will know when you become a piece.”

The grinning man urged the boy.

“I am not giving this opportunity to just anyone. If it weren’t for the red eyes, I wouldn’t even offer to become a piece for a worthless kid like you.”

“Aren’t you afraid of red eyes?”

“If you’re afraid of that, you can’t live as a master.”

The man grinned and stroked Axel’s hair roughly.

“Little boy, have you heard of the story that red eyes are loved by the fire spirit?”

“…yes.”

“Yes, so if you raise yourself well, there is a high chance that you will become a splendid spirit knight or spirit slayer. I see the potential and want to support you.”

The man stroked the boy’s tousled hair. It was the first time anyone had stroked his hair since his father died. He was the first person to look into his eyes and was happy, let alone flinch.

“How are you, have you made up your mind? If you have no intention of doing anything, you can leave as it is.”

Axel glanced outside the mansion. Beyond the terrace, he could see the street where the boy was starving and lying on the dirt floor. He eventually accepted the quill. He wrote his name at the bottom of the contract.

Axel Valentine.

A red sign was stamped over the name. The man smiled contentedly as he accepted the contract.

“Okay, I am Robert Black. Call me Master from now on.”

“Yes.”

“And you are my piece from now on. Black Fawn. Got it?”

“…I understand, Master.”

“Good. Hey, Bishop.”

At his gesture, the young man who had greeted him earlier approached. Black pushed Axel towards him.

“Give the piece a basic education.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Train hard, piece. I will give you your first mission sooner or later.”

Black smiled deeply.

* ♦ ♦ ♦ *

Regular meetings of the Chess Association were held in Karlsmere, the continent’s largest port city. At each regular meeting, the association’s masters had to update their inventory. Robert Black hummed and updated the list.

‘A knight died, but he received a bishop instead, so it’s a benefit. I also got a new piece that I can use.’

He grinned as he remembered his new piece. Expectations were especially high for him.

‘Should I earn and throw it away quickly? Or should I keep it alive for as long as possible and use it as a source of money…?’

Black thought about that and finished registering his property.

[Black Fawn, 12 years old, Male Characteristics: Red eyes.]

As he was about to return after making a record, the association clerk stopped him.

“Master Black.”

“Huh?”

“Customers looking for you are waiting for you.”

“Me? Why?”

“It looks like he wants to invest in you.”

Black was taken aback. Being an investor was something that only happened to masters with branches in big cities. He was just a master of a remote village called the city of outlaws. He didn’t have a lot of equipment, and his win rate was low.

“What are you looking at?”

The clerk pointed expressionlessly down the corridor leading to the inner room.

“Because he is a noble person, be careful of your words and actions. He is inside.”

“A precious person, who is he?”

“He is from Garcia.”

“Go, Garcia?”

“It looks like a branch manager or higher, or a representative of an executive.”

Black gulped and headed for the boudoir.

‘Garcia’s top executive, this is a great opportunity.’

He stopped in front of a sumptuous room covered with layers of veils. After checking the list of equipment he brought with him, the list of facilities he had, and the overall evaluation report once more, he cautiously stepped inside.

“It is an honor to meet you, sir.”

“Nice to meet you.”

The man sitting on the sofa replied indifferently. Black quickly glanced at the customer. A white cravat, a stiff gray vest, gray eyes peering through glasses, and blonde hair that was swept without any disturbance. The man looked more like a bank teller than a merchant.

“Simon Dent, I have come as my master’s representative.”

“This is Robert Black, Chess Association Master. I rule over a city of outlaws…”

“Documents?”

A man named Simon asked, interrupting Black’s self-introduction. Black held out the papers with a feeling of embarrassment.

“Here it is.”

Simon sat with his legs crossed and flipped through the papers. He didn’t even tell him to sit down, so Black had to stand and waited. Simon’s hand paused for a moment on the list of items.

A black piece, red-eyed 12-year-old boy.

There was nothing more to look at than he had confirmed what his master was looking for. He set the stack of papers down on the table.

“Master Black.”

“Yes, yes?”

Black, who had been swearing inwardly for being so arrogant about the agent, answered in surprise.

“I’ll buy your master’s license.” said Simon, pulling out a thin piece of paper.

“…yes?”

“It means I will buy all your association master licenses, facilities and equipment.”

Black’s mouth fell open. He thought he was an investor, but he was just saying that he would buy out his entire base. If he sold even his master’s license, what would he live on from now on?

“What nonsense…!”

Black, who was about to lose his temper, looked at the paper Simon held out and shut his mouth. It was a bill issued by the Garcia family. Black counted again, wondering if he had counted the wrong number of circles. It was the same.

“This, this, this…”

“As a master, it’s the price of giving away everything you have and leaving clean.”

Robert Black was stunned. It was too much money to refuse.

“If you refuse, I will find another master. As Master, all you need is the qualifications and foundation to participate in the game right away.”

Simon tried to withdraw the bill he had held out. Black hastily grabbed it.

“Pa, I will sell! Entire!”

“Good idea.”

A transaction was established.

* ♦ ♦ ♦ *

A knock was heard. Ariadne put down her book.

“This is Simon.”

“Come in.”

A well-groomed man came in carrying a bundle of papers on a silver tray.

Simon Dent.

It was the secretary that Ariadne had picked from Rebecca’s list of resumes.

‘Because he’s the person most unlikely to betray.’

Rebecca was well aware that what her little nephew’s business needed most was a reliable secretary. It was natural to start by secretly spraying elixirs on the black market. So, on each of her résumés, she explained what the person was trustworthy about. Among them, Simon Dent was said to be a man loyal to money. A person who would never betray you if you give him the right money. There was also such a story.

“You came quickly. Are you done already?”

“Because you said you would give me a bonus if I finished quickly.”

Simon answered with a blank face and a polite attitude. If her elixir got her business right, she would swim in money. Even if it wasn’t as much as the Duke of Eldeer in the novel that monopolized the elixir, it was a certain future that she would accumulate enormous wealth. Rebecca was the one who knew the future best. Although she hadn’t started her business properly yet, Ariadne was already wealthy thanks to Rebecca’s huge advance payment after signing her contract. She could do as much as she could to give her secretary a large salary and a good bonus.

She held out her leather pouch, accepting the papers Simon held out.

“Here, bonus.”

“No”

Simon took a step back.

“I will receive it after checking the work performance.”

“Oh yeah.”

He was loyal to money, but he said that handling work was like a knife. Everytime he looked at her, he just saw her childish days and her serious work with the counterparts.

Ariadne put down her pockets and opened her papers first. The contract she had with Robert Black was at the fore. On the next page was a list of items. As if she expected to find it. When she found Axel Valentine on the list, she let out a sigh of relief.

‘Okay, it’s just like the original.’

After this decision to help the protagonist, she continued to wander in and out of her fantasy library. How could she help him while maintaining the flow of the original work where the main character becomes a Munchkin as much as possible? After much thought, the method she found was to steal the role of her original character.

‘The role of Black, Master of the Chess Association.’