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Faulty Contract
Chapter 15 – Signs Not of Humans
---
After the three strangers withdrew—
The Black Forest became silent again.
Too silent.
No creatures.
No wind.
No movement.
As if the forest itself… was listening.
---
Lira was the first to break the silence.
"We should turn back."
A student immediately nodded.
"They know about Rei."
"And they have traps."
"Staying too long isn't good."
Elias didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Rei.
"Assessment?"
---
Rei looked down at the ground.
The prisoners' drag marks were still there.
Uninterrupted.
Genuine.
Those others didn't set traps to kill them.
At least… not yet.
He said:
"The captives are still ahead."
"Less than forty minutes away."
Lira frowned.
"But they could be waiting."
Rei nodded.
"High chance."
---
Elias asked further:
"Probability of ambush?"
"72%."
"Chance of rescue?"
"Undetermined."
Elias exhaled slowly.
"We turn back."
No one objected.
---
They began to retreat.
But after ten minutes—
Rei stopped.
Not because of traps.
Not because of enemies.
But… a scent.
---
He turned his head.
Looking deeper into the forest.
Lira noticed.
"What is it?"
Rei answered briefly:
"Blood."
"Far?"
"No."
"Close."
---
A weak cry sounded.
Very small.
But enough to confirm.
A person.
---
Elias signaled silence.
The team moved toward the sound.
Slowly.
Making no noise.
---
They found the second person.
A woman from the transport convoy.
Her leg trapped under a tree root.
Blood almost dried.
She saw them.
Eyes trembling.
"Don't… go deeper…"
The words mirrored the man from before.
---
Lira knelt.
"What about the others?"
The woman breathed heavily.
"They… were taken…"
"By whom?"
"Those… controlling the beasts…"
She looked at Rei.
Her gaze lingered.
Longer than usual.
"You…"
Rei tilted his head.
"What is it?"
She whispered:
"You… have no scent."
---
Lira frowned.
"What scent?"
"Human…"
"Blood… sweat… fear…"
She looked at Rei.
"You… don't have it."
---
No one spoke for several seconds.
Elias looked at Rei.
He saw nothing unusual.
But the survivors from the forest—
Had different senses.
---
Rei analyzed quickly.
Human body scent includes multiple factors:
Sweat.
Hormones.
Stress responses.
In battle—
These factors usually spike.
But Rei…
Had no comparable hormone response.
---
The girl continued.
"The beasts in the forest…"
"They also don't attack you."
Lira flinched.
"What do you mean?"
"They avoid you…"
"Like avoiding… something not prey."
---
Elias stood still.
An old report surfaced in his mind.
> Rei is not classified as "human" by the system
He had never thought this would matter in nature.
But now—
It might be true.
---
Rei did not react.
He only asked:
"Which direction did the captives go?"
The woman pointed with a trembling hand.
"East…"
"There's a… stone circle…"
"They keep people there…"
Then she fainted.
---
Lira turned to Elias.
"Sir… are we really going back?"
Elias looked east.
Stone circle.
Not a natural structure.
Could be a temporary base.
He asked Rei again:
"Assessment?"
---
Rei looked in that direction.
Distance:
Twenty-five minutes.
If ambushed—
The enemy had an advantage.
But there was another variable.
The captives.
He answered:
"Risk increases."
"But new information."
"The opponent wants to test."
Elias understood.
If they withdrew—
The other side would still try to approach Rei again.
---
Elias turned to the team.
"We rescue these two first."
"Then return to the academy."
One student exhaled in relief.
But Lira looked at Rei.
She knew what he was thinking.
---
As they prepared to leave—
Rei turned his head one last time.
To the east.
Where the stone circle was mentioned.
---
In Rei's internal system—
A new data point was recorded.
> Natural creatures do not recognize the subject as "human"
This explained much:
Why the beasts didn't attack proactively.
Why they hesitated when looking at him.
---
A new question appeared.
> If not human…
> Then what am I?
Rei didn't answer.
He simply returned to the team.
---
Deep in the forest.
At the stone circle.
Three gray-cloaked figures stood around a magical formation.
The tall, thin man looked at the observation orb.
Inside was an image of Rei.
He smiled lightly.
"Interesting."
"Even wild creatures don't see him as human."
Another asked:
"Should we capture him immediately?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"We haven't seen his limits yet."
He turned off the orb.
"Give him more choices."
---
End of chapter.
Hidden status board updated:
> Rei (零)
Human-like biological responses: Incomplete
Recognition by natural creatures: Different
Classification: [ERROR]
A system note appeared for the first time:
> "Subject lies between two biological definitions."
Arc 2 continues.
And the question became clearer:
Rei is not just a summoning system fault.
He may—
Be a fault in the very concept of "human."