Chapter 47
“Disguise ourselves as a married couple?! What kind of shady request is that?”
Silence spread at Ellen’s single remark. The office grew quiet.
With the piercing gazes added to the mix, Ellen finally came to her senses.
A silence that strangely made her face flush.
Before she could spit out another slip of the tongue in the heat of the moment, she pulled in Flora, who was next to her.
Because she had a subtly dissatisfied face.
“─This is the story of how a certain Wolf expressed her dissatisfaction here.”
“Hey! Are you really crazy?”
Caught up in Ellen’s sudden outburst, Flora rarely raised her voice. Her face turned red as if the heat from Ellen’s face had transferred over.
“Girl, it’s a joke! That was a joke, but… don’t you think so about the request? Disguising as a married couple is weird!”
“…It can’t be helped. Oppa is a Mercenary, so he takes requests.”
“You idiot! Listen to me until the end!”
The two girls whispered and shared their opinions.
The Association President, who was facing Max, broke into a cold sweat and stood up from his seat.
“…Did this Old Man perhaps make a mistake somewhere?”
Flora pressed Ellen down firmly and shook her head.
“It seems Clements here misunderstood and got the wrong idea. Please don’t mind her and continue. Oppa… sorry for interrupting.”
“It’s fine. It’s good to freshen up the mood. Association President, let’s continue.”
The Association President sat awkwardly back down on the sofa.
He re-established a serious atmosphere. He handed over the rough information.
“Max, do you know of a Corporation called Anchor Security?”
“I don’t. Just hearing the name, I think it sounds like a security or Guard Company.”
“That’s right. It’s a startup Company in that field. Even if it’s a startup, it was started by a Family with funds, so its size isn’t small, and its starting point wasn’t the Lower District either.”
“Hmm.”
Max slowly chewed over the information.
As expected, it was a Corporation he had never heard of.
'Even with funds, the outlook for the security sector itself is dark, so I guess it can’t be helped.'
The MegaCorp situated in Haze operated its own Security System and armed forces.
As the value of information and technology was immense, it absolutely never subcontracted when it came to security and guards.
Even if it wasn’t a MegaCorp, any Corporation with a decent size pursued a similar system, so security companies had more work the further down they went and a narrower foothold the further up they went.
“Seeing as you mentioned them, is it a Corporation related to this request?”
“Of course. They are connected to the identity you will be using.”
“I understand. My new identity is an Employee of Anchor Security.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s the fourth son of the Anchor Security Chairman. This Social Party will be the fourth son’s first external event. There is no Person who would recognize his face, so do not worry. He has never been exposed anywhere.”
“The fourth son of the Chairman? If we use someone of that level among existing persons, won’t that cause problems later on?”
If Max faced a situation where he had to use magic while carrying out this request or made even the slightest mistake, the Chairman’s fourth son would become unable to attend other external events.
If he couldn’t show the same impression and performance when again encountering a Person who had attended the Social Party, his tail would be stepped on and the very survival of the Corporation would be shaken.
Since the doubt Max harbored was entirely valid, the Association President immediately continued his explanation.
“We have purchased the identity, so there is no problem. Once this request is over, a death report will be submitted to the Agency at an appropriate time.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Max was convinced at once.
He could see how things were running, a method of handling work seen occasionally in Haze.
“The fourth son is already dead.”
That corpse was likely being kept by Anchor Security.
And the one who appraised the usage and value of the fourth son who had become a corpse was likely the Chairman of Anchor Security as well.
It was hard to imagine any other scenario.
“The materials contain the detailed location and situation, the running time, the Guard personnel, and the confirmed list of attendees.”
“It seems there isn’t just one thing to do. I thought you were asking me to win an auction item on your behalf.”
“That will depend on the items. We couldn’t obtain the list of auction items being submitted.”
“So depending on the situation, proxy purchasing is also included.”
“Examples are in the materials.”
Proxy purchasing of auction items was something corporations commonly did.
When a competitor put a new product or special drug up for auction, if he or she wanted to purchase it, dismantle it, and copy the technology, he or she would order a proxy purchase.
An associated Person buying it openly could raise suspicion or become a laughingstock depending on the situation.
'They can use the name of Anchor Security’s fourth son for the winning bid, so they’d want to use it.'
Max continued his speculation.
The Association President looked closely at Max’s face and asked.
“Will you take the request?”
“You haven’t told me exactly what I need to do, so I’m still lacking information, but… what is the compensation?”
“You will know everything you need to do once you receive the materials. There is simply too much content to explain verbally while sitting here. For now, the compensation is 300 million credits since it’s a Short-term Request.”
“When is the execution date?”
“The 7th of next month.”
This is an Upper Limit Request this time as well. It is absolutely excellent.
There were also about three weeks left, so he had plenty of time.
The thought of accepting the request filled Max’s head.
Meanwhile, the Association President repeatedly concentrated to see Max’s flow in his capacity as a Diviner.
As he attempted to capture it, an intense wave of fatigue rushed in.
“…This is a headache.”
The Association President firmly pressed his aching eyes.
Was it because he tried to peek at his own fate through another? Or did he simply lack the skill to read it?
Max’s flow was invisible. It wasn’t blurry like Usagi’s. It existed, but it couldn’t be captured.
The fact that what could be read when they first met had now become impossible meant that the intangible elements intertwined with Max had undergone a cataclysmic change.
'I don’t know how far he intends to go.'
It was intriguing. He wanted to watch his future steps.
He had to keep a good hold on him so he wouldn’t leave for another Association.
“Association President. Are there any matters I need to be aware of outside of the materials?”
“There is nothing outside the materials, but I will tell you this in advance. The Steiger Family is also scheduled to attend.”
Strength entered Max’s eyes.
“…Lately, when I do requests, I have no idea what is actually inside them.”
“You know that a Mercenary shouldn’t try to know more than the Request Details, don’t you?”
“You are right. But when you meet Family members as enemies, it’s natural to have various thoughts.”
“The possibility of facing them as enemies is low this time, so do not worry.”
A small hint of dissatisfaction settled on Max’s face.
It was also the frustration that had built up amidst the interconnected requests. The fragmented pieces of information were excessively grating.
“I believe you know what I am trying to say, Association President. I am not saying that killing Family members weighs on my conscience.”
“Of course I know. That is why it is impossible for me to tell you with my mouth. I may have the title of Association President, but this Old Man is also in a position of following orders.”
“…I understand.”
“Still, as you carry out the requests, you might gradually come to know. Things like that cannot be stopped anyway.”
Max let out a long Breath.
Hoping that the scattered pieces would come together as soon as possible, he expressed his intention.
“I will take the request. Please give me the materials.”
* * *
The day of the request.
Max had been out in front of the office since morning, waiting for a vehicle.
The Social Party started after the sun went down, but there was a lot to prepare. Starting with his attire and face, he also had to discuss this and that with his partner.
“Hmm.”
Exhaling, he bit into a Lollipop.
“Melon Flavor.”
Lately, the probability of winning the Melon Flavor, a symbol of good luck, has been going up.
It wasn’t that he was lucky. It was because Ellen sneakily picked out and ate the other flavors during her shift.
Unlike Max, who tore the wrappers without checking the flavor written on the outside, Ellen checked them one by one and ate the flavors she was drawn to.
Vrooom!
A black sedan stopped in front of Max.
Click! At the sound of the lock releasing, he opened the back door and boarded, only to hear a welcoming voice.
“Max-nim. It has been a while.”
“Ah! It’s been a while.”
It was the Driver who had been with him during the Gaia Food request.
A benefactor had saved his life by executing a bold judgment, even though he might have taken the blame.
“First, we will pick up the Mercenary who will be joining you.”
“Sounds good.”
The wheels rolled quietly.
With unwavering driving skills, they exited the alley and got on the boulevard.
Max exchanged greetings with the Driver and leisurely observed the road.
His eyes were looking outside. However, his head was full of the request’s information.
On the day he accepted the request, Max realized the reason the Association President had presented only information full of holes.
It was definitely too complicated to explain with words. Even if the objective was the same, the paths differed depending on the situation, and there was a lot to memorize, such as the attendees, the relationships between the attendees, the blueprints, and so on.
And there was even a request to film specific people conversing.
Steiger was also included among the filming targets. Just the sight of the targets conversing with someone from a specific Corporation would likely cause a problem.
He truly had to do a variety of things for this request.
“Still, I have to do well and make it back alive.”
If things went by the book, the request was scheduled to take two days.
Ellen had said she would come to work, but he figured there was no need for that before they moved, so he told her that she should rest and that he would still take care of her pay.
Yesterday, he even had a rather long phone call with a worried Flora.
How long had they been driving down the road like that?
Max felt a strange familiarity in the scenery reflected beyond the window.
“Huh? This is…”
It was the place where they had picked someone up before heading to the District 41 Port.
'Don’t tell me the partner is…'
The vehicle slowly came to a stop, and click! the lock released.
The back door opened.
“…”
And the Ninja boarded.