Chapter 60
“How was this request? Was the Person playing your wife pretty?”
Ellen threw out the bait, filling her expression and voice with a lighthearted tone as if it were a joke.
While Flora also leaned in and listened intently, Max answered without hesitation.
“She was pretty. She was someone carefully selected by the Association, after all.”
Ellen and Flora’s steps faltered at the exact same time.
They seized the conversation, pretending nothing was wrong.
“H-hmm~ Is that so? Even so, she wasn’t prettier than me, right?”
Max laughed, admiring Ellen’s unwavering self-esteem. However, the answer Ellen wanted didn’t come out.
“Everyone has their own charm. Who am I to judge who’s prettier or uglier?”
It seemed like a model answer that wouldn’t hurt anyone, but such an ambiguous response was bound to feel close to a denial.
This meant it was a development Ellen Clements couldn’t accept. She poked her horns into Max’s shoulder, pressuring him.
“Oppa. I’m not joking, so answer quickly. I’m prettier, right?”
“Yes, yes. Our Ms. Part-timer is prettier.”
“Are you kidding me! There’s no sincerity at all!”
As Ellen threw a fit, her horns were flashing.
Flora intervened and pulled Ellen away from Max.
“Don’t bother Oppa. Is there even any value in hearing you’re pretty when you forced it out of him?”
“This Girl… I might let other things slide, but I can’t just overlook the issue of looks. You wanna go?”
“Anytime.”
Season 9999 of their Bickering broke out.
Max made a comment that still had some effect between Flora and Ellen.
“I know you two get along well, so stop showing off and let’s go. If you’re late, I’m leaving you behind.”
“…”
Feeling like fighting any further would be affirming Max’s words, the two immediately cut off their argument.
They finished it off by glaring at each other.
During the wait for the subway, the conversation and atmosphere returned to their original track.
“Oppa, so where did you decide to hold the next office?”
“I went around looking at properties by myself. I think District 14 would be good.”
Flora perked up her ears in joy that her opinion had been adopted.
Ellen playfully grumbled.
“Ah, why! You should have gotten a place near the Academy so it’s easy to commute!”
“I looked near Minerva Academy too, but there wasn’t any space suitable for a Mercenary Office. Still, it’ll be much easier to commute than it is now, right?”
That was also true.
Watching the subway pull in, Ellen raised the corners of her mouth.
“Ah! Then I can increase my Working Hours to four or five hours!”
“Do as you please. I’ll make sure to pay you properly, so don’t worry.”
“Yes!”
They leisurely boarded the arriving subway.
The subway heading to the Lower District on the opposite side had quite a few people, but the one heading up was quiet and had plenty of seats.
They moved to a car with horizontal seating and sat on a three-seater bench.
Max took the center so the two wouldn’t fight.
Ignoring the subtle stares gathering on her, Ellen chirped about a thought that just occurred to her.
“In a little bit, I have to do this thing called an Academy experiential internship, so I’m thinking of applying to Oppa’s office. You don’t mind, right?”
It was the very thing Flora had secretly told Max about.
Max subtly exchanged glances with Flora and tested Ellen.
“The fact that you’re going out of your way to ask means I can refuse if I want to?”
“You can do whatever you want. But wouldn’t rumors spread that it’s a Mercenary Office that accepts Crimson Howl but rejects Clements?”
“…”
“My mom has a really strong sense of pride, so I don’t know how she’d take it.”
At her tone, which showed she was certain Flora would also apply to Max’s office, Max immediately surrendered.
“If Ellen applies, I’ll welcome her with open arms.”
In truth, it would be foolish to refuse.
It meant bringing in two 5th-Tier Mages as employees for a bargain. Since they would be employees rather than part-timers, the scope of their work would also be broader.
“Oppa. If I am an Experiential Intern, do I get two salaries? Do I get one as a Part-timer and one as an Experiential Intern?”
“You’re really trying to squeeze blood from a stone…”
“Ahaha! That was a joke, a joke! Oppa’s expression is really funny!”
She said that once she started the Experiential Intern program, she wouldn’t attend the Academy during that time and would commute to the office instead.
It meant her Working Hours themselves would be longer than those of the days she was a Part-timer.
‘If I play around like this, I’ll go bankrupt.’
It wasn’t that the salaries of the two coming as interns were burdensome.
Even for a small office without a deposit in District 14, the monthly rent easily exceeded Ten Million Credits.
Rather, this burden was overwhelmingly larger.
“Anyway, since we’re out, let’s go see the office and grab something to eat. I’ll buy whatever you two want.”
“Really?! Then I’ll look up some good restaurants in District 14~”
Ellen naturally pulled out her phone and continued searching.
Flora, sitting next to him, carefully asked Max if it would be okay, using only the shape of her mouth. As if fully intending to pay instead, she even held out her Family Card subtly.
Of course, Max refused. The sentiment Flora showed was enough.
“Even if they’re the Districts in the 10-range, one meal isn’t a burden, so don’t worry.”
He had just returned from completing an Upper Limit Request; shouldn’t he provide at least this much welfare for his employees?
Besides, he was filled with the desire to just buy something delicious for his Younger Sibling, Flora.
[This stop is District 14.]
The three of them exited the station and headed to the real estate Agency.
“Oppa. Are we just looking today?”
“Well. I’m thinking of looking at the properties I saw last time along with some additional listings and signing a contract if possible.”
The Request Reward hadn’t come in yet, but it wasn’t a problem.
He had already finished discussing that matter with Meredith.
He just needed to connect the Broker with the Bohemian Mercenary Association.
They had agreed to deduct the amount needed for the office rental from the commission fee, not to mention handling the paperwork for identity verification.
Anyway, the preparations were perfect.
··
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Max’s office was chosen to be in District 14 as planned.
District 14 was a place Max had various connections to.
The biggest factor was the spot where he hit his first turning point after his regression and the place where he first encountered Flora.
On a smaller scale, there were the department store where he bought the Specialized Clothing that saved his life during the Harbor Request, and the Emmaus Medical Center where the bunny kid was.
Above all, seeing Mercenary offices belonging to other Associations setting up shop one by one, he thought that at the very least, he wouldn’t be swatting flies and doing nothing.
“Great. They said they confirmed the documents sent by the Association. The money went through, so the contract is done! Now we just need to move the luggage. This is the office.”
“Oppa. Good work.”
“Let’s go eat first. Hurry!”
They finished contracting a place that satisfied not only Max, but Flora and Ellen as well, like that.
They held a small celebration party at the teppanyaki restaurant Ellen had found, and were served by a robot chef.
The teppanyaki was delicious, and it was much cheaper than Max had expected.
He figured Ellen must have been considerate about it.
“How admirable.”
He was filled with the realization and happiness that he was blessed with good people.
Max began to look forward to his start in this new nest.
* * *
It was two weeks after the District 19 Request ended.
Usagi of the Bohemian Mercenary Association, Hoshikawa Yukina, received a message from Meredith.
─ Max’s Office Relocation is complete. I will send the location via message.
“!”
Looking at the address, she realized it was District 14, where her Younger Sibling Ryu-Ji was.
Her shift as a Part-timer had just ended anyway, so she was planning to go today as well.
“Even if the restaurants in District 14 are expensive… I still have to pay the commission fee.”
Her mood, which had been subtly downcast since the District 19 Request ended, instantly lifted.
Usagi quickly started getting ready.
“What should I wear…”
Looking in her closet, she saw nothing but shabby clothes. She had gone a long time without spending money on casual wear.
She pulled out a clean black t-shirt and jeans from among them and put them on, but the realization that it was too cheap an outfit brought up a sense of embarrassment she had never felt before.
“Phew!”
Still, she gave up, since she had nothing else to wear.
It would be absurd to visit in her Ninja outfit just because she didn’t have any nice clothes, wouldn’t it?
Having finished getting ready, Usagi left her house earlier than planned.
Moving quietly as always, she checked the time.
“If I go now, Ryu-Ji will have just finished his medication and be asleep.”
Normally, she would rest at home and move to match the time he woke up.
But today, she decided on a schedule to meet Max and then go to the Emmaus Medical Center.
[This stop is District 14.]
Getting off the subway, Hoshikawa Yukina headed in an unfamiliar direction.
She kept looking around while checking the map on her Smartphone.
While moving like that.
Looking at the shops lined up nearby, she thought of one thing.
“I should probably get an opening gift.”
It wouldn’t be good manners to go empty-handed when he had moved his office, right?
Various things like a clock, a potted plant, an open/close sign, and an umbrella stand popped into Yukina’s head.
Many things came to mind, but nothing strongly appealed to her.
‘Hmm, they’re all a bit ambiguous.’
If they were things already provided in the office, they would all just be a burden.
‘Since it’s a Mercenary Office, there will probably be many cases of entertaining customers.’
A beverage set would be a good choice.
After purchasing a boxed beverage set at a Convenience Store, Usagi walked the remaining 300 meters.
And then she raised her head.
“Is it the 5th floor of this building?”
It wasn’t a grand building. Still, it was a clean building.
The signboard provided by the Bohemian Association was also hanging there.
[Max’s Mercenary Office]
Max’s phone number was written below the signboard.
“…Just in case.”
Hoshikawa Yukina hesitated for a moment before saving Max’s number in her phone and entering the building.
Her heart pounded strangely at the thought of seeing Max.
Taking the Elevator to the 5th floor, Yukina turned the doorknob and spoke up.
“Honey. No, I mean… Max?”
Was it because she felt awkward, having actually rarely called him by his name?
Yukina blurted out what she used to call him during the request.
The gazes of a Wolf and a dragon pierced into Usagi like blades.