Chapter 63
In Hoshikawa Yukina’s subjective Assessment, the meatball spaghetti was delicious.
Truthfully, she had scarfed it down in such a state of confusion that she couldn’t tell if it was going into her nose or her mouth, or whether she was chewing or swallowing, but shouldn’t it be rated as the best dish, since she felt happy while eating it?
Max expressed his gratitude as soon as they left the restaurant.
“Thanks to you, I ate well.”
“…Paying the request fee like this makes me feel shameless.”
Max nonchalantly started walking, asking what the big deal was.
“Since we’ve eaten, how about coffee? Pass if you’re busy.”
At Max’s suggestion, Yukina checked to see if she had time to spare.
Emmaus Medical Center, where Ryu-Ji was staying, was also located within District 14. Even though District 14 was large, she could get there quickly by cutting across the buildings.
“I still have time. But if we were going to drink coffee, wouldn’t it have been fine to drink it at the restaurant earlier?”
“There’s a specialty shop with better coffee. I’ll buy the drinks, so follow me.”
Max headed toward a cafe he had in mind beforehand.
Usagi walked beside him, chattering like a sparrow.
“A specialty shop… It seems you’ve already mastered District 14.”
“Do you know how much legwork I did after signing the office contract? I can at least remember the good shops.”
He passed on the cafes on the boulevard because they were crowded. He knew Usagi felt uncomfortable with the gazes of men.
Flora and Ellen acted nonchalantly no matter how much attention they drew, as if they were used to the stares of others, but it seemed that wasn’t something just anyone could do.
Max led Usagi to an independent cafe rather than a franchise.
Of course, the prices were expensive enough to make Usagi’s rabbit ears stand stiff.
“What do you want to drink?”
“…Just a warm coffee is fine.”
“Until recently, I liked hot drinks too, but lately I can only drink iced ones. Being in the office changed my tastes.”
They finished ordering at the machine while making small talk.
Receiving the coffee made by a robot and sitting at a table, Max revived the briefly severed conversation.
“Usa - Hmm, it’s hard to know what to call you outside.”
It was an awkward situation to call her by her Mercenary Alias when she wasn’t fulfilling a request.
When Max hesitated over what to call her, Yukina raised the corners of her mouth and asked.
“Is Max your real name?”
“That’s right.”
“Why don’t you use an alias?”
“It just ended up this way somehow.”
If Max had had the time, the Association would have subtly recommended using an alias, and he would have considered it.
But he had reached the point of taking requests that required an alias far too quickly. His tier growth was so rapid that he had skipped several procedures.
It wouldn’t matter if he made and used one now, but he lacked the sense to come up with a decent alias and found it bothersome to boot.
“You can just call me Hoshikawa. That’s fine when we’re outside.”
“That’s a pretty name. Is that an alias too?”
“Who knows. It might be my real name.”
Usagi smiled as she stirred her coffee with a spoon.
It was an unexpected side of her to Max.
His first impression of Usagi was that she would never play around or make jokes. This thought carried over during the District 19 Request as well.
But it seemed he had been mistaken.
“Someone who drops the formalities once you get close?”
Max thought this side of her was nice. They were likely to keep running into each other in the Same Industry, so wasn’t it better to get close?
Just looking at Usagi’s tenacity and skill gave him the premonition that she wouldn’t stop at the 4th tier and would climb even higher.
“Hoshikawa.”
“H-Huh?”
Yukina used all her strength to suppress her flinching.
Being called by her name by Max made her feel ticklish and strange.
“Did you take the subway here?”
“I’ll take the subway when I leave, too. As long as you avoid rush hour, it’s the fastest and cheapest form of Public Transportation.”
“Speaking of Public Transportation, I am reminded that there’s a rumor going around that Vector Mobility is modifying all its buses to be Amphibious to expand its routes.”
“That’ll just drive up the costs again. How many times a year do transportation fares go up…?”
“It’s just a rumor. We don’t know yet.”
“With mutated organisms on the rise due to Corporate Wastewater, operating an Amphibious Bus will be difficult. A MegaCorp like Vector Mobility might have a clever solution, but I have no desire to ride an Amphibious Bus.”
“True, considering mutated creatures are already appearing in the District 20s. If it’s the Lower District - “
As they spent time on trivial conversations that didn’t really matter and nutritionless small talk, Yukina’s Smartphone sounded an alarm.
It was time to head to Emmaus Medical Center.
“…Max, I think I should get going now.”
“I was thinking I should slowly head back to the office too. Those two keep fighting when they’re left alone.”
Max used Psychokinesis to grab the mug and the plastic cup and returned them to the Counter.
The two stepped out of the cafe and stopped walking.
“Hoshikawa.”
“…Yeah?”
“It was short, but it was fun. I wasn’t the only one having fun, right?”
“I-I enjoyed it too…!”
Max raised the corners of his mouth at the satisfying answer.
Yukina wanted to smile back at him, but it wasn’t easy. She just felt like her heart was going to burst.
“I don’t know when we’ll meet next.”
“…Yeah. I suppose.”
Now that there was a difference in their tiers, it would be hard to meet unless it was a special request like District 19.
A wait with no promise of when. Could anything be this agonizing?
With that realization, Yukina’s mood, which had been floating in the sky, plummeted to the ground in an instant.
“Ah.”
It was enough to make her suspect she had bipolar disorder, let alone an arrhythmia.
Seeing her rabbit ears droop down, Max reflexively made an offer.
“Who cares if it’s not for a request. Come hang out at the office whenever you feel like it, Hoshikawa.”
Her drooping ears shot straight up, and Hoshikawa met his eyes.
Her pupils regained their faded vitality.
“…I’ll contact you.”
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Max sent Hoshikawa off and headed to the office.
He had intended to see Hoshikawa off at the station, but she said she had business to attend to, so they parted ways in front of the cafe.
And then,
The moment he entered the office located on the 5th floor, he asked Flora and Ellen.
“Sorry for stepping out. Did you guys eat?”
“…Max! Welcome back.”
“You’re back~ We just ate.”
“You ate late. Nothing much happened?”
“We didn’t have any customers, but something did happen. Listen to that Girl over there.”
Max followed Ellen’s finger and shifted his gaze toward Flora.
Flora bit her lip as if nervous before bringing up the main point.
“…Grandfather asked if you were free the next day.”
“Ah! I don’t have any scheduled requests, so I’m fine.”
When Max accepted it calmly, Flora also regained her composure.
“Then I’ll tell him that. He’ll probably send a car to the office.”
He had been wondering when the call would come and had forgotten about it, but it finally arrived.
It was a relief that his schedule was open. If he had had a request, he would have had to postpone it.
“Wow~ Max, you’ve got guts. Aren’t you scared to meet the Head of a Prestigious Magic Family?”
“It’s not like I’m being dragged there for doing something wrong.”
In truth, what did right or wrong matter in Haze?
Even if he were nervous enough for his stomach to twist, he just couldn’t show himself biting his nails in front of his employees.
Such behavior would definitely add to Flora’s anxiety.
Anyway, this was a topic to be continued tomorrow.
For Ellen and Flora, there was a topic they wanted to ask about right now.
“Then, Max.”
“Yeah?”
“Sit down here now. Hurry up.”
At Ellen’s request, Max sat on the Reception Sofa, and a coffee with ice floating in it was placed in front of him.
It felt like an interrogation room.
Flora, who was sitting at the computer creating the format for the Experiential Intern Report, kept stealing glances at the two facing each other and focused her hearing.
“That rabbit Hoshikawa from earlier is the Mercenary who played the wife, right?”
“Interesting. What’s the evidence that led you to that conclusion?”
“She made a slip of the tongue when she came in and called you 'Honey', evidence or whatever.”
Did Usagi, a Mercenary trusted by the Bohemian Mercenary Association, make such a mistake?
For some reason, it was incredibly cute, making it hard for Max to hold back his laughter.
“How about you get a job as a detective instead of a Mercenary, Ellen? You show talent.”
“What kind of detective notices something anyone would catch? Max, you should have seen the situation back then.”
“It is a shame I missed it.”
Even though he didn’t explicitly confirm it with his answer, Max’s reaction was an answer in itself.
“So what was the Request Reward?”
“Well. What do you think it was?”
“Don’t tell me, during sacred Working Hours… you didn’t go and do something n-naughty, did you!”
At Ellen’s loud voice, a clatter rang out from Flora’s seat as well.
“Naughty my foot, we just went to eat.”
“Hmm…”
Ellen fiddled with the rabbit character attached to her phone and sent it a suspicious glare.
“Would I lie? What do I have to gain from lying?”
“Okay! I’ll believe you this time.”
“Oh my, thank you so much~”
Declared innocent, Max gulped down his coffee.
Ellen watched him blankly before asking out of the blue.
“Max, aren’t you going to date anyone?”
“I’m busy to death, what about dating? I don’t have anyone to date, either.”
In truth, being busy was just an excuse. Risk Management was the decisive issue.
News of Max’s tier would eventually reach Steiger. If he had a lover or a wife, that would be the most dangerous time.
Given their closed-off and conservative nature, even if they didn’t fully acknowledge Max - who couldn’t use Shooting Magic - they would definitely attempt to exploit his value.
If Max refused to be controlled, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t kidnap the people around him.
“Have you ever dated before?”
“Me? Nope.”
Max finished answering nonchalantly and went into his room, saying he needed to pick out his clothes for tomorrow.
“…”
“…”
Flora and Ellen gulped, recalling Max’s words that he had never dated before.