Chapter 29
Leaving behind the flattened corpses that couldn’t withstand the Impact delivered by the Virtual Mass, and the pedestrians whose excitement grew as they watched the spectacle.
Returning to the 2nd-floor office, Max put a Lollipop in his mouth.
The candy was vanilla flavored.
The scent was nice. It was perfect for forgetting the filthy stench left behind by the Biker Gang.
He immediately called Flora.
─ H-hello?
Her voice was startled, as if she hadn’t expected a call so soon.
“Is something wrong?”
─ Well, isn’t the gift Oppa gave me too expensive…?
The price was 3.1 million credits.
Even if it was an amount Flora could spend without a second thought, it was indeed a large sum for Max, a District 27 Mercenary.
Since he had even shown himself eating Energy Jelly to save a few pennies on food, she probably had the impression that the gift was excessive.
“Expensive? It’s the perfect price for the item.”
─ That’s not it… Uh…
Given Flora’s personality, it wouldn’t be easy for her to say that spending 3.1 million credits wasn’t a big deal for a District 27 Mercenary living in an office without a home.
It would be hard for her to even beat around the bush.
─ What Oppa gave me isn’t a normal pair of sunglasses.
“That’s right.”
It was exactly as Flora said.
That particular Rose Bird product was a pair of Smart Goggles equipped with functions beyond just protecting the eyes from sunlight.
When linked to a phone or tablet, it could record whatever was reflected on the lenses, and it could also pull up files from a gallery.
The vast majority of Minerva Academy students would be using Smart Goggles to participate in their theory classes.
“Academy students probably use much more expensive brands than Rose Bird. Still, Rose Bird products are the most resistant to heat.”
Of course, even without this, Flora would Graduate with overwhelming grades that would be evaluated as unprecedented in the history of Minerva Academy.
However, after graduating and entering society, she had started using Smart Goggles for her work.
Max remembered seeing on Haze News that she used the simplest model because she didn’t know what suited her, which was why he had picked out a more daring design.
'She’s so pretty, anything she wears would look good on her.'
Max gently reassured Flora, who couldn’t shake off her feeling of burden.
“I thought it would be convenient to have when you study.”
─ It will definitely be convenient, but…
“I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately, so the price isn’t a burden. I won’t be able to buy you things like this if I go broke later, so just accept it.”
Realizing the conversation would just go in circles, Flora made up her mind.
─ Thank you, Oppa. I’ll use it well.
“Keep up the good work until you Graduate from the Academy. I hope it helps even a little. Even if you don’t need it right now, you might find a use for it after you Graduate.”
─ Yeah. It’ll be a big help. I’ll get used to it in advance.
Max curled the corners of his mouth up in satisfaction.
Her subtly excited voice was nice to hear.
This must be what an ideal Family is like. It was a dream-like dynamic.
─ But it’s such a unique design, I don’t know if it’ll suit me. Will it be okay…?
“I bought it the moment I saw it because I thought it would look great on you. Isn’t it similar to your eye color? Since your hair is red, I figured orange would suit you well too.”
─ Ah, my eyes…
Flora’s voice rapidly trailed off, and it took a long while before it returned to normal.
Max chatted with Flora for over thirty minutes.
─ It might just be my imagination, but you sound like you’re in a good mood, Oppa. Did something good happen?
He didn’t think he had made it obvious, but her intuition was sharp.
Max debated whether to tell her he had reached the 4th-tier, but held back. He wanted to see how Flora’s expression would change in Person.
He changed the subject.
“I was feeling lonely, and then you asked if you could call. Imagine how glad I was.”
─ I-is that so? Hmm, I see.
·
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It was roughly over an hour later when their call finally ended.
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The next afternoon.
Ellen, having finished at the Academy, arrived at work in high spirits.
“What’s that filthy stain in front of the office… Huh?!”
Ellen noticed the change the moment she saw Max.
The power born from his change in tier could be clearly felt.
“You’re in later than usual today. Well, we didn’t have any customers anyway.”
“No, who cares if we had customers or not! You reached the 4th-Tier without even telling me!”
“…Not having Customers is important. And reaching the 4th-Tier is a given since the Association gave me such a good item.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve used it too, so I know. Diamond Spike is absolutely not that amazing of an item. Did your ancestors draw your circuits for you or something?”
Ellen was saying it. Our Liquid Metal isn’t that incredible.
Of course, since Max couldn’t say he was a Regressor, his best response was acting like the results are what they are, so what can you do.
“Good is good, right? Just congratulate me first.”
“Okay. Let’s go out and eat meat to celebrate. That place from last time was pretty good.”
“Hey now, a Customer might come by, and you want to go eat meat!”
“You went out just fine last time.”
“That was then, this is now.”
Ellen pouted and pulled out a candy.
She popped one in her mouth and showed her curiosity.
“Ah, does that Girl know Oppa reached the 4th-Tier too?”
“Who?”
“Who else? Oppa’s Younger Sibling.”
“I didn’t tell her on purpose. I have to surprise her.”
“Oppa knows how to have fun. Your skills are way better than those stuck-up snobs at our Academy, too.”
“Excluding you and Flora?”
“Stating the obvious.”
The average for Minerva Academy graduates was the 2nd-tier.
Graduates who were evaluated as geniuses and received concentrated investment from their families hovered around the 3rd-tier.
Even if they were pumped full of good things and brimming with magic power, the other requirements for ascending tiers simply took too much time.
Just looking at that, one could tell how absurd Flora and Ellen’s levels were.
Looking purely at their speed, they were Geniuses who would decorate the history of Haze.
The future Max remembered was certainly like that as well.
“Ah! Speaking of Oppa’s Younger Sibling.”
“You can just call her Flora.”
“Are you crazy! It’s too cheesy, how could I call her that?”
Ellen shuddered as if that was the one thing she absolutely couldn’t do.
It was a sentiment hard to understand.
Max brushed it off and listened closely.
“Anyway, what about Flora?”
“For once, she actually dressed up and even brought tinted Smart Goggles. She usually doesn’t dress up and only wears plain clothes, so I thought she’d just wear safe Smart Goggles with clear lenses and black frames.”
“Seeing as you’re saying that, they must have looked good on her.”
“…It’s not a compliment, so don’t tell that Girl I said it. Got it?”
At Ellen’s warning, Max smiled and nodded.
Only then did she continue.
“She always layers on achromatic clothes, so I thought I was gonna suffocate just looking at her. Seems like she finally found a color that suits her.”
“Was it that good?”
“Oppa, you’ve seen her usual fashion too. It’s a gray hoodie or a black hoodie every single day.”
“So what? She looks pretty.”
“Hah!”
Ellen shook her head as if there was no getting through to him.
Then she headed to the water dispenser to prepare coffee. Max also stood up and put on his jacket.
Because he had noticed a Customer was coming.
“Sir Max. Excuse me.”
Association Employee Meredith entered the office and offered a polite greeting to Ellen as well.
Max welcomed him with a smile.
“I didn’t expect you to come back in just a day.”
“I have no way of knowing the Association President’s intentions either. He’s quite a capricious Person.”
Meaning this was the Designated Request the Association President had asked him to prioritize.
Max sat facing Meredith on the Reception Sofa.
“Here~ Unni, Black Coffee, right?”
“Thank you.”
When Ellen offered the coffee, Meredith jumped up and received it with both hands.
“A cup for Oppa too.”
“Thanks.”
Max received his coffee while seated, and Meredith pulled a tablet and documents from his bag.
Ellen moved away from the sofa, sat in the computer chair, and fiddled with her phone.
“You will need to depart tomorrow.”
“So I have a day to spare. Even if another request comes in, I’ll keep my schedule clear.”
“Thank you. The reason I am providing the information in advance is that we want you to familiarize yourself with the request by tomorrow. Naturally, you must not leak this information to the outside.”
The treatment was better than when they used to come and send him off on the day of.
Perhaps he had built up a fair amount of trust by aligning himself with the Association.
“First, I’m curious about the Request Reward.”
“The Request Reward is 60 million credits, which is the upper limit for a 3rd-Tier Mercenary. Of course, it is a Short-term Request, not a long-term one.”
Thanks to that, Max realized something.
Even that old Diviner of an Association President couldn’t see how his target would grow.
'Well, I suppose he isn’t omnipotent.'
Was it a format where he could only catch glimpses of the big picture?
Regardless, it was highly likely he couldn’t see the finer details.
“Mr. Meredith. I have a correction to make regarding the reward.”
“I’m listening. Please speak.”
Meredith was preparing his justification for why the reward couldn’t be increased. And he was ready to firmly state that setting the amount at the upper limit was an exceptional Special Treatment.
He was sick and tired of dealing with that part when handling mercenaries.
However, Max’s words completely defied his expectations.
“I am not a 3rd-tier, but a 4th-Tier. I request an Information Correction.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Thanks to the good item the Association President left me, I was able to reach a higher place. By any chance, do you have that item you used last time to measure tiers?”
“Th-that Measurement Device isn’t currently… Have you really reached the 4th-Tier…?”
As Meredith blinked in a fluster, Ellen spun around in her computer chair and vouched for him.
“Oppa really is 4th-Tier. I was surprised too.”
Meredith gaped like a fish for a long time, unable to give a proper answer.
Eventually, deciding this wasn’t an issue he could speak for on his own, he asked for understanding.
“I apologize, but may I step out for a brief phone call?”
“Of course.”
Meredith stepped out of the office.
Max and Ellen looked at each other and grinned.