Chapter 19
“I think my wife is having an affair…”
An interesting topic came up that captured not only Max’s attention but Ellen’s as well.
Ellen pretended not to be interested, returning to her computer chair to listen in, while Max led the conversation.
“You think she is having an affair? Given that you are making an assumption, do you need evidence to confirm the infidelity?”
“That is correct… It is hard for me to make time because of work… Ah! Here is my business card.”
Clients who visit a mercenary office generally do not reveal their names and affiliations.
It is overwhelmingly common for them to pay in cash and leave no transfer records.
Why would they leave evidence of using such a place?
Still, if they show it, he doesn’t refuse.
Max received the crisp business card.
“You are Yu Wi-Gang, the Management Team Leader at the Nimbus Express Hub Tower. Is this the company that delivers goods with drones?”
“Yes, yes. That is correct.”
Nimbus Express was a logistics company located in District 21. It was a corporation of considerable size. This meant the man in front of him, Yu Wi-Gang, was quite elite in terms of educational background.
Max pocketed the business card and continued the conversation in earnest.
“Is your wife also in the same corporation?”
“No. My wife is an employee at Eco Scrap, one of the companies that manage our Nimbus Express drones.”
It was the corporation Max was hearing of for the first time. He knew Nimbus Express, but he didn’t know Eco Scrap.
From the sound of it, Nimbus was the prime contractor.
“How far apart are Nimbus Express and Eco Scrap physically?”
“It takes over an hour by car… If I want to see my wife during work hours, I have to make up a work excuse just to barely see her…”
“Understood. Then could you tell me the circumstances that led you to suspect your wife’s infidelity?”
At Max’s question, Yu Wi-Gang clenched his hands tightly.
His bony fists trembled with an emotion that could have been anger or fear.
“It first started when… I ended up seeing a message arrive on her unlocked phone…”
“What was the content?”
“It was affectionate. The kind of content… that I had never received even while we were dating…”
Yu Wi-Gang looked as if his brain had shattered, perhaps reaching his limit just by describing it vaguely.
From Max’s perspective, it was hard to say anything since he hadn’t seen the content himself.
“Did anything else happen?”
“She said she was going to work but actually didn’t… or she mistakenly mentioned a store we’d never visited together…”
“Hmm.”
Max nodded and listened attentively.
“And then, crucially, one of my friends said he saw her! My wife was going somewhere with another man… Normally I would have told my friend he saw wrongly, but given the situation…!”
“I understand. You have every right to be angry. I also grasp the reason you came here.”
As he showed empathy, Yu Wi-Gang bit his lip hard.
It seemed he couldn’t control his emotions in the face of this incident.
“Listening to your story, customer, it seems the affair partner has been identified. Is that correct?”
“Yes…”
“Then the job will be a bit easier.”
Max received information and photos of the wife from Yu Wi-Gang, as well as information related to the person identified as the affair partner.
After handing over the materials, Yu Wi-Gang babbled about the situation with trembling lips.
“I have to visit home before returning to work at the Hub Tower, where I will spend all of tonight and the entire weekend. But my wife is off work now and has both Saturday and Sunday off.”
“You mean there is a possibility she will make a move right away?”
“That is why I came today… My friend said the mercenary here is trustworthy…”
“Oho, it seems your friend has visited our office before.”
Yu Wi-Gang nodded carefully.
“He said you are a mercenary who is unusually kind and good at your job… I heard you put a bullet in the lower half of the exhibitionist my friend’s daughter encountered.”
“Ah! I remember!”
It was a request he received after the 1M Cockroach Extermination.
He was a mister who rarely tried to cut the request reward and spent money generously, and he turned out to be a friend.
‘Good news.’
A beautiful cycle of a customer bringing in another customer.
Max eased Yu Wi-Gang’s tension with small talk based on the past request.
Then he got back to the main point.
“Customer. There is a very important matter. It is a matter that greatly affects the cost of the request.”
“…”
Yu Wi-Gang had a face that knew what Max was going to ask.
Max asked directly, fitting the stance of a mercenary.
“Is your goal, customer Yu Wi-Gang, to secure evidence and get an amicable divorce?”
Max could read it.
The fluctuation of Yu Wi-Gang’s emotions upon hearing the question.
“After the affair is confirmed, what would you like done with your wife and the partner?”
“Th-that is…”
“You can speak honestly. This is a request that I, Max, will carry out. No one will hold you accountable, Customer Yu Wi-Gang.”
Yu Wi-Gang had also come all the way to the mercenary office because he knew Haze’s ecology.
Someone died or got hurt in Haze. The backgrounds of the killer and the killed were what mattered.
If someone attempted to kill Flora Crimsonhowl or Ellen Clements, Haze’s agency and the magic noble family would mobilize to find and deal with them somehow.
But if it were ambiguous and neither here nor there, this corrupt city wouldn’t even spare a glance.
‘Neither the wife nor the partner has a background that would cause a snag.’
In the District 20s, one only needed to handle things while avoiding places with CCTV and witnesses.
It was a tricky condition compared to the lower district, but as long as this was followed, the police’s defaulting it to an unsolved case was standard.
“I…”
A demand flowed from Yu Wi-Gang’s mouth.
Max accepted it expressionlessly, without showing any reaction.
“I understand. I will tell you the cost.”
Yu Wi-Gang gulped.
“If the request is finalized, I will use all of tonight and the weekend to find evidence proving your wife’s infidelity.”
“Yes…”
“The cost is 10 million credits. Since you came through a referral, I will not charge for any expenses incurred during the job.”
Depending on the situation, it meant utilizing a 3rd-tier mage for the entire weekend. Perhaps it was cheaper than expected, as Yu Wi-Gang did not look particularly surprised.
Rather, he had a face of pleasant surprise.
“And finally, the cost to carry out your desired conditions will be 30 million credits after sending you the definitive evidence.”
This was the real deal.
The cost for a 3rd-Tier Mage to dirty his hands on his behalf.
Yu Wi-Gang didn’t hesitate much, as if he had already made up his mind.
“I leave it in your capable hands…”
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After Yu Wi-Gang-Gang-Gang-Gang exchanged numbers and left, Max hurried to get ready to head out.
He was grabbing his outerwear and a lollipop and checking the address Yu Wi-Gang had sent.
He saw Ellen loitering behind him.
“What are you doing not getting ready to get off work?”
“Are you telling me to go home after hearing a story like that?”
“Staying up all night ruins your skin. And if we just do a stakeout for hours, it won’t be as fun as you think.”
“My skin isn’t weak enough to have problems from staying awake a few days! Take me with you!”
Ellen grabbed his collar.
Max tried to pry her hand off, but Ellen’s grip was so strong that he couldn’t loosen it at all.
‘Wow, I can’t even budge.’
He showed the dignity of a boss without revealing his panic.
“Ellen, when I hired you, I clearly said you’d only do chores like cleaning and taking out drinks. I also said there would be no going out on requests together.”
“You don’t have to pay me for going out together! I’m just curious, so take me with you just this once!”
“Even so, how can I do that… What if the Clements family comes looking for you because you didn’t go home? It puts me in a tough spot when someone as precious as you acts so stubbornly.”
“Didn’t you know? The Clements are hands-off when it comes to this sort of thing.”
Since it didn’t feel like she was going to give up, Max racked his brain.
‘Hmm.’
Forcing himself to forget the many problematic aspects and focusing only on the positives, having a 5th-tier mage around in case of an emergency would certainly be reassuring.
“I get it, so let go of my hand.”
“If you run away, you’ll get struck by lightning.”
Max headed straight to his room. He brought out a zip-up hood and handed it to Ellen.
It was an oversized fit, perfect for hiding her conspicuous appearance and horns.
“Just this once.”
“Hehe~ Oppa’s scent is nice.”
Ellen, wearing the hood pulled up, left the office with Max.
They crossed over to the next district and rented a vehicle with tinted windows.
Vroom!
As Max sat in the rental car, he started the engine and waited.
Ellen, who had gone to the convenience store, returned and sat in the passenger seat.
“Oppa~ I bought snacks!”
What Ellen had bought was red bean bread and milk.
It was an unexpected choice.
“Bread? You must have been hungry.”
“Don’t you know that red bean bread and milk are the fundamentals of an undercover stakeout? If you watch dramas or movies, everyone eats like this.”
“It’s not even an investigation to begin with… What on earth do you usually watch?”
Max let out a chuckle and stepped on the accelerator.
The two headed to the address Yu Wi-Gang had sent.