Chapter 42
The time classes ended at Minerva Academy.
Flora and Ellen moved forward, looking only straight ahead while intensely conscious of each other, yet never exchanging a glance.
The walk home from school reminded them of that day when their paths had unintentionally crossed.
They ignored the incomprehensible murmurs of the surrounding cadets and the more Persistent-than-usual stares as they moved.
“···.”
“···.”
They went to the station and boarded the same subway train.
Heading in the same direction, neither said a word.
[This stop is District 27.]
Getting off the train, they glanced at each other in the quiet station.
Their gazes clashed, and sparks flew.
“Girl. What are you looking at?”
“What does it matter where I look?”
“Hah!”
“Hmph!”
They didn’t even hide it anymore. Flora and Ellen headed toward Max’s Mercenary Office.
Both of them had their own respective goals.
They didn’t rush their steps, acting as if they weren’t even conscious of each other.
The moment they turned into the alley with that atmosphere happened.
Ellen suddenly started running.
Tap, tap!
Her outfit of a short skirt over safety shorts showed its power.
Panic flashed in Flora’s eyes.
“Ch-cheap…!”
Unlike Ellen, Flora was dressed for neatness rather than comfort.
She could probably catch up if she ran without caring about her social dignity or the lifespan of her clothes.
But that in itself was impossible.
“Ahaha! Are you really a Wolf Beastman? More like a cow than a Wolf~”
Ellen childishly provoked Flora, who couldn’t chase after her, and sprinted ahead. - crackle! Every time she kicked off the ground, golden electric currents sparked from the soles of her sneakers.
Was there any great benefit to arriving before Flora? No.
Even so, the reason she ran was simple.
“Because it feels good!”
Didn’t Flora look flustered and hesitant?
That alone was more than enough of a reward.
··
··
“Hoit!”
Ellen landed smoothly at the entrance of the office.
It was a clean arrival without a single sound.
Clack!
She opened the door and entered. Unlike the times she came to work alone, she was excited that it wasn’t locked.
“Huh?”
Ellen saw Max in his chair and stopped just as she was about to greet him.
Max was sleeping in his chair.
She was sneaking up on him, thinking of playing a prank, when Max sensed her presence and opened his eyes.
He stretched and gave a simple welcome.
“Ugh, you’re here? I kept falling asleep and waking up… The medicine must be strong…”
“If you’re tired, sleep in your room. I don’t care, but if a Customer sees you, the Customer will think it’s an eyesore.”
“True, it might make me look unreliable.”
“Don’t worry about the office and go in to sleep more. I’ll be here for three hours.”
“It’s fine. I should get up now.”
Max headed to the water dispenser, looking around the office.
Not seeing the Person who should be there, he asked Ellen.
“Where’s Flora?”
“Why are you asking me how that Girl is doing? How absurd.”
“Flora contacted me asking if she could come to the office today. I naturally thought you two were coming together.”
“Don’t say something so creepy! Do you think I’m crazy enough to come with her!”
“Hmm, did I misread the message in my sleep?”
He checked his phone while drinking cold water.
It wasn’t a dream. The message Flora sent was definitely there.
‘Did she stop by somewhere? She never said she’d come straight here after classes anyway.’
Just as Max was delivering the unfortunate news to Ellen that all the requests had fallen through, Flora opened the door and walked in.
“Excuse me.”
She had a packaged Fruit Tart Set in one hand; since she had fallen behind anyway, she visited a nearby shop.
Max jumped up and welcomed her with a smile. The smile deepened beneath the Orange Sunglasses resting on his head.
“Welcome. You could have just come comfortably. Why did you buy something like this?”
“I bought it so we could eat together. Is your body okay, Oppa?”
“I’m perfectly fine. No problems.”
“That’s a relief then… Huh?”
Flora blinked.
She noticed the change in his tier. The information she was receiving through her vision was hard to believe.
But it was the truth.
Max had risen to the 4th tier. Max raised the corners of his mouth at the interesting reaction Flora was showing.
“As expected, Flora knows right away even without my saying anything.”
“H-how is this…? What happened?!”
“It’s hard to explain, but as you can see, it turned out like this. You’ll congratulate me, right?”
Flora hurriedly nodded with a flustered face.
She thought it was a good thing she bought dessert. Today, she had intended to show that she was wearing her glasses well and check on his condition, but she ended up learning a new fact as well.
“Don’t just stand there, sit down comfortably.”
Max guided Flora. Having awkwardly finished her greetings, Flora glared at Ellen behind him.
Ellen responded by raising one corner of her mouth and feigning ignorance.
Thanks to the dessert Flora bought, the three naturally gathered at the table.
Max added a concise explanation that Flora could understand before continuing the conversation.
“This is a continuation of the Failed Request story, but I’m thinking of moving the office.”
“Suddenly? Where are you going to go?”
“I’m still thinking about that too. I just wanted you to know for now.”
“I think it would be too much of a burden for the citizens of District 27 to submit a request to a 4th-Tier Mage.”
“It’s exactly as Flora said. I’m feeling it in the actual numbers.”
Thanks to the large requests, there hasn’t been a mishap like falling behind on rent, but if he stayed still like this, it might be a future that would eventually arrive.
“I’m not thinking of the early 20s, but rather District 10s altogether. But I don’t know which of the Districts in the 10-range would be good.”
When Max showed signs of wanting to hear their opinions, Ellen swallowed the tart in her mouth and spoke up.
“Districts in the 10-range? District 17, of course! There’s a lot of foot traffic, and it’s perfect for attracting customers!”
District 17 was where Minerva Academy was located.
At Ellen’s confident recommendation, Flora immediately voiced a counterargument.
“You just want to make your commute easier. A Mercenary Office doesn’t fit in District 17. Have you ever even seen a Mercenary Office near the Academy?”
“If you have so many complaints, why don’t you recommend a place?”
Ellen’s gaze pierced her tenaciously.
Flora moistened her throat with her drink and gave her answer.
“I think District 14 is a good choice.”
“That’s the district where I first met Flora.”
“…Th-that’s right!”
Seeing Flora’s ears twitch, Ellen clicked her tongue as if she knew it.
“Tsk, your head is full of flowers. Are you a herbivore? As expected, not a Wolf but──.”
Before Ellen could finish her sentence, Flora changed to a stony expression and cut her off.
“I focused on the fact that it’s not a private Residential Area, but a place where many corporations are located. The higher Oppa’s tier goes, the more personal requests will decrease and connections with corporations will deepen. Is there anything wrong with that?”
Flora and Ellen showed signs of Bickering again.
Max intervened between them.
“Now, let’s not fight over delicious food.”
“···.”
“···.”
Max placed the remaining tarts on Flora and Ellen’s front plates, steering the conversation back on track.
“Anyway, lowering the unit price is a short-term solution that will hit a limit as my tier goes up. So I’m curious, what do you want in the new office?”
“A Robot Vacuum Cleaner! And a Barista Robot!”
“If machines do everything, what is Ellen going to do? You’ll lose your job at this rate.”
“Does Oppa still not know? I’m the Signboard Beauty~”
“Hmm···.”
Having seen even the Association Chairman be cautious of the massive Background known as Clements, she wasn’t wrong.
Her mere existence was doing more than her hourly wage’s worth.
“I’ll consider the Robot Vacuum Cleaner. What about Flora?”
“Huh? Me too?”
“You’re going to come often, right? Have you never thought about what would be nice to have?”
“N-not really···.”
“Tell me if you think of anything later.”
Flora carefully nodded her head.
Ellen shot a displeased look at Max.
The small talk that day continued for quite a while.
Max was able to narrow down the candidate locations.
··
··
Two days later.
Association Employee Meredith came to visit Max, who was continuing his recuperation.
It was an early hour before Ellen came to work.
“Mr. Max. As requested, I have obtained a means for Magic Power Increase. I also plan to deliver Ms. Usagi and Mr. Bivol’s opinions regarding the Weapon Disposal.”
“Ah! Please come in quickly.”
No wonder the bag she was holding looked different from usual.
His mouth was already watering.
Max offered Meredith the sofa and quickly prepared some coffee.
“I wonder what she brought.”
Seeking only a Magic Power Increase through drugs or special foods, or through what was called an elixir in old-fashioned terms was nothing more than a one-dimensional approach.
The true high added value of an elixir lay in correcting an Innate Defect that couldn’t be resolved with time and effort, such as restructuring the body to be magic-friendly.
That was why Max had expectations.
‘A Magic Power Increasing Elixir is relatively cheap, and if you have connections and power, it’s easy to obtain.’
Even within the same tier, there were differences in individual magic power capacities, but it was impossible to contain magic power that exceeded one’s limit.
This was the reason why the value of an elixir that only increased the contents without touching the capacity of the vessel was bound to be ambiguous.
‘Though it’s desperately needed for me.’
Max sat facing Meredith, careful not to let his Assessment show on his face or in his gestures.
“Before I give you the item, there is an issue we need to address.”
“I’m listening.”
“There is a request from Ms. Usagi.”
“Are you asking me to accompany Usagi on a request she’s going on?”
Seeing her bring it up while knowing he was recuperating, he wondered if it was quite an urgent matter.
However, Meredith denied it, saying that wasn’t what she meant.
“No. Ms. Usagi has submitted a request to Mr. Max.”
“Excuse me?”
That way around?
Meredith added that it was a very rare occurrence.
“You can listen to the details and decide. It’s a request asking for information, not action.”
“Information···? I don’t know what it is, but let’s hear it.”
Pricked by the fact that he was a Regressor, he became cautious.
Max clenched his jaw so as not to show any reaction on his face, no matter what he heard.
“Ms. Usagi said she wanted to know if a Psychokinetic Community exists. She also wondered if Mr. Max is a member there.”
The absurd remark made his tension completely vanish.
What kind of nonsense is this?