Chapter 41
“Oppa is the kind of Person who gives off a gentle impression just from his texts, though a mere part-timer like you wouldn’t know.”
“Hah?”
A Smartphone thrust forward confidently.
Ellen’s eyes read the contents at once.
[Oppa: The request just ended so I’m only seeing this now… Is Flora in class right now? I just finished the request and am heading back to the office──]
[Oppa: How are the Smart Goggles? Is there any discomfort using them? If your eyes feel more tired than usual, get some Vitamin Eye Drops from the pharmacy──]
The messages that arrived for Flora were definitely different from Ellen’s.
Every single one was a long paragraph with a soft tone. It included personal matters and worry.
“Get it?”
Flora drew a triumphant expression.
Ellen desperately kept a straight face and showed composure while shrugging her shoulders.
“You said it was childish to rank ourselves based on messages, but did you already forget your own words? Your Naeronambul is no joke.”
“I just lowered myself to your level because you wouldn’t understand otherwise.”
Flora could deduce Ellen’s intentions.
[Ellen Clements probably doesn’t have special feelings for Oppa, even if she is much closer to him than the other male cadets.]
Perhaps, Ellen merely recognized that the existence of Max was an effective means to shake her mind.
Since Mental Management is also an essential capability and refinement for a mage, she must be trying to pry open a gap and shake Flora.
[She’s the same as ever.]
There was only one goal Ellen wanted to achieve with this blatant provocation.
To prove that Ellen Clements was a Mage with superior mental fortitude to Flora Crimsonhowl.
Whether that was the pride of a Magic Noble Family that had repeatedly competed, or Ellen’s personal competitive spirit, was unknown.
“…”
But in some ways, it gave the impression that she had begun to learn how to live fiercely, something Flora had agonized over so much.
“You aren’t planning to visit today too, right?”
“Why should I tell you that? Even if I say it, I should tell Oppa.”
“Oppa will need to rest for a while too, so wouldn’t it be tiring if an outsider came over and planted their butt there for no reason?”
“…Outsider? The outsider isn’t me, it’s you.”
Flora and Ellen bickered back and forth trying to gain the upper hand.
The eyes and mouths of the watching cadets began to grow increasingly busy.
─ who is this Oppa that Flora is talking about? She doesn’t even talk to guys unless they’re grouped up for class, right?
─ that means it’s someone Ellen knows too…
─ if it’s an older guy, isn’t he among the graduates of our Academy?
─ is there even anyone among the recent graduates who can compare to those two?
Since they couldn’t do something crazy like dig into Flora Crimsonhowl and Ellen Clements’s backgrounds or tail them just because they were curious about the identity of the mentioned man, the cadets began to spread what they saw by word of mouth.
Wasn’t this Minerva Academy, where the Scions of the Upper Class gathered thirsty for gossip?
The speed at which rumors circulated here was faster than a bullet.
The provocative words were spat out by two people who drew the cadets' attention just by moving.
Added to that was the fierce atmosphere of both sides seemingly pulling at a single existence.
The rumor began to grow in size, uncontrollably adding flesh every time it crossed a Cadet.
* * *
Max couldn’t let go of his Smartphone on the subway.
On his way back to the office in District 27, he was making calls to the customers who had applied for requests.
Even if Ellen had received and recorded the requests, listening to the details and negotiating the request fees was his job.
“Understood. If you change your mind, please call me anytime.”
There were quite a few requests with decent contents.
However, the biggest stumbling block to a Request Agreement was, as expected, the compensation.
Labor costs were always like that, but employing a 4th-Tier Mage resulted in an amount that would terrify ordinary people.
[Should I move the office soon?]
As his tier went up, the Request Completion Rate with the citizens of the District 20s was noticeably dropping.
Recently, requests handed down from the Association were guaranteeing his income, but a Mercenary’s work had high volatility.
There were two paths Max could take.
Move the office. If he didn’t want to do that, lower his unit price.
[Should I push myself a bit and go to the Districts in the 10-range?]
The District 10s had a different scale of spending compared to the District 20s.
There was the problem of the cost of living being murderous, but a problem that superseded the cost of living was whether there was work or not.
[This district is District 27.]
Getting off the subway that had been running for a long time, Max chewed on the bare candy stick and browsed real estate on his phone.
He opened the map of the District 10s.
[Oh… The monthly rent alone is just crazy.]
To begin with, most areas were impossible to view on the internet without a Special Account, and the few places that could be viewed had astronomical prices, not to mention a slew of documents required for the contract attached to them.
Things like an Identity Verification Document issued by a Haze Agency.
[From here on is the Dragon’s Tail. It must be a sign that this is the start of Haze’s Upper Class.]
Skimming through the documents, he figured he would have to ask the Association for help if he decided on an Office Relocation.
Weren’t the monthly membership dues and the commission taken from requests meant for times like this?
Step. Step. Step.
As he walked while browsing through the information, he soon got close to the office.
He took the stairs and headed to the second floor.
Beep-ring!
He unlocked it and entered.
As soon as he stepped into the office, he felt his mind at ease.
[Home really is the best.]
Max tossed the medicine bag and the paper bag containing his Specialized Clothing into the room and lit up the Office Sign first.
“Phew.”
He sat in his computer chair and sucked down an Energy Jelly.
[Did they say to rest for a week?]
Recalling the warning from the Hospital, he erased his regret over not having any requests.
Because no matter the job, you have to manage your Mental Care well to last a long time.
[If I say I’m going to the District 10s, where would be good? Should I ask Flora or Ellen?]
His consciousness didn’t connect cleanly. His thoughts were dull.
It was because his magic power was lacking and fatigue remained in his body.
[Speaking of the District 10s, I also made a promise to that bunny kid at Emmaus Medical Center. Should I go see him once I get my clothes repaired…]
His eyelids were heavy.
While he was continuing his plans, his eyes naturally closed.
Max sat in his computer chair and began to doze off.
* * *
The top floor of the Bohemian Mercenary Association.
The Chairman hung the recently collected sword of the Cheongrin Family and the Steiger firearm on the wall.
He hurried to prepare to welcome a precious Customer.
“Ludwig. You go out and rest.”
He sent the Escort out.
If the opponent made up their mind to kill, Ludwig was an existence incapable of even buying time, so this was right.
The very presence of an Escort could needlessly provoke their temper.
Had it been about ten minutes since Ludwig left?
Whirrr!
The door opened, and a man in a suit entered with his hands behind his back.
His symbolic red hair and sharply raised Wolf ears.
The Association President quickly bowed his waist, and upon entering, the man fixed his gaze on the Cheongrin Family’s sword hanging on the wall.
“Is that the Fish Sword?”
“You recognize it at once. As you said, it is indeed the sword of the Cheongrin Family.”
The Association President showed the utmost courtesy.
Only after the man comfortably sat down and told him to take a seat did the Association President sit as well.
“To think the request we thought would be the hardest succeeded, while the one with the high probability failed. I don’t know whether to cry or laugh.”
“…”
“Of course, I’m not trying to blame the Association President. He is doing his duty just by arranging excellent personnel.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
The man with red hair put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with the tip of his finger.
─Phew! Smoke billowed and spread throughout the office.
As he said, the requests managed by the Association President were not proceeding one by one in order.
They were proceeding simultaneously, and there are requests still running at this very moment.
“Ah, when I looked at the District 41 Request Report, there was an interesting fellow. How is that Steiger guy?”
“He personally retrieved the Steiger Family’s firearm.”
“Haha! Not bad. It’s a rare and amusing situation.”
There was no way he wouldn’t have recognized the Family Magic and the Person.
The Association President thought highly of Max for that part. The man facing him seemed to like it too.
“He is a calm Mercenary who doesn’t give off the belligerence unique to Steiger.”
“Is he a talent worthy of that much praise from the Association President? I heard his magic is Psychokinesis, not shooting, to begin with.”
“That is correct.”
“He is a valuable asset. He even has a line connected to Ellen Clements… Did he not look to the Association President like he had the face of a dead man?”
“He appears to have been born with a very tough lifeline.”
“Hoh?”
The man showed interest and crushed his cigarette in the ashtray to put it out.
He fell into thought in a comfortable posture.
[Enri’s sacrifice shouldn’t be in vain.]
According to the news delivered by Enri Crimsonhowl, who had remarried Layton Steiger, Flora followed Max Steiger strangely well.
It was an unexpected variable. Not only the man but also the Pillars of the Family were quite surprised.
In truth, it might have been a possibility they didn’t want to consider.
As the request proceeded without issue, they were approaching a result where they would separate again from the Steiger attached to Crimsonhowl.
In particular, Max Steiger catching the Steiger Person who was with the Cheongrin Family in this request was huge. The utility value of the bridge they had Forcibly built with Steiger was rapidly plummeting.
[My word, I just hope we don’t earn Flora’s resentment.]
Surely their relationship isn’t that good.
After the man chain-smoked and steadied his mind and body.
He began discussing business with the Association President.