Chapter 237
It was terrifying, striding over with that brutal appearance and asking, “Are you the newcomer subbing in this time? Where are you from? What’s your experience?' and prying into this and that.
Trembling, when she said her name was Kali Haywood, I thought “Could it be…?” and brought it up, and I was shocked to hear she was really a sibling of that regular customer I knew, Ravin Haywood.
They say it’s a small world, but to think that saying would apply even in a metropolis like Dusk City.
Aside from Mr. Ravin being a regular customer at our shop, we weren’t all that close, so I didn’t have much to answer when she asked how he was doing, but even so, Kali Haywood smiled brightly, saying she was glad to meet an acquaintance of her younger brother (at least, that’s what she claimed), and affectionately told me this and that.
The ghost stories about the Security Team of Death were one of them. Besides that, she tried to pass on various tips, saying I should know these things if I was going to keep doing escort duty, and giving my shoulder a hearty pat, she vigorously encouraged me to do well since this job could be a very good opportunity…
Having only unavoidably ended up as a one-day substitute due to a contract with a higher-up, and having absolutely no intention of getting a job in the perilous bodyguard industry, it was an encouragement that felt quite burdensome to me, but I could clearly feel the goodwill contained within it.
She was definitely a good person. Unlike me, she seemed to be an extreme extrovert, so I felt a bit drained of energy, but it was clear that I had met a good Senior (Mentor).
The problem is that there aren’t only good things in the world.
If there is someone who likes me and treats me well, there must be the opposite for the universe to be in balance.
“Newcomer! Didn’t you hear me tell you to grab your weapons? Why are you standing there blankly holding only a standard issue pistol like bastards who need to take a shit? Are you protesting that it’s your first time working here, huh?”
Unfortunately, in my case, that was the person who would be my superior for today only, the team leader of Security Team 4.
A sharp impression with many fine wrinkles and a piercing gaze glared fiercely at me.
His name was Hank Jameson.
A middle-aged man with the style of a picky general manager who looked full of dissatisfaction and crankiness about everything in the world at a glance.
A cyborg and veteran soldier who had replaced his lower half below the waist with a metal prosthetic body. I heard he was discharged as a master sergeant in the corpo war…
Perhaps because he was a former soldier, he was strict about everything and had a very foul mouth.
He was like a military version of Gordon Ramsay with twice the muscle mass, and not only was his speech rough, but he was also ready to beat someone up at any moment if things went wrong.
In short, he was an incredibly scary person. Still, this time I had something to say too.
I mean, they were the ones who left only a standard issue pistol among the equipment to grab, so what did they expect me to do?
At my flustered state, Hank Jameson growled and shouted as if he was dumbfounded.
“You bastard, don’t tell me… you don’t have a personal weapon? Please tell me you do. You’re not messing with me right now!”
I was equally dumbfounded.
I mean, it’s not like that joke about having to buy a gun at the PX in the military, but I have to bring my own weapons to do bodyguard work? Is that why there were no other weapons prepared besides the pistol?
How was I supposed to know! It’s my first time doing this today.
I only heard the instruction to join as a member of the Security Team by the designated time; the dear Schneider Head of the Family didn’t tell me about things like that.
However, it seemed to be a completely obvious industry standard, seeing not only the Team Leader but also the other team members staring at me with surprised eyes.
It makes sense if you think of it as a Ronin rather than a bodyguard.
When a Ronin does a job, they bring their own weapons; they wouldn’t ask their employer to hand over equipment.
Since the equipment and weapons that are highly compatible with each individual’s cyberware are all different, it made sense that bringing one’s own was the basics.
“Damn it. If I had known in advance… no, even if I had known, would it have made a big difference?”
The only weapon I had was the Super-Vibrating Jet Engine Saw I received from Paulo, but for a mere bodyguard to carry around, it was a bit… too conspicuous.
Imagine a newcomer who came to be a one-day substitute carrying around a chainsaw as big as his own body. Everyone would have looked at me like a crazy person, right?
Of course, even now, having brought no weapons at all, the uncomfortable stares were similar…
Ah, whatever. I can’t just be treated as an incompetent troublemaker like this, so let’s make some kind of excuse!
“Uh, I’m originally the type to work without a separate weapon. I think just a standard issue pistol will be enough. Really.”
At my words, Team Leader Hank ground his teeth and said to me.
“Oho, is that so? If you can fight well without a weapon, your whole body must be a deadly weapon, huh? Like Kali Haywood over there? Do you have a lot of good cyberware installed?”
“Ah, no. Not to that extent… but I should still be able to pull my weight.”
“Yeah? But that’s strange. Why don’t I see any chrome parts on your body? To work as a team, we need to be sharing capabilities, so tell me your cyberware specs. I’m dying to know just what kind of amazing high-output equipment you have that you don’t even need a weapon.”
Team Leader Hank shoved his glaring, wide-open eyes right at me and backed me into a corner. Cold sweat poured down.
Damn it, strictly speaking, Escort Duty hasn’t even started yet, so why do I already feel like dying? The thought of wanting to quit sprouted up rapidly.
I wouldn’t be able to do that, if only because I was scared of Eugene Schneider. That Yangban was really thorough.
I wondered what he meant by “Your Master has also permitted this, so know that refusal is impossible,” but that was a statement indicating that negotiations with the Isiho Chairman were already completely finished.
No wonder the Chairman spoke as if he already knew about the proposal the Schneider Head of the Family would make back then. It seemed he had handed over my one-day usage right to the Schneider Head of the Family.
Because of that, this matter had already become an issue intertwining not only the Schneider Family but also Isiho Corp., and unless I wanted to die, running away was out of the question.
Anyway, asking me to tell him my cyberware specs.
High-output cyberware, of course I have it.
It’s not just high-output, it’s a microchip of Over-technology that is decades ahead of its time. Firmly embedded in my cerebral cortex.
The problem, naturally, is that I can’t tell this to others.
cyberware specs?
How could I say that it was made in the Militia Superhuman Development Research Institute, has an artificial intelligence living inside it, and can use functions like bare-Body Cyberdive or Extrasensory Activation?
I couldn’t even lie and say it was a different model of a similar type in front of someone who knew much more about cyberware than I did.
In the end, I had no choice but to make something up somehow.
“Uh, that’s… well, because it’s a trade secret.”
Even though I said it with my own mouth, it was a truly idiotic excuse. It goes without saying that Team Leader Hank screamed at the top of his lungs and flew into an extreme rage.
“What? A trade secret? A traaaaaade secret? Is your cyberware a military prototype or something? You son of a bitch who deserves to be fried to death in shit water!”
…Well, it is a prototype, actually.
“And what’s with this bastard’s clothes? Why did you show up wearing just a suit? Are you an office worker? Did you come to work an workplace at a corporation? If you’re going to wear a suit, you should have at least worn a bulletproof pad underneath!”
“Ah, this is my personal equipment, so it has its own bulletproof function - .”
“Shut up and put on a combat vest right now! I’m giving you exactly 5 seconds!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
It was roughly a continuous series of this kind of harassment. I felt like this was what it would be like to do a one-day experience of the Military, which I had never even been to.
“How did such a slacking bastard end up coming in… Doesn’t need a weapon? Does he think he’s some kind of Shaolin Monk?”
By the time Team Leader Hank grumbled and let me go, I was already mentally exhausted. The bodyguard industry, it’s really no joke…
“Hey, good job suffering through that. The Team Leader is originally the type to look at everything strictly one by one when a newcomer comes in because he finds them unreliable… but you held up well. Just think of it as having gone through your initiation! Hahaha.”
My Senior (Mentor), Kali Haywood, looked at my haggard complexion and laughed heartily as she spoke.
“But is it true that you originally work without a weapon? You didn’t just forget and not bring one? I’ll keep it a secret, so tell me honestly, just to me.”
“I didn’t forget…”
“Right, if you say so, then it must be. Ah, by the way, how did you get into our team? Schneider doesn’t originally accept things like a one-day agent. You know we select only the elite very thoroughly, right? Even if we look like this, we’re entrusted with the important mission of protecting the direct family members.”
So we already know the personal details of all the guys who are likely to come… but you’re a face I’m seeing for the first time, so I was surprised when I heard the news. Team Leader-nim is probably acting tough on purpose to test you because of that too. You’re not a nepotism hire slotted in by someone high up, or something like that, right?”
Having endured the Team Leader’s barrage of curses, is it Ms. Kali’s storm of chatter this time? Holding onto my fading consciousness, I spoke.
“Ah… yes. It’s probably not something like that.”
Wait, since the Schneider Head of the Family slotted me in directly, am I a Nepotism Hire, strictly speaking…?
Of course, even if it was true, I couldn’t just straightforwardly affirm it.
Even now, everyone is looking at me with suspicious eyes, so if it gets exposed here that I’m a Nepotism Hire, won’t I be completely marked?
No matter if I’m only going to work for this one day, I have to do my best and work well as a bodyguard during that day, in order to fulfill the contract with the Schneider Head of the Family.
If the image of being an incompetent Nepotism Hire is planted, that won’t be easy either. It seemed best to hide how I got in as much as possible.
“Did you come to chat? Shut your stinking traps, we’re starting today’s mission briefing, Team 4!”
Team Leader Hank suddenly yelled, perhaps the sound of our conversation was grating on his nerves.