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Chapter 28 : A Two-Birds-One-Stone Ploy
A factory raid, a kind of terrorist act.
Since it was an act of destroying a perfectly good production facility, it deserved to be condemned, even if it wasn't a security issue.
But in the underworld, it was not a rare request.
Rather, it was no exaggeration to say that most of the proper requests were of this kind.
In the end, the requests that borrowed the hands of contract killers were mainly a power struggle between companies.
W е́b̃ n̆ о̄v ӗ l Е́n u.m̊ а̃.
There was no method as effective as destroying facilities to bring down a company in a short period of time.
Therefore, companies instigated the downfall of their rivals, while at the same time devising their own defensive measures.
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Therefore, this kind of request was a battle of funds.
The one who spent more money and prepared more would win.
If it was a factory of Dilipercy, which had just secured Centrim's support, it would have built a defense system that was more than that of a decent company.
“Have you heard anything about Dilipercy?”
Ѐn ů m̌ а̂ . їḋ
“As you may have heard, there’s news that they’ve received support from Centrim. In fact, you could say that’s why things have gotten complicated.”
I took the glass of liquor that Cromwell handed me.
Today, too, the contents were plain water.
“What do you mean?”
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“I heard that Centrim’s security unit has been dispatched.”
“Quadruple is on the move?”
Ӗnumӑ ._і d̆
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s a bit much for a favor to show to a company they’ve just invested in.”
The overflowing capital allowed companies to create armed forces under the guise of a direct security unit.
Unlike mercenary groups that guaranteed equal skills, the level of direct security units varied greatly depending on the parent company.
If it was Centrim's security company, Quadruple, it would be at the top of the industry even if it were put on the market right now.
‘Even if it wasn’t Quadruple, I’ve fought directly with a large corporation’s security company before.’
Even in my faint memory, they were by no means an easy opponent.
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“The dispatched personnel are about the size of a platoon, which is enough to protect one factory.”
“You know a lot, to the point of even grasping the size of the unit.”
“Jack worked hard.”
“Jack, you mean the unemployed friend downstairs?”
“He’s a friend who gets things done when he has to. I wish he would be as quick-witted on a regular basis.”
“No one can be perfect.”
Е̌ nǔ.m̌ а̂
“That’s why I keep him around.”
Cromwell, unable to shake off his disappointment, returned to the main topic.
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“I don’t recommend moving alone. You’ll have to move together like the last request.”
“I would have been disappointed if you had told me to go alone.”
It wasn't a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall, but a request to destroy a company's facilities.
It wasn't a scale that I could cover on my own.
Е̊n̆ ûmа́ . і ď
“If you wait a few days, I’ll have the personnel ready by then.”
“You’re being proactive.”
“Think of it as an investment in you.”
He was pushing me with a flourish.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
‘Has he finally gotten a grasp of me?’
It was an evaluation that I was a person who would be a gain if he pushed me.
W е̌ b̂ṅō v̂ѐl Е̇ ñ um â
Well, if a rookie had even caught a dark mage, then his level was proven.
It was his intention to manage me directly so that I wouldn't be snatched away by a mercenary group or another broker.
“It won’t take long. The pay is decent, so even if I don’t recommend it, it will attract attention.”
For an environmental group that was always short on money, they had offered a large sum.
They must have been ripped off quite a bit for the request I had completed last time, so much so that I was worried they were overdoing it.
‘It must be that important.’
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
An environmental group's factory terror request was not something that couldn't be understood.
Because the factories in this world encouraged pollution by evading all sorts of regulations under the pretext of development.
But it was Greenwood.
It couldn't have been such a simple meaning.
‘Is Dilipercy’s factory also related to spirits?’
The name Dilipercy had come up from the prosthetic arm I had seized from Malay.
Е̂ ǹ u m̂ ā
And Dilipercy was Centrim's new limb, which was suspected of having contacted Dalton Sunderland.
Even if it turned out to be a wild goose chase, it was a request I had to accept.
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“I’ll be back in a week.”
“Don’t bother with that, just get a contact number that you can call.”
He was telling me to get a cell phone.
Was it the setting that it was made in Gellerg City and then spread to other cities?
Ŵе̂b̀nо v еl̀ Еn um̂а̊
It would have taken a considerable amount of time for it to become popular, but it seemed that it was already in use here.
“I remember the price being expensive.”
“We’re not going to meet just once or twice, are we going to talk in person every time for even a small contact? To be honest, it’s troublesome.”
To be honest, I agreed.
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After living in a world where you could even have video calls from the other side of the globe, it was a pain to have to meet in person every time to talk.
“Talk to Jack downstairs. He’ll take care of it.”
E n̂ um ӑ
“That friend even does that kind of work?”
“It’s less troublesome than being an informant. It’ll be convenient to leave troublesome things like identity forgery and money laundering to him.”
“Hmm.”
It was a job that was bound to be involved while doing this kind of work.
Was it a system where you get a diagnosis at a hospital and then get a prescription at a pharmacy in the same building?
‘Since the topic has come up, should I just take care of everything?’
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There were many things I had to do, including identity forgery, getting a cell phone, and opening a bank account.
I couldn't live as a stranger forever.
I needed an identity to put forward when I wasn't active as a contract killer.
In the end, the city where I would put down my roots was this Gellerg City.
“I know the face, can’t I get a discount?”
“That’s beyond my authority. Try to sweet-talk him yourself.”
W е̃b̆n оv е.ľ Е n ǔm а̄
If it were a woman, maybe, but there was no way this face would work on a man.
And it wasn't as if I knew any other broker.
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I gave up and went to Jack to take care of the matter.
***
Knock, knock!
I came back from the office and knocked on my room.
È nü ma.i d̆
The situation of having to knock on my own room was strange, but I couldn't not do it.
Because I had a guest inside.
Creak!
The door opened.
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The one who poked the head out from the small gap was the kid from District 7 whom I had knocked out.
“You’re awake?”
Ŵ ebn о̃ṽ е l .Е́ ṅ ů m̊а̄
“...Yes.”
When I entered, the child sat on the small bed that I had asked the bellboy to squeeze in.
The child was leaning against the wall, hugging a fluffy pillow to cover the body.
I smiled bitterly at the child wary attitude.
“I’m sorry for bringing you here without any explanation. You must have been surprised to wake up in a strange place.”
“...Yes, I thought I had been kidnapped.”
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“I didn’t think you’d wake up soon, so I went to take care of some business.”
“I guess so.”
The tone the child uttered was somehow like that of a resigned victim listening to the sweet talk of a criminal.
“You don’t seem to believe me.”
“It’s not a situation where I can say I don’t believe you, is it?”
As expected.
Ёn̈úm а̇
I raised my hands to show that I was harmless.
“Why would I do something like that? If I had that intention, I would have done it in District 7.”
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“That’s... true.”
The child, as if felt my explanation was persuasive, lowered the pillow.
What was revealed was a white face that was not befitting of a child from the slums.
The child's features were clear and intelligent.
Ŵ ё b̂ n̆о̄ v̀ е̂ l̇ Е̊n u m̈ӑ
The child looked young, but also not so young.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m not hurt. Maybe because I slept in a bed for the first time in a long time, my limbs feel refreshed.”
The child bounced on the bed, wiggling their bottom.
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Although there was still a hint of wariness, it seemed the child was gradually opening up.
But sleeping in a bed for the first time in a long time.
Е n̈u m̆а. ї d.
“How have you been living all this time?”
“I was... homeless.”
“What about the money you got from robbing the goblins’ den?”
“...I was robbed.”
The child bit lip and said with a slurred pronunciation.
“There was someone who said they would help me. I thought they were a good person, but... I ran away when I heard they were going to sell me.”
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“Hmm.”
I thought the child wouldn't get into much trouble because of sharp personality, but the child is still a child.
I advised the child as a senior in life.
“They say you suffer when you leave home. It’s all an experience.”
“...You were the one who told me to leave home.”
[The World Tree rebukes you for your pathetic words.]
Èñũm̊a .і d̀
A clumsy comfort was worse than none at all.
I avoided the child's glaring gaze.
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“Anyway, you found me while you were going through a hard time, and you were in the process of following me because you were debating whether to ask for my help. Is that right?”
“You’re wrong.”
What was wrong?
“I didn’t find you, I followed you. So it wasn’t that I was in the process of following you, I was following you. But it’s true that I was debating whether to ask for your help.”
Е̇ṅ ū_m̌а
The child confessed calmly.
The child was confessing a crime so confidently.
I was so dumbfounded that I was about to argue, but I gave up.
I decided to consider the price of the crime paid by me knocking the child out.
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“You followed me?”
There was something else to question.
Еnu m а̊
“How?”
If the child had been following me from District 7, I would have felt the child presence like this time.
But the child had followed me.
How many citizens lived in this city?
Unless the child had been tailing me, it was a difficult task for even a professional to pick me out from among them and follow me.
It was not something a kid from the slums could do.
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“Well…”
The child hesitated for a while and then came close to me and whispered.
“People look a little different to me.”
“...?”
“Well, it’s like a faint light is shimmering. You were a faint green, so you were unusual and easy to follow.”
It was a sound I couldn't understand.
W е́ bn о̃v̇е́ l̄ Еnu m̄ а̌
Then, suddenly, the knowledge I had previously known combined with this and was analyzed.
This was…
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“You, can you see people’s mana?”
“I don’t know, is what I see mana?”
I stared at the child's pupils.
A halo of light flickered in the pupils, which were like a deep lake.
Е n ŭ m а. і̃d̃
It was certain. This child had a talent.
‘Wait, from the slums, and the talent of a great mage who can see mana with the naked eye?’
The combined circumstances pointed to one person.
I asked, trying not to be awkward.
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“Come to think of it, I still don’t know your name. What’s your name?”
“...It’s suspicious that you keep digging into my personal information. You’re not trying to sell me to a factory, are you?”
Ẇ ėb̆n оṽѐ ĺ Еṅú mа̇
“Personal information has nothing to do with being sold to a factory.”
I did.
The child, as if they had faith in my sincere words that were imbued with my experience, replied.
“Sage Dailofer.”
My eyes widened.
“My parents didn’t give me a name, so I gave it to myself.”
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Sage Dailofer, the next in line to be the master of the Magic Tower, who was called the lotus that bloomed in the mud.
And… the quack artifact technician I was looking for.
I had found a big shot in an unexpected place.
***
There was a mage named Sage Dailofer.
A mage who had gone to the Magic Tower at the late age of 17 and had achieved remarkable results and had been on a roll.
Е́ ńu m а.
In terms of talent, she was aiming for the position of the tower master, and in terms of performance, she had overwhelmed not only her peers but also the established mages.
What was amazing about her was that she had made a name for herself from the bottom up, without any foundation and behind others.
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Her unusual growing environment of the slums was also a unique background that made the public pay attention to her.
‘But that was her limit.’
Even her lofty talent and mad academic passion could not overcome the realistic limits.
She had entered the world of magic late, and she had no connections inside or outside the Magic Tower.
Ẁѐ ḃ n ȯv̀ e ľ Е̄ ǹ üm а
As far as I knew, she had remained a candidate until the very end, without ever becoming the tower master.
‘But her talent is real.’
When I had tried to capture her, she had displayed magic.
She had revealed that it was a skill she had displayed instinctively.
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To have embodied a discipline that required systematic education with just instinct, her greatness was beyond words.
‘Is the difference in personality due to the hardships she will face in the future?’
Е̃ñũ m̌ а̀
The Sage I had met in District 7 was kind-hearted and intelligent.
On the other hand, the Sage of the Magic Tower was picky, unsociable, taciturn, and exclusive.
‘We weren’t on good terms in the Magic Tower.’
She had often put me in a difficult position by mentioning the inefficiency of my research to the higher-ups.
In fact, despite her high reputation in the world, Sage was not a person who was well-regarded in the mage community.
Compared to now, when I had a pretty good impression of her from the first meeting, it was a complete extreme.
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I wondered if she was the same person, but when I thought about it, there were already some changes.
‘She’s become less talkative and more wary.’
It was a place where that was understandable.
Although there was no future in the slums, the outside world was not hopeful either.
I myself was a former factory worker who had been sold, and if I hadn't escaped, I would have died there.
If you experience something like that a few times, your innocence is bound to wear off.
Wе̊ b̆ń ò ve l̂ _En̂ ǔmà
[The World Tree greets you warmly.]
“...What is this?”
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“The World Tree. It’s a plant that lives with me in my body.”
The child was horrified.
“...Does that make sense?”
“Do werewolves or vampires make sense?”
Е̊ń u m̈а
“That’s different. Then are you saying you turn into a tree when the full moon rises?”
There were dozens of immigrant races living in the city.
To me, it was all fantasy, but it seemed to be a different concept for the residents here.
“If this guy gets bigger than this, he might turn into a tree.”
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But there was a sharp point.
What would happen to my body when the World Tree became a mature tree?
Еnûm̆ ӓ
“...Hello.”
Sage, as if she had taken my words as a joke, ignored them and shook the stem that the World Tree had extended.
Seeing her sparkling eyes, it seemed that her curiosity had surpassed her wariness.
The World Tree, of course, went wild with joy.
[The World Tree twists its body, saying it’s ticklish.]
The World Tree writhed at Sage's touch.
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At that sight, Sage smiled and wiggled her fingers.
It was a strange feeling to observe such a friendly scene.
If it were the personality I knew, she should have pushed it away, saying it was disgusting…
‘Am I glad I met her again at this time?’
If I had met her after she had gone through more hardships, I would have had to experience the sassiness I remembered again.
Although she had changed a little, this was within the acceptable range.
Е nǔm а
She still had a childlike innocence.
“First.”
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I decided.
“Let’s stay together for a while.”
It was not a relationship to part with after giving advice as a passing favor.
The talent of the future great mage, Sage, was a connection that I deserved to take in.
Е n̄ û mа̂.
And if I could prevent her future corruption in the process, it would be even better.
“Really?”
The child's expression was half-pleased, half-wary.
They couldn't be completely happy because of the incident where they had almost been sold as a slave.
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“Instead, I’d like you to do some chores for me.”
This was not a favor of unknown intention, but a deal.
Ẁėb̄n̆ о vе l Е.n u ṁ ā
Sage was finally relieved.
“What should I do?”
“Read this.”
Sage looked over the hand-sized book that had come out of my pocket.
“What is this?”
“A basic magic theory book.”
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It was something I had bought at the market on my way.
She was a genius who had displayed magic instinctively.
With just this, the number of tricks she could do would increase greatly.
“And after you’ve read all of that, what you have to do is…”
I took out a magazine from a box in the corner.
“Engrave magic on this.”
Е̌ n um̂а̄. іd
The few days left until I could get a colleague for the request.
If it was Sage's talent, it was worth having expectations.
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Sage was relieved, and I strengthened my lacking secondary weapon.
It was a two-birds-one-stone ploy.
***
‘The personnel have been filled, so come and find me.’
Е̊n̈u m̃ а̇
It was a message from Cromwell that I had received five days later.
I told Sage to review what she had learned and then headed to the office.
‘The colleagues I’ll be working with this time won’t be just one or two.’
The neutralization of the factory's facilities.
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What was needed was overwhelming firepower.
A mage would most likely join.
Wе̂ bń о v̌e̊ l̊ Е̊_num̃ ă
If not, then firearms and bombs that could produce that much firepower were essential.
It was rare for a busy and high-priced mage to participate in a request like this.
Laila, who had personally received a request from the Brotherhood, was an exception.
Therefore, it was expected that many people would participate.
‘I hope they’re decent guys this time.’
The thought that it might be a bunch of rabble like the Brotherhood case last time was terrible just to imagine.
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Although it was unknown how sticky the relationship was, it was a company with a mega-corp as its backer.
This time, it was impossible for me to clean up the mess on my own.
If I worked with such irresponsible individuals, the failure of the request was a natural course of action.
‘I wish a mercenary group had taken the request instead.’
After working with all sorts of worthless people, I could see the competence of a mercenary group.
I felt a sense of regret that I should have recommended it to the Drexier mercenary group.
Ên u ṁa
I had an acquaintance in the group, and I had even heard a confirmation from Cromwell that their reputation was good, so they were the best candidate.
‘Anyway, it’s in the past.’
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The personnel had already been assembled.
I had to do my best within that.
I finally arrived at the first floor of the office.
“Wow.”
Ẽ nùm а̌ .і d̂
When I opened the door, a cheer erupted with a voice that sounded familiar.
“We must have a connection. I never thought we’d meet again like this.”
The first floor of the office, which was often used as a meeting place for contract killers.
A group, led by Hella who was waving at me from the center, stared at me.
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(End of Chapter)
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