081. before the storm (2)
I left Area 43 and ran with a few trucks.
From dawn, through morning, and again at noon.
We arrived in front of a building on the outskirts of District 47.
Next to the three-story building built for office use was a huge auditorium that could accommodate a large number of people.
“Wait a minute.”
With the drivers on standby, I got out of the car and knocked on the building door.
Tang Tang!
Soon a man with wide eyes appeared.
His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was messy as he had not been able to take care of it for a few days.
“who are you? What are these cars… .”
“You should have heard from Belfort. I have come to take over the command of the mercenaries.”
“ah… ! It’s Evan! Come in! I was waiting.”
A blush flashed across his face.
The building was quiet.
He directed something to an employee he ran into on the way upstairs and then led me to the office.
He said as he put two cups of coffee on the table.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Lewis, overseeing District 47. I’m sorry it’s not a word. I have a lot of work that rots my stomach these days.”
“You know, this is Evan. But the building is quiet.”
“The mercenaries are all staying in nearby accommodations. We’ve ordered a muster, so we’ll gather them all within an hour. Including the managers of Districts 46 and 48.”
“Can I get a brief briefing? I’m curious about things like the confrontation situation and the number of people.”
“Yes. of course.”
Lewis pulled out the paperwork and explained the situation.
“First of all, the wire is being pushed a little bit. The balance that was barely maintained has recently been broken.”
“Since I have been away for a few days?”
“Yes. I didn’t feel it when Evan-sama was there, but I could feel the vacancy.”
“It must not be the only reason the wires are pushed.”
As I stared at him, he hesitated, as if in bewilderment.
“To be honest, the mercenaries are not well controlled. They are probably the only ones who have survived this floor in their own way.”
A mercenary is literally a mercenary.
not the army
They are not familiar with commands or systems and have strong individualistic tendencies.
It is because of his own principles of action that he has been saving his life, so it is even more so for those with skills.
“I felt that Fertilland was not a very solid organization.”
“… Shame, but yes. More than 90 percent of our combatants are outsiders.”
Except for executives and executives, it is more like a group of mercenaries than an organization.
“How did you deal with those who did not obey orders during the battle?”
“I gave a few warnings and got part of the down payment back. Anyway, it’s impossible to get rid of each and every one of them… . The more skilled they are with mana, the stronger their tendency to behave.”
“At least, it is a situation that is holding up thanks to the quantity.”
“I will not deny it.”
While we were talking, the managers of Districts 46 and 48 also arrived.
The situation in the two areas was not significantly different.
The mercenaries said that everyone would arrive here soon, except for those who could not miss out on important tasks.
“When the mercenaries arrive, gather them all in the auditorium.”
“All right. I will show you where to rest for a while.”
“Call the lake. I’ll find you later.”
I left the office and took the elevator up to the roof.
I leaned against the railing and hit the wind.
At the end of the line of sight, the upper part of the high-rise building in the center of District 47 looked small.
It was Parter’s hideout.
The basement consisted of an arena, and the top consisted of his private space.
‘The day we will meet is soon.’
I thought about a person named Parter.
The most important keyword among the settings about him was ‘money’.
Maniac obsession with money.
It was the only powerful motive for action that moved his empty, empty interior.
After how much time had passed since I was immersed in thoughts, an employee came up and informed that all the mercenaries had gathered.
“Go right away.”
Hundreds of mercenaries were gathered in the auditorium.
Hearing and shouting was deafening.
“The total number of people?”
“If you exclude those who were injured or lost to work, the number is 472. First of all, as you said, we gathered them in one place, but what are you going to do? . The more you collect them, the harder it is to control them because mercenaries… .”
“I will take care of it.”
The microphone was handed to him, he put it on his collar, and climbed onto the podium.
The mercenaries in front looked at me, but the rest were still busy talking.
shudder.
I pulled out a pistol and shot it over my head.
bang!
In an instant, the noise in the auditorium ceased.
When everyone’s eyes were on me, I said quietly.
“This is Evan, who has taken on the new conductor. It’s noisy, so I want everyone to shut their mouths.”
For a moment, the hall became quiet.
Everyone’s eyes turned to me, and a mercenary in the front shrugged and said.
“I did hear about it. I mean, a new one is coming. But aren’t you too young to have this number of mercenaries?”
As if in sympathy with those words, there was a squeaking sound from all over the place.
Besides simple territoriality, there was some truth to it.
In the world of mercenaries, where it is not strange to die at any time, age is a testament to experience and skill.
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“Of course. If that’s the case, would you entrust your life to that blue kid?”
“Age and skill may not always be directly proportional.”
“There were not many exceptions. It’s all just a mouthful.”
I nodded and looked around the mercenaries once.
“I guarantee I will be the best here. At least, rather than the guys who thought they would just hold on and get paid upfront.”
The mercenaries began to murmur.
There were also swear words that there were not many people who were stabbed with my words.
“If there is someone who can defeat me here, I will hand over the command. I will give you the same remuneration you receive for taking command.”
The murmur intensified.
Soon, questions sprung up.
“How do you believe that?”
“Even if I don’t necessarily take over the command, can I get money if I just win?”
“How much is the pay?”
I put them all together and answered.
“I keep my promise. Lewis next door guarantees it. If you just knock me down, I’ll give you money. The amount is twenty million shillings.”
“Yes? Oh yes!”
Lewis, who watched the situation blankly, answered in a haphazard manner.
“I do it first. The one who eats these things first is the owner.”
A mercenary with a good physique came up on the podium.
“How can I compete with my skills? Would you like to relocate?”
“You can take me down here. You can use it any way you want.”
The boy grinned and drew his sword.
“What do you want? Could you get hurt? If you are unlucky, you could die.”
Subtle mana wrapped around the sword.
He was a mana user as if backing up the confidence that had risen to the top of the podium.
It also seems to have some level.
“Come on with the determination to kill. I will not hold you accountable.”
“Don’t regret it!”
The guy grabbed his sword and ran towards him.
It was much faster than expected.
In comparison, the ranks of apprentice knights and junior members of the Blue Serpent were slightly higher.
I poured all the mana I had finished refining into body strengthening magic.
The visual acuity of the fuselage suddenly strengthened explosively, and the movement around it felt slow.
I turned to the side of the guy who was a short distance away and kicked him by pushing his side with the sole of the walker.
Tung!
The boy’s body was pushed back and crashed into the wall.
I immediately took out the pistol and fired.
bang!
The guy who staggered and tried to take a position fell down, vomiting blood.
“Gee, have you seen it now? I couldn’t even see it moving.”
“It’s not that the person is dead now, you idiot!”
When the gun was fired into the air, the commotion subsided a little.
A mercenary who seemed to be a friend of the dead man shouted.
“Hey, it’s already won, there’s no need to kill him!”
“If you want to steal something, you have to be prepared to lose it. Am I wrong?”
What I want is complete obedience, not flimsy control.
If it is not clear who is the superior here and now, it is clear that there will be noise later, so it was necessary to go out strongly.
“Even though… !”
“If you have any complaints, come out and defeat me. Because that’s the way it suits a mercenary. next.”
There were a few more challenges, but the result was the same.
The commotion only grew louder.
When there was no one to step out, someone shouted.
“for a moment. That tattoo on the back of your hand, isn’t that the wizard?”
“No, I guess that’s right!”
“I hardly felt the use of mana. Isn’t that magic? Magic? I heard that there is such a kind of magic.”
Rumors of a wizard wearing a ghost mask were also widespread among the mercenaries of Fertilland.
It is uncertain whether it is an ally or an enemy, but it is a demon-like existence with certain skills.
The atmosphere gradually hardened into an atmosphere that convinced me that I was a wizard.
Without a word, I generated an electric current and shot it into the air.
An electric current reminiscent of a giant snake ran wildly inside the auditorium, and the mercenaries held their breaths as they crouched as they flew to them with magic.
When the magic disappeared and no one spoke for a long time, the mercenary in front asked carefully.
“Hey, are you that wizard we know?”
“right.”
At the same time as those words, voices that did not know whether it was exclamation or lamentation erupted from various places in the auditorium.
“Don’t say it. If you follow me, you can win this war.”
I blinked, and the staff came in with boxes from outside and set them down on the platform.
The boxes soon piled up.
I opened one of them and spilled the contents on the floor.
Guns, suits, and radio equipment.
The source is unknown, but it is possible to recognize that they are very expensive, just-produced items.
The mercenaries’ eyes widened, and the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard everywhere.
“This is the equipment that will be given to you. Even if the contract is over, it will not be retrieved, so when the war is over, individuals may take it. And I promise to pay extra depending on the level of performance.”
I held my breath and continued.
“I cannot guarantee that I will survive. But I promise that the situation will be much better than fighting in a mess like the one we have now. At least you won’t be killed in vain. Ask me again. Does anyone have any grievances over my taking the lead?”
A strange atmosphere of tension and anticipation flowed through the interior of the auditorium.
No one spoke and the silence lasted for a long time.
* * *
In an oversized room.
Two men were sipping their glasses.
“You know how surprised I was when I got the report this morning? Suddenly, in the arena, the beasts ran wild and an explosion occurred.”
“We are also investigating.”
“No, but all of a sudden, nothing ever happened! How did you manage the replacement?”
The District 41 police chief smashed a glass on the table.
But as soon as he met Parter’s cold eyes, he was surprised and added.
“Oh, no. I mean, couldn’t you pay more attention than usual?”
Parter casually picked up the bottle and filled the chief’s cup.
“This is a 31 year old whiskey I got at auction. You’ll get it right in your mouth. Have a drink.”
Parter’s hand, tilting the bottle, did not stop even after the glass was full.
The liquor started to overflow out with the ice in the glass.
Parter picked up the bottle right before the overflowing liquor spilled onto the chief’s legs under the table.
“According to the person who conducted the post-mortem investigation at the site, the old mana tank seems to have been the cause. We’re going to restore the facility and replace everything with new ones, so the same thing won’t happen.”
“Uh, hmm, yes. I see. It’s better to replace the old stuff with the new one right now.”
“And this is a small gift I prepared for you.”
Parter pulled a briefcase from under the table and pushed it.
Seeing the stacks of banknotes piled up inside, the chief couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth rising.
“What else have you prepared for this?”
“It’s a sign of gratitude that I’ve always felt. I heard that your daughter is studying in the capital. Tuition fees are not too high, so I hope it helps.”
The chief’s face hardened slightly when the mention of his family appeared.
It was kind of a warning.
The moment you step out of this symbiotic relationship, you will not be the only one who loses your life.
The chief immediately opened his face and smiled, shivering teasingly.
“then. Thanks to you, my daughter’s studies are going smoothly. I also buy plenty of my hobby supplies.”
“I’m glad it was helpful. And I’m sure you’ll take care of it, but I want this to go on as quietly as possible.”
“Don’t worry. No one is dead, right? It is not worth asking such a question.”
“thank you.”
Parter raised his glass, and the chief followed.
The liquor sloshing from the surface of the glass ran down the chief’s fingers.
The glasses kept coming and going, and it wasn’t long before the chief got drunk.
Parter called his men and said,
“Take me home.”
“All right.”
The chief creaked his tongue and went out supported by his subordinates.
The place where silence has come again.
Parther crossed her legs on the table and laid her back deeply on the sofa.
With two fingers raised, the waiting subordinate, using a familiar gesture, put a cigarette between them and lit it.
Whoo-
Thick smoke rose under the dim lighting.
“Receive a report. Are all investigations over?”
“Yes. It’s not much different from what I said before. But there is one new discovery.”
The load was taped into a small cube-shaped box.
Then, the light emitted from the lens part created a holographic image in the air.
“It’s a surveillance camera record left at the scene.”
It was a video of the hallway.
Shortly after the spectators evacuated, two men appeared.
One was holding a gun and the other was holding a sword.
Parter’s eyes gleamed.
The one with the sword was Milsian Reinhardt.
The man with the gun was wearing a mask, so he couldn’t see his face, but he looked familiar.
“… … .”
The man’s gaze was directed towards him.
It’s like looking through the camera and looking through this side.
A blue snake tattoo on the nape of his black hair stood out.
Instinctively, a man’s name came out of his mouth.
“Cain?”
Parthre realized how absurd it was for a moment, even after he had spit it out, and smiled.
That’s absurd.
He was dragged to a prison on the far end of the continent with the tendons in his limbs cut off.
“It is possible that another subordinate of Cain was disguised as Cain. To save his comrades, to declare war on us of some sort.”
“If there is a possibility, that would be higher.”
It was easy to understand in my head.
However, once the head was raised, the confusion did not subside easily.
If he’s the real Cain.
The possibility cannot be completely ruled out.
The guy couldn’t help but be amazed in a way he didn’t normally expect.
Human beings are different from ordinary people in terms of behavior and thinking.
And those eyes aren’t something that can be easily imitated.
This time too, if he recovered his body by any means and escaped the prison.
“… … .”
Unlike reason, sensibility kept leaning towards the assumption that the guy was real.
If so, how should it be dealt with in the future?
Many thoughts came and went, but the answer did not come easily.
It was a matter that had to be decided with a little more time.
“There are things that bother me these days.”
Another object meant Puttyland.
It wasn’t an organization that I really cared about.
However, the suppression was not as easy as I thought, so I thought it was time to step out.
“… sorry. We have a lot of good mages on the other side, so we’re having a hard time fighting.”
It was annoying.
Even the loaches running around muddy the water.
The fact that there was agitation in his heart for a moment.
“Does not matter. If you cut your throat, you won’t be able to breathe either way.”
Break!
The armrest of the sofa in his grasp crumbled.