Episode 33
After stopping at a safe house in the northeastern part of the empire, I returned to the crime scene with some agents.
Since the target is dead, I need to gather solid evidence to avoid any confusion.
In the process, the cause of death of Vice-captain Herbert and the Felton Knights was completely fabricated.
That I arrived right after Zimerman had annihilated them.
Even if the Felton family sent an investigation team, there would be nothing to be found.
“Huh! I arrived a week early, but the mission failed?”
Deputy Chief Deltron looked at my face and at the report and let out a short sigh.
It was an expression that did not expect that I, who had a 100% mission success rate so far, would fail.
I immediately vomited and expressed my resentment strongly.
“Ah, to be precise, it’s not a failure. Didn’t you just overdo it and eat it?”
“That’s true, but…”
“The first time we agreed to meet was three weeks after accepting the mission.”
“Yeah! That’s right. Felton guys need to know that they’re impatient.”
Deltron nodded his head in agreement.
I didn’t stop there, I just took a period to complete my alibi.
“In that sense, you should give me some allowance…”
“If this is the case, the request itself won’t come in, does that make sense?”
“Didn’t you go up to the jurisdiction of another branch and go through hardships? I said I brought down the corpses of those bastards. So, what do you have?”
“Are you recognizing it as an achievement, right?”
“Exactly. You speak well as expected.”
“Ugh…….”
The vice-captain seemed to have a pounding headache, so he let out a long sigh and pressed his temples.
Then he looked up at me with a weary face and said.
“Can you?”
“Oh, why!”
“I’m not lucky, go and take a break. If you want to make money, take on another request.”
“Okay. I just want to rest.”
“If you were sleeping while on the move, you’d have quite a bit of money left, right? Return that and go.”
“Hey.”
I kicked Deltron’s desk for no reason and left the office with nervous steps.
This made the alibi clear.
As long as the dream of owning my own house was half blown away anyway, there was no big regret about performance pay.
If you do the mission, you will make money on your own, and the price of the empire’s house will come down someday.
Today, he was just deliberately obsessing over his allowance and achievements.
It was a performance to escape the eyes of suspicion.
No, I wanted you to take care of me even a little.
Still, isn’t it the mission I was entrusted with while returning it until the break?
‘I should have something left too.’
After completing the mission, he handed over the remaining money to the accounting team and left the branch.
My back pocket had swallowed half of it, so my steps were much lighter.
Of course, it was a small amount of money.
“Shall we get some rest?”
Because I handled the summons and two missions in a row, my break was six weeks.
It was a period during which long-distance travel like Dusk was possible if he added a vacation.
Of course, you shouldn’t use all of your rest periods for a quick promotion.
Still, I wanted to take a break for a few days.
It was because my head was a little complicated because of the meeting with Zimerman.
‘I thought they were massacred, but there are quite a few survivors left.’
In my heart, I wanted to go to Railhash Kingdom right away and find something called the Tomb of Swords.
But the risk was too great for that.
Railhash was close to the Felton family, and for the time being, I might be under surveillance.
For now, it was a time when he was holding his breath, acting as if he had nothing to do with it.
Like the escort of Prince Raoul, a long-distance mission might come up someday.
I was walking down the street to go to the safe house for special agents.
But suddenly, dozens of people gathered in one place and were buzzing.
Even ordinary people would be interested in it, but the people gathered there were equipped with a fairly high level of armament.
Passers-by also used to snoop around once in a while to see what was going on.
‘Is it a mercenary guild? Looks like there’s a big recruitment announcement.’
The city of Pennant was the most prosperous city in the eastern part of the Empire.
That’s why there were often large-scale announcements, such as subjugating a group of monsters or bandits.
I thought it was something like that this time too, so I didn’t think it was a big deal, but the tent built next to the building caught my eye.
The mercenaries lined up would go in and out of the tent in turn.
“All you need is a mercenary plaque, why the hell are you testing your skills?”
“Cheuk! Seeing that he was upset, he must have fallen.”
“Then did you stick?”
“Then I would have been waiting for you here. I’ve already joined that group.”
“Ah. You’re lucky. Let’s go get a drink.”
It was a bit strange that he fell despite being a mercenary who seemed to be around tier 7.
If it was a large-scale subjugation, it was common to accept everything except for the fresh starter.
‘Is it tempting?’
Originally, I was just going to pass by, but after hearing the stories of the mercenaries, my heart was moved.
After breaking through the crowd, I read the announcement posted on the outside wall of the mercenary guild.
―Dungeon Exploration Team Recruitment Announcement. Small number of elite, interview required. Profitability is guaranteed by Sophia, the eldest daughter of the Marquess of Pennant and a disciple of the Blue Tower.
“Ohhh… it’s a blue magic tower.”
It was a magic tower located at the northwest end of the continent.
It was famous for its unique water attribute magic, and had a very high influence in the Beldom National Alliance.
‘Come to think of it, I said there was a dungeon around here, right? Looking at what the pennant family is promoting, it fits perfectly.’
I remembered the remains of the villa district that Viscount Huey had talked about.
It was a business that was said to be losing its profitability because it had not been able to do anything for over half a year.
Originally, it could be completed at a time when house prices are rising and sold at a high price.
Even now, if you clean up the dungeon, you will be able to reap good profits.
So, the eldest daughter, who had studied abroad at the Magic Tower, must have stepped up and organized an expedition.
While I was looking at the announcement with interest, I suddenly heard a tempting story from the side.
“They say that if you complete the dungeon exploration, you’ll be given 20,000 Gerld per person and even a ticket to sell a new villa. Depending on your performance, the reward may increase further.”
“So we will recruit only those who can clearly manifest their aura.”
“It’s a shame. If I had worked harder, I’d be in Tier 6 too.”
“Oh my, I just put on tier 7 and bluff.”
“What man?”
Listening to the stories of the mercenaries, it seemed that the difficulty level of the interview was quite high.
Well, in order to be able to express the aura properly, it had to be at the end of Tier 6, the level of looking at Tier 5.
It must have been a condition like that in order to pick out the idiots.
However, all I could hear was the difficulty of the interview and the sale of the villa for 20,000 Gerudo.
‘Concession rights?! Poetry in Chuuk?’
With my ears pricked up, I squeezed through the gaps between the mercenaries and gathered information.
The dungeon was so dangerous that exploration had already failed several times.
But no matter how difficult it was, it would have been much easier than robbing Aberdeen Governor’s Office.
When I decided that it was worth doing, my body was walking towards the tent by itself.
‘Ugh! The new villa is calling me!’
Despite the high hurdles, the line for the interview was quite long.
However, I willingly endured the wait with a smile on my face.
It was as if a shiny new home had already been acquired.
Then, finally, it was my turn.
“Come in.”
Following the knight dressed in neat plate armor, the interior view caught my eye.
A gorgeous-looking woman was sitting on a chair with impressive red velvet cushions.
Her face, as bright as a crown of gold, matched very well with a bright yellow dress with a narrow waist.
Her hair, which fell over her shoulders, was like a waving bundle of gold threads.
If Adele, the duke’s comet, had restraint, Sophia felt like she was showing off her beauty.
‘Five! It’s a beauty that’s not like a wizard. First of all, the appearance is acceptable.’
I was in a position to come for an interview, but I declared my acceptance before the other person did.
Of course, it was just a delusion that lingered in my brain.
“What?”
As I stared, Sophia opened her fan and covered her face.
‘Are you tired of looking at it? It’s very expensive.’
I muttered inwardly, shrugging my shoulders and opening my mouth.
“I’m here for a job interview, should I ask you a question?”
“First of all, introduce yourself and prove your skills…”
“What do you think is your charm?”
“Isn’t that the combination of intelligence and beauty?”
Even at the sudden question, Sofia didn’t blink an eye and praised herself.
Oh, first of all, confidence is good.
I mean, you can reply right away.
But you are wrong.
“no.”
“Well?”
“Your charm is idiotic.”
“what?”
For someone who went all the way to study at the Magic Tower, being an idiot was nothing short of a serious insult.
But I didn’t care and continued talking.
“It doesn’t mean that you are stupid. It means that you are gorgeous on the outside, but you look more beautiful because there is innocence on the inside.”
“ah…….”
Sophia, who raised one eyebrow and showed an uncomfortable expression, let out a low exclamation.
It was properly caught by the words that were roughly made up.
‘It’s more a dream than a dream. Anyway, to get involved in something like this, I guess you’re a bit naive?’
Her demeanor softened a little after the words were spoken.
The fan that covered her face was also quietly placed on her lap.
“Please introduce yourself. I want you to prove your skills.”
“I’m actually a professional treasure hunter.”
“Five…….”
Swoop.
Before I knew it, I had two throwing knives in my hand.
It looked as if it had been pulled out of the air, but it was only hidden in a blind spot using the palm and back of the hand.
Even if it was a simple trick, the effect was quite good.
Sophia’s eyes widened slightly.
I continued the introduction in a relaxed manner.
“The Grim vault of Caliburn, the infinite labyrinth of Corinth and the underwater dungeon in Railhash.”
“What about that?”
“This is a list of dungeons that I participated in and completely completed.
In an instant, her gaze turned to the escort knight standing in the city.
Apparently, he didn’t know much about this industry, so he seemed to be looking for advice.
I couldn’t go directly to the dungeon I just mentioned, but I knew the information as quickly as possible.
Because it was an expedition in which an Assassin of Landsvalger participated in hiding his identity.
‘Ask me anything. I’ll answer them all.’
Sophia didn’t ask about the dungeon.
It was because the escort knight nodded calmly.
Instead, he threw out the theoretical words.
“No matter how experienced you are, you need to go through a verification process. Where would you like to show off your talent?”
It was about the level that the mercenaries had the most difficulty with.
I smiled and glanced back at one side of the tent and spread my right arm.
It was because he came up with a way to prove it without causing an aura.
“I’ll show you right away.”