Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: What I Thought Was Over (2)
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T District, 27th Street. Forest Restaurant.
Oliver pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Ding-a-ling. Ding-a-ling.
As always, a soft bell chime rang out, and a man greeted him.
It was Al, the restaurant server.
"Welcome, Mr. Dave. It's been a while. I hope you've been well."
Al bowed politely. Oliver returned the gesture with equal courtesy.
"I've been fine. And you, Mr. Al?"
"The boss takes good care of me. Right this way, please."
Oliver nodded and followed Al. This time, the meeting wasn't in the restaurant manager's office but in the underground broker's room.
After descending a long staircase and opening the door, he saw Forest—and sitting across from him, a man in a pink suit.
It was a familiar face. Jonathan, the head of security for the Pinkman Agency.
In the past, after the battle with Duncan, this man had appeared and asked to hand over Jane.
"Good to see you, Mr. Dave. Long time no see. Do you remember me?"
He greeted Oliver just as politely as their first meeting.
"Of course. You're Jonathan, head of security for Pinkman, right? We met over the matter with Miss Jane."
"Spot on. Though now I've been reassigned to head of general operations. I hope you'll remember."
He finished speaking and handed over a business card with utmost politeness. He seemed even more refined than before.
After some initial back-and-forth, Forest cut in.
"Looks like you've handled the greetings without me. Shall we get down to business?"
Oliver nodded, and Jonathan did the same without objection.
True to his outward demeanor, he seemed to value efficiency over petty formalities.
Oliver took his seat, and once the mood settled, Forest spoke first.
"Dave, the reason I called you in during your break is because Jonathan here requested you personally. Unusually, Pinkman wants to hire you for a job they're handling."
Oliver nodded as if hearing it for the first time, though he'd already gotten the gist through the communicator.
Jonathan's current mission was to recover stolen goods on behalf of Crime Firm. The stolen items were none other than some of the auction pieces from the recently collapsed Subrepto Auction House.
He hadn't heard the full details of how it happened, but some of the auction items Crime Firm had split up for safekeeping had finally been raided.
"Given the nature of the goods, they entrusted it to us."
Jonathan said.
Honestly, Crime Firm's choice wasn't bad.
Crime Firm might be larger in scale, but item recovery demanded expertise, not just brute force.
Handing it to specialists was efficient all around. Nothing strange about it.
What was strange was Pinkman hiring an outsider like Oliver.
They did use external help sometimes, but usually for filling headcount on grunt work... Oliver was far from that.
As Forest had advised beforehand, Oliver asked about it.
"Pinkman wants to hire me?"
"Yes, it's not common. For unparalleled combat prowess or unique specialties, we prefer our own agents for security reasons. I understand if it seems odd."
Jonathan laid it all out plainly. No slick maneuvers here.
"Is there a special reason?"
"It's the nature of the mission."
"The mission?"
"Yes. Crime Firm's request is a bit awkward. The auction items they deal in are mostly stolen goods, so an agency like ours can't move too openly."
Oliver got the picture.
It was tragic to have items unjustly stolen, but those auction pieces were largely illegal to begin with. The whole affair was shady.
If Pinkman were just another run-of-the-mill mercenary band in Randa, no issue. But as a massive agency handling politicians, tycoons, and even government contracts, they had to tread carefully.
They'd even faced newspaper scandals and hearings a few times.
"...So this job will be handled as something I took on independently, not through Pinkman Agency. That way, if things go south, the agency takes minimal heat."
A classic tail-cutting maneuver. Not uncommon in Randa, but rare for the tail to volunteer it like this.
"I get it. The job's sensitive, so it's being run off the books from Pinkman. Manpower's limited as a result, hence hiring me."
"Exactly. Finding a fixer with your skills and reputation isn't easy."
Flattery, sure, but not empty. Jonathan genuinely rated Oliver highly.
Working with top-tier Pinkman wasn't a bad gig, but one thing needed clarifying first.
"One question?"
"Go ahead."
"I'm no expert, but this mission sounds tough. The raiders who took the items are Black Hand... more precisely, the Human Flesh Chef faction. You okay with that?"
"......!!"
Jonathan's poker face cracked for a split second. He was clearly shocked Oliver knew this much backstory.
Made sense. Oliver had barely gotten it through Murphy.
"...Yes, that's right. Not confirmed yet, but we're almost certain. How did you know?"
"Auction items get hit, so the ones who raided the auction house last time came to mind. I got curious and looked into them myself."
"Ah, I see. I heard rumors too, but didn't expect you'd dug that deep already."
"If it's them, I'd bet they're stronger than the ones I fought. Figured Pinkman would know what I know."
"Your point?"
"Facing a formidable foe with limited manpower—why take the job?"
After a few exchanges, they hit the core. Jonathan raised both hands in concession.
"You got me. I was going to bring it up first, but you beat me to it... Fine, cards on the table. Normally, it'd be a money-losing proposition and we'd pass. But Crime Firm offered big, so we took it."
"What kind of offer?"
"We get some of the recovered auction items."
Oliver was quietly stunned. Auction items weren't casually handed over.
"Better to reclaim some than lose it all. Word is, some have already sold. If they lose them now, deals fall through, reputation tanks. So they threw in that term."
Oliver nodded in understanding. Jonathan revealed the rest.
"Two items from the recovered auction goods, excluding any they specify. If nothing catches your eye, equivalent cash."
There it was—the key point Forest had mentioned via communicator.
He'd foreseen this when calling Oliver in from break. Not just a fat fee, but something truly useful to him.
Oliver played dumb and kept talking.
"Auction items?"
"Yes. Anything you want?"
"...Yeah, there is one. Not sure if it's there, though."
As if expecting it, Jonathan pulled a paper from his pocket. The auction list.
"Pick from here. We haven't decided our picks yet, so if there's overlap with you, we'll negotiate."
Oliver scanned it. A book on demons caught his eye.
For a moment, he nearly blurted he wanted it—but held back.
Even oblivious Oliver knew a warlock couldn't openly crave demon tomes.
He'd gotten one via Coco before, thanks to built-up trust with Forest and Coco. Pinkman was different.
Could draw unwanted scrutiny from the underworld.
But passing up this chance? Too regrettable.
He'd built a name here, gained financial leeway, but demon books weren't something money alone bought easily.
Those circled higher in price, not for a few extra bucks.
Blowing a shot like this? Unthinkable.
As desire warred with reason, Forest quietly addressed Jonathan.
"Jonathan."
"Yes, Mr. Forest."
"If it's alright, could you give us a moment for his answer? We'll reply as soon as possible."
Perfectly timed. Oliver silently met Forest's gaze.
Jonathan agreed and stood. They were still hunting intruders anyway—time to spare.
Once he left, only Oliver and Forest remained in the broker's office.
"Impressive."
"What is?"
"You called it all, Mr. Forest. The request details, the compensation offer—everything played out exactly."
Indeed. Before summoning Oliver, Forest had pieced together the job's background and Crime Firm deal from Jonathan's pitch, briefing Oliver on potential gains.
Impressive intel, even with prep time.
"Can't just be a yes-man."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. But you're impressive too. I told you the job and pay, but not the enemies... You saw this coming?"
"No... Just personal curiosity."
"I see. But don't mention that to others. Jonathan was pretty impressed."
True. In the fixer world, strength mattered, but it wasn't everything.
The bigger the job, the more insight, judgment, decisiveness, connections—and even luck—counted.
That decided your worth.
In that light, Oliver's earlier display was best left as is. Even unintentional savvy was skill.
"What about the job?"
Oliver countered with a question.
"What do you think, Mr. Forest?"
"I'd talk you out of it... but also push you to take it."
"Why?"
"The enemies are awful. Few pervs in this business want Black Hand entanglements—they're urban legends in the alleys. But on the flip: Pinkman connections, debt from Crime Firm, rare auction loot. Hard to outright say no. Up to you. Willing to risk it?"
"...Honestly, yeah. There's an item I want."
"Mind sharing?"
"This one."
Oliver pointed to a spot on the list. The demon book.
"Figured."
"Wanted to say it outright, but held back."
He'd worked once for a demon tome already, but knew it wasn't routine.
Hence the silence.
"Can we swing it?"
"Not impossible. A warlock eyeing this might raise eyebrows, but hit the right persuasion points, and it'll slide."
"Points?"
"Yeah. Pinkman has secrets too—hint at those, they look away naturally. I'll negotiate for this item. Anything else?"
Forest's confidence had backing. He was sure he could snag a demon tome clean from Pinkman.
"Hm... I'll mull the second one. But... you okay with this?"
"With what?"
"Me chasing demon books—doesn't it bother you?"
"Hm... Half a year earlier, I'd have had a good answer. Now? Nothing much."
Fair. After scoring a demon tome from Edith via Coco, it was too late for qualms.
"I chalk it up to curiosity. Or what? Some sinister reason for demon books?"
"No, nothing like that."
"Then we're good. Truth is, for folks like me, demons and angels take backseat to putting food on the table. You're the top fixer I deal with in skill and rep. My job's backing you for max profit. So professionally: no nosy meddling. State wants, make it match."
"Got it... Then I'll take the job. Can we iron out the schedule? Need some time."
"Of course. Wasn't expecting an instant yes anyway. I'll drag it out for a reply. Keeps them hungry. Here's my dossier on the thieves first."
"What dossier?"
"My personal intel on Crime Firm's raiders...... Why? Said I won't be a yes-man, didn't I?"