Upper Limit Request
Upper Limit Request
"Ellen. How do you feel about cleaning?"
"It's simple. Cleaning or whatever, it's nothing once I get my hands on it."
An unrealistic situation where he was teaching and ordering a precious member of a Magic Family to clean.
Max felt like he was dreaming.
"Oppa-ya. Can't you buy some ice for the fridge?"
"Because of the coffee?"
"You know it! I can handle anything else, but I really can't stand lukewarm coffee!"
"Drink it hot. Your stomach needs to be warm to stay healthy."
"Ah, seriously! Don't talk like an old man!"
Max was seized by curiosity even as they chatted.
From what he had seen of Ellen so far, her sociability was so good that she seemed like the type to greet every single student at Minerva Academy.
If so, what was the relationship between his stepsister, Flora Crimsonhowl, and Ellen Clements?
'Are those two on good terms?'
Even though Flora had a blunt side, her personality and character were that of a rare "Good Person" in Heize.
If you added Ellen's sociability to that, wasn't there a high possibility they were close friends?
'Before the regression... I wasn't particularly interested, and I didn't hear anything. Even if they were famous individually.'
Perhaps it was information everyone in the know already knew, but it just hadn't reached Max.
It was the private business of the upper class, which he had no connection to.
'I'll probably hear about it naturally later.'
He was curious, but he didn't intend to ask directly.
He had no intention of mentioning the name Steiger to a part-time employee, and suddenly revealing himself as Flora's stepbrother felt pretentious and disgusting.
Besides, if Ellen and Flora didn't get along, it could cause problems.
"Let's stop the cleaning here for now."
When he told her to rest after finishing the cleaning, Ellen went straight to the fridge.
"Right! Let's add some juice when you buy the ice later."
"This isn't a cafe. It's a mercenary office. If we run out of juice, just serve coffee or water."
"Che."
Ellen pouted her lips and rummaged through the fridge.
When she saw the energy jellies Max had stacked in the corner of the fridge, she made a gagging sound.
"Ugh! Buy some energy jellies that actually taste good. You're not a machine, how can you go around eating stuff like this?"
"There's almost no difference in ingredients. The tasteless ones are the cheapest. I have to save so I can pay your salary."
"Are you sure you didn't just erase your sense of taste? I heard there are plenty of mercenaries who get weird surgeries."
"What kind of nonsense is that? That's a prejudice against mercenaries... well, not entirely, but at least it's not me."
Max checked the news on the computer and flipped through corporate data.
Ellen sat on the sofa, passing time with her smartphone. After about 10 minutes, she flopped down on the sofa as if bored.
"Oppa-ya. Why doesn't a single customer come to the office? It'll be a problem if it goes bust right after I got a job."
"Not long ago, they were swarming in so much I couldn't even rest. It's just quiet yesterday and today."
"Hee-hee~ Should I go stand outside? Men will be lining up once they see my face and get enchanted."
"Just stay inside. It'll be a hassle if they swarm all at once."
Max discouraged Ellen because he didn't want to have to clean up corpses charred by electricity.
This was a building where guys who lost their fortunes at the first-floor gambling den would spawn, crying or screaming that they were going to die, and where guys so drunk they couldn't even tell what they were drinking would come down from the third-floor cocktail bar.
If Ellen went out and just stood there, trouble was bound to break out.
"Let me have a candy too."
"This is also part of our office welfare. Eat as much as you want."
When he held out the container with Psychokinesis, Ellen giggled and reached in.
'She picked the melon flavor.'
She knows what's good.
"Oppa-ya, you use magic really cleanly. I'm looking forward to your future."
"Wow, I'm truly humbled to be praised by a Clements of the Magic Family. Really."
"I'm not joking. Oppa-ya, you really have potential, you know?"
"...Thanks."
"Ahaha! Are you embarrassed by the praise? Oppa-ya is really strange. Are you really a mercenary?"
If nothing else, it was pleasing to receive praise for his magic from a great mage like Ellen.
Because magic was important to him.
That was why he didn't know how to react.
"If you have nothing to do, get ready to head home. Two hours have passed."
"I don't want to~ I'm going to fill three hours before I go. Give me something to do."
"... ."
And so, Ellen stubbornly filled the three hours before leaving, but Max did not leave his spot in the office even late at night.
This was also his living space, and customers looking for a mercenary office often came at all hours.
'I should keep it open as long as possible.'
He made a cup of coffee and sat on the sofa.
This time, he continued absorbing information through his smartphone instead of the computer.
He couldn't find a single news article related to Ghost Logic, which he had raided recently.
Was it because it was a tiny company in the 70s district, or was it intentional?
'Next.'
He searched for Gaia Food, the presumed destination of Ghost Logic.
No special movements were visible. It was likely the timing when they were focused on developing new products that would change the company's value.
"Hmm... ."
No matter how he mixed the revealed information with his past memories, he couldn't read any connection between the corporations.
Even though he was a regressor, he lacked a lot because he hadn't been anyone significant in his past life.
He felt impatient in many ways.
'First is power. I need to reach the 5th Circle quickly.'
The realm Max had reached in the past was the 5th Circle. The stage where one just begins to form their own unique magic system.
It would be similar to the current Flora or Ellen.
'The method to open the circuits is in my head. If I can just do something about the amount of mana, the path will open...'
Max's finger tapped! tapped! on the desk.
In sync with the impact, the smartphone vibrated. It was a call.
"Yes. This is Max."
─ Max-nim. This is the Bohemian Mercenary Association. I apologize for the late hour, but are you available to talk?
A familiar voice.
It was the female employee who had been arranging requests for him.
"No problem. What is it?"
─ It's a request. I was wondering if you could depart immediately. We will also send a vehicle.
Max's eyes turned toward the window.
It was a night with a bright, full moon. It was easier to move than during the day.
"I can move right away. But I'd like to hear the details first."
─ This time as well, it's a matter related to a corporation.
"Ah."
It was the same as last time.
Since he still lacked credibility with the Association, he wouldn't be able to back out once he heard the details.
Even so, there were questions to gauge the difficulty.
"The reward?"
─ The reward is 25 million credits, the upper limit for a 2nd Circle mercenary request. If it were a long-term request, it would have been set at a higher amount, but according to the Association's judgment, it has been finalized as a short-term request.
It was excessively lucrative. That made him cautious.
There was no guarantee he would regress again if he died. He had to consider that he only had one life.
"Are many people moving?"
─ No. You must go alone.
"Just tell me why you contacted me. There must be plenty of skilled mercenaries in the Association. I'm curious if there's a valid reason for choosing a 2nd Circle mage."
─ ... .
"Isn't this much worth telling me?"
He could feel the hesitation on the other end.
─ First, it's because your body hasn't been replaced with machinery.
"Oho."
─ And the fact that you don't use tangible weapons is also included.
It was an unexpected condition.
He wondered if it was a request related to infiltration.
─ To be honest, this request is a matter our Association also considers important, so we were going to deploy another person we deemed suitable. But... .
"But?"
─ Max-nim. By any chance, have you ever met our Association President?
"I don't even know who they are."
There was no information on the Bohemian Mercenary Association President. Since nothing was disclosed to the outside, he didn't know their name or face.
Even within the Association, there would only be a few who knew who the President was.
'The Bohemian President is someone who never stood before the public in the past either.'
The size of the Bohemian Mercenary Association could be seen as being somewhere between a small-to-medium enterprise and a large corporation.
Therefore, the President's power was by no means low.
They had enough influence to walk with their shoulders squared anywhere in Heize.
─ ...I see.
"Why is the Association President suddenly being mentioned?"
─ The Association President instructed us to send Max-nim for this request.
"Pardon?"
─ I'm sorry. We don't know the detailed reason either. So it's difficult to explain further.
"... ."
It was an unexpected reason that lightly bypassed Max's imagination.
'Why me, the Mercenary Association President?'
Even if Max was a mage, he was only at the 2nd Circle. He wasn't at a level to catch the eye of the great figures of Heize.
If they intended to kill him, they wouldn't need complicated procedures like a trap request.
─ You may refuse. There were no instructions to force your deployment or push you into it.
"Excluding the President's words. Are the conditions you mentioned earlier true? The part about it being important that there's no machinery in my body."
─ Yes. That part is the truth without any lies.
What you need when your head is complicated is sweetness.
Max popped a lollipop into his mouth and savored the sweet taste.
"I'll do it. Send the data."
─ We will send the data along with the vehicle. Please return safely.
"Let's see each other alive."
Max stood up and packed some energy jellies and lollipops.
After turning off the office sign, he headed outside.