Armor and Mask
Armor and Mask
Meredith came down the stairs and headed to a corner.
First, she calls a staff member who shares the same office at the Association.
"This is Max's Mercenary Office in District 27. Please send a rank measurement device."
Relieved by the answer that they would come right away without asking the deeper circumstances, Meredith called the Association President.
Because she was allowed to use the direct line for matters concerning designated requests managed by the Association President.
Ttureureureu── Ttureureureu──.
After two rings, the Association President answered the phone.
"Association President-nim. This is Meredith."
─ Yes. What is it?
"There has been a complication in negotiating the request fee with the mercenary Max."
─ Hmm, is the fee too low? No, that's not it. You're a pro at that sort of thing, so you wouldn't call about that.
"Mercenary Max has risen to 4th rank."
─ ...What?
"To be precise, he said he used the Diamond Spike he received yesterday and rose to 4th rank. Ellen Clements-nim has vouched for its certainty, and I have already requested a measurement device."
A brief silence followed.
The Association President, who understood the judgment, burst into laughter.
─ Hahahaha!!! What a tiger cub!
"What should we do?"
─ We need to change the request. Isn't there someone who can replace Max for the request we were about to give?
"Then which request should I guide him to?"
─ Let's have Max added to the one cutting off the District 41 route. Another staff member will contact Usagi and Bibol, so you arrange with Max for two days from now.
"Understood."
─ Set the fee to the 4th rank upper limit without negotiation. And make sure to silence the Association staff so that nearby associations or half-baked families don't covet him.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Meredith neatly organized the President's instructions in her notebook.
The request data had already arrived on her smartphone.
─ Heh, already 4th rank... If Layton Steiger finds out, it must feel like his guts are being torn.
With the President's mutter as the last thing, the call ended.
"Hu."
Exhaling, Meredith read the arrived data and etched it into her mind.
After tidying her clothes, she quickly went up to the second-floor office.
"I'm sorry for leaving during an important conversation."
"Not at all. I think I should have contacted you when my rank increased, even if it was late yesterday."
Meredith sat facing Max.
She glanced at Ellen, who was spinning around in the computer chair, and continued the negotiation.
"An Association staff member is bringing the measurement device."
"Good."
"This procedure is not being carried out because we don't trust Ellen Clements-nim's words. Please keep in mind that it is to update the data registered with the Association as quickly as possible."
Although she was speaking while looking at Max, it was a request for understanding to Ellen.
Ellen, who had been lounging in the chair, gave the answer Meredith wanted without missing a beat.
"I don't care~ Do whatever's comfortable, eonni."
"Thank you."
As they talked about adjusting the fee after the rank confirmation and requesting a different request, they waited for a moment.
A man came knocking on the office door, heokheok breathing heavily.
Recognizing him as an Association employee, Meredith went out, received the item, and immediately set it up on the table.
"I will begin the measurement."
"Should I do it the same as last time?"
"Yes. Please do."
Max placed his hand on the metal plate and moved his mana.
Checking the result, Meredith clenched her teeth to hide her surprise.
"...The measurement is complete. Thank you for your cooperation, Max-nim."
The definite information that Max had reached 4th rank would be conveyed to the Association President.
Meredith packed the equipment and handed it to the staff member waiting outside.
Then she sat back down on the sofa.
Now for the main point.
"As I mentioned, I will change the request to one assigned for 4th rank. It is a short-term request, and the start date is two days from now."
"Has the fee changed?"
"The request fee is the 4th rank upper limit of 130 million credits."
"Oh, it's more than doubled."
"That's because a single rank brings that much difference and value. Of course, as the rank goes up, negotiations become fiercer and upper-limit requests themselves are not common, but the average request fee rises significantly."
She meant that it's better to bring one 4th rank than two 3rd ranks. It's not a wrong statement.
Because a 4th rank would likely handle two 3rd ranks with ease.
"I'm sorry for asking something unrelated to the request, but what is the Association's upper limit for a 5th rank mercenary?"
"If you're asking about the fee, the upper limit for a 5th rank mercenary's short-term request is 300 million credits."
It jumps more than double again.
As the grade goes up, the fees taken are enormous, and if you get injured, the higher the rank, the more money is needed for treatment, but it's still an admirable amount.
'Even useful prosthetics easily cost over a hundred million. If they get wrecked, it might be a deficit... Besides, there probably aren't many 5th rank mercenaries to begin with.'
As good as their abilities are, requests matching their grade aren't common, so they probably don't earn 300 million every day.
If not tied to a corporation or a specific family, it would become difficult to find requests with matching pay, so the Association's existence is all the more necessary for mercenaries.
"Returning to the request details, there are two people who will act with you this time. They are 4th rank mercenaries like you, Max-nim. They are veterans with at least five years of experience as Association mercenaries."
"It will be good to learn from them in many ways."
"And you should gradually equip yourself with something to cover your face. At the very least, it would be good to wear a mask."
"True, I've poked around here and there. Understood."
"Of course, there's also the fact that showing your face in various areas isn't good, but because the speed at which your rank is rising is abnormal..."
Meredith trailed off and showed data on her tablet. Max listened to the explanation.
After finishing her best explanation, Meredith made a request to Max.
"Please take care of your condition and thoroughly review the data until the request start date. The data will arrive by document soon, so please burn them after you've gone over them."
"Of course."
Since the request he had promised to consider had come in, the principle was to push other requests aside.
While he was away from the office, he would ask Ellen to look after it for a bit, and if any customers came then, he could just have her take their contact information and details.
"I'll be going back now."
Meredith politely greeted Max and Ellen and left the office.
In Max's mind, suppressing his desire for fame, survival rose to the top.
"Ellen. Let's take a day off tomorrow. It's a sudden day off, so I'll give you three hours' pay."
"To manage your condition?"
"Right. I need to make preparations here and there. From two days from now, look after the office for a bit. Just come out for about three hours like usual."
"Three hours alone? Ah~ that'll be boring."
Ellen, already looking displeased, spun around in her chair.
"I'll come back as fast as I can, so please."
"Fast or not, oppa-ya, just don't die."
"I won't die that easily. According to the President, my life is tough as whale sinew."
Having reassured her with a suitable remark, Max also gestured with his chin toward the door to change the subject and said they should go out.
"What? Where are we going?"
"You said you wanted to eat meat earlier. Let's go."
"Really?! You said no earlier, was that push-pull?!"
"Push-pull my foot... It's just because I can't receive customers now anyway. But after receiving the documents from the Association... Ah! Perfect timing."
Not long after Meredith left, the male staff member who had brought the measurement device earlier came with the data in document form.
His tired face was pitiful, but there was nothing to say.
"Just a moment."
Max hid the documents in a private space and then headed to a meat restaurant with Ellen.
After filling her stomach, Ellen filled her time as usual and left work.
..
..
The next morning.
Max's Mercenary Office was closed for the day.
Max hurried to prepare to go out as soon as he woke up.
'Today... should I go buy clothes before restocking the candy?'
While hearing the request details from Meredith, he gradually felt that proper attire was necessary.
It would be hard to endure with only his Gold Nectar-enhanced body now.
Even if he had some skill in close combat, he was a mage at his core. Just now, he nearly had his waist sliced in half by Renya, a 3rd rank.
'Saving money on equipment that protects your life is insane.'
In Haze, there are plenty of brands that make and sell suits and everyday clothes with special materials.
Even if performance is lower compared to equipment that gives up appearance and focuses on defense, the everyday clothing form is not distracting and comfortable for a mage.
'If I had been wearing even one proper piece of clothing, the cell proliferation treatment cost from the Gaia Food request would have been lower.'
After checking his balance, Max left the office.
He immediately went to the station and boarded the train.
[This station is District 14.]
He got off the train and stepped outside.
Max stood still, immersed in a strange sensation.
'I came here again.'
District 14, where Max arrived, was the location of the Grand Lunatic Hotel, which he had come to on the third day of his regression at his father's request.
It was the district where he had met Flora and even encountered the Association President, who enjoyed fortune-telling as a hobby.
"..."
Chewing over the past time slowly, Max moved his steps to find the brand he had in mind.