Chapter 133
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Mercenary Corps (1)
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The Black Forest, visited after a long time, was brimming with life.
"Indeed! So this is the Black Forest teeming with wicked goblins!"
"I heard the Fairy Queen appeared during last season's strategy battle?"
"You only just heard about that? Word is the White Whale Mercenary Corps took care of it!"
Mercenaries, adventurers, and merchants who had set foot in Blackout for the first time with the new season just beginning looked around in wonder.
Aiden watched them and recalled his own past self from a year ago.
He remembered arriving at the Black Forest for the first time after passing through the city of birds beneath Blackout—he had been just like them.
"It's only been a year, but it feels strangely off, Senior."
"That's what they call nostalgia. Our year wasn't exactly a walk in the park."
"Good thing you know."
"Yeah."
Passersby shot sharp glares at the two who had faced death in the black market, but Jun ignored them and strolled through the fortress interior.
"By the way, I wonder what Commander Jinovan's up to."
Having earned some merits last season, he was likely dispatched elsewhere.
While the group lingered on the surface, several subtle changes had taken place inside the Black Forest fortress.
The most notable was undoubtedly the Gilenoi Merchant Guild, where Cloi was staying.
"Doesn't the building look a lot bigger than before?"
"It is bigger. Cloi ramped up support for Blackout this time."
Stepping through the door of the elegant yet tidy building, Jun headed straight for Cloi's office.
"Hey, Cloi."
"You're here."
"You look busy."
"You call this busy?"
From beneath a mountain of documents piled on her desk, Cloi spoke with dark circles heavy under her eyes.
"I heard the report from the surface. You got dragged into another big mess, huh?"
"That's giving me a headache too..."
"Still, the Imperial Family's reaction wasn't bad."
The incident in the black market had shocked the Imperial Family as well.
A chimera had been produced from the corpse of a 7th-circle mage right under the capital's major city.
As a result, the overseers of that black market faced intense investigations, and several ended up as mere mist on the execution grounds.
"They were nobles' sons too."
"Yeah, but those guys were rotten. They turned a blind eye to slave trades and high-risk monster corpses."
"So they were directly involved."
"Yep. If it were any other time, maybe not, but among the deals they approved were quite a few tied to Enverman. Plus underground arena owners and all sorts of others... Plenty of people bit the dust."
It was the opposite of what the Black Guard had hoped for—quiet cleanup—but with problems that widespread, their field managers were incompetent.
"In the end, the Black Guard's funding and such increased this year. Captain Tairdin said to pass on his thanks."
"That's good."
For Jun, who kept getting tangled in incidents within Blackout, staying on good terms with the Black Guard Knights was nothing but beneficial.
"Ours wrapped up like that. How about you guys?"
"As you can see, pretty swamped."
"Looks like the guild got way more support than expected."
"Ah... Heh heh. Yeah?"
Cloi responded to Jun's question with a beaming smile.
Despite the heavy dark circles, her fatigue vanished in an instant.
"My blood relatives upstairs threw such massive fits. But Grandpa cut them all off at the root."
Very few in the guild knew about the mana flow fluids.
Only Cloi, her grandfather Jake, and a handful of his trusted aides were in on the top-secret project.
So her siblings were clueless.
"And in the midst of that, Grandpa's pouring major backing into the Blackout branch I'm running. You should've seen their faces—rotting peaches, all twisted and mushy. Hilarious!"
Never seen Cloi this gleefully innocent before.
"Anyway! On Grandpa's orders, things are going smoothly here. Support will keep coming for a while, and we'll expand the potion business from there."
"I see... That's great."
Whatever the case, Cloi—his business partner—succeeding was a good omen.
"Of course, we can't get complacent. We've got a long way to go before we can fully capitalize on the mana flow fluid business rights."
"Even with Shylock and Marshar's help, it's slow?"
"More like prioritizing tasks. We pitch ideas here, but the Imperial Family has to approve them, and security slows everything down."
That wasn't great news.
With the new season starting, ownership of the magic stone mine and other dungeons Jun and Cloi held had naturally lapsed.
And their potion business in preparation was tied up with the mana flow fluids, so no income for the foreseeable future.
Feels like buying land and waiting for development.
At least until both ventures kicked off properly, he'd need to figure out funding.
"Yeah, you definitely need that."
"What about support from your guild?"
"I'd love to help, but Grandpa hasn't greenlit that far."
It was disappointing but unavoidable.
"Makes sense. These projects in prep are money pits right now."
"Exactly."
"Guess we'll handle funding ourselves then..."
Solving things one by one would take time.
My head's full of money-making ideas, but having the mercenary corps tackle them one at a time... time sink.
Growing kept them busy; chasing cash would hurt efficiency.
Normally, earning money is right, but our growth was too fast.
Skill-wise, the White Whale Mercenary Corps could thrive on the 5th layer now.
So wandering 1st, 2nd, or 3rd layers? No way.
But discarding low-layer info Jun knew? Wasteful.
Those tidbits accumulated into big cash flows.
Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Cloi spoke up.
"Oh yeah, what happened to that info network you scouted?"
"Ah. Charles is still wrapping up surface stuff, then he'll head down."
The Imperial Family had rolled up sleeves to gut Morvati's black market.
In that, Jun handled passing Requiem's intel to them.
"Ah."
Then, Jun recalled something.
"Cloi. Can you reach out to a few mercenary groups for me now?"
"We've got spare manpower, so sure. What for?"
"Time to expand our territory a bit."
"Oh...?"
Realizing what Jun meant, Cloi nodded eagerly.
"If it's that, count me in! Who should I contact?"
"Yaaawn..."
The Blade Eagle Mercenary Corps, once sharing missions with Jun.
Its leader, Colton Carter, let out a massive yawn.
"Whoa, Boss. Careful, or your mouth'll split."
"Then I can stuff in bigger steaks. Win-win."
"Haha! Loose lips make even harsher talk!"
Colton's corps had grown a bit larger.
They were at a tavern on the 2nd layer, fresh off a mission and on break.
"Anyway, Boss. Aren't we pretty stable now?"
"What about?"
"Y'know, income, gear, all that."
"Hmm, yeah? So?"
"So let's snag a spot under some big shot. Easy street."
His long-time subordinate's words made Colton pause, then nod.
"Been thinking that too."
Colton knew his and the corps' limits well.
Generously, 3rd layer max. Current income capped growth.
To grow, seek stable revenue or skillbooks... but.
Easier said than done.
Those spots went to established corps or adventure teams. Colton figured they weren't ready.
Realistically, build resume another 2 years.
With recent expansion, reteaming too.
"Ah, makes sense."
"But why you pitching this? Your head's gold and nothing else."
"Hey! My head's packed with gold... and more gold?"
"Bull."
"Ahem. Well... Heard stuff about White Whale Mercenary Corps lately."
"Ah."
Then Colton got it.
"Asking if they reached out?"
"Yeah. Share the beans, right? They're booming—should trickle to us. That's connections for."
"Pfft. Think they remember us? They're famous for orc lords and monsters now."
"Hm... Maybe not, but who knows."
Colton eyed his subordinate pitifully and shook his head.
His head probably had flowers with the gold.
Dirty flowers.
"Save dreams for flower fields. Prep next—"
"Blade Eagle Mercenary Corps. Colton Carter?"
"...?"
As Colton turned to retort, someone approached.
"Who're you?"
"Letter. Here."
"For me?"
"Ooh, Boss. Secret lover you ditched? Got backups for us?"
"Shut it..."
The man handed it over indifferently and left. Colton opened it under stares.
Plain paper, nothing fancy.
Reading it through, Colton gawked at his subordinate.
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"You got a fortune teller in your head?"
"What nonsense?"
"Heh."
Ignoring the snark, Colton reread it disbelievingly, then stood.
"Wha, Boss. Where to?"
"Pack up, everyone."
"Huh? Room's paid up..."
"Forget it, pack fast! Leaving now!"
"Boss! Tell us where!"
"Black Forest fortress. There."
"...???"