Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Chapter 30.
I slowly repeated Brody's words.
"...Disappeared? And that was 10 years ago?"
"Yes, I heard he disappeared after entering the nearby forest. Because of that, it was almost concluded in his hometown that he died to monsters or wild animals."
"Heard...?"
"As soon as I received the request, I first looked for adventurers from Lethe. Perhaps because his relative's family was a prominent figure in Lethe, they remembered it clearly even though it was a long time ago."
After hearing her entire report.
I let out a single word that summarized my feelings.
"This is absurd."
"...I'm sorry."
Brody lowered her head with a shadow cast over her expression.
She seemed to think I was sad about my relative's misfortune, but
my heart was filled with lingering questions.
'This is strange.'
The protagonist, Dominic Wolf.
His childhood and adolescence were significant enough to have multiple flashback scenes.
This was because it was the intermediate process of his growth into the hero who would confront Rutien.
...But why a disappearance?
'I'd rather he didn't exist at all...'
Disappearance, it was clearly strange.
Moreover, 10 years ago, it wasn't even the 'butterfly effect'.
It was before I possessed this body.
Brody cautiously continued.
"I, I'll also put more effort into the remaining requests."
"...Yes. Thank you."
"Is confirming the requests the only reason for your visit today?"
I shook my head.
"No, I have another favor to ask."
"Oh?"
Brody's eyes lit up at the mention of work.
She was a born businesswoman.
Before I brought up the request details,
I asked her one thing first.
"You seem to have wide connections. Do you have any reach in the upper levels?"
That question made Brody's expression peculiar.
It was understandable.
For businessmen in Border City, the 'upper levels' were not just a place.
A symbol of advancement.
A mark of success.
The upper levels were the final destination for those who played with money in Border City,
and asking if she had connections there was indirectly gauging her capabilities as a businesswoman.
"...I have some reach. But what is it that brings you to mention the upper levels? How long have you been in Border City?"
"First, write this down. Society of Oblivion, Ellen Veira."
A scholar who affirmed the possibility of time reversal.
A research group that continued steady research on forgotten benevolent gods.
These were clues I found in the Seiran Library.
I judged that it would be difficult to pursue those clues further in the middle levels.
If not in the upper levels, where more, more secret information was exchanged.
Scratch, scratch-
Brody busily scribbled the names in her notebook.
"Hmm, these are names I've never heard before."
"Can you gather all existing information about these two?"
In fact, I had considered entrusting it to other information brokers in the city.
I knew how to contact them.
But at this stage, forming connections with them would bring more harm than good.
Most importantly, the Society of Oblivion and Ellen Veira were existences 'outside the scenario'.
I had a gut feeling that it was right to entrust it to existences 'outside the scenario'.
"The price doesn't matter."
The jewels and gold coins I took from the smuggling organization's warehouse.
The rewards for completing Night Crow's requests.
The money I steadily saved while working as a Mercenary.
My budget was ample.
If necessary, I could even sell my magic prosthetic arm.
...But then.
Brody, who had been stroking her chin as if in thought, suddenly blurted out an unexpected answer.
"I won't take any money."
"...What?"
"Instead-"
Brody let out a small, breathy laugh and patted my shoulder.
"Just resolve this one matter for me."
"...You want me to do a job instead of taking money?"
My mind raced.
It was a request that a competent resolution agency wouldn't handle directly but would outsource.
Moreover, Brody, having heard Eddie's story, mistakenly believed I was a contractor powerful enough to kill a Paladin in one blow.
No need to look further.
'The difficulty must be insane.'
This was something better paid for.
I immediately replied,
"What if I refuse?"
"I'd probably beg you to at least hear the details?"
"......"
"Ah, Customer, you're too much. You throw a difficult request that requires mobilizing connections in the upper levels, yet you won't even listen to my story! Is being handsome everything! Even if I'm not handsome, Eddie who has loyalty is better!!!"
I sighed.
"...So, what is it."
"Well, it's naturally a job that matches the price."
Brody instantly dropped her dejected look and grinned.
It was a smile that combined a shrewd intuition with childlike playfulness.
I waited for her lips to part, feeling a strange sense of unease.
"Please find my damn cousin."
"...Cousin?"
"Eddie. He's disappeared."
.
.
.
Ting-!
[Self-Generated Scenario Occurred! Brody's Request]
Brody, a born merchant.
She rarely gets deeply involved with anyone.
She is the type to strictly calculate profit and loss, and only narrow the distance when necessary.
Yet, Brody has now made a personal request to you.
Her desire to find her cousin Eddie is clear.
However, beyond that request, another calculation could be felt.
She created a reason to become more entangled with you, the variable.
Perhaps she had already sensed a value in you beyond that of a mere transaction partner.
Respond to her expectations.
It's an opportunity to gain a reliable partner.
Request Details: (Omitted)
Clearance Reward:
'Eddie' joins your scenario as a companion. (Provided he survives)
'Brody' joins your scenario as a companion.
(Functions such as companion affinity rewards, stat distribution, and party composition will be unlocked)
※ Related Easter Eggs will be unlocked.
* * *
On the day the incident occurred.
Eddie was drinking at a regular bar.
The drinking session, which started in the early afternoon, continued until dawn, and the number of empty glasses was too many to count on one's fingers.
However, he wasn't getting drunk.
It's a tragedy that all heavy drinkers can relate to: not getting drunk when one is excessively upset.
"Damn it, a jobless man overnight."
The Silver Compass Merchant Guild had disbanded this morning.
It was an anticipated event.
Although he didn't know the detailed reasons, the Guild Leader seemed to have gotten into a terrible mess with Rutien, and continuing with the guild's work would have put his life at risk.
"Still..."
But even the enormous severance pay, which seemed like Kalian had uprooted the guild's foundations to provide, offered no comfort to Eddie.
Only the fact that he would never see Yor or the young lady again stung.
Eddie sighed as if the earth were collapsing.
"I thought they'd at least take me with them..."
He had worked together for nearly 5 years.
Had he not earned enough trust during that time?
Or was his skill not satisfactory?
Well, if he were a skilled individual like Gunter, who had single-handedly defeated that terrifying Paladin and even the Holy Army, they would have taken him no matter what.
As he bitterly raised his next glass,
a familiar voice echoed in Eddie's ears.
"Captain, Captainnn!"
A shout from somewhere outside the bar door.
Though faint, there was no way he could mistake a voice he had been with for years.
It was Doran, the elder of the twin brothers Doran and Dorin, who were under his command.
"Cap, Captain! Something terrible has happened!"
Indeed, the man who entered as the bar door opened was Doran.
The problem was that Doran's face was completely bruised and blackened.
Eddie's face contorted.
"What the hell are you? I told you not to cause trouble for a while!"
"Th-that's not it..."
"Where did you leave Dorin and come alone?"
His annoyance was justified.
He was indirectly involved with Rutien.
Even though Rutien's influence was relatively less in Border City, he needed to lie low quietly for at least a few days.
Yet, he caused trouble after less than a day.
"......?"
But as Doran's face became clearly visible under the bar's lighting, Eddie's annoyed expression stiffened.
The injuries were far more severe than he thought.
It wasn't just a beating; it was torture.
His one ear was even half-severed and dangling.
CRASH- Eddie kicked his seat back and stood up.
"You bastard... What the hell happened, tell me properly."
"Th-that..."
Doran, who had been stammering, finally confessed the whole story.
After receiving a large severance package, the brothers headed to a newly opened gambling den as soon as it got dark.
They won a little and were jubilant for a while, but then they lost all their money...
"So you incurred debt? Are you out of your mind?"
"I, I just wanted to get my stake back. I swear."
"Stake or whatever, damn it... it's definitely a rigged game..."
As Eddie continued speaking, he realized something and grabbed Doran by the collar.
"So where's Dorin? Where is Dorin?"
Tears suddenly burst from Doran's eyes.
"He, he's been captured by those guys. If you don't bring back anything valuable, they'll start with his fingers..."
"You idiot!"
Eddie, who was about to raise his hand, soon sighed and relaxed his body.
Doran, with a wronged look, trembled and stepped back.
'It's my fault.'
...It wasn't the first time his subordinates were incompetent.
That's why he always stayed by their side after a trade, to prevent them from doing foolish things.
But precisely today.
Because he was alone and holed up in a bar, lost in despair, this dog-like incident had occurred.
'Damn, what should I do?'
Report to the Security Bureau...? No.
Those guys are like private soldiers for rich people with fat wallets.
No matter how much he reported, they wouldn't help ordinary citizens of the middle levels.
Besides, he had lost his affiliation.
'Shit, my luck is terrible.'
Eddie gritted his teeth and grabbed his sword and shield.
"Lead the way."
"Uh, huh?"
"Where is it, you bastard!"
He grew increasingly anxious.
It wasn't just worry for Dorin.
Eddie knew better than anyone that a part of the gang was deeply connected to Rutien.
Brody had mentioned it a few times, and more importantly, he himself had been in that world before.
'What if Dorin, the idiot, gets scared and spills everything, like the details of the attack a few days ago?'
The other subordinates who had drawn swords against the Holy Army that day.
Most importantly, there was no way the story of Gunter, who had personally killed the Paladin, wouldn't come out.
Especially since Gunter wasn't even a fellow guild member, they'd sell him out without hesitation.
'...Rutien might retaliate directly.'
...Alright, I'll pay off the debt with this.
Though not comparable to a monstrous Paladin or Gunter.
He, who had learned formal swordsmanship and even made a contract with a god, was still a formidable fighter in the back alleys.
A few gang members praying at the gambling den would be no match.
He would smash everything and retrieve Dorin, solving the problem.
He made up his mind.
'Ah, I shouldn't have drunk.'
Slap-
Feeling the alcohol finally kicking in, Eddie slapped his own cheeks a few times.
Without delay, he ran towards the gambling den.
That was the last he was seen.
.
.
.
That happened two days ago.
Eddie entered the gambling den alone, leaving his brother Doran outside, and shortly after, Dorin was carried out in a mangled state.
Doran took Dorin to a clinic and waited for a long time afterward, but Eddie never appeared until the gambling den closed for the day.
Unsure of what to do, he suddenly remembered Eddie mentioning his cousin and sought her out.
Ryan, who had been listening, tilted his head and bombarded her with questions.
"Hmm, are those gang members human traffickers? How large are they that they outsource to us?"
"...We are people who deal with information. We are more accustomed to making reasons for others to draw swords and the direction those swords will point, rather than drawing swords ourselves."
Ryan summarized.
"In other words, their combat power is pathetic compared to their information network."
"...Are you unpopular with women?"
"No."
"......."
"No, I'm not."
Brody sighed and continued.
"It's also because the size of the opponent is unusually large for a gang from the lower levels."
"What about reporting to the Security Bureau? A citizen is missing, so they'll take some action, right?"
"I can say with certainty that the Security Bureau will not help us."
"Why...?"
"...They've likely been paid much more by the gang than by us."
"Damn, what kind of messed-up city is this."
Even while dealing with her cousin's disappearance, Brody seemed calm.
She was so composed that I hadn't even noticed such a misfortune had occurred until she spoke.
But looking closely after understanding the situation, I noticed her subtly trembling fingertips and dry lips.
I nodded with a sigh.
"So, is there anything else we need to know?"
"I will organize the information I've gathered over the past few days into documents and give them to you. However, there is one peculiar detail..."
A peculiar detail?
"There isn't just one person who has gone missing in that gang's territory. And the commonality among most of them is..."
I could interrupt her.
"They're contractors, aren't they?"
Brody looked at me with surprised eyes.
No wonder.
Contractors of Tashin.
They were the favorite nourishment for the Evil Gods under Rutien.
Now, this changes things.
'A side scenario involving Rutien has opened.'
I immediately asked Brody to bring me all the information she had collected, without exception.
And after carefully reviewing it, I reached one conclusion.
This incident, if handled well...
'I can make a big profit.'
On one hand, it was a relief.
I didn't have to utter words of refusal to Brody, who was looking at me with expectant eyes.
"I'll save your cousin."
Although it required some preparation.
It was worth a try.
"Yes! I'll trust you!"
Brody beamed.
.
.
.
Ting-!
[Self-Generated Scenario in Progress!]
-
First, find Eddie's whereabouts.