15. Business Partner
15. Business Partner
The two left the banquet hall and headed toward a place with few people.
From the start, there were people slipping out of the banquet hall one or two at a time, so it was a very natural movement.
"My name is Iwamoto Shingen. It's interesting that the head of a Korean organization is Japanese."
"I have some circumstances, you see."
He didn't bring up being a Returnee.
Even if he mentioned being a Returnee, not much would change.
"Right, I won't pry further. I'm Ivanovich Volkova."
"You seem to be of Russian origin."
From her exotic looks, he had noticed she wasn't Korean, but he didn't know she was from Russia.
Her accent and way of speaking were too similar to Korea's.
The two entered a room located a bit away from the banquet hall.
Click.
As soon as they entered, Volkova locked the door and slowly approached Shingen, who had entered first.
"Of unknown origin, and we don't know where you rolled in from, but you toppled the Doksahoe, which had somehow managed to maintain a decent front. It's strange, since you didn't just fall from the sky."
"......"
"But I don't care about that. Because for us, if it's profitable, we'll even shake hands with snake offspring."
For their own gain, they will even join hands with cunning people.
Though they would have to handle the aftermath themselves, it can be seen as bold to achieve their goals by sleeping with the enemy.
"So, what's the conclusion? Are you suggesting cooperation with a fledgling organization like ours?"
Shingen's Doksahoe—now the Hongryeonhoe—is at a level that is nothing compared to the many established organizations.
The number of organization members is small, and their individual capabilities are even more lacking.
No matter how you look at it, there's no profitable aspect, so why is she bringing this up?
"Hmm. Rather than cooperation, it's more fitting to say we're nurturing a junior."
"...A junior?"
"Yes. Actually, even including our organization, there aren't many making meaningful profits in the mercenary business right now. It's good to monopolize the market, but we're currently struggling to expand the business."
Volkova explained her organization's situation exactly as it was.
He would need to filter and verify whether it was the truth, but she didn't seem to be lying right now.
"What does that have to do with us? If you're struggling to expand your business, shouldn't you find a breakthrough?"
"Because that breakthrough lies with fledgling organizations like yours, jumping into the mercenary business."
"...With us?"
That's a first.
What power could an organization that's just at the level of preparing for business possibly have to serve as a breakthrough?
"Originally, if a business has no competitors, its growth tends to be slow, and the market expansion rate slows noticeably. But if there's a competitor, the story changes."
A business that grows leisurely without competition finds it hard to achieve rapid development.
Because there's no opponent to compete with, it's fine to proceed leisurely.
"Through competition, both sides grow rapidly, and one side might penetrate a market the other couldn't. In that process, there will clearly be benefits that fall to us."
"......"
"So, I intend to help your organization's business a bit. If there's no competitor, I want to create one to accelerate our organization's business."
To foster the organization's growth, they would help a fledgling organization's business.
At first, it didn't make sense, but after hearing Volkova's story, there were parts he could somewhat sympathize with.
'In any field, development is exponential when there's competition. War is the same.'
Isn't war also a form of competition?
Just as technology develops rapidly during war, business is the same.
After listening to her, Shingen pondered briefly and then spoke.
"Certainly, if you're offering help to grow the business, refusing it would be like being a total sucker."
"You seem to understand well. Then I'll take that as agreement—"
"But there's one thing I want to test."
He stroked his chin with one hand, looked down at her, then bent to meet her eye level.
"I hate being played by someone's hand the most. I hate it even more if that person is someone whose skills and abilities I don't know at all."
"......"
"You made the choice, but accepting it is solely my choice."
In the shadows, where ability and power are most important, just talking is useless.
Because anyone with a mouth can talk.
"So this time, I'll make the proposal."
A disposition that had been with Shingen for a very long time quietly revealed itself.
How would a pine caterpillar bite through a pine needle? He thinks it's fine to be gentle only in front of his own people.
"If you fight and satisfy me, I'll accept the proposal. Anyway, in a situation where we both benefit, shouldn't we at least make this kind of proposal?"
"......"
Volkova met Shingen's gaze with a cold expression.
Her blue eyes shone coolly as she stared at Shingen.
"Ah, hahaha...!"
That expression gradually crumbled and soon transformed into laughter.
"Kehehehet... Ah, this is a funny guy. Prove it with strength, huh? It's a crude but very 'us' way of doing things... Let's do it like that then."
She too thought it was funny, but accepted it nonetheless.
Seems what they were thinking was somewhat similar.
The logic of Survival of the fittest.
It was the most fundamental concept governing the underworld and the one word that best represented them.
There was no need to set a date or time for the promise.
The Villain Association internally adhered to the principle of non-intervention as long as fights didn't cause harm to unspecified civilians.
"This is why the underworld is good. If you have enough strength, you can run wild and it doesn't matter."
Volkova gripped the daggers sheathed at both her hips.
"By the way, are you really okay not using a sword?"
"Even with just my fists, it'll be enough. There's no reason to draw a sword for no good reason."
"Ha, your confidence is something else!"
The battle began right then and there in the room where the two had been talking.
Volkova stepped forward and charged.
Her speed was fast, but what it carried wasn't lightness, but weight.
Kang!!!
He raised his arms to block the two daggers swung toward him.
"A physical enhancement ability? Impressive performance."
She misunderstood on her own, but he decided to let it slide.
Kang! Kang! Kaaang!!!
She began to relentlessly push Shingen back.
"No matter how hard something is, if you keep hitting it, it'll eventually break!"
With a voice full of conviction, she continued to swing her daggers.
Each strike had enough power to easily cleave a person in two, but it was still insufficient to wound Shingen's body.
"Just what the hell is your body made of...?!"
"It's the result of endless real combat where I've crossed the line between life and death."
Whoosh!
Shingen clenched his opposite fist and threw a punch.
"Keuk!"
Volkova hastily withdrew her daggers and crossed them in an X-shape to block the fist.
Kagagagagagak!!!
The horrifying sound of blades being ground down could be heard, but her top priority right now was blocking it somehow.
"You've managed to balance strength and speed to some degree, but it's not perfect. If Kaede leaned heavily on speed, you at least made an effort to achieve balance."
"Who the hell is Kaede again...!!!"
She strained with all her might to push the fist away, but it was useless.
Kwaang!!!
"Keoheok...!"
She managed to avoid taking direct damage from the fist, but being slammed into the wall made her falter momentarily.
And Shingen wasn't about to miss that moment.
Tadat!
He dashed in lightly, aiming precisely for her, who was embedded in the wall.
"W-wait...! Time! Stop!!"
"There's no 'wait' in a fight."
You don't yell 'stop' on a battlefield when you think you're going to die, do you?
In such matters, Shingen had absolutely no intention of showing mercy.
"You fucking-"
Kwaaang!!!
Shingen's fist struck her abdomen directly.
"Uup, Uweeeek...!!!"
Simultaneously, the wall shattered as well, and she was flung into the next room, tumbling several times across the floor before collapsing.
Shingen stepped through the shattered wall into the next room, grabbed her ankle, and dragged her back the way they came.
Did she think she was dealing with a saint?
If she thought he'd go easy on her, that was just foolish.
"Ugh... You didn't have to hit that hard...!"
"Gender doesn't make bullets or blades avoid you, and the only thing wrong with my fists is their unwavering equality."
"......"
Having barely regained consciousness, Volkova grabbed Shingen's shoulders and shook them in protest, but Shingen didn't budge.
"So, satisfied?"
Volkova asked, looking at Shingen who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Didn't I say it during the fight? Your attempt to balance speed and strength was good, but it's not perfect."
In Shingen's eyes, Volkova was even more below standard than Kaede.
It was a situation of trying to catch two rabbits and losing both.
"But I do see potential for growth."
"R-really...?"
"This place is crawling with guys worse than you, so being able to see potential is a blessing in itself."
No one in this hall met Shingen's standards.
The superhumans of this world were far weaker than those from the world Shingen had lived in.
"I'll accept the proposal. I'll permit you to help."
"...Shouldn't I usually be the one saying that?"
"Let the minor things slide. If you nitpick every little thing, life gets difficult."
"......"
It was absurd, but Volkova couldn't say anything.
By nature, the loser has no right to speak.