Black Bullet and Headhunting
I'd been feeling something was off all day—Black Cell was unusually restless.
As it turned out, Dr. Cain had been actively shoving me toward the Vice Director's seat.
"Senior Maxwell!! Just close your eyes and go for it!"
"You're our only hope, my boy!"
"P-please, just deal with Director Aileen—!!"
When a company has someone whose entire job is to absorb the upper brass, everyone else gets to breathe easy. True to their nature as people who'd joined a villainous organization, the researchers launched a full-scale water-muddying campaign.
Even the Junior Managers were desperately hoping I'd take the Black Cell Vice Director post.
I went to see Dr. Cain in person and asked whether this wasn't a little too rushed.
"Heh heh heh heh… Maxwell, I do have to repay you for that paper, don't I?"
"Looking at this, that excuse really is a universal solvent, isn't it."
Of course, Dr. Cain knew perfectly well that what he was pushing was pure nonsense. But the moment the other key executives fell in line, a catastrophic scenario could unfold—a first-year junior landing a position of that magnitude.
I was planning to accept whatever title the Director handed me…
I just personally had no desire for a hat that sat that filthy close to the Director herself.
As I sighed, my junior Amano came over and asked,
"Senior, isn't it a good thing to climb the ranks quickly?"
"What good does climbing fast do? Without real authority, a title means nothing."
When a parachute drops into a high corporate seat, who exactly is going to listen to that parachute? My own department might tolerate it—other departments would almost certainly find me extremely awkward to deal with.
"B-but wouldn't Director Aileen make it work somehow?"
"The fact that that actually seems possible is what's truly astonishing."
While Dr. Cain continued stirring up Black Cell, I began my report on the closing ceremony I'd attended.
"You really did well. The security team and the driver were singing your praises."
"But I can't deny I went and did something completely unnecessary."
"So what? We've got that Airbomb—or Airboom, whatever—guy's corpse. We can do a lot with that."
The Director didn't particularly care that I'd freely commandeered Black Cell's special agents. After some more back-and-forth, she had Secretary Min Chaerin put through a call, then turned on the TV in the room.
"The news is full of memorial services. Why are you showing me this?"
"Maxwell, I figured you'd want to know. Anyway, the New Korea government has started moving in earnest. The survivors will probably end up with more money than they could earn in a lifetime."
Was the Director… encouraging me?
The unexpected gesture left me speechless. She seemed to realize the behavior didn't suit her either, cleared her throat, and quickly changed the subject.
"You know what the Chief Researcher is up to right now, don't you?"
"He's trying to make me captain of the Flying Dutchman, from what I can tell."
"Pfft. That metaphor… So? What do you think?"
"If you give it to me, I'll take it. But I trust the Director is well aware of the side effects."
"Move too fast and the conservatives will kick up a massive fuss. But it's not as if there's no way around it."
The witch's face turned playful as she shared her little secret with me on the spot.
"…Acting Vice Director?"
"The Black Cell Vice Director seat is vacant anyway. If we say you're taking it temporarily, no one will complain."
It was a method used all the time in extremely conservative government posts and other companies—acting capacity, temporary proxy, that sort of thing. The pushback would indeed be lighter.
But did this mean I was actually stepping into the Vice Director role? It was the same as saying I'd be spending even more time close to the Director going forward, and the future looked thoroughly bleak.
Whether the Director and Dr. Cain had joined hands or not, my ascent to Acting Vice Director accelerated by the day, and the underground research complex turned into a festival ground.
Having been forcibly made captain of the ship, I was once again putting the kids through a three-way face-off when—
Beep-beep-beep-beep!!
An internal line call suddenly rang through to the lab.
"Alright, kids… I need to take this call, so could you come down for a second?"
"Iiiiiih!!"
"Grrrrrrr…."
Liberty and Victory were still kicking at each other from inside my arms. And what Victory said was something else.
"Hmph! Unlike you, I've already been outside with Maxwell!!"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
She was bragging about that? Children's arguments never failed to amaze me, no matter how many times I saw them.
The call kept ringing, and Gloria got so irritated she let another nasty remark slip. Victory and Liberty threw a full-blown tantrum in my arms, but I finally managed to answer the phone.
The person calling me was none other than Black Cell's figurehead president. I hadn't expected him to call me directly instead of going through a secretary. I decided to hear him out.
"Terribly sorry to bother you when you're busy, Researcher Maxwell!"
"I'm fine, but is there something important?"
"Well, you see—one of Chairman Nadan's other children wants to meet you…"
The CFO's earlier warning flashed through my mind.
He'd said other subsidiaries inside Black Group would try to contact me. But I never expected them to move this fast…
Besides, the president called the Director "Miss" and the like—he was clearly on Chairman Nadan's line, not the Director's. He was probably playing a little game on the Chairman's orders. Just as you dodge a coming punch better when you watch it approach, I figured I ought to meet Chairman Nadan's other children at least once.
I wrapped up the kids' three-way meeting and headed straight up to the president's office. Everything had already been arranged; the president's secretary ushered me inside immediately.
In the office, the figurehead president and a certain black-haired beauty were chatting on the reception sofa.
"Oh! I didn't expect you to arrive this quickly!"
"When the president calls, one should move as fast as possible. In any case, good day to you, sir."
"Hahahaha! That silver tongue! That's our Researcher Maxwell for you! Ah, and I'm late with the introductions."
The figurehead president rose from his seat to greet me with genuine warmth, then introduced the woman sitting on the sofa.
"This is the head of Black Bullet—Marian Blackrock."
"A pleasure, Mr. Maxwell. I'm Marian."
"The honor is mine as well."
The head of yet another Black Group subsidiary—Black Bullet—had come looking for me in person.
The woman who introduced herself as Marian carried Blackrock in her surname, and she truly resembled the Director. Since the Director was the youngest daughter of the Blackrock family, this woman might as well be called her older sister.
Of course, plant beans and you get beans; plant red beans and you get red beans. In short, Marian's disposition was very much like the Director's.
The president laughed heartily and filled me in on Black Bullet.
"Lady Marian sells weapons all over the world. And she runs a great many mercenaries."
"So Black Bullet is a company that sells force."
Five bodyguards stood behind Marian. Judging by the various scars they carried, they were almost certainly among Black Bullet's most powerful mercenaries.
Anyway—why would a mercenary company that made money off other people's blood come looking for me?
Once I sat on the sofa and listened, the answer was very simple.
"I've heard all about your exploits from Father. Truly impressive."
"This success was purely the result of everyone's efforts."
"Heh heh heh… Just as I'd heard—you're humble. But I find it truly regrettable that someone like you, Mr. Maxwell, should have to sit still in this tiny little country. We, on the other hand, operate on a global stage."
After listing Black Bullet's strengths, Marian stopped circling and stated her purpose outright.
"Mr. Maxwell, would you happen to have any interest in the position of Chief Weapons Research Officer at Black Bullet?"
Headhunting.
Completely different from the transfer Chairman Nadan had tried on me—this was corporate warfare, dangling money, authority, and a future as bait to pull a rival organization's key talent onto your own side.
But why were subsidiaries within the same group doing this to each other?
In the brief silence that followed, I shot the president a look that said, Isn't this team-killing? He merely shrugged, his body language answering, That's just how it is around here.
As the awkwardness stretched on, Marian smiled gently and eased the atmosphere.
"I understand this is a rather sudden proposal. But I will offer you better treatment than you have here—and the finest compensation."
Marian gestured behind her. One of the mercenaries on guard stepped forward, took out a card case, and presented it to his mistress.
Click!
"It seems Mr. Maxwell needs a little time to think it over, so—this is my card. Please don't feel any pressure—"
Wearing a business smile, Marian held out her card to me.
But life never goes the way you want it to.
In the brief moment I hesitated over whether to take Marian's card, a small commotion rose outside the president's office. The door burst open, and the Director appeared.
With a thoroughly furious expression, she strode into the office and snatched the card Marian had been offering me right out of the air.
Riiiiip!!!
"Oh my?"
"Huh. Pulling a cheap stunt like this?"
The Director tore Marian's card to shreds on the spot and poured venom on her own older sister. Through the still-open door, the Security Director and the four agents who always escorted me at events filed inside.
"…………."
"…………."
"…………."
And so, in the president's office, a staring contest began between Black Cell's special agents and Black Bullet's veteran mercenaries.
Marian rose slowly from the sofa and locked eyes with her younger sister.