The Ironclad Assassin (3)
Though furniture was gradually filling the space, the office still looked rather bare and empty.
As I browsed secondhand trading sites, hunting for cheap pieces to furnish the place, Sinel's serious expression in one corner caught my eye.
“…….”
Sinel had only been on the job for three days. I found myself worrying she might already be dissatisfied with guarding me.
I asked Sinel, who sat on the empty sofa deep in thought.
“Sinel. What's wrong?”
“Boss.”
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
“There are no clients.”
What came out of Sinel's mouth was simpler than I'd expected. No clients in the office. It wasn't so much that she was bored without them—she seemed more worried about the company itself.
That was only natural. I'd deliberately set up the office in a remote spot; it would have been stranger if clients came looking for me.
To ease her worries, I explained the reason.
“I don't take just anyone as a client.”
“That's right. You're… that famous dark merchant, after all.”
“…….”
“If they don't earn your selection, they can't come as clients, can they?”
Sinel still hadn't forgotten the recent incident. Dark merchant—an alias that still felt like it belonged to someone else whenever I heard it. Hearing it repeatedly almost made me start believing I really was one, so I shook my head and picked up the remote for the large monitor.
“Hearing that puts me in a weird mood. Since the topic came up, once this job is done, let's look for some work to handle.”
I turned on the monitor and pulled up the list of wanted criminals. If there was a target of manageable difficulty, I planned to take Sinel bounty hunting after the Valiant business was finished.
Seeing the wanted list on the screen, Sinel spoke.
“Is that a wanted list?”
“Yeah.”
“There are way more people than on the one I had.”
This service provided by the Black Market displayed wanted criminals organized by rank. The bounties listed here included not only the official ones posted by the security forces, but also unofficial ones put up by underworld organizations and corporations. Even accounting for that, the amounts were roughly set by rank.
3rd-class was four digits. 2nd-class was over 10,000 credits. 1st-class averaged 30,000 to 50,000 credits. Finally, special-class wanted criminals carried bounties exceeding 100,000 credits.
“Once this job is over, I'm thinking of doing some simple bounty hunting. Of course, if we catch a target, I'll give you a solid incentive.”
“……Incentive.”
“So, what kind of guys were you usually chasing?”
“I was chasing special-class or 1st-class wanted criminals.”
“I think I know why you never caught any.”
Catching a single special-class wanted criminal could bring in a massive amount of credits. But unless you were at a truly exceptional level, it was better not to touch them. They were beings that even Usher Hayes, the protagonist of War City, found burdensome to face directly.
Even the protagonist considered a munchkin was reluctant to take them on. That showed just how specialized their individual abilities were for combat. The fact that they'd carried bounties for so long was proof they'd either shaken off countless pursuers or taken them all out and gone into hiding.
Sorry for Sinel, but not running into them until now had been lucky for her.
“Is that so.”
“Catching special-class is for later. We need enough capable people gathered and a perfect plan in place.”
I already had plenty of information on the special-class targets. What I needed now were people with combat ability that satisfied me. Hiring good mercenaries with money was an option, but even considering the bounty amounts, it wouldn't add up.
“That's a shame. I wanted to make a lot at once.”
“Cases like that are rare. To get our coordination down, we should start by catching 3rd or 2nd-class ones.”
“3rd or 2nd-class, huh.”
“For starters, this guy named Renan…”
Thud, thud.
At the sound of footsteps from outside, I cut myself off and turned. Though they hadn't drawn weapons openly, men who seemed to have them hidden somewhere were coming up in a group. Among them were familiar faces I'd encountered last time.
“Looks like clients have arrived.”
“So it seems.”
“They look like the clients we've been waiting for.”
Until now, no one had reason to come looking for this place. Clearly, Mister Trillo, having finished investigating me, had come leading Valiant's elites. Had he finally decided to deal with me?
Passing the subordinates waiting lined up in the hallway, Mister Trillo opened the door and entered the office. Whether out of consideration for me as the owner of the place, only a very few of his subordinates came inside.
“It's been a while, Dark Merchant. Your office is in such a remote place, and it feels rather shabby compared to your reputation.”
“No need to make it too fancy. I don't get that many clients, after all.”
“Is that so. Excuse me while I take a seat opposite.”
With his subordinates standing behind him, Mister Trillo sat on the sofa across from me. It was a luxurious-looking piece I'd bought secondhand, and from his reaction, it didn't seem too bad.
“Coming in such grand fashion, I take it you've decided to make a deal?”
“If I hadn't, I wouldn't have come to your office.”
Unlike when I'd visited Valiant, now Sinel and I both had our weapons on us. It was a choice he couldn't make unless he had a certain level of trust in me.
Facing me, Mister Trillo immediately ordered a subordinate to place the bag he was carrying on the table. The Valiant member opened it and set it down; inside, it was filled with checks from Herenant Bank, the most famous bank in the city.
“Is this the amount you requested?”
“I'll pay 40,000 credits as a down payment.”
“Down payment?”
“Of course I know you're a great information merchant. But this is our first deal, and I can't hand over everything when I don't even know if the info is genuine.”
In short, he meant to pay in installments. It wasn't like he was insisting on full payment after the fact, and he'd brought more than half the amount. It was rather awkward to refuse.
“And the rest?”
“Once we confirm the guy on-site, I'll hand it over right away. Of course, catching him will be our job.”
The fighting would be on Valiant's side anyway. Valiant wasn't a scale that couldn't beat a single 2nd-class wanted criminal, and since the events in the original story happened because Mister Trillo got assassinated, there shouldn't be any major issues. Sinel and I just watching would be enough. And if any problems arose, Sinel, hired as my bodyguard, would protect me.
“Fine. Then I'll tell you the information you wanted.”
“…….”
“Dagas Philip the Ironclad. He wears a gauntlet reinforced with iron plates on one hand, and it's so distinctive that he's called Ironclad.”
“Dagas Philip. So that was his name.”
“He's a 4th-circle Sharpness user. The magic itself isn't particularly threatening, but seeing as he does contract work, he must have some confidence.”
Truth be told, I didn't really know how skilled Dagas was. All I knew was that he was classified as a 2nd-class wanted criminal and a 4th-circle mage. Probably because he went down instantly to the protagonist with his broken magic, so no proper fight scene ever appeared. But considering he was a 2nd-class wanted, I just guessed he wouldn't be that strong in a frontal confrontation rather than assassination.
“Where's his hideout?”
“District 8 in the outskirts. There's a restaurant there called Etheris. Dagas should be hiding on the second floor of that building.”
“I plan to send my men right away. You coming along?”
Preferably, to avoid any later disputes, it would be better to confirm the scene with my own eyes. I answered while organizing the money bag received from Valiant.
“I'll just tidy this up a bit and follow right after. In the meantime, I'd like everyone to wait outside.”
“We'll wait on the first floor.”
Nodding, Mister Trillo left. At the same time, the Valiant members who had flooded in like a wave also disappeared downstairs.
The office interior fell silent in an instant. I smiled looking at the money bag filled with 40,000 credits worth of checks.