Chapter 26

"I knew this would happen."

Kilian, who had been watching everything unfold on the screen, clicked his tongue and said.

"That's why I told you that hiring people based solely on their credentials would lead to trouble."

".....I expected as much."

Panora replied with a forced calm expression.

"Even the appearance of a traitor?"

"......"

She tightly shut her mouth.

"I said you need a sieve to filter out the gems when dealing with people of unclear status. What good are those who only talk about their skills? When you put them into actual operations, they turn out to be just kids."

Panora turned her head sharply, looking indignant at Kilian's indifferent remarks.

"Did you think I could have picked team members of this quality if I had said I was going to test them? To pacify the arrogant ones, I would have had to raise their compensation even more. You're saying this knowing our current situation, right?"

While the development of this operation did ultimately expose their incompetence, Panora still had something to say.

Unlike her confident words to Renock, she had her own share of obstacles to overcome within the company.

But she couldn't make such excuses in front of Renock.

Kilian, who knew this all too well, dismissively shot down all her excuses with a single sentence.

"So that's how it turned out."

It's a result-oriented statement, but the problem is that it's not wrong.

Without Renock, it wouldn't have been strange for Dike's plan, which had started with a huge investment, to fail.

Panora hadn't anticipated that one of the freelancers would betray them from the start.

".....I underestimated the 40th sector. I thought it would be fine to gather people who hadn't caused any trouble before.... I didn't expect them to turn their backs so easily."

"You're working with criminals who have no prior records. You should be prepared for some risk."

Kilian said this while nodding his chin towards the screen.

Renock, sitting at the chaotic dock and smoking a cigarette, was visible.

"So, what are you going to do? That guy is the real deal. You have to capture him if you want your plan to succeed."

Even though Kilian had no affection for Renock, he recognized that his skills were a gem in their own right.

It was hard to guess which unique magical system he used due to his handling of various attributes, but what stood out more was Renock's combat sense rather than the magic he used.

His courage, unshaken even in the face of a powerful and cruel enemy.

His boldness, willing to accept some losses to turn the tide.

His judgment in using the terrain effectively, and his spellcasting ability, which was so precise it sent shivers down one's spine.

His ability to hold back his magic until the last moment and then turn the tables in an instant against superhumans with superior physical abilities was something Kilian had never seen in any other mage.

At the same time, he had a gut feeling.

This was a different kind of talent from simply being good at casting spells.

His ability to suppress fear and pain with a strong rationality and to strike at the right moment with sharp judgment was closer to that of a born gambler.

Kilian knew how to handle people with such talent.

No matter how things turned out later, for now, he needed to treat him well.

"Since things ended this way, we should at least call him in to clean up. If you want to work with him for a long time, that is."

"......I'll have to take some of the success bonus promised to the other four and give it to him. For now, I can only hope he'll be satisfied with that....."

Panora replied with a troubled expression, but her mind was busy calculating.

Although things had unfolded unexpectedly, rescuing Renock, the mage, was a significant gain.

Given the current state of the project, he was a talent they couldn't afford to lose.

They needed to use this mistake as a foundation to continue collaborating with him.

"If Ban continues to work with our plan, we might be able to wrap things up faster than expected. We just need to expand our territory and establish a sales network before other companies get involved."

"We need to gather more people."

"I'll have to ask Maja to select a new group of usable freelancers. This time, even if it costs more, we should conduct a test as you suggested. No matter how short of personnel we are, we shouldn't have been stingy with money for this kind of task.... Clearly, I was shortsighted."

She said this while quickly walking to her desk and typing on the keyboard.

She was sending a message to all the employees she had specially gathered for this project.

By eliminating the drug dealer Paul Ackerman, they had successfully cut off the major investor who had been funding the weapon dealers in the 40th sector.

From here on, they needed to use a combination of threats and persuasion to break through the sales network and eliminate competitors.

"Assuming it's a lawless area, it does make things easier. There's less to consider in terms of follow-up."

"That's why a guy like him would show up and stab you in the back."

"That's something we need to manage carefully."

She said this and waved her hand at Kilian.

"Go now. Oh, and Maja will send over the candidates, so gather all the resumes and bring them to my desk by tomorrow morning."

"Damn... I'm not doing this kind of work just to serve you."

Kilian grumbled but left the office without further complaint.

Panora, after typing for a while, quickly grabbed her coat and stood up.

It was late in the early hours of the morning.

She had stayed at the office this late to confirm the series of plans carried out at the 48th sector port.

Yawning, she picked up the remote and turned off the drone's camera that was illuminating the port, then entered the return command.

That's why she didn't see it.

Renock's face, staring intently in the direction of the camera, as if he had pinpointed its exact location.