Chapter 44

"Alright."

Panoa, who had put down the smartphone she was holding, said with a wide smile. Manya responded as if she had been waiting for it.

"Has the council finally given the approval?"

"They said it doesn't matter as long as we clean up before the checkpoint. That amount of time should be enough."

"It seems your efforts to lobby the council's old men for a month weren't in vain."

Panoa rubbed her eyes as if tired, and Manya's words were true; recently, most of the work Panoa's project team had been focused on was lobbying the city council.

Even if everything went perfectly, they couldn't wrap things up without the city government's approval.

Conversely, if the city council turned a blind eye, Panoa could unleash all her resources on Siger Bang without any filters.

"If it weren't for the agreement with the autonomous region, we wouldn't have gotten this result. The city government doesn't have the luxury to look elsewhere right now. We need to wrap things up quickly before the old men clean their mouths."

"......A gang?"

"Yes."

Manya replied.

"It seems to be a direct invitation from the gang boss himself."

On the exposed back, a large message written in blood caught Manya's attention.

The boss of Siger Bang, Eden, had sent a message.

[Let's see each other's faces.]

Joining

Renok slowly walked into the bar, feeling the sharp gaze that made his face burn.

He noticed that the number of people who recognized him had increased significantly recently.

He had solved quite a few cases, but the change in the gazes he received was most noticeable after the railway station operation.

To be precise, it was after the rumor started that he had personally killed Beck Clinton.

Having killed a mage in a direct confrontation, speculation about his abilities was inevitable.

A mix of goodwill and hostility, a strange sense of caution.

A vague unease that he might encounter them as enemies somewhere in the future permeated the bar's lethargic atmosphere.

"........."

While it was somewhat annoying, Renok didn't find these gazes entirely burdensome.

This was exactly why he had decided to team up with Dike to build his reputation quickly.

Although the process didn't go exactly as he intended, he had gained a lot from dealing with a gang like Siger Bang that had a tight grip on a district.

It was evident from Jenny's reaction alone.

"Your profile views on the deep web have surpassed four digits."

"What?"

"It's proof that your potential clients are increasing rapidly. With Beck Clinton's name added to your career, you'll soon be at a level where you can pick and choose your jobs."

".....Weren't you close to Beck? You seem rather calm about it."

"He was just an old-fashioned stickler for names. He used to cause a fuss trying to collect protection money in Sector 49. It's actually a relief that such an outdated thug is gone."

Jenny's response was clear and unambiguous.

"Is it a coincidence that the attack happened right after Panoa got implicit approval from the city government? The guy broke the unwritten rules of this world, but he might have thought he had to break them to disrupt the flow."

Jenny seemed more interested in deducing the gang boss's thoughts than in the current situation.

"You seem very interested."

"I can't help it. A mage from the Thorbun Tower who came to this city and became a gang boss is a rare story in this world."

Her eyes gleamed sharply.

"If he's a former war businessman, it makes sense that he worked with soldiers on the arms business. He would have only learned and seen such things, right?"

Come to think of it, Jenny had initially mistaken Renok for a mage from the Thorbun Tower when they first met.

Now, she must have seen how he fought and realized he didn't just use lightning magic, but in this world, mentioning lightning magic often brought Thorbun to mind.

Thorbun Tower. Located in a remote desert in the southwestern part of the continent, it is the headquarters of lightning mages, known for being the most popular and widely recognized lightning mages, as well as being obsessed with money and business.

They prefer to actively intervene in wars and expand their influence through such businesses.

They judge positions strictly by ability and performance, and mercilessly discard those who fall behind, so mentioning Thorbun usually implies someone who couldn't compete and was eliminated.

"I've worked with those guys before."

"..........."

Renok and Jenny turned their heads silently at the voice from the side.

Dylan, who had been sitting in a corner of the bar, munching on a sandwich, waved his hand lightly.

".....Are you crazy? When did you crawl in here?"

Jenny said with an exasperated look, but Dylan didn't blink and winked at Renok.

"Partner, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Who's your partner?"

Renok's indifferent response made Dylan shake his shoulders dramatically.

"To forget so quickly, I feel hurt. What happened to the strong bond we formed when we faced the Croken together?"

"......The guy who got his back broken by Croken is talking a lot."

Indeed, at that time, it was Renok who had managed to stall Croken, buying time.

If Evelyn had found them just a little later, they would have been discovered as cold corpses.

Dylan pouted inside his mask.

"No, that was an impossible problem even if our boss had been there. Who could deal with a monster worth several billion cells?"

".........."

That was true. It was absurd to encounter such a powerful opponent on their first job.

Renok no longer attached much significance to it after working a few jobs in this world.

"Anyway, I've worked with Thorbun mages before, too."

"Sure, sure, go on and talk."

In response to Jenny's exasperated reply, Dylan started to recount his stories enthusiastically.

He mentioned how he had encountered them by chance during a supply mission in an unknown front, how they all had extremely high noses and strong egos, and how they didn't treat others like humans.

Amidst this, he also claimed that he had made the biggest contribution to the mission, a typical self-praise mixed in with his long speech.

Renok, listening to it half-heartedly, asked.

"So, what do you want to say?"

Renok had only worked with Dylan once, but he had chatted with him many times while he was sitting in the bar.

While he couldn't claim to know Dylan Okaysi very well, he did know that Dylan was a seasoned warrior.

He wasn't the type to casually interrupt a conversation just to talk about his past jobs out of boredom.

There had to be another intention.

Only then did Dylan finish his sandwich and clear his throat.

"Ahem, these days, my living expenses are... quite lacking."

"You're crazy."

Jenny muttered with a blank face.

"Antares should give you a basic salary even if you don't work, but you're short on living expenses because you're doing some nonsense, you idiot."

"Recently, I've been going to the casino... No, anyway, I need a client who can hire me secretly without the office knowing."

Dylan looked at Renok intently as he said this.

".........."

"Did this crazy guy finally get into gambling? Just contact Antares."

"I'll only recover the principal and get out!"

Looking at Dylan, who was acting like a child, Renok sighed.

He was an unpredictable and innocent person, but at least he was a trustworthy colleague when it came to work.

"Two thousand."

Dylan's and Jenny's eyes widened in surprise at Renok's unexpected offer, but Dylan quickly regained his composure.

"Four thousand. In return, I'll cooperate until we take out the gang boss."

"Have you been listening all this time?"

"How could I not know with all the rumors in this world?"

Renok chuckled as he watched Jenny and Dylan bicker.

"You're starting to resemble Dylan."

"Watch your mouth."

She suddenly buried her head in the laptop under the bar, looking flabbergasted.

".......Panoa has contacted us. She wants to talk about the final job."

Renok smiled faintly at her words.

Finally, the long and arduous collaboration with Dike was coming to an end.