Chapter 69

[Our staff are very grateful.]

In her usual calm tone.

However, the voice was coming through a large speaker located beyond the hologram.

Jenny's bar. The office on the upper floor.

In that formal place, which is used only for official purposes, Renok and Jenny were sitting facing Evelyn's hologram.

[Thanks to you, the amount of work we have to do has increased dramatically. They insisted that I convey their gratitude.]

“......”

It’s so hard to read her expression that it’s difficult to tell how much of what she said was a joke.

It seemed that Renok wasn’t the only one thinking this way, as Jenny, who had been listening quietly to Evelyn, furrowed her brow.

She slammed the pencil she was holding onto the desk and said,

“Agent, why don’t you get to the point quickly?”

Evelyn nodded blankly in response to Jenny’s irritated retort.

Preparation for the operation

[Don’t misunderstand.]

Evelyn answered while fiddling with something in her hand.

It was celery. It seems she had started growing new vegetables recently.

[I’m very impressed by how actively you’ve contributed to this matter.]

“What?”

[In any case, if it weren’t for this incident, it would have taken us some time to notice the existence of the pillars, and that would have caused some damage to the city in some way. In that sense, I will pay you the same remuneration as was planned for the operation.]

“......”

The amount of money equivalent to Renok’s fee is over several million cells.

From the perspective of an agent, the attitude of paying the full price for information obtained by chance isn’t bad.

[Let’s put that aside for now and share some information we’ve gathered from this incident.]

Evelyn continued, flipping through a report beyond the hologram.

[The spell inscribed on the pillar obtained from Sector 55 is indeed black magic. To be precise, it’s a method of embedding it into the earth veins or water veins in the area to extract a large amount of the land’s vital energy.]

[It’s also a technique used in various types of spells, not just black magic. It can easily gather the energy needed to prepare large-scale spells, and there’s not much penalty except for the time cost. Of course, it could be a problem in farmland.]

“Does that mean it’s not a big issue?”

[No, that’s not what I mean. We can’t just leave the black mages to siphon off Balkan’s earth vein energy using these pillars. After receiving your report, we’ve hired freelancers to search the outskirts of the city, and they’ve found three more similar pillars.]

“Three... It’s practically the same as finding nothing.”

Jenny’s words, though they sounded like they were pouring cold water on the efforts being made, weren’t wrong.

We don’t know how many pillars the black mages have installed in the vast outskirts of this megacity, but given the nature of the spell that draws power from the earth veins, there must be at least five pillars.

Even though they’ve just started, the progress is quite slow.

[There’s nothing we can do about it. As you said, any ordinary mercenary or freelancer would be cursed just by touching the pillars. We can’t afford to use such high-level personnel to find the pillars. We can only have them report any suspicious areas.]

In the end, it means that there’s not much they can realistically do, but Renok understood.

Sectors 40 and 50 are several times larger than all the inner sectors of Balkan combined.

The manpower, time, and cost required to search the vast area for the pillars would be something even the agents couldn’t easily accept.

[We should focus all our efforts on the mastermind behind this plan, taking the minimum necessary measures.]

“Is that the practical choice?”

[It’s a matter of prioritization.]

Of course, if the pillars had spread to the 30s sectors, Evelyn wouldn’t have taken such an approach.

However, her somewhat lax attitude suggests that the security and defenses in the 30s sectors are thorough.

Especially for the core forces residing in the inner city.

It would be difficult to meddle inside the city without being noticed by the influential figures who have a broad perspective, despite their sluggishness.

“Alright. Let’s move on to the next topic.”

From Evelyn’s response, it seemed that pressing her further wouldn’t yield anything more.

Since they had confirmed that the curse on Drey was lifted by removing the spell from the pillars, he had no lingering doubts about it.

There was still a lot he needed to hear from her.

[Mad Manson, right? Your guess is correct. We’ve confirmed that Rayson hired him.]

“Why of all people, that lunatic...”

Jenny rubbed her temples, looking annoyed.

Given her extensive connections, she must know Manson.

While I understood Jenny’s frustration, it was unexpected to see Evelyn also frowning slightly, looking perplexed.

“I thought he wasn’t that difficult to handle.”

He was skilled in swordsmanship, but he was still within the realm of a superhuman who manipulates magic.

He lacked the overwhelming aura of true monsters that transcend human limits.

Evelyn, who was visible through the hologram, was capable of producing tremendous flashes of light that shook the city’s night sky.

“With that body, he probably was.”

“Body?”

“He’s a multiple-body adapter, using over eight bodies with a single mind. The one you met was probably one of the bodies he uses for searching.”

“......Is that even possible, not being a robot?”

Jenny tapped her temples as she responded.

“Did you see his head was replaced with a metal one? He’s intentionally relying on AI for some of his cognitive processes to prevent excessive mental strain. Besides, the capabilities and combat power of each body vary greatly... That’s why he’s one of the best freelancers still active.”

“......”

Could that be what he meant by dressing up next time?

I never imagined there could be someone who uses multiple bodies with a single mind, not even someone with multiple personalities.

It seems there was a reason he could speak so calmly even with his body in shambles.

While Renok was lost in thought, the conversation quickly continued.

Evelyn finished her explanation and outlined how the upcoming operation would proceed.

[The location tracking through the dummy data hidden in the encryption key is complete. The location is far beyond the undeveloped area, practically outside the megacity.]

“Is that where the black mages’ base is?”

[We’ve confirmed that a large amount of supplies is stored there. It’s probably a temporary base set up to attack the city. If we can uncover the details of their plan through this operation, it will be more than enough.]

Evelyn, who was explaining with her fingers, has surprisingly small hands.

[The operation will be carried out by three teams. Team 1 will go in and draw attention, while you, Renok, will lead Team 2 to gather information. Once the information is secured, Team 3 will buy time by closing the door and exiting.]

“Complicated.”

Unlike Team 1 and Team 3, which only need to focus on entry and exit, the core of the operation is being entrusted to Team 2, where Renok is.

As Renok noticed this, Evelyn subtly turned her gaze and muttered,

[This is based on the capabilities you demonstrated in the last operation. I’ll also instruct Team 1 and Team 3 to respect your judgment on the ground.]

“...I don’t think it will make much difference, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

In the last operation, even the giant and the expressionless woman initially questioned Renok’s skills and qualifications.

Whether he has no name or a high reputation, doubts never disappear.

Even as he continues to successfully complete missions and grow, there are always people who look down on Renok.

As long as he remains an outsider in this city, he might have to endure such gazes.

Though it’s exhausting, Renok has become accustomed to this process of proving himself.

[In any case, thank you for your hard work on this matter. The additional schedule and detailed operation plan will be shared through the lady on your side.]