Chapter 29

Sage swallowed nervously at the harsh tone.

"What do you mean by that...?"

Instead of responding, Lennok waved the request summary he had been holding.

"Are you playing dumb when everything you want is written here? It's not just about retrieving samples and submitting them."

It's important to address any concerns before starting work.

It wasn't that Lennok doubted the truth of the information he had given him, but Sage hadn't told him everything.

Sage's pupils shifted back and forth, but in the end, he said nothing.

He knew exactly what Lennok was talking about.

Jenny added fuel to the fire.

"Gang."

"......."

"You left out the part about the gang. If the councilor hears that you've hired freelancers, how can you guarantee that we won't clash with the gang?"

The councilor may not directly intervene, but it's different with the gang he's associated with.

If they find out that Lennok was tasked with retrieving samples from the pharmaceutical company and submitting them, the gang's involvement will naturally follow.

"I can really sneak in and just submit the samples to the patent office. Is that what you want?"

Lennok asked, but no answer came.

No, Sage's silence was an answer to that question.

What Amnac Pharmaceuticals really wanted was not a simple errand runner, but a force that could stand up to the councilor's gang.

Although he was beating around the bush, he had come to him hoping that Lennok would clash with the gang while retrieving the samples and take care of them.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to say it outright, which was frustrating for Lennok.

'...Certainly, it's different from Baritz.'

When comparing Amnac Pharmaceuticals' handling of the situation to a well-established company like Baritz, which effectively communicated its goals, priced each objective differently, and even compensated for unexpected variables, it was clear that Amnac's approach was absurd.

Lennok speculated that as a venture company, they might have experienced some challenges, but it was senseless to begin playing games right after outsourcing.

With their careless attitude towards retrieving the samples and handling the gang, it may have been wiser to simply hand the samples over to the councilor.

Sage noticed the tense atmosphere and became visibly nervous, causing his shoulders to shrink and cold sweat to pour down his face.

Lennok resisted the temptation to pull out a cigarette and instead gave Jenny a sidelong glance.

He realized that expressing his frustration towards Sage at that moment would serve no purpose as it wouldn't change anything. It seemed more appropriate to discuss with Jenny whether or not he should accept the request.

Jenny noticed Lennok's gaze and smiled, indicating that she understood his intentions.

"Hey, client."

"Yes, yes!"

At Jenny's casual remark, Sage responded nervously.

"Do you still want us to handle the job?"

"Yes, I do...."

"So, looks like we gotta talk about payment. You may have just wanted our wizard to run a quick errand, but we see some risks involved. You get what I'm saying, right?"

Sage nodded.

Jenny smiled contentedly and pointed at something with a long cigarette in her hand.

It was Sage's cellphone on the table.

"Let's give your boss a call and find out. How much are they willing to invest in us, and how much money will it take to motivate our wizard to take on any gangsters he might come across while running errands?"

"........."

"Go ahead and make the call while we're out."

With that, she naturally escorted Lennok out of the office.

As soon as the door closed, Jenny asked, "What do you want to do?"

"What?"

"Yeah, they did try to deceive us, but to be honest, it's kinda cute. I mean, if they were really serious about tricking us, they wouldn't have mentioned the councilor or the gang in the request summary, right?"

"......."

She wasn't wrong.

The fact that Lennok could sense that Sage had not revealed all his intentions was due to the information written in the request summary they had sent.

"Sure, if we accept the request, I'll definitely double-check the information so we don't fall for a crappy lie like that. But in this case, rather than stabbing us in the back..."

"Rather than stabbing?"

"....I think they were trying to haggle the price."

Jenny said that and quickly glanced at Lennok's reaction.

"That's just how I see it, and I get that it can be frustrating when someone tries to deceive you. It's totally understandable if you're feeling upset. It's completely up to you whether you want to take on the request or not. You could even just send that guy away if you want - there are plenty of other jobs out there in this field. You can just start working on a new request from tomorrow."

Listening to Jenny's smooth talk, Lennok chuckled.

Her constant careful approach, even as she seemed to be getting a grasp of Lennok's personality, was enough to win Lennok's favor.

She seemed to have some idea that Lennok was quite cautious, unlike his own disposition.

"How do you think the difficulty of the request will be? Any possibility of the councilor getting directly involved?"

"It won't be too hard. I've looked into it separately. I'm sure about this."

Jenny asserted.

"The gang that councilor Meyer is involved with is a violent organization of about 100 members, which is not a large gang even in the 50th district. Apart from the leader, who is known to be a unique hybrid, the other guys are not much different from scavengers. It shouldn't be too difficult to deal with them."

Taking into account the name 'gang', it should be an organization with at least dozens of members, but there is no sense of burden in Jenny's words.

Lennok already thinks that he is not limited by mere numbers.

In fact, Lennok also thought that if it was that level, it might be possible to deal with it in a not-dangerous line.

The battle with the scavenger he had faced along with the Krimgal Mercenary Office.

Various magics Lennok used there, including [Chain Lightning], had the potential to allow individuals to confront groups alone.

Perhaps it was not a bad thing to change that possibility into certainty in this request.

Lennok, who had been carefully choosing his thoughts, nodded.

".....Alright. But I want to receive more for the request fee."

If it doesn't avoid the battle with the gang, it's not against the conscience to get more hazard pay.

At Lennok's words, Jenny grinned.

"Leave it to me. You've seen the breadcrumbs I've thrown, right? We'll rip off about 10 million cells, so wait a minute."

Immediately after she finished speaking, the office door swung open, causing a startle.

Sage, who was holding the cell phone with both hands raised above his head, nodded silently as he looked at the two individuals who entered.

Lennok bowed his head in silence, noticing Jenny's mouth stretching out wide beside him.

After bending over to the pharmaceutical company first, the work proceeded at a rapid pace.

The advance payment of 10 million cells originally scheduled to be paid to Lennok was doubled, but the success fee of 10 million cells remained the same.

After signing the temporary employment contract to deposit 30 million cells upon success, Lennok immediately got into the car that Sage brought and headed towards the warehouse.

There were no major problems since he had brought his belongings in advance.

"It's a bit late. Maybe other people have already arrived."

"Other people?"

"They are the people we hired to guard the warehouse. Although they will be absolutely insufficient compared to the number of gangsters, they will still help."

"......."

It seems that they didn't intend to let the wizard face the gang alone.

Instead of responding to that, Lennok turned his head out the window.

The number of the gang that Jenny mentioned was at least 100.

How many people can Lennok deal with if he doesn't expect much help from others?

To be honest, Lennok can now easily handle many more people as long as they are not mana users.

If he spreads five layers of shields, normal bullets and blades will not penetrate, and if he bombards the surroundings with magic while sitting down, a one-sided offensive is possible as long as the mana allows.

However, if there are those who handle magic or people with special abilities among the gang, it becomes a bit difficult.

Of course, there would be no death, but he couldn't guarantee that he could properly protect the new drug sample.

Additional information was needed.

'Should I shake it up a little?'

"Jenny said that even though you knew, you slashed the price."

"Ye...Yes?"

Looking at the noticeably flustered face of Sage, Lennok smiled faintly.

"You raised the compensation by double at once, and completely ignored the normal market price."

"Oh, that's a misunderstanding," replied Sage, Sweating profusely.

His hands holding the steering wheel began to tremble.

It was more reasonable to see that it was not because his conscience was pricked by Lennok's words, but because of the fear of angering the wizard sitting in the passenger seat.

After all, it's not easy to experience the fear of possibly being electrocuted right in your seat.

Lennok stared at Sage silently for a while and then spoke.

"Are there no other samples in the warehouse?"

Sage, who had been very tense, eagerly spoke when Lennok subtly changed the subject.

"No, that's not the case. It was originally a place the president used for personal use, so there are samples of other drugs on the market."

"I'm curious about what samples are there. Are there any ordinary drugs like sleeping pills?"

"We don't handle them directly, but... there probably are."

"That's fine."

"Yes?"

"It's nothing."

It's not a bad thing if he can secure other samples, as the sleeping pills sold in the shabby pharmacy of District 49 are already not working well.

He always thought about it only when he was falling asleep, so he had been putting off buying different sleeping pills. He thought it would be good to take one this time.

In the meantime, the car Sage was driving came to a halt.

"We're here. It seems like the others have gathered to some extent."

About ten people were gathered in front of the warehouse, which they had already seen in the photos.

A small number to attract attention, but a large number to guard a single warehouse.

The traces of the pharmaceutical company's struggle to avoid overtly opposing gang were apparent.

"People... seem to be quite dissatisfied."

Lennok muttered while looking at the people with a flushed face through the car window.

The sight of them approaching with various guns and knives, dressed in shabby clothes, was nothing short of fierce.

Among them, a muscular man with a fierce expression came forward and banged on the car.

"Hey! Open the door right now! Get out!"

"What, what's going on?"

"This isn't what we agreed on! What can we do with this number of people?!"

Although it seemed like a lot of people to guard one warehouse, it was an absurdly small number when considering the possibility of a gang attack.

Lennok glanced around and saw that the individuals' levels and appearances were not exactly neat either.

It wasn't difficult to grasp the situation.

"You skimped out on them."

"No, that's... not true."

"I don't care, but do you think those people don't know?"

Sage's face turned pale again upon hearing Lennok grumble. In all fairness, the situation wasn't entirely his fault.

The knowledge that a sample produced by the pharmaceutical company was hidden in that location was limited to only a few top executives and officers of the company.

Their decision to safeguard the sample from the gang with such a small number of people was likely the primary cause of the problem.

Although it was frustrating, it wasn't always possible to deal with astute customers.

"Let's get out."

"Yes? But if we go out now..."

"I'll do as much as I've been paid."

Lennok opened the door without waiting for an answer.

(TO BE CONTINUED)