Chapter 53 053

"I knew it was you, Mr. Seojin! And… what? That much? But…"

BunnyRabbit, who was still in Berne, a level 10-20 zone, couldn't hide her joy.

"But are you really okay with it…?"

The look on her face suggested she was, but she kept her voice cautious and spoke like she wasn't sure if she really could do so.

"I appreciate your offer, but… oh, because I'm your companion, that's right. We've got each other's back… thank you, I'll do as you said."

Seojin, whom she was talking to through the chat screen, was the most pleasant fool she had ever met. Once again, he was giving her things unconditionally in the name of companionship.

"I'll take care of it and contact you! Okay! Definitely!"

Seojin hung up. Bunny let out a long sigh before throwing a powerful uppercut into the air.

"Bravo! Viva la companionship!"

She never thought she'd be thankful for a childish word like companionship. The embarrassment she had felt the first time she heard that word was already a distant memory, she realized it had been long since she'd had such an unconditional relationship after becoming an adult.

'At least that's what I am to him.'

Meeting Seojin and her team leader entrusting her with that role was a once-in-a-decade chance for her.

'How should I wrap this up?'

Since she had received such a gift, she had to use it well. She had to talk Seojin up too, as he was her "companion."

'His value increases even if I deliver the facts dryly, but… I'll have to satisfy him if I want another opportunity like this.'

Her company would be grateful for the news alone, but that wasn't Seyeon's top priority. She racked her brain hard, thinking about what she had to do in order to please Seojin.

"Yes, sir. Yes. I have something to report to you…"

Jeong Seyeon's intellect began to shine. She talked Seojin's achievements up first, and her contribution too, and finally, she skillfully hinted that she knew the team leader had lied to her.

The result?

"You did a great job. Really. I'll go and report…or, do you want to report to the general manager by yourself?"

"Me personally? The general manager must be busy though… "

"He'll run over right away if you call him, oh, unless he's meeting the president. Everyone knows that you are the key figure in this project."

"Thank you, sir. I couldn't have done it without your support."

"No, I didn't do anything. It's all thanks to you, the youngest member of the Strategy and Planning Department. I'll escort you to the manager now."

Team Leader Baek had a completely different attitude compared to when he first talked to her, thanks to everything that happened. He hadn't told her that most of the employees in the department had participated in the project and that Seojin had also been followed by his people. Her and Seojin's relationship almost went south thanks to that, leaving Baek with no choice but to walk on eggshells around her.

'Shouldn't have done it if you were going to regret it.'

Seyeon mocked him internally as she realized her position in the game of power was different now.

'It's all thanks to Seojin. He's a bit of a nut, but he takes care of his people. I must be one of them, right?'

It was surprising, come to think of it, as Seyeon and Seojin had only seen each other a couple of times in Berne. However, Seojin presented Seyeon with a hidden class, the role of official messenger between him and Hailstorm, and allowed her to know precious news in advance. In addition to that, he even assured her that Hailstorm could leak the information at their own will.

'The benefits the department can earn by leaking some news on the online communities are enormous.'

That was why manager-level personnel began dealing with her, and Team Leader Baek was awfully kind to her.

"Oh, Seyeon! I heard you brought good news."

Department Head Kim Jeonsoo rushed into the office just in time. He even handed her an instant coffee that he had made for her! Seyeon smiled brightly.

"It's great news, general manager. I bet you'll be surprised."

* * *

The aftermath of what Seojin did was enormous.

-All three irregular request of Erzebet has been cleared!

-Anti-Mainstream, who is he?

-Is You-Know-Who's blatant rookie suppression okay as it is?

The Strategy and Planning Department did not miss out on the opportunity. They put the spotlight on Seojin and slammed Ironblood as they had always wanted to. It was rather unconventional for the company to act this aggressively, considering their passive responses so far.

'That general manager or someone seems to trust me a lot.'

Seojin smirked at the provocative article. It had become clear to him that this "General Manager Kim" was getting on the Seojin hype train. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to pick a fight with Ironblood.

'It's like throwing a stone at a beehive, but I had no idea these guys were so eager.'

Seojin knew that they wanted him very badly, but he didn't imagine that they would shift their stance so quickly. Perhaps the manager was trying to cover up his last mistake.

'…And restore as much trust as he can. So, it's his version of saying they didn't mean any harm.'

The other day, Seojin busted the Strategy and Planning Department for putting a tail on him without his consent and it must have still been weighing on their mind. They probably didn't like the fact that it made Seyeon their only official channel of communication with him either.

'Well, what can they do about it, huh?'

Seojin had the long stick in this deal. A department from the development company who didn't even have any monitoring powers could never stand above him.

'Anyway, I guess this makes it my declaration of war.'

Seojin looked around at the people who entered the plaza. However, the contrast was stark when he heard the conversations going back and forth.

"So, Ironblood suppress rookies? They didn't do that to me."

"Well, that's because it's you, duh."

"…Robert is not the type of person who would do that, is he?"

"I think the people around him are the problem. They tasted power and lost their senses."

Ninety percent of their conversations were related to Ironblood. All who wanted to hunt had already left town, so it was only natural that Ironblood were the main topic for those who wanted to hang around and shoot the bull. It seemed like they all came to the same conclusion, that it was the 7th Knight's unilateral actions and Robert had not been involved.

'Perfect.'

That was exactly what Seojin wanted. He never even expected to dent Robert's fame. At least Ironblood wouldn't be able to plant any moles around him from now on.

'That's enough. They can see me beating them, yet they won't be able to do anything about it. They'll be mad, but what can they do?'

As Seojin grinned to himself, Flappy returned from her recon mission.

"Oh, Flappy, how was it?"

"Thay're all gone. Not uh single soul's after you."

"Maybe you couldn't find them?"

"Thare is two ways tuh make spirits angry, wun iz belittlin' them an…."

"Nice work."

Flappy didn't say anymore as Seojin handed her a stone. She buried her face in the stone and munched on it before coming up with something else.

"Oh, wun more thang Ah need tuh tell ya."

"One more thing?"

"Bishop Crown, he got detained."

"…Really?"

"Inquisitors came an' just took'im. Thay're thuh ones who stopped thuh Ironbloods frum comin' in. Ah guess thay're plannin' tuh rip awf tons uh compensation."

"Oh."

"An bout thuh Amber Pearl… don't ya ever think Ah'm too underpaid tuh work hayud lahk thus?"

"Don't take me for a cheapskate."

Flappy snatched the second stone, putting it down gently next to her before she continued reporting.

"Amber pearl, thet thang. Thay sayud it's uh holy relic."

"Relic? I don't think it has anything to do with Luna."

"Only uh few relics is reeyul among thangs labeled as wun in thuh fursd place. Thay're gist dibbin' thangs before anybody takes them. Anyway, you'll hav tuh go tuh thuh blaak market tuh sayul it."

"The black market… is it that precious?"

"Those guyz hav hagh standards."

Flappy was right. The term "holy relic" itself guaranteed that the item was extremely invaluable.

'It wouldn't hurt to dig up things about the client.'

He had already discarded any ideas of completing the contract normally, as it was obvious that the Amber Pearl was more valuable than any quest reward.

'…But why am I not getting any achievements?'

Of course, achievements were not easy to receive, but Seojin was well aware that what he had accomplished was worth one or two of them at least. Seojin was clueless, so he just twitched his lips and stared at Flappy.

"Go and do some surveillance after you're done eating."

"An' what 'bout you?"

"Gotta go receive some quests. I met the conditions, you know."

Seojin had to go see Rachael and Gemini, who were waiting for him anxiously at the Erzebet vigilance committee headquarters.

* * *

Gemini Proud had become an outcast of the vigilance committee because of one simple incident.

"Pretend you didn't see it. Just forget it, let it go and act as if nothing happened."

She refused the advice of her seniors and reported the possible corruption to her superiors. Her life completely changed after that. Her colleagues left her and she was forced to move to the spot nobody wanted. It had already been ten months since she practically became a living, breathing doll, just sitting at the counter.

"Nobody came here. Even if they did, they were soon disappointed and left or took their anger out on me. I was like a parrot repeating the same answers."

For the first time since that day, Gemini was telling her story. She was telling Seojin, the adventurer who popped out of nowhere and reached out to her.

"What kind of incident was it?"

"Well…"

A learned sense of helplessness kept Gemini from talking. Seojin soothed her calmly.

"Nothing is holding you back, look."

Gemini stared at the objects on the table that Seojin pointed at. There were two pieces of darkness, and the Amber Pearl, that shone beautifully. There was also a quest completion certificate from Trail, the representative of the Street of Fire.

"I can complete the contracts the moment you give me them, I also kicked their asses while doing that. I mean, Ironblood, I'm not their biggest fan either."

"I never said that it was Ironblood."

"So it wasn't?"

"…It was."

As expected, Gemini confirmed Seojin's speculation. Gemini finally spoke after a long sigh.

"I've probably told you that the irregular requests don't change until someone completes them."

"You did."

Seojin met the conditions before accepting the contracts in order to get a bonus for completing the quests as soon as he received them.

"Just once, there was an adventurer who received a reward for an irregular request"

"…You mean someone cleared them before?"

It must have been one of Ironblood, maybe Robert or a recon under his command. Gemini shook her head.

"The adventurer did not carry out the contract."

"But you said that he was rewarded."

"It has been recorded as complete."

That was why Gemini couldn't stand it. She reported that someone was rewarded for things that he hadn't done, taking the money of a client who never got what he wanted.

"…The client wouldn't have accepted that."

"They still don't know, only those in the vigilance committee know about it."

"He must be one of Ironblood, what's his name?"

"Henrite."

"Henrite, I've never heard that name before."

"He's the guild master of the 7th Knight, under Ironblood."

Seojin let out a short breath. He had heard all about that guild.