Chapter 167: Finally, Someone Worth Face-Slapping

By late morning, Max and Zerena finally arrived on time.

It was something of a miracle, considering how often Max had forced her to stop along the way so she could fix her clothes.

His hands had messed up her outfit more than once, and he hadn’t shown the slightest concern about someone accidentally catching a glimpse of her bra or exposed skin.

Zerena, understandably, had been far less amused by the situation.

"That’s enough now..."

Zerena said it firmly, having finally reached her limit.

They were standing in front of Colonel Delgado’s office, located in one of the many buildings inside the army post.

Though it housed only a few thousand personnel, the army post was surprisingly large, filled with numerous buildings and wide-open training grounds.

After all, the army didn’t recruit people based on age alone. They also accepted mages—anyone with even a little aptitude for triggering magic.

Or, in simpler terms, people capable of activating even simple runes.

Most of the army’s combat operations revolved around handling magical equipment—mana guns and other weapons designed to fight monsters.

Of course, there were also qualified warriors and mages who specialized in more advanced techniques, strengthening their bodies with magic and activating complex rune arrays.

For Max, the army post was surprisingly fascinating.

So far, his experience had been limited to the basic runes used by scholarly mages.

Seeing how those principles were applied to actual combat equipment was an entirely different matter.

Watching these burly, ridiculously fast, and incredibly strong people train was an eye-opening experience for Max.

They were practically superhuman.

And the person they had come to meet, Colonel Delgado, was one of those warrior-mages himself—a warrior-mage who had already formed his fourth mana ring.

Max had barely even seen a proper two-mana-ring mage before.

Yennefer technically qualified, but she rarely used magic in front of him, let alone sat around discussing it.

Now, he was about to meet a mage who had formed his fourth mana ring.

And that was a completely different level.

Warrior-mages generally had a harder time advancing. Their bodies were already powerful thanks to their physical training and rune-enhanced strength, but forming mana rings around concepts such as Strength, Agility, Combat, or War was easier said than done.

Understanding those concepts was difficult enough.

Using the corresponding runes effectively was even harder.

What Zerena had told him made Max respect Colonel Delgado a little more.

Advancing as a warrior-mage wasn’t easy, especially since the class itself was relatively new.

Magic—or mana—had existed in this world for centuries, but warrior-mages had only begun appearing within the last few decades.

Before that, dealing with magical beasts had been the responsibility of ordinary mages.

"Don’t pester me once we’re inside. Colonel Delgado is a strict man. He won’t tolerate even the slightest mistake..."

Zerena said this while leading him toward the office, showing their entry permits and other documents to the army personnel along the way.

Max simply nodded, looking a little bored.

He’d been interested in watching the warrior-mages train, but not nearly as much as he had been before discovering that his System could upgrade his own body.

Once you had access to that kind of cheat, ordinary physical training lost some of its appeal.

With a few more quests, Max would probably become stronger than most of the personnel stationed here.

That thought alone made ordinary training seem rather unimpressive.

Still, his interest in the army post returned when a tall female officer with a shapely figure and a notably large butt led him and Zerena toward the colonel’s office.

The place still had a few things worth paying attention to.

The female officer looked older than Max, though probably not by much. She seemed to be in her early twenties, with smooth skin and a figure that looked almost unfairly well-maintained.

Even beneath her fitted uniform, her breasts seemed to retain their shape, barely shifting except for the occasional subtle movement.

At least, that was what Max liked to imagine.

She gestured toward a slightly larger office nearby and said, "The colonel will be here soon..."

"Can’t you restrain your perverted tendencies for just a few hours?"

Zerena asked in a pleading tone.

Max looked at her in confusion.

He hadn’t even touched her since they’d started walking.

Seeing his expression, Zerena continued, "I saw the way you were looking at that girl’s butt. Haven’t you had enough of fondling mine? You even pressed your face against it before we left the lab..."

Max flashed a wide grin, showing absolutely no embarrassment at being caught admiring another woman’s assets.

"Can’t help it. Didn’t you see how jiggly it was?"

Zerena sighed, unable to argue with that kind of shameless logic.

Before she could say anything else, a tall man stepped out of the office with a smile on his face.

Max immediately straightened, instinctively becoming more alert.

The man had the salt-and-pepper hair Max had seen so often in those older characters from adult stories—a striking mix of black and white. He was handsome, well-built, and dressed in an immaculate army uniform decorated with numerous medals and commendations.

Honestly, he looked far more attractive than Max had expected an older colonel to be.

That was an unexpectedly unfair advantage for someone his age.

Seeing them, the colonel smiled.

"You must be Mrs. Zerena Falkner and her grandson, Max."

Zerena nodded and rose from her seat, extending her hand.

"It’s nice to meet you, Colonel Delgado."

He shook her hand warmly.

Max followed with a polite nod and handshake of his own, keeping quiet as Zerena had instructed.

The colonel returned to his seat behind the desk and gestured for them to sit as well.

"Now, let’s get straight to the point."

He leaned back slightly.

"You want to supply my post with your potions, correct?"

Zerena nodded.

"I won’t say no to that. We welcome as many potions as we can get, and judging by the quality of yours, we’d be more than happy to do business."

The colonel’s words brought a wide smile to Zerena’s face.

That smile faded, however, when he continued.

"But there’s one thing we need to clarify first. We have to know who’s actually making these potions. Before placing a large order, we need to ensure we aren’t accidentally funding some criminal organization."

His gaze shifted toward Max.

"So, with that in mind, it couldn’t possibly be this young man, could it?"

Zerena had come here intending to reveal Max’s abilities, but the colonel’s question suddenly made her hesitate.

Max, however, didn’t seem concerned.

If anything, he looked eager to get one over on this handsome old fox.

"I’m afraid I can’t confirm or deny that I’m the one making those potions." Max’s response caught Zerena completely off guard.

He leaned back slightly, wearing a faintly amused smile. "Not until we know what kind of deal you’re offering, right?"

The older man smiled as he looked at Max.

"Well, you can expect access to higher-quality potion ingredients, permanent security, and, if your abilities exceed my expectations, perhaps even more."

He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

"That could include permission to enter restricted zones—places accessible only to army personnel and a select few authorized organizations—as well as access to highly confidential research."

He paused, raising a hand.

"Of course, before any of that, I need to confirm your capabilities. No offense..."

His smile turned slightly apologetic.

"But I’m skeptical that someone as young as you can produce A-grade potions. Hell, even B-grade potions would be a long shot."

He immediately raised his hand again.

"No offense."

That irritated Max.

He knew exactly what the man was trying to do.

Colonel Delgado clearly didn’t believe someone Max’s age could produce those potions. He was practically inviting Max to prove him wrong—to slap him across the face with a higher-grade potion than anything he’d ever made.

Fortunately, Max didn’t need to handle it himself.

He had a cunning adult sitting right beside him.

"No offense taken," Zerena said calmly. "We can always demonstrate his abilities, but we’d like some assurance before doing that—and not just a vague promise."

She leaned back slightly.

"As my grandson pointed out, you still haven’t clearly explained what you’re offering in exchange."

The older man sighed.

"Fine. I’ll make myself perfectly clear."

He looked between Zerena and Max. "Introduce me to the person responsible for making these potions. And if that person happens to be this young man, then prove it to me."

Zerena looked troubled by his response. After letting out a small sigh, she turned toward Max.

"What would it take to convince you that Max is the one making those potions?"

Her question left the colonel momentarily stunned.

He had assumed they were trying to deceive him, hiding the real identity of their potion maker for some undisclosed reason. The possibility that Max himself was responsible hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Still convinced they were bluffing, he broke into a wide smile.

"Since he’s supposedly the potion maker, how about demonstrating some array-making skills? That’s an essential part of potion-making, isn’t it?"

He directed the question toward Max.

Max nodded with a confident smile, looking almost excited.

Finally.

His first proper face-slapping moment as the main character had arrived.