Chapter 415: Freelancer (2)

“–I received a message through Achilles headquarters.”

Panua’s calm voice came through the phone.

“–It’s just as Van said. I never imagined they would send a direct message themselves.”

“Because Madrich Onnion himself stated it so directly.”

“–They must know that sending such a message leaves unfavorable evidence against them… It seems they’ve completely taken over Achilles.”

With the current standoff between the two corporations, the very act of Achilles sending a message was tantamount to officially admitting their involvement with Madrich Onnion.

It was no surprise that Panua was astonished by their willingness to take such a risk to deliver the message.

Lennok cradled the receiver between his shoulder and ear, his hands moving ceaselessly as he replied.

“They must know that once they joined the project, there was no turning back. Since we’ve caught on, there’s no need to hide it anymore.”

“–…Achilles, true to being a security company, is known for its rigid decision-making, separate from its technological prowess. For them to change so much just because of Madrich Onnion’s presence…”

Perhaps their sudden shift in stance felt that unfamiliar to Panua.

She had believed she knew their competitors, who operated in the open, well. That’s why the impact was greater when they were blindsided like this.

Lennok, understanding Panua’s feelings to some extent, gave a suitable reply.

“He’s someone who was active even before the Prohibition Edict existed. It’s not surprising that Achilles’ judgment has become more rational.”

“–…”

“Their actions were abnormally swift right after the edict was lifted, not that we moved slowly. So, what was the message they delivered?”

“–It’s an address in the central district and an appointment time. It’s set for about a week from now.”

“Too late.”

Lennok shook his head decisively.

“I had a feeling, but they intend to drag us around using the project as bait. If we agree to this, we’ll just be helping them complete their new project.”

“–It’s true that Van’s direct contact with Madrich Onnion himself has eliminated many options. But if we continue this war with Achilles in the current situation…”

The importance of Dyke Corp. and Achilles in their respective businesses is difficult to replace with any other company. Ultimately, if things continue like this, there’s a high probability that the City Government will forcibly intervene before one of them collapses.

While Lennok’s involvement in operations almost guarantees victory, would continuing localized attrition warfare be the answer when their underground production facilities have already been seized?

The longer they drag this out and wait for the City Government’s arbitration, the more advantageous it becomes for Achilles.

“There’s more than one way to untangle a complex knot than just the straightforward approach.”

Lennok said, glancing subtly around.

“I’m moving to find that shortcut now.”

“–…Understood.”

Finishing the rather long call with Panua, Lennok dusted off his soil-covered hands and put his phone in his pocket.

“So, are you feeling better now?”

“…Not yet.”

A slightly subdued voice came from behind the workbench where Lennok stood.

A spacious vegetable patch spread out inside a giant plastic greenhouse.

Evelyn Marcia, squatting between the rows, pulling out carrots one by one, glanced at Lennok and mumbled.

“If you help me clean up the garden a little more, I might feel better.”

“Actually, before I came here, I felt a bit responsible…”

Lennok said, looking up at the grand ceiling of the plastic greenhouse stretching overhead.

The vast expanse of soil beneath his feet, and plants of strange shapes growing here and there.

How could she have built and maintained such a massive vegetable garden while busy with Agent and Watcher duties?

Lennok mumbled, trimming the countless carrot roots piled on the workbench.

“I feel like I’m increasingly agreeing with the Agent’s decision.”

“That can’t be… !”

Evelyn Marcia cried out softly.

“This is just a hobby!”

“That’s what you say, but…”

Lennok replied to Evelyn Marcia, recalling the things she had done so far.

The Agent’s Divine Bow. The Eyes of Blue Watcher. The local market vegetable shop owner.

Imagining her life, essentially juggling three jobs, Lennok tilted his head.

“Honestly, don’t you think you’ve held out quite long…?”

“No!!”

Lennok chuckled, watching her short black hair shake as she denied reality.

“I’m joking. There’s no way you’d be dismissed from the Agent just for something like that.”

He tossed the trimmed carrot into the basket behind the workbench.

Behind the garden, neatly trimmed vegetables were already piled up like a mountain, waiting for transport.

“With the edict lifted, other special agencies can now intervene in underground affairs. At this point, would it be too much to imagine that the ace of the field response team was given a suitable excuse and suspended as a political move to curb the Agent’s power?”

“…”

“Staying in the North Continent longer than your scheduled leave would have been a good excuse, and it’s a fitting step for political maneuvering to check the Agent and undermine its power. Honestly, thinking about that, I do feel a bit responsible…”

“I was somewhat prepared for the disciplinary action.”

Evelyn Marcia pouted.

“But the Director arbitrarily intervened and significantly raised the level of my discipline, so now I’m unemployed…”

Evelyn Marcia mumbled plaintively, nibbling on a carrot she had just brushed the soil off.

Lennok watched her, holding the carrot with both hands like a rabbit and munching, then shook his head and turned away.

“So, you’ve just become a vegetable vendor now, is that what you mean?”

“…No!”

“To think you were cultivating such a huge vegetable garden with the money you earned from the Agent… Preparing for retirement too quickly was the root cause of all this trouble.”

“Are you going to keep saying that?”

It was true that Lennok had drawn out the conversation because Evelyn Marcia’s desperate denial was more amusing than he expected.

Now that he had teased her enough, he should comfort her sufficiently and get to the main point.

Lennok thought so and softened his tone slightly.

“Well, despite what I said, you’ll be back soon. No organization would want to lose an archer like you.”

“…You really think so?”

“To be honest, Evelyn, the initiative in your relationship with the Agent isn’t really theirs, is it?”

Evelyn Marcia is an outstanding superhuman.

Beyond simply having high Hierarchy and powerful combat abilities, she can perform her role in any situation and is a formidable force with a unique standing in her specialized field.

There are countless people, even in the underworld, who respect her character, which possesses both remarkable skill and a commensurate sense of duty and responsibility.

If she were truly to leave public service, it wouldn’t be strange for inter-organizational conflict to erupt to recruit Evelyn Marcia.

No matter how little the Agent’s Director might care for his own organization, if he were sane, he wouldn’t treat a talent like her lightly.

“It’s nominally a dismissal, but it’s probably closer to a severe suspension. It’s likely just a show, so don’t worry too much.”

“That may be true, but…”

“If it really comes down to it, let’s start a new life as a freelancer in District 49. I’d bet Jenny would do several somersaults if I brought you in.”

“Ahahaha, what’s that?”

Evelyn Marcia gave a weak laugh. She probably understood the situation she was in.

Especially since Pallard O’Con, the Deputy Director who had worked with her for a long time, wouldn’t have failed to explain these circumstances.

However, it was unavoidable for Evelyn Marcia to feel resentment towards the Agent for this treatment, given the interference from other special agencies.

Guessing that she wanted insubstantial comfort rather than clear analysis or solutions,

Lennok replied by tossing a neatly trimmed carrot to her.

“Hmph… I wouldn’t mind seeing that prickly woman do somersaults, but I’ll decline after all.”

Evelyn Marcia sighed softly, looking a little re-energized, and stood up.

“I can’t possibly make someone who clearly has no connection to exercise do such a strenuous task.”

“It’s a shame Jenny won’t appreciate your thoughtful consideration.”

“Alright. Shall we talk business then?”

Thump!!

As Evelyn Marcia lightly stomped her foot, a green wave rose around her, gently shaking the surrounding soil.

At the same time, vegetables deeply buried in the field slightly popped out, making them easier to pick.

“Madrich Onnion. You contacted me because of him, didn’t you?”

She asked, wiping her forehead with her gloved hand, having instantly finished gathering the vegetables buried in the garden.

“You want to know where he resides?”

“The longer we drag this out, the higher the chance the situation gets complicated.”

Perhaps she had been keeping up with city affairs without fail, even after being dismissed from the Agent.

Lennok, thinking there was no need to beat around the bush, nodded.

“If the City Council starts intervening in this matter, it’ll be difficult for me to act. I want to resolve this quickly before that happens.”

“I heard Dyke Corp. and Cartel joined hands to oppose Achilles. If attention is drawn to a conflict between the underground and the surface, things will get complicated…”

“Originally, this was the scenario we intended, but Madrich Onnion himself moved faster than expected, and the story changed.”

Lennok said, tidying the workbench and reaching for a basket of vegetables piled behind the garden.

“His intention to stall for time is too obvious. Rather than being dragged around by his tricks, I’d rather go find him myself.”

“…Chairman Onnion is someone who never personally appeared during his decades as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”

Evelyn Marcia said, looking slightly troubled.

“He knows that, and that’s probably why he’s using conversation with him as bait to string you along.”

“I’ve secured his location. All that’s left is confirmation.”

“…What? How on earth?”

If Lennok finds and confronts Madrich Onnion’s true body, he will react in some way.

That was almost the only way to bypass the increasingly complex issues of the current situation and reach his objective.

Lennok knew that while cutting a complex knot might not be the best method, it could be the second best.

“The problem is that the location is outside the mega-city, and in a completely unexpected environment… I’d like to hear an expert’s opinion.”

“Where exactly is this secured coordinate?”

“The sea.”

Lennok replied.

“The coastline located southeast of the undeveloped zone. It’s a sea area that once belonged to Vulcan’s domain, and where the now-disbanded City Government’s direct naval forces were stationed, I’m told.”

“…Naval forces?”

Lennok slowly asked Evelyn Marcia, who looked slightly dumbfounded.

“Can you confirm if there’s a closed military facility near this sea area, one that’s not recorded on the city’s maps?”

He shook off the soil mixed with the harvested vegetables, trimmed the small roots, and set aside anything that looked unusable.

The neatly arranged scene on top of the mountain of baskets was pleasing to the eye. Lennok raised his hand again.

Swish!!

According to his gesture, several strands of mana threads moved gracefully, ceaselessly shaking off soil, trimming, and sorting vegetables.

They balanced exquisitely according to the shape and size of each vegetable, stacking tall towers within the baskets.

As he transferred the neatly sorted piles of vegetables to several large carts, Evelyn Marcia, who had been on the phone, approached Lennok.

“Van, I found someone who can guide you.”

“Someone who knows the exact location?”

“It’s someone who works in the Agent’s security department, a former member of the City Government’s direct naval forces. Even if they don’t know the exact location, they’ll be familiar with the terrain, so they’ll be helpful.”

Evelyn Marcia said, ending the call and starting to compose a message.

“I spoke to the Deputy Director, and we’ve agreed to substitute their promotion exam with this guidance duty. They’ll do their best… But are you really sure you don’t need me to come with you?”

Evelyn Marcia looked up at Lennok with a sharp gaze.

“Your mana is excessively unstable. That new magic system you told me about. Haven’t you completed it yet?”

“…That’s right.”

Lennok gave a bitter smile and nodded.

“But it’s not because my research is lacking; it’s because the things I need to contain have increased in the meantime.”

It wasn’t a lack of power, but an overflowing excess that was the problem.

Since deciding to create a new magic system, Lennok had gained more than just one or two new abilities.

He had delved into research on Olivera Ron Maize and the Symbiotic Mystic Eye, enhanced his understanding of the imaginary dimension through combat with the 3rd Executive Ayun, and understood Military Spirit Magic after encountering Madrich Onnion.

While clashing with Graham Campbell, the former Achilles technical team leader, and refining his partial Domain deployment and Spell Defense System, the power Lennok needed to contain in his vessel continued to grow.

Was it Lennok’s greed to try and reorganize all that power and order, which increased day by day, under a single new principle?

But it was also true that he held the conviction that only such a determined will and arrogance could transcend Hierarchy.

“If it’s a problem of process, not outcome, then deciding where to focus isn’t difficult. But it’s also true that I’ve been postponing that answer.”

Lennok said, gripping the cart handle and slowly pushing it forward.

Squeak!!

Simultaneously, the other carts connected by mana threads moved in unison, exiting the vast plastic greenhouse in an orderly fashion.

“After meeting with a wizard of that caliber, I’ll at least be able to reach some conclusion regarding the magic system, one way or another.”

He was on his way to face an Archmage-level Peak of Extremes who had fully completed their power.

It would likely be an uninvited visit, one Madrich Onnion himself hadn’t intended.

But even if the conversation ended in combat, Lennok anticipated that he would learn a great deal from it.

“It’s too dangerous. If I go with you, I could at least help clean up the mess…”

“Your suspension is the result of a power struggle between the Agent and other special agencies.”

Lennok cut her off.

“If it’s discovered that you were involved in Madrich Onnion’s affair at this point, you might truly not be able to return to the Agents.”

“I know that, but…”

Regardless of receiving her help, Lennok had no intention of damaging Evelyn Marcia’s job or daily life.

That wasn’t the implicit trust and cooperation Lennok and Evelyn Marcia had exchanged.

Still feeling somewhat indebted to her, he didn’t want her to make a reckless decision to help Lennok.

Moreover, in the long run, it would be mutually beneficial for her to remain with the Agent.

Did she understand what Lennok was saying? She sighed softly, then subtly raised her phone and said,

“The extraction procedure is complete. When do you want to meet?”

“Now that Madrich Onnion’s location is secured, there’s no need to delay. I intend to confirm the coordinates as soon as possible and move.”

The most important thing was to learn the inner workings of the project and trace Alkaid’s whereabouts.

And to swiftly resolve the situation with Dyke Corp. and Cartel, buying time for recovery.

Considering Madrich Onnion set a week’s grace period, Lennok needed to conclude his pursuit even faster and find the Military Spirit Magic user to thwart his objective.

The truth about the project would come after that.

“Tell them to meet tomorrow evening in District 57, the closest area to the undeveloped zone’s coastline.”

Lennok said, smiling at Evelyn Marcia.

“I also need some time to make final preparations.”

“Preparations?”

“I’ve learned something interesting after experiencing various things recently.”

Time and place, equipment and consumables, alibis and circumstantial evidence.

All that remained was for Lennok to hone his own power and go meet Madrich Onnion.

Before heading to the sea area where Madrich Onnion’s military spirits would gather, Lennok intended to finally work on magic that manipulates space.

If he combined the new miscellaneous techniques he had recently acquired, it might even provide a clue to the long-standing problem of combat mobility.