“……”
A restaurant in District 3, where I had a free-use contract.
In the noisy, bustling interior, I sat in one corner staring into empty space.
I felt a bit ridiculous acting this way while drawing glances from curious onlookers, but I had my reasons.
「An achievent for guiding a mage who defied the natural order back to harmony!」
「The spirits feel a great kinship with you!」
「Your affinity with nature has increased!」
「The spirits faintly awaken to their origin!」
The system ssages that appeared after finishing off the black mage.
Not sothing to just ignore—there was plenty to analyze.
‘The first line just ans I killed the black mage.’
The phrasing was fancy, but that was the gist.
The nuance didn’t matter. What mattered was identifying the trigger and what I gained.
‘My Nature Affinity went up.’
The stat was now at 13.
A small number, but each step was hard to earn, making it no trivial gain.
And that increase tied into the last ssage.
‘The spirits awaken to their origin…?’
I rinsed the dry taste of fried rice from my mouth with cold water.
‘If the World Tree’s power stems from the spirits, then this ans I’m close to unlocking a new ability.’
The word faintly suggested I hadn’t actually learned the skill yet.
But that was only a matter of ti.
And the best way to accelerate the process was practice.
“Hey, co here.”
After polishing off my food, I called to the spirit swimming through the restaurant owner’s hair.
It zipped over in a lively zigzag like a puppy wagging its tail.
I pretended not to hear the owner murmur, “What’s wrong with my hair?”
The spirit had started showing signs of physical power—maybe from growing used to handling mana.
But with that ca endless mischief, getting into trouble at every turn.
“If you’ve awakened anything new, try showing .”
The spirit tilted its head at , then tapped on the World Tree.
「The World Tree beats its chest, telling you to just trust it.」
“You don’t even have a chest.”
The World Tree muttered sothing to the spirit.
Still confused, the little thing wobbled—then lit up like an exclamation mark.
‘When did it learn that?’
As I marveled at its learning ability, the spirit put on a show.
It dove between the World Tree’s branches, then poked the table with its glowing tail.
Crunch!
Sothing began to spread across the surface, branching outward until it reached my fingers.
I peeled it off.
“Tree bark…?”
Deep grooves, thick and hard like tal.
The spirit bounced up and down on it, clearly thrilled.
The World Tree watched intently, and soon—
「The World Tree awakens the power of Petrification (Wooden Skin).」
“How was the al today?”
I didn’t get to examine it further.
The owner, now with her hair neat again, approached with a friendly smile.
“Yes, well. Not bad.”
Not exactly my taste, but I couldn’t complain to her face.
Besides, it was free—and they even offered coffee afterward sotis.
That alone washed away any complaints.
“No wonder business is booming,” I remarked, noticing the packed tables.
Her eyes lit with ambition, “Thanks to you, the word spread fast. I’m even thinking of expanding.”
I couldn’t help but think—she hadn’t seed so ambitious when I first t her in the ga, But then again, trying to recruit as a poster boy had been a bold move already.
“By the way, those pickpockets I warned you about—what’s beco of them?”
“Oh, quiet as the grave now. Word is one of them ssed with the wrong man and ended up dead…”
She leaned close and whispered.
“…Turns out they were Brotherhood. The local branch is making a fuss, sending people to hunt down the killer.”
My brows furrowed.
Normally, a few dead lowlifes wouldn’t matter. The Brotherhood was infamous for its lack of loyalty.
But if the local branch really was mobilizing over this, it was unusual.
‘Hella did say this branch leader was serious about managing his people.’
So they really would draw swords over a handful of expendables.
Troubleso.
‘Hiding my involvent will be tricky.’
I hadn’t exactly concealed my movents. Plenty had seen my face.
A little digging, and they’d know it was .
Still…
‘Honestly, I’m not scared.’
The Brotherhood’s strength varied wildly by branch.
If this was one of the weak ones—like the 100-series branches—then they were more like street punks than gangsters.
If I were still the powerless factory worker I used to be, I’d be terrified. But not now.
The real problem was—
‘If they deliberately target , it’ll get annoying.’
I had too much to do—buying information on Hynax, waiting on Greenwood’s request.
If they tried to mob , it’d be a stumbling block.
‘Should I reach out to Drexier?’
Hella owed , and teaming with rcenaries would make this branch think twice about provoking .
But no. For now, I’d hold off.
Better to watch and wait than burn down the house to kill a flea.
I couldn’t spare the money to hire rcenaries formally.
And joining a company was out of the question, given my circumstances.
‘If it cos to it, I’ll just deal with them myself.’
I didn’t want outright war with the Brotherhood. For all their flaws, they were no small organization when serious.
But I wasn’t about to just roll over either.
If they ca for , I’d draw my blade.
“By the way, sir.”
The owner’s bright smile remained as she pointed at my table—
“Why did this suddenly happen?”
“……”
Ah, I slipped up.
“Beats .”
There wasn’t a shred of evidence tying this to .
So I brazened it out.
“Wasn’t it already like this before you sat down?”
“Guess so.”
“I could’ve sworn I showed you to a clean table, though…”
The back-and-forth was stifling.
At last, the restaurant owner relented.
“Maybe I was mistaken. Don’t get wrong, I wasn’t trying to accuse you. Actually, this looks pretty good as interior design.”
“Really?”
“Wood tables are expensive, you know. Rare, and popular. Whoever did this—I wish they’d do it to all the tables.”
She whistled, sending a look hot enough to burn.
Not subtle urging—open demand.
It felt like a leash was about to snap shut around my neck, so I played dumb.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
“Wouldn’t it?”
“I’ll co again next ti.”
“Take care.”
Ignoring the heat of her gaze boring into the back of my head, I left the place.
“You’ve co at the right ti.”
I visited the broker’s office again after so days had passed.
Oddly, Cromwell welcod , though his complexion didn’t look bright.
“What’s with your face? Don’t tell the city governnt refused to pay?”
“No, the reward was settled cleanly. We even collected the black mage’s bounty. That part went well enough.”
Then it had to be the other matter—Hynax’s background check.
I had a bad feeling, and the sinking mood on Cromwell’s face confird it.
“Best if you read this before I explain.”
He handed a thin dossier.
I’d asked not only for information on the company, but also the identities and whereabouts of anyone connected.
A matter that couldn’t possibly be covered in a few pages—yet that’s all I held.
“…If this is how you handle things, you’re a decent broker, but a terrible information dealer.”
I skimd it and imdiately snapped.
“Untraceable. Unknown identity. Investigation failed. What’s the point of giving this?”
Even those few sheets were blank with excuses.
Hard to believe this ca from Cromwell.
“We know each other well enough that I don’t need to make excuses. I did my best. But with the money you offered, that was the limit.”
“You could’ve used the bounty too, not just the reward.”
“Of course I did. That’s why the only money left for you is the mission’s base pay. It was your decision, so don’t regret it.”
He pulled a bundle of bills from his drawer.
Not small by normal standards, but far less than what I’d expected.
“Unbelievable.”
All that money spent for this garbage.
It wasn’t disappointnt—it was suspicion.
“How can digging up one company’s background be this hard?”
In this world, where money and power could buy anything, results always had causes.
“Soone upstairs intervened.”
“Exactly.”
The most obvious reason.
Cromwell confird it without hesitation.
“The company went bankrupt a year ago, dissolved. The researchers were either dead or vanished. asures from above.”
“…The city governnt?”
They had the authority.
The ultimate ruling body of the city.
Silencing a handful of people wouldn’t even cost them effort.
“Not certain. In truth, the city governnt isn’t usually so thorough.”
His words were asured.
“This sort of cover-up is more like a corporation’s handiwork.”
“A corporation?”
“There were rumors Hynax bulked up on scraps from a major conglorate.”
“…A ga-corp, huh.”
Worst-case scenario from my list.
The gacorps that gripped the city’s economy rivaled even the governnt.
Sotis, the governnt itself had to step aside for them.
“How much would it cost to dig deeper?”
“At least the price of a nice house. And that’s the bare minimum.”
“……”
Far out of reach for a back-alley freelancer like .
“Militechnica, maybe. But if it’s Sylvester or Centrim, give up.”
The latter two were monsters.
Centrim controlled half the city’s capital, Sylvester chased close behind.
True gacorp giants.
Too big to be chasing just because of one black mage and a closed lab.
‘Things just got complicated.’
As Cromwell warned, I had to pull back.
Maybe soday, but not now.
‘At least I know I wasn’t mistaken.’
If a gacorp was involved, then I’d been on the right trail.
The circuits engraved on that cocoon fragnt weren’t natural.
There were competitors seeking those fragnts, no doubt.
That was enough of a gain.
‘And it’s not like this is the end.’
There was still one trail left.
“The black mage had a bounty, right?”
The suspicious mage himself.
Bounties were public, so his details wouldn’t be erased.
“Knew you’d ask.”
Cromwell handed the wanted notice, marked with a big X.
Na: Dalton Sunderland. Age: 45. Black Mage…
I read down until my eyes locked on one line.
His affiliation.
A na that stood out like a beacon.
“…Brotherhood.”
An unexpected link.
And with it, a thread to untangle this ss.
“Hey, pal. Hold it right there.”
On my way back to the hotel.
Funny how the streets seed emptier than usual—until I found the reason.
n blocking the road, waiting for .
“Take off that hood for a sec.”
“…What’s this about?”
“Whoa, whoa. Don’t get scared.”
They grinned and cracked their necks, fists flexing as they stepped closer.
‘What the hell…?’
Even in this city, where police barely patrolled, it wasn’t like so vigilante checkpoint.
The truth beca clear soon enough.
“We’re just looking for soone. If it’s not you, no problem.”
“Yeah, just a face check. No need to make it ssy.”
Maybe they weren’t lying—after all, even lazy cops wouldn’t ignore outright street fights.
But I couldn’t just comply.
The exposed skin on their arms bore skull tattoos.
Familiar marks.
‘Brotherhood.’
And the n conducting this so-called inspection?
They were after .
(End of Chapter)
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