"...That is all. Do you understand?"

I nodded at the aide's question.

To summarize his explanation, it was this.

There is an enemy targeting Councilor Giselle.

Giselle wanted to catch them first, led by the mercenaries, and the mercenaries successfully met that intention.

However, they couldn't dig up the mastermind because a black magician was involved.

The story was to support this.

"This is a mission that the councilor has specifically entrusted to you. He has shown you an unusual favor, so please carry it out sincerely."

"Why did the councilor choose me?"

"I'm not sure about that either... Maybe because you're handsome."

The aide laughed, saying it was a joke.

Anyway, it was a favor that even his closest aide didn't know the reason for.

The influence of nature affinity was certain.

'The most difficult hurdle has been easily overcome.'

Giselle Willow's favor.

The opportunity to build a friendship was given.

Whether I could turn this into trust was up to me from now on.

"I will do my best."

"It's nice that you're polite, unlike a contractor. Actually, if the councilor had reserved his choice, I would have recommended you."

Among that group full of personality, I was the most normal.

The starting atmosphere couldn't be better.

"Then, first, I'd like to talk to the mercenaries who were previously carrying out the mission."

I was selected, not given a separate solo mission.

From the position of a rolling stone, I had no intention of setting myself against them and acting independently.

'I have something to weigh, too.'

There was a possibility that the mercenaries were also participants in the big event.

Would the whispers of Mother Nature be heard from them?

It was something to test.

"I will guide you. Please come this way."

I followed behind the aide.

***

"We are the Drexier Mercenary Corps, in charge of Councilor Giselle's escort. It seems you're the contractor who was selected because we're short on hands..."

The office assigned to the mercenary corps was quiet.

The touch of a human hand could not be felt here and there in the spacious room.

It was probably because they didn't have time to sit on their butts in the office, as it was an escort mission.

"...We've met before, right?"

"Allen."

"Right, right."

The only man left in the office was happy to see me and offered a handshake.

"I'm Waver. You remember, right?"

"Yes, the mercenary Hella called a loafer."

"Ahem, not a loafer, but a senior. Don't remember me in a strange way."

Waver chuckled and patted my shoulder.

A unique appearance that suited a buzz cut, and a carefree atmosphere like a loafer.

I never thought I would meet someone I knew here.

"Was the Drexier Mercenary Corps the mercenary corps in charge of Councilor Giselle's escort mission?"

"We have that much skill and reputation. The commander pushed for it actively."

Did they receive this request in the original story?

I racked my brain, but such a trivial detail was not my concern, so I couldn't remember.

'Is it a relief that I won't have to deal with hazing?'

The Drexier Mercenary Corps was familiar because we had met before, and their skills were trustworthy.

They were perfect as mission partners.

"What about Hella and the other mercenary corps members?"

"They're out on an escort mission."

"Why are you here?"

"Hey, I'm not playing around. Don't get me wrong."

What do you mean it's not a misunderstanding?

As I stared at him silently, interrogating him, Waver added.

"I'm in charge of close-range escort of the target, and the rest are in charge of searching for and preemptively striking suspicious individuals. Our missions are different."

"Close-range? Here?"

"What's going to happen in the councilor's building? He's a sensitive person, so I'm being considerate by not being conspicuous and getting on his nerves."

He was a smooth talker.

I shook my head at his unchanging nerve.

"More importantly, I thought you were pretty good, but I never thought you'd become a big shot who takes on requests from the city government. It's a shame I couldn't recruit you earlier."

"Whether you're flattering me or not, I'm going to tell Hella what I saw."

"Ugh, shall we talk about work?"

It was obvious that it was a trick to appeal to his sincerity, but I let it slide.

"We've caught three people. They were tailing the councilor, but there were no commonalities. If I had to pick one, it would be that they committed suicide by magical means the moment we tried to extract information."

"Suicide by magical means?"

"Black magic. There was nothing we could do."

The sinister method related to a person's life was a characteristic of black magic.

To make a connection right away, it was highly likely that Mezaia, a fellow contractor and black magician, was involved.

"I think we'll catch one more today, but who knows. They move so secretly that it's hard to track them."

"Then what's my job?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? We chase people together, and when we catch them, we extract information. It won't be easy. We're just thinking of it as adding one more hand, so don't feel burdened."

Waver had an expression of not expecting anything.

He was enigmatic, as if he knew some deep secret.

'He was that kind of person.'

We had only done one request together, but the impression was strong.

He was a character who acted like a loafer but held a firm position in the mercenary corps.

Could it be that he was guessing the inside story in a different way from me?

"Sigh, I'm so worried. We'll only fail at this rate..."

"You seem to have some worries."

"Ah, it's just that. The picky councilor is rushing us, saying our mercenary corps' work is insufficient."

Waver scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.

"At this rate, even if we finish the negotiations without any trouble, we won't gain anything. If the city councilor's gaze is not favorable, it's a loss."

"..."

"You got caught in the wrong thing too. I can assure you that it's better to just pretend to cooperate and then go back."

It seemed that the work was facing more difficulties than I had heard.

Giselle was pursuing more than just an escort.

He didn't just want to be safe, he wanted to not tolerate any interference while engaging in the negotiations.

The mercenary corps was not keeping up with him.

As Waver said, as long as the city councilor's gaze was not favorable, the losses were immense.

"In the end, we need a result that will meet the city councilor's evaluation."

"Yes, that's it."

"I'll solve it."

"...It's good to be confident, but it won't be easy."

It was a side benefit anyway.

The day of the inter-city negotiations was not far off.

There was no time to be complacent.

Since Giselle was interested in me, I was planning to create an opportunity to approach him directly while also working on his surroundings.

To do that, I also needed a result.

The completion of the mission entrusted to me.

I had several clues, so if luck was on my side, it could be solved easily.

"Then shall we make a bet?"

And if I could earn some extra income from it, it would be even better.

"I'll dig up the mastermind within three days."

"Oh, you're betting big. What's the penalty?"

"How about the loser helps the winner once? Whenever, wherever, unconditionally."

"Okay. It won't be boring."

It was a bet that wasn't bad for either of us.

It was something we had to do anyway.

It was close to an amusement to boost our motivation.

"Hey! Waver!"

It was then.

Someone who had burst open the door shouted loudly.

"Tsk, you shouldn't call your senior's name like you're calling a dog."

"You're full of shit. I knew you'd be slacking off here..."

The intruder's eyes slid from Waver to me.

Her crescent-shaped eyes expressed both pleasure and doubt at the same time.

"...Allen? Why are you here?"

"Because I'm the selected contractor."

"Ah, so that was you? Anyway, it's good to see you. Let's catch up later, you come out with that guy too."

"…?"

"The councilor is going to an event. We have to follow."

Hella was in a hurry and pulled my wrist as if to tell me to follow.

***

"I didn't know it was already this late. It's not that I didn't remember the councilor's schedule, I just lost track of time while talking."

Despite Waver's excuse, Hella's gaze was cold.

"I left you to escort, but you were slacking off in the office, you didn't even check the client's schedule. Are you crazy, asking for a beating?"

"I told you, I wasn't."

"What do you mean you weren't? I'm holding back because I'm driving right now, but when we arrive, I'll just..."

The mercenary corps was divided into their assigned vehicles and was following Giselle's movements.

I intervened so that their conversation wouldn't get rough and affect their driving.

"I heard you went out to catch the person who was tailing Giselle, did you secure him?"

"No, I don't know where the story leaked, but these bastards already took off. We were like a dog chasing a chicken."

"The story leaked?"

"I'm not sure. They might have checked our movements. Anyway, they're a sizable group. After a few of them got caught, they must have gotten scared and straightened out their command system."

Organized tailing, not a haphazard one.

As the date approached, they seemed to be gradually revealing their true colors.

"It's a headache because they didn't leave any traces of who's behind it. We're just picking out suspicious-looking guys and catching them."

"It seems like a method that would create innocent victims."

"It's better than missing them while weighing this and that. Anyway, if you just mention Giselle's name, everyone will grovel. Even if we get cursed at, the councilor's office will hear it, it has nothing to do with us."

Hella's tone was as if it was no big deal.

The city councilor's power was so great that such an outrage was tolerated.

"Anyway, that's why I'm so busy. And in the meantime, that guy was playing alone."

As Hella glared at him, Waver whistled and acted nonchalantly.

"Don't you have any sense? That picky noble has been giving us so much side-eye lately."

"You should call me 'senior', not 'you'."

"Don't change the subject. A senior should act like a senior to be treated like one, what's a jobless loafer..."

The dispute that had been patched up once had broken out again.

Putting together what I had heard, it was close to saying that they were hitting their heads against the ground.

'They have no clue about the mastermind, and their actions are becoming more organized. It's going to be tricky.'

I suspected Centrim, but even that wasn't certain.

It was a matter where the interests of several companies were at stake.

There was no need to even step forward for preliminary investigation work like tailing.

'If they're already complaining, it'll be hard to even catch their tail as time goes on...'

In an extreme case, they could just be swayed and get swept up in the big event.

'I'm not going to dig up the mastermind in three days. It has to be today.'

I opened the back seat window.

On the bridge crossing the river.

Besides the councilor's office vehicles forming a formation, there were not a few other vehicles passing by.

The exhaust sound of the vehicles and the sound of the wind covered the noise of the two noisy mercenaries.

And in the midst of it, the suspicious echo I had been waiting for was transmitted.

I had a faint smile on my lips.

"Change lanes to the right."

"What?"

"Block the front of that truck carrying construction materials."

"What the hell is this guy suddenly saying?"

I rolled down the window completely and stuck my hand out.

I gauged the pressure of the wind with my palm.

At this level, I wouldn't lose my balance even if I leaned my body out.

"Hey, I don't know what got into you, but if we leave here, there'll be a hole in the escort formation. Even if we do it, we have to get permission from the higher-ups first."

"It'll be too late then. We could be wiretapped."

"Why don't you just focus on driving without looking back? You can just listen to the reason instead of arguing blindly."

Under Waver's mediation, I got to the point.

"They're the ones tailing us. We have to catch them here."

Hella's face crumpled.

"How the hell do you know that? You can't even see the driver from this position."

"I'm sure, so trust me."

Even now, a voice was ringing in my ears.

The whispers of Mother Nature were guiding me.

I couldn't miss this opportunity.

"Who's going to take responsibility if that truck flips over and causes a chain reaction?"

"You just said it."

I didn't wait and pulled my body out of the window.

I could feel the gazes of the drivers on the road, as if asking what kind of strange act I was doing.

Just before I got on the roof of the vehicle, I said one last thing.

"You said the councilor's office would hear the curses. We're not the ones taking responsibility."

"...Ha."

Hella replied after a sigh that was similar to an exclamation.

"Just know that if the truck hits our car, we're all dead."

There was no refusal.

I stood on the roof of the vehicle.

It was harder to balance than I thought because it was curved and the wind was blowing.

I had no choice but to extend a stem under my feet and fix it firmly.

Screech!

At the same time, the vehicle, which had turned its steering wheel sharply, blocked the front of the truck.

Honk!

The truck's horn blared loudly, sensing an accident.

Even in the midst of it, the whispers of Mother Nature continued to tickle my ears.

It was the voice of the driver, who was wearing sunglasses as if to show off.

"First, one guy."

Swoosh!

A bundle of stems extending from my fingertips covered the road.

(End of Chapter)