As long as the negotiations were successfully concluded, the cleanup was not a problem.

The building used as the negotiation site was blown up to leave no traces, and the remaining Corrupted forces were sequentially defeated by the escort team and Claire's private soldiers.

"It seems the City Government will have many things to ask for Sylvester's cooperation in the future."

"It's an honor. Sylvester is always ready to cooperate with the City Government, which leads and serves the city."

Claire seemed to have made great progress with Councilor Giselle, as she had played a major role in the negotiation process.

It was just as I had guided.

Even if the big event was prevented, if the negotiations broke down, it would be all for nothing.

Claire had the capability to lead the atmosphere of the negotiation site in place of the rigid Giselle.

It was worth it to have strongly urged her, who must have been hurt by Giselle's checks, to shamelessly show her face.

"It seems the cleanup will be finished soon."

Hella said, shaking off the Corrupted's body fluids from her spear.

The wave-like offensive of the Corrupted forces had long since collapsed.

As their numbers, which were like a swarm of ants, noticeably decreased, they began to leave one by one.

The central figure, the black magician, was dead.

The trick that had gathered the Corrupted together would not last forever.

The reason Hella stealthily left the battlefield and approached me was for that reason.

"Who are those guys? The contractors say they don't know either. I don't know how noble they are, but not a single one of them would open their mouths when I asked."

"They are Claire's private soldiers. I warned her of the traitor's existence in advance and called them in."

"Oh, the Sylvester princess's private soldiers. It makes sense that they're tight-lipped. Their very existence must be a secret."

"That's right."

They were limbs that could get their hands dirty to handle shady business on behalf of their employer, while also performing the role of escorting key figures in case of an emergency.

For private soldiers, the very act of revealing their members' identities caused immense damage.

It meant that Claire had put that much effort into this matter.

"So, how are their skills?"

"Not bad, but I don't know. They're decent with their equipment? Is the Sylvester princess in a bit of a difficult situation?"

Although a mercenary is a high-level workforce, they are not to the extent of ignoring the private soldiers of a large corporation's successor.

Even considering Hella's outstanding skills, it was abnormal for such an evaluation to come out.

'Hella saw it right.'

The reason was Claire's unstable position within the company.

Was it this difficult?

Surprisingly, even if the inter-city negotiations hadn't broken down, it might have been a foregone conclusion that Claire would be pushed out of the successor position.

"It will be different from now on."

She had successfully led the negotiations and even gained Councilor Giselle's favor.

It was a result that would be a sufficient stepping stone to overturn the succession structure.

She would be able to recruit real experts as private soldiers, not just a bunch of nobodies.

"Hmph."

"...Why?"

"No, it's just a bit annoying."

Hella, with her eyes half-closed, snorted and pretended to be sulky.

"You told me the plan on the day of, but you warned the Sylvester princess in advance? This is too much. I've met you more, and I've known you longer."

"..."

Hella's complaint, which was difficult to answer, was fortunately stopped by the appearance of her superior.

"What's so unfair? What's unfair is your persistence in stealthily coming here to slack off."

"Ack!"

Hella, who had been hit on the back of the head, rolled on the ground.

She jumped up and argued with Drexier.

"Stop hitting my head! I'm going to become an idiot at this rate!"

"You're already an idiot, so it's fine."

"You're talking so harshly for an old man who's on his deathbed!"

"Harsh words are what you're saying right now."

Drexier, who looked down pitifully at Hella, who had been hit again for the crime of disrespecting the commander, soon said to me.

"It was excellent. A black magician would have been a tricky opponent, but you kept your word."

"Yeah, do you know how much the old man was worrying? I had a hard time stopping him from intervening in the middle."

Drexier's intervention.

In fact, if he had wanted to, it would have been possible at any time.

I had made the plan, but it was a request for cooperation, not a command.

If that had happened, I would have had to share my overwhelming achievements with him.

Hella had made a great contribution.

"You're more greedy for achievements than you look."

"More important than achievements is life, and more important than life is the completion of the request."

Drexier recited the principles.

If I had made a mistake, the request could have failed.

It was an explanation that he valued the request, along with his concern for me, more than individual achievements.

"Of course I know."

I felt it strongly this time.

"It's more comfortable to do a large-scale request with many people than alone."

There was no request that was resolved smoothly.

I faced variables every time, and it was my personal ability that solved them.

The fact that I didn't have a trustworthy companion was a big factor.

On the other hand, this request was done with the Drexier Mercenary Corps.

Thanks to them doing their part, things were resolved easily.

The fact that I didn't have to coordinate all the situations alone and worry about every little thing was more comfortable than I had thought.

"You're right. That's why many talented people with guaranteed skills join mercenary corps."

Drexier replied with a somehow satisfied expression.

"If you've realized that, then you should decide to join our mercenary corps..."

"Ah, I'm not thinking about a mercenary corps."

"...I see."

He seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

Did he have such a misunderstanding?

At my firm refusal, a crack appeared on Drexier's iron-plate-like expression.

"I'm looking for personal connections to do important requests with."

I had no intention of leading a group when my own situation was precarious.

I was literally thinking of finding a companion.

It was much better to find connections to solve requests with from the beginning than to expect a trustworthy expert to be chosen by chance for every request.

'I have a candidate.'

The faces that exist in the memories I experienced while playing this game.

They would meet the criteria of a trustworthy companion.

"Hey, hey."

Hella poked me in the side.

"I'm included in that, right?"

"...If your superior allows it."

If they were members of the Drexier Mercenary Corps, they were a top priority for consideration as we had experience working together.

"Old man, old man. It's okay, right?"

"...You reckless fool. Is that something you should say?"

"Come on, don't be so petty. You know he's already a big shot, so you're just playing hard to get. If we do a request together, it'll help the mercenary corps' track record, so you should gladly accept it when a member volunteers."

"You're a smooth talker. It would be nice if you were always that smart."

Drexier sighed and then nodded.

"Do as you please."

"Alright! You heard him, right? If something comes up, don't forget to call me."

Hella patted my shoulder and smiled like a mischievous boy.

"Okay."

Hella is a connection worth bowing down to.

It was the best gain from this request.

***

"You've worked hard."

The office I returned to after finishing the request.

Cromwell welcomed me with his usual sense of stability.

"You're half the man you were. You should rest for a while and get your condition back."

"…?"

I thought so, but it was a misunderstanding.

A broker worrying about a contractor, a product.

The combination was so mismatched that I even got goosebumps for a moment.

"Did you join some religious group while I wasn't looking? You seem to have learned some consideration."

"Aren't you the lucky charm of our office who succeeded in a request from the City Government? From now on, I'll pay attention and manage your schedule."

"A manager-cum-broker, I thought it was a job where you sit down and make money, but being a broker isn't easy either."

"A moment of trouble is worth it if it brings a large commission."

Cromwell stroked his beard and chuckled.

"Especially your face has a high product value. Even if your limbs are broken, be careful with your face."

"...You're kidding, right? It's not like a contractor lives off his face."

"If it's a product of the same price, you'd choose the better-looking one. Isn't it a universal sense of beauty to be attracted to a handsome nobleman rather than a rugged, hairy man?"

It wasn't a joking tone.

"You're talking about a nominated request."

That was the only request where the contractor's personal characteristics were considered.

"Councilor Giselle expressed his satisfaction in an unusual way. The reputation of the contractors and mercenaries who were with him was also good. Since you also have a track record of being nominated by the Mage Tower, there will be not a few requests that are put up, nominating you."

"So that's why you're treating me like a precious treasure?"

"That's how business is."

It was a satisfactory answer.

It was nice because it was clean, without the need to worry about complex human relationships.

"For the record, thanks to you making an impression on the councilor, my influence in the industry has also risen quite a bit."

"Congratulations. You'll bring in a lot of good requests."

"You won't be disappointed."

As long as I mainly dealt with Cromwell, the strengthening of his influence was also helpful to me.

We had succeeded in building a perfect symbiotic relationship.

"Oh, I had a message for you."

"A message?"

Just as I was about to leave after checking the deposit of the payment and spending some time.

Cromwell handed me a piece of paper.

"They asked you to contact them at this number."

"How?"

"This is the item they asked me to deliver with it."

It was a phone that looked new.

It wasn't just the machine that was given, but it seemed that the activation was also finished, as all the functions were activated without any locked features.

"What about the name on this?"

"It's a burner phone. They said they would also bear the charges."

"What about the threat of location tracking or wiretapping?"

"I had a dealer I know check it. It's a clean item, so you can use it without worrying."

A phone.

I already had one, but it wasn't a very good one.

I had to get it within the money I had at the time, so I had made a realistic compromise.

On the other hand, the one I had just received as a gift was the latest model.

When I fiddled with it a little, I could even access the network.

It was a useful item, as they would bear the name rental and the charges.

'It must be Sylvester.'

The company that would have benefited the most from the success of this request.

And it was a burden that Claire, who had led this and overturned the lagging succession structure, could handle.

Compared to her personal wealth, it would not even be a handful.

"Thank you."

"I've saved my number, so contact me when you're about to return. I'll have it ready."

"It won't take long."

Because you have to reap the maximum benefit when you're on a roll.

Cromwell was visibly pleased, saying it was an excellent mindset.

***

Ring, ring!

The phone rang several times, and after a not-so-short wait, the call was connected.

[Hello.]

"..."

[I'm sorry for answering late. I forgot to save the number, so I was wondering who it was for a moment.]

"...I was told to contact you at this number."

I was slightly flustered by the voice I heard.

I was a little annoyed that she had answered late when she was the one who had asked me to call, but this was a different story.

"Was it a direct connection number, not the aide's?"

[Of course.]

Claire Sylvester, the successor of a large corporation, had a cheerful voice, as could be felt even over the receiver.

[Thanks to things going as you said, the company has reaped the largest profit. Since it's not a relationship that will end with just one time, I should show this much sincerity.]

"I'm glad it was a great help."

[Many companies, except for our Sylvester, have been hit hard. The factories that were blatantly producing military supplies in preparation for the war are on the verge of closing down.]

Claire could not hide her intermittent laughter.

If she, who rarely revealed her emotions to others, was like this, she must be really thrilled.

'It must be because the representative of the company that suffered an astronomical loss is Centrim.'

Centrim was a sworn enemy that anyone from Sylvester would grind their teeth at.

Claire, who had been raised as the legitimate successor of the company, must have been determined to land even one blow on Centrim.

Now that she had finally made a scratch on the iron fortress, the sense of accomplishment must be incomparable.

"So, did you ask me to call just to boast like that?"

[No way.]

Claire cleared her throat and said.

[I have to pay the price for the deal. If you're not busy, let's meet tomorrow. I'll invite you to Sylvester.]

(End of Chapter)