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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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“Hmm, I see. I suppose we should be grateful that no one got their hands on it. But it’s also regrettable that traces of the old rulers have disappeared like this.”
The man shrouded in shadows on the screen even shook his head as if he was truly disappointed.
“Hahaha! Well, the job was still completed successfully, wasn’t it? From the beginning, the request was to seize or destroy. It seems the other side had a similar idea.”
The goblin William nodded his head with a laugh. He seemed to be in a good mood, thinking the job was wrapped up.
And Locke was sitting deep in the chair with his legs crossed, sipping instant coffee and watching the two of them. The man spoke again.
“Anyway, thank you for wrapping up the job well. Of course, it would have been better if it wasn’t even mentioned on last night’s news.”
“You could have handled that.”
When Locke retorted like that, the man on the screen shook his head again.
“We could have done that. Instead, it would have suggested to the broadcasting station and MLPD that our headquarters were involved in this explosion incident. It’s not good to leave such traces.”
Having said that, the man on the screen abruptly closed his mouth as if refraining from adding that Locke should know this. Locke stared at the man with the paper cup to his lips.
“Now, now, the job is done anyway. Let’s stop getting on each other’s nerves. I’ll sort it out a bit.”
William quickly intervened in that silence. He even clapped his hands with a clap sound and continued.
“Tracking the lizardman dragon worshipper who fled from the highway to the factory area, removing obstacles and almost getting the “Hmm, I see. I suppose we should be grateful that no one got their hands on it. But it’s also regrettable that traces of the old rulers have disappeared like this.”
The man shrouded in shadows on the screen even shook his head as if he was truly disappointed.
“Hahaha! Well, the job was still completed successfully, wasn’t it? From the beginning, the request was to seize or destroy. It seems the other side had a similar idea.”
The goblin William nodded his head with a laugh. He seemed to be in a good mood, thinking the job was wrapped up.
And Locke was sitting deep in the chair with his legs crossed, sipping instant coffee and watching the two of them. The man spoke again.
“Anyway, thank you for wrapping up the job well. Of course, it would have been better if it wasn’t even mentioned on last night’s news.”
“You could have handled that.”
When Locke retorted like that, the man on the screen shook his head again.
“We could have done that. Instead, it would have suggested to the broadcasting station and MLPD that our headquarters were involved in this explosion incident. It’s not good to leave such traces.”
Having said that, the man on the screen abruptly closed his mouth as if refraining from adding that Locke should know this. Locke stared at the man with the paper cup to his lips.
“Now, now, the job is done anyway. Let’s stop getting on each other’s nerves. I’ll sort it out a bit.”
William quickly intervened in that silence. He even clapped his hands with a clap sound and continued.
“Tracking the lizardman dragon worshipper who fled from the highway to the factory area, removing obstacles and almost getting the relic, but due to the offensive of the opposing mercenaries who appeared later, the relic and factory were destroyed. Thanks to that, what we could recover was…”
The goblin’s eyes turned to one side of the room. There were a few pieces of something like a shattered stone tablet.
“…only a few fragments of the relic. It’s a disappointing outcome, but at the same time, since no one got their hands on the relic, this job is a success according to the initial request conditions. Do you agree?”
The man on the screen nodded.
“I will send the payment to the promised account. I will send someone to collect the relic fragments separately later.”
As he affirmed, William took out a plastic card from the drawer of the wooden table and put it down in front of Locke. It was the completion fee.
Locke silently put down the paper cup and took the card. Then he immediately got up from the chair and turned to the door of the reception room.
At that moment, the man on the screen said,
“As you already know, I am an employee of a megacorp.”
As Locke stopped walking, his words continued.
“The doors of our headquarters are always open to excellent talent. Depending on your performance, you can gain great wealth, power, and even fame if you desire. Especially you, Mr. Locke, have a high possibility of reaching the top level. Because your abilities are outstanding.”
The man on the screen leaned forward. His outline became a little clearer.
“So, what do you say? How about signing a fixed-term contract with the headquarters for now? We will provide the best treatment in the Midland. It’s a very generous offer for a mere mercenary.”
Locke was silent at the man’s suggestion, and the goblin William rolled his eyes back and forth, reading the atmosphere between the two. The reception room became quiet for a moment.
After a while, Locke said with his back to the man on the screen,
“I don’t do long-term contracts.”
Locke opened the door of the reception room and left. Behind his back, he heard the man’s uncomfortable cough and William’s voice soothing him. He didn’t pay much attention. That guy would smile and request a job again when he needed Locke. Corporations were all like that. When necessary, they would smile, even grovel, but when their use was exhausted, they would pour bullets as if dealing with pests.
Locke, who arrived at the underground parking lot by taking the elevator, got into the Black night and started the engine. With a deep rumble, the black body began to move. He and the vehicle quickly left the underground parking lot.
The early morning sky of Midland that greeted him after emerging from underground looked like a pastel painting that sequentially smudged dark indigo, light purple, and deeply rising yellow. If the sky was clear, that light would have been more distinct, but perhaps due to the city’s pollution, it felt like a hazy film was placed between the sky and Midland.
Under that hazy sky, the Black Night crossed Northstreet and traversed Midland’s main road. On the streets, young people who hadn’t escaped the madness of the previous night and drug addicts staggered, while at the same time, the busy steps of ordinary people starting a new day continued.
Sometimes their eyes turned to the Black night. It was natural for gazes to gather as the muscle car with a black body and rough engine sound raced along the main road.
However, those gazes didn’t linger long. For those with busy lives, it was probably just one of the passing scenery.
The Black Night’s sprint ended as it arrived at Locke’s Apartment. The engine of the Black night, which slowly entered the apartment parking lot, soon quieted down. Locke, who got out of the parked car, closed the car door with a thud. Only the sound of Locke’s Trudging footsteps echoed through the parking lot.
Afterward, the elevator carrying him began to ascend the apartment floors. The old elevator was slow. Locke was lost in his own thoughts inside, with his hands stuck in his jacket pockets.
With a ding and the elevator stopped. With a sliding sound, the iron gate opened, and Locke, who had been lost in thought, moved his steps again. The apartment corridor with flickering broken lights and rolling trash welcomed him.
His steps, which had been trudging along that familiar corridor with a sullen expression, stopped. His eyes looked at the apartment door at the end of the corridor. 2501. It was his apartment.
But Locke’s Keen senses heard the sound of singing coming from inside. The whining of an electric guitar and bass, drums, and even rough vocals. For a moment, Locke wondered if he had left the television on and left.
He slowly approached and opened the apartment door. Then the singing clearly leaked out into the apartment corridor. Locke, who entered, noticed the television with only the speakers on and the presence of noise in the kitchen.
As he cautiously approached the kitchen, he saw the back of a girl wearing clothes much larger than her own body, nodding her head to the music. He stretched his neck to see what she was doing, and she was making scrambled eggs in a frying pan. The bacon, which seemed to be already grilled, was put on a plate first.
At that moment, the vocalist’s voice rose in the music from the television without a screen, and the guitar playing became elaborate. It seemed to have entered the climax of the song.
Then the girl who had been stirring the eggs held the spatula in her left hand as if it were the head of the guitar, and with her right hand, she plucked non-existent strings wildly while shaking her body. Just looking at her back, it was as if the girl was playing the electric guitar in the song that was playing now.
The girl’s body, unable to contain her excitement, spun around. And her eyes met Locke’s, who had been quietly watching the scene.
“…What are you doing?”
“Preparing breakfast.”
Unlike the passionate performance, the girl’s answer was blunt. There was no sign of embarrassment on her expressionless face. And the next moment, the electric guitar’s climax and the girl’s air guitar performance coincided again, and another ecstatic performance continued. The girl’s swaying black hair fluttered like a splendid curtain.
While Locke was unable to say anything out of absurdity, the girl naturally finished her performance and transferred the scrambled eggs to the plate. Then she took the fork and plate and brought them to the table in one corner of the kitchen. It was a table that Locke, while living in this apartment, had considered half a decorative item.
Locke’s Eyes looked at the girl as if seeing a strange new creature. She was eating bacon and scrambled eggs with a clumsily held fork while nodding her head to the continuing music. Watching her, Locke suddenly realized that there was one more plate set across from her.
“…This is crazy.”
Locke, who shook his head, turned off the television that was playing music first. Although he listened to the radio while driving, he preferred to be quiet at home.
However, when he turned off the television and turned around, what he faced was the girl’s face with her round eyes sparkling. She was sitting at the table, frozen stiff without a single movement, and staring at him silently.
“…”
Locke eventually turned the television back on. Only then did the girl continue her meal while shaking her body again. Locke, who had been thinking about how to accept this, also sat across from her for now. And he picked up the fork, examined it, and started having breakfast at home for the first time in a long time.
The taste wasn’t bad. In fact, bacon and scrambled eggs that are just grilled appropriately were hard to mess up. Still, Locke felt it was quite good.
At that moment, a question suddenly came to mind.
“…Were there eggs in the fridge?”
“Powdered eggs in the cupboard.”
The girl, who had been chewing bacon, answered nonchalantly, and Locke slowly put down the fork and slightly pushed the plate forward. Those powdered eggs were something he had bought when he first moved into this apartment.
Locke leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed and looked at the girl. She was eating very diligently even with the clumsily held fork.
The moment he first made eye contact with this girl came to his mind.
* * *
The twinkling eyes blankly stared at Locke.
“…She’s just a kid? Hey, are you conscious?”
Kaylee asked, snapping her fingers in front of the girl’s black eyes. But the girl’s eyes, which had blinked for a moment, soon closed again. Even when the startled Kaylee gently shook her body, the girl didn’t come to her senses.
“Move aside.”
Locke, who pushed the bewildered Kaylee aside, examined the girl’s condition. After checking her pulse and even opening her closed eyes, Locke slightly frowned. There were no implants or net sockets in the girl’s body.
“What? Is she dead?”
“No.”
“Then what is it? Is this kid really the dragon relic? Some transformed dragon?”
Locke slowly shook his head. It was just the body of a human girl around twelve years old. Even to an Auror Master’s senses, there was nothing special. However, the world of spells and magic was strange and mysterious, so there could be something he didn’t know. He couldn’t recklessly be certain.
Kaylee alternately looked at Locke and the girl and asked,
“What are you going to do? Take that kid to the client?”
“…Yeah. That’s my job.”
She frowned.
“Hey, ronin. I’m asking just in case, but do you know what kind of treatment this kid will get if she falls into the hands of a corporate research lab in this situation? She’ll probably have her guts taken out separately, brain taken out separately, like a pig being slaughtered in a slaughterhouse…”
“Not my business.”
At Locke’s Cold answer, Kaylee seemed to be at a loss for words and closed her mouth. She soon let out a hollow laugh and shrugged her shoulders.
“…Well, yeah. What more can a person who has already surrendered intervene in?”
She shook her head as if saying she wouldn’t intervene further and stood up. Then she approached the bundle of bombs she had thrown a moment ago. Meanwhile, Locke was silently looking at the girl lying in the coffin.
After a while, the moment she picked up the bundle of bombs, Locke, who still had his gaze on the girl, opened his mouth.
“Wait.”
“…Why?”
“Is that a real bomb?”
Kaylee, who had been blankly standing for a moment after receiving that question, soon grinned and raised the bundle of bombs. Her transparent goggle sunglasses sparkled.
“I don’t bluff.”
* * *
Just as Locke had gathered a few pieces of the coffin the girl was in and gave them to the client, Kaylee also decided to keep the girl’s existence a secret. She seemed to want to take the girl with her, but as the situation wasn’t good after losing all the team members she had gathered this time, she only left a message saying she would contact him next time.
With the explosion of her bomb, the factory where they had fought the dragon worshippers had a big fire. The evening news mentioned by the client on the screen was referring to that fire. As human corpses poured out of the automated machinery factory, the reporters couldn’t help but be excited. Of course, no traces of Locke and Kaylee would have been found in that pile of ashes.
Locke had first laid the unconscious girl in his house and went to meet William. But when he finished the job and came back, this situation unfolded. Looking closely, the loose clothes the girl was wearing were also his own, tied here and there.
At that moment, the girl, who had been eating diligently, looked up at Locke with her mouth full. At the gaze of the silent girl, Locke opened his mouth.
“What.”
“…Thirsty.”
When Locke got up and filled a glass of water from the sink and handed it to her, the girl quickly took it and gulped down the water. Locke sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. In the meantime, the girl, who had finished a whole glass of water and even let out a small burp, continued her passionate meal.
Watching the girl’s clumsy fork handling, Locke asked,
“What are you?”
“You first.”
“What?”
“Your name first.”
The girl said that without stopping eating, and the dumbfounded Locke let out a hollow laugh.
“I’m Locke.”
“Hello, Locke. I’m Elizabeth. You can call me Liz.”
“…Are you human?”
“Liz is human. Because Liz’s parents were also human.”
“Just a human was in that sarcophagus? Receiving the protection of the lizardman?”
“Proctus. His name was Proctus, not just a lizardman.”
Locke closed his mouth and glared at the girl. She raised her head and faced his gaze with an expressionless face, bacon grease smeared around her mouth.
“…If you glare at me with such scary eyes, I might cry.”
Locke could tell that statement wasn’t a lie. Because his keen senses could read the faint emotion, that is, the fear, emanating from the girl’s face that looked expressionless. Beneath the girl’s calm behavior and expressionless surface, there was fear, confusion about the unfamiliar environment and Locke.
Eventually, he closed his eyes tightly and let out a sigh.
“Alright, let’s say you’re human. Then what about your parents?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen either of them.”
Locke stood up from his seat. The girl’s head followed him up high. Locke stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and nodded his chin at her. The girl slowly stood up and asked,
“…Where are you going?”
“Let’s find your parents first.”
Having said that, Locke strode towards the front door. The girl followed him in a hurry. While wiping her mouth with a napkin from the table, she put the empty plate in the sink and even filled it with water. Only then did she run to the front door Locke had gone out.
The girl, who was about to go out the front door, suddenly stopped and looked back at the television where music was playing. In an instant, the ring of light surrounding her pupils sparkled, and the television turned off.
As the television turned off, the girl also went out the front door. The apartment the two left became quiet.
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