Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 162

“It was tough, running around trying to gather information about the drug lord’s hidden vault, but after releasing some of the information we had, I finally got an answer,” Jenny said, then glanced up at Lenok’s face and was horrified. “…Not just me, but your face is a mess too. Are you okay?” “Huh? Oh, don’t worry about it. My physical condition is great right now,” Lenok waved his hand, his cheeks sunken and his complexion pale. “You expect me to believe that?” She wasn’t wrong. Since then, Lenok had consistently attended Rancia’s Pilates studio three more times, and his muscle pain had disappeared in just two days. Although his complexion had worsened from moving his body more strenuously than usual, the energy he got back was considerable. They say a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. For the first time in a long while, Lenok was maintaining a reasonably good mental state without smoking. Jorden, who had approached from the side, examined Lenok’s complexion and looked slightly surprised. “It’s not a lie. Your heart rate has changed quite regularly. Did you get treatment from a Yakseon [a traditional healer]?” “Not really, I’ve just started exercising lately.” He rotated his stiff neck, and a cracking sound was followed by his joints moving smoothly. “The effect is better than I expected.” “…If it’s effective for you, Ban, then it must be a skilled teacher. Jenny should start taking care of herself too…” “Jorden, I’m never going to exercise. I’d rather die than move my body.” “See?” “……..” Lenok shook his head at their conversation. Even if Jenny messed up her lifestyle, she would still live healthier than Lenok, so what was the point of him worrying about her? Moreover, Jorden was quite perceptive as a doctor, so he was probably managing her health without her knowing. It wasn’t a problem for Lenok to interfere with. “Both of you, stop it, and let’s go up to the office. This isn’t a conversation for here.” If Jenny was calling Lenok and bringing this up herself, it must mean she had made some significant progress. Past the auction house, the Yakseon, the exploration team, and the sponsors, finally. The plan to raid the drug lord’s vault had begun in earnest. Plan (2) The three of them closed the bar and headed straight to the office above it. It was early morning, so all the customers who had stayed up all night had left, and it was a quiet time, making it possible. After arriving at the office, locking the door, drawing the blackout curtains on the windows, and completely securing the room with Lenok’s magic, Jenny finally started typing on her laptop. The content she was about to reveal was that important. “First, take a look at this. It’s the most recent photo of Juice Master.” “……..” Lenok and Jorden tilted their heads and focused on the blurry photo on the laptop screen. A ruined city. Dozens of tank legions passing through the middle of a completely destroyed highway. In the photo, there was a blurry figure on one of the tanks, puffing out cigarette smoke. “I can’t see his face or build.” “He’s blocking all records with the artifacts he has. It’s not like his face and identity are completely unknown, but knowing his current health status could be a surprisingly important strategy.” “That’s not our problem.” Lenok’s job was not to kill the drug lord, but to raid his vault. Jenny knew that finding out his whereabouts was also part of that goal. “This photo is estimated to have been taken two weeks ago. The location is the Republic of Paragini in the far west of the continent, the paradise of outlaws who have completely seized the poor national economy and established a dictatorship.” “Did the drug lord join hands with them?” “Actually, that’s not enough to explain what Dominic Cabaro has done. The republic has already gone beyond the point of no return due to the drugs he recklessly spread to quell the low approval ratings of the regime. There were many who sought mental pleasure amidst the chaos of the country.” The photo changes. The tanks are heading towards a very lavish palace, which appears to have been built by the dictatorship. “He has practically taken over a country.” A member of Pandemonium. A tycoon who has seized the drug trade on the continent. And now, the tacit ruler of a republic? “Of course, the republic isn’t as great as it thinks it is. You know that, right?” He didn’t know. He had studied the terrain near the great city of Balkan, but he hadn’t memorized the name of a small republic on the far west of the continent. “Even though it’s called a republic, as you can guess from the fact that it still has that name in this era, it’s just an old, backward country that’s behind the times. It’s a backwater area that’s nothing compared to Balkan. But even so, the reason Jenny is telling you this is…” Jorden said, pointing at the laptop. “It’s a warning that we should avoid a direct confrontation with the drug lord as much as possible.” “………” “You might be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with those monsters someday. But not now. There’s still a lot we need to do, both for you and for us.” “Even if you have a secret plan we don’t know about, even if you succeed in killing the drug lord with a genius magic that no one knows… we can’t handle the aftermath.” “Remember this.” Jorden’s face was more serious than ever as he said that. “Even the one who once had all the shadows of this city under his feet, was eventually crushed before Pandemonium.” Lenok crossed his arms and listened to the words quietly before blurting out. “That’s probably the story of a man named Kaise, right?” “……..” “Considering the things you and Jorden have been saying, it’s not hard to understand.” He took his eyes off the laptop and sat across from Jenny. Jenny slightly lowered her head, avoiding Lenok’s gaze. “I’ll keep the advice in mind.” “…Jorden, to be honest, it’s unnecessary worry.” Jenny pouted and shared the laptop screen on the screen hanging on the office wall. “It’s estimated that Juice Master completely took over the republic about two weeks ago. I don’t know what he’s trying to do in that fallen republic, but it will take at least two months to stabilize the chaotic situation and build the environment he wants.” “Considering the time it takes to travel from one end of the continent to the other, the chances of actually encountering the drug lord in this case are very low. It’s a very appropriate time, in terms of timing.” Lenok, who had been listening to Jenny’s words quietly, said. “That’s a contradiction. This isn’t about calculating the position between the drug lord and us, but about calculating the distance between the drug lord and his vault… wait, that means–” Lenok stopped speaking only after realizing what Jenny meant. Jenny smiled at the sight and said. “That’s right. The drug lord’s vaults are scattered all over the continent. Among them, the medicine warehouse we should target is near Balkan.” Lenok’s mouth slightly opened as he looked at the map that appeared on the laptop. Greatly north from the plains where the great city of Balkan was located. Past the arid highlands where a conference was held, and a cluster of countless islands at a huge cut that could be seen on the map. The place name written there was not unfamiliar to Lenok either. “Philemon Autonomous Territory.” Jenny sighed deeply and said. “It’s the worst place to travel in this situation.” # “Due to the unique terrain of the autonomous territory and the symbolic observatory called ‘Lighthouse,’ it’s a place where various magical environments have been created from the beginning,” Jorden said, looking at the screen. “The optimal environment for growing a variety of medicinal herbs. And the best location for storing those herbs. It’s not surprising.” “Should we assume that Pandemonium’s influence has reached the autonomous territory?” “It’s not that simple,” Jenny replied. “The members of Pandemonium are known to have little interest in each other. Moreover, Juice Master is a newcomer who recently joined that monster organization… This warehouse must be a hidden base that the drug lord created on his own.” “I’m curious about how you got the information. How did you find the location of the vault when even the drug lord’s whereabouts are not well known?” “It’s actually easy once you know that he started putting down roots in the republic.” At Lenok’s words, Jenny smiled triumphantly. “No matter how secretly he moves, he has no choice but to leave traces everywhere to maintain such a business.” Lenok chuckled as he watched her make a coin shape with her thumb and index finger. “You bribed the drug lord’s subordinates.” “To be precise, corrupt officials of the republic. I chose those who are not yet afraid of the drug lord, but who can easily access his information. Moreover, the Republic of Paragini is one of the most underdeveloped countries on the continent. They easily fell for the money.” Jenny said. “It’s not like I asked them to steal information, just to confirm the location of the vault and tell us… and we’ve bypassed the deep web dozens of times, so there’s no way they’d know that the location of the vault was leaked. It took a little time to finish, but the security will be perfect.” Was the slight delay all for this kind of operation? Lenok couldn’t help but admire her way of handling things. “Impressive.” It was impressive that she found the drug lord’s whereabouts from a point where there were no clues, and from there, she tracked his surroundings to bribe the people involved and cleverly extracted only the location of the vault. Moreover, she must have had to indirectly command all of this from behind a monitor while bypassing the deep web, so the difficulty would have been immeasurable. Jenny’s ability to take risks and produce successful results, despite knowing Juice Master’s notoriety and his cruel nature, was truly outstanding. It was the result of her experience as a broker, her innate judgment and intuition, and her daring nature that did not spare funds and adventures when needed. “I owe you one.” Lenok honestly expressed his feelings. He wasn’t foolish enough not to know that if he didn’t make this kind of deal clear, there would be problems someday. “You don’t have to go that far,” Jenny smiled and replied. “I’ll take that much commission later. Just so you know.” Lenok burst out laughing at her words, which didn’t sound like a joke. “I called you for a briefing as soon as I got the results. It will take a day to organize the information and secure a route to the autonomous territory, so take care of the things you were doing until then,” Jenny said, closing her laptop. “You’ve only got the superficial information that the vault is in the Philemon Autonomous Territory, so you’ll have to find the exact location yourself on site.” “It’s like a business trip with no return date.” Lenok nodded as he picked up his coat and stood up. “That’s enough. I’ll be waiting for your call.” Jorden stopped Lenok, who was about to leave the bar, leaving Jenny looking tired. “Can we talk for a moment?” “Of course.” The two of them stood side by side, with the empty bar between them, and put cigarettes in their mouths. Jorden, who had taken the Double Scarlet that Lenok had given him, coughed slightly and smiled awkwardly. “Sorry. It’s been a while since I quit smoking.” “It’s okay.” Jorden’s behavior was very different from usual. That was probably because he was quite worried about this matter. And Lenok had a rough idea that his reaction was also related to his circumstances. Soon, Jorden, who skillfully exhaled smoke, said. “I said it like that, but it won’t be over in a day.” “……..” “She’s been on the deep web all day, sending signals to the republic, except for the time she spent on other things, so she must be exhausted.” “I know,” Lenok replied. The moment she found out that Malabes was in the Philemon Autonomous Territory, Jenny had done everything she could. From now on, it was strictly Lenok’s job. Since it was something he had to do from the beginning, Lenok had no intention of overworking her any further. It would take some time anyway to completely assemble and adjust the Archangel’s Compassion he had obtained from the battle with the exploration team. While he was adding some of the artifact’s power to his strength by interpreting it, Jenny could just pass on the data. Jorden smiled weakly at Lenok’s answer. “Yeah… you’re always exceptionally good at that. Being able to discern the truth in just a few words is definitely a valuable quality.” “It’s not that grand…” “That’s why I can understand why Jenny has high expectations for you and invests in you.” “………” “The more it becomes known that you have more power than a simple freelancer, the more people will associate your unusual talent with the name of Kaise. Working with Kaise’s kin will inevitably have that meaning.”