Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 208

“It’s half. Thanks for coming to this job.”

As he offered the customary greeting, she waved her hand dismissively.

“Well, there’s no need for that. We’re just here in place of Dylan and Mila. Actually, quite a few mercenaries at our office wanted to participate in this job, but we got here first. If the situation improves, we might even bring in more of them, you know?”

“Quite a few, you say?”

At Renok’s words, Velita grinned.

“It’s the first time the Captain has so openly taken sides in this kind of dispute. He hasn’t said it directly, but he’s practically saying he’ll help the magician, right?”

“……”

“Isn’t it about time the Captain started looking for a place to settle down? That’s what everyone’s thinking.”

“A place to settle down… that’s a very poetic expression. And I didn’t make any such promises with Antares in the first place.”

“It’s not like you can only know things by hearing them, right? Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. It seems clear that the Captain has made up his mind, so the sooner we raise our hands, the better we’ll look to him, don’t you think?”

At Velita’s smooth-talking, Renok’s lips curled upward.

“An interesting perspective. You’re more focused on getting in the good graces of your Captain than dealing with the Cartel…”

“……”

Only then did Velita realize she had talked too much, and her expression changed slightly, but Renok chuckled and nodded.

“Well, it wouldn’t be strange if there were secrets within the mercenary group that I don’t know about. Even if it’s not something that came directly from Antares himself. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

It seemed that there was a rumor going around the Antares Mercenary Office that Antares would one day do something beyond just being a mercenary, but it wasn’t something Renok needed to worry about.

Belver, who had been subtly watching, jumped in like a ghost and said a word.

“If you get in the Captain’s good graces now, there’s a high chance of getting some crumbs later. Therefore, participating in this operation is a wise investment from a business perspective. You can say Velita made a smart decision.”

“Shut your trap! You money-grubbing ghost who’s never done any business, all you do is talk about investments. Ugh…”

“All the indicators are pointing to a boom, what is this woman talking about? Especially when it comes to money, I’m generally right. You’re out.”

“That’s absurd. Should we compare our accounts here and now?”

“……”

Renok watched the twins start bickering again during the conversation and subtly backed away.

It seemed that the Antares Mercenary Group had as many eccentrics as they had skilled members.

As he left the bar, Renok inadvertently turned back to look at the three-story building.

If he were to properly start a business and expand its scale, this building would one day be filled with people.

Until now, he hadn’t felt any particular inconvenience working alone, but as time passed, the surrounding environment continued to change.

From the moment Renok decided to stand at the end of this street, he couldn’t handle everything alone.

Even the Heavenly Eye, Madrea Falsier, who had reached the pinnacle of mages, eventually created an organization called the Beacon.

Even the monsters that Renok could not yet approach were moving under the name of the Demon’s Lair.

Was the desire to become complete alone in this vast world just a misguided ambition?

At least, it wasn’t a problem he could conclude right now.

Lost in thought, Renok shook his head and left the bar.

Since a lingering unease remained from the first clash with the Cartel, he couldn’t afford to sit around for long.

According to Jenny’s plan, Renok would be the one who had to move the most busily.

There was something he needed to resolve first, even to roam around this street.

* * *

“I’m a little sad that you haven’t contacted me much.”

Sebastian shook his wine glass with a smirk.

“You did the same thing with the exploration team, and after using my information network as you pleased, you should at least remember the aftercare. In fact, wasn’t the last job practically me doing you a free service?”

He was remembering the deal where he would get the list of sponsors for the Arashak Ruins exploration team, and in return, he would be included in the process of handling the artifact ‘Compassion of the Archangel’.

But in the process of dealing with Irina Pesfield, Renok had swallowed the Compassion of the Archangel whole, so from his point of view, he couldn’t help but feel wronged.

However, Renok scoffed and took the wine glass he offered, retorting.

“Do you think I don’t know that you used the list of sponsors you got to bring them in as your clients? I think you’ve been keeping quiet until now because you benefited from it.”

At Renok’s words, Sebastian let out a sly laugh.

“Hehehe… aren’t you too quick-witted? I was going to try to take some credit, but I failed.”

The list of businessmen who were investing capital in the exploration team, led by Vincent Mayblack.

It was obvious that Sebastian would have flaunted his friendship with Renok when he brought them in as clients.

For Sebastian, who worked as a broker for individual businessmen, the wealthy, or celebrities, businessmen who ventured outside of Balkan were valuable potential clients.

Renok had accurately seen through the way Sebastian had benefited from getting involved in the exploration team’s affairs.

“Well, let’s forget about the past. The important thing is why you came to see me today, isn’t it?”

“Is the item ready?”

Renok had succeeded in supplementing most of his lacking abilities through magic, but he still couldn’t easily improve his mobility.

Not only did he have to worry about the side effects of physical enhancement due to the mana poisoning on his body, but the difficulty of obtaining space-based teleportation spells was an unavoidable problem.

At least in the case of mana poisoning, he was making some progress through the work he had entrusted to Yakseon, but Renok couldn’t easily guess when he would get his hands on a powerful spell like [Blink].

But other forms of mobility were a different story.

In the past, he couldn’t even think about it because he hadn’t completed the riding assistance magic, but now that he had obtained Davi, the situation was completely different.

It was ironic that he hadn’t gotten his own personal means of transportation until he had completed the automatic driving and automatic flight algorithms.

In any case, Renok now had the leeway to prepare his own means of transportation.

The request from Otterble that he had solved in the past at Sebastian’s instigation.

The design of the project that Renok had obtained through Madam at that time.

At the time, he had let it slide while promising a later date, but Renok was now in a position to fully claim the reward he had let slide back then.

“Honestly, this kind of thing isn’t really my style, but I can’t neglect the work you entrusted to me. Let’s go downstairs and talk.”

Sebastian said that and led him to the garage located right next to his office.

The transparent glass door opened, revealing the view of a spacious garage.

As a broker in the underworld who earned a huge income, he owned more than ten different types of cars.

Unlike Jenny, who drove a bright red sports car, he seemed to prefer heavy sedans or SUVs.

In the innermost corner of the garage, where the cars were spaced far apart.

At the rear of the best-maintained garage, something veiled stood tall.

“The handover didn’t take as long as I expected. I don’t know how you found out and contacted them, but I heard that the project has been concrete for some time.”

“I was lucky.”

“Well, there’s fun to be had working with these kinds of clients. Let’s take a look.”

Sebastian said that and grabbed the veil, yanking it away.

“Otterble’s ambitious monster bike project. The first prototype!!”

As the veil was completely pulled away, a sleek black bike appeared.

Its size was comparable to the monster bike Hina used, boasting a huge body and two thick wheels the size of truck tires.

The thick exhaust pipes that were open to the rear and the solid engine connected to them suggested the bike’s power.

“It’s not an officially released product yet. Strictly speaking, it’s closer to a prototype of a product that will be mass-produced in the future.”

“A prototype…”

“But the built-in parts are all high-end products that are far from mass-produced, and above all, the output itself will be something that can’t be compared to ordinary bikes.”

He lowered his voice and whispered like a child playing a prank.

“Otterble also remembers your name. They won’t refuse if you ask them to do custom work or updates later.”

Sebastian said that and took out the bike key, handing it to Renok.

“You were going to trade with me in exchange for acquiring this item, but I’ll make this one free.”

“I’m willing to pay if it’s money. Or would you like me to do a job for you like last time?”

Of course, it was possible for Renok to get this bike because he had fully returned Otterble’s design, but it would have been impossible if Sebastian hadn’t intervened.

Considering that a bike of this caliber would have a considerable price due to its enormous output, Sebastian would have needed to make a financial investment.

But Sebastian shook his head with a smirk.

“I’ve heard roughly about what kind of situation you’re in with the Cartel.”

“……”

“Of course, it’s a very tempting offer to use this opportunity to solve my problems by borrowing your name… but I shouldn’t take up the time of a busy person, should I?”

“I didn’t know you thought that much of me.”

At Renok’s indifferent retort, Sebastian chuckled.

“Also, it’s a gift to encourage you to think more positively about working with me in the future. Judging by the scale of the jobs you bring, we could be pretty good partners in the future.”

He added that, except for that woman who seemed to be quitting her broker job, and let out a sly laugh.

Renok chuckled at Sebastian’s undisguised appearance.

Although he had said it lightly as a joke, his words that he wanted to maintain a continuous cooperative relationship with Renok were sincere.

Brokers like Jenny and him had a strange knack for giving a not-so-unpleasant impression while openly revealing their materialistic attitude.

Even now, he was naturally giving Renok this bike as a gift while subtly hinting at it.

His attitude of acknowledging Renok that much but not being impatient was light, but in fact, it was that of a very serious businessman.

“Okay.”

He took the bike key and inserted it.

Whirring!!

[User’s biometric information recognized. Proceeding with synchronization.]

“Once you insert the key and it recognizes the owner, you don’t need to carry the key around anymore.”

Sebastian, who was standing next to him, explained with a pleased expression.

“It’s equipped with an AI that automatically starts and finishes warming up just by the rider being nearby, and it also helps with driving assistance-”

[Recognition failed. Shutting down.]

“……”

“……Huh?”

Renok, seeing Sebastian’s dumbfounded expression, scratched his chin silently.

“W-wait a minute. Even if it’s a prototype, Otterble isn’t such a sloppy company. On the contrary, the performance should be much better than the officially released product, so what is this…”

Sebastian, unable to hide his flustered expression, began to tap various parts of the bike.

But Renok, who roughly guessed the reason, shook his head.

“No, I’ll take care of it. It’s probably not the bike’s problem.”

Considering Renok’s modified mana pattern that even Ivelin couldn’t see through, it was natural that the bike’s biometric recognition system wouldn’t properly recognize Renok in the first place.

Therefore, Renok secretly raised his mana while avoiding Sebastian’s eyes and immediately summoned Davi.

Fzzzt!!

[……]

Davi stared at Renok for a moment, then understood his intention and immediately disappeared as if she was seeping into the inside of the bike.

Her hacking ability, which inherited the processing power of a strong artificial intelligence, was too outstanding to be considered that of a simple spirit.

It took her less than 5 seconds to easily break through the security of Otterble’s biometric recognition system and send an approval signal.

[User settings completed. AUTOABLE AI CONTROL 1.2 POWER ONLINE.]

Whirrrrr!!

At the same time as a green light came on on the dashboard, the bike started and began to shake loudly.

Sebastian tilted his head with a bewildered expression.

“Huh…?”

“It seems to be working fine after I tapped it a few times.”

Renok looked down at Sebastian, who was busy tapping the bike, and grinned.

“Isn’t it normal to fix machines by hitting them?”

“…….I-is that so? I didn’t know that applied to these kinds of things,”

Thinking about it, it was nonsense, but the two of them somehow accepted it.

It seemed that both the magician and the broker had experience fixing broken machines by hitting them.