Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 295

“Data collection, huh…” Renok muttered, lightly flicking the end of his cigarette.

The rebellion of the defense forces guarding the outer perimeter of the megacity wasn’t that surprising.

It was not uncommon for former soldiers to go astray. Ex-military personnel who couldn’t find their place, special forces operatives falling into the shadows, and the traces of the front lines that had slowly stopped moving and begun to rust.

It was just one of the countless anxieties and cracks that had taken root in this city that had newly revealed itself.

The problem was that the villain at the end of that crack might now be openly targeting Renok.

It was something he couldn’t just ignore.

“There’s a high probability that someone will contact you. It’s likely to be one of the city council members.”

“A city council member?”

“Among the powerful figures in the shadows, there aren’t many who aren’t tied to a specific organization or affiliation. Most of those few are lunatics who have no concept of cooperation. It’s only natural that they would turn their attention to you, someone who has proven their skills and reliability through freelance work.”

“…”

“If they want to give authority to the capable people in the light before the Gold Restriction Act is lifted, the city council will have to sacrifice a lot. They’d rather borrow the hands of the outlaws operating in the outer districts.”

The Gold Restriction Act, which restricts the authority of the capable people in the light while granting them equivalent privileges, was one of the biggest controversies in this city.

As Ibon had mentioned, there were rumors that the Act might be lifted recently, but nothing had been decided yet.

Considering that the Act was not just a simple system but a restriction mixed with a geas [a magical compulsion], they would try to find other ways instead of hastily tampering with it.

“I roughly understand.”

Renok, who had been listening to Nicole, slowly nodded.

“But I haven’t heard the most important point. Why are you telling me this story?”

He understood what she wanted to say.

Wasn’t she saying that the attack that had just hit Renok was not just a one-off event, but that there were huge vested interests surrounding the megacity’s defense forces?

It was a plausible story, but Renok didn’t believe everything Nicole said anyway.

The specific details would all be resolved by cross-checking with the captured operatives.

But what was Nicole’s intention in appearing and giving him this information first?

Her current actions were nothing less than confirming the suspicion that the Platon Mercenary Office was closely connected to the city government.

If she had come despite Renok’s judgment, Nicole must have had a purpose.

Before seeing and judging all those facts with his own eyes, Renok wanted to hear Nicole’s answer first.

Nicole, with a wry smile, said,

“Well… if I had to say, let’s call it a token of gratitude.”

“What?”

“I heard about the proxy battle in the Citadel. That you met Adam and spared his life.”

“…”

“I repaid my nephew’s life here… Is that enough of a reason?”

Nicole said that and then turned her back and walked away through the alleyway.

Her relaxed attitude suggested that she didn’t think Renok would do anything.

Rather, by responding in this way, she was showing how much she trusted Renok.

Renok watched her receding figure and pondered.

He weighed the pros and cons of capturing her and making her spill all the information she knew, the relationship with the Platon Office, and the friendly attitude she had consistently shown.

While he didn’t like her hiding and watching the situation, there was no need to be hostile to her right away, as she had given him information as a sign of gratitude.

Since Nicole’s identity was well known, there would be enough time to take action if any problems arose.

In the end, Renok, who had decided to let Nicole go, turned around and took out his phone from his pocket.

“Should I contact Antares…”

Since Ivelyn had taken a long vacation and had been out of contact after responding to the summons, Antares was the only collaborator he could consult with right now.

In addition, there was Dray, a former soldier who was affiliated with Renok’s company.

For now, he had no choice but to contact those who had decent information.

[Baaan-!]

Renok frowned at Manson’s shout nearby and began to move his fingers.

* * *

“Ban!”

Renok chuckled as he saw the masked figure waving his hand from afar.

Dylan naturally threw one of the drinks he was holding to Renok.

Instead of catching it with his hand, Renok naturally snatched it with his mana thread and held it.

Through the events at the Citadel, his skill in manipulating mana threads had increased, and the efficiency itself had also greatly improved.

In terms of technical skill alone, it was the fastest growing among Renok’s system of spells.

It was probably because the proficiency of other systems was sufficiently supporting it, but even by Renok’s standards, the rapid progress was not a bad thing.

“Hey, I just said I liked tea. Why did you buy me this crap?”

Milla, who was walking behind Dylan, grumbled, shaking the mint-flavored soda she was holding.

Dylan grinned through his mask and retorted,

“I took care of it myself because I felt sorry for you not knowing the taste of mint, so be grateful.”

“Are you going to keep talking nonsense?”

“Then should we switch? It’s a barley-flavored carbonated drink, it’s also worth trying.”

“You wanna die?”

The two bickered but naturally took their seats opposite the bench where Renok was sitting.

“Why did you choose this place as the meeting spot?”

An abandoned park. The side of a shopping center staircase overlooking a dusty playground.

Not even sunlight penetrated through the cloudy sky, and only the light from the old shopping center sign illuminated the area.

The weather was humid as if it would rain at any moment.

But Renok didn’t care and sat on the bench between the stairs and opened a can of coffee.

“Come to think of it, Ban, I heard you were playing with cultists at the Eight Peaks Citadel?”

Milla, who was sipping her mint-flavored soda while sitting across from him, said as if she had just remembered.

“I heard that the city government is going to conduct a full investigation into the Citadel because of that. Do you know what’s going on? It seems like it’s just going to be more troublesome with Hyungung gone.”

“…”

Dylan’s shoulders twitched as he quietly listened to her words.

Renok didn’t miss that gesture and turned his gaze.

Come to think of it, there was no way Dylan, who was always on fire when it came to news related to the cult, wouldn’t know about this.

Judging from the fact that Nicole from Platon also knew about the Citadel-related information, the mercenaries from Antares probably had heard about what Renok had done.

Now that he didn’t know whether Milla knew about Dylan’s situation, there was no reason to bring it up.

“There were a few things that happened with their missionaries… I’ll tell you about it later.”

Renok naturally changed the subject.

“More importantly, this is the main issue. If you’ve read the message, you’ll roughly know what’s going on.”

He had contacted Antares first, but there was no sign that he had even read the message.

No, he couldn’t even guess if he was in this city right now.

So Renok had called the mercenaries he knew to hear Antares’ intentions or any words he had left behind.

That man was undoubtedly one of the superhumans closest to the truth of this world.

The direction of Antares’ answer and whether he was aware of the current situation was a more important issue than he thought.

“Hmm, the Defense Forces Command, huh?”

Dylan muttered, shaking the mint chocolate-flavored beer he was holding.

“To be honest, our leader is so busy that it’s been a while since we’ve had a proper conversation.”

“…”

“He’s probably doing something in other places, not in the megacity. It’ll be hard to find him, wouldn’t it?”

Milla said with a listless expression.

“If those soldier friends really intend to turn this city upside down, they wouldn’t care about someone who left the city in the first place.”

“That’s not wrong. Then how about this?”

Renok briefly told the two about Nicole’s existence and what she had said.

When the Platon Mercenary Office and the name of the city government were mentioned, the two became more serious.

“Platon, huh…”

“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I saw that old man’s face. Why didn’t I know?”

“…”

Renok sighed at Dylan’s words as he scratched his mask.

It wasn’t just that he wasn’t paying attention, it was as if he had no interest at all.

Rather, Milla, who was listening to the story next to him, snapped her fingers as if she knew something.

“Come to think of it, there were a lot of strange rumors about that woman, Nicole.”

“What is it?”

“I heard it while working with a mercenary from Platon, but she wasn’t originally from the shadows?”

“…”

“I heard she used to be a public official in some unknown department.”

“A public official, huh.”

“There are also rumors that she wasn’t even born in this city. She’s popular within the office, but she keeps her private life a secret.”

“Hmm, that’s quite similar to a certain magician I know.”

“They’re like siblings in that they can’t be read.”

Renok let the nonsense that Dylan and Milla were spouting flow over him and fell into thought.

It was clear that the Platon Mercenary Office had some kind of connection with the city government.

If so, then Nicole’s words that someone from the city council would directly call Renok was not unlikely.

‘What should I do…’

If the outer defense forces had really cut off their lines with the megacity and acted independently, it was impossible for Renok to ignore it.

It was obvious that the first direction the defense forces, with their countless firepower and human resources, would point their guns would be the outer perimeter of the megacity.

It was natural that the supply network built by Jenny would collapse and that there would be disruptions to the business.

Renok had no interest in the safety of the Balkans or the order of the shadows, but he didn’t want the business he had worked so hard to build to be ruined like this.

But if he were to step back and watch the situation, the upcoming summons from the Azure Eye bothered him.

Since Ivelyn Marcia had received the call first and left, it wouldn’t be long before the lighthouse keeper, Lapis, contacted Renok.

If it was just a simple social gathering, he could ignore it, but if it was a call from Lapis, who had been rapidly expanding his territory after leaving the autonomous region, Renok would have a hard time ignoring it.

Considering the cult’s affairs, it would be wise to show his face and collect related information this time.

The best course of action would be to resolve the defense forces’ problem as quickly as possible and respond to the summons, but…

“Ban?”

While Renok was lost in thought, Milla asked with a slightly frowning expression.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Hmm?”

Renok, hearing those words, looked down at his hands and gave an awkward smile.

Before he knew it, strands of mana thread flowing from both of his fingers were holding an empty coffee can and doing cat’s cradle in the air.

He didn’t know that the habit he had developed while practicing at the Citadel to improve his mana thread manipulation skills was still there.

The two mercenaries stared at Renok as he quickly retracted his hands with a bizarre expression.

“Those magicians are really hard to understand.”

“To be able to do something like that without even being conscious of it… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to step into the world of spells.”

“Anyway, I roughly understand what you’re saying.”

Renok, who had quickly organized his thoughts, got up from his seat.

“With Ivelyn and Antares both gone… If the defense forces had even thought about this and set the timing, then this is not something to be taken lightly, as Nicole said.”

“Should we help you?”

“There will be a chance to meet again soon without you having to do that. If someone from the city council really contacts me, I’ll naturally-”

Beep beep beep!!

Before Renok could finish his sentence, his phone started ringing loudly.

The three of them looked at each other with a sullen expression and took out their phones from their pockets.

The screens of the three phones displayed the caller’s name as if they had made a promise.

Renok, who was quietly looking down at his phone screen, continued,

“-try to get a hold of people with good reputations.”

But even so, he never thought that he would be contacted by this person again.

Renok never even imagined that a connection that started with one job would be so twisted and intertwined.

[Call: Former Councilman John Mayer]

What did it mean that the former councilman, whom he had met as the backer of the pharmaceutical company, had contacted him at this time?

The greedy old man, whom even Renok, who had just started his freelance work, had coveted, had shed his title as a former councilman and had taken a higher position.

* * *

“Councilman. Are you really thinking of asking this man for cooperation?”

“Why? Is my judgment unreliable?”

“That’s not it.”

A woman with a clear voice replied.

“But ‘Gyonroe’s’ recent actions seem quite dangerous. Even by slightly old-fashioned standards, it’s clear that he’s very different.”

“…”

“He acts as if he has no interest in the power struggles behind this city, but he steadily increases his profits as a result. This is especially evident in his recent handling of the cartel and the Eight Peaks Citadel.”

In the power struggle with the cartel, he was firm, and in the proxy battle of the Eight Peaks Citadel, he rather blended in and turned both forces into a friendly stance.

Even she couldn’t guess how far his skills, which had foreseen the long-term power struggles between organizations, would reach.

“You’ll see if you look at the analysis report extracted from the Security Department’s database.”

She said that and naturally took out thick papers and placed them in front of the old man.

Kooong!!

A thick analysis report that seemed to be at least dozens of pages long.

A collection of data created solely to find out the background, abilities, actions, and trends of just one person.

At the very top of the paper, there was a blurry photo of a young man with a particularly sharp impression.

What did it mean that the quality of the photos used in the analysis reports created under the authorization of a high-ranking official directly under the city government was so poor?

It was proof that the best they could do to capture the magician named Ban in the data of a photo was just this.

“Even though he has done and accomplished things that require this much record, there is no information about his past. He is far beyond meticulous. He is doing the work of hiding and changing his identity as perfectly as if he has an obsession.”

The woman said.

“Wouldn’t that be an action that could only be shown if he had such circumstances and secrets?”

“…”

“An abnormally fast growth rate. Connections and relationships that are proportional to it. Even his clean actions without a single flaw. There must be a powerful motive that we haven’t grasped.”

The woman finished her words, looking down at the old man who was smiling leisurely.

“And no one can guess whether Gyunroe’s purpose will be helpful to you, Councilman.”

As if answering that, the black nameplate placed in front of the old man shone neatly.

[City Government Central Council Lower House Member]

[John Mayer]