The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

We moved to another location to discuss practical matters. Only Milina and I sat facing each other, without Claire. Claire is the heir of Sylvester. Her schedule was so packed that it was measured in seconds, not minutes. There was no need for her to personally discuss practical matters. In fact, just showing her face was enough to show her sincerity.

“First… please speak comfortably.”

It was Milina’s statement, recalling our previous conversation where we had used formal language.

“If the director hears about it, it won’t be good.”

At that time, I had been polite to Milina, Claire’s aide, to get on her good side. Thanks to that, she had a good impression of me and had encouraged Claire to offer a generous reward, so it was an investment with no loss. However, it seemed she herself had felt burdened.

“If that’s what you want.”

The tone of my speech didn’t matter to me. I shrugged my shoulders and continued.

“What is the scale of the manpower to be mobilized for this business plan?”

Megacorps are groups that own armed forces under the pretext of guarding their businesses, making them closer to warlords than corporations. The environment of this city, where disputes never cease, had made it so.

Although Sylvester was teased as a perpetual second-in-command compared to Centream, it was actually a great achievement in itself. It meant that they had not lost their position as the second-in-command even after making such a mess.

Just like Centream’s Quadraple, Sylvester’s security team was also highly reputable. The annexation of District 17 was as good as a done deal. It was just that the time it would take would vary depending on the scale of the deployment.

“Basically, we will plan and proceed with the operation centered on you, Allen. We will do our best to allow you to fully display your skills, which have subdued a terrorist organization together with the Public Security Bureau and brought down the underboss of the Brotherhood overnight.”

“In other words, don’t expect support from the company.”

She didn’t answer my question clearly and just rambled on. Although she spoke grandly, in summary, it meant that she would rely on my capabilities.

“And that must be the reason you hired me.”

“……To be frank, yes.”

“Was the proposal for this plan rejected at the executive meeting?”

“It was passed.”

“It was just passed, wasn’t it?”

“There are circumstances.”

Milina sighed and emptied her water glass in one gulp, as if to soothe her sore stomach.

“First of all, the company’s security team cannot move. In the case of the Delight Conquem request that we had previously made, Director Berman had unilaterally moved the company’s security team. And as you know, it was our side that won the competition.”

“Berman was late to the party, and there was a loss of manpower.”

“Thanks to that, Director Claire took the initiative, but from a corporate perspective, it was an unnecessary loss. And we can’t completely let go, relying on the words that the military will block the interference of hostile companies.”

“On the surface, you’ll comply with the military’s restraint, but you don’t know what kind of tricks they’ll pull behind the scenes?”

“Yes, the company’s capabilities will be mobilized to suppress them.”

Although they had offered the bait of supplying weapons to the military, it was not a huge profit that would make the military cooperate with all their heart and soul. In the first place, since District 17 was not in the hands of the city government, it was just a matter of ‘it would be nice if it happened, but it’s fine if it doesn’t’.

Moreover, the one who had led this plan was Sylvester, not the military. They were not the ones who would take the fall. The military would probably just do enough to save face so that they could cut ties at any time.

That’s how politics was. There was no way that Sylvester’s rival companies, which even I knew, would not know. It was Sylvester’s job to block their gloomy tricks.

“But we won’t put all the burden on you, Allen. Apart from the support from the head office, we will mobilize the director’s private soldiers.”

Even if it was a plan that was ‘good if it succeeds, but fine if it doesn’t’ for the military, it was a plan that had to succeed for Claire. It was a chance to prove that she was suitable as the heir while Berman was faltering due to successive failures. The mobilization of private soldiers was not a matter of choice, but a necessity.

“Also, just like the last request, we will entrust you with the hiring of additional manpower as much as possible. We will not interfere with the amount of money, no matter how much it costs. However, please remember that this is a plan that must succeed.”

“The last part is an unnecessary meddling.”

Whether it was because of my reputation or my personal purpose, I had never taken on a request while considering failure. It was the same today, and it would be the same in the future.

***

District 17 had a somewhat different atmosphere from a typical industrial zone. Was it because the main forces were organizations of the underworld, not companies of the open world? It had a gloomy and damp feeling, like a cloudy day before it rained.

It made me recall a time that now felt like a distant past.

‘The scenery I saw from the factory I escaped from was similar to this.’

That place where harsh violence was inflicted just to meet the quota, and also just because they were in a bad mood.

‘Did I escape from a factory in District 17?’

At that time, I had lived breathlessly with the sole purpose of surviving. After that, I had run towards the goal of reviving Mother Nature, which the system had designated. In that process, the past that this body of Allen might have had was nothing more or less than a fleeting curiosity.

If I hadn’t set foot here, even as a request, I would have lived forgetting about the factory I had escaped from.

‘It’s a grudge that has already faded, so it’s not worth seeking revenge.’

I was the one who had brought down even the underboss of the Brotherhood. Killing a mere factory supervisor or factory manager would be an easy task. The very act of spending time to achieve that was not worth it.

However.

‘I do need to find out who gave the factory manager the seed of the World Tree as a gift.’

The factory manager had lived receiving many gifts. The seed of the World Tree was one of them. Did the person who had given it as a gift know that the identity of the seed was the World Tree? If so, where did he get it?

‘It’s highly likely that he didn’t know.’

If he had known its value, he wouldn’t have sent it as a gift to a mere factory manager.

‘If I happen to meet him in the course of this request, I’ll need to investigate.’

As I was thinking that, I had already arrived at my destination. A closed factory that had stopped operating. It was a site that Sylvester had bought as the first step in its business expansion. It was also a factory that had gone bankrupt, unable to overcome the industry’s recession.

The site was enormous. The more investment a factory received, the more strongly it was affected by the recession. The condition of the facilities was so good that production could be started with just a light touch. It must have been a site purchased with the consideration of being able to operate the factory at any time. It was a natural thing for a megacorp.

“You’re here?”

A bouncy, frivolous voice. Her hair, tied in one, flowed down the long pink spear that was leaning on her shoulder. Unlike her blunt tone, the way her sharp eyes drew a round arc showed that she was happy to see me.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve heard so many rumors about you, so even though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen your face, it feels like we just parted yesterday.”

It was Hella from the Drexier Mercenary Corps.

“Was it the first time we’ve seen each other since the Delight Conquem incident?”

“Yes, just from the rumors, you seemed to be moving around so busily, as if you were going to die tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t that much.”

“What do you mean, not that much? Conquering a ruin, subduing a terrorist organization, raiding the Brotherhood’s deal site… just counting the big ones, it’s this much.”

“They were all requests that I could handle within my capabilities.”

“Who’s saying anything? I’m saying, why didn’t you call me?”

Hella pouted her lips and poked me in the side.

“You promised to call me without fail if something came up, but you haven’t contacted me once?”

“That’s why I called you during the Delight Conquem incident. And now too.”

“I’m saying it’s not enough. While you were living such an eventful life, I was bored.”

“Didn’t you say that you couldn’t recruit new members, so the existing members were struggling?”

It was a story I had heard when I had received the request for the Delight Conquem incident. They said that although their reputation had grown, they still couldn’t find people.

“That was a long time ago. We’ve recruited new members since then.”

Hella said, looking me up and down.

“Seeing your case, our old man changed his mind. If he sees even a little bit of potential, he’s decided to try raising them first.”

Drexier was a former war hero. It was by no means an easy task to catch his eye. So, even though the mercenary corps’ reputation had grown, they still couldn’t recruit new members. If they wanted to grow the organization, they needed to compromise.

The fact that I was the catalyst for that made me feel strange. In the first place, if I hadn’t succeeded in the negotiations between the cities, the mercenary corps would have been dissolved.

“I wasn’t without worries, but fortunately, they’ve adapted well now and are all doing their part.”

“It’s not just doing their part, they’re performing so well, as if they’re testing how far they can go.”

A man with a buzz cut put his arm around Hella’s shoulder and joined the conversation. Hella’s expression contorted.

“Aren’t you going to let go?”

“Even though she’s a senior, her temper is still the same, so I don’t know what to do.”

“Worry about yourself, not me, Waver.”

Hella twisted the arm on her shoulder in the opposite direction and pushed it away. A cracking sound came from the bone, and Waver grimaced in pain. It was too much for a joke. It must have been that only Waver was joking, and Hella was serious.

It seemed their bickering relationship was still the same.

“You’re still just lying around even after the new members have come. If you don’t produce proper results, you’ll be eaten up by them soon.”

“I’m also living a busy life. That’s why I haven’t been kicked out of the mercenary corps.”

“Seeing as our old man is holding on to a slacker like this, he must be soft-hearted, unlike his appearance. If it were me, I wouldn’t have let it go.”

“You’re the one who gets scolded by the captain more than me, aren’t you?”

“That’s what’s really strange! What am I lacking compared to this guy!”

“In the end, everything is said through the results. It means I’m better than you.”

Waver, who had made Hella furious, then said to me.

“Have you thought about the penalty for the bet?”

“Penalty?”

“We made a bet during the negotiations between the cities. The loser would help the winner anytime, anywhere.”

“……We did.”

To be honest, I had forgotten about it until now. It wasn’t a cooperation at the level of the Drexier Mercenary Corps, but a personal bet between Waver and me. At that time, I had done it just for fun.

“Well.”

And now that I thought about it, it was still vague.

“Well, I’m not trying to rush you, so think about it calmly.”

“You’re probably hoping I’ll forget about it. You’re probably thinking you shouldn’t have brought it up now, right? You have no conscience.”

“Hey, don’t slander me. What do you take me for?”

Waver was right. There was no deadline, so there was no need for me, the winner, to rack my brain over it. Although his work was a bit sloppy, there must have been a reason why Drexier was keeping him. He might be helpful later, so I decided to remember it for now.

“The support troops this time aren’t just the two of you, are they?”

“It’s a request with the entire District 17 as the background. It’s such a large-scale request, so of course not.”

“Then is Drexier also participating in this request?”

“Unfortunately, that fell through. Our old man is busy these days.”

“Since the organization has grown, the captain’s work must have increased.”

“That’s not what I mean. What was it, he said he got a call from his old friends. He didn’t tell me the details.”

When you get older, you get soaked in the memories of the past. Drexier was a mercenary who had been active in a past war, even though his dignified appearance didn’t make him look old. But the words ‘Drexier’s old acquaintances’ sounded unusual.

“Old friends…”

“They must be the people he served with in the military. That’s why the old man pulled out of such a big deal.”

If they were the old friends of a war hero, they were naturally comrades-in-arms. Their names were not to be dismissed as figures of the past. Especially if they, like Drexier, were big shots who had been hailed as war heroes. It was understandable that Drexier would put his heart and soul into contacting them.

“Instead, we’ve brought all the guys who are said to be strong, except for the old man. They won’t hold you back.”

“Then where are they, and why are only the two of you here?”

“That…”

Hella trailed off and fiddled with the back of her head. Waver answered instead of Hella, who seemed to be at a loss for words.

“They’re waiting upstairs. Actually, we did come to meet you, but…”

A hint of embarrassment flashed in Waver’s slitted eyes.

“I felt like I would get indigestion if I stayed there.”

(End of Chapter)