Chapter 144 : Unexpected News
“……”
At Elliot’s confirmation, I swallowed the many words that were welling up inside me. I had hoped my guess was right, but now that he had confirmed it, I felt a surge of emotion. Where in the world was the crest on the pendant the same as the pattern in the photo?
It was the only trace that had come out after completely turning District 17 upside down. If I had just conducted a normal investigation, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make the connection.
As if he had read the complicated emotions on my face, Elliot made an excuse.
“I told you that everyone has their own use. It’s just that I didn’t have a talent for intrigue.”
I think it’s a matter of sincerity, not talent… but if he says so. I was the one who was disappointed, so I suppressed my emotions.
“I found it in the prayer room of the guys called the Guardians of the Dawn.”
I explained everything I had found out to Elliot. Elliot listened silently. He pricked up his ears as if he didn’t want to miss a single word, and even held his breath as he listened.
“So that’s how it was. A cult that had been kicked out of an external city and had returned. I thought it was strange. I had been acting like them and had been putting up the crest of the pendant. It’s impossible not to stand out, right? Then at least one fellow believer should have appeared, but they were all fakes. So they weren’t in this city in the first place.”
“……”
Isn’t that because of your devastating memory and intrigue skills? Even if he had met someone who knew about the Guardians of the Dawn, he would have just thought they were a similar group because the crest was different. If not, many players who were crazy about such hidden backstories would have released the related settings in the community early on.
“Thank you, thanks to you, I will be able to fulfill a long-held wish.”
It was obvious what his wish was.
“Revenge?”
“That’s right.”
Of course. Elliot had shown an abnormal hostility towards those who claimed to be fellow believers. If he had a good relationship with the Guardians of the Dawn, he wouldn’t have resorted to violence.
“I took the holy blood that those guys talk about. I don’t remember it well, but in terms of timing, it was probably in their early days, that is, before they were kicked out of this city.”
It’s easy to be mistaken by his youthful appearance, but Elliot was not young. I don’t know his exact age because he hasn’t revealed it, but just by looking at his career, which was worthy of being called a veteran of the industry, he was definitely not my age.
“At that time, their proselytizing was not as peaceful as it is now. They forcibly injected the holy blood after kidnapping.”
“The reason they were kicked out of the city must be related to that.”
“Yes, if it had been a normal kidnapping and labor exploitation, the Public Security Bureau would have turned a blind eye. But those guys mass-produced psychics.”
It was strange to say that kidnapping and labor exploitation were normal, but that’s how this city was. Just looking at the game FP, there was an event where you were kidnapped by a black mage as an experimental subject.
“The effect of the holy blood was also more unstable than what you said now. The ability went berserk from time to time, so it was no different from a living bomb. It would have been enough for the city government to feel it was a nuisance.”
“You’re a drunkard, but you don’t go berserk or anything.”
“I’m suppressing the impulse with intoxication.”
I thought he was just a drunkard, but was there a reason?
“Of course, I also drink because I like alcohol.”
……It would have been better if he hadn’t added the last part.
“But my situation has nothing to do with you, does it? I answered because you asked.”
“You’re being sly.”
The hidden backstory of the character Elliot. It was interesting, but in reality, it was a situation that had no meaning to me. If it were a player who was crazy about such side stories, they would have been excited and would have immediately posted it on the community, but I was not.
The purpose of my playing FP was different from that. Now that it was reality, it was even more so. The reason I had listened and played along was.
“Your grudge is none of my business, but the organization called the Guardians of the Dawn is now my enemy too, right?”
Due to the nature of the industry, it was a daily occurrence to be hostile to a specific organization in the course of a request. But just as you don’t resent a weapon for stabbing you in a fight, the same goes for a contractor. Normally, it was rare for a personal grudge to be formed against me after a request was over.
But the Guardians of the Dawn were a genuine cult. It was too much to expect them to have the average mindset of the industry. Especially since a missionary was a rare talent for them.
“That’s why you told me your story in detail, right? Didn’t you want this result from the beginning?”
“I won’t deny it.”
Looking at their proselytizing methods, the clash between me and them was a foregone conclusion. Elliot, the victim, must have guessed that things would turn out this way.
“You were also testing me, in a way. To see if I was a skilled person who could lend a hand in your revenge.”
“Yes, and you were more outstanding than I thought. To the point where I wonder if you are the prophet that the great one has sent me.”
“Can’t you stop with that great one, whatever it is? You said it was all an act.”
He must have thought that even just hooking me was a big harvest. His collecting my stories at Cromwell’s office must have been a part of that. But since I had even brought in Sylvester, it was something for Elliot to cheer about.
“Of course, I will definitely pay the price for the favor you have done me. The personal details of my acquaintance, the Greenwood member.”
“Add one more thing to that.”
“Hmm, changing the terms is not something we agreed on.”
“I will actively cooperate in your revenge.”
To be precise, it would be in the form of him participating in my request.
“Bringing in Sylvester was my achievement, so I think I can make this much of a demand.”
It was annoying that he had hidden his intention to drag me into his revenge. However, from what I had heard so far, the ‘Guardians of the Dawn’ case was undoubtedly the core quest of the character Elliot.
In the game FP, if you solved the core quests of NPCs, you could recruit them as companions. Without going far, the case related to the Mage Tower of the ‘wanderer’ Colin Sieger was such a case.
Elliot was a capable person with powerful abilities and a lot of experience, except for his personality, so there was a high possibility that he would be helpful in the future. Of course, apart from him, I also had my own schemes.
‘They said that the holy blood is likely to be a byproduct of an advanced artifact.’
Although it was lumped together as an artifact, it was the same as saying that its identity was unknown. However, there was a plausible content in the investigation results that Colin had delivered to me.
Although it was mostly a story that was grasping at straws, the conclusion was this. Surprisingly, many cults had pointed to one artifact as proof of divinity.
‘The Fruit of the Holy Spirit.’
Its effect was the awakening of potential. I wondered what the awakening of potential was, but I had recently experienced a case that corresponded to this.
‘The holy blood was like that.’
The holy blood had awakened an ordinary person into a psychic. It was an effect that perfectly matched the expression ‘awakening of potential’.
‘It’s worth a shot.’
If the artifact that the Guardians of the Dawn possessed was a fragment of divinity, it would be a jackpot, and even if not, they were an enemy that had to be eliminated for the success of the request.
“It makes sense. State the additional price you want.”
“A contact number is not enough. Pave the way for me to rendezvous with your acquaintance, the Greenwood member.”
“That’s not a difficult task.”
It’s good to find out his personal details. Whether he will be cooperative or not is a separate story. It wouldn’t be strange for him to be wary of me coming to find him. If Elliot introduced me, it would be possible to prevent any unnecessary trouble that might arise.
Elliot looked to the side and put the glass he had been drinking on the counter.
“Although I have paid the price, I have been indebted for a long time. I will entrust the brokerage of this request to you, brother.”
“I won’t refuse.”
Cromwell grinned. It was a request where the manpower had become insufficient due to an unforeseen situation. I had recruited a talent to fill the manpower gap, Cromwell had succeeded in brokering Elliot as he had wished, and Elliot was able to carry out his revenge.
It was a conversation where everyone had gained their own benefits.
‘But there is one thing I’m worried about.’
I had seen the organization name ‘Guardians of the Dawn’ in the game. But I was still confused as to whether these guys were the same organization as the ones I knew.
‘For now, the fact that psychics are their main force is as I know… but their strength wasn’t this great.’
The guys in the game had not been able to overcome the inherent limitations of psychics. Although there was a story that it was suspicious that they kept bringing in those rare psychics from somewhere. So I had thought that they had been scamming people, saying that if they had a strong faith while proselytizing, they could gain new power.
To think that there was a means to actually mass-produce psychics.
‘The existence of the holy blood has made it different from the setting I know.’
Early on, I had prevented the scheduled war between Gellerg City and Pershia and had experienced many ripple effects with my own body. Then would this change end with the strengthening of the power of the organization called the Guardians of the Dawn?
It would be a relief if it did… but honestly, my luck was not on the good side.
‘But since I’ve brought in Elliot and Sylvester, it should be at a level that can be solved with a little bit of hardship.’
It was a few days after that that Milina had called me urgently.
***
“There’s a problem.”
Milina’s call was sudden. The atmosphere was heavier than when she had informed me that Poldon and his subordinates had clashed with the Guardians of the Dawn. The fact that she wanted to meet me in person right away was like that. It meant that the news was that heavy.
“Are the Guardians of the Dawn finally going to launch an all-out war?”
“It would be better if that were the case. We could just crush them.”
The reason Sylvester had been in a difficult situation was because of the special situation of having to block external checks. It was absurd for a mere cult to be a match for a megacorp. If Claire mobilized her personnel without being cautious, the Guardians of the Dawn would have no way to withstand it.
In that sense, an all-out war might have been what Sylvester had secretly wanted, even if I hadn’t advised it early on. I had also heard that they were already in the process of hiring several contractors after testing them.
But for the atmosphere to be this serious. Perhaps something that the Guardians of the Dawn had been preparing while being quiet had caught them off guard.
“The Mad House has stepped in.”
“……”
Should I say it caught me off guard? This was close to dropping a nuclear bomb. The weight that the name Mad House carried was like that.
“That’s too out of the blue.”
“It’s the same for us.”
Of course. The matter of sweeping away the mediocre gangs of District 17 had led to a dispute with a cult. This was within the expected range. The participation of the Mad House was a bolt from the blue, literally, where it was difficult to grasp the cause and effect.
“Did the Guardians of the Dawn make a request to the Mad House?”
“It’s not a request. The news is that the leader will join the Mad House as a member.”
“……”
Was this the reason why the Guardians of the Dawn had been suspiciously quiet for so long? If it was true, there was no need to be obsessed with a useless dispute. This news alone would turn the tide.
“How are the newly joined contractors doing?”
“There’s a lot of agitation. Some of them have already expressed their intention to pull out, even if it means paying a penalty, or have requested a renegotiation including a revision of the reward. Of course, this is not a big problem. What’s important is the changed attitude of the top management of the head office.”
Milina drank plain water as if to soothe her burning stomach and continued.
“There is an opinion that although business expansion is good, there is no need to take unnecessary risks.”
“It’s not really something to worry about that much. The Mad House is a loose group. They don’t care at all about what kind of grudges their individual members get into and get into disputes.”
I myself had already fought with two of them, Buggy Vile and Bianca Melbrick. I had even taken the life of one of them. But the Mad House had not been hostile to me at the corporate level.
Whether the leader joined the Mad House or not, it had no practical effect on this dispute.
“The head office is also aware of that. That’s why they said it was an unnecessary risk.”
It meant that although they knew it was just a groundless fear, they were being careful in case it wasn’t. The acquisition of the weapons market in District 17 and a dispute with the Mad House. From the company’s perspective, the risk was overwhelmingly greater than the return.
Although Claire had a lot at stake in this business expansion, the other executives did not.
“But to be honest, that’s your problem.”
Although it was shocking news, if you think about it, it was like that.
“Since a variable has occurred, we will have to renegotiate the contract terms. But silencing the noise within the company is your job, not mine. Above all, have you ever thought that I might pull out after hearing about the Mad House?”
“I know that you, Allen, have already completed two requests against the Mad House. Once can be a coincidence, but twice is not. We want to bet on you, Allen.”
Milina held out a new contract.
“State the conditions you want. We will accommodate you as much as possible.”