Pyo Yeojeong stared straight into my eyes.
Her lips moved.
I didn't know what would come out of that tiny mouth, and fear welled up.
"Fascinating."
"Y-yeah."
"If we had an artifact like that, climbing would be a lot easier."
"I suppose so."
"You can't make something like that?"
Saliva slid down my throat, thick and stubborn.
Was she testing me because she caught on?
No. It could be a simple question.
"...Who knows."
"Hey, have you tried?"
"I told you to stop reading those entrepreneur success stories. Ever since you became Commander, suddenly—"
"Aaaaah! Forget it! Just go learn how to do it."
"As if that would work. If I thought they'd tell me just for asking, I'd have done it long ago."
Judging by Pyo Yeojeong's attitude, she didn't seem to have figured out the truth.
Feeling the cold sweat running down me, I continued.
"Craftsmen don't usually teach their techniques easily."
"Didn't you see Mr. Bak Yeongjun earlier? I know him well."
"Ah, right."
"If I drop my name, he might just tell me the crafting secrets."
When she said that, Pyo Yeojeong giggled.
Normally, I would have retorted that it was nonsense.
And then, both she and I probably would have forgotten this day's conversation.
But this time was different.
A brilliant plan flashed through my mind like lightning.
"I'll ask him, why not. If it doesn't work, I'll ask him to get me a few rings."
"Nice. Bring them back by the boxful."
***
The meeting room inside the Mercenary Bureau, where discussions were in full swing.
Ring-ring—
The sound of a phone call broke the atmosphere.
It was the smartphone of Bak Yeongjun, who had been the Hunter Communications Team Leader at the Mercenary Bureau and was now the Chief of the Mana Artifact Development Section.
"Ah, my apologies."
It was a mistake that the usual Bak Yeongjun would never have made.
It must have been because he was worn out by the recently increasing workload.
"Hey, Chief Bak, are you struggling these days? Isn't silent mode the basic courtesy during a meeting? You think civil service is a walk in the park?"
"...Minyeong, stop."
"Tsk! Oho! 'Minyeong' to the representative? Calling me your beauty-y-y?"
Yi Minyeong rapped on the table, thump-thump.
In front of her sat a mother-of-pearl nameplate engraved with 'Representative Yi Minyeong.'
It was almost unheard of to place a mother-of-pearl nameplate in a meeting room.
It was something achievable only with considerable self-love.
But Yi Minyeong had done it.
Freedwen, a company in name only.
Representative Yi Minyeong.
To the mercenaries who knew her, it was a position where she could claim, 'Oh, I don't even know what's going on; the higher-ups told me to do it, so it just turned out this way.'
To the masses who didn't know her, she was nothing more than a suitable figurehead.
But Yi Minyeong thought it was a rather satisfying position.
"Chief Bak! Answer me, answer me! Were you wrong or were you wrong?!"
"Chief Minyeong, just because you became the representative doesn't mean I'm your subordinate."
"Hmph, yes sir."
"Anyway... I'm sorry, but I'll take this call for a moment. It's a call from the VIP."
VIP.
It was a term referring to Ha Iseon, not the President.
It was an excessive word to attach to a mere blacksmith.
But inside the Mercenary Bureau, Ha Iseon was already being called the VIP.
"But why does the Vice Commander keep communicating with the section chief? At first, he called me!"
"Minyeong, watch your words."
"Aah, when on earth will the VIP contact me... I miss my VIP."
"Why don't you call him first?"
"Should I? After all, as the representative, I can call in excellent employees, buy them meals, buy them drinks, right?"
"Really? Minyeong, how about a group dinner after work today."
"I don't want to."
The chatter that started when Chief Bak stepped away was wrapped up as he returned.
"Don't bother the VIP, Minyeong. He'll be busy from now on."
"Huh? Why, Chief?! Wasn't the first distribution batch almost finished?"
"They're adding a special design to the rings, it seems? Also, some of the existing stock became unusable, so they need to increase production too."
"Isn't that going to be really tight? We don't have much stock as it is."
"Ugh, of all times!"
Yi Minyeong pouted.
"And about the quantity for the Claymore Mercenary Group—"
"What did he say? Is he supplying them directly?"
"We'll have to go with us selecting and giving it to them. Well, they're the number one mercenary group in the country, so the justification is sufficient, right?"
"I'll prepare it that way!"
"Shall we also coordinate with Claymore to hold a handover ceremony?"
"Nice. Let's set the stage so that Claymore makes the first climb after equipping the artifacts too. That paints a better picture."
"Ooh! Can I go to the ceremony in person?"
***
What the hell is this.
I'd heard roughly how things were going.
I'd heard that when Chief Bak was a team leader, he'd submitted a proposal, gotten hit with a "Then you do it" punch, and had dumped the most tiring-looking tasks onto Yi Minyeong in the process.
Knowing only that, I'd just been hammering away diligently.
"Alright, taking the picture! Smile!"
What was this flashy event hall.
And what was this huge crowd.
I hadn't heard about any of this.
I had no complaints about Yi Minyeong coming.
It was just that such a grand event was a bit overwhelming.
Right now, on the other side of us, a commotion was breaking out over something called a mana barrier demonstration performance.
"What is all this."
I whispered quietly to Yi Minyeong, who was striking a pose beside me.
"It's to build up your image, Vice Commander."
"What did I do to deserve that?"
"Ehehe, shouldn't people look out for their own?"
"And when was it that you were pointing a gun at me?"
"Forget about that...!"
"We're done with the group photos! Now I'll take a picture of the two of you, the Commander and the Representative!"
"Photographer! Can the Vice Commander join in too?"
"Why am I being shoehorned in here. Just take the two of you with the Commander."
"There's no reason not to. Vice Commander, please come in too."
"Why would I..."
"Agh! Get over here!"
Yi Minyeong grabbed my arm and pulled me in.
With her in the middle, Pyo Yeojeong and I ended up standing to her left and right.
I felt her linking her arm with mine, pressing tightly against my side, one sensation after another.
"Move away. This is an official photo, isn't it."
"Hehe."
"All three of you, let's do finger hearts! Finger hearts!"
"Hearts! Vice Commander, hurry up!"
It was an utterly draining event.
We did finger hearts, and cheek hearts too.
Took commemorative photos.
Held the barrier ring handover ceremony...
Now, with only one final big event left, we were given a short break.
During the break, the members I met again were making a huge fuss.
"Your girlfriend?"
"Wow, crazy. Iseon, since when have you two been dating?"
"Please, I want a rich noona too..."
"She's just a figurehead, you know. She used to be a civil servant at the Mercenary Bureau. Didn't you know?"
"She came to the site last time too. Even then, she only had eyes for the Vice Commander, so what."
I waved my hand dismissively at those guys letting their imaginations run wild.
"She's not my girlfriend. She's just half-joking around, so don't get the wrong idea."
"Who jokes around like that? Honey was practically dripping from her eyes."
"Isn't the Vice Commander just the dense type?"
As if I didn't know.
I'd be a fucking idiot not to.
Yi Minyeong's displays of affection were so blatant that they were impossible to miss.
The problem was, I had no idea where that love was coming from.
"If the sister-in-law seriously confesses to you, would you go out with her?"
"...She's too beautiful, so it's burdensome."
"You've got it too damn good."
"The Commander is a beauty too, but you're comfortable around her."
"That's because she's family, family."
"Ah, come on, that's not how it works."
"Hey, hey, your family's coming."
Pyo Yeojeong approached, spending a busy day just like me.
It seemed participating in events really wasn't her thing.
She looked thoroughly fed up.
"Good work, Commander. The Vice Commander just said something arrogant; what should we do?"
"What did he say?"
"You know Representative Yi Minyeong? He says she's so beautiful it's burdensome."
"He says he'd turn her down even if she confessed."
"But he says the Commander is fucking comfortable to be around."
"...Just kill him."
A pack of shady bastards gathered around me.
Their snickering faces had the air of men about to do something nasty.
Just as I was feeling a genuine threat, Pyo Yeojeong blocked their path.
"Aah, we can hit him later. For now, applause for Vice Commander Ha Iseon."
"You said to kill him, and now you want us to applaud?"
"Does she mean for us to hit him with our palms?"
"We were selected for the mana barrier ring support project. They say Vice Commander Ha Iseon played a big part in it."
"M-me?"
"The Vice Commander?"
"What did Iseon do?"
Bewildered gazes poured onto me.
Of course.
Pyo Yeojeong was the one exclusively handling communications with the Mercenary Bureau.
On top of that, I'd been holed up in my hometown, using recuperation as an excuse.
"The representative over there emphasized it a lot. She said we were selected because of the Vice Commander."
"Iseon, what the hell did you do?"
"Wow, and he'd turn down a confession after this? Is he trash?"
"How about a woman who brings artifacts as a dowry."
"....?!"
My head was spinning.
I couldn't even see the members who were teasing me.
Yi Minyeong said that?
This was no ordinary matter. Couldn't this be something said to Pyo Yeojeong that might reveal my true identity?
"Yeojeong, did she really say that?"
"No, of course it's a lie. But I could just tell by looking. They say she picked us after seeing Ha Iseon's face. Tsk, anyway, everyone, applause!"
"Aah, I want to live as Ha Iseon for just a day. I want to have it all like Ha Iseon."
"Either way, I'll use it thinking it's a ring the Vice Commander gave us."
"C'mon, c'mon, applause, applause!"
Clap-clap-clap-clap.
I received applause while half out of my mind.
I was almost at the point where revealing the whole truth and getting lynched by the group would be better.
'Hm.'
Of course, that was a joke.
If that day ever came, things wouldn't end so easily.
"If you're done clapping, let's get ready. We have to climb the tower."
"""Yes ma'am—!"""
At Pyo Yeojeong's command, the members moved in unison.
It was the ceremony to cap off today's event. They were holding a climbing ceremony.
Before countless cameras, the members slid rings onto their fingers or hung them as necklaces.
The plain prototype rings and the new rings with patterns sparkled in their hands.
If they encountered a dangerous situation in the tower, both rings would activate at once.
Because the materials were cheap, the barriers would overlap and function.
To me, this was actually a favorable situation.
The mercenary group ring Pyo Yeojeong had taken would become nothing more than a tin can.
'Though it would be a bit disappointing if we encountered crises twice on a single floor.'
We're not at a level to struggle on the 11th floor.
All the mercenary group members gathered in the summoning circle of the Black Tower.
The summoning circle rippled, and our forms grew hazy.
[Multi-person challenge.]
[You have selected the 11th floor.]
[Difficulty is recommended based on the climbers' average potential.]
[Claymore Mercenary Group's recommended difficulty is Hard.]
[Hard difficulty has been automatically selected.]
I'd expected it, but I wasn't happy about it.
I gripped the warhammer pouch tightly.