This place, where government agencies stretched out like a long snake, was the Sejong Government Complex.
If one went far beyond the complex to a secluded area, there was a little-known annex.
It was the Mercenary Support Agency.
A place that received more funding than what was written on paper.
A place with secretive departments unknown to the general public.
A place where ominous rumors said even the cafeteria aunties came from intelligence agencies.
A place that held the frightening truth that most tabloid rumors about it were actually understatements.
And in the Mercenary Communications Team of the Mercenary Public Relations Division of the Mercenary Management Bureau of that Mercenary Support Agency—
“Damn it! Why can’t he understand what I’m saying?!”
A civil servant in a pink cardigan was throwing a fit.
“Minyeong, what’s wrong this time?”
“Noooo! You know the leader of the Red Moon Mercenary Corps? He’s complaining about whether they failed to get into the support program. If they failed, it’s because they deserved to fail! And he should complain to the department in charge, so why is he taking it out on me?!”
Lee Minyeong smacked the mini punching bag attached to her desk.
The team leader merely shook his head as if he was used to it.
Bzzzz—
Just then, her smartphone vibrated.
After checking the screen, Lee Minyeong’s expression brightened beautifully.
“This is Administrative Officer Lee Minyeong of the Communications Team! Vice-Captain Ha Iseon, how have you been?”
**
Park Yeongjun, the leader of the Mercenary Communications Team, had a lot on his mind these days.
Frequent overtime and overwork, pressure to produce results, pressure coming down from very high places. A nitpicking superior and a subordinate who was endlessly flighty…
Everything was a problem.
But especially Lee Minyeong, who had gone out grinning to take a phone call.
She was that flighty subordinate.
‘Where did a kid like that even come from?’
The mercenary business was one of the nation’s highest-priority projects.
Hunters were practically one-man warlords.
And mercenaries were the last resort to avoid being swayed by those hunters.
Naturally, massive investment had been poured into the Mercenary Agency, which oversaw the project.
Not only an enormous budget, but also outstanding talent had been assigned to the agency.
The saying that even a stray cat passing by was from the Intelligence Bureau was by no means a joke.
In that respect, Lee Minyeong was a special case.
She seemed a little loose in the head, was emotional, had no sense of hierarchy, and was extremely noisy to boot.
She was completely different from the existing Mercenary Agency employees, who were stiff as boards.
‘Could she be the Director’s daughter?’
It was a natural thought.
“Team Leader! I’m going on a business trip!”
“A business trip? Now? All of a sudden? There wasn’t any plan for one.”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Vice-Captain Ha Iseon of the Claymore Mercenary Corps says he needs to meet urgently!”
“Why?”
“Good question… Maybe a date?”
Team Leader Park Yeongjun dragged both hands down his face.
She had come trotting over to him, so he wondered what she had to say, and then this was what came out of her mouth.
“Are you saying you’re going on a date with a man during work hours?”
“Ah! That’s not it… He didn’t really tell me the reason. He just said it was something incredibly important…”
“You have no idea what it might be?”
“None at all. I asked too, but he only said it was hard to explain over the phone and that we should meet in person.”
“That’s unusual.”
Park Yeongjun tapped the table with his fingertips.
External communications for the Claymore Mercenary Corps were handled exclusively by Captain Pyo Yeojeong.
The half-joking reason was that if she sent out the social misfits under her command, there was no telling what kind of accident they might cause.
The same applied even when she was absent.
They would wait for Captain Pyo to return if they had to, but no one else would step forward.
‘But Vice-Captain Ha Iseon contacted us directly…’
Had something unexpected happened?
He’d heard Captain Pyo had been seriously injured. Had her condition worsened?
Or was there a major internal problem?
There was no clear reason he could point to.
It seemed they had indeed been too neglectful of Claymore recently.
They needed to check.
“By the way, why won’t Vice-Captain Iseon ask me on a date?”
“……What?”
“No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange. Isn’t it about time?”
“…Because you’re acting like that.”
“Team Leader!”
“Fine, fine. I get it, so go on your business trip. You’ll be back today, right?”
“It’s already three in the afternoon…”
“Tsk. Once you’re done, clock out from the field. And don’t be late to work tomorrow.”
“Nuh-uh.”
Lee Minyeong shook her head from side to side.
“…What do you want me to do?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“You’re saying you’ll return the day after tomorrow?”
“Mm-hm.”
“What are you talking about? How long could it possibly take to get from here to the mercenary office?”
“He’s in Gyeongju. He said he’s recuperating in his hometown.”
“Why would Chief Lee Minyeong go on a two-day, one-night business trip just because Vice-Captain Ha Iseon is in Gyeongju? Come to work normally tomorrow morning.”
“Tch.”
Lee Minyeong pretended to sulk.
Team Leader Park Yeongjun expertly ignored her and delivered his instructions.
“Go and check his condition carefully. If he’s recuperating, the shock must have been fairly severe. Make note of anything unusual.”
“Oh! Could it be that he needs my comfort?”
“He may need comfort, but it doesn’t necessarily have to come from you, Chief Minyeong.”
Lee Minyeong acted as if she hadn’t heard Park Yeongjun’s last words and began preparing to leave.
“Chief Minyeong!”
“Yes?”
“That, uh… Don’t get too attached to a mercenary. You know how it is. The average lifespan of mercenaries.”
“…Hehe, I’ll be back.”
Lee Minyeong, who had been scurrying out, suddenly stopped and turned around.
“Team Leader!”
“What now?”
“Do I look pretty today? This cardigan isn’t tacky, is it? Should I change clothes before I go?”
“Just go already!”
***
A black sedan drove in along the rough road.
The person who stepped out was a woman dressed stylishly.
Her appearance did not suit this rugged neighborhood at all.
“Vice-Captain! It’s been so long!!!”
“It’s the first time since we saw each other in the field last time, isn’t it?”
“That’s why you should contact me more often. I’ll forget what your voice sounds like. Have you been well? How have you been these days? I heard about the 20th floor… Are you hurt anywhere?”
Lee Minyeong greeted me energetically.
I already felt tired.
She looked perfectly normal on the outside, so why was she like this?
Half-closing my ears, I led her to the smithy.
“Wow! The building is so pretty! Can I take a picture and post it?”
“It’s an illegal structure.”
“Gasp!”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t reported this place either.
It didn’t matter.
This country’s administrative system wasn’t strict enough to nitpick me building something on my own land.
If someone took issue with it, I could just ask Administrative Officer Lee Minyeong to cover for me.
“Woooow… I’ve never been to a smithy before. Wow, that hammer is huge!”
Would that work?
I didn’t know. Let’s not worry about things that hadn’t happened yet.
I also had something to showcase right away.
I had made plenty of rings, too.
I should show her a demonstration immediately.
Thinking that, the moment I picked up the rifle leaning against the wall—
Click—
“……Vice-Captain Iseon?”
The muzzle of a gun was aimed at my head.
“Vice-Captain, why might you be picking up a gun all of a sudden?”
“I suppose I should have explained first.”
“Yes, please explain first. And put the gun down.”
“Mm… Minyeong, how about we both put ours down?”
“If it were some other trick, I’d play along and pretend not to notice, but don’t try that kind of nonsense.”
I gripped the rifle even tighter.
The more I did, the more Lee Minyeong’s aim moved toward my forehead.
“I heard you must be having a hard time because of the 20th floor raid. But it would be problematic if you relieved stress like this.”
“That’s not it. My mind is healthier than ever.”
“You know everyone says they’re normal when they go to a psychiatrist, right?”
“But I really am.”
I took one step toward her.
Lee Minyeong, wary of me, took one step back.
“Put the gun down. This is your final warning.”
“Is that so……? Waaah!!!”
I shouted like I was trying to scare a child and charged at Lee Minyeong.
At the same time, Lee Minyeong’s pistol spat fire.
Ting, ting—! Ting-ding-ding—!
Of course, there was no chance of me being hit by bullets.
The mana barrier that activated in an instant blocked every threat.
Only blue dots appeared and vanished on the automatic barrier.
I felt no impact at all.
I had enough leisure to watch as Lee Minyeong’s tightly narrowed eyes filled with astonishment.
“Uh…?”
I threw the rifle I was holding far away.
Showing her my empty hands, I explained briefly.
“So, you’re saying it’s an automatic defensive artifact activated by mana? And you showed it to me like this?”
“I’m sorry. It’s true I was being rude, but I suddenly felt mischievous.”
“You scared me! Argh!”
Lee Minyeong, who had rushed at me, collided with the barrier and bounced off.
“Please take revenge in three minutes. This thing only turns off after the time runs out.”
“Ugh…”
“Still, you were cool. As expected of a former agent.”
“So they really are social misfits…”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, you don’t need to know!”
Lee Minyeong snapped angrily.
To placate her, I handed her one ring.
“This is a bribe. You’ve gained one bonus life, Minyeong.”
“Don’t artifacts only come from the Black Tower? What amazing request are you going to make that you’re even giving me a gift? I prefer taking things slowly and getting to know each other.”
“What are you… It’s not a gift, it’s a bribe. And it probably isn’t as precious as you’re imagining.”
“What?”
I opened a small pouch and poured out the rings.
Dozens of rings scattered across the table.
They were the ones I had made while Lee Minyeong was on her way here.
“Gasp! This many? Now that I think about it, artifacts only appear from the middle floors and above! How did you get them?”
“I made them.”
“You made them? Heeek!”
Lee Minyeong did not seem to believe me.
Thirty years had passed since the Black Tower and mana appeared.
No one had ever managed to create an artifact until now, so it was understandable.
“I’ll just show you.”
I made several mana barrier rings on the spot.
Maybe my hands had gotten used to it in the meantime, because now I could finish one ring in under ten minutes.
“Would you like to shoot again?”
“…Lend me the rifle.”
Only after Lee Minyeong conducted the rifle test I had done earlier did she acknowledge the existence of handmade artifacts.
“Other than the one I just gave you, take this one. This one has better options.”
“Thank you… By the way, did you call me all the way to Gyeongju just to give me this?”
“As if.”
It seemed it was time to get to the main point.
“I want to make a supply contract with the government.”
“A supply contract?”
“I’m thinking of supplying these rings to the government regularly. Then the government can provide these rings to the people who need them.”
“People who need them?”
“Mercenaries, vulnerable groups, I don’t care. As long as they aren’t hunters.”
Lee Minyeong nodded.
The effects this ring would bring were probably being simulated in her mind right now as well.
“But I have a condition.”
“Yes?”
“I want to set up a paper company as the ring supplier, but I don’t know how…”
“Why do you think we would know how to do that?”
“So you don’t?”
“We do.”
The only person who could make barrier rings was me.
But I could not step to the forefront.
If I did, I would be lynched by the Claymore Mercenary Corps members, who would be furious that I had awakened.
Pyo Yeojeong in particular would take the lead and stab a greatsword into my heart.
Well, even aside from that, there were many reasons to hide my identity.
I could cut off unnecessary attention, too.
And I could prevent any possible interference.
In the end, for all of this, I needed a paper company and a figurehead president prepared by the Mercenary Agency.
“Do you understand?”
“Ah! I do, so stop rushing me.”
Lee Minyeong pressed hard against her temples as if her head hurt.
“Ahhh, this is… It’s not something I can handle at my level.”
“I figured as much.”
“I’ll contact my team leader first!”
“I have video footage too, so send that along.”
Lee Minyeong returned three minutes after leaving to make the call.
“My team leader says he’s coming to Gyeongju right now!”
It was eight in the evening.