episode_0279

After successfully completing the first rescue operation, we gained a considerable amount.

“We got a ship!”

The captured fishing boat cut through the gentle current, moving forward.

The Violet sailors in the wheelhouse drove the ship, brimming with joy.

It was a single fishing boat, a bit larger than the small ones we usually drove. Quite a decent haul.

“If we keep capturing them like this, we might be able to create a Violet fleet.”

The enemies we faced this time were pirates disguised as ordinary fishermen. They were a mixed group of awakened individuals and armed unawakened individuals.

They were hard to find, but once found, capturing them was easy.

Since the boat was small, taking control quickly meant a swift end.

“We can also make a decent navy now.”

A Violet muttered.

Of course, calling this a navy was no different from calling a group of armed trucks an armored division.

There were no naval cannons, depth charges, magic-tracking torpedoes, or harpoon guns to fight sea monsters, nor a ram, so a frontal assault was impossible.

Still, it wouldn’t be bad since it could be equipped with machine guns or anti-tank missiles.

Rubber boats were cheap and could be bought in large quantities, but they weren’t suitable for long-distance voyages or combat in the vast ocean.

Having a spacious ship with cabins and a kitchen would be a great advantage.

In addition, we acquired weapons and miscellaneous items that the pirates possessed.

It would be best to dispose of the useful items and use the decent daily necessities myself.

“Here, I’ve brought them as promised. Check for yourself.”

After the hostage rescue operation ended, we contacted them near the harbor and met with the academy official who arrived by boat.

“Excuse me, according to the contract, there were three students to be rescued. Where is one of them?”

“Right in front of you, there it is.”

As soon as the academy person asked, I replied.

I pointed to two students weakly sobbing under blankets and a body bag. No sooner had I finished speaking than the students’ sobs grew a little louder.

According to what we heard from the pirates, they attempted to abduct the target, not knowing she was an awakened individual, which led to a struggle, and she was injured by a knife in the process.

It seems she didn’t receive proper treatment and ended up like that.

It’s regrettable for a life to end so meaninglessly.

I sensed the other party’s discomfort. Was it due to displeasure over the student’s death?

While we explained the situation, the so-called academy official pretended to listen carelessly, then spoke.

“However, the contract clearly states that all personnel must be rescued. We cannot pay the full amount as is. You will have to pay a penalty.”

I pretended to adjust my skull mask, while also adjusting the tone of my voice changer.

To a lower, more intimidating tone.

“Personally, I express my regret. However, it was already too late. The child was already in that state when we arrived.”

Ha, look at these guys. Was it about money after all?

I also did this job for fun and money, but these guys are a bit strange. An academy student should be an important person, yet

after being rescued as requested, they’re not concerned about the student’s well-being at all, only talking about money.

“That child died a day ago, and I brought them here within 6 hours of receiving the request. I did my absolute best. So, should I have resurrected her?”

The skull-masked crew members subtly rested their hands on their sword hilts. As we pushed them with an intimidating posture, they took a step back.

“Understood. We apologize for the oversight. Here… the payment has been deposited.”

After checking the amount deposited into the account, I needed to tie up the remaining issues.

“What about them?”

When I pointed to the prisoners, the academy officials replied indifferently.

“Handle them as you see fit.”

They collected the body and, with the students aboard, departed.

“Are those people from a normal academy?”

“Seriously. They’re suspicious guys.”

Actually, if they were ordinary people, they would have probably commissioned a clan first.

To intentionally commission a fixer from an anonymous network, there are two possibilities: either they lack funds, or they have personal reasons that require discreet handling.

They called it an ordinary field trip, but there might be a more complex underlying story.

Well, it doesn’t matter for now. After all, we confirmed they were the kidnapped students through several conversations and information cross-checks.

Unless another conspiracy was involved, there was no need to investigate further.

“Alright, shall we go take on the next request!”

To get accustomed to ship steering and operation, we drove the ship far out to sea, then dealt with the surviving pirates.

“Did you get all their computers and phones?”

“Yeah, let’s send them to the broker and have them analyze what’s necessary.”

Thinking there might be information worth selling, I handed the phones over to the broker, then went in search of the next request.

**

Restraidna’s 01 Underground Armory, located somewhere in the south, was cool and dark.

The faint lights embedded here and there weren’t enough for unawakened ordinary people, but they were sufficient for awakened individuals.

The space, excavated entirely from granite bedrock, was grand enough to accommodate a high-rise apartment complex.

Its scale, excessively large and tall for a secret bunker,

and the bridge crossing above it, made the two men and women walking feel overwhelmed by the blurred scenery stretching out below in the darkness.

The purpose for which this place was built was singular.

“Matian, Louisa.”

As a heavy bass reverberated, they turned their heads.

The suited giant standing before them turned around.

“Since you’ve entered for the first time today, pay close attention. As heirs apparent to the family, engrave this clearly in your minds.”

Cordo pointed beyond the faint shadows, into the deep, dark abyss.

“This is the family’s cherished wish.”

As lights illuminated one by one from the left side of the floor, the two individuals from Restraidna briefly gasped.

Beneath the brightening illumination, a gigantic form slowly revealed itself, lying dormant.

Its grandeur was overwhelming even to them, who had already heard the premonition and prepared themselves.

“Father, is that what you showed Sebastian…”

“Yes, it’s the Colossus. The one you might even get to pilot.”

In the underground hangar’s assembly facility, reminiscent of a shipyard’s dock, an unfinished metal giant, 120 meters tall with its frame exposed, lay quietly dormant, shrouded in darkness.

The dream and hope of an old, wayward prince.

The family’s cherished wish, conceived by Jemont Restraidna, the last royal of a fallen kingdom, and passed down through generations, had finally materialized.

“Sebastian was weak. Even after entering the academy, he only learned bad things from his mother and was full of hot air. In the end, he only showed pathetic results. You must not be like that.”

Excellent awakened blood, but merely a sentimental woman, nothing more.

Cordo felt nothing but scorn for his third wife, who had hanged herself more than ten years ago.

The two men and women inwardly scoffed at their foolish sibling, who had fallen out of their father’s favor, but they didn’t show it, standing calmly and listening intently to their father’s words.

“Foolish mistakes will not be tolerated. You must always be at the forefront. Never show your backs.”

“Yes, we will certainly do so!”

Cordo’s gaze turned to the young man who replied, Matian.

“And Matian, I’m warning you, use your schemes moderately.”

“Father, if I have done anything wrong…”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know you contacted HR to fill Sebastian’s guard knights with idiots.

I admit, trickery is also a method. But the situation has escalated too much. The family’s prestige has been damaged. You know that, don’t you? You’ve always been like this. Obsessed with what’s in front of you, unable to see what’s more important. From now on, act with a long-term perspective.”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

As Matian, intimidated by his father’s threatening gaze, cowered, the woman standing beside him barely managed to suppress a laugh.

“The guidance ends here; the rest will be handled by that fellow. Pay close attention.”

The chief secretary was approaching from a distance.

Cordo gestured for his children to go elsewhere. Once the heir candidates disappeared below the dock, guided by the staff member, he finally conversed with the chief secretary.

“What’s going on? Did another accident happen at the joint research lab?”

He already knew, having been reported, that two or three people had died and been carried out while researching the strange artifacts left by the apostles.

At a time when the mages were silent again, research would have been hampered without the prisoners from MagnaVis.

But, had another variable emerged?

“That’s not it. However, as you can see, this person keeps trying to contact you.”

Checking his phone, Cordo understood why the chief secretary, who had been waiting upstairs, had rushed to see him.

A troublesome individual, an annoying VIP difficult to handle from below, had made contact.

But it was too sudden. Why this person?

“Huh, this leech-like pervert, bothering me again. How did he even get my number?”

“Since three hours ago. He’s been persistently contacting us, asking to be connected with the Commander.”

The chief secretary carefully opened his mouth.

“His purpose seems to be related to our joint research lab.”

The phone rang one more time. Cordo suppressed his irritation, took a breath, then tapped the screen.

-Hello! Chairman! No, General Commander, it’s been a long time. Are you well? I wanted to inquire about a business collaboration…

On the other end of the line, a voice as excited as a child expecting a gift rang out.

“Yes, it’s me. Chairman Raihan. State your business concisely.”

-I propose collaboration between your company and ours.

“Collaboration, you say? That’s sudden. Chairman, what exactly is Laplaxiya…”

To his disbelief, the word uttered like a bomb from the other end almost made Cordo crush his phone.

-Code Omega! Why didn’t you call us?

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. This is excessively rude…”

-I heard you captured an Apostle! Shouldn’t you be consulting with us then? Those foolish Federation guys will just fumble around. If the academy city’s top researchers were to join…

Cordo looked at his chief secretary with a gaze demanding an explanation. The chief secretary mouthed silently.

‘Information seems to have leaked. We are currently investigating.’

-With our company’s technological prowess, we could take several steps ahead in analyzing, understanding, and interpreting the Apostle in cooperation with your company! So…

Cordo growled, cutting Raihan off.

“Raihan, you piece of scrag’s dung. You nauseating slug that should be salted. How did you find out? Policy Cooperation Office? Or Strategic Intelligence Department? I don’t know which department it was, but I clearly told you not to release the shapeshifters. Does that head of yours, which you call genius, only think about dissecting monsters?”

-Calm down, Your Excellency. No, Your Grace, Archduke Arnor! The process isn’t important. What’s important is creating results through mutual understanding and cooperation from an equal standing. To play a win-win game…

“Equal?”

The commander’s scoff, seized by disbelief, echoed through the hangar before fading.

“Do you actually think your company and my family are ‘equal’ entities right now? Don’t be mistaken. Have you already forgotten the debt you owe us?

It hasn’t even been twenty years since we mediated when you were caught grave robbing in the Cascadia Cemetery, almost starting a war.

Listen carefully: I don’t care what kind of damnable shit you do in your own corner, whether you’re puzzling with humans and monsters, or tearing apart commoners’ bodies.

Just don’t stretch those filthy, grimy hands over here.”

-That’s that, and this is this. Think rationally. Restraidna has no other choice! You’ve already refused cooperation with the Foundation, so what can you possibly do with the Federal Congress? In the end, you’ll come looking for us…

“There are plenty of people besides you. Don’t contact me like this again, Chairman Raihan.”

Cordo, who had mercilessly hung up the phone, handed it to his chief secretary and grumbled.

‘That crazy old mage, how could he even think of collaborating with such a lunatic?’

It was truly absurd. He acknowledged their products and technological achievements, but actively joining hands with such a dirty fellow for technological cooperation?

Cordo didn’t like these deformed twins who had split from Luminaxa.

Their often-revealed political leanings and private tastes were utterly grotesque to him.

“If we give the Apostle to this madman, there’s no telling what kind of accident he’ll cause. Thoroughly re-examine security. By the way, was it Professor Sturges? It’s a shame he’s gone missing. He would have been useful if we’d brought him before the Apostle.”

“Don’t worry. The composition of the research team to be deployed will proceed as planned. We have remaining personnel from MagnaVis, and we are recruiting talents from various academies and universities. Aegis Academy refused, but… there will be no hindrance to the research.”

Cordo gazed at the iron giant sleeping in the shadows. To complete this metal idol for the war that would end everything, understanding the Apostle was absolutely essential.

“Of course it must be so.”

Restraidna’s Colossus, embodying its long-held resentment, lay silently, awaiting only the day of its completion.

Dreaming only of the day when mass-produced Colossi would stride across the land, the day they would shatter the world’s framework.

**

About two weeks had passed since I started my new hobby. I loosely handled midterms, visited Ariel, and did various other things.

“Work comes and goes.”

Hostage rescues and requests to recover captured ships were more frequent than expected.

Perhaps the anonymous clan name we’d adopted gained some recognition, as there were now cases where clients commissioned us through a broker.

This time, the mission was to secure and ransack a pirate ship operating in a specific sea area, then retrieve information.

“The ship’s a bit big.”

The previous ones we dealt with were at most yacht or fishing boat level, but this time it was an armed merchant ship. The weight and length of the ship were different.

The salty air and waves were a bit tiresome, but relieving midterm study stress through healthy combat activities was quite beneficial.

“From the description alone, it’s no different from a warship.”

“Ship’s location?”

According to the information, the last known coordinates were here.

This time, it was purely an elimination mission. No need to worry about hostages.

The Violets dispersed into the sea once again.

The black and blue ocean stretched endlessly, but by deploying dozens of Violets per sector to cover a wide area, something would eventually turn up. We just needed to find the cargo ship.

“Looks like that’s it!”

A hang glider, which had been circling the sky tediously, detected a long-streaked wake.

Perhaps because I’d been driving ships so much, I could slowly see something.

“It’s them!”

The cargo ship visible beyond the horizon wasn’t clear even with my magic-enhanced vision, so I pulled out my binoculars and saw the vessel from the mission brief.

The ship was moving slowly.

“It’s ambiguous to deploy motorboats.”

The cargo ship was enormous. We didn’t know the enemy’s numbers. A careless entry would lead to significant damage. We needed to confirm even a little information before proceeding.

“Let’s wait until dark and then go in via aerial infiltration!”

As dusk fell, Violets began appearing one by one around the hang glider that had been quietly following from a distance.

Aided by gravity, we spread our wingsuits and swiftly approached the ship.

Dozens of black Violets flapped.

On the approaching ship, armed crew members who had been on guard belatedly looked surprised and pointed at us.

We deployed parachutes, preparing to land on the ship’s deck.

-Clack!

At that moment, the boxes stacked on the ship opened. Several cold muzzles emerged.

“Gasp! Yikes! It’s anti-aircraft guns! Be careful!”

-Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!

Indeed, these guys aren’t ordinary pirates. Automated turrets, no less.

Beams of light shooting up towards us. We flew, performing evasive maneuvers. Bullets whizzed past our ears, barely missing.

“Shriek! Careful! Careful!”

“Don’t use bombs! The ship might get destroyed.”

Dozens of Violets spun precariously around the ship. As the firepower was dispersed, some deployed their parachutes and dove into the water.

“Climb up!”

They swam agilely, approaching the hull. Holding axes or daggers in both hands, they infused them with appropriate magic.

They embedded them into the hull and moved, like mountaineers climbing an ice wall with ice axes.

-Clang! Thud!

A pirate poked his head over the railing and met our eyes.

“Watch out! These bastards are coming from underwater too!”

Too late. While attention was diverted to the sky, the underwater infiltration team had already boarded the deck.

“Aaaargh!”

Thirty minutes later, another ship became ours.

“Good pirates win!”

It’s all over. We just need to deliver the information on this ship to the client.

The captured ships were gradually increasing. Now that we had accumulated a fleet, we decided to quit being pirates and become a navy.

“I wonder if there’s any good work out there?”

Like monster hunting.