Ch.275Work Record #039 – A Pointless Dinner Appointment (1)

There are certain privileges that come with living as a freelancer. The more companies that officially recognize you, the more privileges you gain, and once you’re a freelancer certified by four companies, you can receive VIP treatment almost anywhere.

However, this small privilege I’m currently enjoying is something that even freelancers recognized by several mega-corporations cannot experience. A virtual screen communication request appeared in my field of vision, ringing.

Receiving communication requests via virtual screen was a basic function. After dealing with the now-nameless terrorist, I had spent the entire day with Eve, who was still sleeping beside me.

So it wasn’t about some cheesy “privilege of my Eve contacting me.” The name on the screen belonged to someone I knew well. Someone I knew well, yet didn’t know well.

The virtual screen displayed the name Günter Leithammer. It was Mr. Günter. He had told me not to refuse his dinner invitation last time. I slipped out of Eve’s embrace and sat up against the headboard.

I connected the call with a sense of familiarity and anticipation, along with a bit of guilt and… that feeling I always had with Belwether, hoping someone would look at me with pride. He was, after all, Belwether.

I don’t mean his power was imperial. Mr. Günter’s hatred became Belwether’s hatred, and Mr. Günter’s driving force became Belwether’s driving force.

That’s why I believed the hatred toward mutants also came from within him. Regardless of his hatred, Mr. Günter was also someone who could captivate people.

Everything he said seemed to contain truth. Every action appeared to be without the slightest hesitation. Regardless of whether believing him was right or wrong, he was someone who had already succeeded in changing the world once.

Beyond all that, he was also one of the few people I’d met in my life who shared my mental imagery. Profound hatred. He hated the world as much as I hated Walter and John Rutherford.

Negatively speaking, it was using hatred as a foundation for empathy; positively speaking, he was like a father figure. Was he an old generation to be replaced, an enemy, a pioneer, or a father figure? I’ll postpone that answer.

Instead, I cleared my throat once to check if my voice was hoarse and connected the call. As always, his voice carried a vitality that seemed to have forgotten age.

“Were you sleeping in, Metzgerhund? You took quite a while to answer.”

“Freelancers can set their own holidays, and my holiday is when my lover has a day off. Are you calling about our dinner appointment?”

The communication channel was still labeled Channel 1. It felt strange to have such casual conversation on the highest security channel.

Yet it made sense. After all, it involved the schedule of Belwether’s chairman—a nemesis to nationalists and someone envied by other mega-corporations aiming for the top of the industry.

“You remember well. Your lover… who might that be? When I observed you, there were quite a few women around. I trust you’re not living recklessly since becoming a freelancer.”

Once again, his words came like those of a father. I felt that same sensation as when he taught me how to throw a harpoon. So I answered with a light laugh.

“She’s someone who makes me not even want to live recklessly. Rather than explaining, I’d like to bring her to our dinner appointment, if that’s alright?”

“Well… if she’s someone you can bring before me, that wouldn’t be bad. But… do you really believe the dinner appointment is just a dinner appointment?”

“Of course not. You want to see what I have to say after giving me time to cool my head, since I might not have made proper judgments at that moment due to the whirlwind of thoughts, right?”

I could almost see Mr. Günter raising his eyebrow. He asked as if puzzled.

His voice didn’t sound incredulous. It wasn’t a voice that thought I was living in ignorant love. Not at all.

“Then why are you saying you’ll bring your lover?”

“I want to emphasize that it’s still a dinner meeting. That we won’t become enemies, and that we’re close enough to show each other our most important people.”

Instead of Mr. Günter’s voice, I heard the faint howling of a beast. No, it still sounded human. If I were to speak of that matter, it would sound like a beast’s howl.

“Your ambition has grown, Arthur. You’re saying something that might seem hostile, then confirming you’re not an enemy. Unconsciously revealing it would be clumsy, but revealing it beforehand is…”

“Polite, I suppose. Even if not, I believe you’ll at least consider that I wanted it to appear that way. And it’s not such a grand ambition. I just have something I want to do for the person I love.”

I got up from the bed and went to the window. I looked out over Los Angeles. Beyond the cramped view of the apartment complex, I surveyed this gentle, efficient city. I could somewhat guess Mr. Günter’s next words.

“After knowing what I did for the last people I loved, could love, how can you call what you want to do for your loved one a small matter, Arthur?”

“One should be audacious while young, right, Mr. Günter?”

To my rather playful response, Mr. Günter sighed as if not wanting to be too serious, and said:

“Very capable, and very audacious. You must know how much I regret not bringing you to headquarters every time I receive a report?”

“I know well. And you also know that I’ve thought ‘I should have gone to headquarters’ about a million times?”

“I know it as well as you do. And I also know very well that despite saying such things, you’ve never once actually thought about coming to headquarters. So, when do you plan to come?”

“I’d like to see you as soon as possible, but it seems strange for me to ask you to match my schedule rather than me matching yours, doesn’t it?”

Of all the luxuries of the wealthy I’ve experienced, the most extravagant was when Polaris rented out the entire New Mages Department Store for a double date. That record was about to be broken.

“I’ve arranged with Pathfinder Company and have a plane waiting at the airport, so just pack your clothes and come right away. I’ve prepared a place for you to stay for a few days. Don’t worry about Los Angeles. I’ve sent a hammer along with that flight.”

The thought of meeting Belwether’s hammer if they were here crossed my mind, but there was something more urgent I needed to say. Something quite trivial… but rather important.

“I received my freelancer license and quit, but…”

“That night watch talk again. Yes, yes. I’ll send a decent mercenary there too. Satisfied?”

Though he acted annoyed as if I was making him worry about something trivial, Mr. Günter never forgot the name of the Night Watch company. A laugh naturally escaped me.

My laughter caused Eve, who had been sleeping beside me, to stir and lean into my arms. She looked at the virtual screen, rubbed her eyes a few times, and only after confirming it was censored did she lean against me.

“Yes, that’s enough. I’ll contact you again when I reach the airport. I need to prepare to leave.”

As I ended the call, my Eve wrapped her arms around my neck. She must have thought I was going on another long assignment. She grumbled:

“Since when did the world start running by wearing out one good-natured freelancer, Arthur?”

“I think the world is a bit better than that. I just have a dinner appointment with someone who helped during the Belwether coup. Would you like to come too? We’re going to Belwether headquarters.”

Belwether headquarters was on San Francisco Island. It used to be called San Francisco Bay, but as far as I remember, it had always been an island. It took a direct hit during that war.

The city was completely destroyed, reduced to ashes, and Belwether reshaped those ashes back into a city. That’s why the city is now called Belwether.

Belwether headquarters is like Belwether’s dream. Not just Belwether’s. It’s the model of corporate justice. Even nationalists sometimes dream of that place where effort is rewarded.

Not all efforts are rewarded. Only efforts that create efficiency are rewarded. Efforts that produce nothing should never be started in the first place.

If your efforts seem to produce nothing, you should be prepared to abandon attachments and start over. That’s the minimum requirement.

“Someone who helped during the Belwether coup… Can I really have dinner face-to-face with such a person? I think I’d be too nervous to eat… but if you’re going, I’ll go with you.”

To my Eve, I was still just a twenty-three-year-old. That was actually true. It felt quite nice that my treatment didn’t change whether I became a four-company certified freelancer or received invitations from important people.

“I was actually waiting for his call. And about going together… well, no matter how tense the situation, I think it’s better if we’re together, right?”

I smiled leisurely and briefly touched foreheads with Eve. The action itself had no special meaning. I couldn’t feel much beyond the warmth of her forehead, but that didn’t matter.

“Of course that’s what I meant. It’s not like I’m good at holding my head high and speaking in front of important people… Why, should I speak for you if you can’t, Arthur? Hmm?”

A laugh escaped at her slightly boastful voice, and the last thing I did before leaving the bed was kiss her. If we stayed any longer, we probably wouldn’t leave the bed for another three or four hours.

“Ah, don’t worry too much. If anything, you should be concerned that the dinner menu might not be as fancy as you’d expect from a chairman’s invitation.”

Fortunately, I had visited Mr. Günter’s restaurant with my Eve before. She replied nonchalantly:

“I’m not worried. He makes good kebabs.”

Mr. Günter wasn’t a corporate aristocrat. He liked kebabs sold on Berlin streets and would even secretly eat snacks dusted with salty cheese powder. He was still that way.

Arthur-2, who had proudly worn metal-gleaming prosthetic arms, started covering them with artificial skin after meeting Polaris. Volla would have screamed, but it looked better.

I shrugged at Arthur-2, who was looking at me with an expression that seemed to ask if I never got tired of this. After showering, I prepared for the trip to Belwether headquarters. There was no need to be too selective with clothes. Freelancers have no dress code.

It would be strange to have a dress code when there aren’t even weapon usage rules. I decided to go in comfortable attire as usual. Simply put, there would be a small misdeed at my waist.

I shouldered a gun bag containing Hubris, but as a minimum courtesy, I didn’t bring Chance’s hand. There was no need to bring a grenade rifle to what should be a safe city. It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere safe.

While waiting for Eve to return from her hideout to pack her things, Arthur-2, who was checking a pistol with her artificial skin-covered hand, asked me:

Her voice was somewhat puzzled. Initially, she was also me, but now she was quite a different person. I had briefly told her about Mr. Günter, so she wasn’t puzzled about that.

“Do you know what it feels like to see a four-company certified freelancer preparing for a dinner appointment wearing jeans and carrying a gun, Arthur-1?”

“When you see who the dinner is with, you’ll understand why I’m a four-company certified freelancer. Why?”

“Just thinking about the old days. Not my thoughts, but the scanned copy Jerome implanted… but the memories aren’t different, right? I just thought you look really happy. Did we ever have times like this before?”

Hearing her words, I leaned toward the mirror. I was smiling quite naturally. It seems like I’ve always been this way, but the “old days” Arthur-2 refers to are probably much earlier than I think.

Arthur-2 couldn’t remember my childhood. I thought there was no need to revisit it. Still, I could show her old photos for her sake.

“When I was young… I wonder? I think I was a kid who didn’t smile much. Isn’t it good when a person can learn to smile and be happy?”

I took out a small storage device from a box I had kept since leaving Belwether and tossed it to Arthur-2. She caught it lightly, opened the photo files, and made a disgusted sound.

“Ugh, what kind of kid makes such expressions? Okay, I’ll go with your version that things have improved.”

Childhood photos were generally like that. Standing still without moving, looking at the camera lens as if thinking nothing else, with my two eyes like bottomless dark holes from the past.

My eye color was originally blue, but they were so emotionless that you might believe they were replaced with polished glass beads. Perhaps as a child, I instinctively sensed something like my parents’ death.

I guess Belwether’s parenting was good enough for such instincts to go dormant. Looking in the mirror, I deliberately smiled naturally, laughed it off, and put the photos away.

“Oh, Arthur-2, how can you say that when that past is also yours? So, why? Does it seem strange that I look happy? It’s natural. I’m like you when you wear the clothes Polaris gave you…”

Seeing Arthur-2 raise the pistol she was maintaining—though without a magazine inserted—I raised both hands in surrender. It was just a playful comment anyway.

Arthur-2, who had been making a face like she might gag, put the gun down and stared at me, nodding.

“This mischievousness, and everything else—you’ve become as different from Arthur Murphy as I have. I just wanted to say that.”

“Then my changes must be as positive as yours. You know people can’t stay in one place forever, right?”

I no longer saw hatred in Arthur-2’s eyes. She was learning how to live happily, and she even had someone who demanded terrible challenges from her but gave equally sweet rewards.

“That’s true, but… if my change is like a fire being extinguished, your change is… how should I put it? Like letting it burn. No, rather than letting it burn… it’s more like fueling it further. Is that right?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? You didn’t notice it until you pointed it out, and neither did I. Doesn’t that mean no one, not even myself, forced the change?”

Arthur-2 couldn’t find a counterargument to the claim that it was just a natural change. She seemed to have an inexplicable ominous feeling, but for now, she nodded.