The Price of Conquest

"Fuck, I'm late!!" 

Only after Maoren ran far away did the mercenaries who had resisted the magic interference and climbed out of the pit gasp for breath. 

They are accustomed to strengthening their bodies through magical powers, so they have a hard time adapting to the gap. 

If you continue to delve into this point, you will be able to use it effectively in battles. 

As Leo was thinking about various tactics with a proud smile on his face, a harsh shout came into his ears. 

"Hey, Ban!" 

Eriksen strides towards Leo with a flushed face. 

He began to grumble, glaring at Leo with a distorted face. 

"Why were you just standing there watching? You could have helped me!!" 

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

Leo also responded in a calm, informal tone. 

"The only person I need to help is that woman running around with a shotgun over there." 

"What the heck, you little punk?" 

"We're not that close, are we? It would be awkward for me to pretend to be colleagues now." 

Just three words. 

It was enough time for Eriksen's mask of politeness to be removed. 

It's only natural. Eriksen doesn't want to demand legitimate help from Leo and he doesn't want to protest. 

He just wanted to vent his anger on someone who seemed easygoing. 

The gazes of other mercenaries are not much different. 

Eriksen, with the atmosphere around him at his back, took action without hesitation. 

A fist filled with magical power flies, aiming straight for Leo's jaw. 

Leo could not stand that simple-minded and ignorant preemptive strike. 

Of course, I know that even if I stay still, I won't be able to touch even a single hair on Leo because he'll be blocked by the shield, but there's no reason to wait until then. 

He fired a light shock spell at Eriksen's abdomen. 

It is a deterioration magic that was put into practice after studying Grime's shock magic, but it is powerful enough to submerge a person. 

Thud! 

His stomach, which couldn't even react, was strangely crushed and his back was bent forward. 

Sticky saliva dripped from his wide-open throat. 

"Tsk…! What the…. Ugh, woooooweeeek….!!" 

Eriksen, who doesn't know what to do with just one anti-communist attack, is vomiting like crazy. 

Leo slowly approached him and placed his hand on the back of Eriksen's head, who was bowing. 

Eriksen was too busy pounding the organ to even notice what Leo was doing. 

A blue current surged between Leo's five fingers. 

[bolt] 

Phage, phage, phage!! 

Eriksen, who was electrocuted on the back of his head, foams at the mouth and falls to the ground. 

Since I adjusted the power appropriately, I won't die. 

The other mercenaries who witnessed this scene with their own eyes all stopped in their tracks. 

Even though I don't know exactly what method Leo used, I can tell that he is very skilled at it. 

'Maybe it's because they're mercenaries, but they're much quicker than that wizard.' 

Leo slowly walked towards them, recalling a wizard who mistook the power of an artifact for the chain lightning that was being fired right in front of his eyes. 

Thud, thud. 

"… … … " 

As Leo walked, the mercenaries retreated a little, and the ranks parted like the Red Sea. 

No one looked at Mila anymore as she played with the pollutants. 

Claria looks at him with meaningful eyes, and Miguel bites his lips tightly. 

There was a complicated exchange of glances, and just before Leo passed him by, he opened his mouth with difficulty. 

"… … If you had that kind of skill, why didn't you tell me in advance?" 

"… … … " 

"If that were the case, I wouldn't have treated you like this." 

"Treatment?" 

Leo chuckled at those words, which contained even a hint of resentment. 

"It's not like we came all the way to an undeveloped area to catch contaminants just to receive something like that." 

There's no point in getting better treatment from mercenaries like Miguel. 

Whether it's Leo or them, their lives are worse than those of mayflies who live from hand to mouth. 

If we simply compare their circumstances, they may have been better than Leo. 

Leo turned his back firmly, his face hardening as he thought about the huge sum of 120 million mal cells that would be taken out of his bank account. 

"It's almost over there too." 

"… … … " 

Mila, who had already destroyed almost all of the dozen or so contaminated creatures, and Maoren, who was trying to stop her while raising her magical power to somehow get in. 

Miguel has no stake between those two. 

Leo finished speaking softly, looking at him lowering his head helplessly. 

"Like we said before, is it okay to settle the accounts separately?" 

"Okay, wait a minute…!!" 

The one who intervened with an urgent voice was Claria, who was looking at the two while chewing her lips with an anxious expression. 

She looked at Miguel with wavering eyes, then quickly changed her expression and smiled at Leo. 

"Miguel may not know, but I never agreed to that." 

"… … … ." 

"I had no choice but to do it because Eriksen and Miguel forced their opinions on me. If you give me a chance even now…!!" 

"What is this woman?" 

The one who interrupted Claria's words was Mila, who appeared from behind Leo. 

His whole body was covered in sand and an unknown bodily fluid, as if he had caused quite a ruckus against the contaminants. 

Leo frowned and distanced himself from her. 

Do you know what the contaminants are made of and why do you put something like that on your skin? 

There was no doubt that he was a rather insensitive person. 

Mila smiled strangely as she looked at Claria, who had her mouth tightly shut. 

"Hey, keep talking." 

"… … ." 

Leo understood Claria's silence. 

There probably aren't many people who can say anything after seeing the sight of someone covered in bodily fluids and their eyes sparkling. 

"I understand what the circumstances are, but do you really have to abandon your colleagues now just to get your own way?" 

"I, I'm not like that… ." 

"I know, I know. Even if I abandon those friends, it's still a gain if I can become friends with our wizard." 

It's not that Claria cut off her comrades just to claim ownership of a few contaminated beings that Mila had defeated. 

Because I knew very well how valuable it was in this world to befriend a real wizard. 

A wizard who can fully master his or her own magic and deploy it in battle is a rare and valuable talent. 

Unlike Maoren, he seemed to have realized that it was Leo who had done this just by looking at him… .. Aside from his personal ability, you could say that he had quite a keen eye. 

Mila brought her face close enough to Claria to feel her breathing. 

I'm not sure what Claria saw in her eyes. 

"Do you know what I'm trying to say?" 

".....yes." 

"Yeah, that's good." 

Only then did she smile with satisfaction and pat Claria on the shoulder. 

It wasn't hard for Leo to guess why he was showing such a murderous attitude towards someone he had just met. 

She is trying to win his favor by openly swatting away flies that are trying to land on Leo. 

You should already have a rough idea of what kind of skills he has, with just two spells he used to tie up the mercenaries' feet and paralyze the contaminants. 

I couldn't tell if it was a calculated action or an instinctive one, but... it was clear that the way she took Claria's place was not for Mila's own good. 

Thump. 

Leo stared blankly at Mila as she approached, then turned his head at the sound he felt behind him. 

Maoren, who was covered in the polluted body fluids just like Mila, was walking weakly. 

Even if Mila didn't seem to have any thoughts, seeing Maoren walking around with bodily fluids like that, it seemed like the bodily fluids of the contaminated body itself didn't have a very negative effect on humans. 

He looked up at Leo for a moment and smiled faintly. 

"I lost." 

"… … … " 

"When you get treated so perfectly, you don't really get that angry. What happened today was really impressive." 

Maoren was smiling nonchalantly as she spoke, but Leo remembered the intense, angry gaze she had given him just after he had climbed out of the pit. 

The annoyance she felt at that moment must have been enormous, but seeing her completely calm down and smile means that Maoren has also finished calculating the pros and cons. 

As expected, he shook his hands a few times, which were soaked with bodily fluids, and then took out a business card from his pocket. 

"Here, this is all I can give you, but would you please accept it?" 

Business card of Plato Mercenary Office. 

Leo received a business card with the office phone number and Maoren's personal contact information, and put it in his bosom without saying anything. 

Maoren nodded at that. 

"Thank you. Then… ." 

From the moment she became convinced of Leo's abilities, Maoren no longer acted dirty or filthy. 

The way he neatly handed over his business card and stepped back as if it was supposed to be this way from the beginning felt completely different from the person who had been forcibly asserting his right to possession by using numbers earlier. 

A world where the weak are looked down upon, and the strong are treated well. 

Even though those two faces are so clearly revealed, Maoren doesn't even care. 

And Leo seemed to know that too. 

Considering that fact, he was no ordinary mercenary either. 

Mila, who had been watching the moment from the side, suddenly spoke. 

"I have a business card too. Should I give it to you?" 

"… … No need." 

I already had Dylan's business card for the office, so there was no need to take hers too. 

But perhaps because she didn't want to feel like she was losing to Maoren, she took out a business card soaked in bodily fluids from her bosom and stuffed it into Leo's sleeve. 

"… … … " 

Leo sighed, suppressing his irritation. 

"Let's get out of here first." 

"Okay. I need to wash up too." 

Leo turned his head slightly as he followed Mila towards the forklift parked inside the ruins. 

Maoren is seen talking to Miguel and other mercenaries. 

"… … … .." 

Although it was forgotten in the commotion that followed, Leo could not forget the suspicious look Maoren had given him when several contaminants appeared at once. 

Would it be too much of a stretch to assume that the smile she showed back then and Maoren's strangely obedient attitude were related? 

If there were a way to artificially control pollutants. 

If the population of homeless people living in underdeveloped areas is being controlled in a very secret and sinister way - 

Leo thought about it and chuckled. 

To be honest, it's not like it's absolutely impossible, but it's not something Leo can do about it right now. 

Of course, it would be a lie if I said I had no interest in the safety of this city… but to be honest, isn't it a situation where Leo's nose is cut off? 

The only thing that was occupying his mind right now was the stemonia that was still up for auction. 

I started the forklift and followed Mila, who was waving. 

A brief encounter. A momentary intersection. 

But it was not a meaningless moment. 

It was enough to remind me that mercenaries aren't always so neat when it comes to their work. 

Get on the forklift, pass the mercenaries, and head back to the Balkans. 

It was time to settle the price of the conquest. 

Stemonia 

"… Is this the correct number?" 

"I'm sure you blew one. Don't throw up."