The Cost of Power

Panoa's eyes lit up as if she had been waiting. 

Leo didn't miss the way she absentmindedly touched the wristwatch on her left hand as she spoke. 

"Since we entered the arms business, we have been constantly looking for opportunities to expand our business base. The 40s and 50s districts… the people outside of those areas also have enough potential to become our customers." 

Outside. 'Inside' is what Leo calls the place he works. 

"I'm not confident in sales." 

"I know. That's not what we're looking for. We're looking for highly qualified freelancers who can work outside the office. Outstanding, but not yet widely known… That kind of contradictory worker." 

There's no need to hear what that means. 

Panoa's intense gaze was already pointing to the answer. 

"Since the Deep Web, which had been closed due to the visit of the Ascendant, has been reopened, many inquiries have come to you, Wizard. However, we were the most urgent and the fastest." 

"… … … " 

"A truly rare and skilled sorcerer who works alone. Even the commissions he has already completed are all big ones. If he survived against the veterans of the Bokmajeon, there is no need to doubt his skills. The other clients will probably be in good spirits as well." 

"What do you want to say?" 

He speaks at length, whether out of excitement or to persuade Leo. 

Up until this point, I had tried to refrain from answering out of consideration for the position of a large company like Dyke, but I felt that if I didn't stop here, the meaningless compliments would continue without end. 

Panoa's eyes can be seen shining faintly beyond her glasses. 

Perhaps through this dialogue, he is able to immediately understand Leo's personality and adjust his response accordingly. 

Leo waited for her to think, even though he could clearly guess what it was. 

If a company as large as Dyke has this much muscle, the compensation they're offering Leo will likely be no small feat. 

Especially considering that their contacts were presented shortly after the Deep Web opened. 

If by any chance Leo could obtain even one of the items, he wants through these…. 

There was a brief silence, and then Panoa opened her mouth again. 

"I plan to reorganize the board a bit to expand the business base in the 40s area." 

"… … … ." 

"In layman's terms, there are a few obstacles we need to clear in order to sell our products in your area. I would appreciate it if you could help us with that." 

resolve 

Panoa threw out the bombshell statement with a calm face and quietly waited for Leo's answer. 

Leo, who had been deep in thought, slowly opened his mouth. 

"I don't understand." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"A company the size of Dyke would not lack in military resources, but I don't know why they put in such a request. And the planning team leader said it in person." 

The plan itself to push out those who currently dominate the arms market in the 40s is understandable. 

But trying to get Leo's help in the process was a completely different matter. 

"There are two reasons." 

Panoa answered immediately. 

"One is a skilled freelancer who has built a career at a rate that is hard to find even outside of the wizard world… and among them, he is a wizard." 

I won't bother explaining how difficult it is to find a skilled wizard, she said, continuing her speech. 

"Secondly, you can gain some legitimacy by putting forward freelancers who work there. In fact, this is the biggest reason." 

"It's a pretext." 

"If we deploy troops to the outer zone under our name, we will likely suffer from all sorts of restraints and not be able to recover our initial investment. However, if we indirectly control that direction through the anti-mage, our competitors will at least not be able to protest much on the outside." 

The 40th district is close to a lawless zone where people run wild with the permission of the city government, but it strictly adheres to the unwritten rule of moving according to the physiology of the market. 

If this is violated and dinosaur companies start interfering one by one, the external order will collapse, and the profit structure will be ruined. 

And that was certainly not the ending the city government's higher-ups wanted. 

"… … .." 

Leo nodded, looking at the cold smile on Panoa's lips. 

In short, it seems like they're going to use Leo as their agent to get rid of their business competitors in the 40s district. 

The plan is to eliminate the complicated business structures of illegal arms dealers, gangs, and violent organizations operating in the back alleys and take a piece of the pie that remains. 

It's a fairly ambitious plan, and one that wouldn't be possible without taking risks. 

It's not like Dyke Corporation is the first to have thought this way. 

But such circumstances are not something Leo should be concerned about. 

The most important question remained. 

"What can you give me in return for all that work?" 

Panoa turned on the screen next to the office without saying anything. 

"I know that the wizard is looking for a number of extremely rare items. As expected from his outstanding skills, he has a very picky eye." 

"… … … ." 

Leo, who had not expected such words to come out of the mouth of a planning manager working at a large company like Dyke, remained silent. 

"But we sincerely want to work with you, Master. I think you'll be convinced when you see this." 

The screen quickly turns on and a picture appears. 

Five worn-out pencils preserved until they were almost worn out. 

It was stored in a very thick glass case, its seams tightly bound with pale fluorescent chains. 

However, it is unable to overcome the power emanating from within and instead emits blurry waves in all directions. 

The moment Leo saw it, he knew immediately that it was something out of the ordinary. 

Panoa's explanation continues. 

"These are the 'Five Fingers of Enakpil' that were put up for sale at the VIP auction sponsored by the Central Council. They are endowed with five evasive maneuverer magics granted by the Maladis School, and are known as safety products that are only given as gifts to VIPs who deal directly with the school." 

She said, glancing at Leo. 

"It's definitely not something you can get with just money, and it's definitely not something you can easily find at auctions." 

"… … … " 

"Five times. If you can do exactly five of our requests, we promise to procure and deliver this product. Plus, we'll give you an additional reward based on the Deep Web's ransom for each successful request." 

As the screen moves with him, a contract appears. The salary written on it is not an amount that even Leo can ignore. 

She seemed to have prepared very meticulously for this moment. 

"How is it?" 

A confident smile. The confidence that Leo knows exactly what he wants. 

Is this where all the lengthy explanations and unwavering, confident attitudes from before were based? 

But there is no denying it. 

An enchanted artifact. It is also a consumable item that can supplement Leo's lack of mobility. 

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but it's the most helpful equipment for him right now, and it's also a clue to researching magic. 

Because no words of refusal came out of Leo's mouth after confirming the truth. 

All I could do was reply by asking for time to think about it. 

# 

"Did you go?" 

"Is it so." 

Unlike before, Panoa quietly looked down through the glass window at Leo as he walked out of the 10th District. 

On the surface, it may seem like he's never hit a single person, but the records of the deep web and countless testimonies don't lie. 

The amount of information Panoa collected to prepare a more certain card than anyone else was enormous. 

Lightning Magician Class. He's a beginner who's only completed 10 requests so far, but his skills are undeniably genuine. 

The judgment I felt on paper. And the confidence I felt when I met him in person. 

It is often the case that one of the two is out of sync, but never that both are. 

He was a talent that had to be captured. 

"But does it have to be that guy? It's not like we don't have wizards on our side either." 

As Killian said, there are some useful wizards on Dyke's side as well. 

In the past, skilled magicians who used to live in seclusion in the magic tower have recently started to join various organizations one by one to fulfil their own desires. 

Dyke is one of many companies that have benefited from this trend. 

But if you were to say that Panoa had the skills he wanted, it was absolutely not true. 

"Killian, you. Can you hold out against Croken Asylus even for a moment?" 

"… …. It's not easy." 

Panoa continued, ignoring the ridiculous boast. 

"That wizard did it on his first commission, and with only one decent vanguard." 

"… … ." 

"In the first place, it makes no sense that a wizard has been working alone until now. It's strange that no other company has touched him until now. Of all the freelancers we can control, he's the most cost-effective card. I'm sure of it." 

Panoa said, taking a cigarette out of his arms and smoking it. 

Originally, no matter how much Dyke wanted to expand his business, he would never have touched the 40s area. 

It is a place where the power structure is more complex than you can imagine, and where those who are not easy to deal with hold such a profitable relationship. 

There are many people who fearlessly delved into the market but failed to recover their initial investment. 

But the reason Panoa decided to reorganize the 40th District map this time was because of the agreement with the Philenom Autonomy that had taken place just two days ago. 

Eventually, the Balkans will inevitably prepare for war. Accordingly, the arms industry will reach its heyday. 

In preparation for that time, we need to increase production in advance, but we need new customers to handle the increased weapon production in the meantime. 

Moreover, the timing is almost perfect, as the pressure on the city government, which is focused on the agreement with the autonomous region, will be relatively reduced. 

"If we move well, we can monopolize the flow of military supplies in one go. It's not impossible to go further 'inside'." 

The world is changing. 

You have to respond carefully while assessing the flow of the surroundings and your own abilities. 

But someone who moves boldly may be able to get more than he or she deserves. 

Panoa laughed sharply. 

"Enough with the small talk. Let them come in." 

"Who?" 

"… .I told you to bring the next candidate." 

"Oh, is that what you meant when you said to get my resume? I just pulled out the one that came in the mail and brought it with me." 

"… … .." 

A sigh escaped Panoa's mouth as she looked at Killian's face, who was scratching his head with a dumbfounded expression. 

Was it a mistake to ask for your cooperation in this project after hearing rumours that you had a good sense? 

Werewolves were definitely not the best partners for office work. 

# 

Leo briefly summarized the conversation between him and Panoa and told Jenny about it. 

Since I had already received requests through her, it was difficult to avoid cooperating with her in this case as well. 

"It's big." 

After hearing the whole story, Jenny came to a simple conclusion. 

"Both the risks and the benefits are equally large." 

"… … .." 

"I have an idea of how valuable Enakpil's five fingers are. It's said to be one of those consumable artifacts that high-ranking politicians can't afford to buy. And if I were to offer something like that in return, the risk I would be asking of you would naturally be considerable." 

Jordan, who had been listening quietly from the side, said. 

"I can guess why Dyke took Van aside and talked to him." 

"What is it?" 

"Isn't this the intention to minimize the resentment that will be created by this request? After all, if they find out that I'm directly involved, things will get complicated. I'm trying to set the stage by creating only the bare minimum of variables. At least Dyke seems sincere." 

"If you offered a deal through the deep web, would you have hit me? I never suspected anything like that from the beginning. That's the important thing." 

Jenny said so and looked at Leo with a serious expression. 

"If I accept this request, it will be difficult to shake off the pressure from this place." 

"… … .." 

"Up until now, if you've been working against an organization or some plan, what Dyke wants is to create a situation where he can take advantage of someone. It's inevitable that there will be resentment." 

"… I guess so." 

The content is different from the requests I have done so far. 

Jenny was beating around the bush. 

Leo understood. 

Most of the commissions he has carried out so far have been simple in purpose or have had insignificant impact, regardless of whether they were sunny or shady. 

Even if he were to get involved in a major incident, it would never spread so widely that it would harm Leo. 

But this time it's different. 

The drug dealers in the 40s area that Dyke is trying to touch are undoubtedly a significant portion of the complexly intertwined profit structure of the outer areas. 

Anyone who touches his purse strings can't help but be angry. 

It seemed clear that it would not end with carrying out the commission and receiving the reward as it was now, but that there would be additional retaliation or that he would become embroiled in an even deeper power struggle. 

"Are you willing to take risks to get what you want?" 

"...preparation?"