Ch. 22 - Neiracia and Duo Mercenary (2)

"What is the purpose of your visit, Sir and Lady? If you have business with 'Ultores', I will take you to meet the master. If not, please feel free to choose any empty table to sit at."

"We have business with Ultores," Mariel replied.

The waitress nodded in understanding. "Very well. Please follow me," she said before walking toward the left corner of the café.

Mariel and Celinee followed her without hesitation. They were led into a spacious room, more than half of which was filled with bookshelves.

"Master, they have business with 'Ultores'."

The short-haired man the waitress referred to as "Master" appeared to be in his forties. At a glance, he looked like someone with extensive combat experience. Mariel suspected he was a retired mercenary, though it wouldn't be surprising if he was a former imperial soldier or even a Sterminatore.

"Alright, you may leave." The man then gestured for Mariel and Celinee to sit in two of the three empty chairs in front of his desk. "So, what do you need?" he asked without preamble. "Do you have a job for Ultores?"

"We're interested in working with Ultores as mercenaries."

Mariel also wasted no time on pleasantries—engaging in small talk when the other party had no interest in it was never a wise move. The fact that the man hadn't introduced himself showed that names were unimportant; introducing themselves wasn't an option either.

"Alright," the man responded after staring intently at Mariel and Celinee for nearly half a minute. "You have two days to bring me a high-level demon. It must be alive but in a completely incapacitated state. This building has a back entrance—use it when you've secured the demon. You'll receive proof of membership at that time. If you fail, you bear the consequences yourselves—and you'll be automatically rejected from joining. Any questions?"

"Why does the demon have to be alive?" Celinee asked—and Mariel wasn't surprised by the question.

The black-haired, thin-bearded man didn't answer immediately. He remained silent for a moment before sighing. "It seems you haven't been involved much in the illegal world. But to answer your question, we take its heart and sell it. Of course, you'll receive half of the profit—the other half is considered your membership fee."

"Do you sell it to Dr. Lergen or his associates?" Celinee asked again.

"We don't care who buys it; Ultores is all about business. Money is the main priority. Even if another demon wants to buy it, we'll sell it—no questions asked. Any other questions?"

"How does the payment system work when we accept jobs?" Mariel quickly asked, not allowing Celinee to continue the conversation.

"Once you complete a job assigned by one of our agents, you can visit the nearest Ultores agent to receive your payment. You'll get 90 percent of the pay, while we take 10 percent as an operational fee. However, if you don't find an agent nearby, our team will come to you to deliver the payment. The membership proof you'll receive also functions as a tracker. So, you don't need to worry about payment issues. We highly prioritize mutual trust—both with our members and our clients."

"What happens if we fail a job?" Mariel asked again. "And what if we commit a crime that could bring down Ultores?"

"Ultores does not tolerate failure," the man stated firmly. "Failure means losing your membership. You will also be required to pay double the amount of the failed job's payment as compensation. If you refuse to pay, we will sell your information and hunt you down. After that, you will either be set free, killed, or sold as a slave to the Southern Continent—depends on the situation. As for any crimes you commit, Ultores will not be responsible. However, as long as you remain part of the organization, we will not accept jobs to capture or kill you."

"Alright, that's all." Mariel concluded the discussion and immediately stood up. "We'll be back tonight with the demon you want." He then turned around and walked away. "Come on, C, we need to find an inn and capture a demon."

Celinee didn't protest. And before long, they were outside the building. The ninja was displeased, but that was not surprising at all.

"C," Mariel called, drawing the ninja's attention to him. "If you really want to take down Dr. Lergen, you can't show your dislike like you did earlier. We have to be professional. Acting professionally increases our chances of being hired by Dr. Lergen to obtain demon hearts. Isn't that the best opportunity to eliminate him?"

-----ooOoo-----

When Mariel and Celinee found an inn suitable for their stay for the next few weeks, night had just fallen. They postponed hunting a demon for one or two hours after dinner. Since Mariel had won a small bet between them, he wanted to make Celinee treat him—and he planned to enjoy every moment of it.

That was why they were in one of the luxurious restaurants in Marzaretha after securing a room for the night. Celinee shot him sharp glances while grumbling, but Mariel ignored her. No matter how annoyed she was or what made her mumble complaints, he was going to enjoy his dinner. A win was still a win, regardless of how much trickery was involved.

"I'll have this, this, this, and this as well," Mariel said when a waiter approached, pointing at several items on the menu. "What about you?" he asked the ninja.

"I'll take one of your orders."

"In that case," the teenager continued, "I'll also have this and this. Oh, and I'll take two of these."

"...So, that makes six dishes and two drinks in total?"

Mariel nodded slightly, still ignoring Celinee's sharp glare.

"Alright, please wait a moment, Sir and Lady."

"...You're not holding back," Celinee remarked after the waiter left. "You look like some poor country boy who has never tasted a proper meal in his life. Don't you feel embarrassed ordering like a madman when a girl is treating you?"

"Eh, I am a poor country boy," Mariel replied with a faint smile. "Did you forget that I spent half my life living in a cave?"

"..."

"You've never answered my question seriously," Mariel changed the topic. "How far can you send out your prana detection waves?"

"It depends."

Mariel showed no displeasure at the brief answer. Even though they had decided to keep working together, that didn't mean they were completely open with each other. Mariel hadn't told Celinee anything about searching for a holy weapon, so it was only natural that she was reluctant to answer.

In Mariel's case, he was worried someone might use mind-control abilities on Celinee. He didn't want crucial information about Sword of Salvation and other sacred weapons falling into the wrong hands. Meanwhile, in Celinee's case, she was likely wary of betrayal—something she had experienced not long ago. Mariel didn't even know if she had met her spirit yet or not.

"Your range increases when you concentrate fully. How far that range is, you don't want me to know. But one thing is clear—you can't use that technique passively." Mariel paused, his gaze fixed on the ninja—or kunoichi (the term for female ninjas). "Tell me, do all shinobi or kunoichi master that technique?"

Celinee shook her head. "Only ninjas interested in becoming part of tracking or intelligence teams learn it," she explained. "Why? Are you interested in learning it? People on this continent have already replicated the water-walking technique—maybe you can find an academy where the detection technique has been modified to be used without hand seals."

"You sound annoyed about that."

Mariel had already mastered walking on water and various surfaces, including standing on ceilings.

"Nobody likes imitators."

"Then, what about mages? Do you hate them too?" Mariel didn't let Celinee answer immediately. "I think, among ninjas, knights—including samurai, swordsmen, or the like—and mages, mages are the most deserving of hatred. They may still be limited to using only one element, but they are the kings of non-elemental abilities. They have spells for flying, healing, walking on water, teleportation, controlling gravity, sealing, and more."

"Most of them can't even fight barehanded. Mages are cowards who only dare to fight from the backlines. But I do admit, they are both useful and troublesome—and annoying. However, Ma—"

"M."

"—However, M, no one truly considers mages a threat. Even regular soldiers can kill them easily. Excluding certain mages who are willing to lower their egos and pride to train in martial arts, or abnormal mages like Athrecia Le Fay, mages are hardly feared. Their weaknesses are too obvious; no one envies ordinary mages."

"You hold the same opinion as most people," Mariel commented.

"Because it's the truth, and mages are too blind to admit it."

"If we could kill without going through the trouble of moving our bodies, why should we waste stamina fighting? I think that's the mindset mages have had since childhood. But, putting aside their fatal weaknesses, I—"

Mariel stopped speaking when three waiters arrived with their orders.

"Apologies for the wait," one of them said as they skillfully arranged the dishes on the table.

"The total is 1,400 escal, Sir and Lady," another waiter added. "Apologies for the interruption, but we collect payment immediately upon serving the orders to avoid any unpleasant incidents. If you are new to this city, you should know that some restaurants even require payment in advance."

"Of course." Mariel shifted his gaze to Celinee. "C, I'll leave this noble act to you."

"...Sorry, M, I forgot to bring any escal. You don't mind covering for me for now, do you? I'll pay you back 'later'."

"...You're joking, right?"

Celinee raised both hands, palms open. "Feel free to check if you don't believe me," she said in a flat tone. "You can take all my money if I'm lying. Fair enough, right?"

"So... I have to pay?"

Celinee nodded.

"Even though you lost the bet...?"

She nodded again, but this time, her lips curved slightly. Though she didn't open her mouth, it was as if she was silently laughing, as if saying she had planned this from the start. She had intentionally grumbled and acted annoyed so Mariel wouldn't suspect a thing.

Ah, they had left their bags in the inn room at Celinee's suggestion. He should have been suspicious back then. Although the inn guaranteed room security (they would take responsibility if anything went missing, as long as the guest was honest), it was still an odd suggestion. After all, they were aspiring mercenaries in a foreign city; they shouldn't have left their bags behind.

But Mariel couldn't blame himself either. He had placed the Sword of Salvation beside Lukhiel inside his dimension. The bag only contained clothes and a book that could be found in any bookstore. There was nothing particularly important that required him to guard it carefully.

"Sir, the 1,400 escal...?" The waiter spoke with a sweet smile, but their eyes promised something else.

"It can't be helped if you really forgot," Mariel finally said, completely ignoring the waiter. "I'll use my own money first."

He reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out fourteen gold coins and handing them to the waiter.

"More than the abilities of mages, I'm more annoyed by your spirit's power."

Mariel simply smiled at what sounded like a complaint. However, if he were in Celinee's position, he might have said the same thing. Even though he hadn't yet unlocked the second stage of spirit mastery, his spirit's power was already incredibly strong. Mariel suspected that his spirit was not just a god, but the god of gods—a Primordial God.

Mariel could switch places with any object within his line of sight. He could create dimensional portals to reach distant places in an instant. He could also manipulate the space around his body to form a shield. And most remarkably, he could nullify any ability—even sacred weapons. This power had a cooldown, but Celinee didn't need to know that.

"You're not wrong," Mariel admitted. "But let's put that aside. These dishes won't eat themselves if we keep talking."