"Hmm. I wonder if that guy is doing well."
Lorraine lay face down on the table, swinging her legs back and forth. Her cheek pressed softly against the table.
Ronan, who was reading the newspaper, lowered it slightly and asked.
"Huhu. Are you worried about Osian?"
"Well, of course, he went on a special flood recovery mission. Who knows what kind of criminals he might have to fight there."
"With Osian's skills, he won't go down easily no matter who the opponent is."
"I know his skills well too. It's just that Tirna isn't such an easy place. You never know when and where some bizarre fellows might appear."
While Tirna appeared to be a glamorous metropolis on the surface, what was hidden beneath the city's facade was something far more massive.
The city was so enormous that it was realistically impossible to manage everything. It was natural for outside entities to hide in between the gaps.
"Besides, that guy should have returned by now, but he still hasn't come back? If everything was fine, he should at least send word that he's okay, but there's nothing like that, so I'm wondering if something happened.""Well, something probably did happen. But it's fine. If it's Osian, he'll appear naturally as if nothing happened and say he completed the request."
"Hey, aren't you trusting people too much?"
"Huhuhu. Is that so? I've always trusted everyone? Including you, Lorraine."
"Hmph."
Lorraine snorted as if it was absurd.
"But it's unexpected. To think you'd worry about Osian this much."
"Wh-what. Can't I worry about people?"
"It's interesting to see how the Lorraine who would have thought he'd handle things well in the past, has become a bit more emotional."
Ronan's observation was sharp.
Lorraine knew this fact too, so she couldn't refute it.
Perhaps this change was due to the recent Ghost Corps incident.
Lorraine, who had lost a precious colleague in the past, hadn't completely recovered from its aftermath yet. While her body had healed, her mind hadn't.
"Well, I did receive a gift too."
Lorraine made an excuse in a slightly passive tone.
Saying it was natural to worry since she received an expensive and valuable gun from Osian.
The specially modified gun imbued with holy magic used by paladins was something that could never be obtained on the market.
Who wouldn't care after receiving such a thing as a gift?
"Huhu. I suppose so."
Ronan knew that wasn't Lorraine's only concern, but he didn't point it out.
People in this industry would call such behavior weakness, but Ronan thought such weakness was better.
After all, that's how they were able to endure and stay together until now.
"Let's trust and wait. Isn't that our role?"
"Tch. Your words flow like water."
While grumbling, Lorraine agreed with Ronan.
At that moment, the door of the Violet Fox tavern burst open with a thud.
Lorraine and Ronan's gazes simultaneously turned toward the entrance.
Speaking of the devil, they thought Osian had returned, but that wasn't the case.
What unfolded beyond the door was fog that was nearly gray.
Although it was still humid outside due to the monsoon's influence, this wasn't weather where fog would naturally be this thick.
Naturally, they thought this fog must have been artificially created by someone.
And the one who could cause such a phenomenon was a man in both Ronan and Lorraine's memories.
"Huhu. My, it's been a while since I've seen this."
With footsteps echoing, a man entered. A scarf was covering his mouth, a hood on his head, and bangs covering one eye.
His most distinctive feature was the fog that faintly enveloped his body.
As he walked in, the fog that filled the entrance followed him inside.
"Mist. Did you complete your mission safely?"
Mist. It was a fitting name considering the phenomenon the man displayed.
Of course, it wasn't his real name but more like a code name.
Mist walked up to Ronan and silently placed documents in front of him with a thud.
On it was a mark indicating the request had been successfully completed.
"Excellent."
Ronan praised with a smile, and Mist responded with silence.
Lorraine quietly observed this scene.
'Mist.'
The second fixer recruited by Ronan at Violet Fox.
His real name was unknown. That would be the same for Ronan too.
He was a very mysterious figure even to his Violet Fox colleagues.
Mist always worked alone, and because he was shrouded in fog, his powers and abilities weren't properly known either.
'But considering when Ronan brought him in, at least his ability must be guaranteed.'
Though not many times, she had seen him several times, and each time Mist would successfully complete requests and diligently report to Ronan.
'I've never seen him fail.'
He wasn't the second member of the elite Violet Fox for nothing.
'Come to think of it, our office has gathered nothing but extraordinary people.'
Starting with Mist in front of her, Seren Gracia with her unique power and fox-like nature.
Edgar Low, arrogant and rude but possessing tremendous talent.
Diolan, who is connected to the witch Mother Goose and isn't human.
Lorraine herself, from a special forces unit that doesn't exist in history.
And
Even Osian, who calls himself an ancient knight and uses unbelievable power.
'That's not all. Even Ena, who works as an employee though not an official member, isn't ordinary. She's a witch after all. Moreover, the founding member of this office is none other than...'
Looking back like this, Lorraine felt she was the most insignificant.
Well, whatever. It's not like they were going to compete and fight anyway, and she wasn't one to get worked up over such things.
'Huh?'
At that moment, Lorraine's eyes met with Mist's.
'What is it? Does he have something to say to me?'
Mist stared at Lorraine for a moment, then turned away quietly as he always did.
Watching his mysterious figure disappear with the fog, Lorraine soon dismissed it from her mind.
They had never even exchanged greetings before despite seeing each other's faces.
Though with the recent addition of their newest member, she thought it wouldn't be bad to try greeting him sometime if the opportunity arose.
Just then, the closed door opened again with a bell sound.
Lorraine's expression brightened as she turned to see who it was this time.
"Osian!"
Osian, who had gone to take on the city's official request, had finally returned.
"What's this? You worried me by being late without any news. Nothing happened there, right? If there were any difficulties, you can tell me, your senior."
Ronan chuckled softly at Lorraine's behavior as she worried about Osian while trying not to show it.
"Osian. Did you complete the request safely?"
"Yes."
"It took longer than expected, did something happen?"
"There were some things. It would be a bit of a long story to explain."
"Oh, what is it, what is it? I want to hear too!"
Lorraine immediately showed interest and approached the table where Ronan was sitting.
What she had noticed recently about Osian was that this man unexpectedly seemed to attract incidents and accidents.
This time too, since he returned later than the expected return time, something unexpected must have happened.
Since he was offering to tell the story himself, it would be a lie to say she wasn't interested.
Of course, it was also because it was Osian, not someone else, but that's beside the point.
Just as Osian, who didn't particularly mind sharing the story, was about to sit down and tell it.
Before they knew it, a soft fog had filled Violet Fox, and a man was standing near the table where the group was sitting.
Osian's head turned toward the man, Mist.
"Who might you be?"
"......"
Mist didn't answer. Could he not speak? Just as Osian was about to express such doubt, Lorraine hurriedly stepped in.
"Ah ah, come to think of it, you wouldn't know! This is Mist, a senior who was at Violet Fox before us!"
Lorraine stepped in like this because she was worried about Osian and Mist potentially clashing.
The silent and wordless Mist and Osian didn't look like they would get along well no matter how you looked at it.
'Besides, what's this? Mist showing interest in someone else?'
When Mist left Violet Fox, he never came back.
But the departed Mist had returned. And he was targeting Osian.
'Could it be he's happy about our office getting a new youngest member? That Mist? That's impossible.'
Though she didn't know what he sensed from Osian, she thought nothing good would come from leaving them be.
Moreover, when Osian showed a slightly brusque reaction when Mist quietly approached and stood there, she worried he might draw his sword at any moment.
Of course, that was clearly Lorraine's misunderstanding.
Osian had simply asked out of genuine curiosity about who he was.
'Ah, so this person was the second fixer. Senior to Seren and Edgar. Though it's our first meeting, he seems peculiar.'
Not only did he appear to be a taciturn young man, but above all, the fog enveloping his body caught Osian's curiosity.
'Fog. There were some enemies who used similar powers before. Could he be related to them? If not that, is it his mutant ability? Or manifestation of a different power?'
Whatever the case, there would be nothing wrong with getting along well since they were office colleagues.
"I am Osian."
Though he tried to introduce himself kindly, since he was now used to this stiff, noble-like way of speaking, Osian's self-introduction was plain.
Mist quietly observed such an Osian, then spoke in an emotionless and dry voice.
"Mist."
At this sight, Lorraine's eyes grew round like a rabbit's.
'I'm seeing Mist speak for the first time!'
Lorraine's eyes were saying this to Ronan but Ronan just chuckled ‘huhuhu’ as if he found the situation amusing.
"Since we've met like this by fate, would you like to join our conversation, Mr. Mist?"
The great Mist at a place like this?
While Lorraine thought Ronan was making an unnecessary suggestion, surprisingly, Mist accepted his proposal.
So Mist quietly sat down at the table too.
The fog that had filled the room cleared slightly. It was thanks to Mist controlling his power.
Of course, the fog that shimmered around his body didn't disappear completely.
"Well then, where should I start the story?"
Osian began with the story of entering the underground waterway and the black mages' attack.
As Osian's explanation continued.
The black mages' attack and how he stepped forward to stop them.
How the black mages summoned alligator monsters in a fit, and how suddenly appearing underground monsters tore them all to death.
Then how he ended up going to a place called Zero Ground with the help of the Slithering Sisters.
Osian explained the facts as they were, plainly, without exaggeration or reduction.
Perhaps because of his voice and atmosphere, no one thought it was a lie.
When Osian introduced himself as an ancient knight and god-slayer and monster-slayer or whatever, they thought it was a concept, but this incident seemed plausible to anyone.
"Zero Ground. I've heard vague stories about it. They say it's a city where underground residents live."
"Huhu. How fascinating. Who knew it would be on such a massive scale."
Lorraine and Ronan seemed quite surprised to learn this new fact.
Of course, Mist just remained calmly still. In some ways, he seemed to already know about the existence of the underground city.
Of course, no one at this gathering paid much attention to Mist's reaction. Or rather, they couldn't.
And that's what displeased Mist.
'What is this guy?'
While outwardly acting like a quiet man full of secrets, Mist had to calm his boiling feelings inside.
It was all good until he spread his fog, delivered the news of completing the request successfully, and left the office quietly again.
Even making eye contact with Lorraine once during that process wasn't bad.
Though his heart felt like it would burst when their eyes met for a moment, he was proud of himself for not showing it but the moment he saw Osian entering the tavern with noble steps right after he left Violet Fox, Mist found himself following him before he knew it.
First of all, this bastard is disgustingly handsome.
While Mist had his own pride in his appearance, even he objectively felt outmatched by Osian's outstanding looks.
Moreover, the charisma that subtly flowed from him. That was something that couldn't be expressed through mere acting, truly something only those born with it could possess.
There's no way this person would enter Violet Fox to submit a request.
That means.
A story Mist had vaguely heard came to mind.
The story that a new fixer had recently joined, and that they were called a super rookie.
Unfortunately, Mist's anxiety about hoping it wasn't true became reality.
Mist stared at Osian with bloodshot eyes.
'This bastard. His concept overlaps with mine!'