"The job is done."
“Yes, but there are just some things we haven't accounted for yet. Like, for example, someone pulling an alarm out of nowhere and sending Carl Jackson running."
The team leader's face stiffened at that.
Osian was now saying that the Blossom Tear people made things worse and he wasn't actually wrong.
It was a team member from the Blossom Tear who had messed with the wrong rat familiar.
Because of that, Carl Jackson realized that he had a tail and chose to flee but the team leader wasn't about to let him get away with it, so he nailed him with a hammer.
"We don't know what happened, and if they did, you did."
The team leader glared at Osian as he said that but Osian didn't avert his gaze as he met the team leader's gaze.
The team leader's forehead furrowed at the sight.
'You subcontracting bastard.......’You're so proud of yourself for a job well done.
Hostility oozed from the Blossom Tear guards.
Osian pointed down an alleyway, his expression unchanged in the face of such hostility.
"The real important thing is over there."
In the direction Osian pointed was a warlock girl.
She had just woken up, and her half-open eyes looked quite dazed.
"She's from the Warlock's Guild, and she's trying to take Carl Jackson, the man I captured, for herself."
"What......?"
"Why wasn't that part of the brief? Another warlock suddenly intervening and trying to hijack the target. I thought I was only supposed to capture Carl Jackson."
"......."
The team leader's face crumpled, and Lorraine stepped forward.
"The omission of information from the referral is clearly your fault. You'd better not try to take it further."
"......Lorraine Ponk."
The team leader recognized Lorraine and called her by name.
There was a slight trepidation in his voice, not a hint of disrespect for the fixer, but a faint respect.
Osian glanced back at Lorraine, surprised by the gesture.
He'd thought she was just someone who wanted to be treated like a senior, but apparently she had a reputation.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Lorraine also raised her shoulders slightly proudly.
See? This is who I am.
She said so with her actions. Of course, she didn't stop supporting Osian at the same time.
"Or are we going to argue about who's good and who's bad here? Then we can only borrow the power of the union."
"That's......."
Of course they'd be the ones to get in trouble if the conversation turned to the fixer union.
But it's not like they can just bow down and go in.
As the team leader was contemplating his options, one of the team members waiting in the back called out.
"You're just a fixer, don't be so cocky!"
"What, a fixer?"
Lorraine's expression hardened.
Her piercing gaze flicked to the company security guard who had just spoken.
The guard wasn't that old. Rather, he was young and eager.
He was a man who was proud to have joined the company, and as such, he looked down on the fixers.
Lorraine sneered at him.
"Oh, yes. There are always idiots like this, who don't realize the difference in skill. You know what usually happens to them?"
Lorraine lifted her finger to form a gun and pointed it at the other man's forehead.
"A hole in the skull, that'll give you some air and less to think about."
The Blossom Tear guards' expressions turned grim at the blatant provocation.
In the heat of the moment, the team leader cut in and asked.
"So what do you want?"
"I think we need to revise our remuneration."
"The job is already done. Do you really think we're going to change the terms now?"
"Well, that's only if you've done your job properly. This is a different situation, and if you're not willing to accept the terms, I'm afraid I have no choice."
"I don't understand."
"See that girl over there? I told you, she's from the Warlock's Union."
The team leader's face contorted grimly.
"You can't be......."
"If you don't accept my terms, I'll hand Carl Jackson over to that girl over there."
"You're canceling the assignment now? Do you even know what the penalty is for backing out?"
"I think they want Carl Jackson, too, but they'll pay them better than you, plus the penalty we'll have to pay."
"......."
The team leader glared at Lorraine, looking even more terrified.
His hand on his hip was twitching, even if only slightly.
He looked like he wanted to pull out a gun and shoot her at any moment.
"Stop."
Osian casually stood between Lorraine and the team leader.
He stared at the team leader with an expressionless face, unperturbed by the seriousness of the situation.
"If you pick that, I won't show mercy."
The team leader was dumbfounded by Osian's words.
He was annoyed that a fixer who was officially employed by the company was trying to compete with him.
He felt like shouting profanities and pulling out his gun but the team leader couldn't pull the gun.
It was as if his hand was frozen.
‘What the hell? What's going on?’
He was puzzled by the strange warning his instincts were giving him.
At that moment, one of his subordinates, who had been taking stock of the situation from the sidelines, came up to him and whispered in a low voice.
"Hey, team leader. That warlock lady over there. That's her."
The team leader screwed up his face and growled.
"Hey, asshole, if you say that, how the hell am I supposed to know who she is?"
"Uh, you know, the genius who's been making a name for herself lately in the Warlock's Union."
"Elise Denarova?"
"Yep. I think it's the same Elise."
The team leader's gaze snapped back to the warlock standing in the alleyway.
A doll-like, emotionless face and cold silver hair, it was exactly the same as the Elise Denarova he remembered.
'Holy shit. Why is she here?'
A genius who had become a fourth-rank warlock at a young age had come all the way to this place just to hunt down Carl Jackson.
That wasn't the point.
If Elise was willing to go out of her way, it meant that the Warlock's Union was serious about capturing Carl Jackson.
At this rate, Carl Jackson would be in the hands of the Warlocks.
The look on her team leader's face told Lorraine that she had a deal.
"I've already laid out the terms. The choice is yours."
"The......."
"Do you accept or do you decline, and if you decline, I will talk to her."
The team leader realized there was no point in arguing further and shut up.
What if a fugitive Carl Jackson fell into the hands of the Warlock's Union?
From the reaction, it was clear that Osian had engaged Elise Denarova and won.
That meant he was a force to be reckoned with.
The team leader hung his head in thought.
"I see," he said, "but I can't take matters into my own hands, so I'll call headquarters."
“I can wait for that long but I want you to make a decision as soon as possible.”
"......It shouldn't take long."
With that, the team leader told his subordinates to call the company as soon as possible.
Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief as she watched.
"Is that all there is to it?"
"Oh? We'll have to wait a bit, they'll have to give us their word, though I'm sure they'll be more inclined to accept our terms if they see what's going on."
"I'm surprised. I thought they'd fight tooth and nail."
"It's best if we don't fight, although I'm not going to avoid it if they insist."
Lorraine advised that the Fixers needed to be strong, as they couldn't afford to be seen as weak anywhere.
As Osian was pondering this, someone approached him.
It was Elise Denarova.
"What the hell, you still haven't left?"
Osian said in a stern voice as Elise stared at him wordlessly.
If Lorraine hadn't stopped him right then, Osian would have slit her throat a moment ago.
Even he, face to face, would not know that he had nearly killed her.
Nevertheless, Elise approached Osian.
Her curiosity outweighed her fear of the man who might kill her.
"You. What's your name?"
"What?"
"Name."
Osian's brow furrowed at the shortness of Elise's words.
She was asking for his name out of the blue.
Lorraine, watching from the side, widened her eyes in disbelief.
Elise Denarova was talking to him and asking his name?
Lorraine didn't know Elise that well, but she had heard rumors about her.
A genius warlock, devoid of emotion. A wax figure who wouldn't talk to anyone, no matter who they were.
That was why it was surprising that Elise had asked Osian's name first but what was more surprising was Osian's reaction.
"Albert."
"......?"
"My name it's Albert."
"Albert......."
Elise muttered the name, then turned and left.
She didn't forget to grab the bone mask Osian had shredded on the way out.
Lorraine watched the scene in disbelief, and when Elise was completely out of sight, she turned to Osian.
"Why didn't you tell her your real name?"
"I'd rather ask you, why should I?"
"What? Because, of course, it would be useful if you make friends with a warlock like that!"
Lorraine's words made Osian frown.
"It's not necessary. How is a knight supposed to stay with a filthy warlock?"
"No......."
She already knew he was crazy, but he was even crazier than she thought!
‘No, more than that, you're really that adamant about the knight concept?’
Lorraine asked after taking a deep breath.
"You could have at least given her your name."
"There's only one reason a warlock like that would be interested in me. She must be after my body."
"I don't understand......even more. Why would she want your body?"
"She wants to kill me so she can use me as her servant, that's obvious."
Isn't that paranoia?
Lorraine shook her head.
*
"Failed."
Elise tapped into her handheld communicator and contacted the union.
[...... I thought you'd succeed with your superiority.]
"They had a capable fixer."
[Well, you're a step too late, I can't help it.]
Elise was actually not late, though she had lost the fight against that fixer.
The person on the other end of the communicator didn't ask why, just assumed it was because he was so confident in her abilities.
[Come back here.]
"Okay."
Elise disconnected.
"......Albert."
She muttered the name as she stumbled to her feet and recalled Osian's movements from earlier.
The way he'd swung his sword, the way his muscular form stood out against his coat.
Touching the body, she knew it was the finest flesh she had ever seen.
A faint flush rose to Elise's cheeks.
‘He would make a fine skeleton.’