BCST 16

It’s a lie.

As if I’d gone crazy and was communicating with “that” thing.

The terror from the last moment of catching Yabok is still fresh in my mind.

But I’m not some martial-arts master who’s time-traveled back and can instantly tell someone’s talent at a glance and explain the reasoning.

I only know the answers because of future knowledge; I don’t have the proof.

So I can just shove the responsibility onto that divine being.

Isn’t that what people do in these situations — blame the gods?

“Did the being you contracted tell you that? That my daughter has the talent for a black mage?”

Aires’s CEO asked with half curiosity, half distrust.

Even if people look down on black mages, ordinary folks tend to be curious about the higher entities that contractors bind with.

Aside from attitudes toward real-world shamans, curiosity about ghost stories and spirits is different.

Here, it’s even more pronounced because in this world those higher beings actually exert power.

“Hmm.”

Like someone watching a fortune-telling shaman, Aires’s expression flickered oddly and his eyes sparkled against the deep wrinkles of his face.

Seeing that, I squared my shoulders and dropped my voice to answer.

“Yes.”

“You said ‘god,’ so your contractor isn’t some nobody. I did suspect when you immediately spotted my bodyguard earlier. So what kind of being is your god? A great demon? A celestial being? Or a great spirit?”

Is this guy excited or what?

I answered Aires’s question with an incredulous look.

“…Do you think I’m going to tell you that?”

“Oh. Was that a sensitive question? My apologies. I’m just not very perceptive about that sort of thing.”

Well, that’s typical of ordinary people.

They live in a different world than the problem-solvers at agencies, so their common sense differs.

“But you brought up my daughter’s matter, didn’t you? This concerns my most precious family. I want to trust somewhat, you know.”

Not really.

He asked knowing full well.

No wonder he rattled off a list of contractors.

“Hmm.”

I rested my chin on my hand and glanced at Aria.

Aria, who met my gaze, stared back with her green eyes.

Looking into them I thought: do I really have to open up and keep convincing them?

No, it’s not necessary to that degree.

Of course, if I knew the enemy’s motive, I could more narrowly define their possible actions.

But do I need to disclose my information for that?

Why should I?

My job is just to guard this girl.

Just because I offered info as a courtesy for better cooperation, why should I take a loss?

What an idiot idea.

If they don’t believe, that’s their loss — I don’t care.

I had that thought when I was about to speak.

“Trust me.”

“…Aria?”

Aria, who had been staring at me, ignored her father’s call and slowly opened her mouth.

“I can feel it. A lofty celestial being we could never imagine. That being’s grace has been bestowed upon him.”

Blink.

Her long eyelashes fluttered once and trembled slightly downward.

Drip.

“…Aria? Aria!”

Ares shouted when he saw bright red tears of blood flowing from her almost-closed eyes.

At his shout, the security guards waiting in the room sprang into action.

Click. Click. Click.

Guns pointed at me.

But I didn’t care and folded my arms, watching Aria as she cried those bloody tears.

Amid the commotion, Aria — eyes shut — spoke softly.

“…They say talent can sometimes be both blessing and curse.”

She seemed to be sensing something.

Yeah.

That’s what talent looks like.

As I quietly looked at her, Aria continued.

“…And the power contained in an imperfect vessel will eventually overflow and destroy the vessel itself. But perhaps even that process holds meaning for me. When I realized this, I wanted to seize this moment as an opportunity. So there is something I would like to ask of you, Eddie. May I tell you?”

God, her way of speaking.

I was taken aback by Aria’s tone but answered.

“…What is it?”

With her eyes closed but facing me directly, Aria said.

“I would like to request your protection starting tomorrow, not the day of the event.”

A frantic voice spilled from the confiscated radio.

Black mage Toulon Goksel listened and moved fast.

Tatadadat!

[Target!?]

[Target is fleeing toward three o’clock! Alpha-2 is down. Capture them!]

“Damn it, what the hell. Why did these guys suddenly change?”

He felt they were getting closer to identifying his identity.

But the enemy forces, which had produced some results until now, suddenly switched to a different style.

Whatever it was, they must have hired another armed unit.

They’d spent more money than before—making them a real pain to deal with.

“There! There he is!”

“Shoot!”

Tudadadada-!

[Shield]

Rattle!

The shield broke after only a little while, but it bought Toulon time to avoid the attack.

“Annoying.”

[Predator’s Gaze]

The mercenaries caught in the ‘predator’s gaze’ flinched.

At that moment—

[Web Surge]

He shot out webs and completely immobilized them.

He could have killed them here, but he deliberately stopped at suppression.

There was no need to give the enemy any more reason to heighten their alert level.

Raising their guard any further would be the last thing he wanted.

If it escalated more, things might become impossible.

‘Should I change the plan?’

Toulon’s eyes narrowed.

Penetrating the building was no problem.

The issue was what came after.

Then a mercenary who had sprung from a side alley shouted.

“Over here!”

Tudadadada-!

These were the guys ready to catch him.

If the chase dragged on, the danger would be to him.

So Toulon used the magic that had saved him from countless pursuits.

[Arachnid Grace]

Using ‘the elegance of the spider,’ he instantly began to climb walls with hands and feet.

“Damn it! Shoot him! Drones!”

He moved three-dimensionally between buildings.

Blind bullets cut through the air at night between structures.

Tudadadada!

Weeeee-.

Drones chased from high above.

Bang!

They couldn’t withstand the magic fired from Toulon’s hand and exploded.

Soon after, while the mercenaries watched, Toulon casually disappeared into the city night.

“Damn…”

The mercenaries, watching him go, had no choice but to lower their guns.

One day before Aires Corporation’s product exhibition.

Because I stayed at a nearby hotel provided by the company, I could quickly reconnect with my protection target, Aria Aires.

Since it was a hotel and not a motel, the facilities were great.

The breakfast was good too.

Aria walked beside me and spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.

“You would normally have roamed freely and checked things out today, but I’m sorry you have to stay with me. Does this cause you any trouble?”

“I’m fine watching now.”

Aria and I were touring the 30th-floor exhibition hall together.

Because of my job, I hadn’t been able to tour the venue alone before the event tomorrow. Aria was taking time to walk around with me.

Around us, stage crews were using various robots and equipment to set up booths.

“As you know, the whole 30th floor is used for the exhibition and corporate meetings take place on the 31st floor office space.”

I listened to Aria’s explanation while watching booths where stage setups were finishing.

“Will the VIP dinner be in a separated area on the 31st floor?”

“Yes. The flow of movement can’t be too chaotic.”

I’d been told Aria herself would attend the VIP dinner.

Besides being the Aire’s chairman’s daughter and thus known by face, she also handled important duties at Aires, a tech solutions company.

She’s the head of technology strategy, if I remember correctly.

At that moment a group of people appeared at the entrance and started approaching us.

Immediately the surroundings buzzed with activity.

The security personnel who had guarded Aria all night made themselves known.

Ah, they rotate shifts too.

Clocking out is always exciting, I guess.

A particularly well-built man walked toward me.

Who’s this?

“Oh, he’s the head of security,” Aria said.

So he was new.

The man called head of security approached Aria politely and spoke.

“All routes have finished safety checks. Both the exhibition hall and the VIP area are secure.”

“Good work. Any other issues?”

At that, the head of security glanced my way and opened his mouth.

“Actually……”

What he said next drew a reaction from me.

“Scenario training?”

At my interjection the head of security smiled and addressed me.

“Yes. We plan to conduct threat-response scenario training in line with tomorrow’s event schedule. If possible, we’d like to ask Mr. Eddie, also a fellow black mage, to play the role of the dangerous actor.”

He said it while stealing a look at Aria.

There was a certain enthusiasm in that gaze.

I was wary that they were trying to rope me in, but it didn’t particularly bother my [senses].

Maybe he just wanted to show his client he was doing his job well.

A shame though.

“No, I can’t. I’m working. Can’t do it.”

I don’t mind partying with those types, but I also need to practice my skills and train with my newly acquired traits.

I can’t skip what I originally have to do just to play around.

But the man was persistent.

“We’ll share all our materials with you. And while you cooperate, our night team will remain to guard VIPs. There will be no problems. How about it?”

“Hmm.”

Well, if they’re offering that much…

This wasn’t complacency.

Tomorrow, I’d be covering alone for certain parts, but now with their day team and night team present it’ll be overkill — current manpower was 300% excessive.

And the data they offered would definitely be helpful.

“You said you had an armed clash with that team last night, right?”

“Yes. Of course we have updates related to that. We’ve organized the magic and combat methods that person used.”

At that moment Aria interjected with a slightly anxious tone.

“I also heard they came last night… that nasty black mage.”

When I glanced at her, fear filled her expression.

Hmm.

That’s a natural reaction for a girl her age who’s not used to this.

I gathered my thoughts and spoke slowly.

“All right. Let’s do a simplified version. Have your extra personnel cover protection and assist us, as you suggested. Is that okay?”

“Are you serious?”

This last was directed at Aria.

When a protection target is nervous like this, demonstrating a bit of the plan in front of them can be helpful.

Surprisingly, Aria brightened and nodded.

“Fine. As long as the night team who worked hard is okay with it.”

The head of security immediately answered.

“Of course no problem! Then we’ll present our scenario right away.”

The night team, listening behind him, looked displeased — but what can they do.

Oblivious to that, the head of security cheerfully handed over a paper.

Flick.

“It’s been a while since we used paper, right? For security reasons we use this method.”

No, I’m more used to paper than digital…

Anyway, I took the paper and listened to a brief explanation.

“…For this scenario training, Mr. Eddie will assist with sections 4, 5, and 6. But before that—”

Suddenly the head of security, stopping his explanation, looked at me meaningfully.

“It may be a presumptuous suggestion, but how about we take some time to get to know each other to ensure smooth operations? A simple contest, so to speak.”

Yeah, I expected this.

“How is that? Would you be okay with it?”

Faced with his thinly veiled eagerness, I replied:

“Sounds fun.”

I accepted the proposal immediately.