As Max slowly pushed the door of the cabin to enter, he could hear two different voices inside.
"No.. It's my honour to be of any help. You have done so much for Arcane. Who can deny the achievements of the Beast Slayer."
"Ha..Ha.. those days are long gone. I don't have any of that vigour now."
Entering the room, he found two men sitting against each other with a table in between them.
One of them was a bald man with olive skin tone. He was wearing a formal suit and had a flattering expression on his face. He seemed to be in his 40s. The nameplate on his table showed him as Department Head, Carl William.
While the man facing him had spiked orange hairs with a bit of tanned skin and seemed to be around his mid 30s. His back was visible to Max. He was no different than a titan with that heavy build of his. The heavy sword on his back was particularly eye catching. He was dressed in a typical mercenary outfit, a lightweight shield on his chest and guards on both of his arms and a black trousers with boots.
Seeing Max enter, the bald man stood up and introduced him to the other guy.
"Welcome Mr. Shura, we have been waiting for your arrival."
"This gentleman here is the only 7 ★ Mercenary of Arcane, Murcas Daigo. I am sure you would have heard of him as the Beast Slayer of Arcane."
'7 ★ Mercenary'
Those words gave Max a shock, even though he was prepared for it.
'Damn!'
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt'Isn't this a bit over the top.'
'I mean employing a 7★ Mercenary to squash a few mid level mages.'
'What the hell, this is clearly overkill.' he thought in his mind
Even though Max was overwhelmed, he activated my « Acting » and pretended to be calm.
He gave him a nod and took a seat beside the huge guy.
Max had just heard of his name once from Mark's mouth. He was an Otaku after all. At that time Max wished that he would have listened to him properly.
"Hello, I am Murcas Daigo." The guy spoke in a heavy voice and gave his hands forward for a shake.
Looking at that huge hand, Max felt a threat. Typically in that kind of situation didn't the other guy tests the strength by squeezing the hands..he got a bit scared.
If that guy put in even 5 percent of his power, Max's hand would be no different from mashed potatoes.
He couldn't let that happen.
So, he gave the guy a look and nodded at him before avoiding his gestures.
"Ha..Ha... , so you are the shy type. Don't worry, we would soon form a bond as we work through this case." He spoke with a laugh and put his heavy hands around Max's neck.
'Work!'
'What!'
'What!!'
"Yes, Mr. Shura, we think that the case that you are investigating is related to the recent kidnaps throughout the Arcane. So Mr. Murcas has decided to help us with it. Since you are already onto this case, you are hereby requested to work with Mr. Murcas." The bald guy spoke with a sincereness on his face.
"And you don't need to worry, since the difficulty level has been raised. We will provide you with 100 percent redemption on taxes, a proper remuneration and a raise in ranking as long as you can help in this Quest." He offered some benefit with a sly expression.
'Damn'
Max was thinking of refusing and watching from the sidelines. But when that bald guy put it that way, he couldn't refuse. Because doing so would make him look like a coward. And he couldn't afford to tarnish his image as Shura. It is the identity which would help him in his fight with the demons.
"Fine."
He replied in a hoarse voice.His new skill even helped him in changing his voice. That was really a good skill.
" Ha..Ha.., then let's go partner ". Murcas got up from his seat and caught Max by his arms and dragged him out of the room.
'Damn it.'
He couldn't even budge from his grip. How much strength did that guy have?.
Since he couldn't move. He let him have his way and pretended to follow along.
Max was already happy being able to fool those guys.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBut he was celebrating too early.
As they got out of the cabin, the lady outside greeted them.
"Sir, this way." She gave Max a look as he was caught by that man's strong grip before pointing towards the direction of the elevator.
"Ha...Ha.., where is the fun in being so disciplined. You should really enjoy your life. You don't even know when it ends." Murcas spoke with a laugh and a face which looked very silly to Max.
'He is really a fool. She is doing her job, if she were to have fun here won't she be dismissed.'
'Idiot.'
"You can have fun in everything." Murcas spoke as if he was hearing Max's inner voice.
"Let me give you an example, how can I have fun while getting to the ground floor."
Hearing him Max felt uneasy. He could have all the fun he wanted. But his hand which had a strong grip on Max was his cause of worry.
..
Suddenly, Max felt a strong tug on his arms which lifted his feets up from the floor. And he saw Murcas running towards the balcony.
'Shit!'
"Sto-" Before he could even complete, he already stepped on the railing of the balcony leapt up.
..
'Its over, I am finished.'