Chapter 29

Sage swallowed nervously at the harsh tone.

"What do you mean by that...?"

Instead of responding, Lennok waved the request summary he had been holding.

"Are you playing dumb when everything you want is written here? It's not just about retrieving samples and submitting them."

It's important to address any concerns before starting work.

It wasn't that Lennok doubted the truth of the information he had given him, but Sage hadn't told him everything.

Sage's pupils shifted back and forth, but in the end, he said nothing.

He knew exactly what Lennok was talking about.

Jenny added fuel to the fire.

"Gang."

"......."

"You left out the part about the gang. If the councilor hears that you've hired freelancers, how can you guarantee that we won't clash with the gang?"

The councilor may not directly intervene, but it's different with the gang he's associated with.

If they find out that Lennok was tasked with retrieving samples from the pharmaceutical company and submitting them, the gang's involvement will naturally follow.

"I can really sneak in and just submit the samples to the patent office. Is that what you want?"

Lennok asked, but no answer came.

No, Sage's silence was an answer to that question.

What Amnac Pharmaceuticals really wanted was not a simple errand runner, but a force that could stand up to the councilor's gang.

Although he was beating around the bush, he had come to him hoping that Lennok would clash with the gang while retrieving the samples and take care of them.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to say it outright, which was frustrating for Lennok.

‘...Certainly, it's different from Baritz.'

When comparing Amnac Pharmaceuticals' handling of the situation to a well-established company like Baritz, which effectively communicated its goals, priced each objective differently, and even compensated for unexpected variables, it was clear that Amnac's approach was absurd.

Lennok speculated that as a venture company, they might have experienced some challenges, but it was senseless to begin playing games right after outsourcing.

With their careless attitude towards retrieving the samples and handling the gang, it may have been wiser to simply hand the samples over to the councilor.

Sage noticed the tense atmosphere and became visibly nervous, causing his shoulders to shrink and cold sweat to pour down his face.

Lennok resisted the temptation to pull out a cigarette and instead gave Jenny a sidelong glance.

He realized that expressing his frustration towards Sage at that moment would serve no purpose as it wouldn't change anything. It seemed more appropriate to discuss with Jenny whether or not he should accept the request.

Jenny noticed Lennok's gaze and smiled, indicating that she understood his intentions.

"Hey, client."

"Yes, yes!"

At Jenny's casual remark, Sage responded nervously.

"Do you still want us to handle the job?"

"Yes, I do...."

"So, looks like we gotta talk about payment. You may have just wanted our wizard to run a quick errand, but we see some risks involved. You get what I’m saying, right?"

Sage nodded.

Jenny smiled contentedly and pointed at something with a long cigarette in her hand.

It was Sage's cellphone on the table.

"Let's give your boss a call and find out. How much are they willing to invest in us, and how much money will it take to motivate our wizard to take on any gangsters he might come across while running errands?"

"........."

"Go ahead and make the call while we're out."

With that, she naturally escorted Lennok out of the office.

As soon as the door closed, Jenny asked, "What do you want to do?"

"What?"

"Yeah, they did try to deceive us, but to be honest, it's kinda cute. I mean, if they were really serious about tricking us, they wouldn't have mentioned the councilor or the gang in the request summary, right?"

"......."

"Jenny said that even though you knew, you slashed the price."

"Ye...Yes?"

Looking at the noticeably flustered face of Sage, Lennok smiled faintly.

"You raised the compensation by double at once, and completely ignored the normal market price."

"Oh, that's a misunderstanding," replied Sage, Sweating profusely.

His hands holding the steering wheel began to tremble.

It was more reasonable to see that it was not because his conscience was pricked by Lennok's words, but because of the fear of angering the wizard sitting in the passenger seat.

After all, it's not easy to experience the fear of possibly being electrocuted right in your seat.

Lennok stared at Sage silently for a while and then spoke.

"Are there no other samples in the warehouse?"

Sage, who had been very tense, eagerly spoke when Lennok subtly changed the subject.

"No, that's not the case. It was originally a place the president used for personal use, so there are samples of other drugs on the market."

"I'm curious about what samples are there. Are there any ordinary drugs like sleeping pills?"

"We don't handle them directly, but... there probably are."

"That's fine."

"Yes?"

"It's nothing."

It's not a bad thing if he can secure other samples, as the sleeping pills sold in the shabby pharmacy of District 49 are already not working well.

He always thought about it only when he was falling asleep, so he had been putting off buying different sleeping pills. He thought it would be good to take one this time.

In the meantime, the car Sage was driving came to a halt.

"We're here. It seems like the others have gathered to some extent."

About ten people were gathered in front of the warehouse, which they had already seen in the photos.

A small number to attract attention, but a large number to guard a single warehouse.

The traces of the pharmaceutical company's struggle to avoid overtly opposing gang were apparent.

"People... seem to be quite dissatisfied."

Lennok muttered while looking at the people with a flushed face through the car window.

The sight of them approaching with various guns and knives, dressed in shabby clothes, was nothing short of fierce.

Among them, a muscular man with a fierce expression came forward and banged on the car.

"Hey! Open the door right now! Get out!"

"What, what's going on?"

"This isn't what we agreed on! What can we do with this number of people?!"

Although it seemed like a lot of people to guard one warehouse, it was an absurdly small number when considering the possibility of a gang attack.

Lennok glanced around and saw that the individuals' levels and appearances were not exactly neat either.

It wasn't difficult to grasp the situation.

"You skimped out on them."

"No, that's... not true."

"I don't care, but do you think those people don't know?"

Sage's face turned pale again upon hearing Lennok grumble. In all fairness, the situation wasn't entirely his fault.

The knowledge that a sample produced by the pharmaceutical company was hidden in that location was limited to only a few top executives and officers of the company.

Their decision to safeguard the sample from the gang with such a small number of people was likely the primary cause of the problem.

Although it was frustrating, it wasn't always possible to deal with astute customers.

"Let's get out."

"Yes? But if we go out now..."

"I'll do as much as I've been paid."

Lennok opened the door without waiting for an answer.

(TO BE CONTINUED)