CH 41

Chapter 41 – A Successful Deal

TL: Sponsored chapter (2/6)

The next day arrived. It was just before 2:00 PM.

After sleeping at home for the first time in a while, I had made a [Copy Doll] of Enjou and was now on my way to the promised meet-up location with the Apostles of Peace. The place where we had agreed to meet was at Warehouse No. 3 on the pier. It was a place where we could do business without anyone interrupting.

However, I myself was on standby in a building a decent distance away from Warehouse No. 3, watching Enjou through a monitor, just as I had done before. I could have watched from home, but I wanted to be able to respond quickly in case something happened. It would also be easier to collect the money as soon as possible after the business meeting was over.

I arrived about an hour before the arranged meet-up time, and I planned to have Enjou do some work while no one else was there. For now, I had Sol stay by Enjou’s side so she could let Enjou know if there were any signs of people.

Enjou went not to Warehouse No. 3, but Warehouse No. 4 instead and went inside. The warehouse was dimly lit, and there were crates filled with steel pipes and steel beams all over the place. After going deeper in, there was a fairly open space where there was nothing… or so it seemed.

However, after advancing about halfway into the middle of this space, Enjou crouched down and began to move his hand to touch something in the space that was supposedly empty, then made a gesture of grabbing something and stood up.

Strangely enough, the front part of a car appeared in that space where there should have been nothing.

In fact, the item that Enjou was grasping right now was an item called a [Camouflage Sheet]. When placed over an object, it would assimilate with the surrounding scenery and appear transparent. It was useful for concealing things. In other words, the items requested by the Apostles of Peace were hidden under this sheet.

Yesterday, I went here and set this up. Enjou was here now to check that it hadn’t been ransacked. I also had him make sure that the [Camouflage Sheet] was working as intended and that he retrieved it after use.

Enjou folded up the sheet and stowed it in the bag that he was carrying. After that, I had Enjou wait there until the time came, and after receiving confirmation from Sol that the Apostles of Peace were arriving, he made his way to Warehouse No. 3.

Enjou waited shortly in front of the warehouse, and soon enough, Otaka arrived with the Apostles of Peace in tow. Two of the members were carrying large bags, which were most likely filled to the brim with money.

“I’ve been expecting you, Otaka-san.” (Enjou)

“““Wooooww!!”””

Everyone aside from Otaka was excited by the sight of the vehicles and firearms they had requested and cried out with emotion.

“Calm down a bit, you guys!” (Otaka)

“B-But, Boss! It’s freaking amazing! There are three combat vehicles as requested! And they all look brand-new, too!” (Comrade)

“Alright, alright, calm down! The deal isn’t done yet! Come on, you guys need to control yourselves!” (Otaka)

After rebuking his comrades who were acting like children, Otaka looked back at Enjou.

“Impressive. It’s seriously amazing that you can procure all of these items in just two days. How… I guess it would be pointless to ask, huh?” (Otaka)

“Yes, that would be a trade secret,” Enjou replied with a shady smile.

“Right. Well, whatever. It doesn’t matter to us how it was obtained. The question is whether it’s the real thing or not.” (Otaka)

“Then I will allow only you to determine that, Otaka-san. Please feel free to touch it and see for yourself.” (Enjou)

Then, Otaka quickly began to pick up the firearms and check over the vehicles.

“It’s really amazing. They’re all brand new, and as far as I can tell, there are no defects.” (Otaka)

Seemingly satisfied, he stepped away from the commissioned items and turned to face Enjou.

“I have no complaints.” (Otaka)

“Then we have a deal.” (Enjou)

“Yeah. Hey, hand those bags over to him.” (Otaka)

The two who were carrying the bags earlier came over and put them down in front of Enjou. On the other side of the monitor, I used the [Appraisal Looking-Glass] to check the contents.

As promised, there was exactly ¥130,000,000 in the bag. Enjou also opened the bag and pretended to check the contents. But without counting, he closed the bag again.

“Are you sure you don’t need to check it properly?” (Otaka)

“I trust that you’ll continue to maintain this business relationship.” (Enjou)

“I’m not going to strike a bad deal with you. Besides, I also expect that we’ll be acquainted for a long time.” (Otaka)

Well, well. I’ll make sure you’ll want to continue to drop money.

“B-Boss! It’s all ours now, isn’t it?” (Comrade 1)

“It’s okay to touch it now, right?” (Comrade 2)

“I can’t hold myself back anymore either!” (Comrade 1)

“Alright, but don’t touch any of the grenades. I haven’t taught you all how to handle them yet. Also, refrain from loading any of the guns with bullets. And don’t start the car yet. If you can promise that, then go ahead.” (Otaka)

“““Hell yeah!!”””

Finally let loose, the other members of the Apostles of Peace began to make a racket as they began to handle the items.

“Sorry for the commotion.” (Otaka)

“No, no. I’m just glad you’re happy with the purchase.” (Enjou)

“Those bags of money are pretty heavy, aren’t they? You sure you can carry them by yourself?” (Otaka)

“Don’t worry. Despite my appearance, I’m quite strong.” (Enjou)

Enjou held a bag on each arm and began to explain about how things would be from here on out.

“Next time you want to do business, please leave a note for me here. Let’s see… I’ll come here once at the end of the month to check.” (Enjou)

“Understood. I’ll be counting on you then.” (Otaka)

“Yes. Also… there’s one more thing I want to ask you.” (Enjou)

“What is it?” (Otaka)

“The Apostles of Peace are not only doing dungeon-clearing, but also destroying criminals and looters, right?” (Enjou)

“Well, our main focus is clearing dungeons.” (Otaka)

“Yesterday, an upscale residential area was attacked by a group of insurgents. Have you heard about this?” (Enjou)

“Yes. According to my information, it was the work of a group called the Inochi-shirazu.” (Otaka)

“Inochi-shirazu? Is that supposed to mean they’re a bunch of reckless daredevils?” (Enjou)

“Hah? …Yeah, apparently their organization’s name is ‘Inochi-shirazu’, written in katakana.” (Otaka)

I see. But why would they choose such a stupid name?

“They’re a group that has recently started to grow in power. Those guys are the same as other insurgent groups in that they steal food from others and kidnap women, but they’ve been repeatedly targeting upscale neighborhoods, breaking into homes and doing armed robberies.” (Otaka)

I see. So that’s what their goal is.

“Also, the guy who is their leader is apparently a pretty messed up guy.” (Otaka)

“Do you know him?” (Enjou)

“Kuzuhara Saito. He committed murder when he was a kid and got out of juvenile prison two months ago.” (Otaka)

“Wow…” (Enjou)

Ah, as expected of a copy. Even our reactions were the same.

But if there was a group formed around that guy, they were almost certainly a bunch of dangerous people.

“He seems to have gathered a lot of the guys he used to do bad shit with back when they were kids, and now they’re doing all kinds of terrible things together again. We’ve been thinking of making contact with them and taking them out.” (Otaka)

However, since he said that their main focus was on clearing dungeons, they probably didn’t have enough resources to direct towards this matter.

“But now that we have weapons, we should be able to gather enough manpower. We’re going to fight to protect this city. Well… I really don’t want to be on the battlefield anymore though.” (Otaka)

“…By any chance, were you involved with a combat-related profession in the past?” (Enjou)

“Yeah, I’m an ex-mercenary. Well, mercenaries are the definition of scum. Killing people without batting an eyelid just for money… I got fed up with it and quit, but… here I am again, carrying a weapon. It’s ironic, isn’t it?” (Otaka)

“I suppose. But there are people that could be saved because of you.” (Enjou)

“…That’d be nice if it were true, I guess.” (Otaka)

“It is profitable to me after all.” (Enjou)

“Hah, of course you would say something like that. Anyway, because of these reasons, I’m going to continue to fight to protect people. I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.” (Otaka)

“Yes, likewise. Well then, all the best.” (Enjou)

With that, Enjou turned and left the warehouse.

Of course, Enjou wasn’t headed in my direction. I couldn’t be completely certain if anyone was still watching. I didn’t think there was anyone who could escape Sol’s watchful eye, but I still had to do this to be absolutely certain. I planned to have Enjou leave the pier, escorted by Sol.

I pulled my cap deeply over my head just like I had done when I came here and went on ahead to a certain location. It was a men’s restroom in the middle of a park.

After a while, I met up with Enjou, who had taken a long way around to get here, and I received the money and the [Camouflage Sheet], putting them into the <Box>. Enjou also returned to doll form, and I shoved the doll into my pocket. I then left the restroom as if nothing had happened.

From then until I arrived home, nothing out of the ordinary happened, meaning that I had successfully closed out today’s business deal.