How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 120: Rampage of the Intellect (2)

“Wow. So this is the fixer’s office I’ve been hearing about.”

Thalia’s eyes sparkled.

It was strange that she was surprised to see an office like this, when she would normally have been favored in more fancy places.

Perhaps she felt Osian’s gaze on her. Thalia pouted her lips.

“Big brother. And here you thought I was a child who didn’t know the world, did you?”

“I was just surprised that you came all the way here. But big brother?”

Thalia’s title felt quite awkward.

They had explored the ancient ruins together, so it wasn’t like they weren’t close. Even with that in mind, the title of big brother was a bit too close and overbearing.

However, Thalia didn’t seem to hear Osian’s point and was curious about the other objects.

“Wow. There’s a phonograph here, and that display case is filled with all kinds of alcohol! Isn’t this more of a tavern than a fixer’s office?”

“It’s a tavern.”

“I see.”

Sitting on a high stool in front of the bar table, Thalia swung her legs back and forth.

Her gaze never left Osian’s, even as she surveyed her surroundings curiously.

“So, what brings you here, are you trying to put in a request?”

“How do you know?!”

“Because you wouldn’t just show up at……our office to hang out.”

“Now that you think about it, huh?”

Thalia scratched her cheek with her index finger in thought.

There was a surprising lack of intelligence in her voice, not unlike the smart one she’d displayed in the ruins.

‘Or just as nervous.’

Judging by the way she was looking at me right now.

“Is there something you want to talk about?”

Osian asked, knowing that if he left it at that, she wouldn’t open up.

Just a gentle nudge with a question was enough to give the other person a little courage.

“……Yes, that’s right, I’m here to ask for a favor.”

“First of all, I’d like to say welcome, but why me?”

“Well, you’re the only one I could think of off the top of my head, and since I don’t know much about the fixer industry, you’re the only one I know, and I thought I’d feel more comfortable talking to you in person.”

“I would like to hear what the request is about, but it is a priority to first ask the broker for the request.”

“A middleman?”

Osian glanced at Ronan, who sat still in the corner.

Thalia glanced at Ronan, too, and he smiled politely at her, as if he were pleased to see her.

Thalia looked at Osian and asked quietly, “What is it?”

“……Can’t I just ask you?”

“Why?”

“Because, he’s…….”

Thalia couldn’t quite get the words out, but Osian seemed to know what she was trying to say.

Once again today, the Violet Fox Tavern had suffered from the pitfalls of superficiality.

‘At this point, I’m going to have to put up a sign for zero accidents.’

On the plus side, unlike the others, Thalia hadn’t been directly rude to Ronan.

She’s a good girl but her brother was a different story.

“Don’t let appearances deceive you. Ronan is a capable broker, but aside from that, I assume the request you wish to make of me has something to do with the Grand Cloister?”

Thalia’s eyes narrowed.

“Uh, how did you know?”

“There was a mage rampage in the neighborhood before you came to me. The wizard in question was wearing an outfit with your academy’s logo on it.”

“Ah. That’s why the guards were blocking traffic in the neighborhood.”

Thalia nodded honestly.

“Yes. Strange things have been happening at the Academy lately…a power surge, if I may say so myself.”

“A power surge.”

“It’s a very serious thing. People have much stronger magic than they should, but it eats away at their sanity and eventually destroys everything around them.”

Osian crossed his arms.

Recalling what had happened this morning, he knew Thalia’s warning was not just a scare tactic.

The [Grand Cloister] student’s talents were far beyond those of their peers, but even with that in mind, it was not a power they should have at their age.

Besides, judging by the mage’s condition after the rampage, he’s lucky he didn’t die.

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“Well, there seems to be some sort of drug circulating among the students lately.”

A drug.

Osian already had a bad feeling.

“It must have something to do with this magic runaway.”

“Yes, that’s right. Rumor has it that taking that pill will increase the amount of mana and increase the power of magic even more than usual.”

“If you’ve gotten into the Grand Cloister, you must be talented enough to be recognized anywhere.”

“Still, it’s human nature to want to grow stronger and climb higher.”

It’s human nature to be greedy.

If you’re considered the best in your town, neighborhood, or city, you’ll be happy in the moment.

But when you step out into the wider world, you realize that there are many people who are just as good or better than you.

You may be objectively brilliant, but it’s humiliating to go from being called a genius to being beneath someone else.

“The Grand Cloister is as competitive as it gets. Everyone works hard here, but not everyone gets the same results. There’s an internal ranking, and that’s what separates the winners from the losers.”

Osian nodded in understanding.

It resonated with him because in his previous life, he had come from a country that had never lost to anyone on Earth, even in education.

“It’s a perfect setting for such an event, but I do have a question. Why didn’t you inform the academy?”

“I did, but I was scolded for it. They told me not to spread unnecessary rumors.”

“To protect the public image of the Grand Cloister Academy.”

And they don’t want to get caught up in the nuisance of student drama.

But that’s just a Band-Aid. Turning a blind eye doesn’t make it go away.

“Teachers think it will take care of itself, and some of them like the idea that they can weed out the weak-minded students who use drugs.”

Thalia clenched her fists in frustration at the thought.

“But at this rate, things are going to get worse, not better, and I can’t stand by and let that happen.”

“Have you told your brother Terence about this?”

“I did, but he told me to stay out of this.”

“Did you report it to the guards?”

“I did. However, even though they were guards, they couldn’t just investigate the Grand Cloister. Even the teachers were pretending it didn’t happen.”

“So you came to me.”

He’s a fixer, he’s competent, and he can do it quietly and without gossip.

“Hoo-hoo, this is a troublesome request in more ways than one.”

Ronan casually walked over and sat down at a nearby table.

At the sight of Ronan, Thalia involuntarily stiffened, her shoulders slumping.

“Um, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Well, if you’re ever uncomfortable or need anything, just let me know.”

You sound uncomfortable.

Thalia almost said it, but swallowed desperately.

At least she wasn’t clueless enough to say something like this out loud like everyone else.

“So, Mr. Osian, what do you suggest?”

“First, I’ll listen to the remuneration.”

Osian said flatly and Thalia’s eyes widened at that.

“Remuneration?”

“Did you really think I was going to do it for free?”

“Well, no, not really, I was thinking of compensation, of course, but…….”

Thalia trailed off and Ronan smirked, knowing why.

“Because the remuneration you offered might not be to Mr. Osian’s liking.”

“…….”

Thalia’s greatest fear was that Osian would refuse to help her.

She didn’t know who to ask next. In fact, at this point in her visit to the fixer’s office, Osian was the last ally she could turn to.

‘I see you’ve got quite a problem.’

Osian stared at Thalia wordlessly.

If he’d been asked to find someone somewhere, or to use force, he would have been fine with it but this case was different.

Illegal drugs that have the potential to drive wizards wild and cause serious casualties in the wrong hands were circulating within the confines of a magical academy

Finding the source and nipping it in the bud is too harsh a request for a single fixer.

Any other fixer would have flatly refused and say that it’s more than they can handle.

In general, this industry is all about public image, so it’s common to bluff your way through a difficult task but Thalia’s request was, by all accounts, impossible.

‘And it’s not like it’s anywhere else, it’s a magic academy.’

It was difficult enough for the teachers to crack down on things easily, let alone for a mere fixer to go in and do it.

Thalia watched Osian’s eyes, anxious to see if he would refuse.

She had no one left to ask but Osian and Osian was not unaware of that fact.

So, instead of flatly refusing, he asked her a question.

“Let me ask you a question.”

“What? Yes, yes, yes.”

“Why do you want to go out of your way to fix things?”

“All of a sudden?”

“I’ve always wondered, you must be a very good student at the Academy of Magic, to have had nothing to do with this, and never will.”

Most of the students who caused trouble were either pessimistic about their talents, or were driven to dangerous measures by a dangerous temper.

But not Thalia, as Osian saw her.

Given her brother Terence’s talent, she must be quite gifted as well.

For Thalia, this incident was strictly speaking ‘someone else’s business.’

Whatever happens to the others and whether they went on a rampage or not had nothing to do with her.

Just because they’re from the same academy? That’s no motivation to go to such lengths.

So Osian asked Thalia in case she was hiding something, or maybe there was another reason.

“Do I need a reason?”

But the words that came out of Thalia’s mouth were completely unexpected.

Ronan, who’d been listening, raised an eyebrow.

“This is dangerous, people could get hurt or killed, and it’s not just me, it’s the innocent people around me.”

“You…….”

“If I say I’m going to fix it, why do I need a reason? If I say I’m going to do what’s right for the world, why do I need a reason?”

Thalia’s words were an idealist’s argument with no regard for practicality.

If anyone else had heard this, they would have called her a foolish young woman living in a flower garden.

The fixers might have laughed, or they would have turned around and spat at her but not Osian.

It’s hard to know the right thing to do in your head, but it’s hard to do it.

However Thalia was willing to do it even though it wasn’t her job and it had nothing to do with her.

“Is that your answer?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Hmm.”

‘Well, it’s not a failure, is it?’

Thalia tensed at Osian’s reaction, wondering if she had offended him.

She wondered if she had offended him by speaking too soon.

“I’ll take the job.”

“What? You said you’d decide after hearing the fee.”

“I did.”

“Then why……?”

“Because I liked the answer.”

“For that reason alone?”

“Of course I’m going to get paid. You’re not going to use this answer as a substitute for a paycheck, are you?”

Thalia threw up her hands.

“Of course not! I also have a conscience. I have asked you a difficult favor, and I have no intention of just glossing over it. Even if it means borrowing the power of my family, I will definitely compensate you appropriately.”

“That’s enough. You’re not going to go back on your word.”

Osian rose to his feet.

“Speaking of which, let’s get moving.”

And so began the investigation into the magic runaway.

*

The Prometheus Consortium dispatched augmented humans to monitor Osian’s behavior.

Arlo, a beta-class enhancer, grumbled to himself.

‘Damn it. Why should I, a Beta, have to follow the movements of a mere fixer?’

He had to use his powers to disguise himself.

He turned his gray hair a common dull brown, and his skin a little darker.

Manipulating flesh pigment was second nature to him.

‘I suppose I should start with the fixer’s surroundings.’

The first thing that caught Arlo’s eye was Ena Grundt, a red-hooded woman on her way to the grocery store.

‘My orders were to monitor, but wouldn’t it be easier if I took hostages and blackmailed him?’

Arlo judged arbitrarily. In truth, he had no desire to prolong this menial task.

‘She’s wandering around on her own at the moment. I’ll just have to catch her there…….’

Arlo watched Ena’s back from the alleyway.

A kidnapping would be no problem with her wandering around like that.

That’s when he realized that a red glow emerged from the alleyway, behind his back.

“……!”

Arlo reacted like a true enhanced human, reacting quickly to the flash of light behind him, but his opponent was faster.

An ugly black gauntlet snapped around his neck, muffling the sound, and dragged him into the darkness of the alleyway.