Chapter 51

After everything was over, Amon’s party headed back to the surface with their comrades.

Along the way, some mercenaries who couldn’t hide their greed upon seeing Amon’s party appeared, but when Cash, who was still in decent shape, glared at them with murderous intent, they wisely backed off.

A day had passed since then.

“That’s right! The equipment!”

The first thing Amon said upon waking up was that.

His comrades, who had been waiting for him to wake up, gave wry smiles.

He’s such a devout friend, but seeing this, it seems like he’s not free from greed either. He’s a guy you can’t quite figure out.

“All the equipment is ready.”

Fortunately, the Bisexual Mage, who’s good with calculations, had prepared the security team’s equipment.

Removing the company IDs and tweaking some security tech would take time, but the party should be able to handle it in about half a month.

“This time, we might be able to upgrade our equipment too.”

The Water Buffalo Tanker’s lips curled up.

[What’s the difference between us and scavengers?]

At the Mute Sniper’s cynical remark, everyone in the room made a complicated expression.

If you think about it, taking the equipment of the dead isn’t much different from scavengers, but to defend ourselves, this was justified.

If you really want to argue, call it compensation?

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the Sniper raised both hands to defuse the situation.

[Just kidding. Calm down.]

Only then did the atmosphere return to normal.

Afterward, the party chatted in the hospital room.

Among the conversations, there were apologies directed at Amon.

“We didn’t trust you. We’re sorry.”

Amon accepted their apologies.

“People can act like that when pushed to the limit.”

“Is that it?”

“That’s it.”

“No ‘we won’t do it again’ or anything?”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I’m receiving a bow of apology.”

Trust is built this way.

Trust that has been shaken a few times and then strengthened is more solid than trust that has never been shaken.

At Amon’s words, the party stopped asking for forgiveness.

“Alright. As an honorable Ogre, I’ll show you through my actions.”

Including Vox, the party vowed to show through their actions that such a thing wouldn’t happen again.

The reflection session ended here.

“Alright. Let’s leave the feedback on this battle at that. The real problem is how to deal with the Shonrai Group.”

As if waiting for this, the Bisexual Mage briefly summarized the information on the Shonrai Group.

The Shonrai Group.

A military and magic engraving company that started in Japan.

Currently, their headquarters has moved to California, and they are a large corporation.

“Weren’t they supposed to be a first-generation corporation?”

Cash asked, and the Bisexual Mage kindly answered.

“They absorbed the technology of the Howling Darkness and were expected to become a first-generation corporation, but they couldn’t digest it.”

What’s the point of absorbing technology?

They didn’t have the infrastructure, manpower, or ability to utilize it.

According to the Bisexual Mage’s research, the Shonrai Group, which was a mid-sized company, rapidly grew about a year after the formation of the Howling Darkness.

But their growth didn’t reach the level of a first-generation corporation.

The management wasn’t competent enough to become a first-generation corporation, and the company’s severely rigid system led to poor performance.

They had no interest in talent development, reinvested in strange places, and just when they should have been growing, they hit a wall.

Above all, they lacked ambition and had a narrow vision.

The reason first-generation corporations are first-generation is that they have absolute power that can replace the government.

Of course, some government projects incur losses, but many first-generation corporations willingly accept those losses.

Because that is the irreplaceable power.

But the Shonrai Group’s vision was too narrow.

As soon as they became a large corporation, the management was satisfied with their position and refused to take any losses, yet they continued to operate recklessly.

“Honestly, the scale of first-generation corporations, which are the backbone of the world, is too overwhelming for them to have come this far.”

Thus, public opinion on the Shonrai Group was mixed.

They’re quite large for a corporation, but not enough to join the first-generation line.

“They have money but no power.”

What a peculiar company.

The briefing ended.

The party immediately began planning their next move under Amon’s leadership.

“Who should we hand the evidence to?”

Amon’s party wasn’t arrogant.

Although they managed to repel the enemy this time by leveraging strategy and terrain, they didn’t think this was the full extent of Shonrai’s power.

If they truly believed they could win, they wouldn’t have twisted their path to the hospital and bribed the hospital director.

The police were obviously out of the question.

They had to choose a large corporation that could thoroughly crush Shonrai.

The Bisexual Mage, as if waiting for this, presented a list of candidates.

“Here’s a list of companies that have a grudge against Shonrai.”

Numerous magic engraving and military-related companies. Shonrai’s competitors.

If they could find companies of the right scale, they could crush Shonrai beyond recovery.

Thus, the party’s focus wasn’t on who would deal with Shonrai.

Instead, they focused on which company would bring the most benefit to the party.

In the midst of this, Cash once again offered her opinion.

“Have you thought about what we’ll do if Shonrai tries to kill us during the trial?”

“Huh? Right.”

A cornered rat will do anything.

Especially if the rat is large, it might not kill the cat, but it could bite the traitor who led the cat to it.

They could request a witness protection program, but in this messed-up world, there was no way that program would work properly for a penniless party.

The party sighed.

No matter how they thought about it, the party wasn’t strong enough to withstand Shonrai’s desperation.

“What about hiding in a dungeon?”

[Our families would be taken hostage.]

“Damn it.”

The Tanker’s suggestion was shot down by the Sniper.

Even if hiding in a dungeon was a good idea, everyone had at least one or two family members, so it wasn’t a meaningful solution.

The Ogre offered a new idea.

“What if we ask a large corporation to protect us and our families?”

“We’d be handing them our leash.”

“Isn’t that too pessimistic?”

“Do you trust megacorps, Vox?”

“…Sigh.”

The Bisexual Mage’s pessimistic future vision left no room for rebuttal.

Honestly, trusting corporations was problematic in many ways due to their average morality.

Even Amon, who had experienced all sorts of political maneuvering in games, couldn’t come up with a proper solution.

He always made sure his characters had the minimum force to maintain some choice before getting caught up in corporate politics.

But in a situation like this, where they were objectively lacking in power, there was nothing they could do.

When no one in the party could come up with a proper solution, Cash cautiously raised her hand.

“There’s… one way.”

The party’s attention turned to Cash.

Under their collective gaze, Cash gave a wry smile and spoke.

*

A few days later.

After Amon’s party finished their treatment.

The party members moved to execute Cash’s plan.

In the city where large corporations formed a forest, they headed straight for one company.

<Rekhetio Corporation>

Their main businesses were investment, stocks, real estate, bodyguarding, security, and a bit of PMC.

They were a megacorp with a lineage incomparable to the Hixen Group that Amon had taken down in the past.

While not a direct competitor of the Shonrai Group, they were a first-generation corporation that would welcome the chance to devour Shonrai and had the scale to digest the technologies Amon’s party could offer.

Amon confidently headed to the lobby.

Having already taken down one first-generation corporation, there was no reason to feel intimidated.

Following him, Cash looked slightly awkward, while the rest of the party tried to hide their nervousness by puffing up their chests with bravado as they entered the lobby.

Cash, the proposer of this operation, spoke to the reception desk as the representative.

“We’re the Amon Mercenary Group. We should have an appointment.”

When did we get that name? Amon’s gaze drilled into the back of Cash’s head, but she ignored it.

After confirming the appointment at the reception desk, they entered the elevator with security.

The floors kept rising.

At first, they assumed the meeting would be held on a high floor, given the nature of the matter.

‘Probably a senior director or executive director level.’

Indeed, the button was pressed for the 90th floor.

So, as the elevator approached the 90th floor, Amon’s party prepared to get off.

But just before they could exit, the security guiding them stopped them.

“We’re not getting off here.”

“?”

As soon as he said that, the security pressed the door open button, and someone from the hallway approached the elevator.

It was a dapper middle-aged man with the title of Executive Director prominently displayed on his chest.

The middle-aged man bowed slightly to Amon’s party and then gestured to the security.

The security nodded and pressed the button for the floor just below the top floor.

While they were surprised once by the polite greeting from an Executive Director of a first-generation corporation and again by the elevator heading to the top floor.

The elevator arrived at the target floor.

The doors opened, revealing two paths.

To the left was the Secretary’s Office, and to the right was the Chairman’s Office.

As they looked around in disbelief, they were guided to the right.

And not by security, but by the Executive Director himself.

“Here we are, gentlemen.”

He spoke in polite English.

Still baffled by the situation, they followed Cash, who took the lead, into the Chairman’s Office.

There were many questions they wanted to ask Cash, but for now, they focused on proceeding with the negotiation.

The door opened, and a young man greeted them.

But none of the party members were fooled by his youthful appearance.

[Frey Rekhetio, Chairman]

People don’t memorize the personal details of every megacorp chairman, but they know the characteristics of all megacorp chairmen.

One of them is immortality treatments.

While completely stopping aging is impossible, with enough money, a mind that won’t wear out, and some connections with the Vatican for miraculous mystic powers, living for hundreds of years is no dream.

Whether Frey was middle-aged or elderly.

That face definitely didn’t reflect his age.

“Welcome. Let’s have some tea while we talk.”

Whether it was the authority of the position or the overwhelming presence of experience.

Amon’s party obediently took their seats.

The Chairman continued the negotiation nonchalantly.

The unusual thing was that Cash, not Amon, was leading the negotiation.

Some terms were exchanged that Amon’s party couldn’t understand.

But there was an implicit agreement exchanged through glances.

‘From now on, Cash will handle the party’s money issues.’

Perhaps anticipating that the party members might not understand, she handed Amon a memo summarizing the negotiation.

The contents were roughly as follows.

—————–

– The company will provide 1% of the profits generated from the technologies brought by Amon’s party.

– All profits from short-selling Shonrai Group before the trial will belong to the company.

– In return, the company will cover all costs for protecting Amon’s party and their families during the trial period.

– The technologies acquired from the Shonrai Group will belong to Rekhetio Corporation.

– In return, the rights will be provided in the form of Rekhetio Corporation stock.

—————–

After reading the contents, Amon asked Torso, the Water Buffalo Tanker sitting next to him.

“What’s short-selling?”

“You’re asking me? Isn’t it something good?”

“Is getting stock good?”

“I don’t know.”

They were people who had never dealt with stocks before, so they didn’t know.

Amon, who didn’t know that investment companies make huge profits from lawsuits and short-selling, or that paying informants in stock is part of money laundering, couldn’t make sense of it.

Amon just sipped his coffee and passed the time.

But he wasn’t worried.

‘My parents were never wrong. It’s great to have someone who knows the law nearby.’

He just had a vague trust in Cash.

And so, the negotiation ended as a one-woman show by Cash.

Somehow, Cash, who had become the party’s representative, shook hands with the Chairman.

Amon, who finally got to drink some really good coffee, regretfully gulped down the last sip.

At that moment, he heard something from the Chairman that he couldn’t ignore.

“Anyway. Who do you take after to be so ruthless? Even though I said you could live outside until I retire, aren’t you being too biased towards the party? I’m not digging the ground to make a living.”

“I’m Cash Yuliya. And even if you complain, you know this is profitable.”

“Yeah, yeah. Cash Yuliya. Who would expect anything less from a Rekhetio?”

“Enough already.”

There was no fool in that room who didn’t understand the situation.

Getting a first-generation corporation’s appointment with a free pass,

The Executive Director being oddly polite,

Being strangely knowledgeable about money,

And the Rekhetio Chairman calling her Rekhetio.

There was only one answer.

“Cough!”

‘Damn. It came out my nose.’

Cash Yuliya Rekhetio.

She was a heavenly lady.

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