Chapter 76

– [Mr. Amon! Because of you, I…!]

*click*

Amon hung up on the Narrow-Eyed Priest.

Some time had passed since the dungeon disappearance incident.

With the training dungeon gone, the priest had to scramble to find a new one, and he cursed Amon daily, but Amon didn’t pay much attention.

This time, it wasn’t Amon’s fault.

‘Well, you were the one who insisted.’

Amon had refused.

From the moment he heard that the power depended on the level of faith, he had a bad feeling.

But the Narrow-Eyed Priest, the assistant instructors, and even the students pushed him into it, so he had no choice.

He felt bad for the priest, but in a way, it was his own fault for allowing it.

At least, that’s what Amon thought.

Amon turned his attention away from the vanished dungeon.

Instead, he decided to enjoy the brief respite he had been given.

Originally, he had cleared his schedule for half a year for security work, but this incident left Amon’s schedule wide open.

He was jobless until the priest found and selected a new training location.

He decided to use this short break to meet people he hadn’t seen in a while.

Amon drove his car to the bustling district.

The bustling district was located between the city center and the dungeon area.

He entered an equipment store located in the bustling district.

“Long time no see, Mr. Paul.”

It was the store of his first party members.

As soon as he saw their faces, memories of their short time together came flooding back.

They had taught him a lot during his first exploration and helped him form a good impression of the explorer’s life.

But they had encountered Scavengers and suffered severe injuries, and after replacing their bodies with machinery, they no longer had the mental energy to continue, so they chose to retire.

And they were the ones who gave Amon his lifeline, the Sky Step.

The store they opened with their remaining assets was here.

The Mercenary Department Store.

It was a store that dealt not only with items needed for specific dungeons but also took orders for products mercenaries needed.

Compared to Amon’s past life, it was a small department store for mercenaries.

Amon greeted Paul and also greeted Tori, who had been a party member and was now Paul’s wife.

“Nice to see you too, Ms. Tori.”

“Long time no see. It’s been a few months, right?”

“Almost three months, I think.”

“Three months… So this is your first time here since the reconstruction?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh my. We’ve been neglecting our benefactor. Honey, what are you doing? Hurry up and show him around.”

*smack*

“Oops. Sorry. I lost control of my strength.”

As expected of a former vanguard.

Just from Tori patting his back, Paul, who had been a mage, staggered.

There might even be a handprint left under his clothes.

It was a bit violent, but that was their way of expressing love.

While Amon watched the scene with a smile, Paul approached, using ice magic to soothe his back.

“So, what brings you here?”

“No particular reason. Just to get some repairs, do some shopping, and catch up.”

“Then do you have time today?”

“I’m free until dinner.”

“Then let me show you around the building. It’s your first time here since the reconstruction.”

Amon accepted the offer.

He wanted to see the place he had funded for reconstruction at least once.

“I’ll stay and watch the lobby, so go ahead and look around~”

Tori, the lady of the department store, waved her hand.

Amon toured the department store with Paul’s guidance.

“Wow, the store has grown so much~”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, even just managing the building is a job now.”

Paul joked as he introduced the building.

First, the lobby that Tori managed was on the ground floor.

It was the floor where mercenaries frequently bought consumables.

Preserved food, tents, medicine, signal flares, etc…

These were items essential for explorers delving deep into dungeons.

As Amon listened to the explanation, a question suddenly came to mind.

“What happened to the energy bars I introduced you to before?”

At Amon’s question, Paul smiled wryly and pointed to a corner.

Familiar-looking dried blocks were on display.

They seemed to be selling, as only about half of the display was left.

Amon was shocked.

“People actually buy that?”

The reason for his surprise was simple.

Those blocks were made by the Bisexual Mage from Amon’s party.

After becoming the head of the research team at Cash’s company, the first thing the Bisexual Mage did was start a company to produce those blocks.

The party members tried to stop him, but the Bisexual Mage firmly believed that the blocks had commercial potential.

But as everyone except the Bisexual Mage expected, no retailer bought his product.

Still, the Bisexual Mage didn’t give up.

– “Retailers aren’t mercenaries! They don’t know the market, so they don’t understand the value!”

With that invincible logic, there was no arguing.

In the end, to break the Bisexual Mage’s stubbornness, Amon reluctantly introduced the energy bars to Paul’s store.

‘If he sees they don’t sell, he’ll give up.’

That was the thought behind the introduction, but…

“Why are they selling?”

Paul also seemed to find the situation unbelievable as he replied.

“Mostly Hod, graduate students, and mercenaries who have to stay in dungeons for long periods eat them.”

It made sense immediately.

Those who had given up their humanity for efficiency would definitely eat them.

After all, repeated surgeries would ruin their taste buds, and for those people, it was the best meal option.

‘What a crazy world.’

It was a bit much to realize through food, but the world never went as Amon expected.

***

Paul’s tour continued.

In the basement where guns and weapons were sold, they met the blue-haired Hail and had a brief chat.

On the second floor, where combat systems and cyberware parts were sold, they met the yellow-haired sniper Even and caught up.

“Oh? You’re walking?”

“I bought a reinforced exoskeleton. With this, I can walk without any issues.”

“What about your lower body?”

“Every morning, I see Everest in front of me.”

Even though his lower body was paralyzed, Even was still Even.

He loved guns and gunpowder and never lost his positivity.

Instead of despairing over his paralyzed legs, he cheered over the fact that his sexual function remained.

As Even proudly declared, the blue-haired Hail chimed in.

“What’s the point? You can’t use it anyway.”

“What the hell, you punk!?”

Hail showed off a ring on his ring finger with a victorious smile.

Even grabbed Hail by the collar and shook him.

Amon watched their exchange with a warm smile.

Afterward, Amon and Paul toured the department store.

Almost everything a mercenary needed was gathered in the building.

As Paul guided him, mercenaries filled the building, and countless employees busily attended to them.

It was a boom.

Throughout the tour, Paul’s face never lost its smile.

‘Seeing this makes the investment worth it.’

Amon had always felt guilty toward Paul.

Was it because he joined the party that they encountered Scavengers?

Did the medical bills, paid with essence instead of cash, reduce their startup funds?

He had always felt uneasy.

But now, there was no need.

‘This settles the essence debt.’

It was a bit late, but they had repaid each other’s favors.

Afterward, the two headed to Paul’s office.

“Let’s chat here until lunch.”

Inside the office, the two chatted to their heart’s content.

“What did you do in situations like this, Mr. Paul?”

“Oh, in those cases, there’s no answer. I got beaten up by Tori too.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“You too.”

As they chatted, the topic of human trafficking suddenly came up.

“Come to think of it, Amon, have you run into any human traffickers lately?”

“No?”

Early in his explorer days, he had tangled with human traffickers twice, but after getting involved with Cash’s company, he hadn’t had any encounters.

Maybe in the ‘past,’ but not ‘recently.’

Still, just in case, Amon recounted some old stories.

About the Beastman Clan leader who had been hiding among the party members and was involved in human trafficking.

The explanation ended.

After hearing it, Paul’s expression darkened.

“So it was you…!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“There’s been a gang looking for someone recently. It was you.”

“Could you tell me more about that?”

“I was going to tell you anyway.”

Unlike Amon, who always played on a large scale, Paul often mingled with the lower rungs of society.

Most of his store’s main customers, mercenaries, were often close to the lower rungs of society.

Prostitutes, gangs, and the like.

Naturally, Paul also received information from them.

“One of the gang’s main sources of income was human trafficking.”

The gang didn’t directly engage in human trafficking.

They could if they wanted, but there was a more efficient method.

“In human trafficking, the gang was like a corporation. They bought from suppliers and distributed to consumers.”

Instead of doing the legwork themselves, they outsourced to Scavengers or crews to supply the goods.

This method was safer, required less manpower, and left more profit.

Thanks to this, the gang had made a lot of money.

Then one day, the suppliers suddenly disappeared.

The Scavengers who had been supplying organs, the crews who sold explorers on the gang’s behalf.

All contact was lost.

With the suppliers gone, the gang’s business was disrupted, so they immediately started investigating.

Through their investigation, they discovered that all the suppliers had been wiped out.

And by this point in the explanation, Amon could roughly guess the situation.

“Don’t tell me…”

“First, they think we wiped out the Scavengers. Fortunately, since the gang relies on our department store a lot, we weren’t targeted. The problem was the crew.”

“Ahaha…”

“Yeah. It was you.”

Unlike the Scavengers, with the Beastman crew, they had the Mercenary Agency’s help to clean up afterward.

It wasn’t unreasonable for them not to conclude that Amon was the culprit.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ll never find out it was you anyway.”

As Paul said, the gang would never reach Amon.

Recently, Cash had been actively deleting or manipulating information about Amon.

If they could reach him, they’d have to be considered a corporation, not a gang.

And even if they did reach him, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Amon had already become too big for the gang to dare touch.

That’s why Paul was relieved.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

At least his friend and benefactor wouldn’t be in danger.

Paul gestured for Amon to forget about this story.

No need to get involved and tire himself out.

But Paul had overlooked three things.

One, Amon wasn’t the type to avoid a fight when he had the strength, unless it was a close call.

Two, Amon was currently bored.

And the third…

“Don’t worry, Mr. Paul.”

Ethically, humanly, religiously, Amon wouldn’t let those who crossed the line get away.

Amon firmly held Paul’s hands and said,

“Those who sell their brothers will surely burn in hell.”

Paul was about to say something to Amon but held back.

Instead, he thought he’d pray for their souls at the church this weekend.

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