Chapter 122

“Ho, marriage talks? You’re getting married?”

“……Not yet.”

A little while ago, I had suddenly received contact from the Stingray Chairman. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t direct contact—it was his secretary chief, Lim Sang-ho, who reached out to Maria on his behalf.

The summary of that message went like this:

You’re about the age to get married, aren’t you? You don’t have anyone in mind, right? I’ll pick a partner for you, so just wait.

‘Damn it.’

Marriage?

Me, getting married?

That possibility had never once crossed my mind. After receiving anti-aging surgery, I had planned to enjoy life as a bachelor for about two hundred years, and when life started to bore me, I’d simply say goodbye to the world.

But then, to suddenly hear something like this—how could I not be dumbfounded?

‘What the hell is he thinking?’

Since the contact came through Chief Lim Sang-ho, it was clear that this wasn’t some underling daring to use the Stingray Chairman’s name without permission.

Just as I entrusted Maria with important work while I was on duty, the Chairman too would handle important matters through Chief Lim Sang-ho.

‘Well, I guess I’m the only one in this world who knows that even a secretary who’s been by his side for sixty years hasn’t seen his ugliest side…….’

At any rate, because of this out-of-nowhere bombshell of “marriage,” I was being cornered in a completely different way than ever before.

‘How the hell am I supposed to handle this……?’

I had no idea how to respond.

That was why I confided this story to Lexus.

If it had been some dangerous monster, a new villain, or a hostile transmigrator, I would have thought of a way to deal with it.

I’d first let the main characters of this world—our kids—handle it, and if that wasn’t enough, I could always step in and quietly take care of things myself.

But this time, I couldn’t do that.

Since this was an event that never appeared in the original story, I had no idea how to respond.

‘I can’t exactly show up to the matchmaking meeting and cut down the potential bride.’

And then, an even bigger problem came up.

P.S.: I’ve heard about the young girl you’ve been bringing along lately. Is she your child? Bring her here once. I’d like to meet her.

It seemed the Chairman had found out about Evangeline’s existence. Well, it wasn’t like I’d made any effort to hide her, so there was nothing strange about him finding out. But why was he pointing out Evangeline specifically, wanting to meet her?

‘He never even thought to meet Iri or the others, so why her?’

The Stingray Human Resources Development Foundation scouted talented individuals across New Valhalla City without discrimination based on race, age, or gender.

It was just that I happened to pay special attention to Trinity Academy. There were also students from other universities we supported, and even several orphanages. Naturally, those orphanages included plenty of kids around Evangeline’s age.

Even though I sometimes brought along the kids from the Special Class, the Chairman never showed any interest. So, even if I brought Evangeline and treated her specially, I never thought the Chairman would react.

No wonder I was flustered.

Since I couldn’t figure out his true intentions, I couldn’t think of any countermeasures.

So, clinging to straws, I confided in Lexus Bane.

Compared to our Special Class kids who were still just students, a back-alley fixer seemed more likely to help with this matter.

That was the reasoning behind why I brought it up……

But Lexus’s reaction was a little odd.

“Uh…… Co, congratulations?”

“……”

“D-don’t glare at me like that. At least tell me the situation first before snapping at me. Isn’t that fair?”

He had a point.

Expecting him to help when I hadn’t even shared the details yet was too much. Even if the Lexus of the original story was a brilliant fixer who rivaled Sherlock Holmes.

Despite his sarcasm, Lexus was actually quite tight-lipped. And besides, even if rumors about my marriage talks spread around the bars in this area, it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

So, I calmly explained the situation to him. As the story went on, the playful look on his face slowly disappeared.

And then……

“This is…… kind of a tricky situation.”

That was Lexus’s verdict after hearing everything. And really, it was the perfect assessment.

“Do you know what my first thought was when I heard all this? Ah, but this is about insulting your father, so you’d better promise you won’t have me arrested for blasphemy later.”

“I’ll do nothing of the sort.”

“Then I’ll be honest. The fact that old fox came up with this means you’re screwed.”

At Lexus’s words, Maria flinched slightly.

For someone who held deep loyalty toward the Stingray Group, hearing the Chairman referred to that way must have been unpleasant.

Even if Maria had taken my side, someday I’d need to properly drain out that kind of thinking.

While considering that, I looked back at Lexus.

“Why do you think that?”

“To put it simply, your father isn’t an ordinary man, is he?”

“That’s true.”

“The obvious thought is a political marriage. Marrying two powerful families from the Celestial Realm to build an even stronger alliance.”

“That’s far too one-dimensional.”

“I think so too. Besides, didn’t you say the Chairman showed interest in that little girl? He probably thinks she’s your bloodline, like I once did…… But it’s not just because he wants to play doting grandpa in his twilight years, is it? There must be another reason.”

“Another reason.”

“It probably ties back to bloodline.”

Bloodline.

That much was exactly what I had thought too.

Come to think of it, the Stingray Chairman did seem to have an odd obsession with bloodlines and kinship. Even when creating us three brothers in the lab, he had insisted on using his own genetic base.

“The real reason he wants you married might not even be about you—it could be about the child born from it. Like I said, if he were just an ordinary grandfather, maybe he’d just want to see his grandkids before he died, but…….”

“That’s not the case.”

At my firm reply, Lexus nodded.

“Well, it’s still too soon to be sure. After all, it’s not like I worked at Stingray myself. For the last ten years, I’ve been busy chasing around people having affairs, thanks to a certain someone.”

“You hold grudges, Lexus Bane.”

“Tch. Anyway, what I mean is, maybe the internal atmosphere in Stingray has changed without me knowing. Strictly speaking, you’re not part of the ‘head office,’ but rather the ‘Foundation,’ right? So there could be circumstances even you’re not told about.”

“Too much preamble. Get to the point.”

“In short.”

He put his hands together politely and extended them toward me.

“Pay me an advance. I’ll look into it.”

“……”

“What? Why are you looking at me like that, boss?”

I really wished he’d stop calling me “boss.”

He was over sixty, for crying out loud.

“Do you not see my state right now? I can’t do anything—I’m broke. Even if you ask me to handle this, I can’t. And even if I tried to go out and work, that old hag on the first floor—”

[Who are you calling an old hag!]

A loud shout rang out from the first floor.

Lexus shrugged his shoulders.

“See that?”

“Our conversation’s been leaking out.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. This building only has sensors installed that react to specific words. That’s all.”

“……What?”

“The landlord hooked the whole building system directly into her brain, so she can immediately tell if something breaks. But since she couldn’t afford other sensors or security cameras, she just set it up so it reacts only to the word ‘old hag.’”

[There you go again, calling me an old hag!]

Another loud shout burst forth.

With a mischievous grin, Lexus yelled:

“Hey, you idiot landlord! Senile Scrooge!”

[…]

Surprisingly, this time it was quiet.

Lexus smirked at me.

“See? She can’t hear anything else. So you don’t need to worry about leaks.”

How was I supposed to take this?

Did the anti-aging surgery also prevent people from maturing? Looking at him now, who would ever believe this was a man over sixty?

……No.

It wasn’t my concern.

I already knew what kind of man he was. I decided to hire him because of his competence in other areas.

“……Fine. How much of an advance do you need?”

“About 500,000 credits will be enough. I need to pay for the window, cover the rent, settle my bar tabs, cut ties with the Mafia, Yakuza, and Triads, and then……”

“Master.”

Just then, Maria interrupted.

I turned my head and asked:

“What is it, Maria?”

“Forgive me for my boldness, but I must ask you to reconsider hiring this man.”

“Well, well. The secretary is opposing her master’s decision now? People might think you’re his wife.”

Maria frowned at those words.

“Mr. Bane. I know you were once a legendary figure in the Security Division. Though I never met you directly, many Adaptee agents, myself included, respected you at the time. But the man you were then is not the man you are now.”

“Maria.”

“So please reconsider, Master. The legendary agent Lexus Bane is dead. The man standing before you now is nothing more than a dime-a-dozen back-alley fixer.”

It wasn’t common for Maria to show so much emotion. Lexus must have truly gotten under her skin.

Well, from shooting a gun between his employer’s eyebrows the moment they met, to walking around with kiss marks on his face, to women’s underwear strewn across the guest sofa—

For Maria, who once admired Lexus Bane of the Security Division, the man before her must have seemed like an insult to his own name.

On top of that, he had insulted her beloved Chairman Drake Stingray. No wonder her patience finally snapped.

Hmm. How should I calm this down?

Even from my perspective, knowing the original story, Lexus wasn’t exactly reliable. So I could understand Maria’s feelings.

But I couldn’t exactly explain that I knew the original. I needed something else……

“Well, Miss Maria.”

As I was mulling it over, Lexus spoke up.

“There are a few things you got wrong.”

“……And what might those be?”

“First off, we’ve met before. I was there when you woke up from the cryo capsule. And the basic combat training program you used for practice? I was the model for that manual.”

“……!?”

“Second.”

Lexus sneered as he continued.

“I’m not just some dime-a-dozen back-alley fixer. I’m a damn special back-alley fixer. I nearly received a government special designation once, you know. Isn’t that worth something?”

“I know. But you never got it, did you?”

“Ugh, hitting me where it hurts. Still, even if I didn’t get anti-aging surgery, and my modules are outdated, and my body’s falling apart here and there…… I’d rather not be treated like some washed-up old man.”

“Then prove it.”

At that moment, I stepped in.

“I do share some of Maria’s concerns. Honestly, I was starting to wonder myself.”

“Eh? If even Your Highness says that, I’m in trouble…… But fine, it can’t be helped. These days, self-promotion is everything. And I’m not exactly a masochist—I don’t enjoy constant scolding. So, I’ll show you.”

Then Lexus muttered:

“Module Online, [Freischütz].”

In an instant, a module deployed in his hand.

A long rifle, like something a cowboy from the frontier era would use, appeared in his grasp. He held it one-handed and aimed out the window.

“You’re paying for the window.”

Without hesitation, Lexus pulled the trigger. A shockwave far stronger than any normal rifle roared through the office, and a flash of light tore through the window.

At the same time—

The hostile bio-signals my scanner had been picking up, more than a dozen, vanished all at once. They had been tailing us ever since we entered Sector E with malicious intent.

‘Seeing it in person is even more impressive.’

Just one shot.

He had picked them out from among the civilians and taken care of them all.

As expected of Stingray’s elite agent.

Even after nearly ten years, Lexus Bane’s skills hadn’t dulled.

“Hoo. That was stiff.”

He lowered the rifle wearily, and his cooling device automatically activated to lower the body temperature that had spiked from using the Arcane Module.

Ssshhhhh—!

It seemed he used an old cooling system, because plumes of smoke, like dry ice, billowed from his body. That bluish smoke made it look like he was wearing a coat of blue mist.

‘Blue Coat Fixer Office.’

So that was where his alias came from.

As the smoke around him slowly dissipated, Lexus spoke again in his playful tone.

“Well then, I took care of the mosquitoes buzzing around you two. Consider it a special service. No charge. Just cover the window.”

“Interesting. But is it really fine to just kill people so openly in a Mafia-controlled district?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got the Crown Prince of this city backing me now. As long as I say your name, Aaron Stingray, nobody can touch me.”

“And if I decide not to hire you?”

“Uh…… I-I didn’t think of that. Please spare me.”

He looked genuinely flustered.

Of course, I was joking. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to Maria, who had been standing by.

“Maria.”

When I called her name, Maria closed her eyes in shame and bowed deeply.

“……Yes. I acknowledge it. Forgive me for overstepping. Once again, your judgment was not wrong, Master.”

“Hm? Once again? What do you mean by that?”

“There are things.”

“……I see. Well, what now? Tell me clearly. I’m starting to get anxious.”

I chuckled and answered.

“You pass, Lexus Bane.”

From now on, you’ll be working under me.

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