Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 103: "Request"

I arrived at the guild and immediately went up to the third floor.

It was late at night, but the place was quite busy.

People with blue and yellow plates attached to them were looking at the request list on the wall and groaning.

I joined them and was checking the requests when... I was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder.

What? You can't see it, so you want me to move out of the way?

I turn around...

"Yo!"

There he was, the chuuni bastard.

I tried to pretend I didn't see him and return my attention to the request on the wall, but he forced me to turn around.

What a pain in the ass. What's up with you this time, you chuuni bastard?

To be honest, I don't want anything to do with you because you make me feel like I can't stand to be around you.

"I need to talk to you. Give me your face (Give me some of your time)."

"I'm sorry, but I have no business with you. I don't want to be forced to deal with people I don't want again..."

A bag was pushed in my face.

I was a little uncomfortable being interrupted, but I silently accepted the bag.

It is heavy. From the sound, I guessed that the contents were gold.

I opened the mouth of the bag and found gold coins inside.

Hmmm, that's quite a lot of money.

What is it? Can you give it to me?

"What is this gold?"

"It's a deposit. Is this enough to get you to listen to me?"

That's a lot of money for a deposit.

Well, I'm planning to get some good equipment, so there's no need to worry about how much money I have....

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be so generous.

However, from the looks of it, he won't back down until I nod my head.

I'm curious to know who he is, and there's also the matter of Darzain.

I guess I should get in on it.

"I get it. Let's talk."

Follow me."

The guy starts to walk away and I follow him.

Where are you going this time? The favelas again?

Contrary to my expectations, the man started to go up the stairs.

Up?

The fourth floor is supposed to be off-limits unless you are a red or above....

The man ignored the 4th floor and went further up.

Hey, hey, isn't the fifth floor supposed to be off-limits except for staff members?

He steps onto the fifth floor, but for some reason, the staff members he passes do not seem to be paying any attention to him.

He doesn't look like a guild employee to me...but seriously, who is this guy?

The man walks for a while and enters a room in the back.

Inside, there is a large desk, and in front of it, an expensive-looking table for reception and a sofa.

The man sits down on the sofa and asks me to sit down.

I sat down across from him and we started talking.

"Well, the reason I brought you here is to make a request."

"A request? For me?"

"Yes. It's for my protection. It will last about 10 days. How about five times the gold I just gave you?"

...Five times!?

I was surprised. That's too generous, no matter how much it costs.

"May I ask you a question before I answer?"

"Say it."

Let's start with what I'm most concerned about.

Considering the fact that he pays me and that he can use this place, I'm guessing he's not just a bum...

"Who are you?"

"...I haven't told you that, have I?"

The man pulls a plate from his neck out of his clothes.

The color is ---- gold.

"Gold-level adventurer. Vertex of Melchizedek."

This was a surprise.

The gold-level adventurer party "Melchizedek."

I knew the name, but I had never met them before.

No wonder they have a room here, and no wonder they can afford to pay out a lot of money.

"I know who you are for now. I don't know what's going on, but if you want an escort, why don't you talk to some of Melchizedek's friends?"

At the mention of the word "friends," the man, Vertex, blatantly frowned.

"Yeah, they'll try to get under my skin at every opportunity, so that's no good."

"Wha?"

"Don't make me repeat it. I'm telling you, they're going to kill me when they find out what I'm going through."

...You're not one of them?

"No, you're with them, aren't you?"

"Yeah, we're buddies who use each other."

...Ah. In other words, you're only together because you can use each other, but you really hate each other?

What a crooked relationship.

"So you're saying I should protect you from your own people?"

"That's one thing, but I'm not going to tell you anything more until you decide if you want to take the deal. If you do, I'll tell you everything."

I thought about it, but... under the circumstances, I think I'd better take the deal.

"All right. I'll take it. Please continue the story."

Hearing this, Vertex smiles with a satisfied, chuuni smile.

Maybe it's the way he's dressed, but no matter what he does, it's always painful.

And what is it that makes it so painful to watch?

"All right. Where do you want to start?"

"First, what do I have to protect you from?"

"Mostly the guys from Tuke's."

"Not the Darzain?"

"You're not wrong. They are more like scholars. They won't do anything directly, but they will bring out Darzain's idiots one after another."

Oh, so Darzain is not directly involved in this?

I know they're after me.

"Next. What did you do to this Tuke guy?"

"Oh, I took something from them. After that, they started following me around."

With that said, Vertex began to undo the bandages on the black one.

The exposed arm was ...... something amazing.

It was a transparent arm with only an outline. What is that? It's normally transparent.

"It's the Devil's Arm. That's why I'm asking you to protect me and why I'm being targeted."

Ah, the "parts" used by the Darzain people.

It's a valuable item, and I'm sure they'd be furious if someone took it away from them.

The bandage on the other arm means both arms...or maybe even the eyes?

Or, did this guy transplant the parts he took to himself?

That's a hell of a thing to do.

"I understand why you're being targeted, but that's no reason to ask me to escort you. From what I saw during the day, I don't see the need to hire a guy like me, do you?"

"Normally, I wouldn't talk to a guy like you, but this time I can't."

As he said this, he unbuttoned the bandage completely, revealing the seam of his shoulder.

The bandage was sticky and blood was smeared on it.

"The bandage was good until I got to the part where I stuck it on, but it hasn't set yet, so I can't move it properly."

"......... Is that your arm, too?"

"Yes."

"It looks like it's working fine to me."

Vertex shows the bandages he has undone.

"This is a cloth woven with crushed magic stone. I'm pouring magic power into it and forcibly controlling it from the outside."

Ah. In other words, he wasn't moving his arms, he was using the cloth to manipulate them from the outside.

I thought it was a chuuni fashion. I'm sorry if I thought it was painful.

I could see what he was talking about.

"You mean it takes 10 days for the arm to adjust?"

"Yeah. After that, I can handle the rest on my own."

I see.

"Lastly, why did you call out to me?"

"I looked you up. Being an adventurer means I have some information about you in the guild."

So, that's why you came to me so easily, to find out about me?

"So...so. The way we talked about it during the day, it's not like it has any strings attached, and that "constitution". You're hiding it, right? Then it's convenient for me to bring you in."

You son of a bitch.

He was going to threaten me if I refused.

You're a pain in the ass, but you've already covered the moat before you came here.

I'm an adventurer, so if you wait for me at the guild, there's a high probability that I'll show up.

"You seemed competent, and you were an acceptable candidate who fit the criteria in some way."

This guy...here....

As if he had read my thoughts, Vertex smiles a derisive smile and adds, as if remembering.

"Oh, by the way, if you kill me, my death will be transmitted to the guild through this plate. If that happens, my will, which I have personally deposited, will be made public in a big way through the guild. ...The contents are at ......."

You've got to be kidding me.

I slam my palm down on the desk and smash the licking mouth.

"I said I'll take it. I'm not going to say another word."

That's enough. You son of a bitch.

Even if he's bluffing, I have to be careful.

"That's nice. I'm glad to have a friend I can trust."

I want to kill him.

Now I understand why this guy is so hated by his friends.

I let out a sigh and turn my head.

"Let's get back to the story. What am I supposed to do now that I have the job? Stick with you?"

"Basically, yes. They want my arms and eyeballs, not my life. Keep that in mind as you move."

You're asking me to stand around and make sure they don't get your arms and eyeballs back as well as your life.

Maybe this guy didn't want to be taken, so he forcefully implanted the arms and eyeballs?

...So he cut off his original arm and gouged out his eyeballs just for that purpose?

I think I'm pretty much in the same boat, but this guy is insane.

"I get it. First is your safety. Second is to get rid of the enemy. That's the basics, right?"

"Yeah, that's good. Good luck."

How did this happen?

I let out another inward sigh.

I, Vertex, inwardly patted myself on the back, knowing that the man in front of me, Roe, had accepted my request with an open mind.

I guess we managed to do something.

It was a gamble to bring in the man in front of me, but I'm glad it worked out.

It seems I still have some luck left in me.

I relax a little.

My arms are still in constant pain, and behind my eyes, a constant gouging pain is pouring into my head.

I bought a lot of magic tools and magic potions to suppress the pain, but they had little effect.

I had no choice but to force myself to calm down with magical tools that affect the mind, but this would definitely have a negative impact on my judgment and movements during battle.

The first few days were fine, but the guys were relentless in sending in assassins, so it became difficult to keep them in place, and it became troublesome, so I decided to attach them to my body and forcefully implanted them, but I did not expect them to be this tough.

For now, I'm working to keep an eye on them and see if there are any openings, but if they get fed up and start bringing in higher-ranking people, even I won't be able to handle it.

I returned my attention to the man in front of me.

I am not sure how much of his background is true, but I know from his request history that he is serious about his work.

As long as I get his approval, he will not betray me unless I do something to him.

I would like to add that the apostle - if I believe him, he is not an apostle, but let's say he is an apostle-mimic.

He is hiding it. In other words, he doesn't want to show off more than necessary. I thought that using that fact as a bargaining chip would make things easier, but I was surprised that it went more easily than I expected.

But I guess I got his ire.

There are not many individuals who can be trusted to some degree and who have the same level of fighting ability as the apostles.

I had to do what I had to do to keep him from escaping.

I hoped that I could offset this to some extent by offering a hefty reward and fulfilling his wishes as much as possible, but....

But...it might be difficult.

I don't know how things will turn out, but I'll try to tame him so that I don't put him in a bad mood any more than necessary.