Chapter 165

Dustborne had signed a regular contract with the Harenhal government. He was promised a number of perks, for which Ekidna was largely to blame. She was a master at ‘negotiating’.
The most tangible perk is operational autonomy.
They can operate independently without falling under the command of an army or guard. Conversely, they are not supported by any personnel.
“It’s a positive for us, it’s just that when you have a lot of people, it gets in the way.
I’ve been able to travel around with a light body. When there were no urgent national issues to address, the government was able to arrange several referrals.
It was a great opportunity to raise our game as a mercenary company.
That’s how I became active in Harenthal for about three months.
Dustborn hasn’t had a single failure yet.
“There you are, perfect job again.”
Ekidna welcomes Kim back from her commission. A temporary home provided by the Harenhal government. The building served as a command center, office, and lodging.
Leone, who had been fidgety from the doorway, was now completely withdrawn.
“Hello, is this a company?”
The building was much bigger than I had imagined when I arrived. And what a gorgeous office. It was like a scene from a soap opera, with tall women in suits sitting in leather chairs.
“It’s not really company-owned, it’s government-owned. There’s been a huge demand for housing due to the influx of evacuees from the neighborhood, but the upper class has fled to the relative safety of the capital. There are quite a few vacancies.”
“Isn’t …… private property, then?”
“Harenhal has been in a state of emergency since the cataclysm, and as long as the capital remains functional, a certain amount of deterrence is bound to work.”
Ekidna clenched her jaw and said languidly.
“And – if you’re a family with a healthy child, how worried you must be, because you don’t know when your little boy, who won’t hurt you if you put him in the eye, will be drafted into the army, and you’ll have to pay for a building or two.”
A confident voice and an objectively beautiful face. A woman of the opposite sex would have been mesmerized, but Leone looked away.
“Boo, that’s uncomfortable.
I was absolutely terrified when I came face to face with those piercing red eyes. I felt like a herbivore in front of a lion. Kim Yihyun was a different kind of person, the type who was difficult to deal with.
Sheep Echidna’s eyes curved in satisfaction as she lowered her tail of her own accord. An unspoken victory. Watching her go, Kim echoed what she had heard yesterday.
“Good for her, good for you.”
“They say kids are smarter these days.”
“I don’t know if they were clever, but they were vicious.”
Compared to Claire Dennis, Leone was a child’s play. In game, she’s much tougher than that, but that’s probably because of her years in the Guard.
In a way, it was similar to Asterisk.
“So why did you bring her in?”
“He said he wanted to follow me. I assume you’re a trainee.”
“Hmmm. A trainee.”
Ekidna stepped forward and looked Leone up and down.
“I’m Ekidna Lusano, I’m the new director, and I’m handling the external affairs for the boss, who likes to be out and about, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me, so take care.”
“Okay, good luck!”
“We may have already introduced ourselves, but just as a reminder, this is our president, and this is a dispatcher from Cellbrossix Labs, which we have a contractual relationship with.”
Celbrox Labs?
Leone’s eyes widened at the familiar name. The eerie feeling she’d felt since she’d heard the name of Dustborn’s mission was finally clear.
A research organization whose reputation has risen dramatically since the cataclysm. Working in conjunction with the Ivory Tower of Ishrad, Cellbrossix Labs has formulated various theories and countermeasures against Parasites.
The company they became associated with was Dustborne Corporation.
It all started with the Geneva summit. The attacks brought the existence of a group called Legion to the surface. It also brought to light the events that had taken place in other countries, such as Kilikia and Bastitera.
At the center of it all was Dustborn.
A PMC that has remained active in each country since the conflict with the Legion. An unusual organization that is trusted internationally despite having an extremely small staff.
By now, the name had spread to the civilian world. It was rumored to be a group that was similar to the Albatross in some ways, but more reliably practical than them.
On top of that, Dustborn had a reputation as experts in anti-Parasite warfare. Some countries are even trying to copy their tactics, if they can.
That’s how one PMC was treated in Harenthal, one of the biggest countries in the world.
“It’s me, Leone Laien….”
Leone was perplexed.
I’ve come to a place that’s bigger than I thought.
“I’m a little late to the party. I’m Turkam. Just call me senior.”
“Who the hell are you, you’re in the wrong organization, you.”
“Uh. A sign for you and me. Leila won’t like it if she hears.”
“Why do I feel like I’m getting older and older?”
Kim ended her time in the lab two years ago.
However, the agreement is still in place, and Turkham has been sent to Dustborne. He serves as a liaison and operational agent for the lab.
“Anyway, our trainee will write the contract later.”
Ekidna looked at Kim, who seemed to lighten up.
“Are you going to meet the client?”
“Do you want me to meet you there?”
“No, he’s distraught, his brother is infected, how can he afford that?”
“You’re not going to take a cut of the commission, are you?”
She smiled wryly.
“No worries.”
Leone craned her neck, and Turkam stuck out his tongue.
Her lethargic first impression in the lab has long since been erased from memory. Ekidna was a murderous human being in a different sense than Kim Yi Hyun.
“Yeah, I trust you. You’re the expert on this stuff.”
It’s not about money. It’s just a way of saying that if you want to move the dustbone, you have to offer enough value.
If anyone understands this behavioral principle, it’s Ekidna, who has been an accurate representative of Kim’s will. Walking a tightrope between illegal and legal.
It was his own role, one that neither Chelsea, Edwin, nor Asterique could fulfill.
“Okay. I’ll try to get in touch with the client.”
Ekidna manipulated the tablet on the table and handed it over.
“This is the next thing.”
“Another request? I can’t catch a break.”
To Turkam’s annoyance, Kim silently handed over the device. A single photo floated up on the screen. A photograph of the ubiquitous half-built street.
The problem was an egg on the street.
When I zoomed in, I realized that the condition was critical.
The branches extending in all directions are the umbilical cord. I could tell by their size that hatching was imminent. Inside the mucous membrane, the parasite is waiting to be born.
They’re not your typical gnomes. They are dangerous. Quick removal is recommended, but the problem is that the eggs spike the pollution index of the environment.
This means that incapacitated people can be contaminated just by approaching them.
‘The second half of the game is a spell-shitting mess.
It’s not the spell itself, it’s the tolerance. This was one of the factors that led to Dustborn’s special treatment. A veteran ops team, mostly made up of power players, was an absurdly attractive card.
“Location?”
“It’s a rural town called Teasdale.”
“This must be where Chelsea and Edwin went. I didn’t think there would be any eggs.”
The sudden turn of events didn’t show the slightest hint of dismay on Kim’s face. If anything, the corners of her mouth lifted, and Ekidna sighed.
“Ugh. You don’t do that in front of other people, do you?”
“Me what?”
“Now that. You’re acting like it’s a good thing that the eggs came out.”
“It’s a good thing. In the grand scheme of things.”
He said, his eyes fixed on the screen.
“I need at least one more piece of data.”
A mediocre parasite is a “failure”.
An individual that has not adapted to metamorphosis and is stuck in crystallization. In the egg, however, it goes beyond the crystallization stage to become a complete paracite.
You should sample as much as possible.
For the research at the Cellbrox Labs to advance, for Leila to grow. It is the only way for the continent to survive the catastrophe.
“Some things I personally commissioned from the lab.
The more specimens to study, the faster it would be completed. I was in the position of having to hunt for parasites.
“I don’t know what all this data collection will lead to. I don’t trust scientists.”
“You don’t trust the police, you don’t trust the soldiers, you don’t trust the politicians.”
“It’s all about the humans.”
“You betcha.”
Kim smiled broadly.
“I’ll be right back. Oh, and don’t take any more referrals.”
“Huh? If you raise the price any higher, I’m going to complain.”
“Wow. How did you come up with that right off the bat? That’s very reassuring.”
I handed the tablet back and said.
“Not like that. We’ll leave when we get back to Asterique.”
You’ve gotten what you came for, and it’s time to return to the nest.
* * *
Teasdale, on the eastern outskirts of Harenhal, was a closed area that, like Tulavia, had been ravaged by the catastrophe when Kim first set eyes on it.
“There are fewer parasites.
While driving through the abandoned city, I rarely encountered parasites. This might seem like a no-brainer since it’s a closed area, but it’s not.
Areas that have been hit by disasters in the past have particularly high pollution levels. The placenta is a red zone with a pollution index of more than 150p, and some places even higher.
In other words, it’s a prone environment.
And in the cordoned-off areas live the bums. Calamity strikes without regard to nobility, but in different order. The lowest man is always the first to scream.
Teasdale, on the other hand, had very few humanoid parasites. This means that there were fewer vagrants who were not accepted into the city. The situation in the neighboring cities was also quite stable, indicating a competent government.
‘It’s definitely a good country.
You’ll want to make sure you tie up loose ends so you’re good to go.
“Hey, boss. What’s wrong with your face?”
It’s what I heard as soon as I joined them on the battlefield.
Kim and Edwin glared at Chelsea for her increasingly severe temper. Chelsea tapped me on the mouth and corrected me.
“I said something weird. Look in the rearview mirror, did you see your complexion?”
“You look the same, man. You look like you’ve lost weight.”
“If you know, give me a vacation, this is poisoning my brain.”
“I’m going back to Kilikia after this, anyway.”
“Yessss!”
Chelsea pumped his fist in the air and rejoiced. The thought of League Toto energized him, and his wallet was full again after all the hard work he’d put in.
Kim swallowed hard, though it was clear what he was thinking. If he kept going, he might actually succeed someday.
Or work like a cow in Dustborne for the rest of your life.
“The company would benefit from the latter.
After traveling about 500 meters from the confluence point, we came to a crossroads.
“That’s it.”
As I looked across the screen, the egg stood proudly in the middle of the road. It was bigger than it looked in the photo, almost as big as a truck. With each pulse, it made a faint rumbling sound.
The stage just before hatching. Even a company would be a significant loss, with only three combatants. No one was intimidated by the absurdly low numbers.
Kim pushed her mask up to the bridge of her nose.
“Do what you’re doing. Take your seat.”