"Idorund?!"
Yu let out a shout of admiration when she saw the sudden appearance of the golden-haired, blue-eyed Airburst. Idorund greeted them briefly while carrying a pillar-like cannon with a glowing green light mechanism pattern on his shoulder.
"I’ve heard quite a bit about your heroism on your first day, Ms. Ravyn. I informed Mr. Charles about the escort and investigation mission and it was approved. I’ll be your partner in this field mission."
…He chose me over Yu, who used to be an Airburst trainee of the same generation as him?... He probably didn’t want to interrupt Yu on her secret Q-level mission…
The purple-haired girl is thinking.
"It’s really reassuring to have an Airburst around while doing a mission. But still, please take care of her, Idorund.~"
As Yu sensed that it was an urgent task, she entrusted Idorund and said goodbye to Ravyn.
"Let’s go see your mission partner at another time.~"
Yu patted Ravyn’s shoulder lightly and went back to work. Idorund threw his air-compressed cannon carried on his shoulder towards the standby maintenance staff and explained a brief description of the mission to Ravyn.
"An Announcement of a Knight (C) level mission.. This evening, Aiolia ore weighing about 1 kg will enter the Southern Black Market. Although many millionaires and gangs have their eyes on it, we must obtain it while minimizing the damage that might occur. Which is why this time we will go with the VIP who will deal with that matter. Your duty is to keep him company while helping me spy on the 2 gangs on the details I’m about to send you."
Hearing this, Ravyn responded by tapping the communicator in her ear.
*beep*
"You got it, Mister."
Idorund gave a slight smile at her enthusiastic reaction and also tapped his communicator.
*beep*
["Authentication Successful. A new communication route has been established."]
A contact recognition signal rang in their ear. He then uses his thumb to rotate the ring on his index finger 45 degrees clockwise to transmit mission data to the same AB ring Ravyn just obtained from the department head, Charles, today.
While Idorund waited for his Airtech cannon inspection, Ravyn took the AB elevator in advance to the mission area. Along the way, she tapped the ring to project the information sent from Idorund and read it.
... Aiolia Ore, the raw material used in Airtech synthesis and maintenance. It can create ambient air currents and glow with its crystal color when the temperature rises…This ore is from a mine ordered by AB but was stolen by an opportunist during the final extraction process…
…Even without technology that is more advanced than the outside world for about 20 years to make Airtech from it, Aiolia aesthetic crystals are still valuable as jewelry…
…Objectives:
-Find out the specific time when two big rival gangs, One-eyed Scarecrow and Blue Stitches, will encounter one another and stop the bloodshed that could escalate into an inter-gang war.
-Escort VIP skilled in negotiating and the black market’s road expert, and the one who will bring back the ore: Mr. Kanji Basant, Finance Department of AB Assistance?...
As she read this, the elevator door of the target station opened, and Ravyn met a brown-skinned boy with the height of her eyebrows. Her chatty friend, Kanji.
"Do you want some candy?"
The boy handed the free candy he had received from the meeting to the purple-haired girl. He then led Ravyn into an underground tunnel and crossed several tortuous paths until they reached an underground base full of people and stalls. There are many unusual objects and creatures that can’t be found in the general market. Kanji showed his good-natured side by talking to the vendors in the alleys and teasing them. The hustle and bustle of the crowd can be seen everywhere, as if it were a legit shopping center. While walking along the way to find information about the two powerhouses, Ravyn's mind is occupied by the next shops and questions. One scammer took a chance and attempted to bump into her. Kanji saw that and led her hand to the shop next to him like an excited child.
"Let’s go see that exotic viper!"
Ravyn followed him and evaded that bump from the guy earlier without knowing. Knowing that he had been caught, the scammer clicked his tongue once and walked away.
"Don’t accidentally walk into anyone or let them come close to you. Here, there are thieves, those who find scapegoats to own their illegal stuff, and many scary people you should avoid. And did you see those hat-wearers walking around? They are all big shots from the underworld."
Little Kanji pointed and whispered to the purple-haired girl to be careful.
"Really? Thanks for pointing that out."
"Hehe~"
Since most of the time Kanji acted like a mature adult, seeing him strolling around like a typical teen boy and smiling happily after being thanked like a child of his own age made Ravyn find him adorable. But it wasn’t long before she changed her mind.
*thud*
A young woman slipped, and the big bag of money she was carrying fell in front of them both.
"I beg you. Don’t take it! That’s all I’ve got from the selling this week."
After Kanji heard that, he picked up that heavy bag. Suddenly, a group of thieves that ran after the fallen woman threatened to kill her if he didn’t hand over the money to them.
"You guys know her, don’t you? Hand us the money bag, or she’s dead!"
"I don’t know her. And this good sum of cash is in my hand. How foolish am I to give this to you guys?"
Kanji hugged the bag tightly. The thieves pushed the money owner on the floor away and threatened to attack Kanji. Ravyn wasn’t happy with his decision but walked up in front of her greedy friend.
"I know you love money, but don't you think you're going a little overboard, Kanji?"
But he didn’t listen to Ravyn and stepped up beside her and spoke.
"Do you guys want to share?"
The robbers paused, and one of them shouted.
"This puny runt. Who are you to dare negotiate with us?"
"Judge from its weight. If it were purely a coin, it wouldn’t be less than 30,000. But if there were banknotes, there would be hundreds of thousands. Give me 20%. You’ll still be doing fine for a month with the rest."
Kanji was shaking the big money bag lightly. His offer was not bad, but the thieves refused.
"No, why should I share it with a kid like you?"
"Shut up, I’m talking to the owner of the money."
When Kanji finished speaking, the girl sitting on the floor thought for a slight moment and nodded.
"Did you see us as clowns?!"
The robbers, realizing they were at a standstill captivated by Kanji’s eloquence, rushed towards him, but none of them could get close to the boy. Every single thief was crushed by Ravyn, who came to protect the VIP of this mission.
After obtaining sufficient information for this zone, the two decided to join Idorund in the next zone of the black market.
*pling* *pling*
Kanji wielded the small bag of money he had received with a beaming face.
"You take that much money from her. What if she can’t afford to pay for something necessary?"
Ravyn still felt bad that Kanji took that woman’s money.
"Oh, come on! I already gave her 10% back for the black market’s protection payment. It’s because of her stinginess in trading here and taking the safety of this place so lightly. Just consider this as her lesson fee."
A young man from the finance department responded as he jiggled his money bag cheerfully.
And now the two were stopped in front of a strange-looking cello man wearing black glasses in the corner of the market.
"This version of your AB Cannon is pretty cool, Idorund."
Kanji greets the musician. He stopped playing his cello and turned towards the source of the call.
"It was amazing, huh? What’s up, Big Bro Kanji?"
Idorund was dressed as a musician in an old retro outfit and played a clunky-shaped cello. That cello was his cannon, with some extensions added by the maintenance team to function as a musical instrument.
Ravyn and Idorund exchanged information and found out that the Blue Stitches Gang would make a move if they lost the auction of Aiolus to their rival, but the One-eyed Scarecrow was coming for the Blue Stitches whether they won or lost the bid.
Because the coordination in the team was better than expected, everything was prepared, and there were still about 20 minutes left before the target item arrived. Everyone agreed to take a break for a bit before reuniting at the auction zone.
"Hopefully, I don’t have to go out and take that thing as an Airburst. And…"
Idorund whispered to the purple-haired girl.
"I do not recommend you mentioning the name you wanted to know about in this place."
Having said that, he carried that weird cello over his shoulder and went to find another spot to unleash his artistry.