A week had passed since Mariel and Celinee made their debut as mercenaries. At the moment, they were enjoying breakfast on the first floor of the inn.
So far, they had completed a total of four missions. Although none of them exceeded Level A difficulty, they had already made history within Ultores Organization. No new recruits had ever managed to complete four missions in a single week—they were the only one.
In Ultores mercenary organization, missions were categorized into five levels: Level C, Level B, Level A, Level S, and Level Ex. Level C, the lowest, was assigned to beginners or those nearing retirement. Level Ex, the highest, was offered only to mercenaries whose abilities had been thoroughly tested.
Mariel and Celinee had completed one Level C mission, two Level B missions, and one Level A mission.
The pay for each mission was decent, but the total from all four was still less than what they had earned from selling a single high-class demon heart. If Mariel had been alone, he might have decided to focus solely on selling demon hearts—it was far more profitable. However, he was with Celinee, and the ninja would rather destroy demon hearts than sell them.
"But what should I do with all this money?" questioned Mariel, amused—ignoring the sharp gaze from Celinee as she ate her breakfast. "I heard there's a slave market in Agarentha. Maybe I should—"
"Whatever you do, don't touch my money," Celinee interrupted swiftly. "But seriously, are you actually thinking about buying slaves? I can't believe you'd sink that low. Do you want to be as disgusting as the nobles of this empire?"
This time, Mariel smiled. "You always assume the worst about people," he said casually. "Don't be like that, C. It's not a good habit. You don't even know why I want to buy slaves. At the very least, you should ask before judging."
"Why?"
"I want to buy slaves to free them," Mariel answered calmly. "Most of the people sold as slaves are those trapped in endless debt. The rest are individuals who opposed the deep-rooted corruption in this empire. In short, the ones turned into slaves are people who absolutely don't deserve to be enslaved."
"…I admit I misjudged your intentions."
"Oh? And what exactly did you think I was planning to do with the slaves?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, come on. You definitely had some wild thoughts, didn't you?"
"What if I told you I wasn't thinking anything at all? What if I only said that to provoke you?"
Mariel shrugged. "By the way, you just told me not to use your money. But isn't your money and my money supposed to be our money? Didn't you deliberately ask me to keep your money so it would merge with mine and become ours?"
"I'm not falling for that," Celinee muttered quickly, returning to her breakfast.
Mariel's lips curved into a smile, but it wasn't because of the ninja's reaction. He smiled at his own words.
He truly did intend to free the slaves, but not out of pure kindness. Mariel had a plan behind it—one tied to the information he had obtained from that demon. And Celinee didn't need to know anything about it.
For the past few nights, Mariel had been seriously contemplating what he truly wanted in life. And last night, he had finally reached the answer he had sought all along—Mariel was determined to rule this world without actually ruling it.
Mariel wanted to control the world's development—not just the Western Continent, but all three other continents as well. The world in its truest essence. He would reign over it without its inhabitants ever knowing. To achieve that, he needed people who would carry out his plans for him. He needed individuals willing to dirty their hands in his stead.
No, the people he had in mind were not the slaves. Freeing them was merely bait to attract the attention of Mariel's true targets. That's right—his target was the rebel group that had been a thorn in the empire's side for the past few years. Mariel suspected that some of their acquaintances, or even their members, were among the enslaved.
"What's wrong?"
Mariel blinked and instinctively curved his lips into a smile. "Nothing," he said softly. "I just enjoy watching you eat like that."
"…"
Seeing Celinee's silence, Mariel felt tempted to corner her further, aiming to sink his "venomous fangs" in her heart. However, he had to abandon that thought as they were no longer alone. A woman dressed in a maid uniform had stopped in front of their table. Mariel had never seen her before, but from her outfit, she seemed to be one of Karflo's subordinates.
"What is it?" Mariel asked, shifting his gaze from Celinee. "A message from Karflo?"
The maid nodded and placed a folded piece of paper beside Mariel's now-empty plate. "A new job offer," she whispered. "An Ex-Level mission. Whether you accept it or not is up to you. But make sure to destroy the message after reading it."
She gave a slight bow, then immediately turned and left without another word. The woman disappeared quickly, not even waiting to hear their response.
Mariel unfolded the paper and read it. His lips slowly curled upward until they finally stretched into a grin by the time he reached the end.
Celinee snatched the letter from his hand and read it herself. Unlike Mariel, however, her lips did not curve into a smile. If not for her mask, Mariel might have seen her frown.
"This isn't just an Ex-Level mission," the kunoichi remarked. "He wants us to complete this first mission as a test for the second one. This is an Ex-Level mission that hides another Ex-Level mission within it."
"The reward for the first mission is five million escal—that's twenty-five times the minimum payout for an Ex-Level mission. And for the mission after that, he's offering up to fifteen million. Now I'm curious about this job. Should we take it?"
Mariel wasn't truly curious. He already had a good idea of what kind of mission would warrant such a high price.
"…We have to kill a lot of people in this first mission. Are you sure we should accept it?"
"If you don't like it, we can reject the second mission later. Besides, we don't even know what it is yet—it could be completely different from the first one. But this first mission is too good to pass up. Remember, we need to make a name for ourselves."
"The people we have to kill are all scum anyway. Fine, I agree with you. But, M, I don't want us to get involved with anything related to selling demon hearts again."
"Not even if it brings us closer to Doctor Lergen?"
"…"
Mariel smirked. "Like I told you before," he said, "you have to do what must be done, C. You have to give your all. If you hesitate, you might never achieve your goal—not even in death. If your ultimate aim is noble, then sometimes you shouldn't concern yourself with the means."
"…You can handle demon heart sales on your own. We're a team, so it doesn't matter if I suddenly step in when Doctor Lergen hires our services."
"Ah, that's fine too. But, yeah, I plan to get involved in selling demon hearts again. I need a lot of money. We can't make life easier for many people without money."
"Do you truly want to do good, or do you have another motive?" Celinee didn't give Mariel a chance to respond immediately. "You still haven't told me what you want to do," she continued. "We're moving together to find Merlin. But I've already stated my ultimate goal. You haven't. Tell me, what's your other objective?"
"Does wanting to be useful to the unfortunates count as having a hidden motive? Is doing good something wrong? Is living solely for the sake of others a mistake?"
"I know you're manipulative."
"I'm offended, C. I'm a good person."
"A good person wouldn't say they're a good person. A truly good person would feel they aren't good enough."
Mariel shrugged and stood up. "Shall we leave now?" he asked, picking up the mission paper and tearing it apart. "We can start with a few people in this city."
Celinee sighed. "Sorry, I just wanted to understand you a little more," she said, standing up as well. "You already know so much about me, but I know very little about you. That's not fair."
"That's because I don't have much to tell. Shall we go?"
Celinee nodded, and the two of them stepped out of the inn. But before leaving for good, Mariel returned the room key, ending their stay. Their mission this time would take quite a while. They had to visit every imperial city to complete it. They wouldn't be coming back here.