A week had passed after that day at the dungeon. Andeen had been occupied with the paperwork they dumped on her and the meetings regarding Cashel.
Even the news did not miss out on the juicy information.
Headlines included: Popular Division Commander Married at 20, with a husband being dragged between organisations.
New Registered Awakener raises concerns about undisclosed rank and the government’s inability to measure. Is he also an S rank?
Possible addition to the ten S ranks in the country! And locals say he’s super hot!
They had never seen Cashel’s face, and even if they had, they would not recognise him now, because Andeen had taken it upon herself to hide his identity.
Even the day he was moved to the hospital, those who saw his face were people within the military and close associates.
It was already a hassle handling the public’s opinion on his wife, and now a lot of speculation and gossip about him.
Cashel exhaled deeply after scrolling through his socials and seeing multiple posts about it, then lifted his head to face the empty road.
After a few minutes, he parked the car on the side of the road beside a mall and leaned into the seat. He looked at the black car the masked woman had given him and then dialled the number written on the back.
The call was picked on the second ring, but no one spoke.
"Hello?" Cashel said, his brow rising questioningly at the silence. A full thirty seconds passed in silence while he glanced at the mall, wondering if the person was watching him or waiting outside.
Then suddenly a calm voice spoke from the passenger seat beside him as he turned.
"Drive."
Click!
Cashel pointed a pistol at the voice that he had kept in the center console of the car without blinking. He was also baffled at the speed.
The wolf-masked man only glanced at the gun pointed at him before looking at Cashel.
"You have a wonderful reaction speed, Cashel," the man spoke. Although Cashel could not see his face, he could tell he was amused, but that did not mean... "You know that won’t work," the masked man added and turned to face front.
Cashel studied him for a long while and finally lowered the gun.
"...Probably not."
He started the engine, pulled into traffic and drove back onto the empty road.
The drive was painfully quiet, with one destination set on the navigation screen, while his other hand remained clenched on his lap, senses high on alert for any surprise attacks.
As seconds became minutes and minutes became hours, Cashel grew bored. He glanced at the masked man briefly before turning back to the road.
"Who are you?"
"One of the old recruits." He answered almost immediately, as though he had been waiting for the question.
Cashel nodded. "So you’re allowed to see my face... while I’m not." He added the last part as a whisper, and the man gave no reply.
After a moment the masked man spoke up instead. "You are not very talkative."
Cashel nodded once again, his eyes shifting to the billboard overhead. "...Correct."
Soon they drove into another part of the city and into an area filled with banks, investment firms, insurance companies and many more. He drove the car to the underground garage of a legitimate financial tower, where there were multiple luxury cars. He noticed a lot of ordinary people moving through the building.
Cashel understood the logic behind the place immediately.
’The safest place to hide a criminal organisation is in plain sight,’ he noted as he killed the engine and pushed the door open.
The wolf-masked man followed, but not without handing Cashel a blank black mask and slamming the door behind him. They both made their way into the building.
The security-heavy doors opened for him without a key, fingerprint or any form of identification scan. Employees in suits stepped aside and bowed slightly as he passed.
Cashel was already getting annoyed with every step he took. None of these people knew him, and the fact that they thought he was okay with it because his face was covered irritated him more than anything.
They entered a large minimalist meeting room with floor-to-ceiling windows, and there were already three people inside.
The wolf-masked man who had escorted him vanished before any of them could say a word, leaving him with three strangers.
The masked woman from earlier sat with a man in a lion mask at the head of the table.
Beside them, the third person was an ordinary-looking businessman in an expensive suit, a scar running down his face and a fat roll of cigarette between his fingers. An ARM clip was in his hair.
And the energy... he could easily tell everyone here was dangerous.
"Congratulations," the lion-masked man spoke first, making Cashel raise a brow.
"...For?"
"Surviving the fight," the man chuckled, his deep voice rumbling through the room. "You were against a hero and someone from the ARM... I’m quite surprised you escaped without a scratch."
Cashel narrowed his eyes. He wondered if the man was not aware the woman beside him had helped, or if he was just acting.
He remained silent, watching them through the mask with a displeased expression. He was suffocating from the energy in the room and he could not bring himself to complain.
Cashel eventually broke the silence as he slipped into one of the seats. "Rates and conditions."
The lion-masked man immediately stretched forth his hand and a file appeared in his palm. He passed the paper across the table and leaned back into his seat.
It listed categories rather than salaries.
Recovery, collection, escort, investigation, protection, sabotage, capture and elimination.
The elimination was split further into civilian, awakened, hunter, military, government official, national figure and S rank.
With prices that met Cashel’s preferences perfectly. Even better than he had initially planned.
With the S rank and above category listing at 5 million and above.
Cashel whistled under his breath. "Expensive."
The lion laughed softly. "I was informed if it wasn’t we’d lose you, and I wouldn’t want to lose a promising figure like...."
"You don’t know my rank," Cashel cut him off, and he did not miss how the man’s eyes darkened in the eye holes. "And you’re not sure if I’m going to do my job well."
The lion nodded, understanding where Cashel was coming from. He leaned into his seat, waved a hand at the man with a scar on his face before turning to Cashel.
"That’s a mystery for another day, Cashel. For now, I am ninety percent sure you’re capable of working for me," he smirked. "So what do you say?"
"I don’t really trust my employers," he said, memories of the betrayal and unfair treatment he received in his past life resurfacing.
The lion’s smile was audible behind the mask. "Good. Neither do we."
"Thirty percent before preparation," Cashel added. "Thirty percent before entering the field. Forty percent after delivery."
"Done."
Even the masked woman looked slightly surprised.
Cashel continued without pausing. "Support?"
"Anything legal," the lion answered. A short pause followed. "...and many things that aren’t."
"I also want permission to register as an independent mercenary with the ARM."
The suited man’s eyes narrowed as a smile appeared on his face, then he finally spoke. "I thought I’d have to persuade you to work for us."
The lion slid another file across the table without hesitation. "Already prepared."
Cashel paused, fingers resting on the edge of the document. He lifted it up to his eyes and smiled. "Not bad."
After a few exchanges and signing the contracts from both organisations, he rose as soon as they finished, but then the lion man called him.
A thinner folder landed in front of Cashel.
Trial Contract (No Penalty)
Compensation: 10,000 dollars
Objective: Main target assistant Division Commander-Division B, Recover one relic and capture one C-ranked beast.
No civilian casualties.
Three-day deadline.
Cashel opened it and his eyes landed on a single line.
Dungeon Number: A-173.