Chapter 2
I have no past.
It vanished as if it had evaporated.
Even when I try to trace my memories, my mind is a dark void, and I don't even know where to begin searching.
All I know is the name Yohan.
In my last memory, why was I sitting powerlessly in the pouring rain?
Among so many things, why is it only swordsmanship that is ingrained in my body as if etched there?
Crucially, why can't I shake off this obsession with the past?
It's as if I absolutely have to find it. Even when I try to give up, I feel like I'm desecrating myself at that moment, and it scares me.
So, I've constantly strived to find my memories.
Every method I've tried has failed.
And now, only one realistically feasible method remains.
I needed a lot of money to try that method, and now, I've gathered half of the target amount.
If this method succeeds,
I'll be able to fulfill the wish I've so desperately wanted,
And if it fails…
It doesn't matter.
By then, I might really be able to give up. Because I would have exhausted every possible means.
Perhaps I don't want to regain my past, but rather, I want to obtain the resignation of that past.
***
Jeblin.
A city where numerous Deliverer offices are scattered, and where the office I belong to is also located.
I had just arrived in that dark and musty Jeblin.
Continuing to be swallowed by Jeblin's maze-like alleys, I finally reached a dead end after a familiar and secluded alley.
Stopping in front of the building standing alone at the end, I quietly dismounted my horse.
Immediately after, I slapped its rear, and like a dog that had found its home, it trotted off on its own and disappeared behind the building.
555 Office
A dilapidated and shabby building, its equally old signboard displaying crooked letters as if they had been hanged.
This is the Deliverer office I belong to.
There's no particularly grand meaning to the name given.
It's just a name our boss came up with because there are five people belonging to the office.
Even that name, 5 Office and 55 Office were already in use elsewhere, so this name, that one, was finalized.
So, that signboard is the result of careless and simple stubbornness.
As always, I feel like all the energy drains out of my body whenever I pass under the signboard.
Especially today, that feeling is even stronger.
Is today Monday? I don't think so?
Passing through the long and narrow hallway of the shabby building, I went to the iron door on the left.
Thud!
Opening that iron door, a small office cluttered here and there is my workplace.
"Yohan?"
A woman's voice responded to my presence.
A stack of documents piled up in a corner collapsed, and suddenly, a woman popped out.
Faded round gold-rimmed glasses, white hair tied back tightly but somehow looking disheveled.
Deep blue eyes that didn't match the languor on her face.
"Runea, what are you doing there?"
A member of the 555 Office, my colleague, and the boss's secretary.
"Did your request go well?"
"Always the same, so what were you doing?"
At my words, Runea fiddled with the stack of documents with her unusually small and white hands and replied.
"There's a document I'm looking for."
She has an unparalleled memory for letters. However, perhaps as a price for that talent, her memory for locations is close to that of an idiot.
If Runea, who possesses such an ability, is specifically looking for a certain document…
"Did the boss tell you to? What kind of document is it?"
As I rolled up my sleeves to help, Runea hurriedly stopped me.
Her appearance was like a rabbit guarding the entrance to a tiny burrow.
"It's a confidential document, so no."
So, that means such confidential documents are just scattered carelessly all over the office.
Well, among the people in the office, there's no one other than Runea who can read documents.
Our office is probably the only place where confidentiality can become part of the interior.
If I were to say these thoughts out loud, Runea's nagging barrage would begin.
Strangely enough, as if she had read my mind, Runea suddenly shot blue daggers at me with her eyes.
"Why…?"
"Yohan, what's that bloodstain on your stomach?!"
At those words, I looked down at my stomach for the first time.
A small, hardened bloodstain was faintly visible there.
***
Going into the bathroom and lifting my shirt, I saw a tiny hole on my lower abdomen.
Indeed, one must never be careless when facing a superhuman.
The fact that the most underestimated thing, that tiny metal bead, was the only attack that hit me.
I couldn't help but wear a slightly bitter smile.
I could have died from that brief moment of carelessness.
Fortunately, it ended cleanly with a penetrating wound. Even then, it missed a vital spot, and it was sheer luck that my regeneration ability overwhelmed the bleeding.
Somehow, I had an unusually draining feeling when I passed under the signboard earlier.
"Hmm…."
Soon, I took off my shirt as was my habit.
Then, as always, I carefully examined myself.
Scars from cuts and slashes here and there, and even the stab wound scar near my heart.
Scars on my torso etched in a past I don't know, the me of then.
***
When I came out of the bathroom, the office had become noticeably noisy.
Sure enough, a neat-looking man in a black suit was having his usual argument with Runea.
"Boss, why aren't you coming to work?!"
"It's the boss's prerogative. Did you find the document?"
"I have a lot of work, so I haven't found it yet!"
"Or is it just that you can't find it?!"
"It's not!"
The fight between the shameless white fluff and the obnoxious gray lump always fills me with a sense of grandeur whenever I see it.
In the end, as always, the situation ended with the boss glossing over things.
Naturally, the boss' gaze turned towards me, who had been blankly watching the scene from afar.
"Yohan, follow me to the boss's office."
He abruptly gestured at me with his chin.
Why me?
With a bang, the boss's office door closed, and Runea, who had been the epitome of confidence just moments before, frantically began rummaging through the stack of documents.
Passing by her and squeezing through the boss' office door, the boss stood with his arms crossed, his back to me, before turning around with an elegant air to face me.
Neatly combed dark navy hair, gray eyebrows drawn in straight lines, and gray eyes held within sharp eyes beneath them.
A suit without a single wrinkle, and shoes that looked as if they had preserved the still surface of a calm night lake.
His appearance was unmistakably that of a formidable boss who operated in the shadows.
But I know, he's just the boss of the 555 Office at best.
"Beru, I mean Boss, what's going on?"
"What kind of trouble did you cause, Yohan?"
"What trouble?"
"The Mercenary Union reported you."
At those words, a hollow laugh escaped me involuntarily.
"They said you almost annihilated a small mercenary group, and even killed a B-class superhuman among them."
"Annihilated my ass… I was just being faithful to the task I was assigned, and I'm a B-class superhuman too, right? It was a fair fight."
"The Mercenary Union claims that they declared surrender the moment you arrived."
"So, in their industry, ambushing while armed is considered surrendering? If that's true, I really didn't know."
It seems like they're trying to get some compensation by appealing as victims, not as mercenaries, since they probably can't recover anymore.
"Boss, I mean Beru. This is just low-level politics."
"I know, it's just the Mercenary Union being difficult with the Deliverers."
Beru raised his chin and continued.
"Conversely, the Mercenary Union is also very experienced with the Deliverers' pettiness."
"And unfortunately, this case got caught in the middle?"
"Correct."
"What a mess."
Beru approached me with a secretive expression as I looked dejected.
"Don't worry, it's a problem I can handle well enough. But since I have to play politics, you'll have to take on a big request for me."
"What? I don't make big requests."
Big request.
This basically refers to requests with a difficulty level of A or higher.
Befitting that grade, big requests are not only large in scale and involve complicated tasks, but they are also requests where someone like me, a B-class superhuman, has to risk their life no matter what.
It's a bonus that there's even room to be caught later on, politically or otherwise.
I decided not to risk my life before regaining my past, so I've intentionally avoided them until now.
"It's nothing much, this time too, what you have to deliver is justice. However, it's the justice that many desire."
"The justice that many desire? That's a problem that should be resolved at the national level."
"Isn't it an A-class request because they couldn't do that? That country doesn't want to do it. Punish the criminal."
"That criminal must have some powerful backing?"
"I'll give you the data later, so read it on your way."
"Wait, I haven't agreed to take the request yet…."
Beru cut me off with an unconcerned expression.
"The amount they offered is 20 million Rune. On top of that, if you do it, we'll make a special exception and waive the office's share."
At those words, my heart momentarily sank.
"What, how much…? The office will waive its share?"
"Yeah, with 20 million, you could probably buy a pretty fancy mansion."
And it's also close to 20% of the total amount I still need to gather.
"What was the value of the individual justice you delivered last time?"
"One million."
To be precise, after the central association and the office take their shares, what falls into my hands is 300,000.
Subtracting the information cost I paid to find the hidden target from that, it's a mere 240,000.
"It's time for you to play in the big leagues now."
"I have no intention of becoming some kind of industry legend. And I definitely don't want to deal with workers' compensation."
Beru snorted.
"Ambitious dreams for a B-class."
"And what are you, talking about the big leagues to a B-class like me?"
"Anyway, if you do it, Garrick will go with you."
Wait, why is that the conclusion?
I tried to voice some objection, but Beru didn't give me any opening, pressing me relentlessly.
"So, are you going to do it or not?"
Honestly,
It's hard to refuse.
It feels like I've discovered an incredibly attractive shortcut.
If Garrick goes with me, the probability of success will double, and even if we split it, that's 10 million each.
If the office's share is waived from that…
Only 30% goes to the central association.
That's at least 7 million per person.
Let's do it.
Let's try.
I can do it.
***
"Thank you for finding this, Runea."
"But are you alright? The contents of this document shouldn't be exposed. Especially not to Yohan…."
"Well, it's been lying around openly on the office floor, and no one knows, so we probably don't have to worry about it being exposed, right?"
Runea sighed deeply.
Her bangs fluttered like those of a paper doll.
"That's why the boss should keep documents like this separately. Don't just throw them around carelessly and then suddenly tell me it's an important document and make me find it. If this document were to be exposed outside, beyond Yohan…."
Beru wore a meaningful smile.
"You don't have to worry anymore, it's a document that will be burned. And before the work I'm about to do, I wanted to test my luck a little. Well, since it wasn't discovered, I guess we can consider the test passed?"
"Huh?"
At Beru's words, Runea looked bewildered, her face etched with astonishment.
"There seems to be some movement within the central association, so I should slowly start preparing as well."
"Even so, that document… is it really okay to dispose of it so easily?!"
Beru looked at Runea and said—
"The loss of letters won't be my risk, not as long as you're here."
And so, Beru unfolded the document and held its edge to the candlelight.
Looking closely, there was a bloodstain that seemed to have splattered and dried in the center of the document.
But despite all its peculiarities, the document merely distorted above the candlelight and gradually began to char from the edge.
Superhuman Potential and Ability Assessment Report.
This assessment is a result report focusing on the 4 Systems (Physical System, Weapon System, Mental System, Phenomenal System), the ability classification system for superhumans.
(1) The examinee, Mr. Yohan, is in a state where all grades have been adjusted downwards for unknown reasons. We recommend his active participation in rehabilitation training to become a significant asset to the central association.
Warning!
Due to the unique nature of its contents, if this result report is not reported to the central association within 3 days of its issuance, the highest level of punishment will be imposed regardless of the reason.
Result
Examinee - Yohan
Physical System B (A) Weapon System B (S…
Mental System D Phenomenal…
The charring at the edge had already spread to the most important content of the document, and soon the entire thing was instantly burned to ashes.
Throughout it all, Beru simply watched the process without a word, as if lost in thought.
