The Cursed Wizard: A Game Made Real

I'm sure he finished talking to Amnak Pharmaceuticals, but there's still been no response or word. 

The deadline given is today. Could it be that they have already found a client? 

It's okay for Leo to find another job, but it's an unpleasant ending for Jenny, who had been collecting requests for a long time. 

But instead of getting annoyed, she answered with a strange frown. 

"I'll be back soon." 

"what?" 

"I called and they said they would come and see me in person. So, I just left them alone." 

As soon as he finished speaking, someone opened the door to the bar and came inside. 

A tired-looking face in a shabby suit, an old bag in his hand, and an awkward expression in the dim lighting. 

It gives the impression that it is far from the bar where hazy smoke billows. 

Leo probably wasn't that different when he first came here. He wasn't one of those people who liked pubs and bars on Earth. 

However, humans are creatures of adaptation, and they have become accustomed to this place because they have been coming here periodically to make money. 

He saw Jenny leaning against the bar, then he approached her hesitantly and asked. 

"Excuse me, I have someone I'm supposed to meet here…" 

Jenny blurted out a word. 

"Amnack?" 

"Oh, yes… that's right." 

"I'm Jenny. This is Van." 

Only then did he discover Leo's presence and bow his head with a startled expression. 

"Well, nice to meet you. My name is Luan Sage, sales manager for Amnak Pharmaceuticals." 

"It's half." 

After exchanging greetings, Sage fumbled around as if trying to take something out of his bag without even sitting down. 

Jenny shook her head as she looked at the sight. 

"I'll give you a separate room, so let's talk about it there first." 

It was clear that this was not a good place to host clients. 

Jenny led the two of them up the stairs behind the bar to the second floor of the building. 

"… … If there was a room like this, why didn't you tell me about it a long time ago?" 

When Leo saw the neat and quiet room that seemed to have been brought straight from the reception room of a fancy hotel, he let out a loud exclamation, and Jenny snorted. 

"What are you talking about when you always take requests and run away?" 

"… … ." 

Leo kept his mouth shut, saying that whenever he received a job, he would always return to his hotel room and rest or study magic. 

Sage sat down with a much-improved complexion, perhaps accustomed to the atmosphere of this room. 

"We don't have much time, so can we get straight to the point?" 

As he said this, without waiting for an answer, he immediately took out a piece of paper from his bag and handed it to Leo. 

"Since you accepted our offer, I think you have already familiarized yourself with this request to some extent." 

"I did look at the contents." 

As Leo answered, he recalled the content of the request proposed by the pharmaceutical company. 

Currently, Amnak Pharmaceuticals is developing a tranquilizer through small-scale crowdfunding. 

Since the company has achieved remarkable results relative to its size, there are many positive outlooks that it will far exceed the company's current net profit. 

The problem is that there is pressure from the district Councillors in the district where their headquarters are located to hand over the patent for the drug they are developing. 

The council member in question is one of the district's leaders and is connected to one of the underworlds gangs and is using those connections to pressure the pharmaceutical company. 

Amnak's side is trying various methods to prevent this, and one of them is to extend their hand to the same floor. 

"So, what exactly do I need to do?" 

"Contrary to what is known publicly, the development of the new drug is currently complete." 

Sage said in a much calmer voice. 

"When the council member thought that the drug's development was not complete, he planned to secretly submit a sample to the patent office, but that has become difficult since the information was leaked within the company." 

"So, you're saying there's a spy?" 

It was common on Earth for companies to plant spies among each other and steal information. 

In a large company, this can be prevented to some extent by having systems do the work rather than people, but for a small pharmaceutical company, there is nothing they can do. 

Sage nodded, took a photo out of his bag, and handed it to him. 

A warehouse located in a remote alley. Judging from the fact that the surrounding buildings were not all that tall, it did not seem to be a busy area, but rather closer to the outskirts of the city. 

"After realizing that there was a spy in the company, the president moved the samples of the new drug that had been developed here. He was worried that the council member might use force to steal the samples. The problem is that this information itself is almost certainly leaked." 

Listening to him talk, it seemed like security meant nothing to Amnak Pharmaceuticals, but Leo understood. 

Because in a small company, a relatively loose system may not be enough to silence employees. 

If you give them enough money and promise them there will be no regrets, there will be many people who will open their mouths. 

"If information is already leaking out anyway, there's no point in moving samples around." 

Leo picked up the photo and flipped it over. Section 54. Number 8. The address of the warehouse was written in light cursive. 

"I contacted the patent office and received approval to submit samples the day after tomorrow. I would like to ask you, Wizard, to retrieve the hidden samples from this warehouse and submit them to the patent office on our behalf." 

Sage said so and stared at Leo with a nervous expression. 

Leo, who had been quietly looking down at the photo of the warehouse, suddenly opened his mouth. 

"Did you say sage?" 

"….yes." 

A moment of silence. 

Leo stared intently into his eyes and then chuckled. 

"If you want to entrust someone with a task, you have to speak clearly." 

creation 

Sage gulped at the murderous tone. 

"Well, what do you mean…?" 

Instead of responding, Leo shook the outline of the request he was holding in his hand. 

"Are you going to write down everything you want here and then act like you don't care? This isn't a problem that can be solved by just collecting and submitting a sample." 

Before doing anything, you need to clearly identify and overcome any awkward parts. 

It wasn't that he doubted the authenticity of the information he had given Leo, but that didn't mean Sage had told him everything. 

Sage's eyes darted back and forth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything. 

He also knows exactly what Leo is talking about. 

Jenny drove the wedge in next to him. 

"Gang." 

"… … ." 

"You forgot to mention the gangs. If the council member finds out that you hired freelancers, he'll naturally hear about it, but how can you guarantee that the rest of the class won't clash with the gangs?" 

The council member may not be directly involved in this area, but the gang he is in league with is different. 

If the pharmaceutical company finds out that Leo was in charge of retrieving and submitting samples, then the gang will naturally get involved. 

"I could really just hide and submit a sample to the patent office without anyone knowing. Do you want that?" 

Leo asked, but there was no answer. 

No, Sage answered the question by remaining silent. 

In the end, what Amnak Pharmaceuticals wants is not a simple errand boy, but a proxy who can deal with the councilman's gang. 

The words were eloquent, but in the end, Leo came here hoping to deal with the gang after clashing with them while retrieving the sample. 

However, the fact that he did not bring up that in front of her was enough to irritate Leo. 

'… Certainly, it's different from Balitz.' 

If we think of the dinosaur corporation that accurately conveyed the desired purpose, charged different commissions for each purpose, and even paid additional commissions considering unexpected variables, the current handling of Amnak Pharmaceuticals is ridiculous. 

Leo also knows that there may be times when things are done in a rule-based manner due to the nature of venture companies, but does it make sense to start making excuses from the moment you outsource something? 

If you look at the complacent mindset of thinking that the gang will be dealt with vaguely while collecting the sample, it might have been better to just hand the sample over to the district council member. 

As if he didn't know that the atmosphere had suddenly become tense, Sage's shoulders instantly hunched, and he began to sweat profusely. 

Leo resisted the urge to take the cigarette out of his arms and glanced at Jenny. 

Even if I take my anger out on Sage right now, nothing will come of it. 

I thought it would be better to discuss it with her first and then decide whether or not to accept this request. 

Jenny noticed Leo's gaze and smiled knowingly. 

"Hey, customer." 

"Yes, yes!" 

Jenny nodded at Sage's nervous answer. 

"Do you still want to leave the work to us?" 

"That, that's right…." 

"Then I guess we'll need to negotiate a compensation. Regardless of your intentions, you simply wanted to send our wizard on an errand, but we had different expectations about the risks. Do you understand?" 

Sage nodded. 

Only then did Jenny smile with satisfaction and point to something with her finger. 

It was Sage's cell phone that was lying on the table. 

"Then let's call your boss and ask him how much he can invest in you; how much money should I give him before he'll feel like he's going to beat up a gangster he encounters while running errands." 

"… … … " 

"We'll be out for a bit, so feel free to talk on the phone." 

As she said that, she very naturally led Leo out of the office. 

Jenny said as soon as the door closed. 

"What do you want to do?" 

"What?" 

"It's true that they tried to trick us, but to me, this is just cute. If they were really trying to fool us, they would not have even included the story about the council member and the gang in the request summary." 

"… … ." 

That is not wrong. 

It was also because of the information written in the quest outline they had sent that Leo could tell that Sage had not told him his entire purpose. 

"Of course, when I receive a request, I also do a cross-check, so I won't fall for a sloppy lie, but in this case, rather than hitting me in the back of the head… …" 

"Rather than hitting?" 

"… ...I think he was trying to lower the price." 

Jenny said that, glanced at Leo, and then quickly continued speaking. 

"Of course, this is just my opinion, and it's natural for you to feel bad. It's annoying when someone tries to trick me. It's also your freedom not to take on a request. You can send that old man away right now. There's no money in this business, right? Just take on another request starting tomorrow." 

Leo chuckled as he watched Jenny pour out her words like water flowing. 

Even though she was starting to figure out Leo's personality, her attitude of always approaching him cautiously was enough to win his favour. 

She seemed to have some idea that Leo was quite guarded, contrary to his own nature. 

"How difficult do you think the request will be? Is it possible for the district council member to directly intervene?" 

"It won't be difficult. I looked into it myself. I'm sure of it." 

Jenny declared. 

"The gang that Councilman Mayer joined hands with is a violent organization with about 100 members, and it's not a large gang even in the 50s district. Except for the leader who is known to be a strange mixed race, the rest of them are said to be no different from the Scavengers. They won't be difficult to deal with." 

Considering that it has the name of a gang, it must be an organization with at least a few dozen members, but Jenny's words don't convey any sense of burden. 

I already think that Leo is not at the level where he can be obsessed with simple numbers. 

In fact, Leo also thought that it might be possible to deal with it without it being dangerous. 

A battle with the Scavengers that we fought together with the Kreamgal Mercenary Office. 

There, various magics, including [Chain Lightning], used by Leo, had the potential to allow individuals to take on groups on their own. 

Perhaps it wouldn't be a terrible thing to turn that possibility into certainty once again in this request. 

Leo nodded, carefully considering his thoughts. 

"… ..Okay. But I would like to increase the commission fee more than this." 

It would not be unethical to charge a little more hazard pay if it meant avoiding fights with gangs. 

Jenny smiled at Leo's words. 

"Leave it to me. Didn't you see I already threw out the bait? I'll tear off about ten million cells, so just wait a moment." 

As soon as she finished speaking, the office door opened frighteningly. 

Sage carefully held his cell phone with both hands as if he was holding it in his hand. 

He looks at the two people and nods silently. 

Leo shook his head silently as he watched her mouth slit open right next to him. 

# 

After the pharmaceutical company took the initiative and stepped in, things progressed rapidly. 

Instead of doubling the 10 million cells of upfront payment originally scheduled to be paid to Leo, the 10 million cells of success fee will remain the same. 

After signing a temporary employment contract that would deposit 30 million cells if successful, Leo immediately got into the car that Sage had brought and headed towards the warehouse. 

There wasn't a big problem because I had packed my belongings in advance. 

"It's a little late. The others will probably have arrived first."