MTLNOVEL Volume 1 Chapter 50 - It's already too late ★
I looked at the clock as I sat down.
It was pointing to 2 p.m.
Late…
The appointment was supposed to be at 1 p.m.
Feeling that a one-hour delay was excessive, I reached for the telephone on my desk. Just as my hand was about to touch the receiver, I heard a knock.
“Come in.”
I withdrew my hand and gave permission to enter.
“Excuse me.”
My subordinate Yoshino entered the room, bowing her head. Seeing that, I had a bad feeling. Because whenever this woman is this polite, it never bodes well.
“What’s going on?”
I asked, and Yoshino approached my desk.
“Director, I regret to report that negotiations with Elenora Ocean have failed.”
“What? Wait a minute. That makes no sense. That witch hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“No, she arrived as scheduled at 1 p.m.”
“What? Really, wait! What are you talking about? I’ve been waiting here the whole time!”
“To put it bluntly, Nonaka intervened.”
“Nonaka…? That guy!”
“What did Nonaka do? Are you saying he negotiated on his own without telling me?”
That’s impossible. Nonaka is my subordinate!
“Dr. Shindo was also present.”
I see…
Nonaka is related by marriage to Congressman Shindo. He was hired into this headquarters through that connection.
“Damn it! What happened?”
I practically yelled at Yoshino, who made a displeased face.
“Sorry, it wasn’t your fault, that was harassment.”
I need to stay calm in situations like this.
“It’s understandable,” she replied.
“So? He negotiated on his own?”
“Yes. To be more precise, it was not with our headquarters, but rather with a company connected to Dr. Shindo.”
I need to stay calm, stay calm!
“So, they conducted the negotiation here in the guild headquarters?”
“Yes. It’s problematic, isn’t it?”
“Of course, it is. I’ll have Nonaka transferred to the Shimane branch.”
I can’t fire him due to his connections, but I won’t let him rise again. Let him be a matchmaker for life.
“By the way, what was the negotiation about?”
“They tried to coerce her into selling it for one million yen.”
“One million… That’s way too low.”
“Exactly. So it fell apart?”
“Yes. Congressman Shindo tried to threaten her with her true identity and buy it, but she refused. She even said she would close the gate, and now the government is in a panic. Nonaka fainted from the shock and is now in the hospital.”
“…What?”
“Yoshino, I’m considering taking the afternoon off.”
“That’s not possible.”
Figures.
“I thought you were going to yell at me…”
“We’re past that point now.”
Close the gate? That’s impossible. But…
“Yoshino, what do you think?”
“If it were easy to dismiss as a lie, that would be one thing. But the other party is the Golden Witch. There are rumors that she’s a Frontier person, so it’s hard to say…”
Exactly. That’s what makes it hard to simply call it a lie.
“This is bad.”
“Even if she is a Frontier person and has the means to close the gate, she won’t actually do it. It would be too short-sighted. If she does, it would be when they try to detain her.”
“I agree, and so will the higher-ups. The problem is that this witch’s influence has increased. Now the government can’t lay a hand on Elenora Ocean.”
If the gate is closed, Japan will undoubtedly decline. We can’t treat a witch who might do that lightly.
“Is that witch really a witch? Isn’t the government going to negotiate?”
“What would they negotiate? She dodges every question and denies being a Frontier person. If she is from the Frontier, I suspect she’s one of the Frontier people who fled.”
“Fled?”
“The Frontier people have been extremely avoidant of contact for the last 30 years, and no Frontier people have been found using any gate around the world. In other words, they are also prohibiting contact on their end. If a Frontier person comes here, it means they have fled, or they are a recluse who is not bound by the government of the Frontier.”
Criminals or recluses… Well, that’s assuming the witch is a Frontier person.
“Either way, she’s a witch.”
“We can’t afford to be reckless, and the government is likely to take a wait-and-see approach. For now, she’s a golden goose supplying us with potions and item bags.”
There seem to be agents from foreign countries coming in, but that’s something we have to leave to those two Americans.
“So we’re also in a wait-and-see mode?”
“No, let’s renegotiate for the healing potions. It wasn’t our department that failed the negotiations.”
“The message was, ‘I was told not to sell to the guy from earlier, so I’ve decided not to sell Level 2 healing potions.'”
“…………”
“That person is not our employee. Right?”
“Did I hear something about a promotion to Shimane earlier?”
“I didn’t say promotion.”
“He’s fired then.”
“Is that okay? He’s connected to Dr. Shindo, after all.”
“Shindo is finished after causing this situation. The media will soon leak his collusion with that company.”
He’s strong but has many enemies, so that’s bound to happen.
“So, an unknown man intruded into the guild and negotiated on his own, is that correct?”
It’s absurd.
“That’s right. I’ll contact that vixen immediately. Can you put in a good word?”
She’s your cousin, right?
“It’s difficult. My cousin loves money.”
You’re alike. Are you sure you’re cousins? You could be sisters.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. It might backfire, but let’s try to negotiate.”
“I hope it works.”
Yoshino smiled.
“…What’s that smile for?”
I have a very bad feeling about this.
“After the Golden Witch left here, she immediately got into a taxi.”
“She called for one, right?”
“A blonde woman was already in the taxi. And this.”
Yoshino showed me her smartphone.
On the screen, a man with a beaming smile stood. Next to him were Clare Walker and Harry Baker, also smiling broadly. And on the edge was a blonde witch with a dissatisfied face, but still giving the peace sign.
“What is this?”
“It’s a tweet from a ramen shop owner. ‘Our ramen is patronized by A-rank adventurers and the Golden Witch. Please try it,’ he says.”
“…………”
“They’ve already made contact, haven’t they?”
But why a ramen shop? It doesn’t suit them.
“Don’t forget that Clare Walker owns a company in America that trades Frontier items.”
…Right! This is bad! She’ll snatch it away from the side!
“I’m making the call now! Yoshino, take care of the rest!”
I immediately picked up the phone receiver on my desk.
Please let it be in time!
…Though I think it’s already too late.