Chapter 265

"I understand, Angelina, you're a good girl who actively participates in community activities for the Infected even after you've been infected yourself... You've united in the face of oppression from the Sicilians... And now that our client's daughter has also become the Infected, it's normal for the Infected to blur the lines between 'ordinary people' and 'family members.' I think your local connections can help us find our client... but that's not the point."

Angelina displayed a portion of the footage recorded by her battlefield recorder onto the vehicle's Terminal. Looking at herself, who had jumped several meters high because she was startled by Nana, Angelina tilted her head uneasily. She knew it was her magic, but she didn't understand why she suddenly turned back to this.

"As I said before, your magic is not something that can be described as 'rare'... Your magic is very important to Rhodes Island, you have great potential, I was certain just by looking at you that you would become a sorcerer who would have the most significant impact on this land... And at the same time, I would describe you as a good kid, do you know what that means?"

"Wh... what?"

"It means I'll use the highest level of service within my authority to recruit you... or to put it bluntly, I'm going to take you away... It has nothing to do with whether you can help us find that client."

As she spoke, Nana took out a business card and a document.

The black file folder contained the recruitment authorization and employment documents obtained through the Rhodes Island Human Resources Department's Elite Operator referral program. Most of the information on the documents had already been filled out by Su Sulo, and only Angelina's signature was needed.

The other red and black expedited permit is an expedited permit issued by the Rhodes Island Human Resources Department. The holder can use any mode of transportation under the Contingency Contract -related organization to urgently travel to Rhodes Island... The Rhodes Island ship itself will provide 100% reimbursement for all expenses incurred.

After realizing that the short sorcerer before her wasn't threatening her, but genuinely trying to recruit her, Angelina, who had just been terrified and felt like she'd been tricked, examined the document in her hand again with suspicion:

"I... you... I'm sorry, my head is a bit of a mess, I still don't quite understand why you think I'm important..."

"If you have any doubts about our purpose, then let me repeat myself... Whether you can help us find our client or not, I will take you back to Rhodes Island... Don't doubt it, you, or rather your magic, are that important."

After hearing such a resolute statement from the person in the driver's seat, and seeing the brown-haired high school student looking at her with teary eyes, Su Sulo speechlessly kicked the driver's seat lightly.

"Although I'm not a sorcerer and don't understand if Angelina's magic is that special... but Nana, can you please not be so scary? We're just inviting her to work for our company, so she doesn't have to worry about insurance or local families anymore, why are you making it sound like we're kidnapping her?"

"I'm just seriously emphasizing her importance to us... Also, I don't deny that if Angelina refuses our invitation out of fear or lingering affection, I will carry out the plan to force her to accept it."

"... No, Nana, are you serious?"

Su Sulo and Folinic exchanged a speechless glance at the brown-haired girl beside them, who was sitting there dumbfounded. They had spent quite a bit of time with Nana, and aside from the incident in Chernobog concerning the Doctor's safety, this was the only other time Nana had been so insistent on something...

Oh, not only did this guy die trying to see the Little Cat during the Black Edge Catastrophes, but that child was Medic's only salvation. Nana also has significant psychological issues because of the Little Cat, and all the Elite Operator on Rhodes Island know this.

Just as the car fell silent because of Nana's outrageous remarks, Typhon soon emerged from the alley with a large number of bags and a group of small vendors who, although trying to conceal their identities, clearly had visible signs of the Infected due to their Active Originium fluctuations.

As Nana unlocked the car door, Angelina, who had been terrified, looked at everyone and showed a hint of relief.

"Everyone... seems to be alright... that's great!"

"I mean, Typhon wouldn't have problems dealing with a few Sicilians..."

However, noticing Typhon's shifty eyes as he avoided her gaze, Nana patted the empty passenger seat and asked:

"Get in the car... We've found Angelina, haven't we...?"

Seeing the Infected vendors in front of him exchanging bewildered glances and then asking Nana where she was taking their 'messenger,' 'little Angel,' 'happy pill,' and so on—all pseudonyms for Angelina — Typhon scratched his cheek and pointed to the boxes being stuffed into the trunk, presumably containing food or various small commodities.

"Um... could you please settle the payment for the goods for me first, sir?"

"... how much?"

"Um... aren't you going to ask me why I bought so much stuff?"

"I can roughly guess. So, how much money did they say they needed?"

The deal, which mentioned settling over thirty households for approximately 500,000 Lungmen Dollar, carried an eerie atmosphere.

Nana thought for a moment, then took out the Continental Hotel Coin she had previously rummaged through and tossed them to Typhon, who seemed to have never intended to get on the train in the first place.

The purple-haired hooded Sakota looked at the Qi III Lin Si & Ji Qi Delusi gold coin with a slightly embarrassed expression:

"... This... is a bit too much..." hissed.

"Your estimated budget was too low... Do you even know how to use it?" (Bar)

"I know, Miss Nagisa taught me..." Dad

After confirming Typhon's side, Nana looked at Angelina face was also full of worry: I

"So, Typhon will help these people... that is, the Infected 'family' related to you, leave this city, with a budget of one million Columbian Dollar ... consider this a loan to you, interest-free." V

Ignoring Angelina's swallowing motion, Nana nodded goodbye to Typhon, the SUV started, and then slowly drove towards the group's hotel, Qun, through the light drizzle.

"Rhodes Island will resolve all your concerns and potential problems. In return, you will be under our control... If you have no further objections, please sign the employment document."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: I originally wanted to write Angelina's joining the team in a more comedic way... like Typhon being surrounded because he bought up all the food in the food street and ate everyone's stock, etc... but that would be too absurd.

Let's continue with the analysis of some seemingly inexplicable behaviors in this chapter:

The current situation is that all the Infected are saving up money to leave, because the high-ranking families have been thrown into chaos by Suzuran Ling's killings, the insurance system has gone out of control, and no one can withstand the unscrupulous extortion by the Sicilians thugs.

Angelina saw Typhon surrounded because she had bought up all the Infected's goods at high prices, enabling them to buy basic train tickets... But she didn't know that her family had come to kill them, so she was so nervous that she suffered Oripathy and was approached by Rhodes Island.

Seeing this, Nana simply increased the budget and asked Typhon to hire more reputable Mercenaries from the Continental Hotel to help take the people away. In this way, Jie Ge no longer had any worries and was taken away by Nana through a combination of kidnapping and buying.

Of course, a mere million dollars isn't enough to completely remove the Infected from a city; that money is only used to house the Infected that Angelina knows... Even with a rescue that's like a deus ex machina, it can only help those within sight and those related to the mission... Please don't mistake this for Nana engaging in some kind of self-righteous, hypocritical behavior.

After all, Nana would ask a certain Emerald Feline for reimbursement after returning to Rhodes Island... She believed Angelina was worth the price.

The 8th Spring of Siracusa: 299 The detective game has come to an end.

Nana knew that, as part of a recruitment effort, she had used coercive methods on Angelina.

The reason why the other party has not fought back, apart from the fact that the child is simple-minded, is probably that what Nana said and did can indeed solve Angelina's current problem... that is, it is indeed 'effective'.

The problem that Nana needs Angelina to pay attention to is, though it's sad, it's a reality that must be faced head-on... a trial called 'living'.

Although this is only a general statement, Siracusa's policy on the Infected was modeled after Columbia's.

Those the Infected must pay huge sums of money in insurance to be allowed to live a normal life, but often, it is not the city-state judges who knock on the doors of the Infected, but their family members.

Some judges struggling to make ends meet may search for the Infected, hoping to live off their insurance premiums, but more often, the fate of those the Infected is decided by their local families.

These families often control the homes and workplaces where people live, and they demand huge sums of money from the Infected for "violations of Housing Safety Accord." The Infected who cannot pay often end up in gray areas without family control, but even those the Infected can pay may lose their jobs and become homeless due to a small complaint.

It is evident that, among the many stages of these the Infected's lives, Angelina was also nearing the final stage of [displacement].

While it's certainly not funny to apply what appears to be a 'stereotype' to someone's fate, in Nana's opinion... to see a 'sorcerer' whose magical abilities might be even more outrageous than her own reduced to the streets, threatened by the lowest-ranking family thugs with crude sticks, only shows that this city-state should be grateful to Lady Sicilia for establishing the Gray Hall before it explodes.

If those low-level thugs weren't still required to obey the law like ordinary people on the surface, then Nana would find it hard to say what form Angelina's magic would take and what the city would become if she saw Angelina in complete despair.

Just as Nana derived and operated Originium Arts such as [Racial Mimicry] and even [Witchcraft] based on the physique of 'Chimera' and 'Angel', Angelina's magical nature is equally complex.

If Nana's perception is correct, then the Originium Arts manifested as 'gravity interference' are probably just the girl's yearning for 'freedom'... Her spell phase matter manifests in a form that exceeds 'entropy,' materializing abstract concepts and flowing them into three-dimensional reality... She is a natural Demons slayer, and at the same time, she has the potential to use her self-awareness to cover the world.

Although Nana has seen similar spellcasters before, the PRTS archives show that spells similar to those of Rhodes Island Elite Operator Touch and Pith can interfere with and restore the essence of things, interfere with or even completely stop the operation of Catastrophes. Logos and Misery can even bury souls, change cognition, and use space as a trick to deceive the world.

Furthermore, casters stronger than Rhodes Island's Elite Operator are not uncommon in this land. Even the Sarkaz Royal Court of the Kazdel Military Council, which was once an enemy of Rhodes Island, were not to be trifled with.

Not to mention, further up the line there is the Witch King Hurron, who created the 'Leithanien Will' and the national-level combined spell— the Golden Law Movement... Yet Angelina has the potential to stand on equal footing with these people and even surpass them, Nana made this judgment as a fellow top-tier spellcaster.

To put it bluntly, even if Nana ruined the child's life, Angelina's physical existence is still a valuable magical ingredient for targeting Demons and similar abstract enemies.

Let alone being able to come up with a million Columbian Dollar to solve her worries, if it weren't for Nana's pursuit of mission success rate as an ICA agent, Angelina's current value alone would have been enough for Nana to abandon everything at hand and send her back to Kal'tsit.

This is an ultra-urgent package with a priority level second only to the safety of Doctor's life.

And this very child, so important, has had all his income taken away in the name of insurance money. Now he is homeless, undergoing examinations and conservative treatment at Su Sulo... The thought that there are many other 'treasures' in this land who have suffered similar fates and are buried under hardship makes Nana heartbroken.

Humanity, a race with immense potential, yet its inherent potential is repeatedly wasted on countless acts of mutual harm... Very few are 'successful' enough to tap into their potential and showcase their brilliance... This is the 'land' that devours people without discrimination.

It looks exactly like a petri dish where miscellaneous bacteria are fighting each other.

"... Um, I've signed the agreement."

Nodding, she accepted Angelina's documents. The girl had just returned from Su Sulo's place and probably had no idea what Nana was imagining behind her seemingly nonchalant expression when she left.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"No, no, it's for my own good after all... and although it's just a conservative approach, it has definitely made things much easier for me! Besides, everyone in the neighborhood is benefiting from Rhodes Island's kindness, so if I can actually use magic to help them, that would be wonderful!"

As she spoke, she lifted her thigh, which was covered in Originium Crystals. To the unsuspecting, the Originium on the side of her right leg, reflecting the azure phase material, was nothing more than a strangely colored Active Originium.

Of course, with the intervention of drugs and healing spells, their Originium activity has been temporarily brought to a relatively safe state.

The girl took this brief moment of relief as proof of her recovery, and her eagerness to repay the kindness was truly touching.

"So, Miss Medic, what do you need my magic for?"

"... It's too early to talk about that now. You'll need a long time to learn and practice magic if you want to help us... but not in magic, you can certainly help us in other ways."

Nana's words made the twin-tailed high school girl's expression turn serious. After all, it involved her family and a murder case. It was impossible not to be nervous about something that had always been completely unrelated to ordinary people like herself.

"Yes... it's about that lady, right... the mother of that little girl named Lisa... As long as we find her, the chaos in the family will subside, those despicable thugs who overcharge will behave themselves under Gray Table's watchful eye, and the city can return to normal."

"... While normal life in Siracusa isn't exactly easy either... but it's true... even the worst order is better than complete chaos."

"Those who legislated for Siracusa did not abandon family traditions. This was not because they were blind to the backwardness of family-run administration and the inability to guarantee fairness and justice... but because family management was indeed effective. Even Lady Sicilia could not abolish them... The fact that they could even set up a Gray Table was already a considerable step forward."

Clearly, when it comes to the Lady Sicilia her agent admires, Nana has a lot of memories and things to talk about with her. But these things are still too distant for Angelina, who comes from an ordinary family.

For over sixty years, Angelina has treated all magical geniuses with unique talents equally, and she is no more sensitive Su Sulo in matters related to her family.

Brown-haired JK is currently only concerned with her new job and whether her the Infected friends will actually receive their million-dollar settlement money... and that's certainly how she sees that 'settlement allowance' for now.

"In other words, we'll have to use my intelligence network to find that woman... Now that we know the target's name is Lisa's child, and she recently became the Infected, then... wherever we find intelligence about our target, we'll inevitably have to go through those people."

As if to prove herself to Nana, Angelina clenched her small fist and revealed her identity:

"The Infected doctor!"

Of course, this idea is reasonable and justifiable, but if it weren't for the obstruction of the Sicilians, and Typhon actually finding Angelina, a valuable talent that Nana would never let go of at first sight, Nana would probably have already started visiting these people.

Su Sulo once made a living doing the same thing and ruined his career at Siracusan Public Hospital, has something to say about this:

"The doctors of the Infected... whether they are colleagues in public hospitals registering the Infected for the government, or private doctors serving families, to find out who treated Lisa's injuries, they first need to know where our clients were attacked and where they were taken afterward..."

"We don't even know which family Lisa's mother serves, and there are quite a few doctors in the city, both overt and covert... Are we really going to have to go through all that trouble to find them one by one?"

"Can't we ask the judge?"

Despite Folinic's seemingly reliable suggestion, Nana shook her head after thinking about it.

"She deliberately didn't tell us. After all, it's too sensitive for the spokesperson of the Lady Sicilia will to unite with outsiders to suppress local families. It's easy to think of how 'Guns and Order' was when it was founded."

"... We were clearly helping her restore order to the city?"

"It's very likely that it was requested by other families or individuals... They might actually want us to avoid finding the client, or they might simply want to take revenge on Lisa as well."

"... Lisa two years younger than Rosemary, isn't she? Does the family feud really have to go this far?"

The pained expression on Folinic's face, which seemed to have shattered her understanding once again, was nothing new to Nana; she was already used to the fact that the people of this land didn't treat people like human beings.

"After all, for judges, their job is to prevent the family's revenge from going too far. Other than that, how things develop is actually quite irrelevant to her... Compared to winning the favor of outsiders, Vittoria also has the important long-term goal of reclaiming government functions from the family... When the power of a government position like a judge can check the family, then so-called fairness and justice can have the soil to not be tainted by evil."

While talking, Nana checked the condition of the weapons at hand and then took out a local tourist map:

"On the other hand, it's not like you can't find them just because you can't find a doctor to treat Lisa's Oripathy... After all, compared to doctors who sell services, the key to controlling the Infected, a group that is strictly controlled by both the gangs and the government and courts, is the medication they use."

Seeing the locations Nana pointed out with the muzzle of her gun, Angelina, being a local, quickly recognized the purpose of the buildings there.

"Pharmacy?"

"Even within families, the insurance premiums from the Infected constitute a large portion of their income. They guard the Oripathy medication as if it were Red Gold, and even members of their own families are targets for exploitation."

"Ah! So, even though these pharmacies are managed by different families, they still have cashier and sales records... and as long as we find the pharmacy staff who saw the client at the time..."

"Then we can trace the client's movements based on the eyewitnesses."

Although the efficiency of field visits as a survey method is worrying even from the perspective of just thinking about it.

However, with the help of transportation and the guidance of Anshin'in Angelina, the apprentice sorceress who recently Nana's Trauma Team, it would actually only take a day to visit all these pharmacies.

Sitting in the car, Nana glanced at the rearview mirror and sighed as she looked at the Sicilians vehicle that had somehow stuck to them again... Fortunately, the others didn't notice these persistent pests. Angelina's cheerful demeanor made it seem as if she could discover a new clue at any moment.

"Now all that's left is figuring out how to convince the pharmacy staff!"

"This kind of thing is actually the simplest; it's nothing more than coercion and enticement."

Angelina, who had recently been subjected to such a succinct explanation, looked slightly embarrassed by Nana's concise explanation.

"Um... Senior Medic... you don't start every request with 'I'll give you a million, and you'll do this or that,' do you?"

"... You're actually the first person I've treated like this... Also, when you're working with us, you need to change your independent messenger habits... For example, in case of an emergency, follow my instructions and don't run around on your own..."

Because the topic of battle was brought up suddenly, and because Nana kept glancing at the rearview mirror, everyone quickly noticed the electric scooter used for commuting in the city not far behind them.

To Folinic and Angelina, the men in the other car were dressed in suits, expressionless, and wore matching hats... clearly indicating they were family members.

For Nana and Su Sulo, this car, which had participated in the morning chase, was an old friend... Although the people inside weren't the same group from the beginning, they were definitely Sicilians.

Thinking of this, Nana remembered the thug saying that all his men were dead and that she had to take full responsibility.

Although the topic was absurd... the distance the other car was at and the murderous intent in the people's eyes did indeed seem to have a "you deserve to die" vibe.