"It's okay, we're both men. I understand," Sebloro said with a greasy, knowing smile.
"???"
Wayland's body recoiled instinctively. His last clear memory was dying at the hands of that old man from the Seven Holy Paladins. "Why am I here?" he demanded. "What happened?"
"You were rescued, obviously," Sebloro replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Wayland's hand flew to his chest. His heart was beating. The skin was smooth, whole... intact.
How could a wound that lethal have healed in such a short time? Even the highest-tier healing magecraft couldn't truly restore the dead.
"Who saved me?" he asked.
"Touko Aozaki."
Wayland blinked, stunned. Touko Aozaki? It made sense, in a way. With her legendary puppet expertise, crafting a replacement heart,or an entire body,would be a trivial task. But he remembered her leaving before the chaos truly started. Why would she come back for him?
As if sensing his confusion, Sebloro chimed in. "I'm the one who notified her."
In truth, Touko had specifically instructed him to use this as a cover story to hide Irigal's involvement. As for why she wanted it hidden, Sebloro hadn't a clue. He was just a lowly tool, a glorified errand boy who had no right to question the whims of a 'Big Boss' like Touko.
"I'd been tailing you for a while," Sebloro explained. "When I saw you were in trouble, I sent word to Aozaki Touko. My specialties are Presence Concealment and speed-based magecraft, so I managed to reach her just in time."
Wayland let out a long, slow breath, but his expression quickly shifted to one of pure horror as Sebloro's words sank in.
"Wait... you've been stalking me? You're some kind of pervert?"
"No! No! You've got it all wrong!" Sebloro shook his head frantically. "My orientation is perfectly normal, I swear! The only reason I followed you was to talk to you about our company. Do you remember the 'stewardess' who gave you a business card on the train? That was me in disguise. You threw my card away, and the Boss was furious. He ordered me to track you down no matter what."
Wayland's horror only deepened. 'Is there something wrong with your head?!'
'Can't you just meet people like a normal person?!'
'And why the hell did you have to cross-dress and look so damn pretty?!'
"What? Why do you look so sick?" Sebloro asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Is something wrong? That's strange... was my intel off? I thought eighteen-year-old boys were supposed to be into that specific look!"
"..."
Wayland remained silent for a long, painful moment.
'Your business skills are certainly... robust.'
He pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to ward off a headache. "And you're telling me your company is a 'legitimate' one?"
"Of course! Totally legitimate! I'm telling you, our company is the top-performer in the security industry year after year."
"The... the security industry?"
"That's right! Gleaming Tower Security! Our service is top-tier!" Sebloro held up a proud thumb.
"..."
Wayland stared at him. The guy sounded less like a security professional and more like a used-car salesman trying to push a lemon. He once again found himself doubting the 'legitimacy' of this organization.
He shook his head and sighed. "I don't need a security company."
"How can you say that?" Sebloro asked, moving into his sales pitch. "You've been marked by the Seven Holy Paladins, haven't you? Leave it to us! We'll handle everything for you, guaranteed!"
'You're still trying to scam me, aren't you?'
The Seven Holy Paladins were an ancient, shadow-dwelling organization of elite killers. And this 'security company' thought they could just... 'handle' them?
'Am I dreaming, or is this guy just delusional?'
Wayland gave him a skeptical look. "Are you sure you're not joking?"
"Of course not! The Seven Holy Paladins are practically our... well, let's just say we're old 'acquaintances.' Rivals, enemies, whatever you want to call it. We know them inside and out. Dealing with them is what we do best."
Wayland narrowed his eyes. "So... you're not a security company."
"No, we definitely are. We're registered with the local authorities. Fully legal, fully compliant."
'I'd believe a word of that if I were dead.'
Wayland felt his head thumping. "First of all, why should I believe you can stand against the Paladins? For all I know, you're just a con artist. Second, even if you're telling the truth, I can't afford to hire you. And third... I'm dying to know what you people actually want from me. You've gone to absurd lengths just to get on my good side."
The smile on Sebloro's face faltered for a fraction of a second. 'He's not as easy to fool as I thought.'
Actually, he wasn't trying to fool the kid.
After a moment's thought, Sebloro said, "Fine. I'll answer your first point. The very reason the Gleaming Tower was founded was to stop the Seven Holy Paladins. Do you know who founded the Paladins in the first place?"
"Who?"
"Vortigern, the Usurper King."
Wayland's eyes widened. That was a name he hadn't expected to hear.
"Vortigern founded the Seven Holy Paladins specifically to guard the Gleaming Tower."
"Wait... I'm confused," Wayland said. "Aren't you people the 'Gleaming Tower'?"
"No," Sebloro said, shaking his head. "Of the seven Divine Relics guarded by the Paladins, the first and most powerful is the Gleaming Tower itself. But that relic was stolen by our ancestor centuries ago. We renamed ourselves the 'Gleaming Tower' just to rub salt in their wounds."
'Your ancestor was a absolute menace.'
To steal a Divine Relic from both Vortigern and his elite knights... his Presence Concealment must have been maxed out.
And that was during the Age of Gods.
Any lingering doubt that this was a 'normal' security company vanished instantly.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]