/
‘It would be nice if there was a related community or something
.’
Reflecting on his encounters on Earth, Lennok could make an educated guess about the functioning of a networked society.
Based on Lennok’s intuition, despite the potential challenges in gaining access, there is a strong likelihood of a community existing somewhere that engages in this kind of information exchange.
When his task completed, Lennok decided he should inquire about this from Jenny, while attentively listening to Mila’s words.
“Anyway, assuming you cooperate, I have a way to catch many contaminats at once. It saves time and we can make a lot of money. Let’s split the money we make 50-50. How about it?”
“70-30.”
Lennok retorted with a rough tone.
Startled, Mila swiftly stood up to voice her objection.
“Hey! Then how am I supposed to live!”
“From what you’re saying, aren’t I the one who ultimately has to sweep away the contaminats? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here, waiting to work with me. It seems I have more work to do, so this is only fair.”
“What bullshit
. No, the idea came from this side! And it’s customary to save face for the planner. Let’s split it cleanly without acting against decency. Okay?”
“Who was the first to break decency?”
At Lennok’s cold answer, Mila flinched and swore heavily.
“Fuck

60-40. I can’t compromise more than this. This is a truly great idea.”
“I don’t know how brilliant an idea you have
. Fine. 60-40.”
Despite his anger towards Mila, Lennok had no intention of pursuing a 70-30 split.
Claiming slightly more than half was sufficient for him.
While he didn’t hold high expectations for her, considering her affiliation with the Antares office and her potential to enhance her worth like Lennok, he believed it was necessary to cooperate on this occasion.
As soon as Lennok nodded in agreement, Mila turned away with a victorious grin on her face.
“Great! Let’s get going.”
“Are we walking?”
“No. I found something useful in this construction site. Let’s ride this.”
Mila guided Lennok towards a dilapidated forklift, its rusty frame on the verge of disintegration.
“

..”
Lennok, wearing a blank expression, climbed onto the forklift as he observed Mila settling into the driver’s seat.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that his inaugural experience of sharing a ride with another person in this world would take place on a dusty, decrepit forklift.
Vroom vroom vroom!
“
..It runs better than I thought.”
“Right? I just dusted it off and reconnected the tangled wires, and it started right up. It’s so much better than having to walk.”
Without uttering a word in response, Lennok summoned his mana and shot a lightning fox straight ahead.
Crack!!
“

..”
Mila’s expression tightened as if a distant memory resurfaced, yet she remained silent and continued operating the forklift.
Before long, they encountered a disturbing sight—a contorted and wriggling contaminant, its tongue protruding from its mouth.
Lennok disembarked from the forklift, harvested the eyeball of the contaminant, and swiftly returned to his seat before posing a question:
“So, where exactly are we going?”
“Well, you might not know, but contaminants usually follow life responses.”
“I know.”
“
Anyway, where do you think is the place where contaminants are most likely to gather?”
Mila appeared to have little anticipation of receiving a response from Lennok, yet he promptly deciphered the answer from her words.
A location beyond the mega-city of Vulcan, where a substantial life presence could be anticipated. It was not a challenging question for him to deduce.
“It seems like there’s a residential area where outcasts gather nearby.”
“Oh? Did you already know about this?”
“No, but I can guess.”
Aware of the existence of outcasts, Lennok had not actively sought them out.
Considering the contaminants’ tendency to target living beings, the outcasts roaming in the undeveloped zone would be subjected to the harshest damage.
In truth, the city government’s decision to hire costly mercenaries and assign them extermination tasks was partly motivated by the desire to prevent excessive loss of life among these outcasts.
However, searching for the outcasts’ residential area, the precise location of which Lennok was unaware of, would likely prove to be a futile endeavor. Moreover

“Didn’t you think that other mercenaries would be similar?”
The predicament lay in the fact that the idea was overly evident, raising the strong likelihood that other mercenaries were also devising similar routes.
For Lennok instead of venturing alone to locate the region where contaminants congregated and needlessly colliding with other mercenaries, it would be more prudent to rely on his extensive mana-sensing ability to pinpoint the contaminants.
“If you don’t have a specific plan, let me off soon. I want to fill the quota roughly and go back even if I’m alone.”
“Hey, hey, wait a minute. Why are wizards so impatient?”
Mila tightly grabbed the hem of Lennok’s clothes, who was trying to get up, and grinned.
“I’m not a fool. I know all such obvious facts. Of course, I prepared at least one secret that others don’t know.”
“

..”
In Lennok’s perception, Mila appeared somewhat foolish
 Yet, considering he had come this far, there was no reason to disregard her words, even if they turned out to be falsehoods.
“Our boss has a lot of interest in the outcasts.”
“Are you talking about Antares?”
It’s surprising that a mercenary who has been through everything has a lot of interest in outcasts.
Lennok pondered whether there were any unique circumstances or reasons behind this interest.
“Yeah. So, sometimes because of the boss, we get together and go out for free service
 disguised as a low-request.”
“Free service
.”
It was indeed surprising.
The fact that mercenaries, such as Antares, care about outcasts is less surprising than the fact that the mercenaries followed him without question.
Even Mila herself appeared to have no objections to this arrangement.
Considering that mercenaries typically value wealth and power above all else, the fact that they dutifully adhered to his directives indicated that the individual known as Antares held a firm grip over his organization.
Lennok contemplated whether Antares was a person who treated his subordinates exceptionally well, or if he possessed superhuman abilities that effectively silenced any minor complaints.
“Anyway, we recently helped some outcasts move their living area. And only we know that location so far. How about it, isn’t this quite tantalizing information?”
“

..”
Indeed, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Lennok to conduct patrols around the outcasts’ dwelling area and eliminate the encroaching contaminants, as long as he avoids overlapping with other mercenaries.
However, based on the information he had gathered thus far, it seemed that Mila had motivations beyond just monetary gain
.
“So, you periodically send people to check on the outcasts. Does Antares have a reason to care about them that much?”
“Ahaha, aren’t you too quick-witted?”
Mila wore a troubled expression as she absentmindedly scratched her cheek, refusing to provide any further answers while silently maneuvering the forklift.
Lennok observed her profile intently, organizing his thoughts in silence.
It seemed highly unlikely that Antares’ assistance to the outcasts stemmed from simple compassion or sympathy alone.
Most of the outcasts Lennok had encountered were individuals who had chosen to escape reality or were unable to adapt even within Vulcan’s lenient regulations. They were not helpless victims subjected to circumstances beyond their control. They were outcasts who hardly warranted any sympathy.
The fact that Antares supported these individuals in surviving within the undeveloped zone suggested a hidden agenda.
It became evident that both the city government and Antares possessed knowledge that remained concealed from others.
“We’re almost there. This way.”
Navigating through scattered ruins, where fallen steel bars obstructed the way in a disarrayed fashion, Lennok and Mila ventured forward.
Upon reaching the area Mila had mentioned, Lennok swiftly recognized that it had been deliberately constructed to deter external intrusions. Although it appeared hollow, the structure made it arduous to traverse to the other side due to the myriad of scattered objects obstructing the path.
In the open spaces unobstructed by obstacles, deep pits were strategically scattered, thoroughly blocking access.
Taking in the sight of the outcasts’ living area, which exhibited a balance between modesty and thoroughness, Lennok extended his mana outward, sensing his surroundings.
There were approximately a hundred hidden presences concealed within those ruins.
It was not a negligible number.
Mila cautiously maneuvered the forklift, slowly exploring the surroundings, scanning for any potential threats.
“It doesn’t seem like the contaminants haven’t discovered this place yet
. It seems like the outcasts are dealing with the approaching contaminants themselves. Well, they should do at least that much when we’ve made such a cozy home for them.”
“Aren’t you going inside?”
“Why would I? They are the ones I wouldn’t even want to approach unless it’s the boss’ order. I’d rather mingle with the scavengers.”
It came as no surprise that Mila’s assistance in relocating the outcasts’ living area was not driven by personal fondness for them. That was to be expected.
Even at present, it was challenging to ignore the unsettling gazes that persistently observed them, peeking out from between the ruins.
Uttering those words, Mila halted the forklift, released her grip from the steering wheel, and leaned back against the seat, visibly weary.
“Alright. Let’s wait here for now. You can’t see a thing right now, but if it’s the contaminants passing by this area, they’ll inevitably drool this way
 Huh?”
Mila’s sentence remained unfinished as she abruptly turned her head.
Lennok, too, sensed a significant surge of life signals entering his range of perception and redirected his gaze accordingly.
Groups of individuals were steadily advancing from the distant horizon, where the gusty sea breeze blew, drawing nearer to their location.
“Hmm
 It looks a bit over ten, but it’s too far to tell for sure.”
“Eighteen. All mercenaries.”
“


”
Lennok responded with a somber tone and rose from his seat.
Mila, too, let out a deep sigh and disembarked from the forklift.
“I purposely came down here because I didn’t want to do this kind of thing
.”
“If they’re mercenaries who know how to handle mana to some extent, it would have been easy to accidentally find this place while passing by. You were too careless.”
Observing Lennok harnessing his mana while making that statement, Mila raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“What are you doing, trying to start a fight? We should just tell them we were here first and they would leave.”
“It would be nice if that were the case
 but there’s someone I know over there.”
“A friend? Then that’s good. Let’s send them away with some nice words.”
“No. We’re not that close
”
Lennok spoke with a wry smile on his face.
It was because he noticed the three distinct life energies that he had not been separated from for long, gradually drawing closer.
Through the swirling sandstorm, the approaching mercenaries from the other side gradually revealed themselves, and their familiar faces became clearly visible to Lennok.
Miguel, Erikson, and Claria.
These three, who were engaged in a suppression mission alongside other mercenaries, coincidentally encountered Lennok in this unlikely location.
Confusion flashed across their expressions as they recognized his presence from a distance.
“

..”
A brief moment of silence hung in the air.
After a period of staring at each other in bewilderment, it was Miguel who made the first move.
He broke away from his group and approached Lennok, extending an awkward greeting.
“Mr. Van. We meet again like this. The undeveloped zone seems very small.”
“Seems so.”
Miguel flinched at Lennok’s gloomy reply, but he persisted without being daunted.
“Was the lady next to you originally part of your group
..”
“We met by chance on the way.”
“I, I see. That’s fortunate. It’s not a safe place to be alone, isn’t it?”
“What is it you want to say?”
They weren’t even close enough to ask about each other’s well-being in the first place.
In response to Lennok’s direct question, Miguel released a faint sigh and cast a brief glance at his comrades.
The other mercenaries, too, had their attention fixed on the interaction between the two.
After a while, Miguel broke the silence and spoke up first.
“Well, this spot was something we had our eyes on first.”
“Spot? Where is the spot here?”
Undoubtedly, Miguel was alluding to a location where contaminants naturally gathered, but Lennok feigned ignorance without even a flicker in his expression.
With the intentions of Miguel and the other mercenaries laid bare, there was no compelling reason to lend a keen ear to their words.
Miguel appeared somewhat flustered at Lennok’s response, causing his reply to be slightly delayed and lacking certainty.
“
If it’s not too much trouble, could you move to another place?”
“Hey, are you crazy?”
In the midst of the conversation, Mila, who had been silently attentive, interjected with a bewildered expression on her face.