[V11C28] Men Without Friends

Michel and Teodor of the Winkel brothers were busy packing their belongings, when a knock came from the back door.

――Knock, knock-knock, knock-knock.

This special rhythm meant “two returned, no injuries, no pursuit” in their secret code.

Michel exchanged a glance with Teodor, who nodded back, and they opened the back door.

Two black-haired burly men were standing in at the entrance: their eldest brother Anthony and their youngest brother Robert.

“Welcome back, you two.”

“Hey.”

“We’re all here.”

Teodor gave a warm greeting, followed by Anthony and Robert responding in turn.

Anthony and Robert had the greatest age difference among the brothers, being the eldest and the youngest, but they shared a similar build. Both took after their mother, a former knight, who was quite tall for a woman.

On the other hand, Michel, Teodor, and the absent third brother Sven took after their father.

Even though Robert was now the second largest among them, his older brothers constantly doted on him. And for some reason, their lovable youngest brother arrived carrying a large bouquet of flowers.

“Wow, that’s a big bouquet. What’s the occasion?” Teodor asked.

“You see, I plan to propose right after this,” Robert explained.

Upon hearing those words, Michel gasped in excitement. The second of the Winkel brothers loved talking about matters of romance.

“Propose?! You mean to Miss Monica? I see, you’re already at that age now…”

The time had finally come for the small Robert (actually relatively large even as a child, but his brothers always considered him small) to consider marriage!

Despite having just graduated from Serendia Academy, Robert was already set to join the Randall Knights starting autumn. Moreover, he was considered one of the most promising candidates.

He likely intended to propose to Monica and take her back to Randall before then.

Robert was currently wooing Monica Everett, who was a member of the Seven Sages, the most powerful mages in the Kingdom of Ridill.

Naturally, there would be complications if someone of her stature marries into another country, but the Winkel brothers intended to give Robert their full support.

Above all, they would get a sister. At long last, a cute little sister was going to join the family.

While Michel loved his brothers, he had always wanted a sister. Their house constantly felt cramped with five brothers.

Michel always enjoyed the company of girls. Whether as romantic interests or not, they were a sight for sore eyes.

This was especially true in the Winkel household, as their mother was tall and muscular. The petite Monica Everett was the ideal sister in the eyes of the Winkel brothers.

(Once she becomes my sister, we can go shopping together, and I can treat her to sweets. She’d just love those trendy snacks with caramel filling. Also, the glass market is a must! No doubt she’d be thrilled! Michel-oniisama, you’re so great at escorting!)

As Michel started getting ahead of himself, the eldest brother Anthony gave a solemn nod.

“Indeed, one cannot propose without flowers in Randall. Then all you need to do is show Miss Monica a glimpse of your biceps, and she will surely be smitten.”

“Right, all of my biceps workouts have been for this day,” Robert said, rolling up his sleeves and flexing his arms.

Anthony quickly joined his brother in the same pose.

As the two were about to start a passionate discussion on biceps, the sound of footsteps came from the second floor. All of the Winkel brothers noticed immediately.

However, the only person on the second floor was Samuel Throth, whose arms and legs were thoroughly restrained.

“Teodor, did you check the binds?” Anthony asked.

“Checked and double checked. He’s also equipped with a magical tool for suppressing mana, and the room is double-locked,” Teodor answered.

During this exchange, Anthony and Robert reached for the handles of their swords and began chanting. Teodor and Michel also reached for their weapons, a whip and a concealed knife respectively.

Tap, tap. The footsteps were headed towards the staircase. Michel’s keen hearing allowed him to identify the exact location of the sound. Whoever was on the second floor was right in front of the stairs.

However, the footsteps stopped there. Rather than a person, a black liquid came flowing down the staircase, as if someone had spilled a tub-full of ink.

The moment they saw the liquid, the Winkel brothers held their breath and covered their noses, on guard for poison.

Unfortunately for them, this was no mere liquid.

What seemed to be a black fluid began transforming, as if it had a will of its own. Then, countless black spears rained down on the brothers.

＊　＊　＊

In a corner of Sazandol’s commercial district, Clifford Anderson was drinking a cup of coffee without the slightest hint of enjoyment.

“I just got a letter from my old man,” Clifford began. “It says that you, Walker, are apparently a friend of mine.”

Isaac, who was sitting across from Clifford, simply smiled and remained silent.

“How strange. There’s no way you have any friends,” Clifford continued, staring at Isaac with his gray eyes behind the glasses.

“That’s quite the accusation.”

“Your stupidly handsome face means you can’t be ‘just friends’ with women. Plus, your nasty personality means all the men hate you too.”

“…”

While it was somewhat true that Isaac had few friends, that was due to his unique circumstances. More importantly, Isaac didn’t want to hear that from Clifford, a man who probably had even fewer friends.

Upon his arrival in Sazandol, Isaac had decided to stay at an inn instead of going to Monica’s house.

The Fourth Thorn Witch Melissa Roseberg and the Third Abyss Shaman Ray Albright were currently in Sazandol. Both recognized the face of Prince Felix due to participating in the same ceremonies, so he wanted to avoid bumping into them.

Thus, Isaac remained vigilant even during his meeting with Clifford Anderson, disguising himself with a hat and glasses, and keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Isaac had two main goals in Sazandol. The first was to deliver the blueprints for the anti-dragon detector to Monica. The second was to convince Clifford to cooperate with his research.

Clifford gulped down the last of his coffee, then opened his mouth again.

“I read the letter. Seems like my old man wants to invest in your research or something…”

Clifford placed the empty cup on the saucer, looking Isaac right in the eyes as he continued.

“Honestly, I assumed you were just freeloading off Monica. To think you were actually working.”

“That’s quite the accusation,” Isaac said, repeating the same response from earlier while maintaining his pasted-on smile.

However, Clifford continued without the slightest hint of care.

“So you guys want me to act as the liaison or something, right? Well, I refuse. The Anderson Company has a branch in Sazandol. Just go to them instead.”

“But, you know, that building is really far from Monica’s house.”

“…”

Isaac’s response caused Clifford to go speechless. His gray eyes widened to the limit behind the thick lenses of his glasses.

This was a rare occurrence, as Clifford hardly ever showed much emotion.

“Did you really designate me as the contact just for that?” Clifford asked.

“Yeah.”

While this was not a complete lie, the real reason lied elsewhere.

The Sazandol branch of the Anderson Company was commonly visited by nobles, so Isaac wanted to avoid getting too close. More encounters with nobles came with a higher risk of exposing his identity.

However, Isaac did not feel like explaining that reason, as a passive-aggressive response to being called a friend-less freeloader.

“You stand to gain a lot in this deal,” Isaac continued.

“Except everything about it is awful? It’s already bad enough dealing with that noisy guy who started coming in all the time… Now you’re coming too? That’s twice the problems.”

Clifford seemed to want to end the conversation as soon as possible, but Isaac calmly sipped at his coffee.

Then, he changed the subject to what initially sounded like small talk.

“The Flux Company is relatively small, so you lack the means to purchase materials in bulk. Naturally, that means the costs are higher, right?”

Businesses that mass-produced clothes or accessories often purchased materials in bulk to reduce transportation costs and lower material expenses.

However, the Flux Company often made one-of-a-kind items on commissions rather than mass-production. This forced them to buy materials in small quantities, incurring greater transportation costs.

“Meanwhile, Chairman Anderson will be providing carriages for the transport of research materials and data… They said that if you agree to the conditions, they won’t mind the Flux Company using those carriages.”

While Clifford’s expression remained unchanged, his air of wanting to leave had vanished.

The Flux Company ordered many materials from the commercial city of Paruva. If they had access to free transportation between Paruva and Sazandol, they could save a lot on expenses.

“You’ll make Miss Lana happy, and I’ll save on unnecessary trouble. Both of us get what we want,” Isaac said, handing the contract to Clifford.

Though Clifford still looked displeased, he ultimately sighed and accepted the contract.

“Taking advantage of my feelings for Lana, huh? You really do have a nasty personality.”

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