Scarlet

Putting aside the illegal actions of his own subordinate for the moment, Allen simply turns to me and asks, “I’m a little bit curious as to what your magic is. Because while seeing bodily modifications is rather common, I don’t think I’ve seen one that’s given something similar to some sort of animalistic blood magic, assuming your ears and the claws are anything to judge by.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Belle says from the other side of the call while leaning forwards with a slight grin on her face.

I roll my eyes at the two before answering, “I have blood magic.”

“Really?” Allen asks, a little surprised at first only to shrug his shoulders a second later and add, “Guess there isn’t really a logic behind the changes, so I shouldn’t be so surprised.” He pauses for a second. “You’re sure there’s no bestial aspect to the magic?”

I raise an eyebrow at him, “I just got a skill that can boil the blood of a living being. Do you think that has any bestial aspects to it?”

He raises both hands in a placating gesture as Belle laughs at our interaction.

I’m a little surprised by how accepting they both are with all of this. But then again, Allen is a Class IV Guardian if I remember correctly. So he’s probably used to dealing with new Guardians. And it makes sense that his daughter would take it well too.

That aside, I take in Allen’s attire.

It’s not very often that I actually see him wearing his magi-tech armor outside of the news and on the internet. But it really does look pretty cool.

I’m not a fan of the idea of wearing armor myself though. Maybe I could get some way to enhance my jacket?

Allen seems to notice me checking out his gear and suggests, “If you want, I can make you some armor.” Then he quickly adds, “Of course, you’d have to pay it off,” after seeing my frown beginning to form.

I blink in surprise before smiling.

Looks like he does remember how much I hate accepting handouts. Because then I feel like I owe them back for it.

The only reason I got his help with the negotiation for the universities was because I didn’t think there was any other choice. So if I do have a choice, I’ll avoid it like the plague.

“I might just take you up on that. But only if it’s possible to upgrade my jacket, or at least make an energy armor that goes over it,” I say, making the man roll his eyes at my attachment with my jacket.

Hey. You’re the one who said it was the only thing that I had when you found me.

“Yeah, I can do that,” he answers with a grin on his face. But the grin fades away as he grows serious and asks, “Would you like to work for my Association?”

I frown as I seriously consider his question.

An Association is a group of Guardians who work together during Demonic Assaults. They have a lot of power in the Republic, and even more during a Demonic Assault, practically being able to command even the ruling Council of Governors as long as they have reason to. Although the exact amount of power each Association has is generally linked to the number of Guardians they have in them, and how powerful each of those Guardians are.

Most new Guardians end up joining the Society of Humanities’ Guardians, which is a rather blunt name. This Association basically accepts every Guardian in existence, no matter their strength or personality. And they’re one of the top Associations purely because of the massive number of Guardians in it. But at the same time, it’s one of the weaker of the top Associations purely because it has quantity over quality.

Meanwhile, Allen’s Association – if I remember correctly – is a newer one despite being one of the most powerful. Although its strength and draw for powerful Guardians lie almost entirely with its leader. Allen Sylvester. Otherwise known as Cipher. The current CEO of Silver Works, the first company to invent magi-tech.

Allen sees me hesitating over the decision and he adds, “Remember, you can leave any time you wish. Just say the word.”

I look up at him again from the floor to find that he really seems to want me in his Association.

Nepotism at its best there, I guess.

I turn to look out the window, briefly glancing at the call that’s still open to see Belle staying silent in the process. And what I find when I look down at the street below us is the sight of a bunch of people all leaving the building at once.

Guess Allen’s letting everyone off early for the day. For good reason.

After several seconds pass in silence, I let out a sigh and turn to look at Allen again.

“Look, I really don’t like accepting handouts.”

He interrupts right away and says, “You won’t be! We could really use a blood magic user in our numbers!”

My eyebrows rise at that.

“Really?” I ask incredulously.

Allen nods his head, “Yeah. Blood magic is one of the more desired magics. After all, it can both heal and attack, act as support, and can even be used as a berserker. There are all kinds of ways a blood magic user can go!”

I stare at him for a few seconds before realizing that he actually means it.

So maybe not nepotism after all.

Seemingly sensing my change in attitude, Allen presses on the attack, “If you join now, I’ll even let you go with a couple of the others to attack a Class I Fracture.”

My eyes immediately lock on his and I feel my heart start racing at the thought of more prey. Only to blink in confusion at that thought, then shrug and stare at him anyways.

Guess there’s nothing to do about those new instincts but accept them.

That said, I don’t work well with oth-

“You’ll also be able to split off from them while under surveillance to fight the weaker demons on the outskirts of the Fracture,” he adds a cherry on top that has me immediately saying, “We have a deal. As long as I can still leave whenever I want.”

Belle breaks out into a laugh at the ridiculousness of this negotiation, meanwhile Allen just grins at me.

He’s probably going to stick more nanomachines on my metaphorical tail than I can count. But at least it means I can try out my new skills, and continue gaining more EXP and SP.

And I have a job now.

Which reminds me.

“Now let’s talk about my pay.”

My statement wipes the smirk off of his face rather quickly.