WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Genius Engineer That Mega Corporations Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 22

──────

I'll Make Sure You Get Paid

'Ah, this is seriously bad.'

My consciousness was close to flickering out.

It felt like what had happened in front of Old Man Gordon before.

The only difference from back then...

'Is that I've since taken a high-tier spell from the doctor.'

Having had that one treatment, I could hold on to a little of my senses, unlike last time.

Of course, it looked like only a matter of time.

My body kept swaying and my head spun. If this kept up, I'd definitely pass out soon.

"This way."

Following the back of the security guard leading us ahead.

The world kept lurching, rocking up and down.

'This is bad. Really bad.'

Urk.

Another surge of nausea, pushed back down.

I couldn't collapse inside this club right now, and I couldn't throw up what I'd eaten either.

Too many eyes were here. Especially since I'd just walked out acting tough in front of Valeria, the Godmother.

In a situation like this, I could never let weakness show.

My eyes went to Rita.

The only person here who could help me.

I leaned my body lightly against hers.

"Eeeek! Boss, what are you doing?!"

Startled by the sudden contact, Rita tried to push me away.

"Sorry, but could you support me a little? I'm not feeling well... But make it as unnoticeable as you can."

At my words, Rita's pushing hand stopped. Her fingers, barely touching me, twitched. She must have felt that I was drenched in sweat.

Her eyes met mine. Not her usual cheerful, mischievous gaze, but a slightly shaken look.

"Okay. Get a little closer."

Rita took both my hands and draped them over her shoulder and waist.

With solid support, keeping my balance got far easier.

"You can just touch me naturally. Like you've had a bit to drink. I'm only letting it slide this once."

Following the guard's lead, we made it outside without a hitch.

"Then please, get home safe."

Out of the building, and all the way until the club was far behind us, I gritted my teeth and held on.

Then, at the moment we finally reached a main road where we could flag a taxi.

"Boss, I'll get us a taxi. Can you stand for a sec...?"

"Rita."

"Yes?"

"To the garage, please. I'm counting on you."

"...W-what? What did you say?"

Rita's big amber eyes were the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness.

* * *

'Wow, he's seriously light.'

That was the first thing Rita felt.

She'd caught the collapsing Dex on reflex, and the weight in her arms was absurdly light. Hard to believe this was the same person who'd been inhaling food until a little while ago.

'...Was it this bad?'

She'd heard about his condition from Gordon. She'd read the report the doctor wrote, too.

Until a moment ago, this man had been standing in front of Valeria, the Godmother.

He hadn't backed down even when the Godmother unleashed her power, and on top of that, with a body like this, he'd used magic to repair the Godmother's prosthetic eye.

So she'd figured he might be a little tougher than what she'd been told.

'Nope. He was just toughing it out on willpower.'

It was astonishing.

Rita herself had almost reached for the suppressor at her neck when the Godmother's gaze fell on her.

That pressure, the feeling that she had to release every bit of her power right now, this man had endured with this frail body.

Half-supporting Dex, Rita barely managed to flag a taxi and get in.

"Welcome aboard, passengers. Please state your destination."

"District 4, the alley next to the Ashen Chimney Night Market."

[ Current Time: 03:31 AM ]

The taxi arrived a little past three in the morning.

At the garage, Rita carried Dex up to the room on the second floor and laid him down.

It wasn't hard. This pitifully thin man was that light.

Having gotten him onto the bed, Rita started to leave the room, but her eyes snagged on the coat he was still wearing, so she stepped closer to take it off for him.

"...?"

As she tried to remove the coat, Dex's arm lifted, and only then did Rita notice the wire attached to it.

Following it along, she found that it connected to something in his pocket.

She wasn't an engineer like Gordon or Dex, but after assisting Gordon for so long, she could recognize this much.

'A mana battery...?'

To stand in for his broken heart, this man had built a mana battery wired up with cheap copper that leaked mana everywhere, forcibly modified his own arm, and been using magic that way.

Just to climb up on his own strength, even with a body this broken.

Having seen that far, Rita finally took in the room itself.

There was nothing in it. No belongings at all. Even though he must have lived here a few days longer than she had.

In conditions this miserable, he'd turned down the offer to become Gordon's apprentice and turned down Valeria's exclusive contract, and was clinging on grimly, only to survive by his own strength.

'This man...'

Gordon had said it before: a bird that lost its wings and fell. Something that belonged in the sky, its wings snapped, dropped to the ground.

"He really is something. There's a lot to learn from watching him up close."

Only now could Rita sincerely acknowledge this man as her boss.

"I'm counting on you from here on, for real, boss."

* * *

The first thing I noticed on waking was the smell.

Something... burning?

"Huh?"

That jolted me awake enough to sit up. My body was weak and my head ached a little, but I could move.

On the table in the room sat the mana battery, and on the back of the chair in front of it hung the coat I'd been wearing.

Only after seeing that did last night come back to me. The mana overflow had hit, and I'd passed out after asking Rita to cover for me.

Apparently she'd gotten me all the way here safely.

Coat on, battery tucked into a pocket, I walked out of the room.

The moment the door opened, the burning smell got even stronger.

"Oh. You're up?"

Rita was doing something in the second-floor kitchen. The burning smell was especially bad.

'What's that? An experiment? Or some new technology I don't know about?'

Wondering that, I asked her.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell? Breakfast."

On the table sat a few pieces of completely charred bread and a can of cheap jam.

"Isn't that burned pretty badly?"

"Only the outside. The inside's fine."

'If the inside's burned too, that's not bread, it's charcoal.'

I was about to say it, but I buried the thought. There are things you don't need to say in front of a woman.

"Sit down and eat."

Sitting down, I spread some jam and took a bite. The inside wasn't fine either.

'It's charcoal.'

Still, someone had put effort into making it, so I just kept chewing and swallowing.

"...By the way, don't you have any for yourself, Rita?"

"I'm good."

Rita answered, glancing off to the side to avoid my eyes.

'Ah. This must be the least burned one she had left after burning everything.'

I didn't say that out loud either. It felt like the list of things I shouldn't say was growing today.

After polishing off the bread, I shot to my feet and opened the cupboard. Inside were the nutrient jellies I'd bought and the spice syrup the general store owner had thrown in as a freebie.

I carried a few over and asked Rita.

"If you're hungry, would you like some?"

"Ugh. You've been living on that stuff?"

"I have a body that can't survive without high-nutrient food."

My words seemed to remind her of how much I'd eaten last night, and Rita conceded without a fight.

"Come to think of it, you're right. You're someone who has to eat a lot."

When I held out a jelly, she hesitated for a moment and then took one.

I drizzled spice syrup over mine and scooped up a big mouthful.

'Hm... Just like the store owner said, it's actually better than I expected. This is edible, even for a human.'

Honestly, it was better than the bread Rita had burned.

"Boss. Thinking about it, we haven't talked about my pay yet, right?"

Rita had been staring at me with a playful grin, and now she brought up something that made my stomach sink.

"...Isn't Old Man Gordon paying you?"

"He told me to come get it from my boss."

In the end I set down my spoon.

'That damn old man.'

Come to think of it, that was exactly the kind of person he was. He hadn't given me the garage for free, he'd demanded 200,000 credits every week, and he'd kept the second floor locked until it suited him. Send someone over, and dump the pay on this place. That was just like Old Man Gordon.

Not much I could do about it.

Truthfully, Rita had already more than earned her keep with last night alone. She'd set up a chance at a big contract, and when I collapsed from mana overflow, she'd protected me and gotten me all the way back here safely.

On top of that, she was skilled, and honestly, she was kind of cute.

'She's more than qualified to be the face of the garage.'

Even if I tried hiring someone now, the odds of finding another employee on Rita's level were close to zero. Better lock her in.

With that decided, I opened my mouth.

"Let me ask first. How much would be acceptable?"

Rita stopped scooping her jelly and looked at me.

"I get to name it?"

"I'm a rookie boss, so I don't know labor costs. If you name a number first, we can negotiate from there."

Rita thought for a moment, then held up three fingers.

Three hundred thousand credits, huh. A bit of a strain, but for someone of Rita's caliber, it might be worth it.

That was what I was thinking when Rita's mouth opened again.

"30,000 a month."

"...Excuse me? 30,000 a month?"

"Yeah. Why? Was that too aggressive?"

The problem wasn't that it was expensive. It was that it was cheap. Back when I worked the street stall, 30,000 credits was something I could earn in two or three days.

Far too little for someone on Rita's level.

And she'd worked under Old Man Gordon, so she must have been paid much more than I'd imagined.

"Rita. How much did you get paid when you worked for Old Man Gordon?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Since you won't say, I'm guessing it wasn't 30,000."

Rita's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"...This place is still small. And your situation is pretty obvious."

"So you lowballed it out of consideration for my situation?"

Rita didn't bother answering.

"Hiring someone like you for 30,000 would make me a crook. For now, let's say 150,000 a month. I know. Even that falls short of what you should really be getting. In exchange, I promise you this. Once the garage's income is stable, I'll make sure you get every credit you're actually owed."

Rita stayed quiet for a long time.

"...Okay. Fine. But you have to really keep that promise. Once the garage's income is stable, you pay me what I'm worth, properly."

Grinning, I nodded.

"Of course. I'll keep it."

Just as the conversation was wrapping up.

Knock, knock.

Someone was knocking on the door downstairs.

While Rita and I set down our jellies and started for the stairs, whoever had knocked was already coming into the building.

Standing at the door was the silver-haired woman customer from before, the one who'd come with the Cheonroe prosthetic arm.

"Oh? Thought nobody was here, but you are. I came to keep my promise."

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried