Naturally, I had more sense than to try and pry open the box to see what was inside. I doubt the military would appreciate it much if they found out that I tried to finish what this group of thugs started.

Not to mention the fact that I feel I would be involved in some troublesome stuff if I did.

That's why I just finished looting the thugs, placed the data chip on top of the box, gathered all the dead thugs in a pile, then sat down beside the box to wait.

As my Codex showed that five minutes had passed, I heard a vehicle brake outside the warehouse and I stood up in preparation to receive the newcomers.

I kept my hand on my weapon in case those weren't the people I was waiting for and merely more thugs who had arrived to check on things here.

I got to the main entrance and found a group of three men dressed in what looked like delivery clothes standing outside.

They were all staring at me, as though expecting something to happen.

Why are they looking at me like that?

Oh! Oh! Oh! The password!

Err… What was it a gain?

I cleared my throat, "Are you here to collect the food samples?"

The lead guy nodded, "I hope there's bananas in there."

I gestured into the warehouse and they followed me in. I could tell that they were definitely soldiers with how they immediately started checking their corners and looking around for threats as they entered the building.

It was then a short walk to the crate that was left in the centre of the warehouse and I stepped aside to allow them to approach it.

Two of them immediately went to it and started inspecting the box while the last one tapped on his personal terminal which called up his superior.

"Package secured."

The officer on the other side of the call nodded, "Is everything there?"

"Yes sir."

"And the Merc?"

"Right here, sir."

The soldier half turned his body to show me on his screen, revealing the same officer that I had reported the success of the job.

Geez, couldn't you have just been on call with this particular soldier the whole time and make him show me on his screen and we can skip the stupid password thing?

Whatever, I already know that the military is inefficient no matter which world we live in.

He nodded at me, "Good work Merc. I will mark this job as officially completed. You will receive payment within the next few days. The rest of you, secure the package and bring it to the rendezvous point. We're short on time."

One of the soldiers lifted up the data chip I had left on the crate, "What about this, sir?"

The officer narrowed his eyes at it, "What is that?"

"It was left on top of the box, sir."

The officer paused for a moment before nodding, "Soldier, slot it in."

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The one that was communicating with the officer took the data chip from his comrade and slotted it into his personal terminal.

There was a soft beep and a new window opened up on his screen, prompting both the soldier and the officer to look at it.

Both of them then turned to me with the officer speaking first.

"Merc, did you see what was in the data chip?"

Something tells me that I should not be honest here.

I shrugged, "No? Should I have? What's in it?"

"Nothing. You can leave now. My men will take care of the rest. Thank you for your assistance in recovering it."

I waved at him, "No problem. I take it you will be sending the mission completion to the guild and I can be promoted to Gold rank, right?"

"Yes, I will personally send the details to them."

"Perfect. Alright then, thanks."

I waved at him and left the building, trying my best to appear casual about it so that they wouldn't think I actually read the data chip.

I don't really think it's that big of a deal if I saw it though? Is the name of that material something that is really scary or something? Or maybe it's just highly classified information that no one should know about?

Obviously, I wasn't surprised to know that the military might be doing some shady shit behind the scenes but… Well… The galaxy is big right? Hopefully it won't affect me or Amber…

I made my way back to the Guild and found Amber waiting for me outside, the blonde haired Merc immediately rushing towards me and hugging me when she saw me.

"Tera! You're back!! I missed you!!"

I rolled my eyes, "I've only been gone for a few hours at most, Amber…"

"Mmm~ But I still miss you all the same~ So I take it you already finished the hustle?"

"That's right. Shouldn't be a problem with the promotion thing now. Were you really waiting here the entire time for me?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course not. I went out for a walk before this, don't worry about it~"

Must have been a relatively short walk then… But I kept my mouth shut of course.

The both of us entered the Guild and I tried to look for Peter to report the job completion. Only for him to find me almost as soon as I stepped inside the guild.

"Miss Tera, I have just received the news about your successful work. If you would follow me to the counter?"

I nodded at him to show me the way and he guided me towards one of the empty counters and stepped behind it himself.

He tapped on the desk and a window was projected in front of me that showed my Merc details.

"As for right now, you are hereby promoted to Gold rank level one, congratulations. You might also like to know that you are currently the first Merc to be promoted to this rank so quickly, it is truly a feat."

"Thanks. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Not specifically. Though I suppose since I have you here, we might as well take this chance to ask if you have anything you want to say to be marked down for this historical moment?"

I thought about it for a while, wondering what I could say for this…

I've barely been here for more than a few months and I feel that I've experienced enough to last a few years. And all of this just started from me waking up in my ship not knowing left from right.

Then I got involved with some pirates, which led to going to assault a pirate base by myself, then capturing some infamous pirate before finally meeting up with Amber.

Oh, I know~

I grinned at him, "Let it be recorded here… I, Tera, would not have been able to make it here if it wasn't for the support of my love, Amber."

Peter grinned, "I shall note that down for you, Miss Tera. And congratulations, once again."

I chuckled before turning to see Amber's reaction, only to realise she was staring right at me with wide eyes and her face frozen in an expression of shock.

Well, I thought that she might be surprised or even amused at that but I certainly did not expect to to make a face like that.

"Amber? You ok there?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her face.

She blinked before her eyes focused on me, "Are you… Are you serious, Tera?"

I smirked, "Of course I am. If it wasn't for you, I might still be some nameless vigilante instead of being a proper Mercenary, so I literally owe this to you."

"But… All I did was guide you to the guild… I… I don't think I did that much?"

I scoffed, "Please. You were the one who taught me everything and even accompanied me on the jobs that we did, didn't you? If you weren't there to guide me, I'll still be fumbling around doing Copper ranked jobs right now. So yeah, it really is because of you that I got to where I am right now."

I was fully expecting her to make some jokes or even just laugh it off but surprisingly, she came up to me and pulled me into a kiss.

It wasn't a kiss filled with lust but one that was filled with gratitude and love.

She was even hugging me tightly as though she was unwilling to let me go, afraid that I would disappear the moment she let go of me.

I wasn't sure why something like this would cause her to react like that but I still kissed her back, hugging her just as tightly as she was.

I was dimly aware of some people around us whistling at the sight but neither Amber nor I paid attention to them, focusing on our kiss instead.

When we finally broke the kiss for air, she was looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, Tera. I love you."

"And I love you too," I replied reflexively.

Now I'm wondering… Just what was that about?