I'm sure the shock shows on my face, and I can sense amusement from Nina. Levi is looking at me without any hint of joking, though. Gerard is smirking at Levi, and he decides to interject at that point.
"Hahahah…it won't work, Levi, other parties have already tried recruiting Nina." (Gerard)
Levi doesn't stop looking at me, but he shakes his head to Gerard's statement.
"No, that's not it. I'd take Nina, too, obviously. However, Mizuki is the one I want, I meant that." (Levi)
Gerard raises his eyebrows in surprise, then starts chuckling.
"Fufufu…so his skills as a strategist really impressed you that much, eh? I won't deny that he's cleverer than the other adventurers I've got in my guild, but that only takes you so far. No offense, Mizuki." (Gerard)
I smile while I gesture at Gerard and shake my head, like 'none taken'. Levi continues looking at me carefully while he responds to Gerard again.
"Well, yes, I was impressed by how he handled himself. Honestly, I might have asked him to join for that alone. However, Gerard, I think you have the wrong idea about Mizuki. I don't mean about his strength or magic, specifically, just that I know he's…formidable. I don't know why, but every fiber of my being tells me that if I had to fight him or Nina to the death, Nina is the safer option." (Levi)
Well, that's remarkably insightful…I almost want to ask him why he feels that way. Should I be worried that my power can be sensed by someone else?
[Fufufu…Mizuki, I quite like this human. If you wanted to have him join us every now and then for jobs, I think it might even be fun.] (Nina)
I aggressively suppress the shock from showing on my face. Nina likes him!? I mean, I do, too. Still, Nina's not exactly friendly with weaker creatures. Did our contract mellow her?
[Wow…I'll keep that in mind.] (Mizuki)
Looking back at Gerard, he's giving Levi a puzzled expression, like 'sure dude'. Levi's just smiling at me, though, waiting patiently for a response.
"I'm very flattered, Levi, thanks. However, as Gerard said, Nina and I won't be joining another party. It's not anything personal towards you. Nina's and I's relationship is just more than adventuring, so we prefer to work alone. However, we'd join you for a job, if the situation ever presents itself." (Mizuki)
Nina hears me allude to our non-platonic relationship, and I sense a rush of satisfaction from her. Then, I feel her hand reach over and begin stroking my hair. I groan internally. This dragon really needs to learn boundaries in public.
Glancing at Levi, he seems to be smiling and suppressing a chuckle.
"Well, I can certainly understand that. I appreciate that you two approve of me, and I'll reach out if a job appropriate for us three comes up. Well, anyway, it was nice to meet you both! I have to get going now, but congrats on your B-ranking. See you around!" (Levi)
After Levi exits the room, Gerard turns his attention to us, and his face gets a little grimmer.
"Now, about that personal job request that I mentioned…" (Gerard)
Gerard explains that he's received a request to discreetly investigate the 'underground' slave trade in Cedonia of the Ralzen Empire. From what I recall, this was one of the places that Ilina and Klaus have business in. Apparently, slavery is not illegal in the human countries. However, forced slavery and child slaves are illegal.
Despite this, if the individuals are adults and there's no record of them being free individuals within the country's borders, the Empire looks the other way. In other words, slavers can kidnap non-humans from other countries and bring them back to the human countries to sell as slaves, with no repercussions.
The demi-humans and dwarves can't fight such injustices, but the Elven Kingdom is powerful, so the legal slave trade unofficially excludes elves to maintain plausible deniability. The underground slave trade, however, has no such limitations. Still, due to their isolation, there are limited opportunities to enslave elves.
The person requesting this job believes that some elves were recently captured by Cedonia's underground slave trade. Historically, even the underground slave traders would not try something so brazen, but the current emperor doesn't care about other races' rights, and the slave trade has become more aggressive about kidnapping non-human races as a result.
We're to find out where the elves are located, how many there are, and anything else we can about how they were captured. The job is 'off the books', which is why Gerard offered it to us – strong adventurers that have yet to acquire enough notoriety to draw attention.
"So, does that sound like something you'd be willing to take on? The request came from a valuable connection, so I'd consider it a personal favor." (Gerard)
[Mizuki, this sounds like it will require lots of the scheming you love, and we get to go somewhere new together!] (Nina)
"I do have one question. Is it sufficient to make sure that our actions can't be traced back to us, or do we have to prioritize non-interference?" (Mizuki)
Gerard seems surprised by the question, but he thinks it over for a minute.
"I guess my unofficial answer is…so long as it doesn't compromise the lives or freedom of those elves, doesn't harm innocent people in Cedonia, and doesn't implicate the adventurer's guild, you're welcome to complete the job however you see fit." (Gerard)
Perfect…I can't keep a menacing smile from breaking out on my face.