Chapter 50
Chapter 50
8. Hunter Alliance -2
"Anyway, what brings you here? Nom nom⋯⋯ Are you looking for something?"
『Da』 was stuffing his face with a churro.
He had a big bag wedged under his arm, and it was packed full of junk food—donuts, churros, that sort of thing. The guy had just lopped someone's head off, and he could still put food in his mouth.
"Ah, would you like one?"
No thanks.
Why did he slice them up in the first place? I was so dumbfounded that I had to keep reining in my mind as it kept trying to bolt, and I asked him.
"⋯⋯Why did you kill them?"
"Huh? I told you earlier. They were wasting my time."
"No, but it had nothing to do with you. I was the one getting scammed, and if you stepped in out of concern for me—well, you and I don't exactly seem that close."
At that, 『Da』 answered without batting an eye.
"I wanted to strike up a conversation with you, Hunter Noah Won. But if I'd acted like I knew you in that situation, those corpses would have wasted my time with all sorts of nonsense—'Who are you?', 'Is he your friend?', that kind of thing. So I just killed them."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
I looked down at the heads rolling around the alley. They'd died without even a chance to panic, so their expressions were still exactly the same as when they'd been trying to intimidate me. The severed necks had been cauterized by high heat, so no blood was flowing.
I mean⋯⋯ sure, I'm not the type to hesitate to swing a blade at someone who bares their teeth at me. But this—taking human lives like pulling up weeds.
No matter how you look at it, something about this is wrong.
As I stared at 『Da』 with wary eyes, he let out a little exclamation as if he'd just figured something out.
"Ah."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
"I was wondering what you were agonizing over. You were curious why there was no blood spray even though their heads were cut off, right? I layered a 『High Heat』 skill onto the cut. The smell of blood kind of turns my stomach when I'm eating, you know."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
He'd resolved a curiosity I'd never even had.
This bastard was a psychopath. Or something close to it. I kept my guard up and glared at 『Da』 as I spoke.
"What about the bodies?"
"Are you going to use them for training? I don't mind, so help yourself."
"No, what the hell are you talking about⋯⋯ I'm asking if you're just going to leave the bodies here without cleaning them up."
"Ahh, it's fine. Only worthless people come to back alleys like this. Poor, powerless hunters will swarm in like ants and pick them clean. If we clear out and give it ten minutes, it'll be spotless."
That wasn't all I was asking about.
I was glad I hadn't taken this guy on as a mentee in the second tutorial. I'd felt some inexplicable unease and gone out of my way to distance myself, and even thinking about it twice, it was a relief.
That unpleasant feeling was still there. Even now, I didn't want to get tangled up with this 『Da』 character in any way. Even though my combat strength was probably higher than his.
But.
The situation was too urgent to avoid him over some vague sense of foreboding. I decided to tell 『Da』 my purpose and ask for his help.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Aha, looking for someone, are you. Could it be Elijah?"
"⋯⋯Yes."
I was tempted to call it off even now.
There were two reasons I'd asked this bastard for help.
First, 『Da』 seemed quite familiar with this neutral city.
The fact that he was munching on a piping-hot churro from who knows where was one thing, but more than anything, the very decision to slice people down in a single stroke proved it.
Normally, when you kill someone—conscience aside—wouldn't you worry about facing consequences for it? You might end up in conflict with a passing hunter.
But he'd cut down two people without hesitation, and from the way he talked about how there were plenty of people who'd come take the bodies if you just left them alone⋯⋯ it didn't seem like he'd only been here a day or two.
"Well, someone of Elijah's caliber would be a waste to throw away."
"Can you help? Just so you know, I have no intention of wasting your time without compensation."
"You don't have to pay me. Giving directions isn't exactly hard⋯⋯ and you, Hunter Noah Won, seem like you'll hit C-rank faster than me. Sucking up to someone senior to me like you isn't a waste of time. It's efficient networking."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
And second. This was the most important part.
"So how about you start talking now?"
"Huh?"
This bastard one hundred percent knew something.
It could be coincidence that he'd appeared right in front of me. But the way he was loitering in front of me, his lines, every little movement—it was all suspicious. And with good reason.
A guy who supposedly hated wasting time that much—why was he hanging around here? And to a mentor who'd rejected him in the tutorial for a flimsy reason, no less. For what possible reason?
I figured it was one of two things. Either he wanted to make a deal with me, or he wanted to pull some bullshit on me. And conveniently, wasn't this bastard a member of the Hunter Alliance, just like Elijah? So even if he knew the whereabouts of the missing Elijah⋯⋯ it wouldn't be strange.
If I thought of his approach as an extension of that, it fit perfectly. Seriously, I wouldn't even be surprised if this bastard demanded, "I know where Elijah is, so deposit 100,000 Credits if you want her back."
I gripped my shield tightly and spoke.
"I don't like taking the long way around either. I don't care what your intentions are. But if you waste my time any further, I'll start considering physical time-saving measures, just like you. Tell me what you know."
It meant I'd beat it out of him if he didn't open his mouth.
At that, under my suspicious, wary gaze⋯⋯ 『Da』 didn't look the least bit offended—instead, he smiled faintly. A thin, slender, snake-like smile.
"Shall we, then?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"That's right. You do have good instincts. The Hunter Alliance radical faction updated their kill order three days ago, and Elijah's name was on the list."
A kill order?
So Elijah was now in the same position as me, with assassins or something tailing her. Elijah's disappearance was connected to the Hunter Alliance. My expression hardened as I took a step forward.
"Then where is Elijah?"
"The kill order keeps updating with recent sighting locations, so if I were still an insider, I could have answered you⋯⋯ Sorry, but I don't know."
"⋯⋯You are an insider."
"Past tense. I quit three days ago, after checking the kill order. To be precise, after I decided to quit, I figured I might as well skim the kill order one last time before leaving."
He quit?
But hadn't the Hunter Alliance mage who scouted this guy acted like he'd give up his liver and gallbladder for him? The mage had personally promised full support.
Had the support not been to his liking? Or had something happened inside the Hunter Alliance?
"Why did you quit?"
"Well⋯⋯ because I'd sucked out everything there was to suck?"
"?"
"After I grew with their full support, I asked if they could support me a bit more, and they said it would be difficult. So I just kept up appearances for a bit and left right away."
Crazy bastard.
He didn't seem to be lying. I had considered that, as a Hunter Alliance member, he might approach me like this and stick a knife in me when I let my guard down. But 『Da』 genuinely seemed like a person who moved purely for profit.
He continued.
"But well⋯⋯ there are brokers in this city who sell internal Hunter Alliance information. I'll give you the location, so go check it out, Hunter Noah Won. You'll probably find at least a lead for tracking her."
"⋯⋯I didn't expect you to spill it so willingly."
"I don't like getting hit. And if you can save your life in front of a jackal with a single rice cake, that's a profit. Some idiots make stupid decisions over pride or whatever⋯⋯ but not me."
Thud.
『Da』 kicked one of the heads on the ground with the side of his foot, sending it rolling. The head tumbled away and slid into a dark ditch, disappearing from sight. Through all of it, that high-school-boy hunter's expression was utterly composed.
The only thing that flickered across it was a brief sneer.
And that sneer turned back into a long, snake-like smile, openly revealing a side of the man along with a measure of sincerity.
"In this wretched age where ruin is closing in by the minute, shouldn't a mere human at least make good judgments if they want to live a long, healthy life?"
"⋯⋯Judgment, huh."
"So don't drag out certain judgments too long. Put them off and put them off⋯⋯ and no matter how long you put them off, all that comes back later is regret—'I should have started that savings account sooner.' Now then, shall we go see the broker together, Hunter?"
I see.
Now I was getting a feel for it. This 『Da』 character lived his life like a game—like he was speedrunning it, even. Very efficiently.
That was why he'd cut off the heads of two petty scammers to avoid wasting time. And since he knew he couldn't beat me in a fight, he was scattering information without demanding anything, so as not to get on my nerves.
And he was offering to guide me to the broker's location, even accompanying me, so he could establish a connection with a strong hunter like me who seemed close to C-rank promotion.
But was that⋯⋯ right?
My plan had been to see how badly the scammers were acting up, and if it wasn't too bad, rough them up a bit and leave it at that. Was that really something that could be dismissed with the single phrase "waste of time"?
I don't know. I don't know, but for now, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Let's keep it simple. My bad mood is a serious matter. I said flatly.
"Just give me the broker's coordinates and get lost."
"⋯⋯Hm. Both in the tutorial and now, haven't I been acting very kind and friendly? The awkward phrasing is just because it hasn't been long since I received the System on my planet and came out. Can't you find it in your heart to see me as endearing?"
"No matter how many times I look at you, you don't have the qualities of a hero. To travel with me, you need to be at least thirty percent hero material. Otherwise my master will say you smell like a civilian and dislike you."
"Ha⋯⋯ It's strange, really. I was sure you were similar to me, but then in some ways you act endlessly stupid. If you're worried about me betraying you, you could have just walked along with me for a bit and killed me somewhere secluded."
Whether it was disappointment or frustration.
『Da』 looked at me with an odd expression, then raised both hands and slowly backed away as he explained the broker's location. Just before he vanished from my sight, he left behind a single line.
"Good luck."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
And then he was gone.
I vigorously rubbed my forearms. Even if cockroaches were crawling all over my body, it wouldn't give me goosebumps like this. I was the one who'd squeezed information out of a junior and chased him off, but somehow I felt like I'd crawled into a snake pit and barely escaped.
But I had a lead. The Hunter Alliance, a kill order, and a broker.
The Hunter Alliance might exploit innocent, weak newbie hunters, but they showed a favorable attitude toward capable hunters like "『Da』." So they wouldn't have targeted Elijah unless she'd provoked them first.
In that case, there was a high probability that Elijah had interfered with a Hunter Alliance operation first⋯⋯ I thought.
How did you end up on a kill order, Elijah? I'd clearly warned you that if you followed me to the Stage, assassins would come after your life.
What on earth happened that made you step in?
"⋯⋯Status Window, friend list, Elijah, chat, 1."
[Noah Won : 1]
Ding!
The message was sent normally. Elijah was still alive.
After finishing the check, I moved toward the broker's location that 『Da』 had given me. Somehow, I had to reunite with Elijah and protect her life.
The broker who sold internal Hunter Alliance information was located near a sparsely visited forest. He'd built a small hut and put up a sign in front of it that said "Hunter."
Apparently, he was disguising himself under a different profession to the outside world.
Well, if he openly advertised that he was a broker, his name would end up on the Hunter Alliance kill order within days. There was no way they'd leave someone alone who was leaking internal information.
Knock, knock, knock.
When I knocked lightly on the door, I heard rustling from inside. Soon the door opened a crack, and a single eye appeared from the dim interior. Someone was there with a hood pulled down low.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Since they just stared without saying anything, I stated my business first.
"I heard you sell Hunter Alliance information, so I came to visit."
"⋯⋯Cough, cough, ahem. I-is that so."
"Yes. If I've got the wrong place, please let me know now."
"I, cough, hmm. You seem to have come to the wrong⋯⋯"
No.
I'd come to the right place.
Thunk.
The moment I saw him trying to smooth things over with a barrage of fake coughs, I shoved my hand through the gap in the door. Then I started a contest of strength with the guy as he tried to close the door, and moved in closer.
Now that I looked, I could tell. Even if I didn't recognize the face, this guy and I had met before. Parts of his irises looked familiar, like I'd seen them somewhere, and more than anything, his build was familiar.
The Hunter Alliance assassin who'd been dispatched to kill me when I was running around Sohye's world. The fighter who shot 『Nails』 and could switch freely between close and long range.
I pressed him as if stating a fact.
"You⋯⋯ you're that sniper."
"⋯⋯N-no, I'm not."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
That strange silence and the most awkward denial in the world were as good as a confession that he was the sniper.