Chapter 51
Chapter 51
8. Hunter Alliance -3
"That son of a bitch—he came to kill me, this Noah Won bastard—!!"
Kyaaat—!!
The Hunter Alliance sniper let out a snarl and leaped up, clinging to the corner of the room's ceiling like a spider. Between her knuckles, 『Nails』 had materialized, extending outward like cat claws.
The recoil yanked her hood clean off, revealing wolf-like ears perched near the crown of her head. I'd guessed she wasn't human, but... a beastman, huh.
Why the hell is this one here? Didn't 『Da』 say there was a broker selling Hunter Alliance internal information? I don't sense anyone else here besides the sniper.
⋯⋯Could it be her?
The sniper seemed pretty loyal to the Hunter Alliance, though.
For now⋯⋯ I had too little information in hand to make any judgment and set a direction. If I'd known it would come to this, I should have grilled Elijah a bit more thoroughly.
But when you've got nothing, you roll with nothing—that's the magic of conversation.
Think back to fan meetings.
I don't know a single thing about the personality or personal life of a fan who came to see me, but if I just play along appropriately, the conversation somehow works out.
The reason is that a shared interest called "idol" exists. That doesn't mean I should just repeat "Oh, really?" over and over.
And as it happened, I had one common topic I could throw at the sniper.
"Do you know someone called the Glass Sword Lord?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯What?"
"There's a C-rank hunter called the Glass Sword Lord. He's my mentor, and he has a friend. I heard that friend is currently active as a member of the Hunter Alliance."
"No, uh, um⋯⋯"
When I spoke without drawing a weapon, the sniper seemed to become willing to at least hear me out. Her bizarre defensive posture, clinging to the corner of the ceiling, remained the same, but she retracted the 『Nails』 poking out between her fingers.
In any case, the sniper looked thoroughly confused by my acting like I knew a friend of a friend.
Of course, I don't know jack shit about the Glass Sword Lord's friend. All I saw was an illusion.
But the sniper wouldn't know that I don't know jack shit, would she? With the energy of asking, "You know my bro Mansu?", I started bluffing like I knew him personally.
"⋯⋯I don't know who you're talking about. I've never even heard the name Glass Sword Lord, and why bring up that person's friend in the first place—"
"No, you probably know him too. A middle-aged man. He's got a scar on his face like this⋯⋯"
"How do you, Noah Won, know Muyeon (無緣)?!"
"Right, Brother Muyeon⋯⋯ that's what I've been asking—whether you know him."
Was adding "Brother" too much? No, it's fine. Lies are all about momentum. I had to establish the pretense that I knew him first.
This timing is crucial.
Both Elijah and 『Da』 testified that the [Hunter Alliance] was split into two factions. Muyeon and this sniper had to belong to one side or the other. So I had to watch carefully.
If Muyeon and the sniper are in different factions -> I should say that Muyeon was once the Glass Sword Lord's best friend, but they had a falling-out over ideological differences and he's an enemy to me.
If they're in the same faction -> I should say the Glass Sword Lord and Muyeon were so close that my teacher told me to look after him even now. That fight last time was just a misunderstanding before I knew this, and there's no need to fight now.
I opened my eyes wide and studied the sniper's expression and behavior. Which is it⋯⋯?
The sniper let out a low murmur, muttering.
"⋯⋯To think there'd be a connection."
"Right, there was a connection."
"So you've been strutting around relying on that connection? While disrupting Hunter Alliance events?"
The sniper sneered with a hostile attitude. She made no effort to hide her animosity toward me.
⋯⋯Ambiguous. She's being really ambiguous. So is she an ally of Muyeon's, or an enemy? I can't tell if it's "Oh, you're on my side, good to see you" or "So you had ties to the opposition and got cocky—die."
Think. Yeah, she's probably in a different faction from Muyeon. The sniper was harping on the fact that I disrupted a Hunter Alliance event. And her expression was all scrunched up too.
I made up my mind and delivered the line I'd prepared.
"Right. I can't say that's wrong. But that bastard Muyeon was once the Glass Sword Lord's closest friend, but in the end, over ideological differences⋯⋯"
At that, the sniper's eyes went wide and she shouted.
"What?! Then you're Muyeon's enemy!!"
Shit!
"Listen to the whole sentence. In the end, over ideological differences—they were so close that they fought over the interior design of a secret cave where a secret manual was left behind. That's what I was trying to say."
"Is that so⋯⋯"
"So let's just write off that fight last time as a misunderstanding, and build a more solid and cooperative relationship going forward. We're connected by fate, even if it's two degrees removed. Isn't that a precious connection in this desolate System framework?"
"⋯⋯You've got a strangely long tongue. But you're right. Connections are precious. That and you being on the kill order are separate matters, though."
The ferocious growling subsided to the level of a warning growl.
I'd broken into a bit of a cold sweat, but I'd gotten over one hurdle. For now, it felt like the groundwork for conversation itself had been laid. Now it was time to dig for information directly.
First, whether that sniper really is the broker selling [Hunter Alliance] information.
Putting it together, she seemed fiercely loyal to the Alliance and even spoke of Muyeon with obvious respect. It made little sense for her to be selling Alliance information. In that case, 『Da』 probably fed me bullshit.
"Fine, I get it. But Noah Won, how did you even find out where this house is? You must have a purpose. As expected, you came to kill me to deal with the assassin tracking you——"
Then let's use this in reverse. The idea of an insider spreading false rumors is provocative. If I use it well, I can earn trust.
I broached the subject to the sniper, who was starting to growl again.
"Do you know someone called 『Da』? Black hair, kind of an unpleasant guy. That bastard lied, saying you're a broker selling Hunter Alliance internal information⋯⋯."
I'd just tossed it out casually to build up, but the moment that high school boy came up, the sniper jumped.
"You mean that dine-and-dash bastard went that far?! No—this is the second-highest tier of internal secrets, how did someone who just joined dig up that much information?!"
"Well, he told a truth that sounded like a lie."
So it was true.
But by this point, I'd gotten a read on the situation. Not that I'd grasped the internal affairs of the [Hunter Alliance], of course⋯⋯ I mean, I could tell that this sniper is more naive than expected when it comes to communication.
I'd already made two clean verbal slip-ups, and she was still like this—and she was leaking information I never even asked for straight from her own mouth.
She might be a veteran at fighting and assassination, but when it came to running her mouth, she was a pushover. Even now, she wasn't looking at my eyes—her pupils were wandering through empty air, fretting over "what if it's leaked that far."
So⋯⋯ if I just scratch the right spot?
"At first I was suspicious. It wasn't easy to understand how you, who seem deeply loyal to the Alliance, could work as an information broker. But I soon inferred the truth. I don't need to say it with my own mouth, do I?"
"You mean you know about my plan⋯⋯ Wait!"
"?"
"So you've been steering the conversation to subtly fish information out of me, Noah Won! Heh heh⋯⋯ Sorry, but I'm not an idiot. I won't fall for such shallow tricks!"
Ah, right. Well⋯⋯ I guess it wouldn't go that far. Did I underestimate her too much?
Fair enough. Being clumsy at conversation and being unintelligent are different things. I folded up my thief's mentality of trying to freeload information and sat down at the negotiation table with a humble heart.
That sniper is an information broker. If that alone was confirmed as truth, everything else was just incidental. I clapped my hands to gather attention and got to the point.
"Anyway. I came to buy information. I didn't know it would be you, but even if you're the broker, my purpose doesn't change. My comrade 'Elijah' was put on a kill order list, and she went missing a few days ago. I want to know her whereabouts."
"⋯⋯That name isn't on our side's kill order. It must be those radical faction sons of bitches. If that's the case, I'd be happy to sell you the information."
"Radical faction?"
When the radical faction came up, the sniper's anger swerved in that direction again.
"Yeah. Unlike us orthodox faction, they're bastards who keep harboring other ideas. They have no boundaries. The reason I work as an information broker is also part of a scheme—kill the bastards trying to dig up our faction's information, and sell radical faction information to weaken their power⋯⋯"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"You tricked me, Noah Won—!!"
She realized it herself the moment she said it.
There's a limit to human emotions, isn't there. So while she's angry at the radical faction, her anger toward other targets apparently softens. And then she slipped. She's like a dog that doesn't even see its surroundings when you throw it a ball.
But.
Even though the sniper's mouth kept racking up own goals, looking at it broadly, it didn't seem like I'd get much more out of her. Thinking it over, the information she'd spilled wasn't all that important.
Her laying out her own plan didn't mean much to me either. And the most important part—she wasn't saying anything more about Muyeon, the Glass Sword Lord's close friend.
The information that truly must not leak was properly tied down in her head. Maybe even this was her acting naive and deliberately leaking information to me to steer my actions⋯⋯
The sniper, seething with indignation, drew her 『Nails』.
"Since it's come to this, if I kill you here and eliminate everyone who knows⋯⋯ my mistake disappears too!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Right, so it wasn't an act.
I quietly put strength into my eyes and slowly moved my hands toward my shield and sword. When I sent the signal that I could fight anytime, the sniper's expression hardened and she seemed to think for a moment.
"⋯⋯No, if you, Noah Won, have made an enemy of the radical faction, then helping you could bring me a windfall. Cooperating here is the right call."
She backed off a step.
If she'd come at me, I'd planned to beat her down and torture the information out of her, but if she's being cooperative, there's no need to pick a fight right now.
"Anyway, can I buy the information? Can you even get information on the opposing faction in the first place?"
"There's a way. Even if the factions are split, we're still one organization, so if I probe the ambiguous gray zones, I can find out most things. Wait a moment while I look into it, Noah Won!"
"Do it as fast as you can. I don't have time."
"⋯⋯Don't rush me!"
The sniper stared into empty air and began tapping with her fingers. She was probably operating the System to send chats to Alliance members.
And soon.
"⋯⋯There is one combat report record that went missing a few days ago. It's been tightly hidden, so there's no record of what personnel were dispatched or who the combat was with. But the damage was too big to hide."
"Any other information?"
"There's none because they strangely didn't keep records, but I got the Stage coordinates where the combat is presumed to have taken place! In times like this, visiting the scene directly and sniffing around is the surest way. Those radical faction bastards⋯⋯ heh heh, if they're trying to bury it this hard, it must have been an important incident, whatever it was."
The sniper's pupils narrowed, and she began to grin like a beast with tempting prey before its eyes.
"Bastards who would defy 『Master Binder (主縛)』 even while belonging to the Hunter Alliance—whether what they're hiding is a disgrace or a secret, I'll dig it all up. I'll drive a nail into them! You come along too, Noah Won. Our interests align for now!"
"⋯⋯Defy 『Master Binder』? Isn't he a B-rank hunter? From what I've seen, he even bestows 『Skills』 on Alliance members from time to time. Why would anyone deliberately make an enemy of a benevolent high-rank hunter?"
"Exactly!"
"Anyway, sure. Hand over the coordinates and let's move. Honestly, I don't give a damn about the Alliance's internal affairs. I just need to find Elijah."
And so an impromptu temporary party was formed. I watched the sniper send a friend request and create a party to send an invitation, and quietly thought.
About the factions.
Going by the names alone, the radical faction sounds like the bad guys and the orthodox faction sounds like the moderate side.
But she said the orthodox and radical factions' kill orders are managed separately. If she belongs to the orthodox faction, then my name is on their kill order.
Which means it was their side that became my enemy through bad blood, and it was orthodox faction policy to intimidate innocent newbies and extort their settlement support funds. In the end, they're all the same pieces of shit.
"Since we're cooperating for now⋯⋯ my name is Hori (狐悧)!"
"I'm Noah Won."
"Heh, I already know, so skip it!"
If I get the chance, I should stab that sniper in the back right away.
Fwaaat——!!
[Dungeon | 1 Day | Designated Target Hunt | 10 Credits]
I descended onto the Stage with a flash of white light. This world wasn't in a state of severe plant invasion—if anything, it looked like the very early stages.
And that made sense, because the village where people lived was right up against the forest. There were piles of firewood stacked in front yards and small vegetable gardens. Even if the plant invasion had progressed just a little, that kind of coexistence with nature would have vanished rapidly.
Moreover, the Stage reward was a mere 10 Credits. It didn't even give a D-rank random box. Considering that even the easiest Stages are usually priced around 100 Credits, this Stage had an abnormally low difficulty.
Being classified as a dungeon means a hunter who received the System died here, but how the hell did someone die at this difficulty level?
From a quick scan, there were no particularly noticeable traces. I was thinking I'd need to explore the area a bit more when the sniper Hori lifted her head.
"⋯⋯This way, Noah Won. I smell something!"
Tak—!
I ran after Hori without a word as she suddenly bolted. My 『Eyes』 are all I have going for me, so if I'm far from the incident site in the first place, I'm not good at searching.
The sniper looked full of confidence, so I judged she'd be better at it than me.
After about ten minutes of full-speed sprinting, a devastated village came into view.
No sign of people. There were traces that people had lived here just days ago, but now it seemed no one was left. It was eerily quiet.
"⋯⋯Here it is."
Elijah had been here. I could be certain of it.
Because I could see building debris that had collapsed after being cleanly sliced as if cut by an extremely sharp object, bloodstains that hadn't been fully erased, and precision machine parts that didn't fit the era.
Elijah was the type who worried about her wallet and picked up parts, saying whether you picked them up or not made a big difference. If it was a battle where she couldn't even salvage parts⋯⋯
"Uwaaaaah—!!"
Hori's shout came from her direction. When I approached, she was standing next to the corpse of a man who had died with his torso cut in half.
Strictly speaking, he hadn't just been cut in half. It was a more gruesome and cruel method, but I didn't want to remember it, so I kept my eyes only on the intact upper body.
The dead person's form was unfamiliar. The man had an abnormally large amount of muscle mass, had beast ears instead of human ears on his head, and was covered in thick fur overall⋯⋯ a figure that looked like a half-mix of human and beast.
A beastman, then.
I wondered if she was so enraged because she knew the sniper Hori, but Hori's gaze wasn't on the corpse⋯⋯ it was on a shabby wall standing in front of the corpse. A dying message was left there in an incomprehensible language.
Hori was enraged by that message.
"⋯⋯What does it say?"
"Beastmen, the young children of the beastman tribe⋯⋯ were gagged, leashed, and dragged off somewhere. That's what it says! Those goddamn bastards⋯⋯"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
My first thought was revulsion at this incident, and my second thought was how futile it all was.
Human hunters exploit others without hesitation, yet when their own kind is in danger, they spew that much rage. I know the arm bends inward, but⋯⋯
Couldn't they spare even half of that anger to think about other people?
Setting aside that double-standard stance, there was certainly a difference between the orthodox and radical factions. Hori's faction only squeezed hunters—but these radical faction bastards apparently killed even civilians who couldn't fight.
Including what happened to Elijah——I had plenty of reason to hate that side more.
This wasn't the time to stand around brooding. More important than Hori's hard-to-relate-to rage was finding Elijah even one second faster.
Just as I was pulling the wailing Hori to her feet to continue the investigation, she suddenly lifted her head as if realizing something.
"No way, these sons of bitches are doing a Hell Path (地獄道) ritual⋯⋯"
She muttered something that caught my ear.