Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Yuria Repays a Debt (2)
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Thankfully, the parachute was a simple device that could be used with just about three minutes of instruction.
All you had to do was grab the two straps dangling at your chest with both hands and push them forward with all your might.
No matter how flustered I was, I wasn't so incompetent that I couldn't manage something this easy.
But perhaps it was because jumping from several kilometers up, relying only on a parachute, was not an easy feat in itself.
Landing on the rooftop behind Raven, my legs trembled uncontrollably. I finally understood how a newborn calf must feel.
Seriously, if this was the plan, he should have told me before we got on the plane so I could mentally prepare.
It was all I could do not to use my psychokinesis. I deserve a pat on the back for my restraint!
“Whew, thankfully we’re on the outskirts, so it doesn't look like the police spotted us. Part-timer, come here. I'll take that pack off for you.”
“…”
I sharply turned my back to Raven, who was rolling up the parachute that had fallen to the ground.
Even if I was angry, I had to do what needed to be done.
Right now, I wanted to help Greg as quickly as possible. This was no time to be arguing over something like this.
Of course, I’ll never forget this grudge. I’ll get my revenge someday.
I bit my lip, secretly building my resentment toward Raven.
Raven took the parachute pack off me, then hastily hid it with his own somewhere nearby.
We were planning to move through the city now. He must have figured carrying packs like these would be quite cumbersome.
It’s true that we probably wouldn't be using the parachutes again. I would have done the same.
Nodding at Raven's decision, I approached the nearby rooftop ledge.
‘This place… it definitely has a different feel from Nighthaven.’
My gaze, now somewhat calmer, took in the scenery of Belmont.
It was certainly different from Nighthaven, which was filled with unique skyscrapers under the glow of neon signs.
If I had to describe it, this was a concrete jungle, full of utterly boring and uninteresting buildings.
Among the shadows of people I could glimpse far below, there was no sign of any metahumans.
As expected, unlike Nighthaven, which was full of metahumans, this place had only ordinary humans.
I felt a strange sensation, as if I had woken from a dream, and a cold feeling settled in my chest.
“Part-timer. There's a ladder over here. Let's go down this way.”
“…”
“…Tsk, why the long face? Are you getting scared now that you’ve had time to think about it?”
No, this is a completely different problem…
Unable to express the emotion I was feeling, I held onto the railing and shook my head.
Leaving Nighthaven and seeing a world I knew nothing about…
How could I possibly convey this strange feeling, and how could he possibly understand it?
Therefore, the only thing I could do here was to act nonchalant and pretend it was nothing.
Whether he knew that or not, Raven placed a hand on my head as if to ask what I was worried about and said.
“Don’t worry about Greg. That man is tenacious enough to survive a direct gunshot. He's probably not in any life-threatening danger right now. Though there's a high chance he's gotten tangled up in something complicated and troublesome.”
“…”
“So… what I mean is, don't look so down. If you waste your energy on that, think how awkward it'll be when we meet him later.”
I stared blankly at Raven’s somewhat awkward demeanor and suddenly realized something.
He was trying his best to deny it, but he was trying to comfort me, wasn't he?
Doing something so out of character for him. A small laugh escaped my lips.
Well, it’s not like I was up here on the rooftop moping about Greg.
But since he went this far, I couldn't just ignore him and pretend otherwise.
Feeling a bit refreshed, I stretched my slightly slumped shoulders.
Right. Now that I'm here, I shouldn't be a burden, even if I can't be of much help.
I forced myself to shake off the negative emotions and thoughts that had bloomed in my mind like damp mold.
“…!”
Let’s go! I’ll follow you with everything I’ve got!
As if to say he didn't need to worry anymore, I thrust both my arms high above my head.
As if he was quite pleased with my response.
Raven’s lips curled into a smirk, and he turned around with a very light movement.
“Alright, let's go help the wretched orc who won't pick up the cat he left in our care!”
“…?”
Who are you calling a cat left in your care?
I pounded my fists against the back of Raven, who had made a comparison I didn't like at all.
But without my psychokinesis, my punches were utterly feeble. He just walked steadily toward the ladder as if he hadn't felt a thing.
He didn't even react. That just made him twice as annoying.
***
Fortunately, it seemed we were reaping the benefits of taking the plane.
It was late evening, still a bit too early to be called night.
So, we decided to first change our clothes at a clothing store that was still open.
Raven, in his ordinary suit, was one thing, but my masked maid outfit would draw quite a bit of attention just by walking around.
“Hmm, something as plain as possible would be best. How about this? A very ordinary zip-up hoodie with fur on the inside. A kid your age could wear it without standing out at all.”
“…!”
“Then I’ll just throw on a simple coat.”
I changed from my maid outfit into a hooded zip-up.
The mask wouldn't be too noticeable if I pulled up the hood, so it would be a sufficient temporary measure.
I carefully packed the maid outfit and stored it in a paid locker at a nearby station.
This was a precious outfit Greg had given me. Losing it would be a great wound to my heart.
If it got stolen, I would make the thief suffer a horrible fate. That was the feeling.
“Alright. This way, we won’t stand out too much walking around. Now, the question is how to find Greg’s location in this huge city…”
Raven, with a rather fitting baker boy cap on his head, took out his terminal and tapped the screen.
He looked serious, as if he were doing something important. Did he have a plan?
Surprisingly, Raven did not disappoint my expectations.
After checking his terminal, he finally seemed to succeed, leading me into a deserted back alley as he spoke.
“With this, I’ve successfully hacked into the Belmont police radio. By listening to this, we should be able to quickly find out where any disturbances are happening in the city.”
“…?”
“How did I do it? Hmph, before David came along, this kind of thing was my department.”
He actually hacked the police radio!
With that, we could immediately get news of any incidents happening anywhere in the city.
I clapped my hands lightly at Raven's impressive skill.
But he just shrugged it off as nothing and stuffed the terminal back into his pocket.
“Well… it’s not that I have expert knowledge like David. I’m just using a hacking tool a friend gave me according to the instructions. But something like a standard police radio is a piece of cake.”
Raven wore an awkward expression, as if the praise was a bit unwarranted.
Then he slightly furrowed his brow, as if concentrating on the hacked radio transmissions.
Hacking the police radio was just a way to receive information about incidents happening throughout the city.
We still had to check the scenes ourselves to see if they were related to Greg.
It was obviously a tedious job. How were we supposed to check every single one in this vast place?
But there was no other way to find someone in need of help who couldn't be contacted.
‘This is… going to be a long night.’
Following behind Raven, I quietly steeled my resolve.
Finding Greg here was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
And after finding him, solving whatever problem he had wouldn't be easy either.
Still, I had already made up my mind. The thought of giving up now was unimaginable.
And so, for a long while on that cold winter night, we wandered the city with no results.
We would follow the police radio to a scene, only to find it was mostly a trivial matter that wasn't serious at all.
No matter where we looked, we couldn't find a single trace of Greg, let alone any metahumans.
Well, this wasn't Nighthaven. Maybe this was to be expected.
But Raven and I were quite persistent. We wouldn't get tired from just this. We could go all day.
With a passion that felt like fire blazing in our eyes, we continued to roam the cold night streets without stopping.
“Not here either, huh? In that case… let’s eat first. In a long-term operation like this, eating on time is also important.”
“…!”
Finally, just as evening was turning into late night.
We decided to take a short break and buy some food from a street food truck.
I got a hot dog with a plump, smoked sausage, while Raven got a rather hearty-looking taco.
Perhaps because my body had grown cold from wandering outside for so long.
The warm food felt like it was replenishing my energy.
“Should we go into the deeper alleys? No, Greg isn’t on the metahuman list, and considering no one has reported seeing a metahuman without a collar… he’s likely somewhere not easily seen.”
*Crinkle, crinkle.*
As I crumpled the hot dog wrapper to make it easier to throw away.
I heard Raven, who had finished his taco a while ago, muttering to himself.
He seemed to have a lot on his mind, given that we had scoured so much of the city without finding a single trace of him.
Besides, in a human city like this, metahumans were required to wear devices that restricted their magic.
Considering that, Raven seemed to think it was highly likely that Greg had snuck into the city without anyone knowing.
“From now on, let’s go into the less-frequented back alleys. Stay close. It’ll be a pain if you get lost.”
“…”
He’d notice immediately if I strayed too far, yet he still tries to scare me.
After tossing the leftover wrapper into a trash can, I nodded my head obediently.
And so, we headed deeper into alleys that were much darker and more deserted than before.
This area seemed poorly maintained; even in this cold weather, it felt damp and smelly.
But no matter how much we wandered, there were still no results. Just as I was about to think that.
Suddenly, Raven whipped a pistol out from his coat like a bolt of lightning and, without a moment's hesitation, fired at a wall.
*Thump!*
The heavy suppressor muffled the sharp crack of the pistol.
And before the sound had even faded, a cry of pain came from beyond the wall.
…Wait, even I didn't sense that at all.
He even managed to hit a person through a crack in the wall?
My eyes widened in astonishment at Raven’s unbelievable skill.
But he just shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then slipped an arm under my rear, lifted me up, and gracefully leaped over the wall.
Beyond the wall, a man was clutching his abdomen, groaning on the ground.
Raven gently placed me on the ground as if I were a fragile piece of glasswork, then rested the pistol on his shoulder and spoke.
“Aargh! Ugh…”
“Stop whining. I used a rubber bullet on purpose. Wait a minute… you’re a metahuman? And without a collar.”
Surprisingly, the man on the ground was a werewolf, with distinct fur on his sideburns.
What's more, he was a metahuman without a collar, completely out of place in a city full of humans.
Even a novice like me could clearly sense it—the reek of suspicion.