The Little Orca's Bargain
I found them. The riders who smashed through the shop window were shouting my name, and I immediately activated auto-combat.
These bastards still haven't given up?
Auto-combat activated. Estimated win rate: 85%.
I kicked off the table and grabbed the helmet of the nearest intruder, slamming him straight into the floor. The tiles cracked like a spiderweb, and the rider who had been shouting so confidently foamed at the mouth and passed out without even managing a scream.
I was secretly impressed by the result of the power boost from the Magpie Gauntlets. No wonder people go out of their way to find good equipment if it can increase your strength this much.
While I was thinking that, Elly began drawing out her magic power and manipulating the mist.
With that icy declaration, the mist surged again, suppressing the surrounding riders and completely shrouding the area. The riders swung their weapons wildly, trying to pierce through the fog, but there was no way to fight something without form.
Just as the riders were about to be literally crushed by Elly's mist—which was far more furious than usual—a heavy engine roar came from outside the shop.
"Wait!"
A massive motorcycle slid through the broken window and came to a stop. Soon, a familiar rider emerged from the mist.
A black helmet with white patterns. It was the exact same helmet from the one who had attacked me from the limousine.
The booming shout echoed through the interior. The riders who had been radiating killing intent froze the moment they heard that voice.
"B-Boss?"
"Boss, we found the Helper!"
"You insane idiots. I told you to bring him politely. Who told you to wreck the damn shop?"
"...Huh?"
Instead of grabbing me by the collar, the boss smacked one of her subordinates on the back of the head. With a loud thwack, the subordinate crumpled forward.
"But Boss! You clearly said to secure the Helper the moment we found him...!"
"Secure, not kidnap! You brainless morons!"
The boss growled at her subordinates before taking off her helmet with an awkward expression and actually dropping to one knee to apologize to me.
"I'm sorry. These guys got a little too eager..."
When she shook her head after removing the helmet tucked under her arm, a striking white streak stood out vividly among her flowing black hair. Sharp eyes that contrasted with her smooth skin, and the slightly pointed fangs that peeked out whenever she lifted the corners of her mouth. She was unmistakably a beastman with the traits of a killer whale.
"You. Earlier..."
"Sorry about that. But I wasn't trying to hurt you, okay? I just wanted to prove that we could get you there faster."
It was the same one who had attacked me while I was using Blackhorn's service. Before I could even ask, the orca raised both hands and readily admitted it.
"Crawling into a moving car isn't exactly 'not trying to hurt me.'"
"My ability is diving. Even if you fell from that car, if my power reached you, you wouldn't have gotten a single scratch."
Looking at how I hadn't been injured even after getting knocked off by my own ability, it did seem plausible.
"...Still, that doesn't feel like enough of an answer for causing all this chaos to get here, does it?"
At my cold remark, the orca scratched her cheek with a troubled look. No matter how much she claimed she hadn't meant to hurt me, the results spoke for themselves. The window was shattered, the shop was a mess, and most importantly, Elly's meal had been ruined. Even she knew this couldn't be fixed with just a few bucks.
Just looking at Elly's expression proved it. Even though the orca had apologized, the fact that she still hadn't dispelled the mist suggested she was seriously pissed. If they tried to brush it off with money, nothing good would come of it.
"I know. That's why I'm offering you information."
"...Information?"
"You're after Reverse Factory too, right? The ones hiding out in West Street?"
Huh. So even these riders knew about it. Looks like Crome really spread the rumor everywhere.
"No comment."
"Fair enough. Whatever you're doing isn't my business. In exchange, I have some information that could ruin Reverse Factory's plans."
"Information that could ruin Reverse Factory's plans?"
"As you know, our main job is making deliveries through the back alleys. Even though some shameless bastards have started butting into our turf."
"And?"
"And... that means we've had to take on even more dangerous jobs than before. When you do deliveries like that, you start to see the general flow of things, you know? No matter how well they hide it, if you look down from above the surface, you can see everything happening underneath."
After saying that, the orca took a short breath and glanced at Elly. Noticing the look, Elly spread her mist to block our conversation from any eyes or ears around us. Only after cutting off all signs of presence did the orca finally speak.
"Do you guys know what an angel is?"
"...An angel?"
Out of nowhere, angels? Like the winged ones you see in churches?
I tilted my head in confusion, but Elly frowned as if she understood exactly what the orca meant.
"There are no angels. The Hunter Guild banned them."
"That's right. I know the Hunter Guild classified them as illegal, but I saw one. While I was on a delivery."
"What? Did you inhale tetrodotoxin or something while delivering?"
"I don't touch the stuff while I'm working, you know?"
At Elly's jab, the orca grumbled and began to tell us what she had seen.
"It was a dawn when the rain was pouring down like crazy. A delivery request came in for a district I would never normally go to."
The orca rested her chin on the table and lowered her voice. The playful tone vanished, and her eyes sank as if recalling that day's memory.
"The recipient was unknown. The package was, as usual, listed as confidential. The delivery location was a labyrinth near Academy Street."
"...You delivered to a labyrinth?"
"I told you, it was a place I would never normally deliver to. The pay was too good to refuse, so I went, prepared to die."
She paused to catch her breath before continuing.
"The delivery itself was simple. I just had to leave six packages at a designated spot on the outer edge of the labyrinth. Since I wasn't going inside, I figured it would be fine."
"And then?"
"After I finished delivering and was about to turn around, a strange light leaked out from inside the labyrinth. I thought it was dangerous and tried to run... but I made eye contact with an angel."
"An angel?"
"A mechanical angel was looking this way from inside the labyrinth. Even though I had dived into the wall so I shouldn't have been visible."
"...How did you know it was an angel?"
What part of this story was supposed to remind someone of an angel? Wouldn't it make more sense to assume it was just a monster inside the labyrinth that had seen her?
As I tilted my head again, the orca muttered in a trembling voice.
"...The halo."
"Halo?"
"There was a halo floating above that monster's head. I'm not exactly an expert on mythology or anything, but anyone would have recognized it as a halo."
"What did the halo look like?"
When Elly, who had been listening to the orca's explanation, asked about the halo's appearance, the orca stammered as she described what she had seen.
"It was floating above the mechanical monster's head. It was glowing on its own. And..."
"And?"
"...It had an eye open."
"It's a halo, alright. What you saw really was an angel."
"For real? You weren't just seeing things?"
When I asked Elly if she was sure after she confirmed it was a halo, she nodded and explained why she was so certain.
"A halo with an eye open is something you can't mistake or missee."
"Why?"
"Because the law dictates it that way. Without exception, a halo's form has to be like that. If you saw a real one, you'd have no choice but to perceive it that way."
"...The law makes it so?"
"Of course. Why do beastmen in this city have human forms? Because the law says so. A rule that applies to so many people isn't going to make an exception for a single angel."
Was this what Oxy had been talking about before? The reason why beings that were monsters and livestock outside the city could exist as humans here. I had vaguely thought it was just because this was the City of Possibility, but did the laws of this city carry that much coercive power?
While I was thinking that, Elly pressed the orca for more detailed evidence.
"Alright. I understand that you saw an angel. But how does that connect to Reverse Factory?"
"Because after that, Reverse Factory kept interfering with my deliveries. They didn't show themselves directly, but you know their style, right? A chain of 'accidents' disguised as coincidences. If things kept going like that, I was going to dry up and die."
The orca gave a bitter smile as she answered.
"So... to survive, I had no choice but to hide myself deeper. Attacking Blackhorn this time was part of that. While doing so... I was quietly gathering information."
"And that information is..."
"For the past few days, they've been indirectly delivering something to West Street. I don't know what's inside, but the location is suspicious."
"Location?"
"Here, look at this map?"
The orca subtly showed me a map of West Street saved on her phone. Six dots were marked on it, and right in the center of those dots was...
"...Sandhill."
"That's right. Unknown items have been delivered with that point as the center. Just like when I delivered to the labyrinth."
"......"
If everything the orca said was true, Reverse Factory was definitely plotting something. Come to think of it, would they really not have noticed an opponent armed with both a destruction device and a grimoire? They must know. The fact that they still came up with such a reckless plan meant they had another scheme in mind.
"How about it? Was that helpful enough?"
"...I have to admit it was."
"Well, that's good then. And as a bonus, here's my business card. Call me if you need anything later. I'll work for free."
The delivery industry sure loves handing out free tickets as apologies. With that thought, I accepted the orca's business card.
"Little Orca?"
"I can't use the full Orca name yet. So, Little. Well, a person can dream big, right?"
The moment Little Orca said that...
"...Hmm."
So she was an original character too? It seems like this girl inherits the name Orca at the point of the original story. Her resourcefulness looks pretty decent.
When you think about it, even after finding out that Reverse Factory was trying to drive them out, she endured and waited for an opportunity like this. Most people wouldn't even notice Reverse Factory's schemes and would just get game over.
"...I'll let it slide since the information is useful. But you really piss me off."
"Haha. I get that a lot."
Elly seemed to share my thoughts as she glared sharply at Little Orca, but the orca just laughed it off. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the initial attack on me might have been planned from the start.
A girl with this much cunning couldn't control her subordinates properly? That was nonsense. She probably ordered her men to do this on purpose to pass the information to me. No matter the outcome, it would reduce the pressure on Little Orca. And without them having to take any risks themselves.
"...Hmph."
Realizing I'd been dancing in the palm of her hand from the beginning left a bad taste in my mouth. With that thought, I quietly spoke to Elly.
"Hey, Elly. How were we planning to get to West Street?"
"Hm? I was thinking of using mist to travel."
"Hmm. I have a better idea. How about this?"
"What is it?"
"Little Orca."
"Hm?"
I quietly called her name. The moment Little Orca looked at me in response to my call, I said the one thing she absolutely wouldn't want to hear.
"...What?"
"Free coupon. I'm using it right now."
Where did they think they were sneaking off to? If they want to profit, they should put in the legwork themselves.