Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Unexpected Allies
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"Lemon!"
Roze rushed over and threw her arms around my neck.
Her grip was so tight it felt like she was choking me.
But since she was half in tears, I couldn't bring myself to stop her.
"What happened?"
I asked once Roze had calmed down a bit.
Finally coming to her senses, she looked around, then led me inside the building and quietly explained everything that had gone on.
"Is Merdi safe too?"
"Yeah. Aside from being hurt, she's fine."
Amazingly, the two of them had been hiding out in this city.
They'd gotten help from one of Merdi's acquaintances in the cave we'd tracked to yesterday.
*If only we'd been a day earlier...*
We wouldn't have missed each other.
And we might've even launched our strike before the pirates showed up.
Anyway, we'd found them now, so it was a silver lining.
"What were you doing here?"
"...Well, we'd heard the guy who attacked us was in that building, so we thought we'd at least get a look at his face."
Roze's eyes flicked away briefly.
Her words were mild, but I doubted she planned to just look and leave.
"You mean Chairwoman Asana?"
"Yeah, that's the name."
"Chairwoman Asana isn't at city hall right now."
"...Really?"
I nodded and smiled.
"We've got info she's coming tomorrow morning. If we're gonna make a move, let's do it then."
"Huh, but how do you know that?"
"There's ways."
As I tapped my left forearm with my right hand, R3D3, who was in the middle of reverting to clothing form, let out a beep.
*Beep! It's great to see you again. Long time no see, Roze!*
"You too!"
We soon arrived at the hideout.
The hideout was in a commercial district a good distance from the residential areas.
We took the elevator up to the top floor.
After authentication, the doors opened to reveal a spacious room.
And right in front of us were people aiming guns our way.
"They're with us."
Roze stepped forward and waved them off.
The man in the center lowered his weapon and approached.
"You brought an outsider."
The man's gaze fixed on me.
His poker face showed almost no emotion, but somehow it felt sly.
He probed further, as if testing me.
"Are you with the Union forces that arrived yesterday by any chance?"
"Don't play dumb."
Just then, a woman's voice came from behind the man.
It was Merdi.
She was lying on the sofa, her face pale.
"How would I know someone I've never seen?"
"You?"
Merdi let out a scoff.
"There's no way you wouldn't know about someone connected to me."
"Wow, you're the real deal, Merdi."
The man raised both hands.
The others finally lowered their guns.
"It's an honor to meet you, Leonard. I'm Albert. I've always wanted to meet you, but I didn't expect it to be this soon."
I could tell from his mouth-only smile.
*This guy's got a seriously twisted personality.*
No one normal would look that chummy with Merdi.
I didn't like him one bit.
But I couldn't just treat him poorly.
For better or worse, he was on our side right now, that much was clear.
Plus, the name Albert rang a bell somewhere.
I shot back right away.
"Esper?"
"Huh? How'd you know?"
Albert, esper.
Bits of info about the current situation clicked together in my head.
*The Liberation Group's space sorcerer.*
I'd figured out who he was.
Albert was a rare spatial esper.
No idea about now, but in the original story, he could casually warp across dozens of kilometers just by sensing the distance.
*But why's he with Merdi instead of the Liberation Group?*
A traitor maybe?
That didn't fit his actions, though.
If he was still with the Liberation Group, he should've turned Merdi and Roze in instead of rescuing them.
"You got some way to detect espers?"
"Nope."
"...Hmph, not the Golden Fleet's master for nothing, huh. Gotta be more careful."
Albert grinned as he said it.
Feeling uneasy, I brushed past him and went to Merdi.
She clamped her mouth shut as our eyes met.
"How's your body?"
"Why do you care."
"We need to treat you."
At my words, Merdi's face visibly stiffened.
Then, in a slightly trembling voice, she spoke.
"...You gonna do that thing from last time again?"
"Last time?"
Not getting it, I asked back, and her face hardened further without a word.
Her eyes accused me of knowing damn well what she meant.
"...Nah, not that."
"Then?"
"Just one shot, and R3D3 handles the rest."
There wasn't much you could do for injuries from overusing abilities.
Unless you had a healing esper's help, natural recovery over time was the only option.
Merdi stared at me oddly for a moment, then nodded.
"Nice atmosphere."
"Shut it, Albert."
Even as Merdi snapped and glared, Albert's demeanor didn't change.
He just chuckled and stepped aside.
"Guess you two need some alone time. I'll head out."
I waited for him to leave, sat in front of her, and asked.
"Who's that guy?"
"A stalker."
Merdi's face scrunched up.
She clearly couldn't stand him.
*For a stalker, though...*
With Merdi's personality, she wouldn't keep someone she truly hated nearby.
He must annoy her without crossing the line.
*And he seems capable.*
I committed Albert's name to memory and asked about her connection to Asana.
Something Roze had mentioned on the way here was nagging at me.
And as someone central to this mess, her take was crucial.
"That guy's a distant relative of mine."
Fortunately, Merdi brushed it off casually.
"When I was a kid, he volunteered as my spokesman and handled stuff for me. Turns out later he was pulling all sorts of scummy shit."
That explained why their hair colors were so eerily similar.
"So I gave him and his crew a proper beating once, but I didn't expect this backstab. Should've finished him off back then."
"You knew he was talking to pirates?"
"Pirates? I only knew he was linked to a criminal group called the Liberation Corps."
So there had been ties from before.
I nodded, then asked more cautiously.
"But is that why Asana's out to kill you? Doesn't make sense she'd go after a superhuman just for roughing him up once."
Merdi's face tightened a bit.
"...You interrogating me now?"
"Nah. Skip it if you don't wanna talk. We're hitting the main culprits behind this tomorrow morning. Figured knowing might help."
I played it off casually.
Merdi went quiet for a bit, then spoke.
*
Morning came.
Even with the sun up, strong winds kicked up dust everywhere, leaving the outside dim.
Perfect cover for us moving in the shadows.
"Think she'll show today?"
"If not, we'll try something else."
I answered Roze while scanning the sky.
The info could be wrong.
Rumors on public comms weren't reliable.
And from what the mid-level managers were saying, comms with Asana and the top brass were spotty.
*Beep! Good news—the intel checks out.*
Several ships were descending into the city from the sky.
I watched breathlessly.
*That's not the shuttle Asana was on, is it?*
But they looked like pirate ships.
The kind they'd modded themselves, covered in weapons.
The pirate ships landed in the plaza next to city hall.
"Go for it now?"
"...No."
I held Roze back and kept observing.
R3D3 hadn't spotted anyone resembling Asana among those disembarking either.
*Liberation Group guys?* Their outfits screamed it.
No uniform style—just ragged, punkish getups on most of them.
I watched a bit longer, then nodded to Roze.
"Let's head back."
Without Asana, striking first was a bad idea.
Back at the hideout, I dug through public comms.
Their goal was obvious quick enough.
"They're the ones sent to catch us."
We were their biggest threat right now.
But with Albert's help, they'd slipped away, and my location was a mystery too.
Three superhumans loose on the planet.
*They'd want to clean up our trail first.* Asana's next move was predictable.
Before Union forces arrived, she'd gather her people and bail.
But if we interfered, that could go south.
So trying to take us out before leaving made sense.
I showed them the footage I'd taken earlier, and Albert pointed at a bald pirate.
"That's Hound."
"You know what they're about?"
"They've got a great nose for it. Catch escaped slaves like nobody's business."
"How'd you know that?"
Roze asked.
Albert replied with a knowing smile.
"I'm the type who pokes into others' business. Got ears everywhere."
"Whatever. Spill everything you know."
Merdi cut him off.
"They're mercenaries born with abilities. A kind of psychometry—they can roughly pinpoint locations from objects the target used."
"So..."
"And city hall's full of your stuff, Merdi."
He dropped the bombshell with zero tension.
Everyone else got rattled instead.
"W-What do we do?"
"Don't we gotta move now?"
As Merdi was about to speak amid the reactions, Albert beat her to it.
"No rush. Their ability's not that great—takes time, and accuracy sucks."
"So what then?"
"Take 'em out before they use it."
Albert looked at us as he continued.
"Either of you two could handle one bald guy easy."
"I'll do it!"
Roze raised her hand.
Probably figuring she couldn't let the injured Merdi move.
*...No.*
Roze could take out one pirate no problem.
But something bothered me.
They'd already crossed the line.
Not just attacking a superhuman—they'd fired on the punishment battleship that showed up, and even wrecked the Drive Gate.
They'd do anything.
So if they realized superhumans were already in the city, what would they do?
"No."
"Huh? You going, Lemon?"
"No, neither of us."
Roze frowned, not getting it.
Albert chimed in.
"Letting them be puts Merdi at risk— that okay?"
"Valid point, but still no."
"Hmm, not following. You two are plenty capable."
"If we show ourselves, they'll rain hell even with civilians around."
"...That far?"
"You wouldn't bet it's impossible." I stared him down, and his lip twitched.
Then Merdi's voice cut in.
"I'll handle it."
She'd steeled herself, lips pressed tight.
But that wasn't the answer either.
She was in bad shape, and if her position got exposed now, pirates would join in for an assault way worse than last time.
No way she'd hold out.
"How about we do it my way? Even Asana wouldn't lightly order attacks on civilians."
"Can't ignore even a slim chance."
I shook my head.
"And we've got another option."
"Another option?"
"You."
I pointed at Albert.
"Surely you can handle one pirate."
His poker face cracked at my grinning words.