“A gray-haired woman with two horns on her head. Around the same age as you.”
“Glad to hear you listened properly.”
Horns. That was not a metaphor.
In the world of Polaris, mutants existed even among humans.
Hundreds of years had already passed since the first of them appeared. Their numbers had grown enough to form societies, and now they had settled into place as distinct races.
Among them, the most numerous and widely known race. There were those who had even established a nation of their own.
“Is she the white kind? Or the black kind?”
“The white kind.”
Even among them, race was divided once more by skin color.
The white-skinned were “Castus,” and the black-skinned were “Tabes.” Yellow-skinned ones did not exist.
Those names were only used among themselves. Outsiders, regardless of skin color, referred to the horned race as a whole as “Pecatum.”
They themselves were said to detest the name greatly. But there were few people good and idle enough to show consideration for others who looked different from themselves.
“Now that I hear it, this won’t take too much effort. It’s not like a hundred Pecatum are walking around. Even less so if it’s a young woman.”
“I wasn’t trying to beat down the price either. I offered it because I thought it was reasonable compensation.”
“Mm. Seems I misunderstood.”
Information broker Rosco awkwardly scratched his chin. Fortunately, the mysterious client in front of him did not act as threateningly as before.
“......I’ll ask around first. I’m telling you this out of concern, but information about you will probably spread too. Something like an outsider looking for a Pecatum.”
“I don’t particularly like commotion.”
“Someone has probably already obtained word that you came to see me. If I suddenly start investigating a Pecatum, what do you think that person will assume?”
“I get what you’re saying. It’s not easy to create secrets in a place this cramped.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Just think of it that way.”
“As long as you find her properly, anything is fine. And let me say this out of concern too.”
Kim Yi-hyeon toyed with the gun.
“You do your job, and I pay the promised compensation. That’s the end of it. After the request is over, you’re free to investigate me or not, but until then, put away your curiosity.”
“Of course. I’ve rolled around in this field for a while myself. I know the basics.”
Even while pretending to speak calmly, Rosco’s heart dropped. To him, the client calmly warning him looked terrifying.
Ulanz’s thugs were much more violent and cheap in speech and behavior. In contrast, this client gave off a businesslike and rigid impression.
As if he were a professional.
‘......A dangerous gentleman has come.’
***
Two days later.
At sunset, Kim Yi-hyeon went outside Ulanz’s safe zone.
Last time, he had used game knowledge to go directly to the information broker, but today was different. They had agreed to meet at a predetermined point.
‘Doesn’t look like anyone else is here.’
A two-story abandoned factory.
After checking the surroundings from a distance, Kim Yi-hyeon went inside. He did not sense the presence of multiple people inside the factory either.
‘Did the threat work?’
Kim Yi-hyeon felt relieved inwardly. It seemed the information broker had not called his friends.
‘Maybe calling them was too burdensome. Even if he swaggered about having backing... they probably aren’t people he can summon comfortably.’
Ulanz was an unmanaged backwater. Bastards who played at being mafia ran rampant here. Even the guard force they had was long since corrupt.
If he got involved with them, things would become quite troublesome. If possible, he wanted to take Ast and get out without making a fuss.
“Whew, whew. You finally showed up. Why are you so late? I was worried sick a monster would come out.”
When Rosco spotted Kim Yi-hyeon coming up to the second floor, his face brightened. But his relief lasted only a moment.
“A monster? Something like this?”
Thud.
The corpse of a small Worm dropped in front of his feet. It had not been visible until just now because the surroundings were dark, but Kim Yi-hyeon had brought some monster corpse with him.
“Eeek! Why the hell did you bring that thing here?!”
“It was there on my way.”
“Then you could’ve just thrown it somewhere on the street...! Are you planning to play hunter or something?”
Hunter.
In a few regions of Polaris, a peculiar culture existed. Namely, making a living by hunting monsters.
It was a public project that began with subsidies thrown out by the state. Each region embezzled a suitable amount, then paid rewards to those who dealt with monsters.
Even if not every resident lived that way, there were quite a few hunters.
“No. Why would I?”
Kim Yi-hyeon denied it flatly. The amount hunters received was nothing but pocket change.
“I heard you have to pay a spot fee to hunt monsters in Ulanz. If someone finds the corpse, things might get annoying. So I thought I’d dump it in here.”
“Even so, ugh......”
“What a fuss. A monster like this is more than enough for the gun at your waist to deal with.”
“You think I don’t know that? I’m saying the numbers don’t add up, the numbers. Wasting precious bullets on one monster? Just imagining it feels like a waste.”
“Use a knife, then.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have as strong a stomach as you. There’s a reason I get pushed around and do information work.”
Does he think I’m doing this because I have a strong stomach?
Kim Yi-hyeon complained inwardly. There were two other reasons he had brought the Worm corpse.
One was mental training. The other was to deeply engrave the awareness that this guy is dangerous into Rosco’s head.
It seemed the goal had been achieved. Kim Yi-hyeon clicked his tongue while pretending it did not bother him at all.
“What do you want me to do about it? More importantly, the request?”
“Ah, right.”
After a dry cough, the report began.
“To start with the conclusion, I did find her.”
Without realizing it, Kim Yi-hyeon clenched his fist tightly.
Ast was in Ulanz. He had thought the timing might match, but had it really been true?
However, something soon caught his attention.
“You did find her? Is there a problem?”
“It’s not on the level of a problem. Looks like she got into trouble with the Pavoni Family.”
......Trouble?
“Let’s move first. It’ll be much easier to understand if you see it yourself.”
***
The fourth floor of an abandoned building.
Even though it was a place far from the safe zone, nine people had gathered there. Seven of them held guns in their hands.
The two who did not hold guns were a man and a woman. The Pecatum woman had her head deeply lowered, despite her two imposing horns.
“I hear you’ve been doing all sorts of things?”
Flinch!
At the languid voice, the woman’s body trembled greatly. Seeing her frightened appearance, the man let out a low laugh.
“Hunting monsters in someone else’s territory, then wiping your mouth clean as if nothing happened. Did you think we wouldn’t know? Do you think everyone else pays spot fees because they’re idiots and morons?”
“A-a spot fee? I didn’t know such a thing existed.”
“Aha, you didn’t know. I guess the idiot moron was you?”
He shrugged and continued speaking.
“Fine. Let’s say we let that slide out of the kindness of our hearts. Then why did you dine and dash?”
“......That wasn’t what I was trying to do. I definitely had money with me, but when I tried to pay, it was nowhere... Ah! N-now that I think about it, I bumped into some boy. I must have been pickpocketed then!”
“Oh my, is that so? Hearing that, your situation is quite pitiful.”
The man clicked his tongue.
“Not that I care, but fine. Let’s say we let that slide too!”
Just as the Pecatum woman’s face began to brighten,
“Then how do you plan to compensate us for this?”
Her complexion turned blue in an instant. The sword the man held out. That “magic sword,” split into two pieces, was the problem.
“This sword, you see... is a luxury item brought all the way from the Shiran Empire. You, how many monsters did you hunt in our territory?”
“Six...?”
“And how much did you earn?”
“Twelve thousand credits......”
“Hoho. Did you hear that? Twelve thousand, she says. Twelve thousand!”
The mafia members surrounding the two snickered. The louder the mocking voices became, the stronger Asterike’s trembling grew.
“Do you know how much this is worth? If sold properly, it can easily fetch five million. We even had plans to use this thing well and expand into the city. But......”
Clang! The man threw the magic sword onto the floor.
“Fucking hell! Some crazy bitch snapped it in half?”
“Y-you’re mistaken! Please listen to me!”
Asterike abruptly raised her head. She lifted a pale white finger and pointed at one young man.
“That person! That person was surrounded by monsters, so I was only trying to help. He said he would lend me the s-sword, and when I swung it once, it just....”
The man, Pavoni, looked at the young man.
“How about it?”
“That’s right. I only lent it to her. How was I supposed to know she’d break it?”
“That’s what he says.”
Asterike’s lips trembled.
“...Five million? I don’t have that kind of money.”
“You aren’t exactly in a position to act brazen just because you don’t have it.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh, like an actor in a play. Then Pavoni gestured with his chin toward Asterike’s waist. More precisely, the place where a scabbard hung.
“First, that. Bring that sword here.”
“N-not this! Anything but this!”
“Does it have a story behind it? Don’t worry. We aren’t demons either. Think of it as collateral. Once you compensate us for half, we’ll return it then.”
Half.
Asterike muttered quietly. Even half was 2.5 million credits. Just how many monsters would she have to hunt?
“But we’re in a hurry too. I don’t think we can give you that much time.”
“Then how long...?”
“One month.”
Even the last trace of hope vanished from Asterike’s face. At the sight of her full of despair, Pavoni shook his head.
“Looks like you’re not confident. You don’t have the ability to compensate us, but you don’t want to hand over your own item either. Honestly, you’re not a child, so why are you so selfish?”
He walked a few steps around the room as if thinking.
“Well, it’s not as if there’s no other way.”
“......Another way?”
She took the bait. Pavoni grinned, then took out a single photo from his coat and showed it to her.
“This man is a bastard named Wang Lin. Forget your dine-and-dash, he’s trash who does everything from theft and assault to murder. Now, hearing that much, what impression do you get?”
“Well... he sounds like a bad person.”
“Exactly! A very bad bastard. So.”
Step.
Pavoni approached to one step in front of Asterike. As he handed her the photo, he spoke brightly, as if giving a morning greeting.
“Kill this bastard. Then I’ll shave off one million.”
***
About ten minutes later.
By the time the Pavoni Family and the dejected Asterike had left the building, Kim Yi-hyeon let out a breathless “Ha.”
“Do those guys not even check who comes in?”
“Who would come here? What checking? If one or two people stood guard and drew the attention of a flying monster, that would be the bigger problem.”
Rosco spun the flint wheel of his lighter.
“To begin with, no one defies the Pavoni Family, so they probably can’t even imagine someone eavesdropping nearby. Do you know the power structure here?”
“I know enough. The Pavoni Family, the Red Scarves. The group you belong to would be Svedeniye.”
The three groups active in Ulanz.
All were immigrant groups. They extorted money and valuables from residents under all kinds of pretexts, then used the money they obtained to bring in guns from outside.
“......You know all of it. As for me, rather than belonging to them, I’m closer to just being a cash cow. There are only a handful of times when selling the Svedeniye bastards’ name has made things go well.”
All of it was content from the game.
The strength of the three groups could be described as one strong and two medium. The ones holding Ulanz in their grip were undoubtedly the Pavoni Family.
“In the past, all three were about the same, but now, well, it’s as you see. Everything goes according to those bastards’ whims. They even pull absurd nonsense like that.”
He spat phlegm onto the floor.
“A magic sword, my ass. Is that Pecatum lady your friend? Her head seemed way too naïve.”
“Tell me about it.”
Ast. Asterike.
Gray-white hair that reached down to her back. Eyes that seemed crafted from gold. Horns that proved she was Pecatum.
Her appearance matched. However, there were countless differences.
The tone of her voice was slightly higher. Her appearance was haggard from long wandering. Her back as she left the building, dejected, was terribly shabby.
And most of all.
Ast was... that stupid?
‘No, was there a backstory like this?’
The general outline of the side story was as follows.
Ast visited Ulanz with the Professor in search of her family’s lost treasured sword. After struggling through various things, she succeeded in recovering the treasured sword.
At that time, Ast said this to the Professor.
— Thank you, Professor. My past was nothing but ashes. Since the day my house and family burned, I was always tormented by the fear that one day, even I might turn into a handful of ash. And every day, as I stained my hands with blood... I cursed myself, thinking that would be better.
— But you found me. Even this sword, engraved in my memories together with my father.
— Let me say it once more.
— Thank you for everything, Professor.
A famous scene where Ast, who had always been chilly, smiled as if crying, her eyes red.
Even in Polaris, where the overall illustration quality was high, it boasted one of the greatest levels of completion.
It was the reason the diehard Ast cult had formed. Even Kim Yi-hyeon had memories of leaving an “Ast I love you” comment.
And yet, the truth was that she had been conned by a backwater mafia? Ast’s pathetic, drooping voice still remained vivid in his ears.
‘Did she grow through experiences like this?’
Well, it was certainly an environment where one had no choice but to adapt to reality. The current Ast had only recently left her hometown.
She was still far too naïve. She knew less about the world than Kim Yi-hyeon did.
“Let me offer some presumptuous advice. Don’t needlessly get on those bastards’ bad side. Unless you plan to call your comrades.”
“You know who my comrades are?”
“I can tell just by looking.”
Rosco laughed meaningfully.
“You’re a mafia guy from the city, aren’t you?”
“......”
Kim Yi-hyeon did not reply at all. What kind of nonsense was this old man spouting now?
However, Rosco took his silence as affirmation. The hand touching his cigarette trembled finely with tension.
“Whew, as expected. No wonder something felt off about you.”
He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeve. It would have been disastrous if he had acted up without knowing anything.
“You’re not thinking of silencing me, are you? You don’t need to worry. I won’t expose your identity to anyone. I’m someone who knows my own life is precious.”
Kim Yi-hyeon still did not answer. It seemed fine to leave him to misunderstand on his own.
“But... Pavoni won’t care who you are. He may look like a puppy to you, but a damn mutt doesn’t fear a tiger it has never seen.”
“A tiger, huh.”
After chewing over Rosco’s words, Kim Yi-hyeon was seized by a strange feeling.
While that Ast was being treated like that, he, only a 2-star operative, was being overestimated.
‘As expected, attitude is important.’
If there was a tiger here.
It would be Ast, not him.
Kim Yi-hyeon thought of various plans. Provoking another faction to trigger a conflict. Joining the Pavoni Family and causing internal strife......
Means that were nothing but troublesome.
‘Why bother?’
The opponent was merely a backwater mafia.
There were plenty of easier solutions.
Though they might be a little, or perhaps extremely, violent.