The room obtained through interrogation: the club's VIP room.
Inside, a woman with long white hair and striking red eyes sat with a cynical air about her.
So that's the first mate.
"You lot are noisy. Which captain sent you? Or did someone slap a bounty on my neck again?"
"Hah. Are you the boss here?"
"Yeah, I'm the first mate of the Double-Hook Pirate Crew... Sumi. You said you wanted to see me. Want an autograph or something?"
To Mr. Gregor's question, the woman who introduced herself as Sumi answered cheerfully.
She's calm. Too calm. Does she have something to rely on?
Like that gun in her hand.
"I heard you're the number two. We want the boss. Where is he?"
"...Hook? That bastard's probably off somewhere drinking fairy liquor again. So, practically speaking, I'm the one running this place. And this harbor doesn't exactly make enough money to survive on perfume alone. So I've been doing a few side businesses here and there. I'm the one who ordered that, too."
She answered Mr. Meursault's question just as readily.
...What is this? At this point, it's suspicious.
"Understood. You possess the information we want. We are searching for the whereabouts of the hostage your organization appears to have secured. Hand over that information."
"Hostage? That's a harsh way to put it. We call them guests."
"Guests...?"
I pressed down on Sinclair's shoulder, which looked ready to bolt at any moment.
Not yet... we need to watch the situation a little longer.
"Mm. So... let's make an exchange. Give me information on Queequeg. Then I'll safely send your guests out. And wow... seems like you've got a pretty big-name guest too. LC... what was it, the team leader? You said Queequeg had a friend over there, right?"
"......"
"Tell me everything you know about Queequeg. Where she is now, what she's doing, who she's meeting, the last thing she said—everything. You know who's getting the better end of this deal, so I don't need to spell it out, right?"
"Ha... really, if I could say it, I'd be genuinely glad to."
"Then... the negotiation's broken down?"
At Ishmael's final words, Sumi aimed her gun at us.
Tch. Right. I thought maybe we'd get away without a fight. As if.
She wouldn't be able to land a meaningful shot from far away with that trumpet-shaped barrel anyway.
Then let's make this a short fight.
Just before I leaped, I signaled Dante with my eyes. He'd probably understand.
"Huu..."
Then... let's go.
I kicked off the ground lightly and charged straight into the enemy line.
Then I launched a sweeping spear attack from the front.
Tatat, whoosh—!
"Hey, isn't that a little too hasty?"
"...Hm."
It missed. Not that hitting was the goal in the first place.
Then let's set a trap she can't help but take.
Her stance was already broken. I forced one more step forward and closed in on Sumi.
"Hah... so you were just some soft little bookworm who can't even fight properly?"
"Who knows?"
At the same time, I heard the sound of glass shattering in my head.
So the timing really is exact when you've done this a few times.
"...! Wait!"
"It's too late to notice now."
Her expression hardened as she tried to close the distance and even the odds in the clinch.
After all, what kind of lunatic goes into point-blank combat with someone holding a gun and a dagger?
Still, she'd have to pay the price for wrecking her stance right in front of the enemy.
Thud.
"Ngh...!"
"Doesn't hurt much."
The hook sword aimed for my left shoulder was blocked by the Liu Association uniform.
She did land the attack, but the clothes took the force. Right, how much did this thing cost again?
Then it was time to make her pay for the arrogance of not pointing the gun at my head the moment I got too close.
"Damn..."
"Openings!"
Moving a step faster than her retreat, I grabbed her left arm holding the gun.
"Let go!"
She resisted fiercely, but only for a moment. Flames born from my emotions touched her arm.
They say the hardest pain in the world to endure is the pain of being burned.
"Ghhhhh...!!"
I kept searing her until the strength drained out of her. No amount of enhancement surgery matters when you're roasting bare skin with specialized flames; no one's going to find that painless.
Of course, the enemies wouldn't just stand there and watch.
Still...
"You bastard!"
"If you're going through, you go through me first, pal."
She was only stopped by the others who rushed in.
I kept burning her for several seconds, but...
"...You're holding out longer than I expected."
"If I were going to go down to something like this, I'd have quit this job long ago!"
So she'd undergone some serious body enhancement. Then pure fire alone would have its limits. In that case...
I yanked hard on her arm as she tried to flee and dragged her back toward me.
Immediately after, I slammed in a heavy left-handed blow.
"Hup!"
"Aaaagh!"
Crash!!!!
After a clean hit to the face, the strength in her body began to drain away.
One more and this would be over.
"Let's finish by laying her down and beating the hell out of her."
"W-wait! You can't touch me... You're really... really going to regret this!"
"I can hear your eyeballs rolling from here. Let's at least put you on the brink of death first, then think about it."
"I'm serious! I've got backing."
"Backing?"
"And not just any backing... don't freak out too much. It's one of the little brothers of the Middle."
Wait, little brother? So this woman actually... did have real backing.
I couldn't tell whether she was bluffing or telling the truth.
"...Oh. A little brother, huh."
"And that Queequeg? You probably don't know this, but there's a hefty bounty on her too. Apparently she had the nerve to declare she was leaving the Middle and then vanished. There's a limit to how stupid you can be. The Middle... never forgets."
Tch. Bluff or not, this is a pain. If that's the case, I can't just dispose of her on my own judgment.
"Dante, what should we—"
"...You're done talking, right?"
Ishmael tightened her grip on the harpoon in her hand, radiating a murderous aura.
...She's going to kill her?
"Wait, seriously...? You're really going to kill me?"
"Since we made this mess, we should clean it up completely."
At Ishmael's grim declaration, Sumi wriggled free from beneath me and put some distance between herself and Ishmael.
She can't run, so it doesn't matter. The fight had already settled down, and the exit was under our control.
"The Middle, I said. You know the Middle, right?"
"......"
"Wait! Fine, I'll tell you where it is! The container your friend's being held in. Containers with living people inside have a green triangle painted on them! If she was taken recently, it'd be in the eastern section..."
"A green triangle? There could be more than one. It might even be a similar color. If you're going to deceive us, you'd do anything."
"I can tell! I can tell, okay? I'm not lying... huh?"
"...You heard that, right? With that keyword, we should be able to pull them out. That's a relief, Sinclair?"
"......"
Even after hearing Ishmael's words, Sinclair still looked unconvinced. Ishmael didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Come to think of it, wouldn't it have been easier to keep quiet and threaten her instead of spilling everything so readily? Look at that—now that Ishmael's extracted everything she wanted, she's already rubbing the wrist of the hand holding the harpoon, like she's measuring how much force it would take to burst Sumi's head in one shot...
"...Hold on. If we kill her too, we're really going to be in trouble. We've found the hostage's location. So let's head back at this point."
"...I don't feel the need to persuade you, Manager. Would you step aside already? I don't want to waste time on this."
"R-right... wasting time on someone like me would be a loss. Let's go, okay?"
Ah, you shouldn't have said that there.
"No, it wouldn't be a waste of time."
"Ishmael!"
"I'm pretty fast, you know."
Ishmael's harpoon, still wandering off target, flew straight toward Sumi.
Wait, why did Dante—damn it, this is bad.
Seeing the possibility flash before my eyes, I threw my body forward without time to think.
Crack.
"Ghk..."
Agonizing pain shot up from my left shoulder.
I'm really not going to live long if I keep dealing with these insane people.
"...!"
"Manager!"
"Tch... that hurt more than I expected. Just how much did you grind down that harpoon?"
"That's..."
"Enough. Don't answer. I wasn't asking you to."
As I casually pointed my spear at Ishmael, she fell silent with a complicated expression.
She looked like she wanted to make some excuse, but shut up. I didn't particularly want to hear it either.
"Manager, are you all right? If there's anywhere you feel even slightly unwell, you need to say so immediately. That way we can respond quickly..."
"I'm fine, Otis. If anything, the one who should be worried is the other side..."
"This person is saying something strange again. What could possibly be more important than your body right now?"
"......"
"I can't keep my mind at ease because of this hopelessly foolish person... Dante."
"Mm."
"You need to realize you're responsible for the lives of all thirteen of us here. No matter how many times we die, none of us are worth less than your life."
"...Sorry."
"Haah... Fine. Being kind isn't some great sin. Just don't do it again next time. I'll get angry."
"Well, that was a... good... cho—"
"If you say one more word there, I'll cut out your tongue or your limbs, whichever. That wouldn't kill you, would it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
After silencing Sumi, who had been needling my nerves bit by bit, I slowly walked over to the main culprit behind this mess: Ishmael.
And then...
"...What do you have to sa—"
Smack!!
I slapped Ishmael hard across the face.
Hah. I feel so much better now.