episode_0113

Wild Hunt.

They say it’s like trying to catch a star in the sky to meet the legends of the mercenary industry, as they’re all incredibly busy, but among them, information on the Wild Hunt was practically nonexistent, as if they were cryptids.

How many members they had, what equipment they used, precisely what kind of requests they took.

Very occasionally, reviews from people who successfully commissioned the Wild Hunt spoke of absurd requests like ‘there’s a boogeyman under my bed’ or ‘an evil spirit lives in my wardrobe,’ leading to rumors in the community that they might be some kind of ghost hunters.

Still, I thought they must look normal, given that if their appearance was even slightly unusual, word would have spread whether good or bad…

“Damn, their appearance is really, *really* distinctive.”

Low-slung bikes, canine-like quadrupedal drones that seemed to double their numbers as if each rider controlled one, full-face helmets that revealed no part of their faces, and metal plate cuirasses and gauntlets covering their right chests, shoulders, and arms entirely.

A group of bikers whose attire subtly mimicked knights from centuries ago.

Jay Q clicked his tongue in awe at the sight of twenty-three 22nd-century bike knights, their engines trembling as they roared.

“Hm. Pimpi fought well, without getting damaged.”

I watched the vanguard slowly pass by, as if they had no further business after catching the monsters, with incredulous eyes. Then, a Wild Hunter member following right behind them approached and removed his helmet.

Unlike his ridiculous attire and customized bike, a middle-aged face, like a gentleman with his hair neatly slicked back with pomade, emerged from inside the helmet and lightly tapped my shoulder.

“Are you the one who spoke with us?”

“That’s right. And I hope you understand, our vanguard rider is quite unsociable.”

“What…”

“You have many questions, but how about we go to our base and talk instead of standing here? There are many of *those* here.”

The man gestured with his chin towards the corpses of the dead monsters inside the building.

Are there many creatures that could easily slice dozens if even one was unleashed?

Of course, the environment of Tonyboni is very advantageous to them, but their bizarre appearance combined with their insane range of motion is practically a ‘die if you don’t know’ situation.

‘Ah… I really want to be comforted by Luna.’

I became a CEO, but I have to be dispatched to a dog-eat-dog place like this just to recruit some people.

For my mental stability, I needed to be healed by lazily rolling around in bed.

‘This is believed to be merely an act to satisfy the sexual desires of a Zashiki-warashi.’

‘Are you trying to spoil it?’

‘Hmph.’

Feeling the need to educate Martina, who kept trying to poke me, as if she were entering puberty when I returned, I nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The restricted area of Tonyboni bordered the Golden Circle.

And the commonality between the two districts was that they were abandoned by people, and ordinary folk wouldn’t even think of entering to live there.

Jay Q and I rode on the back of a Wild Hunter member’s bike, escorted by the 22nd-century knights, and were invited to the Wild Hunt’s hideout, located in a derelict hotel in the Golden Circle.

The Golden Circle, where the fake sky of Eclipse Point and the real sky were visible simultaneously.

Seeing the sky change perfectly at the border, I dismounted from the bike and took a deep breath, relieved that I no longer had to inhale Tonyboni’s thick, smoggy air.

Even with filters, the air there was unpleasant, so breathing was equally difficult.

“What do you think? Though humble, isn’t it quite cozily decorated?”

“Is this some kind of garage?”

The lobby seemed to be a vehicle repair shop, littered with bike parts, modification equipment, and repair tools, and the strong smell of oil hung in the air.

“Phew… this is quite serious, isn’t it? Though a bit dirty, the equipment is better than most megacorp-operated garages… and there are tons of discontinued parts too…!”

Jay Q, the official R&B van-dweller, had his eyes glued to the Wild Hunt’s hideout-cum-garage and was tinkering with parts, as if he’d forgotten his original purpose entirely, without a moment to be stopped.

As Jay Q mumbled, showcasing his expertise, several Wild Hunt members gathered around him, seemingly interested, and began an enthusiastic discussion. I covered my forehead.

My head felt hot, as if I had a fever.

‘Currently, your temperature is 38.2 degrees Celsius, you are actually feverish.’

‘Damn it.’

Damn Speedware.

A few hours of rest should bring me back to normal temperature, I guess.

“I am Pasio, the current provisional rider of the Wild Hunt.”

The middle-aged man, who had given his quadrupedal drone a name like Pimpi, an odd choice considering his appearance, introduced himself as Pasio.

“Provisional rider?”

“Ah, didn’t I say the Wild Hunt doesn’t have a ‘leader’ or anything like that? Instead, there’s a vanguard rider. It’s literally someone who carries the flag and guides our path for those following behind.”

“I don’t quite understand…”

“So… you can think of them as a leader if you want, but a vanguard rider doesn’t represent our entire group. Of course, their skill is the best, but just think of them as an action leader.”

From the ensuing explanation, the Wild Hunt appeared to have a horizontal structure.

This group of twenty-three had strong individual tendencies when not in formation, and the rider was the vanguard who stood at the very front of the procession.

Even a small club has a president, so compared to an ordinary group, they were indeed extremely unconventional.

However, this made me worry if I would have to recruit them as individuals rather than recruiting the Wild Hunt as a whole.

“If I’m interpreting what I’m hearing, the Wild Hunt isn’t so much a ‘group’… but rather a term referring to the act or festival of you hunting those monsters.”

“Is there really a need to divide it so clearly? The Wild Hunt is simply the Wild Hunters.”

“That might be true… Dammit. So what *are* those monsters, anyway? I’ve never heard of such things living in Eclipse Point.”

But since I’ve made contact, there’s plenty of time for recruitment.

In that case, it would be best to satisfy my curiosity about those grotesque monstrous creatures I encountered in Tonyboni.

Pasio stroked his chin at my question.

“I don’t know exactly either. Their forms vary, but at least the monsters with human-like parts mixed in in just appeared at some point.”

“Appeared?”

He connected Pimpi to the charger, and as it charged, he smacked his lips, as if searching his memory.

“We were all residents who lived in Tonyboni. More precisely, we were residents who lived in the restricted area under Xenotech’s jurisdiction, where you met us.”

“I heard Xenotech designated that place as a restricted area about 20 years ago.”

“Hmph. Twenty years ago, I was in my thirties. I was in my prime back then.”

Pasio slowly began to tell his story.

Tonyboni, which still had poor air quality due to its industrial factory zone, but not to the current extent.

At a time when smog increased day by day and advertisements for air purification implants flooded in, several ominous incidents began to occur.

Serial murders of an unspecified number of people, mass disappearances, and strange human silhouettes witnessed in back alleys late at night.

Public safety gradually worsened, and the EPSB Patrol, receiving investigation funds due to the fervent demands of Tonyboni residents, began their search.

It seemed the incidents might conclude that way, but when all the patrolling officers conducting the investigation were torn apart and became corpses, the EPSB withdrew from Tonyboni, and the rampage of the insane murderer began to spiral out of control.

Day after day, reports of dead and missing people came from everywhere.

Even gangs, who had lived like outlaws, fearing nothing under the sky, pissed themselves and held their breath upon seeing their friends, brothers, and comrades reduced to mere heads rolling on the ground.

“And then Xenotech intervened.”

Xenotech designated a part of Tonyboni as a restricted area and isolated it.

And the residents were forcibly evicted.

Those who defied and refused the decision were handled with slight coercion, and swiftly, with the area’s isolation, the serial killer case that had caused nearly 200 casualties in just three weeks came to an end.

“It ended like that… but we were still dissatisfied with Xenotech’s handling of the situation. So we thought, if we caught that insane killer ourselves, they would lift the access restrictions.”

“So they were really a vigilante group?”

“Now, we’ve taken on a few requests to gather information, but… yes. We gathered to reclaim the neighborhood we used to live in.”

Pasio straddled his bike, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

Cigarette smoke rose with the crisp click of a Dupont lighter.

“Initially, over a hundred people who thought like us gathered. But half of them died within the first year.”

“Were they killed by those monsters?”

“Yes, back then, the monsters weren’t as disgustingly strong as they are now, but naive fools couldn’t perfectly defeat them.”

Pasio let out a small laugh as he watched the members engaged in an enthusiastic discussion with Jay Q.

“Ayakashi Jun… a direct descendant of the Ayakashi family who suddenly appeared in the world, and an emerging entrepreneur who independently founded a PMC. You’ve come to recruit us, haven’t you?”

“You knew and pretended not to know…”

“Haha. I looked you up a little on the way here. Just because you don’t often operate outside doesn’t mean you’ve thrown away the benefits of civilization.”

Pasio tapped his temple and displayed a screen from his small built-in computer, flashing a grin.

Indeed, in a world where just a name and photo can calculate and tell you the size of your dick, even if you’ve never revealed it, what else could be expected?

“In that case, how about we show something impressive to the person who might become our employer?”

The Wild Hunt’s provisional rider wore a mischievous smile, as if he’d thought of a naughty prank.