Sticking to busy streets as best we could, we returned to our hotel suite. After changing into more comfortable clothes, we regrouped in the gigantic living room, which contained a soft sofa and a table and chairs that looked antique. The latter seemed wooden, though according to Mei, the material wasn’t real wood—just something that imitated its look and feel. Why someone would have put such cutting-edge technology to use to create imitation wood was beyond me.
“So, uh…someone’s targeting you or something, right?” Elma asked. She’d changed into a tank top and shorts and was currently opening a can of uncarbonated beer.
“Yeah. Hopefully it’s just my imagination, but unfortunately, it probably isn’t.”
“I felt that hostility as well, so it’s not just your imagination. However…” Kugi hesitated.
I pressed her to continue. “However…?”
“Rather than targeting us as a group, I believe the hostility was directed at you specifically, my lord.”
“Oh. That might be true. It did feel directed at me personally.” That said, I still had no idea why that might be the case. Of course, considering my actions up until now, I was sure that space pirates nursed quite a grudge against me. Still, I hadn’t felt like I was being targeted by a space pirate. I couldn’t quite articulate this, but whoever was targeting me felt way more dangerous than that. “Maybe some group plans to kill me to gain notoriety?”
“I doubt that’s the case,” replied Elma. “At the very least, I doubt any mercenaries, nobles, or official organizations would try pulling something like that. I could see them challenging you and openly attempting to take you down, but they wouldn’t try to assassinate you in the middle of a city.”
“I see. So it has to be some kind of space pirate, or someone who wants to kill me despite the hit their reputation could receive as a result. Neither option makes much sense, though…”
“Why not?” asked Tina.
“The source of the hostility directed that feeling at me the instant they found me. That level of obsession isn’t normal.”
That hostility had originated from outside the detection range of either Kugi or myself, which meant the enemy had prepared a method of monitoring us from a good distance away.
“We just reached this colony today, so they must’ve prepped for our arrival in advance. I doubt they could’ve gotten everything into place in the short time that’s passed since we got to Arein Tertius. However, we only decided to come here after we visited that outermost region, and we traveled using a gateway. How could they have known we were coming here, and prepared in advance, unless they’d been following us since we left the outermost region?”
“Are you suggesting there’s a spy among us…?” Elma said, her brow furrowing.
I shook my head. “No. The chance of that is basically zero.” I wasn’t interested in even entertaining the idea. Besides, no one in our group had any way to make outside contact while evading Mei’s detection, since she was essentially omniscient aboard the Black Lotus. “What I’m trying to say is that whoever’s targeting me prepared for that in advance here on Arein Tertius.”
“I see…I see,” Mimi said uncertainly.
It wasn’t clear whether she understood my implication, and the other girls seemed puzzled too.
“So who’s targeting us, then?” asked Dr. Shouko.
“That’s the problem; I don’t know. Whoever it is, though, they aren’t your everyday pirate. I doubt we’ll guess their identity through logical means; it’s likely someone who’d fall entirely outside those.”
Logically, the only people who might hold a grudge against me were other mercenaries, some nobles, or space pirates, but I didn’t think it was one of those groups. It was probably a separate group or individual entirely.
“So you mean we’ve got no clue who’s after you,” Tina said.
“Pretty much, yeah. I just wanted to put into words that, whoever it is, they aren’t a normal enemy.”
I hoped that by assuming that we couldn’t determine who was targeting me through logical means, we’d safeguard ourselves against unpredictable attacks. Beyond that, all I could do was pray that whoever it was wouldn’t be insane enough to use plasma or reactive weapons in broad daylight without regard for potential collateral damage.
“Keep that in mind while you’re deciding on a security company,” I added.
“Got it. We’ve narrowed the choices down to two companies.” Mimi used her tablet to project the information on the table’s built-in holo-display into the center of the living room. “Iga Security and Koga Services.”
“I feel like I might let out a strange shriek and wet myself,” I quipped.
Both companies were definitely run by ninja. I hadn’t even looked at the screen yet, but I could tell just from their names. They were ninja for sure. I’d bet a case of uncarbonated cola on that. I was also convinced the two companies must hate each other.
“Iga Security mainly services biotech companies, while Koga Services works mostly with cybernetic businesses. Both seem to offer high-quality services, but with prices that correspond with that quality.”
“Inagawa Technologies had a contract with Iga Security,” Dr. Shouko interjected. “I might know a few people who work there. While I was working for Inagawa, it was pretty normal to have a guard from Iga accompanying me.”
“Let’s contact Iga Security, then,” I said.
If it wasn’t clear which company was better, then it would be best simply to choose whichever we had an existing connection with, however slight. Since Dr. Shouko had used their services for some time, she might be familiar with how they operated.
“Looking at the services they offer, though, are they really just a security company…?”
Beyond standard bodyguarding, Iga Security also provided violent-sounding services like counterespionage and property recovery. They didn’t offer anything like outright assassination, though.
“I’m not that familiar with how the industry works, so all I can say is that that’s just how things are,” Dr. Shouko remarked.
“I see…” I replied. “Well, let’s contact them for now.”
“Sure. As they say, giving birth is actually easier than freaking out about it.”
I wasn’t sure whether that phrase really suited the situation, but it was true that we had no reason to delay. There was no point fretting over which company to choose, so it would indeed be best just to go ahead and contact one.