Mob #94: “Hey. Our shop also offers out-call services. Are you interested in using them?”
The planet Negora, located in the Pout region of space, is a beautiful planet that appears yellow-green when viewed from space.
However, its yellow-green atmosphere is composed of extremely dense chlorine, making it impossible to breathe without a specialized suit. Without one, death is certain.
Beyond this yellow-green atmosphere lies a vast expanse of silver ore, said to be virtually inexhaustible.
Because of this, several mining base colonies orbit the planet, remotely operating mining droids to extract the silver.
The only times a human sets foot on the planet is for droid maintenance or when some kind of trouble occurs.
Long ago, it seems that criminals were punished by being forced to mine silver ore while wearing chlorine-resistant suits, which were not very effective even back then.
Anyway, though not as valuable as gold, the presence of mines attracts people, and where there are people, towns form.
However, since this is in space, the mining base colonies are surrounded by residential colonies, asteroid houses, mansions made from old ships, service areas, ship repair garages, and energy stations. From a distance, it looks like a graveyard for spaceships or a misshapen satellite.
The reason I’m here in this mining base town is because there have been sightings of my target, the former Countess Hochkold, her son, and their ship in this area.
With so many ships, colonies, and asteroid houses gathered here, it’s the perfect place to hide.
In fact, it’s one of the first places that comes to mind when looking for criminals in hiding.
Since there’s a noble registry, I know what the former Countess Hochkold and her son look like, but there’s a chance they’ve altered their faces or even their entire bodies, so I’m not getting my hopes up.
For now, I’ll head to the largest colony in the area, the entertainment district.
This entertainment district primarily caters to the miners, with its main area lined with various shops, bars, restaurants, lodgings for travelers, and adult entertainment establishments.
There’s also a downtown area where the people who work in the entertainment district live,
and an upscale district with luxury hotels, boutiques, spas, fine dining restaurants, a general hospital, and a police station.
Why, in a mining town like this, are there lodgings for travelers and an upscale district?
There are several long-distance gates in the vicinity of planet Negora, but there’s no gate close to the planet itself, so it takes a considerable amount of time to get here. Even from the nearest gate, it takes about five days.
As a result, it’s customary to stop here for supplies or rest, and the same goes for nobles. Since nobles wouldn’t stay in the lodgings of the main area, they created this upscale district.
With these thoughts in mind, I docked my ship at the entertainment district’s landing pad, refueled, and resupplied water before heading to the main area.
The main area is primarily where the miners gather, and even though the former Countess Hochkold and her son are former nobles, they’ve fallen from grace and are now pirates, so they’re likely to be in this area.
I could also check the downtown area, but it’s unlikely that the Hochkold family, being pirates, would settle there. If they did, I’d need to thoroughly investigate the main area first.
I showed their photos around the shopping district, bars, and restaurants, but I wasn’t getting many leads.
It’s likely they’ve changed their appearance or even their bodies. If they altered their looks after committing piracy, it would make them much harder to find, and that would significantly raise the difficulty of this job.
However, all I have to go on is their photos, so I’ll just have to keep showing them around and asking questions.
That said, I’ve already checked quite a few bars, so I was wondering where to go next when I was suddenly approached.
“Hey, mister. I’ll give you a discount. How about it?”
It was a woman with long chestnut hair, wearing a revealing outfit—clearly a worker from an adult entertainment establishment.
Back when I was a rookie mercenary, a retired senior who was one of the few kind ones took me to a similar place, and I had a pretty bad experience (it wasn’t the senior’s fault, but the establishment’s), so I’m not really comfortable around these types of women.
However, this time it’s convenient because I’ll need to approach them eventually.
“Ah, maybe next time. Do you happen to know these people?”
“What? Are you some kind of detective?”
“Something like that.”
“Hmm.”
The woman stared at the photos of the former Countess Hochkold and her son that I showed her,
“Oh, I’ve seen this guy.”
she pointed at the son.
“Really?!”
I asked in surprise, and she held out her palm. Reluctantly, I placed a 1,000-credit coin in her hand.
“He’s been coming around the adult entertainment shops here lately. He’s even been to my shop.”
As she tucked the coin into her cleavage, she gave me the information.
Based on this, it seems certain that he’s here in the mining base town.
“Do you know when he usually comes?”
“He should be here soon. Oh, look, there he is.”
She pointed, and sure enough, there was the son of the former Countess Hochkold, entering one of the adult entertainment shops.
I can’t say this isn’t good luck. If I tail him when he comes out, I should be able to find his ship and his mother’s location.
This kind of convenient development, like something out of a story, is honestly a bit scary, but it’s not bad for the job.
The problem is how to keep watch without arousing suspicion. It’d be great if there was a restaurant, bar, or café nearby.
But as far as I can see, the only places with a view of the shop are other adult entertainment establishments, back alleys, and cheap love hotels.
A guy like me, alone in a place like this, would be incredibly suspicious. Next time, I’ll have to bring some surveillance nano-cameras.
Even if I tried to keep watch from one of those cheap love hotels, going in alone would draw attention and raise suspicions.
Then, the woman called out to me again.
“Hey. Our shop also offers out-call services. Are you interested in using them?”
In other words, she’s figured out my purpose and is trying to take advantage of the situation.
Well, it’s better than standing out and tipping off the son of the former Countess Hochkold, so I decided to take her up on her offer.
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Side: Schoona Noswile
With the recent civil war coming to an end, where those who rebelled against Her Majesty the Empress were defeated and many were spared by Her Majesty’s mercy, a planet race called the “Rebellion Suppression Victory Commemoration Cup” has been announced.
The venue chosen for this race is the planet Negora in the Pout region of space.
From space, planet Negora appears as a beautiful yellow-green planet, but its atmosphere is composed of extremely dense chlorine, making survival impossible.
However, its land is made of silver ore, and its silver deposits are said to be virtually inexhaustible.
Mining will be halted on the day of the race, but until then, mining operations will continue as usual.
The construction of pits and broadcasting facilities is planned to be just within the atmosphere, so as not to interfere with mining.
As a result, the only time racers can scout the course directly with their ships is for a few hours before the race starts on race day, making it quite challenging.
Of course, there are videos of the course, and drones are permitted to fly.
So now, I’m inside the container ship “Seed 1” of the planet racing team “Crystal Weed,” using a drone to simulate scouting the course.
It feels like I’m getting some practice runs in, but the difference between a racing ship and a drone is huge, so I can’t really figure out the optimal course.
With this unsatisfying feeling, I finished flying the drone.
“Good work! How was it?”
“I really wish I could fly my own ship.”
“Since drones are small, they can squeeze through tight gaps, right? It makes you think you’ve found a great shortcut.”
“But if you try that in the actual ship, you’d be out in one hit!”
“I just wish we had one day for practice…”
Aero, who’s also competing in this race, was equally frustrated by the inability to fly the actual course with the actual ship.
While not as critical as energy veins, the silver mined here is used for jewelry and deodorizers, so stopping mining for an extended period isn’t feasible.
“Hey, why don’t we go out and take a break?”
While changing from my pilot suit to casual clothes in the locker room, Aero suggested.
Currently, our planet racing team “Crystal Weed” is staying at the luxury hotel “Talpest” in the upscale district of the entertainment district colony, which is part of the mining base town in orbit around planet Negora.
This entertainment district primarily caters to the miners, with its main area lined with various shops, bars, restaurants, lodgings for travelers, and adult entertainment establishments, making it a lively place to wander around and have fun.
Since there are still a few days before the race, we got permission from our supervisor to go out and unwind.
The main area was bustling, and though we were in disguise, no one seemed to notice us as we enjoyed the lively atmosphere, carried along by the waves of people.
“Hmm. The atmosphere in places like this isn’t bad, is it?”
Aero walked through the bustling district, happily browsing the surrounding shops.
“Don’t get too excited. We’ve been here many times before.”
I spoke to Aero with exasperation.
“Even though it’s a transportation hub, I’ve only passed through by ship before. This is practically my first time in the city center.”
While saying this, Aero brought her lips close to my ear,
“We need to be careful because we don’t know who might be listening.”
She cautioned me in a low voice.
That’s right. For us as Planet Racers, it wouldn’t look good to say we’ve been to a place multiple times—even if it’s famous as a transportation hub—when it’s also one of the first places named as a hiding spot for criminals.
“But you know, running into someone you know in a place like this feels like destiny” Aero restored the distance between us and began looking around restlessly. “That’s not likely to happen.” Unless it’s someone’s living area or a venue for a shared hobby, we wouldn’t run into anyone in such a distant place. Or so I thought, but, “Ah, it’s the ‘Clairvoyant’ guy!” “Listen, jokes like that…” “It really is him! Look, he’s going into that hotel with his arm linked with a woman!” “What?!” At first I thought Aero was joking, but when I looked in the direction she pointed, I witnessed John-Uzoss entering that kind of hotel with his arm linked with a beautiful woman. “Well he is a man after all. That’s probably a professional lady.”
Aero nodded repeatedly, wearing a strangely impressed expression.
As for me, I was somehow feeling annoyed.
“I wonder… am I less attractive than that woman from earlier?”
I don’t have romantic feelings for him, John-Uzoss… I think.
If anything, he falls into the category of [person I want to win over to our side] or [person who’s a nuisance if not an ally].
“What’s this? Are you suddenly planning to use your feminine wiles?”
“It’s not that, but… hey Aero, am I really that unfeminine?”
And for him, I’m neither a pilot worth noticing nor a woman worth acknowledging.
As a pilot, given the obvious difference in skill, it can’t be helped.
But as a woman, not even being noticed somehow makes me angry.
“Well, your face itself is pretty, but you’re called a prince, you know.”
“And I don’t think my figure is bad either, what do you think?”
“Should I take that as you picking a fight?”
In response to my question, Aero glared at me with a smile and wiggled her fingers.
And then, after somehow having my chest kneaded for several minutes,
“Maybe he simply doesn’t like your looks or personality, or maybe he just doesn’t want to approach famous people?”
“I wonder if that’s it…”
Aero answered my question.
If it’s the latter reason, I understand, but if it’s the former, it’s annoying though I’ll have to swallow it.
It would be inappropriate to complain about someone’s personal preferences.
Either way, my pride as a woman is undoubtedly hurt to some extent, but there’s no point in worrying about it, and it wouldn’t be right to direct my anger at him.
“Alright! Shall we go get something to eat?”
So I decided to change my mood by going out to eat something.
“Oh! Your treat? Your treat?”
“I’ll treat you if I get to choose the menu.”
“Yay~!”
Since Aero was getting carried away, I took a safe measure.
I was surprised, angered, and troubled by seeing an unexpected side of an acquaintance, but what’s important now is deciding whether to go for something sweet or something hearty.
Thinking about such things, I began walking through the city center again.
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