Kidnappers (before battle)

Well, then. This is where we will go our separate ways... for a short while.

Charon and I have business to attend to here.

Business? Why? What is it this time~?

......

... I'm looking to buy some Mermaid perfume. Let's leave it at that.

Vergilius said, looking straight at an advertisement before us.

'Bottles of Mermaid Perfume, extracted straight from their left fins! Special discount!'

Oho! Art thou planning to procure some for us as well? Quite curious I am, of that 'Mermaid Perfume'. What other curiosities of the Great Lake await us, I wonder?

A significant source of income for the people of U Corp. comes from selling Whale and Mermaid products. Whale oil, Mermaid tears, Mermaid perfumes, Whale cuisine, and more, to list a few examples.

Ooo! Lo! I spy a purveyor of iced creams over yonder!

… Sardine Whale flavored ice cream…? How is that appetizing to you?

… Sardines are quite the savoury nosh, even if they do have a funny look to them.

Alas, I am more keen to learn the flavors of the Marlin Whale ice cream...

Will you not accompany us to our destination, dear guide?

... I've done my job as your guide.

I point you in the right direction, and that's where my responsibilities end. It's not my job to accompany you all the way there.

While you may be correct... your words also come across as rather impersonal.

Then you heard me right, Yi Sang. I don't intend to make friends with any of you. Nor do I want to.

Hah. Don't let these small talks give you the wrong impression.

Now, Ms. Faust.

Our allies are expecting us.

The Before Team on the ground will relay us the location of the Lobotomy Corp. Branch housing the Golden Bough.

According to our last communication, they should be waiting for us... there.

This place is a bit spooky...

I don't see anyone here. What's up with that, Fau?

... I can tell from your tone that you doubt me. This is the location I was relayed.

Huh, so we got here first? Bloody Brilliant. Before team? More like Belated team, innit?

Allow me to make a minor correction. We arrived about 1 hour and 30 minutes behind schedule.

Hm, odd. LCCB Agents we met back at J Corp were already on the scene and...

......

I'm sure that comment reminded everyone of the same duo.

It did for me, too.

Thinking about them even for a brief moment is...

Snrk! Snore...

It appears that they have elected to sleep in lieu of our appearance.

…….

Effie, Saude... We didn't deserve you two.

Ungh... Ain't none of ye got a watch, eh?! What the hell's wrong with ye lot?!

Ah... Apologies... In our hurry, we happened upon an unforeseen mishap on our journey here...

Gah, then why didn'tcha take that into account before ye left? Yawn~

Someone, from the corner of the shipping container, rises from their nap and stretches.

<They sound... oddly aggressive...>

...!

My, my!

<Hong Lu, wait - >

Your badge is upside-down. Remember to always keep your appearance tidy!

…….

Huh? What's this sticky red thing on your...

On his chest hung an upside-down LCCB Agent badge.

It was soaked in blood.

... Yawn. I hoped that this badge would have a more dramatic effect.

Let's see 'ere~ Limbus Company... Before Team... Team Leader.

The fool was loitering around in our territory. I've gots to say, that was bravely stupid.

Hmph. That sorry production was an insult to art. Get to the point before I SYNC.

Phew, lads! So tardy, yet so impatient. Why don't ye first give us a listen?

Yer lookin' fer... the Golden... whatchamacallit, aren't ye?

...!

What have you done to the Team Leader?

Hold your horses now. Lad's alive and well.

This is a hostage negotiation, then.

This ain't me first ransom rodeo, if ye know what I mean.

'Tis simple. Give us the cash, and we return yer friend.

We don't get the cash, and we give yer friend an impromptu burial in a shipping container, right 'ere.

Kidnappers, eh... Pieces of shite...

Woah, woah! I wouldn't do that if I were ye, laddie. Think before ye act, eh?

Anything goes wrong, and yer friend bites it.

It's very straightforward if I do say so meself. Just do as we say, and ye and that friend of yours continue on yer merry adventure. Get back to findin' yer Golden... whatchamacallit.

Hells, we'll even throw in a full-on gourmet tour guide for ye. Just to sweeten the deal.

... You bloody maggot...

Okay, okay... Gotcha. I see what's going on here. Give us some time to discuss this, why don't you?

Look, there's no point in escalating this. It'll do nothing but draw unnecessary attention to us.

And if our impulsive actions get that LCCB Agent killed...

True. They hold the upper hand in this negotiation.

But I don't believe these fools know much about the Golden Bough. They likely kidnapped him by chance, thinking they could get a hefty ransom out of him.

Though we have come across many men and women of evil nature in our adventure, Such brazen villainy has heretofore not been encountered...

How classless. It is grotesquery without a cause.

Charging them head-on will only sic their friends after us. Friends who may be involved with a powerful local Syndicate.

Our chance of victory is slim, should such an event come to pass. We do not possess enough intel on U Corp. to effectively maneuver that situation.

Yeah... We don't even know how big the Syndicate behind this guy is. But from the way he said his lines... this probably isn't his first time doing this, right?

Um... then there's also a chance that they're just small fries, isn't there?

If they're small fries, let's crush 'em all. We'll hit them before they even have the chance to lay a finger on the hostage!

... No. It could mean that their Syndicate may be so small and scattered that it is impossible to be traced.

Ugh...

<So we don't know anything... Great.>

Are they really going to... If we don't pay up...

Blast it. I know their kind. Scum like them are around every corner of the City. If this goes cock-up, they'll kill the hostage and won't even leave a body for us to find.

All kinds of awful images and ominous speculation begin to overwhelm us.

The so-called kidnappers were crowding amongst themselves, giggling and chattering. They knew that our options were limited.

<Okay... Then I'm going to start off by asking how much they want.>

We're out of our element here... The best I can do is to try to gather some information, at least.

Huh.

A short, exasperated sigh escaped Ishmael's lips. She had been standing here this whole time, arms crossed over the harpoon that rested upon her chest.

You're going to pay them? Those bastards? Are you crazy?

<What else can we do? Even now, the hostage...>

I don't care about your excuses.

I only care to know if this really is the best course of action you could come up with.

Any doubts about the manager's decisions -

' - are unnecessary'. Yeah. You're as predictable as always.

Executive Manager's decisions are orders. To doubt them is insubordination. Ishmael, it doesn't matter how competent of a seadog you are -

Hah, okay. If you say so. But who cares? They've not given me an order. They didn't forbid me from doing anything. So what's your problem here?

... I just can't sit here and watch this play out.

Ishmael strode toward the Kidnappers. It was plain from her tone and expression that she did not care one bit about what the other Sinners said.

I'll gladly accept the consequences...

She shot me a fleeting glance before raising her harpoon.

... for insubordination, manager.

Then thrust her well-sharpened harpoon right into one of the kidnappers' forehead.

<...?!>

The entire course of her action, from start to finish, was so full of absolute confidence, that...

... no one even thought to stop her.

I couldn't, either.

O.O.F.

Ryōshū was right. The kidnapper... suffered a total obliteration of forehead.

Ishmael...? What did you just...

W-what did you just do?!

Sinclair was the first to snap out of this stupefied silence.

The LCCB Agent they took hostage... We just put him at risk...! Because of us, h-he could...!

Sinclair was trembling hard. I couldn't tell if it was the welling tears he was holding back... or an uncontrollable fury.

Just like then...! Just like back then with... Effie, with Saude...!

It was only few months ago when...! Don't tell me you've moved on already!

<...!>

Sinclair's... memories?

I saw an image of Saude and Effie - both smiling. Both were excellent field Agents.

And because they were both excellent Agents, they suffered to their last moments before our eyes.

Helplessly watching as they slowly expired in front of him, at his old home at that...

That day must have been scorched into his memories.

I recalled Ishmael's vision that I witnessed back at the Boatworks.

... Was that also a moment that was burned into her memories, I wonder...

......

Ishmael didn't seem to find Sinclair's questions worth answering. She strode toward one of the closed shipping containers and kicked it open.

A body, that had been dead for so long that its complexion and consistency barely resembled that of a living human, slumped to the floor.

<...!>

This one's been dead for at least a week. And of course, isn't our LCCB Agent.

Ishmael kicks the body, tossing it on its back.

From the looks of it, this one was a tourist visiting Marlin Port. Probably loaded too, if they could afford to travel to the Great Lake just for its sights. They would've been able to afford whatever ransom the pirates demanded.

Kidnap. Extort. Execute. These Syndicates have been repeating these three steps for a good while at U Corp., even as their names and organizations changed with time. They're everywhere, like vermin.

It would be more accurate to call them 'pirates' here.

They never return the hostages. They'll keep asking for more and more ransom until the money well dries up...

Ishmael poked the body with her foot.

Then they kill the hostages. Like they did this one in.

... Quite numerous, the prevalence of such tragedies must be... How can this be? Wherefore doth no hero rise to the occasion and put a stop to these villains?

I-I believed this to be a place of tourism, is it not?

Well... That usually means that there's a bigger fish looking out for these small fries.

Nay! That matters not! To let such villains run rampant in the City is...!

Ah, it must be the case that the Fixers of the City are yet unaware of this travesty. Mayhaps they were preoccupied tending to others in need, indeed! Naught else but that explains this!

Were we to send a missive to one of the just and honorable Associations of the -

Don Quixote... Please.

Isn't it about time you woke up from your delusions? I've had enough of your ramblings about 'justice'. Your 'villains'.

I...!

Y-you know what? Nevermind. It's like I'm talking to a brick wall. You're not going to listen to me anyway. It's so frustrating to have to sit here and just...

This shabbiness is... why we can't get anything done in time...

By now, we should've been talking to the LCCB Agent, getting the intel we need...!

Ishmael's eyes darted around with wrath, impatience, and anxiety.

A metaphorical storm, an amalgamation of senses.

......

She was billowing wildly and helplessly in the tempest. I could not even hope to hold her steady.

Y-ye have brought this on yerself...!

This is our waters! Do ye even know what Syndicate ye dogs just...!

Yeah. If we're doing this... Then let's get it over with.