アキラ達は夜明け前にミハゾノ街遺跡に到着した。ハンターオフィスの出張所に近い場所に多数の車両が
停
「一応言っておく。遺物収集に来たのなら、今日はお勧めしない」
「知ってるし、見れば分かるよ」
アキラはミハゾノ街遺跡の方向を見ながら答えた。
遺跡からは戦闘音が断続的に響いている。至る所から噴煙が上がっている。闇に沈む遺跡を炎が照らし続けている。ミハゾノ街遺跡は昨日とはまるで別物の姿をアキラに見せていた。
警備員はそう言い残して去っていった。
キャロルがアキラに尋ねる。
「それで、これからどうするの?」
「エレナさん達と合流する。問題はどうやって合流するかなんだよな......。遺跡の中を闇雲に探すわけにもいかないし」
『アルファ。ミハゾノ街遺跡まで来たけれど、結局エレナさん達との連絡は駄目なのか?』
アルファが首を横に振る。
このままこの場でエレナさん達と連絡が着くのを待っていても無駄になる可能性がある。アキラは少し悩んだ後、キャロルに尋ねてみる。
「キャロル。この遺跡のどこかにいるハンターを探す必要がある場合、キャロルならどうする?」
「探すってことは、連絡は着かないのね?」
「居場所の見当も付かないの?」
「残念ながら」
「待ち合わせの場所とか決めていないの?」
「それを決める前に連絡が着かなくなったんだ」
キャロルが軽い落胆の視線をアキラに向ける。
「......アキラって、実は結構行き当たりばったりで、思いつきで後先を考えずに行動するタイプ?」
「............はい」
れながら少し小さな声で答えた。アルファはアキラの横で笑いを堪えていた。
少々アキラの実力を高く見積もりすぎていたかもしれない。キャロルはそう判断して少しがっかりした表情でアキラを見ていたが、気を取り直してアキラの質問に答えるために考え始める。アキラの案内役として雇われているのだ。その仕事はするべきだろう。
「相手を探す方法だったわね。お互いを識別できる何か、例えばお互いの情報端末の識別コードを把握済みなら、ローカル通信の強度を限界まで上げて相手に気付いてもらう手があるわ。相手がこっちに気付いたら、相手にも一瞬だけ通信強度を上げてもらえば連絡が取れるわ。ただし、遺跡を
アキラはそこで想像を打ち切った。
「その方法は危ないから止めておこう」
キャロルが次の提案をする。
「それなら遺跡の中を地道に探すか、ハンターオフィスの出張所の近くで待つしかないわね。エレナ達が帰還困難者の救出依頼を引き受けているのなら、救出後に出張所の近くまで輸送ぐらいはするでしょう」
アキラがどちらにするか悩んでいると、アルファが出張所の方を指差す。
『アキラ。あれを見て』
アキラがその方向を見ると、どこかで見たことがある車両が見えた。シカラベ達が賞金首を討伐した時に使用していた装甲兵員輸送車だ。
アキラには同系統の車両としか認識できないが、アルファには間違いなくシカラベ達が使用していた車両であることが分かった。
『あれはシカラベが使っていた車両よ。運転しているのもシカラベなら、連絡を取ってみたら? エレナ達について何か知っているかもしれないわ』
アキラは情報端末を操作してシカラベにローカル通信で連絡を取ってみる。すぐにシカラベと
「ああ。ハンターオフィスの出張所に近い遺跡の外れにいる。エレナさん達と連絡を取りたいんだけどつながらないんだ。エレナさん達の居場所とか知らないか?」
シカラベが
いだ情報端末からエレナの声が聞こえてくる。
「エレナよ。取りあえずそっちの状況を教えてもらえる?」
アキラはエレナに自分達の状況を説明した。アキラ達の現在地。キャロルを雇ったこと。エレナ達に連絡を取ろうとしたこと。一応エレナ達にメッセージを送ったことも説明した。
「......ちょっと待ってね。......ああ、届いてるわ。そうか。こっちの回線だと優先順の変更に巻き込まれるのか。えっと、私達と合流するってことで良いのね?」
「はい。お願いします」
「分かったわ。それならシカラベと一緒にこっちに来て。私達はシカラベと組んでいるの。シカラベに付いていけば合流できるわ。詳しい話は合流してからにしましょう。待ってるわ」
情報端末からの声がシカラベに切り替わる。
「アキラ。合流するならこっちに来て負傷者を運ぶのを手伝え。出張所の近くに停車している装甲兵員輸送車だ。そっちからこっちの場所は分かるか?」
「大丈夫だ。すぐに行く」
アキラはすぐに車を移動させた。
装甲兵員輸送車はハンターオフィスの出張所の近くに停車している。後部の扉が開き、負傷したハンター達が降りてくる。
シカラベが死体袋に入っているハンターを運んでいる。死体袋の頭部の部分が閉められておらず頭部が外に出ている。顔の血色は既に死体と何ら変わらない。
シカラベは装甲兵員輸送車の近くに車を
「来たか。お前も奥の負傷者を運んでくれ。自力で歩けるやつは自分で歩かせろ」
アキラが装甲兵員輸送車の奥を見る。同じように中身の頭部だけ外に出ている死体袋が数名分転がっている。死体袋の一部がへこんでいる者は、その部位が存在しないのだろう。
アキラがシカラベに尋ねる。
「......負傷者か。取りあえず自力で動けないやつを運べば良いんだな?」
「ああ。死亡したかどうかの判断は医者に任せておけ。緊急時の仮死処理機能を事前に埋め込んでいるかどうかなんて俺達には分からん。医者が確認するまでは負傷者だ」
アキラはクズスハラ街遺跡の診療所で見た光景を思い出した。アキラの治療をしたヤツバヤシという医者は、生身で下半身の無いハンターを重傷者として扱っていた。
あんな状態でも助かる可能性があるのだ。自分のような素人が判断することではないのだろう。アキラはそう判断して負傷者を運び出すために装甲兵員輸送車の奥に向かった。
アキラに続いてキャロルも装甲兵員輸送車の奥に向かおうとする。キャロルの姿に気付いたシカラベが驚きの声を上げる。
キャロルが楽しげな笑顔をシカラベに向ける。
「げぇっとは、随分な反応じゃない。久しぶりね」
「そ、そうだな。......何でお前がここにいるんだ?」
「アキラに雇われたからよ。ぼさっとしてないで早く運んだら?」
キャロルはそれだけ言ってアキラの後に続いた。シカラベが装甲兵員輸送車の奥に向かうキャロルを目で追った。
「何でアキラがあいつを雇ってるんだ?」
シカラベは疑問を抱きながらも負傷者の運搬に戻った。
アキラ達はハンターオフィスの出張所の職員に残りの負傷者を引き渡した。生存者が何名なのかは、アキラが気にすることではないだろう。既に死者であっても、ハンターオフィスに引き渡せばそれなりの扱いを受けるはずだ。死体のまま遺跡に放置されるよりは良い扱いだろう。
シカラベが装甲兵員輸送車の後部ドアを閉める。そして何か言いたそうな目でアキラを見る。非難や嫌悪の類いの視線ではない。かといって、アキラがキャロルを連れてきたことを歓迎する視線でもない。扱いの難しい人物に対する視線に近い。アキラは気が付かなかったが、シカラベの視線にはアキラに対する同情に近い感情も込められていた。
アキラはシカラベの態度を見て少し不思議に思い、キャロルに尋ねる。
「キャロル。シカラベと知り合いか?」
「そうよ。まあ、いろいろね」
2人が知り合いであることぐらいはアキラでも分かる。シカラベのキャロルに対する態度などの理由を
伝わらなかったのか、話したくないのか、どうでも良いのか、キャロルの返事は知り合いだと認める短い返事で終わった。
アキラが視線をシカラベの方に移す。シカラベから何らかの説明を求める視線だった。
しかしシカラベもまたアキラの求める理由を話そうとはしなかった。
「すぐに出発する。アキラ達は俺の後に付いてきてくれ」
シカラベは微妙な表情のままそれだけ言うと運転席に向かった。
アキラは自分の車の運転席に座り、横目でキャロルの様子を確認する。キャロルから機嫌を悪くしたような雰囲気は感じられない。どちらかと言えば、この状況を面白がっている雰囲気が感じられる。
取りあえずアキラはエレナ達と合流するために先導するシカラベの後を追った。
アキラ達がミハゾノ街遺跡を進んでいく。道には機械系モンスターの残骸が散らばっている。ミハゾノ街遺跡に生物系モンスターは少ない。血痕は全てハンター達のものだろう。ハンターの死体も転がっている。機械系モンスターか、ハンターが運転する車両か、そのどちらかに、あるいは両方に踏み潰されており、死因はもう分からない。
アキラ達が先に進むにつれて、遺跡に戦闘の痕跡が目立ち始める。夜の闇が隠していてもこれなのだ。日が昇ればより
アルファがアキラに敵の接近を告げる。
『アキラ。後方からモンスターよ。遠距離攻撃可能な車輪付き。左右の路地から出てくるわ』
アキラがハンドルから手を放して車両の後部に向かう。車体からCWH対物突撃銃を取り外して後方に向けて構える。そこにモンスターの姿はない。
キャロルもアキラの動きを見て敵襲に備える。しかし後方を確認したキャロルには、目視でも情報収集機器の索敵でも敵は確認できなかった。車の索敵装置に反応があったのかと思い、制御装置の表示を確認するが、そこにもそれらしい反応はない。
キャロルがアキラに敵がいるのか尋ねようとする。
アキラがCWH対物突撃銃の引き金を引く。発砲音がキャロルの言葉を遮る。路地から飛び出してきた機械系モンスターが通路に出た瞬間に撃破された。胴体部分に徹甲弾の直撃を食らった機体が着弾の衝撃で吹き飛ばされ、半壊しながら通路を転がっていく。
『甲A24式か。アキラ。注意してね』
『言われるまでもないけれど、念を押す理由を聞いてもいいか?』
『敵の機体は完全な都市防衛用で、設計通りに製造されていて、十分に整備されているわ』
『それは今まで倒した機械系モンスター達とどれぐらい違うんだ?』
『前にアキラが必死になって倒したキャノンインセクトとあの甲A24式を比較すると、落書きだらけの設計図を基にして無理
『大違いじゃないか!』
『だから、注意して戦って。敵が比較的小型だからって、前に倒した敵と似ているからって、油断しないでね』
アキラが気を引き締め直して銃を構える。アキラの視界はアルファのサポートにより拡張済みだ。肉眼では見えない路地の奥にいる敵の姿もしっかり認識できる。敵が通路に飛び出てくるまでの残り時間や、攻撃するべき優先順位なども合わせて表示されている。
アキラが左右の通路から飛び出してくる甲A24式を、アルファの指示に従って次々と銃撃していく。一撃で最低でも戦闘力を失う程度には半壊、あるいは全壊し、通路の残骸達に加えていく。程なくして全ての機体がアキラ1人に撃破された。
アキラはキャロルが何か言っていたことを思い出して、銃を下ろすとキャロルの方に顔を向ける。
「何か言いかけていたけど、何だ?」
キャロルは内心の動揺を隠して笑ってアキラを褒める。
いのね。昨日は分からなかったわ」
アキラは昨日のセランタルビルの内部を埋め尽くす機械系モンスターの群れを思い出して嫌そうな表情を浮かべた。
キャロルは少し楽しそうに笑いながらアキラに尋ねる。
「その銃、ちょっと見せてもらっても良い?」
アキラはCWH対物突撃銃をキャロルに渡した。
キャロルは受け取った銃を確認する。表面上は軽い興味の目で見ているが、内心は非常に真剣な目で銃を確認していた。銃の製造コード、使用されている部品の種類、整備の状態などを念入りに確認する。
き込む。照準器に表示されているものは至って普通の情報だけだ。キャロルが驚くような情報はない。普通の銃。キャロルはそう判断した。
キャロルはCWH対物突撃銃を返すと、アキラに笑って尋ねてみる。
「ありがとう。良い銃ね。これがあれば私もアキラみたいに
「しっかり訓練すれば誰でもできるようになると思う」
訓練次第で自分でも可能になるのなら、恐らく誰でも同じだろう。アキラはそう考えて、深くは考えずにそう答えた。
キャロルが自然な感じで聞き返す。
「ああ。銃撃の反動を押さえられる強化服の着用が前提になるけどな。俺もそれを生身で撃てる気はしない。生身で撃ったら反動で腕を折りそうだ」
キャロルが少し自慢げに自分の強化服を指差す。
「それなら大丈夫よ。私の強化服は結構性能の高いやつだから」
キャロルは何でもないような表情を装いながら、アキラに対する考察を続けていた。
(あの銃は普通のCWH対物突撃銃。照準器は表示情報から判断すると情報収集機器と連動するタイプ。......自動照準機能はない。少なくとも振動する車体の上から移動体を狙撃して、しかも敵の出現とほぼ同時に一発必中させるほどの補助機能は付属していない)
東部で販売されている銃には、命中補正のために簡易的な自動照準機能が付属している商品も存在している。弾道を計算してその上に敵がいる場合に自動で引き金が引かれるもの。引き金が引かれても弾道の上に敵がいなければ弾丸が発射されないものなど様々だ。
キャロルはアキラの射撃の腕を、高度な自動照準機能によるものではないかと考えた。だがそれらしい機能は発見できなかった。強化服側の機能かもしれないが、恐らく違うと判断した。その手の機能は大抵銃側との連携が必要で、対応する改造部品が銃側にも組み込まれているからだ。
(そもそもアキラはどうやって敵に気付いたの? 恐らく運転席から移動する前にアキラは敵の存在に気付いていた。私の情報収集機器の索敵能力もかなり高性能なのに、私はアキラが銃を構えてもまだ敵の位置を把握できなかった。路地から飛び出てきたのが機械系モンスターではなく、バイクに乗ったハンターとかだったらどうするつもりだったの? それすら確認済みだったの? 遠距離攻撃持ちだから素早く撃破する必要がある機械系モンスター達だと分かっていたの? いつから分かっていたの? ......もしかして、初めから?)
ハンターにとって索敵能力は重要な技能だ。敵の存在に
な才能、苦労して手に入れた技術、所持している高性能な装備などを自慢する者は多い。訓練の苦労話や装備の性能等を誰かに話すのは楽しいからだ。キャロルはそういう相手の自尊心を刺激しながら詳しい情報を引き出すことを得意にしていた。
アキラにそのような傾向があれば、キャロルはアキラの索敵能力についていろいろ聞きだそうとしただろう。しかしアキラにそれらしい様子はない。装備の性能を、自分の実力を、誰かに話して誇示したい。その類いの態度をアキラから全く感じられなかった。
い程度の話ならば、アキラの機嫌を取りながら話を聞き出せば良い。しかし異常となると話は別だ。その異常な域に達している能力を持つ相手が、その原理や手段を聞きだそうとする人間に対してどのような態度を取るか、正確に見極める必要がある。それを知られてしまった者が、知った者を口封じに殺そうとすることは十分あり得るからだ。
相手と秘密を共有できるほど親しい仲になる。又は聞き出しても問題のない状況で聞き出す。キャロルは相手が男性であればそのどちらの手段にも自信が有った。
キャロルには相手を籠絡する技術と経験がある。キャロルはお互い全裸で武器もない状態ならば相手を問題なく撃退できる自信が有る。相手が生身を装った義体者や身体強化拡張者であっても、一度抱かれさえすればキャロルにはそれを見抜く自信が有る。
キャロルは
(......つまりアキラにはその手段は使えないってことなのよね。アキラがまだ子供とはいえ、女性に興味がない年齢には見えないのだけど)
キャロルは横目でアキラを見る。今のアキラからは、昨日輸送機から外の景色を輝く目で見ていた時や楽しげに食事を取る時の、有り触れた子供の雰囲気は感じられない。アキラからは一定の実力を持つハンターの雰囲気が感じられる。大人びていると言っても良い。
(肝心な箇所が大人びていないと困るわ。色気より食い気の
も疑っていない。それだけの自負と実績があるからだ。だからこそ、その自分にまるで反応を示さないアキラの態度は、キャロルの自負を少し傷つけていた。
「アキラはどういう女性が好みなの?」
「何でそんなことを聞くんだ?」
「私が誘ってもアキラが無反応だからよ。普通なら、私が誘えば大抵のやつは誘いに乗るのよ?」
「誘いに乗りそうなやつだけを誘っているからじゃないか? 恋人がいるやつとかなら、誘いに乗らない可能性は高いはずだ」
「一応礼儀として、恋人がいる人は私から誘ったりはしないわ。向こうから誘ってきた場合は別だけどね。その結果、そのカップルが破局したとしても、私の所為ではないわ」
い実例があるんだから』
アルファは外見を幾らでも変更できる。そのアルファはアキラの
『強情ね。私の美貌や体型に希望や不満があるのなら、遠慮なく言ってちょうだい。幾らでも変えてあげるから』
アルファは楽しげに笑いながらそう答えた。
「......分からないって態度には見えないけど?」
「口にすると、それを聞いた似た容姿の誰かが調子に乗る可能性があるんだ」
「ああ、そういうこと。......ちゃんと黙っているから教えてくれない? これでも口は固い方よ?」
「そう。残念ね。口に出せない内容なのかしら。そうだとしても、アキラが一度私に手を出せば、多少の
Akira and Carol reached Mihazono ruin right before the sunrise . There were a lot of vehicles parked near the Hunter Office . Among the normal vehicles brought by the Hunters, there were some trailers owned by weapon merchants, portable clinics, and trailers used by Hunter gangs as their temporary base .
A traffic officer stopped Akira and said .
"I'll at least tell you this . If you're here to hunt for relics, you might want to pick another day . "
"I know . I can tell just by looking at it . "
Akira gazed at the Mihazono ruin when he said that .
The loud banging sounds of battles kept resounding endlessly from the Mihazono ruin . There were some places where smoke was rising into the sky . Flashes of lights illuminated the ruin that was veiled in darkness . The Mihazono ruin showed a completely different side compared to the one that Akira saw yesterday .
That officer then left Akira .
Carol suddenly asked Akira a question .
"So then, what are we going to do from here?"
"We'll meet up with Elena's team . The real problem is how exactly are we going to find them... It's not like we can just dive into the ruin looking for them without any clues . "
"Alpha, we're in Mihazono ruin now . So like, we still can't contact Elena-san?"
Alpha shook her head .
It might be a waste of time if they just waited for Elena and Sara without doing anything . After a bit of thinking, Akira then turned to Carol .
"Carol . If you were looking for a certain Hunter inside this ruin, where would you go?"
"Look for them? Can't you call them or something?"
"Do you have any clues where they might be?"
"Sadly, no . "
"Have you decided where to meet beforehand?"
"I could not manage to contact them even before we made the decision . "
Carol looked at Akira with a slightly pitiful gaze .
"... . Akira, are you one of those people who tend to decide on a whim and move first, and then think later?"
"...Yes . "
Akira replied back with a feeble voice, he sounded a bit ashamed after Carol pointed that out . Alpha, who was next to him, tried her best to hold back her laughter .
Carol looked a bit disappointed as she looked at Akira, she thought that she might have overestimated his strength . But she then decided to just forget about it and started to think for an answer to his question . She was hired as a guide by Akira, so she thought that she should at least do her job properly .
"Looking for other Hunters, huh? Do you have anything that can uniquely identify both of your positions? For example, if both of you know each other's information terminal's identification code, you can set the local connection to the maximum hoping you can find each other . And if the other Hunter notices you, then, he can also set the local connection to the maximum and make a call with your information terminal . But, there's a good chance that the mechanical monsters roaming around this ruin would notice your location if you do that though . And since you'll need to set your information terminal to constantly broadcast signals, it'll be pretty dangerous . "
Akira then cut his imagination there .
"That would be too dangerous so, let's not do that . "
Carol then made another suggestion .
"In that case, your only choice will be either diving into the ruin and looking for them or wait for them near the Hunter Office branch . If they are taking that emergency SOS request, I'm sure they'll be back here after rescuing some Hunters . "
As Akira was still thinking about which option to take, Alpha suddenly pointed her finger toward the parking lot near the Hunter Office branch .
"Akira, look over there . "
When Akira looked toward the direction that Alpha pointed, he saw a vehicle that looked somehow familiar to him . It was the APC that Shikarabe used when they were hunting for bounty monsters .
Akira thought that it was the same APC model owned by other Hunters . But Alpha knew for a fact that it was Shikarabe's APC .
"That's Shikarabe's APC . If Shikarabe is inside it, how about you try contacting him? He might be able to help you find Elena and Sara . "
Akira pulled out his information terminal and called Shikarabe through the local connection . The call almost immediately got through .
"Yeah . I'm just outside the parking lot near the Hunter Office branch . I want to contact Elena-san and Sara-san but I can't get any connection at all . Do you know where they might be?"
Shikarabe sounded exasperated as he said .
After Akira waited for a bit, Elena's voice suddenly came out from his information terminal that was connected to Shikarabe .
"It's Elena . Can you tell me where you are now?"
Akira then explained where he was to Elena . He then told her that he hired Carol, the fact that he tried to contact her but couldn't, and that he had sent a message to her .
"...Wait for a sec there... Ahh, yep, I got your message . I see, it seems that the signal priority change also affected the connection line that I'm using, huh . So, basically, you want to meet up with us first, right?"
"Yes, please . "
"Alright then . In that case, come here together with Shikarabe . We're actually working in a team with Shikarabe right now . If you follow him, you'll be able to meet up with us . We can talk in more detail later after we group up . We'll be waiting for you . "
Shikarabe's voice suddenly interjected .
"Akira . If you're going to follow me, come and help me carry the wounded Hunters . I'm parking my APC in the parking lot near the Hunter Office . You already know my location, right?"
"Yep, no problem . Will be there in a sec . "
Akira then turned his vehicle back on and drove off .
Shikarabe's APC was parked in the parking lot near the Hunter Office . The backdoor of the APC suddenly opened up and wounded Hunters came out from the inside of that APC .
Shikarabe could be seen carrying out corpse bags filled with dead Hunters . The corpse bags were not closed completely as it let the face of the Hunter inside exposed . The faces peeking out from the corpse bags clearly showed that no life remained in them .
When Shikarabe saw Akira's vehicle approaching the APC, he then pointed toward the inside of the APC .
"You're finally here . Help me carry out the wounded too . There's no need to help those who can still walk on their own . "
Akira stepped inside the APC and looked around, there were numerous corpse-filled bags exposing the 'deceased' face . Meanwhile, some in the corner, which were folded, empty .
Akira then asked Shikarabe a question .
"...Fatally wounded Hunters, huh . For now, I just need to carry those who can't walk on their own, right?"
"Yeah, just leave it to the doctors to check if they're already dead or not . We don't know if any of them have suspended-state devices installed inside their body . So, just assume that they're all just fatally wounded until the doctors say otherwise . "
Akira remembered the scene of a clinic in the Kuzusuhara city that he visited in the past . That time, the doctor in that clinic, Yatsubayashi, treated even Hunters who had lost half of their body as only badly wounded .
If Hunters with such a level of injury could still be saved, there was no way an amateur like him could judge the wounded Hunters in the APC . Thus, Akira just thought all of those Hunters inside the corpse bags as only fatally wounded, and started carrying them out of the APC .
Carol, who was behind Akira, followed him inside the APC . When Shikarabe saw her, he suddenly shouted in surprise .
Carol smiled mischievously at Shikarabe .
"Geez, you don't need to be that mean, you know . Long time no see by the way . "
"W-well, right... So, why are you here?"
"Akira hired me . Don't just stand there, you have bags to carry, right?"
Carol then left Shikarabe and followed Akira . Shikarabe kept staring at Carol as she walked toward his APC .
"Why in the world would Akira hire that woman?"
Shikarabe was still a little bit bothered by that as he returned back to his job carrying the corpse bags .
Akira and Shikarabe then handed over the fatally wounded Hunters to the Hunter Office, they had no reason to worry about how many of those Hunters were still alive . Even if some of them were already dead, the Hunter Office would handle them appropriately . One thing for sure, the Hunter Office would handle them better than just leaving them inside the ruin .
Shikarabe then closed the back door of his APC and looked at Akira with a gaze saying that he wanted to say something to Akira . It was not like it was a gaze of hatred or anything, but it was undeniable that he did not appreciate the fact that Akira brought Carol together with him . His gaze was saying that he honestly did not know what to do about the current situation . Although Akira did not notice it, there was also a trace of pity in Shikarabe's gaze .
Akira looked at Shikarabe and tilted his head in confusion, he then asked Carol .
"Carol, you know him?"
"Yep, well, a lot of things happened between us . "
Akira at least understood that Carol and Shikarabe were acquaintances . In reality, Akira was actually trying to find a roundabout way to ask her the reason why Shikarabe looked at her with such a gaze .
But Carol only gave a short answer that only confirmed that they knew each other . Akira had no idea if she did not catch his real intention or that she just simply did not want to talk about it, or it was simply that she did not care about it .
Akira then shifted his gaze to Shikarabe, his gaze was asking for an explanation from Shikarabe .
But Shikarabe did not answer that gaze as he said .
"Let's go then, just follow me . "
Shikarabe still looked a bit bothered as he returned to the driver seat .
Akira returned back to his vehicle and sat on the driver seat, he then glanced at Carol to check her reaction . It did not seem like he did something that worsened her mood . As in matter of fact, it looked like she was a bit amused by the situation .
Akira prioritized grouping up with Elena for now, as he just shelved that subject and followed Shikarabe from behind .
Akira, Shikarabe, and Carol went inside Mihazono ruin . There were countless wreckages of dead mechanical monsters scattered around . There were almost no biological monsters inside the Mihazono ruin, so all the blood splatters should be from the Hunters . After all, other than those monsters, there were also Hunter corpses scattered here and there . But those corpses were already crushed into an unrecognizable mush, the monsters might have trampled over them, or it might be because of the Hunters who drove over them .
The further they proceeded into the ruin, the more prominent the leftover of fights surrounded them . They were pretty standing out although it was still dark . It would have given a more solemn scene once the sun was up .
Alpha then told Akira that there was a monster approaching .
"Akira, there's a monster from behind . It's a vehicle with a long-range rifle, they came from the alleys . "
Akira let go of the wheel and moved to the backside of his vehicle . He then took off the CWH anti-material rifle fixed on his vehicle and aimed it to the back . There were no monsters visible .
Carol saw Akira move to the back and aim his rifle . But she could not see any monsters in that direction and her information-gathering device did not pick up any signal from that direction either . She thought that it might be because the vehicle's information gathering device caught something, but when she checked it, it also did not show such a signal .
So Carol decided to ask Akira if he detected any monsters .
Akira suddenly pulled the trigger . Gunshot echoed through the ruin and cut Carol's question short, the bullet from the muzzle flew straight and hit a monster that just came out from behind an alley . It pierced through the monster's torso and threw its body into the air . It then landed and rolled over on the ground with half of its body destroyed .
"A24 type, huh . Akira, be careful . "
"You don't even need to tell me, but is it okay if I ask you why did you warn me?"
"That monster is designed as a city guard, it's built exactly as the blueprint . Thus, it's a well-equipped monster . "
"How much is it different to the other mechanical monsters that I faced until now?"
"If you compare it to those cannon insects that you fought in the past, those cannon insects are like failed product made by putting a big cannon on a faulty blueprint while the A24 type is a well designed and well-equipped monster . "
"That's a huge difference . "
"That's why, keep your guard up . Don't put your guard down just because its size is relatively small or because it looks like the other monsters that you've fought before . "
Akira decided to be extra careful this time as he took another aim . His vision was enhanced by Alpha's support, thanks to that, he was able to clearly see and aim at the monsters that were hiding in the alleys just with his naked eyes . It even showed the time left until those monsters jumped out from the alleys and the points that he should aim at .
Akira followed Alpha's instruction and shot down the A24-type that appeared from the alleys one by one . He was able to deal enough damage to render them unable to fight by leaving them half-destroyed or even completely destroyed in one shot . Thus, adding more wreckages on the road . It did not take that long for Akira to take care of all the monsters there alone .
Akira then remembered that Carol was about to say something back then . So he lowered his rifle and turned to her .
"Sorry, what were you saying again?"
Carol smiled, she was hiding the shock inside her heart as she praised Akira .
"It's nothing . You're really good at shooting . I didn't know you're that good from yesterday . "
Akira remembered when he was trapped inside a Seranthal building as it was getting flooded by monsters, his face twitched a bit when he remembered that .
Carol smiled amusedly and asked Akira a question .
"That rifle, can I take a look at it?"
Akira then handed over his rifle to Carol .
Carol checked the rifle that she just received . From the outside, it looked like she was just lightly checking out that rifle, but deep inside, she was actually closely checking that rifle including its production code, its parts, and its condition .
Carol then aimed Akira's CWH anti-material rifle to the back . When she gazed through the aiming device, she could see nothing but the usual information from a normal aiming device . There was nothing in particular that surprised her, she confirmed that it was just a normal rifle .
Carol then handed it back to Akira, she smiled at him and said .
"Thank you, that's a pretty good rifle . I wonder if I can aim as good as you as long as I use this rifle . "
"I think anyone would be able to do that with enough training . "
Akira did not really think it through when he said that . He only thought that if he would be able to do that with enough training, then everyone should be able to do that with enough training too .
Carol then casually replied .
"Yes, but of course it's assuming that you use an augmented suit that would help you suppress the kickback . Even I too have no plans to use this rifle without an augmented suit . I'm pretty sure that my hand would get ripped off if I do that . "
Carol then smugly pointed at her augmented suit .
"If that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about . Look here, my augmented suit is actually a pretty advanced one after all . "
Carol pretended to look casual as she kept observing Akira .
[That CWH anti-material rifle, is a normal rifle, and judging by the information shown in its aiming device, its aiming device works in tandem with his information-gathering device... It has no auto-aim function . Or at least, it's true that it has no support function that would allow him to normally hit all of his shots at the same time those monsters show themselves from behind the alley even when he is shooting from above a moving vehicle . ]
There were some rifles sold in the eastern district equipped with auto-aim function to help with aiming . Some of them could automatically move when the user pulled the trigger, to ensure that the trajectory of the bullet would hit the target . Or, they would not allow the user to shoot a bullet even if they pulled the trigger when the calculated trajectory of the target will not hit a monster .
Carol thought that Akira's accurate sniping was due to the auto-aim function of his rifle . But it did not seem to be the case . It might as well be due to the feature installed in his augmented suit, but Carol judged that it was also unlikely since such a feature usually relied a lot on the feature installed on the rifle and she should be able to find such a device installed on that rifle if that was the case .
[In the first place, how did Akira detect those monsters? I bet he already noticed the monsters even before he let go of the wheel . Although I have a pretty good information-gathering device, I didn't get any signals at all even when he started taking aim . What would he do if the one jumping out from the alleys were not monsters and instead Hunters on bikes? Or did he know for sure that they were monsters? Did he notice that they were monsters with long-range weapons, that's why he decided that he needed to take them out as soon as possible? Since when did he know that...? Was it right from the start?]
Detecting enemies was a crucial skill for Hunters . If they could discover and ascertain enemies' positions quickly, they would be able to evade having to fight them, and even if they decided to fight those monsters, that would give them the upper hand .
There were many Hunters who would boast about their talent, or skills that they acquired after working hard, or their advanced rifle . After all, it made them feel good talking about their hard work or their advanced equipment with other people . Carol was actually an expert in coaxing those kinds of people into leaking information .
If Akira was one of those people, Carol might be able to harvest information from him . But Akira did not show such a sign at all . It did not seem like he wanted to boast about his equipment or his skill at all .
If it was only amazing, she could just use that to praise and coax Akira into telling her any valuable information that he had . But that was not the case when it was more than amazing . In that case, she needed to make sure how he would react to other people who tried to dig for the secrets behind such an ability first . After all, there were people who would go as far as to kill the other people who knew their secret to make sure that it would not leak .
If that person was a man, Carol could wait until they were close enough before asking for such information, or she could wait for a situation where she could casually ask that question without any risks . Of course, she would use her side-job to help her do that .
Carol had the skill and experience to cajole someone . She was confident that she could fight them back in a situation where both of them were naked and unarmed . No matter whether they were a cyborg or a person with enhanced bodies, Carol was confident she could accurately judge their strength after sleeping with them at least once .
Carol then sighed .
[...So basically, I can't use that method on Akira... Although it's true that he's still just a boy, strangely enough, he has less interest in women compared to the other boys of his age . ]
Carol glanced at Akira . The current Akira did not show any childish vibe of a young boy that he showed yesterday when he was watching the scene outside with sparkling eyes from inside a flying drone . It could even be said that he gave off the intimidating aura of a skilled Hunter, he even looked somehow more mature .
[Well, it would be troublesome if he won't grow more mature in the more important aspects . Although, honestly, he doesn't seem to be that young to be more interested in food rather than in women . I wonder if it's because he's only interested in a certain type of women . ]
Carol did not doubt her charm at all . After all, she was really proud of it and she had used that charm on a lot of people in the past . But that was exactly why her pride was hurt when Akira showed almost no reaction at all when she tried to use her charm on him .
"Akira, what kind of girl do you like?"
"What's with that sudden question?"
"It's because it seemed you're not interested at all when I invited you . Normally, that won't happen to most of the people that I Invite, you know?"
"Isn't that because you only invite those people who seem to be likely to accept your invitation? I'm sure those people with girlfriend won't readily take on your invitation . "
"Well, for the sake of common sense, I won't try inviting people with girlfriends though . But of course, it's a different story if they invite me first . Because of that, I won't take responsibility if they break up with their girlfriend . "
"But you should, right? After all, you have a perfect example here . "
Alpha could freely change her appearance, and so she chose to match her appearance with Akira's preference . So in short, her current outlook was the mirror image of his taste . Akira knew that very well as he replied .
"You're pretty stubborn, aren't you? If you have anything to complain about my appearance, there's no need to hold back, you can just tell me . I can change my appearance as much as you want, you know . "
Alpha smiled mischievously .
"...You don't seem to genuinely have no idea at all though?"
"Well, that's because I feel like a certain someone would try to match it if I say it here . "
"Ahhh, I see... You won't tell me because you don't want to, huh? But just so you know, I'm someone who can keep a secret . "
"I see, that's just too bad . I wonder if it's because it's something that you can't say out loud . But if that's the case, I can help you overwrite it if you would take my invitation even if it's only once, you know . I would recommend you do that if you have a rather peculiar fetish . "
Rebuild World (WN)
リビルドワールド
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/rebuild-world/
Action Adventure Drama Harem Mecha Mystery Sci-fi Seinen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alternate World Anti-social Protagonist Apocalypse Artificial Intelligence Beautiful Female Lead Cautious Protagonist Child Protagonist Dense Protagonist Determined Protagonist Distrustful Protagonist Futuristic Setting Gangs Gunfighters Harsh Training Lack of Common Sense Male Protagonist Manipulative Characters Monsters Near-Death Experience Older Love Interests Poor Protagonist Poor to Rich Ruthless Protagonist Shota Sudden Strength Gain Survival Twisted Personality Unlucky Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9736dt/
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