アキラ達がいる場所から更に東の荒野で、タツカワという男が情報端末で連絡を取っている。エリアE1173の間引きを担当していたハンターで、その部隊の隊長でもある。
「......では、こちらからの部隊派遣は不要なんですね。了解です。......いえ、......はい。御迷惑をお掛けしました。......いえいえ、こちらの不手際ですから。お気遣い無く。では」
通話を切ったタツカワが顔を
タツカワの相棒で補佐役でもあるメルシアという女性が嫌そうな顔を浮かべる。
「えー。今更? ちょうど部隊派遣の準備とかが終わったところなんだけど」
「派遣しても目標がもういねえんだよ。エリアE1168の間引き担当が倒したそうだ」
メルシアがタツカワに近付きながら
「その辺は確かクガマヤマ都市の受け持ち範囲でしょう? あの辺のハンターがオクパロスを倒せるとは思えないんだけど」
「あの都市はクズスハラ街遺跡の件で別の地域から高ランクのハンターを好条件で募集しているからな。俺もキバヤシに呼ばれている。多分その手のハンターがクガマヤマ都市の受け持ち範囲に割り当てられていたんだろう」
「考え中だ。......今はそんなのはどうでも良い! 良いから! すぐに! 派遣部隊の人員を
「はいはい」
メルシアはすぐに部下達に連絡してその旨を伝えた。部下達からもぼやきが出ていたが、そこはメルシアの人心掌握の手腕に加え、タツカワの機嫌の悪さを伝えることで黙らせた。
「言っとくけど、捜索人数を少々増やした程度じゃ効率は大して変わらないわ。だから多分見付からないと思うわよ?」
「......それでもやらねえよりはましだろう。別に見付からなかったとしても怒りはしねえよ」
ちを自覚してそれを抑えるように、タツカワが大きく息を吐く。
「それで、連中の情報は? 調べたんだろう?」
「何でクズスハラ街遺跡が絡むんだ?」
「あそこには話の分かる統治系管理人格がいるんでしょう? 今はクガマヤマ都市が独占しているけど、他の都市だって接触していろいろ交渉したいはず。でも途中の経路はクガマヤマ都市の部隊が完全に封鎖しているから人を送るのも難しい。その封鎖地帯に強力なモンスターを送って騒ぎを起こして、そのどさくさに紛れて交渉用の人員を送り込む、とか? 他の都市の縄張りの遺跡にモンスターを送り込むなんて、露見したら都市間抗争の引き金になるわ。だからちょっと小細工した、なんてね。どう?」
「えー。俺らの信用に関わることなんだ。チーム共通の財布で良いだろう」
「駄目。そっちの財布にそんな金は無いわ」
「じゃあ賞金額を2000万に下げる」
「手続きは私がやっておくけど、あんたの財布から出すことにかわりはないからね」
「そこは引けねえ」
「頑固ねー」
少し子供っぽくも見える相棒の態度を見て、メルシアは楽しげな苦笑を浮かべた。
アキラがオクパロスを倒したのは偶然だった。だがその原因までは偶然ではなかった。
エリオが拠点の食堂で固まっている。その視線の先には札束が積まれていた。総額300万オーラム。前回の間引き依頼の報酬だ。
間引き依頼の後処理は既に終わっている。アキラは既にヒカルから間引き依頼の基本報酬と討伐内容に応じた追加分を受け取っている。また他の者達が持ち帰った遺物も、全てシェリルの徒党が買い取る形で金に換わっている。この総額から全体の経費を引いた残りをアキラ、エレナ、サラ、シェリルで4等分していた。
次にシェリルは受け取った報酬の分配をヴィオラやコルベ、機領の営業などと調整した。そして自分達の取り分の大半を徒党の経費に割り当てた。今は商品モニターとして借りている形になっている総合支援システムの購入費や、銃や強化服などの整備や追加など、金は幾らあっても足りない。その
えているエリオの隣にアリシアが座る。アリシアは事務方の幹部として大金を扱う機会も多い。既に札束への耐性を身に付けており、慌てふためくエリオとは対照的な落ち着いた様子を見せていた。
エリオが札束とアリシアに視線を
「ア、アリシア。何か欲しい物とか、ある?」
エリオは恋人の予想外の返答に驚き、少し落ち着いた後で
「これを全部使っても、あの回復薬を3箱買えば無くなるのよね」
「そ、それはそうだけどさ......、大金には違いないだろう? 少なくとも俺達には大金だ」
エリオはそう答えながらも、自分の中で300万オーラムの価値がガクッと下がったことを自覚していた。テーブルに積まれた札束を視界に入れても、もう先ほどのような
アリシアはエリオの様子から恋人の金銭感覚が自分の意図通りに変わったことを確認した後、相手をじっと見詰めて続ける。
「うん。大金。でもエリオが命を賭けるほどのお金じゃないと思うの。アキラさんの依頼に参加すればまた同じ額が手に入るからって、この程度のお金の
「それもそうだな。まあ、警備の時はあの強化服を着てるから大丈夫だと思うけど」
「私用の時は使えないわ。徒党の備品だからね。勝手に使うと、下手をすると徒党から追い出される。カツラギさんから自前の装備を買ってもいいし、強化服を含めた装備のレンタル代にしてもいいわ。徒党に投資するって手もあるわ。ボスの覚えも良くなるし、投資した代わりに装備を常に借りられないか、私がボスと交渉しても良いわ。投資額が足りないって言われたら、私からも少し出して何とか頼んでみるから」
「うーん。確かにそれも良いな。どうするか......」
自分の話を前向きに検討し始めたエリオを見て、アリシアは内心でいろいろな意味で
アキラは1週間間隔でエレナ達と一緒にモンスターの間引きに行く生活を送っていた。アキラ自身は大きな負傷でもなければ毎日実施しても良かった。だがシズカの店を通して弾薬類を調達すると、今のアキラに必要な品を取り寄せるには全額前金でもそれなりに時間が掛かる。加えてエレナ達の疲労や、装備の整備時間などの都合もあって、間隔をそれ以上縮めるのは無理だった。
アキラは暇さえあれば荒野に出ようとしかねない。そう考えたシズカやエレナ達がそれらを口実にアキラを止めている部分もあった。その
『アルファ。俺、やっぱり微妙に避けられてるよな?』
『ある程度は仕方ないわ。高い装備を見せびらかして歩いているようなものだからね』
アキラはCA31R強化服を着用して2
以前にも訪れた酒場に到着したアキラは、今日は店長から、ガキは帰れ、とは言われずにシカラベの待つ席まで案内された。店長はシカラベに視線だけで戻れと指示されて、すぐに戻っていった。
機嫌が悪いわけではない。だが陽気に酒を飲む雰囲気でもない。思い悩むような深刻さは感じられないが、何らかの選択を思案している。シカラベはそのような静かで複雑な雰囲気を出していた。
「来たか。俺の話で呼んでおいて悪いが、そっちは後回しだ。先にアラベとの話を済ませてくれ」
「お久しぶりです。どうぞ、お掛けになってください」
アキラは少し戸惑ったものの席に座った。シカラベはグラスを口に付けて、アキラを軽く観察するような目で見ている。
「酒は......お前は飲まないんだっけ? まあ、ノンアルも
えずアラベから話を聞く。そして概要を聞いて意外そうな顔を浮かべる。話を要約すると、ヒカルから受けている間引き依頼にドランカムも関わりたいという内容だった。
アラベも微妙な顔を浮かべているアキラを見て少し気まずそうに補足を入れる。
「いえ、ドランカムとしてもこの話はどうかと思うのですがね。上からというか、都市の方から
「そんな話は無かったと思う......、ちょっと待ってくださいね」
アキラはふと浮かんだ心当たりに連絡を取ってみた。ヒカルだ。すぐに
「ほら、前に間引き依頼の間隔の話をした時に、移動手段兼補助戦力要員とか弾薬類の補充とかがボトルネックになっていて、それが解消できるなら毎日でも実施したいって言っていたでしょう? 良い解決手段があれば良いなとかも、私に言っていたでしょう?」
「......そうだったっけ? 言ったような......、でも話の流れで何となく言っただけだったような......。別に何かを頼んだつもりは......」
「言ったわよ? まあ、その辺のニュアンスに食い違いはあったかもね。それはそれとして、だから解決できそうなところに声を掛けるように頼んでおいたの」
「ドランカムにも?」
「直接じゃないけどね。部下とか同僚とかに頼んだから、そこからの経路でドランカムにも声が掛かったのだと思う。あ、余計な
「変な誤解で嫌われていないのなら良かったわ。何かあったらいつでも連絡して。じゃあね」
アキラはヒカルとの話を終えると、アラベに軽く事情を説明した。
「......そういう訳で、別に都市側もドランカムに無理強いさせるつもりは無いようです。えっと、だからこの話は流れたってことで良いんですかね?」
「あー、正直に申しますと、ドランカムとしてはアキラさんの方に隔意が無いのでしたら、是非前向きに話を進めたいと思っております。大流通の輸送経路整備に関わる仕事は実りも多く、十分な
く悩んだ末にいろいろ面倒になったアキラは、もうヒカルの言葉に甘えることにした。再度ヒカルと連絡を取り、簡単な要望を伝えると、以降のドランカムとの交渉をヒカルに投げた。ヒカルは上機嫌で引き受けると、そのままアラベに連絡を取って交渉を引き継いだ。
アラベの交渉先がヒカルに切り替わったことで、アキラはアラベとの話は一応一区切り付いたと判断し、再度シカラベと向き合う。
「終わったって、まだ何も話してないだろう。呼ぶだけ呼んで何なんだよそれは。何の用だったんだ?」
付き合わせたんだ。話しておくか。何というか、勘の調整をしたかったんだ。いや、確認の方が近いか......」
「過程まで話すと少し長いが、呼び出した礼儀として話しておこう。興味があるなら聞け。嫌なら飯だけ食って帰れば良い」
アキラは少し不満そうにしながらも話を聞く態度を取った。シカラベはグラスに酒を追加して、一口飲んでから話し始めた。
若手ハンターに対する過剰な優遇は無くなった。その制度に反発して離脱したクロサワ達などがドランカムに再加入したおかげで、カツヤが実行するはずだった依頼の穴埋めなどは比較的対処できた。だがカツヤ個人を指定しての長期契約はどうしようもなく、ドランカム側の責任による一方的な契約破棄として大きな損害を生み出した。ヤナギサワからの支援も無くなり、ドランカムの経営状態はかなり悪化した。
「俺はあいつが大嫌いだった。いや、今も嫌いだが、前ほどじゃない。生意気でむかつくありふれたガキと同じぐらいに嫌いだってだけだ。何であいつをあんなに嫌っていたのか、今でも分からない。まあ、あいつの
「話を戻すか。つまり俺の勘は、あいつは
「それでだ。冷静になって、先入観を捨てて、もう一度お前を勘だけで判断して、それでもお前がそこらの凡百にしか見えないようなら、俺の勘はもうどうしようもないほど駄目になったと判断するしかない。そう思ってお前を呼んだわけだ。そしてその確認はもう済んだ。そういうことだ」
少し興味深そうなアキラに向けて、シカラベが少し意味深に笑う。
「それを教えてやるほど、お前と仲が良いとは思ってないな。まあ、俺の勘を役立たずとして切り捨てるのは
シカラベの半分ぐらいは答えを言っている返答に、アキラも軽く笑って返した。
シカラベは酒を飲みながら、アキラは料理を食べながら、
「それにしても、よくカツヤに勝てたな。いや、お前の実力を軽んじるわけじゃないんだが、カツヤは部隊でお前は1人だったんだろう? 戦力差を考えるとちょっと無理がある気がする。どうやって勝ったんだ? カツヤが余程のミスでもしたのか? それとも奇襲に成功でもしたのか?」
「......両方かな。詳しい経緯や説明は省くけど、あいつは最後に仲間を
「......そうか。最後まで調子に乗って仲間を死地に連れて行くようなやつだったが、それでもそれなりに筋は通したのか。まあ、あいつらしい死に方だな」
「前からそういうやつだったのか?」
「まあな。......今思えば、あいつは数名程度の部隊のリーダーで、率いている仲間をあいつの頑張りだけで救える程度の規模の部隊、その隊長の地位で満足しておくべきだったな。そうすれば死人も減っただろうに。まあ、より上の地位にあいつを押し上げたのはドランカムだ。そこを責めるのは酷か。あいつは昔から......」
酒場からの帰り道、アラベがふと気になったことをシカラベに尋ねる。
「なあ、そういえばお前の勘はアキラをどう評価したんだ?」
アラベは軽い気持ちで聞いていた。だがシカラベは表情を少し真面目なものに変える。
「そうだな。お前が変なことを考える前に言っておくか。イカレてる。それが今の俺のアキラへの評価だ」
「随分辛辣な評価だな。別に弱いって訳じゃないんだろう?」
「装備込みで評価すれば間違いなく俺より強い。装備が五分でも厳しい。だがその強さよりも、イカレてる部分が目に付くってことだ。イカレた才能を開花させるには、イカレた人格とイカレた行動が必要不可欠だ。キバヤシは知ってるな? アキラはあいつ好みの無理
軽く頭を抱えているシカラベを見て、アラベはアキラをドランカムに引き入れる考えを完全に捨てた。長年の付き合いでシカラベもそれに気付く。
「それで良いと思うぞ。あいつをドランカムに入れると、あいつの全賭けにドランカムまで付き合わされる恐れがある。
「......おい、他にもそんなことを考えているやつがいるのか?」
「そこそこな」
Further to the east from where Akira's team was, a guy by the name of Katsukawa was talking through his information terminal. He was the leader of the Hunter team that was responsible for area E1173.
"...In that case, we don't need to send our men, right? Very well, understood... No... Yes, I'm sorry to trouble you... No no no, it's our fault, so please don't be sorry. Thank you once again."
After he closed the call, he immediately made a stern face.
Melshia, who was Tatsukawa's partner as well as the vice-captain of the team, frowned.
"Eh? What gives? We're just about to go, you know?"
"The target for that hunt is no more. The team from area 1168 took care of it."
Melshia walked toward Tatsukawa and tilted her head.
"If I'm not mistaken, that area is handled by the Hunters from Kugamayama city, right? There's no way they can take care of that Okpalos."
"Well, they've been gathering high ranking Hunters with more rewards ever since that incident in Kuzusuhara ruin. Even I was called by Kibayashi. So, I bet one of those Hunters got assigned to that area."
"I'm still considering it... But that doesn't matter right now! Just get the men to look for those bastards!"
"Yeah yeah."
Melshia proceeded to convey that order to the rest of the team. Although they were complaining at first, Melshia, who was good with people, knew what they were thinking and told them that Tatsukawa was not in a good mood, thus shutting them up.
"Just to let you know, bringing a few extra people won't help much. I don't think we can find them, you know?"
"...It's still better than not even trying. It's not like I'm going to get angry at them if we get to find them."
In order to expel his horrendous mood, Katsukawa heaved a big sigh.
"So then, what do you know about them? I know you did some investigation beforehand, right?"
"Why would they do that?"
"The A.I in that ruin can communicate normally with humans, right? Although Kugamayama city is monopolizing that A.I, it must want to contact other cities as well. But with the soldiers from Kugamayama city surrounding the area, it's difficult to send people there. So maybe they're trying to open a hole in that blockade by sending powerful monsters there and to use that opening to sneak in? Normally, intentionally sending monsters to a ruin guarded by a city is the same as picking a fight with that city, that's why they're falsifying their background information to cover their tracks. It could be maybe something like that?"
"Ehhh, it's related to our reputation, so shouldn't that money be paid by the whole team?"
"No no no, we don't have that much money, you know?"
"Make it 2 billion each then."
"Alright, I'll take care of the administration, but it doesn't change the fact that you'll be the one paying, okay?"
"There's no compromise for this one."
"You and your hard head."
Melshia smiled wryly seeing that childish side of her partner.
It was due to pure coincidence that Akira shot down that Okpalos. But the reason why that happened was not because of pure coincidence.
Erio stood frozen in the cafeteria back in the base. There was a pile of money in front of him, 3 million Aurum in total. It was his payment after his last job.
The pruning job that he took last time was already done. Akira himself already went to take another pruning and extermination request from Hikaru. As for the relics that Erio and the other children brought back from the last request, they were all basically bought by Sheryl's gang and turned into money. After subtracting from the expense, the leftover was then divided equally among Akira, Elena, Sara, and Sheryl.
Then the money that Sheryl received was used to pay for Viola and Colbert's reward as well as to Kiryou. The remaining amount went to the gang's collective deposit. After all, they could never have enough funds stored up considering the price of the coordination-support system that was lent to them for monitoring as well as the augmented suits and other equipment. Because of that, the sum paid to Erio and the other children were actually relatively small.
Alicia sat down next to a flustered Erio. Alicia, who was one of the officers on the managerial side of the gang, had to deal with money on many occasions. Thanks to that, she had built up a level of resistance against something like this. In contrast to Erio who was greatly flustered, Alicia was sitting next to him, completely calm.
Erio kept looking around, alternating between the money in front of him and Alicia.
"...A-Alicia, is there anything you want?"
Erio did not expect that answer from his girlfriend and was taken aback a bit by it. After he managed to somehow calm down, he looked at Alicia once more with confusion still etched on his face. Alicia then whispered.
"Even if we use it to buy medicine, this much will only get us 3 boxes, right?"
"W-well, that might be true... But, it's still a huge amount of money, you know? At least that is the case for us."
After Erio said so, he could feel the worth of the 3 million Aurum in front of him drop. No matter how many times he looked at the pile in front of him, it would not shock him again the same way it did the first time.
Seeing that, Alicia knew that she had successfully changed Erio's view of money. She then stared at Erio and said.
"Yes, it is. But it's still not enough to endanger your life. So please don't think of joining Akira-san's job again just for this amount, okay? I know that you couldn't refuse because it was the boss' order, but please do your utmost effort to return alive. Not for money."
"You have a point. Well, I do think that it should be okay during my guard duty as long as I have that augmented suit on."
"We cannot use that augmented suit unless it's for gang-related work. It's the gang's augmented suit after all. They might kick you out if you use it without permission. I think you can use this amount to buy other equipment from Katsuragi or use it to get a rental augmented suit. You can also add it to the gang's collective budget. Boss will be happy to hear it and she might allow you to borrow some of the gang's equipment, I can put in some good words too if needed. I can also use my money too in case she says that the gang doesn't have enough budget."
"Hmmm, that's also a good idea, what should I do..."
Seeing that Erio was starting to think about how to use the sum he received, Alicia was relieved in many ways.
Akira placed a one week gap between each pruning job, which always take place with Elena and Sara. As long as Akira himself was not badly wounded, he actually had no problem doing it every day. However, afterwards, he had to replenish his supplies through Shizuka's shop. Although he did pay them upfront before he made the order, he still could not get all the supplies right away. Moreover, considering the time that Elena and Sara needed to recover from their fatigue, he could not afford to shorten the gap any further.
In reality, one of the reasons for the gap was because Shizuka, as well as Elena and Sara, thought that it was extremely likely that Akira would decide to go to the wasteland every time he had some free time. Thus, they were using those excuses to force Akira to take regular breaks. Even when Hikaru suggested shortening that time gap, Akira just ignored her pleas.
"Alpha, people are avoiding me, are they not?"
"Well, it can't be helped, you're basically flashing your expensive equipment out in public after all."
Akira was using his CA31R augmented suit and carrying 2 LEO multi rifles, it was understandable for people to take him as one of those Hunters who were originally from the east. Even if they did not understand the exact cost and value of Akira's equipment, they knew that what he had on, were on a completely different level compared to the common equipment in Kugamayama city. It was not a big mystery that Akira was a high-ranking Hunter based on his appearance alone.
Akira eventually reached his destination. It was the same bar that he visited the last time he had gone to meet Shikarabe. But this time, the master did not tell him to leave, instead, he took him to where Shikarabe was. Shikarabe then sent a glance to the master of the bar and he just left.
There was more than one person in the room Akira just entered. Those inside did not seem like they were in a bad mood, and they were not as rowdy as the others in the bar. It did not feel like they were in deep trouble as well. However, it was obvious that they had something preoccupying their minds. Shikarabe was exuding that kind of feeling.
"You're here, huh? I'm sorry for asking you to come here, we can talk later, so can you finish your talk with Arabe first?"
"Long time no see, please, take a seat."
Akira was a bit bewildered, but he still took a seat. Shikarabe took a sip of his glass and glanced at Akira.
"Do you want... Ah, right, you don't drink, right? Well, they have non-alcoholic drinks as well. We'll be the ones paying, so you can go ahead and pick anything you want. I know this is not the kind of place to request a meeting with a Rank 50 Hunter, but Drankam is not really doing well with money, you see. Due to that, unfortunately, we can't really invite you to the upper floors of the Kugama building, am I right, Arabe?"
Akira was a bit thrown-off by Shikarabe's unusual attitude, but as they agreed on, he first listened to Arabe's business with him. But after listening to the content, Akira was a bit surprised. Basically, Arabe was requesting to let Drankam join in the pruning job that Akira had been receiving from Hikaru.
Seeing Akira who was frowning at him, Arabe felt the awkward mood start to drift in, so he flusteredly added in an explanation.
"Ah, please don't misunderstand, Drankam itself finds this request a bit awkward. But it came from the higher up, or more like, it came from City Management so we can't really ignore it, you see. It's true that we have signed an official peace treaty, unfortunately, it doesn't mean that we can guarantee that there won't be any trouble... We thought that City Management had already informed you about this, but it does not seem to be the case."
"I this is the first time I heard about this thought... So, give me a second."
Akira quickly called the person that might know about this. Hikaru immediately picked up the call and after a short explanation of what was going on from Akira, Hikaru also replied saying that such a proposition did reach her as well.
"Back when we were talking about the gap between each request, you did say that you need someone else to handle the vehicle and wait for your supplies to arrive, and these two things become a bottleneck for you, remember? You also said that otherwise, you would have gone every day, right? And that was when you ask me if I have a solution for that, right?"
"...I did? I feel like I did, but... I feel like I just said it because I just wanted to complain. It was not like I was looking for a solution... Either way, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to actually ask for your help back then..."
"But you did say that, remember? Although, I might have received it differently than what you have intended. But putting that aside, because of that, I went around looking for something to help you out, you see."
"And that included Drankam too?"
"Not directly. I did ask the other staff, so someone with a connection to Drankam might have gone and asked them. Ah, I'm sorry if I'm troubling you instead. I have no wish at all to pressure you to accept it. So, if you think that it's too troublesome, please feel free to just reject it. Tell them that there's no penalty even if you don't take up their offer. And also, if it's too much work for you, you can just leave that to me if you want. I will happily do it for you."
"I'm glad to hear that. Please call me again if you need anything else."
After he finished that call, Akira gave a short explanation to Arabe about what he just heard from Hikaru.
"...So that's basically what happened, it seems that it's not like City Management is forcing Drankam to do it either. So, uhhh, can we just drop this subject?"
"Ahhh, I see. Honestly speaking, if you're not bothered by it, we from Drankam wish that you would accept our offer. The transport season brings in many jobs and all of them are good for building one's reputation. Of course, we promise that we'll be careful with the team composition."
After taking his time to consider his options, Akira decided to take on Hikaru's offer. He then recalled Hikaru, gave her a quick overview, and left the rest of the negotiation with Drankam to Hikaru. Hikaru happily accepted the job, she quickly called Arabe after that and completely took over the negotiation in place of Akira.
With Arabe's negotiation opponent being shifted to Hikaru, Akira decided that he had no more business with Arabe, so he moved on to Shikarabe.
"The heck? It's done? But I haven't said anything yet. You can't just say that when you're the one who called me here. So, what is it?"
"...Let's see. Well, you did come here, so I guess it's only fair if I tell you. What can I say... It's some kind of adjustment for my intuition, wait, no, it's more like a check for my intuition..."
"It would be a long story if I have to tell you everything, but I will tell you the bare minimum since you did come here after I called you. If you're interested, you're welcome to listen, but if you're not, feel free to finish your meal and leave anytime you want."
Akira frowned and took a posture saying that he was interested. Shikarabe took one big gulp of the newly filled beer cup before he started talking.
With the excessive prioritization toward the young Hunters gone, Kurosawa and the other veteran Hunters, who had left the gang because of that policy, returned to Drankam. It was all thanks to them that the gang was able to finish the other deals that should have been handled by Katsuya. Although they were able to fill in the hole that Katsuya's left, they still could not do anything about the long-term contracts involving Katsuya as an individual. Due to the violation of the contract from Drankam's side, Drankam had to pay a huge fine. With no more support from Yanagisawa, Drankam was quickly thrown into a financial crisis.
"I always hated his guts. No, I still hate him even now. Although it's not as bad as how the me from the past would have felt. I hate him just like how I hate the other brats that get too cocky. I still don't know, even now, why I hated him that much. Well, it might be actually just jealousy for his talent and that jealousy is now gone now that he is dead."
"I see, so, what is your intuition saying now?"
"And so, after I calmed down and threw away all my preconceptions. I once again asked my intuition, whether you're an amazing Hunter. If even after that, I still can't see you as an amazing Hunter, then it only means that my intuition is not to be trusted. That's why I called you here and I'm already done with that as well. So basically, that's all there is it."
To Akira who was asking while showing his honest interest in the answer, Shikarabe just smiled at him.
"We are not so close that I would just tell you that. Well, at least, I'll tell you that there's no need to completely throw it off the window for the time being."
Shikarabe's reply already served as half an answer, so Akira just slightly smiled at him.
They continued talking while Shikarabe was enjoying his beer and Akira, enjoying his meal. As the alcohol started to take effect on Shikarabe, he suddenly asked a rather rude question to Akira.
"But still, that's pretty impressive of you to kill Katsuya. Oh, it's not like I'm looking down on you. It's just that you were alone when you were facing Katsuya and his whole team, right? Considering the difference in fighting prowess, it should have been impossible, no? So how did you kill him? Did he make a mistake somewhere? Or did you catch him off-guard or something?"
"...Both, I guess. I'll omit the details, but in the end, he died protecting his teammate. That's why I won. If he had abandoned his teammate, I would have been the one dead."
"...I see, so in the end, he thought too highly of himself and brought his friends closer to death again, huh? But I guess he did hold on to his belief to the very end. Well, that's just like him to die like that."
"He was always like that?"
"Well, yeah... Now that I think about it, back then, when he was the leader of a small team, he remained like that. He should have continued to lead a small group of people that he could save with his hard work. That way, others would not have died. Well, it's Drankam who pushed him to lead a bigger team, so it would be wrong to blame him on that one, huh? He has always..."
On their way back, Arabe glanced at Shikarabe and threw a question to him.
"By the way, what is your intuition saying about Akira now?"
Arabe asked that question in a casual manner. But Shikarabe replied with a rather serious tone.
"Let's see. Before you think of anything weird, I'll tell you this first. He's crazy, that's what I think about him right now."
"That's rather harsh, but it's not like he's weak or anything, right?"
"Overall, including his equipment, there's no doubt he's stronger than me. And even if we're using the same equipment, it would still be a close fight. But rather than strength, his craziness sticks out more. In order for that crazy talent to bloom, it needs to be accompanied by someone crazy enough to do crazy things. You've heard about Kibayashi, right? I heard that Akira is just the kind Kibayashi loves. A reckless Hunter. So, basically, he gambles on his life on a daily basis and survives through all the risks he takes. There's no doubt that someone who has gone through all those things would become that strong. So, it just makes me wonder... Why did I only see him as a common Hunter in the past..."
Seeing Shikarabe starting to admonish himself, Arabe decided to stop his original plan of trying to recruit Akira to Drankam. Shikarabe, who had been close to Arabe for so many years noticed that.
"I think you've made a good choice there. If you got Akira into Drankam, I bet he would drag the whole gang to his crazy stunts. So just forget about it, he would never be able to replace Katsuya."
"...Whoah there, so there are others who consider that too?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
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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