る調子が良いんだ。1日休んだだけなのに、撃たれた前より調子が良い。ちょっと怖いぐらいだ」
アキラの体調は実際に非常に好調だ。
アキラは自身の体調を改めて自覚して不思議そうにしていた。するとアルファが何でもないことを教えるように話す。
『それは恐らく回復薬の効果よ』
があんなに早く治ったのには驚いたけど、撃たれた前より体調が良くなったのとも関係があるのか?」
『念のために回復薬の用量をかなり増やしたから、恐らく銃創以外の
『昨日は暇だったからアキラの今までの生活とかをいろいろ聞いていたでしょう? そこからの推察になるけれど、アキラの体には長年の過酷な生活でかなりの負担が掛かっていたのだと思うわ。死なない程度の
を慢性的に負っている状態がずっと続いていたはずよ』
その余裕が、実は結構気になっていたことに対して、遺跡探索の最中だからと閉ざしていた口を開かせる。
「アルファ。ちょっと聞いても良いか?」
『良いわよ。何でも聞いて』
「何でそんな格好をしてるんだ?」
アルファの服装は過剰なまでにフリルで装飾された純白のドレスだ。両袖と下半身が
「......いや、似合ってるとは思う。まあでも、俺の好みって話なら、俺はアルファと初めて会った時の格好の方が良いと思うけど......」
普段はまず見掛けない旧世界製の衣服が放つ独特の雰囲気や、アルファとの非常に印象深い出会いの衝撃などもあって、アキラはアルファが最初に着ていた服を結構気に入っていた。アルファがそれを分かった上で楽しげに笑う。
『初めて会った時の格好......、つまり全裸ね!』
次の瞬間、アルファの服が消失し、
アルファが再びドレス姿に戻って軽く笑う。
『高精度な演算処理で綿密に計算して生成された私の裸体に興味が無いなんて、アキラは随分子供なのね。色気より食い気の年頃なの?』
アキラが少し意地になって少々強がる。
「そうだよ。間違いなく俺は子供だよ。食い
『実はクズスハラ街の都市管理システムは今も一部が稼動し続けているのよ。私はそのシステムに介入して私の映像情報を広域に発信しているの。だから都市管理システムから映像情報を取得する装置には私の姿が映っているのよ。以前にあの機械系モンスターを誘導したのもその応用なのよ。だから、その手の装置を使用している人なら、アキラと一緒にいる私の姿が見えているの』
アキラがアルファの言いたいことに気付いて表情を
「......つまり、誰かに見られているのか? その装置を使っているやつが近くにいるのか?」
アキラの返答と同時に、アルファの表情から笑顔が消えた。
『ええ。絶対に振り返っては駄目よ。ずっとアキラを尾行しているわ。後ろの方から結構距離を取って、今もアキラを見ているわ』
アキラの表情が険しくなる。アルファの表情は状況の深刻さをアキラに分かり
「あのガキ、随分奥まで行くんだな。あんな手ぶら同然の装備で遺跡の奥に行くなんて自殺と変わらん。何を考えてるんだ?」
ハッヒャがカヒモの疑念を笑って流す。
「何も考えてない馬鹿ってだけさ。そういう馬鹿だから常識に捕らわれずに遺物を見付けられたんじゃねえのか? ここの外周部にはもう
カヒモが少し不機嫌な声を出す。
「おい、口を割る前に誤って殺したら
「そう言うなよ。あんなガキが遺跡のここまで奥に行くとは思わなかったんだ。お前だって外周部のどこか、その辺の廃ビルとかだと思ってたんだろ?」
「まあな。スラム街のガキが1人で遺跡のここまで奥から生還するとは普通は思わない。この辺はもう結構危険だ。もう少し奥なら俺達だって危ない」
に武装もしていないガキ1人なんだ。うっかり殺さないように注意すればいい。お前も手っ取り早い方が良いだろう?」
ハッヒャから返事は返ってこなかった。カヒモが
「......ガキが1人だけ......なんだよな?」
「1人だけだろ? 他にどっかに隠れているようには見えねえぞ」
カヒモが不思議に思い、愛用の双眼鏡で再度アキラの近辺を見渡した。
この双眼鏡はなかなかに高性能で、かなり遠方でも高い解像度で鮮明に見ることが可能だ。また真夜中でも昼間のように映像を補正する機能や、不可視光線を識別して簡単な光学迷彩を見破る機能も付いている。更に人やモンスターなどの姿を識別して強調表示する機能まで備わっている。
これだけ高性能な双眼鏡になると、遺跡が発信している拡張現実の情報を取得して追加表示するネットワーク機能も付いている製品も多い。だがこの双眼鏡には付いていない。カヒモは過去に機械系モンスターからそれらの機能を逆に利用された経験があった。それで普通なら見えるはずの敵の姿を映像処理で消されてしまい危なく死ぬところだった。その手痛い経験から今は全てローカルで処理する双眼鏡を愛用していた。
「いねえよ。周囲にモンスターの姿も無い。あのガキだけだ」
「いや、いない。やっぱりガキだけだ。女の姿なんかないぞ」
「......分かってるよ。お前には見えないんだろう? 俺には見えるんだよ。
「それならその女の格好を言ってみろ。詳しくだ。どんな格好だ?」
「ドレス? ここをどこだと思ってるんだ? 遺跡の中だぞ?」
「ハッヒャ。お前の両目のパーツは確かネットワーク機能付きだったよな?」
「ああ。高い金を出して改造したって自慢してた野郎のパーツを移植したやつだ。ネットワーク機能を何度も自慢してたっていうのに、遺跡で結構あっさりくたばった野郎のだ。結構高性能で便利なんだが、
ハッヒャが驚きながらアルファの姿を再度注意深く確認する。
「......あれが? 本物にしか見えねえぞ? あの女には影だってちゃんとある。あの格好以外に不自然な箇所はない。視界に拡張表示されるものは、大抵現実と何らかの差異があるんだ。影が無かったり、伸びる方向が変だったり、壁を突き破っていたり、そういう不自然さがあるんだ。あれにはそれが全く無いぞ。不自然なところはこんな場所でドレスを着てるってことだけだ。......いや、それだけで
「その女がクズスハラ街遺跡の道案内機能の一部なら、旧世界の技術で表示されていることになる。その手の不自然さや違和感を覚えさせないぐらいに高い技術で描画されているんだろうな」
「......そうか。あれが旧世界の幽霊ってやつなのか。初めて見た。
ハッヒャは興味深そうな視線をアルファに向けていた。自分にしか見えない女がいるという不気味さは、相棒がその話を信じたことと、更に自分でも納得できる理由が添えられたことで、そのまま強い興味に変わっていた。
そこに付け込むように、カヒモが何かを思い出したように話を続ける。
「......そういえば、クズスハラ街遺跡には怪談があったな。誘う亡霊......だったか」
「それ、俺も知っているぞ。遺物を餌にしてハンターを遺跡の奥に誘い込んで殺す幽霊の話だろ? 多くのハンターが誘われて、生きて帰ってきたやつはいないって話だ。死んだハンターが仲間を求めて、生きているハンターを誘い込むんだ。最近は老若男女どころか、犬やら猫やらいろんな姿で誘ってくるんだってな」
いて共感を示した後、話の主導権を握るような表情と口調で続ける。
「遺物探しで遺跡でくたばるなんてのは、ハンターの死に方じゃ普通だ。そこで重要なのは、生きて帰ってきたやつがいないのに、何でそんな怪談になるか、だな」
「......そういえば、何でだ?」
「答えは、付いていかなかったやつがいるってことだ。亡霊が見えたやつだけが付いていった。見えなかったやつは付いていかなかったってことだな。亡霊は誰にでも見える訳じゃない。見えるやつと見えないやつがいて、そいつらの間で話が食い違ったりして詳細を確認できないからこそ怪談になるんだ」
「......こうも考えられる。あのガキが金になる遺物を見付けられたのはなぜか? それはお前のようにあの女が見えているからだ。あの女は旧世界の都市管理機能の一部で、今もある程度機能していて、自分を見えるやつに対して道案内をしている。あのガキは遺物が有りそうな場所を女に聞いた。そして女の案内のおかげでモンスターにも発見されずに安全に遺物が残っている場所を見付け出せた。どうだ? こういう考えもありじゃないか?」
「女の案内でもモンスターに見付かる可能性が低くなるだけで、見付かる時は見付かるんだろう。加えて、あの女の道案内機能を知ったハンターが、他のやつに遺物を取られないように、女に付いていったら死ぬっていう
「そういうことか! それなら付いていっても問題ないな! あのガキだって生きて帰ってきた訳だし、注意すれば死ぬことはない!」
「合っている保証はない。だが合っていれば、効率良く遺物を探し出せる手段が手に入る。まあでも、死人有りの
「大丈夫だろ? 心配性だな! こんなチャンスは見逃せねえよ!」
「まあ、もう少し様子を見ようぜ」
アキラが険しい表情でアルファに尋ねる。
「俺の跡を付けているのはどんなやつか分かるか?」
『男が2人。装備から判断するとハンターよ。しっかり武装しているわ』
「......勘違いとか、そういう可能性は無いのか? 別に俺の跡を付けている訳じゃなくて、遺跡で子供を見掛けたからちょっと気になって見ているだけとか、
アキラが顔をかなり険しくしながらも、まだ残っている希望的観測を続けて口にする。
「......何で俺なんかの跡を付ける必要があるんだ? 俺を襲うつもりだとしても、俺に金なんか無いことぐらい見れば分かるだろう?」
その問いは、だから違っていてほしい、という希望の表れだ。それを分かった上で、アルファがアキラに現実を直視させる。
『何らかの方法でアキラが遺物を買取所に持ち込んだのを知ったのかもしれないわ。アキラを尾行する理由は、遺物がありそうな場所まで案内させる、ついでに殺して遺物も奪う、そんなところでしょうね。簡単に殺せそうな人物が高価な遺物を持ち込むのを、買取所で見張っていたのかもしれない。あるいは買取所の人間から獲物の情報を買ったのかもしれない。敵である理由は幾らでも考えられるわ。少なくとも、敵ではない理由よりも多くね。アキラ。敵として対処しないと死ぬわよ?』
「......くそっ! 今度はハンターかよ!」
先日襲ってきた相手は拳銃程度しか持っていないスラム街の子供で、それでも死にかけた。それが今度はしっかり武装したハンターを相手にする羽目になった。いきなり跳ね上がった難易度にアキラが頭を抱える。
『アキラ。取りあえずあのビルの中に入って。なるべく自然にね。向こうを見ないように注意して』
『このビルにモンスターはいないから安心して良いわよ』
アキラの返事は暗い。どう戦えば良いかいろいろ考えてはみたが、良い考えは全く思い付かなかった。過程の違いはあれど、全て無残に殺される結果で終わっていた。どれも勝ち目など全く無かった。
その少し強めの呼びかけに応じてアキラが顔を上げると、アルファが眼前まで顔を近付けていた。驚いて
アキラが驚きながらも希望を持つ。
「逃げられるのか?」
しかしアルファが続けた内容は、アキラの予想とは逆だった。
『逃げない。戦うの。返り討ちにするのよ』
「そんなことが出来るのか!? 2対1で、しかも相手はしっかり武装したハンターなんだ! 前の相手とは、拳銃程度しか持ってないスラム街の子供とは訳が違うんだぞ!?」
に、アルファが余裕すら感じられる笑顔で自信に満ちた声を出す。
『その程度、大した違いではないわ。アキラには私がいるのよ? 総合的な戦力なら私がいる分だけ
アキラはアルファの余りに当然のような態度に思わず納得しかけた。だが本来なら絶望的な戦力差から生まれる不安を消し去るには足りず、半信半疑の様子を見せていた。
「......いや、でも、モンスターと人間ではいろいろ違うだろうし、そこまで自信が有るのなら逃げられるだろう。それなら逃げた方が......」
弱気を見せるアキラに、アルファが少し厳しい表情を向ける。
く無言で見詰め合う。やがてアキラが何かを悟ったように表情を引き締めた。そこには確かな覚悟が存在していた。
覚悟を決めたアキラが立ち上がる。その表情から先ほどの不安は完全に消えていた。アルファがアキラを更に勇気付けるように優しくも力強い笑顔を浮かべる。
『アキラ、覚悟を決めなさい。この程度のことも乗り越えられないようでは、
「そうだった。意思とやる気と覚悟は、俺の分担だったな」
意思とやる気と覚悟は、俺が何とかする。アキラは以前、アルファの指示に逆らって死にかけた時に、アルファに確かにそう告げた。その言葉は
『安心して。アキラが支払った幸運以上に、私がしっかりアキラの世話を焼いてあげるわ』
『ええ。助けてあげるわ』
"Yeah, I don't really understand why, but I'm really in a good condition today. Although I only rested for a day, I'm somehow feeling better than before I was shot. To be honest, this is rather scary."
Strangely enough, Akira's condition was abnormally superb. There was not even a single trace of tiredness on his face and his mind was sharper than usual. He could feel the power that was flowing inside his body right till his fingertips.
Akira came to realize his own physical condition and found it unnatural, even a bit creepy. Alpha spoke to him as if there was nothing weird about this.
"That maybe the effect of the medicine that you took yesterday."
"Medicine? I'm indeed surprised that my wound healed that fast, but does it have anything to do with me feeling better than before I got shot?"
"I told you to take quite a lot of medicine just to be safe. It seems that it didn't just heal your bullet wound, but it even healed your other wounds too."
"Since we were free yesterday, I had asked you a lot of things about your daily life, remember? This is just a hypothesis made based on that information. I think the hard life that you've been through till now, has put your body under huge stress. So, your body was under a condition where it had non-lethal wounds."
"The living condition that you think as normal, is actually very bad. For example, if you keep living under such malnutritioned condition for a long time, then it will greatly deteriorate your body. After all, it's as if you're acc.u.mulating countless non-lethal micro wounds on the cellular level. The extra medicines that I told you to take yesterday as a caution, has healed those micro wounds that were acc.u.mulated in your body. I bet that's why you're feeling strangely healthier than before."
He was rather disturbed by the amount of leeway that he had, so he started a conversation, although they were in the middle of ruin exploration.
"Alpha, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, just ask away."
"Why are you using that appearance?"
Alpha was using a pure white dress with a lot of frills with both sleeves and its lower body filled with a lot of shiny ornaments.
"...Well, I do think it looks good on you. But still, if you want to talk about my taste, I actually like the dress that you were wearing when we first met."
First of all, it was a unique dress from the old world that you can't get to see every day, not to mention that their meeting left a strong impression on Akira. Thus, he came to like that dress. Alpha just giggled merrily as she knew well about that.
"The dress that I wore when we met for the first time, huh... So, in short, the birthday suit!!"
Right at the next moment, Alpha's dress vanished. Then once again Akira got to see the beautiful body that was hidden under the glittering dress just a few moments ago. Akira was fl.u.s.tered and said.
Alpha returned her dress and giggled a bit.
"To think that you're not interested in this body, which was the result of a highly complex calculation inorder to make men's imagination run wild. Akira, you're really a small kid, are you in that age where you prefer to eat food than a girl?"
Akira became obstinate and said in a strong tone.
"Yeah I am, there's no doubt that I'm just a small kid. If I don't make enough money to buy food, then I'll die. So yeah, I prefer food than a girl ...So then, what is with that dress?!!"
"Actually, the management system of the Kuzusuhara City is still active and I'm hijacking that system to broadcast my image within a wide area. That's why my image can also be seen through the equipment used by the management system of Kuzusuhara City. That's also the reason as to why the mechanical monsters could see me the other day. So because of that, people with similar equipment will also be able to see me."
Akira's face stiffened as he understood what Alpha was trying to say.
"...So, in short, there's someone who can see you right now, is it? Or that someone with such equipment is around here, right?"
Alpha's smile vanished as Akira said that.
"Yeah. Don't look back no matter what. That person is tailing you. He's keeping his distance from you and he's observing you, even right now at this very moment."
Akira's face turned grim. Alpha's explanation was simple enough to make him understand the dire situation that he was in.
"That boy, he's going quite deep into the ruin. Venturing deep with that amount of equipment is the same as suicide. What in the world is that boy thinking?"
Hayya just shrugged Kahimo's question with a laugh.
"He's not even thinking, he's just a stupid boy. Isn't that exactly why he isn't limited by common sense and found those relics? The outskirt area of this place has nothing valuable left, that is the common sense of normal Hunters. I say that it's faster if we just attack him and make him cough out information about the place where he found those relics."
Kahimo answered back with an annoyed tone.
"Oii!! Weren't you the one who stopped me from doing that?!! You stopped me by saying that it would be bad if we kill him by accident before he can tell us anything."
"Don't say that. I never thought a small boy like him would be able to go that deep into the ruin, you see. Even you too thought that boy found those relics inside a building somewhere in the outskirts, right?"
"Well, that's true. No one in their right mind would ever think that a boy from the slums would be able to go this deep all by himself, you know. This place itself is quite dangerous, and if we go deeper than this, it would be dangerous even for us."
"Hayya, as I thought, we should just force him to cough up the location. After all, he's just a small boy with poor equipment. We should just be careful not to kill him by accident. You also want to do this the fast way, don't you?"
Hayya did not reply at all. So Kahimo became visibly annoyed.
"...The boy... He should be alone, right?"
"Yeah, he should be alone, it doesn't seem like he has a friend hiding around here."
Kahimo was puzzled, he picked up his beloved binocular and looked at Akira one more time.
The binocular he was using was a pretty powerful binocular, it can see well from a very long range. It also had the night vision function so he could see clearly during the night as if it was during the day. Moreover, it can detect invisible light or see through simple optical camouflage. Then to top it off, it has the function to highlight monsters and people.
Other than this high-tech binocular, there were a lot of other equipment that uses network access, thus allowing them to retrieve the augmented reality information broadcasted from the ruins. But that function wasn't available for this binocular. After all, there was a time when the mechanical monsters used that function for their advantage instead. At that time, they could not see enemies that were visible with n.a.k.e.d eyes and almost got killed. Because of that experience, they set the binocular only for local function.
"He's all alone. I don't see any monsters, it's only him."
"Nope, nothing. It's only him, him alone. I don't see any girl, you know."
"...I get it, you can't see her, right? But I can see her clearly. A beautiful girl is guiding that boy."
"If that is so, then tell me how she looks like, down to all the details."
"A frilly dress?? Have you gone nuts?? Where do you think we are? We are in the middle of the god-damn ruins, you know!!"
"Hayya. both of your eyes' parts are connected to the network, right?"
"Yeah, it's equipped with high quality parts and of course I paid a huge sum of money for that. Although it has a network connection function that I'm so proud of, it can easily break in the middle of the ruin. It's a high tech eye with a lot of functions, but its only downside is that it sometimes receives broadcasted transmission all on its own."
Hayya was rather surprised as he looked back at Alpha to confirm what he was seeing.
"...That girl looks very real, you know? That girl is even casting a shadow. There's nothing out of ordinary about her except for her dress. Broadcasted images tend to have some differences compared to reality, like having no shadow, or having strange proportions, or having the ability to pass through walls. Basically they always have weird features. But that girl, except for her dress, she looks completely normal... Well, that dress itself is really weird though."
"If that girl really is a guide like feature of the ruins, then it means that her image is being broadcasted with the technology of the old world. I wonder what kind of advanced technology they're using to be able to broadcast such a realistic image."
"...I see. So that's the ghost of the old world, huh. This is the first time I have seen it, it's really something."
Hayya kept looking at Alpha with curiosity. Since his partner not only believed in the girl that only he himself could see, his partner even came up with a reasonable explanation for that. Thus he couldn't stop himself from getting more interested in her.
As if to go along with their conversation or as if he had just remembered something, Kahimo opened his mouth again.
"...Now that I remember it, there's a ghost story in Kuzusuhara City ruin. If I'm not mistaken... The beguiling ghost."
"I've heard about that too. It's about a ghost that uses relic as bait and lures Hunters to go deeper into the ruins before killing them, right? I heard that there were many Hunters who followed her into the deeper part of the ruins and never came back. And then the ghost would lure Hunters that are still alive by using their dead comrades. Recently I heard that, rather than using human appearance, it even disguises itself as a cat or a dog."
After Kahimo gave a slight nod agreeing to what Hayya had said, he continued livening up the story with his tone and expression.
"Getting killed in the ruins while looking for relics, that way of dying is really normal for us Hunters. The real question is why there's such a ghost story when it says that no one returned alive?"
"...Now that you mention it, I wonder why?"
"The answer is because there are people who didn't follow it. The ghost only lures those who can see it and doesn't lure people who can't see it. It's not like everyone can see it, you know. So it must be a story shared by the people who can see it to people who can't see it. And since each person told a different story, there's no way to actually confirm it. That's why it has become a ghost story."
"...You can also think of it this way. Why do you think that boy was able to find an expensive relic? That's because that boy can see that girl just like you. Then if that girl is a part of the guide function of the old world that is somehow still functioning right now, then she is guiding people who can still see her. That boy must have asked that girl for a place where he can find relics, and so that girl must have guided that boy to such a place while avoiding any monster encounters. So what do you think? That's a good hypothesis, isn't it?"
"Following her guide would only lower the chance of meeting the monsters, it's still possible to encounter them. Moreover, the Hunters who knew about her guide function might have spread that rumour to keep her for themselves. By repeatedly coming here and following her guide, they would quickly deplete the relics in the outskirts, so they had to go to the more dangerous deeper part of the ruins. And while venturing deep in the ruins, one day they unfortunately encountered strong monsters and got themselves killed. That's why only the 'if you go with her, then you will get killed' part was left in the rumor. Basically, it's a ghost story that has been built over a long time."
"So that's why, huh?! Then that means that it's not a problem if we follow her, right?!! Not to mention that boy was able to return alive, we won't get killed as long as we move carefully."
"There's no guarantee whether that assumption is true. But if it is true, then it will greatly increase our chances of finding relics. But well, the rumor says that it might get us killed, so it's still a dangerous thing."
"It's fine, isn't it? You worry too much!! I won't simply let this chance slip by!"
"Calm down, let's keep watching him for a bit more."
Akira asked Alpha with a grim expression.
"Do you know what kind of people are following me?"
"2 guys. Judging by their equipment, they must be Hunters. They're pretty well armed."
"...Is there any chance for it to be just a coincidence? I mean, maybe it's not like they are really tailing me, but more like they saw a small boy going into the ruins alone and decided to follow him out of curiosity. Or maybe it's just that they are going in the same direction as me by pure coincidence..."
As Akira kept his grim expression, he showed a glimmer of hope as he asked.
"...But why are they following me? Even if they attack me, I don't have any money with me, you know. They should be able to clearly see that, right?"
That question was phrased as if Akira was hoping that Alpha's assumption was wrong. She had already thought about his reaction when she revealed the truth out on Akira's face.
"My guess is that they want to know how a kid like you were able to bring an excessive number of relics to the Exchange Centre. The real reason why they're tailing you is because they hope that you will lead them to a place filled with relics. And while they are at it, they might as well just kill you and take the relics for themselves. I think that they had someone standing near the Exchange Centre in order to look for Hunters who seem to be easy targets, easy enough to kill while also bringing expensive relics to the Exchange Centre. Or they may as well buy that information from someone inside the Exchange Centre. They have a lot of reasons to see you as an enemy. Actually they have more reasons to be your enemy than your friend. So Akira, if you don't treat them as your enemy, you might get yourself killed, you know?"
"...Dammit!! It's the hunters this time, huh?!"
Two days ago, he had a shootout with little kids of the slum who had guns with them. But even so, he almost got himself killed and barely escaped alive. Now this time, he was going to fight with fully equipped Hunters. Akira got a headache from this sudden jump of difficulty level.
"Akira, just get into that building for now. Just do it as naturally as possible and try to be careful so that you won't be spotted by them."
"There's no monster in this building, so you can be at ease."
Akira's reply was gloomy. He was thinking about how he should fight the hunters who were tailing him, but he could not come up with any good ideas. He had thought up some scenarios, but all of them ended up with him getting killed.
Akira lifted up his face in reaction to that rather strong toned call. He suddenly saw Alpha's face really close, right in front of him, he let out a small shriek as he jumped back in surprise and hit his head against the wall. That pain and surprise woke him up from all the bad scenarios that were running inside his head.
Akira was surprised after hearing that, but it made him more hopeful.
"Can we run away from them?"
But Alpha's answer to that question was totally unexpected for Akira.
"We won't run. We'll fight back. We'll get them instead."
"Can we really do that?!! It's 2 against 1, you know? Not to mention that they are Hunters with full equipment!! This is not the same as when we were fighting against those kids with guns."
Alpha answered back with a confident tone.
"These two cases are not that different. You have me with you, you know? By having me alone, your total battle power is way above them. Moreover, you were able to defeat that huge weapon dog monster only with your handgun, remember? Everything will be fine as long as you follow my instructions. So don't worry. It will be okay."
Looking at how Alpha was behaving just like usual, Akira was somehow convinced. But it was not like this was enough to fully erase the doubt that he had when facing overwhelming enemies. It could be seen that Akira half doubted her and half believed her.
"...But, there are a lot of differences between monster and human. If you're that confident, then we should be able to run away from them, right? I really feel that it might be a good idea to run away instead..."
Alpha gave a strict look to Akira who was being meek.
Alpha locked her stare at Akira, Akira stared back at Alpha without turning his eyes away. They kept staring at each other for a few seconds without saying anything. Finally, Akira relaxed his expression as if he had just realized something, it was clear that he had made up his determination right there.
Akira resolved himself and stood up. There was no trace of doubt that he had just a moment ago. Then Alpha smiled gently at him as if to give him more courage and said.
"Akira, resolve yourself. If you can't get over something like this, you won't be able to realize your dream, which is to be a great Hunter, you know?"
"You're right. Also we had agreed that will, motivation and resolve are all my responsibility."
Last time when Akira was about to get himself killed for going against Alpha's instruction, he did say that will, motivation and resolve were all his responsibility. He now realized that he had to show that those words were not lies. If he couldn't do that, then someone without money nor skill like him would have nothing of worth to show to Alpha. Else, all his words about piling trust and achievement would also become meaningless. That thought alone strengthened Akira's resolve.
"Don't worry. Since I've taken all your luck, I'll have to take good care of you."
"Yep, I'm really helpful."
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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