部屋の出入り口を塞いでいた機械系モンスター達の残骸が突然吹き飛んだのを、アキラは驚きの表情で見ていた。
残骸が吹き飛んだ場所からシオリとカナエが飛び出してくる。2人は近くにいた甲B18式を殴り飛ばし、切り捨てた。殴り飛ばされた甲B18式は、そのまま壁まで吹き飛んで派手に壁に激突した。切り捨てられた甲B18式は、鋭利な切断面を見せながら左右に分かれて床に転がった。
アキラはその2人がシオリとカナエであることに気付いた。2人もすぐにアキラ達に気付いた。少し遅れて部屋からレイナが飛び出してくる。レイナは部屋から出ると、すぐに必死に周囲の警戒を始めた。
早く状況を理解したシカラベが大声で指示を出す。
「戻るぞ! アキラはしんがりをやれ! トガミはそいつらの護衛に付け! 付いてこい!」
シカラベは端的に指示を出すと、先行して退路を確保するためにすぐに
んでいない方の手で、調子の良い笑顔で軽くアキラに手を振った。動転気味の表情のレイナがカナエに半ば引きずられながらアキラの横を通り抜けていく。
シオリがアキラの横にふわりと立つ。そして端的に尋ねる。
「行ってくれ」
アキラも端的に答えた。お互いに忙しいのだ。
シオリはアキラに恭しく礼をすると、素早くレイナの後を追った。
『ああ。分かってる』
アキラはA4WM自動擲弾銃を通路の奥へ向けて構える。強力な擲弾を
しかし後は戻るだけだ。通路が崩壊して敵の足止めになれば好都合だ。アキラはそう考えて遠慮なく引き金を引いた。
無数の擲弾が通路にばらまかれ、擲弾は通路の奥から向かってくる多数の機械系モンスターを巻き込んで爆発した。爆風の逃げ場に欠ける通路で爆発させたため、威力の一部がアキラの方まで戻ってきた。爆風で吹き飛ばされた大きめの残骸がアキラの横を通り過ぎていく。
アキラが驚いて思わず口に出す。
アルファが慌てるアキラを楽しげに見ながら話す。
『屋内向けの武器ではないのよ。気を付けて使わないとね』
通路の奥は爆煙が漂っており少し視界が悪くなっている。アキラは敵の様子を確認するためにそちらを少し見ていたが、敵の増援が爆煙をかき分けて現れる様子はない。大丈夫そうだと判断して、その上で警戒を怠らずにエレナ達の
レイナ達は先導するシカラベの後に続いてエレナ達が確保している階段を目指している。シカラベ達が行きに敵を排除していたため、帰りのレイナ達は比較的楽に通路を進んでいる。全く敵がいないというわけではないが、シカラベ、シオリ、カナエの3人の障害になる規模ではなかった。
レイナ達の後方から爆発音が聞こえる。アキラがA4WM自動擲弾銃を使用している音だ。
「アキラ少年、随分派手にやってるっすねー。それにしてもアキラ少年が私達を助けに来るとは意外だったっすね。これも奇縁ってやつっすかね?」
「大丈夫っす。これは余裕の表れっす......よ!」
カナエはそう答えながら、通路の脇道から出てこようとした甲B18式を蹴りつける。メイド服のスカートから黒タイツの脚が伸びて、脚の先の少し大きめな靴が甲B18式の装甲に勢いよく
カナエに蹴られた甲B18式は、蹴りの衝撃でまるで巨大な鉄球が高速で直撃したように変形しながら、勢いよく通路の奥に吹き飛ばされた。
シオリが通路の逆側の脇道から出てきた甲B18式を一刀両断する。シオリが振るった刀は、甲B18式に搭載されていたはずの
「余裕があろうとなかろうと、無駄口は品位に欠けると思わないの? カナエも教習は受けたでしょう?」
カナエは揚げ足を取るように話す。
シオリとカナエは周囲の警戒を怠らずにしっかりとレイナの護衛を続けながらも、そんな話をする余裕を見せていた。
レイナはシオリとカナエの後に続いて走っている。籠城した時にはあれだけ大量にいた機械系モンスター達の姿も
く自分を見ているトガミの視線に気付いた。レイナはなぜか少しきつめの口調でトガミに尋ねる。
「あ、いや......、確かお前は、カツヤのチームのやつ、だよな?」
「......前はね。私はもうカツヤのチームから抜けているわ。それがどうかしたの?」
「その、なんだ、......何でもない」
な表情でトガミを見たが、ふて腐れたように視線を前に戻した。
トガミが僅かに
トガミがレイナを見ていたのは、その自覚はないが、軽い親近感を持ったからだ。
トガミは全員格上のハンターで構成されている部隊で、自己評価ではあるが大した活躍もできず、先ほどはある意味でシカラベとアキラに
トガミのレイナに対する認識は、カツヤの取り巻きの一人、ただそれだけだ。トガミがカツヤを自分の競争相手として一方的に意識していた時に、カツヤの取り巻きの中にレイナの姿をそこそこ見掛けたので記憶に残っていた。その程度だ。
しかしレイナはトガミのことをそれなりに知っていた。トガミはドランカムの若手ハンター達の中でもカツヤに次ぐ実力者だ。ドランカムでも一目置かれており、反カツヤ派の
つまりトガミはレイナにとって十分格上のハンターだ。トガミがシカラベ達を見るように。
トガミがレイナにカツヤのチームのハンターであることを尋ねた時、レイナはトガミの言葉をこう捉えてしまった。カツヤの回りをうろちょろしてそのお
レイナの頭の冷静な部分は、それは自虐に過ぎず、トガミは別にそんなつもりで言ったわけではない、と冷静に告げている。しかし一度そう聞こえてしまえば、それを振り払うのは難しい。
安全な場所で言葉を選んでゆっくり時間を取って話せれば、レイナとトガミは互いに気を悪くすることなく話し合えただろう。残念ながらそれを許す状況ではない。発展途上のハンター達は、今はそんなことを考えている場合ではないと気を取り直そうとしながら、何とか先に進んでいた。
アキラはA4WM自動擲弾銃で擲弾をばらまきながら撤退していた。撤退は順調だ。順調すぎて疑問に思うほどに。
『敵が急に出てこなくなったな。全部倒したとは思えないけど......、何でだ?』
アルファが普通の表情で答える。
『正面から襲うのは非効率だと判断して、
アルファの表情はアルファが先ほどの戦闘中に浮かべていた余裕の笑みではない。しかし焦りや不安などの要素もない。至って普通の表情だ。
『そうだな』
随分楽になったとはいえ、安心して気を抜ける状況ではないのだ。アキラは気を緩めずに先を急いだ。
先行して敵を排除していたシカラベがエレナ達との合流地点まで戻ってくる。シカラベは周囲の状況を確認してまずは
エレナがすぐにシカラベに駆け寄って状況を尋ねる。
「そっちの状況は!?」
「問題ない。対象を救出して撤退してきた。エレナはすぐにビルからの脱出の指揮に移ってくれ。救出した人数は3名。行動不能なほどの負傷者は無しだ」
全員の無事を確認したエレナが表情を僅かに緩める。だがすぐに表情を引き締めて指示を出す。
他の通路を警戒する
エレナがシカラベに尋ねる。
「シカラベ。その3人は戦力に数えて良いの?」
「2人はな。ただしその2人は残りの1人の護衛だと考えてくれ」
「分かったわ。シカラベはそのまま3人を先導して進んで。取りあえず19階まで戻って、以前と様子が同じならそこで一度休憩を取るわ」
シカラベがシオリ達に手で着いてこいと指示を出す。そしてシオリ達にそれが伝わったことを確認してから、今度は19階までの退路を確保するために先行して階段を降りていく。
通路から出てきたシオリ達がそのまま広間を通って階段を降りていく。エレナが自分の前を通り過ぎていくメイド服、ハンターの少女、メイド服を見て困惑の表情を浮かべる。
「......メイド服? いや、それよりもどこかで見たような......」
エレナが記憶を探るが、シオリとカナエのメイド服の印象に邪魔をされて思い出せない。その内にサラとキャロルがエレナに合流する。サラがエレナに尋ねる。
「エレナ、さっきの人達は......」
似たような困惑の色を見せるサラに、エレナが指揮官の表情で答える。
「シカラベが話していた救出対象者よ。アキラと合流したら私達もすぐに移動するわ。彼女達の内の2人は、残りの1人の護衛として戦力に数えて良いそうよ。シカラベを先行させたから階下を進む分には問題ないでしょう。私達はアキラと一緒にしんがりをやりつつ撤退するわ。30階の敵が追ってくる可能性があるからね」
る必要はない。それを把握した上で、撤退とは無関係な疑問は後回しにして」
サラとキャロルが微妙な表情を浮かべている。エレナも気持ちは分かる。だが自分に聞かれても困るし、今はそれどころではないのだ。エレナは撤退の指揮を優先させてその手の疑問の解決を後回しにした。
『エレナさん達の方は大したことはなかったみたいだな』
『シカラベ達は先に下に向かったようね。アキラ! もっと急いで走って!』
アルファが急にアキラを急がせた。アキラは驚きながらも走る速度をあげる。
アキラが急いで広間に入った途端、別の通路を塞いでいた残骸の山が派手な音とともに吹き飛んだ。そして巨大な機械系モンスターが通路から飛び出してきた。
大型機はかなりの速度で強引に通路を塞いでいた残骸の山に激突したらしく、飛び散った残骸が周囲の天井、床、壁に勢いよく激突して
してエレナ達のところまで来ると、素早く身を翻して大型機へ向けてA4WM自動擲弾銃を構えて引き金を引く。銃口から無数の擲弾が飛び出して敵の側面に激突する。擲弾は敵の装甲に激突して僅かに変形した後、指向性を前方に向けて爆発した。
大型機が衝撃で床を擦りながら押されていき、長い棒がしなるように変形していく。側面下部の装甲の一部が剥がれ落ちる。装甲が剥がれ落ちた部分から、先端にタイヤが付いている無数の機械の脚が見えた。
アキラの攻撃で大型機は動きを停止したように見えた。しかしエレナがすぐに叫ぶ。
アキラ達が先行しているシカラベ達との合流を急ぐ。30階より下の状況に変化はなく、追加の機体が再配置されているようなこともない。行きに敵の数を減らした上に、救出対象を探す手間もないので、安全にかなりの速度で進めていた。
サラが走りながら不思議そうにエレナに尋ねる。
「エレナ。あんなデカいのがエレナの索敵に引っかからなかったの?」
「......残念ながらそれらしい反応はなかったわ。ただでさえ情報収集機器の性能が低下しているのに、通路を塞ぐのに使った機械系モンスターの残骸が微弱な反応を残していて、それが探索妨害になっていたのかもしれないわね。御免なさい」
責任を感じているようなエレナに、サラが笑って答える。
「気にしないで。エレナに気づけなかったのなら、それはもうどうしようもなかったのよ。別にエレナの所為じゃないわ。アキラもそう思うでしょう?」
「俺もそう思います。気にしないでください」
アキラがキャロルに視線を送る。キャロルはアキラの意図に気付いた上で思案する。
キャロルはエレナの責任がどうこうという話とは無関係に、あれだけ巨大な機械系モンスターを発見できなかった原因を、もう少し詳しく知りたいと考えていた。
また、キャロルはアキラが急に走る速度を上げたことにも気付いていた。もしアキラの行動と大型機の出現に関連があるのならば、アキラはエレナにも探知できなかった敵の存在に真っ先に気付いたことになる。しかし大型機が現れた時のアキラの驚きも演技とは思えない。
疑問は尽きないが、問いただせる状況でもない。キャロルは内心の好奇心を抑えながら愛想良く話す。
「あれだけ大型なのにエレナの索敵に反応がなかったってことは、現在私達の情報収集機器に発生している何らかの機能低下に対応した、特別な迷彩機能持ちの機体の可能性もあるわ。
に、エレナが大型機を発見できなかった理由を付けてエレナを擁護したのは正解だったようだ。やはりアキラは並のハンターなら知っていそうな知識が欠けており、そのような知識を求める傾向があるのだろう。キャロルはそう判断して何でもないような表情を浮かべながら、内心で笑みを浮かべた。
エレナは長年の付き合いのある親友と最近知り合って仲良くなった少年の自分を気遣う言葉と、恐らく主に自分ではない誰かへ向けた自分でも納得できる理由を聞いて、気を取り直して軽く笑った。エレナが皆に少し
「それにしても、あの巨体でどうやってあの通路に入り込んだのかしらね。ああ見えて実はビルに備え付けられた警備装置だったりするのかしら」
「備え付けの機械のようには見えませんでしたけど......。でもあの大きさじゃ、通路を曲がるのも無理そうですね。キャロル、何か知らないか? セランタルビルについては詳しい方なんだろう?」
キャロルも不思議そうな表情を浮かべながら答える。
「少なくとも、あの辺りにそれらしい警備装置が設置されていた記憶はないわね。でもあの大きさの物を後から運び込めるだけの空間もないし......、何であれがあそこに存在していたのかしら?」
アキラ達は何事もなく19階に到着してシカラベ達と合流した。
レイナとトガミが荒い呼吸を必死に整えている。アキラは比較的平然としている。それは体力の差というよりは、大量に服用して今も残留している回復薬の効果だ。しかしレイナとトガミはそのアキラを見ていろいろと誤解し、驚きと畏怖で微妙に表情を
エレナが皆に指示を出す。
「5分後に出発するわ。それまでに各自移動の準備を整えておいて」
アキラが準備を始める。リュックサックから予備の弾薬を取り出して、1発でも撃った銃の弾倉を交換して装弾数を最大に戻す。体に装着している空になった予備の弾倉入れに新しい弾倉を詰めていく。小物入れにも消費した回復薬を詰め直していく。強化服のエネルギーパックも念のために取り替えておく。
それらの作業を続けながらアキラが感慨深く
DVTSミニガンの拡張弾倉。CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾。A4WM自動擲弾銃の擲弾。回復薬。強化服のエネルギーパック。どれも高価な物ばかりだ。どれも消耗品で無駄遣いをした覚えはない。必要な経費であることに違いはない。
しかしそれでも、その総額を概算して思い浮かべると、少し引きつった笑みが浮かび、
『参考までに、今まで幾ら使ったか聞きたい?』
アキラははっきり言い切った。経費を気にして攻撃の手を緩めれば、その分の支払いを自分の命で賄う可能性が増えるのだ。多額の経費に頭を抱えるのは、生きて帰ってからにすれば良い。アキラはそう考えている。
『......大丈夫だろう。黒字になるって。昨日もそれなりに稼いだはずだし、今やっている依頼もエレナさんとキャロルが報酬の交渉をしっかりしたって話だし、レイナ達の救出にも成功したからドランカム側からの報酬も見込めるはずだし、大丈夫だって』
アキラは強く自分にそう言い聞かせた。総額がかつての宿代の何日分になるかなど考えてはいけない。シオリの誘いに乗って向かった高級店、そこで食べた非常に美味しい料理の代金の何回分になるかなど、決して考えてはいけない。アキラは強く強く自分に言い聞かせた。
『そうね。多分大丈夫よ。私もそう思うわ。結構な黒字になると思うわ。だからアキラの今後の英気を養うためにも、その報酬を使ってシオリに誘われた時のお店にまた食事に行っても良いかもしれないわね』
アルファが少し仏頂面になっていたアキラを楽しげに見ながら話す。
『あら、そんなつもりはないわ。これだけ苦労したのだから、それぐらいの御褒美があっても良いと思っただけよ。決して危険や報酬を考慮せずにエレナ達の誘いに乗ったアキラへの当て付けではないわ』
Akira was completely dumbfounded when the pile of monsters that was blocking the entrance to the room suddenly got blown away .
From there, Kanae and Shiori jumped out . Kanae immediately punched a B18 monster while Shiori swiftly sliced a B18 monster near them . The punched monster crashed into the wall with a loud banging sound, while the sliced monster was beautifully cut into two symmetric pieces and fell down to the floor .
Akira immediately noticed that those were Kanae and Shiori, both of them also immediately noticed Akira too . Not too long after that, Reina also jumped out from that room . The moment she was out, she immediately looked around and checked her surroundings .
Shikarabe quickly grasped the current situation and shouted .
"We're heading back now!! Akira, you take the rear!! Togami, escort them back to the hall! Let's go!!"
Right after Shikarabe gave that order, he immediately made a 180 degrees turn in order to secure the hallway back to the hall .
Kanae was waving at Akira with her free hand and a big smile on her face . Reina was half-dragged by Kanae as she passed beside Akira, she was still obviously dumbfounded .
Shiori elegantly stopped and stood next to Akira .
"Just go . "
Akira did not hesitate at all . Both of them were busy, after all .
Shiori slightly bowed at Akira before quickly catching up with Kanae and Reina .
"Yeah, I know . "
Akira pulled out his A4WM automatic grenade launcher and aimed it at the hallway . The A4WM grenade launcher immediately spewed out grenades, it was not a weapon designed to be used indoors . Even if the inside of the old-ruin building was resilient, Akira still had to be careful using that rifle . Even though it was a powerful weapon, it would be meaningless if it ended up destroying the interior and blocking the hallway, that was why Akira did not use it until now .
But he only needed to head back now, so Akira thought that it was even advantageous in that situation if he ended up breaking the wall and blocking the hallway to prevent the monsters from chasing them, so he pulled the trigger without holding back at all .
Grenades flew from its muzzle into the hallway and swallowed the swarm of monsters coming from the deeper part of that hallway with explosions . The shockwave from the explosions did not have anywhere to escape inside the closed hallway, thus, it was blown right back at Akira . Because of that, a huge wreckage suddenly just flew right past Akira .
Akira staggered as he gasped .
Alpha amusedly looked at surprised Akira and said .
"That rifle is not designed to be used indoors, so you need to be careful . "
Smokes raised inside the hallway and blocked the view . Akira kept his eyes on that cloud of smokes for monsters but he did not see any disruption in the smokes . So he then decided that it should be fine as he turned around and started running back while still keeping his eyes for more monsters .
Reina, Shiori, and Kanae were running following Shikarabe, who was guiding them back to the hall where Elena and the rest of the Hunters were waiting . Since Shikarabe destroyed most of the monsters on their way to the room, they had not much trouble on their way back . It was not like there were no monsters at all, but Shikarabe, Shiori, and Kanae could handle them just fine .
They then heard explosions coming from behind, it was the sound of Akira using his A4WM automatic grenade launcher .
"That Akira seems to be having fun back there . But still, I didn't expect to find him in this building . I guess this must be some kind of fate, huh?"
"It's fine, I can chat this must basically because I have the leeway... Here!"
Kanae kicked a B18 monster that suddenly appeared in the hallway when she said that . As her leg that was wrapped in black tights and a pretty big shoe extended out under her maid outfit, she drove a powerful kick into the B18 monster near her .
The B18 monster that Kanae kicked was blasted as if it was a cannon .
Shiori immediately focused her attention on another B18 monster that appeared in the opposite direction and cut it with her blade . Shiori's blade was able to easily cut open the B18 monster as if it just ignored the force field armour and went straight for the monster's body .
"No matter whether you have the leeway or not, it's shameless to make unnecessary chit-chat, you know? They should've taught you that right, Kanae?"
But instead, Kanae tried to make an excuse .
Shiori and Kanae showed enough leeway to make that exchange while keeping their guard up and making sure that Reina was safe .
Reina was running behind Kanae and Shiori . The swarm of mechanical monsters that surrounded them when they were barricading themselves inside the room were mostly gone . The moment they came out from that room, Shiori and Kanae immediately killed any monsters near them . Reina had considerably calmed down compared to when she was inside the room .
Reina, who regained some of her composure, finally noticed Togami who was looking in her direction . She then somehow sounded a bit harsh as she asked Togami .
"No, it's just that... If I'm not mistaken... You should be on the same team with Katsuya, right?"
"...I was . But I'm no longer in Katsuya's team . So, what about it?"
"Well, Uhh... No, it's nothing . "
Togami finally looked away . Reina kept staring at Togami with a confused look for a few seconds before she just casually returned her view forward .
Togami lightly sighed and thought .
Although Togami did not realize it himself, he actually glanced at Reina since he felt a sense of camaraderie with Reina .
Togami was together with the other Hunters who were better than him . Although this was only his self-evaluation, he believed that he did not contribute much, it could even be said that Akira and Shikarabe were protecting him along the way . Or at least, he did not think that he contributed much or did anything that he could be proud of during that rescue operation .
In reality, Togami's impression of Reina was simply one of the people from Katsuya's team, that was all there was to it . The only reason why he remembered her was simply because he saw Reina on Katsuya's team from time to time back when he had a one-sided rivalry with Katsuya .
But on the other hand, Reina knew Togami to some extent . She knew that Togami was a skilled young Hunter in Drankam, he might as well be the second strongest young Hunter in Drankam after Katsuya . People in Drankam had their attention on him and they hoped that he would be the beacon for the anti-Katsuya faction . She also knew that Togami was a skilled Hunter who successfully hunted a bounty monster with Shikarabe and a handful of other Hunters .
So in short, Reina saw Togami as a Hunter who was above her, just like how Togami saw Shikarabe .
So when Togami asked Reina if she was still in Katsuya's team, to Reina, it sounded as if Togami was asking her why an incompetent Hunter, who could do nothing but tag along with Katsuya, was in this place .
Reina's logical side was telling her that was not what Togami meant and it was nothing more than her imagination . But since she thought like that once, it was hard for her to change it now .
If only they were in a safe place and they could take their time talking to each other calmly, Reina and Togami could be able to get along . But unfortunately, they did not have that luxury at the moment . The still-growing Hunters, both of them, just pulled themselves together for now and somehow moved on from that worry .
Akira was still shooting grenades using his A4WM automatic grenade launcher while retreating . His retreat was going very well, even too well that Akira started questioning it .
"The monsters stopped coming . I don't think it's because I've defeated them though... So what's going on here?"
Alpha casually answered his question .
"They might have decided fighting frontally would be ineffective, so they might be avoiding you right now . "
Alpha was not smiling like during the last battle, but she did not seem worried either . Her expression was neutral .
"You're right . "
Although it was not as dangerous as before, Akira still could not lower his guard on his way back .
Shikarabe led the group in the front while fighting the enemies that were blocking their way back to the hall where Elena and the other Hunters were waiting . Once they returned back, Shikarabe immediately scanned the situation and finally sighed in relief .
Elena immediately approached Shikarabe .
"How was the rescue?"
"It went well, we secured the targets and retreated back without any trouble . Give us your next order to get out of this building . We basically recovered 3 Hunters and they're not badly injured . "
Elena's face slightly relaxed after she confirmed that everyone was alright . But she then immediately pulled herself together and gave the next order .
Carol and Sara who were guarding the entrance to the other hallways gathered around Elena when they heard that .
Elena then asked Shikarabe .
"Shikarabe, is it alright to count those 3 Hunters as extra fighting hands?"
"Yes, but only two of them . And keep in mind that those two are here to protect the other one . "
"Got it . Shikarabe, you lead them down to the 19th floor . If the situation down there is still the same as before, we should be able to get a short rest . "
Shikarabe waved at Shiori, signalling her to follow him . After Shikarabe confirmed that the other Hunters got his signal, he immediately moved out to lead the way down to the 19th floor .
Shiori, Reina, Kanae, and Togami appeared out of the hallway and they did not stop running as they went straight to the stairs . Elena was obviously surprised when she saw 2 maids and a young girl passing through the hall .
"...Maid outfit? No, more than that, I feel like I've seen them somewhere before..."
Elena tried to dig through her memory, but Shiori and Kanae's maid outfits distracted her from remembering them . Sara and Carol finally grouped up with Elena, Sara then asked Elena a question .
"...Elena, about those Hunters though..."
Sara seemed to be thinking of the same thing as Elena, but Elena responded back prioritizing her position as the leader of the team .
"They're the rescue targets . We'll also move out once we meet up with Akira . Shikarabe said that two of them are basically bodyguards for the other one and it's okay to count them as extra fighting hands . Since I sent Shikarabe down ahead, they should not face any trouble going down . We'll join with Akira to guard the rear while retreating too . After all, the monsters from the 30th floor might chase us on our way down . "
"Since we can count them as extra fighting hands, there should be no need for us to protect them . So just put that back in your mind first and you can ask about things that have nothing to do with escaping from this building later . "
Sara and Carol seemed a bit confused, Elena could understand their feelings . But it was not like she had the answer to that either and it was not the place to ask that question now . So Elena decided to prioritize more on escaping that building and save any questions for later .
"It seems that Elena-san and the others didn't face any trouble either . "
"Akira, keep running! It seems that Shikarabe and the rest of the Hunters have gone down first . "
Alpha urged Akira to hurry up . Akira was a bit surprised by that but complied and started running faster .
The moment Akira entered the hall where Elena was, one of the barricades that blocked the way to the other hallways suddenly burst open as a relatively big monster burst into the room .
That big mechanical monster smashed its way through the barricade with high momentum . So the moment it broke in, the barricade was forcefully blown away, crashed into the ceiling, wall, and floor as they made loud banging sounds .
Akira ducked and evaded the flying wreckage as he was running to where Elena was . He then quickly turned around, aimed his A4WM automatic grenade launcher at that big monster, and pulled the trigger . The grenades flew out straight to that big monster, stuck on its armour, and exploded .
The impact forced that big monster down into the floor and kept it flat on the floor . But then a part of its lower armour suddenly peeled off and legs with wheels appeared under those peeled off armours .
It seemed that Akira was able to somehow stop that monster momentarily, but Elena immediately shouted at him .
They then hurried to catch up with Shikarabe who went down earlier . The situation below the 30th floor did not seem to have changed much, there were no extra monsters at all . And since they already destroyed most of the monsters on their way up, they were able to quickly and safely go down .
Sara was still running when she suddenly asked a question to Elena .
"Elena, did that huge monster not trigger your radar?"
"...Sadly enough, yes . Not only the sensitivity of my information-gathering device is lowered in this building, the dead monsters that we used to block the other hallway were also producing weak signals that might have interfered with my information-gathering device . I'm sorry . "
It seemed that Elena felt responsible for that, Sara just smiled at her and replied .
"Don't worry about it . If you couldn't detect it, then there's really nothing we can do about it . It's not like I'm blaming you here, right Akira?"
"Yes, I agree with Sara-san . So please don't worry about it . "
Akira then sent a glance to Carol, who understood what Akira was trying to say .
Honestly speaking, she was not interested in blaming it on Elena at all, but at the same time, she also wanted to know why she could not detect a monster that big .
Back then, Carol noticed that Akira suddenly ran faster . If Akira did that because he knew about that big monster, it would mean that he was able to detect a monster that Elena could not . But then again, Akira's surprise did not seem to be fake the moment he saw that monster .
Although she still had some questions, it was not the time to ask those questions . Carol held her curiosity back as she smiled at Elena and said .
"The fact that no one detected that huge monster means that it might have some kind of special camouflaging device that exploits the lowered sensitivity of our information-gathering device . Or maybe that the setting adjusted to help to detect the smaller monsters is not good at detecting big monsters . But if we readjust the setting to focus more on detecting big monsters, we will have trouble with the smaller monsters instead . So I think this is where it's important to make a compromise, I'm just happy that we could survive that big monster without losing anyone . "
It seemed that she made the right decision there to even put up a reason as to why Elena was blameless in order to score some point with Akira . As Carol thought, Akira seemed to lack common knowledge for Hunters and he was showing interest in such a thing . After Carol was able to confirm that, she kept her poker face although she was smiling happily deep inside .
After Elena heard supportive words from her best friend that she was together with for years and a young boy that she got along well just recently, plus extra reasoning that Elena was pretty sure Carol said mostly for someone else, Elena pulled herself together and smiled . She sounded delighted as she said .
"But still, how did a monster that big get inside the hallway? I wonder if that thing is a part of the security of this building . "
"It doesn't seem to be an extra security monster though... Not to mention, with its size, I don't think it can move around freely inside the hallway . Carol, do you have any guess? You're pretty knowledgeable about the Seranthal building, right?"
Carol frowned and said .
"As far as I can tell, I don't remember monsters like that guarding this building before . In the first place, with a body that big, I don't think it's possible for that monster to come from outside of the building... I really have no idea why that thing is in this building . "
They were able to reach the 19th floor and group up with Shikarabe without any trouble .
Reina and Togami were breathing heavily, compared to them, Akira looked completely normal . Rather than the difference in their physical strength, it was more because of the medicines that Akira kept consuming . But Reina and Togami, who saw Akira, could not help but misunderstand . They looked at Akira with a mix of surprise and amazement .
Elena then gave an order to everyone there .
"We'll head out again after 5 minutes . Until then, make sure that you have everything ready . "
Akira immediately checked his equipment . He pulled out reserve ammo from his rucksack and reloaded his rifle even if he only used it once . He also replaced the empty reserve magazines attached around his body, refilled the medicines in his pocket, and replaced the energy pack of his augmented suit .
While in the middle of doing that, Akira suddenly mumbled .
DVTS minigun extended magazine, CWH anti-material rifle special ammo, A4WM automatic grenade-launcher grenades-magazine, medicine, augmented suit energy pack-all of them were expensive consumables . But Akira did not remember wasting any of them, it was a necessary expense .
But still, when he imagined how much expense he had accumulated there, he could not help but to smile bitterly and lightly sigh .
"Just in case if you want to know, I can tell you how much you've spent until now . "
Akira answered back firmly . After all, if he was worried about the money that he used to fight the monsters, it might force him to pay that cost with his life later . He thought that he could worry about it later after he returned back alive .
"...It should be alright, I should be able to earn more money . Not to mention, I made quite a lot of money yesterday too . As for this request, Carol and Elena-san should have properly negotiated the details with the City Management . And since we successfully rescued Reina, I should get an extra reward from Drankam too, it should be alright . "
Akira was telling himself that it should be fine . He should not think how many days the money that he spent this time would have bought in the inn where he once lived, or how many times he could eat in that luxurious restaurant that he visited once out of Shiori's invitation with the money that he spent that day . Akira kept telling himself not to think about it .
"You're right, it should be alright, maybe . You should be able to end up with huge profits from this request . That's why, if you want to get extra motivation, it should be alright to use the reward that you get this time to eat a meal in that luxurious restaurant where Shiori invited you in the past . "
Alpha smiled at Akira who was trying to keep his poker face and said to him .
"Oh my, that's not true at all . I'm just saying that since I think it's totally okay to reward yourself with something like that after working this hard . It's not like I'm teasing you for taking this dangerous request from Elena without thinking much about the reward, you know . "
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/
非公開