167 業の帳尻合わせ
ナーシャがアキラの後に付いていく。アキラの少し後ろでその背を見ながらスラム街を歩いている。アキラは振り返らずに進んでいる。
に逃げてしまえば良いかもしれない。そんな考えがナーシャの頭に過ぎったが、実行する気にはなれなかった。アキラは部屋で振り返らずに自分が付いていこうとしなかったことに気付いていたのだ。今も自分がちゃんと付いてきているかどうかぐらい分かるのだろう。だから逃げるだけ無駄だ。そう思っていたのだ。
ナーシャは既に諦めてしまっていた。そのため抵抗する気力も乏しく、無言でアキラの後に続いていた。
アキラが近くに
「乗れ」
ナーシャは大人しく助手席に座った。2人を乗せた車はそのままスラム街から荒野に出て行った。
く過ぎた。アキラは無言で、しかし不機嫌な様子もなく運転を続けている。ナーシャはそのアキラを見て再び困惑していた。
「どこまで行くんですか?」
「ああ、ナラハガカ都市まで行く」
「ナラハガカ都市?」
「知らないか? クガマヤマ都市の西にある都市だ。クガマヤマ都市ほどじゃないがそれなりに大きな都市で、防壁に囲まれた部分もあって、まあ、クガマヤマ都市を小規模にしたようなところ......らしい。知らないか、とか言ったけど、実は俺も知ったのは最近なんだ。だから詳しく知っているわけじゃない。そっちは?」
「な、名前ぐらいは知ってますけど......」
アキラはそれで会話を止めた。ナーシャは困惑を強めて会話を止めてしまった。2人の間に再び沈黙が流れる。時間の流れがナーシャの混乱と困惑を再び質問できる程度まで癒やした。
「そこに私を連れて行ってどうする気なんですか?」
「どうもしない。違うな。連れて行って、置き去りにする」
「置き去りって......」
「俺はナーシャをナラハガカ都市で降ろしたらすぐに帰る。別の都市とはいえ、土地鑑のない場所に置き去りにされるなんていい迷惑だろうが、そこは悪いがこっちの都合だ。俺とそれなりに
えて死ねって意味じゃない。当座の金と、銃と、ちょっとした着替えぐらいは渡す。そこのリュックサックに入ってるから持っていけ。俺がするのはそこまでだ。後は勝手にしてくれ。悪いが自分で頑張ってくれ」
ナーシャがリュックサックを開いて中を見る。ハンター向けの服と銃が入っているのは確認できた。
「後は勝手にしろと言ったけど、クガマヤマ都市に戻ってくるのはお勧めしない。シェリル達にも体面がある。ナーシャを見掛けたら放置はできないだろう。俺もそれを止めたりしない。俺が見逃したんだから手出しするな。そうシェリル達に指示を出すなんてことはないと思ってくれ」
ナーシャは驚きながら困惑していた。アキラとリュックサックの中身に視線を何度も
「......まあ、良いじゃないか。何となくだよ」
ナーシャがどこか思い詰めた表情で
「......無理に聞きだそうとすると、俺の気が変わるかもしれない」
ナーシャがアキラの目を見ながら答える。
「......構いません。教えてください」
暗にこれ以上聞けば殺すと脅されてもナーシャは答えを欲した。その意思にアキラが僅かにたじろぐ。そして無視できないものを感じて軽い
「帳尻合わせだ」
ナーシャが予想外の言葉を不思議に思い僅かに首を
「どういう意味ですか?」
「俺はお前の親友を殺した。その代わりにお前を見逃して、帳尻を合わせようとしている」
ナーシャの表情が凍り付く。口から震える声が出る。
「アルナを、殺したの?」
ナーシャの中に激しい感情が渦巻いていく。親友を殺され、親友を殺した男から情けを掛けられている。それが膨れあがる感情に一層拍車を掛けていた。
「アルナを殺したことを悪いと思っている。あれは仕方がなかった。だから代わりにお前を見逃してやる。そう言いたいの? 帳尻合わせって、そういうことなの?」
「違う。俺は明確な殺意を持って彼女を殺した。そしてその罪悪感からお前を見逃そうとしているとか、そういう意図はない」
するなとは言わない。でも俺も黙って殺される気はない。分かりきった結果を試すつもりなら、覚悟しろ」
アキラとナーシャの隔絶した実力差が状況の推移を止めていた。だがそれも次の言葉で揺らぐ。
共に過ごした記憶を基に、ナーシャの頭にアルナの姿が形作られる。そのアルナが少し寂しそうに笑って何かをナーシャに告げた。
ナーシャの震えが止まる。そして、悲痛な表情で銃をアキラに向けた。
荒野に銃声が響いた。銃弾は荒野に消えていった。発砲の直前にアキラが銃を手で横に押して射線をずらしたからだ。
ナーシャが僅かに笑う。どこか
アキラは静かに首を横に振った。
「悪いが、俺もそれなりに強くなったんだ。だから、俺を殺そうとしているのか、俺に殺されようとしているのかぐらいは分かる。自殺ぐらいは自分でやってくれ。それで死に損なったら、止めぐらいは刺してやる」
ナーシャが崩れ落ちる。自分では結局親友を助けられず、同じように死んであげることもできないと知って、様々なものが入り交じった胸中を
「......帳尻って、何ですか?」
「それに答える前に、一応確認だ。アルナは、お前の親友は、たとえそれが無謀でも、自分の
ナーシャは静かに首を横に振った。
「......いいえ。私が勝手にやりました。アルナなら、自分のことはもう良いから、とか言うと思います。多分ですけど。私がやったことを知ったら、多分怒ると思います」
「......それなら、私を見逃したように、アルナを見逃すことはできなかったんですか?」
糾弾ではなく、純粋な問い。アキラはナーシャからそれを感じて、正直に答える。
「......できなかった。それは俺の性根とかの問題だ。どうしてできないんだと言われても、ナーシャが納得できそうな答えは返せない」
「運が悪ければどんなやつでも死ぬ。俺はそう思っている。ナーシャを見逃したのは、アルナを、良いやつを殺したことで悪くなった俺の運勢を、少しでも上向きにできないかってだけだ。つまり俺の都合だ。帳尻合わせと言ったけど、まあ、帳尻は合っていないだろう。でもやらないよりはましだろう。そういうことだ。別に何か深い理由があるわけじゃない」
暴論ではあるが、アルナが死んだのは運が悪かったからであり、ナーシャが生きているのは運が良かったからだ。それはある意味において正しいのだが、ナーシャはそこに世の不条理を感じた。
「......アルナは、もうどうしようもなかったんですか? どうしても助からなかったんですか?」
「さっきも言った通り、俺の性根がもう少しましならって言われても困る」
「いえ、そうではなく、その、何というか、いろんな意味でです。何か、ほんのちょっとしたことがあれば、アルナは助かったのかもしれない。そういう、何かです」
アキラはアルナが助かったかもしれない可能性を思いつく限り挙げてみた。
あの日アルナがアキラを狙わなければ。アキラが油断していなければ。スリを成功しなければ。逃げた先にカツヤ達がいなければ。カツヤ達がアルナを
「助かったかもしれない何かが、それだけあっても駄目だったのね......。アルナの運の悪さも相当だわ。......知ってました? アルナにはスリの才能があったんです」
「いや」
やらされたこともあって、アルナも大変だったんです。でも、大勢の人からお金を盗んだことに違いはないんですよね。......悪いことをたくさんしたから、アルナの運が悪くなっていたのかな。......私がもっと前にアルナを止めていれば、運も少しは上向いていて、もしかしたら、何とかなっていたのかな......」
自分の無力を悔いたナーシャの目から、泣き疲れて枯れたはずの涙が僅かだが
そうかもしれない。そんなことはない。アキラはどちらの言葉も掛けることができず、ただ黙っていた。
アキラ達は夕暮れ近くにナラハガカ都市に到着した。防壁に比較的近い場所にあるハンターオフィスの前で車を
ナーシャは既にアキラが用意した服に着替えていた。ハンター向けの服で適度に薄汚れている。ハンターオフィスに用がある人間の格好としてはまあまあの服装だ。スラム街の住人にしては上等。着替える前のその程度の服よりは見掛けで侮られることもない。
「それじゃあ、まあ、俺が言うのもなんだが、元気でな」
「はい。アキラさんもお元気で」
社交辞令のような別れの挨拶を済ませた後、ナーシャが真面目な表情でしっかりとアキラを見る。
の人間だ。アキラから盗まれた金でシェリル達の徒党に潜り込み、アルナを逃がすために情報を流したのだ。本来ならば程度はあっても報復を受けてもおかしくはない。しかし見逃された。
「それでも、見逃してくれてありがとう御座いました」
撃って、泣いて、話して、ナーシャは親友の死を良い意味で割り切ることができた。親友を殺された
「良いやつにも事情がある。その事情があるからって、盗まれたり撃たれたり殺されたりするわけにはいかない。それだけの話だ」
「半分は、そうだな」
「それなら残りの半分は?」
「アルナを見逃せなかった俺の器の狭さとか、臆病さとか、実力不足を含めた弱さとかだよ。俺がいろんな意味で十分に強ければ、まあ、蹴飛ばすぐらいで済ませていたかもな。じゃあな」
車を動かそうとするアキラをナーシャが呼び止める。
「最後にシェリルさんに伝言だけお願いしても良いでしょうか? 信頼を裏切ってしまって本当に御免なさい。そう言っていたと。もう会う機会もないでしょうから」
「分かった。伝えておく」
「ありがとう御座います」
ナーシャは視界からアキラの車が消えるまで見送った後、しっかりとした足取りで歩き出した。
シェリルが自室でアキラと情報端末越しに話している。
「......そうですか。ナーシャをナラハガカ都市に......」
「いえ、アキラがそれで良いのなら私達は全く構いません。気にしないでください」
り取りをしたのかは分からないが、通話越しの口調から察するに、非常に穏便に事を済ませたようだ。ナーシャに好印象すら抱いているように感じられる。この様子なら自分達への悪影響もないだろう。シェリルはそう判断してナーシャに感謝すらしていた。
「あとナーシャからシェリルに伝言だ。信頼を裏切ってしまって本当に御免なさい、だそうだ。ちゃんと伝えたぞ。俺が言うのもなんだが、大目に見てやってくれ」
「はい。アキラがそう言うのでしたら、全く問題ありません」
「そ、そうか。まあ、それ以上はシェリル達の都合に合わせて好きにしてくれ。徒党の引き締めとかの問題で無罪放免だと都合が悪いのなら、俺がナーシャを殺して荒野に捨ててきたとでも好きに言ってくれ。その辺は任せるよ。その辺の調整なんか俺には分からないからな。また何かあったら連絡してくれ。その内また顔を出すよ。じゃあな」
「待ってます。あ、最後に一つ聞いても良いですか? どうしてナーシャとアルナが親友だって知っていたんですか?」
「ん? 昼間にシェリルから通話が来た少し前に、先にヴィオラから連絡があって、そこでいろいろ情報を提供されたんだ」
シェリルが盛大に吹き出した。その音がアキラにも伝わり、苦笑気味の声が返ってくる。
「あいつ、私があれだけ言ってもシェリル達がこの件を隠そうとしたらちょっと扱いを変えた方が良い、とか言ってたけど、大丈夫だったな」
「そうだな。じゃあな」
アキラとの通話が切れた。シェリルは思わず大声を上げようとする自分を必死に抑えていた。
今回の件で、シェリルはアキラの非情で、容赦がなく、問答無用な部分を多く見てきた。そのアキラがナーシャを見逃したと知って、アキラの優しさを
シェリルはそれで非常に上機嫌になっていたのだが、最後のヴィオラの話で吹っ飛んだ。
それなら昼間のアキラが自分の話を落ち着いて聞いていた理由も付く。既にアキラは全てを知っていたのだ。そしてちゃんと自分が連絡してきたので、それ以上不機嫌にならなかったのだ。
(......危なかった! 先手を譲るってそういう意味!? 確かにこっちで対処すればアキラに話さないとは言っていなかった! あの女、何て
シェリルとの話を終えた後で、アキラが自分をじっと見ているアルファに気付く。
『見逃したのが不満なのか? まあ、確かに後でナーシャの気が変わって俺を殺しに来る可能性はあるけど、もしそうなったらその時は対処しよう』
付け加えれば、ナーシャを殺しておかなければ生き残れないほど自分はまだ弱いのか、そこまで無力なのか、その確認のためでもあった。自覚は薄いが、良いやつならば見逃しても大丈夫だろう、という打算もあった。
『そういう意味ではないわ。ヴィオラも一応見逃して、ナーシャはわざわざナラハガカ都市まで送ってまで見逃したのなら、アルナを見逃すのも妥当なはず。そうすれば人型兵器と交戦するような面倒事に遭わずにすんだのに。その辺の判断基準はどうなっているのやら。そういう意味よ』
むアルファにアキラは苦笑を返した。
『ところで、カツヤはどう扱うつもりなの?』
『カツヤ? あいつが何か関係あるのか?』
『あの時に一応殺し合ったでしょう。自重するのなら、アキラの更なる面倒事を防ぐためにも、気が進まないとしても見逃してほしいわ』
アキラは納得したように表情を変えてから、どうでも良さそうな表情に変える。
『そういうことか。あいつに関しては見逃すって言うか、どうでもいい。あいつと交戦したのはアルナを殺す障害だったからであって、別にあいつに個人的な恨みがあるわけでも殺す理由があるわけでもないしな。向こうの出方次第だ。こっちからどうこうする気はない』
そこまで言ってから、アキラが表情を真面目なものに変える。
ヤナギサワが自室で空中に視線を向けている。そこには何もないが、ヤナギサワには拡張現実機能により表示されている情報が見えている。大勢のハンターの顔が一覧表示されているのだ。
ヤナギサワがハンターの一人に注目する。するとそのハンターに関する詳細な情報が少し手前に表示された。
「君かな?」
いてから、それを肯定する要素を思い浮かべていき、その後で今度はそれを否定する要素を思い浮かべていく。そして総合的に判断して結論を出す。
前面に出していたハンターの詳細情報を消した後で、別のハンターの詳細情報を表示する。
先ほどと同じように肯定し、否定し、結論を出す。
ヤナギサワはそれを繰り返していた。老若男女のハンターを、生身や義体やサイボーグのハンターを、同じように検討し続けていた。
今までと同じように対象のハンターの情報が表示される。それはアキラだった。
(スラム街出身の子供のハンター。君が旧領域接続者だとする。近場の遺跡であるクズスハラ街遺跡に向かい、そこであいつらと出会って契約したとする。そしてあいつらの助力を得て、旧世界の遺物を発見し、売り払い、装備を整えて、ハンターとして成功していく。君が十分な装備と実力を身に着けたら、あいつらが君をあの場所に誘導する。誘う亡霊。俺があいつらを発見し
ヤナギサワが肯定要素と否定要素から検討して結論を出す。
ここで決めつけるには弱い。ヤナギサワはそう判断して、取りあえずアキラの名前を候補者リストに入れるだけに
ヤナギサワがそのハンターの情報を注意深く読み取る。表示されている情報はカツヤのものだ。
(ドランカム所属のハンター。以前から徒党内で高い評価を得ていたが、最近更に急激に評価を伸ばしている。都市に上がる報告でも以前は少々徒党での身
ヤナギサワが肯定要素の検討を終えてから、今までと同じように否定要素の検討に入る。
(しかしだ。君が突然強くなったのはミハゾノ街遺跡での活動の後だ。いや、セランタルビル及びその周辺での戦闘中か? どちらにしてもクズスハラ街遺跡ではない。あいつらはミハゾノ街遺跡にはいないはず。少なくとも過去の記録を確認する限りは、あいつらはクズスハラ街遺跡でしか勧誘をしていない。記録を盲信するのは悪手だが、無視もできない。それに実力もあの場所に行く基準にはほど遠い。君はセランタルビルでの戦闘で何らかの切っ掛けを
ヤナギサワが結論を出そうとした時、ある引っかかりを覚えて思考をそちらにずらした。
(......セランタルビル、この日付、俺がセランタルビルに行った日に君もここに来ている。俺の予約は取り消されていた。あいつらは普段はクズスハラ街遺跡にいるが、俺の予約を妨害するために一時的にあの場にいたとしたら? そして君と契約を結び......、いや、待て、無理
「......えっと、まだネルゴで良いんだっけ? それともそろそろ名前を変えちゃった?」
「大義に名を
「あっそ。じゃあ当面はネルゴなんだ。それで、何の用?」
「ドランカムに所属しているカツヤというハンターを知っているか?」
ヤナギサワがカツヤの情報に視線を向けながら
「そうだ。そのカツヤの扱いについて、同志に確認を取りたい。いや、許可と言うべきか」
「彼を我々の方で確保したい」
「あー、何だ、俺も君達に協力しているけどさ、一応都市側の人間なんだ。あるハンターを
「カツヤは旧領域接続者だ」
「......へぇ!」
ヤナギサワの表情に再び笑みが戻る。作り笑いではない、非常に楽しげな笑みだった。
Ch 167
Nasha followed behind Akira. She was looking at Akira's back while walking through the street of the slum city. Akira did not look back at all as he kept walking forward.
It might be a good chance for her to run away. But Nasha did not harbour such thoughts, she had no wish to do so. Akira knew that she was not following him when they were back in Sheryl's base even without looking back. That was why she thought that Akira must know whether or not she was following him at the moment and it might be futile to even try to run away in such a situation.
Nasha had already given up. Because of that, she did not have the will to fight back, she was only following behind Akira without saying anything.
Akira hopped on his vehicle that he parked close by and said.
"Get in."
Nasha obediently climbed to the driver's assistant seat. Akira then drove out from the slum and into the wasteland.
It had been a few minutes since Akira and Nasha left the city. Akira did not say anything, but he looked slightly annoyed as he was driving the vehicle. Looking at him, Nasha got even more confused.
"Where are we going?"
"Well, to Narahagaka city."
"Narahagaka city?"
"You've never heard of it? It's a city to the west of Kugamayama city. Although it's not as big as Kugamayama city, it still has a wall protecting it. Well, you can think of it as a smaller version of Kugamayama city... Or so I heard. Though I asked you if you've ever heard of it, to be honest, I only came to know about it recently too. So I don't know much about that city either, how about you?"
"...Uhh, I've heard that name before, but nothing more."
Their conversation ended with that. Nasha got even more confused and stopped the conversation there. Silence returned back between them. With time, Nasha's confusion pushed her to ask another question.
"Uhh, what are you planning to do with me once we arrive there?"
"Nothing. Ahh, that's not right, I'm planning to take you there and leave you in that city."
"Leave me...?"
"I'll head back straight home after I drop you in that city. You might hate me for leaving you in a place that you know nothing about, but that's just how it is, sorry about that. If I leave you somewhere nearby, I feel like it'll only cause trouble later on after all. Or more like, that kind of thing has already happened once before."
"And it's not like I'm going to leave you in an unknown place so that you'll starve to death. I'll at least give you some money, a gun, and some clothes. You can take that rucksack with you. But that's all I'll do for you. Then you can do anything you want. So, sorry, but you'll have to do everything by yourself after that."
Nasha opened the rucksack and looked at its contents. It was true that there were some Hunter clothes and a gun inside.
"Even though I did tell you that you can do anything you want, I don't recommend going back to Kugamayama city. Sheryl and her gang also have their reputation to maintain, so I'm sure that they won't ignore you if they spot you and I have no plans to tell them to let you go just because I spared you."
Nasha was surprised. She looked at Akira and at the rucksack alternately. She looked completely flabbergasted.
"...Well, it's fine, isn't it? It's just out of a whim."
Nasha seemed to be thinking hard, she then said with a rather stiff expression.
"...If you keep pushing your luck, I might change my mind, you know."
Nasha replied while looking straight into Akira's eyes.
"...It doesn't matter, please tell me."
Nasha still asked for an answer although Akira said that he might kill her if she kept pursuing that subject. Akira was a bit surprised by it. But he could feel that it was not something that he could just ignore, so he sighed and said as if he was confessing.
"It's just balancing out the scale."
Nasha did not expect such an answer at all, she tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I killed your best friend. So to balance that out, I'll spare your life."
Nasha froze, she then said with a shaking voice.
"You killed Alna?"
Nasha felt a storm of emotion struck her. Her best friend was killed and the person who killed her best friend was pitying her right now. It stirred her emotion even more.
"Are you saying that you feel guilty for killing Alna, but since you had no other choice but to kill her, you'll spare me in her place? Is that what you mean when you said 'it's for balancing the scale'?"
"No. I did kill her because I wanted to and it's not like I'm sparing you because I feel guilty for it."
"I killed your best friend, so I won't tell you not to hate me. But don't think that I'll just let you kill me. If you want to give it a try although you know the outcome, then be my guest."
Akira pointed out the power gap between him and Nasha and stopped her. But his next sentence changed that.
Nasha imagined Alna's figure from all the memories that they had together. That Alna in her mind threw a sad smile at her and said something to her.
Nasha stopped shaking, she then pointed the gun in her hand at Akira with a pained face.
A gunshot echoed through the wasteland, the bullet went and vanished into the distance. Akira had slightly shifted Nasha's hand right before she pulled the trigger.
Nasha lightly smiled, she somehow looked relieved. But even after that, Akira still did not do anything to her while having a flat expression. The smile vanished from Nasha's face. She looked slightly confused and said with a pained voice.
Akira did not say anything as he shook his head.
"Sorry, but I'm already strong enough to know whether my life is in danger or not. If you want to kill yourself, you can do it on your own. And if you fail even after that, I'll at least warn you not to do that again."
Nasha fell on her knee. In the end, she could not save her best friend and she could not die in the same fashion as her best friend died, all kinds of feelings were mixed inside her heart as she started screaming and crying as if to vent her anger and sadness.
"...What's with that balancing the scale?"
"Before I answer that, I want to confirm something first. That Alna, your best friend, was she the kind of girl who would tell you to avenge her death, although it's hopelessly impossible?"
Nasha shook her head.
"...No, it's something that I did out of my own volition. I'm sure that she would tell me to just forget it. She might even get angry at me if she knew that I tried."
"...Then why didn't you spare her just like how you did to me?"
Akira felt that Nasha was not blaming him, she simply just wanted to know, so he answered her question honestly.
"...I couldn't, it's a matter of my personality. Even if you ask me why I couldn't do that, I don't think I can come up with anything that might convince you."
"It doesn't matter how strong they are, people will die when they get unlucky. That's what I believe. The reason why I'm sparing you is simply because I think it might improve my bad luck, even if it's only by a bit. So basically, I am doing this for my own sake. Although I said it's for balancing the scale, I don't think this is anywhere near enough to accomplish it. But it's still better than nothing. That's all the reason I have, I don't do this because of any other profound reasons or anything."
It was an absurd reasoning. It might be true that Alna was killed because she was unlucky and Nasha was spared because she was lucky, but Nasha still felt something did not feel right.
"...Was there really no other way for Alna? Was killing her the only choice you had?"
"As I said, it's a matter of my personality, so it's not like I can do anything about it."
"No, that isn't what I meant. I mean like, if something else, no matter how small it is, if there was anything that could have been done to save her life."
Akira tried to think of all kinds of scenarios where Alna might have been saved.
If only Alna did not aim for Akira that day, or Akira did not lower his guard, or Alna was not able to steal Akira's wallet, or if Alna did not meet Katsuya, or Katsuya did not protect her that time, or if Katsuya did not push Akira back and triggered the domino effect which led to Alna's death, if that failure did not spread out as a rumour that discredited Akira, if only that rumour did not cause the robbers to attack Sheryl's base, or that Alna did not get kidnapped by Ezont family, or if Katsuya came sooner to save Alna.
"So, even with all of those possible scenarios, Alna still got killed, huh... That would mean she's really unlucky... Do you know that Alna is a really good pickpocket?"
"No."
"She's really talented in stealing wallets. Because of that, all kinds of people tried to get their hands on her to make her steal for them. Alna was having it hard too. But, there's nothing commendable about stealing others' money, right... She might have gotten that bad luck because of all the bad things that she had done up until now... If only I had stopped her sooner, she might have got luckier, and she wouldn't need to die..."
Nasha felt so frustrated by her inability to help, although she had already cried her eyes out, she started to tear up again.
Akira did not say if that was true or not, he just kept quiet.
Akira and Nasha reached Narahagaka city right around evening. He dropped Nasha in front of the Hunter Office near the city wall.
Nasha had already changed to the clothes that Akira gave her. It was rather shabby-looking Hunter clothing. It was a suitable cloth for someone who would visit that Hunter Office. It was rather good clothing for someone from the slum. Compared to her previous clothes, people would ridicule her less with that attire.
"So then, well, it might be weird to hear this from me, but be well."
"Yes, Akira-san. You too."
After they exchanged a rather formal-sounding good-byes, Nasha looked at Akira with a serious face and said.
Although Nasha did not do it intentionally, she also helped spread such horrendous rumours about Akira. Not only did she use the money that Alna stole from Akira to join Sheryl's gang, she also leaked the information about Akira to Alna to help Alna escape. Normally, it would not be strange if Akira wanted to kill her, but he still spared her life.
"But even so, thank you very much for sparing me."
Nasha did shoot Akira, cried her eyes out, and talked all kinds of things with him. One good thing about it was that she was able to move on from her best friend's death. Although it was not like all of her grudges were gone, at least it was enough to help her to stand back on her feet. She bowed deeply at Akira as thanks.
"Even nice people sometimes have to do extreme things too. But even so, that's not enough as a reason to let someone steal my wallet or kill me. That's all there's to it."
"Yes, half of it."
"Then what's the other half?"
"The other half is that I didn't have the leeway to spare her life because of my personality, how cowardly I am, and how weak I am. If only I had been strong enough, well, I might have let it slide with a kick... Bye then."
Akira was about to leave, but Nasha suddenly stopped him.
"Before you go, can I ask you to convey a message for Sheryl-san? I'm really sorry for betraying her trust, after all, I don't think I'll ever meet her again."
"Alright, I'll let her know."
"Thank you very much."
Nasha saw Akira off until he completely vanished from her views, after that, she started walking away firmly.
Sheryl was in her private room when a call reached her.
"...I see, so you left Nasha in Narahagaka city, huh..."
"Please don't be. If Akira is okay with it, then I have no complaint about it either. So please don't worry about it."
She had no idea what kind of deal Akira made with Nasha, but judging from the call, it seemed that they were able to find a peaceful solution. It even sounded as if Akira had a good impression of Nasha. Judging from there, it did not seem that Sheryl and her gang were in any danger at all. Sheryl was thankful to Nasha for that.
"And there's a message from Nasha. She's sorry for betraying your trust. So there, I already told you. Though it might be weird for me to say this, there's no need to hold a grudge against her any longer, okay?"
"Yes, if you said so, then I have no problem with it."
"A-alright then. Well, you can do whatever you want to handle the rest after this. If it might cause trouble in the gang, you can just say that I killed Nasha and dumped her body in the wasteland. I don't know anything about that kind of thing, so that part would be fully up to you. If anything comes up, just give me a call, and also, I'll visit the base again sometime soon. Later then."
"I'll be waiting for you. Ah, can I ask one thing? How did you know that Nasha is Alna's close friend?"
"Hm? Not too long before you gave me that call, Viola called me first and told me all kinds of things."
Sheryl gasped, Akira could clearly hear that, he smiled bitterly on the other side of the call and said.
"She even told me to rethink how to deal with your gang if you tried to hide this matter from me even after all I had said. But it seems that I don't need to worry about that, huh?"
"Right, later then."
Akira ended the call. Sheryl was about to scream but she was barely able to hold herself back.
During the last incident, Sheryl had seen so many instances where Akira showed how ruthless and merciless he could be, how he always shot first and asked questions later. But after he spared Nasha, Sheryl could see a glimpse of Akira's kindness, and she was really happy about it.
Sheryl was so happy up until the point where Viola's name came up.
It all made sense now how calm Akira was when she told him about Nasha during that call. Akira already knew everything even before she had called him. And since she did contact him about that afterwards, Akira did not have any reason to be angry now.
[...That was dangerous!! Is that what Viola meant when she said about taking the initiative!? But didn't she say that she won't say anything to Akira if I choose to tell him myself?! Good grief, just how evil is that woman?!]
After he called Sheryl, Akira noticed Alpha was staring at him.
"Is there anything bad with sparing her? Well, it's true that she might change her mind later and decide to kill me. But when that happens, I can just kill her."
To be more precise, Akira wanted to know if he was still that weak to the point that he should have killed Nasha instead of sparing her, and although he did it mostly unconsciously, he did think that it should be alright since Nasha was a nice person.
"That's not what I meant. You let Viola live and even took Nasha all the way to Narahagaka city, so like, you could have spared Alna too, no? That way you would not have needed to fight that black powered suit and get into all of those troubles, right? So I'm just wondering how you made all of these decisions."
Akira returned Alpha's smile with a bitter smile.
"By the way, what's your plan with Katsuya?"
"Katsuya? What's about him?"
"You did fight each other back then. If you want to be more careful to avoid any possible extra trouble, it might be a good idea to just forget about him even if you actually don't want to."
Akira nodded in agreement but his face immediately changed as if to say that he actually did not care.
"I see, so that's what you meant, huh? Rather than forgetting about him, I actually don't care about him in the first place though. After all, the only reason I fought him was simply because he was blocking me from killing Alna, it's not like I have a grudge against him that I want to kill him or anything like that. So it depends on what he is going to do. Personally speaking, I don't really care about him."
After he said that, Akira's face turned serious.
Yanagisawa was staring at an empty space. There was no one there, but from Yanagisawa's point of view, he could see many faces of Hunters through the augmented reality display that he was using.
Yanagisawa focused on one person. When he did that, detailed information of that Hunter came up in the information terminal on his hand.
"Are you the one?"
Yanagisawa mumbled so as he thought of all the factors that supported his guess, he then considered all the factors that denied it. After doing all the calculations and summing up the result, he then said.
The information about that Hunter vanished and was replaced with the information of another Hunter.
He did just like last time and concluded.
Yanagisawa kept doing so for a few times through information about different Hunters of all ages and genders, cyborgs and non-cyborgs.
Just like last time, information of a certain Hunter was displayed on his information terminal, this time it was Akira.
[A young Hunter from the slum, huh. Let's assume that he can connect to the old-world domain, then let's assume he met one of them when he went to Kuzusuhara ruin and made a contract with them. Due to that contract, he got help to find relics, then he used the money that he got from selling those relics to buy equipment, and eventually, they invited him to that place. The beguiling ghost, it's a rumour that I spread to help people find them. He has become so strong as a Hunter so fast which might as well be thanks to that contract with them. Everything makes sense here.]
Yanagisawa listed all the factors that denied his guess and finally made his conclusion.
Yanagisawa thought that he still needed more materials to decide. So for now, he kept Akira's name on the candidate list. The list had already been filled with so many names. Yanagisawa then moved on to the next Hunter.
Yanagisawa looked closely at the information displayed in front of him. It was about Katsuya.
[A Hunter from Drankam. The gang has always been thinking of him highly, but lately, his performance has been increasing significantly. In the past, his name had even come up in the reports to the City Management, but now some of the people in the City Management even recognize his strength. Judging from the numbers, it can even be said that it's as if he's a completely different person. If he's someone who can connect to the old-world domain and get in a contract with them, that would explain the sudden increase in his performance.]
After listing all the factors that approved his guess, just like before, Yanagisawa started listing all the factors that denied his guess.
[But he only got this strong after that battle in Mihazono ruin. No, is it when he was fighting in that battle near the Seranthal building? Either way, it's not when he was in Kuzusuhara ruin. None of them should be in Mihazono ruin. Or at least, there's no past record of finding them in ruins other than Kuzusuhara ruin. Although putting my trust on the record without much evidence is a bad thing, I cannot just ignore it either. Moreover, he's still far from being strong enough to go to that place. If I have to say, it sounds more like something happened in that battle near the Seranthal building that triggered his growth, it's not a rare thing for Hunters to be pulled out of their slumps because of some kind of trigger.]
When Yanagisawa was about to make his decision, something piqued his interest.
"...Seranthal building, huh? And this date... I was there too when he came to the Seranthal building. But at that time, my appointment reservation was deleted. They usually only stay in Kuzusuhara ruin though, so did they come to the Seranthal building temporarily to erase my appointment reservation? If that's the case, then this boy might... No, wait, it's not right to force my guess like this. If I force it here, it'll affect all my decisions later. In the first place, it's all under the assumption that he can connect to the old-world. It's just an assumption, it's okay to use it for checking all the possibilities, but it's wrong to put my bet on an assumption."
"...Uhh, it's still Nergo, right? Or have you changed your name again?"
"I've given my name for the great cause, so it's not something that I can do lightly numerous times."
"I see. So, you're still Nergo right now, huh? What is it then?"
"Do you know anything about a young Hunter in Drankam by the name of Katsuya?"
Yanagisawa glanced at Katsuya's information and faked ignorance.
"Yeah. There's something that I need to confirm about Katsuya to my other brothers. Or more like, I need their permission."
"I want to secure him."
"Ahh, well, of course, I'll help you out, but I'm still a part of the City Management staff, you see. If you ask me if it's okay to kidnap one of our Hunters, I have no other choice but to say no. Or more like, in the first place, why would you bring that up to me?"
"Katsuya can connect to the old-world domain."
"...Ohh!"
Yanagisawa's smile returned back. But this time, it was not a fake smile, he was really jovial after hearing that statement.
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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