に消費した弾薬はシズカの店で補給済みだ。補給のためにシズカの店を訪れた時、CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾をあれだけ大量に買い込んだはずのアキラがすぐにまた大量の専用弾を補充に来たため、シズカをかなり心配させてしまった。
アキラは遠距離から一方的に攻撃し続けたためだと説明してシズカを安心させた。専用弾の大量消費は
は言っていない。強いて言えば、そこまでしないと安全に戦えないほど危険だっただけだ。
シズカは何かに勘付いた様子を見せたが、無理はせずに無事に帰ってくるように、とアキラに
「27番、来たか。探索か討伐のどちらかを選べ」
アキラが職員の言葉に疑問を抱く。昨日は防衛か探索のどちらかだった。選択肢から防衛がなくなっていた。
「防衛はないんですか? できれば昨日と同じ防衛を希望したいんですけど」
「駄目だ。探索か討伐のどちらかだ。お前は防衛を選べない。お前の昨日の活躍が評価された結果だ。防衛地点で
ろ防衛人員として評価するべきだと思うんですけど」
アキラが悩む。未知の場所を警戒しながら進むのが嫌なら討伐チームの方が良い。確実に大量のヤラタサソリがいるヤラタサソリの巣に突入するのが嫌なら探索チームの方が良い。
放っておくといつまでも悩み続けそうなアキラに、アルファが判断材料を付け加える。
『探索チームなら索敵次第では戦闘を回避できるわ。ただし予期しない戦闘を強いられるかもしれないわね。討伐チームなら十分な戦力を
アキラが19番防衛地点へ移動を始める。立ち去るアキラを職員が微妙な表情で見ていた。
職員が手元の端末に表示されているアキラの情報を見ながら
「......推薦人、キバヤシ。弾薬費保証条件許可者、キバヤシ。配置監督員、キバヤシ。......これは絶対あのキバヤシだろう。つまりあのガキをここに送り込んだのはあのキバヤシということだ。あの無謀好きに好かれるとは、あのガキも運が良いのか悪いのか......」
キバヤシはハンターオフィスの職員とクガマヤマ都市の職員を兼任している人物だ。そして今回の地下街関連の依頼にも口を挟める権限の持ち主だ。以前アキラと縁があったキバヤシには、そこそこ知られている悪評が存在していた。
駆け抜けて生き、駆け抜けて死ね。キバヤシは他者のその生き様を好み、ハンター稼業はその生き様を輝かせるものだと考えている。そしてその悪評とは気に入ったハンターに対して積極的に行っているその生き様の手助けだ。
実力はあるが機会に恵まれず
「賭ける機会があることを喜ぶべきなのか。その機会さえなければ死なずに済んだと嘆くべきなのか。あのガキはどちらになるのか。賭け事などというものは、賭け続けるほど負けやすくなるものだがな」
職員は僅かに哀れむような表情でそう
アルファが地下街を移動中のアキラに尋ねる。
『アキラ。どうして探索チームを選んだのか聞いても良いかしら。昨日のような予想外の戦闘を避けるのなら討伐チームの方が良いと思うわよ?』
『その代わり、CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を大量に消費する。できれば消費を抑えたい。それに討伐チームに参加して、また何かあって、下手にそれを評価されたら、CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を使用しないと
アキラがどことなく言い訳するように答える。
『なんだよ。確かに討伐チームに参加した方が戦闘経験をたくさん積めるかもしれないけど、それで死んだら元も子もないだろう』
『高価な専用弾をシズカの店で大量に購入すればシズカの店の売上げに貢献できる。でも大量に購入した分だけシズカを心配させる。後者を優先させたわね?』
『別にその選択を責める気はないわ。でも私としては、アキラが確かな実力を身につけて、より良い装備を手に入れて、ヤラタサソリの群れ程度軽く蹴散らせるようになることで、心配する必要など全くない存在になることをお勧めするわ』
アキラが少し無愛想に短く答えた。
アキラが19番防衛地点に到着した。19番防衛地点は地下街の大広間に設置されていた。周辺の未調査部分を制圧するための簡易拠点だ。
19番防衛地点には重要な拠点を防衛するために多数のハンターが配備されている。また探索チームや討伐チームの休憩場所にもなっている。そのため場はかなり
広間の中央にはこの場を指揮している都市の武装職員達がいた。アキラが端末の指示に従ってそこに行くと、管理者らしき職員がすぐにアキラに気付いて声を掛けてくる。
「27番だな。お前が合流する探索チームは、今は地下街を探索中だ。戻ってくるまで適当に待っていてくれ。この広場から出なければ好きにして良い。暇なら警備でもしていてくれ。ついでにヤラタサソリがいたら駆除してくれ」
いている場所を探して立ち去った。
職員が探索チームに連絡を入れる。
「こちら19番防衛地点。第9探索チーム。応答しろ」
職員の端末から女性の声がする。
「こちら第9探索チームよ。定期連絡には早すぎるわね。何かあったの?」
「そちらが希望していた追加要員が到着した。必要なら一度戻ってきて合流してくれ」
端末から男性の声で追加要員に対する要望が加わる。
「使えるやつなんだろうな? 索敵要員は足りてるんだ。必要なのは火力だぞ?」
り好みするな。まあ、昨日相当数のヤラタサソリを倒したやつだ。大丈夫だろう。嫌なら前のやつらを連れていけ。お前が嫌がったから別の要員を手配したんだろうが」
先ほどの男性が嫌みっぽく答える。
「連中を連れていくぐらいなら、いない方がましだね」
先ほどの女性が職員に話す。
「取りあえず一度戻るわ。収集データ受渡しの用意をしておいて。以上よ」
「第9探索チームが戻ってくる。本部へ取得データの送信準備をしておけ。以前のデータ変換が終わっていなくても、データの受信だけはするように言っとけ」
職員の部下が敬礼して準備の
「......まあ、大丈夫だろう。こいつの昨日の戦歴は確かなんだ」
職員の端末にはアキラの情報が表示されていた。職員の表情を僅かに険しくさせたのは、そこに記載されているキバヤシの名前だった。
アキラが余り強そうには見えなかったこと。そしてそのアキラを今回の依頼に推薦したのが、ハンターに無謀な試みを勧めるキバヤシであること。それらがアキラの実力を大いに疑わせたが、職員はアキラの昨日の戦歴を信じることにした。
アキラが防衛地点の周囲を確認している。
アキラがここまで来た方向の通路は強い照明で照らされている。それ以外の方向は真っ暗だ。光源のない地下街の闇がどこまでも続いている。単純に設置する照明が足りていないのか、調査とヤラタサソリの駆除が済んでいないので
アキラが周囲にいるハンター達を見ていると、警備や休憩をしているハンター達の中に知った顔が混ざっていることに気付いた。カツヤ達だ。
『あいつらもここに配備されたのか』
『そうみたいね。分かった以上、彼らからもっと離れましょう』
このまま何事もなく依頼の最低経過時間が過ぎないものか。アキラが都合の良いことを考えていると、背後からアキラを呼ぶ声がする。
アキラが声の方に振り向くと、サラがアキラの方に近づきながら笑って軽く手を振っていた。
アキラがサラの所まで行って軽く会釈する。
「サラさん達もこの依頼を受けていたんですか?」
「そうよ。厳密には仮設基地周辺の警備を請け負っていたのだけど、
「俺ですか? ということは、俺が参加する探索チームって......」
「そういうこと。私とエレナがいるチームよ。リーダーはエレナ。こっちに来て」
アキラはサラに連れられて大広間の中央に行く。そこには都市の職員達の他にエレナの姿があった。エレナもすぐにアキラに気づき、近付いてくるアキラに軽く手を振った。
「第9探索チームにようこそ。私がチームリーダーのエレナよ」
「でも追加要員がアキラだとは思わなかったわ。できる限りフォローはするつもりだけど、結構危険だから注意してね。未調査部分の調査だから、当たり前だけどモンスターの分布とかも正確には分かっていないのよ。何がいても不思議じゃない。そういう心構えで、十分注意してね」
「分かりました。エレナさん達の足を引っ張らないように十分注意します」
しい。良い心がけね。......危ない時は無理せず頼ってちょうだい。アキラに何かあったらシズカも悲しむわ」
「はい。その時はお願いします」
エレナがアキラの返事に満足して
しかしエレナが彼女の機材で収集したデータは、その有用性から特別にデータ変換の手間を掛けてまで別枠で使用されていた。
エレナから軽く説明を受けたアキラが素直な感想をエレナに話す。
「そんな特別扱いをされるデータなんですか。やっぱりエレナさんは
アキラが少し意外そうに話す。
「そうなんですか? 俺ならモンスターとの戦闘はできる限り避けたいですし、遺跡の中で迷うのも御免です。エレナさんの仕事を軽視するなんて、俺にはちょっと信じられませんが......」
優秀なハンターの基準は人それぞれだが、強力なモンスターを
それは時に直接的な火力要員ではないハンターを軽視する思考を招く場合がある。エレナも過去に何度も経験があり、いろいろと嫌な思いをしてきたのだ。
クズスハラ街遺跡で遺物を探していた頃のアキラは、アルファの索敵と地理の把握だけで生き残ったようなものだ。そのためアキラはエレナの仕事の重要性をよく理解していた。
エレナはアキラが本心で自分の仕事の役割を、重要性を認めていることを感じ取り、内心かなり喜んでいた。エレナが機嫌を更に少し良くして話す。
「それが意外に多いのよ。そしてそういうやつに限って、モンスターと遭遇して交戦して、交戦音で別のモンスターを
エレナはこのまま愚痴を続けてしまいそうな自分に気付く。アキラに愚痴を言い続けても聞いている方は楽しくないだろう。そう考えて気を取り直して話の方向を少し変える。
「一応言っておくけど、確かに私達の火力要員はサラだけど、私だってそれなりに戦えるのよ? 情報収集機器は照準精度の向上とかにも役に立つわ。それにこの前から私も強化服を着用しているから、結構重量のある装備も余裕を持って扱えるようになったわ。私が情報収集要員だからって、火力に不安があるとは思ってほしくないわ」
「そういえば、エレナさんはこの前から強化服を着用するようになったって......」
「情報収集機器の重量があるから、サラの装備品よりは軽い銃になるけど、それでも十分威力が......」
話にエレナの強化服が出てきた時、アキラは以前にシズカの店で見たエレナの姿を思い出してしまった。
強化服を着用したエレナの姿だ。肌に密着して魅力的な体の線を強く浮かび上がらせる強化服を着用していたエレナの姿だ。
い、と思った時には既にアキラの脳裏にその光景が浮かんでいた。アキラは慌ててその光景を頭から振り払ったが、それを思い出したことによる動揺までは完全に振り払うことはできなかった。
エレナは話題とアキラの態度から、アキラが以前に見せた自分の格好を思い出してしまったことにすぐに気付いた。平静を保とうとしているアキラの態度を見て、エレナも平静を保とうとする。しかしエレナも動揺を完全に消すことはできなかった。
すように軽く笑っている。その2人を見てサラが楽しげに笑っていた。サラはシズカから話を聞いて2人の事情を知っていたからだ。珍しい態度を見せる親友の姿を、サラは悪いとは思いながら楽しげに見ていた。
アキラの脳裏にサラの全裸の姿まで浮かんでいたとは、
アキラが場の空気を変えるために少し強引に話題を変える。
「そういえば、エレナさん達の探索チームは何人ぐらいになるんですか?」
エレナがアキラの誘いに乗って、気を切り替えて答える。
「アキラを含めて4人よ」
「4人? えっと、俺の感覚では少ない気がしますけど、それぐらいの人数が普通なんでしょうか? もう少し多くても良い気がしますけど」
地下街の未調査部分にはそのヤラタサソリの巣が存在しているのだ。調査が主任務の探索チームとはいえ、アキラには4名は少ない気がした。
サラがアキラの質問に答える。
「本当はもう少し多めの人数で探索する予定だったのよ。ただ、ちょっとあってね」
聞き返すアキラにエレナが答える。
アキラが2人の表情を見る。アキラには問題に対するサラとエレナの態度が少々異なっているように見えた。問題視している箇所は、サラは個人に対して、エレナは集団に対してのようだ。
「悪かったな。人員調整の問題は、俺からも強く言っておくよ」
探索チームの最後の1人はシカラベだ。カツヤ達と同じドランカム所属のハンターで、以前はカツヤ達の監督役をしていたハンターである。ただしシカラベは既にその役目を降りており、カツヤ達とは別行動を取っていた。
シカラベがアキラに話す。
「俺はシカラベだ。第9探索チームの一人だ。お前が追加要員のハンターだな?」
シカラベがアキラを値踏みするように見る。
「追加要員は歓迎するが、足手
どことなく挑発気味に話すシカラベに、アキラが平然と答える。
「俺を使い物にならないと判断した場合の文句は、俺ではなく本部に言ってくれ。俺をここに派遣したのは本部だからな。本部にたっぷり文句を言って、新しい替えの要員の実力に期待してくれ」
あからさまにアキラの実力不足を懸念するシカラベの問いに、アキラは自分を送った人間が悪いと答えた。
そもそもアキラは防衛チームの方が良かったのだ。アキラには実力不足のハンターを探索チームに派遣した人間の文句まで聞くつもりはなかった。
アキラの返事はシカラベの予想とは正反対のものだった。自身の実力を自信満々に話す。又は自身の能力を疑われたことに対して不満を言う。シカラベはそんな内容を予想していた。
しかしアキラの態度からシカラベがアキラの能力を低く見積もったことに対する不満は一切見られない。シカラベはそのことに少し驚いた。
シカラベはその驚きを隠しながら、どこかアキラを見下した感じを出しながら尋ねる。
「随分弱気な発言じゃねえか。そんなに自分の実力に自信がないのか?」
アキラが平然と答える。
シカラベはアキラの返事を聞いて軽く吹き出した。そして少し機嫌良く話す。
れた馬鹿どもの相手をすることが多くてな。少なくともそんな馬鹿じゃないことは確かなようで安心だ。それなら大丈夫だろう。本部も実力が不確かなやつをここに送るほど間抜けじゃないだろうしな」
シカラベはそう言って軽い愚痴と一緒にアキラに謝罪した。
「俺の方の準備はもう済んでる。出発するならいつでも言ってくれ」
エレナが自分の情報端末でデータ転送の残り時間を確認する。エレナの情報端末にはデータ転送の状況が表示されている。全データの送信完了までの予測時間もそこに表示されていた。
「データの受渡しが済み次第出発するわ。あと5分ぐらいよ。アキラもそれで良い?」
アルファが指を差している。アキラがそれに気付いてその方向を見る。そこには不満げな表情を浮かべているカツヤを先頭にして、アキラ達の方へ歩いているカツヤ達がいた。
Akira already fully refilled his ammo in Shizuka's shop yesterday. Shizuka looked worried when he came to her shop and bought all the CWH anti-material rifle's special ammo, although he already did that the day before too.
In order to reassure Shizuka, Akira said that he always kept his distance and shot the monsters from afar. It was exactly because he was thinking of keeping his safety that he bought all of the special ammo. He was somehow able to convince her after explaining it to her as such.
Akira was not lying. To be more precise, he knew that he was doing such a dangerous thing which left him with no other choice but to do this to ensure his safety.
Shizuka's intuition picked up something suspicious, but she just told Akira to be careful and to be sure to return back alive while smiling gently at him. She did not say anything more than that. After all, it was not like she could tell him not to go.
"Number 27, you're finally here. Exploration team or extermination team, pick one."
Akira looked puzzled. Yesterday, he was given the choice to either join the defense team or the exploration team, but this time, he was not given an option to join the defense team.
"Can I join the defense team again? If it's possible, I want to join the defense team again just like yesterday."
"No can do. Exploration team or extermination team. You can't pick the defense team. It's because of the skill that you showed yesterday, the HQ thinks that it would be a waste to assign you to the defense team. Aren't you glad that we think highly of your skill?"
"...Wait for a sec, if you're going to evaluate me from my performance yesterday, you should evaluate it as a part of the defense team."
Akira hesitated. If he did not want to travel around an uncharted area, he should join the extermination team. But if he hated the idea of fighting Yarata scorpion swarms or charging into their nest, then he should join the exploration team.
Since it seemed that Akira would not be able to decide on anything soon, Alpha made a suggestion to him.
"You might be able to avoid fighting monsters if you join the exploration team, but on the other hand, you might be thrown into unexpected battles. As for the extermination team, they should have better firepower to fight the monsters, but there's no mistaking it that you would have to fight monsters. After all, that's the main job of the extermination team. If you want to make sure you have enough support in case you get to face something like yesterday again, I recommend you join the extermination team."
As Akira turned around and headed to the defensive point 19. That staff looked at Akira's back while making a puzzled face.
The terminal on that staff's hand was showing the data about Akira.
"...This's the boy who Kibayashi endorsed. He is also the one who signed the ammo waiver. Lastly, the one who's assigning this boy's post is also him... This must be the same Kibayashi, huh. In short, it's him who sent that boy here. To think that reckless guy really took a liking to this boy... I'm not sure if this boy is actually lucky or not..."
Kibayashi was affiliated with both Hunter Office and Kugamayama city. He was in a position where he had the veto right in this underground city exploration joint operation. This Kibayashi guy who had met Akira in the past was pretty infamous.
To go out in the world and return back alive, or to go out in the world and die, Kibayashi loved such lifestyle and he believed that the Hunters who considered this as their way of life shone the brightest. He was famous among his peers for proactively pushing the Hunters who he was interested in and helping them live such a way of life.
There were Hunters who had the skill but not the opportunities, these Hunters wished for a chance to overturn their lives. When Kibayashi found these Hunters, he would gleefully offer them high-risk high return requests. To these Hunters, his offer was very attractive. There were only 2 possible outcomes for those Hunters, either win big or lose big.
"I don't know if he should be happy with this chance or should he hate it. He might still be alive if he did not take this request. After all, when it comes to gambling, it's easier for him to lose his bet the more he gambles."
That staff looked like he felt sorry for Akira as he mumbled.
On his way to the underground city, Alpha asked Akira.
"Akira, is it okay if I ask you why you chose the exploration team? If you want to avoid unexpected fights like yesterday, it's better if you join the extermination team, right?"
"But in exchange, I would have to use a lot of CWH special ammo. I want to retain as much ammo as possible, you see. Moreover, if I join the extermination team and something like yesterday happened, they might think that I'm a very skilled Hunter and force me to fight monsters that I can't fight without special ammo. I want to avoid that no matter what."
Akira's answer somehow sounded like an excuse to her.
"What? It's true that I can get more experience if I join the extermination team, but it would be meaningless if I die, am I wrong?"
"You'll be contributing to her revenue if you buy a lot of CWH special ammo from Shizuka's shop, but on the other hand, it'll make her worried every time you do that. You prioritized the latter, didn't you?"
"It's not like I'm blaming you for picking that option. But if you ask me, I would rather you get yourself better equipment and get strong enough as soon as possible so that you can take out Yarata Scorpion's swarms like they're nothing. That way, you don't have to worry about anything."
Akira replied back swiftly and bluntly.
Akira arrived at defensive point 19. The defensive point 19 was located in a big hall in the underground city. It was placed there in order to secure the uncharted area around it.
There were multiple Hunters stationed here in order to protect this important defensive point. It was also used as a place for the exploration and the extermination team to rest. Because of that, the hall was bustling with Hunters.
There were some staffs from the HQ in the middle of the hall giving orders to the Hunters. Akira followed the instructions on his terminal and headed to the centre of the hall, one of the staff noticed Akira and called him.
"You're number 27, right? The exploration team that you're going to join is in the midst of an exploration right now. Wait here for a bit until they're back. You can do anything you want as long as you stay in this hall. If you have nothing to do, you can at least help us watch the place and clean up any Yarata Scorpions that you see."
Akira looked for an empty space and moved there, leaving the staff alone.
That staff took out his terminal and contacted the exploration team.
"This is defensive point 19. Exploration team 9, answer me."
A girl's voice was heard from the terminal.
"This is exploration team number 9. Isn't it a bit too soon for the regular report? Is there anything wrong?"
"The extra Hunter that you requested has arrived. Come back here if you want to pick him up."
A guy's voice suddenly interjected it, inquiring about that new Hunter.
"It better be someone useful, alright? We have enough people for scanning the area, what we need is more firepower, you know?"
"Don't be picky. Well, he took out a whole load of Yarata Scorpions yesterday. I'm sure he'll be useful. If you don't like him, you can just choose the same guys that you chose before. Don't you realize that we went through all the hassle in picking him because you didn't want to go with those previous guys?"
That guy then replied back in annoyance.
"I would rather go alone than bringing those guys along."
Then the voice returned back to the girl from before.
"We'll head back to the defensive point. Be ready to receive the data that we gathered. That's all."
"Exploration team 9 will return soon. Be ready to send the data to HQ. Even if the data conversion from the previous one is not over yet, be sure to at least properly receive the new data!"
The other staff saluted him and left to make the preparations. That staff looked at his terminal and mumbled.
"Well, looking at that boy's battle record from yesterday, I'm sure it will be alright."
His terminal was showing the Hunter data for Akira. But the thing that worried him the most was Kibayashi's name there.
Akira did not look that strong from the outside, but even so, he got recommended for this dangerous request, and the one who recommended him was the reckless-lifestyle-lover Kibayashi. His name made that staff doubt Akira's ability, but he then decided to trust Akira's battle record from yesterday.
Akira looked around and checked the area around the defensive point.
The route that he took to that place was very well illuminated, but the other areas around that place were still pitch black. The underground city was wrapped in darkness without any lighting. Akira did not know whether they did not install illuminations in the other places because they just ran out of illuminations or because those areas were not safe yet.
Among all the Hunters who were guarding or just resting in that hall, Akira found some familiar faces. It was Katsuya's group.
"So those guys are also assigned here, huh."
"It seems to be so. But Akira, now that we know they're here, let's put more distance from them."
As Akira was wondering if he could get lucky such that he would just have to stay in that place until he finished his shift, all of a sudden someone called him from behind.
Akira turned to the source of that voice and saw Sara walking towards him while lightly waving at him.
Akira went to meet Sara. He made a slight bow and asked.
"Sara-san, are you taking this request too?"
"Yep. Although to be more precise, we took the request to guard the temporary HQ, but we somehow got assigned to explore the underground city instead. But that aside, so you're the extra Hunter, huh? That was a bit of a surprise."
"Me? Wait... That means the exploration team that I'll be joining is..."
"Yep, you got that right. It's the team in which Elena and I are. The team leader is Elena, come with me."
Sara then took Akira to the centre of the hall, where Elena, the HQ staff and other Hunters were. Elena immediately noticed Akira and waved at him as he was walking toward her.
"Welcome to the exploration team number 9, I'm the leader of the team, Elena."
"But still, I didn't expect that the extra Hunter would be you, Akira. Of course, I'll help you as much as possible, but it's still dangerous out there, so be careful, okay? We're going to explore an uncharted area, so we know nothing about the monster distribution in that area. It won't be strange to find something unexpected there. So be sure to be really careful, alright?"
"I understand. I'll be careful not to drag Elena-san and Sara-san down."
"Nice, you're a good boy... You can rely on us if things get dicey. After all, Shizuka too will be sad if anything happens to you."
"Okay, I'll be relying on you when that happens."
Elena was happy with Akira's answer as she smiled at him. Akira did not show any excessive excitement nor nervousness, he was completely calm and composed. Elena who saw that thought that he should be fine.
But the data that Elena gathered was so valuable that the HQ made an exception for her and went as far as to convert the data themselves.
Akira looked genuinely amazed as he listened to Elena's explanation.
"So the data that Elena-san gathers even gets special treatment, huh. As I thought, Elena-san is amazing."
Akira sounded surprised as he said.
"Is that true? Well, for me, I rather avoid fighting any monsters and I definitely don't want to get lost inside a ruin. I can't believe there are Hunters who make light of Elena-san's job..."
Although every Hunter had different opinions on what it meant to be a good Hunter, most of the Hunters evaluated others' abilities based on whether they could easily defeat a powerful monster or not. It was true that as long they kept working as Hunters, fighting prowess was indeed an indispensable skill. It was also the easiest way to show how good they were to the other Hunters.
Because of this reason, some Hunters looked down on other Hunters who did not focus on polishing their firepower. Elena had experienced such an unpleasant thing so many times in the past.
When Akira was exploring Kuzusuhara ruin, he realised that he was only able to survive because of Alpha's ability to gather information about the enemies and the topography around him. That was exactly why he understood how important Elena's job was.
Elena somehow could feel that Akira genuinely understood her role and its importance. She was actually very happy deep inside her heart, so she gleefully continued talking.
"Surprisingly enough, there are quite a lot of Hunters who think like that, you see. But it does not end there, some of them would encounter some monsters, attract more monsters from that fight, waste a lot of ammo before starting to curse and run away, and then to finally get lost inside the ruin. Not only do they waste ammo and time that could have been used to search for relics, they even have the guts to complain saying that it's because we didn't do our job properly, you know?!! Those Hunters are just the worst!"
Elena realized that she was about to start complaining endlessly, and of course, Akira would not be happy to listen to her endless complaint. So she decided to end her complaints and came up with another topic.
"Ah, let me tell you this beforehand, even though it's true that I rely on Sara for firepower, I'm pretty good at fighting too, you know? I can use my information-gathering device to increase my rifle's accuracy. Moreover, I bought myself an augmented suit not too long ago. Thanks to that, I can use heavy rifles that I couldn't normally use before. So just because my main duty is to gather information, it doesn't mean that I'm bad at fighting."
"Now that I think about it, Elena-san, you're now using that augmented suit from before, huh..."
"Well, my information-gathering device is pretty heavy after all, so I can only use a lighter rifle compared to Sara. But even so, it still packs quite a punch..."
As the subject about Elena's augmented suit came up, Akira could not help but to remember the augmented suit that Elena used when he visited Shizuka's shop.
Talking about the figure of Elena in her augmented suit, it reminded Akira about her beautiful curves highlighted by her augmented suit and also the image of fl.u.s.tered and blushing Elena in her seductive augmented suit.
When Akira realised that he made a big blunder, he already remembered those images in his head. He frantically tried to distract his mind, but since he was so shocked, he was not able to completely forget those images.
Seeing Akira's reaction Elena immediately realized that he was recalling the time when she met him in Shizuka's shop. Watching how hard he was trying to keep calm, she also tried her best to do so. But it was not like she could completely calm down either.
Akira and Elena's conversation stopped, both of them smiled at each other trying to gloss over the subject. Sara smiled mischievously looking at both of them, she had heard what happened from Shizuka, so she knew what was going on now. Seeing how her best friend was acting so unlike herself, she felt pitiful but also found it interesting at the same time.
Of course, there was no way Sara could know that Akira also thought of her n.a.k.e.d image.
In order to change the mood, Akira also tried to come up with another subject.
"By the way, how many people are in Elena-san's group?"
Elena immediately hopped on to that subject and quickly answered back.
"With you included, it's 4 people."
"4 people? Uhh, if I'm not mistaken, isn't that smaller compared to a normal group? I think it's a good idea to get more people."
There were Yarata Scorpions' nests located in the uncharted areas of the underground city. Although the exploration team's duty was to only scout those uncharted areas, Akira still thought that 4 people were too small. Of course, there was also a possibility that such a small number was not a problem with their abilities, but it was not a number that could reassure other Hunters without any further explanation.
Sara answered Akira's question.
"Well, to be honest, we wanted to get more Hunters, you see... But something happened."
This time, Elena answered Akira's question.
Akira looked at both Sara and Elena. Judging from their expression, he noticed that there was a slight difference between Sara's expression and Elena's expression. He thought that Elena and Sara had different kinds of problems. Elena's problem was with the group itself while Sara's problem was more on a personal level.
"I'm really sorry. I'll be sure to tell them to take care of that problem beforehand next time."
The last member of the team was Shikarabe, a Hunter from Drankam just like Katsuya and his friends. He was the Hunter who acted as Katsuya's guardian in the past. But right now, Shikarabe had been released from that position and Katsuya's group was already moving separately from him.
Shikarabe turned to Akira and said.
"I'm Shikarabe. I'm also on the exploration team number 9. Are you the Hunter who will join this team?"
Shikarabe looked at Akira as if he was evaluating him.
"I do welcome an extra Hunter, but I hate to get someone who would pull us down like the previous one. Are you sure you're not mistaking something?"
Although Shikarabe sounded as if he was provoking him, Akira just answered back as if it was nothing.
"If you think that I'm a dead weight, please tell that to HQ. I've tried... It's the HQ who assigned me here after all. So if you want to complain, then complain as much as you want to the HQ and get a replacement for me."
To someone who was obviously telling him that he was doubting his ability, Akira replied back telling him to blame the people who sent him to that place instead.
In the first place, Akira preferred to be assigned to the defense team. So he did not want to listen to the other Hunters' complaints that should have been directed to the people who assigned him to the exploration team even though he did not have enough skill.
His answer was the opposite of what Shikarabe expected. He thought that Akira would start boasting about his skill or snap back at him who doubted his skill.
But looking at how he reacted, it seemed that Akira did not feel any displeasure towards other people who looked down on his skill, and that was rather surprising for Shikarabe.
Shikarabe tried to hide his surprise as he intentionally mocked and provoked Akira.
"That sounded really pathetic, don't you have confidence in your own skill."
But Akira replied back calmly.
After hearing Akira's answer, Shikarabe burst out in laughter. His mood turned better as he said.
"It's all good, I'm sorry about that. I know a lot of foolish Hunters who are so full of their abilities even though they have no proof to support their claim. At least, I know that you're not one of those fools. Well, I bet it'll be alright. The people in the HQ are not that stupid as to send someone with questionable skills here."
Shikarabe said that as he grumbled and apologized to Akira.
"I've already finished my preparation, I can go anytime you're ready."
Elena checked her information terminal which was transferring data. Her terminal showed the estimated time needed to finish the data transfer.
"We'll go once I'm finished with the data transfer, it'll still take about 5 more minutes. Are you okay with that, Akira?"
Alpha suddenly pointed her finger and Akira instinctively turned to that direction. Not too far from them, he could see Katsuya's group walking towards him with Katsuya leading in the front. He obviously looked displeased.
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