「エレナさん。急いで19番防衛地点へ戻りましょう。最低でも防衛地点と連絡が取れるぐらいには近付いておきたいです。最悪既に囲まれているかもしれません。包囲網が厚くなる前に突破しておきたいです。移動速度はお任せします」
エレナが全体に指示を出す。
「分かったわ。サラとシカラベの2人を先頭にして進むわよ。アキラは後方の警戒をお願い。以前の地形情報と大きな差分がある場所は、ヤラタサソリの群れがいることを想定して進むわ。行きましょう」
サラが笑って前に出る。
「アキラ。後ろは
アキラ達は速やかに移動を開始した。
帰り道の通路でアキラ達は、どこに隠れていたのか不思議なほどの大量のヤラタサソリと遭遇することになった。
エレナが奇襲される可能性が低く短時間で防衛地点に帰還できる経路を選択することで、一行は効率的に防衛地点との距離を稼いでいく。
サラ達の戦い振りを見て驚いているアキラに、アルファが当然のことのように話す。
『装備も実力もアキラとは段違いだからね。当然と言えば当然よ。いずれアキラにも同じことができるようになってもらうわ』
『自力でか?』
『......俺にも同じことができるようになると、本当に思うのか?』
アルファが自信満々に笑って答える。
『当然できるわ。誰がアキラを鍛えていると思っているの? まあ
本音を言えば、アキラはできないと思っている。しかしアルファはできると言っている。
既にアキラの中ではアキラ自身の判断よりアルファの判断がより強い説得力を持つようになっていた。アルファがそう言うのならそうなのだろう。その程度の考えだが、アキラの中でその説得力は強烈だった。
できないと認識しているとできないことは多い。本人がそう認識しているからだ。そしてその認識をできるに切り替えることも難しい。何しろできないと認識していて、その上でできないからだ。予想通りの結果が認識をより強固なものにさせ、その認識が更に結果をできないと固定させるのだ。
しかしここでアキラの認識は、できない、から、できる、に上書きされた。認識上の上限は取り払われた。いずれアキラは認識だけではなく本当にできるようになるだろう。それを実現させる手段なら既にアルファが持っているのだから。
アルファが笑ってアキラに話す。
『それなら早速後ろの敵を片付けてもらいましょうか』
アキラが走りながら振り返り、嫌な顔を浮かべた。
『もうあんなに増えてるのか!』
アキラの後方には、アキラ達を追っているヤラタサソリの群れが存在していた。アキラ達が通り過ぎた後に、脇道などから追加で現れた個体などが少しずつ集まったのだ。
アキラが立ち止まってCWH対物突撃銃を構える。増え続けるヤラタサソリの群れにCWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を
き込み続けている。素早く振り返ってヤラタサソリの群れを銃撃した後、エレナ達へ全力で走って追いつき、また振り返って銃弾を放つ。それを繰り返す。
『それなら同じことをすれば良いだけね。昨日と違って今日は後退もできるわ。昨日に比べてちょっと道幅が広いけれどね』
『難易度は上がっているのか!? 下がっているのか!? どっちなんだ!?』
『アキラはどっちだと思う?』
『なら大して違いはないのよ。大して違いがないなら大丈夫よ』
『それは良かった!』
後方の様子が気になったシカラベが戦いながら軽く後方を確認する。そのシカラベがアキラの様子を見て思う。
(笑ってやがる。余裕そうだな。これなら後ろを心配する必要はないか。あの
別にアキラは余裕だから笑っているわけではない。しかしアルファのサポートを得て戦っているアキラの動きと、そのアキラが作り出したヤラタサソリの死体の量は、シカラベにアキラの笑みが余裕から生み出されたものだと誤解させるだけの説得力を与えていた。
(しかしアキラがあれだけ強いのなら、結構強いガキがいるって
シカラベはそう結論を出してそれ以上の思考を打ち切った。シカラベも今は戦闘中なのだ。
アキラが必死に戦いだしてから30分ほど経過した。アキラ達を襲撃してくるヤラタサソリが急激に少なくなる。そして残りを蹴散らすと襲ってくるヤラタサソリの数はゼロになった。
アキラ達は既に防衛地点と連絡が取れる距離まで戻ってきていた。エレナが防衛地点と連絡を取る。
「こちら第9探索チーム。19番防衛地点、応答して」
「こちら19番防衛地点。帰還連絡か?」
「そうよ。それと、ついさっきまで大量のヤラタサソリの群れと交戦中だったわ。群れの規模から相当大規模な巣が存在していると考えられるわ。私達が群れを連れてきた可能性もあるから注意して。細かい話は戻ってからね。以上よ」
防衛地点との通信を切ったエレナが軽く息を吐いた。アキラ達も臨戦態勢を解いて通常の状態まで戻した。
エレナが皆に笑って話す。
「もう大丈夫よ。後はゆっくり歩いて戻りましょうか」
アキラ達はエレナの言葉に同意して19番防衛地点まで歩いて帰還した。
は、ヤラタサソリの擬態ではないかと疑ったこと。
アキラとしてはアルファの存在を話さずにそれらしい説明をしたつもりだった。しかしシカラベはアキラの話を聞いてある程度は納得したものの、完全に納得はしなかった。シカラベがアキラに尋ねる。
「間違っていた場合は懸念事項がなくなって俺も安心できる。それだけだ」
「しかしアキラに対する評価は間違いなく下がるぞ?」
「だろうな。その時は悪いが本部に文句を言って次は俺を入れないようにしてくれ」
アキラは自分の評価が下がることを全く気にしていない。少なくともシカラベにはそう見えた。
ハンターの中には自分の能力を他者に認められないことを我慢できないものも多い。実力を軽く見られると報酬の分配等に影響することもある。
か、その類いのハンターの数が少々多い傾向がある。そのため同じ若手ハンターであるはずのアキラの反応は、シカラベにとって少し新鮮だった。
シカラベの疑問はまだ解消していない。自分の判断が間違っていてもかまわない。アキラがそう判断した上で行動したことはシカラベも理解した。しかしシカラベにはアキラが半信半疑で行動したようには見えなかった。
シカラベがアキラを問い詰める。
「......理由は本当にそれだけか? 間違いの可能性を含めて、確認したかっただけなのか? 俺にはそうは見えなかったんだがな」
「そう言われても、後はもう自分の勘に従ったとしか......」
全部アルファに教えてもらいました、などとシカラベに説明する訳にもいかない。アキラは適当にそう言ってみた。しかしそれは意外にもシカラベの疑問を一応解消させる効果を生み出した。
「......勘か。そう言われたらもうどうしようもないな」
高ランクのハンターの中には非常に勘が良い者も多い。目視不可能なはずの距離にいる敵の気配に気が付いたり、知覚できない場所にいるはずの相手の視線を感じたり、何の予兆もないのにその場にいるのは
彼ら自身すら理解できない認識や行動、判断などの理由を尋ねれば、それは勘と呼ばれるものになるのだ。勘が良く、その勘に従うハンターは、致命的な状況下でも不思議と生き残ることが多い。そのため高ランクのハンターには、勘が良いと自覚している者も多いのだ。
シカラベも自身の勘に従うことが多いハンターだ。そのため、勘を理由にされると反論ができなかった。
アキラに隠し事があり別の理由が存在したとしても、アキラの行動が正しかったことは事実だ。シカラベはこれ以上アキラを追求する必要はないだろうと判断した。
シカラベはアキラ達にそう言い残して去っていった。
シカラベが戻る準備を済ませて防衛地点から離れようとすると、そこにシオリが現れた。
「シカラベ様。少々伺いたいことが御座います。
シカラベが周囲を確認する。カツヤ達が少し離れた場所でシカラベを見ていた。
カツヤをこの場に連れてこない程度の配慮はできている。そう判断したシカラベが少し
「手短に済ませてくれ。拠点に戻って報告書を書いたりと、俺はこれでも結構忙しいんだ」
「では手短に。シカラベ様はアキラ様をどのように評価されましたか?」
「それを聞いてどうする? カツヤ達を連れていかずにアキラを連れていったのは失敗だったとでも言わせたいのか? 悪いが、仮にアキラがどれだけ無能だったとしても、代わりにカツヤ達を連れて行けば良かったとは
にその意思は御座いません。私は純粋にアキラ様の実力を把握しておきたいだけです」
「なぜそれを知りたがる? そっちに関係があるとは思えないが?」
シカラベが少し意外そうな表情を浮かべる。シカラベはシオリの実力と性格を理解しているつもりだ。そのシオリが失態と呼ぶほどの何かがアキラとあったことになる。レイナの護衛であるシオリがそのような危険を見誤るとは思えなかった。
シカラベが少し考えてシオリに答える。
「アキラの実力だが、そうだな、俺やエレナ達と同格とは言わないが、俺達の足手
「カツヤ様よりアキラ様の方が実力があると?」
シオリにそう問われたシカラベが僅かに言い
「......俺の勘はカツヤの方が強いと言っている。俺もカツヤの実力は認めている。だがカツヤを連れて行くと余計なお荷物まで付いてくるからな。その分を相殺するとアキラ1人の方が良いってだけだ」
シカラベが言い淀んだ理由は、シカラベの勘がアキラの実力を見誤ったからだ。それでもシカラベは自分の勘を信じている。自身を今まで生かしてきた勘の否定は、シカラベの今後の判断を狂わせかねない。だからシカラベは自身の勘を肯定した上で、それを否定する内容は口にしなかった。
「......質問には答えたぞ。もう良いか?」
シオリがシカラベに深々と頭を下げる。シカラベはシオリの横を通り過ぎようとして、シオリの横で足を止めた。
「あんたも大変だな」
シオリが頭を上げて前を向いたままシカラベを見ずに
「それが私の職務ですので」
「職務か。その報酬が幾らかは知らんが、他のガキの子守り代まで含まれてはいないんじゃないか?」
「お気遣いなく。お嬢様にお仕えする。その職務に付随する
シカラベが再び歩き出す。そのままシカラベは通路の奥へ消えた。
シオリはシカラベがいろいろと察していたことに気付いていた。シオリが僅かに息を吐く。そして近付いてくるレイナ達に気付いて、すぐにいつも通りの表情に戻した。
みながらシオリに尋ねる。
「......えっと、何を聞いてたの?」
「レイナ様達を差し置いて探索チームに加わったアキラ様について尋ねておりました。アキラ様はシカラベ様達の足手
きはシオリの耳に届いていた。シオリは表情を変えないように注意していた。
アキラから今回の探索の感想を聞いたサラが、少し意外そうな表情でアキラに尋ねる。
「そんなに大変だったの? アキラはちゃんとできていたというか、私には少し結構余裕そうに見えたぐらいだったけど。少なくともアキラの働きは十分及第点を超えていたと思うわ。別に謙遜しなくても、生意気だなんて思ったりはしないわよ?」
アキラが少し必死になって首を横に振る。
「そう? エレナはどう思う?」
「そうねえ。シカラベも文句を言ったりしていなかったし、私もアキラは十分役に立っていたと思うけど、本人がどう思うかは別の話ってところね。今日の探索を無難に
「何なら第9探索チームのリーダーとして、アキラは使い物にならなかったと報告しておいてあげましょうか? そうすればアキラは多分防衛チームに割り当てられると思うわよ?」
アキラが単に謙遜しているだけなら、これでアキラの態度は困ったようなものに変わるだろう。エレナはそう思いながらアキラを楽しげに見る。度の過ぎる謙遜は交渉事で不利益を
「是非お願いします!」
エレナとサラが少し驚いて意外そうな表情を浮かべる。エレナがアキラに尋ねる。
「......えっと、そんなに防衛チームが良いなら、どうして探索チームに加わったの? 確かどこに所属されるかは、多少は選べるはずよね?」
「1階の職員に探索か討伐かのどちらかを選べと言われまして。防衛が良いって言ったら駄目だと言われました。どうも昨日の戦闘を変に評価されたようで。あんなの弾薬費が依頼元持ちだからって弾薬費を気にせずにCWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を撃ちまくっただけなのに。弾薬費が自費なら絶対大赤字ですよ」
「ああ、そういえばアキラはそういう契約だったって言ってたわね。普通はヤラタサソリを相手にCWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を使ったら、絶対採算は合わないわ」
「それで、報告の方をお願いしても良いでしょうか?」
「アキラは本当にそれで良いの? 防衛より探索や討伐に参加した方が絶対稼げるわよ? まあ確かに金の方は弾薬費の兼ね合いで結構引かれるかもしれないけど、ハンターランクは上がると思うし戦歴にも
エレナもサラもアキラの態度からアキラが本気で言っていることを理解した。
アキラの言動はアキラの戦い振りから考えると慎重を通り越して臆病と言っても良いものだ。サラはそれを少し不思議に思いはしたが、特には気にしなかった。エレナはそれを無意識に旧領域接続者の能力と結びつけようとして、意図的に取りやめた。
「分かったわ。報告内容に虚偽を混ぜる訳にはいかないから、アキラが限界を感じていたとか、地下街の探索には実力不足でとても付いていけないと訴えていたと、探索チームや討伐チームに加わるのを非常に嫌がっていたとか、そういう内容になるけど良いかしら?」
「はい。構いません。お願いします」
「普通は逆と言うか、評価を上げてほしい人が多いんだけど、アキラは変わってるわね」
「そうなんですか? 死にたがりが多いんですね。......まあ、ハンターをしている以上、大して違いはないのかもしれませんが」
そう言ってアキラが苦笑すると、エレナとサラも似たような笑みを返した。
その後、エレナとサラも地下街から引き上げていく。アキラは軽く会釈してエレナ達と別れ、エレナ達はアキラに軽く手を振って防衛地点から離れていった。
アキラへの次の指示は防衛地点の警備だ。アキラは防衛地点の外れで地下街の闇を見ながら敵襲に備えている。
厳密には敵襲に備えているのはアルファであり、アキラは黙って突っ立っているだけだ。それでも
アキラはアルファと雑談しながら暇を潰している。アキラがサラやエレナ、シカラベの活躍を思い出しながら話す。
『それにしても、サラさん達はやっぱり強かったな。あれが一流のハンターってやつか?』
しかしアルファがそれを否定する。
『残念ながら一流のハンターを名乗るには装備も実力も全く足りていないわね。クガマヤマ都市を活動拠点にしているハンターにしては強いってぐらいよ』
『あの強さでか!?』
『一流と呼ばれるハンターの大部分は東部の最東部、最前線近辺で活動しているわ。そこにいるハンターの装備も実力も、敵対するモンスターの脅威度も狂っているレベルで高い激戦区よ。最前線のハンター達は戦車ぐらい持っていないと駆け出し扱いされるそうよ。そんな場所でハンター稼業を営めるようにならないと一流のハンターとは呼べないわね』
『世界は広いな。......ん? じゃあカツラギ達はそんな場所から帰ってきたのか?』
カツラギ達とは一緒に戦った仲である。アキラにはカツラギ達がそこまで強いとは思えなかった。
『最前線と言っても結構広い地域なのよ。場所によって危険度は異なるわ。一番安全な場所にたっぷり護衛を付けていったのでしょうね。それでも生きて帰ってこられるかどうかは十分
『そういうのはハンターも同じだな』
『そういうこと。ちゃんと稼げるハンターに成りましょうね。というよりも、成ってもらうからね?』
にはアキラはこれからも過酷な訓練を山ほど積まなければならない。それだけの訓練が受けられるだけアキラは恵まれているのだが、それはそれとして非常にきついことに違いはないのだ。
『その覚悟はできている。覚悟は俺の担当だからな。それ以外はアルファのサポート次第じゃないか?』
アキラとアルファは全く違うことを思いながら笑っていた。
アキラにアルファの考えは分からない。仮に
アルファはアキラに自分の考えなど悟らせない。アルファが情報を出さない限り、アキラがそれに気付くことはない。
その後、アキラは何事もなく勤務時間を終えることができた。
"Elena-san, let's head to defensive point 19 as soon as possible, or at least we should get close enough to contact them. In the worst-case scenario, we might have already been surrounded right now. I want to break off from their encirclement before they close in. We'll depend on you to lead us while adjusting our pace."
Elena quickly ordered the rest of the team.
"Alright then. Sara and Shikarabe take the lead. Akira, you watch our flank. Assume any wreckages that weren't there before as Yarata Scorpions. Let's go."
Sara smiled at Akira as she moved to the front.
"Akira, I'll leave the flank to you."
They then quickly started moving again.
On their way back, they met so many scorpions that made them wonder just where exactly those were coming from.
Elena picked a route that allowed them to reach the defensive point in the shortest time and with the least risk of getting ambushed. Thanks to that, they were able to rapidly close the distance to the defensive point 19.
As Akira looked amazed at how Sara and Shikarabe were fighting in the front, Alpha said to him something that was obvious.
"It's because they have better skills and equipment than you. So it's nothing to be surprised about. You'll be able to do that too, eventually."
"With my own power?"
"...Are you really sure that I too would be able to do that eventually?"
Alpha smiled confidently and said.
"Yep. Who do you think is training you? But well, of course, I won't say that you would be able to do that next month or something like that."
If Alpha was to be honest, she actually did not think that Akira would be able to do that, but she decided to say otherwise.
Akira fully thought that Alpha's reasoning weighted heavier than his own. He fully believed everything that she said. Although it did not sound that serious, but to Akira, Alpha's words were almost absolute.
There were many people who ended up being unable to do anything because they thought that it was impossible for them, and it would be very hard to change such an opinion once it had settled in. Often times, they only considered their present conditions and abilities to arrive at such a conclusion. Since they could not even imagine themselves doing it, this further reinforced their belief that it was impossible to do and they would never attempt to do it.
But here, Akira's subconscious was rewritten from impossible to possible. It changed the upper limit that he had set for himself, then one day, that possibility would turn into reality since Alpha had the means to do that.
Alpha smiled and said to Akira.
"Alright then, let's focus on the monsters behind you and immediately take them out for now."
Akira was still running as he looked behind him, his face quickly turned grim.
"There are so many already?!"
There was a swarm of Yarata Scorpion chasing after Elena's team behind Akira. When they were breaking through the encirclement, more and more scorpions joined in from the other hallways as they slowly built up their number.
Akira stopped and readied his CWH anti-material rifle, he then quickly pulled the trigger as his rifle spat out CWH special ammo at the ever-increasing scorpions. The bullets tore through the scorpion swarm in a straight line. But that crack in the swarm formation was quickly filled by the scorpions behind it.
After Akira shot a few bullets into that swarm, he would quickly turn and run as fast as he could to catch up with Elena and the other Hunters before turning back at the swarm again. He was basically stuck in that loop.
"In that case, you can just do what you did yesterday. Although, unlike yesterday, you have an escape route this time. But on the other hand, this hallway is a little wider than yesterday's tunnel."
"So which one is it!? Is it harder than yesterday!? Or is it easier!?"
"Which one do you think it is?"
"If you ask me, it's actually not that much different from yesterday, so it'll be alright."
"That's good news!!"
Shikarabe who was busy in the front got a bit curious about what was going on in the back and took a glance. As he saw how Akira was acting, he thought.
[This boy is smiling, it seems that he's enjoying this. In that case, I guess there's no need to worry about the flank, huh. It's pretty impressive for a boy his age.]
In reality, Akira was not smiling because he was enjoying it. But looking at his movement that was enhanced with Alpha's support and the number of dead scorpion corpses that he was producing, it made Shikarabe misunderstand that Akira was smiling because he was enjoying the fight.
[But still, if Akira is really this skilled, it's weird that it doesn't cause any rumour... Ah, there's indeed a rumour about a skilled young Hunter circulating, but I guess it gets mixed with Katsuya since their age is not much different, huh. It's hard to believe that there's such a coincidence where two skilled young Hunters exist at the same time. So I guess it's nothing strange that most of the people would think the boy from that rumour is Katsuya rather than him.]
After coming to that conclusion, Shikarabe completely stopped thinking about it. After all, he too was still in the midst of a battle.
It had been 30 minutes since they started running. The number of scorpions coming at them had greatly decreased. Then eventually, there were no longer any scorpions trying to attack them. They were finally able to break off from the scorpions' encirclement.
They were already close enough to defensive point 19 to contact them, so Elena pulled out her terminal and tried to contact defensive point 19.
"This is exploration team 9. Defensive point 19, can you hear me?"
"This is defensive point 19, are you guys on your way back?"
"That's correct. And also, we just fought against a huge amount of Yarata Scorpions. They might be a swarm coming from a big nest somewhere around this area and we might be bringing that swarm with us, so be ready if we do. I'll fill you in on the details later after we return back. That's all."
After Elena ended her call, she sighed in relief. Seeing that, Akira lowered his guard and returned back to his usual mood.
Elena smiled and spoke to her team.
"It's alright now. Let's take it easy and walk back to the defensive point."
The rest of her team agreed as they walked back to defensive point 19.
He said that he got encircled before he realized it and the things that he thought to be just wreckages turned out to be Yarata Scorpions. That was the reason why he was suspicious if the wreckages that were blocking their route were actually Yarata Scorpions that were camouflaging themselves. And he thought that if those wreckages were indeed Yarata Scorpions, then there was a good chance that they were already surrounded back there.
Akira did have something that guaranteed he was correct, and that something was Alpha. But of course, he could not say that to Shikarabe. So instead, Akira answered back in a fashion as if he was trying to gloss over that question.
"If I was wrong, then it would clear up one of my worries, that's all."
"But there's no mistaking it that it would lower your evaluation, you know?"
"Yeah, I bet it will. I'm sorry to say this, but in that case, give your complaint to the HQ and tell them not to put me in the exploration team again."
Akira did not care about his evaluation, or at least, that was how it seemed to Shikarabe.
There were many Hunters who could not stand other Hunters looking down at their ability. There were also cases where something like that would affect the amount of reward that they would receive. Being looked down could be a fatal thing.
The other young Hunters took examples from the young Hunters in Drankam and behaved like them. And so, Hunters who reacted like Akira were very rare and it caught Shikarabe by surprise.
Shikarabe's suspicion was not fully cleared yet. He understood that Akira did that while fully knowing that he might be mistaken. But even so, from his point of view, Akira seemed to act as if he had known for sure.
Shikarabe asked Akira another question.
"...Is that all the reasons? Did you just really want to confirm your worry even though you knew that you might be mistaken? It seems like you're still hiding something from me, you know."
"Even if you say so, I can only say that I followed my intuition..."
There was no way Akira could tell Shikarabe that he knew everything from Alpha. So he could only come up with that random excuse. But surprisingly enough, that was able to clear up all of Shikarabe's suspicions.
"...Intuition, huh? I guess there's nothing more to say if that's the case."
There were many top-tier Hunters who had sharp intuition. Some of them could feel the position of the monsters that were too far to be visible, some them could feel other's gaze from positions that were impossible to spot, some of them could feel when monsters were trying to ambush them in an area that looked completely safe. Some of them could just simply feel the monsters around them. Their ability to read and understand others' moves was closer to a prediction rather than just a guess.
When others asked them the reason behind their decisions or how they knew all of that, they could only say that it was because of their intuition. There were many cases where Hunters with good intuition decided to follow their intuition which allowed them to miraculously survive a very dire situation. Thanks to that, a lot of first-rate Hunters had very good intuition.
Shikarabe was also one of those Hunters who often followed their intuition. So when Akira said that he was only following his intuition, Shikarabe could not question Akira's answer at all.
Akira might be hiding something from him and had a different reason why he did that. But whatever it was, his decision was the correct one. So Shikarabe thought that there was no need to chase that subject any further.
After saying that, Shikarabe turned and left the group.
Shikarabe packed his things and was about to leave the defensive point when Shiori suddenly approached him.
"Shikarabe-sama, would it be okay if I ask you some questions right now?"
He looked around and saw Katsuya's team not too far from there, watching him.
He thought that Shiori might have told Katsuya not to come here. He looked slightly annoyed as he answered back.
"Make it quick. I need to write a report back in HQ. I'm pretty busy, you know."
"Certainly. Shikarabe-sama, how is your evaluation for Akira-sama?"
"What are you planning to do with my evaluation? I don't think, even for a millisecond, that it would have been better to bring Katsuya's team rather than bringing Akira, you know? I'm sorry, but no matter how incompetent Akira is, I would still pick him over Katsuya's team."
"...I didn't think about that at all. I only want to know Akira-sama's real ability."
"Why do you want to know that? I think it's none of your business, isn't it?"
Shikarabe was surprised. He knew well how skilled Shiori was. But even so, something bad happened between her and Akira yesterday that made her even call it a blunder on her part. It was hard to believe that Shiori, who was working as Reina's bodyguard would misjudge someone's ability.
Shikarabe thought for a moment before answering back.
"Akira's skill, huh. Well, I would not say that he's as good as me or the other two, but he at least did not slow us down at all. This might be a little bit of exaggeration, but even if I don't have any problems with Katsuya, I might still pick Akira over them."
"Does that mean that Akira is better than Katsuya?"
When Shiori asked that, Shikarabe hesitated for a bit. His expression then turned serious.
"...My intuition is saying that Katsuya is stronger. I also recognize Katsuya's ability. But if I bring Katsuya, then he would be bringing extra deadweight with him too, you see. Because of that, I think it's better to bring Akira alone."
The reason why Shikarabe hesitated was because he knew his intuition was wrong, but even so, he decided to trust his intuition. If he doubted his intuition that had saved him numerous times in the past now, it would affect his judgement in the future. So he did not say anything to deny it in order to reconfirm his own intuition.
"...I've answered your question. Is it okay if I go now?"
Shiori bowed deeply at Shikarabe. He passed beside her, but he suddenly stopped.
"I guess you're having it rough too, huh?"
Shiori raised her head, she also did not turn back as she smiled and replied.
"It's my duty after all."
"Duty, huh? I don't know how much you get, but I don't think it is worth all the problem looking over other children too."
"Please don't worry, my main duty is to protect milady and it's only a trivial thing that comes along with my duty."
After that, Shikarabe started walking again toward the hallway.
Shiori realized what Shikarabe was trying to say to her and sighed. She noticed that Reina and the others were approaching her, so she quickly returned back to her usual self.
Reina hesitated when she asked Shiori.
"...Uhmm, what were you talking about?"
"I was asking Shikarabe-sama about Akira-sama who they brought with them in place of Milady's group. It seemed that he did not slow the team down at all and the exploration went well without any trouble."
Shiori heard Katsuya's mumble, but she tried to be careful not to change her expression.
Sara, who was asking Akira's opinion about the exploration that they just went through looked a bit surprised and said.
"Is it really that bad? I think you did very well, or at least from our point of view, it seems that you still had some leeway back there. There's no need to try to be humble. Don't worry, we won't think that you're being cheeky or something."
Akira looked fl.u.s.tered and shook his head.
"Is that so? Elena, what do you think?"
"Let's see. Shikarabe did not complain at all, so I think Akira did pretty well back there. Putting aside what you think about your own performance, since today's exploration went well without any problems, I think that you'll be assigned to the exploration team again from now on."
"In that case, as the leader of the exploration team 9, I can mention in the report that you weren't of much use, you know? You might be assigned to the defense team next time if I do that."
If Akira was only being humble there, he would start making a troubled face, Elena was looking forward to seeing it. She believed that too much humbleness could sometimes cause a loss.
"Please do that for me!!"
Elena and Sara were stunned. Elena then asked Akira.
"...Uhmmm, if you really prefer the defense team that much, why did you join the exploration team? Since you can even get assigned to the exploration team, you should be able to work in other teams too, you know?"
"The staff on the first floor only gave me 2 options, whether to join the exploration team or the extermination team. When I told him I wanted to join the defense team, I got scolded instead. It seems that it was because of their evaluation of my performance yesterday, although to be honest, I was only able to do that because the requester paid for my ammo expense. If I had to pay for the ammo myself, I would have gone bankrupt by now."
"Ahhh, now that you mention it, the requester pays for your ammo expense according to your contract, huh. Normally, using CWH special ammo on Yarata Scorpion would only make you end up losing more money after all."
"So then, can I ask you to do that for the report?"
"Are you sure you want us to do that? You can definitely earn more money if you join the exploration team or the extermination team than the defense team, you know? Well, it's true that you would spend more ammo, but it will leave a good record in your battle history and give your rank a boost."
From how Akira was acting, Elena and Sara understood that he was being serious.
Judging from his performance that day, most of the people would think that he was being a coward by saying those words. Sara thought that it was rather strange for him to do that, but to be honest, she was not bothered if Akira really wanted so. Elena thought that it might have something to do with him being someone who could connect to the old-world domain, so she decided to stop questioning him.
"Okay then. But since it's not like I can lie in the report, I'll say something like you felt it was too soon for you to get assigned to the exploration team or like you were still lacking the skills to join the exploration team. It would sound as if you really don't want to get assigned to the exploration or extermination team though, are you really okay with that?"
"Yes, I don't mind at all."
"Normally, people would ask the opposite, to say things that would make them sound better. You're a peculiar boy, Akira."
"Is that so? It seems that there are a lot of Hunters out there who would jump to their own death, huh... Well, since I'm also a Hunter, I guess I'm not the one to say that."
Akira smiled bitterly at the other two, they too gave out a similar smile.
After that, they headed to the surface. Akira lightly bowed at Elena and Sara before they went to the surface. The girls waved at him as they left the defensive point.
Akira's next job was to join the defense team. He was positioned not too far from the defensive point, he was staring at the darkness of the underground city while looking out for any monsters.
To be precise, it was Alpha who was looking out for monsters, Akira was only standing there in silence. But for the other people, it looked like Akira was seriously watching his surroundings. If anything happened, Alpha would immediately warn him. As such, he was actually doing his job properly.
Akira and Alpha were talking to each other while waiting for his shift to end. They were talking about Sara, Elena and Shikarabe.
"But still, Sara-san, Elena-san and Shikarabe-san are really strong. So that is the real ability of first-rate Hunters, huh?"
But Alpha refuted that.
"Unfortunately, their skill and equipment are still far away from being first-rate Hunters. But they are at least strong enough to stick out among other Hunters in Kugamayama city."
"Even though they are that strong!?"
"Most of the first-rate Hunters live in the far east of the eastern district, they are working in the frontline. The level of their skill and equipment, and the monsters that they are fighting, all of them are at a level that you can't imagine. In the frontline, they'll only treat you as a greenhorn unless you have your own tank, you know. You can't call yourself a first-rate Hunter if you are not active in the frontline."
"There are so many things that I don't know about this world, huh... Wait, doesn't that mean that Katsuragi and Darris frequent such dangerous places?"
Akira worked together with Katsuragi before, he did not imagine that Katsuragi was that strong.
"Even though it is called the frontline, it's actually a large area. There are places in the frontline which are not that dangerous. I bet he used to stay in the safest place guarded by a lot of bodyguards. But even if he does so, it's still a dangerous gamble whether he can return back alive from there or not. You should ask him yourself if it was worth the gamble or not. Just because he returned back alive does not mean that he got the money worth all that risk."
"I guess that's also the case for the Hunters, too huh?"
"Yep, that's correct. So let's work to become a Hunter who can earn a lot of money, okay? Or more like, I'll be sure to make you do that."
Alpha smiled confidently. In order to do that, Akira would have to go through an enormous amount of strict and vigorous training. Although it was a kind of blessing to be able to undergo such training, it did not change the fact that it would be very harsh.
"I already resolved myself for that, after all, resolve is my responsibility. So the rest depends on your support, right?"
Akira and Alpha smiled at each other for different reasons.
Akira did not understand what Alpha was thinking, if she was actually tricking him, there was nothing he could do about it. But even so, he decided to trust her.
As for Alpha, she did not tell Akira about what she was thinking, and he would not notice it as long as she did not leak anything out.
Akira finished his shift without any trouble after that.
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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