カツヤはシェリルと様々な話題で話を弾ませていた。
様々な話題といっても、話題の内容は大きく偏っていた。カツヤが所属するドランカムの話だったり、カツヤが旧世界の遺跡に行った時の話だったり、討伐依頼を受けてカツヤが倒したモンスターの話だったりと、主な話題はカツヤに関するものだった。
カツヤはシェリルの服装や雰囲気から、シェリルのことを裕福な階層の人間だと勘違いしていた。防壁の内側の人間が護衛を伴って防壁の外の店に来ることは珍しい話ではない。ハンターオフィスもある防壁と一体化している巨大なビルの中には防壁の内外の人間が集まっている。その近場なら都市の下位区画でもかなり治安が良いため、
シェリルはカツヤとの会話に違和感を覚えていた。
カツヤの顔立ちは好みの差はあれど十分上質といえる。カツヤに接客をさせれば多くの女性が群がるだろう。カツヤの話が真実ならば、カツヤは若手の有能なハンターで、ドランカムでも一目置かれている存在ということになる。同じ徒党の仲間を助けるために奮闘するカツヤの話から判断すると、仲間思いで性格も良い人物ということになる。腕も顔も性格も良い少年ハンター。シェリルは印象的、感覚的、直感的にカツヤを高く評価した。
そしてシェリルの別の部分、相手から情報を搾り取り、その情報を基に相手を籠絡して交渉を優位に進めようと画策する冷徹な部分も、カツヤを高く評価した。しかしその評価は、直感的な評価に比べて著しく低いものだった。
正確にはシェリルのカツヤに対する評価の、直感的な方の評価が高すぎるのだ。理性的、論理的な評価に比べ、あからさまな優遇が存在している。その評価の落差がシェリルの違和感の原因だった。
いでおくことは、シェリル達の徒党にとって有益かもしれない。より深い仲になるために今からカツヤを食事に誘い、腕を組んで恋人のように下位区画を歩き、一緒に食事を取るレストランへ向かう。シェリルはいつの間にかその光景を想像していた。
シェリルの想像の中で、シェリルはカツヤと腕を組んで恋人のように仲
らせたシェリルを心配して声をかける。
「......だ、大丈夫か?」
シェリルがカツヤを見る。シェリルの中に先ほどまで存在していたカツヤに対する根拠のない高評価が消えていた。シェリルの直感は、目の前にいる少年をただの有望な若手のハンターとして判断している。それはシェリルの理性的な判断と一致するものだ。
シェリルは一度深く呼吸をして気を落ち着かせる。落ち着きを取り戻したシェリルがカツヤを
「......大丈夫です。すみません。お騒がせしました」
「何かあったのか? あ、もしかして俺、何か変なことを言った?」
「いえ、カツヤさんの話を聞いて、以前荒野に出た時にモンスターに襲われたことを思い出しまして、それで少し気分が......、お騒がせして申し訳ございません」
カツヤが心配そうに尋ねる。
「大丈夫だったのか?
「護衛のハンターか。また護衛のハンターが必要になったら、今度は俺を......」
「カツヤ、私達を放って別の子をナンパするとは、良い度胸ね」
カツヤの背後から近付いてきたユミナが、怒気を感じさせる笑顔でカツヤに言った。
カツヤはユミナに話しかけられて、ユミナ達の付き添いでこの店に来たことを思い出した。シェリルと話していてユミナ達のことを忘れて放置していたことも一緒に思い出した。
カツヤは慌てて椅子から立ち上がり、ユミナを両手で制して落ち着かせようとする。
「ユミナ、アイリ。いや、違う! 誤解だ!」
ユミナが笑いながらカツヤに詰め寄る。
「誤解? そう、誤解なの。それなら、どういう誤解なのか
カツヤは助けを求めるようにユミナの隣にいるアイリを見る。アイリからは非難の視線が返ってきただけだった。
シェリルはユミナとアイリを見て、カツヤとの関係をある程度把握した。
シェリルが椅子から立ち上がりユミナ達に頭を下げる。
「申し訳御座いません。カツヤさんのお話がとても興味深いものでしたので、続きを催促してしまいました。約束の時間に遅れさせてしまいましたでしょうか?」
ユミナとアイリはカツヤの方に強く意識を向けていて、シェリルをよく見ていなかった。
ユミナがシェリルを改めて見て少し驚く。
「そ、そうだったんですか。いえ、別に時間を決めていたわけじゃなくて、少し休んだらすぐに戻ってくるって話だったので、それでなかなか戻ってこないから、何かあったのかなって......」
「少しカツヤさんからハンター稼業のお話を聞いていただけです。カツヤさんが私などを口説いているようには見受けられませんでしたが......、もしかして、口説かれていました?」
「いや、そんなつもりはない、ぞ?」
カツヤにシェリルを口説いていた自覚はない。しかしその自覚がなくとも、カツヤに口説かれたと認識して言い寄ってくる少女は多く、そのような誤解を招くことを絶対言っていないとは断言できなかった。
「カツヤさんの恋人の方ですか?」
ユミナが恥ずかしそうにしながら、カツヤの恋人と判断されたことを喜びながら、声を落としていく。
「では隣の方でしょうか?」
アイリは長めの沈黙の後に否定の返事を返した。無表情気味のアイリの顔には、僅かな照れの色が浮かんでいる。
「そうですか。カツヤさんのお話の中でお二人のお名前が出ていたので、恋人かと思ったのですが......。気分を害されたのでしたら、お
少し申し訳なさそうにそう言ったシェリルに、ユミナが照れながら答える。
シェリルがそう誤解してしまうようなことをカツヤが話したのなら、それはユミナにはとても
シェリルはカツヤ達に軽く会釈をして、セレンと一緒に店の奥に向かった。
その場に残ったカツヤ達は、少し妙な雰囲気になりながらも服選びに戻っていった。
ユミナは服を選びながらシェリルのことを思い出した。ユミナの目からもシェリルの服装は非常に洗練されているように感じられた。似たような服がないかと棚の商品を探していると、ちょうどユミナ達の様子を見にカシェアが近くまで来ていた。
カツヤもあの服に好印象を持っていたのは確実だ。同じ服を着ればカツヤも自分により好印象を持つかもしれない。そう考えたユミナはカシェアの提案を受けることにする。
「お願いします」
「......私も」
話を聞いていたアイリもそれに加わった。
カシェアはすぐに衣装一式を用意した。ユミナとアイリはそれに着替えて、鏡で軽く確認した後にカツヤに見せる。カツヤはその二人の服を見て、微妙な表情をする。
「悪くはないんだけどな......」
カツヤの返事は微妙なものだった。しかしそのようなカツヤの返事を聞いたユミナとアイリも、気分を害したりはしなかった。ユミナとアイリは鏡に映る自分の姿と、隣の少女の姿を見て同じようなことを
「確かに、悪くはないのよね......」
「......悪くはない」
良いか悪いかと問われれば、間違いなく良い。それはカツヤ達全員が同意見だ。しかし店内に全く同じ服を着ているシェリルがいて、しかもそのシェリルの方がより
カシェアも、とてもお似合いですよ、と世辞を言う気にはなれなかった。
「お気に召さないようでしたら、一部の上着などをいろいろ変えてみては
「洋服店を回るのはここで最後よ。ここで他の店の分の予算も使い切ったわ」
「同じく。高かった」
今日一日カツヤといろいろな店を回れるように、ユミナとアイリは予算を奮発したつもりだった。しかしその予算はこの店で全て使い切ることになった。ユミナもアイリもここで服を買ったことに後悔はない。カツヤからの評価も良い衣服を買えたので結果としては満足している。
カツヤが疲れ気味の二人を見ながら話す。
「そうか。それならこの後は、この近くの店で食事を取ってゆっくり休むか。この辺なら結構良い店があるだろうしな」
「そうしましょう。......でも、もう少し休ませて」
「......同じく。......疲れた」
ユミナもアイリもハンターだ。重い銃器を装備して旧世界の遺跡を探索したり、モンスターを倒したりするのが仕事である。体力には自信の有る方だ。しかし精神的な疲労は別だ。普段着慣れていない高価な衣服の試着は、ユミナとアイリをそれなりに疲労させた。高価な衣服を乱暴に扱って破いたりしたら、大変なことになるからだ。
「あ、いや、シェリルがさっきそっちに行ってから、何をやってるのかなって思って見ただけだ」
「あのお客様でしたら、お召し物の仕立て直しの調整にお付き合いいただいております」
カシェアはカツヤの質問に対して、何をどこまでどのように話すべきか思案した後、そう簡単に説明した。
ユミナがその話に興味を持つ。
「仕立て?」
「はい。当店は高級既製服を扱っておりますが、仕立て服の注文も受け付けております。仕立て服に興味が御座いましたら、是非とも当店を御利用ください」
「それは仕立て服ですので、相応の値段になるとしか申し上げられません。しかし当店自慢の職人がお客様のためだけに仕立てるお召し物になります。きっと御満足いただけるかと」
カシェアは愛想良く笑いながらそう説明した。
ユミナもその手の特別なものに憧れを抱くことはある。しかしこの店の既製服を買うだけでもユミナには大きな出費なのだ。ユミナは理想への憧れと現実への打算で表情を変えた。
シェリルが店の奥から戻ってくる。カツヤ達が座っているテーブルの椅子は四人分だ。まだ空席は残っているが、カツヤ達の語らいを邪魔するつもりもないので、シェリルは他の席に座ろうとする。
それに気付いたカツヤがすかさずシェリルに席を勧める。シェリルは少し
カツヤは同世代の異性に非常に人気がある。ドランカムでもカツヤに好意を持つ少女は多く、ユミナもその一人だ。そのようなカツヤの取り巻きとも呼べる少女の中に、シェリルのような雰囲気の人間はいなかった。
ユミナはその違いを、銃器を持って荒野を駆ける自分達と、防壁の内側で上品に暮らす人間との差のためだと考えていた。
しかしそれは誤りだ。ユミナが感じていたシェリルとユミナ達の本質的な違いの理由は別にある。
アイリはそのことに気付いたが黙っていた。アイリも競争相手は少ない方が良い。そしてわざわざ誰かに話すことでもないと思ったからだ。
アイリがカツヤを見る。カツヤは楽しそうに笑っている。それでアイリはそれ以上気にするのを止めた。
「はい。服のサイズが少々あわないものでしたので」
「そういうのって普通は幾らぐらいするものなんだ? 幾らかかったのか聞いてもいいか?」
「申し訳御座いません。相場までは私も詳しくは分かりません。店員の方に伺った方が
カシェアがその価格を基準にされては今後の注文に響くと考えて口を挟む。
「今のは少々特殊な例ですので、仕立て直しの値段の参考には適さないかと。お客様の注文内容にもよりますが、50万オーラムほどで仕立て服を注文することも十分可能です」
ユミナが困惑しながら尋ねる。
「......でも仕立て直しの代金が仕立て服の代金を超えるって、ちょっと変なんじゃ......」
「旧世界製の衣服の仕立て直しになりますので、対応する職人にも相応の技量が必要になります。また仕立て直しに使用する糸や道具も相応に高価になりますので、それらの代金としては妥当な金額かと。
くするとユミナ達の疲労も回復した。他の服を買う予算もないのに長々と店にいても仕方がないので、ユミナは店を出ることにする。
「カツヤ。そろそろ出ましょう」
「ん? 分かった」
カツヤが席を立ってユミナ達の荷物を持つ。カツヤは少し迷ったが、シェリルを誘ってみることにした。
「あー、俺達はこの後近くの店で食事にするつもりなんだけど、良かったら一緒にどうだ?」
ユミナが盛大に
そしてカツヤに誘われた相手がいろいろ勘違いをする。その相手が勘違いだったことに気付いた時、既にカツヤから離れたくなくなるほどに好意を募らせている。それがいつもの流れだ。
その所為でドランカムでのカツヤをリーダーとするチームのメンバーは、カツヤ以外全員女性になってしまった。時々男性も入ってくるが、恐らく居
この後の展開を予想して、ユミナは諦めの境地でシェリルを見た。
しかしユミナの予想は外れる。シェリルが軽く頭を下げてカツヤの誘いを断る。
「申し訳御座いません。仕立て直しの調整のために、ここを離れるわけにはいきません。ここで知人と待ち合わせもしております。
カツヤとユミナが意外そうな表情を浮かべて少し驚いた。カツヤはほぼ無意識に、ユミナは長年の経験から、シェリルが誘いを受けるものと思っていた。
アイリは余り表情を変えなかった。驚かない程度には、シェリルが断る可能性を考えていたからだ
カツヤ達が店から出て行った後、シェリルは椅子に座ってカツヤ達から聞いた話を思い返し、そこから得た情報を精査していた。
特にドランカムというハンター徒党の内情を知ることができたのは、シェリルにとって幸いだった。カツヤの主観が入った偏った情報ではあるが、何も分からないよりは良いし、ある程度推測もできる。
同じハンターであるアキラにもきっと役に立つ情報のはずだと考えて、シェリルは顔をほころばせた。
アキラがシェリルの向かいの椅子に座って尋ねる。
「悪い。遅れた。思ったより弾薬の補充に手間取ったんだ。そっちから連絡はなかったけど、こっちは何かあったか?」
「いいえ。特に何も。強いて言えば、ドランカム所属のハンターが数名買い物に来たので、いろいろ聞いたりしていました。お聞きになりますか?」
アキラはシェリルが以前にもデイルというハンターから洗い
めた情報をアキラに話していく。アキラにも興味深い話だった。
「はい。所属ハンターにハンターランクに応じた基本給を払って、あとは実績などによって報酬が加算されるそうです。遺物収集班とか、モンスターの討伐班とか、いろいろな班分けがあって、依頼の振り分けをしたりしているそうです」
「ハンター稼業なのに基本給がある。ちょっと不思議な感覚だな。旧世界の遺跡に行って
「その代わり高額な遺物を見つけても、ドランカム側の取り分が大きいそうです。それでもハンターランクは報酬とは別に上昇するので意図的に遺物探しを怠る人は少ないようですね。ただ本当に遺物収集に向いていない人は討伐班などに回されるそうです」
「いろいろ考えているんだな......」
アキラは自分の知らないハンター稼業の話を聞き、少し感心したような声を出した。
「面白い話だった。ありがとう」
シェリルが軽い緊張と照れの混じった表情でアキラに尋ねる。
アキラは仕立て直した服を着ているシェリルの姿を見て、軽い感嘆の声を出す。
「おー、随分変わるものなんだな。
旧世界の遺物を潰してシェリル専用に仕立て直されたシェリルの服は、非常に鈍くなっているアキラのファッションセンスでも分かるほどに、シェリルの魅力を格段に上昇させていた。服のサイズがシェリルと合っていない時の違和感は完全に消えている。旧世界製の衣服の洗練された魅力はそのままに、シェリルの生まれつきの美貌をより一層引き立て際立たせている。服の仕立て直しをしたセレンの腕前は確かなもののようだ。
アルファが笑いながらアキラに話す。
『150万オーラム払った価値はあったわね。これでアキラが無反応なら、もうお手上げだったわ』
にこれは俺でも分かる。150万オーラム払った価値はあったな』
「そのお言葉が何よりの報酬となります。また仕立て直しの機会が御座いましたら、次も是非当店の職人を御指名ください」
アキラ達が店を出た後、カシェアがセレンに尋ねる。
「セレン、正直あそこまで良い
セレンが自慢げに答える。
「彼女の素質。持ち込まれた服の種類と品質。私の腕の
カシェアはセレンの説明を聞いて納得した後、急に慌て出す。
「......同じことはできないって!? 次も当店の職人を、って言っちゃったんだけど!? 次も同じ
「私に言われても困る。私はもう寝る。起こさないで」
セレンがそれだけ言って店の奥に戻っていく。元々セレンは寝不足気味だったのだ。疲労も相当なもので、寝たら明日まで起きないつもりだった。
満足の行く仕事ができた。今日はきっとよく眠れるだろう。セレンはそう思いながら寝床へ向かった。
一人残されたカシェアは、一抹の不安を覚えながら、店の良い宣伝になったはずだ、これは良いことだ、と強く自らに言い聞かせた。
シェリルが拠点に戻る途中に着ていた服はカシェアの店で買ったものだ。シェリルのために仕立て直された服は、頑丈そうな衣装ケースに収められている。シェリルも
しかしシェリルの拠点周辺にいる人間は、シェリルの後ろ盾にそれなりに強いハンターがいると知っている。そのためむやみにシェリルに手を出したりはしない。だが衣装ケースの中の服を着てシェリルがスラム街を歩けば、その魅力から後ろ盾のハンターを無視してシェリルを襲う人間が飛躍的に増えるだろう。そのためシェリルは拠点の中ぐらいでしかこの服を着ることはできない。
アキラはシェリルを送り届けた後、そのまま家に戻ってしまった。シェリルは自室でそのことを残念に思いながら今後の計画を練っていた。
シェリルが衣装ケースをチラッと見る。そして衣装ケースの中の服に着替えて鏡の前に立つ。シェリルは鏡に映るどこかの令嬢と詐称しても疑われないであろう自分の姿を見て、今後の計画を思案しつつ表情をほころばせた。
(アキラが褒めてくれたこの服さえ有れば、きっと
Katsuya talked about a lot of things with Sheryl.
To be more precise, there was an obvious inclination in the subject of their conversation. They mostly talked about things related to Katsuya, like his story when he went to an old-world ruin or when he went on a monster extermination request, or about the gang that he belonged to-Drankam.
Katsuya thought that Sheryl was someone from the inner wall from the dress she was wearing. It was not rare for people from the inner wall to go out with some paid escorts. There were a lot of those escorts gathered in the big building sticking to the wall where the huge Hunter Office was located. The area around that building was considerably safer although it was still considered as a part of the lower district. Thus, it was pretty safe for people from the inner wall to walk around that area.
But Sheryl thought something was strange with Katsuya's story.
Katsuya was quite a handsome boy, it could be said that his face was above average. If he was working a job where he had to serve customers, it would definitely attract a lot of girls. If his story was correct, he was a skilled young Hunter and one of the best Hunters in Drankam. Since he worked himself so hard to be able to help his other fellow gang members, it could be inferred that he kept his friends dear. In short, he was a good looking young Hunter with skill and good personality. Sheryl's impression, opinion and intuition evaluated Katsuya highly.
And the other side of Sheryl, the part of her that coldly and rationally evaluated her opponent and continuously thought of ways to use that information to get the upper hand during a negotiation, also evaluated Katsuya highly. But compared to her intuition, it was relatively low.
To be more precise, her intuition actually over-evaluated Katsuya. Thus there was an obvious gap between that and her logical and calm evaluation of him. That was the cause of Sheryl's weird feeling.
Sheryl unconsciously thought that there was no mistaking it, Katsuya was indeed a skilled young Hunter. Making a connection with that kind of Hunter would be beneficial for her gang. Before she even realized it, she started imagining inviting him for a meal and walking hand-in-hand through the lower district in order to deepen their connection.
In her imagination, she pictured herself walking happily linking arms with Katsuya like a lover. That scene felt so heart-warming.
Katsuya, who noticed Sheryl's expression, worriedly asked her.
"...A-are you okay?"
Sheryl looked at Katsuya again, all of her baseless good evaluation of him had completely vanished. Her feeling was telling her that the young Hunter in front of her was simply a promising young Hunter, it was the same evaluation that her rational side was telling her.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Once she calmed down, she then tried to dodge the subject.
"...I'm alright. I'm sorry to make you worry."
"What's wrong? Ah, did I say something that bothers you?"
"No, it's just that as I was listening to your story, it somehow reminded me of a traumatic memory when I got attacked by monsters in the wasteland... I'm sorry that I made you worry."
Katsuya worriedly asked her.
"Were you alright? Did you get injured?"
"Escort Hunter, huh. If you ever need an escort again, you can come to me any-"
"Katsuya! To think that you would leave us to hit on another girl like this!"
Yumina appeared from behind Katsuya, she was smiling but her smile was obviously projecting out anger.
When Yumina scolded him, Katsuya remembered that he was there to accompany Airi and Yumina. And at the same time, he also realized that he had forgotten Yumina and Airi as he was talking with Sheryl.
Katsuya fl.u.s.teredly stood up from his seat and tried to calm Yumina while holding her with both his hands.
"Yumina! Airi!! It's not like what you think!! It's a misunderstanding!!"
Yumina cornered Katsuya further while still smiling.
"A misunderstanding? I see, a misunderstanding, huh. Then I'm sure you'll give me a good explanation later, right?"
Katsuya looked at Airi, who was beside Yumina, asking for her help. But Airi only looked back at him with no emotion.
Sheryl could quickly understand that Airi and Yumina were Katsuya's acquaintances from their exchange.
She then stood up from her seat and lightly bowed to Yumina and Airi.
"I'm really sorry. I was so interested in Katsuya-san's story that I insisted him to keep going. Did I hold him back from some kind of promise?"
Yumina and Airi were so focused on Katsuya that they did not place much attention on Sheryl before.
But Yumina was surprised when she looked at Sheryl.
"I-I see. Well, uh, no, it's not like we had a promise or something. It's just that he said he would only take a short rest before returning back. So I was just wondering what happened since he didn't come back after quite some time..."
"We were just talking about Katsuya-san's experience as a Hunter. To be honest, I didn't feel like he tried to flirt with me... Or was it only my imagination and you were actually trying to flirt with me?"
"No, I didn't mean it that way at all, you know?"
In truth, Katsuya did not mean to flirt at all. But even so, although he did not do it intentionally, there were many girls who approached him after he said something which invited such misunderstanding. So he could not be sure that he did not say anything that would have caused such misunderstanding and ended his sentence as a pseudo question.
"Are you Katsuya-san's girlfriend?"
Yumina was embarrassed and happy at the same time since Sheryl thought that she was Katsuya's girlfriend. Her voice was getting feeble when she answered Sheryl's question.
"Then, is the girl next to you Katsuya-san's girlfriend?"
Airi's long silence ended up with a no. Although she was still emotionless, her cheeks slightly turned red.
"I see. Since both Yumina-san and Airi-san's names came up a lot in Katsuya-san's story... I thought that one of you is his girlfriend... If I did something that bothers you, I apologize."
Since Sheryl sounded apologetic, Yumina was only able to fl.u.s.teredly reply back.
If Katsuya really did say something to Sheryl that caused such misunderstanding, Yumina was really happy to know that. That was also the case for Airi too. Yumina and Airi's mood suddenly turned for the better with that single exchange.
Sheryl lightly bowed to Katsuya, Airi and Yumina before she followed Celen.
The mood was a bit awkward between those that were left there, so they decided to return back to browsing clothing.
Yumina remembered about Sheryl while she was picking clothes. From her point of view, Sheryl's dress looked very refined. She was looking for a similar dress in that shop, and right when she thought of that, Kashua was standing next to them while looking at them.
It was true that Katsuya reacted positively to that dress. So if she used the same dress, it might increase his evaluation of her. As she thought so, Yumina accepted Kashua's offer.
"Yes, please."
"...Me too."
Airi who was listening to their conversation suddenly jumped in.
Kashua quickly prepared the dress set and handed them over to Yumina and Airi. Yumina and Airi immediately tried them on, they then looked at their own reflection on a mirror before showing it to Katsuya. Katsuya looked at both of them and frowned.
"...It's not bad at all, but..."
His reaction was bland, but that was not enough to sour Yumina and Airi's mood. They both looked at their own reflections on the mirror, glanced at each other and mumbled.
"It's true that it's not bad..."
"...Not bad."
To be honest, it was quite decent. In fact, they looked pretty good and all of them agreed about that. But Sheryl, who was wearing the exact same dress, looked way better; way more beautiful. They could not help but compare themselves with Sheryl.
Even Kashua could not say that they looked good in that dress even if it was only for lip service.
"If it didn't satisfy you, how about changing the upper half into something else? I'll bring something that might look good on both of you."
"This is the last shop, we did use all our budget here."
"Me too, it was expensive."
In order to have Katsuya accompany them browsing through a lot of shops, Yumina and Airi were planning to be frugal with their budget. But they ended up spending all of it in that shop. But with that being said, they did not regret spending their money there. After all, as long as they got a positive reaction from Katsuya, they were all happy with that.
Katsuya looked tired as he said.
"I see. In that case, let's go to a nearby restaurant and take a rest there while having a meal. There should be some good restaurant around this place."
"Let's do that, but let's take a rest here for a bit more."
"... Me too... I'm tired."
Both Airi and Yumina were Hunters. Their job included strolling through the wasteland with heavy equipment and fighting monsters. To be honest, they were confident with their physical stamina, but that was not the case for their mental resilience. After buying dresses that were way more expensive than they usually bought, Airi and Yumina were mentally drained. After all, it would be a huge disaster if they were not careful and got their expensive dress torn.
"Ah, no, I just thought that Sheryl went that way, so I was wondering what she was doing."
"If it's about that girl... We're readjusting one of her dresses."
Kashua was unsure as to how much information could be given to Katsuya, but she then decided to give him that short answer.
Yumina who was listening to them seemed interested in that subject as she joined in.
"Readjusting?"
"Yes, other than selling high-quality clothing, we can also refit them. If you have any dresses that need readjusting, please, by all means, come to us."
"Since it's readjusting an already finished dress, I can only say that it depends on the dress. But our professional fitter will give nothing less than perfect, I can guarantee that you'll find it satisfying."
Kashua gave her best smile when she said that.
Even Yumina always desired a custom-fit dress like that. But buying a dress set in that shop already took a huge chunk of her money. Her expression changed as she calculated the gap between reality and her dream.
Sheryl returned back after some time. There were 4 chairs around the table that Katsuya and his friends were sitting. So one of them was still empty, but Sheryl did not want to interrupt their conversation. Thus she chose to sit on another table.
Katsuya who noticed that invited Sheryl to sit together with them. Although she refused at first, she eventually gave up. She lightly bowed and took that seat. Katsuya could not help but start smiling.
Katsuya was rather popular among the girls around his age in Drankam. Because of that, there were many girls who had romantic feelings toward him, and that included Yumina. But even among all those girls around him, none of them was like Sheryl.
Yumina thought that difference came from the fact that she was a girl who went to the wasteland with weapons on a daily basis while Sheryl was a girl from the inner wall who was blessed with prosperity.
But that was a huge misunderstanding. The reason why Yumina felt that much difference was because of something else.
Although Airi noticed that, she did not say anything. After all, she did not want to make any enemies unnecessarily and she thought that it was not something important to tell others.
Airi looked at Katsuya. He was smiling happily. Thus she decided to stop worrying about it.
"Yes, the size was a little too big for me, so I'm refitting it."
"I wonder how much that kind of thing would usually cost. Is it okay to ask you how much it took you?"
"I'm really sorry. To be honest, I don't know much about it. So it might be better to ask that question to the clerk. As for my dress readjustment, it was 1,500,000 Aurum."
Kashua thought that it might disrupt her future business if they used that amount as a standard, so she interjected.
"It was a rather special case, thus it might be better if you don't use that amount as a standard. Although it still depends on the request, it's possible to refit a dress for 500,000 Aurum."
Yumina frowned as she said.
"...But still, if it takes more money to readjust the dress compared to its original cost..."
"Since we're refitting old-world clothing, we need to employ some special techniques. Not to mention, the tool and the fabric that we need to readjust the dress also cost a lot of money. Thus, I believe that it's a justified price. Of course, if you want to readjust a normal dress, it would be cheaper too."
Yumina and Airi had recovered after a short rest. They thought that it would be a bad idea to stay there for long although they no longer had any budget to buy more clothes. Thus they decided to leave that shop.
"Katsuya, let's go."
"Hm? Okay."
Katsuya stood up and carried Yumina and Airi's luggage. He hesitated for a bit before deciding to invite Sheryl too.
"Ahh, by the way, we plan to eat in a restaurant nearby. If it's okay with you, do you want to come too?"
Yumina let out a big sigh.
The usual pattern dictated that the invited person would misunderstand, and when she finally realized the misunderstanding, she was already so in love with Katsuya that she could not separate herself from him.
That was the reason why the team that Katsuya led in Drankam was always filled with girls. Although there were boys from time to time, they did not stay long, it might be because it was hard for them to stay in that team. Some people even started calling Katsuya's team as a harem team.
As Yumina thought that the usual scenario would play out this time too, she looked at Sheryl with a resigned expression.
But unlike what she expected, Sheryl lightly bowed and refused Katsuya's offer.
"I'm really sorry. For helping the readjustment, I can't afford to leave this place. Not to mention, I'm also waiting for someone. So thank you for the invitation, but I have to refuse."
Katsuya and Yumina were obviously surprised. Katsuya assumed that Sheryl would not refuse, that was also the case for Yumina based on her long experience with Katsuya.
But that was not the case for Airi. She was not that surprised, after all, she did think about that possibility.
After they left that place, Sheryl sat back on her chair and reviewed her conversations with Katsuya and his friends in order to extract any information that she could find.
Sheryl was especially happy to get the information about Drankam. Although it might be subjective information from Katsuya, it was still better than nothing. At least, it was enough for her to get a rough picture of Drankam.
She smiled happily thinking that information would be useful for Akira who was also working as a Hunter.
Akira took a seat on the same table with Sheryl and asked her.
"I'm sorry that it took me so long. Replenishing my ammo reserve turned out to be more time consuming than I thought. Well, you didn't call me at all, so everything is fine, right? Or did something happen?"
"There's nothing. If I have to say something, some Hunters from Drankam came here to buy some clothing. I ended up talking with some of them. Do you want to hear about it?"
That reminded Akira when Sheryl extracted information from a Hunter called Dale not too long ago.
Sheryl then told Akira all the information that she gathered and it was indeed an interesting subject for him too.
"Yes. It seems that they are paid a wage based on their Hunter Ranks and given bonuses depending on their track record. They are categorized to different groups like relics Hunters and monster Hunters, then the gang would distribute request depending on the group that they belong to."
"So they get wages although they work as Hunters, huh. That somehow does not sound right to me. But that means that they'll still get some basic wage even if they can't get good relics, right..."
"But in exchange, the gang will earn a lot of money if they get expensive relics. But even so, some Hunters still hunt for expensive relics to increase their Hunter Rank regardless of the reward. And for the Hunters who don't seriously hunt for relics, I heard that they get transferred to monster hunting group."
"They do think about all kinds of scenarios, huh..."
As Akira heard about a different kind of lifestyle for a Hunter, he could not help but voice out his amazement.
"That was really interesting, thank you."
Sheryl nervously asked for Akira's opinion while fidgeting.
Akira looked at Sheryl with her newly readjusted dress and voiced out his opinion.
"Ohh, that really changed your outlook. You look really good in it."
The old-world dress, which could no longer be considered an old-world dress after the modification, looked beautiful on Sheryl, enough to make someone like Akira, who had a dead fashion sense, think that she looked good in it. The weird feeling that was present when it was slightly too big for her had completely vanished. While on the other hand, it was able to fully preserve the refined beautiful old-world design which further complemented Sheryl's already charming figure. It seemed that Celen was indeed a skilled fitter.
Alpha smiled as she said to Akira.
"It seems that it is worth the 1,500,000 Aurum, right? If you had not given any good reactions, it would have meant that your fashion sense was really unsalvageable."
"Even someone like me can recognize it. It was worth spending that 1,500,000 Aurum."
"Those praises are the greatest reward that we can ask for. If you need to readjust your dress, please, by all means, come to us again."
After Akira and Sheryl left that shop, Kashua asked Celen.
"Celen, to be honest, that was way better than what I expected. Since when have you become that good?"
Celen smugly replied.
"It's a mix of her base figure, the quality of the dress that she brought in, and my refined skill. That's the reason I could produce such a miracle. To be honest, I don't think I can ever do something like this again."
Kashua was convinced by Celen's explanation but she panicked when she heard Celen's last remark.
"...What was that!? I did tell them to come here again if they need more refitting though?! There's no mistaking that they'll expect the same result next time, you know!?"
"Well, even if you tell me so. I'm going back to sleep now, don't interrupt me this time."
Celen left Kashua after she said that. She was already sleep-deprived when she started working. And since she was still exhausted, she planned to sleep until the next day.
She had done exceptionally well that day, thus she believed she would be able to get a good night's rest as she headed to her bed.
Kashua, who was left behind, worried. But then, she reassured herself that it was a good advertis.e.m.e.nt for her shop and 'all was well'.
On her way to her base, Sheryl was wearing the dress that she bought from Kashua's shop. As for her dress that just got readjusted, she put it inside a strong box. She knew that she could not walk around the slum city in that dress because of the danger, even the dress that she was wearing was barely safe to use in the slum city.
The people around her gang's territory knew well that Sheryl was backed by a powerful Hunter, thus none of them wanted to mess with her. But even so, if she wore the dress inside the strong box and walked around the slum city, there might be people who would try to attack her ignoring the fact that a strong Hunter was backing her up. That was why she could not wear that dress on her way back to her base.
After Akira walked Sheryl back to her base, he headed straight to his home. Although Sheryl found that a little unfortunate, she decided to focus on thinking about her next plan while she was inside her private room.
Sheryl glanced at her dress box. She changed to dress inside that box and stood in front of a mirror. She looked at her reflection that looked like a refined lady from a rich family. She then started smiling as she thought of a plan.
[As long as I have this dress that even Akira praised, I'm sure everything will go well.]
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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