カツヤは仲間と一緒に下位区画の大通りを歩いていた。カツヤ、ユミナ、アイリ、レイナ、シオリ、カナエの6人だ。最近クガマヤマ都市に派遣されてきたカナエにクガマヤマ都市の下位区画を案内する名目で、いろいろな場所を回っている途中だった。
女性陣の容姿は全員下位区画の平均を上回っている。更にメイド服を着ている女性が混じっているため、カツヤ達はそれなりに目立っていた。
メイド服を着ているのはカナエだ。都市の下位区画でハンター向けの戦闘服を着て出歩く女性は珍しくないが、メイド服を着て出歩く女性は珍しい。そのため周囲の人間の好奇の視線がカナエと、彼女と一緒にいるカツヤ達にそこそこ集まっていた。
レイナが
「カナエ。本当にこれからもその服で私に付いてくる気なの?」
カナエが平然と答える。
く目立ってるじゃない。それを脱ぐ気はないの?」
「いや、私が下に強化服を着ているからって、そんなことを言われても困るっすよ。あんな痴女手前のぴっちりスーツで公共の場に出歩く趣味は私には無いっす。人にそんな服を着せて見せびらかす趣味がお嬢様にあるとしても、それは私の仕事の
「私にそんな趣味はないわ! 着替えろって言ってるのよ! 他の防護服を着れば良い話でしょ!?」
「そう言われても、手持ちの中でこれが一番性能が良いやつっすからね。多少目立つ程度のことを嫌がって、安値の防護服に着替えて死ぬ危険を増やす気は無いっす。荒野に出れば視線なんか関係ないし、別に良いじゃないっすか。ああ、お嬢がもっと高性能な防護服をプレゼントしてくれるんなら考えるっす。まあそんな余分な金が有るのなら、お嬢の装備代に回すべきっすけどね」
レイナが言葉に詰まる。その格好が気に入らないから性能の低い装備に変えろ、とまではレイナも
レイナが助けを求めるようにシオリを見る。シオリは黙って首を横に振った。
シオリにとってカナエはレイナの盾である。カナエはレイナの護衛として、万が一の場合にその身を盾にしてレイナを
「まあ、お嬢がもっと強くなって、追加の護衛なんか不要だと判断されたら私は帰るっすから、それまでの辛抱っすよ」
暗に、レイナが弱いのが悪い、不満なら強くなれ、とカナエに言われて、レイナは言い返す内容を思案するのを止めた。
そもそもレイナの護衛がシオリ一人では不十分だと判断されなければ、カナエが追加で派遣されることもなかったのだ。そしてそう判断される原因を作ったのはレイナ自身だ。
れた。レイナも自身の実力不足を身に染みて理解しているからだ。
カツヤが落ち込んでいるレイナを元気づけるように声を掛ける。
「俺達も協力するから頑張って一緒に強くなろう。レイナならすぐに強くなれるさ」
「......ん、ありがとう。......ん?」
「だから、その、レイナが俺達のチームから抜けるって話、止めないか?」
レイナ達はカツヤをリーダーとするドランカムのチームに所属していた。レイナがまだカツヤの実力を認めていない頃、カツヤの実力を見極める
レイナはクズスハラ街遺跡の地下街での戦闘後にカツヤのチームから抜けていた。カツヤはそれをシオリの体調が回復して追加の人員であるカナエが到着するまでの一時的なことだと考えていた。
しかしカツヤの予想に反してレイナはそのままカツヤ達のチームから正式に抜けることになった。レイナがそれを望んだからである。
ドランカム所属のハンターチームにドランカム側から紹介される依頼は、チームに所属するハンター達のハンターランクの合計と平均を基準にして割り振られる。当然その数値が高いほど、難易度と報酬の高い依頼が割り当てられるのだ。
レイナがカツヤのチームから抜ければ、レイナに割り当てられる依頼の難易度と報酬額はかなり低くなる。クズスハラ街遺跡地下街関連のような高額の依頼が紹介されることはほぼなくなる。レイナのハンターランクを上げる機会は大分減ることになる。
カツヤが善意で自分を引き留めていることはレイナも理解している。下心、例えばシオリやレイナの美貌、レイナの護衛として
しかしそれを分かった上でレイナは首を横に振る。
「ごめん。カツヤのチームから抜けるのを止める気はないわ。元々私が無理にカツヤに付いていこうとして、地下街の依頼に加わったのが原因だからね。身の程を超える依頼に手を出して、それでシオリに
地下街でレイナ達が別行動をしていた時に何かがあった。それはカツヤも知っている。しかし具体的に何があったかはまでは分からなかった。
カツヤも一応レイナ達に尋ねてはみたのだ。しかしレイナもシオリも適当に濁すだけで話そうとしなかった。カツヤが知っているのは結果だけだ。レイナは戦闘不能なまでに疲労
カツヤの言葉はまるでレイナを口説いているようにも思えるが、カツヤにはその自覚は全くない。カツヤは似たような言動を他の異性にも繰り返しており、しかも有言実行で、時には自分の身を顧みず相手を助けたり守ったりもしている。
その結果カツヤは助けた相手から好意を抱かれる事が多く、異性の取り巻きを徐々に増やす原因になっていた。
ユミナはカツヤとの長年の付き合いから、カツヤの言動を修正するのは諦めている。アイリは自分もカツヤに助けられた身の上のため、カツヤを止めることができないでいる。
める者がいないため、既にカツヤのチームに所属しているハンターの男女比は異常に偏った数値になり果てていた。
ユミナもアイリもこれでレイナが考えを曲げるだろうと思っていた。しかしレイナの返答は異なるものだった。
しいわ。本当よ。でもね? 私はそんなに駄目? 元々シオリがいて、追加でカナエが来て、更にカツヤにしっかり守ってもらわないと駄目なほど、私はどうしようもない? カツヤの目から見ても、私はそんなに駄目に見えるの?」
レイナの表情にカツヤを非難する色はない。しかしその表情は真剣そのもので、どこか危うさがあるものだった。
「そ、そんなことはないって。チームで助け合った方が安全に効率的に戦えるってだけだよ。レイナの実力を認めているからこそ、俺のチームに
レイナはカツヤの真意を探るようにカツヤを見た後、首を横に振った。
「そ、そうか。残念だけど仕方ないな。レイナの気が変わったらいつでも言ってくれ。待ってるから」
カツヤがそう言い終わると、カツヤ達の間に沈黙がよぎった。
レイナは押し黙っている。シオリはレイナの気持ちを理解して、下手な慰めは逆効果だと判断して口を閉ざしている。カナエはこの場で変なことを言うとシオリに恨まれそうなので黙っている。ユミナはレイナの心情の背景を知らないため、下手に声を掛けることができずにいた。アイリはカツヤに引き留められたレイナに嫉妬を覚え、口を開くと余計なことを言いかねない自分を抑えるために黙っていた。
カツヤは微妙な居心地の悪さに注意力が散漫になっていた。そのため通路から勢いよく飛び出してきた少女を避けることができなかった。
「おい! 気を付けろ!」
カツヤ達は少女が飛び出してきた通路から更に誰かが走ってきているのに気が付いた。少女の表情に再び強い恐怖が浮かぶ。
少女がカツヤに抱き付いて、叫ぶように助けを求める。
「助けてください! 追われてるんです!」
少女はアキラの財布を盗み、アキラに追われていたアルナだった。
そして新たに通路から出てきた人物は、アルナを追っていたアキラだった。
アキラの財布を盗んだアルナがカツヤに抱き付いている。ユミナ、アイリはアキラを強く警戒し、非難や軽蔑に近い視線を向けている。カツヤはアルナを左腕で抱き締めつつ、右手は何時でも銃を構えられる体勢を維持している。カツヤがアキラに向ける表情と視線は、既に敵対者へ向けるものに変わっている。
レイナとシオリはアキラと同様に困惑しつつ状況の把握に努めている。カナエは事態を楽しんでいるかのように薄く笑っていた。
アキラとカツヤ達がお互いに視覚から得られた情報の精査を終えた。
カツヤ達を警戒するアキラにアルファが
『アルファはどう思う? あのスリと、えっと、カツヤ? だっけ? あいつの知り合いだと思うか? あいつの知り合いなら、あのスリはスリを副業にしているハンターの可能性もあるのか? 所属はドランカムか?』
『どの程度偶然なのかによるわ。全て偶然なら、闇雲に逃げた先に偶然人の良さそうなハンターがいたので、適当なことを言って助けを求めたのかもしれないわ。全て必然なら、事前に念入りに把握していた逃走ルートで逃げていて、スリの元締がいそうな場所に駆け込んだのかも。スリの上がりの何割かと引き替えに、バレた時に守ってもらう約束でもしていたのかもね』
『......偶然の方かな。スリの上がりを欲しがるほど、金に困ってるハンターには見えないし』
『人は見かけによらないと言うし、塵も積もれば山となるとも言うわ。でもどちらかと言えば、私もアキラと同意見ね。それで、どうするの?』
を続けても事態の進展はない。アキラは当初の目的を果たすため、一応提案してみることにした。
「俺はそいつに用がある。渡してもらえないか?」
それを聞いたアルナの体が大きく震える。カツヤは
大方予想通りだったカツヤの返事を聞いて、アキラは険しい表情で次の行動を思案する。
ユミナとアイリは万一の場合にカツヤを援護できる位置に移動している。レイナはまだ困惑から回復しておらず、シオリはレイナを
「それで、何で彼女を追っかけていたんすか?」
「そいつが俺の財布を盗んだからだ」
全員の視線がアルナに集中する。アルナがあからさまに
「そう言ってるっすけど、盗んだんすか?」
アルナは必死になってカツヤに訴える。
い怖い顔で私を追いかけてきたんです! だから必死に逃げてきたんです! 本当です!」
アルナが慌てている原因が、身に覚えのない
ったっていう証拠でもあるのか?」
「証拠か......」
く黙る。カツヤはアキラの沈黙を否定と捉えた。
「黙ってるってことはそんなものないんだろう? どうせ財布もどこかに落としたとかじゃないのか?」
アイリがアルナに詰め寄る。
「私が彼女を調べる。盗んだのなら、調べれば財布が出てくるはず」
「わ、分かりました。調べてください」
アルナがカツヤから離れ、アイリの前に両手を挙げて立つ。アイリがアルナの体を調べようとする前に、アキラが口を挟む。
「財布は出てこない。そいつは俺の財布から金だけ抜き取って、財布自体は逃げる途中で足が付かないように捨てたからだ」
「財布には幾ら入ってた?」
「10万オーラムぐらいだ」
アイリはアルナの服装を見る。アルナの服装はそれなりにしっかりしたものだ。スラム街でよく見かける100オーラム持っているかどうかも怪しいボロボロの服装ではない。
アイリがアルナの体を調べ、10万オーラムが出てきたとしても、それを盗んだ証拠だと言い張るのは難しいだろう。偶然持っていたで済む話である。
「誤解や何かの間違いの可能性は全くありませんか? 本当に、絶対に、間違いなく彼女なんですか?」
「確実にそう言い切ることができる根拠は、そう判断した根拠は何ですか? 服に手を入れられた時に一度捕まえて逃げられたんですか? 財布がなくなったことに気が付いた時、周辺に彼女しかいなかったからですか?」
責めるわけでもなく落ち着いた口調で話すユミナにそう問われて、アキラは言い
「情報収集機器の記録から判別したとか、そんな理由ですか? 自衛のために情報収集機器を町中でも常に起動させているハンターもいると聞いています」
「では一緒にいた知り合いに教えてもらったとかですか? 今から会いに行けば、証言してもらえますか?」
ユミナの指摘は正しい。しかしアルファはアキラにしか認識できないのだ。アキラは再び言い
「盗まれた場所に監視カメラなどは設置されていませんか? 下位区画の大通りとかなら設置されている可能性があります。調べれば分かるかもしれません」
「......いや、盗まれた場所はスラム街の近くだから、多分ないと......思う」
当初に比べかなり勢いを落としているアキラに、ユミナが落ち着いた口調で続けて話す。
ユミナはアキラの言い分をある程度信じた上でアキラに理解を求めた。ユミナの話はアキラも十分納得できる内容だ。相手の非を決めつけるわけでもなく、相手の立場を理解した上での話は、アキラをそれなりに落ち着かせ、その勢いを削いだ。
アキラはユミナと話して大分平静を取り戻している。無関係な人間を巻き込むのはアキラも本意ではない。
している。このまま何事もなく終わる。そのような空気が流れている。カナエは少し不満げな表情を浮かべていた。
『アキラ。ここは引きましょう。確かに何も説明できないのに、黙って信じてもらうのは難しいわ』
アルファにもそう諭され、アキラはそれに同意しようとしていた。
物事の勝敗の基準は様々だ。現状に対し無理
アルナに財布を盗まれて、金を取り返すことができずに引き下がろうとしているアキラは負けたのかもしれない。アキラから財布を盗み出し、カツヤに守られているアルナは勝ったのかもしれない。自分に助けを求めてきた少女を守ることができたカツヤは勝ったのかもしれない。
しかし、全てはまだ物事の過程にすぎない。
に金を稼ぐこともできず、握っていた金はすぐに奪われて取り返すこともできず、金を持つことすら許されない。かつてのアキラはそうだった。頑張ってそこから抜け出すことができたのだとアキラは思っていた。
しかしアキラは稼いだ金を奪われて、取り返せないでいる。かつてのアキラと
、叱責が抜けていく。無表情に近いアキラの表情に残っているのは、目的と、その目標と、その障害物を見る意思だけだ。
アルナはカツヤの背に隠れて震えていた。アルナがそこから逃げ出さないのは、その場所が一番安全だと無意識に理解しているからだ。
Katsuya was walking through the main road in the middle of the lower district together with Yumina, Airi, Reina, Shiori, and Kanae. They were showing the lower district of the Kugamayama city to Kanae, who just joined their team.
Since all the girls, who were together with Katsuya, were wearing dresses that were better than most of the dresses in the lower district and also with some of them wearing a maid uniform, Katsuya's group gathered a lot of attention.
Kanae was wearing a maid uniform. It was not rare for female Hunters to walk around in the lower district with their Hunter armors, but it was rare to find them wearing a maid uniform. Because of that, most of the people around them were sending curious gazes to Kanae and the other girls who were together with Katsuya.
Reina sighed exasperatedly and turned to Kanae.
"Kanae, are you seriously planning to accompany me in that uniform from now on?"
Kanae instantly replied back.
"You're attracting a lot of attention, you know. Can't you at least take that off?"
"Nope, just because I have an augmented suit underneath it, I don't want to take it off. After all, I have no hobby of walking through a public space in a tight suit. Even if you have a hobby to make others do that, it's outside of my real duty. So I'll have to refuse."
"I don't have that kind of hobby either!! I'm telling you to change into something else!!! You can just use another Hunter armour that you have, right?!!"
"Even if you tell me so, this is the best one that I have. Just because I'm attracting some attention, I have no plans to change into another cheaper armour that might prove fatal for my survival. After all, no one would care when we're out in the wasteland anyways. So it's fine, isn't it? Ahh, but I'll rethink it if Milady would give me better armour. Although, to be honest, if Milady has money to buy me a present, I think it's better if Milady spends it for better equipment instead."
Reina could not refute that logic. Of course, she could not tell Kanae to change her armour into something cheaper just because she did not like her current appearance.
Reina turned to Shiori, requesting for help. But Shiori just shook her head.
For Shiori, Kanae was Reina's shield. As Reina's bodyguard, it was Kanae's duty to protect Reina even if it meant that she had to sacrifice her own life in the worst-case scenario. Thus Shiori had no plans to weaken that shield.
"Well, at least until Milady becomes strong enough to the point that Milady only needs one bodyguard, Milady will have to deal with it."
Basically, Kanae was indirectly telling Reina that it was all her fault for being weak, and if she had anything she wanted to complain about, then she should become stronger. So Reina stopped thinking of making any counter-argument then and there.
In the first place, if it was not because her family thought that Shiori alone was not enough as her bodyguard, then Kanae too would not have been assigned as her bodyguard. The real reason why that happened was all because of her own fault.
Reina looked dispirited as she sighed and hung her head low. It was because she understood very well herself that it was all because she was too weak.
Katsuya, who saw Reina depressed, tried to cheer her up.
"We'll help you too, so let's work hard and become stronger together. I'm sure you can do it."
"...Ah, right, thank you... Hm?"
"That's why, won't you cancel your decision to break away from my team?"
Reina and Shiori were originally a part of a Drankam affiliated team with Katsuya as its head. Around the time when Reina had not recognized Katsuya's strength, she somehow forced her way into his team.
Then after they finished the Kuzusuhara underground city request, Reina decided to break off from Katsuya's team. Katsuya thought that it was just temporary until her extra bodyguard, Kanae, arrived and Shiori fully recovered.
But in contrast to his expectation, Reina decided to formally separate from Katsuya's team. And it was all because of Reina's own wish.
The requests that Drankam assigned to each of the Hunter teams affiliated to it were based on the average Hunter Ranks of the members of each team. Of course, the higher the average rank of a team, the higher the reward and the difficulty of the request that Drankam assigned to that team.
If Reina broke off from Katsuya's team, there was no mistaking that her team would only get lower-level requests with lower rewards. It would be almost impossible for her new team to get a high-risk high-reward request such as the underground city exploration request from the other day. So in the end, it would be harder for Reina to increase her Hunter Rank.
Reina understood that Katsuya was trying to stop her out of good-will. Most of the people would think that Katsuya was trying to stop her out of ulterior motives, something like because Shiori and Reina were real beauties, or because he wanted to get skilled fighters like Shiori and Kanae on his team. But since Reina knew Katsuya's personality well, she knew that was not the case.
Even though she knew all of that, she still shook her head.
"I'm sorry. I have no plans to withdraw that decision. After all, this all happened since I forced my way to join your team and accepted that underground city exploration request. Because I took a request that was way out of my capability, I ended up causing Shiori a lot of trouble. That's why I'm planning to start again by doing small requests that I can manage on my own from now on."
Katsuya at least understood that something must have happened when Reina and Shiori separated from his team in the underground city. But even until now, he still did not know the details of what exactly happened.
He did try to ask for the details, but both Reina and Shiori refused to say anything. Katsuya only knew about the aftermath, Reina was so tired to the point that she could not fight while Shiori was sent to the hospital. That was all that he knew.
Although Katsuya sounded as if he was trying to hit on Reina, he did not realize it himself. It was a common thing that he did numerous times in the past, but he always kept his word, he even had sacrificed himself to keep his promise.
Most of the time, it caused the girls, who he protected, to fall for him and this was the main reason why he kept amassing more and more girls around him.
Since Yumina had been together with Katsuya for years, she had given up on fixing that bad habit of his. As for Airi, since she was saved by Katsuya in the past, she could not tell him to stop doing that.
Because no one was trying to fix his bad habit, Katsuya's team had a very unbalanced male to female ratio.
Both Yumina and Airi thought that Reina would change her mind with this, but her answer was rather unexpected.
"...Katsuya, I'm happy that you said that to me, I really am. But, am I really that bad? Am I so bad that even after I've got Shiori with me, and Kanae assigned to me, that I would still need to be protected by you too? Am I really that bad as a Hunter in your eyes too?"
There was no trace of ill-will in Reina's expression. But her expression was serious and looked slightly desperate.
"T-that's not true. I just thought that we should help each other and we'll have a better chance of survival if we stay as a team. It's exactly because I recognize your skill that I want to have you in my team."
Reina stared at Katsuya as if she was questioning if that was really what he felt, she then shook her head.
"I-I see. It's really unfortunate, but it can't be helped then. You can tell me anytime if you change your mind, I'll wait for you."
After Katsuya said that, everyone went silent.
Reina did not say anything back to Katsuya. Shiori understood Reina's feelings, but since trying to carelessly cheer her up might be counter-effective, she decided not to say anything too. Meanwhile, Kanae thought that Reina would be angry at her if she said anything insensitive there, so she also did not say anything. Yumina did not know what exactly Reina was feeling, so she could not come up with anything to say to her. Airi was rather jealous that Katsuya tried to stop Reina, so she decided to just keep shut since she felt like she might say something unnecessary in that situation.
The awkwardness in that situation was palpable, and because of that, Katsuya's attention was diverted to the point that he could not step aside when a young girl suddenly came out from the alley and crashed on him.
"Whoah! Watch where you're going!"
Katsuya quickly noticed that someone else was coming from the back alley where that girl just suddenly popped out. That girl's expression quickly returned back to looking very scared.
She then hugged Katsuya and screamed.
"Please help me!! I'm being chased!!"
She was the one who stole Akira's wallet, Alna.
While the other person that popped out from the back alley was the person who was chasing Alna, Akira.
Alna, who stole his wallet, was clinging to Katsuya. Yumina and Airi looked at Akira with disdain and hatred, they quickly put their guard up against him. Katsuya covered Alna with his left hand while his right hand was ready to pick up his rifle anytime. He was already looking at Akira with a hostile gaze.
Reina and Shiori also quickly grasped the situation although they were surprised at first. As for Kanae, she was just smiling as if she was enjoying what was going on.
Both Akira and Katsuya had finished registering all the information in front of them.
Alpha then warned Akira, who was overly cautious of Katsuya's team.
"Alpha, what do you think? That pickpocket, is she that guy's... Katsuya, was it again? Is she his acquaintance? If she is, does that mean that girl is a Hunter who works as a pickpocket as a side job? Is she affiliated with Drankam too?"
"It depends on how much of this is a coincidence. If it's all pure coincidence, then I bet it's just that she bumped into a kind-looking Hunter and made some random excuse to ask for help. But if it's not a coincidence, then she must have run through the alley, which she knew well, into an area where there are many Hunters who patronized pickpockets. Those Hunters might have promised to protect her if she gets caught."
"...I guess this must be a coincidence then. I don't see any Hunters here who look so poor that they would go as far as to work with pickpockets."
"Well, you can't really judge a book by its cover. And even the small income from pickpocketing can become a huge sum once they pickpocket enough. But if you ask my honest opinion, I agree with you. This is just a coincidence. So, what are you going to do now?"
If they just stood there glaring at each other, it would not solve anything. In order to achieve the reason why he was there, Akira opened his mouth first.
"I have some business with that girl, so can you give her to me?"
Alna shivered when she heard that. Katsuya could feel her shiver since Alna was clinging at him. And his wish to protect her grew stronger, it was also further fuelled by his hostile disposition toward Akira.
Akira more or less knew that Katsuya would give him that reply, his expression turned stern thus showing his intent.
Yumina and Airi readjusted their position so that they could jump to Katsuya's help anytime. Shiori slowly moved in front of Reina, who was still confused by the sudden turn of events, as she watched carefully how the situation developed.
"So then, why are you chasing her?"
"She stole my wallet."
Everyone turned to Alna. It was obvious that she was starting to panic. Kanae then asked Alna with the same cheery voice as before.
"That's what he says, so, did you?"
Alna desperately clung on Katsuya.
"It's not me!! That boy just suddenly started chasing me with a scary face!!! That's why I was running as fast as I could!! I'm telling you the truth!!"
Katsuya could not discern whether Alna panicked because she was accused of something that she really did not do, or because she was trying to hide something. But at least he understood very well that she was desperate.
"Do you even have any proof that she took your wallet?"
"Proof, huh..."
Akira went silent as he was thinking of what to say, but Katsuya immediately interpreted that silence as a no.
"You went silent there, so you don't have any proof, huh? I bet you just dropped it somewhere."
Airi then approached Alna.
"I'll search her, if she had really stolen your wallet, I should be able to find it if I search her body."
"O-Okay, you can go ahead."
Alna stepped away from Katsuya and raised both her hands in front of Airi. But before Airi started searching her body, Akira interjected.
"You won't find my wallet on her. She took out all of my money from my wallet and threw it away to cover up her crime."
"How much did she take?"
"About 100,000 Aurum."
Airi took another look at Alna, who was wearing a complete set of clothes. But the clothes that she was wearing were those worn-out clothes normal for the slum city residents, at least, she did not look like she even had 100 Aurum with her.
Even if she found that Alna was carrying 100,000 Aurum with her after searching her body. There was still no proof that she stole that, she might be carrying that money by pure coincidence.
"Is there any chance that it was just a pure misunderstanding or some kind of other mistakes? Are you really really sure that she's the one who stole your wallet?"
"Do you have any proof why you can say that with confidence? Do you have any proof that you're not mistaking anything? Did she somehow run away from you after you caught her once before? Was the situation akin to you being with only her in a certain location when you realized you lost your wallet?"
As Yumina asked him those questions in a calm manner without blaming him, Akira was rather troubled by how to answer those questions.
"Is it because of the information you analyzed from your information-gathering device? I heard that some Hunters always keep their information-gathering device on and focus it to scan the area around them just to be safe."
"So, is it because someone who was together with you, told you so? If it is, can we go to meet that person and ask for proof?"
Yumina's guess was correct, but no one other than Akira could see Alpha. Thus he could not really say anything back.
"Is there any security camera around the area where you got your wallet stolen? There are multiple security cameras installed on the main road of the lower district, we might be able to find something if we check the recording."
"...It happened when I was in the slum city, so I think there aren't any security cameras around..."
Compared to when they started, Akira sounded as if he had calmed down considerably. Yumina then continued with her still calm voice.
Yumina stated that she understood what Akira was trying to say as well as asking him to understand her point. Akira also understood well why Yumina was taking that stance. So basically, she was not saying that he was mistaken or anything, while on the other hand, she asked him to not fully blame her either. Because of that, Akira was considerably calmed down, and the aura that was leaking out from him had also vanished.
After talking with Yumina, Akira had more or less regained his calm. It was not like Akira himself wanted to rope someone unrelated to his problem too.
The tension in the air had already lessened. It felt like at this rate, that incident would be solved without any fighting. Seeing how the situation had developed, Kanae looked slightly displeased.
"Akira, let's withdraw here. It's true that we can't expect them to trust us without telling them anything."
Alpha also encouraged Akira to pull back. He also agreed with Alpha's opinion.
There were many criteria that could be used to decide the winner and the loser, and they were often used to make a clear distinction between the loser and the winner in every case.
Akira, who had gotten his wallet stolen and his money taken by Alna, might be the loser here if he withdrew from this place without getting his money back. Then at the same time, it might mean that it was Alna's victory for getting protected by Katsuya although she did steal Akira's wallet, as well as it was Katsuya's victory for being able to successfully protect Alna, who came asking for his protection.
But again, it was nothing more but a biased evaluation.
The Akira in the past could not earn that sum of money, and even if he did, he could not get it back if someone robbed his money from him, since he simply had no right to carry any money. But the current him had worked so hard to the point that he could escape from such a situation.
But right now, Akira could not take back the money that was stolen from him. It was as if he had returned to his former self.
Anger and hatred vanished from his expression, the only thing that reflected on his near-expressionless eyes were his target, and the obstacle that was standing between him and his target.
Alna was shaking behind Katsuya's back. The reason why she did not try to escape from that place was because she unconsciously knew that it was the safest place in her current situation.
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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