『......アルファ。本当にここか?』
『ヒガラカ住宅街遺跡で入手したデータが示す場所なのは確かよ』
アキラとアルファの間には何となく気まずい雰囲気が漂っていた。
『俺達は未発見の遺跡を探し出すために、リオンズテイル社の支店や端末が設置されている場所を巡ろうとしている。そこが広く知られている遺跡の場所ではなかったら、そこに未発見の遺跡が存在する可能性が高いからだ。ここがその1か所目。そうだよな?』
アキラの前にはありふれた荒野の光景が広がっている。建物が朽ち果て倒壊して
『......期待しすぎだったか。そりゃそうだよな。未発見の遺跡がすぐに見付かるのなら、他のハンターがとっくに見付けてるよな』
アキラがか細い希望に
『もっと正確な詳細な位置は分からないのか? この辺りって言われても結構広いんだ。正確な位置が分かれば何か違うかもしれない』
『ちょっと待って。......あそこよ』
アルファがデータ上の場所を指し示す。アキラがそちらに視線を向けると、アルファのサポートで拡張表示された視界の中に具体的な位置を示す矢印が浮かんでいた。宙に浮かぶ矢印が指している場所は、空中だった。
『あそこに光学迷彩で覆われた見えないビルが存在する可能性とかは......』
『ないわ。......はい! ここは外れ! 次に行きましょう!』
すように少し早口で答えた。アキラがその態度を少し面白く思って軽く苦笑する。
アキラも別にアルファを責める気はない。旧世界の広大な都市群も、今ではその
め息を吐き、落胆を積み重ねて次の場所に移動する。アキラはその繰り返しに当初の期待をごっそり削られて意気を落としていた。
その様子を見たアルファがアキラを気遣うように明るい声を出す。
手に入れた情報なんだ。できるだけ活用したい』
『分かったわ。次の場所が当たりだと良いわね』
『そうだな。当たりでもモンスターだらけの遺跡だと困るけど』
『未発見の遺跡に生息するモンスターの質や量は未知数よ。ハンターが立ち寄っていないわけだからその手の情報は一切ないわ。アキラの手に負えないようなモンスターが生息していた場合は諦めるしかないわ。アキラが蹴散らせる程度の強さだと良いわね』
そうするつもりよ。でも限度はあるわ。私が最もアキラをサポートできる場所はクズスハラ街遺跡であって、他の遺跡ではそこまで高品質のサポートはできないの。前にも少し説明したはずだけれど、覚えている?』
アキラが少し険しい表情を浮かべる。
『ああ、そうだった。思い出した』
『特に索敵能力は激減するわ。アキラの情報収集機器とかを介しての索敵ではその精度に限界があるの。モンスターに先に察知される可能性も格段に上がるわ。だから、他の遺跡では今までのように楽に探索できるとは思わないでね』
『分かった。気を付ける』
スラム街の子供を遺跡から生還させるアルファのサポート。他の遺跡ではその加護が大幅に下がる。その意味への理解がアキラの気を強く引き締めた。
『それと、未発見の遺跡を発見しても探索時にレンタル車両は使えないわ。車両の移動経路の記録から遺跡の場所を割り出される可能性があるからね。レンタル車両が長時間一箇所に
えるのに幾ら掛かるんだか。本当にハンター稼業は金が掛かるな。しかも掛けた金に見合うほど稼げるかどうかは、結構賭けなんだよな』
アキラがハンター稼業の悲哀を覚えて軽く
『賭け事にならないようにしっかり準備を整えるのよ。装備も実力もしっかりとね。それにアキラには私が付いているから大丈夫よ。今までだってそうだったでしょう?』
アキラはその今までを思い返して僅かに間を開けた後、気を取り直して軽く笑った。
『任せなさい』
アルファは自信たっぷりの笑顔をアキラに返した。
アルファと出会ったその日から、アキラはずっと賭け続けている。命賭け程度では賭け金が足りないハンター稼業で、今のところは勝ち続けている。
だが、今までは、これからを、保証などしないのだ。
アキラ達は未発見の遺跡を探して荒野を巡り続けたが外れが続いていた。
都市に戻る時間を考慮して、今日は次で終わりにする。そう決めた最後の場所もありふれた荒野だった。一帯には大量の
結局最後まで外れだったか。アキラはそう思いながらも、今までと同じように一応データの位置を確認する。
『アルファ。また頼む』
『あそこよ』
アルファが今までと同じようにデータの場所を指差した。アキラの視界が拡張されて具体的な位置を示す矢印が表示された。
『......地下?』
『そのようね』
アキラが再度周囲を見渡す。しかしどこも
『あのデータに、入り口の情報とかはないのか?』
『そうだとしても、入り口がないと入れないしな』
『どうする? 入り口を探してみる?』
『......いや、今日は帰ろう。ここにはレンタル車両で来たんだ。ここに本当に未発見の遺跡があっても、時間を掛けて入り口を探していたら、その記録から嗅ぎ付けられるかもしれないんだろう? 入り口を探すにしても、自前の車を手に入れてからだな』
『そうね。そうしましょうか。今日は帰りましょう』
未発見の遺跡は見付からなかったが、その可能性は手に入れた。アキラはその成果に取りあえず満足して都市に戻っていった。
にはいつものように一緒に風呂に入っているアルファの姿がある。その魅惑の裸体を隠すものは湯煙と湯の揺らぎだけで、悩ましくも美しい。
だがアキラはそのアルファに全く関心を示していない。文字通り非現実的な美しさの女性と一緒に入浴する
『わざわざアキラ個人を指定した仕事の依頼が来るなんて、アキラもハンターとして随分成長したわね......と、普通なら素直に喜びたいところだけれど、ちょっと厄介な内容よ』
余り歓迎したくない事態であることを理解して、警戒したアキラが湯船に溶けていた意識を体に戻す。
「どんな内容なんだ?」
『簡単に説明すると、クズスハラ街遺跡にあるヤラタサソリの巣を駆除するから、アキラにもその駆除作業に参加してほしいって依頼よ』
「よし。断ろう」
アキラは即断した。本来ハンターならハンターオフィスからの名指しの依頼は間違いなく歓迎することだ。だがあの廃ビルでの戦闘とその後の撤退戦を思い返したアキラに迷いは一切なかった。
しかしアルファが軽く首を横に振る。
『そう簡単に断れないから厄介なのよ。依頼元がクガマヤマ都市の長期戦略部になっているわ。都市周辺の巡回依頼を
にはどうすれば良いか。条件付で引き受けるって返事をして、向こうから断ってくれるような内容にするってのはどうだ?」
アキラはアルファと相談しながら条件の内容を煮詰めていく。単純に法外に高い報酬を要求すれば良い訳ではない。依頼から逃れられても確実に都市の不興を買う。最終的に次の条件を盛り込むことになった。
に高額の弾薬を、CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾などを大量に使用する。その弾薬費は依頼元が先払いする。単独行動ではなくチームの一員として行動する。ただしアキラの判断で好きな時に独自行動に移行しても良いものとする。これには撤退の判断も含まれる。討伐数に応じた報酬を討伐対象に応じた金額で支払う。撤退等の消極的行動を理由に報酬の減算はしない。
先日のヤラタサソリとの戦闘では実力不足の所為で非常に苦労したので、自分の実力では残念ながらそこまで優遇してもらえないと依頼を引き受けるのは無理だ。最後にそう言い訳を添えて返信した。
「いろいろ書いたけど、ちょっと都合が良すぎる内容だったかな?」
送ってしまったのでもう取り消せない。アキラは少し不安そうな表情を浮かべていた。
アルファがその不安を和らげるように
ヤラタサソリの巣の除去作業依頼。その依頼元はアキラの都合の良い条件を全て飲んだ。
アキラは開店直後のシズカの店に入ると、そのまま険しい表情でシズカに注文を出す。
「シズカさん。CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を今すぐあるだけ売ってくださいって言ったら、どの程度手に入りますか?」
「どの程度って、具体的にはどの程度必要なの?」
「まずは俺が持ち運べる限界までです。強化服がありますのでリュックサックに可能な限り詰め込んで、できる限り持ち運ぶつもりです。それ以外にも、予備弾薬もできるだけ確保しておきたいです」
シズカがアキラの要望の裏に不審なものを感じて心配そうに
「どうして急にCWH対物突撃銃の専用弾がそこまで必要になったの? 一体何と戦うつもり?」
「ヤラタサソリです。ちょっといろいろありまして......」
アキラが事情を説明すると、シズカも表情を険しくさせる。
「......ヤラタサソリの巣か。確かにモンスターの強さにも個体差はあるし、念入りに潰すことを考えれば高価な専用弾の使用を許可するのも
シズカは嘆くアキラの様子を見て少し心を痛めたが、店主としての判断を優先させると自身に言い聞かせてから、真面目な表情を浮かべた。
「分かったわ。弾薬の調達には私もできる限り協力するわ。でも、一つだけ確認させて。弾薬費は依頼元が先払いするって話だけど、具体的にはどうなっているの? CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾を大量に調達するとそれだけでも結構な額になるから、店としては先に払ってもらわないと困るのよ。商売だからね」
心情的には後払いででも売ってあげたい。しかしアキラにだけそれを許すと、他の客にそのことが知れ渡った場合に非常に面倒な事態になりかねない。シズカも経営者としてそれは避けなければならないのだ。
アキラがあっさり答える。
「それなら大丈夫です。シズカさんが俺の口座から弾薬の代金を引き落とす際に、依頼元が支払を立て替えることになっています。この依頼の識別コードを添えて会計処理をお願いします」
アキラが会計処理を済ませた後に依頼から逃げた場合、その分は当然ハンターオフィスからの借金となる。その取立ては迅速確実強力だ。
アキラは既に覚悟を決めている。それならば自分はハンター相手に商売をする者として、アキラの生還にできる限り協力するべきだ。シズカはそう判断すると、アキラの意気を高めて安心させるように優しく力強く笑った。
「分かったわ。すぐに用意するから待っていて。それと、アキラはAAH突撃銃も持って行くのよね?」
「はい。せっかく改造しましたし、他のモンスターと交戦することもありますから」
「それならAAH突撃銃の弾も通常弾から強装弾に全部変えておきなさい。AAH突撃銃でも使用可能な強装弾で、一番高威力のものを用意するわ。それも立替え分に含めて大丈夫よね?」
「威力は高いけど値段もそれなりにするし、確実に銃の寿命を縮めるから普段は勧めないのよ。でも今回はそんなことを気にしている場合ではなさそうだからね。それで、いつ頃出発するの?」
「......そう。すぐに用意するわ」
シズカはそう言い残して弾薬を取りに店の奥に向かった。
アキラが出発の準備を終えた。CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾とAAH突撃銃用の強装弾を、シズカの店で今すぐに用意できる分だけ購入した。それらを手持ちの銃に装填し、残りはリュックサックなどに詰め込んで可能な限り携帯した。重量と合わせて、強化服の身体能力とアルファのサポートによるバランス調整がなければ、歩くことすら
シズカがアキラの前に立って念を押す。
「言うまでもないことだけど、無理はしないこと。良いわね?」
シズカが抱き締める力を少し強くする。行くなとは言えない。代わりに気遣うような優しい声を出す。
「......ちゃんと帰ってきなさい」
アキラがクズスハラ街遺跡の仮設基地で職員から依頼の説明を受けている。
「依頼内容はヤラタサソリの巣の除去作業になる。詳細は既にそちらに送信済みだ。熟読済みとして省かせてもらう。支給する端末の案内に従って作業場所に向かってくれ。その後は現場の指示に従ってくれ」
「現場までのルートは安全なのか? 途中にヤラタサソリの群れがいて危険なら、単独行動は取りたくないんだけど。依頼の条件にも出しているはずだぞ?」
「大丈夫だ。その時点で危険なら、まずはそっちを先に駆除するさ。まあ、群れからはぐれた個体がいるかもしれないが、巣の対処を引き受けたハンターなんだ。それぐらいは対処してくれ。やばかったら端末で連絡を入れて引き返せば良いさ」
アキラは職員から端末を受け取って仮設基地から出た。そこでアルファが指示を出す。
『アキラ。その端末とアキラの情報端末と
『借り物だぞ? 大丈夫か?』
アキラも自分の端末は乗っ取りでも
アキラは納得して自分の情報端末と貸出し端末を接続した。これで貸出し端末側の情報もアルファに筒抜けになった。
現場に到着したアキラが半壊した高層ビルを見上げている。クズスハラ街遺跡の外周部では珍しくない建造物だ。そのありふれた建物の中にヤラタサソリが
『このビルがヤラタサソリの巣なのか?』
『違うって、指示された場所はここだろう?』
『ここが入り口ってだけよ。ビルの中に他のハンター達の反応があるわ。行きましょう』
ビルの1階の大部分を占める広間にハンター達や都市の職員達の姿が見える。場を指揮している職員が広間に入ってきたアキラに気付いて手で招き寄せた。そして
職員は忌ま忌ましげな態度を隠さずにアキラを見ていた。
好き好んできたわけではない。不満があるなら雇うな。アキラは内心でそう思いながらも、この職員が自分を選んだ訳ではないことぐらいは分かっているので、気にしないようにした。
「まあ良い。防衛か探索のどちらかを選べ」
「楽な方でお願いします」
その返答に
「ふざけているのか?」
「大真面目だ。こっちで選んで良いなら俺は楽で安全な方が良い。どちらが楽なのかは俺には分からないから、ここの状況に精通している人間に選択を頼んでいる」
も動じずに見詰め返している。すると職員が小馬鹿にするような口調で話を続ける。
「ふん、良いだろう。防衛側に配置してやる。既に制圧済みの場所で周囲を警戒するだけの子供でもできる楽な仕事だ」
職員が自身の端末を操作してアキラの配置の処理を始める。その過程でアキラに貸し出されている端末からアキラの情報を読み取ると、今度は嫌みっぽい口調も混ぜて続ける。
「名前はアキラ。ハンターランクは20か。子供にしては高めだな。子守役の背中に隠れてランク上げでもしていたのか?」
「想像に任せる」
ったが、ちょうどアキラの配置処理を終えたので、それ以上構うのを止めた。
アキラはその場を後にした。
「全く、生意気な子供だ。どこの徒党のハンターか知らないが、ランク上げをした子供を送るなら子守役のハンターも一緒に送ってもらいたいものだ。どうせ戦歴も大したものではないのだろう。ちょっと見てみるか......」
端末を操作してハンターオフィスのサイトに
クガマヤマ都市防衛の緊急依頼では多数のハンターの生還に貢献している。仮設基地建築補助依頼でもヤラタサソリの群れの中で孤立していたハンター達の救援を成功させている。
何よりも、それらのハンター稼業を一人で行っている。ドランカムのようなハンターの徒党に所属した記録もなく、他のハンターとチームを組んだ記録すらない。
"...Alpha, is this really the place?"
"This should be the place according to the data that we got from Higaraka Residence Ruin."
There was a weird silence between Akira and Alpha.
"In order to find an undiscovered ruin, we're trying to look for Lion Steel Corporation's branch office or any facility with a terminal. If it is located in an area that is not widely known to the public, there is a good chance that there's an undiscovered ruin there. This place is one of such an area, am I right, Alpha?"
There was an endless wasteland laid in front of Akira. Buildings that were abandoned would slowly become decrepit before crumbling down. The wind and rain would then shave the debris into fine particles. As for the dead human and monster corpses, they eventually returned back to be one with the earth. Then, new life would bloom out from where they were. However, only small traces of civilization were left in this place, it was too barren to be called as a ruin.
"...I guess I got my hopes up too high, huh. But it's only to be expected though. If finding an undiscovered ruin was an easy thing, the other Hunters would have found dozens of them already."
Akira tried to cling onto his faint hope.
"Is it possible for you to get more precise data? Even if you tell me that it's around here, this place is vast. We might be able to find something if you can come up with a more precise location."
"Wait... Look over there..."
When Alpha pointed her finger towards a location that she extracted from the data set, Akira quickly turned towards that direction. With his vision that was enhanced by her support, he was able to see an arrow that was pointing at a specific location. But unfortunately, it was pointing at an empty space.
"Are you telling me that there's a building with some kind of optical camouflage over there....?"
"Nope... Alright then!! This one is a bust! Let's go to the next one!"
Alpha answered immediately in a fashion as if she was trying to just gloss it over. Akira found that a bit funny as he smiled bitterly.
It was not like Akira was blaming Alpha. Even old-world cities that spanned over a very wide area could not resist the might of time and had turned into a barren wasteland. The so-called ruins were basically nothing more but a part of those cities that, for some reason, were able to withstand the withering of time and were preserved till now. They were exceptions but not the rule.
Akira could not help but let out a sigh since he kept finding the arrows pointing at empty spaces. Frustration kept piling every time he headed to a different place. His motivation was slowly shaved and his original expectation was crushed.
Looking at the discouraged Akira, Alpha tried to cheer him up with a bright voice.
"...I think I'll stay looking for this undiscovered ruin for some more time. Since we got that data, I want to make use of it as much as possible."
"Alright. I hope we hit a jackpot in the next place."
"You can say that again. Although it would totally suck if it's overrun with monsters."
"Well, no one knows the number and type of monsters roaming in an undiscovered ruin. They're called as undiscovered ruins because Hunters haven't discovered them, so there's no information about the monsters that roam there. If there's a monster that you can't handle, then you have no other choice but to give up on it. So I hope there will only be monsters that you can easily handle."
"Of course I'll help you. But there's no guarantee that you'll be completely safe. I can only give you my best support in the Kuzusuhara ruin, I can't give you the same level of support in another ruin. I've told you about that too, remember?"
Akira's face turned grim.
"Ahh, you're right. I remember it now."
"To be more precise, my detection ability will fall outside Kuzusuhara ruin and there's a limit on how much the information-gathering device can supplement my detection ability. The monsters might even be able to discover you before you discover them. You can't explore the other ruins as easily as when you're exploring the Kuzusuhara ruin."
"I understand, I'll be careful."
Alpha's support was the reason why a child from the slum such as Akira could survive in the ruins. Akira understood that well, that was why he tensed up, knowing that Alpha's support would drop outside the Kuzusuhara ruin.
"And also, even if you find an undiscovered ruin, it's not like you can bring the rental vehicle to explore that ruin. After all, there's a possibility that other Hunters can find out the location of that newly found ruin from the route history of the vehicle. And it won't be strange for them to sniff the existence of an undiscovered ruin by checking the vehicle's record if you stop the vehicle in one place for an extended length of time and linking it to a big relics sale of its borrower not too long after that."
"And just when exactly would I have enough money for all that? Working as Hunters really needs a lot of money, huh. But in the end, it will still be a gamble whether all the money that I spend on the equipment was worth it."
Reminded by how hard was working as a Hunter, Akira let out a sigh. Alpha then smiled at him trying to cheer him up.
"That's why you have to make sure you have a solid preparation so that it won't be a gamble. Of course, I'm talking both about your equipment and skill. Moreover, you have my support too, so it'll be alright. It has been like that up until now, hasn't it?"
Akira looked back into his memories and noticed that it was indeed true, thus he was finally able to get over it and lightly smile.
"Just leave it to me."
Alpha gave a confident smile to Akira.
Akira had been gambling since the day he met Alpha. As a Hunter where he had to gamble using more than his own life, he had been winning all his bet.
But there was no guarantee that it would continue from here and on.
As Akira and Alpha continued to roam the wasteland in search of undiscovered ruin, they also continued to find empty spaces.
Akira thought that he should head back to the city soon, so he decided that the next place will be the last stop before returning back to the city. The last place he checked was also a vast empty wasteland, but there was a cl.u.s.ter of completely buried debris in a certain area not too far from there.
As Akira thought, it was another bust. He asked Alpha to reconfirm the location from the data as she had always done.
"Alpha, do that thing again, please."
"It's over there."
Just like usual, Alpha used the data as a reference and pointed at the direction of the location. Akira then could see an arrow pointer with his enhanced vision.
"...Underground?"
"That seems to be the case."
Akira scanned his surroundings one more time, but he did not find anything that resembled an entrance to the underground.
"Is there any gate mentioned in that data?"
"But even so, I can't go in without any entrance."
"So, what do you want to do? Want to look for an entrance?"
"...No, let's go back home for today. I'm here with a rental vehicle. So even if there's really an undiscovered ruin here, I just can't stay in one place for long looking for an entrance, the record left in the vehicle will be suspicious after all. So yep, I'll have to get my own vehicle first before searching for an entrance here."
"That's true. We'll have to wait until then. Let's just go back home for today."
Although he could not find an undiscovered ruin, he was able to find hints of one. Akira was at least satisfied with that as he decided to go back to the city.
As usual, Alpha was also there taking a dip in the same bath as him. The only thing that hid her wonderful body was the hazy steam and the ripples on the water surface. But even so, her body was utterly captivating.
Akira did not seem bothered by that at all. Although there was an unreal beauty in the same bath as him, as always, he was just wasting that luxurious scene.
"Yep, you've become quite a Hunter now that the Hunter Office would even send a specially designated request to you, huh... Well, normally, you should be delighted, but the content of the request is rather concerning."
Akira quickly understood that there was something bad going on. He quickly tensed up as all of his consciousness that was melted into the warm water was snapped back into his body.
"So, what it needs me to do?"
"To put it simply, they're thinking of taking out all the Yarata Scorpion's nest in the Kuzusuhara ruin and they want you to help them out."
"Nice, let's refuse it."
Akira immediately refused it. Normally, any Hunter would have welcomed any specially designated request from the Hunter Office. But as he remembered the hard battle he had fought in that abandoned building and how he had to fight a swarm of Yarata scorpion while trying to run away from that area, he did not hesitate when he decided to refuse this request.
But Alpha then lightly shook her head.
"It is concerning because you can't just refuse the request, you see. The requester is the Long-term Strategic Division of the Kugamayama city. It would be simple if it was from the city guards since their duty is to maintain the safety around the city. But this one is from the Long-term Strategic Division, if you refuse it without any good reason, they might paint a bad mark on you thinking that you have no motivation in helping with the city's growth. It would be very troublesome if they see you in a bad light as long as you're living in this city, you know. Well, in the worst-case scenario, you can just move out to another city though, but I don't think it is worth all of that troubles for just refusing this request."
"...Is there any way to politely refuse this request? Maybe I can put extra conditions if they want me to take this request, but what should I put so that they would retract the designated request?"
After Akira had a long consultation with Alpha about what condition should he demand from the requester. He understood that simply asking a big reward would not work, even if that might be able to let him evade the designated request, there was no mistaking it that it would buy him animosity from the city. So, they decided to ask for a big reward for his next request as his last option.
In the end, they came up with 3 conditions. Because of his lack of skill, he would be using a lot of the special piercing ammo for his CWH anti-material rifle, and so they will be paying for the ammo upfront. And although he would be working as a part of a team, he was to be allowed to make his own decision and move alone separated from his other team members from time to time. That also included the time when he decided to return back home. The reward would be paid based on the number of monsters killed. And lastly, his reward would not be deducted from any passive actions such as going back home first.
He had a hard time fighting the Yarata scorpions yesterday because of his lack of skill. Thus, he would not take the request unless he was entitled to get this much exemption. This was what he added to his reply mail before sending it.
"I wrote a lot of stuff there, but I wonder if I've asked too much."
Akira could not take back his reply mail since he had already sent it, so it was a little worried.
Alpha smiled at him to calm him down.
All the conditions that he put out for the Yarata Scorpion's nest cleaning request were accepted.
Akira visited Shizuka's shop right when it was just opened, he looked grim as he asked Shizuka.
"Shizuka-san, how many CWH anti-material rifle's specially designed ammo can you sell to me if I ask you for everything you have?"
"How many, huh? To be more precise, how many do you exactly need?"
"As much as I can carry. Since I have an augmented suit, I'm thinking of stuffing my rucksack with as many bullets as possible. Then I want to buy some more as reserve ammo too."
Shizuka felt something bad was going on, thus she worriedly asked him.
"Why do you suddenly need that many CWH anti-material ammo? What exactly are you planning to fight?"
"Yarata scorpions. Things happened, you see..."
Akira then explained everything to Shizuka. After that, she frowned and said.
"...Yarata scorpion's nest, huh. It's true that their exoskeleton is very hard, so it's understandable that you would use expensive ammo to make sure that they are really dead. With that in mind and considering the strength of the swarm that attacked you the other day, it must be quite a big nest."
Shizuka felt a pang in her heart as she saw how dejected Akira was. But she prioritized herself as a shopkeeper as she said to him with a serious face.
"Alright. I'll help you as much as I can with the ammo. But there's one thing that I want to make sure first, about the ammo expense that will be paid by the requester, how exactly are they going to pay it? Ordering a big amount of CWH anti-material rifle's special ammo cost a lot of money, so it would be troublesome if you don't pay me upfront. Business is a business after all."
Personally, Shizuka wanted to sell the ammo even if Akira could only pay it on a later date. But if she did that and other Hunters heard about that, it would be very problematic for her. As the manager of her shop, she wanted to avoid that situation no matter what.
But Akira answered back swiftly.
"Don't worry about that. I heard that the requester will pay for the expense when you deduct the ammo expense from my bank account. So please use this request's unique code when you charge me for the ammo."
After Akira finishes his payment, all of the money that he spent will be considered as a loan to the Hunter Office in case if he ran away from the request. But the collection of that debt would be done in a quick and violent manner, simply put, only a bad ending would be waiting for him if he did that.
Akira already resolved himself. Because she already knew that, Shizuka decided to do her best as a businesswoman who was dealing with a Hunter to make sure that Akira would return back alive. She then gently smiled at him to cheer him up.
"Alright. I'll bring them to you right away, so wait here for a bit, okay. And also, you'll be bringing your AAH assault rifle too, right?"
"Yeah. I did modify it after all and I'm sure I'll meet other types of monsters too."
"In that case, you should replace the normal AAH rifle's ammo to piercing ammo. I'll bring you the strongest piercing ammo that can be used for AAH rifle. It's okay if I put it on the same payment account, right?"
"Its firepower is pretty high, and so is its price. I don't usually recommend using it since it will bring down the gun's durability. But it's not like you can worry about it this time, right? So, when are you going to need them?"
"...I see, I'll bring them here right away."
Shizuka went to the warehouse to look for the ammo after she said that.
Akira finished his preparation, bought as much CWH special ammo and AAH piercing ammo as he could carry from Shizuka's shop, made sure that his rifles were in top shape, and stuffed his rucksack with as many supplies as possible. Then with the help of Alpha's support, he adjusted his augmented suit so that he could walk normally with all of his heavy loads.
Shizuka stood in front of Akira and gave him a warning.
"I don't think I need to keep telling you this, but don't do anything reckless, okay?"
Shizuka tightened her embrace, but it was not like she could stop him now. She looked very worried when she gently said to Akira.
"...Be sure to come back alive, okay?"
Akira was listening to the explanation about his new request from the staff inside the temporary base in the Kuzusuhara ruin.
"Your request is to take out Yarata scorpion's nest. The details about the request have been sent to you, I'll assume that you've all read it, so I'll skip that part. Just read the instructions in the terminal that we lend you and go to your designated place. After that, listen to the commander in the field."
"How about the road there? Is it safe? It would be troublesome if I meet another swarm of Yarata Scorpion, so I don't want to go alone. I did include that in my demand, right?"
"Don't worry, we have taken out all the swarms out there. But you might still encounter some small groups that separated from the main swarm. Since you're here for taking out their nest, you should at least be able to handle a small group, right? Well, if things get dicey, just contact us through the terminal and you can always withdraw."
Akira stepped out the base with a terminal that the staff handed to him. Alpha suddenly gave him an order.
"Akira, connect that terminal with your information terminal, I'll modify it so I can work with it."
"It's just a borrowed terminal, you know? Are you sure?"
Akira did not mind if Alpha wanted to hijack or even falsify the data inside his information terminal. But he hesitated to allow her messing with a borrowed terminal. So he could not help but ask her with a puzzled look when she told him to connect his information terminal to that borrowed terminal.
Akira was convinced by that and connected his information terminal with his borrowed terminal. With this, Alpha was able to access the information inside the borrowed terminal.
Akira arrived at his destination, he was standing and looking at a half-destroyed tall building in front of him. It was not rare to find such a building in the outskirts of the Kuzusuhara ruin. His face frowned imagining such a building being overrun by Yarata scorpions.
"Is this building a Yarata scorpion's nest?'"
"Wait, no? But I was told to come here though."
"This is just an entrance. I picked signals from other Hunters inside the building, so let's go."
Akira could see some Hunters together with the staff from the city defense division inside a big hall on the first floor. The staff who was taking command in that area waved at Akira as he noticed him entering the hall. But he obviously looked disappointed when he saw Akira up close.
That staff did not even try hiding his displeasure.
Akira was not there because he wanted to, so he really hoped that anyone who wanted to complain would not word it out. But he also understood that it was not like that staff asked for him either, so Akira tried to just ignore his spicy remark.
"Well, that's fine. You want to join the defense team or the exploration team?"
"Please assign me to the easier one."
His answer made that staff flare up as he glared at Akira.
"Are you f*cking kidding me?"
"I'm being serious here. If you tell me to choose, I'm picking the safest and easiest job. But I don't know which one of those two is easier, that's why I'm asking you as someone who knows the current situation here."
That staff kept glaring at Akira, but since Akira glared back at him without even flinching back. That staff changed his stance and mocked Akira.
"Humph, very well. I'll leave you with the defense team. You just have to guard the buildings and points that we have taken control of, it's an easy job that children like you should be able to do."
That staff operated his information terminal and started processing Akira's assignment. He was obviously annoyed when he saw the data that he read from Akira's borrowed terminal.
"Name, Akira. Hunter Rank 20, huh. That's pretty high for a small kid like you. Do you have another Hunter behind you that you're piggybacking?"
"I'll leave that to your imagination."
He was extremely annoyed by Akira's apathetic attitude. But since he just finished processing Akira's assignment, he decided to stop thinking about it.
Akira then left that place.
"Good grief, that little turd. I have no idea which gang sent that brat here. But I really wish they would send his guardian Hunter too when they send a brat like him for a request like this. I bet he has nothing interesting in his record anyway..."
He then used his information terminal to open the Hunter Office website to see the Hunter related information about Akira. Although it did not show Akira's history, it did not take that much of tweaking around to open the history page that he normally should not be able to see.
There were several records saying that Akira responded to Kugamayama defensive squad's emergency request and came back alive. Then he went against a swarm of Yarata Scorpions during the forward base construction aid request while saving the other Hunters.
And to top it off, he did all of that by himself. There was no record of him working in a team with another Hunter nor that he ever joined a Hunter gang like Drankam.
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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