241 再接続
エルデが部屋のロッカーを驚異的な身体能力で
(......また外れか。当たりはどれだ? この無駄に多い収納スペース、初めからその意図で設置されてるんじゃないだろうな)
無意識に顔を険しくして、次のロッカーの扉に手を掛ける。同じように強引に
いな。時間を掛けすぎた。車外の騒ぎが収まって、警備側が車両内の異常に気付いて対応処置を始めるまで、猶予は後どれだけだ?)
そして、エルデ1人で探している
3人で迎撃するには通路の幅は少々狭い。部下達の実力も高く、自分まで出ても連携の邪魔になるだけだ。加えて対象を確保した後は、敵の増援の相手を2人に任せて脱出する計画だ。それならば自分が捜索に残った方が良い。エルデはそう判断して部下達を迎撃に向かわせたのだが、失敗だったかと思い始めていた。
状況を継続するべきか僅かに迷う。だが部下達への信頼と、自分が任せたのだという
をしないように、調べた後に蹴飛ばして完全に破壊していた。だがその大型ロッカーは非常に頑丈なのでそこまではしなかった。
エルデはその破壊された扉に違和感を覚えた。開き加減が変わっているような気がしたのだ。
「......まさか」
エルデが再び大型ロッカーの前に行き、半開きの扉を勢い良く開く。すると、下着姿で
エルデが愛想良く笑う。
「こんな所にいらっしゃいましたか。探しましたよ。さあ、避難しましょう。安全な場所までお連れします」
「こ、ここも結構安全だと思うんだけど?」
「ご心配なく。避難場所はもっと安全ですよ。さあ行きましょう。来るんだ」
エルデが愛想を消してヒカルの首を
む。
にエルデは意識を通路側に向けて気配を探った。すると、高速で近付いてくる気配を捉える。部下達が戻ってくると判断し、そのまま待つ。そしてその気配が部屋に飛び込んでくる。
その気配はエルデの部下達ではなく、アキラだった。
アキラが両手の銃をエルデに向けようとする。エルデがヒカルを前に出す。極限の集中による静止した世界の中で、どちらも相手の反応を探り合う。そして、エルデが先に判断した。
(こいつ! 撃つ気だ!)
エルデは即座にヒカルの前に出ながら、アキラ側の空中に回し蹴りを放った。その絶対に届かない距離で繰り出されたはずの蹴りの予備動作と同時に、アキラもアルファの強化服操作に促されて回避行動を取っていた。
エルデの蹴りの動作が終わった後、僅かな時間を挟み、アキラが見えない誰かに蹴り飛ばされたように吹き飛ばされる。防御自体は間に合っていたので被害はないが、体勢を立て直した分だけ動きを鈍らせた。
『アルファ。さっきのは、あいつに蹴られたんだよな?』
通路でのナイフでの間合い外からの攻撃は、飛んでくる光刃が見えたのでまだ理解できた。だが先ほどの蹴りはそれもなかった。見えない長い脚で蹴られたのでもない。間違いなく蹴りを空振りした後に、蹴りの衝撃を受けていた。
『相手の蹴りで間違いないわ。高速フィルター効果の応用で、蹴りの衝撃を
いことになっているのでしょうね。より高度な旧世界の技術が色濃く残っている地域らしいから、相応にね』
『よし。この辺には、いや、クガマヤマ都市より東の地域には二度と行かない。決めた』
『好きにすれば良いけれど、まずは、この場を切り抜けるのが先決よ?』
われるぐらいなら殺すってことか? 大企業らしい傲慢さだな。そこに何か思うことはないのか?」
アキラが黙っていると、その沈黙を自分なりに解釈したエルデが表情で侮蔑を示してくる。
「ふん。思うことはないか。エージェントとして、そう教育されているのか。人として生まれたにも
エルデが表情から私情を消し、意思を任務に切り替える。そして動き出す前に、返答が返ってくる。
エルデが意外そうな表情を浮かべる。アキラはそれ以上答えなかった。
「......そうか。あの2人の名はトルパとサルザだ。その名前、あの世に持っていけ」
エルデは1秒を争う任務の中、相手の名を聞き出すというある意味で無駄な時間を、その任務に命を
「まだ通信が回復していません。復旧作業中です」
「車内警備の人員を派遣して直接確認させろ。それぐらい出来るだろう」
「派遣済みです。まだ帰還していません。車両を一度閉鎖モードにした影響で、車列の再連結に時間が掛かっている
指揮官が決断し、険しい表情で指示を出す。
「ハンター達に6号車と8号車の制圧を指示しろ!」
「そうだ! 車両への多少の被害も許容するとも伝えろ! 6号車と8号車をすぐにこちらの管理下に戻せ!」
「車内に敵が侵入していると言うのですか!?」
「それぐらいの異常事態を前提に行動させろ!
エルデが距離を詰めてくる。アキラが天井を蹴って床に逃れる。そして着地と同時に頭上へ蹴りを放ち、エルデの跳び蹴りに合わせた。
アキラの蹴りとエルデの蹴りが衝突し、衝突点から室内に衝撃波が飛び散った。強化服の接地機能により、事前に
『......生身の方は?』
『追加の回復薬をたっぷり服用しておいて良かったわね』
アキラも見えてはいないが、自分の両足がぐちゃぐちゃになっていることは何となく分かっていた。治療は高価な回復薬のおかげで急速に進んでいる。だが今は出来れば一歩も動きたくない状態だ。3度目の現実解像度操作の負荷も
『俺の運は何でこういつもぎりぎりしか残ってないんだよ......。もうちょっと残っていても良いだろう......』
『時間稼ぎを兼ねて、試しに撤退でも勧めてみたらどう? 運が残っていたら、帰ってくれるかもしれないわ』
その提案に、アキラが苦笑を浮かべる。口を開いた途端、それを契機にして相手が襲いかかってくるかもしれない。そう思いながらも口を開く。
「別にあんたに個人的な恨みがある訳じゃない。それに受けた依頼には、ここまで強いやつと戦うなんて説明はなかった。だから別にあんたを見逃しても、依頼の破棄にはならないと思うし、大丈夫かなって」
「......寛大な提案を有り難く思うが、気持ちだけ受け取っておこう。既に部下を2人も死なせてしまった。その死に報いる
く気は無いか? そちらが俺との戦闘を、そもそも依頼外の事態であり、割に合わないと思っているのなら、撤退も選択肢になるはずだ。依頼破棄による損害も出るだろうが、そこは損切りするべきだろう。企業的な判断をしたらどうだ?」
「なぜだ? その反応から判断して、割に合わない仕事だとは思っているのだろう?」
「助けてって言われて助けに来たのに、それを相手がちょっと
「彼女を撃ち殺そうとしていたはずだが?」
「撃とうとはしたけど、ちゃんと外すし、当たったとしても死なない場所に当てるつもりだった。回復薬もあるしな。それに盾代わりにされた時点で、既に殺されたようなものでもある。その状態から何とかするのは交渉人の仕事だ。俺にその交渉技術を求められても困る」
「なるほど。手遅れの基準が非常に厳しいものだったにしろ、助けるつもりはあった訳か」
少し沈黙を置き、再びアキラが話題を振る。
「それで、何でヒカルを狙ってるんだ? 俺が言うのも何だが、あんたみたいな
「逆に聞こう。重要人物ではないのなら、なぜお前のような護衛が付けられている?」
「別に俺はヒカルの護衛を引き受けた訳じゃない。引き受けたのは輸送車両の護衛だ。ヒカルを助けるのはそのついでだ」
「そう言われてもな。じゃあ逆に聞くけど、そっちの認識だとヒカルはどんな重要人物になってるんだ?」
「坂下重工所属の旧領域接続者だ」
アキラの顔が驚きで
い勘違いをされてるぞ! 誤解を解く方法とかないのか!? それとも本当にヒカルは坂下重工所属の旧領域接続者なのか!?」
だがそれを聞いたヒカルには驚きと混乱しかなかった。
「どういう勘違いをすれば、私が旧領域接続者になるのよ!?」
「知るか! 向こうがそう言ってるんだよ!」
少なくとも、説得は無理だ。アキラはヒカルの様子からそう理解して苦笑いを浮かべた。エルデも少し楽しそうに笑う。
「上司の傲慢に付き合えないのなら、我慢する必要はないぞ? さっきも言った通り、
「待って! 逃げないで! お願い! 助けて! 何でもするから!」
「......報酬はしっかり弾んでもらうぞ!」
「わ、分かったわ!」
アキラがエルデに向けて軽く笑う。
「そうかな? その金をあの世に持っていけない以上、割に合わないことに違いはないと思うがね」
「ちゃんとこの世で使い切るよ」
何よりも、エルデには任務での時間制限がある。警備側が異常事態を察知する前に、目標を奪取して離脱しなければならない。警備側の増援が駆け付ければ、それでアキラの勝ちだ。時間稼ぎをずっと続けた場合、時間はアキラの味方だった。
時間経過の害が利を上回るまで、残り数秒。エルデが先に決断し、アキラがそれを察する。表情から笑みが消え、鋭さが増していく。次の交戦で、最低でもどちらかが死ぬ。それは相手だ。そう覚悟を決めていく。極度の集中が、その数秒をどこまでも引き伸ばしていく。
アキラが苦笑気味にそう答えると、アルファが顔を近付けてくる。
『そうは言っていないわ。でもこのままでは確実に殺されるのも事実よ。だから、それだけ危機的な状況だと理解した上で、その危機に対応する
アルファも真面目に答える。
『前にも言ったけれど、その時点では、許可を得る許可が無いのよ。こんな状況でもないとね』
『改めて言っておくわ。私がアキラに依頼をしている立場。その前報酬としてアキラをサポートしている以上、アキラに不利益を与えるつもりは無いわ。だから、信じて許可を出してくれる?』
『今更だ。何をするつもりか知らないけど、俺も死にたくない。やってくれ』
しそうに笑う。そしてその表情が事務的なものに変わる。
『危機的状況下において、アキラに対するより高度なサポートの実施を円滑に行う
Ch 241
Erde flung open the door of the locker inside Akira's room. Because the door was only as tough as a cheap safe box, it did not stand a chance against his abnormal strength. Erde forced it open with brute force, bending it out of shape. It was no longer recognizable. His action seems to mock its electrical lock. Unfortunately for him, the inside was empty.
[...Another miss? Which one is the jackpot? Don't tell me that they leave this many lockers inside this big room just for this game of hide-and-seek?]
He inadvertently knitted his eyebrows and reached for the door of the next locker. When he used his might to open it, he was only greeted by disappointment. He slammed the bent door shut and kicked it, completely breaking the door. If there was someone inside that locker, they would have died. That was why Erde tried to be careful. He was afraid there was someone inside.
[This is not good. We have spent too much time here. How long do I have until the battle outside ends and the other escorts notice us?]
And of course, the fact that he was searching alone meant that they could not search multiple places at the same time.
Going out together with the three of them was not a good idea since the hallway was narrow. He knew that his men were not weak, that was why Erde thought that if he also went out, he would only get in their way. Moreover, his original plan was to let his men take care of the escort while he left the scene after he secured their target. Thinking that staying behind was better, Erde told his men to welcome Akira, but now, he believed that decision might have been a mistake.
Erde was not sure if it was a good idea to continue searching. But his trust in his men and his pride made him continue the search. After all, he was the one who left Akira to his men. Although, the search result was as futile as usual.
To mark the lockers that he had searched, Erde made sure to kick them and destroy them. But the large locker was stronger than the other lockers, so it was not completely broken.
Erde felt something was wrong with the door. He was pretty sure that he did not leave it like that.
"...Wait a second."
Erde once again went to the large locker and pulled open the door. Finally, he found Hikaru only in her underwear, smiling sacredly at him.
Erde politely smiled.
"So you're here. We've been looking for you. Now, we need to evacuate. I'll take you to a safe place."
"I-I'm sure I'm in an already quite safe place at the moment."
"Please don't worry, we have even a safer place ready. Let's go. Come with me."
Erde's smile vanished, his hand extended and reached for Hikaru's neck.
"O-Okay."
Now he just needed to regroup with his men and leave the premises. If his men were in no position to regroup, he was planning to run away alone. In order to confirm that, Erde scanned the hallway. That was when he noticed a signal blazing in the room's direction. He thought that it was from his men, so he decided to just wait. Someone then jumped into the room.
But that was not his men, it was Akira.
Akira had the rifles on both his hands fixed in Erder's direction. Erde reacted by putting Hikaru in front of him. In a split second that was extended into eternity from the adrenaline, Akira and Erde were locking gazes, trying to probe how the other would react. Erde was the first to make a move.
[This guy! He's going to shoot for real!!]
Erde quickly stepped in front of Hikaru and released a kick toward Akira. Although Akira was obviously outside that kick's reach, Alpha still controlled his augmented suit to evade that kick.
After Erde released his kick, there was a short pause, Akira was then blown back as if he had received an invisible attack. However, since he had enough time to reposition himself, the damage was suppressed. Though, it still threw him off balance.
"Alpha, what was that? It was from that guy's kick, right?"
It was still understandable for the knife that was extending out a light blade back in the hallway. But that kick just now completely left no traceable method of reaching him. He was certain that kick did not make physical contact with him. It was clear that he received a shock wave a moment after Erde finished executing his kick.
"Yep, it was from his kick, he used the speed filter effect to propagate that shock wave."
"Well, one thing that I can say, it's just out of this world. We're talking about an area that's filled with old-world technology after all."
"Alright then. Let's never go any further to the east of Kugamayama city ever again."
"It's fine for me too, but first, we need to survive this place, right?"
"You're that girl's escort, right? Are you seriously thinking that it's better to get her killed rather than letting me abduct her? That's so typical of someone from the Corporate Government. Don't you think there's anything wrong with that line of thinking?"
Akira did not reply, Erde interpreted that silence as an answer as his expression turned to disgust.
"Humph, no response, huh? I guess it's thanks to your education as an agent. Reborn to a loyal dog and used like an object under your corporate overlords just to die like an expendable article. Without any complaint at all. You guys are really messed up in the head."
Erde's expression turned solemn, he had completely changed gears. But before he made a move, Akira suddenly said.
Erde raised his eyebrows, but Akira did not say anything any further.
"...I see, those two are Torpa and Salza. Feel free to carry those names to the afterlife."
In a time-constrained mission, to use a precious second to ask the name of his opponent was unnecessary. Nonetheless, Erde still chose to spend that much time because of his respect toward his men. Thus, Akira gave the least-needed respect toward a man who showed respect to his deceased comrades.
"We still can't reach them. We are still working on it."
"Send someone to directly check on them, we at least can do that much, right?"
"We've already sent someone. But they haven't come back yet. I believe that it's because the transport vehicle went into lockdown, so we might need some time to reopen it."
The commander made his decision, he had a worried look as he gave his order.
"Tell the Hunters to secure transport numbers 6 and 8!"
"Yes! Tell them that it's okay to even damage the transport vehicle! But make sure to keep the damages within the limit! Get numbers 6 and 8 under our control immediately!!"
"Do you mean that someone took control of those two transport vehicles?!!"
"Yes!! Tell them to make their move with that assumption in mind!! It's fine even if it's an unnecessary worry! Get them to move out as soon as possible!!"
Erde quickly closed the gap, Akira kicked the ceiling and returned back to the floor. The moment he landed, he kicked straight up and was met by Erde's kick straight down.
As their kicks made contact, the shock wave shook the room. Due to his augmented suit, Akira's footing was reinforced with forcefield armour, but even so, it still left a huge crack and completely shattered the floor.
"...How about my body?"
"Aren't you glad that you took quite a lot of medicine beforehand?"
Although Akira could not see it, he knew that the inside of his legs was badly damaged. The expensive medicines that he took helped him to fix those injuries as fast as possible. But even so, he did not want to even make a move immediately if it was possible. The backlash from the third reality manipulation was severe, the fatigue assaulted his brain in the form of an excruciating headache. At the moment, he tried to lighten the effect by focusing it only around where Erde was.
"Just why in the world does my luck only give me the least to survive situations like this...? It won't be strange if I at least have some more, no?"
"How about retreating to buy some extra time? If you still have some luck, you might still be able to return back safely."
Akira smiled wryly in reaction to that suggestion. The moment he opened his mouth, his opponent might take that chance to attack him. But even so, he still said something to Erde.
"It's not like I have any personal grudge against you. When I accepted my mission, no one told me that I would be fighting someone this strong. So, I just thought that running away from you won't mean that I'm breaking my mission so it should be alright."
"...Thank you for the very tempting suggestion, but I'm afraid I cannot accept that. You already killed two of my men, it's too late to retreat now."
"Let me make an offer this time, won't you leave? If this fight is not in your job description and you think it isn't worth the trouble, you can just retreat. Though it might violate your mission, I think it's better to just accept that loss, isn't that just how Corporate Government works?"
"Why? Judging from your reply, you don't think this is worth the trouble, no?"
"I'm here because she asked me to help, I would hate myself if I retreat just because I found out the opponent is too strong."
"But you were just about to shoot her, no?"
"I did, but I would make sure to miss my shots, even if they hit, they would not be fatal. I also still have some medicine left. The moment you used her as a shield, she's equivalent to being dead already. It's the negotiator's job to find a way to save her in that situation and I'm not a negotiator."
"I see. So basically, although you're strict in deciding that it was too late, it was not like you did not have the wish to save her, huh?"
After another pause, Akira broke the silence.
"So then, why are you guys targeting Hikaru? Although it might be weird to hear this from me, I think she's not that important of a person for you to go this far."
"Let me ask you this instead. If she's not that important, then why are you escorting her?"
"My job is not to escort her, it's to escort the transport convoy. I'm just helping her on the side of my job."
"Even if you say that. In that case, what makes you so sure that she's that important?"
"Simple, it's because she's an old-world connector from Sakashita Heavy Industry."
Akira raised his eyebrows in surprise. Because he himself was someone who could connect to the old-world domain, there was a tint of another emotion mixed in his surprised face. Erde who saw that was sure that his guess was correct.
"Hikaru! I don't know what's going on here, but it seems that this is a huge misunderstanding! Do you have any idea how to clear up this misunderstanding?! Or is it that you're actually an old-world connector from Sakashita Heavy Industry!?"
Hikaru, who heard that from inside the locker, was greatly surprised. She then shouted back from inside the locker.
"How the heck did they end up thinking I'm an old-world connector!?"
"Like hell if I know! That guy is telling me so!"
Akira smiled wryly. Judging from that reply, one thing that Akira could catch was that trying to convince Erde was not an option. Erde chuckled and said.
"There's no need to stay behind if you can't get along with your superior's crazy antics, you know? Like I said before, you can just retreat. If you really didn't know that she's an old-world connector, then this mission is way too dangerous for you. I'm sure you won't get penalized."
"Wait! Don't leave me! Please! Help me! I'll do anything!"
"...You better make sure I get a suitable reward, alright?"
"O-Of course!"
Akira then lightly smiled at Erde.
"Is that so? As far as I know, as long as you can't take that reward to the afterlife, it won't be worth the trouble though."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to spend it in this world."
To top it off, Erde's mission had a time limit. He had to kidnap his target before the escort team could find him. If the escort team also joined the fight, Akira would undoubtedly win the fight. So, the longer he waited, the better Akira's chance would get.
Before the time was stretched too thin, Erde decided to make the first move. Akira knew that would happen. His smile vanished; his gaze turned sharp. He had to finish the fight as soon as possible in the next confrontation, and he resolved himself to end it with the death of his opponent. His intense focus made time feel like it was expanded.
Akira lightly smiled, Alpha then put her face close to Akira.
"That's not the point. But it's also true that you'll be dead at this rate. That's why, with that information, is it okay to do an equally dangerous thing to get out of this predicament? I need your permission here."
But Alpha replied with a serious tone.
"Just like last time, I didn't have the permission to ask for your permission before. I can only do that because we're in this situation right now."
"Let me remind you that my position is that of your requester. My support is upfront payment for your reward, that's why I won't deliberately put you in unnecessary danger. That's why I want you to trust me and give me your permission."
"Come on now, isn't that a little bit too late for that? I don't know what you're planning to do, but I don't want to die. So just do it."
Alpha smiled happily, then her expression turned neutral.
"Due to the emergency situation, in order to give better support for the subject Akira, requesting permission to per-recognition information processing as well as thought intervene-"
Rebuild World (WN)
リビルドワールド
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/rebuild-world/
Action Adventure Drama Harem Mecha Mystery Sci-fi Seinen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alternate World Anti-social Protagonist Apocalypse Artificial Intelligence Beautiful Female Lead Cautious Protagonist Child Protagonist Dense Protagonist Determined Protagonist Distrustful Protagonist Futuristic Setting Gangs Gunfighters Harsh Training Lack of Common Sense Male Protagonist Manipulative Characters Monsters Near-Death Experience Older Love Interests Poor Protagonist Poor to Rich Ruthless Protagonist Shota Sudden Strength Gain Survival Twisted Personality Unlucky Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9736dt/
非公開