アキラがクガマヤマ都市の下位区画でキャロルを待っている。
ミハゾノ街遺跡でのハンター稼業の報酬がアキラの口座に振り込まれた直後にキャロルから連絡が来た。用件は報酬の分配についてだ。
アキラの口座に振り込まれた金はアキラチームの報酬だ。キャロルの報酬はキャロルを雇ったアキラが支払わなければならない。額が額なのだ。報酬の不払いを原因にキャロルと殺し合いになるのを避けるためにも、アキラはキャロルとしっかり交渉して適切な報酬を支払わなければならない。
アキラは情報端末の通話でそのまま報酬の話を進めようとしたのだが、キャロルがアキラと直接会って話すのを希望したので、待ち合わせる場所と時間を決めて会うことになったのだ。
アキラは下位区画の防壁に近い場所の商店街でキャロルを待っていた。商店街は下位区画でも比較的裕福で荒事とは無縁な者達が利用する場所だ。警備の人間も武装こそしているが、周囲の人間を必要以上に警戒させないように、安心感を与えるように配慮した格好をしている。警備の人間以外は荒事とは縁遠い格好だ。
そのためアキラは少し目立っていた。アキラはしっかり強化服を着用し、AAH突撃銃とA2D突撃銃を装備していた。このまま荒野に出かけても問題のないハンターの格好である。A4WM自動擲弾銃やDVTSミニガンまで装備していたら、恐らく警備の人間に追い出されていただろう。
アルファが楽しげに
『俺の所為じゃない。待ち合わせ場所をここにしたキャロルの所為だ』
アキラはそれなりに目立っているが、それは場の雰囲気にそぐわない格好の人間に対する奇異の視線を少々多めに集めているという程度だ。武装したハンターを恐れている雰囲気はない。それはこの場の治安を維持している存在が、その程度の武力など問題なく排除できる戦力を保持していることを意味している。この場で
アルファがアキラの格好と周囲の人々の格好を見比べて話す。
『私は構わないけれど、もしアキラが目立ちたくないと思っているのなら、もう少し格好に気を使っても良いかもしれないわね。アキラもハンター稼業用ではない服を少しぐらい買ってもいいと思うわ』
『別に着飾ってどこかに行く予定もないし、欲しいとも思わないし、要らないだろう。確かに少し目立っているけど、気にしなければいいだけだ。そういう服って結構高いんだろう? 無理をして買う必要はないはずだ』
『確かにその通りよ。シオリとカナエもメイド服を着ていたわ。本人がそれで良いと思っているのなら、無理に合わせる必要はないかもしれないわね』
アキラが少し嫌そうな表情で尋ねる。
『......今の俺って、あの時のシオリやカナエと同じ扱いなのか?』
『場にそぐわない格好をしているという意味では、その通りよ』
『......少しぐらいは購入を検討するか』
少し悩み始めたアキラを見てアルファが
アキラが遺跡での格好とは正反対の装いのキャロルを見て少し意外そうにしている。無意識に想像していたキャロルの私服姿とはかけ離れていたからだ。
そしてキャロルはアキラの格好を見ると少し意外そうな表情を浮かべてから、
「女性との食事の待ち合わせで、その格好はちょっとどうかと思うわよ?」
アキラは先ほどのことを棚に上げて平然と答える。
「ハンターがハンターとハンター稼業の話をするんだ。そこまで変な格好でもないだろう」
キャロルがアキラの態度を注意深く観察する。照れ隠しのような態度は全く見受けられない。
「確かアキラは女性と待ち合わせた時の対応を鋭意勉強中だったかしら? 相当勉強が足りていないようね」
「そんなことを言ったっけ?」
「言ったわ。何げない会話でも相手は覚えているものよ。それじゃあ、行きましょうか」
キャロルがアキラを待ち合わせの場所からそこそこ離れた場所のレストランに案内する。
入店を拒否されることはないだろうが、場違いなことに違いはない。キャロルはそう判断し、予約を入れなくて良かったと思いながら、アキラに顔を見せないようにして軽く苦笑していた。
一緒に店に入り、4人用のテーブルに向かい合って座り、写真付きのメニューを見て注文する料理を選ぶ。キャロルはかなり真剣に注文内容を選んでいるアキラを見て、その様子を
注文を済ませて雑談を続けて、テーブルの上に注文した料理の一品目が来た辺りで、キャロルが今回の本題をアキラに話し始める。
「料理も来たことだし、そろそろ本題に入りましょうか」
「報酬の分配だな?」
「そうよ。小難しい駆け引きは止めにして聞きましょう。アキラは私に幾ら払うの?」
みながらアキラの返事を待っている。
アキラは難しい表情を浮かべていたが、逆にキャロルに聞き返す。
「俺はキャロルに幾ら払えば良いんだ?」
キャロルが楽しげに自信の有る笑顔で答える。
「いや、駆け引きも何も、それ以前に俺には相場とか適正な報酬額ってのがよく分からないんだ。だからキャロルに聞いているんだ。キャロルはそういう交渉には慣れているんだろう?」
アキラも交渉の場で自身の無知を
アキラはある意味で開き直った。知らないものは知らないのだ。知識不足による利益の減少は、その知識を得るまでの必要経費と割り切ることにした。
キャロルはアキラの様子を確認して、少し考えてから探りを入れる。
アキラはキャロルの説明を聞いて、それに納得した上で話を続ける。
「確かにそうだな。それで、キャロルの希望額は幾らなんだ?」
キャロルは表面上は笑顔を崩していないが、内心かなり困惑していた。アキラの様子からは報酬の
(正直な話、私も報酬の額には余り興味がないのよね。その報酬の交渉を通して、私の報酬額をアキラに納得させた上で私が大幅に譲歩して、アキラに恩を売る方が大切なんだけど......)
キャロルは少し悩み、アキラの反応を見るために試しに言うだけ言ってみることにする。
アキラが普通に答える。
「その場合は仕方がない。全額払おう」
キャロルの笑みが崩れた。
アキラがキャロルを雇ってミハゾノ街遺跡に向かったのはエレナ達を助けるためだ。アキラの心情としては、初めから稼ぎは二の次なのだ。
そしてアキラはキャロルを雇った
しかしアキラにはキャロルに支払うべき正当な報酬額が分からないのだ。
正当な報酬額の感覚にはどうしても個人差が発生する。ハンターは命賭けで荒野に出ている。そして自分の命と他人の命は常に不等価だ。だからこそ、ハンター同士の報酬の交渉は大いに
アキラもそれは理解している。だから適正な報酬を知っている可能性が最も高い人にそれを聞くことにした。つまり、キャロルだ。
キャロルは自分の笑みが崩れたことを自覚すると、自分の顔に素早く笑みを戻した。
キャロルは勘違いしているが、別にアキラも全額黙って支払うつもりなどない。キャロルに金額の根拠を、正当性をしっかり尋ねて納得したら支払う。そういう意味だ。
付け加えれば、アキラはその請求額に納得しない努力を限界までするつもりだ。その上で納得してしまったのなら、その請求額の正当性に納得して認めてしまったのならば、仕方がないので支払うだろう。納得とはそういうものだ。
更に付け加えれば、アルファが黙っているのでアキラは自分の言動を少し甘く見ていた。あれだけうるさく言っていたのだ。問題があれば止めるだろう。そう考えていた。
なおアルファが黙っている理由は、この交渉でアキラが大損した場合、その結果を口実にして今後のアキラの行動を制限する
キャロルは指針を決めると、アキラとの交渉を再開する。
「ん? エレナさんが決めて、大体普通に分配した」
キャロルはアキラにその普通と表現される分配方法の詳細を聞きたかったのだが、エレナがアキラに提示するであろう分配方法を想定してそれを元に話す。
「それなら私達も普通に半分ずつ公平に分けましょう。その報酬がミハゾノ街遺跡での戦闘に見合うものかどうかの話は止めましょう。事前にお互いの取り分についてしっかり同意した訳でもないしね。無駄に
アキラが食事の手を止めて、情報端末を操作してキャロルの口座へ報酬を振り込む。
「振り込んだ。確認してくれ」
キャロルも自分の情報端末を取り出して振り込みを確認した。
そう答えて軽く頭を下げたアキラに、キャロルが機嫌良く答える。
「どういたしまして。これからもよろしくね」
取りあえず失敗ではない。どちらかと言えば成功だろう。キャロルはアキラの態度からまずはそう判断した。そして
(アキラも食事を終えるまでは帰ったりしないでしょう。交渉をその辺の喫茶店で済ませていたら、アキラは交渉が終わったらすぐに帰ってしまいそう)
キャロルの予測は恐らく正しい。キャロルがよほどアキラの興味を引く話でもしない限り、アキラは用がなければさっさと帰ろうとしただろう。アキラはキャロルが今まで相手をしてきた者達と異なり、キャロルとの
「そうよ。数万オーラムで買った遺物が100万オーラム以上で売れたって話を聞きつけて、ハンターや個人業者が下位区画の表裏の遺物取扱店を探っているらしいわ」
「旧世界の遺物の
「......スラム街に店を出してもか? しかも立地が裏路地でもか?」
「あら、もしかしてアキラもその手の商売に興味があるの? うーん。私の見解だと、アキラの実力なら下手にその手の店を開業するよりも、ハンター稼業を続けた方が稼げると思うわよ?」
東部には起業の資本金の
アキラも自分に商売の才能があるとは思っていない。軽く首を横に振って答える。
「いや、俺じゃなくて、俺の知り合いが最近スラム街にその手の店を開いたんだ。俺はその店の警備をしたりもしている。そいつは店の内装とかに結構金を掛けたらしいんだけど、スラム街にそんな店を作っても採算とか取れるのかなって、ちょっと疑問に思っていたんだ」
ハンターオフィスはハンターが旧世界の遺物を売却目的で購入するのを余り快く思っていない。ハンターが自力で旧世界の遺跡で取得した遺物ではなく、金で買った遺物をハンターオフィスの買い取り所に持ち込むと、下手をするとハンターランクの意義が揺らぐからだ。
ハンターランクはハンターの実力を示す
ハンターオフィスが高ランクのハンターに与える特権とも呼べる優遇項目はかなりのものだ。東部の都市ではハンターが防壁内に入る許可を出す基準として、一定のハンターランク以上であることを定めている場合も多い。また高ランクのハンターにのみ公開する旧世界の遺跡の情報などもある。企業も高ランクのハンターに自社商品の宣伝を兼ねて新製品を安値で提供したりもしている。
そのため、自分の実力より高いハンターランクを得る
な例ではあるが、何らかの事情でハンターランクを上げたくないハンターが、遺跡で手に入れた遺物を意図的にハンターオフィスとは無関係な買取り業者に流すこともある。
これは遺物売買業者を介したハンター間でのハンターランクの売買と言っても良い。
スラム街の遺物売買業者は、そのような公にはできない需要を受け入れることで、スラム街とは思えない大きな利益を得ているのだ。
アキラはキャロルの話を非常に興味深く聞いていた。
キャロルはアキラの興味を十分に引けたことに満足して楽しげに
キャロルが何げない様子を装いながら尋ねる。
「そういえば、アキラには何か悩みとかはないの?」
「そう。私はいろいろと人生経験が豊富な方だから、何か悩みがあるのなら話してもらえれば相談に乗るわよ?」
みに私の最近の悩みは、色気より食い気なんて言うどこかの誰かが、私が誘ってもちっとも反応してくれないことなんだけど、アキラは何か良い方法を知らないかしら?」
冗談めかして楽しげにそう話すキャロルを見て、アキラも少し楽しげに
「......悩みか。そうだな。強いて言えば、俺に金と実力が足りていないことだな。......こういうのも悩みって言うのか?」
「あら、今回の仕事で結構な金が手に入ったと思うし、アキラの実力も大したものだと思っているけど、足りないの?」
「そうは言っても、弾薬費は掛かるし新しい装備も欲しいし
正確には、既にアルファのサポートというお手軽で効果的な解決方法に非常に頼っている状態だ。その自覚がある以上、後はアキラが頑張るしかない。
キャロルが自信に満ちた笑顔で話す。
「それならアキラに護衛してもらった時にも誘ったけど、私と組めばいろいろ協力できるわ。私の戦闘能力も、交渉能力も、アキラに再考してもらえる程度には見せたと思っているのだけど、どうかしら? 私と組んでくれるのなら、アキラが知りたそうなことをいろいろみっちり教えてあげるわ。アキラが自力で経験を積むより手っ取り早く知識も技術も手に入れられるわよ?」
アキラは前回と異なり少し悩んだが、同じ答えを返す。
「いや、別にキャロルの実力を認めていないってことじゃないんだ。前にも言ったけど、俺はかなり好き勝手に行動する方だから、誰かとチームを組んで予定を立てて行動したりするのが性に合わないっていうか......」
「組んでほしいって頼んでいるのは私だから、私がアキラの予定に合わせるわよ? それでいろいろ合わないって判断したら別れればいいだけよ。それでも駄目?」
キャロルの気を悪くさせたか。アキラはそう思ったが、その予想に反してキャロルは笑って答える。
「そう。それなら仕方ないわね。確かにハンター稼業のリズムが合わないハンターと組むと無駄なトラブルの元にもなるしね。しつこい女は嫌われるし、無理には誘わないわ。でもアキラも一時的に組むぐらいは構わないのよね? エレナ達とも一緒に遺跡に行ったりしているんでしょう。私もそういう誘いならしても良いかしら?
くキャロルと談笑を続けていた。食事を済ませて、食後のコーヒーを何度かお代わりをして、当初の予定をかなり超えて長居をしていたことに気付いた辺りで、アキラはキャロルに別れの挨拶をして店を出て行った。
キャロルはアキラが帰った後も
「うーん。アキラの反応は悪くなかったようだけど、次に会う具体的な約束を取り付けるまではいかなかったか。最近は色香で誘うことにかまけ過ぎて、話術とかで誘う腕が落ちたのかしらね」
キャロルはその過程で相手をより良い状態に導いたりもする。相手により前向きな考え方を持たせ、もっと自信を持つように励まし元気づけ、人生をより積極的に肯定的に意気揚々と楽しく送れるように支えたりもする。それは相手が命懸けで稼いだ金を受け取ったことに対しての、キャロルが相手に渡す対価でもある。
なお、その対価を受け取った相手が過度に前向きに過度に楽観的になって、自分の実力を超えるほどに危険な旧世界の遺跡に突撃しても、キャロルはそれで良いと考えている。命の使い方は人それぞれだ。キャロルはそれを止めようとはしない。逆効果になりそうな、止める素振りぐらいはするかもしれないが。
キャロルがアキラを籠絡する次の手を思案していると、情報端末に通話要求が届く。情報端末を手に取って相手を確認してから通話要求に応える。
「ヴィオラ。私は外出中だから、誰かに聞かれては
Akira was waiting for Carol in the lower district of Kugamayama city.
Right after the reward from the request in Mihazono ruin was transferred to Akira's bank account, he called Carol, it was about how to divide the reward.
The money that was transferred to Akira's bank account was the reward portion for his team, and since Carol was working in his team, Akira needed to pay her share of the reward. Money was a sensitive thing after all. In order to avoid having to fight Carol, Akira had to properly discuss with her and pay her.
Akira actually wanted to finish the discussion on how to divide the reward through the call, but Carol wished to meet directly with him. So, they decided on a time and place to meet.
Akira was waiting for Carol in the shopping district near the wall. Most of the areas in the lower district were relatively safe, so people who lived there were mostly peaceful people who could not fight. Of course, there were some guards patrolling the area too, but in order not to arouse any unnecessary ruckus and to give a more peaceful feeling, they were dispatched in civilian attires. Other than those guards, the rest of the people there were peaceful people.
But because of that, Akira gathered a lot of attention there. He was donning an augmented suit and carrying AAH and A2D assault rifles. He was basically a Hunter who could jump into a fight any second. If he was carrying DVTS minigun and A4WM automatic grenade launchers too, the guards would definitely escort him out of the area.
Alpha smiled and said.
"It's not my fault, it's Carol's fault for asking me to meet her in this place."
Although Akira was gathering a lot of attention, it was only on a level when someone came to a place with an attire not suitable for the location. It was not like the people around him were looking at him scared since he was an armed Hunter, it was simply because they knew that the guards in that area would be able to deal with that level of a Hunter with no problem at all in case if anything happened. They knew that Akira would face real trouble if he started making trouble in that area.
Alpha looked at the people around Akira and compared them to him.
"I don't really mind it, but if you don't like sticking out, maybe you should think more carefully about your outlook. It might be a good idea to buy some casual clothes that you won't use when you have Hunter work."
"It's not like I'm planning to go somewhere that needs me to look sleek, and it's not like I want something like that either, I really don't need it. It's true that I'm sticking out here, but I just need to not let it bother me that much. Not to mention, good clothes are expensive, right? So there's no need to go out of my way to buy them."
"Well, that's true. Shiori and Kanae are also always using their maid outfits. If you really are not bothered by it, there's no need to try to match the people around you."
Akira looked rather annoyed and said.
"...Do I really look similar to Kanae and Shiori right now?"
"If you're talking about wearing an outlook that doesn't match the place, then yes."
"...I guess I'll think about buying some casual clothes then."
Alpha smiled as she saw Akira's resolve waver.
Akira was a bit surprised seeing how Carol was wearing a dress that was the exact opposite of how she dressed when she was out in the old-world ruin. After all, he did not expect Carol to wear a dress like that at all.
While at the same time, Carol was also surprised when she saw Akira's attire. Although she was smiling, there was a trace of displeasure in her smile. She sighed a bit and said.
"I really didn't expect you to come in that attire when you're about to have lunch with a girl, you know?"
Akira decided to just shelve his thoughts for now and casually replied.
"I'm a Hunter, who is here as a Hunter and we're about to talk about Hunter stuff. So I don't think I'm doing anything weird here."
Carol watched Akira's reaction closely, it did not seem like he was trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Ah, right, if I'm not mistaken, you're still in the middle of learning how to properly escort a girl, right? It seems that you still have a lot to learn."
"Did I really say that?"
"You did. I remember it very well even though it was just a silly talk. Now then, shall we go?"
Carol was actually planning to take Akira to a high-class restaurant not too far from where they met up. But it was not a suitable place to eat when you were using an augmented suit.
Although it was not like the restaurant would not accept them, it did not change the fact that Akira would look strange there. As Carol thought so, she also thought that she was glad she did not put in an early reservation, she smiled bitterly while hiding that smile from Akira.
They entered another restaurant together, sat on a table for 4 facing each other, and scanned the menu for what to order. Carol looked at Akira who was looking at the menu with a serious face and thought that it was cute. She then thought about how to start the discussion there, or more like, how to use this chance to get Akira fixated on her.
After they placed their orders, they chatted for a bit before the meals arrived. That was when Carol started talking about the reward.
"Well, the foods are here, so let's start talking about the main reason why we're here."
"About the reward, right?"
"Yep. Let's just omit the bargaining part and go to the main problem. Akira, how much are you planning to pay me?"
Carol smiled confidently and waited for Akira's reply.
Akira seemed troubled, he instead asked Carol a question.
"How much do you think I should pay you?"
Carol replied confidently with her smile.
"Uhh, that's not the problem here, to be honest, it's more like I don't know the right reward for Hunters, you see. That's why I'm asking you, you're familiar with this kind of thing, right?"
Even for Akira, he knew that it was a bad thing to reveal that he was bad with negotiation. While on the other hand, Akira understood that he did not have the knowledge to even pretend that he knew. So he was sure that Carol who was familiar with that kind of thing would see through him in no time even if he tried.
But from the other point of view, it could be said that Akira took his chance for something bigger. He knew what he did not know, so he was prepared to lose money in order to gain that knowledge.
Carol looked at Akira for a while, she then thought for a bit before starting to talk while carefully observing his reaction.
Akira listened to Carol's explanation closely, he agreed with what Carol said.
"Hmm, you're right about that. So then, how much do you want me to pay you?"
Although that reply did not make Carol's smile waver from the outside, she actually felt troubled inside. It did not seem that Akira would try to bargain at all no matter how much Carol might ask. Even after she told him that he had the upper hand there, Akira did not seem trying to use it at all.
[To be honest, I'm not really interested in my portion of reward though. I was actually planning to accept a small amount of reward and get him indebted to me instead...]
Carol thought for a bit, she then decided to just say something to check Akira's reaction.
But then Akira just casually replied.
"Well, in that case, it can't be helped, I'll just give you all the reward."
Carol's smile finally wavered.
Akira went to Mihazono ruin while bringing Carol with him in order to help Elena and Sara. Right from the start, his goal was not money.
Moreover, Akira was the one who hired Carol, so as the one who hired her, he unconsciously wanted to pay Carol the right amount of reward. Akira thought that Carol was a stronger Hunter than him and he roped her to a dangerous place for his own reason, so it was understandable that he had to pay a big amount of reward for her.
But with that being said, Akira did not know the right amount of money to pay Carol.
Of course, the suitable amount of money would differ from one person to another. Hunters risked their lives when they went out to the wasteland. And of course, they did not think that their own life was equal to the life of the other. That was why when it came to negotiation about reward, it tended to end up with a fight. It was not rare for Hunters to fight and kill each other right after they finished a job together.
Akira himself understood that very well. That was why he decided to ask someone who was knowledgeable about that thing. Which in this case, that would be Carol.
Carol realized that she had stopped smiling, but she immediately returned her face back to a smile. She was pretending as if it did not surprise her at all while checking on Akira. It did not seem that Akira said that because he had some kind of ulterior motive. He was only being honest.
One thing that Carol got wrong there was that Akira would not just give all the reward without fighting back if she really asked for all the reward. What he meant back then was that he was willing to give all the reward if she could give him a good reason to do so.
To be more precise, Akira was planning to fight back until the end. And if Carol was able to convince him after that, if she could make him agree that it was a suitable reward for her, then he would properly pay her that much. After all, that was the right thing to do if he agreed with that.
And to add one more detail to that, Akira actually underestimated his words because Alpha did not say anything. Alpha was always so noisy reminding Akira of anything, that was why he was sure Alpha would say something if he did something bad.
But the reason why Alpha did not say anything was because in case if Akira lost a lot of money there, she would use that as an excuse to encourage him to stop associating with other people. So after a lot of considerations, Alpha decided to just keep silent there.
Carol had decided on her plan and restarted the negotiation.
"Hm? Elena-san would be the one deciding and I guess we just divided the reward normally just like usual."
To be honest, Carol wanted to know what was 'just like usual' for Akira. But since he only gave her that much information, she decided to make a suggestion based on how Elena divided the reward with Akira in the last request.
"In that case, then let's divide the reward 50-50 and not talk about whether it's the right number considering how much we fought back in Mihazono ruin, right? After all, it's not like we have a prior agreement on how to divide the reward anyway. This way, we can divide the reward without causing more trouble or leaving any side displeased. When it comes to a suitable amount of reward, nothing is better than the amount of reward that both parties agree to. And since I want to get along with you in the future, let's just divide it 50-50 between us, what do you think?"
Akira stopped eating, took out his information terminal, and finalized the transfer to Carol's bank account.
"There, I've transferred it, can you check it?"
Carol also took out her information terminal and checked her bank account.
Akira lightly bowed, Carol then replied in a good mood.
"You're welcome. I'll be looking forward to working with you again."
Looking at how Akira reacted, Carol thought that at least she did not fail, it might even be okay to say that she succeeded. And then when she saw him enjoying his delicious-looking meal, she was able to confirm that it was the right choice picking a restaurant as a place to discuss with Akira.
[If we do the negotiation in a restaurant, he would not leave until he finishes his meal. But if we've done this in a cafe, I bet he would have left the moment we finished the negotiation.]
Carol's guess was most probably correct. As long as she did not have anything interesting to talk about, Akira would just leave when his business with her was done. Unlike all the other customers that she had met up until now, Akira had no romantic feeling toward her at all.
"Yup. And with that rumour about a certain relic that you can buy with a few hundred thousand Aurum and can be sold for a few million Aurum circulating around, it seems that some Hunters and merchants were looking for the shop that sold that certain relic."
"A toy old-world relic, huh... I wonder what kind of relic is that."
"...Is that the case even if you open such a store in the slums? And even if it's a secret shop?"
"Oh, are you interested in that? Hmmm, if you ask me, with your skill, it's better if you keep working as a Hunter instead of opening a shop like that, you know?"
There were many people in the eastern district who worked as Hunters only in order to get the capital to start a business. It was indeed true that being a Hunter was a dangerous job, but it was a good way to raise a lot of money in a short time. Not to mention, if they left as high ranking Hunters, it would be easier for them to gather money for their business. And if their business went bankrupt, they could use their rank to borrow some money to restart their Hunter activities again.
Akira himself did not think that he had any talent in running a business, so he just shook his head and said.
"Nah, it's not about me, it's about someone that I know in the slum city who started running that kind of business just recently and I'm guarding that place right now. It seems that she spent quite a lot of money on the interior of that shop, so I was just wondering if you can get profit from opening that kind of shop in the middle of the slum."
To be honest, the Hunter Office did not like the shops that sold relics since they allowed Hunters to gather relics with money instead of from the old-world ruin. Hunters could buy relics from such shops and then sell those relics to the Hunter Office's exchange centre. This fact would definitely raise a question in the trustability of the Hunter ranking.
The Hunter ranking was an indicator of the strength of a Hunter, and that strength was basically based on Hunter's ability to gather relics from dangerous ruin. The reason why the Hunter Office gave special treatment for the high ranking Hunters was to support the Hunters who had the skill to reach that ranking.
Hunter Office gave special treatment to high-ranking Hunters. Many cities in the eastern district only allowed Hunters of a certain ranking or higher to get permission to go inside the inner wall. Moreover, there were several secret information about old-world ruins available for high ranking Hunters only. The companies also tended to offer their new equipment cheaply for high-ranking Hunters which doubled as a promotion for those companies.
Because of that, some Hunters chose to buy relics with their money and took them to the Hunter Office in order to get a higher ranking than their actual skills. There were Hunters who gathered money from trading relics and then used that money to buy relics to bring to the Hunter Office in order to raise their Hunter Ranks.
Although it was a rather rare thing, sometimes there were also Hunters who did not want to raise their Hunter Rank for a certain reason, these Hunters would sell their relics to the exchange centre and shops that did not have any connections with the Hunter Office.
This practice could be interpreted as buying and selling Hunter Rank. Thus, those shops with good reputations tend to limit the relic trading with the Hunters or do a full identity check in order to prevent the Hunter Office from blacklisting their businesses.
Merchants in the slum were able to gain an unthinkable amount of money considering where they were conducting their business because of those under-the-table dealings.
Akira was listening closely to Carol's explanation.
Carol was smiling happily seeing that Akira was interested in her explanation. At the same time, she also thought about the reason behind that interest.
Carol tried to look casual as she asked Akira a question.
"By the way, Akira, do you have any worry at the moment?"
"Yep. I'm more experienced than you in all kinds of things. So if you have any worries, I might be able to give you some advice."
"By the way, I have a particular worry lately. It's about a certain Hunter who prefers food over women, he hardly shows any reaction no matter what I do to seduce him, do you have any idea what I should do?"
Akira understood that Carol was teasing him, so he smiled back mischievously and said.
"...Worry, huh. Let's see... If I have to say anything, I'll say my lack of strength and money, huh... Wait, is that included as a worry in the first place?"
"Oh my, I think you got quite a lot of money from the last request and I also think that you're already pretty strong, is it still not enough?"
"Even if you say so, I need to buy ammo, I want to get better equipment, and I want to eat good food. I feel like it won't be enough no matter how much money I have. While for my strength, since I had trouble fighting the monsters back in the Mihazono ruin, that alone means that I'm not strong enough yet. Well, I have no other choice but to work hard as a Hunter and there's no easy solution to that, I at least know that much."
To be more precise, Akira was relying too much on the easy and effective solution called Alpha's support. As long as Akira knew that, the rest was for him to work hard.
Carol smiled confidently and said.
"In that case, I did invite you to work together with me back then in the Mihazono ruin, right? If you work with me, I'm sure you can get a better look at my fighting skill and negotiation skill, so, what do you think? If you work with me, I think I can teach you many things, you know. I think it's faster than gathering the experience by yourself, yes?"
Unlike last time, Akira did not reply instantly this time, but in the end, he gave the same answer as last time.
"No, that's not the problem here. Like I said back then, I don't plan much and can be pretty random, I don't think I have the suitable personality to work together with someone else..."
"I'm the one who's asking you to work with me, you know. So I at least will adapt to your schedule. And if we can't work well together even after that, we can just stop working together. So, is it still a no?"
Akira thought that he made the mood bad there, but unexpectedly, Carol smiled and said.
"I see. Well, it can't be helped then. It's true that working together with the other Hunter whom you can't really work together with often ends up with trouble. Not to mention, you might come to hate me too, so I'll stop bugging you about that. But if you ever want to work together with me even if it's only for a short time, I'm open anytime, okay? I know that you sometimes go to the ruin with Elena and Sara, right? You can invite me too the next time you do that and I'll be more than happy to come along."
Akira and Carol were talking about a lot of things even after they finished their meals and had ordered refills for their after-meal coffee multiple times. When Akira realized that he had spent way more time than he originally planned, he said his goodbye to Carol and left the restaurant.
After Akira left, Carol was still inside the restaurant for some time. She was smiling wryly and mumbled.
"Hmmm. Akira's reaction there was not bad, but I wasn't able to make any appointment when to meet next either. I guess I relied too much on my seduction skill lately that my speechcraft skill has gotten dull."
Carol sometimes also used that to lead her partner to a better state. She encouraged them to be more positive about their lives, to be more confident, to cheer them up, to get them to enjoy their lives more and support them. It could be said that those were the services that they got from paying the money they earned from risking their lives to Carol.
At the same time, all of those encouragements sometimes caused them to get ahead of themselves and made them challenge dangerous old-world ruins that were out of their league, but Carol was okay about that. There were many different ways for people to use their lives. So Carol had no wish to stop them from doing so. Although, she might try to stop them if she knew that it would be counter-effective.
Carol was thinking about what she could do next to seduce Akira, that was when a call reached her information terminal. Carol checked the caller and accepted the call.
"Viola, I'm outside right now. If it's something sensitive, call me again later."
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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