カドルが情報端末に表示されているアルナの画像とカツヤの横にいるアルナを真剣な表情で見比べる。
「間違いない。あいつだ。あのコートを被ったガキだ」
他の男達もアルナを認識して気を引き締める。
「あいつか......。他の連中は何だ? あいつの仲間か?」
「知らん。あのアルナってガキ以外はどうでも良い。目標はあいつだけだ。可能なら生かして連れて行く。無理なら殺す。行くぞ」
カツヤ達が近付いてくるカドル達を見て警戒を高める。カドル達の表情はスラム街を
カドルは会話ができる程度の距離までカツヤ達に近付くと、そこで止まってアルナを指差した。
「そのガキを渡せ」
カツヤがアルナを
だ? こいつに俺達の後をつけるように指示を出したのもお前らか?」
「知るか。ごちゃごちゃ言わずにそのガキを渡せ」
カツヤは自分の背にいるアルナの震えを感じ取り、カドル達を逆に威圧し返すように強い口調で答える。
「断る!」
並の者ならそれだけでたじろぎ引き下がるような威圧だ。だがカドル達は引き下がらなかった。逆に険しい表情で銃を握り臨戦態勢を取る。銃口はまだ下を向いているが、交渉の決裂後の殺し合いを許容する意思は十分に伝わっていた。
カツヤ達も既に銃を握っている。既にいつ殺し合いが始まっても不思議はない状況だ。カツヤ達はできれば殺しを避けたい善良さで、カドル達は殺し合った場合の被害を想定して、ぎりぎりのところで交戦を踏みとどまっていた。
カドルが非常に険しい表情を浮かべながら、声に殺気を乗せて再度告げる。
「もう一度言う。そのガキを渡せ。用があるのはそのガキだけだ。お前らに用はない。こっちは本気だ。死にたくなかったら、そのガキを置いて消えろ」
カツヤが再度気迫の籠もった表情ではっきり宣言する。
「......断る!」
カドル達がカツヤの威圧を受けて僅かにたじろいだ。そこらの子供が放つ
少し弱気を見せる連れの様子に、カドルが表情を非常に険しくさせる。
「分かってるよ。くそっ」
カドルは以前にアキラを子供だと侮って短慮を起こした。その結果が現在の苦境だ。いつ売り飛ばされても不思議のない借金を背負わされた上に、自分など
もう二度と相手が子供だからといって軽んじたりしない。カドルはその誓いを思い出しながらカツヤ達を見る。少なくともアキラよりは強そうに見えた。先ほどの様子から考えて、本当にアキラより強いかもしれない。少なくともそれを否定する材料は、あんな強いガキがごろごろいてたまるものか、という願望だけだ。
アキラ並みに強いかもしれない者達との殺し合いなど御免だ。カドル達は全員そう思っていた。だがその上で引けない理由も存在していた。
カドル達はヴィオラとシジマから、アルナを連れ帰るように、無理なら殺すように指示されていた。
カドル達は全員追い詰められているのだ。だからこそ、相手が多少強い程度では引けない。だが殺し合いも避けたい。できれば脅しで済ませたい。その弱気がカドル達の態度に出る。
アイリがそれを好機と見て口を挟む。
「スラム街は荒野と同じだ。そう考えている人もいるけど、それは違う。往来で殺しなんかすれば騒ぎになる。ここを縄張りにしている組織から目を付けられて、騒ぎを起こした落とし前を付けられる場合もある。......10万オーラム程度のことは忘れて、今のうちに帰った方が良い」
カドルが警戒を怠らずに答える。
「何を勘違いしているのか知らないが、いろいろ分かってないようだな」
アイリはカドル達をスラム街の徒党と付き合いのある者達だと判断していた。それならばそこを仕切る者達と
「分かってないのはそっち。そういう組織にはメンツがある。普通はただじゃ済まさない。下手をすると殺される。そっちがどれだけ強いか知らないけど、ここで戦えば周囲にかなりの被害が出るのは間違いない。私達は二度とここに来なければ良いだけ。被害の落とし前を付けられるのはそっちだけ。戦って損をするのはそっちだけ。大人しく引き下がった方が良い」
カドルが軽く首を横に振る。
比較的表情の変化に乏しい方であるアイリが目を見開いた。それだけ予想外で驚く内容だった。
。たった10万オーラム程度の話で、そこまで大事になるはずがない」
カドルが
「さっきから10万オーラムって、一体何の話だ?」
「アルナはあるハンターから10万オーラムを盗んだ......と勘違いされて、そのハンターから命を狙われている。その件でアルナを渡せって言っているんでしょう?」
「やっぱり何か勘違いしているようだな。10万オーラム? 馬鹿馬鹿しい。俺達がそんな小銭の
「じゃ、じゃあ、何で私を狙うの?」
「知るかよ。俺達はお前を連れてこいって指示されただけだ」
その時、カドルの情報端末に通知が届いた。その内容を見たカドルが驚いて僅かに固まる。そしてかなり困惑した様子を見せた後で、
「2000万オーラムだ。そいつを大人しく渡すなら、2000万オーラム支払おう。どうだ? それで手を打たないか?」
余りの言葉にカツヤが思わず
「聞こえなかったのか? 2000万オーラムだ。そいつを渡すだけで2000万オーラム。そう言ってるんだ。迷う必要なんかねえだろう。さあ、渡せ」
カドルが絶句しているカツヤ達に片手を向けると、我に返ったアルナが震えながらカツヤの背に手を添えて強く掴んだ。カツヤ達がアルナを引き渡すのに十分すぎる金額だからだ。
るようなアルナの手を感じ取って、我に返ったカツヤが思わず声を上げる。
「本気だ。疑ってるのか? まあ、そうだよな」
カドルもカツヤの気持ちはよく分かる。何しろそう言っている本人すら信じていないのだ。だがヴィオラからの通知には確かにそう書かれていた。その真偽に
「前払いだ。振込口座を教えろ。すぐに連絡して振り込ませる。それとも現金の方が良いか?」
カドルが手でアルナを渡せと催促しながら具体的な話を進めると、それだけでアルナの震えがより一層
「断る! アルナは渡さない!」
カドルが困惑と
戦わずに済んだと思って一度気を緩めてしまったカドル達が、カツヤの気迫に押されて大きくたじろいだ。そのカドル達にカツヤが更に威圧を加えて怒鳴りつける。
「とっとと消えろ!」
カドル達が思わず一歩下がってしまう。無意識であろうとも一度動いてしまえばその流れを変えるのは難しい。困惑しながらも更に1歩下がってしまう。
このままカドル達が逃亡して終わる。その場の誰もがそう思った時、銃声がその流れを
どうして良いか分からずにいるティオルに連絡が入る。情報端末から女性の声が聞こえてくる。
「そっちはどうなっているの? 状況を教えてちょうだい」
ティオルが状況を伝えると、少し冷たい声が返ってくる。
の失態は取り消せないでしょう? だからシェリル達の徒党に所属するのも無理。徒党の内部情報を私に渡すこともできなくなった。それなら私がこれ以上協力する義理も義務もないわ」
「ま、待ってくれ!」
通話が切れる。これでティオルの後ろ盾はなくなってしまった。動揺し、恐怖に震え、ぐちゃぐちゃになった頭の中に先ほどの会話の一部が浮かぶ。
千載一遇の機会。無理なはずのこと。何とかなったら。追い詰められたティオルが無意識にその言葉を繰り返しながら視界の先の光景を見る。
カツヤ達とカドル達がアルナを取り合っている。どちらも自分の手に負える相手ではない。そしてどちらが勝っても、アルナを匿まうにしろ連れ去るにしろ、自分がもう一度アルナに会う機会はなくなる。アキラの前にアルナを連れていくことで自分の失態を
かに銃を握る。そして必死の形相で銃口をアルナへ向けて引き金を引いた。
一発目の銃声で放たれた弾丸は誰にも当たらなかった。だが戦闘を開始させるには十分すぎる効果があった。
アイリが素早く銃声の方向へ銃を向けて
アキラはエリオ達と模擬戦を続けていた。だがアルファが急に訓練の中断指示を出した。
『何があったんだ?』
『車の索敵機器に反応があったのよ』
『違うわ。車両よ。こちらを発見して移動方向を変えたように見えたわ。一応警戒して』
アキラ達が車両の近くに戻ってくる。車からDVTSミニガンを取り外して装備するアキラを見て、エリオ達が慌て始めた。比較的落ち着いていたエリオが、万一の事態に備えるアキラに状況を尋ねる。
「あの、何かあったのか?」
「か、隠れてろって、危ないのか?」
「荒野で偶然会った誰かの人間性に、あまり期待していないだけだ。前にヒガラカ住宅街遺跡に行った時も大変だっただろう? そういうことだよ」
の影などに分散して隠れた。準備を終えたアキラだけが車の近くに立っている。
アキラが近付いてくる車両の様子を確認する。車両は偶然ではなく明確にアキラの方へ向かってきている。車両を注視するとアルファのサポートによりその車両が拡大表示されて、乗員の姿がはっきり見えるようになる。
乗員の一人がアキラの視線に気付いて笑って軽く手を振る。車両との距離はまだかなりあるのだが、彼女はアキラとしっかり目を合わせた。
そうな表情を浮かべた。車両の乗員はレイナ達で、アキラに手を振っているのはカナエだった。
アキラの前まで来たレイナ達が車から降りてくる。シオリとカナエは前と同じメイド服を着ているが、レイナは新しい別の強化服を着ていた。
カナエがアキラに機嫌の良さそうな笑顔を向ける。
「少年! 久しぶりっすね!」
カナエとは逆に愛想の悪い表情と口調を返すアキラに、カナエが軽い
「それで、何の用だ?」
シオリが礼儀正しく会釈する。
「お久しぶりです。お元気そうで何よりで御座います。都市への帰路の途中でアキラ様の車両を見掛けましたので、軽い御挨拶を兼ねて立ち寄らせていただきました」
「はい。特にこれといった用事は御座いません。強いて言えば、立ち寄ることを強く望んだ者がおりまして、その要望を強く却下する理由がなかったから、となります」
アキラがカナエに視線を戻して、納得したような、どことなく同情しているかのような様子を見せる。
「御理解感謝いたします」
シオリは再び頭を下げてアキラの判断を肯定した。
レイナはアキラの前で少し緊張気味な様子を見せていた。
「ああ。知り合いとちょっと訓練を......」
アキラがレイナ達に雑談を交えて説明している。その様子をエリオ達が遠巻きに見ている。
エリオ達は危険はなさそうだと判断して隠れるのは止めたが、メイド服を着た美女2人とその雇用主とも思える高そうな装備を身に
それでも興味を抱くのは避けられない。エリオ達はレイナ達を見た感想などを互いに話していた。
「アキラさんの知り合いか。なんか、
「あれ、メイドってやつだろう? もしかして防壁の内側のやつなのか? 何でそんな連中と知り合いなんだ?」
「ハンター稼業で護衛を請け負って知り合ったとかじゃないか? しかし、そこらのやつとは違うよな。
さを一様に感じながらも、そこから続く感情は様々だ。隔絶した差に打ちのめされる者。訓練を続ければ同じような強さと付随する境遇を得られるのではないかと期待して意欲を高める者。住む世界が違う者達の話だと思って余り気にしない者。人は同じものを見ても異なる感想、感情、望みを抱く。そこで前に進む意思を強く抱いた者ほど、己の理想により速く近づける。
アキラから話を聞いて事情を把握したカナエが、浮かべる笑みに軽めの疑問を乗せる。
「へー。そういう訓練をしているっすか。でもアキラ少年の実力だとあんまり訓練にならないんじゃないっすか? 幾ら人数が多いとはいえ、銃を持っただけの素人を相手に苦戦するような実力だとは思えないっすけど」
っている発言だったが、アキラは気にせずに普通に答える。
カナエがアキラの態度を思案する。謙遜か、鈍感か、それとも事実か。事実ならば訓練になるのはアキラの力量が低い所為か、その調整内容のおかげか、両方か。カナエは前に一度アキラの実力を見限って興味をなくしていたのだが、ある話を聞いて再び興味を取り戻していた。
「そうっす。アキラ少年の実力でも十分訓練になるって話っすからね。あれから装備を新調して、私と
「別にかまわないが、安全の保証はしないぞ」
「危険なのですか? 先ほどの説明では実弾どころか空砲ですらなく、射線から命中判定を計算しているだけだと聞きましたが」
「俺も危険だとは思っていない。でも別に全員の身体検査をしたわけじゃないしな。それにここは荒野だ。訓練の途中でモンスターが出るかもしれない。安全の担保とか責任とかはそっちで受け持ってくれ。依頼を引き受けたわけでもないし、何かあった時に俺の所為にされるのは御免だ」
シオリが結論を出す前にレイナが真剣な表情で答える。
「やるわ」
余り気の進まない様子のシオリに、レイナが懇願する。
シオリが根負けしたように
通りに進んだカナエは楽しげに笑っていた。
エリオ達に事情を話して準備を進める。エリオ達は驚きはしたもののどことなく楽しげな様子を見せていた。シオリが念のために模擬戦参加者の装備の確認と身体検査をすると、一部の者は照れながら役得とでもいうように顔を緩めた。
模擬戦の準備が終わり参加者が配置に着く。アキラの代わりにレイナが参加していること以外は基本的に今までと同じだが、念のため格闘戦は厳禁だと周知しておいた。レイナがエリオ達をうっかり殴り飛ばしでもした場合、恐らく即死するからだ。
レイナが集中して開始の合図を待っている。
(......この模擬戦でのアキラの勝率は5割程度だって言っていた。今の私がどこまでできるか。もしアキラの勝率を大幅に超えることができたのなら、たとえそれが装備のおかげだとしても、強くなったと認められるはず。良し! 頑張ろう!)
レイナは自身の実力を見極める機会に迷いなく覚悟を決めて立ち向かおうとしていた。だが模擬戦が始まるとそれが徐々に揺らぎ始める。レイナが圧勝したからだ。レイナの類い
(こんなものなの? それとも新しい装備が高性能すぎるだけ? ......駄目よ。たとえそうだとしても慢心しない。そう決めたでしょう? ......でも、アキラはこの程度の相手に苦戦していたの?)
アキラ達はレイナ達から少し離れて模擬戦を観戦していた。
カナエが圧勝を続けているレイナの様子を見て、アキラに不満を告げる。
「......少年。彼らはあんなものなんすか? やっぱりあれじゃ訓練になってないっすよ」
アキラが情報端末を操作しながらアルファに頼む。
『アルファ。適当に少しずつそれっぽいサポートをエリオ達に付け加えてくれ』
『分かったわ。アキラがあの程度の相手に苦戦していると思われるのも
めてすぐに戻す。
『......訓練なんだ。無理はしない』
回復薬を常用して体を
(違う! これ、私の位置と動きがバレてる!)
借りたゴーグルに説明文が表示される。その内容を読んだレイナが納得したように苦笑する。そこには10秒間隔でレイナの位置と移動方向を全員に伝えていると書かれていた。
(そういうこと。これがアキラの言っていた調整か。でも、これぐらいならなんてことないわ!)
のある訓練になったと意気込みを上げる。そのまま戦闘を続けて、勝利して、喜び勇んで次の模擬戦に挑む。
だがそれも僅かな間だった。レイナが勝つたびに説明文が更新されていき、追加される内容も厳しくなっていく。
「アキラの勝率が5割って、こういう意味だったのね」
そして吹っ切れたように笑って続ける。
「でもまあ、こんな条件でここまで戦えるなら、確かに私は強くなったと言って良いと思うわ。装備のおかげかもしれないけど。この装備がセランタルビルの時にあれば、私ももう少し
強くなろうと心に決めたあの日の判断は正しかった。そう確信してレイナは機嫌良く笑った。
ちょうど模擬戦を終えたところだ。交代しろと言われなかったのでずっと模擬戦を続けていたが、
Kadol was comparing Alna, who was standing next to Katsuya, with the picture displayed on his information terminal.
"There's no mistaking it. That's her. It's the one with the coat."
The other men looked at Alna and tensed up.
"So that's her, huh... Then who are the others? Her friends?"
"No idea. And I honestly don't care. Our target is that girl. If it's possible, we need to capture her alive, if not, we're allowed to kill her. Let's go."
Seeing Kadol and his men approaching them, Katsuya's group started to feel nervous. Kadol and his men had a scary look, at least, it was not a face that one would show to the children from the slum. The people around the area could feel that a fight where someone would die was about to commence, so they moved away from the area.
Kadol came close enough to strike a conversation with Katsuya, he then stopped and pointed at Alna.
"Give us that girl!"
Katsuya moved in front of Alna and stood face to face with Kadol.
"Who are you? And is it true that you're the one who told that boy to follow us?"
"Just shut up and give us that girl."
Katsuya could feel Alna trembling behind him, he then shouted back at Kadol as if to counter their intimidation.
"I refuse!!"
Normal people would back down from that pressure, but that was not the case for Kadol and his men. Instead, their expressions tensed up, they reached for their rifles and readied themselves for a fight. Their rifles were still pointing downward, it was obvious that they were willing to fight there if negotiation was out of the question.
Katsuya, Airi and Yumina were also already reaching for their rifles, they were ready to fight anytime. Actually, they also wanted to avoid having to fight if it was possible. And considering how much damage it would cause if they really fought each other there, they were able to barely stop themselves from immediately opening fire.
Kadol had a grim face, his voice was filled with killing intent.
"I'll say it one more time. Give us that girl. We only have business with that girl and not with any of you. We're being serious here. If you don't want to die, leave that girl here and be gone."
Katsuya repeated once again with a face saying that he had made his resolve.
"...I refuse!"
Kadol and his men reeled back from the pressure coming from Katsuya, it was obvious that he was not your common young boy.
Kadol glared at that man who was being meek.
"I know, goddammit!"
Not too long ago, Kadol caused trouble because of his short temper with a certain young boy by the name of Akira. And the result of that was his current sorry state. Not only did he owe a huge debt, one large enough that it would not be strange if he got sold anytime, but he also felt that he was always being hunted by a Hunter who could kill him anytime.
Because of that, he would never look down on his opponents anymore even if they were only children. Kadol remembered that bad memory as he watched Katsuya and his group. Appearance-wise, they looked stronger than Akira and judging by their reaction just now, that might be really the case. Or at least, he did not have any evidence to deny that possibility.
He had no wish to fight someone who was as strong as Akira. Kadol and all of his friends there agreed on that point. But they also had reasons why they could not just back down there.
Kadol and his friends were told by Viola and Shijima to bring them Alna, and if that was impossible, they were even allowed to kill her.
Kadol and his men there were all desperate. That was why, even if they were facing strong opponents, they could not just back off. But if it was possible, they did not want to fight, and that naive thinking was reflected in their behaviours.
Airi saw that as a good chance, so she then interjected.
"Some people think that the slum city is not that much different from the wasteland, but that's not true. If you kill someone in the open road, it'll cause a ruckus. The gang that governs over the territory will get its eyes on you and they might demand peace money for causing trouble in their territory... It's better if you just forget about that 100,000 Aurum and go back to where you come from."
Kadol still had his guard up as he replied back.
"I don't know what kind of misunderstanding you have in your head right now, but it seems that you don't understand what's going on here."
Airi believed that Kadol and his men must have thought that she was someone who had a connection with the slum city gang. And if that was the case, then it would be one more reason for them to not fight Katsuya's group. She then raised her voice and tried to warn Kadol and his men that it was not worth the trouble as she tried to convince them to withdraw.
"It's you who don't understand what's going on here. I have some connections with the slum gangs. This would not end well, in the worst-case scenario, they might hunt you down to kill you. I don't know how strong you are, but there's no mistaking that it'll cause some damage in the area if we fight here. In our case, we can just avoid coming here again, so it'll be all on you. You'll be the one in trouble if we fight. So it'll be better if you just withdraw."
Kadol lightly shook his head.
Even Airi who was mostly expressionless raised her eyebrows. It was quite surprising for her.
"...That must be a lie. There's no way you would do something like that just because of that 100,000 Aurum."
Kadol frowned.
"What the heck is this 100,000 Aurum you're talking about?"
"Alna stole 100,000 Aurum from a certain Hunter... No, I mean, it was a misunderstanding. And you're basically here because that Hunter is aiming for her life and that's why you demand us to give her to you, right?"
"I knew it, you're mistaking something here. 100,000 Aurum? That's so stupid. Do you really think we would do something like this just for the sake of that paltry amount of money?"
"T-then, why are you looking for me?"
"Hell if I know. I was just told to bring you in."
A notification suddenly reached Kadol's information terminal. When he checked it, he was both troubled and surprised. He looked really troubled as he frowned and said to Katsuya, it was obvious from his face that he was equally confused as Katsuya's group.
"20,000,000 Aurum. If you give me that girl, I'll give you 20,000,000 Aurum. What do you think?"
Katsuya could not help but gasp.
"You didn't hear it? It's 20,000,000 Aurum. If you hand over that girl, I'll give you 20,000,000 Aurum. I don't think there's any need to think about it, give her to us now."
Kadol extended one of his arms towards Katsuya's group who were still dumbfounded. Alna quickly returned back to herself and grabbed strongly on Katsuya's back while trembling. It was a good amount of money just to hand over her after all.
Katsuya could feel Alna who was clinging to him, he instinctively raised his voice.
"I'm being serious here. Are you questioning it? Well, that's understandable though."
Kadol understood Katsuya's feelings. After all, even he himself could not believe what he just said. But that was what was really written in that message from Viola. He did not question it as he only did what he was told to.
"I'll give you some deposit first. Tell me your bank account, I'll immediately transfer the money. Or is it that you prefer cash?"
Kadol was waving, urging Katsuya to hand over Alna as he made his offer, that was enough to make Alna tremble even more.
"I refuse! I won't give Alna to you!!"
Kadol's expression was filled with shock and confusion.
Kadol and his men who already relaxed, thinking that there was no need to fight, reeled back from the pressure coming from Katsuya's declaration. Katsuya then put more pressure on his voice and yelled.
"Go away now!!"
Kadol and his men inadvertently took a step back. Although it was involuntary, once they made a move, it was difficult to change the flow now. They could not help but take another step back although they slightly hesitated.
It would end there if Kadol and his men continued and just left that place. When everyone there thought so, a gunshot suddenly echoed.
A call suddenly reached Tiol who still did not know what to do. He could hear a woman's voice coming out from his information terminal.
"What's your situation over there? Can you tell me what's going on?"
Tiol told that woman what was going on there, then that woman replied with a cold voice.
"Well, you can't make up for your mistakes, right? So basically you won't be able to stay in Sheryl's gang any longer which means that you won't be able to give me any insider information, right? Then there's no benefit of keeping this relation."
"W-wait for a sec!!"
The call ended there. With this, Tiol also lost his support. He was filled with shock and anger. In that messy state of mind, he remembered a sentence from that call.
"In the unlikely chance if he got lucky." Those words ran on a repeat inside his mind as he looked at what was in front of him.
Katsuya and Kadol were arguing about Alna. Tiol had no power against any of them. It did not matter who won, even if Kadol won and took Alna away, it was unlikely for him to be able to find Alna again and he would lose his chance to make up for his mistakes by bringing Alna to Akira. But even if he could not bring Alna, it might still help him somehow if he killed her. Of course, that would be impossible normally, but at the moment, Kadol and Katsuya were focused on each other. It was his only chance, there would not be any next time. As Tiol thought so, he believed that his best chance was to kill Alna there, in that place.
Tiol nervously, silently and desperately aimed his gun at Alna and pulled the trigger.
His first shot did not hit anyone. But it was enough to trigger the fight.
Airi quickly aimed her rifle at the source of that gunshot and released a barrage. At the same time, Katsuya and Yumina moved to cover Alna and readied their rifles. Kadol and his men reacted by opening fire at them, Katsuya and his group were dealing with that too. The area was filled with flying bullets within a split second.
Akira continued doing mock battles with Erio and the other children. But Alpha suddenly told him to stop the training.
"What's wrong?"
"The radar picked up something."
"No, it's a vehicle. It seems that it noticed us and now is heading this way. At least get your rifle ready."
Akira and the other children returned back to Akira's vehicle. When Akira took off the DVTS minigun from his vehicle, Erio and the other children seemed a bit panicked. Erio, who was relatively calm compared to the other children, asked Akira who seemed to be preparing for a fight.
, is there anything wrong?"
"H-Hide? Is it going to be dangerous?"
"It's just that I don't really trust those people that I meet in the wasteland by pure coincidence. You still remember the trouble that we had when we were in Higaraka residence ruin, right? That's exactly why."
After Erio told the other children what was going on, they moved to nearby wreckage to hide. Akira, who already finished arming himself, was left alone standing near the vehicle.
Akira checked the vehicle that was coming closer. It was obvious that they were heading straight to him, it was not out of a coincidence. When Akira focused his vision on that vehicle, Alpha enhanced his vision which allowed him to clearly see its passengers.
One of the passengers recognised Akira and lightly waved at him. Although the vehicle was still a bit away from him, that girl was clearly looking at Akira.
Akira lowered his guard and looked slightly annoyed. Reina's group was in that vehicle, and the girl waving at him was Kanae.
That vehicle stopped not too far in front of Akira, Reina and her maids then stepped off from the vehicle. Shiori and Kanae were wearing maid outfits, just like usual, but Reina was donning a new augmented suit.
Kanae smiled happily at Akira and said to him.
"Young boy!! Long time no see!!"
In contrast to Kanae's energetic voice, Akira replied rather apathetically. Kanae looked slightly disappointed as she continued.
"So, what is it?"
Shiori properly started with an opening.
"It has been quite a while since the last time we saw each other, I'm glad that you're doing fine. We spotted you on our way back to the city, so we thought at least we can say hello."
"Yes, we don't have any other particular business. If I have to add something, it's because someone really wanted to see you and we did not have any reason to refuse it."
Akira glanced at Kanae, looked completely convinced with a mix of a little sympathy, and said.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Shiori lightly bowed and confirmed Akira's guess.
Reina seemed a little nervous as she stood in front of Akira.
"Just a training with some people that I know..."
Akira then explained what he was doing there to Reina and Shiori while Erio and the other children were watching them from afar.
Erio and the other children thought that there was no danger at all as they came out from hiding. But they did not have the courage to get any closer when they saw two of them were in maid outfit and the remaining one, assumed to be the master of those maids, was a beautiful girl with expensive-looking equipment. It was obvious that they were living in two completely different worlds, that fact intimidated them and they did not have the courage to come any closer.
But even so, they were still curious about what Akira and the others were talking about. Erio and the other children were talking to each other about their impression of Reina, Shiori and Kanae.
"Are they Akira-san's acquaintances? What can I say... They're really something."
"Those are what you call maids, right? I wonder if they're from the inner wall. So why does Akira know them?"
"It might be from a bodyguard job or something since he's a Hunter. But still, they don't look like common people. They have this high-class aura around them, unlike those girls from the gang."
All of them agreed that the Hunter supporting their gang was indeed a great Hunter, but past that, all of them had different impressions of Akira. Some of them felt hopeless after knowing how large the gap between them was. Some of them got a little more motivated thinking that if they continued training, they might get as strong as Akira one day. Some of them did not let it bother them that much even after knowing that they were basically living in two different worlds. People would have a different opinion, hope and impression even when they looked at the same thing. And the stronger their feeling to move forward, the faster they would reach the position they admired.
Kanae understood the situation after hearing Akira's explanation, she then smiled mischievously as a question came up in her mind.
"Ohhh, so you're doing that kind of training, huh? But with your current skill, I don't think this training has any use to you though? No matter how many of them, if they're only amateurs with rifles, I don't think it can pose any trouble for you."
Depending on how Akira took it, it might sound like a provocation to him, but he did not get bothered at all as he just casually replied.
From what Akira said, Kanae tried to gauge if it was just him being humble, or if he was simply too dense, or if that was the truth. If that was the truth, that would mean that he was not that strong, or that adjustment that he mentioned was really effective, or it might be even both. Kanae once guessed the reason behind Akira's real strength and lost interest in him. But after a certain rumour reached her, she got interested in him again.
"Yup. Akira said that it's good enough for his training. So it might be a good chance to see how good you are after you got the new equipment and went through your training with us. Not to mention, if Milady keeps training only with us, you'll get used to our movement and might get bored too. So, since we're here already, how about giving it a try?"
"I don't really mind, but just to let you know, I can't guarantee your safety."
"Is it something dangerous? From what I can understand, you are using empty magazines with no bullets and the hits are only decided based on trajectory line calculation, right?"
"I don't think that it's dangerous. But it's not like I gave all of their magazines a check. Moreover, we're in the middle of the wasteland, monsters might appear in the middle of the training. So I won't take any responsibility for safety. After all, it's not like I'm doing a request from you or anything, so I don't want to get blamed if something were to happen later."
Before Shiori could say anything, Reina immediately interjected.
"I'll do it!"
Shiori seemed to be against it, so Reina begged her.
Shiori smiled as if she had given up.
Kanae smiled amusedly that things were going as she planned.
Akira told Erio and the other children what was going on, so they immediately started preparing. Although they were surprised by that sudden mock battle, they seemed to be looking forward to it. Just to be safe, Shiori checked all the training equipment and gave them a full body check, some of the children just let Shiori do that although they were embarrassed and were blushing.
Once the preparation was done, they took their position. Other than Reina taking Akira's place, there were no other changes. But just to be safe, close combat was prohibited. After all, if Reina punched or threw Erio or the other children, that would definitely kill them.
Reina gathered her focus and waited for the start signal.
"...Akira's winning rate in this mock battle is about 50%. I wonder how I will perform. If I can get a better winning rate than him, even if it's thanks to my equipment, it should be enough of a reason to recognize that I've gotten stronger. Alright then! Let's do this!!"
Reina fired up herself for this chance to check how strong she was. But once the mock battle started, she immediately realized something weird. Reina kept winning. Considering her talent as a Hunter and her new equipment that Shiori had especially prepared for her, that result was to be expected. But even so, it was way too easy that she started to question her strength instead.
[Is that all? Or is it because my new equipment is too good? No, even if that's true, I should not get too prideful. That's what I've decided after all... But, does Akira really have a hard time in this level of mock battle?]
Akira, Shiori and Kanae were watching the mock battle from not too far away. They were able to get a birds-eye view of the mock battle from above a crumbled building. They were looking at the individual positions shown in Akira's information terminal and through the camera installed on the goggles.
Seeing how Reina kept getting overwhelming victories, Kanae brusquely complained to Akira.
"...Seriously now, is that all they got? With just this much, they won't provide you much training, you know."
Akira operated his information terminal while talking to Alpha.
"Alpha, can you give some support to Erio and the other children?"
"Sure. I don't like it either when Kanae says you're having a hard time fighting that level of opponents, is it okay if I set my support level a bit high?"
Akira's face twitched but it immediately returned back to normal.
"...It's a training, so I won't do anything reckless."
Alpha smiled, she understood Akira was basically saying there was no need to use medicine while breaking his own body unless it was a real fight. She then made some adjustments as Akira asked her to.
[No, this is because they know my position!!]
A notification appeared on the goggles that Reina was wearing, she borrowed that from Akira. After she read the message in that goggles, she smiled wryly as she understood very well what was going on. The message said that her position was broadcasted to everyone every 10 seconds.
[I see, so this is the adjustment that Akira was talking about. But this is nothing!!]
Reina got even fired up for the training. She then continued the mock battle, won that round, and happily challenged the next round.
But that did continue for long, every time Reina won, a new message appeared on her goggles. The handicap given to her was getting bigger and bigger.
"So this is what he meant when he said that he only had 50% winning chance."
But then she smiled as if she just decided to forget about it and said.
"But well, I still can give a good fight with all of these handicaps, I think it should be enough as proof that I've gotten stronger. It might be all thanks to my new equipment. If I had these equipment back in the Seranthal building, I would have been able to fight better... I understand it very well now, it's all because of my stupid pride."
Reina realised that her resolve to get stronger from back then was the correct decision and smiled.
It was the right time to end the training. Since Akira did not tell her to rest, she kept on doing the mock battles, but as expected, she overdid it. As Reina thought so, she decided to return back to Akira and Shiori.
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