今日もアキラはシェリルの自室で過ごしていた。
シェリル達は遺物販売を当面見合わせることになった。遺物販売用の部屋はアキラと襲撃犯の戦闘により開店できる状態ではない。銃弾が命中して売り物にならなくなった旧世界の遺物も多い。遺物販売店を再開するのは大分後になるだろう。
それでもアキラがシェリルの自室にいるのは、シェリル達の動揺を抑えるためだ。拠点を襲撃されたことによる動揺がシェリル達からまだ消えていないのだ。
シェリルの部屋にいるのはアキラだけだ。シェリルは別の部屋で部下達に読み書きなどを教えている。アキラはアルファの授業を受けたり、以前のゲームをして
「開いてるぞ」
ドアを開けて入ってきたのはエリオとアリシアだった。アキラが2人に話す。
「シェリルならいないぞ。授業用の部屋で授業をしているはずだ」
エリオとアリシアが一度顔を見合わせる。2人の表情にはある種の決意が浮かんでいた。その後で、エリオが決心してアキラに話す。
「いや、アキラさんに用があるんだ」
「俺に? 何だ?」
エリオが真剣な表情でアキラに話す。
「俺達に訓練を付けてほしい」
アキラがエリオ達から詳しい話を聞く。要は前回の襲撃のようなことがまた発生した時に備えて、自身達だけでもある程度応戦できるように、アキラから戦闘訓練を受けて鍛えたいということだった。
アキラぐらい強いハンターならば、誰かを鍛えることも結構簡単かもしれない。エリオ達はそう考えてアキラに教官役を頼みに来たのだ。
はできない。面倒だとでも言って断るか。アキラがそう思った時にアルファが口を挟む。
『無理にとは言わないけれど、どっちでも良いと思っているのなら受けたら?』
どちらかと言えばアルファは止めるだろう。そう思っていたアキラが少し不思議そうに聞き返す。
『......アルファがそう言うのなら構わないが、何でだ?』
『彼らがある程度自衛できるようになれば、アキラがここに詰める必要性も低くなるからよ』
シェリル側の戦力が増えればアキラの負担も減る。エリオ達がそれなりに戦えるようになればアキラの手駒にもなる。手駒が増えれば、エレナやサラのようなアキラの意思決定に大幅に影響を与える人物と、今後一緒に遺跡に行く機会も減るかもしれない。何かあってもエリオ達ならばアキラも比較的見捨てやすいだろう。アルファはそう判断した。
『それにアキラの訓練にもなるわ。前にもやったでしょう?』
アキラがヒガラカ住宅街遺跡でのことを思い出して
『大丈夫なのか? また前みたいに変なことになるんじゃ......』
『大丈夫よ。どこかに行くとしても都市の近場の荒野とかだからね。それにアキラも部屋に籠もってばかりだと腕が萎えるわ。先日襲撃されたばかりだし、アキラももう少し対人戦闘に慣れておきましょう』
れたことを言うけど、相手がこいつらで俺の対人戦闘の訓練になるのか?』
『その辺は私がいろいろするから大丈夫よ。少し準備はいるけれどね』
『まあ、そういうことなら、分かった』
アキラがアルファから準備の内容説明を軽く聞く。その後でエリオに答える。
「分かった。ちょっと準備がいるからその後で良いか?」
エリオが驚きながらアキラに礼を言う。
「良いのか!? あ、ありがとう!」
「ありがとう御座います!」
アリシアもアキラに礼を言うと、エリオの方を見て
「ちょっと出かけてくる。その間にシェリルが戻ってきたら、俺は用事でカツラギのところに行ったって伝えておいてくれ。ついでに訓練の話も説明しておいてくれ。訓練を受ける人数も後で教えてくれ」
アリシアが元気よく答えた。
アキラはエリオとアリシアがなぜそこまで喜ぶのか分からずに少し首を
エリオとアリシアだけになった部屋の中で2人が抱き合う。
8人の武装した襲撃犯を1人で撃退し、襲撃犯の生き残りを金貸しに売り渡し、売られるのを嫌がった者を
アキラは間違いなく強い。そのアキラから戦闘技術を学ぶことができれば、エリオ達もアキラのように強くなることができるかもしれない。
アキラとエリオ達では装備の違いもある。だがアキラは装備が貧弱な頃でも、敵対するスラム街の徒党の拠点に敵の構成員の死体を持って乗り込んで、生きて帰ってくる程度には強かったのだ。装備を別にしても、アキラと同じように強くなれる可能性は十分高い。エリオ達はそう思っていた。
エリオがアリシアを抱き締めながら話す。
「......俺、頑張って強くなるからな。俺だけでもアリシアを守れるように」
「エリオ、ありがとう」
エリオはあの襲撃で死にかけていた。一応他の者達よりは装備を優遇されていたこともあり、他の戦闘要員の仲間とともに襲撃犯の迎撃を試みた結果だ。結果は重傷。あっけなく返り討ちに遭った。死人が出た中でエリオが即死しなかったのはただの偶然だ。
アリシアはアキラから受け取った回復薬をエリオに
もう助からないと思っていたエリオは、意識が消えかける直前にアリシアのことを思い浮かべていた。意識が戻った時、エリオは自分に抱き付いて泣きじゃくっているアリシアの姿を見て、全ての覚悟を決めた。
アリシアは、死にかけた恋人が自分が死にかけたことよりも、アリシアを同じ目に遭わせないために覚悟を決めたことを知り、それを幸せに思うのと同時にエリオと同じように覚悟を決めた。
自分達が今どこにいるのか。そのことが意識の片隅に追いやられていた2人の抱擁は、部屋に戻ってきたシェリルが2人を見て
アキラがカツラギの移動店舗でカツラギと話している。
アキラからの注文内容を聞いたカツラギが少し意外そうな表情で答える。
「注文内容は分かった。俺が扱う商品からは外れているが、まあそこは俺とお前の仲だ。発注しておいてやる」
「頼んだ。代金はシェリル達の装備代に含めておいてくれ」
「ちょっと待て。それは別料金だろう」
「訓練用の装備でも、シェリル達の装備に違いはないはずだ」
「おいおい。そうは言ってもだな......」
「そういえば、あの襲撃犯達からは幾らぐらい搾り取れそうなんだ?」
「ああ分かった代金は含めておくよ発送も急がせてやる良い取引だったな」
カツラギが早口で答えた。具体的な金額を教えたくないのだろう。アキラの質問はある種の脅しになったようだ。
らすために話題を変える。
「ところで、そろそろまた旧世界の遺物を持ち込んでほしいと思っているんだが、その辺はどうなってるんだ?」
「今は前の稼ぎで新しい装備を調達している最中だ。旧世界の遺跡に遺物を探しに行くのは装備を更新してからだ。その後だな」
「だから、少しは俺から買えって」
アキラが平然と答える。
「それならシェリル達に売る装備をしっかり整えてくれ。その評判が、俺が
考えるだけだ。恐らく考えた結果却下される。アキラはそう思っている。カツラギもアキラによほどのことがない限り変えるつもりはないと気付いている。
「遺物はちゃんと俺のところに持ち込むんだろうな?」
「それは手に入れた旧世界の遺物の種類次第だ。カツラギのところで高く売れそうな種類の遺物であることを祈ってくれ」
「ちゃんともってこいよ? シェリルのところで売りに出してから、売れなかったら俺のところに持ち込むような
「なあ、今日の訓練って何をやるんだ?」
一緒に訓練を受ける他の子供達もエリオを見る。エリオが彼らに答える。
「いや、俺も知らない」
「知らないって、アキラさんに訓練を頼んだのはエリオだろ? 何で知らないんだよ」
「うるさいな。知らないものは知らないんだ。確かにアキラさんに訓練を頼んだのは俺だけど、訓練の内容まで決めて頼んだ訳じゃない。その後はボスからここで待っていろって指示されただけだ」
「聞いたぞ? エリオがアリシアと一緒にアキラさんのところに行って、ボスに話を通さずに直接アキラさんに訓練を付けてもらえるように頼んだんだろう? ボスの機嫌とか、大丈夫だったのか?」
「大丈夫だ。アキラさんが許可したんだし、頼んだのが俺とアリシアならボスも大して気にしないはずだ。一応俺とアリシアはボスの側近的な立ち位置ってことになっているからな。だから大丈夫だ。......多分」
「多分って何だ!? おい、大丈夫なんだろうな!? 俺達荒野に捨てられたりしないだろうな!?」
エリオが怒鳴って答える。
「うるさいな! それが嫌なら真面目に訓練を受けろ! 俺達の方から頼んでおいて真面目に訓練を受けなかったら、それこそアキラからもシェリルからも殺されるぞ!」
緊張で気が立っているエリオの怒気に、少年はたじろいで引き下がった。
エリオも少々勢いでやってしまったとは思っているのだ。エリオもいろいろ覚悟を決めてはいるが、それだけで全てを平常心で受け止められるわけではないのだ。
エリオがアリシアと一緒にシェリルに事情を説明した時、シェリルは少し険しい顔で何かを考え込んでいた。アキラがエリオの頼みを渋ったりせずに引き受けたから良かったものの、そうではなかった場合、自分達の立場はかなり
エリオが恐る恐るアキラに尋ねる。
「ど、どこに行くんだ?」
わざわざ車で移動する場所だ。遠いのだろうか。行き先がまたヒガラカ住宅街遺跡だったりしないだろうか。
エリオの問いに対して、アキラが大して答えになっていない返事をする。
「その辺だ」
アキラはエリオ達にさっさと乗れという態度を取っている。エリオ達は少し動揺しながら荷台に乗り込んだ。行き先がどこであれ、エリオ達に乗らないという選択肢はないのだ。
アキラは都市から少し離れた荒野で車を止める。岩や
アキラが荷台から大きめの箱を運び、整列しているエリオ達の前に置く。箱の中には訓練で使用する銃と、ゴーグルのようなものが入っていた。アキラがカツラギの店で購入した訓練用の装備だ。
「自前の銃を持っているやつは外して全部荷台に置いてくれ。それぞれ銃とゴーグルを箱から取って装備してくれ。銃は1人1
「ああ。空でいいんだ。気にしないで2つ取ってくれ」
アキラに普通にそう言われたため、エリオ達は不思議に思いながらも言われた通りに装備を整えた。
エリオ達が準備を終えて横に整列している。エリオ達と同じ銃とゴーグルを装備したアキラが前に立って訓練の説明をする。
「訓練の内容だが、やることは簡単だ。そっち全員で俺と戦ってもらう。訓練用に改造したAAH突撃銃で、弾倉は空だが大丈夫だ。引き金を引くと、銃口の向きなどから弾道計算とかが行われて、本当に撃ったら当たっていたかどうかが分かるようになっている。試しにお互いに誰かに銃を向けて引き金を引いてみてくれ」
エリオ達は戸惑いながらも空の銃を近くの者に向けて引き金を引く。すると撃たれたと判定された人の視界が赤く染まった。表示装置を兼ねているゴーグルが、被弾を判定して透明だった表示面を赤く変えたのだ。エリオ達が少し驚いて軽く感嘆の声を上げていた。
「撃たれた人間はすぐにその場に伏せること。俺が倒されるか、そっちが全員倒されたら、全員定位置に戻ってやり直しだ。......後はまあ、一度やってみるか」
アキラはそう言い残してエリオ達から離れていく。エリオが慌ててアキラを呼び止める。
「他に説明は!? 初めの合図とかはどうするんだ!?」
「すぐ分かる」
アルファは旧世界製の戦闘服を身に着けている。旧世界の感覚に慣れていないと身に着けるのに多大な覚悟を強いるデザインの戦闘服で、機能性に多大な疑問を残す肌の露出部があちこちに存在している。色の違う複数の素材で構成された戦闘服の特定の素材に注目すると、極端に布地の少ない水着を身に着けているようにも見える。ベルトのように見える装飾部は、意図的に特定の部位を際立たせるために設置されているようにも見える。他者の視線を集めるために設計されたような、ある意味裸よりも目立つデザインの戦闘服だった。
既にアキラはアルファのそんな姿を見ても動じなくなっているが、ふとあることを思い出してアルファに尋ねる。
『そういえば、アルファの派手な格好はアルファを視認できる存在を確認するためでもあるんだっけ? 今もその確認中か?』
『ああ、それ? 最近その確認は余りやっていないわね。あれは私とアキラとの波長を合わせる過程での、広域通信網から限定通信へ範囲を狭めていく確認作業の一環でもあるから、特定の場所やよほどアキラと似通った波長の人でもない限りは、もう私の姿はアキラにしか見えないはずよ。だから、今の私の姿はアキラ専用よ?』
も動揺しなくなったら考えてあげるわ。一瞬の硬直が命取りになるかもしれないわ。訓練とはいえ戦闘中。余計なことに気を取られていないで戦闘に集中しなさい。旧世界の遺跡で、美人で全裸の自動人形にでも襲われたらどうするの? アキラが敵に着替えろと言ったって着替えてなんかくれないわよ? それとも相手の姿を気にしたまま殺されるつもり?』
アルファの一理有るような無いような説明を聞いたアキラが微妙な表情を浮かべる。予想外の光景を見ても動じずに行動するのは確かに大切だ。アルファを初めて見た時も、アキラは危険な遺跡の中で何度死んでも不思議はないほどに
め息を吐いて、それで気を切り替える。どうせ口では勝てないのだ。そして別の気になっていたことを尋ねる。
『アルファの指示通りにいろいろ準備したけど、やっぱりあいつらと戦ってもあんまり訓練にならない気がする。確かに強化服の操作を追従式にして出力も下げた。その分だけ普段より動きが鈍くなっている。でも
『そこは私のサポートの見せ所ね』
『いや、だからアルファのサポートがなくても勝てると思うぞ?』
不思議そうな表情のアキラの前で、アルファが首を横に振って楽しげに不敵に笑う。
に染まる。アキラはしっかり周囲を警戒していたつもりだった。襲撃できる場所に敵はいないはずなのだ。
アキラは素早く身を低くしてその場から離れ、周囲の敵影を確認する。
『着弾音!? 実弾!? どこからだ!』
『大丈夫よ。実弾じゃないわ。着弾音も現実のものではないわ。あの音はこの訓練の現実感が増すように私が出したの。弾道予測上の着弾地点にね』
アルファの説明を聞いたアキラが着弾音の場所を見る。実弾なら存在するはずの弾痕がなかった。アルファの説明通り、アルファがアキラの聴覚を拡張して出した音のようだ。
アキラはそれを理解して安心したが、すぐにまた驚きの表情を浮かべる。
『そうか。それは良かった......違う! どこから狙われた!? いつの間に回り込まれたんだ!? 情報収集機器にも反応がなかったぞ!?』
いけれどね。その上で情報収集機器に探知されにくい場所を選んで隠れて移動すれば、今のアキラにはそう簡単には見つからないわ』
アルファがアキラにそう説明している最中に、弾丸がアキラの横を通り抜ける音がする。アキラは地面を滑るように移動しながら敵影を探す。少し離れた
少年に弾が命中していないことはアキラにもはっきりと分かった。
『気付かれた!? 躱された!? どういう反応だ! 速すぎるだろう!』
『楽しんでね?』
アルファはそう言ってアキラに意地の悪い
自分は既にエリオ達に取り囲まれている。そう判断したアキラは素早くその場から移動する。
(アルファがエリオ達をサポートしている。つまり俺の位置はエリオ達に常に把握されている。弾道予測の線もエリオ達のゴーグルに表示されているんだろう。狙撃されにくい場所に移動し続けるしかないな。止まっていたら良い的だ)
アキラの予想を裏付けるように、走るアキラの背後から無数の着弾音がする。着弾音とアキラとの距離はかなり近い。敵はアキラをしっかり狙っていた。
アキラは周辺の地形から自分を狙撃可能な場所を探り、情報収集機器の僅かな反応を頼りに敵の位置の大体の当たりを付け、目を凝らして敵の姿を探る。動き続けることで敵の照準を狂わせ続け、しっかり自分を狙うために、乱射して自分を狙うために、敵が物陰から身を乗り出す時間を増やすように仕向ける。敵に移動方向を予測されないように、直線的な動きを抑制しながら全力で駆け抜けて、敵の狙撃を困難にする。
から身を乗り出す敵の姿を捉える。アキラが素早く銃口を敵に向ける。アキラと敵が互いに引き金を引いた。
着弾音がアキラの背後から響く。アキラは敵の攻撃を回避した。自分の攻撃が敵に当たったかどうかはアキラには分からない。実際に弾丸を撃っているわけではないので、着弾の衝撃で敵が
アキラは素早く敵の位置に向かって走る。アキラの攻撃が命中していないのならば、敵の位置が判明している内に急いで近付いて、今度はしっかり命中させる必要があるからだ。
アキラが先ほどの敵をしっかり狙える場所まで移動する。すると、そこには地面に寝そべっている少年の姿があった。アキラは先ほどの攻撃が命中していたと判断して少年の横を走り抜けた。
少年よりも早くアキラが引き金を引く。少年は少し戸惑った様子を見せた後、再び地面に
アキラがアルファに抗議をする。
『アルファ! 今のありか!?』
アキラが気を取り直す暇もなく背後に2人の少年が現れる。その気配に素早く反応して振り返りながら横に素早く飛び、敵の射線から逃れると同時に反撃した。その動作でアキラの体勢が大きく崩れた。
アキラが横に大きく飛び、体勢を崩した状態で片足を地面に付けた瞬間、4人の少年が飛び込んできたアキラを待ち構えていたように銃を向けた。
危機を感じ取ったアキラの脳が意識を加速させる。圧縮された時間感覚の矛盾の中で、アキラは4人分の射線から逃れるために
アキラの視界が通常の状態に戻る。倒れたままのアキラの視界の中で、アルファがどこかを指差している。アキラがその方向を見ると、そこにはエリオが銃を構えて立っていた。アキラを倒したのはエリオだった。
アルファがアキラを見ながら楽しげに話す。
『私の勝ち。まだまだね』
『これを見るのも久しぶりだな。実弾だったらこうなっていたわけか』
現実のアキラを同じ状態にするためには、強化服の防御力を考慮すればかなり威力のある弾丸を使用する必要があるが、通常弾でも頭部なら同じ状態になるだろう。死体という意味では大して違いはない。
Akira spent his day in Sheryl's private room again.
They decided to stop selling relics for the time being. The room that they used to sell relics was in ruins after the fight, so they were in no situation to sell relics anyway. Not to mention, many of the relics were destroyed during the fight, it might take some time before they reopened the shop.
But even so, that day, Akira was in Sheryl's private room, he was there to calm her down. Sheryl was still traumatized after the shoot out inside her base.
Akira was alone in Sheryl's room, Sheryl herself was in another room, teaching some of the members how to read and write.
"Come in."
The door opened, it was Alicia and Erio.
"If you're looking for Sheryl, she's not here. I think she's teaching in the other room."
Erio and Alicia looked at each other, their expressions were saying that they had made their resolve. After that, Erio firmly said to Akira.
"No, we have something we want to ask you."
"Me? What is it?"
Erio then said to Akira with a serious face.
"Can you please train us?"
After talking about the details, it seemed that Erio wanted Akira to train them so that if another fight happened in the base just like last time, they could at least put up some resistance.
Erio and Alicia believed that training others would be an easy thing for someone as strong as Akira.
But of course, that was not exactly the case for Akira. Right when he thought about refusing it thinking that it was too much of work for him, Alpha suddenly interjected.
"I won't force you, but if you're okay either way, it might be a good idea to accept it, you know?"
Akira assumed that Alpha would be against it, so it was strange for Alpha to say that.
"...I don't mind if you say so, but why?"
"If these guys can protect themselves, there won't be any need for you to be here anymore."
If Sheryl's gang got stronger, it would reduce the burden on Akira. If they learned how to fight, Akira might be able to find a use for them. And with them under control, it would reduce the possibility of them affecting his decision like Sara and Elena, and he would not always need to accompany them to hunt for relics. That way, Alpha thought if something were to happen, it would be easier for Akira to just abandon them when needed.
"Moreover, it'll be good training for you too. You did something similar before, remember?"
Akira remembered the time when he was in Higaraka residence ruin and replied.
"Are you sure it'll be okay? It's not like something bad will happen again like last time, right...?"
"It'll be alright. We'll not go that far away from the city anyway. Not to mention, your skill will get rusty if you keep spending your time inside like this. Considering that fight not too long ago, it might be a good idea to get you used to fighting other people."
"I might sound a bit arrogant, but will fighting these guys really help me train in fighting against humans?"
"I'll do something about that, so don't worry. It'll need a little bit of preparation for that though."
"Well, if you say so, then okay."
Akira listened to Alpha's explanation for what he needed to prepare before replying to Erio.
"Alright. But I'll need to prepare a few things first, is that okay?"
Erio was surprised, but he immediately thanked Akira.
"Really!? T-thank you!!"
"Thank you very much!"
Alicia also thanked Akira before she looked at Erio and smiled happily.
"I'll go out for a bit then. If Sheryl returns back, just tell her that I have some business with Katsuragi, and do tell her about the training too. You can tell me how many people will join the training later."
Alicia replied happily.
Akira tilted his head, he still could not understand why Alicia and Erio were so happy. But he decided to just forget about it and left the room.
Erio and Alicia were left behind inside the room as they hugged each other.
Akira was a Hunter who was able to win against 8 armed people all by himself, he then even went and sold those robbers that he spared, and he did not hesitate when he killed the guy who did not want to get sold. This time, Erio and Alicia were able to get their request accepted without angering such a Hunter. It was great news for both Alicia and Erio.
Akira was indeed strong. If they could learn some of his fighting skills, Erio and the other children might become as strong as Akira.
Of course, there was also the difference between their equipment. But even back then when Akira did not have his powerful equipment yet, he was strong enough to be able to return back alive even after he dragged a dead gang member of a prominent gang in the slum city to that gang's base. So even if they had different equipment, Erio thought that they might, to some extent, get as strong as Akira.
Erio and Alicia were still hugging each other as Erio said to her.
"... I... I'll work hard and get stronger so that I can protect you myself."
"Erio, thank you."
Erio was almost killed in the previous shootout. Back then, he had better equipment than the other children as he and the other children in the fighting squad tried to fight back the robbers. But the result was terrible, he got injured pretty badly. The robbers were able to neutralize them without much trouble. The reason why Erio did not get killed immediately like some of his friends was simply because of luck.
Fortunately, Akira gave Alicia an expensive medicine and she used some of that medicine for Erio, Erio's life was spared thanks to that. In the end, Sheryl lost 8 people. If Alicia did not prioritize her lover, she might have been able to save one more life. Alicia did feel guilty about it, but she did not regret her choice.
When Erio was about to die and thought that there was no way he would be saved, he thought of Alicia in his fading consciousness. When his consciousness finally returned back, he found Alicia crying really badly while hugging him, that was when he made his decision.
Alicia understood that Erio made his decision not because he was close to getting killed, but it was because he did not want her to go through something similar again. She felt happy about that and made her resolve just like Erio did.
Both of them forgot where they were hugging each other out of happiness to the point that Sheryl, who had returned back to that room, was weirded out by them.
Akira went to Katsuragi's trailer and was talking with him.
Katsuragi was a bit surprised when Akira put in his order.
"I get what you want to buy. It's not exactly what I'm usually selling, but well, I don't really mind. It's not like we're strangers anyway."
"I'll be counting on you. As for the payment, just put it on Sheryl's tab."
"Wait for a sec, that money is not for something like this, isn't it?"
"They're training equipment for Sheryl's gang."
"Even if you say so..."
"By the way, how much money do you think you'll get from those robbers?"
"Alright, I'll put it on Sheryl's tab, I'll tell them to hurry up with the delivery too, it was a good deal after all."
Katsuragi did not miss a beat when he said that, it seemed that he actually did not want to tell Akira the number. Akira question might have sounded like a threat to Katsuragi.
Katsuragi decided to change the subject as not to worsen Akira's mood any further.
"By the way, I really hope you would start bringing relics to me, you know? So what's going on lately with that?"
"I'm in the middle of renewing my equipment with the money that I got from my last request. I'll be looking for relics again after I get my new equipment."
"That's why I'm telling you to buy that from me."
But Akira replied back casually.
"In that case, get good equipment for Sheryl's gang. If you get something good enough to make me want to change shop, I might as well think about it."
Akira thought that although he would consider it, there was a good chance that he would not change shop. Katsuragi also noticed that it was highly unlikely for Akira to change shop unless something big happened.
"I really wonder if you'll properly bring relics that you'll get next to me."
"It depends on what kind of relics that I'll get next time. Just hope that it would be something that would sell better in your shop."
"Make sure to bring them to me, yeah? Don't do anything cheap like selling them in Sheryl's place first and only bringing them to me if they don't sell well."
"Say, what are we exactly going to do for today's training?"
The other children looked at Erio, who said.
"I have no idea either."
"You don't know? But you're the one who asked Akira-san to train us, right? Why don't you know?"
"Shut up! There's nothing I can do about it, I really don't know. I was indeed the one who asked Akira-san, but it's not like we talked about the details. I only heard from the boss later that Akira-san wants us to wait for him here."
"I heard that you and Alicia went to ask Akira-san directly. You guys did that without asking for permission from the boss, right? Is boss okay with this?"
"It's alright. Akira-san is okay with it, and since it was Alicia and me who asked Akira-san, I'm sure Sheryl won't get that angry. After all, both I and Alicia are pretty close to her. So it should be alright... maybe."
"Maybe?! This better be alright, okay? I don't want to be dumped in the middle of the wasteland, you know?!!"
Erio got a little bit worked up as he replied.
"Oh shut up! If you don't want the boss to get angry, then you better take this training seriously!! If you don't take the training seriously although I and Alicia went out of our way to ask Akira-san, this time for sure Sheryl and Akira-san would get angry at you!"
Erio got a bit worked up because of his nervousness and lashed out, which caused the young boy to wince back.
Erio did realize it himself that he was a bit more strung up than usual. He had made his resolve in all kinds of meaning, so it was understandable that he was not in his usual state.
When Alicia and Erio explained the situation to Sheryl, she seemed to be thinking about something with a serious face. Erio thought it was great that Akira accepted their request without any trouble, but if that was not the case, they would have been in deep trouble.
Erio seemed scared as he asked Akira.
"W-where are we going?"
Akira came with a vehicle, so it must be somewhere quite far away. It might be the Higaraka residence city, or it might be a big opening somewhere in the wasteland. When they thought so, Erio and the other children got a little nervous. It might be not that much of a danger for a Hunter like Akira, but it was a matter of life and death for the other children.
But Akira only gave a vague answer to Erio's question.
"Well, it's just somewhere around."
It seemed that Akira wanted them to quickly get on the cart, so the children immediately started climbing onto the cart although they were still nervous. No matter where they were going, they had no other choice but to get on.
Akira stopped his vehicle not too far away from the city. The area was filled with stones, rubbles, crumbled down walls, and wreckages. He then stepped off the vehicle followed by Erio and the other children.
Akira pulled out a big heavy box from his luggage and put it down in front of Erio and the other children who were lining up in front of him. The box was filled with rifles for training and something that looked like goggles. Akira bought all of these from Katsuragi.
"Put all of your rifles that you have right now in the box and take a goggle and a rifle each. 1 person will get 1 rifle and 2 magazines, the goggles might be a bit too big but make sure to use them too. I'll tell you the details later."
"Yeah, it's supposed to be empty. Don't worry about it, just take 2 of them each."
Since Akira said so, the other children obediently did so although they found it weird.
After they finished their preparations and lined up, Akira wearing the same goggle and rifle stood in front of them and started explaining.
"The training is simple, you guys just need to fight me. These rifles are modified AAH rifles and the magazines are empty, so it should be no problem. If you pull the trigger, it'll calculate a trajectory line as if you really shot a bullet, then you'll be able to see whether your shot hit or not. You can try pointing it at each other and pull the trigger."
They looked a bit troubled but they did try to point their empty rifles at each other and pulled the trigger. Then the children that got shot according to the calculation were blanketed in red, and those who were got shot had their goggles that were originally transparent also filled in red. Erio and the other children were surprised and raised their voices.
"Once you get shot, quickly leave this place. Once I get killed, or if all of you get killed, we'll return to our starting position and restart again... After that... Well, let's give it a go first."
After he said that, Akira repositioned himself away from Erio and the other children, so they flusteredly asked him.
"That's it?! How about the strategy and other things too?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Alpha was wearing an old-world battle suit. It had an extreme design for those people who were not used to that kind of design, it had a lot of openings that showed Alpha's skin which would make anyone question its usefulness. If we focused on the colourful and complicated combination of materials that made that bodysuit, it looked like a very revealing swimsuit. The belt-like decoration was put in a certain place as if its main function was to make some of Alpha's body part look more pronounced. It could be said that it was intentionally designed to gather people's attention, or to be more sensual than being naked.
Of course, Akira had gotten too used to it that he did not feel anything, but something caught his attention as he asked Alpha a question.
"By the way, Alpha, you use that kind of suit since you want to stand out in case if someone can actually see you, right? So like, is there any need for you to do that right now?"
"Oh, about that, I haven't been doing that lately. It was basically to realign my wavelength with you, it's also to narrow down the connection, so no one should be able to see me unless they have a similar wavelength with you. That's why you're the only one who can see me right now, you know?"
"I'll think about it if you're so used to it to the point that you won't lose your focus in the middle of the fight no matter how your opponent looks. Even a short pause could be fatal, you see. It's indeed just training, but it's still a fight, so focus on the fight and don't let your guard down. Just imagine what would you do if a beautiful naked humanoid weapon suddenly attacks you while you're in the middle of exploring an old-world ruin. Do you really think that it would change its appearance just because you ask it to? Or you'll just continue fighting while still getting bothered by its appearance?"
Akira made a conflicted face, Alpha's argument did not sound fully convincing. It was true that it was important for him to be able to keep functioning like usual no matter what he was facing. It was true that when he met Alpha, he was dumbfounded in the middle of the dangerous ruin where he could have gotten killed multiple times while he was dumbfounded. But if he was asked if Alpha's argument was correct, he could not honestly say yes.
Akira sighed as he changed his focus. After all, he knew that he could not win in the argument no matter what, so he decided to ask something else that was bugging him.
"I did prepare all of those stuff following your instruction, but as I thought, I don't feel like fighting these guys will provide me much training though. I'm indeed using a weaker mode for my augmented suit and it's slowing me down a bit. I know I might sound arrogant by saying this, but I'm pretty sure I can quickly defeat them without much trouble, will this really give me some training?"
"This is where you'll see how great my support is."
"No, I think I can win even without your support."
Akira looked confused, Alpha shook her head and smiled smugly.
At the next moment, Akira heard a bullet land right next to him. He was flabbergasted since he kept his eyes on his surroundings and did not find any enemies in the positions where he might get shot.
Akira immediately crouched and repositioned himself while checking his surroundings one more time.
"Gunshot?! Real bullet?! But from where?"
"It's alright, it's not a real bullet and that sound was also not real. I produced that sound by calculating where the bullet would land to make this training feel more real."
After hearing Alpha's explanation, Akira glanced at where the sound came from. He could not see the scorch mark that should have been there if it was a real bullet. It was indeed as Alpha explained, that sound came from Akira's augmented reality due to Alpha.
Akira sighed in relief after confirming Alpha's explanation, but his expression immediately turned grim.
"I see, thank goodness... Wait, no! Where did it come from!? How did I get surrounded!? My information-gathering device didn't pick up anything though!?"
"If you're talking about that, there was actually a faint signal, you know? Although, since you don't have my support, it's really hard to notice that signal. Moreover, if they hide in locations where it's hard for your information-gathering device to reach them, it would be even harder for you to detect them."
When Alpha was giving that explanation to Akira, another bullet flew by next to him and landed not too far from him, making a banging sound. Akira was sticking close to the ground while moving and looking for enemies, he spotted a boy aiming for him from behind a wreckage.
Akira himself understood that his shot did not hit.
"He noticed me!? Did he evade that!? How? His response time is just too fast no matter how you look at it!!"
"Enjoy the training!"
Alpha only said that and smiled mischievously at Akira.
Akira thought that he was already surrounded, so he decided to quickly reposition himself.
[Alpha is supporting Erio and the other children, so basically they know my location all the time. I bet they also can see the trajectory line of the bullet in their goggles. I guess I have no other choice but to keep moving while taking cover at the same time. If I stop even for a bit, it'll be game over for me.]
Suddenly a barrage of bullets came from Akira's flank as if to confirm his guess. Judging from the sound, the barrage landed close to him. It seemed that the opponents were aiming properly at him.
Akira scanned through all the positions around him where someone could shoot at him, checked for any signals in his information-gathering device, and checked the area where he found signals. He kept moving to avoid getting shot, due to that, anyone who tried to shoot at him, whether it was only a haphazard barrage or an accurate aiming, would need to stay out from hiding longer to take a good aim at him. He also made sure not to move too much on a straight line so that they could not get a good aim on him.
Akira shifted his gaze from the wreckage to the young boy jumping out from behind it. He quickly aimed his rifle at that young boy and pulled the trigger more or less at the same time as the other boy.
Judging from the sound, the bullet landed behind Akira. Akira was able to evade that shot, but he did not know if his shot got a hit or not. Since it was not like he shot a real bullet, it would not be obvious if his shot really hit. He could not tell if that boy was lying down on the ground because he got shot or because he tried to hide.
He quickly changed his direction to that boy. If his shot did not hit, he wanted to use that chance to close the distance with the enemy, whose position he knew. He needed to finish that boy for good this time.
Akira moved to a position where he could get a good shot at the boy from before. When he peeked out, he could see that boy lying flat on the ground, he thought that it meant his shot hit him as he ran past that boy.
Akira pulled the trigger even quicker than that boy. That boy was surprised as he flusteredly laid back on the ground again. He confirmed that his goggle was filled with red colour as he did what they had agreed to beforehand.
Akira protested to Alpha.
"Alpha!! Is that really okay?!"
Two boys suddenly jumped out behind Akira, not giving him any chance to relax. Akira quickly reacted to it as he made a 180-degree turn and jumped sideways while at the same time returning shots at those 2 boys. But that action threw Akira off balance.
Akira cut through the air and landed on one leg, that was when 4 other boys appeared and aimed at him.
Akira knew that he was in a pinch, his brain automatically kicked to high gear as it boosted his consciousness. Inside that slowed down world, Akira fixed his posture to evade the bullets coming from those boys and made a full circle spin with his right hand still pulling down on the trigger.
Akira's vision turned back to normal. He could see Alpha pointing somewhere. Akira traced where she was pointing and saw Erio aiming at him. Erio was the one who shot him.
Alpha looked at Akira and smiled.
"It's my win, you still have a long way to go."
"It has been quite a while since the last time I saw this. So basically this is what would happen if it was real bullets, huh?"
Although, to be more precise, in order for that to happen, they would need to use a pretty powerful bullet since his augmented suit also provided a level of protection for Akira, excluding his head. So it was still pretty accurate to say that a normal bullet would kill Akira like that if he got hit on his head.
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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