アキラ達がセランタルビルの調査を開始する。キャロルから提供されたマップデータを頼りに、各フロアを1階から順に調べていく。
通路や部屋の至る所に機械系モンスター達の部品と思われる金属片が転がっている。ハンター達のものと思われる血痕も残っている。比較的最近のものだと判断できる弾痕や焦げ跡なども無数にある。戦闘の激しさを容易に想像させるものばかりだ。だが敵との遭遇は一度もなかった。
ビルの5階に到着したアキラ達が、扉が破壊されて半開きになっている部屋を見つける。周囲には無数の弾痕があり、その部屋に逃げ込んだハンターが部屋に入り込もうとするモンスターと交戦した跡にも見える。
に配置に着く。部屋の中にモンスターが存在していても問題なく対処できるように、銃を構え、突入タイミングを合わせ、機敏な動きで室内に入り、内部の敵影を素早く確認した。部屋の中に敵はいなかった。アキラは息を吐き、銃を下ろした。
アキラ達は部屋に入る前に情報収集機器による索敵を済ませている。索敵の結果、敵の反応はなかった。しかしそれは使用した情報収集機器では確認できなかっただけであり、安全を保証するものではない。敵の反応がないのだから敵はいない。そのような油断をしていると、あっさり命を落とすことになる。情報収集機器の性能が低下している現状では
アキラ達は部隊として行動するために一緒に訓練をしているわけではない。それでもそれなりに実力のあるハンターならば、部隊行動の中で自分がするべき行動をお互いに的確に判断することにより、結果的に効率的な部隊行動を実現する。それを理解しているものなら、敵のいない部屋を制圧した際の動きを見ただけでも、相手の実力をある程度把握できる。
アキラ達の中でそのような部隊行動能力が最も低いのはアキラだ。アキラにはその動きを身に着けるための訓練も実戦もまるで足りていない。
アキラの実力はアルファの訓練のおかげで実戦や訓練の期間を考慮に入れれば飛び抜けて優秀だ。しかしシカラベ達のような実力者と一緒に行動する基準には届いていない。
そのアキラが部隊の足を引っ張らずに済んでいるのは、当然だがアキラへの訓練を兼ねたアルファのサポートのおかげだ。
部屋に入る前でも、通路の移動中でも、前に他の部屋に入った時でも、セランタルビルに入る前からアキラの訓練はずっと続いている。そのためエレナ達が見る限りは、アキラはエレナ達に引けを取らない実力者の動きを見せていた。
アキラの強化服とそれ以外の部分の動きの差異や、視線と銃の照準のずれなどから、アキラの本来の実力を見抜くことは不可能ではない。しかし東部の東端、最前線と呼ばれる地域で活動する極めて有能なハンターでもなければ難しい。自分の実力を把握するためにシカラベ達に同行しているトガミも例外ではなかった。
トガミにとって、シカラベ、エレナ、サラ、キャロルの4人は明確にトガミよりも格上のハンターだ。ハンターランクの上でも、尊大さが取り払われたトガミの意識で見たシカラベ達の動きを見た印象でも、間違いなく格上だとトガミに証明していた。
アキラのハンターランクはトガミより下だ。しかし賞金首討伐時に同行した時の経験と、ここに来るまでにトガミに見せたアキラの動きの両方が、アキラも確かに格上の相手だとトガミに理解させた。
トガミは複雑な表情で5人を見ていた。同行者が全員格上のハンターという状況でトガミの中に芽生えたのは、実力者が同行していることによる安心感ではなく、また自分が何もできず何も分からずに終わってしまうのではないかという不安と焦りだった。
エレナは部屋の様子を確認すると、何かを
「順調......ってことで良いのかしらね」
アキラがエレナに尋ねる。
「どうかしたんですか?」
「ん? ちょっとね。アキラ。セランタルビルの中で、ここに来るまでにハンターの死体とか、モンスターの残骸とかを見た? 残骸の方は細かい部品とかではなくて、ある程度の大きさや原形を
アキラの記憶にはない。しかしアキラは見落とした可能性を考えてアルファにも尋ねる。
『アルファ。ここに来るまでにそういうの有ったか?』
「見ませんでした」
アキラはそう断言した。アキラにはエレナが何を気にしているかは分からない。ただ、明確に答えることでエレナの疑問が解決するなら断言するべきだ。アキラはそう思ってあやふやな自分の記憶に頼らずにアルファに確認を取ったのだ。
エレナがそう力強く答えたアキラの様子を少し面白く思って軽く笑った。
「私も見なかったけど、それがどうかしたの?」
「セランタルビルの周囲にはハンターの死体も機械系モンスターの残骸もあれだけ転がっていたのに、ビルの内部にそれらしいものが全くないってのがちょっとね。交戦も一度も無し。アキラとキャロルの話ではビルのフロアを埋め尽くすほどに大量のモンスターがいて、ドランカムの緊急依頼を受けたハンターも含めてかなりの数のハンターが犠牲になったはず。それなのにハンターの死体も破壊された機械系モンスターも見当たらない。その理由を思いつかないわけではないけれど、
シカラベがエレナに尋ねる。
「それならその理由を順に聞こうか。敵が出ない理由は?」
「ここにいたはずの機械系モンスター達はビルの中にいるハンターを粗方殺し終えたので、ビルの周囲を包囲している部隊の排除に向かった。それでその部隊と交戦して全て破壊された。ビルの周囲を部隊が囲んでいるので、増援のモンスター達もビルの中に入れない。だから今現在のセランタルビルの中には敵が出ない」
「ハンターの死体や機械系モンスターの残骸が見つからない理由は?」
「セランタルビルは当時の機能がまだ稼動している遺跡。自動清掃機械がビルの中を掃除して、それらをビルの外に捨てた。ビルの周辺に散らばっているハンターの死体や機械系モンスターの残骸の一部は、その自動清掃機械がビルの中から外に捨てていったもの」
「その自動清掃機械とも遭遇しない理由は何でしょうか? 掃除した割には細かい部品や血痕が残ったままですけど」
「清掃時間が決まっていて、今はその清掃時間ではないからビルのどこかで待機状態になっている。あるいは、所詮は清掃用で戦闘能力はないから、私達と遭遇しないように移動している。このビルの機能が生きている以上、私達の位置を何らかの方法で把握することは可能だと思うわ。細かい部品や血痕が残ったままなのは、単純に清掃機械の性能の所為か、あるいは単にまだ清掃の途中なだけで、先に
エレナはアキラ達の問いに順に答えていく。アキラとトガミはエレナの予想を聞いて純粋に納得し、無意識に僅かに警戒を緩めた。2人の表情も僅かに緩む。しかしシカラベ、サラ、キャロルの3人はエレナの答えを聞いて一定の納得を示したが、それで気を緩めたりはしなかった。
シカラベが再び尋ねる。
エレナはキャロルの意図を読むように数秒キャロルを見た後で答える。
「そうね。まずはビルの簡易マップを見て頂戴」
エレナがアキラ達が見ているセランタルビルの簡易マップを更新した。簡易マップに球状の図形が次々に表示される。図形はビル1階の出入り口から今現在アキラ達がいる部屋までの間を埋めるように表示された。
「それは私が設置した小型の情報収集機器の反応よ。各端末間での通信も可能なタイプの製品で、探索結果を私まで送信しているわ。セランタルビルの中は情報収集機器の探索範囲も短距離通信の範囲も低下しているから、かなり刻むように設置する必要があったけどね」
球形の図形の中心から線が出て、近くの球から出てくる線と
「本当ならビル内の調べた箇所全てを探索範囲にするように設置したいところだけど、セランタルビルに入る予定はなかったし、追加を調達する時間もなかったから、そこまでの数はないの。だから私達の退路を確保できるように、そこで何かあればすぐに分かるように設置したわ」
アキラ達が調査した範囲とセランタルビルの残りの部分を埋めるように球形の図形が現れる。そのために必要な小型情報収集機器の数が概算で表示される。数が足りないことを示すように数字が赤くなり、未設置の分の図形が消えていく。
「退路に何らかの異常が発生した場合はすぐに撤退する。それまでは設置する端末を使い切るまで奥に進む。使い切ったら撤退する。
敵モンスターを示す記号が、退路の通路を塞ぐように現れる。アキラ達を示す記号が、時に通路の地形を利用して敵モンスターの記号を消しながらビルの外に出て行った。
エレナは簡易マップを操作しながらの説明を終えた。表示されていた簡易マップが元の状態に戻る。
アキラは図を交えてのエレナの説明を興味深く聞いていた。
アルファの話を聞いて、アキラが少し強がるように答える。
『......いや、別に分からないって言っているわけじゃない。分かり
『そう。エレナから口頭でいろいろ説明されることはこれから何度もあると思うけど、ちゃんと理解してね』
『......すみません。その時は補足をお願いします』
キャロルが再びアキラの様子をさり気なく確認する。アキラがエレナの説明に不満や不安を覚えた様子は見受けられない。それを確認したキャロルは、称賛の意を乗せた笑顔をエレナに送る。
「大丈夫よ。安全に調査を進められそうで安心したわ。アキラから信頼されているだけあって室内戦闘での指揮の腕も確かなようね。昨日の戦闘の大半は屋外戦だったから、ちょっと確認したかっただけなの。悪かったわ。御免なさい」
「良いのよ。ハンターとしてお互いに命を預け合っているのだから、私もその手の確認は大切だと思うわ。納得してもらえて満足よ」
アキラ達がセランタルビルの探索を進める。エレナの予想が的中しているのか、敵との遭遇もなく順調に調査範囲を広げていく。
敵は一向に現れない。情報収集機器の性能を低下させるために、ビルの内部では音を含めた様々な情報伝達が阻害されているのか非常に静かだ。その静寂はアキラ達にここには自分達以外誰もいないように感じさせた。
アキラはアルファから屋内探索の訓練を兼ねた指導を受けながら進んでいる。
『なあアルファ。全然敵が出てこないけど、エレナさんの予想のどっちが当たっていると思う?』
『アキラはどちらだと思っているの?』
『......正直、全然分からない』
『それならそれが正解よ。明確に選ぶ必要がないのなら、下手に決めつけるのは止めておきなさい。選んでしまうと、無意識のうちにその選択を肯定する情報を受け入れやすくなり、その選択を否定する情報を拒むようになりかねないわ』
『それに、どちらにしろアキラが今やることに変わりはないの。良い予想が正しければ良い訓練になったで済む。悪い予想が正しければ不意を突かれずに済む。敵が出ないからって手を抜かずに、敵が出ない状況であっても気を緩めずに進む訓練だと思って、気を引き締めて続けなさい』
『私が判断する限り、旧世界の遺跡を探索するための適度な緊張感には達していなかったわね』
『そんなつもりはなかったんだけど......、分かった。気を付ける』
敵が全く出てこないため、アキラは知らず識らずのうちにアルファに指摘されるほど気を緩めてしまっていたようだ。気を引き締めて探索を続けた。
アキラ達がビルの15階に到着して少し
く何かを確認しているような表情を浮かべていたが、結論を出したのか表情を戻してアキラ達に話す。
「......機械系モンスターの反応ではないわね。大丈夫よ」
アキラ達はエレナの話を聞いて周囲への警戒を緩めた。サラがエレナに尋ねる。
「それで、何があったの?」
「ちょっと待って......」
エレナはそう答えて通路の少し離れた場所を調べ始めた。そして通路の隅で小型の機械を見つけるとそれを手に取った。床に散らばっている機械系モンスターの部品に混じっていれば、その部品の一つだと考えても不思議のない小さな機械だが、手にとって確認すれば別のものだと分かる。
「......これか」
エレナは自分達の足を止めた小型の機械を見ながらそう
アキラはエレナが手に取っている小型の機械を興味深そうに見ている。エレナが道中に設置していた小型の情報収集機器に似ているように見える。しかしその程度の推察がアキラの限界で、それ以上のことは分からない。
エレナがアキラの様子に気付いて、手に取った機械を見せながら説明する。
「以前ここに来たハンターが残していったものでしょう。調べるからちょっと待っていて」
エレナが小型端末の調査を始める。自身の情報端末と情報収集機器を介して小型端末を解析した内容がエレナの視界に表示される。サラが使用しているものと同系統の立体映像表示装置の機能だ。
から見ると小型端末をじっと見ながら黙って立っているようにしか見えない。アキラがそのエレナの様子を見ながらアルファに尋ねる。
『アルファ。俺にはエレナさんが黙って突っ立っているようにしか見えないけど、その、いろいろやっているんだよな?』
よ。だから邪魔をしたり変な目で見たりしては駄目よ』
『ちなみに、私と話している時のアキラの様子も大して違いはないわ。ハンターには似たような装備を保持している人も多いから、アキラがあからさまな不審者にならずに済んでいるのよ? アキラが不用意に私を見ても、その手の表示を見ているのだろうと思われているの』
『......そうだったのか』
アルファの姿はアキラにしか見えない。そのためアキラがアルファと普通に話そうとすると虚空に話しかける不審者となる。そうならないようにアキラも注意していたつもりだったが、やはり完全に隠しきることはできなかったのだ。つまりアキラは時折不審者になっていたことになる。アキラが僅かに気を落とした。
「シカラベ。この小型端末は多分ドランカムに所属しているハンターのものよ。標準規格の通信以外にも何か送信しているみたいだけど、シカラベの情報端末に何か送信とかされていない? 多分ドランカム宛ての暗号通信だと思うわ」
「ん? ちょっと待ってくれ。確認する」
シカラベは自分の情報端末を取り出して確認する。
「......来ていないな。出力が弱いのか、俺が受け取れる形式のものではないのか、どっちかだな。標準規格の方は何が送られているんだ?」
「モンスターに追われて逃げているから助けてくれって内容のメッセージよ。緊急依頼とは書かれているけど、依頼主の名前も、ハンターコードも、報酬も、有効期限も記載されていない。生存者の救出も依頼の
「そっちで受信した暗号通信のデータをこっちに送れるか?」
シカラベの情報端末にエレナが小型端末から受信した暗号通信の内容が送信された。シカラベの情報端末に組み込まれている暗号通信ソフトがそれを復号する。復号後に出てきたのは、別の形式で暗号化された情報と、その情報をドランカムの幹部に必ず転送するように指示する内容のメッセージだった。
り取りする関係で、シカラベの情報端末はその別の形式で暗号化された情報を復号できた。その内容を確認したシカラベの表情が大きく曇る。
「あー、......くそがっ!」
シカラベは自身の内心を強く反映した言葉を吐き捨てた。
思案を続けているシカラベにエレナが話す。
「何があったかは知らないけど、探索を再開しても良いかしら?」
シカラベはエレナを見て、視線を落として何かを思案し、再びエレナに視線を戻してから話す。
「......そのことで提案、いや、要望がある。この後の行動方針を、さっきのハンターの救出を主軸にしたものに変えてほしい。エレナの推察の通り、そのハンターはドランカム所属のハンターだ。ドランカムにも体面がある。所属しているハンターを放っておくわけにはいかない」
エレナがシカラベの言葉の裏を探るように聞き返す。
エレナの悲観的な、そして常識的な意見に、シカラベが険しい表情で答える。
「いや、恐らくは生きている。自力での脱出もしていないはずだ。どこかの部屋に立て籠もった時に、外部の状況を確認できないほど念入りに封鎖した。負傷により長距離移動が難しい状態にある。その可能性もあるだろう。生存者の救出も俺達の依頼の
を吐いていない。しかしエレナにそう提案した理由は別だ。エレナがそれに気付いた上でシカラベに問う。
「この話はこれで終わりだ。ごねる気はない。エレナをリーダーとして行動する。俺はその下で動く。そういう取引だ。俺もハンターの端くれとして、その取引を
シカラベの言動は間違いなく先ほどの暗号通信の内容によるものだ。エレナが再びシカラベに問う。
エレナは再び思案する。暗号通信の内容は恐らくドランカム内のごたごたに関わる内容であり、部外者には話せない程度の内容なのだろう。少なくともエレナ達がこの場でシカラベから力尽くで聞き出さなければならないような内容ではない。
エレナが熟考を始める。チームのリーダーとして利益と危険を
「お、俺もドランカムに所属している者として、できれば助けにいきたい。ドランカムがそういう救援行動を推奨されているって理由もある。無理にとは言わないが......」
トガミの発言は
エレナがトガミを見た後で、視線をアキラに移す。アキラが答える。
キャロルが続けてアキラを立てるように答える。
「アキラもそう言っているし、私もどっちでも良いわ」
「まあ、元々私達がミハゾノ街遺跡に来たのは救援依頼を引き受けるためだったわけだし、その延長だと思えば良いんじゃない? 別途報酬も期待できるって話だしね」
サラがそう言って意味ありげな視線をシカラベに送る。シカラベが答える。
「俺の保証は報酬を掛け合うまでだ。まあ、ドランカムにも体面がある。相応の額を支払うだろう」
エレナは全員の意見を聞いた上で重ねて思案する。セランタルビルの中で実際に戦闘をした経験があるのはアキラとキャロルの2人だけだ。エレナはその2人が
「今から私達の行動指針を対象のハンターの救出に切り替えるわ。対象のハンターが自身の足跡を残すために先ほど発見した通信用端末と同じものを設置していると仮定する。それを見つけて対象の位置の絞り込みを進めると同時に、ハンターが立て籠もるのに適した部屋を優先して捜索する。対象を生死不問で確保した時点で撤退するわ。キャロル。該当する部屋の絞り込みをお願い。その作業が済み次第、移動ルートを決めて出発よ」
キャロルが少し不思議そうにしながらエレナに尋ねる。
「私が渡したマップデータから、そういう部屋の見当ぐらい付くでしょう?」
エレナが表情を変えずに答える。
「そのマップデータには記載されていない内容も考慮に入れて検討してちょうだい。いろいろ省いているんでしょう? 少なくとも、キャロルがアキラと一緒にここから脱出する時に使った何かに関する情報は、
キャロルが表情から笑みを消し、先ほどまでのキャロルにはない鋭い眼光で、僅かに声を低くしてエレナに問う。
「......それ、アキラから聞いたの?」
アキラとトガミはキャロルの様子の変化に驚いていた。しかしエレナ達はキャロルの様子を見ても別に驚いたりはしなかった。経験の差の
エレナが態度を変えずにキャロルの問いに答える。
「聞いたけど、アキラは話さなかったわ。でもその前の状況、アキラとキャロルが大量の機械系モンスターに包囲されて大変だった状況は話してくれた。その状況から1階の出入り口を目指して2人でモンスターの群れの中を強行突破したわけではない以上、脱出を可能にさせた何かが存在することぐらい分かるわ。脱出経路になり得る何か。隠し部屋か、隠し通路か、隠しエレベーターか、あるいは別の何かがね。そういう情報を含めて検証してほしいってことよ。対象が隠し部屋にいたから見つかりませんでした。キャロルに頼んでいるのは、その類いの事態を避けたいってだけの話。別途情報料が必要って話になるのなら、その辺は後でシカラベと相談して」
急に自分の名前が出てきたため、シカラベが声を上げる。
「この話を持ち込んだのはシカラベで、助けるハンターはドランカムの所属なんでしょう? ドランカム側からの報酬と相殺するとかして、そっちで何とかしてちょうだい」
「分かったわ。すぐに済ませるわね。該当箇所を簡易マップに付け加えれば良いかしら」
エレナはキャロルを見て僅かな戸惑いを覚えた。しかしその理由までは分からなかった。
アルファがキャロルをじっと見ている。アルファはその場に実在しているわけではない。そのため、アルファはそこに存在している何かを認識するために、普通の人間とは異なる様々な手段を用いている。手段の一つとして、情報収集機器で対象の形状を読み取って立体図にしたりもしている。その他の手段も用いている。アルファは誰かを見るためにその誰かを視界に入れる必要はないのだ。
つまりアルファは、先ほどのキャロルの表情をしっかり見ていた。そしてキャロルに対する警戒を更に上げた。
Elena's team started exploring the interior of the Seranthal Building . They started from the first floor and slowly climbed up relying on the map data they got from Carol .
Inside the rooms and hallways, there were metal wreckages that might have been what was left of mechanical monsters, there were also bloodstains that might have been left by Hunters . The bullet holes and scorch marks scattered around the area seemed to be recent . All of these showed just how fierce was the battle that happened in the building . But even so, Elena and her team did not encounter any enemies at all .
When they reached the 5th floor, they found a room with a half-destroyed door . There were scorch marks from bullets around that door and there were traces of monsters trying to get into that door, chasing for the Hunters who must have run inside that room .
When Akira nodded without saying anything, they immediately got themselves ready to break into that room . They readied their rifles and matched their timings to make sure that there would not be any trouble if there were still monsters inside that room . They quickly broke into that room, scanned for enemies, and once they confirmed that there were no monsters inside, Akira sighed and lowered his rifle .
They actually had scanned the inside of the room using their information-gathering device before they went in . Although they did not detect any monsters, it might be simply because their information-gathering device could not detect them, thus, it did not guarantee that there were no monsters inside that room . If they lowered their guards just because their information-gathering device did not detect anything, they would eventually have to pay with their lives for doing something as foolish as that, even more so at the moment when the sensitivity of their information-gathering device was considerably lowered .
It was not like Akira had training on how to work in a team, but even so, as a Hunter with enough experience and skill, he should be able to judge what he should do by observing the other Hunters . And if he knew that, he should be able to judge how good the other Hunters were from how they reacted to the situation when they broke inside that room with no monsters inside .
So, judging from how they broke into that room, it was obvious that Akira had the least cooperative skill in that group . After all, he did not have enough training nor real-life experience to learn that skill .
Due to Alpha's training, Akira's ability to fight was indeed superior, but he was not skilled enough to work in sync with other skilled Hunters as skilled as Shikarabe and the others .
The only reason why Akira was not slowing the other Hunters down was simply because of his training and the support from Alpha .
But in reality, before he broke into that room, before he searched the hallways of the Seranthal building, even before he even stepped inside the Seranthal building, Akira actually had always been in the middle of his training . Because of that, from Elena and the others' point of view, Akira seemed to be at least skilled enough to not slow them down .
It was not impossible to see through Akira's real ability from the small deviation when he moved his aim or the small lag in his movements . But that would be nigh impossible except for those top Hunters from the frontline in the easternmost part of the eastern district . And of course, Togami who was there in order to reconfirm his own skill was not an exception .
After all, Togami, Shikarabe, Elena, Sara, and Carol were better Hunters than him . They indeed had higher Hunter Ranks than him, and Togami, who had his confidence shattered last time, confirmed that they were indeed above him when he saw how they moved during the search .
Akira's Hunter Rank was lower than Togami . But from his experience working with Akira during the bounty hunt and from observing his movements up until now, Togami also thought that Akira was definitely someone above him .
Togami looked at the other 5 Hunters with a conflicted expression . Although he was together with Hunters who were above him, rather than feeling safe, he was instead worried that this time he would not be able to get any conclusions again .
Elena checked the inside of that room, she then frowned and mumbled .
"...This is... Going pretty well... Really well . "
Akira then asked Elena .
"What's wrong?"
"Hm? Well, it's nothing big . But, Akira, since we entered this building, did you see any dead Hunter or monster? I'm not talking about the small traces, I'm talking about whole wreckage or body . "
Akira did not remember seeing one . But he thought that it might be just because he missed them, so he decided to ask Alpha .
"Alpha, was there anything like that?"
"No, I didn't see them at all . "
Akira actually did not know what had been bothering Elena . But, if answering her question could clear that worry, he thought that he should at least answer it honestly . When Akira thought so, he chose to rely on Alpha rather than his vague memory .
Since Akira answered back so straightforwardly, Elena found that a bit amusing as she giggled .
"I didn't see any too, is there anything wrong with that?"
"Since the outside of the building is riddled with monsters and dead Hunters, I just thought that it's rather disturbing that we don't find anything like that inside the building . We did not even encounter any monsters either . But according to Akira and Carol, each floor of this building should have been filled with monsters, there were also a lot of Hunters who got killed after arriving here including the Hunters who received that SOS rescue request from Drankam . But even so, we didn't see any corpses from those Hunters nor any dead monsters . It's not like I have no guess at all, but it's not a good idea to just accept that guess without confirming it first . "
Shikarabe then asked Elena a question .
"In that case, let's hear your guesses . Let's start with why do you think we didn't find any monsters?"
"Basically, I think that after the monsters killed all the Hunters inside this building, they went outside and fought the squads surrounding this building, then they got killed by those squads instead . And since the encirclement also prevents the monsters from the outside to get into the building, so the current Seranthal building is left with no monsters inside . "
"Then why didn't we find any dead Hunters?"
"The current Seranthal building is actually still active, thus the cleaning drones must have dumped them outside the building . Some of the dead monsters and Hunters outside the building might have come originally from here . "
"I see, then why don't we find any of those cleaning drones? And if they did clean the building, why did they leave some leftover wreckages and bloodstains?"
"They might have a fixed time to do the cleaning and they're on standby right now . Or it might be because they're actively avoiding us since they don't have much fighting power . That also means that they somehow can ascertain our positions too . As for the leftover wreckages and bloodstains, it's either because the cleaning drones haven't cleaned them or it's just because they need more time to clean all the small things since they prioritized cleaning the bigger ones first . "
Elena answered the other Hunters' questions one by one . Akira and Togami were actually just simply asking questions that came up in their minds as they unconsciously lowered their guards . Their expressions were slightly relaxed . On the contrary, after Elena answered questions from Sara, Shikarabe, and Carol, the three of them did not lower their guard at all .
Shikarabe then asked another question .
Elena looked at Carol without saying anything for a few seconds as if she was trying to read something out of her .
"You're right, let's look at the map first . "
Elena renewed the map that the others were looking at . Small points appeared on that map, those points traced their location starting from when they were on the first floor .
"These are the information coming from the mini information-gathering devices that I installed . These devices can communicate with each other and the end result is actively sent to me . Since the sensitivity of the information-gathering devices and the range of the short-range connection are lowered inside this building, I put quite a lot of these devices on our way here . "
Lines came out from each point and connected them to the other points near to them showing that they were actively connected to each other . While at the same time, it also showed that their communication and scan range was significantly lowered .
"To be honest, I want to install them all over the interior of this building, but I didn't bring enough supply since we didn't plan to come here in the first place and I didn't have the time to resupply either . That's why I only installed enough so that we can quickly secure our escape route . "
More points appeared on the map that the other Hunters were looking at, as if it was trying to cover the whole building with those points, it then showed the number of extra devices that they would need if they wanted to do that in red . After that, those extra points vanished .
"If these devices pick up anything that threatens our escape route, we will retreat . If not, we will continue to search the building until I run out of these small information-gathering devices . Of course, we'll also adapt to the situation and retreat if it gets too dangerous . "
Extra images appeared on the map that represented monsters, then the indicators that represented the Hunters there started retreating back while using the layout of the hallways inside that building to reduce the number of monsters that they were fighting at the same time .
Elena then finished her explanation with that map as that map immediately returned back to its original state .
Akira looked at that map while closely listening to Elena's explanation .
After listening to Alpha's reaction, Akira tried to sound strong as he said .
"...It's not like I wouldn't understand if she didn't do that though I just meant that it really makes such an explanation easy to understand . "
"Is that so? Well, I'm sure there will be many occasions where Elena would explain her plan only with words in the future, so I believe that you would understand them with no problem, right?"
"...I'm sorry, I hope that you would help me when that happens . "
Carol once again glanced at Akira to check on him . After she confirmed that Akira did not seem to have anything to complain about, she then smiled at Elena and expressed her appreciation .
"I'm good with that plan . I'm glad to hear that it seems there's no need to worry too much as we continue exploring this ruin . As expected of someone that Akira trusts so much, it seems that you're pretty skilled in leading an indoor battle too . It's just that I only saw your skill in leading battle outside yesterday, so I was a bit worried . I'm sorry if I offended you . "
"It's fine, don't worry . That's normal since we are basically trusting our lives to each other in this situation, and I do think that confirming stuff like that is indeed important . I'm glad that you're happy with my plan . "
They then continued searching the building . Just like Elena predicted, they did not encounter any monsters as they continued exploring further into the building .
There was no monster at all . The wall of Seranthal building blocked all kinds of information including sound, it might be to reduce the effectiveness of information-gathering devices inside that building, but thanks to that, the situation inside that building was completely quiet . It was as if the silence confirmed that there was no one else there except Elena and her team .
Akira continued searching the ruin following Alpha's instruction, it also doubled as training for Akira on how to explore a building .
"Say, Alpha . There's no monster at all though, which of Elena's guesses that you think is the correct one?"
"Which one do you think, Akira?"
"To be honest, I have no idea at all . "
"That answer is actually the correct answer . If there's no need to make the choice, it's better not to make any when you don't have enough evidence . If you do, you will be more susceptible to information that supports your guess and you will be more likely to reject information that disproves it . "
"Moreover, whichever the case, it would not change the things that you need to do . If the optimistic guess is correct, then this would be a good training for you . But if the pessimistic guess is correct, then you at least won't get ambushed . So don't lower your guard just because there are no monsters detected, and even if there's really no monsters around, let's continue carefully and take this training seriously . "
"According to what I can see, you're at least not that tense for someone who is exploring an unknown dangerous old-world ruin . "
"Whoops, didn't mean to do that... Alright then, I'll be more careful . "
Since he did not encounter any monsters, it seemed that Akira had lowered his guard enough for Alpha to warn him . So he collected himself together and continued the exploration .
Not too long after they reached the 15th floor, Elena suddenly told them to hold .
Elena kept her eyes on his information terminal as if she was trying to confirm something . Her expression then returned to normal as she drew a conclusion and said .
"...It's not a signal from the mechanical monster, it should be okay . "
The other Hunters lowered their guard after hearing Elena's answer . Sara then asked Elena .
"So, what was it?"
"Wait for a sec..."
After she said that, Elena checked the signal that was coming from a place not too far away from them . She then found a small mechanical device and picked it up . If that small device was mixed with the wreckages of the monsters, no one would be able to tell if that was not a part of the dead mechanical monster, but once it was picked up, it was easy to notice that it was not a part of a mechanical monster .
"...This one, huh?"
Elena mumbled as she looked at the small object that stopped them .
Akira looked at the object that Elena picked up with interest . It looked just like the small information-gathering device that Elena was using . But that was as far as his knowledge went, he did not know anything more than that .
Elena noticed Akira, she then showed the device in her hand and said .
"I'm sure it's left behind by the Hunters who came here before us . I'll analyze it for the time being, so wait for a bit . "
Elena then started checking that mini information relay device . When she connected her information terminal to that device, the information from analyzing that device was immediately displayed through the same stereoscopic hologram display device that she and Sara were using .
Elena then continued analyzing the information that was displayed to her . Since she was the only one who could see that display, from the other point of view, it seemed as if she was only standing there while staring at the mini information relay device without doing or saying anything . Looking at that, Akira asked Alpha .
"Alpha, it seems to me like Elena-san is only standing there without doing anything though, but she's actually analyzing that device, right?"
"Yep, that's why you should not interrupt her . "
"By the way, it's not that different to when you talk to me, you know . Thanks to the fact that a lot of other Hunters are also using similar devices, people don't get suspicious of you when you do that though . And even if you suddenly turn your head to look at me, I'm sure that the other Hunters will only think that you're trying to see a similar type of display like the one that Sara and Elena are using . "
"Is that so...?"
No one else could see Alpha other than Akira . Because of that, if he tried to talk normally to Alpha, it would look as if he was a suspicious person talking to air . Although Akira tried his best to hide it since he knew that himself, it seemed that as he expected, he was not able to completely hide it . So in short, he sometimes made a weird and suspicious move . Akira seemed a bit dejected after he got reminded about that .
"Shikarabe, this information relay device is owned by someone from Drankam . It seems that it's sending a signal in non-standard format too . Shikarabe, did you get anything in your information terminal? It might be some kind of coded signal only recognized by people from Drankam . "
"Hm? Wait for a sec, let me check . "
Shikarabe then pulled out his information terminal and checked it .
"...Nope, nothing . I bet it's either because that signal is too weak or it's simply because my information terminal can't recognize that signal . What's the information broadcasted through the normal format?"
"It's simply a message asking for help since the monsters are chasing them . Although it's written that it's an SOS rescue request, it doesn't say anything about who is the issuer, how much is the reward offer, or the duration of the request . It doesn't even contain the Hunter code of the sender . Although it's still one of those SOS rescue requests, I bet no one would take this request after reading this message . It's unclear how many of them or where they are . It basically won't change our plan, we might help them if they're still alive and we find them by chance, but we won't go out of our way to look for them . "
"Can you send the encrypted signal to me?"
Elena just sent the encrypted message broadcasted by the mini information gathering device to Shikarabe's information terminal . Shikarabe then used the decryption software installed inside his information terminal to decrypt that encrypted message . The output from the decryption software was basically another encrypted message and a short message saying for anyone who received that message to send it to Drankam's officers .
Since Shikarabe had some connections with the officers in Drankam, he was able to decrypt that encrypted message further . After he checked the content of that message, his face twitched .
"Ahhh... Goddammit!!!"
Shikarabe shouted out his frustration .
Seeing Shikarabe was still deep in his thoughts, Elena then asked him .
"I don't know the content of that message, but, is it okay if we continue the search now?"
Shikarabe glanced at Elena, he then shifted his gaze to the floor and thought for a bit before looking straight into Elena's eyes again .
"...In that case, I have a suggestion, no, a request . I want to change our main aim from simply exploring this building to rescuing the owner of that information relay device . It's as you said, that Hunter is from Drankam . I still have my reputation to hold among Hunters in Drankam, so I just can't ignore this message . "
Elena then asked Shikarabe a question, trying to probe what might be behind Shikarabe's sudden request .
After Shikarabe listened to both pessimistic and relatively normal guesses from Elena, he then replied back with a grim face .
"No, I bet they're still alive and still inside this building . There's a chance that they might have barricaded themselves somewhere so tightly to the point that they even can't confirm the situation outside the room that they barricaded in, or they might be injured so that they can't travel too far . Saving Hunters are also one of the contents of our current request . Not to mention, if they're survivors from when the situation in the ruin changed, they might have some important key information to understand the reason for that change . I'm sure it's more profitable than just simply exploring this building, so, what do you think? If you save a Hunter from Drankam, I'm sure Drankam will give you an extra reward on top of the reward that you get from the City Management . I can even negotiate with the Drankam side for you . "
Shikarabe was not lying, but he had another reason as to why he made that request . Elena knew that very well as she asked Shikarabe a question .
"Then I won't ask again, I have no plans to convince you to take it . You act as the leader, and I work under you, that was the deal . As a mere Hunter, I have no plans to break that agreement . "
There was no mistaking it, Shikarabe's request was definitely because of that encrypted message . Elena then asked Shikarabe .
Elena then thought again, the content of that encrypted message must be something related to the people inside Drankam, something that could not be shared with people outside Drankam . Or at least, it was something that Shikarabe would not willingly tell to people outside Drankam .
Elena calculated all the risks and the profits that the team could gain there since she was the team leader .
"U-Uhhh, as someone from Drankam, honestly speaking, if it's possible I want to take that request too . Drankam also recommended us to rescue any Hunters that we can... But of course, it's okay if it's not possible..."
Togami was not lying there, but besides that, he was actually aiming for a chance to reconfirm his skill when said that .
After Elena looked at Togami, her gaze then shifted to Akira . Akira then said .
Carol then followed .
"I don't mind too, after all, Akira also said that . "
"Well, we came to this ruin in the first place because of that SOS rescue request after all, isn't it fine taking in that request thinking that it's just an extension from our original plan coming here? Not to mention, we can get an extra reward from it too . "
Sara sent a meaningful gaze toward Shikarabe when she said that . Shikarabe immediately responded .
"I can guarantee that I'll negotiate with Drankam about the reward, but I'll only go that far . Well, Drankam also has its face to save, so I'm sure they'll give you quite a lot of money for the reward . "
After taking all the opinions from her team members, Elena then realised that among all of them, the only Hunters who had experience fighting inside the Seranthal building were only Akira and Carol . She was originally planning to reject Shikarabe's request if either Akira or Carol showed even the slightest sign that they did not want to do it . But they did not show anything like that . So Elena finally made a decision .
"Alright, our main aim from here and on will change to rescuing those Hunters . Judging from that mini information relay device, we can assume that they left similar devices to mark the places that they went through . So, we'll use them to help us find their location . Then on top of that, we'll prioritize searching only rooms where they might have barricaded themselves in . We'll immediately pull back once we retrieve the targets regardless if they're dead or alive . Carol, I'll leave picking the rooms to you . Once you're done with that, decide on a route, and we'll go from there . "
Carol seemed a bit confused as she tilted her head and said .
"I've given you that map though, so you should be able to do that yourself, right?"
Elena changed her expression and replied .
"I want you to decide based on the information that is not included in that data . I know that you did not give all the information that you have when you gave me that map, right? Or at least, that data map didn't include anything that explains how you escaped from this building yesterday with Akira . "
Carol's smile immediately vanished . Her gaze turned really sharp and she slightly lowered her voice .
"...Did you hear that from Akira?"
Akira and Togami were surprised by that sudden change from Carol . But the other Hunters were not surprised at all . It showed the difference in their experience .
Elena did not show any change in both her expression and tone of her voice as she answered Carol's question .
"I did ask him, but he did not tell me anything . He did at least tell me that he got trapped with you in this building, surrounded by monsters . Since both of you did not force your way all the way to the first floor to escape the building, it means that there's another way to escape this building . It must be some kind of secret route, whether it's a secret room, or a secret hallway, or a secret elevator, or maybe something else . Honestly speaking, I want that information too as an insurance in this situation . Moreover, I want to avoid the situation where we can't find the rescue targets just because they're hiding in that secret room, that's why I'm asking you to do that . If you want extra payment for that information, you can go ahead and ask Shikarabe later . "
Shikarabe immediately reacted when his name suddenly got mentioned there .
"You're the one who asked us to take that request, the rescue targets this time are Drankam Hunters, right? So at least do something about that extra information cost from the reward . "
"Got it then, I'll get it done ASAP . Is it okay if I just add extra indicators to the map?"
As Elena's attention returned back to Carol, she felt that somehow something was bothering her . But she did not know what it was .
Alpha was staring at Carol . It was not like Alpha existed in the same place as the rest of the Hunters, that was why, in order to gather information about the people in that place, Alpha was using different methods compared to normal people . For example, she was relying on the information-gathering devices in that place to recognize 3D objects . And of course, she was also using other methods too . Basically, she did not need someone to be in her field of view for her to be able to see that person .
As such, Alpha was able to completely see Carol's expression back there, and that was why she put her guard up against Carol .
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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