トガミが情報端末を操作している。ハンターオフィスに記載されているアキラの情報を閲覧しようとしているのだ。
アキラは自分のハンターランクを21だとトガミに答えた。それを聞いた時、トガミはアキラが自分より下のランクだと知って嘲るような態度を取っていた。しかし今はあれが自分を
(......もしかして、ハンターランク21ならあの程度は普通なのか? あれぐらい当然のことなのか? いや、幾ら何でもそんなわけがあるか! あれは絶対におかしい! あいつが異常なだけだ! いや、まさか、そんなはずは......)
ハンターランクに比べてアキラが相対的に強すぎるのなら辛うじて問題ない。だがそうではないのなら、あの実力がハンターランク相応のものならば、トガミは相対的に弱すぎることになる。今まで自分の実力に自信を持ち、誇りに思い、誇示していたトガミには、それは耐え
普段のトガミならばシカラベの態度に何らかの反感を抱いていただろう。しかし今のトガミはそれどころではない。険しい表情で話を続ける。
「あのアキラってやつは、......一体
なんだって、俺が雇ったハンターだ。ドランカムに所属はしていないけどな。外部のハンターを同行させたことに対して、お前に文句を言われる筋合いはないぞ」
勘違いをしているシカラベに、トガミが必死になって訴える。
「そうじゃない! そんなことじゃない! あんな、あんなハンターランク21がいるのか!? 絶対におかしいだろ!?」
トガミはシカラベの話を黙って聞いていた。顔色がかなり悪くなっている。青ざめていると言ってもいい。
「......ちょっと風に当たってきます」
トガミはそう言ってその場を離れた。その足取りはかなりふらついていた。
「ハンターオフィスの職員が到着する前には戻ってこい」
「シカラベ。お前、性格悪いな。あれはどう考えてもアキラが強すぎるだけだろう。あいつが言う通り、あんなランク21は普通いねえよ。ハンターランク21の億超えハンターなんて聞いたことねえぞ?」
シカラベが笑いながら答える。
ヤマノベも笑いながら話す。
「しかし一応あいつは反カツヤ派だろ? シカラベ的には良いのか?」
「良いんだよ。あいつは単純にカツヤがちやほやされているのが気に入らないってだけだ。若手の優遇処置をしっかり受けているし、調子にも乗っているしな。ああいうやつに限って、カツヤに実力を認められたり褒められたりした途端、ころっと態度を変えるんだ。断言してもいい。そういう意味じゃ、あいつは潜在的なカツヤ派だよ」
「あー、確かに。あり得そうだな」
ドランカムの若手ハンターに対する鬱憤が多少は晴れたのだろう。シカラベ達は上機嫌で笑い合っていた。
パルガが気を取り直してシカラベに尋ねる。
「シカラベ。この後の予定を確認しておきたいんだが、どうするんだ? 次の賞金首に直行か?」
「分からん。状況次第だ。弾薬をかなり消費したが、移動ルートによっては途中で補給できるかもしれないしな。俺達だけでやるか、他の賞金首討伐チームに合流する形になるかどうかも状況次第だ」
「他のチームに合流する場合は、俺達が連れてきた他の連中の扱いはどうするんだ? ハンターオフィスの介在なしで雇った連中だ。連れていくと面倒なことになるんじゃないか?」
「できれば俺達だけで次の賞金首も倒したいが、他のチームに合流する場合はあいつらは連れていかない。パルガの言う通り面倒事になるからな。ドランカムのハンターだけで行くことになる。俺達とトガミの4人だ。表向きはその4人だけでタンクランチュラを倒したんだからな」
ヤマノベが残念そうに話す。
「そうか。アキラとネルゴぐらいは連れていきたいところなんだけどな。あの2人は予想以上に役に立ったからな」
シカラベ、アキラ、ネルゴの3人が
ヤマノベが思いついたことを言ってみる。
「他の連中を単純な外部要員として、別の依頼として連れていくってのはどうだ?」
シカラベがあっさり答える。
めそうな依頼の交渉と、その後の対応や尻持ちはお前がやれよ? 俺は嫌だ」
「俺も嫌だ。仕方がない。諦めるか」
ヤマノベはあっさり引き下がった。賞金首の討伐は、報酬の面でも
き集めたタンクランチュラの残骸がトラックの荷台に積まれていく。
ハンターオフィスとの手続きが終わった後は、今度はドランカムとの手続きがある。シカラベが情報端末でドランカムの人間と話している。かなり機嫌が悪いようだ。
「......ああ。......分かった。合流地点を送ってくれ。......ああ、そっちの連中も俺が回収するよ。準備が済み次第出発する。......分かってる! アラベは指揮権をやつらに絶対渡すな! 絶対だ!」
シカラベが通話を切って舌打ちした。パルガがシカラベに尋ねる。
「賞金首が残り1体になった。多連装砲マイマイに向かったドランカムの討伐チームは失敗。多連装砲マイマイは別のハンターチームに倒された。そして過合成スネークは、......カツヤの連中が倒したってさ」
シカラベが非常に不機嫌な表情で続ける。
「最後の1体、ビッグウォーカーを討伐する
荒野でエレナとサラが疲れた表情を浮かべていた。車の運転席と助手席に座ってぐったりとしていた。
エレナ達の近くにはカツヤ達が討伐した過合成スネークの姿がある。以前エレナ達がヨノズカ駅遺跡で遭遇した暴食ワニの亜種が変異成長した姿だ。
大型の車両や人型兵器すら一
エレナ達はドランカムに所属していないハンターという建前で、部外者として彼らから離れた場所で休息を取っていた。それはミズハからの指示でもあった。
サラが運転席に座っているエレナに疲れた口調で話す。
「......エレナ。愚痴を
「正直、割に合わない仕事だったわ......」
「同感よ......。私の失態ね......。次は契約内容をもう少し考慮するわ......」
「良いのよ......。エレナの所為じゃないわ......」
「ありがと......。サラが相棒で良かったわ......」
エレナとサラは表情を変えずに互いを
エレナとサラは気力体力ともに消耗しきっていた。その原因は当然だが賞金首との戦闘によるものだ。より正確には、戦闘でのエレナとサラの負担の大きさの所為だ。
賞金首討伐という緊張や、巨大な過合成スネークを目視することによる恐怖、経験不足による混乱などから、若手ハンター達は組織的な行動を取ることが困難だった。
全体の指揮は途中で何度も中断された。過合成スネークの攻撃で転倒した車体に取り残された仲間を助けるために、カツヤが指揮を中断して助けに行ったからだ。
エレナ達が敵に近付きすぎている若手ハンター達にもっと下がるように教えると、逆にカツヤの指示ではないからと言って強情にその場に
その彼らを可能な限り生還させるのもエレナ達の仕事だ。エレナ達は可能な限り彼らを回収して安全な場所まで運んだ。
エレナ達は忙しく動き回り可能な限り賞金首討伐に貢献した。戦場での情報収集や全体の補助など地味な部分が多いが、重要な仕事だ。
しかし若手ハンター達の中には、エレナ達がカツヤの指示に従わずに戦場をうろうろしていると判断した者もいた。
い活躍をしたのは彼らの方だろう。エレナ達がいなくとも問題ないように見える。大量に使用したロケットランチャーを、エレナの誘導補助なしで命中させることが可能ならばだ。
そしてそれは可能だ。低い命中率を数で補えるほどに、カツヤ派は大量に弾薬を用意していたのだ。しかしエレナ達がいなければその効率は低下していたはずだ。その分だけ過合成スネークを倒しきるまでの時間が延び、カツヤ達により多くの被害が出ていたはずだ。
だがそれをどの程度考慮するかは個人差が出る。特に、特定の人物の功績を高めたい時などには。それが意識的なものであろうとも、無意識なものであっても。
「エレナ......。この後どうするんだっけ?」
「......取りあえず、過合成スネーク討伐成功の手続きが終わるまでは、この場で待機よ。その後は......、その時の状況次第よ」
「......回復薬、使う?」
「もう使ったわ......」
回復薬で体力がある程度回復しても、気力まではそう簡単には回復しない。エレナもサラも敵襲でもあれば気を切り替えて素早く戦闘態勢に移ることはできるだろう。しかしそのような事情がない限り、2人はとにかく休んでいたかった。
エレナはミズハの姿を見つけると、限界まで下げていた座席から身を起こした。交渉はエレナの役割だからだ。サラは助手席で
せのままのサラの姿を見て、僅かに不快感を示した。しかし指摘はせずにエレナに話しかける。
「エレナさん。依頼に関する話をしたいのですが、
エレナは疲労を覚えながらも意識を集中させてしっかりと返事を返した。サラのためにも、エレナはぼやけた意識で交渉などするわけにはいかないのだ。
ミズハはまず過合成スネークの討伐結果をエレナに説明した。ミズハは部隊の生還率などエレナ達の報酬に関わる内容を意味ありげにエレナに説明する。部隊の生還率は当初の予定を下回っていた。
ミズハは軽く詰問するようにエレナに尋ねる。
「この生還率に対して、そちらから何か釈明はありますか?」
「ないわ。報酬は事前の取り決め通りに引いてちょうだい」
エレナは表情を変えずに答えた。ミズハが少し表情を険しくして確認する。
「......そうね。強いて言えば、この生還率に対して、そちらから何か釈明はある?」
「どういう意味です?」
「そのままの意味よ。そちらも意味の分からない質問をしたわけではないでしょう?」
エレナとミズハは無言で視線を合わせ続ける。
エレナは自分もサラも十分仕事をしたと判断している。自分達の実力を十全に発揮して賞金首討伐に貢献したと判断している。自分達の不手際で要らぬ犠牲を出したとは思っていない。だからこそ、エレナは当初の予定より部隊の生還率が下がったことに対して、ミズハに意図的に謝らなかった。
ミズハがエレナの問いに答える。
ミズハは今回の賞金首討伐のために十分な準備をしたと判断している。多額の資金を使用して高性能な装備を用意し、それを使用する人員を
当初の予定より生還率が悪いのであれば、ミズハの準備が及ばない部分に原因がある。ミズハはそう判断していた。つまり外部の人間の働きだ。
エレナは短くそう答えた。そして再び2人の間に無言の時が流れる。言葉を交わさずとも、2人の間には最低限の意思疎通が取れていた。
エレナは練度不足の人員を派遣したドランカム側に原因があると考えている。ミズハはエレナ達が十分に仕事を全うできなかったことに原因があると考えている。お互いに相手に非があると考えていることだけは、しっかりと伝わっていた。
「あ、あの、この後の予定の話をしたいのですが、良いですか?」
「い、移動の準備がもうすぐ終わるから、今のうちに次の予定を話しておきたいんですが......」
エレナは疲労などが自分の意識の平静さを乱していることを自覚して、軽く意識して呼吸し、気を落ち着かせた。ミズハは賞金首討伐部隊の隊長の顔を立てるために、内心の不満をこの場は抑えることにした。
ミズハがカツヤに
「そうね。ではカツヤ隊長。説明をお願いするわ」
エレナも落ち着いた表情でカツヤの説明を待っている。カツヤは軽い
に、ドランカムの賞金首討伐部隊を合流、再編させること。その総指揮を誰が取るかは現在調整中であること。これから合流場所に移動すること。エレナ達には引き続きカツヤの指揮下で戦ってもらう予定だが、総指揮の調整の結果によっては別の人間の指揮下に移る可能性があること。カツヤはそれらをエレナに伝えた。
「そういう訳ですので、エレナさん達は取りあえず俺達の後に付いてきてください」
エレナはカツヤの説明を黙って聞いていた。そして状況を再確認し、黙って思案する。脳内で様々な仮定や推論を思案し、結論を出した。
「ミズハさん。カツヤ隊長の説明に間違いはない?」
「ええ。我々ドランカムはこれから賞金首の最後の1体、ビッグウォーカーの討伐に乗り出します。他のハンターチームも連合を組んでビッグウォーカーを狙っているという情報もありますので、移動は少々急ぎ気味になるでしょう」
エレナが軽く息を吐いてから話す。
「そう。それなら私達は事前の取り決め通り、ここで抜けさせてもらうわ」
「エレナさん!? ここで抜けるって、ちょっと待ってください!」
ミズハが僅かな不快感を隠して、表向き平静を保ちながら尋ねる。
エレナが落ち着いた表情で答える。
「カツヤが指揮する賞金首討伐部隊に補助要員として同行して作戦を支援する。状況が著しく変化した場合はそこを区切りとして、新しい別の依頼として再度交渉する。状況の変化が戦闘中に発生した場合は、戦闘終了まで戦闘を継続すること。それが私達が受けた依頼よ。部隊が再編される上に、指揮官まで変更される。その上に他のハンターチーム連合との共闘若しくは偶発的な戦闘すらあり得る状況。状況は別の依頼として再交渉するのに十分なほど変化したわ。それによって事前の取り決め通り、今回の依頼は終了したと判断させてもらうわ」
「継続交渉の権利はこちらにもあると思いますが?」
エレナとミズハが静かに笑い合う。遠くから見れば談笑しているように見える。しかし近距離で見れば、よほど鈍い人間でなければ、両者の間に流れる敵対に近い空気を感じ取るだろう。
カツヤはエレナ達がこの場で離脱することを、部隊の隊長として戦力が低下する意味でも、個人的な心強さからも、できれば避けたかった。
るような表情でエレナに尋ねる。
「エレナさん。どうしても無理なんですか?」
エレナが少し申し訳なさそうな表情で答える。
「悪いけど、無理よ。見れば分かると思うけど、私もサラも非常に疲労しているわ。十分な働きを発揮できる状態ではないの。私達が足手
カツヤは残念そうに肩を落とした。
ミズハは交渉の余地がないことを確認して、エレナ達の同行をあっさり諦めた。
「分かりました。少々変則的ですが、エレナさん達の依頼は完了とします。機会があればまた御助力をお願いいたします。支給品の返還を忘れずにお願いいたします」
「そちらから借りた装備なら未使用の弾薬等と一緒に全部返したわ。......サラ、帰るわよ。帰る前に挨拶ぐらいしなさい」
エレナがサラを揺さぶって起こす。サラがゆっくり身を起こす。
眠るつもりはないが、その気になればすぐに眠ってしまいそうな程度には、サラの意識はぼんやりとしていた。サラがエレナに簡潔に確認する。
「......帰るの?」
エレナがカツヤに軽く笑って話す。
「それじゃあ、私達はこれで引き上げるわ。カツヤ。隊長として皆を指揮するのは大変だろうけど、気負いすぎずに頑張りなさい」
「......カツヤ。頑張ってね。その上で十分気を付けて。荒野から生きて帰ることこそが、ハンター稼業の一番の成果なんだから」
カツヤは笑って返事をする。
「はい。サラさん達も気を付けて帰ってください。ここは荒野ですから」
エレナが車を発車させようとする。その時、エレナ達を呼び止めるような大声が響く。
「あんた達がそれを言うの!?」
周辺の者達の視線が、声の発生源に集まる。叫んだのはリリナだった。カツヤ達の後ろに立っていたリリナが、前にいる者達を押しのけてエレナ達のところまで来る。
「エレナ、私、何か変なことを言った?」
エレナも面倒そうな表情を隠さずにサラに返答した。
リリナは憎悪に近い憤りを
「両方よ!」
互いを見ていたエレナとサラの視線がリリナに戻る。
「依頼の詳細については、守秘義務があるから私からは話せないのだけれど......」
エレナがそう話してミズハを見る。ミズハが代わりに答える。
「部隊全体の生還率向上のために鋭意努力する。基準となる生還率と実際の生還率の差に応じて、彼女たちに支払う報酬が増減する。依頼の詳細にそのような内容が含まれていることは事実です」
ミズハの説明を聞いたリリナが、エレナ達に強く言い放った。
「ふざけないで! 8人も死んだのよ!? それで貢献した? しかも途中で部隊から抜けるですって? あんた達は何を考えてるの!?」
エレナが軽い頭痛を覚えながら、リリナの発言内容から相手の言いたいことを推測する。リリナの頭の中にあるであろう判断基準を推察し、頭痛を深めて結論を出して、一応確認する。
「そうよ! どう責任を取るつもりなの!?」
リリナはより強く言い放った。
め息を吐いた。エレナが2人の気持ちを代表して答える。
「その辺の愚痴は、私達を雇った人間に言ってちょうだい。きっと何らかの返事と対処が返ってくるわ。じゃあね」
エレナはそれだけ言って車を走らせた。
リリナが去っていくエレナ達に向かって叫ぶ。
「待ちなさいよ! 逃げる気!?」
エレナ達は速度を落とすことなく、
リリナがミズハに詰め寄る。リリナの表情には仲間を失った悲しみと悔しさが浮かんでいた。
「ミズハさん! どうしてあんなやつらを雇ったりしたんですか!?」
ミズハが残念そうな表情を浮かべて話す。
「彼女達を雇ったのは、カツヤの推薦があったからよ。とても有能なハンターだと聞いていたのだけれど、買い
ミズハは優しい声でリリナを
めた。それでリリナはある程度落ち着きを取り戻し、完全には納得していない態度で答える。
めた。カツヤの表情は様々な感情が入り交じったカツヤの内心を表したものだ。そしてそこにはエレナ達への未練も浮かんでいた。
ミズハが笑顔を取り繕ってカツヤに声を掛ける。
エレナ達がクガマヤマ都市に向けて車を走らせている。
エレナ達の車は自動運転でクガマヤマ都市に向かっている。車の制御装置による自動運転のため、エレナの運転より乗り心地は悪くなっている。エレナが運転する場合、移動する道の選択や速度などに細かい調整を入れるので、もっと乗り心地は良くなるだろう。しかしエレナの疲れ具合も理解できるので、サラも文句は言わなかった。
「それにしても、大変だったわね」
「リリナだっけ? 始める前は私達なんか不要だと言い切って、終わった後は私達の努力が足りない? 本当に自分達でできるなら、私達の助力なんか不要でしょう?
サラは珍しく少し強めの怒りを出して話していた。エレナの仕事を非難されたのが気に入らないのだ。
エレナが苦笑して答える。
疲労のためか、エレナも珍しく少し意地の悪い言い方だった。
サラがエレナの珍しい態度に苦笑して話す。
「きっとそんな感じね。護衛がどうこうとか言っていたけど、私達が本当に護衛だったとしたら、まずは自分の実力不足を疑ってほしいわ。護衛が必要なほど実力不足だと上から判断されているんだから。護衛付きで賞金首討伐なんて、どこの大富豪のお嬢様よ。生まれてからずっと護衛付きで過ごしてきて、それが当然だとでも思っているのかしらね?」
サラの皮肉交じりの冗談を聞いて、エレナはドランカムのある
を真に受けておらず、本当だとしても自分達には関わり合いのない話なので、大して気にしてはいなかったのだ。
「エレナ、どうかしたの?」
「ん? 何でもないわ。もし本当にドランカムにどこかのお嬢様がいたとしたら、ドランカム内の若手ハンターの優遇策は、その
「分かってるわ。ちょっと思っただけよ」
サラは冗談だと思って軽く笑い、エレナも同じように笑って返した。
「謎の大富豪がドランカムの若手ハンターの支援をしていないとすると、あの若手ハンターの装備品の代金はドランカムが出していることになるわ。その代金を若手ハンターの稼ぎで支払えるとは思えないから、元々ドランカムに所属していた他のハンターの稼ぎから支払ったことになる。......ドランカムは若手ハンターとそれ以外のハンターの間で対立が生まれているらしいけど、納得しちゃうわね」
「しかも若手ハンターの中には、あんなのまで混ざっているのよね。ある意味当然の結果か」
「重要なのは、彼女のような人物が混ざっていることではないわ。あれだけ若手ハンターがいれば、1人ぐらいああいう人物がいても不思議はないもの。問題は、彼女を止めようとした人物が誰もいなかったことよ。彼女と完全に同意見、
ハンターオフィスの職員達が過合成スネークの死体を調べている。車両で運搬するにもこの巨体だ。どの程度の重量があるか調べなければ輸送車両の手配も難しいからだ。
「これは......、空洞......か?」
過合成スネークの死体の中に細長い空洞が存在していた。職員が不思議そうな表情で話す。
「胃や消化器官じゃないな。
「分からん。脱皮した中身じゃないってことは確かだ」
職員の冗談に、別の職員も楽しげに笑って答える。
「この巨体が実は全部皮だってか? 無理があるだろう。第一、見た目が蛇っぽいから過合成スネークなんて名前が付けられただけで、別にこいつは蛇じゃないしな」
「ああ、確か合食再構築類の一種らしい。まあ、詳しい調査は研究所に運んだ後でそこの研究者がやるんだろうけどな」
Togami was fiddling with his information terminal, he was trying to see Akira's Hunter record.
Akira said that his Hunter Rank was 21. After knowing that Akira's Rank was lower than his, Togami started mocking Akira. But now, he was hoping that it was actually just him making a bad joke there.
[...Don't tell me that it's normal to be that strong for a Rank 21 Hunter, or is it? No, that can't be normal! He's definitely weird! He's abnormal!! So there's just no way...]
If it was normal for a Rank 21 Hunter to be as strong as Akira, then there would be no problem at all. But if that was the case, if Akira's strength was considered normal, then it would mean that Togami was weak according to that standard. For Togami, who always thought that he was a skilled Hunter and prided in that, it was a bitter pill that was too hard to swallow.
If it was the usual Togami, he would have lashed back when Shikarabe said that to him. But not this time, his face looked tense as he continued.
"About that Akira... Who exactly is he?"
"What do you mean by that? He's a Hunter that I paid to join the hunt. I know that he's not from Drankam. But I have no plans to listen to your complaints about taking in a Hunter who is not from our gang."
Togami fl.u.s.teredly tried to correct Shikarabe who was misunderstanding him.
"That's not what I meant! That guy, I won't accept that someone like him is just Rank 21, you know?! It's definitely strange!!"
Togami did not say anything as he listened to Shikarabe. But his face turned pale as he said.
"...I'll go and get some fresh air for a bit."
Togami only said that before he left Shikarabe, he seemed a bit wobbly as he left that place.
"Just come back before the Hunter Office staff is here."
"Shikarabe, you do have a bad personality, you know. No matter how you think about it, Akira is the one who is abnormal. That kid is right, it's weird for someone as strong as him to be just Rank 21. There's no way a Rank 21 Hunter can be worth more than 100,000,000 Aurum, you know?"
Shikarabe just laughed and replied.
Yamanobe smiled and joined in.
"But he's a part of the anti-Katsuya faction, right? Aren't you supposed to be liking that guy?"
"It's fine. He just doesn't like the fact that Katsuya has girls surrounding him. Not to mention that it's true he's getting advantage from that young Hunter preferential treatment program, and he indeed got ahead of himself back then. People like him will change the moment Katsuya recognizes his skill or praises him. I can guarantee that. So from that point of view, he might as well be a part of the Katsuya faction."
"Ahhh, you're right about that. That's a totally possible outcome."
It seemed that Shikarabe's anger on the Drankam's young Hunters had subsided as he and his friends laughed together.
Varga then returned back to his serious mood as he asked Shikarabe.
"Shikarabe, I want to confirm what's our plan after this. Are we going to hunt for the next bounty monster?"
"I haven't really decided yet. It depends on how our situation will turn out. Although we used most of our reserve ammo, we might be able to procure a refill depending on the route that we take. It also depends on whether we will hunt the next bounty monster alone or we will join the other team."
"What will we do about the other team members if we join the other Hunter team? We hired them without the Hunter Office's approval, they might cause trouble if we bring them when joining another team, you know?"
"To be honest, I want to hunt for the next bounty monster only by ourselves. But if we join another team, we won't be bringing the others. As Varga said, it'll only cause more trouble after all. So I'll be just bringing Hunters from Drankam, which basically means the three of us plus Togami. Not to mention that the record in the Hunter Office also only has our names as the people who defeated the Tank Tarantula."
Yamanobe sounded disappointed as he said.
"I see, to be honest, I hope we can at least bring Akira and Nergo, you know. Those two contributed more than I thought they would in the last fight."
It was all thanks to Shikarabe, Akira and Nergo taking all the heat from the Tank Tarantula that Yamanobe and Varga were able to approach the Tank Tarantula without any troubles. Originally, they had put an extra gimmick to force the other Hunters to get close to the Tank Tarantula in case they refused to during that fight.
Yamanobe thought of something and voiced out his idea.
"How about bringing the other Hunters together with us by hiring them through a formal request?"
Shikarabe instantly replied back.
"That sounds like a bad idea that would cause a lot of trouble during the negotiation. So if you're going to do that, make sure to take care of the aftermath too, okay? I won't help you though."
"Me neither. I guess that's indeed a bad idea, huh?"
Yamanobe quickly stepped down without much resistance. In terms of its reward and difficulty, hunting a bounty monster was a very sensitive subject. So if Yamanobe brought along Hunters who were not from Drankam, it meant that he would have to negotiate with the other factions too. Even Yamanobe would not want to have to face that.
Shikarabe and his friends finished the administration work and loaded the leftover wreckage from the Tank Tarantula that they had gathered beforehand into the Hunter Office's truck.
After they finished their business with the Hunter Office, they still had to take care of some administration stuff in Drankam. Shikarabe used his information terminal to contact someone from Drankam but sounded unhappy as the conversation went on.
"... I see... Alright then, I'll send you the meeting coordinate... Yeah, I'll take over the Hunters from that side too, we'll go once we're ready... I get it, okay!! Don't give the leader position to those people! Just don't!!"
Shikarabe then cut his call with Arabe. Varga looked at Shikarabe and asked him.
"There's only 1 bounty monster left. The team sent by Drankam to hunt the multi-turrets Maimai has failed. The multi-turrets Maimai itself has been defeated by another team. As for the overgrown snake... It seems that Katsuya's team defeated it."
Shikarabe sounded annoyed as he continued.
"As for the last one, they said that we need to group up with the rest of the Drankam teams to hunt for the last bounty monster--the Big Walker. Retrieve the rest of the equipment that we distributed to the other Hunters."
Both Elena and Sara looked exhausted as they were traversing through the wasteland. They were sitting on the driver seat and the driver's assistant seat in their vehicle respectively.
Not too far from them, there was the corpse of a big snake that Katsuya's team just defeated. It looked like the same snake that Elena and Sara met in Yonozuka station the other day except that it was even worse.
Its mouth was so huge that it looked like it could swallow a whole powered suit or a vehicle in one go. Its width was more or less as big as a small building and it was as long as a few dozen trailers.
Elena and Sara were not a part of Drankam, they used that excuse to take a rest in a different place not too far from Katsuya and his team. But actually, that was also an order from Mizuha.
Sara looked at Elena who was sitting in the driver seat, she sounded really tired as she asked.
"...Elena, is it okay if I whine a bit?"
"To be honest, the job this time isn't worth all that hard work at all..."
"I can't agree more with you... That was my mistake... I'll have to be more careful about the contract term next time..."
"It's fine... It's not your fault..."
"Thanks... I'm glad that you're my partner..."
Both Elena and Sara still looked super tired while they were showing their appreciation to each other.
Elena and Sara had exhausted their physical and psychical stamina. Of course, they had spent their stamina during their fight against the bounty monster. To be more precise, it was because the fight placed too much burden on Elena and Sara.
The nervousness when they hunted for the bounty monster, the fear when they encountered the bounty monster, and the chaos that ensued after that because of their lack of experience, it was almost impossible for the young Hunters to work as a team in such a battle.
Katsuya's order was cut mid-way multiple times, it was because he always went to help his team members when the bounty monster smashed their vehicles.
There were even some young Hunters who kept shooting at the bounty monster up close although Elena and Sara warned them that they were too close and they needed to pull back. Those young Hunters refuted Elena and Sara by saying that it was not an order from the leader of the team, Katsuya. While it was correct for them to only follow the orders of the leader, they ended up having to sustain heavy injuries because they fought the bounty monster up close.
It was Elena and Sara's job to make sure that as many young Hunters as possible return back alive. Thus they worked extremely hard to pick up those young Hunters and carry them to a safe place.
Elena and Sara tried their best to help out in that fight as they circled around the bounty monster. They were actually gathering information about the bounty monster as well as helping out the other Hunters. Although it looked like a dull job, it was actually a very important job.
But to some of the other young Hunters, it seemed like Elena and Sara were just going around doing nothing.
It was true that the ones who defeated the bounty monster were Katsuya's team, they were also the ones who shot a lot of rockets at that snake. So at a glance, it seemed that they were the ones that contributed the most during that battle. It was as if they would be able to defeat the bounty monster even without having Sara and Elena around. That was of course if their rockets could hit the bounty monster without the guided targeting provided by Elena.
But in reality, that was also possible. Katsuya and his team actually carried a huge amount of rocket launchers, enough to compensate the low accuracy with sheer numbers. And without Elena and Sara, that accuracy would drop even lower, which meant that they would have taken more time to defeat the bounty monster, thus they would have sustained more losses in that battle.
But not everyone present there thought so. Especially those people who wanted to boost a particular person's achievement and renown.
"Elena... What's the plan after this again?"
"...For now, we just need to standby here until they finish their talk with the Hunter Office about the bounty monster. After that... Well, it depends on the situation."
"...Want to use some medicines?"
"I'm already using medicines..."
Even if the medicine could help recover some of their physical stamina, it could not recover their psychical stamina. They still could quickly react if they suddenly got thrown into a fight, but as long as there were no monsters around, they wanted to get a good rest there.
The moment Elena saw Mizuha, she quickly straightened up the seat that she had set as flat as possible. After all, it was her job to handle the negotiation. While on the other hand, Sara who was in the driver's assistant seat still had her seat stretched back, that was just how tired she was.
As Mizuha saw Sara still lying on her seat although Sara knew that she was coming, she looked slightly offended. But then she spoke to Elena without showing it.
"Elena-san. I want to talk about the request though, is it a good time now?"
Elena was actually tired, but when she replied she wrung together all the focus that still remained within her. She could not afford to negotiate while being half-dazed for the sake of Sara too.
Mizuha then explained to Elena about the aftermath of defeating the bounty monster, then she shifted to discussing the reward money based on the survival rate from that bounty hunting. She conveyed that the survival rate was lower than she had expected.
Mizuha then asked Elena a question.
"So, about this survival rate, do you have any excuse?"
"No, just subtract the reward as we've agreed beforehand."
Elena's expression did not change as she said that, Mizuha's expression turned slightly stern.
"...Yeah, but if you want me to say something, then about the survival rate, what's your explanation for that?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's exactly like I asked you. It's not like you asked me the same question without knowing the meaning behind that question, right?"
Elena and Mizuha stared at each other without saying anything.
Elena thought that she and Sara properly did their duty. She believed that both of them did their best to help defeat the bounty monster. They did not think that they caused needless loss because of their incompetence. That was exactly why Elena refused to apologize for the low survival rate.
Mizuha then answered Elena's question.
Mizuha had prepared a huge amount of money for that bounty monster hunt. She bought expensive equipment and gathered the people who would use that equipment. Although some of them had a rather low Hunter Rank to join such a hunt, she prepared enough equipment and vehicles to compensate for the lack of experience and skill.
So if the survival rate was worse than she expected, she thought that it should not be because of her lack of preparation. Basically, it must be because of something else.
Elena only replied with that short sentence and returned back to staring at each other without saying anything. Although they did not communicate through words, both of them at least knew what the other person was thinking about.
Elena believed that the horrendous survival rate was because Drankam sent inexperienced Hunters for hunting a bounty monster. While Mizuha thought that it was because Elena and Sara did not do their job properly. Both of them at least understood very well that they were blaming each other.
"U-uhm, we're here to talk about what to do from here on, is that okay?"
"W-well, uh, we'll be ready to move out soon, so I thought this is a good place to decide that..."
Elena realized that her tiredness caused her to be short-tempered there, thus she took a breath to calm herself down. Mizuha also decided to hold back her displeasure to show respect to the leader of the team that just killed a bounty monster.
Mizuha smiled to Katsuya.
"You're right. Well then, Katsuya, please explain it to them."
Elena waited for Katsuya's explanation with a calm expression. Katsuya felt relieved as he started his explanation.
There was only one bounty monster left. In order to hunt for that bounty monster, they would group up with the rest of the Drankam teams. They still did not know who would be the leader of the new team. Since they would be moving to the meeting ground soon, he wanted Elena and Sara to come along with him again, but depending on the result, someone else might be the leader for the new team.
"So that's basically the gist of it. Elena-san and Sara-san, please come with us for the next hunt too."
Elena listened to Katsuya's explanation without saying anything. After she understood the situation, she thought of all the possibilities inside her mind and came to a conclusion.
"Mizuha-san, is what he said correct?"
"Yes, all Drankam teams will group up and hunt for the last bounty monster, the Big Walker. Since it seems that the other Hunter teams are also pooling up their fighting power to hunt for the Big Walker, we're in a hurry here."
Elena took a deep breath and said.
"I see. In that case, as we agreed beforehand, we'll take our leave here."
"Elena-san!? Wait for a second, are you going to leave?"
Mizuha tried to hide her displeasure and calmly asked Elena.
Elena calmly replied.
"Our contract is that we'll accompany and provide support to Katsuya's team while hunting for the bounty monster. In case if the situation changes, then we'll have to negotiate a new deal. And if it happens during a fight, we'll provide support until the fight ends before negotiating a new deal. Now that the team is going to be reorganized to the point that the leader might even change, not to mention that grouping up with the other teams means that there might be infighting which might evolve to a real fight, I believe that this is enough reason to see that the situation has significantly changed and there's a need to negotiate for a new deal. So with that laid out, I decided that we're going to take our leave here as stated in our original contract."
"Don't you think that we have the right to negotiate too?"
Elena and Mizuha lightly smiled at each other. From afar, they looked like they were getting along, but looking up close, unless you were a dense person, it was obvious that they were showing hostility toward each other.
Having Elena and Sara leave his team here means that the fighting power of his team would diminish. Both personally and as the leader of his team, Katsuya really wanted to avoid that.
Katsuya made a begging face as he asked Elena.
"Elena-san, do you really have to leave no matter what?"
Elena looked apologetic.
"I'm sorry, but yes. I think you can clearly see it, we're exhausted. We're not in a state that we can provide meaningful support. We might even just slow you down. So according to our principle as Hunters, it's not right to accept a request under this state."
Katsuya looked very disappointed.
Mizuha also confirmed that there was no room for negotiation there, thus she gave up on bringing Elena and Sara along. Her expression then returned back to formal as she smiled and said to Elena.
"I understand. Although it's a bit abnormal, our request ends here. We hope that you'll be working with us again the next time we need your help. And please don't forget to return the equipment that we lent you."
"We've already returned all the equipment that we received from you including the unused ammo... Sara, we're going home, so at least say your goodbye."
Elena shook Sara to wake her up, Sara then slowly fixed her posture.
Although she was not planning to sleep there, she was so tired that her mind was a bit hazy, she could actually quickly fall asleep if she wanted to. She then reconfirmed what she heard.
"...We're going home?"
Elena smiled at Katsuya.
"So then, we'll be parting ways here. Katsuya, I know that it's not easy to be the leader of a team, so make sure to keep calm and give your best out there."
"...Katsuya, good luck. And also, be careful. Returning back alive is the biggest victory for a Hunter."
Katsuya just smiled back and said.
"Yes. Elena-san and Sara-san too, please be careful on your way back. We're in the middle of the wasteland after all."
As Elena turned on her vehicle, suddenly someone shouted at her as if to stop her.
"You have no right to say that!!"
Everyone in that place focused their attention on to the source of that shout. It was Lilina. Lilina, who was behind Katsuya, pushed aside the people in front of her until she came right in front of Elena.
"Elena, did I say anything strange?"
Elena also did not even try to hide her displeasure when she answered Sara's question.
Lilina vented her anger and shouted as if she was close to exploding.
"Both of you!!"
Both Sara and Elena looked back at Lilina, who was glaring at both of them.
"About the details of our contract, due to non-disclosure agreement, I can't really tell you though..."
Elena glanced at Mizuha when she said that, so Mizuha replied to Lilina in Elena's place.
"They're hired to increase the survival rate of the whole team and it's true that in their contract, their reward depends on the resulting survival rate compared to the expected survival rate."
After listening to Mizuha's explanation, Lilina shouted at Elena again.
"Save the bullshit! 8 people died in that fight! But even so, you are saying you did your best back there?! And now you're saying that you're going to leave the team midway?! What exactly is going on inside your heads?!"
Elena could feel a slight headache, as she tried to understand what Lilina meant. As she dug deeper into Lilina's way of thinking, her headache got even worse before she finally drew a conclusion and checked it with Lilina.
"That's right!! So how are you going to take responsibility for that?!"
Lilina shouted even louder than before.
Elena and Sara looked so exhausted as they let out a big sigh. Elena then replied as the representative of her team.
"If you want to complain, direct that to the people who hired us. I'm sure they'll at least give you some answers. See you then."
Elena only said that before she accelerated her vehicle.
Lilina saw them off as she shouted at them.
"Wait!! Are you running away now?!"
Elena did not slow down at all, in fact, she even paced her vehicle faster.
Lilina then went to Mizuha. Her expression was showing her anger and sadness for losing her friends.
"Mizuha-san!! Why would you even hire those people?!"
Mizuha looked apologetic as she said to Lilina.
"We hired them since Katsuya vouched for them. He said that they're skilled Hunters, but it seems that I put too much trust in them. I'll properly take care of the rest, so just calm down, okay?"
Mizuha tried to calm Lilina down with a gentle voice. Lilina somehow calmed down thanks to that, but she still sounded displeased as she said.
Lilina slightly bowed and returned back to preparing to leave that place.
Mizuha looked at his expression and frowned. Katsuya's conflicted expression showed what he was feeling deep inside his heart, and that included a lingering affection toward Elena and Sara.
Mizuha tried to smile and spoke to Katsuya.
Elena and Sara were traversing through the wasteland in their vehicle.
Elena had set the vehicle on auto-pilot heading back to Kugamayama city. Since she left the driving to the control device, the vehicle was shaking more than before. If Elena was taking the wheel, she would have been able to adjust the acceleration and pick a better route, but Sara knew that Elena was also tired, thus she had no plans to blame her.
"Seriously though, that wasn't easy at all."
"Lilina, was it again? At first, she said that they don't need us, then after that, she said we didn't work hard enough. If they really could do that themselves, there was no need for our help, right? Do they even have any idea of how much you worked just to cover them?"
It was rare for Sara to sound so angry. It seemed that she did not like the fact that Elena was overburdened during the last fight.
Elena smiled bitterly.
Maybe it was because she was tired that Elena said something so mean that did not fit her character at all.
Sara just smiled bitterly to that rare side of Elena.
"I can see her doing something like that. Although she complained a lot about us being their escort, in the first place, she should realize the fact that they're so weak to the point that they needed escorts in that battle. Or at least, the people in the upper echelon think that they're not strong enough to go alone without an escort. It's such a huge luxury to go hunting a bounty monster with escorts, you know? I wonder if she's some kind of a rich lady who always has escort everywhere she goes since she was little, that might be why she thinks it's normal to have escorts."
As Elena listened to Sara's mean joke, she remembered about a certain rumour within Drankam. It was about a rumour that there was a real rich lady in Drankam.
Up until now, Elena never took that rumour seriously, and even if it was true, it had nothing to do with her. That was why she did not care much about that rumour.
"Elena, what's wrong?"
"Hm? It's nothing. If it's true that there's a real rich lady in that gang, then the young Hunter preferential treatment program might have been created for that rich lady."
"I know, that's just something that passed through my mind."
Sara thought that Elena was joking as she lightly laughed, Elena also replied with a laugh.
"If this mysterious rich family is not supporting Drankam's young Hunters, then all of those expensive equipment for the young Hunters would have to be paid by Drankam, you know. I don't think that those young Hunters would do enough work to pay for those expensive equipment, which means that the more veteran Hunters would have to pay for them... I heard that there's a gap growing between the young Hunters and the veteran Hunters, I guess I now know where's that coming from."
"Moreover, there are young Hunters who behave like that. It's rather expected that a gap would grow."
"The most important thing is not that there are young Hunters who behave like Lilina. With that many young Hunters in the gang, it's to be expected to find at least one of them like her. The real problem is the fact that no one even tried to stop them. All of them agreed with her, although they didn't express it, they at least agreed with what she said back there. I'm sure all of them back then at least agree with that girl to some degree, including that Drankam officer."
The Hunter Office staff finished checking the dead corpse of the overgrown snake. It was also for the sake of transporting the snake, after all, it was hard to transport that snake without knowing its weight.
"This is... Empty... Huh?"
There was a big long hollow cavity inside the snake. Both of the staff looked confused.
"It doesn't seem like its digestive tract, nor does it seem like someone gouged it out. What is this, was there something inside that cavity before?"
"No idea, but one thing for sure, this is not a leftover body from moulting."
The other staff replied to that joke with a laugh as he said.
"So you're saying that this whole thing is just skin? That's just impossible. Moreover, it has 'snake' in its name because it looks like a snake, it's not like it's really a snake, you know."
"Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, it's one of those monsters that evolve depending on what they eat, right? Well, anyways the real examination will be done by those researchers after we take this huge thing to the lab."
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