「......何か今日は、別に戦闘もなかったのにいろいろあって疲れたな」
戦闘があったわけでもないのに疲れを感じていた。良いことも悪いこともいろいろあったからだろう。アキラはその精神的な疲労をゆったりと湯に
アルファはいつものようにアキラと一緒に入浴している。そのアルファが何かを考え込んでいるような目でアキラを見ていた。
アキラがアルファの視線に気付いて尋ねる。
『やっぱり触れられないと効果が薄いの?』
『アキラがシズカに抱き締められてでれでれしていたって話よ』
溺れかけたことも含めて、アキラが非常に慌てながらアルファに尋ねる。
「......な、な、何の話だ!?」
『だから、アキラがシズカに抱き締められてでれでれしていたって話よ。正直な話、外見だけならシズカよりも私の方がかなり上回っていると思うのだけれど、それでもアキラの態度にあれだけ差が出るのは、やっぱり
「そ、そんなにでれでれしているように見えたのか?」
『解釈や表現には個人差がある。そう答えておきましょう』
アルファの意味深な言葉を聞いたアキラが焦りの表情を浮かべる。慌てているアキラにアルファが
『まあ、少しは注意しておきなさい。相手はアキラを子供だと思っていて、アキラも確かに子供だけれど、限度ってものはあるのよ?』
「わ、分かった」
アキラはシズカに悪い印象を与えないためにもしっかりと心に刻み込んだ。
を吐いてはいない。確かに個人差は存在する。ただしあの時のアキラの表情をシズカが見たとしても、でれでれしていたとは思わないだろう。シズカならアキラが悩みや緊張から解放されて僅かに表情を緩めたと解釈するはずだ。
それでもアルファがあのように表現したのは、それを聞いたアキラの反応を確認して観察する
実際にはアルナを追っている者などいない。それでもアルナは背後の誰かを、曲がり角の先にいる誰かを、死角に隠れている誰かを気にしながら進んでいた。
アルナの背後で物音がした。アルナが身を震わせて
逃げる先も分からずに、追われているかどうかも分からずに、アルナは逃げ続けていた。
昨夜、スラム街の隠れ家で身を潜めていたアルナの
「ナーシャ。何があったの?」
「アルナ。今ここにいるのはアルナだけ?」
「アルナがここにいるって知っているのは、私とアルナだけ?」
「そうよ。私がここにいることは、ナーシャにしか教えていないわ」
「落ち着いて私の話を聞いて。私との話が終わったら、すぐにこの場から離れて。今度は私も知らない場所に隠れて。良いわね? 分かった?」
「ちょ、ちょっと、本当に何があったの?」
「アキラが、アルナを殺そうとしているわ。アルナを見つけ出せって、徒党の人間に指示が出ているのよ」
アキラがシェリル達の徒党の後ろ盾であることは、アルナもナーシャから聞いて知っていた。しかし今までアキラがアルナを探しているような様子はなかったのだ。
くすればアルナのことなど忘れてしまうだろう。シェリル達の徒党は少しずつ規模を拡大させており、人数も大分増えてきている。ほとぼりが冷めた頃に名前を偽って加われば、アルナもアキラに気付かれずに紛れ込むぐらいはできるかもしれない。アルナはナーシャと相談してその時期を待っていた。
アキラは徒党を食い物にするようなハンターではなく、ボスのシェリルも部下に読み書きを教えたりしている。シェリル達の徒党はスラム街の平均的な徒党に比べると、スラム街の子供達にとって非常に良い環境を構築していた。加入希望の子供は多い。多すぎる人員を
その希望が今、あっけなく崩れ去った。
アルナが震えながら尋ねる。
「な、何で、今頃? 今まで何もなかったじゃない」
「分からないわ。急に言われたのよ。写真を渡されて、そこに映っているやつを見つけたら教えろって。徒党の人間全員に配られているらしいわ」
ナーシャがその写真をアルナに見せる。アルナが青ざめながら信じられないものを見たような表情で写真を手に取る。その写真には確かにアルナが映っていた。
「わ、私の写真まで......。な、何で? いつの間に? いつ撮られたの?」
実際には誰もアルナを撮影などしていない。この画像はアキラが見たアルナの姿を元に、アルファが仮想空間に描画して出力したものだ。写真写りが悪いために別人に見えるようなこともなく、ある意味本人以上に本人らしい人捜しに適した画像だった。
ナーシャが恐慌して叫びだしそうなアルナを何とか落ち着かせようとする。
「アルナ。落ち着いて。落ち着いてね。落ち着きなさい!」
アルナが泣きそうな表情でナーシャを見る。ぎりぎりの状態であることは明らかだ。
ナーシャが自分とアルナを落ち着かせるように、ゆっくりとした口調で話す。
「落ち着きなさい。お願いだから、落ち着いて。今から大切な話をするからしっかり聞いて。私はアリシアって幹部からアルナの写真を渡されて指示を受けたわ。でもね、その時にこうも言われたの。アルナのことを無理に探す必要はない。
「ど、どういうこと? 私を探せっていう指示が出てるんじゃないの?」
「私にも詳しいことは分からないの。ただ、私が聞いた話だと、アルナはアキラよりも強いハンターを味方に付けているかもしれないって言っていたそうよ。だから危ないからアルナを無理に探し出して連れてくるような
アルナが首を横に振る。
「そう。それなら何か勘違いをしているのね。多分それは、前にアルナから聞いたあの時にアルナを助けたっていうハンターのことだと思うわ。確か名前はカツヤ......だっけ? そんな名前だったわね」
「......そうよ。カツヤさん」
カツヤの名を言うアルナの声には、どこか
ナーシャが話を続ける。
「アルナは二つの方法を選べると思う。一つは、可能な限り遠くに逃げる方法。スラム街も都市の下位区画も結構広いけど、アキラがどこまで探しに行くかは分からない。でも
「両方試しても良いかもしれない。駄目で元々で一度カツヤに頼んでみて、無理そうなら別の都市に逃げる手段を模索するの」
ナーシャはアルナに希望を与えた。それでアルナもある程度落ち着きを取り戻した。しかしアルナの状況が改善されたわけではない。
アルナは強度も分からない命綱を2本見つけただけだ。しかもその綱は腐っているかもしれないのだ。別の都市へ向かう手段が見つからないかもしれない。カツヤがアルナの頼みを断るかもしれない。アルナが助かる保証などないのだ。
ナーシャが懐から拳銃と金を取り出してアルナに渡す。
アルナが驚き慌てながら尋ねる。
「こ、これって、徒党の銃と金でしょう!? もしバレたらナーシャが!?」
「そ、それならナーシャも一緒に」
ナーシャはアルナに抱き付いたまま首を横に振る。
「駄目よ。渡した金で1人分の運賃なら何とかなるかもしれない。カツヤも1人だけなら助けてくれるかもしれない。......多分どっちも、2人は無理。だから一緒には行けないわ」
「......ナーシャ」
「それに状況が変わってアルナが逃げる必要がなくなるかもしれない。そうね。アキラが死ぬかもしれない。ハンターだからね。いつ死んでも不思議はないわ。もっともその時はシェリルの徒党も多分お
んで、アルナを抱き締める力を強めた。
「これでお別れかもしれないわね。こんなことしか言えないけど、元気でね」
ナーシャは最後にそう言ってアルナから離れた。そして真剣な表情でアルナに告げる。
「良い? 私はこれから帰る。その後で、アルナはすぐに私の知らない場所に移動する。私が拷問されて何もかも
いたのを確認して、最後にアルナを元気づけるように笑って出て行った。
その後、アルナは泣きそうな表情で荷造りを済ませると、ナーシャに言われた通りにすぐに隠れ家から出た。行き先など決まっていない。ナーシャに教えていない隠れ家などアルナにはないのだ。
アルナは夜通し歩き、夜明け近くの路地裏の隅で仮眠を取った。
アルナが目を覚ました時、既に日は高く昇っていた。目覚めたアルナは寝る前の状況を思い出して、
としていた。カツヤがそのアルナに気付いて笑って声を掛ける。
アルナは笑っているカツヤの姿を見て夢ではないと気が付いた。その途端、アルナは泣き始めた。昨日からずっと張り詰めていた心が決壊したのだ。
突然泣き出したアルナを見てカツヤが慌てている。アルナは泣きながらカツヤに
「た、助けてください......」
あの日の奇跡をもう一度。その願いは
スラム街の近くに寂れた倉庫が建っている。倉庫の中には武装した人間達の姿が見える。
彼らは暴力に慣れた雰囲気を
「人数はこれで全員だ。決行は明日だ。もう追加人員の当てはないし席もない。人を増やせば取り分も減るしな。こんなものだろう」
「奪った旧世界の遺物の売却先も確保済みだ。故買もやっている業者がある。出所不明の遺物なんて幾らでもあるが、余計なことを聞かない業者の方が良いからな」
男が襲撃先への不満を
「そこの遺物を転売したら100倍以上の値が付いたって情報がある。遺物の質は良いはずだ。1万オーラムでも100万オーラムに、100万オーラムなら1億オーラムだ。狙い目だ」
疑い深い男が尋ねる。
「そこまで行くと、逆に情報操作を疑いたくなるがな。敵の規模は?」
「武装したガキが10人ぐらいいるって話だ。その1人はハンターだってさ」
「ああ、それはドランカムの連中だろう。特にカツヤっていうガキが率いているやつらは、若手のハンターだけで賞金首を討伐したらしい。ミハゾノ街遺跡の騒ぎでもデカい功績を稼いできたって話だ」
「ドランカムは表側の真っ当な組織を名乗っているんだ。都市やハンターオフィスとも付き合いがある。スラム街の裏路地の遺物屋なんかの護衛なんて引き受けないだろう。俺達が狙う遺物屋とは無関係だ」
別の男が話に割り込む。
「その遺物屋の後ろ盾になっているってガキのハンターも大したことはないって話だ。そいつはガキのスリに財布をすられた上に、スリのケツ持ちのハンターに
「つまりそいつは大したやつじゃないってことだろう? その程度のやつを後ろ盾にしている店だと、やっぱり大した遺物はないんじゃないか? 金になるのか?」
「金に関しては、一応保険をかけてある。その店はこの後
「......そうか。そんな話は初めて聞いたが、どう転んでも金になるなら文句は言わねえよ」
金銭的な利害のみで結びついた者達だが、金が得られる限り仲間割れをしない程度の理性を持ち合わせていた。
アキラは今日もシェリル達の拠点で過ごしていた。
シェリル達は露店を毎日開いているわけではない。アキラが必ず拠点に来る保証はなく、露店以外の稼ぎも進めないといけないからだ。更にアキラから頼まれた読み書き等の授業もしている。カツラギの手伝いなどもしなければならない。
アキラはシェリルと一緒にシェリルの自室で待機している。シェリルの部下から来客の連絡が来ると、シェリルは普段着から接客用の服に着替えてから、アキラと一緒に遺物販売用の部屋に移動することになっていた。
シェリルは連絡を受けるたびに接客用の服に一々着替えている。遺物販売用の部屋から戻ってからも普段着に一々着替えている。
シェリルの部下から来客の連絡が来た。シェリルが再び着替え始める。
アキラが着替えの途中で下着姿のシェリルに、少し不思議そうに尋ねる。
「一々着替えないで、接客用の服をずっと着ておけば良いんじゃないか?」
「気分の問題です。意識を高め、集中し、特別な服を着ている自覚を薄れさせないためにも、その方が良いかと思いまして」
「そういうものか」
「アキラも家に帰って強化服を脱いだ時に、安全な場所に戻ってきたという実感を覚えたりはしませんか? その逆をしているようなものです」
『アキラは家に帰っても脱ぐのが面倒臭いからって、強化服を脱がずにそのまま着ていることが多いものね』
『分かったよ。これからは気を付けるって』
『意識の切り替えは大切よ。アキラもシェリルを見習った方が良いかもね』
シェリルは下着姿の自分をアキラに見られることにもう慣れてしまっていた。下着姿のシェリルを見てもアキラが全く動じないので慣れるのも早かった。
(......アキラの気を引くために、もっとこう、恥じらう様子とかを出した方が良いのかしら。でも今更って感じもするし、私も慣れてきているのよね。恥じらう演技をしたところでアキラには見抜かれそうだし、どうしようかしら)
シェリルがちらっとアキラの様子を確認する。シェリルほどの美少女が近くで着替えているというのに、アキラは相変わらず興味がなさそうな様子だ。そのアキラの態度を演技で覆すのには、相当な演技力が必要になるだろう。
しいとは思っても、恥ずかしいとは感じていなかったわね。......私の方が積極的だったからかしら。私からではなくアキラの方から動いてもらえれば、大分違うかしらね。そう。アキラに私の下着姿を見られる場合でも、例えば、私がしっかり服を着ている状態からアキラの手で1枚ずつ丁寧に脱がされていって、その後で下着姿を見られたりすれば随分違うはず......)
シェリルはいろいろと考えながらその光景を想像した。
シェリルの想像の中で、アキラとシェリルは共に軽い緊張と恥じらいの表情を浮かべていた。アキラは少し頬を染めながら、震えている手で丁寧にシェリルの服を脱がしている。シェリルは脱がされて床に落ちた衣服と、自分の服を脱がすアキラの手や、にやけるのを我慢しているようなアキラの顔を見て、恥ずかしそうに視線を
シェリルは無意識に想像の光景に過度な装飾を付け加えていた。現実でのシェリルの動作が緩慢になるほどに、想像上の光景が過激さを増していく。
シェリルの脳内の光景が当初の目的を無視し始めた頃、アキラがシェリルに声をかける。
「そ、そうですね。すみません。急ぎます」
シェリルは少し慌てながら急いで着替えを続けた。アキラは不思議そうにシェリルを見ている。そのシェリルの表情には、演技ではない恥じらいが浮かんでいた。
"...For some reason, I feel so tired today though I didn't get into any fights."
Akira was exhausted. It must have been because a lot of things happened that day, both good and bad. He let the warm water help him recover his physical fatigue.
Alpha was also in the same bath, just like usual. She looked at Akira as if she was thinking about something.
Akira noticed Alpha's gaze.
"As I thought, it has minimal effect unless you can touch it, huh?"
"I'm talking about when Shizuka hugged you."
Akira panicked for a bit since he was about to drown there.
"...W-what are you even talking about!?"
"Like I said, I'm talking about when Shizuka hugged you. To be honest, I think outlook wise, I'm better than Shizuka. But even so, it seems that it doesn't affect you that much, so I guess it's because you can't touch me."
"W-was I really fawning that much?"
"Well, different people will have a different opinion about it, I'll leave it at that."
Akira flustered for a bit since Alpha only gave a vague answer. Looking at that flustered Akira, Alpha did not show any sign of teasing as she started scolding him.
"Well, I guess I'll give you a little warning. She thought of you as a small boy, which you are, but there's a limit on how far this can go, right?"
"I-I know."
Akira decided that he had to make sure not to leave any bad impression on Shizuka.
Alpha did not lie there. It was true that each person would have a different opinion on that matter. And even if Shizuka saw Akira's expression at that time, it was unlikely for her to think that Akira was fawning over her, she would only think that Akira only felt relieved and nothing more.
But the actual reason why Alpha warned Akira was to check how he would react to that.
But in reality, no one was actually hunting her. But even so, Alna kept walking while keeping check of what was behind her, what laid on the next corner, what was hiding in the dark alley around her.
A sound suddenly came from behind her. Alna flinched, she looked back while trembling. A signboard just fell over behind her. It was not because someone was hiding behind it, it was simply because of the wind. Once she realized that, she sighed in relief and her expression softened.
Alna kept on running without knowing if anyone was chasing her and without knowing where she could run to.
Last night, Nasha came to Alna's hideout, that was where it started.
"Nasha, what happened?"
"Alna, are you alone?"
"Is there anyone else other than me and you who knows about this hideout?"
"I don't think so. I didn't tell anyone about this place except you."
"Calm down and listen closely. Once we're done here, get away from this place as soon as possible. This time, hide somewhere where even I don't know about, okay?"
"W-whoah there, what's going on?"
"Akira is going to kill you, he told the gang to look for you."
Alna had heard from Nasha that Akira was the Hunter supporting Sheryl's gang. But it did not seem like Akira was looking for her, at least until now.
Akira would eventually forget about her with time. So after talking with Nasha, Alna was planning to join Sheryl's gang later once it grew bigger and got more members. And just to be safe, she was planning to fake her name too, that way, she might be able to sneak in into the gang without getting noticed by Akira.
Akira was not someone who would leech off from the gang, while the boss of the gang, Sheryl, even put some effort to teach the members of the gang how to write and read. Compared to the other gangs in the slum city, Sheryl's gang was a significantly better place for children from the slums. A lot of small children wished to join that gang, and if it grew so big to the point that it had a branch, it would be even safer for Alna to sneak in. Alna had her hopes up when she heard that plan from Nasha.
But now, here, her hope was crushed.
Alna asked Nasha while trembling.
"W-what? Why? Since when? Everything was calm until now, right?"
"I have no idea, they suddenly told us to keep our eyes for you. They gave us a picture of you and told us to report back if we spot the person in that picture. And it seems that they distributed that photo to everyone in the gang."
Nasha showed the picture that she received from the gang to Alna. Alna's face turned pale as if she just saw something that she could not believe, the person in that picture was really her.
"H-he even has my photo... But how? How did he get that? When did he take this photo?"
In reality, no one took a picture of her. That photo was produced straight from Akira's memory when he saw Alna. Its quality was not bad, as a matter of fact, the person in that picture could easily be identified as Alna.
Nasha tried to calm Alna down since it seemed that Alna was about to scream.
"Alna, calm down, calm down, alright? Just calm down!"
Alna looked at Nasha with teary eyes, she was about to break.
Nasha then slowly and calmly said to Alna in order to calm her further.
"Calm down, please, just calm down. There's something important that I need to tell you and I want you to listen to me closely. I received that picture when Alicia, an officer in the gang, told me to keep my eyes if I spot the person in that picture. But then, she also said that there's no need to get out of my way just to look for you. As in matter of fact, she told me not to do that, she said that it's okay to just report where and when I spotted you later."
"W-what do you mean? They're looking for me, right?"
"I don't know the details either, but from what I heard, you have a Hunter friend who is stronger than Akira. That's why there's no need to forcefully bring you in since it's dangerous. Alna, do you have any idea who that Hunter is?"
Alna shook her head.
"I see, then it must be a misunderstanding. They might be talking about that Hunter who helped you back then. Who was it again... Katsuya, was it again?"
"...That's right, Katsuya-san."
When Alna said Katsuya's name, it sounded as if she placed her hopes on him.
Nasha then continued.
"I think you have two choices here. First of all, you can try to run away as far as possible from here. Although the lower district is pretty big, we don't know how far Akira would go to look for you. But I'm sure that he won't go as far as looking for you in another city, so you just need to run away at least that far."
"It might be even better to try both the ways out. Try and ask for that Katsuya's help, and if it doesn't seem like he'll help you, then make a plan to escape to another city."
Nasha gave Alna some hope. Thanks to that, Alna was able to calm down for a bit. But it did not fix her situation at all.
It was just that Alna had two possible ways out and both of them were unlikely to work. She might not have any means to run to another city, and Katsuya might refuse to help her again. Both choices did not give a guarantee that she would be saved.
Nasha pulled out a pistol and some money, she then handed them both to Alna.
Alna was so surprised and flusteredly said.
"T-this pistol, isn't it the gang's property?! If you get caught...!?"
"T-then, you should come with me too."
Nasha was still hugging Alna when she shook her head.
"No, I'm sure it won't be much trouble if the gang lose one person worth of money and Katsuya might help you if you're alone. So both the choices you have might not work if I'm with you, that's why I can't come with you."
"...Nasha."
"Moreover, things might change later and you might not need to run away, like Akira might get killed somewhere soon. He's a Hunter after all, so it won't be strange if he's suddenly dead. Although, when that happens, it might be the end of the gang too. Whichever the case, if something like that were to happen, only people in the gang would know about it, so I'll need to stay in the gang. And if that happens, I'll try to let you know, but don't get your hope too high."
Nasha lightly smiled and hugged Alna tightly.
"This might be our last goodbye, I'm sorry but I have nothing else to say other than I hope you'll be well."
After she said that, Nasha released Alna from her hug, she then said to Alna with a serious face.
"Now then, I'll head back now. After this, leave this place and hide somewhere that even I don't know. Make sure to act carefully, always assume that they have interrogated me and I've told them everything that I know about you. I'll do my best to resist, but I can't promise you that I won't leak anything."
Nasha confirmed that Alna nodded with her teary eyes, she smiled at Alna to encourage her for one last time before she left.
After that, Alna packed her stuff with teary eyes and left her hideout just like what Nasha told her to. She had no plans where to go, she had no hideout that she never told Nasha about.
Alna walked in the middle of the night and picked a random back alley to catch some sleep.
When she woke up, the sun was already high up. She then remembered everything that happened last night, stood up and continued walking in fear.
Alna was dumbfounded as if she could not believe what she saw. Katsuya noticed Alna, smiled at her and said.
Alna saw his smile and realized that it was not a dream. Right at the next moment, Alna started to cry, she was holding herself from crying from yesterday, and now the dam broke open.
Katsuya was flustered when Alna suddenly started crying, she clung to Katsuya while still crying.
"P-please help me..."
The miracle from the last time had happened once more. Her wish had come true. This meant that she had decided to abandon her other choice.
There was an abandoned warehouse near the slum city. Armed people gathered inside that abandoned warehouse.
All of them looked to be already experienced in handling their weapons and they looked like thugs. Looking at their equipment, they seemed to be your common Hunters. But the air around them was more like that of robbers. They were exuding an ominous aura saying that they had lost their sense of logic to the point that they were willing to not only hunt the monsters in the old-world ruin but also normal humans.
"This will be it, everyone. We'll do it tomorrow, I have no one else that I can ask to come nor do I have the plan to take more people in. After all, the more people we bring, the less our individual share would be."
"I've secured the route to sell the relics that we'll rob. I also have contact with a fencer too. After all, we can get relics with unknown origin as many as we can, but it would be bad if they started asking where we got them, right?"
A man suddenly complained about their prey this time.
"Some information that I gathered say that some of the relics there could be resold for even 100 times its original price. We should be able to find good relics there. 10,000 Aurum relics might fetch us 1,000,000 Aurum, and 1,000,000 Aurum relics might fetch us 10,000,000 Aurum. That place is worth robbing."
Another man who was still in doubt voiced his doubt.
"If you go even that far, it actually makes it sound a little bit fishy though. How's the enemy?"
"They have about 10 armed children, and one of them is a Hunter."
"Ahh, it's about that guy from Drankam, right? I heard that Katsuya guy defeated a bounty monster only with young Hunters, I've also heard that they did pretty good during that incident in Mihazono ruin."
"Drankam is trying to be a proper Hunter gang, they even have some connections with the Hunter Office. I'm sure they won't be protecting a back alley shop in the middle of the slum city. I'm sure the shop that we're aiming for has nothing to do with that gang."
Another man intervened.
"I heard that the young Hunter protecting that gang is not that strong. I heard that when a thief stole his wallet, he could not fight back and just ran away when the Hunter protecting that thief intimidated him."
"So basically he's not that great of a Hunter, huh? If that's really the case, then that shop might be not worth that much, no? Are you sure we can get any money from robbing that place?"
"If you're worried about money, I have insurance. I heard that the shop would likely get popular in the near future. Someone made a request to crush them sooner than later and we can take some extra profits on the side too."
"...I see, I've never heard about that info before, but... If it will really bring us money, I don't have any complaints."
They were a group of people who were tied together because of money. As long as whatever they were going to do was going to bring them more money, they would not break up their alliance. It was not like they were acting completely separately from each other, all of them had enough skill to work together with each other as a team. With their level of skills, they should be able to safely hunt for old-world relics to some extent.
That day, Akira spent his day in Sheryl's base again.
Sheryl did not open the shop every day. It was not because Akira could not come to her base every day, it was more because there were other ways of gathering money that they needed to develop. Not to mention, Akira also asked them to teach the gang members how to read and write, and sometimes, they had to help Katsuragi too.
Akira was waiting inside Sheryl's private room together with Sheryl. When someone came in telling that she had a customer, Sheryl would change into her dress and go to the shop together with Akira.
Every time she had a customer, Sheryl would change to her dress and welcome the customer, and then she would change back to her casual attire when she returned.
One of Sheryl's men came and said that she had a customer. So Sheryl started changing to her dress.
While in the middle of changing her clothes, Sheryl suddenly heard Akira throw a question at her.
"Isn't it better if you just keep wearing your dress rather than changing to it every time someone comes?"
"It's a matter of feeling. It's better this way, knowing that I have a special dress for it helps me focus."
"Is that so?"
"Don't you feel a bit relaxed too when you return home and take off your augmented suit? It's something like that but only reversed."
"To be honest, you often think that it's too much of a trouble to take it off so you often don't take off your augmented suit even when you're home though."
"I know, I know, I'll be more careful."
"It's important to have this kind of switch, you know. It might be a good idea if you learn that from Sheryl."
Sheryl had gotten used to having Akira seeing her in her underwear, and it took even less time for Akira to get used to seeing Sheryl in that situation.
[...I wonder if I should at least act more bashful to make Akira interested in me. But considering everything that happened until now, I don't think that would have much effect though, not to mention that it seems I'm already gotten used to it too. I'm pretty sure Akira would see right through me even if I act bashful, good grief...]
Sheryl glanced at Akira. Although someone as beautiful as Sheryl was changing cloth next to him, Akira did not show any interest at all and it was highly unlikely that he was acting indifferent.
[...So basically, there's no need to fake anything, right? But I wonder what kind of situation he would show his embarrassed side. Now that I think about it, even back then when I straddled him, even though I think he's happy with that, I don't think he's embarrassed at all... Was it because I was the one who took the initiative? If Akira was the one who took the initiative, I wonder if he would react differently. That's right, for example, when I change my dress, what if Akira is the one undressing me one by one, I'm sure he'll have a different reaction...]
Sheryl imagined all kinds of scenes in her mind.
She imagined Akira undressing her layer by layer while slightly blushing, Akira's hand was trembling as he gently took off her dress. As her dress fell to the ground one by one, she blushed and sent an embarrassed gaze to Akira who was undressing her while trying to hold back her smile.
Sheryl unconsciously added more spice to her imagination. As her movements in the real world slowed down, her imagination grew wilder and wilder.
As Sheryl started to drown in her imagination, Akira suddenly called her.
"Y-You're right, I'm sorry, I'll hurry up."
Sheryl started to hurriedly change to her dress while still being flustered. Akira looked at her and tilted his head in confusion. This time, Sheryl was blushing for real, she was not acting.
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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