アキラは一度家に戻って車でシズカの店に向かった。シズカの店に到着した頃にはアキラの機嫌も戻っていた。一度店の中に入ってシズカとの挨拶を済ませると、店の外に出て店の倉庫の搬入口まで車で移動した。
シズカが搬入口のシャッターを開けてアキラを笑って出迎える。
「改めて、御来店ありがとう御座います。こっちよ」
シズカの案内で倉庫の中を少し進むと、そこには機械的な格納棚のような物が鎮座していた。シズカがその両開扉を開ける。中にはアキラの新しい強化服が収納されていた。アキラが
「TL系2A型2N強化服、販売名ネオプトレモスよ。情報収集機器との統合型ではない製品だけど、要望通りオプション品の情報収集機器を追加済みよ」
強化服は黒を基調とした厚手のボディースーツ風で、表示装置を兼ねたヘッドギアに似た頭部装備が付属しており、胴体部と首の背中側の部位で
「専用の格納機器には簡単な自動メンテナンス機能も付いているわ。早速着てみる?」
「はい。お願いします」
アキラが強化服を脱いで下着姿になる。シズカが以前にも使用した測定機器でアキラの体を測定すると、その測定値に合わせて格納棚の中の強化服の体型が変わっていく。その様子をアキラが面白そうに見ていた。
「勝手にサイズ調整もやってくれるんですか。便利ですね」
「限度はあるけどね。これは体型変更にかなり余裕のあるタイプの製品だから、アキラにはちょうど良かったわ」
不思議そうにしているアキラに、シズカが少し楽しげに答える。
「アキラは気付いていないのね。前に測定した時に比べて体格が結構変わっているわ。背も伸びたし、体格も全体的に良くなっているわ。成長期なのかしらね」
うに足る苦難を、乗り越えれば賞賛に足る苦境を、アキラは軽く流している。それは慣れによるものだ。アキラが類似の出来事を程度の差はあれど繰り返していた証拠だ。恐らくはハンターに成るずっと前から、それらが諦念や諦観へ変わり、自覚すらできないただの慣れへ変わってしまうほどに。シズカの勘はその自身の推察を肯定していた。
だがシズカにはアキラにもうハンターを辞めた方が良いとは言えない。立場的に、心情的に、経済的に、その負担を自分が肩代わりするとは言えないのだ。だから代わりに、辛うじて許されることを、
「......ハンターは体が資本だってよく言うわ。大切にしなさい」
「......? はい」
アキラはシズカの態度の微妙な差異に気付きはしたものの、その背景までは分からずに少し不思議に思いながら素直に
アキラがシズカに手伝ってもらいながら新しい強化服を着用する。防具でもあるコートもしっかり羽織ると意外そうな表情を浮かべる。
「随分軽いんですね」
前の強化服を着た時のように、起動するまでは鉛の布地を着込んだような重量を感じると思っていたのだが、
つまりアキラは4億オーラムの予算の大半をシズカの店の商品以外に費やしたことになる。シズカも常識的な手数料ぐらいは取っているが、4億オーラムの売上から期待できるほど店の利益に貢献してはいない。できれば自分の店の商品を買ってほしい気持ちがシズカに苦笑を浮かべさせていた。
「あー、すみません。随分悩んだんですけど、やっぱり全体的な戦力向上には強化服の性能向上が一番だと思いまして......。つ、次の機会まで待ってください」
アルファのサポートを効率良く引き上げるには、強化服の性能を引き上げるのが一番手っ取り早く効果的だ。アキラも戦闘のたびに骨折などしたくないのだ。火力の向上の前に自身の基本性能の底上げを重視して、予算の大半を強化服に
シズカがそのアキラの様子を見て軽く楽しげに笑う。
「良いのよ。さっきも言った通り、ハンター稼業は体が資本。価格が高いだけあってかなり高性能な強化服だから、反動の大きい銃器を活用した時のアキラの身体に掛かる負担も大分下がるはずよ。それに私から見てもアキラは無自覚に無理をするタイプに見えるからね。下手に火力だけを上げると倒せるモンスターの基準だけが上がっていって、その分だけ更に
アキラが新しい強化服の格納棚を車に積んでいる間に、シズカが銃器の拡張部品を台車に載せて運んできた。当初の予算である4億オーラムから強化服の代金を引いた残り、5000万オーラムの使い道だ。新しい武器を追加で購入しても、持ち運びには限度があり既存の武器の使用を諦めなければならない。それよりも既存の武器を改造して性能を底上げした方が良い。そう判断したのだ。
アキラが自前の武器を床に置いて悩み始める。シズカが改造部品をその近くに並べながら注意事項を説明する。
「好きなだけ悩んでいいし、実際に組み立ててもいいけれど、未開封の品は開けた時点で購入してもらうから注意してね。開封済みの品は中古品だけど、私が点検済みだから品質にそこまで問題はないはずよ。組み込みに前提とする他の改造部品が必要な物もあるから気を付けてね」
「分かりました。ありがとう御座います」
「私は店の方に戻るから何かあったら呼んでちょうだい。じゃあ、ゆっくり選んでね」
シズカが店に戻っていく。アキラは取りあえず床に並べた銃器類を分解し始めた。
『どうするかな。結構高い部品も多いし、適当に選ぶとすぐに予算を超えそうだ』
『AAH突撃銃とA2D突撃銃を強化服無しの使用を前提に改造する。残りを新しい強化服の性能を基準に改造する。方向性は決めてあるわ。後は予算と好みの兼ね合いね』
『種類が多すぎるんだよな。選択の余地がないってよりは良いんだろうけど、迷うな』
『これも訓練よ。ゆっくり悩みなさい』
を着せられた少女を救い出したという話だった。その場限りの話ならカツヤの人柄の良さを示す美談で済む。だがスリの被害に遭ったハンターが明確な殺意を持って少女を探していることや、少女を狙う得体の知れない集団と交戦して、相手側だと言っても死人が出たとなれば話は違ってくる。
ミズハが念のために知り合いの情報屋を通して話の裏を取ると、アルナはスリの常習犯で、該当のハンターは賞金首討伐戦に参加したほどの実力者で、少女の身柄を押さえようとしている集団も確かに存在していることが判明した。
普通ならばそんな人物の保護など迷うまでもなく却下する。だがカツヤからの頼みなのだ。自身の権力基盤にもなりつつある人物の機嫌を損ねないためにも配慮が必要なのだ。
取りあえずミズハは、ドランカムが管理する駐車場に停車している荒野仕様のキャンピングカーにアルナを
ろ邪魔でしかない。防壁の内側の人間にはスラム街のスリとの交友など悪評でしかない。ハンターとして所属させるにしろ事務員として所属させるにしろ、見方によってはカツヤの愛人をドランカムの予算で囲っているようなものだ。知られれば徒党の内外から激しい非難がでるだろう。敵対派閥に知られれば間違いなく攻撃材料にされる。そう考えると、不満も湧いてくる。
ミズハは非常に気が進まないという表情で自身への言い訳の意味も含めて
「お互いにごちゃごちゃ言うのは止めましょう。この回線は大丈夫なの?」
ミズハが相手に秘匿回線の質を確認した時点で、他者に漏れたら
ミズハが驚き引きつった表情で沈黙する。それは自分が何一つ話していない依頼内容に一致する回答であり、的確な返答だったからだ。何とか平静を装って返事をする。
「......まだ何も言ってないわ」
の知り合いの情報屋が非常に誠実だったとしても、腕前がその誠実さに追いついているかは怪しいとだけ言っておくわ。......逆かもしれないわね」
ミズハは通話越しの機嫌の良い声を聞きながら相手の質の悪さを改めて思い知っていた。情報を操作して誰かを自分の都合の良いように行動させる。それが彼女のやり口だ。良いように動かされていたと気付いた時は大抵後の祭りで、それでもまだましな方なのだ。気付く前に命を落とす者も多いのだから。
めて情報端末を見る。彼女に連絡を取ったのは自分の方だ。だがそれも本当に自分の意図か怪しくなってきた。連絡を取らされたのではないかという不安が拭えない。
ミズハが黙ったままなので相手から返答の催促がくる。
「それで、どうするの? やっぱり止めておくの? それも良いかもしれないわね。いろいろ事情があるにしろ、後ろ暗く心苦しいことをするのは精神衛生上良くないもの」
「私は、何も、言っていないわ」
アキラが銃火器の改造を続けている。改造部品はどれも組み込めば確実に性能を向上させるものばかりだ。欲を言えば元の部品などなくなるぐらいに組み込みたいのだが、予算という条件がそれを阻んでいる。
『......後1000万オーラムぐらい出すべきか?』
出そうと思えば追加予算は出せるのだ。その余裕と事実がアキラの意思に偏りを生み始めていた。そのまま流されそうなアキラにアルファが一応
『別に止めはしないけれど、同じことを何度も口にしないように気を付けなさい。高性能な装備ほど戦力の維持費も上がるのよ。少なくとも強化服のエネルギー代はかなり上昇するわ。強化服の修理代もまだ不明だわ。何かあってまた装備を全て失った時に、ある程度再起しやすいだけの蓄えは必要よ』
『その手の無理をしなければならない状況に陥った時点で、避けようと思えばどうにかなる状況だとは思えないけれどね』
アキラが自身の過去を思い返す。心当たりが多すぎた。またAAH突撃銃だけでハンター稼業をやり直している自分を想像して真面目な表情を浮かべる。
前の装備はシズカの助力があったにしろ8000万オーラムで
シズカが倉庫に戻ってくる。
「あ、すみません。まだです。急いだ方が良いですか?」
「大丈夫よ。閉店後まで居座ってもらって構わないわ。ゆっくり選んで」
アキラがシズカの背後にいるエレナとサラに気付いて軽く会釈する。
「エレナさん。サラさん。えっと......、先ほどはすみませんでした。ちょっと急いでいたもので」
エレナが軽く笑って意図的に気にしないように装う。少なくともアキラには見抜かれなかった。
「気にしないで。あんな場所で騒ぎを起こすのはちょっとどうかなって思って声を掛けただけだから。軽い口論でもそれがハンター同士だと一般人には怖いものなのよ。モンスターと戦うためにいろいろ物騒なものを装備しているから仕方がない部分もあるんだけどね。下手をすると治安維持を請け負っている警備会社とかに目を付けられて、該当区域に出入りすらできなくなるわ。気を付けなさい」
「分かりました。心配してくれてありがとう御座います」
アキラが素直に礼を言うとエレナとサラも軽く笑って返した。だがすぐにそのエレナとサラの表情が少し真面目なものに変わる。サラがエレナに視線を向けると、エレナが表情を真面目なものに変えて、僅かに
「アキラ。少し聞きたいことがあるんだけど、良いかしら?」
「......あの後でカツヤから話を聞いたのだけど、アキラがカツヤの友達を殺そうとしているってのは本当なの?」
アキラが作業の手を止める。そして真面目な表情で答える。
「俺から金を盗んでいったスリを殺そうとしているのは事実です。そのスリがカツヤの友達かどうかまでは知りません」
「それ、カツヤはアキラの勘違いだって言っているけど、間違いないの?」
「私達にも言えない?」
「そうですね。そいつは盗んだ財布から金を抜き取って財布だけ投げ捨てました。物的証拠はありません。目撃者もいません。俺が適当に
「両者の証言以上の根拠はないわけか......」
エレナが表情を険しくさせる。エレナはどちらかと言えばカツヤの言い分を信じていた。それはカツヤから確信を持った言葉で必死に訴えられたからだ。そこまで言うのならば
「えっと、アキラはそのスリをどうしても殺したいの?」
「別に地の果てまで追って殺す気なんてありませんが、ちょっと探せば見つかる程度の場所にいるなら殺します。見つけた場所がハンターオフィスの前とかなら面倒事になるので見逃しますが、荒野とかそういう場所なら
アキラはごく普通に何の意気込みもない様子で答えた。それが逆に発言内容に一切誇張はないとサラ達に教えていた。サラ達はアキラの引き金が軽いと既に知っている。その軽さがスリの関係者、邪魔者、巻き添えになる者達に対してどこまで適用されるのかは分からない。だが相応に軽いことは分かる。
アキラが珍しくエレナ達に向けて僅かに顔を
「エレナさん。サラさん。別に俺を信じろとか、俺の味方をしろとは言いません。無関係でいてもらえませんか?」
エレナは心配そうに少し険しい表情を浮かべている。
「いや、私達の知り合いがその程度のことで殺し合いかねないほどに
アキラが表情を僅かに無表情気味に硬くする。
「あら、私が誘っても駄目か。残念ね。これでも結構容姿とかには自信が有ったんだけど、振られちゃったか。それなら......」
エレナが場の空気を和ませるために少し
そして一見普通に見える表情で続ける。
「エレナさんとサラさんが、どうしても、と言うのなら、あいつを狙うのは止めます」
サラが急に聞き分けが良くなったようなアキラの様子を不思議に思いながら確認を取る。
エレナとサラが視線を合わせる。少し無理強いするような感じになってしまうが、それでもアキラがスリを殺そうとしてカツヤと交戦してしまい、最悪の場合ドランカム自体を敵に回してしまうよりは良いだろう。2人の意見は一致していた。
「アキラにはそのスリを殺す理由はあっても、急いで殺す理由はないんでしょう? そして相手より先に殺さないと返り討ちに遭うような状況でもない。時間の余裕があるのなら、その優位な立場を生かして落ち着いてゆっくり考えなさい。余裕のない状況での決断を引きずる必要はないわ」
シズカは真面目な表情でアキラとしっかり視線を合わせている。アキラが少し考えてから
「そう。今すぐに決めないと手遅れになるなんてのは、選択の結果を考えさせないための詐欺の手法よ。猶予が許す限り考えなさい。こんなことになるなんて、とか言い出す人は、事前にその事態を想定できていれば別の選択をしていたはずよ。選択の結果を想像できていて、その結果を覚悟して決めていたのなら、そんなことは言い出さないわ」
アキラが難しい表情で考え込んでいる。シズカが優しい口調に変えて続ける。
「私もエレナもサラも所詮は部外者で、詳しい状況やアキラの立場とかも知らずにいろいろ言っているだけ。それは確かよ。でも部外者だからこそ客観的に判断できるとも言えるわ。私達も別にアキラの選択が間違っていると言っているわけではないの。ただ、非常に感情的になった時に決めてしまったことを、一度そう決めたのだからって引きずって、非常に割に合わないことを意地になって続けているんじゃないかって心配しているだけなの。友人が感情的になって割に合わないことをしようとしているように見えたから、ちょっと落ち着いた方が良いって言っているだけよ。空腹だと気も
エレナとサラの表情が僅かに固まる。エレナ達はアキラに慕われていると思っている。それはアキラの態度、表情や口調などからも明らかだった。お互いに命の恩人で、一緒にハンター稼業をした時も互いを尊重し合って、親しい仲を築けていると思っている。
だが今のアキラの表情にエレナ達への親しみはない。他者への関心に欠ける表情で、見知らぬ何かの危険性を探るような、敵か、敵ではないかを確認しようとしているような目を向けて、エレナ達の返事を待っていた。
慕われていると思っていた相手からのその表情と視線に、サラが動揺と困惑で表情を曇らせる。エレナも動揺していたが、交渉事に慣れているおかげで表面上は平静を保っていた。シズカの話に乗って少し作った表情で答える。
Akira returned back to his house first, hopped onto his vehicle and went to Shizuka's shop. When he arrived, his mood had mostly returned back to normal. He went into the shop, exchanged some greetings with Shizuka, exited the shop, and then moved his vehicle next to the shop's warehouse.
Shizuka opened the shutter and welcomed Akira.
"Once again, thank you very much for coming to my shop. Come, it's this way."
Shizuka guided Akira into the warehouse, they then stopped in front of a mechanical cupboard. Shizuka opened the double door on that cupboard and revealed Akira's new augmented suit inside it. Akira could not help but to 'oooh' when he saw it, Shizuka smiled and said.
"It's a TL-type, 2A model 2N Augmented suit, its seller is Neoptolemos. It's originally not designed to work in tandem with an information-gathering device, but as you requested, I also ordered the optional accompanying information-gathering device."
It was a thin body suit-type augmented suit, its basic colour was black. It also had a headgear-like device which doubled as a display device, while it had some protrusions on its neck, back and torso. Besides that augmented suit, there was a coat which was also made with the same metallic fabric that made the augmented suit. The coat's size was relatively bigger than the augmented suit, it might be made with the consideration that its user would be carrying rifles and magazines under that coat.
"Its size readjustment function is also equipped with a simple automatic self-maintenance feature. Do you want to try it now?"
"Yes, please."
Akira took off his augmented suit and his clothes down to his underwear, and just like last time, Shizuka scanned his body to take his measurements. When she did that, the augmented suit's size automatically recalibrated according to his measurements as it started looking more and more like a human body. Akira watched on with curiosity.
"It's automatically recalibrating itself, huh. That's really convenient."
"But there's a limit on how much it can recalibrate itself though. With this, it can readjust its size with body's changes, so I think it's perfect for you."
Akira seemed to be a bit confused, Shizuka smiled amusedly at him and explained.
"So, you haven't noticed it yet, huh? Your body has changed a lot since the last time I took your measurement. You've grown taller and your muscle composition is getting better. I wonder if it's because you're in a growth spurt."
Akira spoke nonchalantly and indifferently although all of those hardships he had gone through could be interpreted as a curse if he could not face them. Indeed, as long as he could face them, the fact that he could do that could be interpreted as a blessing. It was all a matter of getting used to it or not. The way Akira said it, spoke of just how far he had gone through all kinds of hardship again and again. If Shizuka had to make a guess, that must be because even before Akira had started being a Hunter, he was so used to hopelessness and the feeling of resignation to the point that he got used to facing hardship without him realizing it. As a matter of fact, her intuition was telling her that her guess was correct.
But at the same time, Shizuka also did not think that Akira should stop being a Hunter. Position-wise, feeling-wise, economy-wise, she could not take over that burden from Akira. That was why, in place of that, she could only smile gently at Akira and remind him.
"...They say that a Hunter's main asset is his or her body. So make sure to take good care of your body, okay?"
"...? Okay."
Akira was a bit weirded out by that strange sudden change of attitude from Shizuka, but he just frowned and nodded without knowing the reason behind it.
Akira then put on his new augmented suit with Shizuka's help and put on the coat which also doubled as protective armour. After that, Akira was rather surprised.
"It's lighter than I thought."
Akira thought that the augmented suit would weigh him down like a lead armour before it was turned on, just like his previous augmented suit. But he was glad to find out that it was not true. As in matter of fact, it felt even lighter to move in compared to normal clothing. Since the suit readjusted its form to fit perfectly with his body, the weight of the augmented suit was evenly distributed on his body.
This also meant that Akira had used most of his 400 million Aurum budget to buy goods from her shop. Of course, Shizuka took a part of that as her service fee, but it was nowhere near the profit that the shop which originally sold that augmented suit could get. Shizuka wished that Akira would spend that much money for buying stuff in her shop one day, she could not help but smile bitterly when she thought so.
"Ahhh, I'm really sorry. I was really at a loss on what to buy, and after thinking about what is the best thing to buy to increase my overall fighting power, I concluded that an augmented suit is the best choice... S-so please wait until the next time I get a lot of money."
Getting a better augmented suit was the most effective method to increase the effectiveness of Alpha's support. After all, Akira did not want to get his bone broken every time he fought. So he decided to prioritize on increasing the basic strength of his body instead of his firepower and ended up investing most of his budget on an augmented suit.
Seeing Akira, Shizuka just smiled and said.
"Don't worry about it. Like I said, a Hunter's main asset is their body. Since it's a rather expensive augmented suit, it is to be expected, it's a high-quality augmented suit. It should be able to greatly reduce the burden on your body from the kickback from using powerful guns. Moreover, from my point of view, I think you're someone who would do reckless things without realizing it. So if you spend your money on firepower, you'll get more and more used to fighting more powerful monsters and I feel like you'll be doing more reckless things at that point. That augmented suit is designed to put more focus on reducing the burden and protecting its user, it should be able to reduce the number of occasions when you have to act recklessly. I'm sure it'll reduce your medicine consumption too."
As Akira was moving the metallic mechanical cupboard into his vehicle, Shizuka was gathering rifle modification parts into a cart. Akira decided to buy some modification parts with the rest of the budget that was left after paying for his new augmented suit. He might be able to buy new rifles, but since there was a limit on how many rifles he could carry, it would mean that he had to stop carrying one or more of his current rifles. So instead, he decided to buy modification parts to upgrade the rifles he already had.
Akira was deep in thought looking at the modification parts lined up in front of him. Not too far from him, Shizuka was still lining the rest of the modification parts that she brought there, she then warned Akira.
"Don't worry, you can take your time deciding. You can even try them too, but remember that if you open any sealed goods, you'll have to pay for them. Although the parts that are not sealed are second-hand goods, they should be working just fine since I've checked them myself beforehand. And be careful, Some parts are designed to be used on rifles with certain built-in functions, so they might need some extra parts if you want to install them."
"Okay, thank you."
"I'll return back to the shop. If you need anything, just call me. Well then, take your time."
Shizuka then returned to the shop, Akira started to analyze the modification parts scattered in front of him.
"Well, which one should I pick? Most of them are pretty pricey, I feel like I'll go over the budget if I don't choose carefully"
"Let's upgrade your AAH and A2D assault rifles with the assumption that you would use them without an augmented suit. And if you still have some money left, let's use it to buy parts to upgrade your augmented suit. I already have a plan on what kind of upgrade to do, the rest depends on your preference and how much you want to spend."
"There are just too many types of parts, you know. Though, it's better than having too few options."
"This is also a training, so you can take your time."
At first, she heard that Katsuya was simply trying to save a girl who was falsely accused of pickpocketing. Up to that point, Katsuya was only being nice and everything, and it was fine. But now she came to know that the Hunter, whom that girl stole from, was looking for her and trying to kill her, then there was also a fight against an unknown organization that was also looking for that girl to the point that some people got killed. Now that it had come to this, it was no longer that simple anymore.
Mizuha then asked an acquaintance of hers to gather more information just to be safe. And from there, she knew that Alna was indeed a pickpocket, the Hunter that was looking for her was someone who even participated in hunting a bounty monster, and it was true that a certain organization was trying to capture her.
Normally, Mizuha would have refused to give that kind of protection to someone of Alna's status. There was no need to even think about it. But since it was a request from Katsuya, it could not be helped. She could not afford to sour her relationship with the person that was allowing her to maintain her influence and power.
At the moment, Mizuha hid Alna in one of the camping cars parked in one of the parking lots owned by Drankam that were scattered in various places in the wasteland. It was at least able to satisfy Katsuya for now and bought her some time. With Alna staying inside one of Drankam's facilities, outsiders would not be able to freely come after her, but at the same time, she could also not afford to let Alna, who was an outsider, stay in Drankam facilities for too long. She might be able to do something about it if Katsuya accomplished something that would give her more influence. So, she decided to stall for time hoping that something like that would happen.
To be honest, Mizuha did not really care about Alna, as a matter of fact, she was a bother. As someone from the inner wall, there was nothing she could gain except scorn if she associated with a pickpocket from the slum. Whether she sent Alna to work as a Hunter or as a helper in the office, depending on how people looked at it, it might seem like she was providing Katsuya's lover with a shelter using Drankam's money. If the news got out, the critiques from both inside and outside the gang would be severe. And if the opposing faction got their hands on this information, they would definitely use it as ammunition. Now that she thought about it, it was nothing but a hassle.
Mizuha seemed extremely annoyed as she said to herself as if giving an excuse.
"Let's stop with the silly talk, is this line secure?"
Since Mizuha asked if they were talking through a secure line, there was no mistaking it that she was planning to make a request that she could not afford to get out in public. The other person that Mizuha called understood that well as she casually replied.
Mizuha was surprised, but she did not say anything. The reply that she got there was exactly what she was about to ask. She was able to somehow maintain her calm as she said.
"...I haven't said anything yet."
"That's a secret. Having an honest informant is good and all, but the question is whether that informant's skill can balance his or her honesty... Although, in this case, it might be the opposite though."
Hearing her opponent talking in a good mood there, it really reminded Mizuha that the person she was talking to was just the worst. That woman was basically working by manipulating information in order to manipulate people for her own benefit. Those who she manipulated only realized that after the matter had finished, and that was if they were lucky. Those who did not get lucky enough died before they could realize that they were being used.
Mizuha frowned while staring at her information terminal. She was the one who made that call. But even so, she questioned whether she did that because out of her own will or because she was already being manipulated.
Since Mizuha did not say anything, the other person continued.
"So then, what should I do? Should I stop here? I don't really mind if that's what you want. No matter what reason you have, doing bad things will always leave you with a guilty feeling."
"I haven't said anything yet."
Akira was still trying the modifications for his rifles. No matter which parts he chose, all of them increased the power of his rifles. If he had the leeway, he wanted to modify his rifles to the point they did not resemble their original forms at all. But of course, that was impossible with his limited budget.
"...Maybe I should add another 10 million Aurum?"
If he wanted to, he could add more money into his budget. That leeway started to make him seriously consider increasing his budget. Since it seemed that Akira would really do that at this rate if he was left alone, Alpha warned him.
"I won't stop you, but don't keep repeating yourself. The better equipment that you get, the bigger its maintenance cost would be. Or at least, your augmented suit's energy consumption has already increased with that new augmented suit. Not to mention, we still don't know how much the cost for fixing your old augmented suit is. It's important to make sure that you have enough reserves to rise up again in case if something were to happen and you lose all of your equipments."
"Honestly, I think the moment you know that you might lose all of your equipments would mean that you're already in a situation where you can't avoid it though."
Akira recalled through his memories, there were too many occasions where that situation applied to him. When he imagined himself back doing Hunter work with nothing but his AAH assault rifle, he immediately said with a serious expression.
Even with the help from Shizuka in order to get better deals, Akira's last equipment set cost 80 Million Aurum in total. So he decided not to increase his budget just to be safe in case he got himself in a situation where he would lose all of his equipment.
Shizuka then returned back to the warehouse.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm not done yet. Should I hurry up?"
"It's okay, I don't mind you staying here until I close the shop. Just take your time."
Akira then noticed Sara and Elena behind Shizuka, so he greeted them.
"Elena-san, Sara-san, uhhh... I'm sorry for what happened. I was in a bit of a hurry."
Elena smiled lightly at him to let him know that she was not bothered by that. Although, in reality, she did that deliberately, but Akira was not able to see through her smile.
"Don't worry, I just called you there since it would be a bad idea to cause a ruckus over there. Even a small quarrel between Hunters could be scary to normal people after all. Well, since we're armed to teeth for fighting monsters, that's totally understandable though. In the worst-case scenario, the private security company guarding the area might mark you too. If that happens, you won't even be able to enter that area anymore. So be careful."
"I understand, thank you very much for worrying about me."
As Akira earnestly thanked Elena and Sara, they smiled lightly at him. But Elena and Sara's expression immediately turned stern. Sara then looked at Elena, who made a serious look as she hesitated for a bit before she made her resolve and asked.
"Akira, is it okay if I ask you something?"
"...After what happened back then, we asked Katsuya what happened between the two of you. Is it true that you're trying to kill Katsuya's friend?"
Akira's hands stopped, his face also turned serious.
"It's true that I'm hunting a pickpocket who stole my money. I didn't know if that pickpocket is his friend."
"Katsuya said that it's your misunderstanding though, is that true?"
"You can't even tell us anything?"
"Yes, that pickpocket stole my wallet, emptied it, and threw it away. So I have no physical evidence. There were no witnesses either. So if you don't believe me, it's not like I can do anything about it."
"So both sides don't have any proof, huh..."
Elena frowned. To be honest, she believed Katsuya's side more. It was simply because Katsuya said so with confidence and desperation, she felt that Katsuya would not go that far if he was lying.
"Uhmm, Akira, why do you want to kill that pickpocket?"
"It's not like I'm going to chase her to the end of the world. But if I can find her with a little bit of effort, I'll kill her. Of course, if I find her in front of the Hunter Office, I would let her go since it would be too much trouble. But if it's in the middle of the wasteland, I'll definitely kill her. And if I see her somewhere else, well, it depends on the location."
Akira answered back casually. But that was exactly the reason why Sara knew that he was being serious. Sara and Elena both knew how he felt nothing about killing others. Although they did not know exactly how willing Akira was in killing people who were related to that pickpocket, people who got in his way, and people who got involved in that incident, they knew well that Akira would not hesitate that much when it came to killing them.
Akira frowned and showed an expression that he had almost never shown to Elena and Sara.
"Elena-san, Sara-san. I have no wish to tell you to believe me, I won't tell you to take my side either. So, can both of you please stay away from this matter?"
Elena had a worried look on her face as she frowned and said.
"No, I can't do that when I know that two of my friends might try to kill each other because of something like that."
Akira's face stiffened and slightly turned emotionless.
"Oh, so it's still a no even if it's my invite, huh. That's just too bad. Honestly, I have some confidence in myself, but I still got rejected, huh. It feels pretty disheartening. In that case..."
Elena was trying to act coy to reduce the tension in the air while she was smiling and thinking what to do next. But Akira suddenly said with a rather stern tone.
Akira's expression returned back to normal after a few seconds.
"If Elena-san and Sara-san want me to stop no matter what, then I will stop hunting for that pickpocket."
Sara was surprised, she found it weird that suddenly Akira sounded like he would obediently follow what she and Elena said.
Elena and Sara looked at each other. Although it still felt a bit forced, it was still better since Akira seemed to be willing to go as far as to fight Katsuya just to kill that pickpocket, which, in the worst-case scenario, might cause a full-blown fight between him and the whole Drankam gang. Both Sara and Elena agreed on the same conclusion there.
"Akira, I understand that you have your reason to kill that pickpocket, but it's not like you have to kill that pickpocket right away, right? And it's not like you'll get killed unless you kill her first. So if you can afford to wait, I want you to use that time to think carefully about it. There's no need to rush yourself to make a decision."
Shizuka said so while looking straight at Akira with a serious expression. Akira thought for a bit before he mumbled.
"Yes. Making you believe that it would be too late unless you decide now without giving you the time to think about it is how some people usually trick other people. As long as you have the leeway, use it to think carefully. Those people who say 'I didn't expect that this would happen' are those who usually had the chance to take another option if they had thought about it more carefully. Just think about it, if they had considered all of their options and made their resolve before picking a decision, they would not have said something like that."
Akira frowned as if he was thinking hard. Shizuka's voice changed to a gentle one.
"In the end, Sara, Elena and I are all outsiders in this matter. We don't know exactly what happened and what the situation was. That is a fact. But it's exactly because we're outsiders that we can offer a third-party opinion in this matter. It's not like we're saying that your decision is wrong. But, we're worried that you're forcing your decision just because you have decided so when you were filled with emotion although that decision is no longer worth the trouble now. From our point of view, it seems that our friend is going to do something that isn't worth the trouble because of the decision that he made based on emotion. That's why we just thought that it's better if you calm down for a bit. They say that an empty stomach can cause your mood to worsen. So if filling your stomach can calm you down and make you change your decision, then it might be a better idea to do so. That's why Elena invited you for a meal."
Elena and Sara froze. During all their previous meetings with him, it was obvious from Akira's gaze, expression, and voice that he thought dearly of both of them. They had saved each other in the past, they had worked together as Hunters too, it could be said that they were close to each other.
But Akira's expression right now showed no trace of friendliness. He was looking at both of them as if they were only strangers to him, like people who he did not know that might pose danger to him. His gaze was saying that he was trying to make sure if they were enemies or not while he was waiting for their answer.
Sara was deeply shocked that the person who she thought was close to her would look at her like that. Elena was equally shocked too, but since she was used to handling negotiations, she was able to maintain her usual expression from the outside. She then tried to make a friendly expression as she agreed to what Shizuka said.
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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