『アルファ。賞金首の方は何か進展があったか? もう1体ぐらいは倒されたか?』
『いいえ。4体全部健在よ。賞金首の情報も大して変更はないわ。出現地域の情報が少し細かくなって、賞金額が幾らか上がったぐらいよ』
アキラが構えていた銃を下げる。狙っていたモンスターの方向に、別のハンターの姿を見かけたからだ。誤射で彼らに当ててしまったりすれば大問題だ。彼らの方向へ銃を向けているだけでも要らぬ誤解を招く恐れがある。
『......またか。何か多くないか?』
アキラが他のハンターと遭遇する確率は随分高くなっていた。
『考えることは皆同じなのよ。アキラと同じように、賞金首と遭遇するのを避けて遠出を控えているのよ。都市に籠もっているのも暇だから、小遣い稼ぎも兼ねて近場の巡回依頼を受けているのでしょうね。都市側としても、賞金首が都市の近くまで来るような万一の場合に備えて、多めに雇っているのかもね』
『そうしましょう』
別のハンターが通り過ぎていったので、アキラは狙っていたモンスターに再び銃を向ける。手早く確実に倒すためにアルファのサポート有りでしっかり狙いを定める。モンスターは頭部を正確に撃ち抜かれてあっさり倒された。
アキラがアルファのサポート有りの時と無しの時の差を体感して苦笑する。
『これを自力でできるようになるのは、一体いつになることやら』
『訓練有るのみよ。気長にやりましょう』
日も落ち始めた。アキラは巡回依頼を切り上げて都市に戻ろうとする。帰り道でも多くのハンターとすれ違った。恐らく夜間の巡回依頼を受けたハンター達だ。
夜間巡回の方が基本報酬も高く、そちらを好んで受けるハンターも多い。しかしこのハンターの人数から考えると、恐らく昼の巡回依頼にあぶれたハンター達が仕方なく夜間の巡回依頼を受けたのだろう。この混雑を考えると、かなりの数のハンターが遠出を控えているようだ。
『アキラ。通話要求が届いているわ』
『誰からだ?』
『ドランカムのシカラベからよ』
な顔をする。自分に連絡を取るような人物の中で、その名前に心当たりがなかったからだ。アルファがそれに気が付いて説明を付け加える。
『ほら、アキラがクズスハラ街遺跡の地下街でエレナ達と行動した時に、エレナ達と一緒にいたハンターよ。エレナ達と一緒に行く相手がどうのこうのって、ドランカムの別のハンターと
「アキラだ。何の用だ?」
「シカラベだ。ちょっと話があってな。今から時間を取れないか? 今どこにいるんだ?」
「都市の近くの荒野だ。今から家に帰るところだ。話って、何の話だ?」
「今話題のハンター稼業の話だ。エレナとサラにも話したし、別に変な話じゃない。聞いて損はない話だ。俺達がいる場所を送る。興味が湧いたら来てくれ。じゃあな」
シカラベはそれだけ言って通話を切った。
アキラは少し考えて、情報端末を操作してエレナに通話要求を送信する。少し待つと、エレナと通話が
「大したことではないんですが、エレナさん達にちょっと聞きたいことがありまして」
「話が長くなりそうなら、どこかで会って話す? 私達の家でも良いわ。今ならサラもいるしね」
「いえ、多分すぐ済む話ですから、大丈夫です」
アキラはシカラベとの話をエレナに説明した。アキラの話を聞いたエレナが、
「んー、それは多分、賞金首討伐の人員募集の話よ。ドランカムは今回の賞金首討伐にかなり乗り気みたいなの。複数のハンターチームで賞金首を追って討伐するみたいよ。私達にもドランカムから似たような依頼が来たわ。ドランカムの賞金首討伐チームの一つに加わってくれってね。報酬も良かったし、受けることにしたわ」
「なるほど。そういう話ですか。でも俺なんかにそんな話を持ちかけますかね?」
「クズスハラ街遺跡の地下街で一緒に行動したでしょう? それで十分戦力になると判断したのだと思うわ。私もアキラの実力なら大丈夫だと思う。多分、サラもそう判断すると思う。ヨノズカ駅遺跡ではアキラにサラを助けてもらったし、ちょっと
少し焦りながら答えたアキラに、エレナが苦笑気味に笑って話す。
アキラは自分を正しく評価していると考えている。自分の実力の大半はアルファのサポートのおかげだと判断しているからだ。それは正しいのかもしれないが、他者からのアキラの評価と、アキラ自身のアキラの評価に著しい差異を生み出していた。
アキラの本当の実力はアルファのサポートに覆い隠されている。アキラが自分の実力を把握することを困難にしている。それはアキラが自分の実力を過小評価する原因にもなっていた。
エレナが話を続ける。
「話を戻すけど、シカラベの件は、変な裏がある話ではないと思うわ。ドランカムが外部のハンターを雇ってまで賞金首討伐に乗り出すのはちょっと気になるけど。まあ、ドランカムのハンターチームが賞金首を討伐したってことを前面に出すつもりなんでしょうね。チームで賞金首を討伐すれば、ハンターオフィスから公表される賞金首の討伐者として記載されるのは、討伐チーム名とチームリーダーの名前程度になるから、外部の雇われハンターの名前なんか出てこないわ」
そうするとエレナ達の名前も出ないことになる。賞金首討伐に成功したハンターという名声は、エレナ達にも十分な利益のはずだ。アキラが不思議そうに尋ねる。
「エレナさん達はそれで良いんですか?」
「構わないわ。別に名を売るためにハンターをしているわけでもないしね。それに、その手の不満を交渉材料にして、報酬額をちゃんと上げておいたわ」
んでいるであろうエレナを想像して、アキラも軽く笑った。
「取りあえず、シカラベの話を聞いてみようと思います。ありがとう御座いました」
「ドランカムの依頼を受けるなら、もし同じチームになったら
「はい。それでは」
アキラはエレナとの通話を切った。
アルファがアキラをじっと見ている。
『何でもないわ。シカラベの所に行くなら、一度家に戻ってからにしましょう。指定された場所は下位区画の酒場よ。駐車場が空いている保証はないわ』
『そうだな。......行くって連絡だけしておくか』
アキラは情報端末を操作して、シカラベ宛てにメッセージを送信した。
アルファが思案する。恐らくアキラはシカラベの依頼を受けるだろう。依頼を受ける理由の大半は、エレナ達が依頼を受けていたからだ。エレナ達が依頼を断っていた場合、アキラはシカラベの話を聞きにいこうとはしなかっただろう。
アキラがそれを自覚しているかどうかは分からない。だがそれを確認することで自覚するかもしれない。アルファはアキラの自覚による自身の計画への影響を考慮し、確認を避けて黙っていた。
エレナが椅子の上で伸びをしている。その椅子は座ったまま安眠できるほどに座り心地が良く、長時間座って作業をしていても疲れない高級品だ。奮発して購入したエレナのお気に入りの椅子だ。
エレナは非常に楽な格好をしている。身に着けているものは頭部装着型の情報端末と下着ぐらいだ。ハンターとして危険な荒野で活動している反動なのか、安全な家の中ではどこまでも楽な、だらしないと言っても良い格好をしていた。
サラが料理を運んでくる。サラも下着の上にシャツを羽織っただけの楽な格好だ。ハンター稼業の時は肌に密着する戦闘服を着ることが多いためか、家の中ではエレナもサラも程度の差はあれど非常に開放的な格好をしている。大きな違いは客が来た時の格好ぐらいだろう。
一緒に食事を取りながらサラがエレナに尋ねる。
「話し声がしていたけど、明日の依頼の話に進展でもあったの?」
「違うわ。アキラから連絡があって、ちょっと話を聞かれたのよ。アキラもドランカムから賞金首討伐の補助依頼を頼まれたようね。依頼を受けるとは決まっていないようだったけど。シカラベから話があったそうよ」
「アキラもドランカムから名指しで依頼されるようになったのか。アキラの実力なら、そんなに不思議な話でもないけど。......あれ? でもドランカムの依頼なら、まずはドランカムの交渉担当から連絡が行くはずよ? 何でシカラベから直接アキラに話が行くの?」
サラに指摘されて、エレナも疑問に思い始める。
「そういえばそうね。シカラベが私達に話を持ちかけた時も、私達がドランカムと契約済みだったことを知らなかったようだし......、内部連絡のミスかしら。他のハンター達に先を越されないように、かなり急いでいるのかもね」
ちょっとした疑問。その程度の話だ。エレナもサラも深くは考えなかった。
クガマヤマ都市の下位区画には多くの酒場がある。多くのハンター達が仕事帰りに立ち寄る酒場には、余り治安の良くない場所も多い。危険な荒野から帰ってきた武装した人間達が酒を飲んでいるのだ。行儀よく飲んでいる人間ばかりではない。最低限の理性は残して飲んでいるのだろうが、その程度には個人差があるのだ。
そのような酒場の周囲には、そのようなハンター達を相手に商売をする
そのような場所で営業する酒場の中にシカラベ達がいた。
シカラベが店の奥の席、比較的稼いでいるハンター達が座る席で同僚達と話している。テーブルに酒は置かれているが、シカラベは手を付けていない。
飲んでいるのはシカラベの同僚達だ。その一人は体内にアルコールの分解装置を埋め込んでおり、泥酔していても10秒で
シカラベが情報端末を操作してアキラからのメッセージを確認する。そして同僚達に話す。
「アキラはここに来るそうだ。交渉は俺がする。余計なことを言って邪魔をするなよ」
「分かってる。それで、そのアキラってやつは使えるのか?」
「少なくとも俺達の足を引っ張ることはない。お前らの方の当てはどうなってるんだ?」
シカラベが同僚達に尋ねると、彼らがそれぞれの当て、追加要員の手配内容を説明する。
「俺の方は、まずは借金持ちが2人と、その監視が1人だ。腕はそこそこ。債権者側との話は付いている。借金持ちの方は死なせてもかまわないが、死体は回収してくれってさ。他にも数名に声を掛けたが、ここに来るかどうかは微妙だな」
「こっちはドランカムに加わるコネを欲しがっているやつが2人だ。そこそこの腕のやつと、俺らと同じぐらいの腕のやつだ。他の当ては他の仲介からの連絡待ちだ」
説明を聞いたシカラベが確認を取る。
「俺達と同じぐらいの実力があるなら、別にこの件に絡まなくてもドランカムの窓口と普通に交渉すれば良いだろう。どんな裏があるんだ?」
「詳しいことは知らん。何でもそいつはどこかと
ただし、ドランカムに誘われたエレナ達とは少々事情が異なっていた。
アキラがシカラベに指定された酒場を目指して都市の下位区画を歩いている。スラム街とは別の意味で治安の悪い区域だ。
酔ったハンターが通路に横たわって寝ている姿も見える。彼が襲われないのは、この区域の治安がある程度維持されているおかげだ。そしてそれ以上に、襲う
アキラは酒と女の客引きを無視しながら目的の酒場を目指して進んでいく。ハンター達が命を賭けて稼いできた金を吸い上げて作られた歓楽街は、自身の血を対価にして得た金を浪費するに足る環境を維持するために、特有の華やかさを振りまいている。それはハンターが明日を生きる原動力にもなり、明日を失う堕落の原因にもなるのだ。
普段アキラが立ち寄ることのない場所だ。アキラは少々興味深そうに辺りを見ながら歩いていた。
アルファはアキラの隣を擦れ違う相手とぶつからないように歩いている。別にアルファが誰かにぶつかったとしても、その誰かの体を通り抜けるだけだ。何の問題もないはずだが、アルファはしっかりと避けて歩いていた。
アキラが不思議そうに尋ねる。
人を避けているんだ? 別にぶつかっても問題ないだろう?』
『誰かとぶつかると、アルファの気分が悪くなるのか?』
めないのなら問題ないけれどね』
アルファが近くを歩いていたハンターに近付いて立ち位置を意図的に重ねた。ハンターとアルファの顔の部品が中途半端に奇怪に混ざった頭部を持つ、4本腕の得体の知れない人型の物体が出来上がった。
周りのハンターの装備は様々だ。目立つ武装をしているハンターも多い。旧世界の遺跡から戻ってきて、そのままここに来たのだろう。遺物らしき物を持っているハンターもいる。
アキラの装備は強化服、そしてAAH突撃銃とA2D突撃銃だ。CWH対物突撃銃とDVTSミニガンは車と一緒に置いてきた。予備の弾薬を詰めているリュックサックもだ。
遺跡に行くような装備だと入店を断られるかもしれない。そう考えてそれらの装備を置いてきたのだが、持ってきても良かったかもしれない。
アキラがシカラベに指定された酒場の前に到着した。目的の酒場は3階建ての結構大きな建物だ。
アキラが酒場の中に入ると、酒場の主人がアキラを見て少し険しい口調で話す。
「ここはお前みたいなガキが来る場所じゃねえぞ。帰んな」
「それはこんなガキをここに呼びつけたやつに言ってくれ。シカラベってやつがいるはずなんだ。知らないか?」
「知らん。適当に探せ。......全く、こんなガキをこんな場所に呼びつけるなんて、どこの馬鹿だ」
店主は文句を言いながらもアキラが店の中に入ることを認めたようだ。取りあえず入店拒否はされなかったので、アキラは店の中に入ってシカラベを探すことにした。
広い店内にはそれなりの数のハンターがいる。そのハンター達を見て回ってシカラベを探すのはかなり面倒な作業だ。
『シカラベはどこにいるんだ? ......シカラベに連絡して聞くか』
アキラが情報端末を取り出そうとする。しかしその前にアルファが話す。
アルファがどうやってシカラベを見つけたのか。アキラはそれが少し気になったものの、そろそろ慣れてきたこともあり、それを尋ねるのは止めた。アキラが情報収集機器を手に入れる前から、アルファには遮蔽物の向こう側にいる敵の位置を教えてもらったりしているのだ。今更な話ではある。
アキラはアルファの授業で様々な知識を教えてもらっている。そして授業で常識的な知識を身に着けるほど、アルファが得体の知れない存在であることを改めて思い知るのだ。
重要なことではない。アキラにとって重要なのは、たとえ依頼の契約上の関係とはいえ、アルファがアキラの味方であることだ。
だからアキラはその好奇心に蓋をする。より重要なことを、より大切なことを
アキラがアルファの案内で2階にいるシカラベの所へ向かう。アルファが言った通り、シカラベは2階の奥の席に座っていた。
シカラベの方もアキラに気が付いた。シカラベが軽く手を振ってアキラを呼ぶ。
「来たな。ここだ」
シカラベ達は大きめの円形のテーブルの席に座っていた。アキラはシカラベの向かいの席に座る。接客用の女性を
「この2人は俺の同僚で、ヤマノベとパルガだ。ヤマノベ、パルガ。こいつがアキラだ」
ヤマノベは興味深そうにアキラを見ている。パルガは懐疑的な目でアキラを見ている。
アキラは気にせずにシカラベに視線を合わせて尋ねる。
「それで、話って何だ?」
「ああ、その前に何か頼むか? 酒場だがつまみ以外の料理も結構
「要らない。料理は食いながら聞く話かどうか確認してからだ。値段も分からないしな」
少し警戒気味のアキラに、シカラベが不敵に笑って話す。
「そうか。それなら早速本題に入ろう。賞金首のことは知っているな? 俺達は賞金首の討伐を計画している。単に倒すだけなら俺達だけでも可能だろうが、迅速に、確実に、大量に倒すとなると
シカラベの話はここまでは
ねエレナの予想通りだ。アキラが落ち着いて答える。
「具体的な契約内容次第だな。でもその程度の話なら、通話の時に概要ぐらい説明しても良かったんじゃないか?」
「今から話す条件を聞かずに、中途半端に考えられると困るんだ。この依頼には、ハンターオフィスは介在させない。純粋にハンター同士の依頼だ。この条件を飲んでもらいたい」
シカラベ達は真剣な表情でアキラの返事を待っている。しかしアキラにはその言葉の意味が分からない。非常に重要なことなのは分かるが、それだけだ。
アキラも真剣な表情で聞き返す。
め事の元になる。聞かなかったから言わなかった。そういうのは無しにしてくれ。俺はドランカムの人間ではないし、基本的に1人で行動しているから、ハンター同士の取り決めの慣例とか、暗黙の事柄には疎いんだ」
「良いだろう。曖昧だと判断したことはその都度聞き返してくれ」
シカラベがアキラに依頼の詳細などを説明していく。
ハンターオフィスを介在させない依頼とは、公式なものとは
そしてこの依頼を保証するものは何もない。ハンターオフィスを介在した契約ならば、依頼内容の不備や報酬の未払いなどが発生した場合、その記録が残る。それは契約したハンターに、契約を守らせようとする強制力となる。それが一切ない以上、契約を守らせるものは、契約を締結したハンター自身しかないのだ。未払いの報酬を力尽くで取り立てようとして、強盗扱いされて殺されることさえある。
ハンターオフィスを介在しない依頼は詐欺だと思え。時にはそう言われるほど信用に雲泥の差があるのだ。
それだけの不利益に釣り合うかどうかは分からないが、アキラに提示された報酬は高額だ。賞金首を討伐した賞金から経費を引いて残りを分割する。しかしシカラベ達を分割する数に含めない。最終的なチームの人数は調整中だが、仮にアキラを含めた4人で賞金首を倒した場合、シカラベ達の分を引いて分割するので、賞金から経費を引いた残り全てがアキラのものとなるのだ。
支払い方法は、シカラベ達が一度賞金をハンターオフィスから受け取り、そこから経費を抜いてアキラの口座に振り込む形になる。仮に賞金首を討伐できなかったとしても、100万オーラムがシカラベからアキラに支払われる。ただしその場合は、必要経費は込みという形になる。
「確認したいことが幾つかある。一つ目。経費って、具体的にはどこまで有りなんだ?」
「細かく決める気はない。だから認めないものを説明する。まず、借金の返済は駄目だ。借金を返済しないと作戦に参加できないから、その分を経費と認めてくれってのは駄目だ。それは各自の報酬から支払ってもらう。そして装備代も駄目だ。5億オーラムの賞金首を倒すために、5億オーラムの新装備を買った。それを経費として認めると、事実上そいつが全額持っていくことになるからな。ただし、その場合でも新装備の弾薬費や、装備のレンタル代は経費として認める。......抜け道探しは面倒だ。俺達3人は賞金首の討伐に成功しても、その賞金から1オーラムも受け取らない。これは約束する」
「2つ目。チームの人数は何人だ?」
「アキラを含めて最低4人。最終的に何人になるかはこの後の交渉次第だが、恐らく15か、20か、それぐらいだ。なるべく集めるつもりだが、最大でも30人ぐらいだろう」
「3つ目。報酬が支払われる保証は?」
シカラベはそう簡潔に断言した。アキラの表情が険しくなる。アキラとシカラベが互いを威圧するように視線をぶつけ合う。
くの沈黙の後、シカラベが補足する。
アキラがシカラベを凝視しながら思案する。好意的に解釈すれば、シカラベはアキラの実力を認めていると言っている。
「......4つ目。ハンターオフィスを介在させない理由は? 別に普通に契約しても良いんじゃないか?」
「俺がその質問に答えないと、アキラはこの話を断るのか?」
め事に知らないうちに巻き込まれるのは御免だ」
シカラベがヤマノベとパルガの様子を
「良いんじゃねえの? どうせその内に知れ渡る話だ。まあ、言いたくない気持ちは分かる」
ヤマノベもパルガに賛同する。
「言いふらすなよ? 一応、ドランカム内部の話だ。外部の人間に話すことじゃないんだ」
アキラがしっかり
は言っていない。シカラベはそう判断した。そして少し不機嫌そうな口調で話し始める。
「......要はまあ、ドランカム内部の勢力争いの一環、その都合だ」
"Alpha, is there any news about the bounty monsters? Did someone get at least one of them?"
"No, all the 4 bounty monsters are alive and kicking. There's almost no new information about them too. The latest one I could find only contained a more detailed description of the area where they were spotted and mentioned their increased bounty."
Akira lowered his aim. He spotted other Hunters coming from the same direction as the monster that he was aiming at. It would be a pain in the ass if he missed his shot and accidentally hit those Hunters. Even aiming at their direction was enough to cause a needless misunderstanding.
"...Again, huh? Aren't there too many of them around this place?"
Akira had been encountering a lot of Hunters lately.
"I'm sure it's because they have the same idea as you, trying to avoid going to the areas where the bounty monsters were spotted. Just like you, they have nothing to do if they only stay inside the city, and taking the patrol request will at least get them some money. Meanwhile, from the City Management perspective, this request would make sure that the bounty monsters are not going to approach the city. That is why the City Management issued a lot of the patrol requests lately."
"You're right, let's do that."
Since the other Hunters had already moved away from the monster, Akira took another aim at the same monster as before and pulled the trigger. This time, he had Alpha's support in order to quickly take out that monster. The bullet went right through that monster's head and instantly killed it.
Akira could feel the big gap between when he had Alpha's support and when he did not. He then smiled bitterly and mumbled.
"I wonder how long it'll take for me to do this with my own skill."
"It depends on how hard you train, so let's patiently keep training."
The day started to get dark, Akira thought that it should be the time for him to finish his patrol request and head back to the city. On his way back, he encountered a lot of Hunters heading the opposite direction, they must be the Hunters who took the night patrol request.
The night patrol request had a higher reward than the patrol request for the day. Thus, a lot of Hunters preferred it. But looking at the number of Hunters who had taken that request, it seemed like they had run out of the day patrol request and had no other choice but to take the night patrol request. But if that was true, it also showed that most of the Hunters decided not to go out to the wasteland at all.
"Akira, there's a call for you."
"Who is it from?"
"Shikarabe from Drankam."
Akira tilted his head. It was because he did not remember anyone who he was usually in contact with having that name. Alpha noticed that and continued to explain.
"It's that other Hunter with whom you worked together in the underground city exploration with Elena and Sara, remember? He said something about the other Hunters who were in their team before you came in, something like having a fight against the other Hunters from Drankam."
"It's Akira, what is it?"
"Shikarabe here. There's something I want to talk about, do you have some time? Where are you right now?"
"I'm in the wasteland, near the city, on my way back home. So, what is it you want to talk about?"
"Well, it's related to our work as a Hunter. I've talked about it with Elena and Sara too, it's not anything strange. You can at least listen to the offer first before deciding anything. I'll send you our location, if you are interested, come here. Later then."
Shikarabe only left Akira with those words before cutting the call off.
Akira thought for a bit, he then operated his information terminal to send a message to Elena asking if it was okay to call her right now. It did not take long before a call from Elena came in.
"It's nothing big, just something that I want to ask Elena-san and Sara-san."
"If it's going to be a long talk, how about we meet somewhere? I don't mind if you come over, Sara is here too."
"No, it's just a short question. It should be fine to talk it through the phone."
Akira then explained about his short exchange with Shikarabe to Elena. After listening to his story, Elena made a guess and said to Akira.
"Hmmm. I think he's recruiting Hunters to join him in hunting the bounty monsters. It seems that Drankam is focusing its effort on hunting those monsters right now. Multiple Hunter teams from that gang are out chasing for the bounty prize, you know. We also got the same offer from Drankam too. They asked us to join one of their Hunter teams. The reward was pretty big, so we accepted it."
"I see. So that's the story, huh... But it's not something that they would offer to a Hunter like me, right?"
"We were together during that Kuzusuhara ruin underground city exploration, remember? I guess he thinks that you should be a good addition to his team. Personally speaking, I also think that you'll do just fine. I believe that Sara thinks so too. Well, you saved Sara back then in Yonozuka Station ruin. If I may say something about it, I don't want to hear someone who has enough skill to save us call himself 'a Hunter like me', you know."
Akira apologized in panic, Elena laughed bitterly and said.
Akira thought that he evaluated himself pretty accurately. He believed that most of his performance was thanks to Alpha's support. Although that might be really the case, the other people thought that his performance was all from his own strength.
Akira's real ability was hidden behind Alpha's support, thus Akira himself did not completely grasp his own real ability. That was the main reason why he evaluated himself lowly.
Elena then continued.
"Going back to our main subject, I think there's nothing hidden behind that offer from Shikarabe. Although, I'm a little bit bothered by the fact that Drankam would even pay other non-member Hunters for the bounty request, well, I bet that they really want to get their names out by defeating the bounty monster. After all, when you take out even one of the bounty monsters, the Hunter Office will announce that achievement in public. But it'll only include the name of the team and team leader, the names of the non-member Hunters in that team will not be mentioned in the announcement."
This meant Elena's and Sara's name would not be mentioned too. Akira found that weird since having their names out would bring them a lot of benefits.
"Elena-san, are you okay with that?"
"I don't really mind. After all, it's not like I'm working as a Hunter to become popular. And of course, because of that, I asked for extra rewards as an exchange."
Akira giggled as he imagined that Elena must be smiling smugly right now.
"Putting that aside, I'll at least hear his offer. Thank you very much."
"If you're going to take that request from Drankam, I'll be counting on you if we get assigned to the same team."
"Yeah, me too."
Akira then ended the call.
Alpha was staring at Akira.
"It's nothing. If you're planning to go to where Shikarabe is, let's go there after you get back home first. The location sent by Shikarabe is the coordinate for a pub in the lower district. There might be no parking space for your vehicle."
"You're right... I guess I'll at least let him know that I'll go there later."
Akira then used his information terminal to send a short message to Shikarabe.
Alpha thought that Akira should be thinking of taking that offer from Shikarabe. The reason why she made that guess was because Elena and Sara had taken that request. If Elena and Sara had refused, Akira might not even be willing to listen to Shikarabe's offer.
It was rather unclear whether Akira realized that or not. But if she asked, Akira might realize it. Considering that it might affect her plans in the future, Alpha decided not to ask him.
Elena was sitting on a chair as she stretched her body. She was sitting in a very comfortable position, so comfortable that she might as well fall asleep on that chair. Though, it was an expensive chair that prevented her from getting tired even after sitting on it for a long time. It was her favourite chair that she splurged her money for.
She was in a very comfy getup. She was only in her undies and an information terminal that was attached to her head. It might be the side effect from working as a Hunter, who was regularly in the dangerous wasteland. So, she really put down her guard and relaxed when she was in her own house, where she was safe, it would not be an exaggeration to even say that she dressed rather slovenly when she was in her home.
Sara suddenly came in with some food. She was only wearing a shirt above her undies, just like Elena, she was in a very relaxed getup. It might be because she was always using a tight bodysuit when she was out doing her Hunter work, so Sara tended to use a very baggy getup that gave her a sense of freedom when she was at home. Both Sara and Elena would only change into something more respectable if there was someone visiting.
They were talking with each other while enjoying the meal.
"It sounded like you were talking with someone, is it something about tomorrow's request?"
"Nope. That was from Akira. It seems Drankam also offered that bounty hunting request to Akira. But he hasn't decided to take it or not, his offer came from Shikarabe."
"So Akira has become a Hunter that even Drankam would request, huh. Well, it's not that strange considering his ability... Wait? If it was an offer from Drankam, wouldn't he have to talk with the person responsible for negotiation in Drankam first? So why would Shikarabe directly make that offer to Akira?"
When Sara pointed out, Elena also questioned that fact.
"Now that you mention it, you have a point there. Not to mention, when Shikarabe also made that offer to us, it seemed that he did not know we had already made a contract with Drankam... Is it because of some kind of misinformation inside the gang? He might be in a hurry since he doesn't want other Hunters to make a deal with Akira before him."
But that was all, it was just a small question, and after that exchange, Sara and Elena stopped from thinking any further about that subject.
There were a lot of pubs in the lower district. Since a lot of Hunters came there to drink booze after returning from the wasteland, those pubs were relatively dangerous places filled with rowdy Hunters. Not to mention, those Hunters would get drunk in those pubs while still carrying the rifles that they usually carried to the wasteland. Some of them would even drink until they were only left with their last shred of rationality.
Around those pubs, there were brothels where p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es would sell their services to those Hunters. Of course, those girls had people behind them who protected them in case something happened. It was simply an area that the people who could not handle a fight would never approach.
Shikarabe was inside one of the pubs in that area.
Shikarabe was sitting on a table further inside that pub, he was accompanied by other Hunters that looked more or less as successful as him. There were beers on top of the tables, but Shikarabe had not touched his yet.
The ones drinking those beers were his Hunter friends. One of them had a device installed inside his body to breakdown alcohol. Even if he was dead drunk, it would only take about 10 seconds for him to return back to normal. Some of them had drugs to help break down alcohol too. Thus, it should not cause any trouble during the negotiation for their tomorrow's plan.
Shikarabe opened his information terminal and confirmed Akira's massage. He then said to his friends.
"Akira will come here soon. I'll handle the negotiation, don't say anything unnecessary."
"I know, I know. So then, is this Akira guy going to be useful?"
"He, at least, won't be an extra burden to us. So how about the guys that you brought with you?"
After Shikarabe asked that question, his friends took turns describing the Hunters whom they had in mind.
"I have 2 Hunters with debt and their observer. They're pretty skilled. I've also talked about them with their creditors. They told me that they don't care if those Hunters get killed in the wasteland, but if that happens, they asked me to bring back their dead bodies. I've also asked others, but I'm not sure if any of them would come."
"As for me, I have 2 Hunters who wanted to come in order to make a connection with Drankam. One of them is pretty good while the other one is more or less as skilled as us. I'm also waiting for a call from the proxy corporation in case if other Hunters wanted to join in too."
After listening to their explanation, Shikarabe asked them.
"If they're really as good as us, rather than coming to us, they should be able to negotiate directly with Drankam, right? So what's the catch here?"
"I don't know the details. But I heard they got into a fight with someone and so they are looking for protection or something. I guess that's the reason why they can't go through the normal way. If you want to know the details, you'll have to ask them directly later."
But it was a little different from Elena and Sara who were invited by Drankam.
Akira was walking in the lower district, his destination was the pub where Shikarabe was. He was walking through a relatively dangerous area within the slum city.
There were some drunk Hunters knocked unconscious beside the road. The only reason that no one attacked them was because there were people who were monitoring the area so that it would not turn into a lawless zone. Not to mention, trying to attack those Hunters might get themselves killed instead. These people could not complain if they got attacked when they were sleeping beside the road, and the people who attacked them also could not complain if they got killed instead.
Akira ignored everyone who was trying to offer their services, mainly about alcohol or girls, in that place and headed straight to the pub. It was a pleasure district maintained with the money that the Hunters gathered from risking their lives. A particular kind of nuance and splendour was maintained in that area so that those Hunters, who exchanged their blood and sweats for money, would be willing to spend their money in that place. That place became the reason why some Hunters could still face the next day as well as the reason why some Hunters fell from grace.
Akira never came to that area himself normally. Thus, he could not help but look around with a face full of interest.
Alpha was walking next to Akira while evading the people who walked past him. Even if she collided with someone, her image would go through their bodies, so there should be no problem at all. But even so, she still evaded those people while walking beside him.
Akira found that weird and asked her about it.
"Alpha, is there any need for you to evade colliding with people? There should be no problem even if you collide with any of them, right?"
"Is it because it makes you feel sick when that happens?"
"No, but it'll make you feel sick. Well, I don't think it's a problem though if it doesn't bother you at all."
Alpha then walked to one of the Hunters there and fused her body with that Hunter. The moment that happened, her face half-fused with the head of that Hunter and it made her look like a weird looking humanoid creature.
The equipment carried by the Hunters around them varied. Some of them carried huge weapons, those Hunters must have headed straight to the pub after they returned from the wasteland. Some of them even carried relics with them.
Akira himself only brought his augmented suit, AAH assault rifle and A2D assault rifle. He left his CWH anti-material rifle and DVTS minigun attached to his vehicle and his ammo-filled rucksack back home.
He thought that he would not be allowed to get into the pub if he carried his usual weapons as if he was going to the wasteland, that was why he left most of his equipment back in his home. But he started to think that he should have brought those weapons with him.
Akira eventually arrived at the pub where Shikarabe was waiting for him. It was a fairly huge 3-storied pub.
When Akira entered that pub, the master of that pub frowned and told him to leave.
"This is not a place for a young boy like you. You should go back home."
"You should say that to the person who told this young boy to come to this place. Someone by the name of Shikarabe should be here, do you know him?"
"No idea, but you can go ahead and look around... Good grief, who is this fool, who told a young boy like you to come to this place?"
Although he complained, the master of that pub gave his permission for Akira to come into his establishment. Since he did not get kicked out, Akira proceeded to look for Shikarabe inside that pub.
The pub was fairly big and there were a lot of Hunters present. It would be a huge pain in the neck to look for Shikarabe among all those Hunters.
"Where exactly is Shikarabe...? Should I try calling him?"
Akira pulled out his information terminal, but Alpha suddenly said to him.
Although Akira was a bit interested as to how Alpha did that, he stopped himself from asking any questions about it because he thought that he should get used to it. Even before Akira bought an information-gathering device, Alpha was already able to tell him the exact location of enemies around him even when they hid behind an object. Thus it would be weird to question how she did that now.
Akira had learned a lot of things from Alpha thanks to her classes. As he learned more and more about common sense from her, it reminded him more and more that she was an anomaly.
But to be honest, Akira did not really care who or what Alpha really was. The important thing to him was whether she was his ally or not, although she might be only helping him since she was in contract with him.
That was why Akira decided not to ask too much about Alpha. He prioritized on the most important part as he thought that there was no reason to needlessly ask about her techniques. It was so that he would not deplete his luck and that his days with Alpha as his ally would continue.
Akira followed Alpha's instruction as he headed to the second floor and right to Shikarabe's table. Just like she said, Shikarabe was really on the second floor.
Shikarabe quickly noticed Akira. He then waved to Akira and called out.
"Come over here."
Shikarabe and his friends were sitting around a round table. Akira took the seat on the opposite side where Shikarabe was sitting. Shikarabe and his friends were sitting on the big sofa that was originally put there so that customers could sit with the server girls.
"These two are my friends, Yamanobe and Velga. Yamanobe, Velga, this is Akira."
Yamanobe looked at Akira with curiosity. While Velga looked at Akira with suspicion.
Akira did not care about them as he looked at Shikarabe's eyes and asked him.
"So then, what is it?"
"Well, before that, do you want to order something first? Although this is a pub, they also serve meals other than the snacks for drinking alcohols."
"No need. I'll order something if it seems that it'll be a long talk. Not to mention, I don't know how much they cost too."
Akira seemed to be cautious, Shikarabe smiled and said.
"I see. Let's get into the main subject then. You heard about the bounty, right? We're planning to hunt those bounty monsters. If we just want to kill them, we alone should be enough. But to be able to do that faster, with a better winning chance, and to take them all out, even us alone would not be enough. That's why I'm recruiting for extra helping hands right now, and that's why I called you here. I can guarantee that you'll get paid handsomely, so, do you want to come with us?"
After Akira said that, Shikarabe's expression turned serious.
Everything that Shikarabe said up until that point was already guessed by Akira after hearing Elena's explanation. So he calmly replied.
"That would depend on the terms of the contract. But if that was all, you could have told me when you called me, right?"
"It would be bad if you make a decision without listening to what I have to say from here on. This request is not an official request passed through the Hunter Office. It's simply an offer between two Hunters. I want you to agree about this part first."
Shikarabe and his friends waited for Akira's reply with serious expressions. But Akira was not sure what exactly those words meant. Although he knew that it was a pretty important point, he did not know anything further than that.
Akira then asked back, also with an equally serious expression.
"...If I take that offer, what kind of down-side might I be facing? Tell me as much as you can. I'm sure you know this even without me telling you, but secrets like that are the main source of conflict in the future. And don't give me that 'I didn't tell you because you didn't ask' thing. I'm not someone from Drankam, I'm just a Hunter who is used to working alone. That's why I'm not really familiar with the conventions and other subtle things between Hunters."
"Very well. Just tell me if anything still bothers you."
Shikarabe then explained his offer in detail to Akira.
Requests that did not get passed through the Hunter Office were basically informal requests. To be more precise, even if Akira was paid by Shikarabe to help him fight the bounty monsters, it would not get written in his Hunter track record.
Furthermore, there was no insurance for such requests. For the requests that were passed through the Hunter Office, in case if there was a defect in the request or if the reward went unpaid, it would leave a record. Thus it would help force the Hunters to follow through with their contracts. And so without it, the only people who protect the contracts would be the Hunters who signed those contracts. There were cases where Hunters used violence to claim their unpaid rewards and got framed as robbers instead and got themselves killed in the end.
The trustability of such requests was so low that people usually took any of those informal requests as a scam.
Putting aside if the reward was worth that risk or not, Akira was offered a huge amount of money for that request. They would subtract their expenses from the bounty prize before dividing it equally among them. But Shikarabe and his friend were not included there. Although the final number of people was still subject to change, if Akira and the other 4 Hunters excluding Shikarabe and his friends were able to defeat a bounty monster, the rest of the prize money would be theirs after subtracting their expenses and Shikarabe's share.
As for the payment, Shikarabe would get the money from the Hunter Office first before distributing it to the other Hunters through bank transfer. Even if they failed taking out the bounty monster, Shikarabe would still pay 1,000,000 Aurum to Akira. But in this case, Akira would have to pay his ammo expense and the other expenses himself.
"There are some points that I want to confirm. First of all, for the expense, how much is acceptable?"
"I have no plans to put any particular limit. That's why I'll explain to you things that we won't accept. First, we won't include paying back your debt. If you can't join us because you have a debt to pay, we won't give you any money to pay for that debt. You'll have to pay that debt using the money that we pay you. Second, money for new equipment. It's to avoid Hunters who ask for compensation for buying equipment that is worth the same amount of money as the prize money. Just because the prize money is 500,000,000 Aurum, we won't give you any money if you buy yourself 500,000,000 Aurum worth of new equipment. After all, that would mean you would basically take away all the reward money from the bounty. But, we will reimburse you for the money that you spent on ammo or rental equipment... It would be a pain in the ass if you guys look for any loopholes. That's why for my offer, even if we are able to kill a bounty monster, leaving the expense aside, all three of us won't take even 1 Aurum more. I can guarantee you that."
"Second question. How many people would be on the team?"
"Including you, it'll be at least 4 people. Although it still depends on how our negotiation goes with the other Hunters, I think it would go up to somewhere around 15-20 Hunters. We do plan to get as many people as possible, but we won't go above 30."
"Alright, is there any guarantee that you would really pay the reward?"
Shikarabe gave a straight answer without any hesitation. Akira's expression turned grim, it was as if Shikarabe and Akira were putting pressure on each other with their gazes.
After a short silence, Shikarabe then added.
Akira stared at Shikarabe and thought. If he took that positively, it meant that Shikarabe recognized his skill. But if he took that negatively, it meant that Shikarabe would do that if he discovered that Akira was not that powerful. So in the end, depending on his performance, it could swing either way.
"...Lastly, why don't you pass it through the Hunter Office? You could have offered me this request through an official contract, right?"
"Are you going to refuse this offer unless I tell you the reason?"
"Yes. After all, I don't want to get roped into some troublesome conflict without realizing it."
Shikarabe turned to Yamanobe and Velga. Velga smiled bitterly and said.
"It's fine to tell him that, right? It's only a matter of time before it gets out to the public. Well, I can understand if you don't want to tell him though."
Yamanobe also agreed with Velga.
"Don't tell anyone, okay? It's due to a problem in Drankam. So don't tell anyone outside Drankam about this."
Akira nodded firmly.
Shikarabe judged that Akira was not lying. He then looked so annoyed as he said.
"...Well basically, there is currently a power struggle within Drankam."
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