『......地下?』
『ヤラタサソリはクズスハラ街遺跡の地下街を巣にしているらしいわ』
『クズスハラ街遺跡に地下街なんかあったのか。知らなかった』
にいた男がアキラに気付いて近くの操作盤を操作する。するとシャッターがぎこちない動きで開いていく。
アキラが何となく気になったことを男に尋ねる。
「このシャッターって遺跡の設備なんだろう? 動かせるのか?」
「これは近くのボタンで操作可能なやつだからな。電子式でハッキングが必要なものは専門家じゃないと無理だ。もっとも、旧世界の遺跡の設備は当たり前だが旧世界製だ。その制御装置の乗っ取りなんて専門家でも無理なものが大半だ。地下でそれっぽいものを見つけても下手に触るんじゃないぞ。警報が鳴ってモンスターを
アキラが先に進むと、すぐにシャッターが閉じられる。鉄格子式のシャッターが床と接触して音を立てた。外界との隔離を連想させる何となく不安になる音だった。
階段を降りようとしたアキラが足を止めて
男がアキラの様子に気付いて説明する。
「その爆弾は万一の場合への備えだ。大量のモンスターが地下からここまで押し寄せてきて、この場の確保が不可能になった場合のな。ここを爆破してモンスターが地上に
アキラが嫌そうな表情を男に向ける。
「......その場合、俺達はどうなるんだ?」
男は冗談のように軽く笑って答える。
「お前達が真面目に仕事をしていれば、その時は撤退済みか死んでるかのどっちかだよ。後者が嫌なら、しっかり仕事をするんだな」
め息を吐くと、その仕事の作業場である地下へ降りていく。男の態度は冗談を言っているような軽いものだったが、口に出した内容は間違いなく事実だ。それぐらいアキラにも分かっていた。
地下街は先行した者達が設置した多数の照明で照らされており、長年闇に沈んでいた姿を
照明を設置した場所は先行した者達が最低限の探索を済ませた区域で、一応一定の安全が確保されている。だがそこも地上部に比べれば十分危険な場所だ。
アキラはその照明設置済みの通路を通って地下街を進みながら、アルファから依頼の内容を説明してもらっていた。一応事前にアルファから簡単に説明してもらったので知っているのだが、防衛チームの仕事の詳細を確認する意味を兼ねて、雑談を交えて改めて聞いていた。
今回のヤラタサソリ討伐作戦では、ハンター達は主に、探索、討伐、防衛の3チームに分かれて行動している。
探索チームは地下街の探索作業が主任務だ。一切光の
『そうすると、本当に子供でもできる楽な仕事かもしれないのか。駄目元でも言ってみるもんだな』
『アキラ。分かっているとは思うけれど、気を抜いては駄目よ?』
『本当にそうだと良いのだけれど』
意味深な言葉と表情を返してきたアルファに、アキラが僅かに不安げな
「俺の分の交代要員だな。お先に」
「待てって! またガキじゃねえか!」
「おい。お前のハンターランクは?」
「20だ」
ミマタの表情が分かり
「また養殖のガキかよ。何でここにガキを集めるんだ? ......邪魔にならないように適当にやっとけ」
不釣合いに高性能な装備や実力者の援護などの支援を受けて、本人の実力に見合わないほどに高いハンターランクを手に入れた者。養殖とはその手のハンターに対する蔑称だ。大規模なハンター徒党に所属している若手ハンターに多いこともあり、徒党が組織全体のハンターランク稼ぎ用に養殖しているとも
アキラはその蔑称の意味を知らなかったが、その意味合いは相手の態度から何となく感じ取れた。だがアルファのサポートのおかげで身の程とは不釣合いな実績を稼いでいることは自覚しているので、気にした様子もなく尋ねる。
「ここの指揮者なのか?」
「ここにそんなやつはいない。寄せ集めの人員で下手にリーダーを決めると余計な
「......。分かった」
アキラはミマタが指差したハンター達を見てからそう答えると、そのハンター達からもミマタ達からも少し距離を取った位置で腰を下ろし、場のハンター達から進んで孤立した。
他の者達が少し意外そうな視線をアキラに向けている。だがアキラは全く気にしていない。
『アキラ。向こうと合流しなくても良いの?』
め事が減る気がするからな。アルファが行けって言うなら行くけど』
アルファが視線を一度向こうに移し、再びアキラに戻してから苦笑する。
『そうね。止めておきましょうか』
ミマタが指差したハンター達はカツヤ達だった。
14番防衛地点に配置された8人のハンターが、アキラ、ミマタ達、カツヤ達の3グループに分かれて警備を続けている。
カツヤ達のグループは、カツヤ、ユミナ、アイリの3人に加えて、レイナという少女と、シオリという大人の女性の計5名だ。
ミマタがカツヤ達を養殖ハンターと判断した理由の大半はこの人員編制だ。若手ハンター達に1人だけ大人の、恐らく別格の実力者が混ざっている。そこからシオリをカツヤ達の子守役だと判断したのだ。実際には違うのだが、カツヤ達と比べてシオリだけ格上の実力者であることは正しく、ミマタがそう誤解するのは仕方ない部分もあった。
ミマタ達もカツヤ達も雑談などで暇を潰している。何事もなく変化なく過ぎていく時間が場から緊張感を奪っていた。それでも情報収集機器などで最低限の警戒は保っているので奇襲を受ける可能性は十分に低い。
子供でもできる楽な仕事。今のところ、その説明に偽りはなかった。
アキラはアルファと雑談を交えながら勉強をしていた。スラム街育ちの所為で読み書きも怪しく、一般教養も不十分。ハンターとして大成する
不意にアルファが横を向く。アキラが釣られてそちらを見ると、自分の方へ歩き出そうとしているカツヤとレイナの姿があった。
レイナはそのままカツヤを連れてアキラの
「アキラだ」
「何で一人で分かれているのよ。こっちに来なさい」
レイナの眉間に
カツヤ達もミマタ達も交代で最低限の見張り役は立てていた。アキラはそれすらしていない。少なくとも他者からはそう見える。その視点でレイナの糾弾は正しい。
だがアキラがしれっと答える。
厳密には、索敵を続けていたのはアルファでありアキラではない。アルファが笑っているが、アキラは気にしないことにした。
ちが追加される。しかし相手の言い分に納得してしまい、言い返せないでいた。代わりにアキラを従わせる別の理由を探し出して口に出す。
「アキラのハンターランクは?」
レイナが少し得意げな笑顔と口調で宣言する。
「私は23よ!」
「それで、じゃないわ! 私の方が上なんだから、私の言うことを聞きなさい! さっさと立ち上がって、向こうに行くのよ!」
「自分より高ランクのハンターの指示には黙って従え、とは言われていない。依頼内容にも含まれていない。従う義務はないな」
「......義務はないって、そういうものでしょうが!」
レイナは強い口調で叫ぶように言い放った。
熱くなったレイナの様子に、カツヤがこれ以上は
「あー、何だ、こんな態度だが、要は心配してるだけなんだ。何かあった時に一人でいるより大勢でいた方が安全だろう?」
カツヤの発言はアキラを助ける
アキラが平然と答える。
「俺のことは気にしないでくれ。何かあれば自分で対処する。万一の時は適当に見殺しにしてくれ」
カツヤはアキラの言動に少し驚いたものの、何とか話を続けようとする。
「放っておきなさい! そんなやつ一人で死ねば良いのよ!」
レイナはそれだけ言って戻っていった。かなりの早足で、その後ろ姿からも怒りの程が
現状でヤラタサソリの群れに襲撃されたら、どこまでお互いに援護し合うか。お互いに見捨て合うのならまだましで、意図的な誤射が発生しかねない。
アキラは最悪の場合、一人で逃げるつもりだ。契約上その権利もある。撤退の判断を含めて好きな時に独自の行動を取っても良いことになっている。万一に備えて、無駄な
『運良く楽な場所に配置されて助かった。アキラも、その結果で終わる努力をお願いね?』
『分かってるよ』
アキラは自身を無自覚に棚に上げて嘆いていた。だがアルファの判断は大分異なる。場の状況を最悪の事態に導く可能性が最も高い者は、そのアキラだ。そう考えていた。
その後も何事もなく時間が過ぎていく。アキラはそれに不満など覚えなかったが、より多くの報酬を求める者達は現状に不満を感じていた。無難に過ぎていく時間がその者達の雑談内容を、現状の不満とその解決方法に偏らせていく。
ミマタ達の雑談内容も具体性を帯び始めていた。
「暇だな。何にも起こらねえ。探索チームならついでに遺物収集でもして稼げるんだが、防衛チームじゃな」
「地上部はそうだ。だがこういう地下にはまだまだ残っているらしいぞ? こんな真っ暗な地下街に遺物収集に行くハンターは少ないからな。それに、あの都市の襲撃騒ぎの時に防衛隊が派手に戦った余波で、地下街の一部が未調査部分と
「ということは、探索チームの連中は未調査部分の遺物を探し放題か?」
「未調査部分なら大量の遺物が残っていても不思議はない。相当な
「......俺なら見付けた遺物を自分だけが分かる場所に隠すな」
ミマタ達は欲深い笑顔を互いに見せ合った。
レイナが広場からゆっくり離れようとしているミマタ達に気付いて強い口調で呼び止める。
「ちょっと! どこに行くつもりよ!」
「......どこって、ちょっと周囲の
心で張り上げた声が地下街に反響して響いた。だがミマタは全く意に介さずに軽い調子で答える。
「大丈夫だって。すぐに戻ってくるよ。モンスターも全然出てこないだろう? 何か動きがあれば連絡ぐらいくるさ」
「そういう話をしているんじゃないわ!」
り取りに皆の視線が集まる中、ミマタが自分達でもレイナ達でもない第三者の視線に気付くと、軽く笑ってこの件に巻き込むように意見を求める。
「お前はどう思う?」
その第三者であるアキラに皆の視線が集まる。ミマタはどこか相手を軽んじた視線で、レイナは
急に話を振られたアキラが少し考えてから答える。
「......トイレに行くなら早めに戻ってきてくれ。ここでされても困る。余りに帰りが遅かったらモンスターと交戦している可能性を考慮して、本部に連絡して無事を確認する」
アキラの発言はミマタの行動を容認するものだった。レイナが不機嫌そうな驚きの表情を浮かべ、ミマタが機嫌良く笑う。
ミマタはそれだけ言い残して連れと一緒に広間から出て行った。
「どういうつもり!? あいつらの肩を持つわけ!?」
アキラが平然と少し
「そういう話じゃないでしょ!? あいつらに好き勝手にさせて良いわけ!?」
「あいつらの行動を止める権利は俺にはない。不満があるなら本部と掛け合ってくれ。それともあいつらに銃を突きつけて、行くなと脅せとでも言いたいのか? 止めないから自分でやってくれ」
そもそもアキラも状況次第で独自に好き勝手に行動するつもりだ。ミマタ達の行動を非難できる立場ではない。また、ミマタ達が別行動を取っている間に本部から重要な指示が、例えば撤退命令などが出ても、ミマタ達の帰還を待つつもりは全くない。取り残されたミマタ達がモンスターの群れに襲われて死んだとしても知ったことではない。その程度の危険は承知の上での行動だと思っていた。
何を言っても無駄だと察したレイナは、最後にアキラを強く
め事を起こさないと死んでしまう体質か何かなのか?』
無自覚に自分を棚に上げたアキラに、アルファが苦笑を
"...It's underground?"
"It seems that the Yarata scorpion made their nest in the underground city of the Kuzusuhara ruin."
"I didn't know that Kuzusuhara ruin had an underground city."
The person leaning beside that shutter noticed Akira and immediately operated a control panel near him, the shutter creaked and slid open.
Akira found it weird, so he asked that man.
"This shutter is also an object from the old world, right? How did you move it?"
"This one can be opened and closed with a button, you see. Although, we still need an expert hacker to be able to control it. But then again, it's an old-world relic made using old-world technology, so it's not like having an expert hacker guarantee that you can take control of the control panel. Since we are on that note, be sure not to mess with the control panel that you find in the underground, in the worst-case scenario, it can trigger an alarm and this place will be overrun with monsters in no time. Get in, I need to close it again quickly."
The shutter shut after Akira stepped through it. The sound of the steel shutter echoed as it collided with the floor, it was reminding him that he was no longer 'outside' in the wasteland.
When Akira walked down the stairs, he suddenly stopped as he saw a huge load of explosives lined up in front of him.
The man from before noticed Akira's expression, so he explained.
"Those explosives are just insurance in case anything bad happens. If the monsters underground push us up to this point and it's obvious that it's impossible to defend this point, we'll blow those explosives and stop them here. Don't worry, it won't explode if you step on it, though, don't kick or step on them on purpose, okay?"
Akira looked stern and glared at that man.
"...What will happen to us in that case?"
The man laughed as if he was joking.
"If you guys do your job properly, then you guys will be either dead or have fully withdrawn from the underground by then. Work hard if you don't want to be among the former."
Akira sighed and continued walking deeper into the underground where the gathering place was located. Although that man said it as if he was just joking, Akira knew that he was serious.
The underground city was illuminated by lightings installed by the people who went down there before Akira, it showed its real appearance after being warped in total darkness for years. Ruins of crumbled shops piled up over one after another, this showed that it was once a bustling place filled with people.
The people who had explored first had cleared and installed illumination in certain points in the underground. Although they were able to secure those areas, the underground was still more dangerous compared to the surface above.
As Akira was walking past the already secured hallway, Alpha explained to him the details of the request. Although he had heard a simple explanation from her beforehand, he wanted to confirm the duties of the defense team in detail, so he asked Alpha about it in the middle of their idle banter.
During this Yarata Scorpion Subjugation request, the Hunters were mainly divided into 3 teams - the exploration team, the extermination team and the defense team.
The exploration team was responsible for exploring the underground city when it was filled with total darkness. They had to map the underground city and mark the locations of any nests that they found. The team mainly consisted of the Hunters who were proficient in using information-gathering devices.
"In that case, then it's really an easy job that even a small kid like me can do, right? I'm glad I asked."
"Akira, I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but stay vigilant, okay?"
"I really do hope that's the case."
As Alpha said that as if she was hiding something, Akira looked slightly worried while making a puzzled face.
"That's my replacement, so I'm out."
"Wait!! Isn't this just another brat?!!"
"So, what is your Hunter Rank?"
"20."
Mimata frowned, his face was saying that he was annoyed and displeased.
"Another piggy-backing brat, huh. Why in the world does this station keep getting children...? Just be sure not to get in my way, okay?"
'Piggy-backing' was a derogatory term used for the Hunters who got support from other better Hunters and borrowed powerful equipment to get a high rank. They did not have real ability and skill suitable for that rank. Most of the young Hunters from Hunter gangs were piggy-backing Hunters and the whole gang was often mocked for letting young Hunters do that.
Akira did not know the meaning behind that mocking term, but he could somehow feel the meaning behind it from how Mimata said it. Akira also fully understood that he was able to gather all of his achievements thanks to Alpha's support, so he just ignored it as he asked Mimata.
"Are you the one in command here?"
"There's no one in command here. We're just a mismatch of random Hunters, deciding on the person in command would only cause a fight. I have no plan watching over you little brats. If you're looking for someone to help you, then get along with those kids over there."
"...Alright."
Akira turned at the direction that Mimata pointed when he said that. But he suddenly turned around, walked away, and sat not too far from both Mimata and the group that Mimata just pointed, isolating himself from the rest of the Hunters.
The other Hunters looked at Akira, wide-eyed. But he was not bothered at all.
"Akira, are you sure you don't want to join that group?"
"Yes. I think I'll just cause a fight if I go over there. But Alpha, if you tell me to go, I'll go."
Alpha looked at that group of Hunters once again before she turned back to Akira and smiled bitterly.
"You're right, let's not do that."
The group that Mimata pointed at was Katsuya's group.
The Hunters in the defensive point number 14 were divided into 3 groups, Mimata's group, Katsuya's group and Akira alone.
Katsuya's group consisted of Katsuya, Yumina, Airi, a young girl by the name Reina and an a.d.u.l.t woman by the name Shiori.
Mimata's group thought that Katsuya's group was filled with piggy-backing Hunters because of such a composition. A group of young Hunters with one a.d.u.l.t Hunter, he bet it was a group of amateur Hunters with one veteran Hunter, he assumed that Shiori was there to watch over the other green Hunters. Though in reality, that was not the case. But, it was also understandable that Mimata made that assumption.
Both Mimata's group and Katsuya's group spent their time by having silly talks. As time passed by without anything in particular happening, it slowly shaved their vigilance. But they also kept their information-gathering device to focus on a small range scan, thus there was a minimum possibility of facing a surprise attack.
Up until this point, no one doubted it was an easy job that even a small kid could do.
Akira was chatting and studying with Alpha. As a kid who had grown up in the slum city, he was not good with letters and he lacked common sense. In order to learn the knowledge needed to be a successful Hunter, he needed to study the basic knowledge first. He still had a lot of things to learn, that was why he used any idle time he had for studying.
Alpha suddenly turned her head, Akira noticed that and followed suit. He found Katsuya and Reina walking towards him.
Reina pulled Katsuya and dragged him to Akira. She then looked down at Akira who was sitting on the ground and said.
"It's Akira."
"Why are you sitting here alone? Come with us."
Reina frowned.
Both Katsuya's and Mimata's groups were at least still watching their surroundings, but Akira did not seem like he was monitoring his surroundings at all. Or at least, that was how it looked from outside, so it was understandable why Reina thought he was playing hooky.
But Akira just answered back swiftly but casually.
To be more precise, it was Alpha who was keeping eyes on the scan result and not Akira. Alpha just smiled at Akira but he ignored it.
Reina was obviously annoyed, but she was convinced by what Akira said and decided to stop pursuing that line of thinking, instead, she tried to come up with another excuse to make Akira listen to her.
"Akira, what is your Hunter Rank?"
Reina looked smug as she stated her rank.
"Mine is 23."
"Don't give me that! I'm above you, so you should listen to what I say!! Just get on your feet and come with me!!"
"No one told me to follow the orders from the Hunters who are ranked higher than me and the request description doesn't say anything about that too. So I don't have any reason to obey you."
"...No reason? That might be true, but!!"
Reina raised her voice when she said that.
As Katsuya saw Reina getting heated, he thought that it would be bad to let her continue, so he interrupted her.
"Well, uhh, what can I say, although she said all of that, she's actually just worrying about you. Isn't it safer to be in a group than being alone if something bad happens?"
Katsuya was actually not trying to help Akira, he said that in order to calm Reina down. But in the end, Reina vented at him too.
Akira then casually said.
"I'll take care of myself if anything happens. When the push comes to shove, you can just abandon me to die."
Katsuya was surprised by what Akira just said, but he somehow tried to continue the conversation.
"Just leave him alone!! Brats like him can just go ahead and die all by himself!!"
Reina immediately turned and walked away, she was even half running. It was completely visible even from behind that she was livid.
It was doubtful whether they would even help each other if they were attacked by a swarm of Yarata Scorpions at this moment. It could be considered lucky if they were just abandoning each other. In the worst-case scenario, they might even "accidentally" shoot at each other.
Akira planned to run away alone if the situation turned from bad to worse. He was given the right to do so in his contract. Other than the right to withdraw alone, he was also given the right to move alone. So just to be safe, he wanted to avoid any needless fighting.
"Just give your best so that you can wrap up today's request as a lucky hit since you're assigned here."
"Yeah, I know."
Akira grumbled, he was forgetting to count himself in his consideration. But in contrast to that, Alpha knew well that Akira was the biggest threat here who might worsen their situation.
Nothing in particular happened after that. Akira had no complaints about it, but that was not the case for the people who were seeking a big reward. As the calmness continued, those people started complaining and talking about what they could do to solve the problem.
Mimata's group started talking more specifically about their complaints.
"We really have nothing to do, huh? Nothing is happening. I bet those Hunters in the exploration team are also collecting relics while exploring the underground ruin, but we're in the defense team right now."
"That might be true on the surface, but I heard that might not be the case down here. There are not that many Hunters who would come to the underground city to look for relics since this place is always filled with total darkness. I also heard that the shockwave from the explosions used by the defense squad during that big fight not too long ago had opened a path to an undiscovered area inside the ruin, you know? It seems that the Yarata Scorpions used that new route connected to the unexplored area to come to the surface."
"Wait, doesn't that mean that the exploration team can have all the relics in the unexplored area for themselves?"
"It's not that strange to find a big load of untouched relics inside an unexplored area. I bet they'll get a whole lot of money from the relics that they bring back from here. Dammit, I should've joined the exploration team."
"...If it's me, I would hide the relics somewhere safe where only I can find them."
Mimata and his friends made greedy smiles as they looked at each other.
As Mimata's group was trying to sneak away from the area, Reina saw them and rebuked.
"Hold it! Where do you think you're going?!"
"...Where, you ask? We're just going to patrol around the area."
Reina shouted at Mimata's group, her voice echoed deep into the underground city. But Mimata did not show any concern at all as he replied back.
"Don't worry, we'll be back in no time. It's not like there are any monsters coming here anyway, and if there's any movement, I'm sure the people in the HQ will inform us."
"That's not the problem here!"
Reina was yelling at Mimata's group but they were ignoring her. It did not seem that any of them were trying to find a middle ground. As their unproductive argument continued, everyone's attention was on them. Suddenly Mimata turned to Akira who was neither a part of his group nor Katsuya's group. He then laughed lightly and asked for Akira's opinion, trying to get Akira involved.
"What do you think?"
Everyone there shifted their gaze to Akira. Mimata was looking at him with the eyes showing that he's looking down at Akira while Reina was glaring intensely at him, both of them were waiting for his opinion.
Akira who was suddenly pulled into the conversation thought for a bit before answering back.
"...Just go and return back quickly if it's just for the toilet, after all, we wouldn't want you to do that here. If you take too long, I'll assume that you met some monsters and ask for confirmation from the HQ."
Akira was basically approving Mimata on what he was going to do. Reina looked surprised and angry at the same time, while on the other hand, Mimata smiled victoriously.
After saying that, Mimata took his whole group together with him and left the area.
"What was that?! Are you taking their side?!"
Akira looked a bit annoyed as he answered back casually.
"That's not the problem here?! Are you saying that it's really okay to let them do what they want?!!"
"I have no right to stop them. If you want to complain, you can just report them to the HQ. Or do you want to point your guns at them and tell them to stop? Well, I won't stop you though, but I won't get myself involved either."
Not to mention that Akira was planning to act alone depending on the situation, so he was not in a position where he could complain about what they were going to do. Moreover, if there were any important notifications like an order to withdraw from the HQ while they were still gone, Akira was not planning to wait for them to return back before withdrawing. To put it bluntly, he did not give a rat's ass if they were left behind to become the monster's meal. Akira thought they left that place fully knowing about this fact.
The way Akira said it as if it had nothing to do with him rubbed Reina in the wrong way, she then exploded in anger.
"I guess the only time when they don't cause a fight is when they die or something similar to that happens, huh?"
As Akira did not seem to realize that he was also at fault, Alpha just smiled bitterly at him and 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/
非公開