れていた。視線の先の床には札束が積まれている。カツラギに売った遺物の売却金だ。
「800万オーラム......! ちょっと前に20万オーラム稼いで、1泊2万オーラムの宿泊費なんて信じられないと思ってたのに、桁違いだ......!」
外では何とか平静を装えていた。だが宿に戻ったことで平静を装う必要もなくなった。受け取った時は余りの大金に少々現実感に欠けていたが、今は札束を見て湧き上がった実感に圧倒されていた。
しかしアキラはその額に圧倒されるばかりで、その使い道までは頭に浮かんでいなかった。その金を浮かれずに有意義に使えてこそ、スラム街から脱却したと言える。今はまだ身に余る大金を手に入れただけのスラム街の住人だ。それが今のアキラの現状であり、限界だった。
『言っておくけれど、その金はすぐになくなるからね。具体的には、明日中には使い切るわ』
アキラが驚きの声を上げる。
「つ、使い切るって、800万オーラムもあるんだぞ!?」
金!? いやいやいや、800万オーラムは大金だぞ!?」
アキラの金銭感覚がその話の理解を拒んでいた。少し前にスラム街の少年5人から、たった300オーラムを奪う
いやつらと比べられても」
『駄目よ。理想は高く持ちなさい。アキラに私が指定する遺跡を攻略してもらう
りながら微妙な納得を見せながらも、自身に要求されている基準に少し尻込みしていた。そして何となく尋ねる。
「そういえば、アルファから攻略を依頼された遺跡の話とか全然教えてもらってないけど、どんな遺跡なんだ?」
アルファが意味深に
アキラはその果てしない繰り返しの先を想像しようとしたが、全く想像できなかった。
『いつかアキラが十分な実力を身に着けた時、その強さに
「......まあ、頑張ってみるよ」
自信満々に笑うアルファに、アキラも一応笑って返した。
『カツラギも話していたけれど、一流のハンターは装備品を紙幣で買ったりはしないの。額が額だから札束を持って買い物って訳にはいかないからね。預金口座を作ってカード払いが普通よ。その手続きも早めに済ませましょうか』
アキラが改めて床の札束を見る。そして自分の中で先ほどよりは札束の価値が下がっていることに気付いて苦笑する。
「分かる。分かるぞ。俺の金銭感覚が狂っていくのが。......もうスラム街では生活できないな」
『良い傾向ね。頑張りなさい』
アキラは楽しげに笑っているアルファに別の意味で苦笑を返した。そして気を取り直す。
「それで、この金でどんな装備を買うんだ?」
『アキラが私のサポートをもっと効率よく受けられる装備を買うわ。800万オーラムあれば、最低限のものは買えるでしょう。多分ね』
「800万オーラムでも最低限のものしか買えないのか? 何を買うつもりなんだ?」
『強化服よ』
「強化服? 強化服って、何かこう、重いものが持てるようになるやつだよな?』
『そうよ。でもアキラに限ってはそれだけではないわ。何しろ私のサポートがあるのだからね。期待していなさい』
「す、すみません」
アキラは慌てながら少し本気で謝っていた。シズカがそれを見てすぐに笑って謝る。
「冗談よ。ごめんなさい。それで、何を聞きたいの?」
「実はですね......」
アキラは安堵の息を吐くと、具体的な相談内容である強化服の購入に関する話をした。
シズカがその内容を聞いて少し
「......強化服か。まあ、私の店でも扱っていない訳ではないけど、私の店はどちらかと言えば銃火器が主力商品なの。強化服を展示品として飾っている訳ではないから実物を見たりは出来ないし、注文しても取り寄せになるから少し時間が掛かるわ。強化服の初期調整ぐらいは私がやっても良いけれど、専門店で買った方が良いかもしれないわよ?」
「そうですか。でも俺はその専門店の場所も知らないし、店に入れてくれるかどうかも分からないし、強化服とかの知識もないので、店員に言われるがままに流されてしまいそうで、ちょっと不安なんです。前にサラさんからも装備品で迷ったらシズカさんのお勧めにしておけば大丈夫だって言われました。迷惑でないのなら相談に乗ってもらえると助かります」
「そう頼まれたら断れないわね。分かったわ。私の勘で良ければ相談に乗ってあげる。それで、予算はどれぐらいなの?」
「800万オーラムです。即金で出せます」
シズカはその予算を聞いて少し驚いた後、少し責めるような視線をアキラに向ける。
「......そのお金の出所は? 遺物を売ったの? 800万オーラムって、相当な量の遺物を集めるか、相応の高額な遺物を売らないと無理よね? どちらにしてもかなり危険な場所に行く必要があるわ。少し前に死にかけたのに、もうそんな無理をしたの?」
シズカは持ち前の洞察力と勘で予算の出所をあっさり把握していた。アキラが慌て出す。
「あー、いや、それは前から少しずつ集めていた遺物を一括で売っただけでして。俺みたいな子供が大金を持つと狙われることも多いから、少しずつ隠していた分を売ったんです。可能な限り危険は避けて行動しているつもりです。シズカさんの言う通り少し前に死にかけたので、ここで良い装備を買っておこうと思いまして。買う装備に強化服を選んだのも、いざとなったら走って逃げる
シズカの視線は厳しいものだが、そこにはアキラの身を案じる意思が込められていた。アキラはそれを感じ取ると、自分でもよく分からずに慌て出していた。そして叱られた子供が弁解するように、しどろもどろに言い訳じみたことを話していた。
アキラは誰かに心配されることに慣れていない。打算なく心配される場合は特にだ。自覚は少ないが内心かなり
もし同じことをシェリルなどに聞かれた場合、アキラは、黙れ、か、聞くな、と答えて話を済ませていた。自覚はないが、そこには大きな差が存在していた。
は吐いていない。出来るだけ無理をしない
気になったのは、要望の中に強化服の制御装置に関する部分が多めに含まれていたことだ。シズカが不思議そうにそれを尋ねる。
「確かに強化服にもいろいろな種類があって、機械式の強化服でも制御装置が付いていない製品も存在するわ。制御装置が付いている強化服でも、全体の性能に大きな影響を与えているものもあれば、
アキラが少し困ったような表情を浮かべる。それらの要望はアルファから聞いたものだ。しかしそれを話す訳にはいかない。
「......いや、俺も詳しい話を聞いた訳ではないんです。そういうのが良いって聞いただけで......。すみません。何か強化服選びの常識に反することとか、
(多分どこかのハンターが強化服について話していたのを聞いていたのでしょうね。そのハンターが自慢した内容を参考にしたってところかしら)
シズカは自身の勘を基にかなり近い推測をすると、それで納得してそれ以上深くは聞かなかった。
「大丈夫よ。偶然かもしれないけど、アキラの話の中に少し専門的な内容が含まれていたから、ちょっと驚いただけ。気にしないで。大体の内容は分かったわ。今の内容で私が勝手に選んでしまうけど、本当にそれで良いのね?」
わないと困るのよ。私が強化服を選んだ後に、一度アキラに商品の詳細とかを連絡して、そこで正式に注文をする形式にした方が良いかしら。その分だけちょっと時間が掛かるけどね」
「今すぐ支払えば、その分だけ早くなりますか?」
「まあね。他の問屋との交渉も即時に商品の代金を支払えるならスムーズになるわ。来年の100万オーラムより、1秒後の1万オーラムの方が大切なこともある。即金っていうのは結構強いのよ。商品がすぐに確実に届く保証。支払がすぐに確実に行われる保証。それを保証する交渉で、既に支払える金があるってことは大切なのよ」
「それなら今すぐ支払います。預金口座を作ったので、そこから引き落としをお願いします。ついでに今後は弾薬の代金とかも、そこから引き落とせるようにしてください」
アキラはそう言ってハンター証を出した。シズカの店に来る前にハンターオフィスで預金口座の開設手続は済ませている。その手続きで新しいものに交換したハンター証には、カード払いの機能が追加されていた。認証処理を済ませれば、シズカの店で購入した弾薬の代金などを今後はアキラの口座から勝手に引き落とすことも可能だ。
「えっと、本当に良いの? 一度引き出した後で、やっぱり返してと言われても困るのよ。それに私が変な商品を選んだらどうするの?」
「大丈夫です」
シズカは少し困ったような様子を見せた後、アキラを
アキラも少し困ったような表情をした後、少し真面目な顔に変えた。
「......多分俺が慎重に考えても、結果は変わりません。命の恩人に勧められた店を信用できないのなら、俺はもう買い物なんか出来なくなってしまいます。だから大丈夫です。それで何か問題が発生したのなら、俺の運が悪かったってことです。何しろ俺は同じ日に2度もモンスターの群れに襲われたことがあるぐらい運が悪いんで、そういうこともあるかもしれません。そこは俺が悩んで考えてもどうしようもないっていうか、変わりませんよ」
アキラは話の最後に表情を苦笑気味なものに変えた。シズカはそのアキラを見ながら、話を黙って聞いていた。
アキラは可能な限り信用できる店を、可能な限り信用しようとしている。その店に自分の店を選び、自身の命を支える装備を賭けたのだ。シズカはそう考えて少し
「そこまで言われたら、私も引き下がれないわね。分かったわ。任せておきなさい」
シズカはアキラからハンター証を受け取ると、カウンターの端末にかざして端末を操作した。これで支払処理は済んだ。アキラの800万オーラムは、アルファが言った通り一瞬で全額なくなってしまった。
「アキラも口座持ちのハンターに成った訳ね。気を付けなさい。下手をすると、あっという間に借金生活になるわよ?」
シズカがアキラにハンター証を返しながらそう忠告した。実際にその手のハンターは結構多い。弾薬費などが予想外に
アキラがシズカの忠告にしっかりと答える。
「良い返事ね。それじゃあ、強化服の採寸をするからこっちに来て」
アキラはシズカに連れられてカウンターの裏に移動した。店のカウンターの裏には弾薬等が雑多に積まれていた。
「しっかり採寸するから、パンツ以外全部脱いで」
アキラは言われた通り服を脱いだ。シズカが手持ちサイズのスキャナでアキラの全身を採寸していく。
「測定に誤差が出る時があるから、あんまり動かないでね」
「人間の体型は日々変わるものだし、多少は大丈夫だけど、それでも正確に測っておいた方が良いのは間違いないわ。専門店で特注品を買う場合は、もっと本格的にやるのよ? 測定用の服に着替えた上で、専用の大型測定器で全身
を負う状況がアキラの不運であり、その状況からでも生還できたのがアキラの幸運だ。その運がもう少し不運に偏れば、アキラはとっくに死んでいた。ハンター稼業を続ける限り、似たような傷はこれからも増えていく。
シズカはその傷跡を見て思わず採寸の手を止めてしまっていた。アキラが不思議そうに声を掛ける。
みを浮かべると採寸を再開した。
「よし! 終わり! もう服を着て良いわよ。強化服が届くのは、早くても1週間後、遅くても1か月後ぐらいになると思うわ。店に届いたらすぐにアキラに連絡するから、出来る限り早く取りに来てちょうだいね」
「分かりました。いろいろ相談に乗ってくれて、ありがとう御座いました」
「良いのよ。アキラが強化服を装備すれば、もっと高くて重い装備も勧められるようになるからね。アキラが更なる常連さんへ進化する日を、心待ちにしているわ」
アキラはシズカと一緒に店のカウンターまで戻ると、そのままシズカに挨拶をして店から出て行った。
シズカがカウンター越しに軽く手を振ってアキラを見送った後、意気を高めるように笑う。
「さて、あそこまで信頼された以上、私もしっかり仕事をしますか」
アキラは宿の部屋に戻ると、アルファに今後の予定を尋ねていた。
「射撃訓練とかはしないのか?」
『注文した強化服が届くまでは宿に籠もっていましょう。最近座学や情報収集の時間が少ない気がするし、良い機会だわ。宿代を切り詰めれば、1か月程度は持つでしょう』
「......宿泊費を下げるのか? それならもう1回ぐらい遺跡に向かっても......」
宿泊費を下げれば当然泊まる部屋の質も下がる。風呂付きの部屋など論外だ。アキラはそれを嫌がって再度の遺物収集を提案したのだが、アルファにあっさり却下される。
「まあ、そうだけど」
アキラの識字能力はアルファが効率的に教えているおかげでかなり向上している。しかしまだまだアルファの補助が必要な状態だ。
アキラは嫌な予感がして話を流そうとした。しかしアルファは話を流さなかった。
『試しに逆にしてみましょうか。成績が良かったら、御褒美に私が服を一枚ずつ着ていく。私を全裸のままにしたくなかったら頑張りなさい』
アルファはそう言うと服の描写を全て消して本当に全裸になった。
When Akira returned back into his room, he was beaming. He could not contain his happiness. His eyes were locked onto the bundles of money on the floor. It was the payment that he got from selling relics to Katsuragi.
"8,000,000 Aurum...!!! We got 200,000 Aurum just the other day, and I was thinking that the idea of living in a 20,000 Aurum per day room was already crazy enough. But this is just on a completely different level..."
He had to keep his cool outside, but once he returned back inside his room, there was no more need to hold himself back. When he received the money, he did not react much because it did not feel real to him at that time. But now that he looked at the pile of money for the second time, the reality finally seeped in and he was overwhelmed by it.
Although the amount of money overwhelmed him, he had no idea what he would use it for. After all, if he could come up with some useful ideas on how to use this much money, he would not be staying in the slum city. Akira was simply mind blown by it. So for now, he was acting like a person from the slum city who was just lucky enough to get a huge amount of money.
"Let me tell you this beforehand, this money will be gone in no time. To be more precise, we will use everything tomorrow's afternoon."
Akira was taken aback.
"U-use everything? It's 8,000,000 Aurum, you know?"
"Spare money?! No no no, 8,000,000 Aurum is a huge amount of money, you know?!"
With his sense of money, Akira could not understand what Alpha was saying. He remembered that he had to fight to the death against 5 other slum kids a few days ago just over 300 Aurum. The current 8,000,000 Aurum in front of him just could not be compared to mere 300 Aurum. Thus, the number and strength of the people that would be attracted by this money and the level of the danger that it brought would be simply on an entirely different level. But even so, Alpha said that it was only spare money and Akira's brain could not fully comprehend that.
"...But still, you just can't compare me with those amazing Hunters."
"You need to dream big. It's for the sake of exploring the ruins that I mentioned to you when we first met."
Akira was a bit shocked but he did not look fully convinced. He flinched a bit when he heard how Alpha wanted him to rethink his standard. He then asked Alpha.
"By the way. You haven't told me anything about the ruin that you want me to explore. So, what kind of ruin is it?"
Alpha smiled meaningfully.
Akira tried to imagine what was lying beyond that endless cycle, but he could not come up with anything.
"So, until the day when you become stronger, have equipment suitable for your strength, and have a different sense of money compared to now, you should give your best effort. Worry not, I'll also do my best to help you."
"...Well, of course, I'll do my best."
To Alpha who was smiling confidently, Akira could only reply back with a smile.
"And it's as Katsuragi said, top-class Hunters usually don't buy equipment using cash. It's because the amount of money that they use in a transaction is enormous. It's not like they can walk around carrying a large amount of money. Thus, it's common for them to open a bank account and pay using a card. It might be a good idea for you to open one soon."
Akira then looked back at the bundles of money on the floor. He could only smile bitterly as he realized that his sense of money had really undergone some subtle changes compared to just a few seconds ago.
"Yep yep, I knew it, you're messing with my sense of money... Haah, I guess I can no longer live in the slum city."
"That's a good development. Do your best."
Akira smiled bitterly to Alpha who was smiling for a different reason. He then shook it off and said.
"So now, we're going to buy equipment with this money, right?"
"We're going to buy equipment that will increase the effectiveness of my support. I guess you should be able to at least buy the lowest level equipment with 8,000,000 Aurum."
"8,000,000 Aurum only enough to buy the lowest level, huh? What in the world are we going to buy with this money?"
"Augmented suit."
"Augmented suit? It's that thing that allows me to carry heavy stuff, right?"
"Yep. But it's a different story for you. Since you have my support, it'll allow you to do a lot more things other than just carrying heavy stuff. So you can look forward to it."
"I-I'm sorry."
Akira apologized while being fl.u.s.tered. Looking at that, Shizuka giggled and apologised.
"I was only joking. I'm sorry. So then, what do you want to ask me...?"
"Actually, you see..."
Akira then let out a sigh and explained the real reason why he was there, to buy an augmented suit.
After hearing his explanation, Shizuka whistled.
"...Augmented suit, huh? Well, it's not like I'm not selling those here, but to be honest, my shop focuses more on guns and ammo. I didn't put any augmented suits on display, so it's not like you can browse for the real thing here. And even if you place your order, it'll take some time before you can get it since I order it from outside. Although I still can do a basic setting for augmented suits, I think it's better if you buy one from a specialized shop, you know?"
"Is that so? But I don't know any specialized shop for augmented suits though. And even if I know one, I'm not even sure they'll let me in. Not to mention that I know next to nothing about augmented suits, so I'm afraid the shopkeeper would swindle me to buying something bad. Sara-san also said to consult with you if I have any questions about equipment, so I'll be really thankful if you can help me here."
"I can't refuse if you put it that way. Okay then, if you're okay with my intuition, I'll give you a hand. So then, how much money are you planning to spend on this augmented suit?"
"It's 8,000,000 Aurum and it's in cash."
Shizuka was a bit surprised when she heard Akira's answer, she then looked at Akira as if she was interrogating him.
"...This much money, where did you get that from? Is it from selling relics? You can't get 8,000,000 Aurum unless you gathered a lot of relics or obtained some high-quality ones, right? Either way, you would have had to go to dangerous areas to get those relics. Although you just got almost killed not too long ago, did you really go somewhere that dangerous already?"
Shizuka was able to immediately pinpoint where to get such relics using her intuition and her ability to analyze. So Akira panicked as he answered back.
"Ahhh, well, I was actually stocking up relics for a while and sold all of them in one go. Because it's common for a small kid like me to get targeted if I go walking around with a lot of money, I was only selling a portion of my relics and hid the rest. Now I just sold all of those relics that I piled up. I'm trying my best not to put myself in danger. And it's as you said, I almost got killed not too long ago, that's why I'm thinking of buying better equipment. The reason I decided on buying an augmented suit is so that I can run faster when I get into a dangerous situation. That's why I'm thinking of spending more money than usual to avoid being in the same situation like back then..."
Shizuka's gaze was intense, but she did that because she was worried about Akira. When Akira noticed it, he started spouting excuses in a panic that he did not know what he was even saying. He was making excuses as if he was a kid who was desperately trying to come up with any excuses that he could to avoid getting scolded.
Akira was not used to having someone worried about him. Even more so when it was unconditional. Although he did not realize it, Akira was actually feeling happy. So he was actually in a panic because of the embarrassment and the guilt that he was feeling when he realized Shizuka was worrying for him.
But if it was Sheryl who said that to him, he would have replied back with "shut up" or "stop asking that". There was a crucial difference between them that Akira himself did not realize.
"Just don't do anything too dangerous unnecessarily, okay?"
The thing that Shizuka found strange was because Akira wanted an augmented suit that had multiple control devices in it. So then Shizuka asked Akira for more details.
"Well, it's true that there are many types of augmented suits. There are mechanized augmented suits with no control device or with a control device. There are also augmented suits that affect the whole body, and of course, there are also those that only affect limited parts of the body. I also heard that most of the augmented suits have its control device embedded into an information terminal or similar devices... But a whole-body control device, huh. Akira, where did you hear that from?"
Akira looked troubled when Shizuka asked him that. He actually heard about that from Alpha but there was no way he could say that to Shizuka.
"...Well, it's not like I know anything about the details. I only heard that it's a good type of augmented suit... I'm sorry, did I do something against the norms of picking my first augmented suit or did I say anything strange?"
[I guess he consulted with another Hunter about getting an augmented suit and that Hunter must have boasted about the type of the augmented suit that he was using.]
Shizuka's intuition was almost spot on, she was satisfied with that guess and decided not to pry any further.
"It's okay. It's just that you asked something that only a specialist would know. Although it might be just by pure chance, that actually surprised me a bit. Don't worry, I got the gist of what you want. I can now go ahead and choose an augmented suit based on your request for you, but are you really okay with that?"
"Now about the payment, since I'll be buying from another shop and being a merchant myself, it would be problematic if I don't pay upfront for the product's full price. So I'll call you after I decide on an augmented suit. You can make sure whether it fits your preference or not before putting in an order for real, then you can pay for it afterwards. Well, if we do this, it'll end up taking more time before you finally get one, so are you okay with the arrangement?"
"If I pay you now, would it be faster?"
"Well of course. A negotiation with the other merchant would definitely go smoothly if I can pay for the product right on the spot. There are also cases where a 10,000,000 Aurum that you would get next year would be worth less than the 10,000 Aurum that you need now. Cash is pretty powerful, you know. In a negotiation, the buyers want to make sure that they can get their product cheaply and the sellers want to make sure that they can get their money, so cash is really important, you know."
"In that case, I'll pay you now. I made a bank account so you can charge money from there. And also, please charge for my medicines and ammo from the same bank account too."
Akira then pulled out his Hunter ID. He went to the Hunter Office before visiting Shizuka's shop and had opened his bank account. Although it was still new, he was already able to use his ID as a debit card. He only needed to confirm his identity and then all the bills from ammo, medicines and any other bills from Shizuka's shop would be automatically paid through his account.
"Uhhh, are you really okay with this? Once the money is transferred, It's not like I can return it even if you ask me to, you know? Moreover, I might even pick a subpar product, you know?"
"It's okay."
Shizuka looked a bit troubled, but she then warned Akira with a serious face.
Akira also looked troubled for a while before answering back with a straight face.
"...I think the result won't change even if I try to think hard about it. If I could not even trust the merchant recommended by the person who saved my life, then I would never be able to buy anything from any other merchant anymore. So it's alright. Even if something bad happens, I'm sure it's because of my bad luck. After all, I'm someone who got attacked by 2 groups of monsters consecutively in a day. So my luck is already bad enough. And that's something that I can't change no matter how hard I think."
In the end, Akira just smiled bitterly. Shizuka could only listen to him without saying anything.
Akira was trying his best to find a few shops that he could trust. He then picked Shizuka's shop and decided to buy equipment that would help him survive in the ruins. Shizuka was so happy when she realized that and smiled back to Akira to give him a peace of mind. She was smiling as the shop manager who had confidence in her own merchandise.
"Well, if you put so much trust in me, then I can't step back now. Alright then, just leave it to me."
She then took the Hunter ID from Akira's hand, held it above the terminal on the counter as she operated the terminal. With this, the transaction should be taken care of. And just like Alpha said, 8,000,000 Aurum was gone from Akira's account in just one second.
"So Akira has become a Hunter with a bank account now, huh? Just be careful, if you're not, then you might end up debt-ridden, you know?"
Shizuka gave him that warning as she returned Akira's Hunter ID. After all, in reality, there were a lot of Hunters who ended up being debt-ridden from buying too much ammo or having to pay a penalty for the damage that they had done after failing a request.
Akira then replied back firmly to Shizuka's warning.
"That's a good reply. So then, I'll take some measurements for the augmented suit, come over here."
Shizuka brought Akira behind the counter and to the back room. The back room of the shop was filled with ammo, guns and other goods.
"I'll need to take precise measurements so take off all your clothes except for your underwear."
Akira obediently took off his clothes just like he was told to. Shizuka then used a handheld body size scanner to measure Akira's body size.
"Try not to move since it'll cause inaccuracy in measurements, okay?"
"Well, the human body changes daily, so it's not really that important. But still, I think it's better to take a measurement that is as accurate as possible. If you go to a specialized shop, they'll even take a more precise measurement, you know? You'll have to put on a body measurement suit and get into a huge measurement device to measure everything to the minutest detail. Not just your body and skeleton measurement, it'll also measure the position of the organs and muscles, neural network, the number of nanomachines inside the body and all the other information to. The augmented suit maker can maximize the effectiveness of the augmented suit by using that information. These custom-made augmented suits are better than the ready-made augmented suits, and of course, their price is also worlds apart."
That scar was caused by his bad luck, but he was lucky to be able to survive from such a wound. Had his luck been worse even by a bit, he would have died because of that wound. As long as he was working as a Hunter, he would keep getting such wounds in the future.
Shizuka was not aware that she had stopped operating the measuring device after catching a glimpse of that wound. Akira thought that it was strange, so he called her.
Shizuka immediately regained her composure and smiled at Akira before continuing with the measurement.
"Alright!! It's done! You can put on your clothes now. It would take at least 1 week and up to 1 month before you can pick up your augmented suit. I'll contact you when the suit arrives, please come as soon as possible to pick it up, okay?"
"Okay, thank you very much for all the help."
"Don't mention it. After all, if you get your augmented suit, then it means that I can recommend you more expensive and heavier equipment. So I'm looking forward to you to frequent my shop more often."
Akira returned to the counter together with Shizuka and said a proper goodbye to her before leaving the shop.
Shizuka waved at Akira as she sent him off. Once Akira exited the shop, she smiled excitedly.
"Now then, since he put that much faith in me, I guess I'll have to give my everything for this job."
When Akira arrived in his room, he asked Alpha what he should do next.
"Aren't we going for shooting training today?"
"Let's spend our time inside the room until you get your augmented suit. After all, I feel like you can do much studying or information collection within these few days. So this is a good time for doing that. If we go to a cheaper room, I guess we have enough money to spend for a month."
"...Are we going to take a cheaper room? In that case, we can at least go to the ruins one more time..."
Of course, if he rented a cheaper room, then he would get fewer amenities. It was out of the question to rent a room without a bath, that was why Akira suggested going hunting for relics one more time, but Alpha casually rejected that idea.
"Well, that's true, but..."
Although Akira had been studying under Alpha's effective guidance and had already understood numbers and letters better than before, he still needed Alpha's help on a daily basis.
Akira had a bad feeling about it as he tried to change the subject, but Alpha just would not let it go.
"In that case, let's do it backwards. I'll put on a piece of cloth if you get a good result. So I'll start n.a.k.e.d, if you don't want me to remain n.a.k.e.d, you should do your best in studying."
Right after she said that Alpha's clothes vanished and she was stark n.a.k.e.d.
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