190 報酬の使い道
シズカが店でエレナ達と雑談している。クズスハラ街遺跡から湧き出したモンスター達に
アキラは恐らく襲撃当日に遺跡にいた可能性が高い。そしてその日からアキラは一度も店に顔を見せていない。
無事ならば、そろそろ店に弾薬補充に訪れても良い頃だ。無事ならば、遺跡で大型モンスターを倒している途中で偶然見掛けても不思議はない。シズカ達は雑談の中で互いにアキラの無事を確認できる話題を出してみたが、互いに期待する返事は得られなかった。
ハンター稼業を営む者と、その者達を商売相手にする者。どちらも商売柄、知人の死に対する耐性は高くなる。だがそれでも感傷は覚えるのだ。死亡と消息不明が限りなく等価な稼業だと理解している。
そこにアキラが現れる。シズカ達はいつもより笑顔を少し輝かせてアキラを迎え入れた。
アキラはシズカ達にハンターランク調整依頼が終わったことなどの軽い近況を先に話した。
「それでまあ、何だかんだありまして、装備がまた駄目になったんです。だからまた装備調達の相談というか、装備一式、車とかも含めて全部
よ。それで、今回の予算はどれぐらいなの?」
「10億オーラムぐらいでお願いします。即金でもう少し出せますけど、まずはそれを基準に考えたいと思います。下手に悩みそうなら、取りあえず前と同じものを買って、後でいろいろ付け加えようと思います」
アキラが提示した予算の下限に、それをあっさりと告げたアキラの態度に、シズカが接客用の笑顔を心配そうに少し崩す。
「また随分と稼いできたようだけど、本当に大丈夫だったの? ハンターランク調整依頼ってランク上げそのものが報酬みたいなもので、金銭面での報酬は安くなる傾向になるって聞いたけど、それで10億オーラムって相当な額よね。アキラ。また無理をしたの?」
「ああ、それなら大丈夫です。しっかり治療を受けてきたので体調は万全です」
「そう。良かったわ。無理をしないように、これからも気を付けなさい」
れた。シズカ達がその随分と堪えた様子に少し驚き、悪いと思いながらも少しだけ面白く感じて顔をほころばせる。そして互いの顔を見て、苦笑して顔を取り繕った。
シズカは気を切り替えると、アキラの相談に真面目に誠実に乗るために、少し湧いた感情を脇に置いて、装備調達に関わる重要な要素を確認することにした。
「それで、アキラのハンターランクは幾つになったの?」
「......また随分上がったわね。アキラ。先に言っておくわ。ハンターランクがそこまで上がったのなら、別の店に行くのも一つの手よ」
予想外の内容にアキラが困惑する。そして緊張の混ざった戸惑いを見せる。
「えっと、どういう意味でしょうか?」
「SSB複合銃の時点で、価格帯とかが私の店の商品からは既に大分外れているのよ。だから適した装備を勧められる自信があんまりないの。
「その、取り寄せばかりになると、シズカさんに迷惑が掛かりますか?」
「いいえ。むしろ逆よ。店長として店の利益を第一に考えるのなら、私の店で注文してくれた方が良いに決まっているわ」
「それなら、俺が迷惑にならない限り、お手数ですが今後も取り寄せをお願いします」
いた。迷惑だと言われたら仕方なく店を変えるしかないが、違うのであればアキラに店を変える理由など全くない。
シズカは珍しく少し顔を赤くして、気恥ずかしそうにアキラから少し視線をずらした。自分の店をそこまで気に入ってくれたことに、シズカにも込み上げるものがあったのだ。
「これでランク40超えのハンターが3人も顧客になったわけか。私の店も随分立派になったものだわ」
シズカがエレナ達に視線を移す。アキラが釣られてそちらを見ると、エレナとサラがどことなく寂しげにも見える笑顔を浮かべていた。
「私とサラは両方とも41なのよ。アキラの1つ下ね」
に越されちゃったか。まあ、その内だとは思っていたけど、早かったわ」
アキラがハンターランク調整依頼を引き受けていた間、エレナ達はかなり精力的にハンター稼業に精を出していた。比較的高難度の依頼を優先して受けて多くの成果を稼いでいた。クズスハラ街遺跡奥部の調査依頼もその一環だ。遺跡内の高品質の地図を提供し、多くの遺物を見つけ出し、先日の襲撃騒ぎでもかなりの戦果を稼いでいた。その後も大型モンスターを多数狩っていた。
エレナ達がそこまで精力的に活動していた理由には、アキラへの対抗心のようなものも含まれていた。悪く言えば先行者としての
そして自分達なりにぎりぎりまで頑張って多くの成果を稼いだという自負もあった。ハンターランク41は、エレナ達にとってそれだけの価値がある数字だった。
しかしそれをアキラにあっさりと抜かされてしまった。エレナ達はアキラの成長を確かに
です。これからもいろいろ聞くと思いますけどお願いします」
「ふふ。ありがとう」
く装備調達の話題となった。アキラが提示した下限10億オーラムの予算はエレナ達にも大金だ。自分達も装備にもっと予算を割り当てるべきかと、エレナ達の装備調達も交えて皆で話し合っていた。
そこでサラが素朴な疑問をアキラに尋ねる。
「装備を一度に全部失って、より高性能な装備への欲求が高くなったのは分かるけど、報酬を他のことにも使おうとは思わないの? 別に戦うために生きているって訳でもないでしょう?」
サラはアキラが依頼の報酬のほぼ全てを今回の予算に
アキラがキバヤシとの交渉で手に入れた報酬は次のものだ。42まで上がったハンターランク。ランク50相当の割引額で弾薬等を購入できる権利。そしてキバヤシのコネ、つまりクガマヤマ都市やハンターオフィスの伝を利用しての強力な装備の調達だ。
アキラのハンターランク調整依頼は、キバヤシとの依頼前の交渉で、偶発的な事態が発生した場合に報酬が跳ね上がる契約内容になっていた。そして大型モンスターの襲撃騒ぎはその条件を十分に満たしていた。契約通り膨れ上がった報酬を、アキラはその装備調達にほぼ全て
都市の防衛隊や特殊部隊の装備品には一般ハンターへの販売が制限されているものも多い。最前線で販売されているような装備品もクガマヤマ都市で購入するのは非常に難しい。そしてそれだけに高性能だ。
アルファの依頼を達成するためにはそれらの十分高性能な装備が絶対に必要だ。アキラはそれらの装備の入手をキバヤシに頼んだ。キバヤシはそれらの装備をアキラに渡せば更に楽しいことが起こると考えて、その頼みを上機嫌で引き受けた。
強力な装備ほど各種の許可や権限が必要で、そのための交渉時間も長くなり、下手をすると数か月、半年以上待つことになる。キバヤシは、それでも良いか、と一応念押しした。アキラはそれを受け入れた。
アキラとサラの想定には大きな隔たりはあるが、報酬のほぼ全てを装備代に
「アキラはそっちか。まあアキラの稼ぎなら、クガマビル上層の高級店で毎日3食豪勢に、とかでもない限り全く問題なさそうね」
「あ、最近そこで食べました。とても
エレナは軽い気持ちで、しかしそう熱心に話すアキラの様子なら断られないだろうとも思いながら誘ってみた。だがアキラは表情を曇らせた。
「いえ、その、値段が値段なので。最近そこに行ったのも依頼の報酬交渉の席がそこだったってだけで、報酬の一部として
ヤナギサワが情報端末越しに取引相手と話している。
「......ええ。......はい。あの機体の性能なら申し分ないかと。私からもクガマヤマ都市の経営陣に配備を強く促します。ただあの戦果だと単機での運用実績でしかありませんから、防衛隊の次期主力機として配備を促す理由にはまだ少々弱いのは確かですね。ですので、まずはクズスハラ街遺跡の仮設基地及び後方連絡線への配備を促し、そこでの部隊運用での実績を加えてから、防衛隊への配備に
ヤナギサワが通話を切る。そして取引相手用の笑顔を消して、軽い疲労を感じさせる息を吐いた。
話が終わるのを待っていた部下の男が、愚痴を
「主任でも貸出し交渉は難航中ですか」
「まあな。何しろ企業規模が桁違いだ。そこらの相手と同じようにはいかないよ」
「......主任が妙なことをやっているのはいつものことですけど、
「あれ? 話さなかったっけ?」
「貸出品の内容やその手続きの煩雑さは聞きましたが、そもそも何のために借りるのか、その理由の方は聞いた記憶はないですね」
ヤナギサワは何をするのかは教えるが、何のためにそれをするのかは黙っていることが多い。特殊部隊を率いてクズスハラ街遺跡の奥部に向かった時も、ネリアを連れてセランタルビルの上階に向かった時も、今回の貸出交渉もそうだった。
ヤナギサワが部下の問いをいつもの笑顔で
ヤナギサワはそれは心外だと芝居がかった態度を見せていた。部下の男はそれでその話題を打ちきった。ヤナギサワの具体的な目的を探ろうとした結果、いつの間にかいなくなった同僚はそこそこいるのだ。そこに加わる気はなかった。
「では報告です。主任に言われて調べていた例の人型モンスターの件ですが、主任の懸念通り人型モンスターの襲撃ではなく、そう装った人間の仕業が相当数混ざっていました」
ヤナギサワ達の視界にその報告内容が浮かび上がる。遺跡の立体地図上に、襲撃ごとの場所、人数、動機などが表示されている。その1件の動機を読んだヤナギサワが表情から笑顔を消した。
部下がヤナギサワの態度に機敏に動き出し、そのまま部屋を出て行く。ヤナギサワは動機の記載内容に鋭い視線を向けている。
遺跡の管理者を名乗る者から取引を持ちかけられた。そこにはそう記載されていた。
をしてから、視線をその遠隔操作端末に移す。ティオルの連絡を期待しているのだが今のところ反応はない。受信距離の問題かとも考えて移動診療所の位置を遺跡の奥部近くまで移動させてもみたのだが、結果は同じだった。
下手に解剖して遠隔操作機能を壊してしまい、その所為で連絡不能になるのを避けるため、遠隔操作端末を調べるのは止めている。しかし好奇心を抑えるのもそろそろ難しくなっていた。
「......そろそろ見切りを付けた方が良いかな。ティオル君。ベッド代も
「ティオル君......じゃ、ないな? どちらさん?」
「これでも医者なんでね」
人形が軽い驚きを見せた後で笑う。あからさまに適当なことを言っているが、別人だとあっさりと見抜いた事実に変わりはない。その評価に対する笑みだ。
「急にそんなことを言われてもな。ティオル君はどうなったんだ?」
「彼は非活性状態です」
「死んだ、という解釈で良いのかな? 彼はまだ一応ぎりぎり俺の患者なんだけどね」
「死亡の定義によります。しかし
Ch 190
Shizuka was chatting with Elena and Sara in her shop. They were talking about the recent happenings, mostly about how monster swarms came out from Kuzusuhara ruin and attacked the city twice in such a short time window. While at the same time, Elena and Sara were also venting about the hard time they had when they joined a squad, which was tasked to repel the swarm. Among all the subjects that they were talking about, there was one particular matter that worried them, it was about Akira.
There was a good chance Akira was in the ruin when that battle happened, and since that day, he had stopped coming to the shop.
If he was alright, it was about time he returned to the shop to procure supplies. If he was alright, it would not be strange for Sara and Elena to spot him when they were fighting the huge monster swarm. They were exchanging information about Akira, hoping that they would find some hints about his whereabouts, but both of them could not get any clear answer.
Elena and Sara were working as Hunters and Shizuka was working with Hunters. All of them had to some extent gotten used to the death of their acquaintances and friends. But that did not change the fact that it still made them sad. They understood well death was an occupational hazard for Hunters, and they knew that Akira might actually be doing just fine. But even so, they still had worried looks on their faces.
That was when Akira suddenly appeared. Elena, Sara and Shizuka welcomed him with a brighter smile than usual.
Akira started by letting them know that his rank up request was finally done.
"But well, a lot has happened since then and all my equipment is gone now. That's why I'm here to get new equipment, or more like, I want to consult about getting a new complete set of equipment including vehicles. So, would that be okay?"
"Of course! So then, how much are you planning to spend this time?"
"About 1 billion Aurum. I actually have a bit more money than that, but for now, I want to limit my budget to 1 billion Aurum. If it's too much of trouble, I'm thinking of getting the same thing as before and buy some extra modifications and other equipment after that."
Akira said that amount so casually that Shizuka's usual smile toward a customer changed into a worry.
"It seems that you earned quite a lot of money again this time, but are you alright? I heard that the reward for a Hunter rank-up request is Hunter Rank, so normally Hunters won't be able to get much money from that request. But even so, it seems that you got 1 billion Aurum from that. Akira, did you do something reckless again?"
"Don't worry, I'm okay, I made sure to get properly treated after all that mess."
"Is that so? Very well then, just be careful not to push yourself too hard, okay?"
Akira smiled and said so before immediately starting to vent and looked down. Shizuka, Elena and Sara did not expect that from him at all and found it amusing while also feeling sorry for him. They then looked at each other and smiled wryly.
Shizuka shelved that feeling aside for now and asked Akira about what he wanted to consult about with a serious face to change the mood.
"So then, what is your current Hunter Rank?"
"...That's quite a big jump. Akira, at least let me tell you this if you get your Hunter Rank that high, it might be a good idea to go to another shop, you know."
Akira did not expect that at all and made a troubled face, he then nervously asked.
"Uhh, what do you mean by that, Shizuka-san?"
"Actually, since that time when you ordered an SSB multi-weapon rifle from this shop, that price is already way above the normal items in this shop. That's why I'm not sure if I can recommend good equipment suitable for the current you. Of course, I'll do my best to help you out if you ask me, but there's a limit on how much I can help you. Remember back then when I sent you data for various rifles, right? To be honest, that was because I couldn't decide which one would suit you the best. Furthermore, I don't normally have them in stock, so I need more time to order them too. So, to be honest, it might be better if you go to a better shop, I'm sure they'll be able to provide you with a better recommendation too."
"Uhh, does it bother Shizuka-san if they are items that need to be ordered first?"
"Of course not, it's the opposite. As the owner of the shop and if I prioritize getting profit, I would prefer you order them through my shop."
"In that case, as long as it doesn't bother Shizuka-san, I'll keep ordering through this shop."
Akira nodded firmly. If it was a bother to Shizuka, he would have no other choice but to change shop, but if not, then he had no reason to change shop.
Shizuka slightly blushed, which was very rare for her and looked away from Akira. It seemed that she was happy that he was this invested in her shop.
"With this, it would make 3 Hunters higher than Rank 40 as my frequent customers. It seems that my shop has really turned into something great."
Shizuka glanced at Elena and Sara. Akira followed suit and looked at Elena and Sara too, but both of them seemed rather conflicted although they still smiled at him.
"Sara and I are Rank 41, basically one rank below you."
"So you finally surpassed us, huh. Well, I do think that it was only a matter of time, but I didn't expect it to be this fast."
When Akira started working on that rank up request, Elena and Sara started working seriously to get their rank up for real. They prioritized taking on difficult requests and were able to finish them one by one. The expedition into the deeper part of Kuzusuhara ruin was one of them. After making high-quality maps of the ruin, bringing back expensive relics, and performing well during that fight the other day, they even contributed during the fight to repel the monster swarm as well.
The reason why Elena and Sara worked that hard was partly because of their competitive spirit toward Akira. To put it bluntly, it was to keep their pride as Akira's senior, but their main reason was to stay as his senior even only for a little longer.
After all of their hard work and racking all of the achievements that they were quite proud of, they ended on Rank 41 which was a pretty high rank in their opinion.
But Akira went even above it. Although they were honestly happy with Akira's achievement, they also felt rather conflicted by it.
"Ah, yes, of course. I think I'll still be asking for your help too from here and on."
"Fufufu, thank you."
After that, they started talking about buying new equipment. Even for Elena and Sara, 1 billion Aurum was a huge amount of money. Elena and Sara were thinking that it might be better if they also invested more in their equipment.
That was when Sara suddenly had a question for Akira.
"I can understand that you want a better set of equipment since you lost all of them last time, but you can actually use your reward for something else, you know? It's not like you only live to fight, right?"
Sara thought that this time Akira was spending all of his reward for buying equipment, but that was not true, it was only the money that he got from selling a part of his Hunter record during that request.
A boost to Hunter Rank 42, the right to buy medicine and ammo cheaply reserved for Hunter Rank 50 and above, and finally, Kibayashi's connection with the Kugamayama City Management and the Hunter Office which allowed Akira to procure powerful weapons.
The original contract between Akira and Kibayashi regarding the rank up request was that Akira would get an extra reward in the case of an unforeseen accident. That battle against the oversized armored monster fell well under that clause. Thus following the contract, Akira received extra rewards. Meanwhile, he used most of that reward for getting new special equipment.
There was a lot of equipment that normal Hunters could not get their hands on. This special equipment was only available for the city defence squad, particularly for soldiers belonging to a special unit. It was difficult to buy equipment sold for the Hunters in the frontline back in the Kugamayama city, that was just how powerful this equipment was.
Akira would definitely need that kind of equipment to be able to accomplish that request from Alpha, so he decided to ask Kibayashi to help him get them. Of courses, Kiabayashi thought that it would be interesting to see what Akira would do with them, so he happily accepted it.
Getting powerful equipment needed extra permissions and special rights which would take time to get. In the worst-case scenario, it might even take months, sometimes even more than 6 months. Kibayashi did inform Akira about it and Akira was okay with it.
Although there was a big difference between Sara and Akira's assumptions, both of them thought that he used most of his reward for equipment. Because of that, he could not notice the misunderstanding and casually explained.
"Ahh, Akira, you're that type, huh? Well, with the money that you're earning, I think you'll be able to eat on the third floor of the Kugama building 3 times a day though."
"Ahh, now that you mention it, I did go there recently. It was amazing."
Elena said casually, thinking that since Akira was talking so enthusiastically, he would accept her invitation. But instead, Akira frowned and said.
"No, it's just the price, you see. I only went there since I was invited to discuss the reward from my previous request. So I was treated to the food there as a part of the reward. To be honest, I don't feel like going there if I have to pay on my own... Well, so that's basically why I will have to refuse, I'm sorry."
Yanagisawa was talking through his information terminal.
"Yes.. Yes..., I do feel bad about the powered suit. I'll also strongly recommend the City Management to use that powered suit. But that result is only from one battle record, I believe it's too little as proof to push for its deployment. As such, I believe that it's a good idea to get them deployed in the forward base and the supply route first to collect achievement before deploying it for the city defence squad. If it's just in the forward base, I should be able to push it through after all... Yes, I believe you can expect good results. Once it's decided that it'll be deployed for the city defence squad, please transfer the money as we agreed before... Yes, of course... Yes, until next time then."
Yanagisawa closed the call, his smile then vanished as he sighed.
Yanagisawa's men who were waiting for him to finish the call tilted their heads when he suddenly complained there.
"Commander, did it not go well?"
"Yeah. They're people from the higher echelon in the corporation after all. It won't go as well as when I negotiate with the usual guys."
"...I know it's common for you to be doing weird things, but commander, you can at least let us know from time to time, right?"
"Oh? I haven't told you before?"
"We did hear about the details of the borrowed equipment and how complex the document work was, but I have no idea why are we borrowing those things in the first place. I don't remember you ever tell us the reason, you see."
Yanagisawa often told his men what to do, but not why. It was true back then when the special ops unit went to the inner part of Kuzusuhara ruin, to bring Nelia to the upper floor of the Seranthal building. It was the same when Yanagisawa brought in the borrowed equipment.
Yanagisawa only gave a vague answer to that question with his usual crafty smile.
Yanagisawa seemed honestly surprised by that remark, so his men stopped bugging him any further. There were already multiple people in the team that had gone missing after investigating too much about Yanagisawa's plan.
"Well then, I have a report to make. It's about the automaton that you told me to investigate, it seems that it is as you guessed. Someone might have instigated that attack instead of it being a simple attempt from the monsters."
The details of the report suddenly appeared in everyone's line of sight. It contained detailed information about the ensued battles, their locations, and the number of people involved in those battles in a 3D map. Yanagisawa read a certain detail among the records and he immediately stopped smiling.
As his men immediately sprung into action and left the room, Yanagisawa stared sharply at the content of the report.
The report said that someone from the ruin management AI came with an offer.
Yatsubayashi yawned and sent a glance to that remote body. He was expecting Tiol to contact him sooner or later, but there was nothing today. He first thought that it was because of the range of the receiver and went to the inner part of Kuzusuhara ruin, but still, the result was the same.
In order to avoid breaking the receiver, Yanagisawa decided not to mess with the body. But it had been getting harder and harder for him to hold himself back from checking the receiver himself.
"...I guess it's about time for me to give up, huh. Tiol-kun, the bed is not free, you know?"
"You're not Tiol-kun, are you? Who might you be?"
"I'm a doctor after all."
The remote body showed a slight surprise before smiling at Yatsubayashi. It was a smile saying that it was impressed at how he was able to accurately identify it was a different person although it sounded as if he was saying so casually.
"That was really out of the blue, what about Tiol-kun?"
"He's inactive right now."
"As in dead? He's basically still my patient, you see."
"It depends on your definition of death. But based on your common indication of death, I believe it could be said that he's indeed already dead. I have no obligation to keep him alive, after all, you don't have the technology and the methods to do that. Do you want me to reactivate him after you make a deal with me?"
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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