ドランカムはクガマヤマ都市に無数に存在するハンターの徒党の一つだ。ハンター稼業を主業務とする民間軍事会社でもある。
ドランカムには多数のハンターが所属している。発足当初の小規模な組織だった頃は、元となったハンターチームの結束で問題なく順調に業務を続けていた。しかし組織が成長するにつれて、所属するハンター達の間で派閥が生まれ、時にはドランカムの運営に支障を来すことも出てくるようになった。
ドランカムが成長して規模を拡大していくと、組織の運営を円滑に進める
も増え始める。役職が増え、そこにハンターの経験のない者が増え始める。安全な都市の中から1歩も外に出たことのない人間が、危険な荒野に出る人間にしたり顔で指示を出す。命懸けでモンスターを撃退した際に使用した弾薬や回復薬が多すぎると文句を言い、持ち帰った遺物の質や量に採算が合わないと文句を付け始める。それは組織の運営としては正論かもしれないが、それでも腹は立つのだ。
そしてドランカムには最近新しい派閥が生まれていた。最近勢力を増してきている若手ハンター達の派閥である。彼らの後ろ盾はドランカムの運営方針に若手優遇の指針を与えた幹部だ。ドランカムでも珍しいハンター歴の無い幹部である。
その若手ハンター達の派閥はドランカムでも古参のハンター達の派閥と仲が悪い。そしてシカラベ達が所属している古参の派閥が、彼らとの派閥争いに勝つために賞金首討伐の功績に目を付けたのだ。
アキラはシカラベの話を聞いて依頼の背景を何となく把握した。理解の追いつかない部分をシカラベに尋ねる。
「ドランカムが内部でいろいろ
いた。大きな組織に所属するとアキラには思いも付かないことがいろいろあるようだ。
シカラベがアキラに尋ねる。
「納得できて、他に質問もないのなら、そろそろ返答を聞こうか」
「受けても良いけど、条件がある。基本的に俺は好き勝手に戦う。大まかな作戦には従うけど、部隊行動の細かい連携とかは期待しないでくれ。そして勝ち目がないと思ったら、俺は俺の判断で撤退する。撤退する時に一声掛けるけど、そっちの判断に従っていつまでも残って戦ったりはしない。死にたくないからな。この条件で良いなら受ける」
「随分そっちに都合の良い条件だな」
「それはお互い様だ。公式には存在しない扱いの人員だ。捨て駒にされるのは御免だ。で、どうする?」
今度はシカラベが思案を始める。十分思案した後に、不敵に笑って答える。
「良いだろう。契約成立だ」
アキラとシカラベの契約は成立した。これでアキラはかなり変則的ではあるが賞金首討伐に参加することになった。
アルファが少し
『アキラ。これで良かったの? 賞金首との遭遇を避ける予定だったはずよ?』
『最低限、俺の判断で勝手に逃げる約束は取り付けた。......俺の実力だと、やっぱり危険か?』
『アキラ1人で戦うわけではないし、止めるつもりはないわ。急に積極的になったなって思っただけよ』
『そうか? 比較的安全で、十分報酬が高いなら受けた方が良いと思っただけだよ。誰かが賞金首を討伐するのを待ち続けて、いつまでも遺跡に遺物収集にいけないのも問題だしな』
アルファは思案する。アキラをその思考に導いたのは、恐らくアキラとエレナの会話だ。アルファとしては、アキラの意思を大きく左右させる存在が、自分以外に存在するのは好ましくない。
今のところは許容範囲だ。しかし今後は分からない。対策は練っておいた方が良いだろう。アルファは
アキラは他の要員との顔合わせを兼ねてその場に残ることになった。
アキラは取りあえず席を移動した。そこに座っていると、次に交渉に来る人の邪魔になるからだ。シカラベ達がいるテーブルには注文用の端末が付いている。それを利用して簡単な料理を注文する。そしてシカラベから依頼の詳細を聞きながら料理を待つ。
賞金首討伐の簡単な計画は既に決まっていた。アキラは明日の朝4時に都市から少し離れた荒野でシカラベ達と合流して目標の賞金首を倒しに出発する。4体の賞金首の中からどの賞金首を討伐目標とするかは、ドランカム経由の情報と別経由の情報を考慮して、シカラベが出発直前に決めることになっている。
最悪の場合、出発前に全ての賞金首が他のハンターに討伐されている可能性もある。しかしだからといって今すぐに討伐に向かうわけにもいかない。シカラベ達もいろいろ準備が必要だ。今も人員の調達も含めてその準備の最中で、その後も徹夜で準備を済ませるらしい。
くすると少々着飾った格好の女性が料理を運んでくる。女性はアキラのような子供がいることに少々驚いていた。
彼女がアキラの前に料理を置きながらシカラベと話す。
「随分子供の新顔ね。しかも2階にいるなんて。シカラベ、あんたの連れ?」
「そうだ。こいつは今日も明日も忙しい。だから営業には来るな。他のやつにも言っておけ」
彼女が慣れた笑顔で話す。
に子供を相手にはしないわよ。あんた達の方は?」
「俺達も忙しいってマスターに言っているだろう。聞いていないのか? この席の客は全員対象外にしておけ」
「つれないわね。何のために2階にいるのよ」
「こっちにもいろいろあるんだ。この仕事が終わって祝杯を挙げる時には、俺達の気前も良くなってるさ。それまで待ってろ」
「その言葉、忘れないでよ?」
彼女は挑発的に笑って帰っていった。
アキラはその会話内容が少し気になってシカラベに尋ねる。
「2階に何か意味があるのか?」
「ああ。ここの3階は
シカラベの説明を聞いて、アキラは1階で店主に追い返されそうになった理由を理解した。アキラがシカラベに軽い非難の視線を向ける。
「......子供を呼び出す場所じゃないだろう」
シカラベが軽く笑いながら答える。
め息を吐いて、もうそれ以上深くは気にせずに食事を取ることにした。
アキラ達の席に4人組の男達が近付いてくる。ヤマノベは彼らに気付くと、軽く手を振って彼らを招く。彼らはヤマノベが呼んだ追加人員とその関係者だ。借金持ちの男が2人。2人の監視役の男が1人。そして債権者の代理人でありシカラベ達との交渉役の男が1人。
交渉役の男と監視役の男が席に着く。借金持ちの男達はその後ろに立っている。交渉役の男であるトメジマが言う。
「遅れたかな?」
ヤマノベが少し不機嫌そうに答える。
「ああ。俺達を待たせるだけのやつを連れてきたんだろうな?」
にお前達に高い手数料を支払ったんだ。これで後ろのやつが役立たずなら、こっちもそれなりの対応を取るからな」
「分かってる。交渉を始めようか」
ヤマノベはトメジマと依頼の交渉を始める。アキラは食事を続けながら交渉内容を聞いていた。アキラの隣には監視役の男が座っている。それはアキラの知っている人物だった。以前ヒガラカ住宅街遺跡で会ったハンターのコルベだ。
アキラから話しかけられたので、無視するわけにもいかずコルベも答える。
「また会ったな」
「借金持ちのハンターの監視役か。それが本業か?」
「副業だ。食われた両腕の治療費をそこの業者から借りてな。返済は済ませたが、その縁でこういう副業をしているんだ。義手の方も生身に戻したいから、まだまだ金が要るんだ。そっちは何でこんな場所に? シェリルの護衛はどうしたんだ?」
「コルベがギューバの借金とかに詳しかったのはそういうことか。監視ならもっとちゃんとやってくれ。そうすればあんな手間は省けただろう」
コルベが笑いながら答える。
「もしかして、デイルもそうなのか?」
「いや、あいつは借金持ちでもないし、監視役でもない。俺達とは無関係だ」
てに送ったらしいが、何の意味もないな。訳ありのハンターを囲っておくために、金融業者が仲介業者を装っているようなものだ。デイルが騒いで、その仲介業者の悪評が多少広まったとしても大して効果はない。元々半分ダミーみたいな業者なんだ。ガワだけ変えて作り直すだけだろう」
コルベの話を聞いて、アキラは
っていた。そしてついに耐えきれなくなり、荒々しい声でヤマノベ達の交渉に口を挟む。
「おい、そのガキもメンバーなのか?」
トメジマがカドルを
「勝手に口を挟むな。黙って待ってろ」
カドルがそれを無視してかなり不機嫌そうに話す。
「......こっちは命懸けで賞金首と戦うんだぞ!? そんなガキを勝手にチームに加えられて、報酬を分配する頭数を水増しされて、こっちの報酬を減らされるのは御免だって言ってるんだよ!」
場の人間の視線がアキラに集まる。アキラは平然としている。
「しかもそのガキ、そいつの知り合いじゃねえか! お前ら全員でグルになって、俺の報酬を減らそうって魂胆か!? ふざけるなよ!」
トメジマがカドルの話を聞いて思案する。そして交渉を優位に動かす材料ができたとほくそ笑み、強い口調でカドルを
「良いから黙ってろ! 交渉に口を挟むな! ......コルベ、見張ってろ」
興奮気味のカドルを押さえるために、コルベが立ち上がってカドルの横に立つ。その後でトメジマがヤマノベに話す。
「......まあ、何だ、そいつの言い分も分かるだろう。こっちとしてもガキを増やして頭数にされるのはちょっとな。何とかならないか?」
「具体的には? お前も交渉役なら、具体的な内容はそっちから出せよ」
「そのガキをチームから外せとは言わないが、報酬の分配比率を実力相応に下げてほしいね」
トメジマはアキラを見ながらそう提案した。ドランカムには若手のハンターが多数在籍していて、しかもドランカムの優遇処置により、実力とは分不相応に高性能な装備を身に着けているハンターもいると聞いていた。アキラをその類いの若手のハンターだと考えたのだ。
カドルの考えもトメジマと大体同じである。ただし更に評価が悪い。シカラベ達がトメジマと結託して自分への報酬を下げるために、装備だけ取り繕ったハンターを連れてきたのだと考えていた。
う。アキラと交渉したのはシカラベだ。今からアキラの契約条件を変更する場合は、アキラとシカラベの両方の納得が必要だ。
シカラベが面倒そうな表情でアキラの様子を確認する。アキラは
め息を吐いてから、真顔でトメジマ達に宣言する。
「駄目だ。既にアキラとは報酬を頭割りってことで契約済みだ。お前らの都合でそれを変更したりはしない」
トメジマが苦笑いを浮かべながら話す。
「おいおい。幾ら何でも俺が連れてきたやつらと、そのガキの報酬が同じってのは
シカラベは自分達、つまりシカラベ、ヤマノベ、パルガの3人を基準にしてそう答えた。しかしカドルはアキラを基準にしている言葉に捉えてしまった。
馬鹿にされたと捉えたカドルが憤慨して叫ぶ。
「俺がこのガキより下だと!?」
カドルにはまだ辛うじて理性が残っていた。しかし食事を続けていたアキラが、叫ぶカドルを非常に面倒そうな表情で見て、
シカラベが軽く笑いながら思案する。
(......視界の外で行われた動きに対してこの反応。アキラは地下街でも離れた場所にいるモンスターの位置を正確に把握していたが、同じ技術か? 情報収集機器を常時作動させて、常に周囲を監視しているのか? ......違う気がするな。動きの方は強化服の性能と考えられるが、アキラが着ている強化服は地下街の時とは別の製品だ。強化服の身体能力を把握して十全に動くためには、相応の訓練が必要なはず。この短期間で新しい強化服を使いこなしているのか? それとも強化服の制御装置が優秀なのか? ......違う気がするな。どうもアキラが相手だと、こういう勘が鈍るんだよな)
シカラベはアキラの反応と動きを称賛しつつ、アキラにその反応と動きを可能にさせた何かを探っていた。当たらずといえども遠からず。比較的近い答えを導けたのはシカラベの優秀さの証拠だろう。
シカラベの推薦とはいえ、ヤマノベとパルガはアキラの実力に対して半信半疑だった。だがその実力の一端を見て評価を改めた。シカラベが連れてきただけはあると考え直し、アキラを十分な戦力として換算する。
アキラはカドルの口の中に銃口を突きつけながら、カドルの顔を無表情で見ながら、シカラベに何でもないことを聞くように尋ねる。
「シカラベ。こいつを殺すと、明日の作戦にどの程度影響が出る?」
る。アキラが脅しではなく、普通に本気で尋ねていることが分かったからだ。
シカラベは少し驚いたが、アキラを無理に止めるような返事はしない。
アキラがまだカドルを殺していないのは、一応既にシカラベに雇われている状態だからだ。そしてアキラがカドルを殺すと、アキラの手で依頼の成功率を下げる可能性があったからだ。しかしシカラベの返答で、その条件の大部分は取り払われた。
アキラのカドルを見る目が僅かに暗くなる。アキラの目を見たカドルの
「ただこの場で殺すと、この店の主人から死体の処理代や血で汚れた床の掃除代、穴の開いた床の修繕費用を請求されるかもしれない。それは自分で払えよ?」
「駄目だ。銃声を聞いて怒鳴り込んでくる主人の対処も自分でやれ。俺は面倒だから手伝わない」
め息を吐いて銃を戻した。アキラのカドルへの殺意は、その後の面倒事を許容するほど強くなかった。ここが荒野なら殺していた。荒野ならば死体は適当に捨てれば済む。似たようなことを考える者はそれなりにいて、荒野の治安を悪化させていた。
アキラがシカラベの方へ振り返る。
「俺は帰る。このままここにいると面倒事が増えそうだ。明日も早いしな。後で念のために明日の集合場所と集合時間を俺の情報端末に送ってくれ」
「分かった。ちゃんと準備を済ませておけ。遅れるなよ?」
アキラはそれだけ言って階段の方へ向かおうとする。しかし一度止まって付け加える。
「......それと、シカラベがそこの馬鹿を雇うのは勝手だが、そいつを生きて返す約束はしない方が良いぞ」
シカラベは笑って返事をした。アキラの言いたいことはシカラベにもしっかり伝わっていた。アキラはそのまま階段の方へ去っていった。
「短気だねぇ。あれは殺しすぎで自滅するタイプだな」
どちらかと言えばアキラの行動に対して否定的なヤマノベに対して、パルガがどちらかと言えば肯定的な意見を返す。
「相手が気長な保証はないし、一応防衛だ。その辺の区切りをしっかり付けておけば良いんじゃないか?」
「その辺の区切りは次第に甘くなっていくんだよ。今まさに、その末路がそこに転がっているだろう?」
ヤマノベがカドルを指差してそう話した。分かり
コルベがもう1人の借金持ちの男に警告する。
「お前も妙な
ヤマノベがトメジマを軽く威圧しながら笑う。
「さて、交渉の途中だったな。......確かに、俺がお前に伝えた追加要員の条件に、味方に銃を向ける馬鹿ではないこと、とは明示していなかった。契約は成立していないし、作戦も始まっていないし、俺達とお前達は味方ではないとも言える。その辺りの
深夜か早朝か判断に迷う時刻にアキラは車で荒野を移動していた。目的地はシカラベ達との合流地点だ。目的は賞金首討伐である。
日の出にはまだ時間がある時刻だ。アキラは前日に早めに就寝したが、それでも睡眠時間は足りていない。アキラは軽い眠気を堪えながら車を運転している。
助手席に座っているアルファがアキラに話す。
『私が運転するからアキラは今のうちに仮眠を取ったら? 何かあったら起こすから大丈夫よ。アキラが寝不足だと作戦に差し支えるわ』
「そうか? じゃあ頼む......、待て、俺が眠っていると、アルファの運転に差し支えたりはしないのか? 俺の意識が
アキラは以前にスタングレネードの影響を受けた時のことを思い出して、アルファに一応確認した。
アルファが笑って答える。
『問題ないわ。車と強化服は違うし、睡眠時と意識が
アキラにはその違いがよく分からなかった。だがアルファが大丈夫だと言っているので問題ないのだろう。そう判断して仮眠を取ることにした。
アルファが眠り始めたアキラを見て
それなりに仮眠を取った後で、アキラがアルファに起こされる。
『おはよう。眠気は取れた?』
アキラは目覚め切れていない頭で辺りを見渡して状況を確認する。日はまだ昇っていない。
『今のうちに何か食べておいたら? シカラベ達と合流した後に食事の時間がある保証はないわ』
アキラは後部座席の荷物からハンター用の携帯食を取り出す。車の後部に積まれている荷物の大半は予備の弾薬等だが、一応食料の類いも積んである。
ハンター向けに販売されている携帯食には、通常の携帯食とは異なる部分を売り物にしている商品も多い。
一見普通の食料で味も食感も普通だが、ほぼ完全に体内に消化吸収されて体外に排出される量が極めて少なく、更に尿意や便意を抑える効果があるもの。回復薬の代わりとしても使用できるもの。何らかの原因、食事中に胃を破壊されるなどの理由で体内に紛れ込んでも悪影響の出ないもの。異常なまでに消化吸収が速いもの。意識の覚醒を促し集中力を高めるもの。都市の中で普通に生活している限り、全く必要としない機能や効果、安全性を売りにしている商品だ。
アキラは試しにそれらの商品をいろいろ購入していた。アキラが手にしているハンター用の携帯食は、見た目はただのサンドイッチとコーヒーだ。強いて言えば、サンドイッチはしっかり柔らかく、コーヒーはしっかり温かい。アキラは
「そう言われても、普段はあれで特に文句もないしな」
アキラが家で食べる食事は、宿に泊まっていた時と大して変わっていない。それでもスラム街での生活に比べれば十分豪勢な食事ではある。今のところ、アキラは普段の食事に
をしても問題ないことは覚えておいて。少なくともハンター用の携帯食を、気兼ねなく選べる程度にはね』
アキラは後部座席に手を伸ばして追加の携帯食を手に取った。そのアキラの姿を見てアルファが少しだけ苦笑していた。
アキラが食事を終えた頃、シカラベ達に指定された集合場所が見え始めた。集合地点には既にシカラベ達が待機していた。
Drankam was one of the countless Hunter gangs in Kugamayama city. It was also a private military organization that focused on Hunter jobs.
There were many Hunters in Drankam. When it was just a union of a small clique of Hunters, it had no problem at all. But as it grew, factions started to form inside the gang, to the point that it sometimes disturbed the management of the gang.
As Drankam grew into a huge organization, the gang started to take in common people to make sure that the gang's management could continue smoothly. Although it gave a boost to its growth, it also worsened the faction problem.
Some frictions started to spark between the management and the other people in the gang. As they needed more Hunters to fill the executive positions, inexperienced Hunters started to flow into the gang. Those people who never stepped outside the safe city would give orders to the people who faced the dangers of the wasteland firsthand, they even complained saying that the very people who went out to fight the monsters used too much ammo or medicines, or scolding them for bringing back bad relics or not enough relics to justify the expense. Although that might be the correct way to manage a big organization, it still rubbed the Hunters the wrong way.
Then there was one particular faction that started to rise lately. It was a faction of young Hunters that kept gathering influences. The very people backing up this faction were the people of the upper echelons who decided on the rule of how the gang will be organized, to be more precise, they were the people who made the new rule about prioritizing young Hunters. They were the Hunters with no particular past achievements, it was rare for these Hunters to get to the upper echelons position.
The young Hunter faction had a feud with the veteran Hunter faction inside the gang. Shikarabe was a part of the veteran Hunter faction, and so he was aiming to get the bounty monster in order to win that war of influence.
After listening to Shikarabe's story, Akira more or less understood the reason behind Shikarabe's offer. He then asked Shikarabe about the points that he did not fully understand.
"I understand that there's infighting inside Drankam. So, how exactly is that related to not passing this request through the Hunter Office?"
Akira sympathized as he mumbled those words. It seemed that joining a big gang brought more trouble than he had thought.
Shikarabe then asked Akira.
"If you don't have any more questions and okay with it, it's about time I hear your answer."
"I don't mind taking your offer, but I have a couple of conditions. I always fight alone, so I want you to let me stay like that. I'll still help you with your strategy, but don't expect me to work together with another team. And also, I'll leave if I judge that we don't have any winning chance. Although I'll ignore you even if you tell me to stay and fight, I'll at least let you know when I leave. I don't want to die after all. If you're okay with these conditions, then I don't mind taking your request."
"Those conditions are rather a lot to ask for, you know."
"I can say the same to you too. I'll be an unofficial part of your team, even my name won't be recorded. I have no plans to be your sacrificial pawn. So?"
This time, it was Shikarabe who took some time thinking. After a few seconds, he smiled confidently and said.
"Very well, we have a deal."
Akira and Shikarabe made a deal there. Although Akira would act separately, he was added to Shiakarabe's bounty hunting team.
Alpha looked a bit surprised by that.
"Akira, are you really okay with that? Weren't we going to avoid meeting with the bounty monster?"
"I at least got him to agree that I can run in case if I think we have no winning chance... Or is it still too dangerous with my current ability?"
"It's not like you're going to fight it alone, so I don't plan to stop you. It just caught me by surprise that you suddenly got so interested in doing this."
"Is that so? I think it should be relatively safe though, and since the reward is pretty good, I just thought that it might be okay to take the request. After all, it would be a problem to me if no one won't take those bounty monsters out anytime soon since I can't go to the ruin to gather relics."
Alpha then thought. The reason why Akira decided to take that offer was mostly because of that conversation with Elena. For Alpha, anything that could greatly influence Akira action was bad news.
It was still tolerable for now. But no one knew how it would affect him in the future. Thus, Alpha decided that it would be better to come up with a way to mitigate it.
After that, Akira stayed in the pub to meet the other team members.
He moved to another seat since he would be blocking the next person negotiating with Shikarabe if he kept sitting on that chair that was across the table from Shikarabe. There was an order terminal fixed on the table where they were, Akira used that terminal to order some simple meal. He then waited for his meal to come while talking with Shikarabe about the details of his request.
Shikarabe had decided on a simple plan to hunt for the bounty monsters. The next day, at 4 in the morning, Akira would meet up with Shikarabe and the other Hunters outside the city before going to hunt for the bounty monster. As for which monster among the 4 bounty monsters that they were going to hunt, Shikarabe would gather information both from Drankam and from other routes and decide right before they went out on their hunt.
Although, in the worst-case scenario, someone might hunt the 4 bounty monsters before they could even try. But it was not like they could go right now. Shikarabe and his friends had a lot of things to prepare first. They were in the middle of making that preparation while gathering more Hunters. It seemed that they even planned to work overnight tonight to finish their preparation.
Not too long after that, a girl wearing a s.e.xy dress came with the meal that Akira ordered. She was surprised to find a young boy like Akira there.
She then placed Akira's order on the table and asked Shikarabe.
"This is a pretty young newcomer, not to mention that this is the second floor. Shikarabe, are you the one who brought him here?"
"Yes. This guy will be busy today and tomorrow, so don't try to offer anything to him. Tell that to the other girls too."
That girl made a friendly smile and said.
"Of course we won't offer anything to a small boy like him. How about your friends?"
"I'm sure the master also told you that we're going to be busy too, right? He didn't tell you? Everyone in this table is out of question."
"What boring men! Why are you even on the second floor?"
"We have a lot of things going on too. When we finish this job, we'll throw a big party and spend a lot of money here. So wait until then."
"Don't forget those words, okay?"
She smiled seductively before leaving that place.
Akira was not sure what they were talking about, so he asked Shikarabe.
"Is there anything special with the second floor?"
"Well, the third floor of this building is a brothel. So the waitresses on the second floor also offer their service and will go to the third floor. So people who only want to drink would stay on the first floor in this building."
After hearing Shikarabe's explanation, he understood why he was told to leave when he was on the first floor. He looked at Shikarabe with a blaming gaze.
"...You shouldn't call a boy to this place, you know."
Shikarabe lightly laughed.
Akira sighed, he then decided to ignore the fact that he was on the second floor and started eating.
A group of 4 men approached the table where Akira and Shikarabe were. Yamanobe noticed them and waved his hand. They were the people that Yamanobe called and the people who accompanied them. Basically, 2 Hunters with debt, their observer, and someone sent by their creditor who would be the one negotiating with Shikarabe.
The observer and the person from the crediting company took a seat. The Hunters in debt stood behind them. The guy from the crediting company started first.
"Are we late?"
Yamanobe, who was dissatisfied, replied.
"Yeah, so you better bring the people that I asked you for making us wait like this."
"Isn't that why I paid you a lot of money? So if the people that you bring me are useless, I won't let that slide."
"I know, I know. Let's start the negotiation."
Yamanobe started his negotiation with Tomejima. Akira was still eating his meal while listening to them. The guy working as the observer then sat beside Akira. Akira knew him, he was the Hunter who Akira met in Higaraka Residence Ruin, it was Colbert.
Since Colbert talked to him first, it was not like Akira could just ignore him now.
"We meet again huh, Akira."
"Observer for Hunters with debt, huh? Is it your main job?"
"Nah, just a side job. The company that guy is working for, I owed them the money that I spent to fix my arms which got eaten by the monsters. So it's either I pay them the money or I have to do this kind of job for them. Since I want to fix my prosthetic arm too, I still need money. So then, why are you here? How about your job to escort Sheryl?"
"So that explains why you knew about Guyver's debt, huh. I really hope you'll do your job properly as an observer, you know. If you did back then, we wouldn't have had to get in that trouble."
Colbert just laughed and said.
"Don't tell me that Dale too..."
"Nah, he doesn't have a debt and he's not an observer for Guyver. He's completely unrelated to us."
"I heard Dale sent a long complaint to the arbitrator company, but that was pointless. After all, it's basically a creditor company pretending to be an arbitrator company in order to keep the Hunters in debt under its watch. Even if Dale caused a ruckus and told people how bad the company is, it'll have almost no effect at all. It's a half-dummy company, so it can just shed its old skin and restart again."
After listening to Colbert, Akira mumbled as if it has nothing to do with him. Well, it was about someone else after all.
Kadol was already annoyed the moment he saw Akira. But he finally could not hold himself back as he suddenly interjected in the middle of the negotiation with a rude voice.
"Hey, is that boy also a team member?"
Tomejima quickly scolded him.
"Don't interrupt like that! Just shut up and wait there!"
But Kadol ignored him as he said annoyedly.
"...I'm going to risk my life out there, you know?! So I don't want a small boy like him joining the team and reducing my share of reward!!"
Everyone turned to Akira, who looked completely calm.
"Moreover, isn't that boy his acquaintance?!! Are all of you guys planning to cut my share and get them for yourself?!! Don't f.u.c.k with me!!"
Tomejima suddenly came up with something. He saw a way to make him get the upper hand in that negotiation, thus he scolded Kadol and told him to shut up.
"Just calm down and shut up!! Don't interrupt the negotiation!!... Colbert, you watch him!"
In order to hold Kadol back, Colbert stood up from his seat and stood next to Kadol. Tomejima then continued.
"...Well, uhh, I can understand him though. So yeah, adding a small boy like him as a member will only reduce our share, you know? Can you do something about that?"
"What exactly do you want me to do? If you're here to negotiate, I'm sure you have thought of some terms too, right?"
"I won't tell you to take that boy off the team, but I want you to reduce his share depending on his skill."
Tomejima looked at Akira as he said that. He heard that there were a lot of young Hunters in Drankam, and he also heard that due to its preferential treatment, the gang loaned good equipment to those young Hunters regardless of their skill. He thought that Akira was one of those young Hunters.
Kadol more or less thought of the same thing as Tomejima, except it was worse. He thought that Shikarabe colluded with Tomejima by bringing that boy Hunter so that his reward share would be reduced.
Yamanobe then looked at Akira and Shikarabe. Akira was in contract with Shikarabe, thus he would need both of their agreements first to change the contract now.
Shikarabe looked annoyed as he checked on Akira, but Akira just started eating peacefully as if it was none of his business.
Shikarabe sighed and looked at Tomejima with a straight face.
"No, we already had a deal that his share is based on the number of people in the team. I can't just change that to comply with your demand."
Tomejima smiled bitterly and said.
"Whoa whoa. No matter how you look at it, isn't it unfair for that boy to get the same amount of reward as the people that I bought today?"
Shikarabe used themselves, i.e Shikarabe, Yamanobe and Valga, as the indicator when he said that, but Kadol thought that he was being compared to Akira.
Kadol, who thought that he was getting mocked, could not hold himself back as he shouted.
"Are you telling me I'm weaker than this brat?!"
Kadol still had some of his common sense left. But after his scream, Akira, who was still eating as if it was nothing, looked at him with an annoyed face. Akira then sighed as if he was just a minor bother to him and returned back to eating. That exact thing blew the last shred of rationality from Kadol. It looked as if Akira was mocking him.
Shikarabe smiled and thought.
[...He reacted to something that happened outside his field of view. It reminds me that he somehow was able to detect the monsters in the underground city, is it from the same technique? Is he always putting his information-gathering device to scan the area around him...? I don't think that's right. The way he moved might be thanks to his augmented suit and he's already using a different augmented suit compared to when we were in the underground city. Anyone would need a lot of training to be able to use the full power of their augmented suit, and he was able to achieve that for a new augmented suit in such a short time? Or is it all thanks to the quality of the augmented suit...? No, that's not it. For some reason, I feel like my intuition is always dulled when I'm around him.]
Although he was amazed by Akira's moves, he was also trying to find the reason why Akira could do that. His guess was not correct, but not entirely wrong either. His ability to make such a guess was proof of how good he was as a Hunter.
Although Shikarabe was the one who invited Akira to the team, Yamanobe and Valga actually were still suspicious of Akira's real ability. But their opinion was changed in an instant. They thought that it was as expected for Shikarabe to invite such a Hunter and approved that Akira would be an important addition to the team's power.
Akira was still pushing the muzzle of his rifle into Kadol's mouth, he was expressionless as he stared at Kadol. He then casually asked Shikarabe.
"Shikarabe, if I kill this guy, how much will it affect tomorrow's plan?"
Kadol tried to break away, he knew that Akira was not trying to scare him. Akira was seriously asking that question to Shikarabe.
Shikarabe was a bit surprised by that question, but he did not try to stop Akira.
The only reason why Akira had not pulled the trigger yet was because Kadol was already in a contract with Shikarabe. And if Akira killed him, it would lower his success chance for hunting the bounty monsters. But with that answer from Shikarabe, most of his worries were already resolved.
Akira's eyes suddenly turned dark and ominous. Kadol who was looking at those eyes was frightened. His life was hanging by a thread, but before the thread snapped, Shikarabe suddenly said.
"But if you kill that guy here, the master of this place will ask you to pay for cleaning the corpse and the blood. Not to mention that he might also ask for money to repair the bullet hole on the floor too. We won't help you pay that, you know?"
"No. You'll have to deal with the master, I'm sure he'll come here angry after hearing the gunshot. We won't help you with anything."
Akira sighed and pulled back his rifle. His desire to kill Kadol was not big enough compared to the aftermath that he should deal with later. If it was in the middle of the wasteland, Akira would have killed him. After all, if it was the wasteland, he could just pick a random place and dump the corpse there. A lot of people had the same line of thinking, that was why the civil order in the wasteland was the worst.
Akira turned back to Shikarabe and his friends.
"I'm leaving. I feel like it'll only cause me more trouble if I stay here. Not to mention, I have to wake up early tomorrow. Just to be safe, send me the position and time for the meeting tomorrow to my information terminal."
"Alright. Make sure to finish your preparation by then and don't be late, okay?"
Akira then headed to the stairs. But he suddenly stopped and added.
"...And also, I don't care if you want to pay that fool there, but it might be better not to expect him to return back alive, you know."
Shikarabe laughed as he said. The thing that Akira wanted to say was well conveyed to him. Akira then headed to the stairs and went to the first floor.
"That boy is really short-tempered. People like him tend to kill too much and get broken later."
Valga also made his remark, but compared to Yamanobe's remark which was rather negative, his remark was positive.
"There's no guarantee that he would take that insult lightly. It was more or less an act of self-defence. I think it's a good idea to keep that distinction in mind, you know?"
"Depending on where you put that line, you might be taking it too lightly. I mean like, look at the aftermath over there."
Yamanobe then pointed at Kadol. With that easy to understand example right in front of him, Valga nodded in approval.
Colbert then warned the other debt-ridden Hunter.
"You too, don't try anything funny."
Yamanobe and Tomejima laughed awkwardly.
"Now then, we were in the middle of a negotiation, right? Well, it's true that I didn't ask you in particular not to bring a fool who would point his gun at his teammate. We haven't made any deal yet, and we haven't made any detailed plan yet. It could even be said that we're not teammates yet. So let's keep that in mind as we continue our negotiation."
Akira was on his way to the wasteland, the sky was dark, it was not clear whether it was in the middle of the night or early in the morning. He was heading straight to the meeting ground to meet Shikarabe and the other Hunters for hunting bounty monsters.
It was still a few hours until the sun rose. Although he slept sooner than usual the day before, he still did not get enough sleep for the day. He was driving his vehicle while trying to stay awake.
Alpha, who was sitting next to Akira in the driver assistant seat, said.
"I can do the driving if you want to get some sleep. I'll wake you up when something happens, so don't worry. Being sleep-deprived would affect your performance after all."
"Is that so? I'll be counting on you then... Wait, if I sleep, won't it affect your driving? If I lose consciousness, you won't be able to control my augmented suit, right?"
Akira remembered when that happened because of a stun grenade, thus he wanted to check that with Alpha.
Alpha just smiled and said.
"No problem. The vehicle is not like your augmented suit, it won't affect me even if you lose consciousness."
Although Akira did not understand what exactly was different about his vehicle and his augmented suit, if Alpha told him that it would be okay, he was sure that it would be okay. Thus he decided to get some sleep.
Alpha smiled as she saw Akira starting to fall asleep. She then adjusted her driving so that he would not be late while also not interrupting his sleep.
After Akira got a good nap, Alpha woke him up.
"Morning, did you get a good sleep?"
Akira was still a bit dazed as he looked around to confirm the situation, the sun had still not risen yet.
"How about getting something to eat while you still have the chance? There's no guarantee that you'll have a chance to eat after you meet up with Shikarabe."
Akira took out the Hunter ration from the pile of his stuff in the backseat. Half of that pile was ammo and other equipment but there was some food too.
The Hunter ration was completely made of a different material from the normal ration.
Although it tasted normal and had a normal texture, it would get completely broken down inside Hunter's body and produce almost no waste. It also suppressed bowel movement and urine production. You could even use it in place of medicine. It was engineered so that it would not cause any harm in case it got mixed in the flesh and blood when your stomach got punctured while still digesting the ration. It got digested so fast too and increased the sharpness of your mind. It was augmented with so many extra effects and safety features that you did not need in case you spent your peaceful and normal life in the city.
Akira had bought a lot of those rations to try using them. The ration that he had that day was a coffee and sandwich, both of them looked completely normal from the outside. Or to be more precise, the sandwich was soft and the coffee was warm, just like normal food. He made a long "hmm" and said.
"Even if you tell me that, it's not like I have any complaints with my usual food."
The food that he was eating on a daily basis back in his home was not that different compared to what he ate when he was still staying in inns. But even so, his food was still way better than most of the food in the slum city. Thus, at the moment, he was really satisfied with his current food. Of course, Akira himself wanted to eat something better, but he was still hesitating about paying a huge amount of money for that.
"Well, I won't force you or anything. But, just remember that it should be okay for you to afford a little bit of luxury. At least enough for you to pick the Hunter ration you like."
Akira then extended his hand to the back seat and took another Hunter ration. Looking at that, Alpha just smiled bitterly.
Right after Akira finished his meal, the meeting ground started to come into his view. Shikarabe and his friends were already waiting for him there.
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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