208 それぞれの訓練
アキラは自宅でアルファに訓練を付けてもらい、数日置きに荒野でエリオ達の模擬戦に付き合う日々を送っていた。次の遺跡探索はイイダ商業区画遺跡での成果の換金が済んでからにする。そう決めていたのだが、それが
にドランカムに遺物の売却を委託しているだけだからだ。ドランカムの都合で取り分を減らされたとなれば大問題だ。木っ端のハンターなら都市とも伝のあるドランカムの圧力で押し潰せる。だがハンターランク40を超えるハンターと金の絡む問題を起こせば、最悪の場合、そのハンターと無駄に殺し合う羽目になる。その被害は甚大だ。
ドランカムは普通ならこの手の問題を解決する
トガミがレイナ達と一緒に車で荒野に出ようとしていた。レイナが助手席でぼやいている。
「全く、いつになったらハンター稼業に戻れるのかしらね?」
トガミが苦笑する。
「そうぼやくなよ。訓練が嫌なら休んでいれば良いだろう?」
「別に訓練が嫌って訳じゃないわ。まだまだ実力不足だと思っているしね。ただ、汎用討伐すら駄目ってのはちょっと厳しすぎるでしょう? トガミだってそう思わないの?」
い加減にしてほしいわ」
トガミ達はドランカムからハンター稼業を一時的に禁止させられていた。これは旧世界製自動人形の売却交渉中にその暫定所有者が死亡した
「分かってるわ。分かってるから、ちょっとした息抜きだと思って見逃してよ」
レイナが軽く
「最近シオリ、また行儀作法とかにうるさくなったのよね。その手の訓練も増えてきたし。今更そんなものを身に着け直しても仕方ないっていうのに。行儀作法も大切だとは思うけど、一体何を考えて......」
レイナの思考が続く前に、カナエが笑いながらちゃかすように口を挟む。
「トガミ少年との付き合いの
にされても困るんだがな」
心当たりがあるレイナが軽く焦り、トガミも苦笑を浮かべた。カナエの言葉で、レイナが僅かに覚えた疑問は笑い話として流されていった。レイナもトガミもそれが意図的なものとは気付けなかった。
エリオ達が荒野で総合支援強化服の試験に付き合っている。今日はアキラがいないので2チームに分かれて模擬戦を続けていた。
模擬戦は少数対多数という偏った形式で行われていた。少数側は総合支援強化服の過負荷設定を受け入れた者達だ。エリオに感化されて他にも数名の希望者が出ていた。多数側は以前の着用者に優しい設定のままだ。かなりの人数差にも
そこにトガミ達が合流する。タバタによる軽い紹介と説明を済ませた後、模擬戦はエリオ達対トガミ達の形式で行われることになった。カナエは格闘戦が基本なので参加せずに観戦に回っている。
トガミ達の模擬戦の準備が終わるまでの休憩時間に、少年達が雑談している。
「あれさ、前に見たメイド服の人だよな。片方しかいないけど」
「多分な。うーん。あっちの偽物っぽい人より本物っぽい人の方が良かったな」
「そうか? 俺はあっちの人の方が好みだけど」
「......お前、趣味悪いな」
「何だと?」
とりとめのない雑談を挟んだ後、模擬戦が始まる。エリオ達とトガミ達が配置に付いて開始の合図を待っている。
エリオが緊張しながら集中していると、ヘルメットから支援システムの声が響く。
「高い緊張状態を感知しました。効率的な行動の
これならいける。エリオは軽い歓喜すら覚えて少し笑いながら、模擬戦開始の合図と同時に駆けだした。
2対多数。相手は全体指揮の支援付き。その普通なら絶望的な戦力差を、トガミとレイナは己の装備と実力で覆していた。素早く移動し続けて場を
楽な状況など一瞬たりとも存在しない。僅かな気の緩みで瞬く間に戦況を覆される苦戦が続いている。だがトガミもレイナも軽い満足感すら覚えながら笑って戦っていた。
レイナがまた1人撃破しながら思う。
い! 中身はハンターでもない素人だって聞いたけど、これが総合支援強化服ってやつの性能なの? ここまで変わるのならアキラも装備と訓練で装備を優先させる訳ね。私も下手な意地を張っていたわ。でも......)
(私も装備だけだって言われるわけにはいかないの! シオリ達と一緒に積み上げた訓練を否定させない
トガミがまた1人撃破しながら思う。
(強い。これが新型の総合支援強化服の性能か。確かカツヤ達がこれの現行版だったか先行安定版だったかを使用して、結構な成果を上げてるんだったな。幹部連中が若手全員にこれを配ろうと考えているらしいけど、その気持ちも分かる。だが......)
トガミが軽く苦笑する。
(それに幾ら掛かる? シカラベ達が若手を嫌いになる訳だ。俺は恩恵を受けてきた側だから代償にも納得できるが、シカラベ達は代償だけ支払っているんだからな。俺もそろそろ支払う側だ。その支払い以上に稼ぐ
「どうだ。この価格でこの性能。大したものだろう。費用対効果はそこらの戦闘薬とは比べものにならないぞ?」
「だからと言って、俺に販促をされても困る。確かに俺達の強化服には、戦闘中にその手の薬を使用可能な機能は付いている。だが基本は回復薬とかだ。加速剤まで混ざった戦闘薬じゃない。それに使用する薬も本社側で協力関係にある製薬会社と調整しているはずだ。飽く
「この成果を見てもか?」
「俺に使用する薬剤を決定する権限はないよ。まあ、データは一応本社に送っておいてやる。そっちでの検討結果に期待してくれ」
「どうせ性能なんか二の次で、デカい製薬会社の利害調整とかで決まるんだろう? 全く、どいつもこいつも迷信
「何でそう思う?」
ヤツバヤシがどこか自嘲気味に笑う。
「ふん。もしそうなら今頃大企業の研究所で予算を気にせずに研究に
更に少し熱を込めて続ける。
「俺の才能をそこまで高く評価してくれるのなら、是非とも資金援助をお願いしたいね。大量生産の設備を整えて、ある程度の治験試験さえ済ませれば、絶対売れるって。いや、ライセンス生産でも良い。そっちの会社から付き合いのある製薬会社に通してさ......」
不完全な内容に支援システムが意図を補完して答える。
「戦闘薬の追加注入は身体に強い負荷が掛かります。それでも使用しますか?」
「......もっとだ」
エリオは無意識に繰り返し、システムは機械的に繰り返す。大量に投与された戦闘薬がエリオに更なる力を与えていく。その一時的に超人になったような幻想のままに、エリオは駆けた。
レイナは急に動きを不自然に早めた相手に対応しきれなかった。しまった、と思った時には手遅れで、回避が遅れて相打ちにするのが精一杯だった。撃破判定を受けたので、悔しそうな表情を浮かべたまま地面に伏せる。
トガミはレイナが落とされた後も奮闘していたのだが、片方を落としたことに意気を上げた残りの者達が刺し違える前提で飛び込んでくると、良いところまでいったのだが撃破されてしまった。
模擬戦終了の合図が出る。撃破判定を受けて倒れていた者達が次々に立ち上がる。少年達は自分達の勝利を知って喜んでいた。
先にカナエの
カナエが少し真面目な顔を浮かべている。
「お嬢を倒した少年。危ないっすね」
「危ない? まあ次からもっと警戒して当たらないと駄目だと思うけど」
「そうじゃないっす」
カナエがレイナを倒した相手を、今も倒れたままのエリオを指差す。他の者が既に立ち上がっているのに、エリオだけ倒れたままで動こうとする気配もない。少年達もエリオの様子に気付き、呼びかけても全く反応を見せないエリオの様子に慌て始め、急いで治療担当のヤツバヤシを呼びに行った。
「あの少年。多分何らかの戦闘薬を多用したっすね。その副作用で
レイナはそこまでは分からなかったが、地下街での戦闘でシオリに無理をさせた時のことを思い出し、複雑な表情を浮かべていた。
話を聞いていたトガミが何となく尋ねる。
「止めはしないっすけど、用法用量を守るのが大前提っす。戦闘中に熱くなるタイプは危ないっすね。ついかっとなって多用する人が多いっすから。あの少年もそんな感じで使ったんじゃないっすかね」
「いや、ちょっとしたこっちの事情で、次にあの店に行く機会は決めているんだ。だからこっちでいい」
シオリがほんの僅かに表情を固くする。
「......そうですか。では話を進めさせていただきます。御注文の方はお気兼ねなくどうぞ」
シオリの話は旧世界製自動人形の換金が遅れている状況の説明だった。以前にトガミから聞いた話より少し詳細な内容だが大筋は変わっていない。アキラはその話を料理の注文を済ませながら聞いていた。
く時間が掛かりそうです。アキラ様がお望みなら、事態が速やかに進むよう私の方から働きかけますが......」
アキラがまた少し表情を固くしたようなシオリの様子を少し不思議に思う。
「いえ、もう一つ御座います。料理が来ましたので、続きは少し食事を進めてからに致しましょう」
シオリは落ち着きを保つ努力をしながら優しく
上階の店とは大きな差があるとはいえ、この店の料理もそれなりに高い。アキラは家の食事より大分上質な料理の味を楽しんでいた。ある程度食事が進み、胃に収まった料理がアキラの機嫌を向上させたのを見計らって、シオリが僅かに緊張した様子で話を持ち出す。
「先日お譲りいただいた白いカードですが、私どもの伝でいろいろ試した結果、意外なほど大きな利益を生み出す可能性が出てきました。利益と言いましても、具体的な金銭のようなものではないのですが」
「そこでアキラ様にもそのお裾分けとでも言いますか、利益の一部を別の形で還元しようと思います。と言っても、金銭的な利益ではありませんので、直接現金をお渡しする訳にもいきません。そこで何か私にしてほしいことや頼みたいことなど、何か要望などが御座いましたら言ってください。出来る限り御要望にお応えします」
アキラが食事の手を止めて意外そうな表情を浮かべる。そして次に表情を
しむ。しかし疑問の方向性はシオリの心配とは逆方向だった。だがシオリもそこまでは分からず、少し顔を険しくしているアキラの態度に緊張を高めた。
「いろいろお考えのようですが、取りあえず好きに言ってみてください。私に出来ることであれば出来る限り対応いたします。......お嬢様との交際を希望されても困りますが」
アキラが何となくそう答えると、シオリが視線を僅かに不満げに鋭くした。アキラはそこに理不尽なものを覚えながらも思案を続ける。
「それなら、シオリの装備が欲しいっていうのは、駄目か?」
「......アキラ様。私の使用済みのメイド服やインナーの強化服に御興味が? お望みなら差し上げますが......」
「違う! 確かにそれも装備だろうが、刀とかの方だ。前の遺跡探索でもいろいろ斬ってたし、セランタルビルではデカい機械系モンスターを両断してただろう? そういう装備を手に入れる伝が欲しいってことだ。多分普通の店じゃ手に入らない品だろうからな」
「良いのか? よく知らないけど高いんじゃないか?」
「社の備品ですので具体的な金額は答えられないのですが、確かに非常に高額な品ではあります。ですが、それでも備品であり職務上の消耗品です。予備も御座いますのでご心配なく。私共の調整で済む話です」
「うーん。そう言われても、それだけであんまり高い物を
いすぎとお思いでしたら、一つ追加でお頼みします。あのカードについて他言無用でお願いします。強制は出来ませんが、企業の絡む守秘義務に触れることですので、口外されると不測の事態が発生する可能性があるのです。相手が私であってもです。お願いできますか?」
あのカードと縁を切りたい自分にとっても都合の良い頼みだ。企業絡みの守秘義務、口止め料ならば、高額な品を譲ってもらう口実にもちょうど良い。アキラはすぐにそう判断して
「ありがとう御座います」
都合良く事が運んだ。アキラとシオリは同じことを考えて軽く笑った。
その後、アキラはシオリと談笑を交えて食事を済ませるとビルの外で一度別れた。そして戻ってきたシオリから一振りの刀と整備道具などが入ったトランクを受け取った。別れの挨拶を済ませて互いに軽く頭を下げ、アキラは自宅へ、シオリはアキラを見送ってから防壁の内側へと帰っていく。
そこでシオリがアキラの背を見ながら思う。
えず、好印象だった。間違った選択ではなかったと信じたいわ)
白いカードについて、終わったことだと完全に白を切るか、一度蒸し返してでも利益を与えて好感を稼ぐか。シオリは悩んだ末に後者を選んだ。
これでアキラに事が露見しても、先に与えた情報が制限となって正確な利益を見誤り、真の利益を知って逆上してレイナに被害を与える危険性は大幅に下がっただろう。企業絡みの守秘義務ならば、万一の事態にアキラを思いとどまらせる理由にもなるはずだ。シオリはそう判断して少し安心した。
カナエから連絡が来る。
「今から帰るところっす。あ、お嬢が勝手に模擬戦に参加していたことは、何か口裏を合わせるっすか?」
「私は知らなかったことにしておくわ。お嬢様が口を滑らせたら私が追及するから、カナエは黙っていなさい」
「そうそう。お嬢は意外に結構強くなっていたっす。あれならハンターとしてもやっていけると思うっすよ?」
「お嬢様がその道を選んだのだとしても、別の選択肢を閉ざさないのが私の役割よ」
カナエとの通信が切れる。シオリはいろいろ思い悩みながら帰っていった。
自宅に戻ったアキラがシオリから
機能も備わっており、至近距離での攻防なら銃より優れている点も多い。大量のエネルギーと刀身の崩壊を引き換えにすれば、シオリがセランタルビルで見せたように、間合い外の巨大な敵を両断することも可能だ。
旧世界製のブレードにも匹敵する高性能な刀で、入手経路も限られている高級品。アキラの想像より高い一品だった。
予想外に手に入った新装備に少し浮かれ気味のアキラに、アルファが笑って提案する。
手に入れたのだから、この刀の訓練もしましょうか。アキラ。今から試してみる?』
意図を察したアキラが片方の刀を
「やっぱりこの訓練は便利だな。確かに本物を振り回したら車庫を両断しかねないからな」
『刀の性能は同じよ。前みたいにそっちだけブレードが伸びるのは変だとか言わないこと。分かったわね?』
アキラとアルファが少し距離を取って
『始めるわよ』
次の瞬間、アルファが握った刀で宙を勢い良く
『有りよ。刀の性能は同じって言ったでしょう? 文句は言わせないわよ? 床を自分の生首で埋め尽くしたくないのなら、しっかり防ぐなり避けるなりしなさい。次、始めるわよ』
アキラが体感時間の操作を始めながら防御重視の構えを取る。アキラの首が再び落とされるまで、今度はもう少し時間が延びた。
この日からアキラの訓練にこの刀を使用しての攻防が加わった。その結果、車庫内に散らばる死体の死因に斬殺が大分増えた。
Ch 208
Akira was going through training with Alpha in his home. Sometimes, he would also participate in mock battles with Erio and the other children in the wasteland. He had decided to only go to the ruin again once the automaton and the other relics he brought back from Lida commercial district ruin were fully converted into money. But for some reason, it was not done yet.
But with Akira added to the equation, it was not that simple. After all, Akira was only allowing Drankam to handle the sale of the automata to make it easier to divide the money later. If Drankam took a cut on that money, Akira would obviously complain. If it was just a common Hunter, Drankam could just crush him using their connection with City Management. But when it came to a Hunter above Rank 40, in the worst-case scenario, it might end up in a full-blown war and the damage from that war would no doubt have some form of repercussion.
Normally, Drankam would first buy the relic from the Hunter to gain full-ownership of it before selling in order to avoid this problem. But there was another problem with that approach. If the negotiation with Akira did not go well, it might significantly reduce the profit that Drankam might gain from the transaction.
Togami and Reina's group were about to get out to the wasteland when Reina, who was sitting on the driver's assistant seat, mumbled.
"Good grief, I wonder when we are going to be allowed to do Hunter jobs again."
Togami smiled wryly.
"Calm down, if you don't like the training, you can take a break instead, you know?"
"It's not that I don't want to do it and I do still think that I need more training. But we're not even allowed to do common monster extermination requests, you know? Isn't that a bit too strict? Don't you think so too?"
"Right? I really wish they would lift the restriction."
Togami's team was given a temporary restriction from Drankam so they could not do Hunter jobs. This was for the sake of preventing matters from becoming more complicated in case the rightful owners of the automata died. Although they were not exactly happy about it, they decided to obey the restriction. However, as they felt that it would take more time than usual, they decided to negotiate with the higher-ups. In the end, they were allowed to do some low-risk Hunter jobs.
"I know, so can you please just let it go for a bit for a change of pace."
Reina lightly sighed.
"Shiori has been bugging me about my mannerism again lately. She has also been actively making me take on that training again. To be honest, I don't think it's necessary at this point... Although mannerism is indeed important, I just don't see why she's getting stricter lately..."
Before Reina continued her thought, Kanae smiled and interjected.
"I don't know if it's because you've been working with Togami-boy a lot lately, but Milady, your word-usage is getting rough lately. So I bet Ane-san wishes to fix it before it gets worse."
"How is that my fault?"
Reina, who knew that Kanae was not completely wrong, became flustered. Togami only smiled bitterly in response to it. Kanae deliberately chose her words such that the heart of the matter was to be taken lightly. But of course, neither Reina nor Togami noticed it.
Erio and Togami were actually helping to test the coordination support system augmented suit. Since Akira did not participate in the test that day, the team was divided between Togami and Reina versus the rest.
The mock battle was divided between the minority vs the majority. The minority referred to those who were using the augmented suit with the overloaded setting. After Erio decided to keep using the overloaded setting, some other children actually asked for the same setting. While the rest, or the majority, were children who were using the original restricted setting. Although the difference in their numbers was huge, they were able to put up a good fight which showcased the difference in their fighting prowess.
That was when Togami's team came. After a short explanation from Tabata, they decided to set the mock battle as Togami's team vs the rest. Since Kanae was only there as a bodyguard, she did not join the mock battle and only participated as an observer running around the battlefield.
As Erio and the other children took a short break until Togami's team finished their preparation, they started to talk about the new addition to the test.
"Say, that maid is the one from back then, right? But where is the other one?"
"Yup, you're probably right. But to be honest, rather than that fake-looking maid, I actually prefer the other one that looks like a proper maid."
"Is that so? I actually like this one more though."
"...You have a very bad taste, you know?"
"What did you just say?!"
The start of the mock battle cut their endless idle talk. As they went to their respective starting positions, they then waited for the signal to start the mock battle.
Erio nervously waited while mentally preparing himself when the support system from his helmet made a suggestion.
"Detected high anxiety level. Please keep calm to ensure effective decision making."
Erio's spirit was lifted, he thought that he might have the chance to win with his newly gained power. The moment the signal for the start of the mock battle went up, he immediately kicked the ground and started running.
It was two against many and their opponent was supported with the coordination system. Normally, it would have been hopeless, but Reina and Togami compensated for that difference with their equipment and skill. They kept moving around to cause confusion. Although they did not communicate with each other, they moved around together as a team very well. They divided the fight into smaller 2 against 1 fights as they hunted their opponents one by one. When they were about to get surrounded, they would charge to break the encirclement to get away and then maintain the upper hand.
No one was taking it easy in that battle. If they let their guard down even for a split second, the other party would immediately turn the table around. But Togami and Reina felt a sense of satisfaction as they continued to fight with a smile on their faces.
Reina shot down another one of her opponents and thought.
[These guys are strong! I heard that they are not Hunters and just amateurs though, is this the power of the coordination support system? If equipment can really make them this strong, I can imagine why Akira would splurge his money on equipment and training. I had been really ashamed of myself from back then, but...]
[I can't let people think that I'm nothing without my equipment! I can't let myself lose for the sake of all the training that I did with Shiori and Kanae as well.]
Togami also shot another one down as he thought.
[They are strong. So this is the power of the coordination support system, huh? If I'm not mistaken, Katsuya's team was using a stable version if not the beta version of this system and they were using it superbly. I even heard that some officers in the gang are thinking of getting this system for all the young Hunters in the gang. I can understand that, but...]
Togami lightly smiled.
[Just how much would it cost? No wonder why Shikarabe and the other veteran Hunters don't like the young Hunters. Well, I'm on the side of the Hunters who would receive the support, so I have no problem with it, but the veteran Hunters would basically pay for it. Well, sooner or later, I would be joining their side though. I can't really afford to lose now against people with nothing but excellent equipment, after all, I need to get stronger and earn more money. At least more than what I would need to pay in the future...]
"How was it? It has this much effect with only this price. It is pretty impressive, no? Its cost-benefit ratio is way higher than your usual battle stimulant."
"Even if that's true, it's not like I can do anything about it. It's true that our augmented suit allows them to use the battle stimulant in the middle of the fight. But it is originally for medicines. Not for battle stimulants mixed with accelerator drugs. Moreover, the available medicine is based on the other companies that the main company is working together with. So we can only use yours for testing like this."
"Even with this result?"
"I don't have authority to decide which medicine to use. Well, I will at least send the data to the main company though. So just hope that they would consider using your battle stimulant."
"I bet for people like them, performance is number two and they will pick the medicine from some big drug company for the sake of their companies' interest anyway. Good grief, these people keep giving vague refusals. No wonder cheap but good medicines would never reach the market."
"Why do you think so?"
Yatsubayashi smiled as if to laugh at himself as he said.
"If that is really the case, I would be working hard on my research with an unlimited amount of budget from the huge corporations by now."
He then continued but with more spirit this time.
"If you really think that I am that good, it would be great if you would provide me with some aid money for my research. If only I can get a proper production line for mass production and finish off the rest of the testing, I'm sure it would sell like hotcakes. Wait, no, a license would be enough, so if you can offer this drug to some medicine companies connected to your company, then..."
The system made a guess out of that incomplete sentence.
"Warning, using more battle stimulants would put the body in immense stress. Do you still want to use more battle stimulants?"
"...More."
Erio said so unconsciously, but the system kept injecting more and more battle stimulants. The huge dose of battle stimulant granted him immense power. When he started the next round, he felt like he had temporarily become superhuman.
Reina could not react when Erio suddenly started moving unnaturally fast. The moment she noticed, it was already too late. She could not evade the incoming bullet and the exchange ended up in a draw. As the 'hit' notice came up in her display, she laid down on the ground in deep frustration.
Togami did his best even after his only ally in that mock battle was shot down, but since the rest of the opponents jumped into the fray thinking that it was a good chance after Erio shot down Reina, the round ended in his loss even though he put up a good fight.
The signal to end the mock battle came up. Those who were lying down on the ground after receiving their hit notice pushed themselves up again. Erio's team realised that they had won the round and celebrated their victory.
Kanae went to Reina first, she then said apologetically to Togami who came a bit later.
Kanae then said with a serious face.
"Milady, that boy who shot you down is dangerous."
"Dangerous? Well, I indeed think I need to be more careful against him next time though."
"That's not what I meant."
Kanae pointed at Erio who was still laying down on the ground. Although the rest of the team were already back up, Erio was still lying there, not moving. The other children noticed that and went to check on him, but since he did not respond even when they called his name, they started to panic and went to call Yatsubayashi.
"That boy, I bet he used a copious amount of battle stimulant. He's unconscious from the side-effects. Both Ane-san and I are carrying a similar trump card, so I can somewhat tell."
Of course, Reina did not know about that, but when she remembered back then when Shiori had to push herself during that fight in the underground city of Kuzusuhara ruin. She could not help but to make a conflicted expression.
Togami, who was listening to their exchange, then threw a question.
"I won't stop you, but normally, it's important to stay under the dosage limit. If you often get too fired up during a fight, it's kind of dangerous to carry such a drug. There are many people who end up overdosing because of that. I bet that boy is exactly one of those types of people."
"Well, I have plans to go there in the future. So, I'm fine with this place."
Shiori's face slightly stiffened.
"...I see. In that case, please let me get onto the main subject, and also, please don't worry and order anything you like."
Shiori explained to Akira why they took a lot of time selling the old-world automata. Although she went into a bit more detail compared to what he had heard from Togami, the main points did not change. He listened to the explanation while finishing his order.
"...Because of this, it will still take some time until we can sell the aforementioned relic. If Akira-sama wishes for it, I can also help out to make the process faster..."
Akira noticed that Shiori's face slightly stiffened again and found it strange.
"No, there's another thing. The food is here, so let's eat first before we continue."
Shiori tried her best to stay calm as she gently smiled.
Although it was not as delectable as the food on the upper floor, it was still good. Akira relished it since it was still much better than his usual food back home. After a few minutes, his mood got better. Shiori tried to gauge his mood before she nervously brought up the next subject.
"It is about the white card that you let us take. According to my connections, it seems that it is a highly valuable item, although, it's not directly convertible into money."
"So well, you can say that there will be further compensation for you, I'm planning to pay back the profit in some kind of form in the future. Although, as I said, it's not directly convertible into money, thus your compensation would not be in the form of money. As such, if you have anything you want me to do, please do tell me. I would try my best to comply."
Akira's hand stopped from transporting food into his mouth and raised his eyebrows. He then frowned and said
That remark piqued Akira's interest. But his curiosity was in the opposite direction of what Shiori thought. Of course, Shiori did not know that as she stared at him and slowly became more anxious.
"It seems that you have a lot in mind, but please just tell me if you have anything you want at the moment. If it's something that I can help with, I will do my best to comply... Although, as expected, I can't help you if you want to get in relation with Milady."
Akira said so immediately that Shiori looked slightly offended by it. He thought that it was unreasonable to get that stare from her as he continued to think.
"In that case, I actually want your equipment, will that work?"
"...Akira-sama, I didn't know that you have an interest in my maid outfit and the undergarment of my augmented suit. If you really want them, I don't mind giving them, but..."
"Not that one! It's true that they are included as your equipment, but I'm talking about your blade. I witnessed just how sharp it is numerous times in the past, not to mention, you used it to slice open that huge monster in the Seranthal building, remember? I just thought that it would be great to have that kind of blade. I'm sure that it's not a blade that you can normally find in common shops, right?"
"Is that okay? I don't know the details, but it's not cheap, right?"
"It is a company equipment so I can't really tell you the precise price, but it is indeed not cheap. But even so, it is still an expendable equipment. So it's only given that I have spare blades, so don't worry. I can just use my spare blade."
"Hmmm, even if you say so, I don't feel okay getting something that expensive, you see."
"...If Akira-sama thinks that it might be overcompensation, then I have one request, please don't tell anyone about that card. It is not like I can compel you to do that, but it is related to the secret information from big companies, so it might cause a problem if you do it. And it applies even when you're talking with me, will that be okay?"
For Akira, who wanted to just cut all ties with that card, it was a good offer for him as well. Even more so if it was taken as a bribe to keep him from leaking some secret information. It was also a good excuse to accept such terms to obtain that expensive blade. So he immediately nodded and said.
"Thank you very much!"
Both Akira and Shiori smiled thinking that they were able to get through the negotiation well.
After that, Akira and Shiori talked about some other stuff while enjoying the food before leaving the building. Shiori then left for a bit and returned back with a blade complete with its maintenance kit inside a trunk. Akira received that trunk, said their goodbyes, and left back home. While Shiori went back to the inner wall after seeing him off.
As she was looking at Akira's back, Shiori thought.
[It's a good thing that I was able to leave a good impression for now. I want to believe that it will not be a mistake.]
At first, Shiori was uncertain whether to completely forget about the white card or bring it up again to Akira in order to try to leave a good impression on him. In the end, she chose the latter.
With this, even if Akira discovered the truth later and realized that he mistook just how valuable that card was, the chance for him trying to inflict damage on Reina would lower. Moreover, bringing up that it was a company secret might also be a good excuse when it came to it. Shiori thought so and felt slightly relieved.
A call then came from Kanae.
"We're on the way back now. Ah, by the way, Ane-san, about Milady taking the request for the mock battle training without your permission, should we talk about how we are going to handle this matter?"
"I will act as if I don't know about it. If Milady slips up and says something about it later, I will handle it accordingly, so you don't need to say anything."
"By the way, it seems that Milady has gotten stronger than we thought. To be honest, I think she has a good chance of living off as a Hunter, you know?"
"If Milady chooses to do so, it is my job to make sure that other doors will still be open to her."
Kanae closed the call, Shiori seemed to be thinking about a lot of things as she returned back.
Once Akira arrived back home, he slowly unsheathed the blade that he got from Shiori. He looked happy as he looked closely at the blade.
The blade was also equipped with anti-forcefield armour. Within a certain range, the blade was better both for defence and offence compared to a gun. Then, in exchange for the blade and a huge amount of energy, it could cut a huge monster from a distance just like what Shiori did in the Seranthal building.
The blade itself was as sharp as an old-world blade, which Akira rarely found and was able to use. So basically, he had gotten himself a better blade than expected.
Akira was content that he received much better equipment than he had expected, Alpha then smiled at him and made a suggestion.
"Well, since you have a blade now, how about we train on how to use it as well? Akira, do you want to try it out now?"
Akira understood what Alpha was telling him, so he grabbed the blade. Due to the augmented reality and Alpha's control over his augmented suit, it felt like there were really two blades. He took one while Alpha took the other one.
"As I thought, it is really convenient to be able to do this training. After all, it is dangerous to use the real blade in the training, I might cut my vehicle by mistake."
"The blades themselves are identical. So don't complain if my blade suddenly extends out, okay?"
Akira took some distance from Alpha and faced her.
"Let's start!"
Right at the next moment, Alpha threw her blade. Although they were close enough to trade blows, the blade flung and sliced Akira into two. His head rolled over and painted the floor red followed by the headless body a moment later. Akira was not able to react at all.
"Nope. Like I said, the blades are the same? So I won't accept any complaints. If you don't want to get the floor covered with your heads, make sure to block the blade, okay? Let's start the next round then."
Akira used his time compression to focus on defence right from the start this time. Thanks to that, he was able to survive a bit longer compared to last time.
Since that day, he started incorporating blades in his training. Thanks to that, the floor of his garage was littered with his dead body every single day.
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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