「いや、十分だ」
アキラはそう言って断った。知りたい情報は十分聞くことができたからだ。
アキラは別に都市側が多少事実を曲げようと大して気にならない。基本的にアキラとは無関係な世界の話だからだ。
アキラは少し前までクガマヤマ都市の下位区画のスラムで生活していたのだ。クガマヤマ都市全体や他の都市、統企連などに関わる話などアキラが関わる世界の話ではない。少なくともアキラに実害が出ない限りは。
「そうか。他に聞きたいことや追加要求は? この場で言うだけ言っておいてくれ。後から言っても手遅れだからな。俺かお前のどちらかがこの部屋から出て行った時点でアウトだ。ああ、報酬額アップは無しだ。都市側だって無尽蔵に金があるわけじゃない。額に不満があるのならサインの前に交渉するべきだった。逆に金の掛からないことなら融通を利かせてやる。俺はお前が気に入ってるからな。
キバヤシの言っていることは事実だ。キバヤシはアキラを非常に気に入っている。逆にアキラにはその理由が分からない。
「俺のどこがそんなに気に入ったんだ?」
キバヤシが非常に楽しげに理由を話す。
無謀! 駆け抜けて生き、駆け抜けて死ぬ! 実に良い! 俺はハンターオフィスの職員でもあるから、ある程度ハンターの情報を閲覧できるんだ。本人が非公開にしている情報もな。お前の活動履歴を見たぞ? AAH突撃銃程度の武装でキャノンインセクトと戦う。ヤラタサソリの群れがいるビルに1人で突入して出てくる。地下街でのヤラタサソリの討伐数は概算500以上。挙げ句遺物強奪犯の主要メンバー3人を1人で撃退。しかも戦闘用義体者と重装強化服を相手にしてだ。たかがランク20程度のハンターの実績じゃねえよ。30でも無理だね。まあその無理の所為で身体はズタボロだったみたいだが、今回治って良かったな。この調子だとまたすぐにボロボロになるんだろうが」
アキラが少し嫌そうな表情で尋ねる。
「......俺の体、そんなに
「ああ。だから6000万オーラムなんて治療費になったんだ。言ったろ? 治療費は正当なものだって。治療の一部は再生治療、腕やら脚やらが千切れてなくなった場合の治療方法を使ったらしいぞ。今回の治療がなければ、まあ今日明日死ぬ訳じゃないが、下手すると後1年持たなかったって話だ。今回の治療のおかげで、今のお前は中位区画の住人並みに健康だぞ?」
キバヤシの説明を聞いてアキラは絶句した。キバヤシが笑いながら説明を続ける。
「今、体調がすこぶる良いだろ? それは治療のおかげだ。お前、スラム街の出身だろ? 食事の大半は都市が配給所で配ってるやつだっただろう? あれ、運が悪いと結構やばい物を食う羽目になるんだよ。安全性の確認が取れていないモンスターの肉だったり、研究中の旧世界の遺物、原理も製法も分かっていない食料生産装置が作成した食料だったりな。
めた。自覚があるかと言われれば、アキラには自覚があるのだ。
アキラは旧領域接続者だ。それは一種の変異なのだろう。現在の技術では検出できない変異だ。それはアキラがアルファと出会えた一因でもあるのだが、手放しで喜べる話でもない。
「......都市はそんな食い物を配ってるのかよ」
より高い物はないってやつだな。食料の代金は治験の協力費と相殺されております。御協力感謝いたします。実は配給場所の看板や食料の包装にこっそり書いてあるんだぜ? まあ、それを読めるやつの大半はそこに行かないし、知ってるやつも下手に騒いで配給がなくなったら困るから黙ってるだろうな。ちゃんとしたやつを配ってる善人もいるんだが、そんなに多いわけじゃない。しかもそういう情報はすぐに出回って、スラム街の実力者とかが占有するんだよな。まあ、それはスラム街の秩序ってやつだ。俺に文句を言われても困る」
都市側は基本的にスラムの秩序には非介入だ。都市全体の活動に悪影響がない限り基本的に放置している。スラムの治安はそこに住む者達の自治に任されていると言っても良い。
スラム街は都市の下位区画でも荒野手前の場所だと判断されている。だから強盗が白昼堂々アキラを襲ったりもするのだ。強盗がアキラを殺しても、強盗を捕まえる者がいないからだ。同様に、アキラが強盗を返り討ちにして皆殺しにしても、アキラを捕まえる者はいないのである。その強盗に後ろ盾でもない限りは。
ではスラムが完全に無法かと言えばそれは違う。力こそ全てであるならば、東部で最も力を持つ者は統企連であり、アキラ達がいるスラムならばクガマヤマ都市だ。そして統企連も都市も治安の悪化を嫌う。スラム街の治安が悪化して、都市側に存在するだけで害悪だと判断された場合、スラム街は住人
だからこそスラム街はギリギリの状態で治安が維持されている。スラム街に存在する多くの徒党が縄張りの治安活動をしているのもそのためだ。
「その食い物が原因かどうかは知らないが、残留ナノマシンの数値も
「ああ。使わないと死ぬからな」
「どうせこれからも多用するんだ。月1で検査ぐらいして、残留ナノマシンの除去処理を受けた方が良いぞ。ハンター向けの薬には大体ナノマシンが入っているからな。回復薬とか加速剤とか強化剤とかは、それはもういろいろ入っているぞ」
キバヤシがアキラにその危険性を説明する。
ナノマシンと本人の相性が著しく良い場合、
ハンターとして活動してから、アキラは大量の回復薬を使用し続けていた。使用量の基準など全く守らずに使い続けていた。知らず知らずの内にそのツケはアキラの体に積もっていたのだ。
キバヤシがアキラに忠告する。アキラにはまだまだ楽しませてもらいたい。そのような気持ちから真摯に忠告する。
「ハンターは体が基本の商売だ。なまじ自分の意思で無理ができるから、自分の体の整備を後回しにするやつもいる。寿命を延ばしたかったら体の方もしっかり整備はしておけ。銃の整備と同じさ。手入れをサボれば弾は
「分かったよ。......ん? 銃?」
アキラはそこで自分の装備のことに気が付いた。今のアキラは何も持っていない。着ている服も強化服ではなく病院の患者衣だ。
アキラは改めて部屋を見渡すが、室内にアキラの私物があるようには見えなかった。アキラがキバヤシに尋ねる。
キバヤシもアキラの装備品の所在などは分からない。キバヤシは情報端末で他の職員と連絡を取り、いろいろ調べてみる。その結果はアキラを困らせるのに十分な物だった。
「ああ。装備品というより、お前の所持品はゼロだ。お前を連行した場所から全ての物を回収したわけではないし、回収した装備品、お前の強化服とかだな、それらはお前の身元を洗うためにいろいろ調査した過程で分解されて今は証拠品の保管場所だってさ。取り寄せることは可能だが、手続等で最低でも1ヶ月以上掛かるし、第一もうボロボロで記念品以外の意味はない状態らしいぞ」
「俺のハンター証とかもなかったのか?」
「分からん。回収されなかったのか、証拠品の保管場所にあるのか、どっちかだろう。どちらにしても再発行した方が早いぞ?」
「分かった。追加要求だ。ハンター証の再発行、すぐに使える情報端末、あとはハンター用の適当な服を頼む。この格好だと病院から逃げた患者になるからな」
「了解した。後でここに届けさせよう。他には?」
アキラがアルファに確認する。
『アルファ。他に何かあるか?』
『銃や強化服とかの装備は頼まないの?』
『装備品はできればシズカさんの店で買いたい。何となくだけどな』
を担いでいるだけなのは分かっている。しかしそれがアキラにとって意味のあることであるならば、それを下手に変える気にはならなかった。
病院からシズカの店までの道程をアキラは武器無しで進むことになるが、アルファは自分がしっかりサポートすれば問題ないだろうと判断した。その程度のことすら問題視しなければならないのなら、アキラはもはや外を歩くことすらできなくなってしまう。
『それならハンター向けの賃貸物件でも紹介してもらいましょう。そろそろアキラも宿屋暮らしから抜け出さないとね』
アキラが同意してキバヤシに伝える。
な家が借りられるかどうか微妙なんだ。良い家を安く借りられるようにしてくれ。後は、そうだな、報酬はすぐに支払ってくれ。それで装備とか買い直すからな。追加要求はそれぐらいだ」
「分かった。ああ、報酬は既に口座に振り込み済みだ。ハンター証と情報端末が来たら確認してくれ。念のため俺への連絡先を初期設定で情報端末に入れておく。賃貸物件の方は都市の傘下の不動産業者と連絡を取れるようにしておく。詳細はハンターコードに送るから、情報端末が来たら後で確認してくれ。他には? もうないなら俺は出て行くぞ? 俺が部屋を出たら追加要求は終わりだ。本当に大丈夫か?」
「そうか。じゃあ元気でな。良き狩りを。また無謀なことをして俺を楽しませてくれ」
キバヤシは軽く手を振って部屋から出て行った。
キバヤシが部屋を出てから数分後、アキラは強い空腹を覚える。1週間ほどアキラは何も食べていないのだ。治療中は恐らく点滴等で栄養を補充していたのだろう。
空腹を自覚すると、急にアキラの腹が鳴り始める。しかし今のアキラに手持ちの金はない。あったとしてもハンター証などを受け取るまではここにいなければならない。アキラはキバヤシに食事を頼んでおかなかったことを後悔した。
『......しまった。何か食事を頼んでおくべきだった』
『そういえば、アキラは1週間ほど何も食べていないのよね。気が付かなかったわ』
『私に食事は不要だし、アキラが何も言わないから平気かと思って。私もアキラの空腹感までは分からないわ。諦めて待ちましょう。多分直ぐに来るわよ』
『......あ、頼んだ物がいつ頃来るのかも聞いておくんだった。こういうのって、いなくなってから気付くんだよな』
アキラは空腹を耐えながら頼んだ物が来るのを部屋で待ち続けた。都市の職員がそれらを持ってきたのは1時間後だった。
シズカは自分の店でいつものように店番をしていた。
装備や弾薬を求めるハンター達に仕入れた商品を売って生計を立てるいつも通りの日々をシズカは送っている。ただ、シズカは普段より自身の
単純にアキラが1週間ほどシズカの店に顔を見せないことは以前にもあった。しかし今はアキラがヤラタサソリの巣の討伐に出かけた後なのだ。
シズカの店はそこそこ繁盛している。シズカの店で装備を調えて荒野に赴く常連のハンターも多い。そしてシズカは自分が売った装備を身に
考え続けるとどつぼにはまりそうなシズカの思考は、その原因となった者が現れたために中断された。アキラがどこかおっかなびっくりシズカの店に入ってくる。
「いらっしゃい、アキラ。久しぶりね」
「え、あ、はい。お久しぶりです」
みで、いつも通りの口調でアキラを出迎えた。少なくともシズカ本人はそのつもりだった。
しかしアキラはシズカの
「今日も弾薬の補充? 前にアキラが受けた依頼はまだ続いてるの? CWH対物突撃銃の専用弾は十分仕入れてあるからまだまだ売れるけど、期間的にもう以前の依頼は終わっているはずよね?」
「あ、はい。依頼はもう終わりました」
「そう。それならいつもの通常弾と徹甲弾の詰め合わせで良いのかしら」
「あー、それでですね、実はその......」
んだ。シズカは不思議そうにアキラを見る。
アキラはシズカと目を合わせ、一度外し、再び目を合わせてから、覚悟を決めて話す。
「......装備一式全部失ったので、一式見積もって
「全部って、具体的には何をなくしたの?」
「全ての銃と、着ていた強化服と、リュックサックを中身ごとと、使っていた情報端末と、エレナさんから譲ってもらった情報収集機器と、とにかく全部です。今の俺の所持品は、着ている服と当座の情報端末とハンター証程度です」
アキラの説明を聞いてシズカが驚く。アキラが稼ぎの大半を自身の装備に費やしていることはシズカも知っている。つまりシズカにとっては、アキラが自身の財産の大半を失ったと言っているのに等しい。
「......ちょっと、一体何があったの?」
「まあ、いろいろありまして。それで、見積もっていただけないでしょうか?」
「それは構わないけど......、予算は?」
シズカはアキラが財産の大半を失ったと思っている。シズカもアキラを気の毒に思いはするが、だからといってアキラに無償で商品を提供するわけにはいかない。代金をツケにすることもできない。シズカにも生活があり、商売なのだ。シズカにも譲れない線が有る。
せめて少ない予算での最善の装備を勧めよう。シズカはそんなことを考えながらアキラに予算を尋ねた。だから次のアキラの発言は、シズカを
「8000万オーラム以内でお願いします」
「......御免なさい。私の勘違いや聞き間違えを防ぐためにも、念のため、もう一度、予算を聞いても良いかしら?」
シズカはアキラが言った金額が自分の聞き間違いや勘違いではないことを確認した。シズカの顔が険しくなる。新人ハンターが出せる金額ではない。熟練ハンターでも即金で出すのは難しい金額だ。
シズカがアキラをじっと見つめる。アキラが少したじろぎながらもシズカと目を合わせ続ける。シズカがアキラを強い口調で問い詰める。
「すみません。依頼元との守秘義務で、その辺りの事情は話せないんです。今後の信用に関わるので、シズカさんにも話せません。シズカさんを信用していないわけではないのですが、基本的に何も話せない契約なので。守秘義務で話せないってことを話すのも、結構微妙なぐらいでして......」
本来ならば、何事もなかったと説明するべきだとアキラは考えている。しかし確実に
っぽく笑った。アキラが笑って答える。
「大丈夫です。俺が悩んで決めるより良い選択になることは間違いないでしょうから。強いて言えば、強化服は多少体格が変わっても使用できる製品が良いです。次に買い換えるのは数年後とかにしたいですから」
「分かったわ。もう手遅れよ。じゃあちょっと待っててね」
シズカはそう言って店の奥に消えていき、2
アキラの返答を初めから予想していたシズカが、お勧め品であるA2D突撃銃の説明をいつもの様に楽しそうに始めた。
A2D突撃銃は、AAH突撃銃の基本設計を基に、威力、命中精度の向上を目標にして設計、製造された銃だ。AAH突撃銃と異なり、徹甲弾や強装弾を無改造で使用できるように各部品の強度等が調整されている。
また擲弾発射器が設計段階で装備されており、各種擲弾を使用することができる。重量も強化服等を着用しない生身のハンターが使用できる程度に押さえられており、AAH突撃銃の次に使う銃として広く愛用されている。AAH突撃銃用の改造部品の一部をそのまま利用できることもあり、使い勝手の良い銃なのだ。
「両方とも未改造品よ。強化服無しで
「照準器は今のうちに変えた方が良いでしょうか?」
「前みたいに情報収集機器と連動させるつもりなら、情報収集機器の購入後にした方が良いわ。標準の照準器も裸眼で普通に使用する分には、そこまで性能が低いわけではないからね。情報収集機器も私が
「分かったわ。見積りが出来次第連絡するから少し待っててね。商品が届くのはその2週間後ぐらいを目安にしてちょうだい」
商品が届くまでアキラは強化服無しの生活に戻る事になる。アルファがアキラに念を押す。
『分かっていると思うけど、新しい装備が届くまでハンター稼業は休業よ?』
『分かってるよ。俺の不運を過小評価する気はないんだろ? 俺もモンスターの群れや重装強化服を装備した連中と、この状態で戦うのは御免だ』
都市の外に訓練に出かければモンスターの群れに遭遇し、依頼を受ければ重装強化服相手に交戦する羽目になる。その経験がある以上、アキラもアルファのサポートが万全に受けられるようになるまで、比較的安全な都市の中に籠もることに異存はない。
えた。新しいリュックサックに回復薬や予備の弾薬、銃の整備道具等を詰め込み、購入した銃を身につける。それらを合計するとそれなりの重量がアキラの身体にのし掛かることになった。ずっしりとした重みを感じて、強化服による身体能力向上の恩恵を改めて理解した。
アキラは新しい情報端末の連絡先をシズカと交換した。以前の情報端末が残っていれば連絡先の引継ぎも可能だったが、ネリアとの戦闘で破壊されてしまった
くそれで戦うつもりなの?」
もしそうなら無理はしないよう少し強めに忠告しよう。シズカはそう考えていた。
「いえ、新しい装備一式が届くまではハンター稼業を休業するつもりです。万全ではない状態で荒野に出られるような実力はないですから」
「そう。それが良いわ。いろいろあったようだし、
「アキラは情報収集機器もなくしたようだし、選択にエレナ達の意見も聞きましょうか。私だけで決めると何か文句を言われそうだしね。アキラが生きていると知れば、2人の機嫌も直るでしょう」
シズカはアキラの装備一式を選ぶ相談に乗ってほしい旨を書いてエレナ達宛てに送信した。
く入院していたことに加えて、情報端末を新しいものに変えたため、シェリルはアキラと連絡が取れない状態が続いている。シェリルが既にアキラは死亡していると判断していても不思議はない。変な誤解を招く前に、シェリルのところに早めに顔を出しておいた方が良いだろう。アキラはそう判断した。
『それにしても、治療費に約6000万オーラム、装備代に約8000万オーラムか。稼いだ金の大半をあっと言うまに使っちゃったな。俺の金銭感覚はどうなってしまったんだ?』
そう言って苦笑するアキラに、アルファが
『そんな使い方ができるほどの大金を得たことを喜びなさい。アキラの命も所持品も、全部賭け金に積み上げて、分の悪い賭けに勝って得た金だと考えると、それでも十分な額とは言えないかもしれないけれどね。でもこれでアキラの装備はかなり充実するはずよ。体も念入りに治療を受けたから、今までの無理の負荷による憂いはなくなったわ。大変だったけれど、結果的には良かったと思うわよ?』
『うーん。それはちょっと、判断に悩むところだな』
アキラは今回の戦いでいろいろなものを失った。銃も強化服もバイクも、リュックサックに入れていた細細なものも失った。それらは全てアキラが命懸けで得たものだ。愛着が出てきた品もあったのだ。
りは失われたのだ。これ以上は気にしても意味はない。アキラはそう決めて、それ以上考えないようにした。
アルファが少し不思議そうにアキラに尋ねる。
"Nah, that's enough."
Akira said so since he felt that he had heard enough information.
To be honest, Akira did not care if the city wanted to twist the truth. To him, it was something that lay in a world that had nothing to do with him.
Akira had been living in the slum city near the lower district of Kugamayama city for all his life. As such, matters pertaining to the Kugamayama city, the other cities and the corporate government were on a whole different world that was not related to him at all. Or at least, that was the case as long as it did not cause any harm to him.
"I see. Do you have anything else you want to ask? Just go ahead and ask anything you want here. Once either you or I leave this place, it would be too late to ask anything. Ahh, although I said you can ask me anything, just don't ask for more reward money. It's not like the city has a bottomless treasury, you know. If you have any complaints about your reward money, you should've complained before you signed that doc.u.ment. But on the other hand, if it has nothing to do with money, I'll try my best to grant anything you ask. I'm very much interested in you. So I'm planning to support you the best I can."
Kibayashi was telling the truth, he was really interested in Akira. But Akira did not understand the reason why.
"Which part of me piques your interest?"
Kibayashi smiled widely while telling Akira the reason.
"What, you ask?? Your way of living, of course!! The level of recklessness!! Just go out there and die or go out there and live!! That's really something!! I'm also a part of the Hunter Office, so I can access information about Hunters, and that includes information that is not made public. Have you ever seen your own battle record? You fought against Cannon Insects with just your AAH rifle. You charged into a building full of Yarata scorpions all alone and returned back alive. And you even took out more than 500 scorpions in the underground city. Then to top it off, you took out 3 relic thieves alone, although all of them were cyborgs and 2 of them even had powered suits. These feats are not something that a Rank 20 Hunter can normally accomplish. Not even possible for a Rank 30 Hunter. Although, it seems that you got all beaten up to be able to do these. It's great that we can patch you up, though I'm sure that you'll get all beaten up again in no time."
Akira looked rather disturbed as he asked.
"...Was my body that bad?"
"Yeah, that's why it took 60,000,000 Aurum to fix your body. I did say to you that the medical bill does make sense, remember? One of the treatments that we used to fix your body was limb regeneration, it's a treatment that we normally use on people who have lost their limbs, you know. Without all of those treatments... Well, it's not like you'll be dead tomorrow or something, but I bet you won't survive another year. So thanks to those treatments, your body is basically as healthy as most of the people who live in the middle district."
Akira was speechless when he heard what Kibayashi said. But Kibayashi just smiled and continued.
"You feel like you're in your tiptop shape right now, don't you? That's thanks to all those treatments. You're from the slum city, right? So I bet you mostly eat those foods that the city distributed freely in the distribution area. Those things sometimes contain nasty stuff, you know. Like monster's meat which no one knows if it's okay for consumption, or food produced from old-world relics which we don't even know how they work. Of course, it's not like it'll kill you the moment you eat those foods. But it's definitely bad for your health if you keep consuming those foods for a prolonged period. There were even reports of cases where they caused immediate effects, I heard that it was because of the nanomachines which they couldn't fully clean-up from the monster meat or some unknown nanomachines that were mixed in the food produced by suspicious-looking old-world relics. I wonder if you ever noticed it yourself."
Akira frowned. If asked whether he had noticed it himself, the answer was definitely yes.
Akira was able to connect to the old-world domain, that in itself could be considered as an immediate change. It was an ability that the current technology could not explain yet. Although he was able to meet Alpha thanks to that, it was not like he could honestly feel happy about it.
"...So the City Management is distributing those kinds of foods, huh?"
"Well, it's just like what people say, there's nothing more expensive than free stuff. You can get them for free, but they're unhealthy. So I hope you understand that part. By the way, it's basically written in the wrapping of the distributed food and the signboards in the distribution areas, you know? But well, I bet there are not many people in the slum city who can read those warnings though. On the other hand, I'm sure those who can read the warning decide not to say anything since they'll be troubled if the city stops distributing free food. Although there are good people out there who give out healthy food for free, I bet they are not the majority. Moreover, if such information leaks outside, big influential people in the slum city would immediately monopolize those people. Well, that's just how it works in the slum city. It's not like I can do anything about it even if you complain to me."
The City Management mostly kept its hands clean from the slum city. As long as the slum city did not cause any bad influence on the rest of the city, the City Management would leave the slum city alone. It could even be said that the order in the slum city was guarded by the people of the slum city.
Even if the slum city was technically a part of the lower district, people regarded it as a part of the wasteland. That was why people had no problem robbing under the daylight just like those thugs who attacked Akira the other day. Even if those thugs killed Akira, no one would try to capture those thugs. But it also worked both ways, no one would try to capture Akira even if he fought back and killed all of those thugs as long as those thugs were not affiliated to any organization.
But then, if someone said that that slum city was lawless, that was completely wrong. If power was everything, then the ruler of the eastern district was the Corporate Government, while the ruler of the slum city was Kugamayama city, and both the Corporate Government and the Kugamayama city hated unruliness. If the order in the slum city worsened to the point it even caused damage to Kugamayama city, the City Management would not hesitate to clean the whole slum city together with everyone inside it.
That was why the people of the slum city at least kept the minimum level of order. And the gangs in the slum city were overseeing that by maintaining the order in their respective territory.
"I don't know whether it's because of those foods or not, but the nanomachine residue in your body was pretty bad. Although I know all Hunters rely on drugs, you particularly consumed a huge amount of medicines, didn't you?"
"Yeah, that is my only choice if I don't want to die after all."
"I'm sure you'll keep doing that in the future no matter what I say. So make sure that you check your nanomachine residue and get them cleaned at least once per month. Most drugs for Hunters contain nanomachines no matter whether it's healing medicine, accelerator, stimulant or any other kinds of drugs."
Kibayashi then explained to Akira the dangers of the nanomachine residue.
There were rare cases where the person had very good compatibility with the nanomachine inside his or her body, in which case, the nanomachine stayed effective and brought positive effects for basically forever. In contrast to that, most of the time the nanomachine residue acted as a contaminant as it bought a negative effect on the body.
While working as a Hunter, Akira ended up having to consume a huge amount of medicines. He consumed medicine while ignoring the consumption warning. And so the nanomachine residue had been slowly piling up inside his body without him even knowing it.
Kibayashi sincerely warned Akira since he still wanted to enjoy watching Akira.
"Basically, for a Hunter, the body is their main asset. There are Hunters who think that they only need guts to do impressive feats and end up neglecting their bodies. If you want to survive for long, be sure to take good care of your body just like how you take care of your rifles. If you don't take proper care of your rifles, the bullet that it spews might fly in the wrong direction, it might even explode too. There'll be a good chance that the rifle itself will explode any time you pull the trigger. Same is the case for your body as well. It's not at all funny if you die because of something as stupid as that. So make sure to be careful."
"Okay... Hm? Speaking of rifle..."
Akira remembered about his own equipment. At the moment, he had nothing other than the clothes on his body.
Akira scanned the whole room one more time, but he could not find his stuff anywhere. So he then asked Kibayashi.
Kibayashi did not know where Akira's equipment was as well, so he used his information terminal to contact another staff member. After that, he then conveyed the bad news to Akira.
"Yeah. Rather than your equipment, your current personal belonging itself is zero. It's not like we could recover all of your belongings from where we arrested you, as for your belongings that we recovered like your rifles and augmented suit, they were confiscated and broken down by the City Management for inspection in order to clear your name. Right now they're under the custody of the City Management as evidence. You can have them back, but all the processes will take you at least 1 month, not to mention that all of them were already severely damaged."
"Did you find my Hunter ID at least?"
"I don't know. Either your ID is left behind where we arrested you or it's confiscated as evidence. Whichever it is, it's faster if you ask for a reissue."
"Alright then, so here is my request. Reissuance of my Hunter ID, an information terminal that I can immediately use and some Hunter clothes that I can wear. After all, if I go out like this, I'll look like a patient running from the hospital."
"Roger that. I'll have them sent to this room later. Anything else?"
Akira turned to Alpha.
"Alpha, do I need anything else?"
"Aren't you going to ask for a rifle or an augmented suit?"
"For the equipment, I want to buy them from Shizuka's shop if it's possible. It's not like that's a must though."
Alpha knew that it was only a matter of preference, but if it was something meaningful for Akira, she had no plan trying to carelessly change his preference.
Although it would mean that Akira would have to walk from the hospital to Shizuka's shop without any weapons, Alpha thought that it would be alright as long as he had her support. If he could not even avoid problems on this level, then he might as well never step outside.
"In that case, let's have him introduce us to some real estate agent for Hunters. You need to step up from living in inns soon."
Akira agreed with her opinion and conveyed it to Kibayashi.
"Introduce me to a real estate agent. I'm not sure if I can rent a good house with my Hunter Rank, so please find me a cheap but decent house. And also, hmm, right, hurry up with the payment. I want to buy new equipment with that money. I guess that's all I have to ask."
"Alright. About the payment, it should've been directly transferred to your account. Just check it once you get your Hunter ID and information terminal. Just to be safe, I'll leave my contact in your information terminal after setting it for standard first-use. As for the real estate agent, I'll try to connect you with a real estate agent under the City Management. I'll send the details through your Hunter code later, so check your terminal once you get it. So, anything else? If you have nothing else, I'll leave the room. Once I'm outside, you can't ask me for anything more. So, do you really have nothing else to ask?"
"I see, alright then, take care and good luck in your hunt. I'll be looking forward to your next reckless feat."
Kibayashi waved his hand and left the room.
It was only a few minutes after Kibayashi left the room when Akira could feel his empty stomach. He had not eaten anything for a whole week. He bet that he was fed through an I.V tube during his treatment.
The moment he realized that he had an empty stomach, his stomach started to grumble. But at the moment, Akira had no money at all, and even if he had some money, it was not like he could leave that place before he could get his Hunter ID. Akira regretted the fact that he did not ask Kibayashi for food.
"...Oh great, I should've asked for some food too."
"Now that you mention it, it has been a week since your last meal. You didn't notice it earlier?"
"I don't need food. Since you didn't say anything, I thought that you were okay at the moment. It's not like I can tell if you're hungry, you see. So let's just wait, I'm sure that your stuff will come soon."
"...Ah, I should've also asked when they will arrive here. You only remember things like this once you miss your chance."
Akira had no other choice but to keep waiting while enduring his empty stomach. It took about an hour before a city staff member came to that room, bringing all the stuff that Akira asked Kibayashi.
Shizuka was managing her shop just like always.
As usual, she was spending her days selling ammo and other equipment to the Hunters for her living. But, Shizuka herself noticed that she had been sighing more than usual lately. She even understood the reason behind it, it was because it had been a week since the last time Akira visited her shop.
There had been occasions when Akira did not visit her shop for more than a week in the past. But right now, he should have just finished his request to take out the Yarata scorpion nest in the underground city.
Shizuka's shop was quite popular. It was selling a pretty good collection of equipment and it had a lot of regular customers. As such, she knew a lot of Hunters who bought their equipment from her shop and never returned.
As Shizuka was about to get absorbed into her thinking, the source of her worry suddenly appeared and stopped her midway. Akira looked a bit surprised when he entered Shizuka's shop.
"Welcome, Akira. It has been quite a while."
"Eh, ah, yes, it has been quite a while."
Shizuka was smiling as she was welcoming Akira with her usual self. Or at least, she was trying to act natural.
But Akira replied back awkwardly as if he was overwhelmed by her smile.
"Are you here for ammo refill today? How about the request that you were taking the last time you came here, are you still doing it? Since I stocked up on CWH special ammo, you can buy a lot of them if you need it. It has been a week already, so you should've finished that request, right?"
"Ah, yes, that request is done."
"I see. So are you here to get a normal bullet and AP bullet then?"
"Well, about that, actually..."
Akira hesitated, Shizuka looked puzzled.
Akira looked straight into Shizuka's eyes, looked away for a moment, and then returned back. He had resolved himself to say what he was about to say.
"...I lost all of my equipment. So can I buy one full set of equipment today?"
"All of your equipment? What exactly did you lose?"
"All of my rifles, my augmented suit, my information terminal, my rucksack and everything that was inside it, and the information-gathering device that I bought from Elena-san. Basically, everything. My personal belongings right now are just the clothes that I'm wearing, an information terminal and my Hunter ID."
Shizuka was taken aback after hearing what Akira just said. She knew that Akira used most of the money that he earned to invest in better equipment. Thus, it meant he had lost most of his assets.
"...Wait for a sec there, what exactly happened?"
"Well, a lot of things happened. So then, can I get a full set here?"
"Sure, but... How much is your budget?"
Shizuka thought that Akira had lost most of his assets. She did feel sorry for him, but it was not like she could give him free equipment or accept credit payment. She was running a business and she had to earn money to pay for her living. That was a line that she would absolutely never cross.
Shizuka was thinking of getting Akira the best equipment with whatever the small budget that he had when she asked him how much money he was planning to spend. That was also why she was dumbstruck by what Akira said next.
"It's 80,000,000 Aurum."
"...I'm sorry. Just to make sure that I didn't mishear it, can you say it one more time?"
Shizuka's face frowned after she confirmed that she did not mishear Akira's answer. It was not an amount of money that a new Hunter could muster. It was a huge amount of money even for veteran Hunters.
Shizuka stared at Akira. He looked scared but he still returned her stare. She sounded stern as she cornered Akira with her questions.
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you the details because I'm bound by confidentiality with the requester. Since it'll affect my credibility, I can't even tell Shizuka-san anything. But it's not because I don't trust you, it's because my contract said that I shouldn't say anything. To be honest, I'm not even sure whether it's okay to tell you that it's a confidential matter..."
Normally, Akira would lie saying that nothing in particular happened. But rather than telling an obvious lie, he decided to just tell Shizuka that he could not reveal anything since it was confidential information.
Shizuka smiled teasingly when she said that. Akira just replied with a smile.
"It's okay. I'm sure that your choice will definitely be better than mine. If I have to make any particular request, then it would be to get a better augmented suit, I don't mind if it's more expensive than my previous one. I want to get an augmented suit that can at least last for a few years."
"Alright, it'll be too late to take back what you said now. Just wait here for a bit, okay?"
Shizuka then went to the backroom before returning back with 2 rifles.
Shizuka had predicted that Akira would say yes. And so she continued by happily explaining about the A2D assault rifle.
The A2D assault rifle was basically derived from AAH assault rifle with extra firepower and accuracy. But unlike AAH assault rifle, its parts were designed so that it could be used with AP ammo or +P ammo without any extra modifications.
Moreover, it was equipped with a grenade launcher that could be loaded with all types of grenades. It was light enough to be used without an augmented suit and it was loved by the Hunters as the next best gun to use after AAH assault rifle. It used some similar parts as AAH assault rifle and it was a user-friendly rifle.
"Both of them are unmodified rifles. Just try how they feel without an augmented suit. If you don't like its weight, you should avoid adding any modifications that add too much to its weight. Even after you get your augmented suit, you'll need to at least keep some rifles that you can use without it. It would be bad if your augmented suit breaks inside the ruin and you have no rifles that you can use without an augmented suit."
"Is it better if I buy a sight right now?"
"If you plan to use that sight in tandem with your information-gathering device like before, it's better if you buy one after you get your new information-gathering device. Using a standard sight without an augmented vision is not really that bad. But I'm actually planning to include the information-gathering device in your equipment set too, so of course, I already have in mind which sight to get. Or, do you want to choose the information-gathering device you need yourself?"
"Alright then, I'll contact you once I have a good estimation of how much the total cost is, so just wait for a bit more. It'll take about 2 weeks until everything arrives after I get the total cost."
Until he got everything, Akira would be without an augmented suit. So Alpha warned Akira.
"I'm sure you know it even without me telling you, but I'll say it again, we'll take a break from Hunter jobs until you get all your new equipment, okay?"
"I know. It's not like I'm going to underestimate my bad luck after all. I don't want to fight a swarm of monster or more people with powered suits without my augmented suit."
He remembered that he encountered a swarm of monsters when he was training outside and he had to fight other Hunters with powered suits when he was out doing Hunter request. Now that he had experienced it himself, he had no plans of going out without Alpha's full support and he had no qualms staying inside the relatively safe Kugamayama city for the time being.
After that, Akira finished buying most of his equipment set in Shizuka's shop. He stuffed his new rucksack with medicines, ammo and a rifle maintenance kit. He then picked his new rifles and hung them around his body. Once he put everything on, he could feel they were quite heavy, it reminded him just how helpful his augmented suit was.
Akira exchanged his information terminal contact number with Shizuka. If only he had his previous information terminal, he would be able to use the same contact number, but since it was destroyed in his fight against Nelia, he had to use a new contact number now. He also asked Shizuka to contact him through his Hunter code instead if she could not contact him through his information terminal contact number.
"Akira, are you planning to go out like this for now?"
If he said yes, Shizuka planned to give Akira a stern warning not to do anything dangerous.
"No, I'm planning to take a break until I get all of my new equipment. After all, it's not like I have the ability to fend myself in the wasteland without a complete set of equipment."
"Is that so? That's good. It seems that you've gone through a lot lately, so it might be a good thing to take a good rest from time to time."
"Since he had also lost his information-gathering device, I guess it's a good idea to contact Elena and Sara to get their opinion. After all, I feel like they'll complain if I decide on an information-gathering device to get for Akira without asking them. And I'm sure that they'll be happy to hear that he is still alive as well."
Shizuka wrote a message to Elena and Sara saying that she wanted to ask for their opinions since she was buying a new set of equipment for Akira and sent that message.
Since he was lying in the hospital bed for a few days and had lost his information terminal, he had no means to contact Sheryl. It would not be strange if she had assumed that he was already dead. So, Akira thought that he should visit Sheryl's place as soon as possible before it caused any problems.
"But still, 60,000,000 Aurum for medical treatment and 80,000,000 Aurum for new equipment. I already spent most of my money, huh. I wonder what's going on with my sense of money."
Akira smiled bitterly when he said that, but Alpha just smiled and replied.
"You should be happy that you're earning enough money to use them like this now. You might also think that such an amount of money isn't worth it for winning that gamble with a bad odds even after betting your life and all your personal belongings. But with this, you'll be able to get a good set of equipment, you know. Not to mention that since you received that treatment, all of your injuries from that gamble are completely healed now. It's true that it was not easy at all, but result-wise, I think it ended up well."
"Hmmm, to be honest, I'm not really sure about that."
During that fight, Akira lost his rifles, his augmented suit and all the small things that were inside his rucksack. He got all of them by risking his life, so he had a certain attachment towards them.
Moreover, he had lost that charm now. So there was no meaning in thinking about that thing anymore. Akira thought so as he stopped thinking further about it.
Alpha looked a bit puzzled as she asked Akira.
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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