Rebuild World: Volume 4 E-Book

Nahuse

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Rebuild World
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 606

Beschreibung

Akira has grown by leaps and bounds as a hunter, and so he decides to tackle the dangerous Mihazono Town Ruins. In Mihazono’s factory district, he unexpectedly comes across Carol and Monica, two hunters who are working together as surveyors. But the real surprise comes when a horde of menacing machines defy their own programming in order to pursue the hunters! What does this mean for Akira and his companions? Friends both new and old, and some unlikely allies, join the fray against their toughest foes yet!

Leseprobe

Chapter 103: The Old and New Worlds at War

Akira had become a relic hunter to escape the back alleys of the slums, and thanks to Alpha’s support he’d improved drastically. He’d obtained powerful gear, discovered an uncharted ruin buried deep underground, and fought creatures so dangerous that the Hunter Office designated them as bounty monsters. He’d defied death more times than he could count and had come out all the stronger for it each time.

As a result, Akira’s power already dwarfed that of the average hunter. But not for a second did Akira think he could’ve managed any of this on his own—Alpha had held his hand all the way through.

Then, just recently, misfortune had struck—a gigantic monster had swallowed both Akira and his truck whole, severing his connection to Alpha. Trapped in the monster’s belly, with no one to rely on, he’d come within mere minutes of being digested. Yet in the midst of that hopeless situation, Akira had mocked his own rotten luck, carved out a path to survival with his own strength, and overcome all odds.

Now, decked out in a brand-new set of gear and with Alpha by his side once more, Akira stood at a whole new level as a hunter, both physically and mentally. Yet even so, he was still a long way from being able to complete the task Alpha had given him. In order to reach those heights, he would need to face even greater perils in the future.

◆

After the tumult surrounding the bounty hunts had finally died down and Akira felt comfortable resuming his search, he headed out to the wasteland once more to look for undiscovered ruins, following his only lead—the locations of terminals belonging to Lion’s Tail, Inc.

“Alpha, how far away’s the next one?”

From here, about an hour.

“Seriously? That long?” Akira sighed.

Smiling, Alpha tried to cheer him up. Well, since we’ve finished checking most of the markers near the city by now, it stands to reason we’ll have to travel farther out from now on. But that means we’re more likely to hit pay dirt, so chin up, okay?

They’d learned about the locations back in the Higaraka Residential District Ruins, and since this data had helped him find the Yonozuka Station Ruins, he didn’t doubt that it was authentic. However, while this was far better than fumbling around in the dark, they still weren’t guaranteed to find anything. In fact, nearly every marker they’d visited so far had turned out to be a dud. And because the wasteland was so vast, it took time to reach each location, only to be met with failure. Akira found himself sighing more and more as the days wore on. Perhaps having some monsters to fight on the way would have kept him from getting bored, but during the recent bounty hunts most monsters in the area had been wiped out, leaving Akira with nothing to do but twiddle his thumbs. He was so bored, in fact, that he fell to scrounging around for things to discuss with Alpha, even going so far as to bring up a topic he normally wouldn’t have.

“So, what’s with today’s outfit?”

While not as revealing this time, as always she’d chosen alluring, seductive apparel. Today she was wearing a tight bodysuit that emphasized her curves. Joint-like segments connected each of the suit’s limbs to the torso; everything was fastened together with what looked like belts or cords. For reasons he couldn’t guess, odd holes appeared all over the suit—one on her back, another showing her cleavage, and several smaller openings where the pieces connected, all of which exposed her bare skin. Overall, it was relatively tame compared to some of her other outfits—yet her shapely limbs were still plenty enticing, and he even caught a glimpse of a fabric (maybe underwear?) peeking out from her bare back, so the ensemble was still racy in several other respects.

Oh, this? This is a bodysuit designed for those with artificial bodies. Alpha posed flirtatiously. What do you think?

Taking care not to show any sort of reaction, Akira changed the subject, asking her the first question that came to mind. “What’s up with those jointed parts?”

They allow the wearer to freely replace parts of their body with alternatives of varying shapes and sizes.

“And the hole in the back? What’s that for?”

Body augmentations. Like a third arm, or an external unit for support in combat, or a propulsion device for flight, or portable heavy weaponry too large for the user to carry normally. When it comes to the possibilities, the sky’s the limit.

As he listened, Akira unintentionally started to picture such an augmented Alpha. He tried to imagine a practical reason for jointed parts that seemed to only serve to flaunt the hips and groin, or for the holes exposing her back and cleavage. In his mind’s eye, a metallic arm sprouted from Alpha’s back, to which he then gave a massive firearm. He also mentally replaced both her real arms, all the way up to the shoulders, with weapons far larger than her torso. Then, in order to support that added weight, he substituted her normal legs with a crude-looking cluster of appendages. Finally he added a propulsion device to her hips, and filled the small holes on the bodysuit with energy-supplying pipes that powered each part.

“Nah, there’s no way,” Akira muttered suddenly, and erased the monstrosity from his mind. If anyone was going to go that far, they might as well don powered armor or ride a mech instead.

But Alpha looked amused. Actually, I could see something similar to what you just imagined as a possibility.

“Huh? Really?”

Yes. Something similar, mind you. And with the technology of the Old World, it would in fact be a piece of cake to create exactly what you just imagined.

Akira went silent for a bit. “Well, even if it was possible, no hunter would ever want to look like that abomination,” he finally said.

Perhaps from an aesthetic standpoint, but farther east, on the Front Line, hunters with similar appearances wouldn’t be out of the question.

Among Old World combat gear, there were those with designs so provocative that modern outfits looked tame in comparison. However, Old World creations were so high performance that for many hunters modern ideas of decency took a back seat. While choosing to wear such gear might still require a degree of courage, the Old World specs were high enough to outweigh the wearer’s shame, and so even now many chose them regardless of how they looked.

As a result, high-spec gear and racy clothing had become associated in the public eye, and were now practically synonymous with each other. These days, some hunters would even wear such clothes on purpose to suggest they were more capable than they actually were. With that in mind, wearing a risqué bodysuit and exchanging the limbs for powerful-looking weaponry could be quite a plausible choice for a hunter, Alpha explained.

“I see. I never would’ve thought of that. The world really is vast, huh?” Akira marveled.

Since escaping the slums, his perspective of the world had indeed widened—but unbeknownst to him, that perspective was largely skewed.

◆

Arriving at his destination, Akira began looking around—but the site was another bust. Seeing the empty, overgrown field spread out before him, he sighed again. “Nothing here either.”

The marker in Akira’s vision was pointing directly to the ground. It was supposed to denote the location of a Lion’s Tail data terminal, but all it indicated now was a pile of rubble overgrown with grass. Judging from the amount of debris in the area, some kind of building had probably once stood here, most likely in the midst of a bustling Old World city, and had indeed been home to a Lion’s Tail terminal.

All of this seemed to confirm that the data he had was in fact accurate. But even such reassurance couldn’t quell his disappointment at his string of failures, and he found it ever more difficult to maintain his enthusiasm. Though he didn’t realize it, his sighs were becoming deeper with each unsuccessful search.

Alpha noticed his agitation and suggested, Why don’t we call it a day on the unexplored ruins, and try searching for undiscovered parts of known sites instead? She explained that the Lion’s Tail data he had also indicated the existence of hidden areas in already-discovered ruins. Following its leads would be much more efficient than searching for such locations blindly, and even if they didn’t find an untouched section, they could still gather a few relics along the way.

Akira thought this was a fine idea, but then hesitated. “Is that really going to be good enough? If the ruins have already been picked through, we aren’t going to find anything that valuable.” He knew that if he followed her suggestion, it could take longer for him to carry out the task she’d requested of him. Their whole goal in searching for unexplored ruins was to recover the untouched relics sleeping within—valuable treasures needed to purchase gear powerful enough for the job.

True, but if we keep searching for ruins as we are, we run the risk of not finding anything at all. Besides...

“Yes?”

Even if persisting might eventually lead us to more valuable relics in the undiscovered ruins, you’re just going to get more and more depressed as long as we keep coming up empty-handed,Alpha said gently.

Seeing her prioritize his feelings actually made him happy. True, he was getting a bit depressed already, so he accepted Alpha’s consideration and nodded, pleased. “All right, you’ve convinced me. Let’s change our focus.”

Roger! Then Alpha grinned teasingly. Why, look at that, Akira—you’re suddenly in a much better mood!

“Well, I have to admit, I was getting a bit tired of driving all around the wasteland for nothing. And it’s important to keep up one’s enthusiasm, right?”

You said it!

Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to say that the main reason his mood had improved was her thoughtfulness. Akira grinned, satisfied that he’d managed to come up with a good excuse.

◆

With his new objective in mind, Akira got back in the truck and headed off. Since he wasn’t looking for undiscovered ruins now, there was no need to worry about his route potentially giving away such locations to others. So he accepted some standard extermination jobs while en route in order to earn a little money on the side.

He took out his terminal, connected to the Hunter Office, and signed up for several jobs. Not long ago, Akira hadn’t even known how to perform a simple search—now he was able to do this much even without Alpha’s help.

As he tapped away at his terminal, a thought crossed his mind. “Hey Alpha, why do these common extermination jobs even exist in the first place?”

Why? Because the Hunter Office lists them, of course.

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Akira clarified that he was simply asking what the benefit was in paying people to exterminate monsters. Patrolling the city outskirts made sense—the people inside the city walls and in the lower district were paying to keep the city safe. He also understood that some people wanted monster corpses—whether organic or inorganic, monsters could be dissected and their parts sold for serious money, some of which he suspected was paid to the hunters who killed them. But he couldn’t see the merit in paying someone to eradicate monsters this far out, so far from the city that it just wasn’t worth it to haul their corpses back.

Alpha looked surprised, then pleased. So now things like this have you curious? You sure have grown, Akira. Perhaps this is also a result of my regimen for you?

“Th-Thanks.” Akira gave an embarrassed grin, since Alpha was also subtly pointing out that up until now he’d been too dull to notice.

Oh, don’t feel down—it was a compliment! she said. Now then, to answer your question: put simply, the Eastern League of Governing Corporations is investing in the good of the entire East. Keep in mind a lot of this is just speculation on my part, but seems reasonable. With that disclaimer, Alpha launched into a detailed explanation.

Common extermination jobs didn’t have any specific conditions—there was no quota on how many monsters to kill, nor was there a set time limit. Even if a hunter who signed up for one of these jobs didn’t encounter a single monster, they would still be paid the minimum reward as long as they handed over a report detailing what had happened on their route.

When did the hunter take this job and in what location? How strong was the hunter, and what kind of monsters did they encounter, if any? Had they won or lost? Had they run away, or had the monster? Had it been defeated, or had the hunter? Even this basic information could prove incredibly useful for the Hunter Office when aggregated from hunters all over the East. Once analyzed, the data could help determine the monster threat level in a given area, safe transport routes to and from the city, or the viability of an ELGC development proposal, among other things.

But here the League faced something of a dilemma. On the one hand, hunters wouldn’t typically hand over such data for free, of course; but on the other, getting a single party to investigate the entire wasteland would be quite costly. So the ELGC decided to require reports from hunters in return for paying for extermination jobs. After all, many hunters were already taking these side jobs while working on larger ones to earn a little extra in the meantime. And of course, fewer monsters roaming the wasteland always made the wasteland safer to traverse, stabilizing the availability of goods.

Considering these benefits, the ELGC could even afford to take a minor loss and raise the hunters’ payouts a little as an incentive. Reward amounts for common extermination jobs could also be finalized after completion of the job, so minor adjustments were certainly possible. And so, Alpha concluded, the payouts for low-level extermination jobs were a necessary expense that benefited the entire East.

Akira listened with great interest. “Wow, the League really gave it a lot of thought.”

Well, I generalized a bit. “The entire East” might be something of an exaggeration, but it’s certainly true that different regions of the East benefit in their own ways. For example, she added, if a horde of monsters suddenly appeared in a region where there never had been any previously, this could potentially indicate a nearby ruin (similar to the one Akira had discovered, the Yonozuka Station Ruins), and the ELGC could sell the data to the city in that region. Moreover, insurance firms that catered to transport companies would shell out good money for information on the likelihood of encountering a monster in a given area, since they factored this into their rates. And of course, just by selling the data alone to cities and companies, the League stood to make a considerable profit besides.

Akira nodded. “Makes sense. When a new ruin is discovered, the nearby cities profit big-time. They probably sell some of the relics found there, which gives them more funds to pay their hunters. Then those hunters go out and buy gear, which helps the local economy.” He’d been working on his education, not just developing his combat skills.

You got it! Alpha looked satisfied at his growth. Seeing that Akira not only understood her explanation but also showed interest in it pleased her to no end.

But like always, even as she’d delivered her explanation, she’d been constantly analyzing.

Making sure the information he learned wasn’t going to backfire on her.

Shielding Akira from harmful knowledge that might make him turn on her.

Trying to make this prospect as remote as possible, any way she could.

And so, once again, the knowledge that she gave him was skewed in order to preserve his trust in her.

◆

They’d been driving through the wasteland for a while when their destination came into view—an Old World city that still retained much of its past appearance.

“So that’s the Mihazono Town Ruins?” Akira marveled.

Just at that moment, a large desert utility bus filled with hunters drove by.

Looks like we’re all heading to the same place,Alpha commented.

“If all those hunters are coming here, this place must have some seriously good loot.” Akira turned his gaze to the ruins with renewed anticipation. But then his expression clouded over.

What’s wrong?

“Well, hunters like us have been collecting relics from ruins for a really long time, right? For decades—no, centuries? How long, exactly?”

It’s impossible to know exactly, and different regions started at different times, but two hundred years ago at the least.

“Okay, then with all those hunters searching over the years, how are there still any relics left? Shouldn’t all the ruins be cleaned out by now?”

A simple question, and Alpha answered immediately. They are. Think about it: there were almost no relics of worth in Higaraka; and the Minakado Ruins, the multigun snail’s habitat, was an abandoned husk completely deprived of anything of value.

In fact, ruins completely stripped of their relics could be found all over the East. However, they tended to be more on the western side, as the monsters were comparatively weaker there. Once the yield of relics in a region had dried up, the hunters would then move farther east in search of more relics. And the League, desiring more valuable relics as well, would also proceed farther eastward with their wasteland development plans. Of course, the farther east one went the stronger the monsters became, which meant higher development costs. But since the relics there were also more valuable, it all balanced out in the end. In fact, there were still ruins yet to be completely plundered around Akira’s hometown Kugamayama City, so the League had no trouble maintaining a profit.

Akira felt a vague sense of unease as he listened. “So these ruins will be cleaned out one day too. Are we gonna be okay?”

Alpha met Akira’s anxiety with a reassuring smile. Not to worry! Even if that happens one day, it won’t be soon enough that you have to be concerned. No matter how many relics there were in a given ruin, they’d all be gone in no time if every hunter who showed up took some home. But by the same token, the fact that so many hunters had visited it and yet so many relics still remained was a testament to how powerful and dangerous the monsters inside were, meaning that the site wasn’t going to dry up so easily. Furthermore, some ruins’ autorestoration faculties were still intact. These didn’t just maintain the dilapidated buildings—they also replenished furnishings and equipment, automatically restocking store shelves. Collapsed buildings could even be entirely reconstructed from rubble. Occasionally, offline autorestoration programs would suddenly come back online for whatever reason, and then the ruins themselves would be reconstructed as well. There were even known examples of new ruins appearing overnight where there had previously been only a barren expanse.

That’s another reason that the ruins won’t be exhausted so easily,she finished. So rest assured, it’s not like all the relics are going to be gone midway through your hunter career or anything.

Hearing this, Akira smiled in relief. “Good. Man, that’s a worry off my shoulders! But wait, if there was a ruin out there that had its relics infinitely replenished, then wouldn’t the hunters just flock there?”

The autorestoration program also repairs the security devices and the equipment required to manufacture them. So there will be security devices all over the ruins, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate any intruders. A mere flock of invading hunters would be met with several times that firepower. In other words, the ruin’s security system would raise its threat level accordingly, manufacturing and positioning more defense devices around the area as necessary. Although, considering that the security system is only trying to defend the area from armed belligerents trying to loot the inhabitants’ products and equipment, you can’t really fault its behavior.

“Well, if you put it that way, I suppose.” Akira considered, then mused, “So I guess that, to them, we hunters are just lawless thieves, huh?” He felt a tinge of unpleasantness, but turned his attention elsewhere to try to put the thought out of his mind. “It’s not like I’m going to quit being a hunter, though, so there’s no use worrying about that this late in the game. The people from back then are all dead, and as long as they don’t come back as ghosts or anything, they can’t complain, right?”

Alpha hesitated. Right,she finally said. There was something complex mixed in with her usual smile, and it seemed a bit more forced than usual as she looked at Akira. He had turned away, seeming to have already forgotten the matter. She resumed her typical expression before he could notice.

Today, like any other day, people would continue to seek out the ruins, relics, and wisdom of the Old World, and the ones they labeled “monsters” would continue to attack to keep it from all being stolen away. Even now, the old and new worlds were at war. The battle between those that had settled in the territory of a fallen nation as if it was their own, and those that resisted those intruders by attempting to wipe them all out, had raged on since long ago, and would continue into the foreseeable future.

◆

The Mihazono Town Ruins consisted of the remnants of an Old World city, much like Kuzusuhara. More accurately, it was a cluster of ruins that included a portion of said city. The ruins had been sectioned off in the present day into wards with names like “Business District” and “Factory District,” which were educated guesses as to what each area might have once been, based on the buildings that had survived. It was an enormous, sprawling ruin, yet not as large as Kuzusuhara, and the monsters weren’t as tough as the ones lurking in the latter’s depths. So any decently skilled hunter could make some serious money here.

Back when Akira had only had a cheap powered suit, his AAH assault rifle, and minimal combat experience, this ruin could have eaten him alive. But as he was now, he would have no problem. Even as he gazed at the towering buildings in the distance—seeing that they showed no signs of degradation over time, concluding that the autorestoration system was likely still active, and imagining the security creatures that would surely be on high alert and swarming the place—he showed no fear or hesitation as he drove forward.

But when he finally arrived at the ruin’s entrance, he looked surprised. “A parking garage? With the Hunter Office logo on it? What gives? So the Hunter Office manages the garage? Why do they own a parking garage inside a ruin?”

As he slowed his truck to a stop, looking baffled, a male security guard approached.

“Hey, you can’t park there! You’re in the way.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Akira was about to drive off, but the man saw that he needed some instruction.

“First time here, I take it?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Gotcha. Well, if you want to park your vehicle here, you’ve got to use that garage. If you just park anywhere, you’ll end up blocking the road. Or if you’d rather not pay to park, then pick a spot a bit farther from here. Over there’d be far enough,” he said, pointing to an empty space a short distance away.

Akira looked puzzled. “Wait, you’re telling me people actually fork out money to get in there? Oh, wow, maybe they do—there’s a bunch inside already.” The garage was already about forty percent full. That left plenty of space; but considering the size of the grounds, this still meant a lot of people had paid to park.

“Well, you know. It’s got a roof, and it’s fairly cheap. Plus, there’s a Hunter Office branch in these ruins, so nonhunters, like Hunter Office staff and merchants who deal with relic hunters, park there as well.”

Akira took another look at the garage. There were indeed more than a few vehicles there that didn’t look like they belonged to hunters.

“And,” the man continued, “don’t forget this is the wasteland. As I’m sure you know, there’s no shortage of lowlife dumbasses here, but none of them are quite dumb enough to lay their hands on a vehicle parked in a Hunter Office-owned garage. There’s security guards and cameras here too, so your truck will be safe and sound.”

Akira found himself nodding. He knew firsthand the value of having a safe place to park in the wasteland.

“Well, I won’t lie to you—every now and then we’ll have an idiot who tries it anyway, but all of ’em meet ends that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. So this garage is pretty popular. If you’re interested, the reception desk’s over there.” The man assumed Akira was a rookie hunter who was finally ready to tackle Mihazono as his first hunt. Finishing the explanation he’d offered as a gesture of goodwill, he pointed out the reception desk and walked off.

Hmm... Maybe I should try it,Akira muttered through telepathy.

Might be a good idea, considering all the security. If we can forgo the bad luck of having your truck ransacked or stolen, I’d say it’s worth trying,Alpha teased.

Akira gave her a wry grin, but a grin nonetheless, and headed to the reception desk. After undergoing the necessary procedures, he parked his truck in the garage.

To keep customers from shirking the fee, the Office required their account information. Akira reviewed the provided warning. “Caution: if you forget to return to the desk before leaving, the system will continue to pull funds from your account until you do, so be careful!” Um, Alpha, doesn’t that mean that if we run into trouble in the ruins and aren’t able to get back for some reason, they’ll drain all our money?

That’s probably why the receptionist recommended you buy emergency insurance, in case you’d rather not end up with an empty account through no fault of your own.

They’ve really thought of everything. Since they went so far as to put a branch office in these ruins, there must be a lot going on here behind the scenes, huh? Akira remarked as he removed his belongings from the truck. He grabbed the CWH anti-materiel rifle and DVTS minigun from their emplacements so he could bring them along. Then, once he was all ready, Akira left the garage and made his way to the branch office, where he noticed an exchange station had been set up as well. Here, all sorts of hunters were lined up waiting to exchange the relics that they’d likely just collected from the ruin. Some of them were even carrying the lifeless husks of mechanical monsters.

They’re also trying to get money for the corpses of the monsters they killed, I see. Hmm... I figured that would just be a bunch of worthless scrap metal, but maybe it sells for more than I thought?

It must at least be valuable enough to make it worth carrying all the way here from the ruin,Alpha replied. In a sense, she suggested, mechanical monsters were basically walking relics. Even if they ended up broken, they were made of Old World material that couldn’t be reproduced with modern technology—so in fact, the parts themselves probably fetched more than a standard relic. At least, they must have been profitable enough for the hot-blooded merchants in the area to offer vehicles for sale or rent here in Mihazono. That way, even if it was too much of a chore to carry the parts all the way to the city, they’d at least be able to take them as far as the nearby exchange. Since the convenience would motivate hunters to defeat more monsters, it would make the ruins safer to traverse overall, which would boost income from relic exchanges and ultimately help the city turn a profit. With this in mind, the city was probably also buying these parts at a slightly inflated rate.

Akira listened to Alpha and nodded. Then I was right—they really have thought of everything. Though it sure would’ve been nice if they’d put a branch office like this in Kuzusuhara too,he added glumly. Recalling how he’d previously had to haul relics all the way out from the depths of the Kuzusuhara Town Ruins without a powered suit, he made a face.

Those ruins are already near the city, so there’d be no need for the Office to put a branch there. And it’s not like they haven’t done anything.

Oh? What have they done?

They built a provisional underground base, didn’t they? That’s on an even larger scale than a branch office.

Come to think of it, you’re right.

At that moment, Akira noticed that some of the hunters in the area were all looking in the same direction. He turned to see what had caught their attention—and froze at the sight of a trio he knew all too well. He was also familiar with the clothing that two of them wore—maid outfits, wholly unsuited to hunting relics in the ruins.

Reina was standing there with her two usual companions.

Chapter 104: Two Maids and Their Master

At the entrance to the Mihazono branch office, Reina gave a small sigh. “We really do stick out like a sore thumb,” she muttered under her breath.

There were two reasons for this, and she turned to face them both. In their maid outfits, Shiori and Kanae looked terribly out of place among a crowd of hunters in a dangerous ruin.

Reason Number One—Shiori—bowed her head in apology. “I’m sorry, miss, but this alone I cannot compromise on. You will just have to get used to it.”

But Reason Number Two, Kanae, chuckled like it didn’t bother her in the least. “That’s right, you oughta get used to it. When you’re a famous hunter one day, everyone’s gonna have their eyes on you anyway, so what better time than now? That is, unless you want to end your hunting career as a nobody.”

Reina shot Kanae a glare, but the latter grinned as if completely unfazed. A far more intense glare from Shiori, however, made Kanae avert her eyes as though she hadn’t noticed.

Watching them, Reina sighed again. Though the two women had different perspectives, it was clear that neither of them had any intention of being less conspicuous.

As a rule, Druncam rookies operated in groups. Reina was a member of Druncam, and based on her age and level of experience, she easily qualified as a rookie.

Yet lately she’d been working alone. Well, not technically alone, since she had Shiori and Kanae by her side, but alone in the sense that she’d been taken off all Druncam assignments and wasn’t working alongside any of her fellow rookies. Because of the situation she’d been placed in, all three Druncam factions were distancing themselves from her.

Once, when Akira and Katsuya had quarreled and been mere seconds away from killing one another in Kugamayama’s lower district, Reina and her maids had taken a neutral stance and left the area. The argument itself had been settled peacefully in the end, but Reina’s group had effectively deserted Katsuya all the same, and afterward her position within Druncam had become precarious at best.

It didn’t help that before the argument, Reina had belonged to Katsuya’s team but wanted to leave for various reasons. Katsuya had tried to get her to stay, but Reina had not only ignored his kind offer, she’d cruelly abandoned him—at least, that was how the Group A rookies saw it. Furious, they’d begun to give her and her maids the cold shoulder. Katsuya had attempted to smooth things over, telling them that in that situation Reina’s group had had no choice but to do what they’d done, but even his words couldn’t quell the rookies’ anger. Even when he’d mentioned that it hadn’t been a big deal anyway, since the issue had been resolved amicably, that had only added more fuel to the fire, as they took this to mean that Reina hadn’t even had a good reason to forsake him. And because Mizuha, Reina’s supervisor, was actively backing the rookies, the Druncam exec couldn’t do anything that would earn their ire, and had no choice but to remove Reina and her entourage from the team.

But that wasn’t all. Druncam’s other group of rookies, Group B, had all had it rough financially, and many of them had been born in the slums. So none of them felt a shred of kinship toward a pampered girl who brought maids with her everywhere she went, and they shunned her. And the veterans hated rookies to begin with, so they didn’t want anything to do with her either.

Thus, having been ostracized by every single faction in Druncam, and with the war between factions getting more heated by the day, Reina was forced to go it alone. This of course meant that she no longer had the support or connections to the lucrative jobs Druncam would have normally provided—a fatal blow for a hunter who aspired to rise up the ranks.

Unlike Reina, though, Shiori saw a silver lining in all this. Being removed from the syndicate’s internal squabble meant that Reina hadn’t had to get involved in the Yonozuka or bounty hunt fiascos. But Reina’s status within Druncam was still unfavorable all the same, and so she was living day-to-day trying to make it on her own as a hunter without any help or support from the warring factions.

Having selected the Mihazono Town Ruins as the site for today’s hunt, Reina’s group was extremely conspicuous.

Reina herself was clad in a powered suit and held a firearm—a typical combination for a hunter. Shiori, however, was wielding twin blades, and Kanae was only armed with a peashooter pistol—she prioritized hand-to-hand combat and wore combat gauntlets instead. Against dangerous monsters, when a long-range weapon like a gun was practically a necessity, two of the three were choosing to use melee weapons. But the biggest reason they stood out was, of course, the maid outfits Shiori and Kanae were wearing.

Both Shiori and Kanae were good-looking, so perhaps if they had been in the city, they would have only gotten away with curious glances. But this was the wasteland, and those glances were now tinged with suspicion, as though on guard against a foreign element that didn’t belong.

Reina and Shiori had also garnered attention in the Kuzusuhara Underground Ruins, but back then she’d been with the same group of people the whole time, and their curiosity and suspicion had waned as they’d become more used to Shiori’s presence. Here in the Mihazono Ruins, however, the hunters were constantly coming and going, and most of them were seeing Reina’s group for the first time. The size and endless flux of the crowd ensured they’d stay the center of attention for quite a while.

Yet notwithstanding all this suspicion, Shiori prioritized her job and loyalty to her master, and it was clear from Kanae’s grin that she couldn’t have cared less in the first place.

With all the tension in the air, Reina already felt worn out, and she’d only just arrived.

However, while she acted like she didn’t possess a modicum of loyalty toward her mistress, Kanae did at least take her job of guarding Reina seriously. As she subtly scanned the area for anyone with hostile intent, she spotted a familiar face, and her grin grew wider.

◆

Akira observed how the crowd around Reina and her entourage were reacting to them. Looks like maid uniforms really are an unusual sight here in the ruins,he commented smugly to Alpha.

Having grown up in the back alleys of the slums, Akira had missed out on a lot of what passed for normal experience. And since meeting Alpha, his life had hardly been typical—in fact, he was starting to question everything he thought he knew. So he was glad to finally find something that fell in line with what he’d already known to be true.

Alpha gave him a slight smile. Seems so. Well, now that you’ve satisfied your curiosity, how about we head on in? You don’t want those three to notice you and get you caught up in some trouble, right?

Hm? Oh yeah, good point! Akira turned to walk away, but it was too late. Kanae had already spotted him.

“Hey, kiddo! Fancy seein’ you here again!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, waving excitedly.

In an instant, the crowd’s attention turned to Akira as well.

And this is why I wanted you to leave, said Alpha, with an air of “I told you so.”

Right. Akira sighed, unable to argue. As he was debating whether to just dash off, Kanae swiftly walked right up to him.

“Sure is a coincidence, meetin’ in a place like this! Oh, name’s Kanae, by the way!”

“Akira,” he answered with some trepidation.

“Akira kiddo! Nice to meet ya!”

Of course, now Reina and Shiori could no longer ignore Akira either, and with a quick glance at each other, they too came over.

Shiori was the first to greet him, bowing as she tried to get a read on his attitude toward them. “It has been quite a while since we last met. It’s good to see you doing well, Mr. Akira.”

Reina joined in with a nervous chuckle. “Um, long time no see.”

For a moment, Akira looked unsure how to respond. “R-Right. Been a bit.”

Awkwardness filled the air between them—but Kanae, unable to read the room, continued in her boisterous, cheerful voice. “You here to hunt relics, kiddo?”

“Yeah.”

“By yourself?” she asked, surprised.

“That’s right. I usually work alone anyway.”

“Wow, seriously?! This ruin ain’t a walk in the park, y’know! And you’re doin’ it without any help?! Ha ha, you’ve got some guts!” She grinned.

“Um, thanks?” In the face of Kanae’s over-the-top levity, Akira’s awkwardness suddenly felt pointless and trivial to him. With a small sigh, he decided to open up a bit to Reina and Shiori, so as not to invite unnecessary conflict. “Actually, well, back during the thing with me and Katsuya, I never expected you guys to side with me. It was enough help for you to just take a neutral stance. So, er, thanks for that.”

Shiori immediately sensed that Akira’s gratitude was genuine. Breathing a secret sigh of relief, she bowed politely. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

Reina also sighed as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now that she knew Akira didn’t see them as enemies, she dropped her guard.

“So what’d you guys come over here for?” he asked. “If it was just to greet a familiar face, that’s all well and good, but I gotta go now.”

“Yes, that’s really all it was,” Shiori confirmed. “We apologize for interrupting your plans. Take care.” She turned on her heel to leave. While Akira wasn’t an enemy, he was a magnet for trouble—as Shiori knew well. She didn’t want Reina getting involved with him any more than necessary.

But Kanae had to open her big mouth once more. “Hey, kiddo! Since fate already brought us together, how about we all explore the ruins as a team?”

Reina and Shiori froze. Shiori, however, was quick to recover and made a move to silence Kanae.

But Akira’s curt reply came faster. “I refuse.”

Reina looked downcast. While she wasn’t necessarily keen on the idea of working with Akira, being immediately turned down like that still hurt. Hunters always found strength in numbers. By now Akira should have known how strong Shiori was, and he could probably tell that Kanae was plenty capable as well. Which meant Reina had to be the weak spot. I’m such a liability that even Shiori and Kanae’s strength can’t make up for it,she thought glumly.

The girl’s discouraged expression pained Shiori’s heart. But Kanae was all smiles as she gave Akira a teasing grin. “Aw, what’s wrong? The thought of traveling with three smokin’ babes doesn’t get your blood pumping? Or are you already bored of girls, even at your age?”

“Nah, I just don’t want to stand out by joining a team of people dressed like weirdos. Besides, it’s a pain to argue over stuff like what path to take or how to divide up the loot. That’s all,” he replied, looking exasperated—though while both of these reasons were genuine, the former was definitely the bigger one. He was already getting quite tired of the curious stares around him. No doubt the crowd assumed he was part of Reina’s group as well. “Why are you guys dressed like that anyway?” he added. “Is it a preference of yours? Do you enjoy being the center of attention or something?”

“It’s our master’s preference!” Kanae blurted, looking proud for some reason.

Akira cast a dubious glance at Reina. “O-Oh, really?”

Sensing a grave misunderstanding on the horizon, Reina shook off her funk and immediately protested, “N-No! It’s not my preference!”

“R-Right, sure,” Akira said, clearly unconvinced.

Her denial had not cleared things up one bit, and she panicked. But at least there was no longer any trace of her earlier malaise. This expression suits her much better,Shiori thought with a wry smile, and moved in to assist. “To clarify what Kanae said, it is the preference of Miss Reina’s grandfather, our real master. You see, these garments are the most high performance among all the clothing we own, and thus are the most suited for combat. We are not wearing them in order to stand out.”

“By the way, we’re also wearing powered inner wear underneath. Wanna see?” Kanae chimed in, and lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing a glimpse of what looked like black tights. Shiori smacked her hand, causing her to let go.

“We’re well aware our choice of attire is unusual,” Shiori continued, “but we wear these outfits in order to keep Miss Reina safe. It is not Miss Reina’s wish, so do not get the wrong idea.”

Akira took another look at their outfits. “Hmm...” he muttered. Then, grinning as if he’d realized something, he exclaimed, “Ah, I get it! Those uniforms are made of Old World material, aren’t they? That’s why they’re as sturdy as body armor, and you have on the inner wear for extra protection, right?” Back in the Kuzusuhara Underground Ruins, he recalled, Shiori had been wearing a maid uniform as well—albeit a normal one with no defensive capabilities—and powered inner wear underneath. Akira deduced that back then, for whatever reason, she must not have had her Old World maid uniform available and had worn the uniform as a bluff. Of course, a bluff like that wouldn’t work on monsters, but it’d certainly fool the other hunters in the underground ruins. If that’s true, then it all makes sense,Akira thought, pleased with himself for figuring it out.

But Shiori replied, “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. This uniform was made using New World technology. However, it was designed by a company that also manufactures body armor, so it is resilient enough to hold up in combat nonetheless.”

Akira was nonplussed. “Um,” he finally said, “correct me if there’s something I’m not getting, but why would a modern maid outfit need to be monster-proof?”

“Why? To perform our duties as maids, of course.”

“Uh, um, a maid’s job is like, uh, to do housework, right? So wouldn’t that function be, er, unnecessary?”

“In some instances, it is very necessary,” Shiori replied.

“So like...” Akira fumbled for words. “You mean you’re like a bodyguard or security personnel trained in all manners of combat, but work as a maid as cover?”

“Incorrect. I am not pretending to be a maid as a cover. Both Kanae and I are genuine maids, just like the rest in our master’s employ. However, since a respectable level of skill in martial arts is necessary in our profession, I cannot deny that Kanae and I, as well as our coworkers back home, have all undergone combat training.”

“All the maids”—Akira swallowed—“are trained in combat?”

“Some of them are butlers, to be precise,” Shiori added seriously.

She wasn’t trying to dodge Akira’s question or pull the wool over his eyes—she’d answered as honestly as she was able to. But he only ended up more confused than ever.

I don’t get it. Why would maids and butlers need to be skilled in fighting? Wouldn’t people wealthy enough to hire help like that already be living inside the city walls? Huh... Could it be that it’s actually more dangerous inside the walls than I thought? Or am I just mistaken about what maids and butlers actually do? Stunned in the face of a revelation that threatened to shake the foundation of everything he thought he knew, he muttered, “Was I all wrong about this?”

Kanae cut in with a grin. “Some things in life just aren’t worth worrying about, kiddo. It’s a wide world out there. That’s all you need to know.”

Akira glanced at Kanae. She nodded smugly, as if she’d said something incredibly profound. He suddenly felt foolish for obsessing over this matter and let it go. Even if his ignorance here got him into trouble, he reasoned, monster attacks in the wasteland were surely far worse, so there was no need to work himself up needlessly. He sighed and turned back to his original point.

“Anyway, for the time being, I don’t want to go relic hunting with you three,” he declared. “Last time I came along as a bodyguard, but I don’t feel like doing that right now either. Maybe some other time. Later!”

He turned on his heel and walked away. Alpha accompanied him with a knowing smile. What? he demanded.

Oh, nothing much! Just thinking how we lucked out—your penchant for inviting conflict decided to take today off.

Oh. Yeah, I suppose so. Akira gave her a rueful grin, but didn’t deny it.

◆

The moment Akira was out of sight, Shiori turned on her coworker. “Kanae? What was the meaning of that just now?”

Kanae tried to play dumb. “Whatever could you mean?”

“Why did you call out to Mr. Akira? What were you planning to do if things got ugly?”

“Aw, c’mon, it turned out fine, didn’t it? Nothing happened, and now we know he wasn’t upset, so lay off,” Kanae said in her breezy tone, unfazed by Shiori’s stern glare.

“I’m asking why you did it, Kanae. I’m sure you recall his foul mood back then, so why would you carelessly get his attention?” Shiori’s eyes suggested that if Kanae didn’t have a good reason for exposing Miss Reina to unnecessary danger, she’d have to answer to Shiori.

But Kanae didn’t even flinch. “That’s exactly why. I thought it’d be the perfect time,” she said with a grin. She added that they would have had to find out how upset Akira was sooner or later anyway, and even if he’d felt the desire to harm them the moment they’d entered his vision, he wouldn’t have tried anything with a Hunter Office outpost so close by. Besides, they were surrounded by a crowd of hunters who would likely join the fight on the women’s side. As Reina’s bodyguard, there was no way Kanae could possibly let this golden opportunity slip by.

Shiori decided that was good enough and didn’t press her any further. It was clearly an excuse Kanae had just made up on the fly, but a rational one nonetheless. And even if Kanae’s real objective had been something foolish, like her own amusement, she’d also prepared a logical reason and probably wouldn’t have acted without one. Shiori let the matter drop.

Despite her displeasure at her coworker’s spontaneous personality, Shiori had previously been unable to protect Reina on her own—which meant she couldn’t send Kanae back home because she needed the additional help. So she held her tongue out of loyalty to Reina.

Kanae picked up on this and grinned. “I’m off the hook, then? Sweeeet!”

Reina, who’d been watching all the while, heaved a deep sigh. The two maids were supposed to be her servants, but was she fit to be their master? Having once been crushed under the weight of her own weakness, she was slowly but surely starting to get to her feet. Yet it would still be a while before she could stand upright.

◆

Akira proceeded through the business district of the Mihazono ruins toward the marker in his vision, which was pointing to an upper floor of a skyscraper in the distance.

His current objective was to discover a previously unexplored area in this otherwise well-known ruin, following clues to the whereabouts of Lion’s Tail terminals. He figured he’d first check the location the marker indicated, and then collect a few relics on the way back even if nothing turned up.

Although this area had once been metropolitan, fallen debris had blocked the road and made it impossible to drive on, so he was journeying on foot. With his powered suit, he had no trouble scaling the mountains of rubble in his path.

Still, I wouldn’t have expected a terminal in a place like this—but that does make it all the more promising. All the evidence suggested that their destination had yet to be explored. Even the map of Mihazono he’d pulled up on the internet had no information on the skyscraper save for its name—the Serantal Building—and its general location. There was no floor plan or any details on what was inside, probably because no one had explored the building yet. And if so, then previous hunters had probably located the site but hadn’t managed to reach it.

Alpha smiled in a way that filled him with confidence. For the time being, let’s try to make it as far as we can,she suggested. Just because other people couldn’t do it doesn’t mean it’s impossible—and with me as your guide, we might actually pull it off.

Considering that Akira had managed to survive the depths of Kuzusuhara—a ruin that would’ve been impossible for him to traverse on his own—with her help, her words made sense to him. All right, let’s do it,he said with a nod. Considering the design of the building, it’ll probably be relatively straightforward inside, and there might even be some stairs left we can climb. Or maybe the elevator’s still operational—man, that would be nice...

I don’t think you should get your hopes up.

Oh, you think it’ll be broken after all? Yeah, makes sense...

No. Considering the building’s mostly intact, I would guess its autorestoration function is still online as well, so the elevator is likely operational. But so is the building’s security. Alpha pointed ahead. We’re not exactly welcome in these ruins. Do you really think they’ll let us use the building’s facilities as we please?

In the direction Alpha indicated, a rectangular monster was already drawing near, and it clearly had Akira in its sights. As the mechanical guard scuttled nimbly along the debris-strewn ground on a cluster of legs, it swung its many-jointed arms toward the intruder.

Oh, gotcha,Akira said wryly. He raised his CWH and pulled the trigger, penetrating the thin layer of metal with AP rounds and destroying the mechanisms within. With its control system broken, the machine stopped in its tracks.

Today, like most days, it seemed the mechanical guards patrolling Mihazono’s business district would have their hands full dealing with an uninvited guest.

Akira’s main aim in coming to Mihazono was to collect relics, but he also wanted some practice exploring a ruin on his own. So Alpha didn’t assist his powered suit as he made his way through the ruin, or guide him as he checked his surroundings. Because the suit was far stronger than the human body, it took practice to move normally while wearing it. Akira was practicing both walking properly without getting carried away by the suit, and drawing his weapon quickly without letting the extra power from his suit overstrain him.

Each of these actions was difficult enough on its own. But Akira was doing both of them at the same time—and polishing his ability to quickly sense an enemy’s location, all while taking care to not let any monster that slipped past his watch catch him by surprise. Akira was training diligently so that he’d still be able to move without Alpha’s support, so monsters couldn’t get the jump on him even when she wasn’t present, and so he’d be able to survive if he ever lost his connection to her again.

With all the derelict buildings and debris blocking the roads, navigating the business district felt like threading his way through a maze. Sometimes there would be tidy, immaculate areas butting up against mountains of rubble, and brand-new buildings beside ruined and collapsed ones. Akira found the contrast truly bizarre.

Hey Alpha, why do some of the areas here look ruined and others newer, even though they’re right next to each other? It’s like a clear line’s been drawn between them.

I suspect this comes from the varying conditions of the mechanical guards and maintenance bots that manage each territory. Alpha explained that the specifications of the machines in each sector differed greatly, leaving a marked difference on the sectors themselves. In the ruined areas, high-spec mechanical guards had been deployed, and their repeated battles with hunters had ravaged the structures so much that the comparatively low-spec maintenance bots had been unable to keep up. For the newer-looking areas, it was the opposite: there weren’t enough guards deployed to keep the maintenance bots from doing their job.

Akira reflected for a moment. So, does that mean the newer, tidier areas are safer?

It’s possible, but don’t lower your guard. Maybe the security there is so strong that hunters don’t even bother approaching, or the maintenance bots are so high-spec that they can just repair the whole area overnight.

I see... Well, either way, hunting for relics in a more kept-up place has got to be better, right?

I’d say so,she agreed—then added, after a slight hesitation, Do you want to take a look?

Akira considered. Nah, let’s check out where the marker’s pointing first. That was the plan, after all.

Right. Well then, let us proceed with vigilance. Onward! Alpha grinned, satisfied that Akira had prioritized her plan over what would have been a largely meaningless endeavor.

Even though Akira was training to explore ruins on his own, Alpha still provided a degree of instruction when necessary—she didn’t want his inexperience to lead him into a monster ambush. But even when she pointed out that he’d selected the wrong path and informed him of a better one, Akira couldn’t tell the difference.

How’s this route any better than the one I chose? he asked.

She temporarily augmented his vision, coloring his surroundings according to threat level. The areas marked in red are dangerous. The deeper the red, the greater the danger. Looking at the color of the place you were about to enter, I’d advise against it.

Oh, is that so? Then how am I supposed to tell without your help?

Well, you’ve just got to know.

“Just got to know,” huh? Alpha’s exceedingly vague reply left him at a loss.

Alpha also looked a bit helpless. Sorry, but that’s really all I can tell you. She added that she was basing her calculations on the information from his scanner—looking at the data coming in from every building that had an unobstructed view of him, from any walls facing him, and from every window and entrance placed in those walls. All of this helped her determine the likelihood that an enemy would aim at Akira from any of those locations at any given moment, as well as what the accuracy of their shots would be based on their distance from him. Then she would update the local threat levels accordingly.

But she couldn’t communicate those calculation methods and formulas to Akira, even through telepathy—whether she expressed them numerically or in images, they’d be far beyond the scope of his understanding. And even if he did somehow understand them, he’d never be able to perform those calculations without Alpha’s help—let alone do so continuously, while staying vigilant of his surroundings. It would overload his brain.

Of course, I could teach you an extremely dumbed down version, but there’d be no point, since you can already manage that level of accuracy on your own,she finished.

So in other words, I have no choice but to become experienced enough to sense whether an area’s dangerous on my own?

Exactly. The only way to hone your intuition is through experience. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t use some tools to expedite the process, like my helpful color-coding.

Looking around once more, Akira saw that he was engulfed in a sea of red. Even if he didn’t know why the area was dangerous, it clearly was. Since he hadn’t even been able to notice that much without Alpha’s help, he had no choice but to acknowledge he’d failed, and that his intuition sorely needed polishing. Alpha’s support was a helpful shortcut to that goal. Intuition? Like, getting a bad feeling about something? Can you really rely on that? Now that he thought about it, perhaps intuition was what had kept him alive back when he was running around the slums, hiding in the corners of the back alleys. Reflecting on those days with a complicated smile, he resumed his search of the ruins, trying to rely more on his intuition.

All the monsters Akira encountered on his way through the Mihazono business district kept turning out to be machines. Even the ones that seemed to be organic at first glance were revealed to be mechanical once they were destroyed. At one point, a monster resembling a large dog had made a beeline for him at a speed no normal canine could hope to match. But after some careful scouting and quick sniping on Akira’s part, metallic fragments had scattered everywhere as it collapsed to the ground in a heap, and a metal framework could be clearly seen from the hole blown in its torso.

Akira looked puzzled. A cyborg? No, the head’s mechanical too. Why are all the monsters here machines?

Probably because there’s nothing in these ruins for organic monsters to eat. Or maybe the guards wiped them all out. Even the trees lining the streets here are also made of metal, constructed with the same nanomaterial as the guards, so they wouldn’t serve as sustenance either.

Akira gazed at the trees on either side of the road, vibrant green and completely indistinguishable from real ones. You’re kidding.

They’re kind of like imitation flowers,Alpha added.

This only made him more uneasy—gazing on the artificial trees that decorated the streets, he saw simulacra that, unlike genuine trees, would never wither.

Chapter 105: A Concern Laid to Rest

As Akira continued through Mihazono’s business district toward the Serantal Building, a small plane flew by overhead.