Rebuild World: Volume 5 E-Book

Nahuse

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

Seitenzahl: 564

Beschreibung

With his adventures in the Mihazono Town Ruins behind him, Akira returns home to find that Sheryl is joining forces with Katsuragi to start a relic shop in the slums. When the years-long war between the two largest gangs—the Ezent Family and Harlias—comes to a head, Sheryl and her business get caught in the cross fire! With Sheryl in both gangs’ crosshairs, it’s up to Akira to save her! But with Viola scheming behind the scenes and Akira having another unexpected encounter with Carol, it won’t be easy. Will a brand-new set of gear and weapons be enough to go up against two gangs at once and rescue Sheryl from a grisly fate?

Leseprobe

Chapter 124: The Relic Business

Ever since Akira had met Alpha, his skill as a relic hunter had grown by leaps and bounds. After helping kill several powerful bounty monsters, he’d resumed his search for undiscovered ruins. But countless failed attempts had led him to turn his attention to the well-known Mihazono Town Ruins instead. There he’d become involved in yet another incident, one that had ended in a desperate fight against Monica, a hunter sporting powerful Old World gear. Just as she’d been about to kill him, however, Alpha had come through in the nick of time and brought him victory.

This fight had made him realize firsthand how impressive Old World equipment was. So afterward he’d asked Alpha if he, too, would one day need such powerful gear to complete the task she’d hired him for—to which she’d responded that it would be nowhere near sufficient. Stunned by the strength he would need for the task ahead of him, he’d resolved to continue improving as a hunter so that one day he could fulfill his promise to her.

◆

The city had placed a bounty on Monica’s head after her demise at the hands of Akira’s team. Each hunter involved would be granted a large reward, but it would still be some time before they’d receive it—the city, Druncam, and Elena and Carol were locked in an intense negotiation over the rights to Monica’s Old World possessions, delaying the process.

Still, a big payday was a welcome prospect for Akira. During the battle with Monica, he’d lost all the weapons he’d brought along, and his suit had gotten damaged as well. Until he replaced these, he’d have to put his search for unexplored ruins on hold yet again.

While he was waiting, he received some documents from Katsuragi via his terminal. They detailed a plan for his and Sheryl’s relic venture.

“‘Proposal for Relic Business’?” Akira said quizzically, reading over the documents. He’d never discussed such a thing with Katsuragi. But then he remembered asking Sheryl to sell the relics he’d collected from the Yonozuka Station Ruins, and he finally realized what had happened.

The relics he and Sheryl’s gang had retrieved from the ruin were still sitting in his garage. After some time had passed without Sheryl coming by to pick them up, he’d called her to ask about the delay. She’d apologized but had asked him to wait just a little longer. Akira wasn’t in urgent need of money, so he’d told her she didn’t have to rush, thinking she was just having a hard time finding a buyer at the right price. He’d never guessed she was joining forces with Katsuragi to open a business instead.

“No wonder it was taking her so long!” Everything now made sense, but part of him wished she would’ve just told him her plans to begin with.

If you recall, you alluded to her sandwich shop when you asked her to sell those, Alpha commented. That was probably what caused her misunderstanding.

“Oh, was that what happened? Hmm... Well, at least she’s making an effort. As long as they get sold for a decent amount, I don’t care how she does it. And if Katsuragi’s helping her, so much the better.”

In his message, Katsuragi had also written that he wanted to go over the proposal with Akira once the latter had finished reading it, so Akira phoned him up.

The merchant answered in a cheery tone. “Oh, Akira! What a pleasure to receive your call! I take it you read the plan I sent you? What do you think?”

“Yeah, I looked it over. I can’t say I understood much of it, but whatever—you and Sheryl do what you need to do.”

“Wonderful! You can count on us! By the way, I have a small favor to ask, if it’s not too much trouble. Could you hand the relics over now?” Katsuragi laid out his reasoning, explaining that he’d reached out to several acquaintances to help with the business, but most of them had said they wouldn’t agree to anything until they saw the relics for themselves. And while he stressed that he didn’t think Akira or Sheryl were lying to him, he also wanted to see the goods for himself. After all, knowing what he was working with would make it easier to convince his buddies.

“So what do you say?” he finished. “Since you already entrusted us with selling them, I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”

“All right, but you’ve got to come get them,” Akira replied. “There’s too much for me to bring myself.”

“No problem! I’ll be there as soon as I can!” Katsuragi sounded elated.

“Oh, and since I’m giving them to you on your request, you’re responsible if anything happens to them. If you’re okay with that, come on over.”

There was a brief pause. When Katsuragi responded, the cheer in his voice was gone. “Just to clarify, you’re saying that just about me, correct? Not me and Sheryl?”

“That’s right.”

“And on the off chance that something were to happen, what do you mean by ‘take responsibility’?”

“I’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

“Just a moment, I’m hanging up. I’ll call you right back.”

One minute later, the merchant rang him again. However, this time it was not Katsuragi on the line but Sheryl. She sounded anxious. “Sheryl here. I heard everything from Katsuragi. Would it be okay for me to come over and pick up the relics on Katsuragi’s behalf? I’ll take full responsibility for them.”

“Sure, no problem. Come and get them.”

“Thank you very much!” She sighed in relief.

Hearing her, Akira smiled sympathetically. “Oh, and by the way, all that talk about responsibility was just for Katsuragi. I don’t expect the same thing from you, so don’t worry.”

He briefly explained that since Katsuragi had asked to take the relics, any resulting trouble would have been on him, since he’d made the request himself. But Akira had asked Sheryl to sell the relics, not the other way around, and he couldn’t force her to be liable for a favor he’d requested. Even if the relics got stolen or damaged, he’d just consider it her original share of the loot—her compensation for all the trouble he’d put her through in the past. (Previously, Akira had asked Sheryl and her gang to help gather relics in the Yonozuka Station Ruins, which had ended in a group of hunters kidnapping her and attacking her base.)

“That said,” he continued in a more serious tone, “let’s not assume the worst right off the bat. Contact me if you run into trouble, and I’ll do what I can before it gets out of hand. Back when you got kidnapped, I more or less handled the situation, right?” If you can call what happened ‘handling the situation,’ that is, he added to himself with a wry smile. Well, at least it all worked out in the end.

“That’s true. Okay,” she replied cheerfully. “I’ll still do my best to prevent any incidents on my end, but if something does happen, I’ll let you know immediately. Katsuragi and I are on our way now, so see you soon!”

After Sheryl hung up, Akira headed to the garage, where a treasure trove of relics were packed in cardboard boxes stacked up to the ceiling. “Fifty mil, huh?” he said with a small grin.

When he’d first obtained the relics, he’d expected he could get around fifty million aurum for the total load. Such a figure had seemed so impressive back then, but he’d since netted over a hundred million aurum from the bounty hunts, and the reward from the Mihazono incident, once decided upon, would surely be even higher. Now fifty mil was chump change to Akira, which was why he wouldn’t be too upset at Sheryl even if the relics got stolen. How bizarre it felt to have his views on money transform so radically in such a brief time!

◆

After Sheryl got off the call with Akira, Katsuragi regarded her with surprise. “I didn’t think he favored you that much.”

“Well, we are lovers, after all,” Sheryl said with an air of pride.

The merchant and the gang leader looked each other in the eye, each attempting to suss out what the other was really thinking while taking care to conceal their own thoughts.

Katsuragi, for his part, failed to see through Sheryl’s dissimulation. I didn’t think Akira was that keen on Sheryl, but perhaps I had the wrong impression? If so, taking the reins in this operation might be tougher than I thought.

However talented she was, at present Sheryl was merely the leader of a small gang in the slums. She had neither the knowledge nor the connections to run a relic business. But Katsuragi did, and he’d been keen to leverage his experience and her inexperience to take control of the business. Then he could get a much larger share of the profits from the relics Akira would no doubt continue to bring to him. Asking Akira to give the relics to him ahead of time had been part of his setup for this plan—he knew just having those relics in his possession would give him more pull in negotiations than one might expect.

But after Akira’s warning, Katsuragi had backed off and gotten Sheryl to request the goods instead, thinking that the boy might be a bit more willing to go easy on her. He hadn’t expected Akira to be quite so soft on Sheryl, though—even if all the relics were stolen under her watch, Akira would have been willing to forgive her.

Is that really because she’s his girlfriend? Katsuragi revised his impression of Sheryl and decided to change his course of action. I might be able to turn this to my advantage too. I’ll just lay low for now and see what happens.

Sheryl, on the other hand, didn’t believe for a second that Akira had been soft on her because of their relationship—in fact, she now felt more tense than ever. Don’t get it twisted, Sheryl, she told herself. He didn’t say that out of consideration for me—since he simply asked me to sell the relics, he was just holding me to the same standard he would hold himself, that’s all. It’ll be bad if you misunderstand. Then another possibility came to her mind, and her anxiety deepened. And if he doesn’t care whether you succeed, that means he doesn’t expect anything out of you. Messing up is one thing, but if you fail and he’s not even disappointed, that’s even worse.

She resolved to prove herself to him and then live up to the standard she had set. She had to pull this relic venture off and make Akira recognize her worth, or otherwise he really would abandon her.

Her eyes lit up with determination. Getting cut off or abandoned by Akira was, to her, the same as death. “Katsuragi, we shouldn’t keep Akira waiting. Let’s hurry.”

“Right,” he responded, and the two of them quickly prepared the trailer, both acting much calmer than they really felt.

◆

Soon after, Katsuragi and Sheryl showed up at Akira’s house. The children from Sheryl’s gang got to work carrying the mountain of cardboard boxes out of the garage and into Katsuragi’s trailer. Many of these kids had been part of the relic-gathering operation at Yonozuka, and were now transporting the cargo with the utmost care—terrified that Akira might murder them in cold blood if they mishandled the boxes and broke an extremely valuable relic.

Katsuragi took a peek inside one package. Unbeknownst to him, the relics inside were from back when Yonozuka was still undiscovered—and so many of them were quite valuable. He eyeballed the box’s contents, then scanned all the other packages the children were loading into the trailer. Then, assuming all the crates contained goods of similar value, he tallied up an approximate value for the entire haul—and his eyes widened in shock. “Akira, you were hiding this many valuable relics from me all this time?”

“I wasn’t really hiding them or anything.”

“Then why didn’t you— No, first off, where did you—?”

Of course, Akira couldn’t tell him the truth—that he’d brought them back from Yonozuka before anyone else knew of the ruin’s existence. To keep Katsuragi from prying, Akira gave him a sharp look. “A lot happened, okay?”

“I-I see.” Katsuragi didn’t want to upset Akira, so he deduced there must have been some circumstances behind the relics that Akira couldn’t divulge, and left it at that.

They delivered Akira’s relics to a warehouse on the border between the slums and Kugamayama’s business district. Akira came along on Sheryl’s request, but was surprised when he saw the sheer number of other relics already stored inside. “I know your proposal said you’d already gathered some other relics to sell, but I didn’t think you had this many.”

“It’s quantity over quality,” Sheryl replied. “Even if they’re cheap, we needed some to fill out our inventory. They’re nowhere near as good as yours.”

Akira decided to stick around while they recorded the new inventory. Katsuragi and the others took his relics out of the boxes and lined them up on the floor in rows, then snapped pictures of each one and entered them in the catalog. The boy observed the entire process curiously.

Feeling nervous under Akira’s watchful gaze, Katsuragi moved to reassure him. “Hey now, no need to act so suspicious of me! Don’t worry, I’m not gonna falsify the records and make off with your relics or anything. You gotta trust me that much.”

“Nah, no worries. Just can’t believe the variety we’ve got here.”

Akira’s offhand comment surprised Katsuragi. “Wait, what do you mean? You were the one who collected them, right? Shouldn’t you be familiar with what’s here?”

Sheryl’s gang had carried the relics out of the ruins, not Akira himself, so this was basically his first time seeing them. He’d opened a few of the boxes in his garage out of sheer curiosity, but that was all. “I told you—a lot happened,” Akira replied.

“I guess so.” Seeing how stubbornly Akira was trying to dodge his questions, Katsuragi supposed that the boy must have obtained the relics under circumstances even more exceptional than the merchant had originally thought. Yet he didn’t dare consider pulling the plug on this operation—the amount and quality of the relics involved had stoked his greed so much that he wasn’t going to sweat a few details.

Once they’d cataloged around half of the relics, Katsuragi’s acquaintances showed up at the warehouse. When they saw the spread of relics on the floor, they were even more surprised than Katsuragi had been. They’d heard about the relics from Katsuragi many times, but since he’d never offered to show them off to anyone, most had assumed he was just spinning a tall tale. So when they saw all the high-quality relics lined up on the floor, they were stunned—and the looks in their eyes changed.

“Katsuragi! This is incredible!” one exclaimed. “How’d you get your hands on all these?!”

“I told you before—I know a few skilled hunters.”

“But still, all these relics?!”

“Too many for me to handle on my own,” said Katsuragi. “Why else would I have called you guys here? Don’t tell me you thought I was just blowing smoke all this time?”

“N-No, of course not!”

In fact, Katsuragi had been just as surprised, but he could cover this up by insinuating that they were doubting him. And since his acquaintances couldn’t very well answer in the affirmative, the details of how the relics had been obtained remained under wraps.

Yet they were still curious about where the haul had come from. They turned their attention to the two Katsuragi had claimed had provided the goods—Akira and Sheryl, who were chatting a short distance away. Each of the merchants began drawing their own conclusions based on what they noticed.

One of them was particularly interested in the quality of Sheryl’s clothing. “Hey Katsuragi, that Sheryl girl over there—is that an Old World outfit she’s wearing?”

“No, it’s technically modern. However, it was tailored with material from Old World clothing.”

The merchant started in shock. “Material from Old World clothing?! No way! That would destroy the value of the relic it was made from!”

Katsuragi smirked to himself as he answered aloud, “Meaning she has enough money to not care.”

“She’s that rich?!” the merchant gasped, imagining what kind of coffers someone would require to deliberately trash a relic in the pursuit of fashion.

One of the other men knew Sheryl from when Katsuragi had introduced her to him, and looked confused. “Forgive me if I’m mistaken, Katsuragi, but didn’t you say that girl owned a small business before?”

Katsuragi frowned and spoke to him in a low voice. “Look, I can’t say too much, but I think I’ve given enough hints at this point. Figure out the rest on your own.”

The supplier remembered that, once upon a time, Katsuragi had implied that Sheryl was the scion of a wealthy business executive, and that her humble sandwich shop was a way to get her feet wet before entering the world of business officially. “O-Oh, I see. You can’t say, huh?” He broke out in a cold sweat, afraid that he might have offended her in the past by misinterpreting her social standing.

“That’s right, my lips are sealed. So draw your own conclusions.” Katsuragi winked.

Inwardly, however, he was just as unnerved. He still couldn’t see through Sheryl’s disguise?! Well, she fooled that Druncam exec Mizuha too, so I suppose she could fool anyone if they didn’t already know the truth. Seeing how nervous his acquaintance was acting, he reminded himself that he needed to be careful around Sheryl just as much as, if not more than, he was around Akira.

Another of Katsuragi’s fellow businessmen had his eyes on the boy. “Hmm, that kid doesn’t look skilled enough to be in business with any rich folks. Katsuragi, did he really collect these relics? You sure he didn’t just get them from someone else?”

“Why should it matter to you who collected them, anyway?” Katsuragi retorted. “I brought the goods here. Don’t tell me you plan on taking the credit for yourself?”

“No, but I’d at least like you to level with me about where they came from. I checked his hunter rank, and it’s only 23! You’re telling me a hunter with a rank that low gathered all these? Bullshit!”

“That’s superficial—it doesn’t prove anything. Look at that suit he’s wearing. You really think a rank 23 hunter could afford gear like that?”

“That doesn’t prove anything either,” returned the businessman. “Anyone could get their hands on gear like that with the right connections—like knowing the daughter of a business exec, for instance. Sorry, but that kid looks like a weakling to me.”

“Like I keep saying, you gotta read between the lines a little. I told you guys I’m not at liberty to discuss the details.”

“Really?” The man looked doubtful, but said nothing further.

With just a few convenient words—I can’t tell you anything specific, so figure it out on your own—Katsuragi had thrown his fellow merchants into confusion. It would have been one thing if they’d only had his word to go on, but the evidence before them made his claims more believable: the warehouse was full of high-quality relics, the girl had on an expensive outfit, and the boy was wearing a pricey-looking powered suit. But none of that seemed to fit with what they’d already known before coming here, so they felt perplexed.

Meanwhile, Katsuragi had just been saying whatever he could to dodge their questions. After all, he didn’t know the details himself.

◆

As Akira was talking with Sheryl, he received a call from Elena regarding Monica’s bounty. This information was still considered classified by the city, so Akira had Sheryl step out of earshot.

Elena’s news was surprising, to say the least.

“Druncam’s going to pay the bounty instead?” echoed Akira. “Has that ever happened before?”

“It’s unusual, that’s for sure. But I’m guessing this is their way of gaining the upper hand in the negotiations.”

Once the rights to Monica’s Old World gear had come up, the negotiations over her bounty had become more complex, resulting in the three-way dispute between the city, Elena and Carol, and Druncam. Elena explained that Druncam had offered to pay their team on the city’s behalf, meaning that Elena, Carol, and Akira would no longer have to haggle for a better deal. Each non-Druncam member of the team would be paid individually, and Akira’s amount had been proposed at six hundred million aurum.

“S-Six hundred million?” Akira choked.

“Right. As long as you’re okay with it, they can deposit the money in our accounts right away. Sara and I think the terms are pretty favorable, and Carol says she’s okay with whatever you decide since you hired her. You don’t have to agree, but I think that’s a decent sum.”

“If you think it’s a good deal, then no complaints here. But why would Druncam go that far?”

“Because a two-way negotiation would be ideal for them.” She added the city had set Monica’s bounty at one billion. However, the city wouldn’t have to pay a single aurum if Druncam picked up the tab. In return, Druncam would ask for the credit for Monica’s defeat, as well as special treatment from the city—such as access to high-paying jobs offered only to the most experienced and trustworthy hunters, including guarding important transport routes between other cities. For a hunter syndicate like Druncam, the long-term benefits would be well worth a billion aurum.

But as long as there were other parties involved, each haggling with their own interests in mind, an agreement like that would be difficult to reach. As individual hunters, Akira and the others didn’t have anywhere near as much to gain as Druncam—if things went south and the bargaining broke down, they could just refuse to hand over the rights to the Old World equipment. Unlike Druncam, which had to negotiate with the organization’s best interests in mind, Akira and the rest of his team weren’t committed to any group at all. So Druncam had offered to pay on the city’s behalf. Once they accepted the reward, Akira and the others wouldn’t be able to lay claim to Monica’s gear again by returning the money. The rights, originally divided among its members, would all go to Druncam.

Another reason Elena wanted Akira to know all this was so that he wouldn’t be shocked if their pay turned out to be less than expected. Monica’s bounty was a billion aurum on paper, but Druncam wouldn’t necessarily have to pay that amount—depending on how the negotiations with the city went, the final sum could well be less than that. She warned Akira that he should keep that in mind before he agreed.

Akira had no complaints. While he didn’t need the money right this instant, it was true he wanted to buy new gear as soon as possible, so he wasn’t about to turn down immediate money in the bank. “I understand. Sounds good to me. Oh, but if there are any other downsides, let me know since I’m not the most informed on this stuff.”

“Well, let’s see. For one thing, Monica’s bounty isn’t official in the Hunter Office records yet, so you’ll be called a liar if you go around claiming you took her down.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll be careful, then.”

“Still, you ought to be proud of yourself for taking down someone so strong. All right, I’ll let everyone know you’re on board. After that, it won’t be long before the money shows up in your account.”

“Perfect! Thanks, Elena. See you later.” Akira hung up, looking elated.

Alpha also wore a smile. Good for you, Akira.

Yeah. Man, I’m so excited! I’m gonna head to Shizuka’s the instant it hits my account. Six hundred million aurum, huh? Even if I can’t get Old World gear, that’ll net me some pretty good equipment.

It makes me happy to hear you say that, Akira. Keep up that enthusiasm, and we’ll be in good shape!

Really? Akira looked surprised. Why did that make you happy?

Because it means you’re seriously trying to improve yourself as a hunter. That’ll bode well for me in the future.

Oh, yeah. Akira nodded, not bothering to read any deeper into her answer.

To the average relic hunter—and at present, to Akira—six hundred million was a huge amount of money. Any hunter would be nuts to amass that much money and then drop all of it on gear, instead of using at least part of it to better their living situation or for recreation. Yet Akira hadn’t hesitated in his decision, as though he hadn’t even considered spending his money in any other way.

And Alpha was pleased.

This would be extremely convenient for her in the future.

Sheryl saw that Akira had hung up and walked back over to him. He was in a good mood, which put her in high spirits as well. “Did something happen?” she asked.

“Yeah. You know that pay from the job in Mihazono I was telling you about? I thought it’d be some time before I got that money, but it looks like I’ll be receiving it now.”

“That’s wonderful! How much was it, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sheryl planned to praise him for a job well done regardless of the amount—she only asked so as to get a chance to flatter him.

“Hm? Oh, around six hundred million aurum.”

When Sheryl heard this, she nearly shrieked, “S-Six hundred million?!” It took everything she had not to choke, but remembering in the nick of time that she was supposed to be a prim and proper lady, she stopped herself. She couldn’t conceal her surprise completely, however—her smile went stiff. Aloud, she asked, “Around six hundred million, you say? Does that mean the final amount might be less than that?” Inwardly, she hoped this was so.

But Akira’s reply dashed her hopes. “Nah, adding everything up, I bet it’ll be more.” The figure he’d quoted was only Monica’s bounty—he was also waiting on Carol’s compensation for his damaged relic, the reward from the insurance company’s rescue job with Elena and Sara, and the pay from the city for investigating the factory district. Before subtracting ammo costs and replacing his damaged equipment, Akira expected his total yield from Mihazono would exceed well over seven hundred million.

From his nonchalant response, Sheryl could tell he wasn’t exaggerating. She could barely speak in surprise. “I-I see. That is a lot of money.”

“Yeah. But that’s just how tough I had it.”

Sheryl could sense from his tone just how difficult his ordeal had been, but this didn’t make her feel any better—after all, he’d amassed over six hundred million aurum in only a week’s time.

Akira had valued the relics in his garage at around fifty million aurum. Sheryl, however, had been thinking she could get around a hundred million if the relic business was a success. Once she’d deducted the shares for the merchants and her gang, she’d expected to deliver around sixty million to Akira in all.

It was the sandwich shop all over again. She’d planned on giving the proceeds from that endeavor—around a million and a half—to Akira. But after seeing him shell out ten million aurum for medicine like it was no big deal, she’d reconsidered. Sheryl had to make sure she and her gang stayed useful to Akira, and offering him mere pocket change would be meaningless.

So she’d told herself she had to make the relic business succeed at all costs. Sixty million aurum, she’d believed, would surely win Akira’s favor. But now that she’d heard how much Akira had netted in a single week, she was nervous. The degree to which someone valued money depended on the size of their income—would Akira consider sixty million aurum a lot of money or a pittance?

She wasn’t sure.

Trying her best to look unconcerned, she continued talking to Akira until he pulled out his phone, checked the message he’d received, and beamed. “Okay, Sheryl. My job here’s done, so I’m heading out. You guys can handle the cataloging and stuff from here on. Tell Katsuragi I said so too.”

“Okay. If you’re not doing anything else, please come by my base sometime. I’ll be waiting,” she said with a smile. But the moment Akira left the warehouse, her smile vanished. “I absolutely cannot screw up here,” she muttered.

After all, even if sixty million was just chump change to Akira already, she’d still have to make that much and more to stay useful to him. So if she couldn’t manage at least that amount, she had no chance of rivaling the kind of income he was making as a hunter. (This would also require her to grow her gang enough to keep pace with him.)

The success of the relic business would be a stepping stone to that end. Failure was not an option.

She returned to Katsuragi and the others with the confident smile of a rich, business-savvy girl—and with a newfound determination. Her zeal left the seasoned businessmen in awe.

Chapter 125: A Continuous Gamble

After parting with Sheryl, Akira headed straight for Shizuka’s shop. A notification had come through from Druncam—they’d deposited six hundred million aurum in his account, and he was thrilled. I know they said they’d pay right away, but that really was fast!

Alpha also smiled cheerfully. That’s probably because Druncam wanted you and the others out of the picture as soon as possible. But it helps us all the same.

You said it! I wonder what all I’ll be able to buy with six hundred mil?

He entered Shizuka’s shop brimming with anticipation. As always, Shizuka greeted him with a polite smile, but when Akira explained in the course of their chatting that he was here to replace his equipment yet again, her face clouded over.

“Elena and Sara already told me what happened, but you really had it rough, didn’t you?” she said.

“Yeah,” he replied. “It was super dangerous.” This time he couldn’t cover up or dodge how much he’d had to overexert himself in the face of peril, and in any case she could tell just from the weariness in his voice. “I feel like I finally get just how much of a difference having the right gear can make. Not simply the Old World items our enemy was wearing, but the anti-force melee weapons and ammo my teammates had as well. If it wasn’t for those, I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive. Thanks to this experience, I now know just how important equipment is to my survival.” Telling Shizuka his honest feelings felt like removing a weight from his shoulders, and with a smile, he moved away from small talk and on to business. “So with that said, if you wouldn’t mind, I was wondering if you could recommend some options?”

Even though he’d said “if you wouldn’t mind,” he didn’t actually think Shizuka would turn him down. But when her expression remained troubled, he began to look unsure. “Er, or not?”

“Akira, what’s your budget this time?” Shizuka asked.

“Ah, r-right. Around six hundred million.”

“And is that everything you earned in Mihazono?”

“No, that’s just my share from Monica’s bounty. I also got a cut from the rescue mission with Elena and the others.”

“I see.” But she still looked conflicted.

“Um, Shizuka?” he ventured.

But just as he was getting anxious, she broke into her usual polite smile. “All right! Six hundred million aurum, you said? I felt hesitant because I’m not sure if a humble shop like mine is up to that task, but I’ll try my best!”

Akira looked relieved. “Thank you, I really appreciate it!”

“Also, it’s true that gear’s important, but don’t forget your own health comes first. I’m sure you’re exhausted after all that happened in Mihazono, correct?”

“Yeah, for real,” he replied.

“Then take a good long rest to rejuvenate your mind and body,” she said with a gentle smile, “since they’re just as important to your survival. Think of them as another piece of equipment to be serviced. If they aren’t well-rested and at their sharpest, you won’t be able to move like you want to when it counts. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now then, can you tell me what kind of equipment you’re looking for this time around? With six hundred mil, you’ve basically got the pick of the lot, so no need to hold back.”

Realizing that Shizuka had only been concerned for him, he broke into a grin and told her what he had in mind.

Shizuka had indeed beenworried for him, but not quite in the way Akira had guessed. She was feeling nervous about how he spent his money.

When gamblers won money from a successful wager, they put their winnings on a larger bet for an even bigger payout. But most could not keep coming out on top in their continuous gambles, and ended up mired in debt or with their lives in ruins.

As a hunter, Akira was doing the same thing. Perhaps Shizuka wouldn’t have fretted so much if he were buying high-quality gear for the sole purpose of avoiding danger. But she’d known ever since they’d first met that he was only upgrading his equipment in order to take greater risks. Over and over, he’d risk his life, receive a huge reward, and then turn around and invest it all into even better gear for his next roll of the dice.

This time, he’d earned six hundred million aurum—wasn’t that enough for now? She’d been debating whether to tell Akira that he ought to take a break (the real reason she’d looked so conflicted). But she’d had a hunch that doing so would be a waste of breath, so in the end she’d decided against it and instead tried to get him to think of his well-being as one more tool he needed to maintain for his work. Since he’d recently realized the importance of equipment, she hoped he would now think twice before endangering himself once more in his continuous gamble.

Of course, she knew deep down he wouldn’t stop. He was a hunter—eventually he’d be forced into his next wager and would undoubtedly risk his life yet again. But perhaps her advice would at least convince him to take a good long rest beforehand, so that he’d be in peak condition when the chips were down once more.

Meanwhile, as he and Shizuka talked, Alpha observed Akira’s behavior intently.

◆

Once all of Akira’s relics had been inventoried, Katsuragi, Sheryl, and the businessmen moved to another room in the warehouse to discuss business plans in private. The merchants still wondered how Akira had ended up with such a haul, but there were enough valuable relics to pique their interest regardless of their doubts. Now that they’d seen the goods for themselves and knew Katsuragi hadn’t been just blowing smoke, they were eager to get the ball rolling.

“Katsuragi, are you really planning to set the shop up in the slums?” one man said. “I understand that it’s the most convenient place for you to sell relics acquired under unusual circumstances, but will they really be safe there?”

“Don’t worry, Sheryl here’s going to strike a deal with the gang that owns the territory in the area.”

The men all turned their attention to Sheryl, who smiled calmly as if to say, “Leave it to me.”

“I’ve also got a few hunters in mind to hire for security,” Katsuragi added. “And if that isn’t enough, feel free to pitch in and hire some hunters of your own for extra security. That should cover it, no?”

“Well, in that case—” the man began.

“Oh, actually...” Katsuragi cut him off, as though he’d just remembered. “Sorry, Tomejima, but you’re going to have to sit this one out.”

“Huh?! Why?! You invited me here! What are you trying to pull?” The man—who was indeed Tomejima, someone Akira had met when Shikarabe had invited him to participate in the bounty hunts—looked furious.

Katsuragi frowned, as though it pained him to deliver this news. “I just remembered—you got into a conflict with Akira before, didn’t you? I heard it was so bad that if he saw you again, he’d probably kill you on sight.”

Tomejima went rigid. “Th-That wasn’t...” He’d encountered Akira while negotiating with Shikarabe’s group at the bar. Kadol, a hunter Tomejima had invited along, had picked a fight with Akira—and nearly ended up dead as a result. So technically, Akira had beef with Kadol, not Tomejima.

But Katsuragi already knew this and shook his head anyway. “Do you really think Akira cares who started it? He may not have recognized you when he was here a little while ago, but what if he remembers down the line? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not upset him. Don’t want to take any chances.”

None of the other businessmen said a word. They couldn’t defend Tomejima either—if Akira became angry, he might take his relics back, and the entire operation would fall through.

“Look, Tomejima,” Katsuragi went on, sounding sympathetic, “I really wanted you to be a part of this too, so I’m just as disappointed. You gather up hunters in debt and get them to collect relics, right? I invited you here thinking your line of work would be helpful for acquiring more inventory, or even for extra personnel to guard the store or warehouse.” He looked apologetic. “But if you’re currently at odds with Akira, that’s a no go. Sorry, but you’ll have to pass on this one.”

Tomejima looked around at the others, but none of them seemed inclined to take his side.

“Although,” Katsuragi continued, “I’d reconsider if you were to strike a deal with Akira so that there’s no more bad blood. But I won’t be your mediator—you’re on your own. Like I said, I don’t want to piss that guy off. No thank you!”

With that, Katsuragi fell silent as though that was the last word on the subject. Tomejima, sensing that saying anything further would be pointless, left the warehouse with a dark look on his face.

Once he was gone, Katsuragi tried to lighten things up with a big grin. “Now then, I know I said all that to Tomejima just now, but the rest of you don’t have to worry. Even if you get on Akira’s bad side a little, he and I go way back, and we’ve been through a lot together. I should be able to smooth things over, provided you don’t tick Akira off as much as that guy did.”

The other men looked relieved. “I-I see,” one spoke up. “That does make me feel better.”

“Now then, let’s move on to the next topic, shall we? I mentioned hiring some hunters to work security earlier, right? Well, here’s what I’m thinking...” Now that Katsuragi had seized control of the discussion, he steered it in the direction most convenient for him.

As for Tomejima, Katsuragi had invited him with the intention of kicking him out from the very beginning. And Sheryl was the only other person present who realized this.

Once outside, Tomejima looked back at the warehouse with regret. “Shit!” he spat. “To think that idiot’s actions would screw me over even here!”

Kolbe was waiting outside the warehouse. “You don’t look too thrilled. What happened?” When Tomejima explained, Kolbe immediately understood—he’d witnessed the incident with Kadol as well. “So it’s that moron’s fault, huh? Well, what do you want to do, then? Should we tell Akira his address in case the kid wants to blow off some steam?”

At Kolbe’s casual suggestion that they assist Akira in killing Kadol, Tomejima gave the hunter a disapproving look. “No, no need to go that far...” He resented Kadol for what had happened and wouldn’t care if he ended up dead, but he didn’t want to be personally responsible for the hunter’s demise. “Say, Kolbe, back at the bar I saw you talking with Akira. If you’re buddies with him, would you be able to help me out?”

“Sorry, no can do. I just know him—we’re not close or anything. And I only know him ’cause one of my guys caused him trouble, so it’s doubly impossible.”

“That so? Damn! Got any other good ideas, then? I really want in on this operation—if it pans out, I’d be rolling in the dough. Don’t want to miss out because of some dumbass.”

“I don’t have any good ideas, no.”

“Meaning you have a bad one?”

“Well, if you’re really that desperate, you could always go to Viola. I’m sure she’d be able to manage something.”

Kolbe made his offhand suggestion merely in jest. He might as well have said, “Why are you asking me?” But Tomejima knew how much money the relic business might rake in, and craving for a piece of that pie, he took Kolbe’s advice seriously.

◆

Akira soaked in the bath, looking conflicted. “Hmm... I honestly have no clue which to choose,” he groaned.

Many weapons were floating in midair before him. Naturally, they were not real—Alpha had merely projected them into his vision—but the detail on the images made them indistinguishable from reality. Alpha was acting as a model, naked and holding each of the weapons to show Akira its features and functions while she listed their specs. Depending on what one was into, the sight could have even been classified as arousing.

Don’t just give up, Akira. This is an important decision that’ll affect your chances of survival, so put some effort into it.

“I know, but...”

These were all guns that Shizuka had recommended. With such a large budget to work with, there were so many options that even she couldn’t suggest anything specific right away. So first she’d sent him a general list of weapons to choose from based on what features he’d asked for. Then, once he picked out those he liked and narrowed down his selection, Shizuka would give him a more specific list of weapons similar to what he’d chosen. They’d repeat this process until Akira finally found the gun he wanted.

He was still on the first list, which was only meant to show him his options and give Shizuka an idea of the direction he wanted to go. Yet he was overwhelmed by the variety on display, and had no clue where to even begin.

“I dunno. I mean, I’ve basically just gone with whatever Shizuka recommended until now. Does that mean that I normally would’ve had to choose from all these myself?”

She must have it rough, owning a store like that. She regularly has to choose from this list for her customers, and if she makes the wrong choice, those hunters could end up disgruntled—or even dead.

“Yeah, seriously.” Reflecting on how much he’d relied on Shizuka until now, Akira took another stab at narrowing down his options.

These were all hybrid weapons called multifunction guns—the consequence of Akira doing as Shizuka had suggested and making a request without worrying about money. Thinking there was no harm in asking, he’d requested a weapon that could fire bullets as powerful as his CWH’s, at a rapid rate that could match his DVTS, with the accuracy and range of a sniper rifle, and preferably also capable of firing grenades like his A4WM. In other words, he wanted a single weapon that had all the features of every gun he’d used thus far.

Even Akira thought it was a ridiculous request. He hadn’t imagined that such a convenient gun could exist. But he was wrong—Shizuka had recommended the multifunction gun.

Of course, an all-purpose gun had its downsides. For one, it was a jack of all trades and a master of none—in other words, none of its individual functions worked as well as they would on a gun built for only one purpose. And multifunction guns were expensive to manufacture because of their complex design. Considering there were cheaper single-function guns with better performance, many hunters thought most multifunction models weren’t worth the high price.

Some of the pricier ones, however, performed better across the board. Such a gun was powerful enough to be truly all-purpose, and in the hands of a hunter skilled enough to take advantage of all its strengths, it became the ultimate firearm. Hence guns like these were best left to experts.

Part of being a hunter was learning how to select the right gear for each situation. But for Akira, who worked solo and often had to improvise in unexpected situations, Shizuka had supposed the multifunction gun might be a solid choice.

Alpha chose two of the guns floating in the air and pointed them at Akira. Let’s make it simpler, shall we? For now, choose between these two options. Or three, if you include the option to forgo the grenade launcher altogether.

The gun in her right hand had only one barrel, while the one in her left sported two different ones. Why the difference? The left had separate barrels for bullets and grenades, while the right’s could transform to fire either—or any other ammunition, of any size. The latter was convenient, but if Akira just wanted it to fire grenades, all that extra functionality would be pointless. And it wasn’t like he needed a multifunction gun with a grenade-launching feature to begin with—he could just bring along an actual grenade launcher as a backup firearm.

However, that would mean carrying an additional gun, and after lugging around a CWH, a DVTS, an A4WM, and a backpack full of ammo during his last excursion, Akira was looking to reduce his load as much as possible. After all, that was why he’d wanted a gun like this in the first place, and so having to carry another weapon just for grenades would defeat the purpose. He could also choose to not use grenades at all—if his other ammo was powerful enough, he wouldn’t need them—but they were useful to have on hand. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have shelled out so much money for support arms to carry the A4WM.

He groaned. Each of his options had its own advantages and disadvantages, and he had to keep price in mind as well. Even with only three options, he was still having a hard time making a decision.

Just then, a call came in from Shizuka. Akira had Alpha play the transmission from his terminal. “Akira speaking,” he answered.

“Hi, Akira, it’s Shizuka! Are you free right now?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I was just calling to touch base with you about the list I sent. If you need some more time to look over it, that’s totally fine, but if you’re done, I’d like to hear your thoughts. I tried to pick the weapons I thought would best fulfill the requests you gave me. But if those aren’t quite what you had in mind, please let me know.”

“Actually, I’m going over them now.” He then admitted to her he was having a hard time deciding, given the vast number of options.

“Well, at least that means you’re satisfied with the selection,” Shizuka replied wryly. “But hang in there, because we still have to talk powered suits once this is done!”

“O-Oh, right!” Akira winced, realizing he had more decisions ahead of him.

“Speaking of which, I tried to pick weapons that will leave enough room in your budget for a good suit and whatever else you might need. So if you’d rather spend more and get an even better gun, let me know and I’ll send you a new list.”

“No, this should be fine! I trust your judgment!” This wasn’t a lie, as he really did trust her—but he also feared that if she revised it, he would be confronted with even more choices.

“Glad to hear it,” she said with a hint of dryness—she’d seen through him completely. “Well, take as much time as you need to decide.”

“Thanks, I will. Oh, right—before you go, are there some guidelines or metrics hunters normally use when choosing a weapon? Having some kind of standard to judge by would be a big help.”

“Let’s see...” Shizuka thought for a moment, but then hesitated—her answer might inspire him to be even more reckless. Still, her gut was telling her to answer honestly, so she did. “It might be best to go with a titan killer.”

“A titan killer? Like, a weapon that prioritizes power?”

“Yes. None of your weapons were effective on that Monica woman, right? But with a titan killer, you might be able to put up more of a fight against someone like her.” Shizuka added that even if an enemy’s defenses were so strong that bullets would bounce right off, these extremely powerful shots just might pierce through those defenses and turn the tide of battle—or against especially dangerous foes, at least buy some time to escape. For this reason, some hunters thought it best to simply purchase the strongest weapons they could afford. “As for your budget,” she said, “I told you back at the store that I recommend spending four hundred mil on a suit, one hundred mil on a gun, and one hundred mil on ammo and energy packs.”

“Right. I was surprised to hear you recommend spending that much on ammo, though.”

“Well, what’s a powerful gun without powerful ammunition? In fact...” Shizuka trailed off, hesitating once more—she had a bad feeling that once she suggested buying the most powerful ammo he could, he’d run into a scenario where he’d need it. But then she reconsidered—even if that did happen, he’d be better off prepared for it. “If you had such a hard time in Mihazono, maybe you ought to forget about cost efficiency and buy a few magazines of the most expensive, most powerful ammunition you can afford, just to be safe.”

Akira nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” At first he’d thought one hundred million was an awful lot to spend on ammo, but had gone along with it anyway, trusting that Shizuka had her reasons. Now he understood.

“That’s just one option, though,” she continued. “Personally, I’d prefer it if you don’t get into a situation where you’ll need ammo that powerful. So just be careful from now on.”

“Um, I have tried to be careful until now...” he began. He knew his words sounded hollow after what he’d gone through in Mihazono, so he smiled weakly.

Shizuka could tell what he was thinking from the way his voice trailed off. She smiled wryly, but decided that as long as he wasn’t actively looking for danger, this was fine for now.

After Shizuka hung up, Akira turned his attention back to selecting a weapon. “A titan killer, huh? Hey Alpha, of those three options, which one would give me the most power, you think?”

If you just want a weapon that can take down dangerous monsters, I’d recommend forgoing the grenades altogether and looking at the guns that can fire the most effective armor-piercing bullets instead.

“Sounds good to me. All right, get rid of all the others.”

In an instant, the guns in the air that failed to meet his criteria disappeared. Yet many more remained.

“There’s still this many?” he groaned.

Just take your time, Alpha said gently.

“All right, I’ll try my best.” There was no need to rush, after all, so he figured he might as well relax and enjoy his bath while he considered his options.

◆

In a room in an apartment complex in lower Kugamayama, Viola was chatting with one of her clients via terminal.

“Yes, of course! If that’s what you desire, I can certainly make it happen! Though I have to ask: Do you just want me to get Akira to the table to negotiate with you, or would you like me to handle the negotiating myself as well? I recommend the latter, personally.”

Her tone sounded cheerful—too cheerful for comfort, Tomejima thought on the other end of the line. “I’ll handle the negotiations personally. All I’m asking you to do is set things up, nothing extra.”

“Oh yeah? No need to be a tightwad, you know. Sure, I’ll have to charge more for the latter, since that’ll make more work for me. But can you really afford to be stingy at this point?”

“You and I both know that if I left the negotiations to you, you’d find some way to work it into your own schemes.”

“Well, if that’s your choice. Now then, I don’t mind being the go-between to bring you two together, but guaranteeing your safety’s going to cost a little extra.”

“What do you mean?” Tomejima asked warily.

“Isn’t Akira targeting you?”

Tomejima was rattled, and it took him a moment to respond. “Wait! I wasn’t the one who antagonized him! It was Kadol—!”

“‘Do you really think Akira cares who started it?’ Isn’t that what your friend Katsuragi said? If I’m wrong, I guess I misunderstood. My apologies.”

Tomejima wasn’t sure if she was talking about misunderstanding what Katsuragi had said or the fact that he’d said it. Viola’s words could’ve been taken either way, and this rattled him. And now that she had planted a seed of doubt in his mind by pointing out the potential danger, she guided him through the rest of the conversation exactly as she wanted.

“How much more would protection cost?” Tomejima asked.

“Well, let’s see,” Viola said, pretending to think. “Normally a service like that would cost a billion aurum—but since we’re such good friends, I’ll do it for free. In exchange for a tiny favor.”

“And what would that be?”

Grinning merrily, Viola detailed her request. Tomejima was well aware she was roping him into one of her schemes, but ultimately agreed—after all, the job itself was quite simple.

Chapter 126: Navigating a Minefield

Sheryl had asked Akira to come by if he was free, so after a bit of preparation, he headed to her base on foot.

He wore a powered suit that would allow him to topple an average building (at least) with his bare hands, was armed with two powerful guns (modified to deliver extra firepower), and had a small pack of spare ammo on his back. Since he wasn’t heading into the wasteland, he figured he could get away with arming himself lightly. It never occurred to him that his perception of what counted as “lightly armed” was ridiculously off.

True, at the moment he wasn’t carrying anything as powerful as his CWH, DVTS, or A4WM. Nor was he riding in his desert utility vehicle with them mounted on top, or walking around with support arms equipped. So compared to what he was used to, perhaps this was a rather modest look for Akira. But by slum standards, he was armed enough to be dangerous, and most people who saw him darted off to the left and right, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

Akira, however, didn’t think he looked that dangerous at all. So when one passerby—a man—nonchalantly approached him (unlike everyone else trying to flee from him), Akira thought nothing of it.

The man passed him—and found his arm in Akira’s grip. In the would-be thief’s hand was Akira’s wallet, pilfered from a compartment in his powered suit.

Akira gave the man a look that made it hard for the latter to tell if the boy was in a good mood or extremely upset. The man handed the wallet back, and Akira punted him into a back alley with a suit-enhanced kick.

Akira hadn’t used his full strength, so the man was still alive. But he wasn’t wearing any kind of protective armor, so his injuries were critical. Writhing on the ground, he coughed up blood. Akira tucked his wallet back into his suit and reflected that perhaps he’d overdone it a tad. I was trying to hold back, but guess even that was too much.

You also crushed his arm when you grabbed him, noted Alpha, so you need to work on controlling your suit better. Remember, high performance powered suits require more finesse.

Yeah, yeah, I’ll work on it. Let’s get out of here. Akira left the area—and the man—behind. This time, he’d been able to prevent his wallet from getting stolen without Alpha’s help. He felt satisfied that he’d been able to defend himself, but had no further interest in the man’s actions.

He hadn’t intended to kill the thief, but he didn’t particularly care if the man died either. His only concern was that he’d failed to control the power behind his kick.

The man lay collapsed in the alley, moaning. “I wasn’t told...he’d be that strong... That wasn’t...part of the deal...”

But he was already on death’s door, his voice so weak that no one could hear.

◆

Sheryl was busy with gang-related work in her room when Aricia, her subordinate and one of her top brass, informed her that Akira had arrived. Sheryl couldn’t help but break into a grin, until she heard Aricia’s next words.

“What do you mean, he’s acting strange?”

“I’m not really sure,” said Aricia. “I just get the feeling that something’s really eating at him. Maybe something about the relic business plan upset him? Be careful, Boss.”

Now anxious, Sheryl headed to the reception room with Aricia. Akira was there, sitting on the sofa, along with Erio, Nasya, and Lucia. Like Aricia, Erio and Nasya were higher-ups in Sheryl’s gang, and had been summoned here by Sheryl herself—the gang leader figured it was high time her officers got used to dealing with Akira. Lucia, who was not an officer, had been called by Nasya, and was holding a cup of coffee out to Akira with trembling hands.

Sheryl observed Akira’s behavior from a distance. He was hanging his head slightly, so he did look somewhat down. At any rate, he definitely seemed different than he normally did—she would have to treat him with extra caution. Bracing herself, she sat down in front of him with a smile. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to come here.”

“Yeah, well, I had nothing else better to do.” He sipped the coffee he’d been given and sighed.

To Sheryl, his sigh sounded unusually heavy. She’d wanted to ask his opinion on her gang’s progress, the plans for the relic business, and the like (after some pleasant, mundane conversation, of course), but now she hesitated—first she needed to figure out what had Akira so down in the dumps. If she couldn’t yet satisfy him with her income, perhaps she could at least ease his mind a little. It had worked surprisingly well on Katsuya, after all: he’d been incredibly—almost unnaturally—cheerful afterward. If she could have the same effect on Akira, how wonderful it would be to have him look at her the same way Katsuya had! This deep-seated desire guided her decision.

“You don’t look too happy. Is something wrong?” she asked, looking extremely concerned.

“Hm? Yeah, a bit, I guess.”

“It doesn’t look like just ‘a bit’ to me.”

“Well, it’s no big deal,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”