CH 174

The next day, Akira went to Higaraka residence ruins yet again. He was sitting on top of his bike as he looked over the surprising current situation of the ruin. To be more precise, he did expect that to happen, but he did not expect it to be this big.

“Yup, there are so many of them today.”

Alpha had her usual smile plastered on her face. It was unclear whether she fully expected that to happen or if she simply did not care.

“That’s true. There are quite a lot of them today.”

That day, many Hunters gathered in that ruin. Some of them brought their vehicles and even huge trucks too. There was even some heavy machinery on-site.

“I bet they’re here because of that rumour. But still, didn’t expect them to be this many.”

Of course, at that point, Akira understood why Alpha made him train in that ruin for these past few days. It was to make sure that those Hunters would think those relics that Akira gathered from the inner part of Kuzushara ruin’s Tsubakihara building were originally from Higaraka residence ruin.

The reason why he kept taking a long detour to and from the ruin as well as why he had been doing training to look for relics in that ruin and why he was only selling relics little by little, all of them were for the sake of twisting the rumour in case if the rumour of where Akira got his relics came up.

“I guess these guys will be looking for relics that don’t even exist in this place until they decide to give up, huh…”

Akira thought about those guys that kept looking around the place meaninglessly and felt a bit sorry for them. But with that being said, he had no plans to correct that wrong rumour at all. So instead, he mumbled something else as if to make excuses.

“…Getting correct information is really important.”

Alpha did not seem to be bothered by that at all as she smiled amusedly and said.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about. The ability to gain the correct information is a very important skill for a Hunter and they don’t have that, that’s all there is to it. Moreover, with this many people looking around, maybe one or two of them will really find some valuable relics.”

“Is that so? But this ruin is already exhausted of any valuable relics, right? So like, is that even possible?”

“There might be places that no one has checked yet. When they say that this place is already depleted, it does not mean that there are no longer any valuable relics in this place, it only means that looking for relics in this place isn’t worth the trouble. And with this many people here, they might really find something. Also, those guys are carrying high-quality information-gathering devices, so that will also increase the chance for them to actually find valuable relics. But with that being said, of course, even if some of them find valuable relics, I’m pretty sure that they’ll still end up in the red.”

“Then how about you, Alpha? Can you easily find that kind of relic in this ruin?”

“I’m sure I’ve said this before, my detection ability is greatly reduced when I’m outside Kuzusuhara ruin. If you still want to give it a try, you should buy a very expensive information-gathering device first. Though I’m sure you still can’t expect too much even if you do so.”

“…Hmmm, you’re right. I’ll think about getting a better information-gathering device.”

After he said so, Akira started thinking about something else.

[Now that I think about it, I met Alpha back in Kuzusuhara ruin, and back then she said that I was able to gather those relics from the Tsubakihara building because she made a deal with the AI manager of that building. As I thought, there must be some kind of connection between Alpha and Kuzusuhara ruin…]

Now that he realized it, he also noticed that it should have been obvious from the get-go. But he knew nothing more than that and he felt like Alpha would scold him if he tried to ask her. So Akira decided to push that curiosity to the back of his mind and just shook it off from his mind for now as not to drag him down.

“So then, are we still going to do relic hunting training for today? Looking at this situation, I don’t think this is a good time to train here though.”

“You’re right, let’s just head back home for today.”

Akira made a U-turn with his bike and headed back to the city. Although some of the Hunters there saw that, it did not stop them from searching the ruin. As a matter of fact, some of them even started looking more diligently since they thought that the rumoured person decided to head back home because he could not afford to get close to the location where he found those expensive relics with this many Hunters around.

As the rumours spread further, more and more Hunters came to that ruin and it did not seem that it would slow down anytime soon.

When Akira arrived back at Kugamayama city, he went straight to Sheryl’s base. He received a text message from Colbert on his way back saying that Colbert was looking to meet him in case he was free and was around. Though judging from that message, it did not seem that Colbert was expecting Akira to really come.

Though he could just ignore it, since he decided to cancel his training in Higaraka residence ruin, Akira had some free time now and by coincidence, he was also somewhere close to Sheryl’s base. So Akira decided to visit the base.

In his mind, he had no reason to go to meet Sheryl unless she had business with him and he would not go as far as to readjust his schedule just to go to meet her. He went to Sheryl’s base only when he had some free time. For Akira, Sheryl only mattered that much. But lately, that line of thinking had been slightly affected by Sheryl pleading with him. Though he had not realized it yet, there was no mistaking that he would be shocked if he noticed this change.

Akira was guided to a room inside Sheryl’s base. Colbert, Revin, Erio, and some of the other children from the gang were already inside that room. Colbert was so surprised when he saw Akira enter the room.

“Akira, didn’t expect you to actually come, you know?”

Akira looked slightly offended.

“What are you even talking about? You’re the one who asked me to come, didn’t you?”

“I did. But you didn’t even reply at all, so I thought that you wouldn’t come, you know. Well, just calm down for now. It’s my loss, you see.”

“Your loss?”

Colbert smiled wryly there as he pushed the money on top of the table to Erio’s side. Those were the money that Colbert and Revin bet, and since Akira actually came, Erio and the other children won the bet.

To be honest, Erio also wanted to put his bet on Akira not coming. But when Revin brought up Akira’s relation with Sheryl, people would get suspicious of him and it would damage his position if he also put his bet on Akira not coming. So he ended up putting his bet that Akira would come.

Revin seemed really frustrated. Although it was not a huge amount of money compared to the amount of money that he was regularly earning, for someone who had a debt to pay, losing a bet that he thought he would win still hurt.

Colbert only smiled bitterly at his loss, while Erio and the other children were flustered by the large sum of money, or at least that was the case from their point of view, that they just won.

Akira sighed, he looked even more annoyed.

“I see now, so you guys are betting whether I would really come or not, huh. Don’t tell me that this is the reason why you called me.”

“Of course I won’t be calling you for something this trivial, you know. I’ll explain the rest, just take a seat for now.”

Colbert noticed Akira’s annoyance and tried to calm Akira, who was still unhappy. Nonetheless, Akira still took a sit.

“So then, what is it?”

“I’m just wondering if you can help them if you have some free time.”

Colbert pointed his finger at Erio and the other gang children as he started his explanation. Erio felt a bit awkward there.

For the past few days, Colbert had sought help from Erio and the other children in that gang for a certain job. To be more precise, Colbert made a request to Sheryl and Sheryl was lending Erio and his friends to Colbert.

The job that they were talking about was to find dead Hunters who still had debts. The slum extended across a pretty large area, the battle in Ezont Family’s base the other day had left the area filled with dead bodies. Their job was to take a picture of the dead bodies using their information terminal to check if they still have debts left or not. And if they found dead Hunters with debt, they would need to put that dead body inside a body bag and bring them to the creditor companies.

As for those dead bodies with no debt, they would just leave them be. They would not even take the corpse’s belongings since not only it would slow them down. It might also put Erio and the other children in needless danger if they did that.

There was an unwritten rule in the slum city that a corpse’s belongings belonged to the gang that owned the territory where that dead body was found. But with the Ezont family destroyed, no one was in control of that territory, thus the rule there followed the law of the wasteland.

But with that being said, it was not like they could just take those belongings and bring them back home. It could be seen as Sheryl’s gang trying to take over that territory with no owners after the last gang that owned it was destroyed.

Of course, the equipment left behind could be turned into quite a lot of money when gathered, and if they followed the first-come-first-served principle, various gangs would try to be the first to gather those equipment which would then lead to fighting and robbing each other. So in order to prevent that from happening, the gangs were in the middle of a discussion. Anyone who tried to steal a start there would face all the other gangs that were interested in the matter.

Erio and his friends had accepted that job from Colbert to look for dead debtors while trying to keep themselves from harm by not touching the dead bodies’ belongings.

After Akira listened to Colbert’s explanation up until that point, he suddenly asked Colbert a question.

“So you want me to help them do that, huh? It sounds like too much work and it’s not like you need me for that job, right? I’m sure Erio and the other children are enough to do that job, no?”

Colbert shook his head.

“That’s true for those dead bodies outside Ezont Family’s base, but that’s not the case for inside the base. For those dead bodies outside the base, we don’t have any trouble as long as we don’t get into a fight with the other gangs or the people who live around the area. But when we want to get inside the base, there’s a good chance that we have to deal with the other Hunters who are aiming for the loot inside. After all, the quality and the amount of loots left inside that base is on a different level compared to outside the base.”

Ezont Family was a huge gang. So of course, they left a lot of valuable items in their warehouses. Not to mention, there were destroyed vehicles, tanks, and powered suits scattered inside the base too. Many were killed in that base from that battle and the equipment that they left were mostly high-quality equipment. All of them could fetch a lot of money from the point of view of slum residents.

So, in short, it was as if an old-world ruin suddenly appeared right next to the slum, and to top it off, that ruin was relatively safer since it was not guarded by monsters. All the equipment that was left scattered inside that base were like relics that were free for the taking. There was no surprise that some Hunters and ex-Hunters immediately made their moves to secure those loot.

“The air in that place is completely different, including the skillset and knowledge needed to avoid fighting there. I would say that place was much closer to an old-world ruin rather than a part of the slum city. We’re mostly done with checking the dead bodies outside Ezont Family’s base. That’s why we’re planning to go inside the base next, but it’s not safe for Revin and me to bring Erio and the other children into that base. That’s why I’m wondering if you might give us a hand.”

“You can just leave the children behind and go there by yourself, no?”

“Well, that’s the plan if you won’t come. But of course, if we can’t bring Erio and the other children, then I can’t pay any reward to Sheryl’s gang. I’m sure you know that you can’t let them keep relying on your money. It’s better to get as much money as they could when they have the chance to make sure that they’ll be able to be independent of you, don’t you think so too? Isn’t that why you’re training them too, no?”

Akira looked unsure.

“If I help you, then how about my reward?”

“Sorry, but I can only pay you the same amount of money. I’m actually doing this because I’m getting paid by someone else, you see. If you want more, you should discuss it with Sheryl’s gang and see if they would share some of the money that they get with you. Basically, you, I, Revin and Sheryl’s gang will get the same amount of money for taking the job. You can keep anything that you pick, but just remember not to forget your real job.”

Akira ‘hmmed’ again, Colbert looked slightly surprised there.

For a Hunter like Akira, the money that he could get from that job was nothing more than spare money. If Colbert told Akira in detail how much he would earn from taking that job, there was a good chance Akira would refuse to take that job. But contrary to his expectation, Akira seemed to be seriously considering taking on the job.

Though Colbert did not understand what was going on, it seemed that there was a chance Akira would take that job. So he decided to give a little more push. Although he was not expecting much when he called Akira to come, it would be helpful if Akira would actually come with them.

“Since you came here, it means that you’re free right now, right? You should come with us. If we don’t get real Hunters among us, the other people might look down on Erio and the other children, you know.”

“Real Hunters?”

Akira looked confused, it seemed that he did not understand what Colbert was talking about. Seeing that, Colbert pointed at Erio. Akira also looked at Erio but he still could not understand.

Alpha then jumped in to explain.

“Akira, look closely at them. Although they don’t look exactly like you, don’t you think they look similar?”

Erio and the other children were wearing black attire along with a black coat.

“Now that you mention, that’s kinda true. So, what about it?”

Akira still did not get it, Alpha smiled bitterly as she exasperatedly said.

“…So in short, they’re trying to disguise themselves as you so that other people won’t mess with them.”

Erio and the other children were disguising themselves to be Akira since Akira could not come often ever since he restarted his Hunter job. Fortunately, not many people knew Akira’s face, so from afar, people could easily mistake those children as Akira and that was enough to keep them safe.

Akira finally understood what Colbert was talking about. But even so, he still found it weird. So he then made a serious look as he said.

“Erio, I don’t mind going with you, but, I won’t be protecting you. I’ll do my job properly but I won’t do anything more than that. Since I have nothing else to do, if you’re okay with that, then I don’t mind going.”

“That’s more than enough, thank you very much.”

Although from their conversations it seemed like they asked Akira to come without asking for Sheryl’s permission first, it did not seem that Akira was angry about it. So Erio sighed in relief.

—*—*—*—

Back in Yatusbayashi clinic, Yatsubayashi was making a troubled face in his clinic room.

“Another failure, huh. Wait, not really, it’s not a complete failure.”

The display device in front of him showed the video of Tiol escaping his experiment room. Tiol ate his restrains to free himself, walked slowly towards the door, and tried pushing the wall with his left hand.

After that, suddenly, something exploded, leaving a big hole in that wall. Though his left arm was blown off too, Tiol did not seem to be bothered at all as he left the room through that hole.

Yatsubayashi watched that video multiple times, zooming and replaying some parts of the video to check it closely.

[If my guess is correct, it seems that his gunpowder producing organ is working fine. Did he produce the gunpowder from the restrain that he ate? I used robust restrains that is used to restrain people with enhanced body. It’s not the same as eating a fork, so how exactly did he do that…?]

Yatsubayashi took some time making various guesses while looking at that video. After he gathered his thoughts, he finally stopped the video and changed into a map of the lower district. There were red dots displayed on that map.

[The trackers are working as they should. But the bomb that I planted in his head would not explode. Did the nanomachine that reached his brain also dismantle the bomb? Or is it that he dismantled the trigger? I have no idea at all. I do want to check it, but it doesn’t seem that he’ll return back anytime soon. He even tried to escape. I’m not sure if he still has any shred of reasoning left, but it did not seem like he’s going back to Sheryl’s base either. It seems that he’s just roaming around the same place.]

Yatsubayashi mumbled.

“Tiol-kun, what are you exactly doing there?”

Tiol’s tracking device was showing that he was roaming around the same area that was not too far from the slum since yesterday.

—*—*—*—

Akira finished his preparation and headed to Ezont Family’s base. The garden of the base was still laden with the leftover of the battles from the other day, except for a small change.

Akira looked slightly surprised as he saw the scene in front of him. Colbert noticed that Akira had a sharp stern look as if he was looking at his enemies.

“Akira, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just that I don’t see the tanks and the powered suits from that battle.”

During the battle, the Ezont family and Haurias sent out their powered suits. When Akira escaped that place, it was still filled with destroyed powered suits and tanks. But they were nowhere to be seen now.

Colbert sighed in relief.

“Don’t scare me like that. Of course, people took them away first since they can be exchanged for money.”

“People who?”

“Maybe one of those Hunters. I bet they took them away even if they had to rent some heavy machinery. I heard that they even fought against each other over the loot, you know. Well, it only took a few days for them to carry everything away, so I’m sure things have calmed down by now. That’s also the reason why I can bring myself here. After all, I would hate to get involved fighting over the loot.”

Akira nodded, he was amazed at how people actually did carry all of those big and heavy wreckages out from that place.

Colbert looked at the nervous Erio and the other children and warned them.

“We’ll be searching this place now, but let me remind you this. Don’t shoot without our permission and refrain from even grabbing your rifles. It might cause a fight. Got it?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Alright then, let’s go.”

They then entered the base and started checking the dead bodies.

They continued their work. Akira, Colbert, and Revin searched for the dead bodies using their information-gathering device. Erio and the other children then checked those dead bodies. If any of them had any outstanding debts, they were put in a body bag and carried outside to the people from the credit companies who were waiting not too far outside the base.

Erio and the other children were already used to seeing dead bodies, but couldn’t hold well when they looked at the badly dismembered corpses. Every time they saw a mutilated corpse, they could not help but wince.

“Say, Erio. Akira-san was here, right?”

“Yeah, I heard that he came here to rescue boss. Though I don’t know the details, I heard that he fought pretty fiercely.”

“So in short, some of these corpses might be the ones that Akira-san killed, right?”

“Probably, yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“…No, it’s just that, we’re borrowing these rifles from that Akira-san right now, right? When I think that these rifles are powerful enough to create these dead bodies, it’s just that, you know, carrying them around like this is pretty scary.”

Akira lent his CWH anti-material rifle, DVTS minigun, and A4WM automatic grenade launcher to Erio and the other children. If Akira was carrying all of those alone, it would definitely make him stick out from the rest and render the other children who were disguising as him useless.

Although those rifles were pretty heavy, Erio and the other children at least figured how to carry them thanks to the exoskeletons that they were wearing. Naturally, they wore those because they thought that it would be hard for them to carry the cyborg corpses. So they had decided to get some exoskeletons from Katsuragi beforehand.

Hunters regarded exoskeletons as something inferior to augmented suits. After all, it was not designed for high-speed manoeuvre during combat. At most, it was only used for carrying heavy goods. Because of that, they were sold at a relatively cheap price and Sheryl’s gang was able to buy multiple of them.

Erio made a face saying that he could understand the other boy’s feelings.

“Those are anti-monster rifles for Hunters. I guess this is what would happen when they’re used against normal humans.”

“To be honest, I always thought that we could explore the old-world ruins one day if we keep taking that training from Akira-san. But it’s filled with monsters that we can’t defeat unless we have these kinds of rifles, right? So like, I can’t be so sure anymore now…”

The young boy sighed and looked discouraged. Erio tried to cheer him up with a light smile.

“Shouldn’t it be fine if we just go to the ruins with less danger?”

“You might be right, but where exactly?”

“Like Higaraka residence ruin, for example. It’s already pretty deserted and there are not that many monsters there…”

Erio suddenly stopped there, the young boy frowned and found it weird. Erio remembered the last time they accompanied Akira to Higaraka residence ruin, they were attacked by a swarm of monsters.

Erio then said as if to convince himself.

“…No, that was a special case. Normally, something like that would not happen. Not to mention, there are those general-purpose requests for new Hunters too. It should be alright if we start from those relatively easy Hunter jobs, and then we can gather better equipment from there. That Revin guy did say that it’s much easier to explore dangerous ruins when we have new and better equipment after all…”

“Wait, isn’t that guy in big trouble from the debt that he’s racking from his equipment and ammo?”

“Aah, but Akira-san and Colbert-san are not having trouble with debt, right?”

“If I’m not mistaken, Colbert-san had both of his hands eaten by monsters and Akira-san once got sent to the hospital after almost getting killed though. Something like he had to pay 60 million Aurum for the treatment…”

They went silent. Although they had big dreams of becoming Hunters, when they thought about the Hunters around them, it reminded them of things that they did not want to go through as they sighed almost simultaneously.

Although the other children looked discouraged, Erio then said in a good mood as if it did not affect him at all.

“I won’t give up though. I’ll get stronger, earn a lot of money, rent a house, and live with Alicia.”

The other boys smiled wryly and looked at him with a slight mockery.

“So this is the power of a guy with a girlfriend, huh? I want one too.”

Erio and the other children tried to shoo the dark mood there with silly talks as they continued their job.