Translator: Athena13
Editor: Silavin
Proofreader: p4553r
Sheryl took an information terminal from her desk, it was the information terminal that Akira left there the other day.
“I’m returning this. It is a hard ga, but it was interesting. Thank you very much.”
Sheryl gave her impression about the ga and returned the information terminal back to Akira. It was indeed just a ga, but it was also a relic hunting simulation based on Akira’s real skill, a training tool using a top-down simulation. Akira lent that to Sheryl since it seed she was interested in it yesterday.
When he heard that Sheryl also thought that it was a difficult ga, Akira made a troubled face and said.
“...Yeah, you’re right, it’s really a difficult ga.”
Saying that the ga was hard was similar to saying that Akira’s skill that was reflected onto the main character in the ga was still way too underdeveloped. Although Akira himself understood that very well, it still hurt him a bit when he was reminded of it.
[It’s true that I still have a long way to go. I guess I have no other choice but to get better equipnt, train myself up, and gather more experience, huh.]
Sheryl thought that it was simply a ga. That was why she did not think much about it as she said to Akira.
“Yes, it was an interesting but difficult ga. It took so ti before I could clear it.”
“Eh!?”
Akira was taken aback by what Sheryl said. Sheryl was also surprised by Akira’s reaction.
Akira was so dumbfounded that he could only react awkwardly.
“You... Cleared it?”
“Y-yes.”
Sheryl, who saw that, replied back awkwardly too. It was indeed a difficult ga, but there was no reason for Akira to be that surprised, at least that was what she thought since she did not know anything more than that.
Akira opened the nu to check the previous play sessions of the ga. He was so surprised that he was not able to nimbly navigate through the nus, so instead Alpha took over and quickly brought up the history nu.
Alpha scanned the history list and said.
“Yep, she did clear it, the score is turned to a plus.”
It was really surprising for Akira.
“...So it was really possible to clear it with that difficulty, huh?”
Alpha smiled and faked a pout.
“Oh my, did you really think that I would set it to a difficulty that you can’t clear?”
“W-well, I didn’t an it like that.”
Akira flusteredly said that it was not true, but sowhere deep inside his heart, he really thought so, after all, it was really difficult.
But now that he knew it was possible to clear it in that difficulty, it made him wonder how to do it, and the person who could answer that question was right in front of him now.
Akira pushed the information terminal that he just received back to Sheryl.
“Sheryl, can you try to clear it again?”
“Sure.”
Sheryl found Akira’s sudden mood change to a more serious one rather weird, but then, she replied with a smile.
Sheryl sat on the sofa and played the ga to clear it one more ti, Akira sat next to her, he had his eyes fixed on the information terminal on Sheryl’s hand. Sheryl had once sat on Akira’s lap while facing in his direction, so Akira thought that she would not mind him getting that close and prioritized more on a position where he could comfortably look at the information terminal.
But Akira’s guess was wrong, Sheryl actually was a bit bothered by that. She continued playing the ga while holding back her embarrassnt and delight. For Sheryl, who thought that she overdid it the other day, Akira was too close this ti. And it was not Sheryl who took the initiative, it was Akira, and that fact alone made her face glow with happiness.
[Close, way too close.]
In order so that he could get a good look on the monitor, Akira tried to line up his vision with Sheryl’s, so of course, Akira put his face close to Sheryl’s. Since they did not cover anything from their neck up, they were close enough to feel each other’s skin warmth.
If Sheryl said that Akira was making it more difficult to play the ga, or even if Sheryl showed any sign that she was bothered, Akira would normally get so distance. She tried her best not to show it while continuing to play the ga in silence as her cheeks went slightly reddish.
Fortunately, the ga did not need Sheryl’s continuous attention or any ti-sensitive actions. So even if she was a bit in disarray, it did not affect her performance in the ga, she just needed to be extra careful and take extra ti before making any decisions. Following that, the Akira in the ga started to slowly and carefully explore the old-world ruin.
The reason why the Akira in the ga could make dangerous moves as if he could read the future was simply because Sheryl had cleared that ga a few tis, so she knew what would co afterwards. Of course, it was not sothing that she could overco only by knowing that it was coming, but if she knew what she would face, it would help her overco that danger.
Akira closely observed the movents of the Akira inside that ga and asked Alpha a question.
“As I thought, even if you know that it’s coming, it’s still not easy.”
Alpha mischievously smiled and replied.
“So in short, it ans that even if you have the ability to read the future, it’s still a difficult thing to return back alive from the dangerous old-world ruin.”
Akira got dejected. He understood and completely agreed with what Alpha said, he also knew well that he should not feel prideful about his skill nor belittle whatever he faced. But still, it was discouraging to get reminded of that.
Now then, putting aside the real Akira, the Akira in the ga did not find much trouble exploring the ruin. Eventually, he got so relics and left the ruin. The ammo and dicines that he used during the exploration, his wounds, the ti that he took to explore the ruin, and the number of relics that he brought back, all of them were translated into his score. The black-coloured score points showed that he ended up with a positive score, and with that, Sheryl cleared the ga.
Akira who saw that Sheryl cleared the ga casually complinted her.
“That’s impressive!”
Sheryl blushed.
“Thank you very much.”
Sheryl glanced at Akira, it seed that his mood had considerably turned for the better.
[It seems that Akira has been completely cheered up. Is he really that interested in this ga? I guess I’ll put in so effort to investigate about this ga later.]
Sheryl thought that she should look about that ga in the network later. But sadly enough, that ga was made by Alpha, so there was no information about that ga that she could find in the network.
Sheryl was about to return back the information terminal to Akira, but Akira stopped her.
“I’m lending that to you, so you can use it for the ti being.”
“Are you sure? It looks like an expensive information terminal though.”
“Yeah, you can use it as your usual information terminal. I’ve also changed its provider from the free provider, so you should be able to reach even when the line is busy. Well, what can I say... You can just think of it as a reward for clearing that ga... And also, if you have the ti, you can play that ga and aim for a higher score.”
“I understand, I’ll hold on to it dearly... If I can get a better score, can I get a better reward next ti?”
“It depends on the score.”
Sheryl was joking when she said that and Akira replied while giving Sheryl a smile.
Akira then left Sheryl’s base. The sun was about to set, the slum city slowly but surely blanketed in darkness. But it was not like the slum city would be covered in total darkness once the sun was out. As people had created lights to help their lives, there would be so places that would radiate light. But even so, it did not change the fact that the slum city would get more dangerous once the night fell compared to when it was in the middle of the day. When the light that illuminated the world was gone, those who hid under the shadows would start to make their moves.
Akira was walking through the slum city at that mont when the world shifted from light to darkness.
He was walking while talking with Alpha.
“I wonder if I can explore the old-world ruin without your support if I can clear that ga.”
The Akira in that ga was the reflection of his real skill. So what he said was not exactly wrong.
Alpha smiled smugly and said.
“Of course, that is if you can easily clear that ga. But in that case, you’ll have to make decisions in an instant, you have no way to know the position of your enemies beforehand, your life will be over if you make even a single mistake, basically, it would be a one-try only ga with no chance of retry, you sure you want to give it a try?”
“No thanks.”
Akira’s answer was swift and instantaneous. If that ga’s difficulty level was increased to be as close to reality as possible, that would be the kind of ga that he would play. And of course, the real world would be even more difficult than that.
Alpha then continued with her smug smile.
“Just to let you know, I do all kinds of things to support you during your Hunter work. And that’s including giving you instructions to make sure that you won’t get killed, refining your movents by controlling your augnted suit, and many other things too.”
Alpha was still smiling mischievously at Akira and he returned with a wry smile.
“Thank you for all your help.”
“You’re very welco.”
Alpha smiled satisfied after hearing the words that she was waiting for.
Akira suddenly grabbed the hand of the man next to him, and that man had Akira’s wallet in his hand.
Akira’s face twitched out of anger as he mumbled.
“...Again, huh?”
Akira took back his wallet and kicked that man, he made sure to hold back so as not to kill that man.
That man was also aiming for Akira after he got the information from the information broker. But the information that man gave to Akira was different compared to the last one.
This ti the rumour said that Akira was a kind Hunter who let go of the girl who stole his wallet since she was just a little girl. So even if that man got caught, Akira would just forgive him if he apologized. That man trusted that information and went for Akira.
The reason why Akira backed off when that young girl stole his wallet was just because he had no other choice when the Hunters backing that girl confronted him. He lightly threatened that man and told him to tell the information broker what he just said there.
Akira kicked that man 3 tis before he let that man go, so that man dragged himself in pain and sohow managed to leave that place.
This ti, Akira did not share his dicine. When he kicked that man, he had no plans to kill that man but he did not care if that man died. If that man was unlucky, he would die before he could convey Akira’s ssage to the information broker.
The reason why Akira let him go was because he did not try to shoot Akira when Akira caught him. Had he aid his gun at Akira, Akira would have killed that man.
He was livid, but he was still able to think calmly. Akira did not lose his cool like last ti, the fact that he was able to prevent his wallet from getting stolen twice with his own skill helped him to calm down.
Akira suddenly asked Alpha a question.
“Alpha, do I look like an easy target to them?”
“No idea, but at least, you don’t seem like a veteran Hunter.”
“Well, I know that too, but still...”
Akira seed to be slightly dejected. Alpha then made so remarks about another thing unrelated to his outlook.
“Rather than your outlook, I think the main reason is the fact that an information broker is selling info about what happened back there. You’re just a boy, the pickpocket was just a girl, 100,000 Aurum is a rather big sum of money for those in the slums. You were able to catch her, but, leaving the reason aside, you couldn’t get your money back. If you look from that point of view, it’s understandable that people easily misunderstand your real skill. Since you are seen as just a re child, the information about you would be quite cheap. Especially if the ones spreading it believe that you are incapable of retaliating. So, those that are seeking a target would most likely end up buying information about you.”
“...What a pain in the neck!”
Not only the people who bought it from the information brokers but the fact was that this info must have spread across slum city as rumour by now. A lot of people would be preying on Akira from here and on out. At least, until the rumour died down naturally or sothing happened that overwrote it.
Akira exasperatedly sighed.
Shizuka closed her shop at a prefixed ti every day. The private security company that she was in contract with also recomnded her to do so. Although her shop was located in the lower district where it was relatively safe, once the night fell, the area would still beco dangerous. Both for the sake of her own safety, as well as to lessen the work needed to be done by the private security company responsible for the area, it was important to close the shop during the night.
When Shizuka was about to close the door, Akira suddenly appeared.
“Is the shop already closed for today?”
Shizuka noticed Akira and threw him a smile.
“Hm? Don’t worry, co in.”
“...Is it really okay?”
Akira looked a bit apologetic, Shizuka smiled teasingly at Akira and said to him.
“Of course, it’s important to hold dearly the candidate with the potential to beco regulars of my shop.”
“Thank you very much!”
Akira said his thanks and entered the shop, Shizuka then closed the door after he went in.
There was no one else inside the shop, only Akira and Shizuka. Putting Akira aside, it was a situation where it could be said that Shizuka was a bit too careless, but she decided to trust her intuition and thought that it should be alright. It was not like she would allow just anyone to enter her shop after she closed it.
Shizuka returned to the counter and started talking to Akira.
“Are you here for ammo again? Or are you planning to buy rifles today? Is it okay if I get my hopes up?”
“I actually have sothing I want to ask... Shizuka-san?”
Akira noticed that Shizuka was staring at him.
Shizuka fixed her gaze at Akira, she looked straight into his eyes as if she was trying to see through him. Akira was not that bothered by it, but he still found that a bit weird. He could not understand why she was doing that, so he awkwardly tried to say sothing.
“U-Uhmm...”
“Akira, did sothing happen?”
Before Akira could say anything, Shizuka suddenly asked Akira a question while still staring at him. With that question, it felt like Shizuka was able to see through him. Akira seed to feel a bit troubled as if his bad side just got discovered by Shizuka. He then proceeded to try to avoid that subject for so reason that he himself did not understand.
“Well, it’s not really sothing bad... It’s just that soone tried to steal my wallet, ah, but I was able to prevent it. But yes, it still leaves a bad aftertaste.”
“...I see.”
Shizuka approached Akira and gently hugged him. Akira’s head was pressed against Shizuka’s chest and was buried in her bosom.
“...Shizuka-san?”
“Just let do this.”
Akira was troubled by it, but once Shizuka told him so, he stopped fighting back and just let her hug him.
Shizuka seed to be thinking about what to say to Akira while still hugging him. Her expression was saying that she found so words to say to Akira, then decided they were not the right words, and tried to look for sothing else to say.
After she gathered all of her experience until now and combined it with her intuition, she then proceeded to convey those words to Akira who was still hugged tightly.
“I’m sorry if I get this wrong, you’ve grown to be pretty strong as a Hunter, you now can do things that you couldn’t before, so I’m sure that you have things you’re worried about related to that... and I’m sure that you have a lot in your mind too about that matter. I’m sure you don’t need to worry about it if you decide to stop caring about it, but before you do that, you should at least share it with soone... You can share your worry with , it might lighten your burden if you do so, you know?
Shizuka then put her hand on Akira’s head and lightly patted him.
Akira did not say anything as he let Shizuka hug him. When she said those words to Akira gently, his arms moved slightly to hug her back, but he stopped his arms midway. Right after that, Shizuka released Akira from her hug.
Akira took a step back, lightly bowed with a smile, and thanked Shizuka.
“Thank you very much, I think that helped .”
Shizuka smiled at Akira, she seed relieved.
“I’m glad to hear that, If you have anything you want to talk about, you can always talk to . After all, although I look like this, I have more living experience than you, so I think I can give you so advice, and even if I can’t give you any advice, I can at least listen to your complaints.”
In reality, Akira did feel much better. Now that he had regained his calmness, Akira smiled and thought of sothing that was not really that important. It was true that Shizuka was a beautiful young girl, but of course, there was no way she was in the sa age group as him, so Akira thought that ‘although I look like this’ line was not necessary there.
Shizuka noticed that thanks to her sharp intuition and that made her smile even more.
“You just thought that there is no need for to say ‘although I look like this’, right?”
Akira did not say anything back, he just replied with a smile, which was a bit awkward.
Shizuka could sohow sense that the dark emotion that was welling deep from inside Akira had mostly vanished. Shizuka felt relieved after confirming that. But she did not show that in her face when she said to Akira.
“So then, you want to ask sothing, right? What is it?”
Akira hesitated and sounded rather unsure.
“Ah, yes, right, I actually want to ask so questions about equipnt, so I just thought if I can get your opinions... It would be a great help if you can give an estimation of what is the best equipnt that I can get with my current budget... Like an augnted suit, or rifle, or information terminal. It would be great if you can give so recomndations, ah, but this ti, I’m not thinking of getting new vehicles.”
“Sure, I don’t mind, so then, how much is your budget this ti.”
Shizuka smiled at Akira as she asked him that question, Akira hesitated before answering back.
“...Uhm, it’s about 4 hundred million Aurum.”
Shizuka continued smiling at Akira without saying anything. Akira, who saw that, started trying to make excuses with an awkward smile.
“No, it’s not like what you think it is. It’s true that I did pretty reckless things. But I wasn’t alone, I was with Elena-san and Sara-san when that happened, so it’s not like I did so dangerous stuff out of my own volition, things happened and I had no other choice. So, uhmm, back then in Mihazono ruin, sothing unexpected happened, sothing that even Elena-san couldn’t predict, so under Elena-san’s order, we all tried our best, so...”
Shizuka was still smiling without saying anything when Akira desperately explained what happened.
The reward from the request that they had accomplished in the Mihazono ruin with the other Hunters was 5 hundred million Aurum. They then got extra money from the insurance company too as well as an extra reward as the reconnaissance team that went to Seranthal building ahead of the main team.
All requests that had sothing to do with the City Managent had a ton of rewards. Then to top it off, Elena and Carol worked together during their negotiation with the City Managent and Drankam. The information about the interior of the Seranthal building was also highly valued, and their success in rescuing Reina’s group added a big plus to their evaluation as well as to the amount of rewards they received.
So in total, they received 3 billion Aurum, which ant 5 hundred million Aurum for each person. Of course, there were expenses for their ammunition and other expendables too, but the City Managent side also reimbursed them for that expense. Not all of them thought that it was worth all the trouble that they faced back in the Mihazono ruin, but at least, for Akira, that reward was big enough.
Shizuka was still smiling at Akira, who was desperately making excuses, but she then suddenly sighed and said to Akira with a smile.
“Don’t worry. I heard from Elena and Sara too. So I more or less know what happened and I’m not angry at you.”
“I-I see.”
Akira sighed in relief. Even for him, it was not an easy thing to try to explain to soone, whom he had promised not to do anything reckless, as to why he broke his promise and did sothing reckless.
Shizuka looked slightly apologetic as she gently smiled at Akira.
“I’m sorry for doing sothing weird there. But if you’ve done sothing that you actually don’t want to know, then at least keep in mind that it was sothing substantial that you did. It’s good to be proud of so extraordinary feat that you’ve done, you know. But that doesn’t an that it would be okay for you to do that again, okay? There’s a small line that divides between getting used to dangers and belittling dangers, alright?”
Akira gave a firm nod.
“I understand.”
Looking at that, Shizuka smiled satisfied. She then changed the mood and asked Akira a question.
“Putting that aside, I’m really happy that you ca here to ask for my opinion, but are you sure you’re okay with spending that much money?”
Akira found that question a bit weird.
“Uhhh, is there sothing bad about spending that much money? I got quite a lot of money from that request in Mihazono ruin, so I thought that I should spend that much money for my equipnt while I still have the chance...”
“That line of thinking is really good. It’s true that investing in your equipnt is really important. But you can use it for sothing else too, like maybe to get better living quality for example. Like a better house or better clothing, or maybe use it for your own hobby. Since you got quite a lot of money this ti, I think it’s a good idea to take a rest for a while, you know. There’s no need for you to rush yourself to get stronger, right?”
Akira thought for a bit.
“Getting better living quality, huh... To be honest, at the mont, I have no wish to spend my money on sothing like that though. Since I’ve been sleeping in the back alley of the slum city until recently, compared to that, my current daily life is like heaven though. So I have no complaints about my current living condition. I guess I won’t spend any of my money on that kind of thing until I find sothing lacking in my daily life.”
When Akira said that, Shizuka had a sad expression although only for a split second, she imdiately hid that expression and replaced it with her usual smile.
“In that case, then there’s no problem. But still, 4 hundred million for equipnt, huh. It seems that you’ve grown so much. It’s 4 hundred million Aurum, you know? Even I am surprised when you say that! Does it not make you feel anything?”
Akira smiled bitterly and replied.
“To be honest, that number is so big that it still doesn’t feel real to yet. So I thought before it corrupts or before I spend it on unnecessary things, I should spend it on my equipnt first.”
“That’s a good idea. As a shop owner, I’m really happy with your plan.”
They then spent so ti talking about what to buy. It was 4 hundred million Aurum, after all, Shizuka needed to make sure what kind of equipnt Akira wanted to get before deciding on what to buy. The reason why Akira did not use his last 1 hundred million Aurum was because he was planning to use it to get a check-up in the hospital as well as for ergency saving. He did a lot of dangerous things this ti, so it was just to be safe in case his dical bill cost him 60,000,000 again.
After Akira finished his consultation with Shizuka, she asked him a question.
“As I thought, it’s important to carefully think about it when you’re about to spend 4 hundred million Aurum. Not to ntion that it’ll take so ti before the ordered articles arrive. So, are you okay with that?”
“Of course. I’m also planning to stay inside the city until I get my new equipnt.”
“Alright then. I’ll give my best to help you since you’re a pri candidate as a regular.”
Akira pouted for a bit, it was rather rare for him to make that face.
“Candidate, huh... I’m pretty sure I’ve contributed quite a lot to this shop’s sale though, is it still not enough?”
Shizuka smiled and replied with a serious expression.
“That’s not the problem.”
“Eh?”
“Being a regular ans that you’ll co to this shop regularly. So you don’t count when you get injured or killed and can’t co regularly to this shop.”
Akira’s expression changed. Shizuka was basically telling him to always co back alive, to make sure not to get injured too much that he could not continue his work as a Hunter, and to put extra effort in doing so. Akira finally understood that. It was true that he always did dangerous stuff when he went out to the wasteland, if he could not make sure to co back alive anyti he went out, then there was no way he could be a regular to Shizuka’s shop.
Shizuka smiled at Akira and said to him.
“So please make sure to properly be a regular to my shop, okay?”
Akira made his resolve and firmly replied.
“...Yes.”
Shizuka smiled satisfied seeing Akira had made his resolve.
After Shizuka closed the shop and finished tidying up, she sat on the counter and sighed. Akira had already gone back ho and there were no custors left inside the shop. The shop was dead silent, so her sighing echoed and could be heard clearly.
Shizuka was deep in thought about Akira.
“...To be honest, it’s a not good thing to get too invested on a particular custor though.”
Shizuka already knew that well, but she still mumbled there as if to confirm it. She then rembered about Akira and made a troubled look.
“So he caught soone who tried to steal his wallet huh... I wonder what he did to the person that he caught.”
Rifles were freely traded in the lower district. The only difference between robbers and pickpocket was whether they pointed their guns at you when they took your belongings. The people that Akira caught were likely to be ard, so it would not be strange at all if Akira killed them.
Akira was no longer on the receiving end, if he wanted to, he could easily join the other side.
The question was once he got enough power to get back on those people who robbed him, could he fight back the temptation of getting his revenge on those people.
It was a difficult question. After all, the fastest way to make sure that he was no longer on the receiving end and to attain the sense of safety and superiority that ca with it was to join the other side. Simply put, it was to be one of those people that he hated so much.
For those people who decided to join the other side, their end was mostly the sa. They get used to abusing their power and it corrupts them. They then have to fight those who have the sa level of power and try to replace their positions. They would need to fight those who were in front as well as those from behind, trying to stab them in the back. The one who survived after all the chaos would stand on the peak, on top of those people who looked at them in awe and fear, on top of the countless corpses.
When Akira said to Shizuka he planned to splurge his money for equipnt, Shizuka thought that he was aiming for more power. But she was really glad that it was nothing but unnecessary worry.
Shizuka actually wanted Akira to have other options and for him not to unnecessarily make enemies. After all, in this world where there were already plenty of enemies, it was the secret to long survival.
But the one to decide was Akira, not her. She can hope but she can not force Akira. After all, she has no right to do so.
But even so, it should be fine for her to have hope. As Shizuka thought so, she then mumbled.
“...If it’s possible, I wish Akira can properly be a regular at my shop. As the owner of a shop and a Hunter who is properly earning money, I really wish we can get along for a long ti... Even if he’s not earning that much.”
Shizuka once again noticed that she was too invested in Akira as she sighed.
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