“Yeah. I’ll be careful.”

  Good. Alpha broke into a satisfied smile.

  ◆

  After his preparations were complete and he’d consulted with Alpha about his plans for the next day, he got a call from Elena about a potential job.

  “The insurance companies are recruiting emergency personnel?” he repeated in surprise.

  “That’s right,” she told him. “In the Mihazono business district, apparently there was some commotion yesterday that hasn’t quite died down, and they’re short on rescuers. So they’re offering a lot more than normal for the task. It’d be a good opportunity to pocket some money—if you’re up for it.” She added that the job had been listed by an insurance company and not the individual in need, meaning there was no danger of the target skipping out on the fee once they were rescued. And a company would have enough funds that Elena might even be able to negotiate a higher payout. So as long as the job wasn’t any more difficult than specified, it would be a relatively easy way to make some extra money—at least compared to other contracts that paid the same—so she thought Akira might be interested.

  “Of course,” she continued, sounding a bit anxious, “don’t feel like you have to. But lucrative opportunities like this don’t crop up every day, so I wanted to at least offer. So, would you be interested in joining us? We scoped out the area today just to see what it was like, and while it’s not exactly a playground, it’d certainly be manageable with the three of us—though given the likely difficulty, we might be able to negotiate a higher fee besides.”

  “If you need my help, then I’ll come right now.”

  Elena sounded taken aback by his quick, enthusiastic response. “I-I mean, I appreciate it, but we decided to call it quits for the day. But we’re going back tomorrow, so what do you say? Can we count you in?”

  “Absolutely! I’m always up for an opportunity to make easy money,” Akira answered. “Thanks for the invitation, Elena—I really appreciate it!”

  Elena sounded relieved and a good deal more cheerful. “You’re very welcome! Oh, but there’s also a chance that everything will already be resolved by tomorrow, so if that happens we’ll just head to the ruins as a team and hunt relics instead, assuming that works for you.”

  After they hashed out the details about where to meet and the like, Elena hung up. Seeing that the call had put Akira in an even better mood than usual, Alpha looked slightly worried.

  Do you think agreeing was the right call?

  “Huh? Why would it not be?”

  Well, weren’t we in the middle of looking for undiscovered ruins? Wasn’t that why you bought the A4WM and support arms in the first place? And did you already forget what happened last time Elena invited you on a job, back during the bounty hunts?

  Akira considered for a moment. “Well, if I’m making money either way, does it really matter whether I’m exploring ruins or doing a rescue job? And since we won’t be looking for undiscovered ruins this time, I don’t have to go solo. Didn’t you just say working in groups was wiser?”

  Yes, but—

  “I acted on my own when we were fighting the hypersynthetic snake, so that was my fault, not Elena’s. And it was thanks to her that I ended up getting a hundred million for that job. I actually ought to be thanking her for her invitation back then.”

  Alpha’s expression softened. I suppose so. Well, as long as you’re okay with it, I don’t mind. But since you’re aware that you acted on your own last time, I trust that means it won’t be happening again?

  “Yeah, it won’t. I’ll be more careful this time,” Akira reassured her, and immediately set about preparing for the next day.

  Alpha could tell that the reasons he’d given for accepting Elena’s proposal were mere excuses. He’d realized from Alpha’s expression that she hadn’t approved of his virtually unconditional agreement to join, so he’d cooked up some reasons on the fly.

  In other words, Elena and Sara were starting to take precedence over Alpha in his decision-making.

  Yet even perceiving this, Alpha had avoided pressing Akira more than she needed to. Saying something that might provoke him into an argument would serve no purpose. Still, she was concerned. If this new influence on his choices could potentially interfere with her plan, she’d need to take measures.

  But on the outside Alpha kept up her usual smile so that he couldn’t detect even a hint of her true thoughts concealed within.

  In the early morning, before the sun had even risen, Alpha roused Akira.

  Wake up!

  Since she’d used telepathy, her voice didn’t produce a physical sound. Even so, the intensity of the message she’d sent to his brain caused his eyes to snap open instantly.

  Bolting upright, Akira looked around at the pitch-black room. It was still clearly dark outside. Upset and confused at this sudden wake-up call, he turned to her. “Alpha? What gives? Why’d you wake me up this early?” he asked groggily. He’d gone to bed early to prepare for the day ahead, but he still felt sleepy from being woken so soon. Was it an emergency? Alpha’s expression didn’t seem to indicate so.

  You got a message from Elena, she said. I could’ve just let you sleep, but I didn’t want you complaining later on that I didn’t wake you.

  Akira’s expression hardened—in other words, the contents of the message were important enough that Akira would’ve been upset with Alpha for not waking him immediately. He reached for his terminal and opened the message, looking grave as he read it.

  The commotion with Mihazono had intensified, and the insurance firms had urged Elena and Sara to act immediately. The danger level of the area had risen considerably from the previous day, so the two of them said they would understand if Akira wanted to bow out. However, if he was still willing, then he ought to prepare accordingly. For Elena to feel compelled to send this message, it was clear that the situation at Mihazono had taken a turn for the bizarre. Akira immediately began to worry if the two women were all right.

  Elena had added that while she knew it was early, they were both already awake, so he could contact them anytime. After some hesitation, Akira pressed the call button.

  But the call didn’t go through.

  “Alpha, send a message to Elena saying I’m on my way. And check to make sure they receive it on their end.” He leaped out of bed and quickly began suiting up.

  Understood, Alpha replied with her usual positive demeanor. But internally, her concern only deepened. Akira had reacted just as she’d expected him to—proof that she’d progressed significantly in deciphering his personality. But he was about to unhesitatingly rush out to what was most likely an abnormal and far more dangerous Mihazono, just for Elena and Sara’s sake. If Akira was prioritizing Elena and Sara that highly in his mind, this was more than enough reason to deem their influence on him a threat.

  Once ready, Akira hopped into the driver’s seat of his desert utility vehicle and opened the garage door. Except for his suit, everything had already been prepared and ready to go since last night; and now that he was suited up, all that was left was to hit the gas. Instead, however, he let out a low groan.

  What’s wrong? Alpha asked from the passenger’s seat, puzzled. Did you change your mind, perhaps? I understand—since those two didn’t answer any of your calls and messages, I think it would be safer to investigate what’s happening over there before heading out.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed.

  Alpha hadn’t expected that answer. But it would certainly be more convenient for her if he got cold feet, so she went right along with it. Let’s do that, then. They might call back if we wait a little while, and in the meantime we’ll use the internet to...

  But Akira ignored her and instead pulled out his terminal to consult someone who he felt would be more knowledgeable on the matter.

  ◆

  Carol lived in an expensive one-room apartment in Kugamayama City’s lower district. The building had tight security, and the residents of the slums weren’t allowed anywhere near. For being outside the city walls, it was rather high class.

  She lay in bed, sound asleep and completely naked. The only thing covering her sinuous body was a blanket so thin it was practically see-through, yet warm enough for her to sleep comfortably. The dim light from the room, casting shadows on her body through the transparent fabric, made her figure seem all the more alluring.

  An alarm cut through her sleep—she was receiving a call. Immediately awake, she checked her terminal.

  It was the dead of night, a period of time where no one would fault her for ignoring the alert and going back to sleep. But when she saw who was trying to contact her, her surprise and intrigue drove her to pick up.

  “Hey, Akira! You called a lot sooner than I expected. I’m so glad! Still, I know I said you could call me any time you felt like it, but don’t you think you could’ve picked a more reasonable hour? Unless, perhaps, you’re calling about my other service?”

  “Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s about hunter work.”

  “Figured as much. Then I’m hanging up, okay?”

  “Sure. Sorry for calling so late.” He hung up first.

  Carol couldn’t believe it. Rolling her eyes, she called him back.

  He picked up. “Yeah?”

  “I didn’t think you’d actually hang up! It was just a joke!”

  “I don’t get it. Are you up for talking or not?” Akira sounded genuinely perplexed. Apparently he’d honestly thought Carol had hung up because she was upset.

  She was astounded at his straightforwardness—but fascinated as well. “Sure, I’m listening. What’s up?”

  Akira brought her up to speed on the current situation in the Mihazono Ruins and told her that he’d been unable to reach friends of his who were likely already there. Did she know anything about what was happening, and if so, could she tell him?

  As Carol listened, she was already searching for relevant information. An aggregation of data pulled from networks that the average person wouldn’t know how to reach lined up in her augmented vision. As she read through the list, she spoke as though she’d known everything from the start. “Well, I know that things started going haywire yesterday. Around the time when we were eating at the outpost, hordes of monsters broke out of their boundaries and swarmed the entire ruin. In the business district they appeared from the Serantal Building, and in the factory district they came from one of the factories—at least that’s the running theory. Which district would you like to know about?”

  “Business.”

  “Fine, but first let me remind you—I’m a surveyor by trade. This information isn’t free.”

  “How much do you want?”

  “That depends on how much you want to know. If you want all the juicy details, that’ll run to a billion aurum. But if you’re just looking for a map you can actually rely on instead of one you downloaded for free, I’ll settle for a hundred thousand.” She deliberately pitched Akira an impossibly high figure to stall for time, hoping he’d want to haggle and allowing her to gather as much information on the business district as she could.

  Akira didn’t realize her motive, of course, and sounded despondent. “I don’t have that kind of money. Um, I planned on taking on this rescue job with Elena and Sara, and even though we did decide on a meeting spot, they haven’t answered any of my calls or messages... I was thinking I’d go to the meeting point, and if they didn’t show up, I’d go in there and look for them myself.” His sudden explanation probably sounded strange to her, but saying it out loud helped him get his thoughts together and confirm in his mind what he had to do.

  Meanwhile, thanks to her natural gift for business, Carol had already gotten the gist of the situation and come up with a plan. “Then how about hiring me to help you? Whether or not you go look for this Elena and Sara team, or if you decide to go ahead with the rescue job, it’d be better to have someone with a working knowledge of the area by your side, no?” She explained that she was already planning on going there to work on her map, so having Akira accompany her would guarantee her own safety. That way, she could investigate while they worked on what Akira needed to do. And since she could hold her own in a fight, she’d be useful to him in that respect as well. If things really started to look grim, she could always hire him to protect her like before. There was no need to come up with a specific price now—they could just take their time negotiating with each other after the job was done.

  “So what do you say?” Carol asked. “We’d both benefit, right?”

  “Can you get ready now, then? I was already about to head out before I called you.”

  “Well, I’ll need a little time to freshen up, at least. Gimme thirty minutes.”

  “All right. Do you have a car? If not, I’ll come pick you up.”

  “Oh, I’d love that! I’ll send you the address, so just wait at the entrance. See you soon,” she said in a honeyed voice, and hung up. She stretched out on her bed, and a bewitching smile came to her lips. “Here I was thinking about how I was going to hook him, and he takes the initiative and calls me first! Guess fortune’s smiling upon me today, huh? Still, I’d better hurry and get ready. I get the feeling that if I was even a second late, he’d leave me behind without a second thought.”

  She exited her bedroom and hopped in the shower. The hot water, already adjusted to the perfect temperature, had medicinal additives mixed in, giving her lustrous hair and supple skin an even healthier sheen. Her shower took ten minutes. No sooner than she’d left the bathroom, a strong wave of heat came from the walls in the next room, blasting the water droplets off her naked body. Then, instead of rifling through her underwear drawer, she just put on her inner wear and donned her powered suit over it.

  Now fully dressed, she walked over to the mirror and smiled coquettishly. There stood a beautiful woman in a racy Old World–inspired outfit that was just as effective against tough monsters as it was versus the majority of men.

  That had all taken another ten minutes.

  She grabbed her gun and placed it in her holster, snatched her ammunition backpack, and rushed out the door. She wouldn’t make it in time walking at a normal pace, but if she used her usual shortcut, she’d have time to spare.

  Her “shortcut” was to leap off the balcony of her apartment complex rather than use the elevator, a feat only possible due to her extraordinary athleticism. Grinning, she took off running as soon as she hit the ground.

  ◆

  Akira was already waiting for her in his truck.

  Their rendezvous point was near Carol’s apartment. So security guards were patrolling the area, and naturally one of them approached him. Akira told the guard he was waiting for a companion of his to go relic hunting with. While the guard found this a bit suspect, the boy was wearing a powered suit, so he was probably telling the truth. Satisfied, the security guard gave him a curt nod and walked away.

  Akira watched him go. If this had been before I’d been able to afford a powered suit, security probably would’ve chased me away, huh? he mused. While it was tough to get an idea of someone’s true strength at a glance, a glimpse was often all it took to determine the quality and price tag of the gear they wore. The guard could probably tell easily that Akira’s gear was expensive and high performance enough for his claim to hold water, whether the boy was a well-to-do hunter or just had connections to someone who was. Even if in the end the security guard had determined Akira was a greenhorn who merely looked the part, this wouldn’t have been grounds to escort him off the premises.

  Alpha chuckled from the passenger’s seat. You’ve made great strides as a hunter since then, Akira. Keep up that pace, and you’ll be able to afford even more going forward.

  Yeah, I will. Akira nodded.

  But Alpha wasn’t done. For that very reason, we need to make sure we stay in the black during this job as well.

  Her comment caught Akira off guard. But he didn’t let it show and answered without missing a beat. No problem. Elena invited me precisely because it was a good opportunity to make money. We won’t be going in the red this time.

  If that’s true, then fine. But keep in mind that even though in this case her help was necessary, you already hired Carol to go with you. So part of whatever profit you end up making will go to her. Just be careful from now on.

  Yeah, good point. I will. Akira breathed an inward sigh of relief—it didn’t seem like Alpha had noticed his surprise. While he hadn’t necessarily lied to her, the truth was that the moment he’d decided to head out before the crack of dawn to meet up with Elena and Sara, making money had become a complete afterthought.

  But Alpha had noticed. She’d deliberately only let him off with a light warning, but in her mind she raised the threat Elena and Sara posed to yet another level.

  Just then Carol finally showed up. She called out to him cheerfully, as though they were about to go on a leisurely date, “Hey, Akira! Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long?”

  “You’re one minute ahead of schedule. You’re not late.” Akira’s response was all business, devoid of any excitement about meeting up with someone of the opposite sex.

  Carol sighed. “Seriously? A beautiful woman has offered to accompany you, so couldn’t you say something normal like ‘Nah, I just got here’?”

  “Sorry, I still have a lot to learn about the world, but I’m trying my best. Hop in.”

  Carol dropped her belongings in the truck bed and got in the passenger’s seat. As she did so, Alpha moved over, floating in the air just beyond the passenger door. The moment they were all situated, Akira slammed his foot down on the gas.

  Akira and Carol sped along the desert wastes toward the Mihazono Town Ruins. The sun had yet to rise.

 

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