Carol knew, of course, that Akira intended to do no such thing. But Akira didn’t realize this, and returned her look. “Oh yeah? What if I destroy them all first? Then I wouldn’t have to pay you as much. Tough luck, but I need money too.”

  “Yeah? Then let’s make it a challenge to see who can take out the most. Here they come!”

  “All right, they’re all mine!”

  “That’s what you think!”

  Even as they spoke, hordes of A24s swarmed them from behind the truck and from the sides of buildings. The average hunter would have been instantly overwhelmed by the assault, likely having to jump in the armored transport for cover. In fact, that was precisely why Shikarabe had prepared the transport in the first place.

  But to Akira and Carol, driven by their contest, the robots were little more than moving targets at a shooting gallery. One by one, the machines were taken out, strewing tons of scraps across the road.

  While Akira and Carol competed to see who could waste more A24s, Togami was also trying his best—but with far less impressive results.

  Akira had Alpha’s support, and Carol had a souped-up scanner, so both of them were able to accurately predict where the monsters would appear. But not Togami, whose scanner was far less accurate. So despite his best efforts, he ended up falling behind the other two.

  I guess this really is all I’m capable of! Was I really just thinking I was better than everyone else because I only had Druncam rookies to compare myself to? Each negative thought made him feel like his heart was being squeezed in a vise. Still, with his remaining pride, he kept himself from crumbling. He held his gun steady and picked off the machines that Akira and Carol hadn’t considered a priority.

  Ultimately, Togami’s final kill count was far lower than theirs. But he never stopped fighting until they reached their destination.

  Chapter 112: Akira’s Companions

  Elena and Sara were guarding the perimeter of one of the countless abandoned buildings in the business district, waiting for Shikarabe and the rest to arrive.

  “H-Hey...” One of the victims, an anxious-looking man, poked his head outside. “Are they not here yet?”

  Elena responded as cordially as she could manage. “Not yet. It shouldn’t be much longer, though. Just be patient.”

  “A-All right,” he mumbled. He’d gotten the same answer every time. Unable to relax, he continued to hang around the entrance.

  She sighed. “The first batch of evacuees have already made it to the clinic,” she told him. “The rescue team is on its way back here. Plus, they picked up two more members, so they have even less chance of running into trouble en route. So chill out and get inside where it’s safe.”

  “O-Okay. Thanks.” Taken aback at Elena’s lengthy response, the man nonetheless obediently headed back to join the rest of the group.

  Elena sighed again, deeper this time. “You know, I’m honestly impressed someone that fainthearted has managed to stay a hunter this long.” The evacuees weren’t surrounded by enemies, and they even had a safe place they could hole up in. There was no reason to doubt they’d be rescued, and Elena and Sara were only guarding them just in case. So she couldn’t understand why the man had been so uneasy.

  At Elena’s harsh assessment, Sara gave a wry smile. “Well, considering everything they’ve been through, anyone in their position would be scared. And the disappointment of being left behind for the second trip, after thinking they were finally saved, probably didn’t help.”

  There hadn’t been enough vehicles on hand to transport all the wounded at once, so Shikarabe’s team had elected to split the rescue into two stages, taking the evacuees in most urgent need of aid first since the less injured would be more capable of fending for themselves. But after their initial relief and joy at being rescued, the evacuees had vehemently opposed this decision. So to appease them, Elena and Sara had been compelled to stay behind as bodyguards (though they’d receive additional pay for the trouble).

  “Sara,” Elena replied, “these hunters thought that as long as they had insurance, they could enter dangerous ruins and be just fine. Don’t you think there’s something wrong with that? Now, I’m not saying it isn’t worth it—I know it’s safer to be with insurance than without—but if I knew I couldn’t handle a ruin, I wouldn’t even go near it in the first place.”

  When exploring ruins, hunters often faced the dilemma of whether to give up or go on, of recognizing the point at which they needed to retreat, because overstepping that line could mean a swift death. Novice hunters tended to think they were safe just because they had emergency insurance, so they ended up biting off more than they could chew. But if things were so dire that they had to call for help, they’d likely die before the rescue squad could even arrive. So Elena figured that rather than heading into a dangerous ruin using emergency insurance as a safety net, it would be wiser to draw the boundary of one’s comfort zone a few steps back to begin with.

  Sara tried to pacify her. “Well, it’s not like we always follow that advice either, you know. And since they’re not on a team with us, does it really matter? Everybody’s capable of different things. You can’t measure everyone by your own standard.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Plus, right now we’re making bank because they bought that emergency insurance. So best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, right?”

  “Hm... I guess you’re right. At the end of the day, even dealing with these crybabies is still business.”

  They smirked at each other and got back to keeping watch.

  In fact, to most of the regular citizens of the East, the rescue team (including Elena and Sara) wouldn’t have seemed much different from those reckless hunters. All had chosen to enter a deadly ruin of their own volition. Elena had never said the evacuees should avoid ruins entirely—what a hunter regarded as “safe” was, to the general populace, generally extremely dangerous. And since the two women had been hunters for quite a while now, this outlook had been indelibly ingrained into them—they could no longer escape the relic hunter lifestyle.

  Not long after, the rescue vehicle finally showed up. Shikarabe parked just outside the abandoned building’s entrance and opened the back hatch. Then, leaving Togami to handle the evacuees, he headed over to sit with Elena and Sara.

  “Elena, status report?”

  “No issues. You aren’t going to need any extra body bags either.”

  “Good to hear. Let’s load ’em up and move out.”

  The load included not just the evacuees but any relics they’d managed to gather. Some hunters even wanted to bring along mechanical monster parts they’d collected, hoping to sell them for a high premium. This huge amount of extra baggage was another reason they’d had to make two trips. Now that the hunters no longer had to worry about being rescued, they were instead anxious over how many of their possessions they’d be able to take with them and arguing among themselves for space. Togami was struggling to get the situation under control.

  “They should’ve used some of that energy to try and make it out on their own instead,” Shikarabe grumbled. Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned to go. “I’ll take care of this—be right back.” The armored transport’s maximum capacity was ultimately up to Shikarabe to decide—to expedite the boarding process, he had full authority to kick out and leave behind anyone who complained.

  Once he’d left, Akira walked over to greet Elena and Sara. The women had worried that he might ultimately decide to sit this one out because of what had happened during the hypersynthetic snake hunt, so they were secretly relieved to see him.

  Then they spotted Carol next to him, and their smiles froze over.

  Akira greeted them cheerfully. “Hi, Elena! Hi, Sara! Nice to be working with you today.”

  Elena and Sara, for their part, were dumbstruck. After exchanging glances, as though silently deliberating between them how they should react, they tried to hide their shock by acting natural.

  “Y-Yes, I’m also glad to be working with you again, Akira,” Elena replied.

  “Yep, me too,” Sara added.

  Akira found their behavior a bit odd, but then he noticed their gazes were directed toward Carol. His expression clouded over. “Uh, so even if I couldn’t get in touch with you, I really shouldn’t have hired her to come along without your permission, huh?” Then he added, hanging his head, “If it’s a problem, then we’ll just go our separate ways here.”

  “No, no!” Elena responded hastily. “It’s fine. There’s no problem. Right, Sara?”

  “Huh? Nah, no complaints here. Don’t worry, Akira, we’re not upset or anything.”

  “Really? Thanks, that’s a relief!” Seeing Elena and Sara’s reassuring smiles, Akira perked up again. But though he’d vaguely noticed their concern, he’d failed to pick up on what had made them concerned to begin with.

  Carol took a step forward and stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Carol. Nice to meet you both!”

  Since Akira was watching, Elena and Sara had no choice but to smile and shake her hand. But as they approached her, they got a closer look at her attire and were shocked all over again. A boy they were on good terms with was accompanying a stunning woman wearing an outfit specifically designed to seduce men—and it didn’t seem to faze him in the least.

  This shook Elena and Sara to their cores.

  At that moment, Shikarabe returned, having thrown his weight around as a veteran to cow the hunters into submission. He took one look at the scene and immediately decided that whatever was going on, he wanted no part of it. “All right, what say we get going now?” he suggested. “You guys can hash all this out once we get back to the clinic. Even if you’re trying to iron out the terms of an agreement or something, this isn’t the best place for that.”

  Elena agreed, thinking that she’d need some time to sort out her feelings anyway. “Understood. Let’s go, everyone! Akira—we’ll discuss this in detail later.”

  Shikarabe and Akira returned to their respective vehicles, and after some hesitation, so did Elena and Sara. Elena took the wheel, and Sara got in the passenger’s seat. Then, once no one else could see their expressions, they finally allowed the conflicted emotions brewing within them to appear on their faces.

  “I gotta say, that was a bit of a shock,” Sara said with a strained smile.

  “I know, right?” Elena replied, grimacing. “I never thought Akira, of all people, would associate with someone who dressed like that.” As she drove off, she determined that even if she was meddling a bit too much in his affairs, she at least wanted to hear the whole story from him before she passed judgment. Then, if she felt like he was going down a path he shouldn’t, she’d give him her opinion and advice.

  ◆

  After safely exiting the ruins and delivering the remaining injured to the clinic, the team decided to take a breather. Unlike Akira and Carol, who had just arrived, Elena and Sara had been on rescue duty for quite some time now. They needed to restock on ammo and prepare for the next operation.

  Shikarabe had excused himself, saying he and his crew needed to do maintenance on the armored transport and clean it before the next job, but he was clearly just trying to escape the awkward atmosphere surrounding Akira and the women. He’d told Akira that he’d be in the temporary Druncam base if needed and left without another word.

  The four relic hunters decided to eat at a small restaurant nearby. They sat at a circular table for four, ordered, and waited for their food to arrive. The palpable tension in the air was making Akira squirm in his seat.

  Alpha, it was a bad idea to bring Carol here, wasn’t it?

  If you’re so worried about how Elena and Sara feel, why don’t you just ask them?

  I mean, I already did, and they said it was fine, but I’m not so sure about that. True, Elena, Sara, and Carol were all smiling amicably. Yet somehow Akira got the feeling those smiles were strangely forced.

  The restaurant’s seating was simple: only several sets of cheap-looking tables and chairs. But the food was not to be underestimated—every table was packed with hunters who’d heard about the commotion in the ruins and come to capitalize on it.

  Of course, someone dressed like Carol stood out like a sore thumb, and since the other two women were at the same table, Elena and Sara were likely feeling the gazes of the other diners as well. Anyone could have figured this out with a little thought, but it had only just now occurred to Akira—partly because he was used to Alpha always going unnoticed despite regularly wearing even more revealing clothing. He chided himself for not realizing this sooner, but at the same time he felt it was too late for him and Carol to just get up and change tables all of a sudden. So instead he endured the awkwardness.

  But Akira was wrong—at least in part. Elena and Sara weren’t concerned about the stares fixed on them as much as they were about Akira and Carol’s relationship. And Carol was used to being the center of attention in the first place, so the gawking didn’t bother her in the least. What did bother her, though, was that she could tell from the look in Akira’s eyes that he clearly saw Elena and Sara as women.

  All three of them seemed to be enjoying a leisurely chat, but beneath the surface both parties were trying to learn more about each other. First Elena and Sara introduced themselves as a team of relic hunters, while Carol said she was a surveyor. Before long the conversation turned to how Akira and Carol knew each other, and what led to Akira inviting Carol on the rescue job.

  Akira tried to explain, but to Elena and Sara his response seemed to be omitting an awful lot. “And so, I met up with Carol again at the factory district, and well, a lot happened after that. We ended up escaping the ruins together, and since she said she was a surveyor, I thought she might be useful to bring along.”

  Elena narrowed her eyes. “Akira, do you mean to tell me you invited someone you just met yesterday—practically a complete stranger—on a job with you?”

  Unable to deny it, he lowered his voice in shame. “Y-Yeah... I...I guess.”

  Elena and Sara couldn’t imagine he’d had any malicious intent in deciding to bring her along. But they did think he’d made a careless move.

  “Akira,” Sara said gently, “we don’t think Carol is a bad person or anything, but you need to be much more careful in the future. Inviting people you don’t know on jobs with you often leads to trouble. That’s why we have intermediaries.”

  “S-Sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

  “You should,” she pressed. “You wouldn’t like it if something happened and your companion decided that you were to blame, would you?”

  “Well, in that case it was my decision to bring them, so it would be my fault,” Akira replied. “But couldn’t I just compensate them as an apology?”

  “That kind of thinking is too naive. Both of you would be armed, remember? What if the other party decided to turn on you first?”

  Up until that point, Akira might have seemed like a child meekly accepting Sara’s scoldings. Then he said, “Oh, you mean like if something happened on this job and Carol tried to harm or put either of you in danger? Then I’d take responsibility and kill her myself.”

  His voice was deadpan—there was no hint of particular determination or resolve behind those words. But that was precisely why the other three knew he was completely serious. He didn’t need determination or resolve, because to him such a course of action was completely natural. And he’d automatically interpreted “taking responsibility” as killing the other party to resolve the conflict, rather than paying them damages—he wouldn’t hesitate to take a life.

  Carol smiled wryly. “Hey now, is that really something you ought to be saying when I’m right here beside you?”

  “If you don’t intend to harm Elena and Sara, then that shouldn’t matter. Unless...” Akira’s eyes became dangerous—the eyes of someone who only saw others in terms of hostile or nonhostile, on the verge of determining Carol as the former. “Do you?”

  But Carol didn’t even flinch. Compared to the conflicts she was regularly involved in due to her side job, this was nothing to her. “Of course not,” she said lightly. “And by saying something so incriminating in front of Elena and Sara, you’re pretty much making me out to be a dangerous villain. Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?” Carol smiled, but her eyes indicated displeasure.

  That caught Akira off guard, and his expression returned to normal. “W-Wait, that’s not what I—”

  “Then how about choosing your words a little more carefully from now on? Sara’s right that going on jobs with complete strangers often leads to trouble, but you can prevent a lot of that trouble by making a good first impression, you know.”

  “S-Sorry, Carol.” Akira looked like a scolded kid again. The murderous aura around him had vanished, and the mood around the table lightened accordingly.

  Carol turned to Elena and Sara. “If you’re wondering why Akira’s account was so vague, it’s because going into detail would mean leaking valuable intel he got from me. We surveyors sell information for a living, and Akira bought some from me when we were escaping the factory district together.”

  “Is that true, Akira?” Elena asked.

  Akira figured that if Carol was willing to divulge that much, it was okay for him to admit it, and he nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t want to accidentally leak information that she planned to sell.”

  “So you had to skirt around it. Makes sense,” Elena replied, relieved.

  “And that information made Akira realize my worth as a surveyor,” Carol continued. “Right, Akira? So he ended up hiring me. Not that I ever got the chance to show off my skill,” she added with a slight pout.

  Elena looked surprised. “Never got the chance? What do you mean? We’re on a rescue mission in the business district. For more unfamiliar areas, we could definitely use an accomplished surveyor who knows their way around.”

  “Oh, no, I didn’t mean this job. You see, when Akira couldn’t contact you two, he automatically assumed you might’ve run into trouble and hired me to help him scour the business district,” she said nonchalantly.

 

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