Akira did a spit take. Carol had let the cat out of the bag without any hesitation. Elena and Sara’s gazes trained on Akira.

  “Is that true, Akira?” It was now Sara’s turn to ask.

  “Um, well...” Akira tried to gloss over what Carol had said. “I just thought that, you know, accidents happen—”

  “So he immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario without any basis for it,” Carol cut in. “I get why you’d want to cover up something that embarrassing—especially since the calls only failed because you were using such a cheap line—but rather than trying to cover it up and then coming across as suspicious, in this case it’s best to just come clean and say you’re sorry.”

  Completely exposed, Akira bowed his head meekly. “I apologize.”

  Elena and Sara looked taken aback at first, but then grinned. “That’s enough, Akira—it’s no big deal,” Elena said. “We’re honestly glad you were looking out for us. Right, Sara?”

  “Yes, absolutely! Thank you, Akira.”

  Seeing that they weren’t upset with him, Akira smiled in relief. Meanwhile, Carol was studying the three of them with great interest—but Akira’s behavior toward the other two was what intrigued her the most.

  Once their food—delicious enough to satisfy even the wealthiest hunters—arrived at their table, their discussion turned to the current state of Mihazono and the next rescue operation. Elena began by explaining that Kugamayama City had been working to secure the area and had already occupied a circular zone with the Hunter Office outpost as its center. The operation they’d just carried out had been within that circle.

  “So now that we have two more people,” she said, “I was thinking we might be able to handle a rescue outside the secure zone. It’d be more dangerous, of course, but the pay would be much better. We could at least check it out—and if it’s too much for us to handle, we could always turn back. There’s no penalty if we fail either, so what do you think?”

  “No objections here,” Akira answered. “What about you, Carol?”

  “Works for me. I’ll defer to whatever you decide, since you hired me. Besides, I’ve got to show you what I’m capable of so I can get a bigger cut,” she teased.

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” Akira shot back, smirking. “Elena said it was going to be dangerous, so once you run into trouble, my fee for protecting you is gonna cancel out whatever you earn.”

  “Just watch. I’ll show you that even a surveyor can hold her own on the battlefield!”

  Sara watched their banter with mixed feelings. They seemed to get along well enough, but after hearing Akira’s earlier remark about killing Carol, Sara couldn’t help but feel it strange that they were friendly at all.

  “You’re a surveyor, but you know how to fight?” she said. “Maybe I had the wrong idea, but I thought surveyors were just people who bought topography data and the like from hunters, compiled it, and then sold it to other hunters as intel.”

  “Most do, but I’m the type who prefers to head to the site and gather that data myself. That’s why my maps contain information you won’t get from other surveyors.”

  Akira nodded as something clicked. “Oh, so that’s why you knew all that stuff back there, and why you know how to fight too.”

  “You got it,” Carol said, looking somewhat smug. Then, abruptly, she took out her terminal and glanced at the screen. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve got something I need to take care of. It won’t take long.”

  “Fine, but be sure to make it back before we head out again,” Akira told her. Then he added, with a grin, “Unless you’re okay getting left behind?”

  “You wish,” she smiled back and got up from the table.

  Akira watched her leave. Only when he turned back did he notice that Elena and Sara were staring at him in surprise. “Um, is something wrong?” he asked.

  “Hm? No, nothing,” Elena said, trying to sound unconcerned. “Just, you and Carol only met for the first time yesterday, right? Yet you two already seem awfully close.”

  “Really? I don’t especially feel that way.”

  “Well, I just got that impression. Did something happen between you two that brought you closer all of a sudden, perhaps?”

  “Closer? Hmm... Lemme see...” Akira couldn’t recall anything in particular, but the events of the previous day did surface in his mind. “Well, once we escaped from the factory district, my relic got smashed, but Carol compensated me for that as payment for protecting her. Oh, and then she treated me to an expensive dinner. It was delicious!” Realizing for the first time that this might have indeed caused him to open up to Carol more, Akira smiled a bit shamefacedly. “I know it’s not really anything to be proud of, but what can I say? I like money and food.”

  Elena and Sara exchanged glances. Based on what they knew of Akira, he seemed to be telling the truth. More importantly, however, they’d confirmed that their worries had been for nothing, and though they knew it was rude, they couldn’t help but smirk at each other.

  Akira found their reaction puzzling, but when Elena spoke again, her tone was much more cheerful.

  “Well, we’re all relic hunters here. Considering we’re always risking our lives in the ruins for money, I can understand why someone with a lot of it might appeal to you.”

  “Yeah, good point,” he said with a grin.

  With their concerns laid to rest and Akira in good spirits, Elena smiled apologetically. “Akira, I’m sorry. Truthfully, well, from the way Carol was dressed, I was frankly worried that she’d seduced you.”

  Sara wore a similar expression. “Sorry, Akira. I actually thought the same thing.”

  For a moment Akira’s face went blank, as though he were trying to process new information. Then it finally dawned on him what they meant, and he shook his head. “Oh, no, don’t worry. Stuff like that doesn’t really affect me.” Otherwise, he thought to himself, he wouldn’t be able to endure Alpha exposing herself in front of him on a daily basis.

  But Sara grinned mischievously. “Oh, really? Mind if I test that claim?” She scooted her seat right up beside his, bringing her breasts level with his eyes.

  He immediately panicked. “Wh-What are you doing?!”

  “Hmm, seems like you’re already pretty frazzled! You suuure it doesn’t affect you?”

  Akira glanced back at Elena as if begging for aid. But she just grinned impishly.

  “You know, Sara, it doesn’t seem like he’s built up enough resistance after all. Perhaps we ought to break him in?”

  “Stop it...” he moaned.

  Sara sat back in her chair, causing Akira to let out a sigh of relief. But his face was still red with embarrassment. She grinned with amusement and happiness—the whole time he’d been with Carol, he’d never reacted like this. So despite feeling like she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help toying with him a little more. “I’m serious—if you want to get used to it, I can help!”

  “Stop it!”

  “Oh, am I not good enough for you?”

  “That too. Knock it off!” Embarrassed, he snapped at her more sharply than intended.

  Sara backed off, but she and Elena amused themselves for some time afterward watching him sulk.

  ◆

  The moment Shikarabe returned to Druncam’s temporary base, he started barking orders. “Togami! Give the vehicle a thorough cleaning. Restock the ammo inside and swap out the armored tiles! Got it?”

  He acted authoritatively because he expected Togami to smart off otherwise. But to his surprise, Togami responded dutifully.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “R-Right...” Shikarabe was caught off guard but quickly recovered. “Get to it then.” He exited the vehicle and headed for the break room.

  Togami did as he was told and began tidying up the transport. Doing so would be a welcome distraction from his melancholy.

  The rescue operation had left the inside of the vehicle absolutely filthy. However, this frequently happened during hunter work, and high-tech cleaning solutions had been developed as a result. Just a simple spray to the walls, floor, and other surfaces made the numerous bloodstains disappear without a trace. After that, he only had to air out the transport to get rid of the stench of iron.

  Next he needed to restock the ammo. He was about to get down from the vehicle and head to the storeroom when two more boys climbed in, both Druncam rookies and members of Group B.

  “Hey, Togami! Shikarabe got you on cleaning duty all by your lonesome while he takes it easy in the break room, huh? Must be rough!” They were clearly making fun of him.

  Togami snorted. “You got some business with me?”

  “We just wanted to see the pathetic look on your face after falling from your high horse,” said one. “We know the truth—that you screwed up during the bounty hunts.”

  The other added, “Weren’t you gonna show the veterans how much better you were than everyone else? Serves you right!”

  “They only brought you along because they needed an extra to round out the team,” the first one chimed in again. “You didn’t even do anything impressive, yet you’re parading around in borrowed gear, pretending like you’re some kind of big shot. You make me sick.”

  “Or maybe you’re wearing it ’cause some advertiser told you to? Maybe by hiring you as their poster boy, they’re trying to show that with nice enough gear even a useless braggart can become a hunter!”

  The boys continued to jeer at Togami. But he merely ignored them as if they weren’t even there and tried to pass them by.

  The boys were upset that he wasn’t even getting angry like he was supposed to, and they wouldn’t let him leave.

  “How dare you ignore us!”

  “You think you’re above us or something?!”

  They both reached for Togami’s shoulder to spin him around, forcing him to face them. But their hands only grabbed air—by that time, Togami had already slipped behind them. He grabbed the backs of their heads and nearly slammed them into the wall of the vehicle, stopping just before their heads collided with the metallic surface.

  The boys didn’t even have time to react. Just a split second more, and their heads would’ve been splattered against the wall. Their faces froze in terror.

  Togami put his head between them and spoke casually. “I just finished cleaning up, you know. If I dirty the wall with your brains, I’ll have to clean it again. I’d rather not have to do that. So leave me alone, all right?”

  “U-Understood. We’re sorry!” With Togami still grabbing their heads, it took an effort for them to nod, but they did so anyway.

  Togami released them. The boys backed away from Togami slowly before breaking off in a run, shouting threats at him as they fled.

  Togami watched their retreating figures. Once they were gone, he heaved a deep sigh. “Cowards. I get it now—I only thought I was strong because I was comparing myself to weaklings like them.”

  Strength was relative. Unless you were the kind of person who was constantly striving to grow stronger and expand your horizons, your assessment of strength would inevitably be based on those around you. Even though Togami couldn’t have helped the narrow breadth of his previous experience, he felt depressed all the same.

  Still, he shook his head to rid himself of those negative thoughts and adopted a different perspective—the fact that he’d recognized his error was proof he’d made progress.

  In truth, the boys he’d threatened just now hadn’t been weak at all—Togami was just that much stronger. They were also conceited—they already thought they were good enough. But after losing his self-confidence, Togami was no longer satisfied with where he stood, and that had made a huge difference for him.

  The biggest factor, though, had been Akira’s strength (thanks to Alpha’s support). Seeing his fight during the tankrantula battle had given Togami a jolt—and had greatly raised his standard for what counted as “skilled.”

  Togami had just finished restocking the armored transport’s ammunition reserves when he received another unexpected visitor—Mizuha. He wondered why an administrator from the desk jockeys would want to meet him, but she gave him a cordial smile.

  “Hello, Togami. May I have a moment of your time?”

  “Sure, I’m free. What’s up?”

  The long and short of it was that Mizuha had come to poach Togami for Group A. The Druncam executives all knew what had really happened during the bounty hunts, and so of course did Mizuha. But Togami was skilled enough that he was gaining a reputation as the “rising star of Katsuya’s detractors,” and that was something Mizuha couldn’t ignore. If Togami joined Katsuya’s side instead, it would simultaneously cripple the detractors and bolster Katsuya’s forces.

  Many of the rookies of Group B, to which Togami belonged, had been born in the slums. So the sponsors living within the city walls would likely object to moving him to Group A. But Mizuha was prepared for that—she’d tell them he’d been rehabilitated and was looking to start his life anew. Moreover, by accepting Togami despite his origins in Group B, they would send the message to other Group B members that they, too, could be in Group A if they were skilled enough. The potential turnover there would further weaken Katsuya’s critics.

  Ultimately, the pros of bringing Togami over to her side greatly outweighed the cons. She’d decided to pay him a visit.

  “So, what do you say? Are you interested?” she said after finishing her pitch. “We certainly wouldn’t have someone of your caliber out here on solo cleaning duty. If you choose to join us, I could immediately assign you to a different station.” Confident that her offer was sufficiently appealing, she smiled at Togami, waiting for his answer.

  Togami was indeed tempted to agree right away. Still, he shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t give you an answer right now.”

  Mizuha gave him a quizzical look. “May I ask why? Do you want special treatment? I can’t put you on the same level as Katsuya, of course, but barring that, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re satisfied.”

  “No, it’s nothing so grand. I’m just in the middle of a job right now. Hunters shouldn’t abandon a contract halfway once they take it on. Let me finish this first.”

  “Can I take that to mean you’ll join us once your work in Mihazono is over?”

  “I can’t promise you that either. I’m sorry. Please give me some time to think it over first.” Togami politely bowed his head.

  With his excessive self-confidence uprooted, he’d become more modest. But Mizuha thought he was showing specific deference to her because she was a Druncam exec, and her impression of him went up a level. She smiled amicably. “I understand. Take as long as you need.”

  Mizuha had full access to the performance reviews of every hunter in Druncam. She’d read in Togami’s file that he was far more competent than the rest of the rookies but had a tendency to let his skill go to his head.

  Most of those reports had been written by Shikarabe.

  But the Togami in front of her was completely different from the one depicted in the reports—he even seemed a bit meek. “Well, I won’t take up any more of your time,” she said, still smiling. “If you ever change your mind, feel free to contact me.” As she left the room, she added to herself, If Shikarabe thinks that counts as conceited, then the veterans’ standards must be even more twisted than I thought. That settles it—I’ve got to reform this entire organization from the ground up!

  Once she’d gone, Togami began putting fresh armored tiles into the transport’s tile loader, which would automatically replace the missing or damaged ones. As he worked, he reflected on Mizuha’s proposal.

  If he wanted Druncam to acknowledge his skill, accepting her offer would be a no-brainer. The old Togami would have jumped at the chance. But he now had a new goal—before he could prove his strength to Druncam, he had to regain confidence in himself.

  For that, he needed to be stronger. He was no longer satisfied with the low standard of performance the other Druncam rookies provided. The power he desired—craved—coveted—was elsewhere.

  And to gain power like he’d seen in Akira that day, Togami would do whatever it took.

  Chapter 113: Another Rescue

  After their break, Akira and the rest made preparations for the next rescue and headed to Mihazono’s business district.

  This time around, Elena had made the call to aid hunters outside the secure zone, and Shikarabe had backed her up. They proceeded through the district until they reached the border of the zone. The road was blocked off by a large temporary defensive wall. In addition, metallic pillars flanked the road on either side, generating a wall of force-field armor that stretched between them. The wall could easily deflect lighter artillery strikes, and since the pillars were easy to move around, their protection was portable to boot. For this reason, they were often used for defense when constructing temporary bases either in the ruins or out in the wasteland.

  Security forces were gathered on either side of the defensive wall. Several were wearing powered armor. Akira also spotted a combat vehicle boasting a large machine gun on top and an automated weapon towering over six meters tall. In other words, they need all that force to drive back whatever’s beyond that wall, he thought and steeled himself.

  Elena went to talk to the defense force in order to get permission to pass. Their conversation was audible to Akira and the others through their comm devices.

  “You’d better be careful this far out, miss,” the guard said. “We’re working on securing the surrounding area as we speak, but it’s still nowhere near safe. There’s a big lunker type of machine that shows up right around here every now and then, in fact. If you’re part of a rescue team, I suspect you can hold your own in a fight, but if you go treating the border like the rest of the safe zone, you’ll end up dead. Turn back at the slightest hint of danger.”

  “Thank you for the warning. We’ll be careful,” Elena replied.

 

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