The footage ended right as the rescue team passed through the defensive wall and entered the safe zone.

  Having now seen the entire recording from start to finish, Sara reflected, “Wow, there were even more of those giants than I thought. It didn’t seem like that many when we were fighting them, but I guess that just goes to show how hard Akira and Carol worked today.” She grinned, looking at Elena for approval. But her friend’s expression clearly suggested that Sara had missed something. “Guess that’s not it, huh?”

  “Actually, I agree with you completely. Akira and Carol really put in the work today. Which is what makes all of this so bizarre,” Elena replied. “Here, I’ll play the footage again.” She sped through the recording to a certain point. “There,” she said, suddenly pausing the display. “I’m going to play this segment in slow-motion. Watch carefully right around here. Do you see it now?”

  Sara focused on the area Elena indicated and watched the scene again. Then, for the first time, she noticed that the giant tanks were behaving oddly. Some of them were attacking in the wrong direction. Others suddenly vanished from the map, even though none of the hunters had taken them out. These details were easy to miss among the vast numbers of enemies, but now that Sara had noticed it, she could see that something peculiar was clearly going on.

  “You’re right, Elena. This is strange.”

  “If it only happened once or twice, I might chalk it up to a data glitch or analysis error. But not this many instances. And look over here.”

  Sara followed Elena’s finger with her eyes and immediately realized what she was getting at. “Those machines—are they fighting each other? Even though they’re all supposed to be guarding the same ruin?”

  “Right! That’s not something that can be explained with a sensor malfunction, and it’s certainly not mere happenstance. They’re clearly aiming at one another. And I can’t figure out why.”

  It was a strange situation, to be sure. But in the end, things had worked out in the hunters’ favor. So while the two of them were puzzled, the only conclusion they came to was to keep a closer eye out next time they were on a rescue mission.

  Ruins were Old World territory. Expecting the unexpected was a given for the relic hunters who entered them. But how could anyone prepare for an event that no one could even begin to comprehend?

  Chapter 115: A New Commission

  Two days had passed since the rescue job in Mihazono. Elena and Sara had recommended that Akira take it easy, so that’s what he was doing when Kibayashi called him up.

  “Hey, Akira! Looks like you’re out there doing your best to entertain me like always, huh?”

  “I don’t remember doing anything that would amuse you,” Akira responded warily—and honestly. He really didn’t have any clue what Kibayashi was talking about.

  “You’re not even aware of how you’re doing it, huh? Even better! Keep it up, kid.”

  Kibayashi’s voice sounded way too cheerful, and Akira grimaced. Alpha, do you know what he means?

  Well, fighting a mechanical sentry while parkouring down a skyscraper does come to mind. I’m guessing he somehow found out about that.

  Seriously? That’s what he’s talking about? He reflected that some hunters might well have recorded either the first or second fight—after all, Reina’s group had watched the entire spectacle the second time. These hypothetical witnesses had probably found it fascinating and passed the footage around to their friends, until it eventually ended up in Kibayashi’s hands.

  “Look, Kibayashi,” he said with a sigh, “I’m not sure what you saw, but stop contacting me after every single rumor you hear.”

  “Perish the thought! I’m reaching out because I’ve got some good info you might be interested in. You’ve become a favorite of mine, so I thought I’d help you out.”

  “What kind of info?” Akira’s eyes narrowed.

  Kibayashi told him that the data Elena had handed over to the insurance companies had also ended up in the city’s possession—and that analysis had shown the multilegged tanks fighting among themselves during the battle.

  “So? They probably malfunctioned or something,” Akira replied.

  “No, no, no—it’s much more significant than that! At worst, the city’s defense force might need to entirely reevaluate how they’re handling the Mihazono crisis.”

  According to the analysis, a sensor malfunction was unlikely, and the tanks were deliberately aiming at one another. This meant they had been ignoring the commands from the ruin’s control system, so there was a chance the robots could even leave the ruin. And since the ruin’s sentries had crossed their patrol boundaries at least once before, the possibility seemed even more plausible.

  At present, the analysts hadn’t confirmed any units leaving the ruin itself. But the consensus among the city officials was that it was probably only a matter of time.

  “Well, that’s a bummer,” said Akira, “but how does that information benefit me? Seems kind of pointless to tell me.”

  “So far I’ve just been giving the background. Here’s the part that concerns you directly: sometime in the next day or so, you’re going to get a call from the DLS asking you to investigate the factory district in the Mihazono Town Ruins.”

  “Huh?!” Akira recognized the Kugamayama Department of Long-Term Strategy—they’d put him on the Yarata scorpion extermination job. The relic hunters living in Kugamayama City couldn’t refuse a request from them—if they did, the city would blacklist them. Recalling the hardships he’d gone through underground in Kuzusuhara, Akira grimaced again. “Wh-Why me, though? Wait a sec... Kibayashi! You set me up for this, didn’t you?!”

  “It wasn’t me, honest! You’re only one of the hunters they want—Elena, Sara, and Shikarabe’s crew are also getting recruited, and you’ll probably all be on a team together. I suppose they’ll contact that Carol woman as well. In other words,” Kibayashi went on, “the DLS probably thinks that the team who intercepted the multilegged tank assault, whose battle records the data came from in the first place, has the highest chance of success—though that’s just guesswork on my part. You should get the official call either later tonight or tomorrow. They’re shooting to have you out there within a couple of days at most, and they’ll probably make it a mandatory ‘request.’ Since it’s an offer you can’t refuse—literally—I figured I ought to let you know ahead of time so you can prepare. DLS will probably give you an ID code you can use to buy your ammo, but I know sometimes it can take a while to procure more expensive rounds.”

  “You’re sure about this, right? What happens if I go to my favorite shop and buy a bunch of expensive ammo only to find out after the fact that they canceled the job?”

  “Then how about I go ahead and give you my ID code? It’s just a loan, but that way you can go ahead and prepare without worrying about any up-front ammo costs.” True to his word, Kibayashi sent over the ID code a moment later.

  “Seriously?” Akira was taken aback. “Just what are you expecting out of me that you’re willing to go this far?”

  “What else? Entertainment. As for what specifically, that’s up to you to decide, right?” The anticipation in Kibayashi’s voice seemed to add, I don’t know what you’ll do in the future, but I’m convinced it’ll be crazy, reckless, and rash enough to keep me amused!

  Akira’s demeanor, however, shared none of the man’s cheerfulness. It was true that Kibayashi had helped him out greatly by informing him of the commission beforehand and offering to front the cost of his ammo. But though Akira could be dense in many ways, even he could tell that the man was deliberately throwing fuel on the fire to create a conflagration large enough for his liking.

  As Akira sat there mulling over the conversation he’d just had with Kibayashi, he received first a call from Elena, then one from Carol. They both wanted to talk about discussions they’d just had with Kibayashi.

  So he’s throwing fuel over in their direction too, Akira thought, groaning inwardly.

  ◆

  At Elena’s suggestion, Akira decided to meet up with her and Sara at Shizuka’s shop. After greeting each other, the three hunters and Shizuka chatted briefly about the situation. Then the store owner inspected the ID code Akira had given her and frowned.

  Elena looked concerned. “What do you think, Shizuka?”

  “No doubt about it—this is a code from the city,” the shopkeeper said. “And not just any code—it’s got a purchase limit of a hundred million aurum.”

  “A hundred million?!” Elena exclaimed. “Looks like that Kibayashi fellow might have a bit more pull within the city than I thought.”

  The two hunters could only smile wanly as they turned to Akira.

  “First Carol, and now this. You’ve really got some surprising connections,” Sara commented.

  “Well, you know, a lot’s happened,” Akira said. “What should I do, Elena?”

  It was just a temporary payment, of course—the amount he spent would be deducted from his pay after the job was complete. But there was no question that a large stock of more powerful ammunition would go a long way to ensure Akira’s safety. Elena looked hesitant, then came to a decision.

  “I’d say that if he’s willing to be that generous, you ought to accept. There’s no doubt it’ll be a huge help for the mission. Once we get the official request from the city, I’ll try and negotiate to get the city to cover it as an expense rather than just a loan. Does that sound good to you?”

  “Yeah, sounds great. Thanks!”

  “Good, then we ought to start getting ready,” Elena said. “Shizuka, we’re counting on you to procure the goods.”

  “All right, I’ll do my best,” Shizuka replied, but she looked concerned. “I know as a shop owner I ought to be thrilled right now, but I can’t help but worry. Akira, please don’t overdo it, okay?”

  “I’ll be careful,” Akira told her.

  “And Elena and Sara, watch over him to make sure he doesn’t do anything rash.”

  “I’ll try my best,” Elena said playfully, while Sara chimed in confidently, “Don’t worry. You can count on me—I’ll keep him in line!”

  The three hunters laughed. Seeing their lightheartedness, Shizuka also felt more at ease and set about procuring the items they needed.

  That night, Akira and the others received calls from the Kugamayama City Department of Long-Term Strategy—and the person on the other end said exactly what Kibayashi had predicted.

  ◆

  A temporary Kugamayama City base had been set up on the factory district side of Mihazono. It was a simple structure—just several large buildings that could easily be put up and taken down, surrounded by a defensive wall—but it functioned well enough as a base of operations for the ruin investigation team.

  Powered armor, tanks, and automated weapons were all stationed on the base’s grounds. But at present these were intended for defending the base itself, not for a large-scale foray into the ruins. The city had employed hunters for this instead. Akira and the rest of those hired (including Shikarabe’s team and Carol) were listening to a rundown of the mission in one of the buildings.

  While Akira had been relaxing at home, the situation within Mihazono had gotten even more complex. As if mechanical guards crossing beyond their original patrol zones weren’t bad enough, a new batch of sentries had appeared that recognized the entire ruin as a single patrol zone. So the city had determined the best way to get everything under control would be to secure the locations the sentries were coming from—to the best of their knowledge, the Serantal Building in the business district and one of the abandoned buildings in the factory district.

  The Serantal had already been completely isolated at this point—they’d walled off the area temporarily. With the source of the robots suppressed, the defense force was now working to secure the rest of the business district. But the factory district was still a problem, as the city wasn’t sure exactly where the machines were coming from, and walling off the entire district just wasn’t feasible. So their first order of business was to find where the monsters were appearing from or being manufactured.

  Akira and the others had two goals for this mission: to find the source of the machines and to rescue any of the previous team members who’d gone to investigate and had yet to return. After the city official explained this, Elena stopped perusing the related documents she’d been handed and looked at him suspiciously.

  “Wait a second, it says here there’s only a fifty percent chance they’re actually alive?”

  “That’s only based on how many returned safely,” the official said after a pause. “They’re not necessarily already dead. The factory district is also full of buildings perfect for taking refuge in, so you’ll probably be able to save quite a few. We’re counting on you!”

  “You’re still asking us to rush into a place with only a fifty percent rate of survival!”

  “You can retreat whenever you see fit. If you feel it’s dangerous, please head back to base. You only need to give us a report detailing how you came to that decision.”

  “And if we can’t return, I guess we just become another statistic?” retorted Elena.

  “That’s right. So here’s hoping for a different result with your team.”

  The air seemed tense and hot between Elena, who wanted to prioritize the team’s safety, and the official, who had been tasked with putting them on this dangerous job.

  Suddenly, Akira piped up. “Hey, why can’t you use those tanks and automated weapons outside to investigate the ruins instead?”

  The official hesitated. “Sorry, but that’s impossible.”

  “Why’s that? Sure, they might be too big to enter buildings, but if it’s just outside...”

  At first the official scowled, thinking that Akira was criticizing how the city did things. But then he sensed from Akira’s demeanor that the boy was genuinely curious, and his expression became apologetic. Sighing as though he had no choice but to spell it out, he said, “Look, those belong to the defense force. They can’t be mobilized at the drop of a hat—at least, not with the authority I have. Who does have the authority, you might ask? Well, that’d be the top brass, and as for why they haven’t approved...” The official paused, as though he found his next words difficult to say. “This is just a guess, but they probably don’t want to disrupt the factory district’s operations by sending a bunch of huge machines in.”

  Many ruins had their relics restocked over time, and the Mihazono factory district was thought to be where the ruins surrounding Kugamayama were resupplied from. Sending a battalion of tanks and automated weapons in would likely cause Mihazono’s security system to raise its threat level accordingly. A few hunters would just be treated as trespassers or thieves, but a unit of automated weapons towering over six meters would be seen as an outright invasion. The factories that normally produced relics would start to churn out sentries to beef up security, and if those sentries got into a gunfight with the automated weapons, the entire district could be leveled. Then the relics would cease to be produced, and the ruins around Kugamayama, or even neighboring areas, would all eventually run dry.

  Naturally, this would have a catastrophic effect on Kugamayama’s economy, so they had to proceed with the utmost caution. Even if it ultimately turned out they were wrong, the city leaders wanted to take as few risks as possible with this operation.

  “Again, this is just conjecture,” the official reminded them. “But that’s probably why they’re sending hunters in there instead of using these weapons. And as an official I shouldn’t be saying this, you know, but it probably also costs the higher-ups less.” To console Akira, he added, “But honestly, the pay will probably be worth it for you guys. The bigwigs will just be thrilled to pay less than they normally would have, so there’s room for negotiation there. So please, we need your help!” The official bowed his head. “Also, you folks took down all those behemoths during the rescue job and managed to come back safe and sound. If you’re that strong and still end up retreating anyway, the higher-ups will be forced to reconsider. So just come back here if you think it’s too dangerous and let us know all that you learned, okay?”

  With that, Akira’s doubts were dispelled, and he nodded. Elena and Carol smiled wryly at how easily he was convinced.

  Unlike Akira, the rest understood the whole situation without needing to be told. But while they were quite dissatisfied with the way things currently stood, they couldn’t help but smile at Akira’s innocence as he took the official’s explanation at face value. Moreover, they knew that the official was just the messenger and had no real authority, so getting upset at him would be pointless.

  To lighten the mood, Elena spoke up in a deliberately cheerful voice. “All right, then! It’s true the pay’s going to be several times more than normal, so we’ll do all we can!”

  “I really am sorry to impose on you this way, but we absolutely do need your help,” the official replied. “Now, I’ve prepared a map of the factory district for you. It’s not complete, but you might find it useful.”

  Breathing an inward sigh of relief, the official then started to walk them through the documents in everyone’s hands.

  ◆

  Once Akira and the others were geared up and ready to go, they headed to the factory district’s entrance on foot. Akira was wearing his new support arms, loaded down with his CWH anti-materiel rifle, DVTS minigun, A4WM automatic grenade launcher, and a pack full of ammo. Since he wouldn’t be hunting relics this time, he could have actually carried even more if he’d wanted, but everyone else had looked plenty surprised by his new arms as it was.

  At the entrance to the district, which was littered with the remains of armored A24s, Elena turned to them. “Now then, let’s go over the plan once more before we head in.”

  Her team was divided into three groups—Akira and Carol, Shikarabe and Togami, and Elena and Sara—with the latter pair in charge. The mission from the DLS took priority over the rescue job from the insurance company. They’d agreed that Elena would be in charge of the whole operation (a decision made without consulting Druncam, since Shikarabe didn’t want the power struggle within Druncam to make a difference here). Akira had no objections to this, and Carol deferred to Akira since she was still in his employ.

 

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