Shiori was the first to greet him, bowing as she tried to get a read on his attitude toward them. “It has been quite a while since we last met. It’s good to see you doing well, Mr. Akira.”

  Reina joined in with a nervous chuckle. “Um, long time no see.”

  For a moment, Akira looked unsure how to respond. “R-Right. Been a bit.”

  Awkwardness filled the air between them—but Kanae, unable to read the room, continued in her boisterous, cheerful voice. “You here to hunt relics, kiddo?”

  “Yeah.”

  “By yourself?” she asked, surprised.

  “That’s right. I usually work alone anyway.”

  “Wow, seriously?! This ruin ain’t a walk in the park, y’know! And you’re doin’ it without any help?! Ha ha, you’ve got some guts!” She grinned.

  “Um, thanks?” In the face of Kanae’s over-the-top levity, Akira’s awkwardness suddenly felt pointless and trivial to him. With a small sigh, he decided to open up a bit to Reina and Shiori, so as not to invite unnecessary conflict. “Actually, well, back during the thing with me and Katsuya, I never expected you guys to side with me. It was enough help for you to just take a neutral stance. So, er, thanks for that.”

  Shiori immediately sensed that Akira’s gratitude was genuine. Breathing a secret sigh of relief, she bowed politely. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

  Reina also sighed as though a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Now that she knew Akira didn’t see them as enemies, she dropped her guard.

  “So what’d you guys come over here for?” he asked. “If it was just to greet a familiar face, that’s all well and good, but I gotta go now.”

  “Yes, that’s really all it was,” Shiori confirmed. “We apologize for interrupting your plans. Take care.” She turned on her heel to leave. While Akira wasn’t an enemy, he was a magnet for trouble—as Shiori knew well. She didn’t want Reina getting involved with him any more than necessary.

  But Kanae had to open her big mouth once more. “Hey, kiddo! Since fate already brought us together, how about we all explore the ruins as a team?”

  Reina and Shiori froze. Shiori, however, was quick to recover and made a move to silence Kanae.

  But Akira’s curt reply came faster. “I refuse.”

  Reina looked downcast. While she wasn’t necessarily keen on the idea of working with Akira, being immediately turned down like that still hurt. Hunters always found strength in numbers. By now Akira should have known how strong Shiori was, and he could probably tell that Kanae was plenty capable as well. Which meant Reina had to be the weak spot. I’m such a liability that even Shiori and Kanae’s strength can’t make up for it, she thought glumly.

  The girl’s discouraged expression pained Shiori’s heart. But Kanae was all smiles as she gave Akira a teasing grin. “Aw, what’s wrong? The thought of traveling with three smokin’ babes doesn’t get your blood pumping? Or are you already bored of girls even at your age?”

  “Naw, I just don’t want to stand out by joining a team of people dressed like weirdos. Besides, it’s a pain to argue over stuff like what path to take or how to divide up the loot. That’s all,” he replied, looking exasperated—though while both of these reasons were genuine, the former was definitely the bigger one. He was already getting quite tired of the curious stares around him. No doubt the crowd assumed he was part of Reina’s group as well. “Why are you guys dressed like that anyway?” he added. “Is it a preference of yours? Do you enjoy being the center of attention or something?”

  “It’s our master’s preference!” Kanae blurted, looking proud for some reason.

  Akira cast a dubious glance at Reina. “O-Oh, really?”

  Sensing a grave misunderstanding on the horizon, Reina shook off her funk and immediately protested, “N-No! It’s not my preference!”

  “R-Right, sure,” Akira said, clearly unconvinced.

  Her denial had not cleared things up one bit, and she panicked. But at least there was no longer any trace of her earlier malaise. This expression suits her much better, Shiori thought with a wry smile, and moved in to assist. “To clarify what Kanae said, it is the preference of Miss Reina’s grandfather, our real master. You see, these garments are the most high performance among all the clothing we own, and thus are the most suited for combat. We are not wearing them in order to stand out.”

  “By the way, we’re also wearing powered inner wear underneath. Wanna see?” Kanae chimed in, and lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing a glimpse of what looked like black tights. Shiori smacked her hand, causing her to let go.

  “We’re well aware our choice of attire is unusual,” Shiori continued, “but we wear these outfits in order to keep Miss Reina safe. It is not Miss Reina’s wish, so do not get the wrong idea.”

  Akira took another look at their outfits. “Hmm...” he muttered. Then, grinning as if he’d realized something, “Ah, I get it! Those uniforms are made of Old World material, aren’t they? That’s why they’re as sturdy as body armor, and you have on the inner wear for extra protection, right?” Back in the Kuzusuhara Underground Ruins, he recalled, Shiori had been wearing a maid uniform there as well—albeit a normal one with no defensive capabilities—and powered inner wear underneath. Akira deduced that back then, for whatever reason, she must have not had her Old World maid uniform available and had worn the uniform as a bluff. Of course, a bluff like that wouldn’t work on monsters, but it’d certainly fool the other hunters in the underground ruins. If that’s true, then it all makes sense, Akira thought, pleased with himself for figuring it out.

  But Shiori replied, “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. This uniform was made using New World technology. However, it was designed by a company that also manufactures body armor, so it is resilient enough to hold up in combat nonetheless.”

  Akira was nonplussed. “Um,” he finally said, “correct me if there’s something I’m not getting, but why would a modern maid outfit need to be monster-proof?”

  “Why? To perform our duties as maids, of course.”

  “Uh, um, a maid’s job is like, uh, to do housework, right? So wouldn’t that function be, er, unnecessary?”

  “In some instances, it is very necessary,” Shiori replied.

  “So like...” Akira fumbled for words. “You mean you’re like a bodyguard or security personnel trained in all manners of combat, but work as a maid as cover?”

  “Incorrect. I am not pretending to be a maid as a cover. Both Kanae and I are genuine maids, just like the rest in our master’s employ. However, since a respectable level of skill in the martial arts is necessary in our profession, I cannot deny that Kanae and I, as well as our coworkers back home, have all undergone combat training.”

  “All the maids”—Akira swallowed—“are trained in combat?”

  “Some of them are butlers, to be precise,” Shiori added seriously.

  She wasn’t trying to dodge Akira’s question or pull the wool over his eyes—she’d answered as honestly as she was able to. But he only ended up more confused than ever.

  I don’t get it. Why would maids and butlers need to be skilled in fighting? Wouldn’t people wealthy enough to hire help like that already be living inside the city walls? Huh... Could it be that it’s actually more dangerous inside the walls than I thought? Or am I just mistaken about what maids and butlers actually do? Stunned in the face of a revelation that threatened to shake the foundation of everything he thought he knew, he muttered, “Was I all wrong about this?”

  Kanae cut in with a grin. “Some things in life just aren’t worth worrying about, kiddo. It’s a wide world out there. That’s all you need to know.”

  Akira glanced at Kanae. She nodded smugly, as if she’d said something incredibly profound. He suddenly felt foolish for obsessing over this matter and let it go. Even if his ignorance here got him into trouble, he reasoned, monster attacks in the wasteland were surely far worse, so there was no need to work himself up needlessly. He sighed and turned back to his original point.

  “Anyway, for the time being, I don’t want to go relic hunting with you three,” he declared. “Last time I came along as a bodyguard, but I don’t feel like doing that right now either. Maybe some other time. Later!”

  He turned on his heel and walked away. Alpha accompanied him with a knowing smile. What? he demanded.

  Oh, nothing much! Just thinking how we lucked out—your penchant for inviting conflict decided to take today off.

  Oh. Yeah, I suppose so. Akira gave her a rueful grin, but didn’t deny it.

  ◆

  The moment Akira was out of sight, Shiori turned on her coworker. “Kanae? What was the meaning of that just now?”

  Kanae tried to play dumb. “Whatever could you mean?”

  “Why did you call out to Mr. Akira? What were you planning to do if things got ugly?”

  “Aw, c’mon, it turned out fine, didn’t it? Nothing happened, and now we know he wasn’t upset, so lay off,” Kanae said in her breezy tone, unfazed by Shiori’s stern glare.

  “I’m asking why you did it, Kanae. I’m sure you recall his foul mood back then, so why would you carelessly get his attention?” If you didn’t have a good reason for exposing Miss Reina to unnecessary danger, you’ll have me to answer to, the look in Shiori’s eyes seemed to say.

  But Kanae didn’t even flinch. “That’s exactly why. I thought it’d be the perfect time,” she said with a grin. She added that they would have had to find out how upset Akira was sooner or later anyway, and even if he’d felt an intent to kill the moment they’d entered his vision, he wouldn’t have tried anything with a Hunter Office outpost so close by. Besides, they were surrounded by a crowd of hunters who would likely join the fight on the women’s side. As Reina’s bodyguard, there was no way Kanae could possibly let this golden opportunity slip by.

  Shiori decided that was good enough and didn’t press her any further. It was clearly an excuse Kanae had just made up on the fly, but a rational one nonetheless. And even if Kanae’s real objective had been something foolish, like her own amusement, she’d also prepared a logical reason and probably wouldn’t have acted without one. Shiori let the matter drop.

  Despite her displeasure at her coworker’s spontaneous personality, Shiori had previously been unable to protect Reina on her own—which meant she couldn’t send Kanae back home because she needed the additional help. So she held her tongue out of loyalty to Reina.

  Kanae picked up on this and grinned. “I’m off the hook, then? Sweeeet!”

  Reina, who’d been watching all the while, heaved a deep sigh. The two maids were supposed to be her servants, but was she fit to be their master? Having been once crushed under the weight of her own weakness, she was slowly but surely starting to get to her feet. Yet it would still be awhile before she could stand upright.

  ◆

  Akira proceeded through the business district of the Mihazono ruins toward the marker in his vision, which was pointing to an upper floor of a skyscraper in the distance.

  His current objective was to discover a previously unexplored area in this otherwise well-known ruin, following clues to the whereabouts of Lion’s Tail terminals. He figured he’d first check the location the marker indicated, and then collect a few relics on the way back even if nothing turned up.

  Although this area had once been metropolitan, fallen debris had blocked the road and made it impossible to drive on, so he was journeying on foot. With his powered suit, he had no trouble scaling the mountains of rubble in his path.

  Still, I wouldn’t have expected a terminal in a place like this—but that does make it all the more promising. All the evidence suggested that their destination had yet to be explored. Even the map of Mihazono he’d pulled up on the internet had no information on the skyscraper save for its name—the Serantal Building—and its general location. There was no floor plan or any details on what was inside, probably because no one had explored the building yet. And if so, then previous hunters had probably located the site but hadn’t managed to reach it.

  Alpha smiled in a way that filled him with confidence. For the time being, let’s try to make it as far as we can, she suggested. Just because other people couldn’t do it doesn’t mean it’s impossible—and with me as your guide, we might actually pull it off.

  Considering that Akira had managed to survive the depths of Kuzusuhara—a ruin that would’ve been impossible for him to traverse on his own—with her help, her words made sense to him. All right, let’s do it, he said with a nod. Considering the design of the building, it’ll probably be relatively straightforward inside, and there might even be some stairs left we can climb. Or maybe the elevator’s still operational—man, that would be nice...

  I don’t think you should get your hopes up.

  Oh, you think it’ll be broken after all? Yeah, makes sense...

  No. Considering the building’s mostly intact, I would guess its autorestoration function is still online as well, so the elevator is likely operational. But so is the building’s security. Alpha pointed ahead. We’re not exactly welcome in these ruins. Do you really think they’d let us use the building’s facilities as we please?

  In the direction Alpha indicated, a rectangular monster was already drawing near, and it clearly had Akira in its sights. As the mechanical guard scuttled nimbly along the debris-strewn ground on a cluster of legs, it swung its many-jointed arms toward the intruder.

  Oh, gotcha, Akira said wryly. He raised his CWH and pulled the trigger, penetrating the thin layer of metal with AP rounds and destroying the mechanisms within. With its control system broken, the machine stopped in its tracks.

  Today, like most days, it seemed the mechanical guards patrolling Mihazono’s business district would have their hands full dealing with an uninvited guest.

  Akira’s main aim in coming to Mihazono was to collect relics, but he also wanted some practice exploring a ruin on his own. So Alpha didn’t assist his powered suit as he made his way through the ruin, or guide him as he checked his surroundings. Because the suit was far stronger than the human body, it took practice to move normally while wearing it. Akira was practicing both walking properly without getting carried away by the suit, and drawing his weapon quickly without letting the extra power from his suit overstrain him.

  Each of these actions was difficult enough on its own. But Akira was doing both of them at the same time—and polishing his ability to quickly sense an enemy’s location, all while taking care to not let any monster that slipped through his watch catch him by surprise. Akira was training diligently so that he’d still be able to move without Alpha’s support, so monsters couldn’t get the jump on him even when she wasn’t present, and so he’d be able to survive if he ever lost his connection to her again.

  With all the derelict buildings and debris blocking the roads, navigating the business district felt like threading his way through a maze. Sometimes there would be tidy, immaculate areas butting up against mountains of rubble, and brand-new buildings beside ruined and collapsed ones. Akira found the contrast truly bizarre.

  Hey Alpha, why do some of the areas here look ruined and others newer, even though they’re right next to each other? It’s like a clear line’s been drawn between them.

  I suspect this comes from varying conditions of the mechanical guards and maintenance bots that manage each territory. Alpha explained that the specifications of the machines in each sector differed greatly, leaving a marked difference on the sectors themselves. In the ruined areas, high-spec mechanical guards had been deployed, and their repeated battles with hunters had ravaged the structures so much that the comparatively low-spec maintenance bots had been unable to keep up. For the newer-looking areas it was the opposite: there hadn’t been enough guards deployed to keep the maintenance bots from doing their job.

  Akira reflected for a moment. So, does that mean the newer, tidier areas are safer?

  It’s possible, but don’t lower your guard. Maybe the security there is so strong that the hunters don’t even bother approaching, or the maintenance bots are so high-spec that they can just repair the whole area overnight.

  I see... Well, either way, hunting for relics in a more kept-up place has got to be better, right?

  I’d say so, she agreed—then added, after a slight hesitation, Do you want to take a look?

  Akira considered. Nah, let’s check out where the marker’s pointing first. That was the plan, after all.

  Right. Well then, let us proceed with vigilance. Onward! Alpha grinned, satisfied that Akira had prioritized her plan over what would have been a largely meaningless endeavor.

  Even though Akira was training to explore ruins on his own, Alpha still provided a degree of instruction when necessary—she didn’t want his inexperience to lead him into a monster ambush. But even when she pointed out that he’d selected the wrong path and informed him of a better one, Akira couldn’t tell the difference.

  How’s this route any better than the one I chose? he asked.

  She temporarily augmented his vision, coloring his surroundings according to threat level. The areas marked in red are dangerous. The deeper the red, the greater the danger. Looking at the color of the place you were about to enter, I’d advise against it.

  Oh, is that so? Then how am I supposed to tell without your help?

  Well, you’ve just got to know.

  “Just got to know,” huh? Alpha’s exceedingly vague reply left him at a loss.

  Alpha also looked a bit helpless. Sorry, but that’s really all I can tell you. She added that she was basing her calculations on the information from his scanner—looking at the data coming in from every building that had an unobstructed view of him, from any walls facing him, and from every window and entrance placed in those walls. All of this helped her determine the likelihood that an enemy would aim at Akira from any of those locations at any given moment, as well as what the accuracy of their shots would be based on their distance from him. Then she would update the local threat levels accordingly.

 

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