Really? You don’t say...

  Although I can’t say whether it would work on any of the monsters in this particular ruin, Alpha added.

  Akira ruminated over this. As he did so, he reflexively glanced at Carol, and their eyes met. With a winsome grin, she strode right up next to him. “Something I can do for you?” she asked suggestively.

  “Um, n-no, nothing. I’ve just never seen anything like that outfit before, so it caught my eye. Sorry.”

  His sincere apology caught her by surprise. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that response,” she said, still cheerful but with her smile now a bit strained.

  “Huh? Why not?” Akira looked genuinely nonplussed.

  Flustered, Monica cut in. “C-Carol?! Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t just carelessly waltz up to random strangers when we’re together?!”

  “It wasn’t careless, Monica. I waited until we confirmed he wasn’t hostile, didn’t I?”

  “Don’t dodge the issue by quibbling over semantics!” Monica moaned, holding her head in her hands. Then she bowed to Akira. “I’m really sorry about this. We’ll be leaving right away, so please excuse us for troubling you.”

  “O-Oh, okay,” Akira answered, still unsure what was going on.

  “Now hold up, Monica,” Carol objected. “Meeting in a place like this can’t just be a coincidence, can it? Let’s chat a bit more. Oh, silly me—let me introduce myself first. I’m Carol. Nice to meetcha!” She glanced sideways at Monica, then gave Akira a charming smile.

  Seeing that Carol was beyond reining in at this point, Monica sighed resignedly. “I’m Monica,” she said.

  “Um, I’m Akira.” Based on how they’d just spoken to each other, he had a vague feeling that these two were going to be trouble.

  Carol looked at him as though deeply fascinated. “Say, what’s a guy like you doing all by your lonesome like this? Get separated from your teammates?” Of course, she could see this almost certainly wasn’t the case, and was just trying to get a conversation going.

  But Akira didn’t notice what she was up to, and answered straightforwardly, “Nah, I was by myself from the start.”

  “Really?” Carol feigned surprise. “Wow, that’s amazing! These ruins are such a challenge that even pretty confident hunters wouldn’t try to tackle them solo. Hmm, and with all due respect, you could use a little more muscle,” she added coquettishly.

  “Well, excuse me for looking weak,” Akira muttered, looking upset. But in fact he wasn’t put out at all—after all, she was right. He knew he would never have been able to make it this far on his own. But if he openly agreed with Carol, then his presence here would suddenly seem awfully suspicious, and he didn’t want to explain that he’d had Alpha’s help. On the other hand, he felt uncomfortable professing to be stronger than he actually was. So he glossed over it by pretending that her statement had offended him.

  Taken aback, Carol quickly recovered and smiled consolingly. “Now, now, no need to bristle! I wasn’t implying that you were actually weak or anything. My bad, ok?”

  “Hmph. What about you two? Number-wise, I doubt you’re much different from me,” he retorted.

  “True, but we’re surveyors. We know the layout of this area like the backs of our hands, so this is no big deal for us.”

  Some hunters collected relics and took down monsters for a living, but others did business charting ruins and selling the maps. These people were called surveyors. Even the most seasoned hunters could end up dead if they got lost in a ruin. When searching for relics, knowing the area’s layout ahead of time greatly improved one’s chances. Since ruins were commonly labyrinthine in structure, information like the safest routes to take and what monsters would be where in a given ruin was always in high demand. The more detailed the map, the more hunters would be willing to pay.

  Carol briefly explained to Akira that she and Monica had already scoured these ruins countless times in the course of mapping it, and so they were more familiar with Mihazono than the average hunter. Enough, in fact, that they had no trouble exploring with no outside help. “Although,” she added, “the business district’s my real area of expertise. Monica’s the one who knows the factory district. Still, we’re both surveyors, which means we’re both well-versed in avoiding monsters.”

  Akira listened until she was finished, deeply interested. “Oh, makes sense. So, how much are you asking for a map of this area?”

  Monica answered, “For the factory district, I’m asking five million aurum.”

  “F-Five million?!” Akira reeled.

  Monica didn’t take kindly to his reaction. “We’re risking our lives for the sake of these maps, you know! We can’t just sell them on the cheap. And in any case, mine are of much higher quality than the standard variety. You’ve probably got your own map of this place, but don’t think for a second that it’s on the same level as mine!”

  He flinched at her vehemence. “Okay, okay! Er, my bad,” he said sheepishly, bowing his head.

  This brought Monica back to her senses. “N-No, I should apologize!” she said, flustered and bowing back. “I went too far.”

  Watching them, Carol smirked. “Just out of curiosity, Akira, how much did you pay for your map?” she asked. “If you reacted like that to five million, yours must have been bought for a song. That’s no good—no matter how confident you are, heading into ruins with a bad map is practically suicide.”

  Monica concurred. “That’s right! A budget map might have inaccurate or dated info. It might have drastic errors because it was drawn up based on data from last year. That’s as good as scrap paper.”

  “So how much was it?” Carol asked excitedly. “Half a million? A hundred thousand? Oh no, don’t tell me—it was one of those on the internet you can download for free?!”

  Akira looked away in embarrassment. “I mean, does it really matter?” he muttered. With Alpha’s support, he didn’t need to spend money on maps, though he had downloaded one of the business district (for free). So technically, he’d been traveling through the factory district mapless. But of course, he didn’t feel comfortable admitting that, so answered evasively.

  Of course, while she didn’t know about Alpha, Monica could at least tell from his reaction that his map was so low-quality that he was reluctant to admit it. This got her curious. “Actually, how did you make it here in the first place? Did you not encounter any monsters along the way?”

  “I mean, yeah, but I just took them down as I went,” Akira replied, wondering privately why she’d ask such an obvious question.

  But Monica’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You ‘just took them down’? Let me get this straight: You entered this room from the opposite side we did, correct?”

  “Yeah...?”

  “Most people don’t even attempt to take that route because the guards there are so ridiculously powerful.”

  “Huh?” Akira was stunned. “But, I mean, they weren’t any tougher than normal...”

  Of course, with the experiences under his belt—like the recent bounty hunts and even today’s battle against the Serantal guards—his standard of “normal” was quite different from most others’. So dealing with the monsters on the way here hadn’t felt particularly difficult to him (even if it was due to Alpha’s support.)

  Monica’s expression became severe, however.

  Wondering if he might have accidentally stepped on a land mine, Akira inwardly panicked. Alpha! D-Did I say something wrong?!

  No, nothing you said felt odd—to me, at least. But I can think of two reasons for her reaction. One, hunters typically feel wary toward those stronger than them. And two, by defeating those powerful guardians along the way, you’ve eliminated the need for a detour, effectively reducing the value of the map they’ve been working on. She added casually, After they risked their lives toiling to painstakingly map out that path, some stranger’s come along and destroyed all the monsters that gave the route value in the first place. They’re probably pretty upset with you right now.

  But it wasn’t like I could help it!

  No, you couldn’t. So it’s nothing you need to feel bad about. That’s part of what they signed up for when they became surveyors.

  While Akira knew Alpha was right, he still couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. Then Carol spoke up in a bright and cheery voice.

  “It’s so amazing that you were able to take down those monsters, Akira!” she gushed. “No wonder you were able to make it here with a crappy map!” Then, with a smile, she took a step closer. “But you know, that means you won’t have much use for maps that show you how to avoid them. So is there anything else you might like to purchase?”

  “Something else? Like what?”

  “Me, silly! How about it? For you, I can even offer a discount.” Carol crouched down so that her face and breasts were level with Akira’s eyes. Her provocative look radiated seductiveness and charm, and her skin was clearly visible through the inner wear clinging to her body.

  Monica interjected, blushing furiously. “C-Carol?! Are you nuts?! Here, of all places?!”

  But from the confusion on Akira’s face, it was clear that Carol’s proposal had gone right over his head. Then, after a moment, enlightenment dawned on his face. “Sorry, but I don’t need to hire extra help. I can get by just fine on my own.”

  Carol looked stunned. “That’s how you took it?” she asked, her smile becoming strained once again. Back when Akira was unconsciously staring at her, she’d noticed there hadn’t been a trace of lust in his gaze. Still, while getting turned down would have been one thing, she could never have imagined he’d fail to even recognize such a blatant invitation.

  Monica was also surprised, but quickly recovered. “Carol, can you at least not side hustle when you’re together with me?!” she complained.

  Carol, her pride still ever so slightly hurt, became her normal self again. “Oh, c’mon, no need to get all riled up! Besides, he didn’t bite, so no harm, no foul.”

  “That’s not the problem! What if he’d ended up thinking it was a package deal and that I was included as well?!”

  Akira had been watching Carol and Monica bicker with a puzzled look on his face, but then it finally clicked. “Oh, now I get it!” he said, and gave a frustrated sigh.

  “Took you long enough,” Carol retorted with a hint of exasperation in her voice. “There’s a limit to how dense a guy can be, you know?”

  “Well, sorry for being dense! And that’s a no-go as well. I don’t need anything like that.” It was one thing for a female hunter to wear a racy suit modeled on Old World gear and sell her body as a secondary source of income, but conducting that business in the middle of a dangerous ruin was quite another. Akira hadn’t even considered such a crazy notion—hence his delay in recognizing it. (At least, that was the excuse he gave himself.) “I’m outa here. Later.”

  “Really? So soon?” Carol asked, surprised. “Since we’re already together, how about tagging along with us? The more the merrier, right?”

  “No thanks!”

  “Wow, you really are a tough customer,” Carol replied.

  Monica, meanwhile, turned toward Akira and bowed her head again, as if to silently apologize for Carol’s behavior. Akira simply turned on his heel and left them both behind.

  ◆

  After Akira had parted ways with them, Carol and Monica went back outside to check the area he’d had come from. There they discovered the remains of a gigantic mechanical guard—the same one that had been blocking Akira’s route earlier.

  While Akira hadn’t seemed to be lying to them, they weren’t so naive as to trust anyone’s word at face value. But it was a different story now that they’d seen the ruined hunk of metal for themselves. Of course, there was no way to confirm that he’d taken down the monster all on his own, but considering that its remains were lying on the path he’d followed and the sincerity in his voice when he’d told them the story, they were inclined to believe it was certainly possible.

  “I guess he really did take this hunk of junk down on his own,” Carol marveled.

  “It seems so,” Monica murmured.

  While both of them were surprised, each one’s expression was tinged with a different emotion.

  Carol, for one, looked disappointed. So that boy really is as strong as he said, she thought glumly. Strong enough to fight his way to the room we were in. Since he didn’t look it, I was hoping he just specialized in scouting and had somehow already learned the layout of the ruin and the monsters’ positions beforehand. Then he would have been following a safe route of his own. But I guess I was wrong.

  Monica, meanwhile, looked anxious and wary.

  Both found themselves gazing unintentionally in the direction Akira had gone. Realizing this, they exchanged glances and tried to cover how they were actually feeling.

  Carol grinned. “Well, then, Monica, I guess you ought to update your map to say that this thing’s dead now.”

  Monica sighed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Ugh... Now the alternate route I spent so long thoroughly mapping out is useless!”

  “Well, things like that happen from time to time. If you’re hard up for cash and ever need a side gig, then I can send some of my clients your way,” Carol teased.

  “No, thank you!” Monica growled, taking her joke at face value.

  Chapter 107: Akira and Carol

  After parting ways with Carol and Monica, Akira continued through the factory district until he finally reached his destination—a building that had perhaps once been a warehouse. The walls and floor inside had only suffered minor wear and tear, and rows upon rows of large shelves contained Old World boxes—boxes he was certain were packed with relics.

  Akira let out a whoop of joy. “All right! Hell yeah! Man, look at all this! We hit the jackpot!”

  Of course, compared to finding an undiscovered ruin, this was a small victory. Still, by an average hunter’s standards it was a huge accomplishment.

  Alpha grinned smugly. Of course! Told you so, didn’t I?

  You sure did! All right, let’s get to work hauling all this out and head back home! Invigorated, Akira began inspecting the packages. They were sealed shut and weren’t labeled, so he couldn’t tell exactly what was inside just at a glance.

  I wonder what’s in here? Say, you think we could open them and find out?

  Let’s hold off for the time being. If you start opening them, they’ll be exposed to damage if you get into a fight on the way home.

  Hm, that’s true. Keeping them in their original packaging would be much safer than opening them, even for mere transportation. And the packaging had been made with Old World materials too, meaning it could potentially be sold to the right buyer as well. So it was best to keep everything as intact as possible. Akira remembered Sara telling him something like that too. But this also posed a problem. Without opening the boxes, I won’t know what’s actually worth taking, though. And what if they’re actually empty? He hefted one just to make sure. Even with his powered suit, it felt heavy enough that he probably wouldn’t have been able to lift it otherwise. There’s no way for you to check what’s inside, is there?

  Let me try. Wait just a sec... Hmm, looks like a component for some machine. I can’t tell what kind, though.

  Alpha augmented Akira’s vision, and the box became transparent enough to view the contents. He could make out a large metallic piece resembling a mechanical torso.

  Huh. Well, Old World machine parts will probably sell for a good price. But let’s check the others just to make sure. He perused the rest in the same way, hoping to find some sort of valuable-looking relic, but every box contained similar items.

  They were likely worth at least something: he was deep in the ruin at this point, Alpha had vouched for this place, and all the relics were all packed in boxes. Still, he couldn’t help but think that if he’d come across any of these parts half buried in the wasteland, he wouldn’t have even considered them worth picking up. He couldn’t help but let out a dissatisfied groan.

  Don’t just stand there, Akira! Let’s grab one of these boxes and get back home. Since there’s not much difference in their contents, just pick one at random. We can always return and get more.

  Well, I guess it’s better than nothing. All right, this one! Akira picked the box containing what might have been the most valuable piece and stored it in his spare backpack. He would only be able to take one box—no more would fit inside. Carrying one on his back was also out of the question—there he would need to have his main pack, full of spare ammo, in case they got into a fight. Which meant his only option was to drag his spare pack behind him as he traveled.

  There were still countless parcels left on the shelves. As Akira exited the warehouse and shut the door, he looked conflicted. Just how many round trips do you think it’ll take to carry all those out?

  I’d be more concerned about whether you’ll even be able to. Now that we’ve discovered this place, other hunters are more likely to find it as well.

  True. So we’ve got to be careful not to give ourselves away as we head back. Alpha, select a route where we’re least likely to be spotted.

  Leave it to me! Alpha grinned smugly.

  Looking satisfied, Akira began to make his way through the abandoned factory grounds. Before following him, however, Alpha glanced back at the warehouse door he had just shut and reached her hand out toward it.

  Before her, a sigil materialized in midair—and as if in response, a fake holographic wall appeared over the door. A force field appeared in the same space as the hologram, making the false wall’s texture indistinguishable from the real walls adjoining it. The door was now covered with a high-level camouflage that couldn’t be detected by light, sound, touch, or changes in atmospheric flow. After admiring her handiwork, she nodded and hurried to rejoin Akira.

  We’ll go a different route from the way we came, she informed him. That’ll make it harder for others to figure out the warehouse’s location based on the direction we’re coming from.

  Gotcha. Hmm... Hey, what if we ask Elena and Sara to help with carrying out those relics?

 

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