Chapter 19 - Gratitude and Debt (1/2)

Chapter 19, Grat.i.tude and Debt

When he regained consciousness, Akira found himself confined in a white s.p.a.ce. Everything was filled with white nothingness no matter how far he looked. It was as if the maker of this world gave up midway. But surprisingly, he did not find it strange or uneasy to be standing inside such a world. Inside his hazy mind, Akira somehow understood that he was in a dream.

He saw Alpha standing not too far from him. She was emotionlessly staring forward. It did not look like she noticed him. As he looked at her, it felt like she was just a frozen humanoid doll standing there.

Suddenly, this Alpha spoke.

“First try, failed. Didn’t reach the target. Unable to continue due to the subject’s death. Searching for methods to provide support.”

She then continued as if she was reading a record from her memories.

“Second try, failed. Didn’t reach the target. Unable to continue due to the subject’s death. Searching for methods to provide support in battle.”

She continued giving the same report without any emotional fluctuations.

“15th try, failed. Didn’t reach the target. Unable to continue due to the subject’s withdrawal from the request. The subject is alive. The subject withdrew from the request due to fatal injuries. Adjusting the guidance method.”

“16th try, failed. Reached area 1. Unable to continue due to the subject’s death. Revaluating methods to provide support in battle.”

Alpha just kept continuing to report the status. Akira couldn’t understand what she was reporting about.

“87th try, failed. Reached area 7. Unable to continue due to the subject’s death. Revaluating methods to provide support in battle.”

“88th try, failed. Reached area 4. Unable to continue due to the subject’s withdrawal from the request. The subject is alive. The subject withdrew from the request due to the loss of motivation. Adjusting the guidance method.”

She kept continuing for some time.

“497th try, failed. Reached area 9. Unable to continue due to the subject’s death. Revaluating methods to provide support in battle.”

“498th try, failed. Reached the final area. Unable to continue due to the subject’s withdrawal from the request. The subject has turned completely hostile. Already dealt with the situation. Current location, unknown. Completely readjusting the guidance method.”

“499th try, in progress. Haven’t reached the target area. Confirming the current condition. Finish.”

Once Alpha was done reporting, the white world suddenly turned pitch black. Akira could see Alpha floating alone in the middle of the darkness before slowly blurring and vanis.h.i.+ng into nothingness.

Akira’s consciousness faded away together with it. Eventually, everything vanished into nothingness and the dream ended.

***

Akira opened his eyes. He was still dazed after that strange dream, but he had forgotten most of the details of the dream. He then realized that he was lying on a bed inside a room that he did not recognize. He was so surprised that he completely forgot about the dream that he just had.

If it was Akira from the past, he would have definitely jumped off and confirmed his surroundings the moment he found himself in an unfamiliar place. But now, although he was surprised, he did not put up his guard. He was only dazed after waking up.

The reason why he lost his sharpness was because he was now used to waking up in a safe place compared to the dangerous back alley. He now woke up in a room that felt safer and looked more expensive than his usual room. But the main reason he didn’t put up his guard was because he saw Alpha smiling at him.

“Morning, Akira. Where you able to take a good rest?”

Akira looked around and confirmed his surroundings. It seemed like he was staying in someone’s place since it did not look like a hotel room. The blood and mud that stuck on his body were already cleaned. He was also changed into a white t-s.h.i.+rt and a long pant. He had fully recovered from the tiredness, having woke up feeling refreshed he did not feel pain anymore. He was completely recovered physically. After he noticed this fact, he completely shook off the haziness from when he woke up. But it was visible from his expression that he was confused.

“Morning, Alpha. Where am I?”

Alpha then pointed her finger to the door to answer Akira’s question. Sara then entered through that door. She looked a bit surprised as she saw Akira.

“Akira, you’ve woken up, huh?”

Sara was only wearing a baggy T-s.h.i.+rt and undies, it was a set of clothes that showed a lot of openings. Her wearing such dress also showed that it was a safe place, thus Akira was able to relax too. But on the other hand, he was also more confused than before.

“How do you feel? If it’s still hard for you to wake up, you can lay back, you know?”

“Uhh, I’m fine.”

Although he was still confused about what was going on, he was physically fine. And in order to show that, he answered back confidently. Sara smiled back knowing that Akira was really fine.

“I see. Thank goodness! This is our place, Elena’s and mine. Therefore, you don’t have to worry, we have kept your stuff in another room. We’ve also washed your clothes and left them there. I’ll bring it to you if you want to change.”

“Ah, I’ll take them myself.”

“Don’t worry, you’re our guest, after all. I’ll bring them to you, just wait here for a bit.”

Akira was swept away by the flow. But once Sara went outside the room and closed the door, Akira immediately went into panic mode.

“Alpha, what’s going on here?”

“For now, you just need to know that this is a safe place. If you can understand, then calm down.”

“Even if you ask me so…”

“Wouldn’t Sara feel weird if you suddenly understood what’s going on although you have just woke up in an unfamiliar place? So just ask Sara first, I’ll give you my explanation after that, okay?”

“Ah, right.”

Akira then nervously waited for Sara to come back. He was feeling strange to not be able to relax although he knew that he was in a safe room. He understood that he should calm down to think clearly but he was unable to do so and as he continued to wait for Sara, it became harder for him to calm down. As such, he looked nervous when Sara came back and handed him his clothes.

Adding to the fact that Sara was looking at him, Akira awkwardly tried changing his clothes. But Sara thought that it was because Akira just recovered that he was moving awkwardly, so then she gently asked Akira.

“Akira, should I help you?”

“I-it’s okay. I can manage.”

“Is that so? You just recovered, so don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

Since Akira was not used to getting such a gentle treatment, he could not help but feel more nervous. But he realized that Alpha looked amused as she was looking at him who was fl.u.s.tered. So he quickly finished changing his clothes before Alpha could comment on him getting fl.u.s.tered.

After that, Sara started explaining to Akira of what was going on.

“I’ll tell you this first. It has been 3 days since you fainted.”

Akira was very surprised, but then Sara calmly continued her explanation.

When Akira fainted, Elena, Sara and Katsuragi immediately checked his condition. Akira suffered no fatal injuries. Since he had consumed a lot of medicine in a short duration, all his wounds were forcefully and rapidly healed. All the healed areas had strange scars. These scars would have vanished if his wounds were healed naturally. But all his wounds were already completely healed by medicine, so these scars were left behind. Although his clothes were drenched in blood, thanks to the medicine that he took, his breathing and pulse were stable.

In the worst-case scenario, he simply fainted and was far from any fatal condition. As such, Elena and the others were relieved after confirming Akira’s condition. So, she immediately told Katsuragi to head to the city and Katsuragi completely agreed with her.

After that, Elena and Sara brought Akira who was still unconscious to their home and laid him on a bed. Although he was in no danger, Akira did not wake up for a few days. Elena and Sara thought that it was because of the overdose from medicine.

The medicine distributed in the Eastern district were mostly a mix of nanomachines and all kinds of different chemical compounds. It was basically like a DIY set to close a hole in the wall. The advanced nanomachines in the medicine could act as subst.i.tutes to the cells and close the wound.

Although it was convenient, this medicine also had some drawbacks and side-effects. Repeated healing through induced regeneration might cause premature ageing. Or the nanomachines sometimes misunderstood the injured state as a normal state and stopped healing altogether.

Akira fainted because of a similar reason. It was an indication of medicine overdose after taking a lot of medicine in a short span of time to heal his wounds and rejuvenating his fatigue. It was by no means fatal, but he would stay unconscious until the nanomachines inside his body calmed down.

Then as Elena and Sara predicted, Akira woke up after sleeping for 3 days.

After Akira heard everything from Sara, he bowed politely.

“Thank you very much for saving and nursing me.”

“It’s fine, don’t mention it.”

Akira was happy at how Sara was being considerate to him, he was smiling slightly. But his expression immediately changed to be apologetic.

“Uhh. Well, technically, you accepted an SOS request… Right? It’s kinda hard to say this when you have saved me, but to be honest, I don’t have any money at all. So how should I repay you?”

Akira wanted to pay them back for their help. But even if he wanted to do that, he couldn’t. After all, he could not earn any money for the last few days. He was just stating the truth. But as he finished speaking, he wished he could take it back. Akira was ashamed of himself as he hung his head low.

But Sara just casually shook her head.

“As I said, it’s something that we did because we wanted to. You don’t need to worry about it. I and Elena have no wish to ask for any compensation.”

“Are you sure…? Ah, I mean, that is… Uhh…”

That would be really helpful to Akira, but he could not just accept it. Akira hesitated. But even if he hesitated, it was not like he had the money to pay them back. As such, he looked really thankful. Then Sara’s face turned serious.

“…Well then, in exchange for the reward. I have something to ask you. So can you answer it honestly?”

“If that’s all, then of course. What is it?”

Sara was a bit surprised as Akira answered back casually with a smile. Sara then stared at Akira with a serious face. She then let out a sigh and asked him a question.

“You were the one who saved me and Elena in Kuzusuhara ruin the other day, right?”

Akira froze.

****

When Akira was still unconscious, Sara went to s.h.i.+zuka’s shop by herself. And when she started talking about Akira, s.h.i.+zuka smiled bitterly.

“Fighting against those many monsters, that must have been really hard for Akira.”

“Moreover, he had to do it twice in a day, you know? Isn’t that a very rare experience? Is it because he has bad luck or was it Katsuragi who brought bad luck to him? Or even maybe both of them have bad luck? Since they were able to survive it, we can just laugh it off now. But that Katsuragi and his friend, it seems that Elena squeezed them for rewards. They just can’t stop grumbling. Although they were able to transport their goods from the Frontline, they were complaining that more than half of their profit was used to fight back those group of monsters.”

“But even so, they were able to survive without any grave injuries. So I don’t know if they actually have good luck or bad luck. By the way, where’s Elena?”

“Elena is working as Katsuragi’s escort not too far from here. I came here alone today.”

“Is that so… So then, why are you here today?”

s.h.i.+zuka who was listening to Sara changed the mood as she made a serious face. She more or less understood why Sara came to her today.

Sara made a bitter smile and was surprised since s.h.i.+zuka was able to guess the real reason why she came. She then made a serious face.

“I did tell you before that we were saved by someone in the Kuzusuhara ruin, right?”

“Yep. You told me that story so many times. I even remember all the details, you know?”

“By any chance, do you know who it was?”

Sara stared closely at s.h.i.+zuka. But s.h.i.+zuka did not make any noticeable reaction to her strong gaze. s.h.i.+zuka looked at Sara and thought for a bit before answering her question.

“Why do you ask me?”

“You have a good intuition, after all.”

“Is that so? Well, in that case, my answer is no.”

“s.h.i.+zuka!”

Sara called her name with a strong tone as she kept staring at s.h.i.+zuka. She was unconsciously leaking her intimidating aura as a Hunter.

But s.h.i.+zuka did not budge at all. After all, she was working as a merchant who faced Hunters on a regular basis. Moreover, she knew well about the friend in front of her right now. There was no need for her to panic, she knew that well as she calmly answered back.

“I really don’t know and I have no one that I’m suspicious of being that person either. And even if I have a guess, if my guess is wrong, it’ll definitely cause trouble for you and that person. I may have some inklings, but the person asked me not to say anything to anyone. So if I tell you, then I’ll be betraying that person’s trust, thus I won’t say anything. That person didn’t threaten me, but since that person told me to keep a secret, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to say anything. After all, it would be big trouble for the shop if I do something that might annoy my customers. So I can’t say, no matter what, my answer is I don’t know.”

Sara did not say anything, she just locked her gaze on s.h.i.+zuka. But s.h.i.+zuka’s expression did not change as she continued.

“Moreover, it’s not the main problem here, right? You already have a guess as to who that person is and you’re almost certain of your guess. But since it was logically impossible, you’re trying to clear your doubt by relying on my intuition, right?”

After being told so, Sara finally realized that her guess was correct.

The words written on that paper were illegible as if they were written by a small kid. Akira’s reaction when she showed him her bullet pendant. And finally, the medicines that Akira was carrying on him. When she found the same medicine that she had received inside Akira’s belongings while she was organizing his stuff, it confirmed her suspicion that Akira was the one who saved her.

But even then, she had no definitive proof. Moreover, according to her experience as a Hunter, she made a conjecture that even someone with as much fighting power as Akira, would not be able to save her in that situation.

Sara who was not sure of her own guess then went to s.h.i.+zuka to rely on her intuition. Even Elena admitted the sharpness of s.h.i.+zuka’s intuition, which was so good that even irrational possibility turned into reality. She believed in s.h.i.+zuka’s intuition to give the final verdict that Akira was the person who had saved her.

Sara was taken aback as she realized this, but then s.h.i.+zuka continued.

“By the way, how much do you want to know, Sara? Do you just want to know who saved you? Or do you still have a lot of questions that you want answers for?”

“W-well…”

Sara could not answer. There were indeed a lot of questions that she wanted to ask and a lot of things that she wanted to know. But the thing that she really wanted to ask, the thing that she really wanted to know, it was just a small part of it.

“Think carefully before you ask. Decide between what you want to know and what you don’t need to know and then ask your question. Ask your question with utmost sincerity, if that person lies to you after that, then that’s what it is.”

s.h.i.+zuka said that she did not know. If that was true, then Sara’s guess was mistaken. But if it was a lie, then it meant that he did not want to reveal it no matter what or that he wanted to have nothing to do with Sara. Sara understood that and could not reply.

In the end, she could just ask Akira after he woke up. But for some reason, she was hesitating. The moment she realized that she was hesitating, she immediately realized the reason.

Sara did not want to be denied of answer by Akira. That was all. She finally understood that.

Sara who just came to realize a lot of things stared at s.h.i.+zuka and thought that s.h.i.+zuka must have understood everything way before herself. s.h.i.+zuka might have even understood the reason why Sara was hesitating, which she herself did not realize.

But Sara decided not to ask s.h.i.+zuka any further. It was not something that should be asked to ny others. It was something that she should find herself. That was her thought as she smiled to change her mood.

“Alright then, I’ll ask him myself when the time comes. Thank you, s.h.i.+zuka.”

s.h.i.+zuka replied back with a relieved smile. But it then changed into a teasing smile.

“You’re welcome. So then, just a piece of additional information, I’ll tell you my guess. Sara, do you know about the people who are connected to the old domain?”

“People who are connected to the old domain? I’ve heard about them before, but…”

“Go ask Elena for more detail. She should know more than you. But if I have to give you a simple explanation, they are people who are connected to the old network for some unknown reason. I heard that there are even people among them who can pinpoint the locations of individual people, monsters, ruins and buildings. It might sound very convenient, but I heard they also face a lot of problems because of their ability. I’m talking about those people.”

Sara then imagined Akira to be one of those people. If that was true, then someone like Akira would have the ability to save them. If Akira could pinpoint locations of each people inside that thick colourless mist, then he would be the only person who could see clearly whereas everyone else were helpless. It would give him a boost to his winning rate. It would also explain why he wanted to hide his ident.i.ty. If the people that he saved wondered as to why he could save them, there was a good chance that those people would notice he was a person who is connected to the old domain. And if it were to spread, it might even danger his life.

Sara kept staring at s.h.i.+zuka.

“…You do have a very good intuition, couldn’t you just say that from the start?”

s.h.i.+zuka smiled as if she was teasing Sara.

“It won’t be right if I tell that to someone who hadn’t resolved herself, right? So do your best out there.”

Sara accepted her answer as she nodded while looking a little bit annoyed.

***

On the same day Sara heard about the people who were connected to the old domain, she asked Elena about it just after Elena finished her night bath.

“Elena, do you know about the people who are connected to the old domain?”

Elena then just wiped her body enough to not make any mess before operating the information terminal that was attached to her hand. She wrapped herself in a bath towel without bothering to wear her undies. She was looking so unladylike. Sara had repeatedly reminded her about this But Elena would never listen and answer back that it was only necessary to keep everything around her dry. So Sara started ignoring her when she looked like that.

Elena then replied back in such a way that was unexpected to Sara.

“People who are connected to the old domain? It’s rare for you to ask something like that.”

“Well, s.h.i.+zuka told me that you should know better than her, you see.”

“To be more precise, what do you want to know? Since you have come to ask me, it means that you want to know something that you won’t be able to know from a simple search on the net, right?”

As for Sara, she actually wanted to know everything right from the most basic knowledge, but she could not say that as it would annoy Elena. So she changed the way she asked Elena.

“There are benefits and dangers, both to the people around them and to themselves as well.”

“That’s an interesting question, well then, let’s start from the benefits that they can get themselves.”