Chapter 21 - Unnecessary Things (1/2)

Chapter 21, Unnecessary Things

Akira was dragging his feet within the Kuzusuhara ruins. He was only able to walk at this speed by stopping every few steps to take a breath. But even with all this struggle with walking, he was somehow able to banish the thought of lying down, to continue dragging his feet once again.

The reason why he was walking so slowly was because of the rucksack on his back. It was filled with relics up to its brim and it was so heavy that it made his legs shake while carrying it. He was somehow able to carry it thus far, but he suddenly mumbled a complaint.

“Alpha, I’m thinking, isn’t this a bit too much? Can we like, you know, leave some of the relics behind?”

He knew that if he could bring it back, it would definitely fetch him a huge amount of money. Not to mention that he was the one who previously complained about bringing only a small quant.i.ty of relics. But the rucksack he was carrying was heavy enough to make him suggest leaving some of the relics behind.

But Alpha rejected his complaint with a serious face.

“No, we won’t do that. To be honest, I think I underestimated your bad luck. Right when we decided to go out to the wasteland for training for a day, you got attacked by 2 groups of monsters right away. Even I didn’t see that coming, you know. So in order to prepare you to face bad luck anytime, we need to get you better equipment as soon as possible. The money that we earn from these relics will be used to buy that equipment, so you should give your best for a little while longer.”

“I understand your point, but…”

Alpha could see that Akira was not just displeased, there was another complicated expression mixed in his face. So Alpha too made a displeased look as she said to Akira.

“Oh my, are you saying that I should give better support so that you would not need more equipment? Just for your information, I’m always giving my best support, you know?”

“That’s not what I meant. Your support is really helpful to me. Even back there too, I would’ve died if it wasn’t for your support. I’m really thankful and I do trust you. But still…”

Akira’s trust and grat.i.tude were not fake, but there were a lot of other things inside his head.

[For some reason, I feel like I’m constantly in danger since the day I met Alpha. But again, facing dangers is a professional hazard as a Hunter and I met Alpha on the first day I became a Hunter. So it can be said that it’s only to be expected, but still…]

That was what Akira thought but he could not fully convince himself with that reasoning. Hearing his reply, Alpha’s expression changed from displeasure to exasperation.

“Good grief. Although you got such a beautiful lady like myself around for the whole day taking care of a lot of things for you, you are still complaining like this, huh? Akira, aren’t you just too greedy?”

It might be because Akira was so tired that he looked irritated.

“Greedy, huh…”

“And when I thought you had no interest in the opposite s.e.x, you did react to s.h.i.+zuka, Sara and Elena, right? As I thought, having a physical body that you can touch is a big factor to you, huh?”

Akira coughed and fl.u.s.tered as he wondered whether he really reacted that much to s.h.i.+zuka and the other girls.

“Since I can’t entice you with touches, I wonder if I can entice you with appearance instead. Maybe being naked works well? No, judging from how you reacted to Sara, I think suggestive clothing works better.”

Alpha then removed all of her clothing and exposed her beautiful skin without anything to hide them. She then put on s.e.xy underwear before layering it with a thin and almost transparent dress.

Her transparent dress blurred into the light showing a beautiful figure, her glossy skin was tremendously charming. The shadow created on the opposite side of the light was captivating. Everything about her was so sensuously inviting.

But in contrast, Akira’s reaction was very dull, he simply lightly blushed before he let out a slight sigh.

“Alright alright, I’m sorry. I won’t complain again so switch back to your normal cloth.”

But Alpha just ignored that as she pointed towards the ruins.

“Akira, there’s somebody over there.”

“Just put on your cloth first. Over there, huh?”

Akira then pulled out his binoculars and scanned towards the direction that Alpha pointed, he could see a young boy running desperately.

“That boy, I’ve seen him somewhere before…”

“He’s the young boy that attacked you back in Sheryl’s base. Is he heading here to kill you for revenge or something?”

“Now that you mention it, he indeed looks like that boy…”

Akira remembered that someone attacked him but he did not remember the face. But for now, that boy did not look like he was following Akira’s footprints. So Akira decided to just keep his eyes on him for a while.

***

Ever since Erio was banished from Sheryl’s gang, he had been looking for a way to get reinstated. He heard the recent development of the gang from Alicia, who he was close with. He came to know that the gang recently got a helping hand from a merchant named Katsuragi. Thanks to that, the economy of the gang developed very well. This fact only made him regret his foolish action. And since he had no connection that could help him join any other gang and he already had someone that he could trust in Sheryl’s gang, he wanted to return back to Sheryl’s gang no matter what.

Alicia told him that although Sheryl would not be able to do it in front of Akira, she was actually planning to let him join the gang again after a while. Thus, Erio spent his days in the back alley clinging onto that hope.

But there was no guarantee that he would be alive until that time comes. Thus, he had to do something before he loses any more time. He thought hard and made a gamble. He asked Alicia to lend him a gun and went to Kuzusuhara ruins looking for relics.

In order to return back, Erio had to talk with either Sheryl or Akira. But it was not a problem that could be solved by prostrating and begging for forgiveness. He will have to bring something of worth with him and bringing a relic from the ruins would be the perfect souvenir. He thought that would be enough as an apology to both Akira, a Hunter who was working by hunting for relics, and Sheryl, his boss, who told him to fetch a relic from the ruins. That was why he decided to look for relics in the ruins.

An expensive relic could turn a normal person into a rich personage in one go. It was the most common dream for the people of the slum. But Erio soon realized that it would just stay as a dream to him. He now knew that another kid from the slum, just like him, had become a Hunter. And he was so close to realizing that dream. So he thought he too might also have a shot at becoming rich. Both their dreams might be different but he hoped to at least be able to grab a fragment of that dream by a lucky encounter. That was why he took the gamble to try his luck in the ruins.

But Erio’s gamble easily went to ash. He immediately met a monster the moment he went to the ruins. He did try to fight back with his gun, but since he was in a panic and he had no real skill in using a gun, none of his shots. .h.i.t the monster. And it did not take very long for him to deplete the low quant.i.ty of ammo that he was carrying.

Erio, who had lost his means of fighting then dropped the heavy gun he was carrying as he ran as fast as he could from the monster that was trying to eat him. The ruins filled with debris was not an easy terrain for him to traverse but that was not the case for the monster that was chasing him. Thus it would be very difficult for him to outrun that hungry monster. It was only a matter of time for that monster to catch up with him.

***

Akira was watching Erio with a confused look.

“Going to the ruins without a gun, huh? That guy is really careless.”

Alpha smiled teasingly.

“You’re right. But he’s just like you during that time, right? The only difference between that boy and you is that he, unfortunately, won’t get to meet me.”

It was true, he was not that different from Akira from back then. But since Akira met a group of weapon dog on his first day, he might have been actually more careless than Erio in a sense. Akira smiled bitterly after realizing this. The scene of Erio running away from the monster reminded him of himself and Akira’s face turned serious.

What Akira was seeing from his binocular was what would have happened to him had he not met Alpha. It was obvious as to how this scene would end, it would only take a few more seconds for that monster to catch up with Erio and another second for that monster to severely injure him. If that happened, then that would be the end of Erio’s life. That was also how Akira’s life too could have ended in a different storyline.

“…You’re right. That’s me, huh?”

Akira mumbled those words as he picked up his gun. Seeing his action, Alpha looked surprised.

“Are we going to help him?”

“Yeah, this must be some kind of fate. Let’s help him and improve my luck… Moreover, he came at the right time.”

Akira laughed lightly as he carefully took aim and pulled the trigger of his gun.

***

After Erio used all of his stamina and power to escape from the pursuit of the monster, he finally hit his limit. The road in front of him was blocked by rubble and he had no path to run. As he turned back in panic, he could see the hungry monster opening its huge jaw showing its big sharp fangs as its saliva splattered around.

It was the end for him. Erio’s face distorted in terror as he waited for the impending death to reach him.

And right when that monster jumped towards him, it suddenly rolled over. Then gunshot kept reverberating as bullet splinters ricocheted around the monster. Blood spurted out of the holes that opened up on the monster’s body, dyeing the earth red.

But even so, the monster was still alive. Although it was wobbly and unstable, the monster got back on its feet. Then another bullet tore through its limbs and it fell down on the pool of its own blood.

When it tried to stand up again, another bullet tore through it. But this time, the monster s.h.i.+vered and finally stopped moving.

Erio was dumbfounded for a moment. After he regained his composure, he finally realized that he was saved, he then mumbled in a happy and relieved voice.

“…I’m saved…? I’m saved… I’m saved!!!”

Erio tried to calm down his breathing while still looking excited. He then turned towards the direction where he heard the gunshot from, to look for the person who just saved him. But the moment he saw his saviour, his expression froze. The person that he saw in that direction was the same person that he attacked the other day. It was the person that he met in Sheryl’s base who aimed his gun at him as he was lying on the ground and pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

Erio’s face twitched when he saw Akira waving at him.

***

Erio was dragging his feet in the middle of the ruins. He looked like he was having a hard time as he said.

“T-this is so heavy…”

The reason for that was because the rucksack that Akira was carrying was now transferred to Erio’s back. It was an exchange of favour for saving his life. Although to be perfectly honest, he actually had no way to refuse it.

The leg crus.h.i.+ng weight a.s.saulted him who was already tired from running away from the monster. He felt like he would not be able to stand back up if he fell over. Thus, he tried his best not to trip as he slowly dragged his feet.

They encountered monsters from time to time but Akira who walked in front of him would take them out easily. From his back, Akira looked like he was just walking normally, but every time they met a monster, Akira was able to detect them and take a pre-emptive shot to kill them. Erio did not even have the slightest idea of how Akira could detect those monsters.

[Was Akira fighting monsters while carrying this heavy rucksack all the time until he met me? Did he also take them out so easily like this while carrying this rucksack? No wonder why he could defeat Sibea and the others all by himself. Did I really pick a fight against this ‘monster’? That explains why Sheryl got so angry at me. Now that I think about it, that was really stupid of me…]

Erio’s fear of Akira just multiplied several times and it made him regret his action even more than before.

After getting released from the burden of his rucksack, Akira was shooting down monsters in a good mood. But he then looked puzzled as he stared at the monsters that he just killed.

“Alpha, do these monsters always roam around this area?”

Alpha then looked puzzled too as she said.

“I guess some of the monsters that attacked Katsuragi ended up staying around this area. Or maybe those are rare monsters that came here attracted by that pile of meat from back then. Or maybe they’re normal monsters that have gone through an evolution.”

“These monsters are dangerous.”

“In the worst-case scenario, the monsters distribution in the ruins will change and it’ll cause ruin exploration to be even more dangerous than before. And even with your ability and my support, we might need to stop exploring the ruins for a while. It was the right choice to bring a lot of relics this time.”

Alpha said that it would be dangerous even with her support, it showed just how dangerous the situation would really be. Akira understood that very well as his face turned grim.

“…They’re really that dangerous, huh?”

“Let’s hurry up and go home for now.”

“Roger that.”

Akira picked up the pace. Of course, Erio who was carrying heavy rucksack suffered more than him, as he desperately tried to catch up with Akira.

Once they arrived at the city, they immediately headed to Katsuragi’s portable shop and trailer. Erio squeezed every little stamina that he had as he went for the last spurt. When they arrived in front of the trailer, Katsuragi who was watching the shop immediately noticed Akira and Erio.

“Akira, huh? This time you’re bringing a boy rather than a girl with you, huh. But that aside, you really didn’t betray my expectations, this time you are here as a customer, right?”

“Yeah, I’m a customer today. Although, I’m only here to sell relics.”

“Ah, selling relics, huh? Well, whatever it is, I welcome any customers. So then, where’s the relic?”

Akira then pointed at the rucksack that Erio was carrying. Looking at that, Katsuragi smiled in a good mood.

“That looks quite a lot, bring it to the back.”

After the three of them went to the back of the trailer, Akira started putting out all the relics that he wanted to sell. At first, he just put out everything from inside the rucksack randomly before Alpha told him to keep the medicines. So then Akira asked Alpha through telepathy.

“Is it a bad idea if I put it out just to show it to him?”

“It’s better to be safe. You wouldn’t be able to refuse if he asks you insistently to sell those relics, right?”

“Depending on the price, wouldn’t it be okay to sell at least one box?”

“Nope. That one box might be the thing that saves you from certain death, you know? So be sure to retain it.”

Since Akira himself did not want to die, he started to carefully put out the relics.

After scanning all the relics that were piled up in front of him, Katsuragi chuckled.

[…I don’t know where this boy got all of these relics. But this amount is pretty impressive. As I thought, this boy will be a successful Hunter. I have to get on his good side no matter what.]

After that, Katsuragi appraised all the relics and did the mental calculation. He then put on his merchant smile and looked at Akira.

“…Hmmm. Well then… How about if I take everything for 5,000,000 Aurum?”

Katsuragi’s face was filled with honesty and sincerity of a merchant. But that sincerity was mixed with some hidden fees that were needlessly added.

Alpha then casually said to Akira.

“Not good enough.”

After hearing that, Akira immediately said to Katsuragi.

“I understand, I’ll take them to the Hunter Office then.”

As Akira went to pick up his relics and put them back inside the rucksack, Katsuragi went to panic mode and said.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Well, like, this is where you should haggle, right? Don’t just give up now.”

Akira then looked coldly at Katsuragi who tried to gamble his chance with him there.

“You can go ahead and do that with your other merchant friends. I have no interest in doing something like that. You have one more chance to decide the price, and if I’m not satisfied with that, I’ll just take them to the Hunter Office.”

Katsuragi knew that it was not a bluff when Akira said that. So he did not have any other choice but to rethink his price.

“…I understand!! 8,000,000 Aurum!! How about that?”

“Well, that sounds good.”

(Athena: In the raw, this line was said with feminine inflexion so it can be inferred that this part is Alpha’s.)

“Sounds good to me, you should do that right from the start next time, okay?”

“Aright then, we have a deal here.”

The relics that Katsuragi bought were moved into his trailer. He would eventually sell those relics at a higher price than what he had paid to Akira. After all, that was where his ability as a merchant would s.h.i.+ne. No one would complain even if he sold those relics at a higher price since he had to spend more money on the appraisal, getting a quality a.s.surance certificate among many other things.

Katsuragi was in a good mood since he got himself a good deal.

“How do you want me to pay you? Do you want it in cash? It’s easier for me to pay you through bank transfer though…”

Akira had always been living in the slum city up until recently, so he did not have a bank account yet. Although he could easily open a bank account by doing some simple paperwork in the Hunter Office, the reason he did not do that was because up until now, he had no need for a bank account. So he tried to let the subject slide as he casually said.

“There are people that only accept payment with cash. But I’ll do something about it when I need to handle a larger amount of money.”

Katsuragi then glanced at Erio and was fully convinced with that reasoning. If Akira wanted to give money to Sheryl’s gang, it would be better if he did it with cash.

“I understand, so its cash, right? Then wait for a bit.”

Katsuragi went inside his trailer and returned back with 8,000,000 Aurum in big bundles. Seeing this much money shocked Erio, who was lying down out of exhaustion, so much that his eyes bulged like saucers.