Chapter 23 - A Boy Who Is Like a Landmine (1/2)

Chapter 23, A Boy Who Is Like a Landmine

Translator: Athena13

Editor: Silavin

Proofreader: p4553r

Akira spent his days studying inside his room. It had been 2 weeks since he placed the order for the augmented suit. As Alpha declared in the beginning, he moved to a room without a bath. He tried his best to hold back his desire to take a bath by showering. Also, he did not even step a foot outside the city. He basically spent his days focusing only on studying.

But even so, Akira was actually in a good mood. It was because he was looking forward to getting his first 8,000,000 Aurum augmented suit. His mood got even better when s.h.i.+zuka contacted him to inform about the expected time of arrival of his order. Ever since her call, he could not contain his excitement.

Alpha’s methods were also really useful in teaching Akira. First of all, she started by expanding Akira’s views, so that he would notice things that he did not notice before. In order to build up an effective learning environment, she used a flying electronic blackboard and a white notebook which was filled with images and letters for teaching. Akira had bought these learning materials some time back. Her teaching methods were nothing short of perfect.

Not to mention that her method of teaching for every subject was very polished. Her explanation was very easy to understand and highly effective. She was teaching Akira one on one, so she could focus all her attention on him. That small and cheap room turned into an optimal learning environment that normally could not be created without a lot of money. Thanks to that, Akira’s growth was amazing.

Then one day, Alpha who was pointing at the writings on the electronic blackboard suddenly pointed to Akira’s information terminal.

“Akira, there’s a call from Sheryl”

Akira extended his hand to reach for his information terminal. But after he picked up his information terminal, he could not see any call notification from Sheryl. But then suddenly the display showed that there was an incoming call as the call’s ringtone rang. Akira looked a bit puzzled.

“How did you know that before it actually came?”

Alpha smiled meaningfully.

“As I explained before, I’m actually connected to that network, so I’m just leveraging it.”

Akira was wondering if she was actually saying the truth as he picked up the call. As he answered the call, he could hear Sheryl’s panicked and nervous voice.

“This is Sheryl. I’m sorry that I’m calling when you’re busy. But may I ask you to come to the base? Actually, people from the other gangs said that they really want to meet and talk to you. Of course, I did not agree, but they started saying that they would personally come to the inn where you’re staying, you see…”

Akira immediately got suspicious of something.

“They want to meet and talk to me? But you’re the boss of the gang, right?”

“They said that they have nothing to talk with me. It seems those people outside the gang are thinking that you’re the boss of the gang and I’m just your proxy, that’s why they would not negotiate with me.”

Akira took his time thinking. Because he spent days inside his room without stepping out, not even once, the part of him that was unconsciously seeking for a break, made his decision.

“Alright then, I’ll be heading there now. Ask them what they actually want to discuss with me.”

“I understand. Thank you very much.”

After Sheryl replied back nervously, Akira ended the call from Sheryl.

Alpha looked at Akira as if she did not approve it.

“I did tell you that you’re not stepping outside the room until you get your augmented suit, right?”

“Please don’t say that. At least let me step outside once in a while. It’s not like I’m going to the wasteland, after all. So it’s okay, right? I also did tell Sheryl that I’m coming there.”

Alpha smiled as if she was giving permission to a small kid.

“Geez, it can’t be helped then. Be sure to prepare everything before going out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Akira prepared his equipment just like he used to when he was about to go to the wasteland before setting off to Sheryl’s base.

—*—*—*—

After Sheryl ended up her call with Akira, she let out a sigh while still staring at her information terminal.

[…Although it seems that he thinks it’s a pain in the a.s.s, he did say that he’ll come. Thank goodness.]

She then turned to the people in question and looked at them with a stern look. It was a man named Wataba and his companions who sought to see Akira.

“It seems that Akira would come here. And he told me to ask what you want to discuss with him. So I’m asking you this again, what business do you have with him?”

Wataba answered back in a tone as if he was mocking Sheryl.

“I’ll talk when that Akira boy is here.”

“Are you not listening?! I was told to ask you what you want to discuss with him, you know?!”

Sheryl glared at Wataba. But Wataba did not even flinch, instead, Wataba replied back as if to intimidate her.

“You’re so noisy!! I’m telling you that I’ll only talk when that boy is here!! So just shut up!!”

Wataba glared back at Sheryl and her friends. He was actually a part of Sibea’s gang, so he knew pretty well about Sheryl. And since he knew her position back in Sibea’s gang, he was looking down at Sheryl.

Wataba had other business to do the day when Sibea brought some people to attack Akira, that was why he could keep his life till now. For a few days after Akira killed Sibea, he was still wary of Akira. But as time pa.s.sed by, he started to think that Sibea was killed just because he was unlucky that day.

Wataba thought that Sheryl was merely a girl who could do nothing but entice men and Akira was just a boy who got manipulated by Sheryl and ended up supporting her gang. Both of them were nothing big. His behaviour here was motivated by these thoughts.

Sheryl was on her limit glaring at Wataba and his companions. She could not pressure them to tell her what they wanted to talk about. Although she had a gun with her, it was the same for Wataba too. She had no will to pull the trigger for a fight.

It could also be felt by both Sheryl and Wataba that mockery and superiority feeling was spreading among Wataba’s group while nervousness and the feeling of being cornered were spreading among Sheryl’s group. And it only got worse the more they waited. Wataba even stopped being wary of Akira. Akira was a hunter, so Wataba had to at least be more careful when dealing with Akira. But that sense of wariness had already been gone from him.

Then right at that time, Akira appeared. Everyone immediately s.h.i.+fted their attention to Akira. Akira was able to feel the mood inside the room and immediately understood that it would definitely turn into a problem. Everyone’s attention still focused on Akira as he walked and sat down beside Sheryl. He then looked obviously annoyed as he asked Sheryl.

“So then, what is it now?”

“W-well…”

As Sheryl was stumbling on her words, Wataba laughed and said.

“That girl could not get anything from me, you know! She could not accomplish what you ordered her to!”

Sheryl turned and glared at Wataba, her gaze was filled with despise. But Wataba ignored her.

Akira let out a sigh before asking Wataba instead.

“So, what do you want?”

Wataba then answered Akira’s question firmly.

“It’s simple, give me this base and its territory.”

Sheryl and the other kids tensed up when they heard his demand.

Sheryl’s gang inherited the territory from Sibea’s gang. But it was hard for them to take care of that huge territory with their current members. An unclaimed territory in the slum city would only attract problem and that would be a bad thing both for Sheryl and for the other people in the slum city.

Wataba’s boss, s.h.i.+jima, thought that it would be easy to at least get those surplus territories that Sheryl’s gang could not manage from Sheryl by having a small negotiation with Sheryl’s gang. He thought that at most, they would need to use little intimidation during the negotiation to obtain it. Thus he sent Wataba, someone who already knew Sheryl, to have a discussion with her gang. But then Wataba got ahead of himself after seeing how Sheryl’s gang treated them, so he changed the demand without asking for any permission from his boss.

Of course, it was not something that Sheryl could accept. Thus Sheryl reflexively shouted back at Wataba.

“Are you kidding me?! There’s no way we can accept that!!”

“I’m not asking you, so just shut up.”

Wataba shouted back to intimidate her, Sheryl winced and shrunk back when she heard him. Wataba looked annoyed as he was staring at Sheryl with a mocking expression. He then turned back to Akira and asked him in a fas.h.i.+on as if he knew what Akira would say.

“So, what do you say? Of course, you’re going to give them to me, right?”

“No, Sheryl also made it clear just now. So don’t ask me.”

Akira answered back casually and firmly, something that Wataba did not expect.

Wataba was dumbfounded from Akira’s reply, but it was immediately replaced by irritation. So pushed by that irritation, he asked Akira.

“I’ve heard about you before, this gang is yours, right?”

“This gang and this base are Sheryl’s. Sheryl is the boss here. It’s not me, so don’t ask me. Go ahead and ask her instead. If you had asked her, I wouldn’t have had to come here like this, you know. Sheryl, don’t just call me for every single thing. So that’s everything, right? Just go back home now, I’m leaving this place after this too.”

The way Akira behaved fueled Wataba’s irritation to anger.

“You! Boy! Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? I’m part of s.h.i.+jima-san’s gang, which is on a different level compared to this s.h.i.+tty weak gang filled with small kids. We also have a lot of members and a huge territory! So don’t think this will end well if you refuse!!”

“h.e.l.l if I care.”

Wataba was shouting in anger when he said that. But Akira seemed like he did not give a d.a.m.n and replied as if it was someone else’s problem.

As things did not go as he expected, and seeing how Akira mocked him, Wataba’s mood considerably worsened. His face warped matching his mood. But even so, it did not affect Akira at all which only made him more irritated and angry.

But his face immediately turned back to relaxed expression mixed with mockery. Then Wataba smiled invincibly.

“Hey kid, do you really think that we know nothing about you?”

Akira finally reacted to that as he looked a bit surprised.

“…What exactly do you know about me?”

Wataba’s expression relaxed after Akira finally reacted as he expected.

“As I said, my gang has a lot of members. So it’s an easy thing for us to find where you’re staying, you know?”

Akira called Alpha through telepathy.

“Alpha.”

Alpha got what Akira meant from that short signal.

“This position is not good. So you need to move.”

Akira then stood and walked to the location that Alpha pointed to and he stood leaning against the wall. After that, he replied back to Wataba as if he was mocking him.

“You found out the inn where I’m staying, huh? So then what? Are you going to gather people and attack the place next? Are you stupid? Are you seriously thinking that I’m the only Hunter staying in that place? You’ll make an enemy out of the security people contracted by that inn, you know? Are you even sane? If you want to kill yourself, do that without causing a problem to other people, will you?”

Seeing how Akira did not show even a trace of fear after knowing that they found out where he was staying, Wataba became obstinate and shouted back.

“T-that’s not all!! We also investigated the shop that you frequent too!! Are you really okay if anything happens to that shop and the owner of that shop?!!”

Akira let out a sigh while intentionally hiding the dark feeling that was welling inside his heart. He carefully reached for the gun behind him trying not to get noticed as he warned Wataba and his companions.

“I’ll at least let you know this out of kindness. That weapon merchant called Katsuragi might look like a normal weapon merchant from the outside, but he’s strong enough to even sell his goods to the Frontline. If you underestimate and try to attack him, you’ll only end up killing yourself, you know?”

After hearing that, Wataba smiled vilely. It was enough for Akira to make his decision on what to do next.

“Alpha, I’m counting on you.”

“Akira, you might want to rethink abou-“

Alpha understood what Akira wanted to do and tried to stop him first. But before she could say anything, Wataba laughed confidently and said.

“Not that one. I’m talking about the girl-“

Suddenly a gunshot echoed through the room. As the anti-monster bullet tore through Wataba’s chest, it sent his body flying straight to the wall behind him. Wataba’s face was frozen in surprise as it fell forward and made a bompf sound as he hit the ground. He was killed instantly. The blood and flesh that was sent flying when he was shot dyed the wall red and the blood flowing out from his dead body formed a pool on the floor.

No one expected that Akira would suddenly shoot and kill Wataba without even a shred of hesitation.

The other men that were accompanying Wataba were so shocked that they were frozen in place. Then the unlucky guy who regained his composure first tried to reach his gun only to get shot on his leg by Akira and rolled over on the floor. His leg that was shot with an anti-monster bullet was blown to small pieces.

That man was a.s.saulted with intense pain as he was spouting curses while writhing on the floor. Akira then pointed his gun towards the other men to stop them from doing anything foolish.

The small children there finally started screaming. Some of them could only stand frozen there. Some of them ran to the corner of the room. And some of them ran outside the room. The negotiation turned into a fight and there was only a handful of them who knew how to handle a fight.

Alpha then asked Akira with a stern expression.

“Akira. Was there any need to kill him?”

Akira answered back firmly and swiftly.

“Yes.”

Alpha let out a sigh of exasperation and a little bit of irritation before smiling like usual.

“I see, it can’t be helped then. It’s not over yet, so don’t drop your guard.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Although Alpha did not care how many people Akira killed, she wanted Akira to at least avoid any meaningless killing.

Despite the fact that Akira did not like problems, he was actually making a problem for himself here. He thought that it was all because of his bad luck, but the truth was that he kept doing things that attracted bad luck. Akira himself did not realize his contradictory behaviour. It was the vague moral standard inside him that pushed Akira into doing such a thing. Wataba’s remark there was the thing that was deemed unacceptable by Akira’s moral standard and incited the fight.

Alpha thought that it would be hard to predict Akira’s behaviour as long she did not understand that vague moral standard Akira was holding on to. Thus she decided to continue observing Akira for now.

Akira kept his gun pointing at the rest of Wataba’s men to keep them in check as he warned them.

“Throw down your gun…. 5… 4… 3…”

The men who were still standing there threw down their guns. Only the man who was shot on the leg was still writhing on the ground while applying pressure on his open wound. Akira kept counting down while aiming his gun at the head of the man who was on the ground.

“… 2… 1…”

“Wait!! I’ll throw down his gun!! So please don’t shoot!”

The other men tried to stop Akira in panic. He then took the gun from his friend who could not do that because of his injury and the pain. After that, he took his own gun too, dropped them on the ground and kicked them away. Only after that did Akira finally lower his gun.

Silence finally returned to the room. Everyone was terrified and looked at Akira who shot Wataba without hesitation or warning. But it did not bother Akira at all.