Chapter 110 (1/2)

Index

Editor: Silavin

Proofreader: p4553r

Sheryl went to a high-class looking building in the lower district of Kugamayama city. For the sake of her gang’s business, there was some stuff that she had to do in the Hunter Office’s main branch.

Sheryl took off her wasteland coat and handed it over to Erio. When she did that, everyone around her was amazed by her appearance. She was clad in a high-class old-world dress that was refitted just for her, which had cost 1,500,000 Aurum.

With Sheryl’s dress even giving a sense of dignity, it would be expected for the people who saw her to mistake her as someone from the inner wall. It was extremely difficult to see through that disguise and notice that she was from the slum city. Sheryl moved so naturally as if the mood around her did not affect her at all. With that amazing dress boosting her already attractive body, Sheryl looked like a rich lady. The armed young boy and the armed man next to her only served to deepen that misunderstanding since they looked like Sheryl’s bodyguards, those two were Erio and Darris.

Erio could not completely hide his nervousness, the nuance of the Hunter Office’s main branch overwhelmed him as he looked around nervously while breaking into a cold sweat.

Sheryl then said to Erio to calm him down.

“Erio, take a deep breath and try to calm down. It’s not like this place is dangerous. As a matter of fact, this place is way safer than the back alley of the slum city. So there’s no need to be afraid.”

“A-alright. But still, I’m sure you can understand it, right? Or more like, how can you be this calm?”

Erio looked at Sheryl who did not give off any nervous vibe and he could feel a sense of admiration and amazement. Sheryl was also a slum city child, just like him. Judging from that point of view, both of them were not supposed to be there. It was common for slum children to be kicked out from a building by some armed guards.

[…Well, Sheryl became the boss of the gang after she negotiated with that Akira, that in itself is amazingly brave. It reminds me again that she’s unlike those common slum children… But now that I think about it, those common slum children won’t even think of striking a deal with the Hunter who destroyed their own gang, huh…]

The girl who was once just a common slum city girl in the past had become a beautiful girl clad in a beautiful dress as if they were living in completely different worlds. Seeing that girl in front of her, Erio somehow felt a bit complicated.

Sheryl then warned him.

“If you stay like that, there’s no mistaking that someone would call the guard to kick you out. So try to act casual.”

“I know… I know, but….”

“Take some deep breaths until you can calm down.”

Darris smiled bitterly and said.

“Can I go now? I know you guys are having a hard time here, but I’m busy, you know.”

Sheryl replied.

“Sure. Thank you very much for taking us here.”

“Alright, later then. I’ll still be somewhere inside the building. If anything happens, you guys can just call me, and if you can’t reach me, just call Katsuragi. We’ll meet up again when it’s time to head back.”

“Okay.”

Darris glanced at Sheryl, smiled, and said.

“…Well, as long as you have that dress and stay here, I bet no one would cause you any trouble. This place is the Hunter Office after all, so I’m sure no one here is foolish enough to cause a ruckus. But still, women are scary, they can completely transform. Had I not known you in the past, I would’ve been fooled too. Geez, scary scary…”

Sheryl smiled gracefully.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s a dress that I received as a present from Akira after all.”

Darris smiled bitterly and waved his hand at Sheryl before leaving. Although he took her there due to Katsuragi’s order, he had no plans to accompany her doing the troublesome administration work. So, he was planning to pass time in the shops upstairs.

A strong looking bodyguard had left that knock-off rich lady’s envoy. While the weak-looking bodyguard still looked quite nervous. Everyone’s attention in that area focused on Sheryl and Erio. The main branch of the Hunter Office was often visited by people from both outside and inside the wall. Sometimes, there were even people from companies too. As such, even if Sheryl was indeed a rich lady, it was not a rare sight at all.

Sheryl looked at Erio and said.

“Do you want to talk about something for a little while until you can calm down? If you are this nervous, people won’t believe that you’re my bodyguard. And if that’s impossible for you, I still need you to do your job properly to protect me. That’s exactly why I brought you here with me, you know?”

“Yeah, I know…”

Erio was there to protect Sheryl. At a glance, he seemed to be using a pretty good armour and he was carrying a powerful gun which could be used even without an augmented suit. Sheryl got that equipment by making a deal with Katsuragi. So, looking at Erio, most of the Hunters in that area would think that he was a pretty well equipped young Hunter.

But it was all just a disguise, his armour was needlessly heavy with almost no worth as protection, the aim on his gun was defective and his gun was broken that it might explode when used, Katsuragi even warned them not to try using it since that would be extremely dangerous. Going out to the wasteland with that equipment was simply suicidal.

Erio himself had no skills to protect Sheryl in the first place, but it was still safer than coming alone. Although it was only for putting up an appearance, it was still way better than having nothing. And of course, inside that Hunter Office building, there was no one foolish enough to think of testing Erio’s skill. After all, causing trouble inside that building was the same as picking a fight against the Hunter Office.

Erio tried to think of a subject to talk about to help him calm down, but he ended up thinking about why they were there in the first place.

“By the way, I wonder what Akira-san is busy with. If he would accompany you, you won’t even need me here.”

Sheryl calmly replied back.

“…It’s for a Hunter job.”

“Well, I already know that much. But like, I wonder if it’s that important to even turn down your request.”

“…It’s not like I pleaded with him to accompany me. Moreover, I can’t just keep asking him to come with me every time I want to go to the lower district, right? Although I asked Katsuragi-san to have Darris-san accompany us this time, I eventually would rely on you and the other gang members. So you better get used to it while you still have the chance.”

“Of course, but still… Hunter job, huh…”

Erio thought that it was perfectly understandable for a Hunter to be busy doing his or her Hunter job. But it could not be something that important, at least, it would not be enough for a reason to refuse a request from Sheryl, Akira’s lover, to accompany her for a bit and to make sure that she was safe.

[If Alicia asks me the same thing, I would definitely prioritize her as long as I don’t have anything too important.]

As Erio thought, ‘if it was him and her girlfriend’, he looked a bit confused, his expression was saying that he found something weird.

Right at that moment, Sheryl suddenly stopped smiling and whispered to Erio.

“Erio, are you, by any chance, suspecting my relation with Akira?”

Her calm voice hid her anger, the usual sparkle in her eyes that would mesmerize any boys had disappeared. She sent a cold and dark gaze to Erio.

Erio fl.u.s.teredly refuted.

“No! Of course not! It’s a misunderstanding!! It’s the opposite!! I just thought that although both of you are so close, it was rather unexpected that you would give up… I mean… I mean it is a reason to go on a date with him! But well, I guess that’s understandable, after all, it might be best to stop bothering him all the time… I mean… it must have been a sudden request to Akira, and he was busy, right?!”

Erio was being desperate, it was rather unclear whether there was a need to change his wordings like that or it was just simply because he was trying to come up with an excuse on the fly.

Sheryl herself understood that her gang could not survive had Akira not supported her. That’s why Erio was trying his best to readjust his wordings since he thought that he might worsen the relation between Akira and Sheryl.

Sheryl understood that very well, but that was not enough to abate her irritation.

Sheryl did try to push her request when she asked Akira, but she was coldly rejected. Akira did not even consider her request, he had no intention to change his current plans just because Sheryl and her gang asked him something. So, he flatly rejected Sheryl’s request.

But her current irritation actually stemmed from her uneasiness. She was feeling uneasy about whether she could become someone important to Akira before he changed his mind. She was doing her best to do that, but she did not know whether she would even make it or that she was even already too late. She had no idea if that was the reason why her request was rejected this time.

Sheryl somehow returned her expression back to normal, she then smiled and said to Erio.

“Well, I guess that’s fine. If that’s the case… Just so you know, unnecessary misunderstanding tends to cause trouble later.”

“Y-yeah, I’m glad that I can clear up that misunderstanding. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Erio sighed in relief. His nervousness coming from being inside the Hunter Office had also disappeared.

Sheryl had finished half of the administration work beforehand. She just needed to wait for the Hunter Office to finish their part of the work. Sheryl and Erio were sitting on a bench on the first floor of that building while waiting for the Hunter Office to finish.

Sheryl was spending her time thinking about her plans for the future. To be more precise, she was thinking about what to do to sell the relics that Akira asked her to. She was working on her information terminal to reevaluate, revise, and refine that plan.

If she could make that plan successful, she might be able to be someone not worth abandoning to Akira. It might also be a chance to deepen their relationship even more. Sheryl thought so as she put her best efforts working on her plan.

As Sheryl was extremely focused working on her information terminal, somebody suddenly called her.

“…Oh, as I thought, that’s really Sheryl! Sheryl!!”

A group of 3 Hunters walked toward Sheryl. It was Katsuya who looked rather happy, Yumina who just smiled bitterly, and the as expressionless as always Airi.

When Sheryl noticed them, she stood up from her bench. She then smiled and greeted Katsuya who came all the way next to her.

“Long time no see, I’m glad that everyone seems to be doing well.”

Katsuya looked at Sheryl’s smile and blushed. That dazzling smile decorating her pretty face was the result of Sheryl’s hard work training herself.

Katsuya stood in front of Sheryl and happily said.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m really happy to be able to see you again.”

After he said that, Katsuya noticed Erio next to Sheryl.

“…Uhhh, who’s that guy?”

Erio got fl.u.s.tered when Katsuya looked at him. It might be just him, but for some reason, Erio felt that Katsuya’s gaze at him was not a friendly one.

Erio’s equipment and appearance was the epitome of what most Hunters usually mocked Katsuya and his team for. Just an inexperienced young Hunter using good equipment, or a stupid young Hunter misunderstanding the power of his own equipment as his own skill. Or at least, that was what Katsuya thought, and that might be unconsciously irritating him. Or it might be simply because he did not like the fact that a guy he did not think suitable for Sheryl was standing next to her. Whichever it was, Katsuya could not give a friendly gaze to Erio.

They then introduced themselves to Erio.

“Ahh, I’m Katsuya, a Drankam Hunter. My Hunter Rank is 36.”

“I’m Yumina. I’m also a Drankam Hunter just like Katsuya.”

“Airi, same.”

Erio panicked even more, the people standing in front of him were not just Hunters by appearance, they were real Hunters. Moreover, it seemed that Katsuya was putting some kind of pressure on him. Although there was no way he would kill him, it was still scary for Erio.

Erio tried his best to make a calm expression as he nervously said the line he had previously decided with Sheryl beforehand.

“…I was told not to speak.”

Erio only said that and looked away from Katsuya’s group. It might be because he was too nervous that he sounded rather rude.

Katsuya got even more irritated by Erio’s answer. He might have thought that it sounded like an answer that someone would give to mock other people.

Sheryl apologetically said to Katsuya.

“My apologies, he’s my bodyguard. He was told not to talk with other people unless it’s absolutely necessary since it might disrupt his duty as my bodyguard. So please let me apologize in his stead.”

Sheryl bowed to Katsuya and his friends, Katsuya fl.u.s.teredly replied.

“Ah, no. If that’s the case, it can’t be helped then, right?”

Katsuya looked at Airi and Yumina, asking for their support.

“Yep, it can’t be helped if that’s the case. We’re sorry too.”

“Duty is important, it can’t be helped.”

Yumina and Airi returned back to their usual self as they saw Sheryl bowing to apologize to them.

Sheryl raised her head and smiled while thanking them.

“Thank you very much… As for him, well, it might be rude to say this, but please don’t interact too much with him. He’s not used to his job yet, that’s why he’s high-strung right now.”

“It’s alright, you don’t need to feel bad about it.”

Katsuya blushed when he said that.

[Well, Sheryl did say that if I annoy her acquaintance, it might cause her to hate me too. So let’s be careful about that. Alright then.]