Chapter 139: The New Guy and His Doubt (1/2)

Akira arrived at the stall where there was a problem. Over there, Revin was quarrelling with a young boy.

And that young boy was trying to get Revin to leave.

“As I said, I can’t take you to the main shop! So just give up, will you!? It’s not like I can do anything about it no matter how much you ask me! It’s the decision from the boss!”

Revin raised his voice as he said to that boy.

“I told you that I’ve gone there once before!! I’m someone who has permission to go there!! So just take me there!!”

“No means no! It would be really bad for me if I go against the Boss’ wish!! Can you at least understand that for me?!”

That young boy was given the duty to filter customers to be brought to the secret shop by Sheryl. But the current Hunter in front of him now was someone that he should not bring back to the base no matter how you look at it. His desperation, temperament and behaviour were obviously telling that boy not to bring that Hunter to the secret shop. Not to mention, he did not even try to buy the relics in the stand nor to pay the entrance fee, so he did not seem to have much money either.

If that boy brought Revin to the base and then if Revin caused some trouble back in the base, he would be held responsible for that. In the worst-case scenario, he might get kicked out of the gang. So when that boy thought of that possibility, he knew that he could not bring Revin back to the base no matter what.

But on the other hand, Revin would not back down. If he got violent there, he could beat the crap out of that young boy. That boy panicked, he knew that he was stuck between 2 hard places, the intimidation of the Hunter in front of him and the order from his boss.

Akira seemed to have remembered seeing that Hunter somewhere as he mumbled.

“What the heck is he doing?”

When that young boy noticed Akira, his face immediately turned teary, he was so happy to the point that he was about to cry. He then waved at Akira.

“O-over here!! Please help me!!”

Revin immediately noticed Akira and inadvertently said.

“Geh!? Why are you here!?”

Revin remembered Akira very well. He met Akira back in Yonozuka station ruin and Akira was the exact reason why he was in the current situation. Akira was also the one that Katsuragi would ask for to collect his debt when the time came.

Revin’s face puckered as Akira walked toward him.

[…Is he here to collect the debt?! No, that can’t be, right? I’m sure he’s not here to collect the debt!]

Akira then asked Revin.

“I was told that there was a problem here, so, here I am, what’s going on?”

At least Revin knew for sure now that Akira was not here to collect the debt. He was so relieved as he replied.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Really? If it’s really nothing, can you just leave then?”

Even if Akira said that, it was not like Revin could just give up and leave. After all, if he got lucky, this might be his chance to pay all of his debts in one go.

“Uhmm, what’s your connection with these guys by the way?”

The young boy immediately answered.

“Isn’t it obvious, already? He’s one of us!!”

“No, that’s not exactly true though?”

But Akira immediately denied what that boy said. Revin saw how that young boy and Erio were so surprised by what Akira just said. So then he tried to put more pressure on Akira.

“If you’re not one of them, then this is none of your business, don’t butt in. Or are you here trying to be a good samaritan helping them?”

“I’m not one of them, but I have a relationship with their boss. So basically I’m here because their boss asked me to.”

Revin had a bad feeling when he heard Akira’s reply. He sounded scared as he asked Akira another question.

“…Don’t tell me that their boss is Katsuragi.”

“Nope, it’s Sheryl.”

“Fuuh, don’t scare me like that.”

“Hm? Does Katsuragi have something to do with this? I heard that Sheryl used Katsuragi’s connection to open the bank account for the shop… Or what was it again?”

Akira was trying to remember what Sheryl had said to him, while he was doing that, Revin’s face turned paler and paler.

Akira suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Revin.

“Ahhh, since you’re asking me if their boss is Katsuragi, that means this problem has something to do with Katsuragi, right? Can you give me a sec? I’ll check with Katsuragi.”

Revin flusteredly tried to stop Akira.

“No no no! Stop! I get it! I’ll leave! So don’t do anything, okay?! Just don’t! I’m leaving! Alright?! This problem here, ends here, okay?! Bye!”

After Revin desperately pleaded Akira to stop, he immediately ran away.

Akira saw that Revin had left and tilted his head as he mumbled.

“…What the heck was that?”

There was no one there who could answer Akira’s question.

After Revin distanced himself away from Akira, he let out a big sigh.

[…That was dangerous. If Katsuragi found out, this would definitely cause some problems later. It’s a good thing that now I know Katsuragi might have something to do with that stand… Now that I can’t get close to that place, what should I do…?]

Revin started to have a headache. In order to prevent his debt from growing any bigger, he could not just give up here.

[…It was just a trump card in the end. So I should be able to find a similar thing in another stand or shop, right? After all, that Sheryl was selling that trump card without knowing its true value. If I try to look around, I’m sure I’ll find something similar somewhere. And if that story is true, then it doesn’t have to be a trump, anything that can be used for gambling should work fine, right? I feel like I should be able to find something good enough somewhere…]

Revin picked himself up and planned to use the new information that he got from Kurogin to pay for his debt.

“…Alright then!”

He decided to look around the shops and stands in the slum for another hidden gem.

Not too long after that, a rumour was circulating about a certain man who was visiting stands and shops in the slum city, asking for peculiar things like a trump card set. It was a common happening when a rumour of an unexpectedly expensive relic was found, as just like usual, there were people who got lured by that rumour.

Sheryl was playing the game on Akira’s information terminal inside her private room. At the moment, she failed all of her trials. When she started to think that it was not because she was not good enough but more because the game was too difficult, Erio returned.

Sheryl stopped playing the game and let them in. Erio and Tiol came in, Erio then gave Sheryl his report.

“The problem in the stand ended without any trouble. The guy who caused the problem seems to know Akira-san, although, I don’t really understand the detail.”

Sheryl, who just heard that it seemed there was trouble with Akira’s acquaintance, looked at Erio with a serious expression and asked.

“I see, so it was Akira’s acquaintance, huh… Are you sure that there’s no problem at all?”

“Yeah. Although he knows Akira-san, it doesn’t seem like they are friends, I’m pretty sure it was solved just fine. For some reason, he just left after talking to Akira-san for a bit.”

“Well, that’s fine then.”

It did not seem like Erio was lying at all. So Sheryl could feel safe, at least for now. She actually wanted to ask Akira directly, just to be safe, but she immediately noticed that Akira was not present.

“Where’s Akira?”

“Akira-san just went back home after that. That’s why we closed the stand too. We can’t do anything if something were to happen without Akira-san around after all.”

“I see, so… Did Akira really return back home? He left his information terminal here though, did he forget about it?”

“No, he did remember, he said that it’s okay since he has other information terminals.”

“I see, well then. Thanks for the report, you can go ahead and take a rest.”

Sheryl smiled and thanked Erio and Tiol. Tiol blushed and got flustered for a bit, but his face immediately regained its seriousness as he asked.

“Boss, there’s something that I want to ask, is it okay?”

“What is it?”

“Uhmm, what is your relation with Akira?”

“What do you mean by that? We’re lovers. Didn’t we tell you that too when you joined the gang?”

Sheryl answered back casually as if to say that it was weird for Tiol to ask something so obvious.

Seeing that, Tiol hesitated from saying what he was about to say next. But his curiosity and a glimmer of hope inside him pushed him to speak up.

“…Is that really true?”

Sheryl’s mood suddenly worsened the moment she heard Tiol’s question.

Sheryl’s smile for her friend from the same gang who had gone through thick and thin together with her completely vanished from her face, in exchange, her smile turned dark and ominous. It was obvious that she was looking at Tiol with hostility.

She then asked with a cold and low voice.

“…What do you mean by that question?”