Chapter 142: Shizuka’s worry (1/2)

Sheryl took an information terminal from her desk, it was the information terminal that Akira left there the other day.

“I’m returning this. It is a hard game, but it was interesting. Thank you very much.”

Sheryl gave her impression about the game and returned the information terminal back to Akira. It was indeed just a game, but it was also a relic hunting simulation based on Akira’s real skill, a training tool using a top-down simulation. Akira lent that to Sheryl since it seemed she was interested in it yesterday.

When he heard that Sheryl also thought that it was a difficult game, Akira made a troubled face and said.

“…Yeah, you’re right, it’s really a difficult game.”

Saying that the game was hard was similar to saying that Akira’s skill that was reflected onto the main character in the game was still way too underdeveloped. Although Akira himself understood that very well, it still hurt him a bit when he was reminded of it.

[It’s true that I still have a long way to go. I guess I have no other choice but to get better equipment, train myself up, and gather more experience, huh.]

Sheryl thought that it was simply a game. That was why she did not think much about it as she said to Akira.

“Yes, it was an interesting but difficult game. It took me some time before I could clear it.”

“Eh!?”

Akira was taken aback by what Sheryl said. Sheryl was also surprised by Akira’s reaction.

Akira was so dumbfounded that he could only react awkwardly.

“You… Cleared it?”

“Y-yes.”

Sheryl, who saw that, replied back awkwardly too. It was indeed a difficult game, but there was no reason for Akira to be that surprised, at least that was what she thought since she did not know anything more than that.

Akira opened the menu to check the previous play sessions of the game. He was so surprised that he was not able to nimbly navigate through the menus, so instead Alpha took over and quickly brought up the history menu.

Alpha scanned the history list and said.

“Yep, she did clear it, the score is turned to a plus.”

It was really surprising for Akira.

“…So it was really possible to clear it with that difficulty, huh?”

Alpha smiled and faked a pout.

“Oh my, did you really think that I would set it to a difficulty that you can’t clear?”

“W-well, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Akira flusteredly said that it was not true, but somewhere deep inside his heart, he really thought so, after all, it was really difficult.

But now that he knew it was possible to clear it in that difficulty, it made him wonder how to do it, and the person who could answer that question was right in front of him now.

Akira pushed the information terminal that he just received back to Sheryl.

“Sheryl, can you try to clear it again?”

“Sure.”

Sheryl found Akira’s sudden mood change to a more serious one rather weird, but then, she replied with a smile.

Sheryl sat on the sofa and played the game to clear it one more time, Akira sat next to her, he had his eyes fixed on the information terminal on Sheryl’s hand. Sheryl had once sat on Akira’s lap while facing in his direction, so Akira thought that she would not mind him getting that close and prioritized more on a position where he could comfortably look at the information terminal.

But Akira’s guess was wrong, Sheryl actually was a bit bothered by that. She continued playing the game while holding back her embarrassment and delight. For Sheryl, who thought that she overdid it the other day, Akira was too close this time. And it was not Sheryl who took the initiative, it was Akira, and that fact alone made her face glow with happiness.

[Close, way too close.]

In order so that he could get a good look on the monitor, Akira tried to line up his vision with Sheryl’s, so of course, Akira put his face close to Sheryl’s. Since they did not cover anything from their neck up, they were close enough to feel each other’s skin warmth.

If Sheryl said that Akira was making it more difficult to play the game, or even if Sheryl showed any sign that she was bothered, Akira would normally get some distance. She tried her best not to show it while continuing to play the game in silence as her cheeks went slightly reddish.

Fortunately, the game did not need Sheryl’s continuous attention or any time-sensitive actions. So even if she was a bit in disarray, it did not affect her performance in the game, she just needed to be extra careful and take extra time before making any decisions. Following that, the Akira in the game started to slowly and carefully explore the old-world ruin.

The reason why the Akira in the game could make dangerous moves as if he could read the future was simply because Sheryl had cleared that game a few times, so she knew what would come afterwards. Of course, it was not something that she could overcome only by knowing that it was coming, but if she knew what she would face, it would help her overcome that danger.

Akira closely observed the movements of the Akira inside that game and asked Alpha a question.

“As I thought, even if you know that it’s coming, it’s still not easy.”

Alpha mischievously smiled and replied.

“So in short, it means that even if you have the ability to read the future, it’s still a difficult thing to return back alive from the dangerous old-world ruin.”

Akira got dejected. He understood and completely agreed with what Alpha said, he also knew well that he should not feel prideful about his skill nor belittle whatever he faced. But still, it was discouraging to get reminded of that.

Now then, putting aside the real Akira, the Akira in the game did not find much trouble exploring the ruin. Eventually, he got some relics and left the ruin. The ammo and medicines that he used during the exploration, his wounds, the time that he took to explore the ruin, and the number of relics that he brought back, all of them were translated into his score. The black-coloured score points showed that he ended up with a positive score, and with that, Sheryl cleared the game.

Akira who saw that Sheryl cleared the game casually complimented her.

“That’s impressive!”

Sheryl blushed.

“Thank you very much.”

Sheryl glanced at Akira, it seemed that his mood had considerably turned for the better.

[It seems that Akira has been completely cheered up. Is he really that interested in this game? I guess I’ll put in some effort to investigate about this game later.]

Sheryl thought that she should look about that game in the network later. But sadly enough, that game was made by Alpha, so there was no information about that game that she could find in the network.

Sheryl was about to return back the information terminal to Akira, but Akira stopped her.

“I’m lending that to you, so you can use it for the time being.”

“Are you sure? It looks like an expensive information terminal though.”

“Yeah, you can use it as your usual information terminal. I’ve also changed its provider from the free provider, so you should be able to reach me even when the line is busy. Well, what can I say… You can just think of it as a reward for clearing that game… And also, if you have the time, you can play that game and aim for a higher score.”

“I understand, I’ll hold on to it dearly… If I can get a better score, can I get a better reward next time?”

“It depends on the score.”

Sheryl was joking when she said that and Akira replied while giving Sheryl a smile.

Akira then left Sheryl’s base. The sun was about to set, the slum city slowly but surely blanketed in darkness. But it was not like the slum city would be covered in total darkness once the sun was out. As people had created lights to help their lives, there would be some places that would radiate light. But even so, it did not change the fact that the slum city would get more dangerous once the night fell compared to when it was in the middle of the day. When the light that illuminated the world was gone, those who hid under the shadows would start to make their moves.

Akira was walking through the slum city at that moment when the world shifted from light to darkness.

He was walking while talking with Alpha.

“I wonder if I can explore the old-world ruin without your support if I can clear that game.”

The Akira in that game was the reflection of his real skill. So what he said was not exactly wrong.

Alpha smiled smugly and said.

“Of course, that is if you can easily clear that game. But in that case, you’ll have to make decisions in an instant, you have no way to know the position of your enemies beforehand, your life will be over if you make even a single mistake, basically, it would be a one-try only game with no chance of retry, you sure you want to give it a try?”

“No thanks.”

Akira’s answer was swift and instantaneous. If that game’s difficulty level was increased to be as close to reality as possible, that would be the kind of game that he would play. And of course, the real world would be even more difficult than that.

Alpha then continued with her smug smile.

“Just to let you know, I do all kinds of things to support you during your Hunter work. And that’s including giving you instructions to make sure that you won’t get killed, refining your movements by controlling your augmented suit, and many other things too.”

Alpha was still smiling mischievously at Akira and he returned with a wry smile.

“Thank you for all your help.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Alpha smiled satisfied after hearing the words that she was waiting for.

Akira suddenly grabbed the hand of the man next to him, and that man had Akira’s wallet in his hand.

Akira’s face twitched out of anger as he mumbled.

“…Again, huh?”

Akira took back his wallet and kicked that man, he made sure to hold back so as not to kill that man.

That man was also aiming for Akira after he got the information from the information broker. But the information that man gave to Akira was different compared to the last one.

This time the rumour said that Akira was a kind Hunter who let go of the girl who stole his wallet since she was just a little girl. So even if that man got caught, Akira would just forgive him if he apologized. That man trusted that information and went for Akira.

The reason why Akira backed off when that young girl stole his wallet was just because he had no other choice when the Hunters backing that girl confronted him. He lightly threatened that man and told him to tell the information broker what he just said there.

Akira kicked that man 3 times before he let that man go, so that man dragged himself in pain and somehow managed to leave that place.

This time, Akira did not share his medicine. When he kicked that man, he had no plans to kill that man but he did not care if that man died. If that man was unlucky, he would die before he could convey Akira’s message to the information broker.

The reason why Akira let him go was because he did not try to shoot Akira when Akira caught him. Had he aimed his gun at Akira, Akira would have killed that man.

He was livid, but he was still able to think calmly. Akira did not lose his cool like last time, the fact that he was able to prevent his wallet from getting stolen twice with his own skill helped him to calm down.

Akira suddenly asked Alpha a question.

“Alpha, do I look like an easy target to them?”

“No idea, but at least, you don’t seem like a veteran Hunter.”

“Well, I know that too, but still…”

Akira seemed to be slightly dejected. Alpha then made some remarks about another thing unrelated to his outlook.

“Rather than your outlook, I think the main reason is the fact that an information broker is selling info about what happened back there. You’re just a boy, the pickpocket was just a girl, 100,000 Aurum is a rather big sum of money for those in the slums. You were able to catch her, but, leaving the reason aside, you couldn’t get your money back. If you look from that point of view, it’s understandable that people easily misunderstand your real skill. Since you are seen as just a mere child, the information about you would be quite cheap. Especially if the ones spreading it believe that you are incapable of retaliating. So, those that are seeking a target would most likely end up buying information about you.”

“…What a pain in the neck!”

Not only the people who bought it from the information brokers but the fact was that this info must have spread across slum city as rumour by now. A lot of people would be preying on Akira from here and on out. At least, until the rumour died down naturally or something happened that overwrote it.

Akira exasperatedly sighed.

Shizuka closed her shop at a prefixed time every day. The private security company that she was in contract with also recommended her to do so. Although her shop was located in the lower district where it was relatively safe, once the night fell, the area would still become dangerous. Both for the sake of her own safety, as well as to lessen the work needed to be done by the private security company responsible for the area, it was important to close the shop during the night.

When Shizuka was about to close the door, Akira suddenly appeared.

“Is the shop already closed for today?”

Shizuka noticed Akira and threw him a smile.

“Hm? Don’t worry, come in.”

“…Is it really okay?”

Akira looked a bit apologetic, Shizuka smiled teasingly at Akira and said to him.