Chapter 177: A Request To Readjust Hunter Rank (1/2)

Akira made a promise to Kibayashi to meet up with him in front of the Kugama building. The first time Akira saw that tall and huge building that was stuck into the inner wall, he was utterly amazed by its majesty. But after all this time, he already got used to it, which also signified his growth.

Akira was happily waiting for Kibayashi. At first, Kibayashi only said that he had something he needed to talk about with him, but then Akira said to at least treat him to a meal or something, and now they promised to meet up in front of the Kugama building. Akira could not help but get a bit excited.

Kibayashi appeared right on time. They then went into the Kugama building and into a restaurant on the first floor before picking a seat randomly.

“You can go ahead and order anything you want. I’ll put it on tab anyway and it’s not like I’m paying for it either. So feel free to choose from the most expensive ones first.”

“Eh? Ah, sure…”

Unlike Kibayashi who was in a very good mood, Akira seemed rather disappointed. Kibayashi smiled amusedly at that.

“What’s wrong? Were you expecting to go to a high-class restaurant or something? That’s out of the question, you know. Although the City Management would pay for it, it’s not like I have an unlimited budget. Unless it’s for a negotiation with a high-ranking Hunter, they won’t let me spend that much money, you see. But if you tell me that you would treat me, I don’t mind going somewhere else, you know?”

Akira silently browsed the menu as he started looking for the most expensive dishes that he could order there as if he had some grudge against Kibayashi. Kibayashi who saw that could not help but find it amusing.

After they finished placing their orders, Akira immediately cut to the chase.

“So then, what is it you want to talk about?”

“Actually, there are a lot, but I guess I’ll start with the investigation first.”

“Investigation?”

“You do know that there was a huge fight in the slum not too long ago, right? So why exactly were you involved in that battle?”

“In the first place, why does it sound like it’s already a given that I was involved in that battle?”

Akira tried to play ignorant, which might be because he was a bit annoyed after his expectation of getting a good meal was completely missed.

But in reality, Akira himself did not deny that he had killed many people and fought fiercely in that battle. He also knew that the Hunter Office preferred Hunters to behave nicely and he did something that deviated from the Hunter Office’s preference. So a part of him was telling him that there was no reason to proactively talk about that subject with the Hunter Office.

Kibayashi then pulled out his information terminal, clicked some buttons, and put it on top of the table. Akira looked at the video playing on that information terminal and frowned. Kibayashi smiled happily seeing that Akira reacted as he predicted.

“Well, although it’s actually a secret videotape, it’s not that big of a secret. And since you’re involved in this incident, it should be fine.”

Kibayashi’s information terminal was showing the video of Akira fighting a black powered suit.

“In all honesty, I’m really glad to find that you’re as reckless as ever. I had a good laugh the first time I saw this record, you know?”

Akira lightly ruffled his head.

“How did you get this video?”

“I only got it from my superiors, and I have no idea how they got it. Someone might have been recording you from afar using a telescope or something from above the wall. Or it might be from some secret cameras planted somewhere that coincidentally recorded this video. Well, either way, I bet the City Management has something to do with it.”

Akira let out a big sigh, he had a given up face as he started explaining to Kibayashi.

Kibayashi listened closely to Akira’s explanation. After that, he said to Akira as he tried his best to hold back his laughter, which obviously he was not doing very well.

“U-Uh, s-so, I get it that you went there to save your girlfriend. It’s not that strange for people to be moved by love, especially for a young boy like you. B-But still, no kidding here, did you really fight that powered suit just to kill a pickpocket? Are you okay in the head? Ah, don’t take this wrongly please, I’m actually complimenting you here, you know? After all, your action and line of thinking are as reckless as always and I really like it.”

Akira looked obviously annoyed.

“Just so you know, it’s not like I did that because I wanted to.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”

Kibayashi then laughed hard again. Before he continued, he noticed that Akira was pouting and thought that it might affect the thing that he was about to bring up next. So he tried his best to calm down.

“Well, I get why you’re in that place now. Personally speaking, I respect your decision, so you have my condolences, that must have been hard… Geez, can you stop pouting like that? That aside, I’m sure you do know that the Hunter Office puts their effort into cultivating good manners among Hunters, so it would be troublesome if there’s a Hunter who can win against a powered suit only with an augmented suit and is willing to do that just for money. After all, there are quite a lot of Hunters out there who are talented in fighting other people but could not do well exploring the ruins. So it’s our duty to give them jobs that would help to keep public order while at the same time keeping them away from doing anything that might disturb it.”

“Is that so? So you’re basically here to give me a job as security or something, huh?”

“Calm down. There, the meals are here, so let’s calm down and enjoy the food for now.”

Kibayashi extended his hand to the food in front of him, Akira also did the same although he still looked annoyed.

Akira’s mood was getting better as he continued eating. Although it was not a meal from a high-class restaurant, it was still a good meal. So every time he brought a spoonful to his mouth, his mood was slowly getting better and better.

Kibayashi closely monitored the change in Akira’s mood before bringing up the next subject.

“Now then, since we’ve filled our stomach, let’s get to the main topic.”

“Huh? That one just now was not the main topic?”

“Yup. But I can’t really say that it’s not related to the main topic at all. The main reason I wanted to meet you is to talk about a certain request. Well, although I said ‘to talk about’, it’s actually something close to compulsory. So, let me apologize beforehand. As long as you don’t want to pick a fight against the City Management, I recommend you not to refuse it.”

Akira slightly frowned and was obviously alerted. Kibayashi smiled bitterly in an effort to calm the situation down.

“You don’t need to be that alert. I actually like you quite a fair bit, you know. So I won’t give you any weird requests. And also, although I said it’s compulsory, normally, most of the Hunters would be more than happy to accept this request, you see. After all, it’s a request to help you readjust your Hunter Rank. Basically, it’s a request to boost your Hunter Rank.”

“Boost my Hunter Rank?”

“Yup… Let me ask you this first, you do know your current Hunter Rank, right?”

“If I’m not mistaken…”

Before Akira was able to pull his Hunter Rank out from his memory, Alpha interjected.

“It’s 30.”

“Hm? Wasn’t it 29?”

“The relics that you brought to Shizuka the other day got you to 30.”

“I see.”

So after that short pause, Akira said firmly.

“It’s 30.”

Kibayashi obviously looked exasperated since Akira took that weird pause before he answered.

“Good grief, there are not that many Hunters out there who can’t immediately give their Hunter Ranks when asked. You really don’t care about it, do you? No wonder why people thought you’re faking your Hunter Rank.”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“If it really didn’t matter, we won’t be talking here and now about raising your Hunter Rank, you know? Since this is a good chance, I’ll explain the rest to you regarding that matter. So listen carefully.”

To Akira, who still looked slightly annoyed, Kibayashi started explaining about the matter of Hunter Rank and the request that he was about to ask Akira.

The strength of the Hunters in the eastern district was represented by their Hunter Ranks. Of course, Hunters of the same Hunter Rank did not mean that those Hunters were equally strong. There were many other factors that defined one’s strength such as their equipment, experiences, and their talents or preferences. Although it was impossible to make sure that Hunters with the same rank had the exact same level of strength, the Hunter Office tried its best to readjust the Hunter Rank as a good indicator for Hunter’s skill.

The Hunter Rank was also a good thing for those who submitted requests for Hunters such as for bodyguards or escorts. Since that way, they could decide which Hunters to employ and how much reward to offer those Hunters based on the difficulty of the monsters that they might encounter and their Hunter Ranks.

Other than that, Hunter Ranks were also used for so many other things such as transferring Hunters between cities, deciding the level of difficulties and danger for different areas, or recruitment into private military companies. The accuracy of the Hunter Rank system was an important thing for the eastern district that was filled with Hunters as well as the Hunter Office and the Corporate Government that was ruling over the eastern district.

But with that being said, there were very rare cases in the eastern district where some Hunters showed abnormal strength that was far from their Hunter Rank. The ranking system would only grow worse if they left those Hunters alone which might lead to a full breakdown of the ranking system.

The ranking system was highly valued and the Hunter Office held the sole rights to calculate, decide, and assign that ranking system. That was the power of the Hunter Office as well as a way for the Hunter Office to assert control over those Hunters.

“So that’s basically the gist of it, we want someone like you with a big gap between your Hunter Rank and your real strength to get your Hunter Rank to a more suitable number. But with that being said, it’s not like we can just pull up your Hunter Rank either. That’s why we dispatch this request in order to readjust your Hunter Rank. You get it now?”

“I feel like I get it but not exactly at the same time…”

“Just accept the request. Or is it that you have a reason why you don’t want to get a higher Hunter Rank?”

“Not really, if I have to say anything here, I prefer you pay me in form of money instead of Hunter Rank.”