The lower district of the Kugamayama city was vast, the public order was more or less as bad as the wasteland. And in the area that had even worse public order, there were some organizations with strong economic power doing illegal businesses. They employed powerful military power to control the other smaller organizations within that area. Ezont Family was one such organization, its territory expanded from the slum city all the way to the lower district.
Ezont family's base was located in a certain mansion that was in the boundary between the slum city and the wasteland. That mansion demonstrated the power of the organization and the most important thing was not the size of the mansion.
There was no shortage of land in the eastern district, and with the advancement of technology, people could build mansions relatively cheap. But it was a whole different problem whether it was safe or not for them to do so. The main reason why the land inside the inner wall was expensive, was simply because it was safer. Having a mansion right next to the wasteland meant exposing it to monster's attacks, it showed that they had enough money to pay for the people to guard that mansion, unlike those countless small gangs scattered inside the city.
In a large guest room inside that mansion, the boss of the Ezont family, Rogelt, was sitting while thinking hard. On the other side of the table, in front of him, Viola was smiling like usual.
Rogelt had his men standing guard behind him, while Viola had Carol standing guard behind her. They were all armed.
Rogelt looked at the four pictures on top of the tables while immersed in his thoughts, his gaze then returned to Viola.
Viola tried to analyze his gaze; if it was saying that there was a chance for negotiation or not as she happily said.
"So then, what do you think?"
"It's not a bad offer."
Two of the pictures were of Akira and Katsuya. Akira looked slightly annoyed in that picture, while Katsuya was smiling as if that picture was taken for publicity.
"We also did some investigation about those two. That Katsuya boy has his past record properly written in the report from Drankam, so it's easy to compare it with the information that you brought in. His Hunter Rank is also pretty high. Well, basically, I'm sure he's indeed a strong Hunter. While that Akira boy, he has a rather low Hunter Rank. But I heard that he was able to fight against eight robbers all by himself recently, and if I add the information about him that you just brought in, well, I'm sure he's pretty strong too. If I can get both of them working for me, our battle against Haurias would definitely be easier. We're thankful that you even prepared a way to make them work under us."
"I'm glad that you found it interesting."
Viola said that with a bright smile, but Rogelt suddenly put some intimidation in his voice.
"So then, how much of it was your plan?"
Viola tilted her head and looked confused, but she looked rather exaggerating.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play fool with me. Even I at least know that you're not a decent human. It's your usual modus operandi to spread information that doesn't seem connected to one another at a glance in order to manipulate the situation for your own benefit, right?"
"That's a big misunderstanding. It's just that those people who bought information from me made a blunder and pinned the blame on me. They're really giving me a lot of trouble."
"Misunderstanding?"
Rogelt snorted.
"The method to control these Katsuya and Akira that you offered is basically taking hostage the girls they love. It's all good up to there, they're guys, after all. It's not strange for them to go that far for the girls they love."
The other two pictures on the table were of Alna and Sheryl. According to Viola, Akira was emotionally invested in Sheryl, whereas Katsuya was in Alna.
"But, I highly doubt that everything is a coincidence."
Rogelt started questioning Viola. He was suspicious about the information she brought in, it was hard for him to believe that it was all out of pure coincidence.
It took an unnaturally short time for people to misunderstand that Sheryl's relic shop was selling expensive relics, and the robbers even misjudged Akira to be a small fry. Sheryl wanted to take her chance with her relics shop, so she wanted to eventually reopen it, but now that Akira was going to return back to his Hunter work, she needed other people to guard her shop. If Sheryl joined Ezont Family, she could have the gang guard her shop, and Rogelt would be able to use Akira through Sheryl. After all, Akira was so invested in Sheryl to the point that he had bought an expensive dress for her and made her the boss of a gang.
As for Katsuya, he seemed to be abnormally interested in Alna who should have been just a common pickpocket. He even used the power of Drankam to protect Alna who was being hunted by Akira, but of course, that could not stay for long. If the Ezont Family gave shelter to Alna, they could make a deal with Katsuya, or if they took Alna hostage, they could use it to control him.
With all of these things mixed together, Rogelt found himself in a situation where he could easily manipulate both Katsuya and Akira. But Rogelt could not ignore the feeling that someone was setting this up.
"I admit that the information from you is accurate. But, the reason why those robbers aimed for Sheryl's shop as well as them mistaking that Akira as a weak Hunter, they're all because of the information that you spread. You manipulated them into attacking Sheryl's shop, didn't you?"
"It's just a coincidence. Another relic shop asked me to gather information about Sheryl's shop, and Shijima asked me to check Akira's real strength. So it's not like I did that because I wanted to."
"Then, how do you know that Alna is staying in one of the Drankam's mansion when it should be restricted only to Drankam members? And why have you even made some preparations to get her kicked out from there?"
"There are people inside Drankam who don't want Katsuya to get involved with a pickpocket from the slum for the sake of keeping their reputation with their sponsors in the inner wall. You should be able to at least guess that much, right?"
"…If Akira is really as strong as you make him out to be, it's strange that Alna could steal his wallet. If he's really that strong, he should have been able to stop her. And even if it is because he was caught off-guard when that happened, he should still be able to get it back if Alna was somewhere near where he could still track her down. It's also strange that Katsuya would go that far to protect that Alna. She's just a stranger to him, right? And it's not like Alna was wearing an expensive dress that might make people mistake her as a rich lady either. Not to mention that the person hunting for Alna is not just a common Hunter, Akira has even participated in hunting bounty monsters. Is this Katsuya really risking a fight against that Hunter just to help a mere lowly pickpocket? I know that he's weak with girls, but it's still unnatural, you know?"
"Even if you ask me so, I'm sure that there are times when Akira makes mistakes. His money might have gotten stolen because of that. As for that Katsuya, maybe he is just really kind and really weak to girls, you know. Even in the reports for Drankam's sponsor from the inner wall, they are highly praising Katsuya for his kindness. I also heard that he has so many girls around him that people even mock his group as the harem squad. So he might just be someone who would casually risk his life for girls."
Rogelt then continued pointing out contradictions and abnormalities in Viola's story while checking for a reaction from her. But Viola always replied casually and calmly just like usual. Eventually, Rogelt ran out of materials and found himself with nothing more to say.
"…Seriously now, can you really say that you didn't do anything else other than just gathering information?"
"If I really have to say something here, I just sent someone to check how far Katsuya would go for Alna to help me find a plan to get him to give up on her. I was also surprised when I found out that Katsuya would not give up Alna even after offering him 20 million Aurum, and when I was content that I could get some information on him, the people that I sent got killed, you know. Thanks to that, I can't collect the rest of their debts, it was a huge loss. The reason why I came here to sell this information is to make up for that loss. And since you're a reputable person, I agreed to give you the information first before you pay for it, right? I really hope that you would pay me a lot for it afterwards."
Rogelt smiled wickedly.
"I don't know about that. It's true that it's rather valuable information, but there are a lot of things that I can't just accept. So I can't really say if I would give you the amount of money that you're hoping for…"
Viola looked rather surprised, she then smiled confidently.
"Oh my, are you really going to go that far? Geez, it can't be helped then. It doesn't feel right to demand money for information that you don't find to your liking. Carol, let's leave."
Seeing how Viola was really about to leave, Rogelt suspiciously said.
"You sure you don't need the money? You suffered a big loss, right? But you don't seem desperate at all there."
Viola smiled.
"But of course, it takes a lot of money to gather information, you know. That's why, if you don't take this offer, I think I'll go bankrupt, so I'm planning to sell the same information to Haurias."
Haurias was another gang that was more or less as powerful as Ezont Family and they were in a feud against each other. They were very close to starting a full-blown war for territories. If Haurias got the same information, they might get the upper hand against the Ezont family.
"Y-you fox!"
Rogelt could not help but to raise his voice in anger, his men behind him readied their rifles in reflex. But Carol already aimed her rifle at Rogelt faster than anyone present. Rogelt frowned and made a stern face as he signalled his men to lower their rifles.
Viola smiled at Rogelt and asked.
"So then, should I leave now?"
"…Alright."
Rogelt seemed to have given up and took out his information terminal.
"There, I sent it. Go ahead and confirm it."
Viola opened her information terminal and checked her bank account, she then lightly shook her head.
"That's not enough."
"What!? Are you kidding me!? Shouldn't that be enough!?"
"That's true if it's just to pay for that information. But that's not enough to stop me from selling that information to Haurias. And also, since you even made some extra work for Carol here, I'll need to pay for her extra wage too. It's your fault, so you have to pay for that too. So with all included, let's see, you'll need to pay me 50% more than what you just transferred."
In contrast to Rogelt who looked pretty angry, Viola was smiling as if she just confirmed her victory.
"That's your fault for doing something that you shouldn't have back there. Or is it that you want me to demand more money?"
Rogelt clicked his tongue and sent the demanded amount of money.
"Yup, I've received it. Don't worry, as an information broker, I won't sell it to other places. I can promise you that."
"…Humph, I bet that you made the same offers to the other people too. You won't live for long, you know."
"I'm already used to hearing that from other people, but for some reason, they always die first. So you better be careful, okay?"
Viola only left that threat and smiled wickedly before she left that place with Carol.
Rogelt immediately yelled at his men as if he was venting his anger.
"Get moving!! Now!"
While he saw his men flusteredly scurrying to get on with their jobs, he promised himself to vent his anger on Haurias first before venting it on Viola.
—*—*—*—
Akira finally finished choosing modification parts for his rifle with some help from Sara and Elena. Akira, who took a long time deciding which one to choose, was able to finish choosing relatively fast with the help from Elena and Sara. He even finished installing the modifications there. Now that his new rifle was modified to the point that he had to use special types of bullets, plus the modification parts too, he had to pay 60 million Aurum in total. Although he ended up spending a little more money than his original budget, he was satisfied with the result.
Akira packed everything he bought into his vehicle and thanked Shizuka, Elena and Sara who saw him off, especially to Shizuka.
"Thank you very much for everything."
Shizuka noticed that Akira directed his thanks mostly at her, she then smiled and said.
"I'm a merchant after all. It's my job to serve customers. If you want to thank someone, you should thank Elena and Sara. They helped you although they're not obliged to do that."
"That's true. I'm sorry for taking your time."
Akira lightly bowed to Sara and Elena. Elena noticed the same thing that Shizuka also noticed, but she didn't show that on her face as she smiled at Akira and said.
"Don't worry, it's not like we have something else to do anyway, not to mention that you helped us a lot too in the past, we can at least help you that much."
Sara also smiled as if to dispel something that was worrying her.
"Although I'm sure that they'll work just fine, if you have any trouble with the parts that we picked for you, please tell us. I might have picked some parts based on my strength, you see. So the kickback might be rather strong, though I think it should be okay with that augmented suit."
"I'm sure it'll be okay, I'll take my leave then."
Akira hopped onto his vehicle and left the shop. Elena and Sara were lightly waving at Akira as he drove off, but the moment Akira was no longer in their views, their expression turned stern.
Elena understood that Shizuka interjected back then for their sake.
"Did we say something that we shouldn't have back there? Shizuka, what do you think would have happened if I went and told Akira that we wanted him to stop hunting for that pickpocket no matter what?"
"I think he'll really stop hunting for that pickpocket for real. But in exchange for that, I bet he'll stop maintaining the close relationship that he has with both of you until now. In the worst-case scenario, he might even cut any relationship with both of you…"
The word 'severance money' came up in the back of Elena's mind. That time, if she had told Akira that she wanted him to stop no matter what, Akira would have really stopped hunting for that Alna. But she would have had to pay it with the relationship that they had built up until now as the severance money. Considering that Shizuka even interjected there, Elena thought that her guess might as well be true.
Elena tried to remember what she had said while making a grim face. But she could not think that she said anything that bad.
"Did I say something that really angered him…? Sara, I'm sorry, it seems that I really soured our relationship with Akira because of something I said."
Sara looked rather dispirited as she shook her head.
"It's not your fault. I didn't notice that I said something pretty bad back there as well."
Sara lightly sighed.
"…If you hadn't cut in, our relationship with Akira might have ended then and there. Shizuka, thank you, you really saved us."
Sara smiled and thanked Shizuka, but this time, it was Shizuka who made a stern face.
"Though it might be too late, are you sure that was fine?"
"Of course, why did you ask?"
"As long as Akira is still hunting that pickpocket, there's a good chance that he'll get into a fight with that Katsuya, you know. I did tell him to think carefully about it, but it'll only buy some time at most. Moreover, if he still decides to kill that pickpocket after he thinks about it calmly, this time, he might really hunt for that pickpocket to the end of the world."
"Ahh, you have a point there."
"I wonder if that was a mistake, it might have been better if I was able to come up with something else to calm him down back there…"
It seemed that Shizuka doubted her own choice there, but Sara could not think of any better solution than that. Moreover, she did not want to think that Shizuka made the wrong decision. After all, had Shizuka not cut in, she would have asked Akira to stop no matter what.
If that had happened, Sara felt that Akira would have cut any ties with them. Their relationship would turn into acquaintances who were frequenting the same shop, and if she tried to invite him to go to the ruin again, Akira might casually refuse without even considering it, and Sara would not want that.
Elena and Sara knew that they were thinking of the same thing and told themselves not to make the same mistake ever again.
"Shizuka, do you have any idea why Akira reacted that strongly? I don't mind even if it's just your guess."
"A guess, huh… Now that you mention it, there was a time when he sounded really in a bad mood. I wonder if it has something to do with that."
Shizuka then told what had happened to Elena and Sara. Elena and Sara's expression turned even more cloudy after they heard Shizuka's story.
Elena lightly hung her head.
"…So, he got that annoyed even when he was able to contain the damage, huh. That explains why he got annoyed when his money got stolen. Although it isn't worth that much. Judging from how bad his mood got back there, he must have thought that we seemed to believe more in Katsuya's story to the point that we're willing to pay to help him… Geez, what a disaster!"
Shizuka looked at Elena as if she was pitying Elena.
"I bet there were many occasions where people didn't believe him at all in the past to the point that he did not expect anyone to believe him from the start. It exactly felt like that when you asked him if Katsuya's explanation was true or not."
Elena made a stern face and said.
"I should've been able to notice it if only I paid more attention to him… I guess I put too much trust in the information that I got beforehand, huh? And that happened to me, who usually handles negotiations too, what a big blunder."
Sara lightly smiled at Elena and tried to cheer her up.
"Elena, please don't be too hard on yourself. That also applies to me too, I believed in Katsuya's story too much. Katsuya did not seem to lie and he sounded pretty desperate too after all. So it's not strange that we didn't even doubt his story… wait?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just that, now that I think about it, it's weird that we didn't even question it although it's not like Katsuya was directly involved and it's basically second-hand information…"
"…Now that you mention it, that's true."
Elena and Sara suddenly noticed that strangeness. Shizuka tilted her head and looked at them, equally confused.
—*—*—*—
Alpha was observing Akira who was driving the vehicle. Although he obtained his new equipment, he looked rather down. There was also a trace of anger that accompanied it.
Akira noticed Alpha was looking at him, but he did not react at all while still looking annoyed. But of course, he could not ignore her gaze forever.
"…Is there anything you want to say to me or something?"
"You now have your new augmented suit and you have modified your rifle to the point that it's a completely different rifle. I want to spend some time analyzing both the new augmented suit and rifle so that I will be able to have full control over both of them. We'll only go back to our Hunter job after that, so we're not going to the wasteland anytime soon."
"… Alright… Is that all?"
Akira seemed to be doubtful, but Alpha smiled like usual and said.
"If you really want to know, I actually also agree with Elena and Sara. It's better if you stop hunting that pickpocket out of stubbornness. Although, my reasoning is different compared to them."
"What do you mean?"
"Unlike Elena and Sara, I don't care if that pickpocket dies. What I'm worried about is the trouble it would cause you later after you kill that pickpocket. If you really want to kill her that much, it might be a good idea to get a long-range anti-personnel sniper rifle and snipe that pickpocket from far away. It isn't worth the trouble antagonizing Drankam just to kill that one pickpocket. In that regard, I agree with Elena and Sara."
Akira frowned and asked sceptically.
"…Then why didn't you recommend me to buy that rifle?"
"Do you think an anti-personnel rifle has any use in the old-world ruin?"
Akira could not say anything back. Alpha made a serious face and continued.
"The only reason I'm giving you my support is so that you'll complete my request. Of course, if you ask me, I might help you with other things too, but things like this are normally outside my support. So don't forget about that."
Akira did not say anything back for a while, but he suddenly sighed and lowered his shoulders. He did think of killing Alna and fighting Katsuya and his group, but he assumed that he would have Alpha's support when he considered that. It was true that Alpha was not obliged to go that far to help him, so him thinking that it was given for Alpha to help him was nothing more than him being too naive. Akira thought so as he mocked himself.
"You're right, I was too naive."
He might have gotten a little bit too stubborn without him realizing it. Akira thought so as he took a deep breath and let it go. It might be just a self-suggestion, but he did feel lighter after he did that.
Alpha's expression returned back to its usual gentle smile.
"I don't mind if you want to take advantage of my support, but do remember that I won't help you if you're going to do something that would put your own life at risk. If there's no danger in it, I won't stop you. If you want a sniper rifle, let's buy one next time, a long barrel one with super long-range."
"Well, I'll think about it again once I earn more money. There's no need to rush, I'll think about it carefully."
"Indeed, you better do so."
Alpha smiled at Akira as if to look over him and thought.
The reason why Alpha urged Akira to get away when Elena and Sara called him right when he was quarrelling with Katsuya, was simply because she thought that it would cause a crack in their relationship. But after analyzing the result of doing that, Alpha thought that she should have let Akira stay.
If it was not for Shizuka, Akira would have seriously decided to stop aiming for Alna and risk a fight with Katsuya and his group, while at the same time, his relationship with Elena and Sara would have significantly soured. That way, Akira would have been less likely to do something that might cause more trouble. As Alpha thought so, it was not an exaggeration to say that she had made a wrong decision there.
—*—*—*—
The boss of Ezont Family, Rogelt, was sitting in the guest room inside his mansion. He had his men standing guard behind him. He was directing a rather stern look at the person in front of him.
"You refuse, you say?"
Sheryl was lightly trembling, but her expression was filled with determination.
"Y-yes, I can't accept that offer."
"Do you really understand the situation that you're in right now?"
Rogelt glared at Sheryl. Sheryl shivered, her expression stiffened. She was there alone, without any bodyguard. If Rogelt wished it, he could easily kill her there.
Rogelt sighed. Sheryl refused his offer although she understood well the content of the offer. She did not have the ability to make sure that her men would take revenge if she got killed, and it did not seem she had any chance to even make a bluff. She did not seem careless, nor mocked Rogelt and his men, it was also true that she was trembling. Rogelt just could not understand why she refused the offer.
"Think again, I have my reputation to uphold. If a small weak gang like you opposes us, it'll hurt our reputation. Or is that you already have a deal with the Haurias?"
"N-No, I don't."
"Then, is there anything that you don't like? Don't worry, I have no plans to take over your gang or anything like that. I'm just offering you to work under my gang. And since that would mean I'll be your boss and you'll work for me, you'll properly get paid, and of course, I expect that you would obey my orders. Though I might give you some orders just out of spite from time to time, considering the profit that you can get from working under me, I think you'll get more than you lose, you know? You'll be able to reopen your relic shop and you can use that to gather money. Your men will also feel much safer since that attack. It's nothing but good things. If I was in your position, I would have definitely accepted it."
Although Rogelt looked calm on the surface, he was actually pretty surprised as he kept thinking at the back of his mind.
[…Why did she refuse? There should be no reason to refuse it considering her situation, position and power. She knows well that she will only be killed if she refused, but even so, she still refused. Did we kill someone close to her in the past or something…? No, it doesn't seem that she has any grudge against us.]
Rogelt lightly raised his hand. His men immediately aimed their rifles at Sheryl. Sheryl trembled even more and her expression was filled with terror.
Rogelt said with such pressure as if he was telling Sheryl that it was her last chance.
"Think again."
Sheryl did not say anything while still shivering.
After a short silence, Rogelt clicked his tongue and signalled his men to lower their rifles.
[She still won't say yes in that situation, what the heck is wrong with her? I just can't understand.]
Now that she was no longer in immediate danger, Sheryl started breathing again albeit roughly. Rogelt exasperatedly looked at her and said.
"Your courage is commendable. If there's anything you don't like in my offer, go ahead and tell me. I might consider it in respect of your bravery."
But Sheryl still would not say anything. Rogelt clicked his tongue and told his men.
"Take her away. Lock her up until she changes her mind."
Two of his men grabbed Sheryl by her arm and dragged her out, Sheryl did not even fight back at all.
Rogelt hung his head low. He thought that it would be a simple negotiation, but that did not seem to be the case and he did not know the reason why. He did not understand why Sheryl reacted so differently than what he expected, and that caused him to feel anxious and irritated. He started to think that the thing he had ignored until now thinking that it was unlikely, might actually be the reason why.
The person who brought that plan to him was Viola. He started to worry if this was also because of something that horrendous woman had planned. Now that he thought about it, he could not just let it off his mind.
"…I guess I'll try to check it out."
Rogelt then went to the other person that his men had locked in the base before Sheryl.
In order to fix Akira's mood, Viola told Sheryl about that offer from Ezont Family. Normally, for a weak gang without a connection like Sheryl's gang, it was a good enough offer.
After that, Rogelt's men who Viola called in, guided Sheryl to Ezont Family's base. Rogelt then told Sheryl the details of the deal in the guest room. Although Sheryl only heard that if she accepted that deal then her gang would work under Rogelt's gang for the first time there, that in itself was not a bad offer. If that was all, Sheryl would have happily accepted that offer.
The real problem was the reason why Rogelt was trying to take in Sheryl's gang. It was simply because he wanted to be able to use Akira via Sheryl. Sheryl, who noticed that, had no other choice but to refuse that offer.
From the outsider's point of view, it might look like Sheryl was able to skillfully get Akira to be interested in her and use it to manipulate him. She might already have Akira in her palms to the point that he would support her so that she could maintain her position as the gang's boss, buy her an old-world dress, guard her relic shop, and even give all the money that he got from selling the robbers to her. Others might have thought that it should be easy for Sheryl to control Akira.
But that was completely their misunderstanding. Sheryl did not have that power, but she could not say that to Rogelt, while at the same time, she could not conform to that misunderstanding either. If Sheryl accepted that offer from Rogelt and asked Akira to obey Ezont Family, Akira might as well cut all his ties with her. She was sure about it.
While on the other hand, even if Sheryl could get away with some lies there as if she was selling Akira to Ezont Family, that would definitely come to light, and when that happened, Akira might abandon her without giving her the chance to explain herself that it was only a lie. Although it might be just her being a little too paranoid since nothing good had happened to her lately, she was sure that Akira would do that.
The reason why she thought so was because she relied on Akira for her mental support. For her, whether she was killed by Rogelt there or abandoned later by Akira, both were equally bad.
Because of that, Sheryl was locked inside one of the rooms in that mansion. The room at least had facilities for welcoming guests. Her information terminal was taken away from her and she was alone inside that room. Although no one was keeping watch in that room, that room had no windows and the only door was also locked. She had no means to escape that room.
Sheryl anxiously mumbled.
"…What should I do?"
She did think of the possibility that Akira would come to rescue her. But her logical side that properly understood her current situation denied that possibility.
She could not contact Akira and Akira did not know where she was. In the first place, it was rather doubtful if Akira would antagonize the whole Ezont Family just in order to save her. Sheryl's logical side told her so as if it was not her problem, the possibility for Akira to come to save her was unrealistically small.
Sheryl smiled bitterly and started sobbing.