As they continued to talk to each other, the conversation slowly shifted to the Katsuya team's work as hunters. Because Yumina and Shirley deliberately pushed the conversation in that direction.

Katsuya's story begins when he first joined D

a

A tough time for KAM begins. As soon as he entered the industry, he had already shown his talent. The gang veteran hunters noticed this rare talent, and they joined the other hunters to explore the ruins and fight monsters. Eventually, he became strong enough to be recognized as a D

a

One of the KAM officers.

Gram and his friends are also in D

a

A fairly influential faction was formed within the KAM. Recently, he was even given the opportunity to command a team of hunters to hunt down bounty monsters. Katsuya took the order, and his team successfully hunted down a bounty monster. This is quite an amazing record and shows his talent as a hunter.

Shirley exaggerated her surprise and then asked Kaya questions. In the middle of their conversations, she often compliments, compliments, and clapps. She praises Katsuya's ability to make decisions in difficult situations, or how he fights bravely on a dangerous battlefield, or how he tries to save his friends without regard for his own safety.

Shirley listened with relish, a worried look on her face as he talked about how he faced a dangerous situation, and a happy look and praise him when he talked about how he and his friends had achieved great things.

She

yl is aware of Yumi

A has been bringing up topics that are easier to praise Katsuya. Although she didn't know what the reason was, she decided to change the topic and kept praising him.

Cheryl's compliments, though all deliberate, didn't feel out of place at all, nor were they strange. Nor did they feel forced. Cheryl's eloquence is so high that there is no flaw at all. But Katsuya's reaction was rather lackluster.

At first, Katsuya talks as if he is bragging about his own story, and when Shirley compliments him, he blushes and laughs. But as the story progresses, his expression begins to darken, and his voice begins to become less and less excited. And when he talks about his search for the bounty monster, even though Shirley compliments him, he just smiles awkwardly.

Shirley thought that she had praised him too much, which annoyed him, but looking at the expressions of Airi and Yumina, she found that it was not so. The two looked at Katsuya with worried expressions, basically, both of them knew why Katsuya was so low-headed, Shirley thought, it must be so.

Shirley had a puzzled expression, a little dazed as she considered her choice, and worried about Katsuya's reaction. It may take some time for things over there to end, but it can be said that it is time to leave the Katsuya Group. While this means that she will leave in a bad mood, she will still have the option to leave until the mood gets worse.

However, the victory also seems to start in D

a

Kam's ranks climbed, so she decided to stay there a little longer, using the opportunity to deepen their relationship and gather more information from him, maybe a good idea.

Shirley asked Katsuya apologetically.

Katsuya-san, I'm really sorry, did I say anything that offended you? If so, I'm sorry.

Katsuya panics when Shirley suddenly apologizes to him.

Huh?! Ah, that's not the case!

Is that so? It seems like every time I say something, your mood gets worse

Shiryl replied in a low voice. She kept her head down, as if she were bowing her head.

Katsuya looks at Yumina for help.

Yumina was worried about Katsuya, so she looked serious and changed the topic.

Katsuya, if that's not the case, I think you'd better explain it to Shirley

Huh? Ah, you're right.

Katsu also stumbled upon his words, and Yumina kept staring at him.

The last time Yumina saw him so depressed and asked him what was wrong, Katsuya's reaction was similar. But when that happened, he always apologized for worrying her and said he was okay and didn't tell her anything.

Yumina herself actually guessed the reason why Katsuya was depressed. But she couldn't say that herself.

After Shiryl checked with them, she was relieved that Katsuya didn't look depressed because it wasn't her fault. Then she smiled awkwardly, and said with a look of victory and worry on her face.

I'm not going to force you to tell me. Enough to let me know it's not because of me. But if there's something that bothers you, I'll give it my full attention. If you want to share it with me, I'll listen. I've heard that if you share your problem with other people, it might help you feel at ease. While I may not be able to support you as much as Yumina-san and Airi-san, I can at least listen to your concerns and complaints. So, if you agree, I'm willing to listen.

Katsuya glanced timidly at Shirley. Sheryl smiled as she locked Katsuya's gaze.

Katsu didn't know what to do. It was clear that he was hesitant not to tell anyone about his concerns, his eyes wandering around, his expression somewhat ambivalent. Eventually, his gaze returned to Shirley. When he looked at her gentle smile again, Katsuya opened his mouth.

Cher, do you think I'm a great hunter?

Yes.

Are you sure?

I believe that different people will have different metrics to determine whether a person is a great hunter or not. But from my point of view and what I've just heard from your story, as long as it's not a lie, I do think you're a great hunter.

I get it.

Katsuya paused, then said in a voice that expressed his distress with a dejected expression.

I really don't know if I'm a great hunter or not.

Then he slowly continued.

Katsuya has a long history of worshipping hunters. He had heard the story of the hunter, and the thought of that scene made his heart tremble.

They strive to become stronger and go on an exploration of the dangerous, but more importantly, fantastic ruins of the old world with their trusted companions. After that, they fight hordes of monsters, explore undiscovered ruins without any guides, and they have to go through a lot of ups and downs with their comrades to return alive with their precious relics. Sometimes, they squander their winnings to throw a big celebration or when they discuss how to use their winnings to strengthen their power as hunters. These are the stories shared by all successful hunters in the East End.

Katsuya imagined that he would go through all of this, and he promised himself that one day he would be one of those successful hunters. Luckily, he was blessed with the right talent to get to this goal, and he was blessed with friends and good luck that he could trust.

His luck, comrades-in-arms and talent took him to the next level. He quickly climbed the ladder and became a great hunter and distinguished himself from all other ordinary hunters.

In the end, Katsuya, one of the successful ones in the story of the East Side Hunters, has to face the darkness behind these glorious stories. That's why people get great wealth even if they succeed without even trying to accomplish it.

At first, wait, no, it wasn't exactly at first, hehe. Basically, I realized that the moment was when we accepted the request and faced the hordes of monsters that were pouring into Kumayama City from the Katsubara ruins. Some of my friends passed away that year, and I knew them well, and we used to eat together in the same cafeteria, we went through hard training together, and we explored ruins and hunted monsters together. Some were blown into small pieces by cannons, some were eaten alive by monsters, and some ran out of medicine and died of non-fatal injuries. They're dead, and I can't save them.

The job of a hunter is indeed an extremely dangerous one. It's not uncommon for them to be killed in the line of duty, so it's not surprising at all. The stories of those who succeeded are basically the stories of those who survived. Due to his rare talent, Katsuya and his friends forgot about this fact. But it was only a matter of time before they had to face it.

At that time, I felt that as long as I was strong enough, as long as I was strong enough. So I did my best, and I thought I would be the great hunter I aspired to be at that time. Then, they put me in charge of directing a team to hunt the bounty monsters, and we managed to hunt the bounty monsters. I'm sure a lot of people think I'm a great hunter, but it didn't work, I lost a lot of friends and I couldn't save them. I feel happy when you say I'm a great hunter. But it's like, you know, it also makes me feel conflicted when you call me a great hunter, that's all.

Yumina looked at Katsuya, who spoke as if she was confessing her sins. Her guess was correct, and Katsuya lamented that he had lost friends and that he couldn't save them. But Yumina couldn't think of any words that would cheer him up.

Being killed is an occupational hazard for hunters. Therefore, those hunters had better stop mourning for their dead friend, forget about it and move on. At least that's what Yumina thought, but she couldn't say the same about Katsu. After all, she was also one of his friends, and maybe one of his friends who would be killed.

Yumina couldn't say these words, as it might make him forget about her and move on when she was killed.

Airi also guessed the reason why Katsuya was depressed, but she thought it was just a general problem, so she didn't say anything. First of all, she didn't grieve over her friend's death like Yumina and Katsuya did. It's a common thing for people to die, especially in their work. So, nothing surprising. Even if it was a friend she had just laughed with yesterday, after all, it was a commonplace scene in the world she grew up in.

Airi looks up to Katsuya because he was the one who saved her from such a world. And, if she is killed, she does want him to mourn for her. She doesn't want Katsuya to forget about her soon after she dies, or thinks she might just die because he hasn't seen her in a while. That's why she can't tell him to get used to losing friends.

On the surface, Shirley seems to sympathize with Katsuya, but in reality she's sorting out new information in the back of her head and thinking about how to respond to his story.

Katsuya thinks that as long as he works hard, everything will be fine. After all, he has a rare talent for doing this, he's done it before, he's experienced it himself, and he's likely to do it again in the future. Although Shirley has no proof, she is sure that it must be.

Regardless of when or where he was born, Gram is also likely to work hard to achieve success and happiness. Then loving him and being loved by him means sharing his success and happiness.

Shiryl then thought that there must be two kinds of people around him. Either the people who accepted him and cared for him, or those who rejected him and hated him to death. Either way, it shows that they are interested in him. There must be something about him that makes it impossible for those around him to ignore him. Putting aside the sociopaths who don't care about others, it's impossible for ordinary people to just ignore Katsuya's existence.

Shiryl then smiled bitterly, but she kept it in her heart and didn't show it on her face.

[I don't know if he is one of those people who are too talented and have to face difficulties because of their talent.] Honestly, I can't sympathize at all, but let's put it aside for a moment and think about how I should react. Well, I can pretend I can't find anything to say and just keep quiet, but]

After thinking about it for a long time, she finally decided what she wanted to do. Then she put on a rather serious expression and said to Katsuya in a strong tone.

Katsuya-san, after listening to your story, I will tell you what I think. If it's wrong, or I say something I shouldn't have said, I hope you can let it slip away, or just laugh at me and laugh it off.

Katsuya, who was looking down with his head down, raised his head and looked at Shellyl with a serious face. As she continued, she stared at him, leaving him a little overwhelmed.

Shirley looked at Katsuya with a serious expression, but then smiled and bowed deeply to him.

Thank you very much for protecting this city. I can only express to you and your comrades-in-arms, as well as all your friends, the deepest gratitude you have lost for protecting the city. Thank you so much!

When Shirley suddenly thanked her, Katsuya, Airi, and Yumina were surprised. Shiryl then raised her head, stared at Katsuya and continued.

If you don't stop that group of monsters from the ruins of Katsubara, I'm willing to bet the city will suffer massive damage. And if the bounty monsters are left unchecked, they will slowly kill the city. I believe that every hunter has his or her reasons for fighting to protect the city, some of them may be for money, some may be for fame, or just because of one of their jobs, and some of them may have even done so because they have no other choice. But that doesn't change the fact that they put their lives at risk, some of them even died in that battle. Therefore, I am very grateful to them.

Katsuya realizes that he was really moved by Shirley's answer, but doesn't know why.

As long as you are a hunter, you are at risk of being killed. It can even be said that it is their own responsibility to occupy that profession. I bet hunters need to be determined to take risks when they decide to become hunters. But that being said, not everyone is blessed enough to be a hunter. I'm sure there are people who don't have the skills and will be killed quickly. Then, even those hunters with the right skills and equipment can be killed simply because of bad luck. And I believe in the hunters who died because you couldn't save them, just because they weren't lucky enough to be saved by you.

Katsuya realized that the burden on his shoulders seemed to be lifted. But he didn't know why.

I don't know the details of your relationship with your lost friend. But if you are proud to risk your life with them, if you are proud to be able to fight alongside them, never forget them. But if not, if their death just locks you up, then forget about them in this moment.

Katsuya roared as soon as he heard Shirley tell him to forget about his dead friend.

Are you serious about saying that I should forget about them?

But Shiryl wasn't worried at all, and she continued to stare into Katsuya's eyes with a serious face.

If you're proud of them, you should be fine. I'm sure it will even help you. It will give you the courage to overcome difficult situations. It will help you get back on your feet in a desperate situation. But if it's just a burden on you, it will eventually kill you one day. When you have to take a step forward and get you killed, it will give you a day trip. When you have to retreat and kill you, it drags you down. So forget about them. You can scream as much as you want and forget about them. You can curse me as much as you want and forget about them.

Katsuya listened to Shiryl's words and didn't reply. He still feels sorry for the lost friend. But what was born out of that sadness was no longer something to blame him.

Shiryl relaxed her expression and said.

I'm not going to tell you to live for the sake of the dead. However, I will tell you to move on with life for the sake of others who are still alive. The other two are really worried about you, you know?

Katsuya looked at Yumina and Airi, a little overwhelmed. It's been a long time since the last time Iri and Yumina made such expressions, which shows that they are really worried about him.

Katsuya turns to Shirley again. Then he smiled with determination and optimism, just like he said.

I will not forget them, and I will always remember them.

Katsuya seemed to be able to move on at last, Shiryl replied with a smile.

You're a good guy. Honestly, I expect you to be mad at me and tell me to shut up because I'm just a stranger to you.

Ke also said with a look of surprise.

Then why are you saying such a thing?

Shirley just smiled and replied casually.

Because I think that once you get angry and vent everything that has been kept secret from yourself until now, it will at least make you feel better. And if you vent to a stranger like me, at least it won't affect your relationship with someone close to you. But I don't seem to have the need to worry about that.

He was also impressed by Gram. Shirley helped him get rid of all the grief that had been hiding in his heart since the day he lost his friend. Even though her words might have angered him, a hunter who even managed to hunt bounty monsters, a hunter strong enough to easily kill ordinary civilians, she prioritized helping him get rid of his worries. Gram also stared at Sheryl, slightly surprised.

Then Shirley got up from her seat.

Unfortunately, it seems like it's time for me to leave, so please forgive me.

Shirley said goodbye softly.

yes

Seeing that Shiryl was leaving there, Katsuya inadvertently wanted to stop her, but he himself didn't know why he was doing it.

Well, can we meet another day?

Shiryl looked a little surprised, then smiled smugly and said jokingly.

Are you trying to hit me?

Katsuya was too panicked to give a specific answer. Shiryl then smiled mischievously and said.

I'm just kidding. If it was fate, we should be able to meet again. Yumi

a-sa

and Ai

i-sa

Please be careful outside until we meet again

Shiryl said goodbye again and left the place with Elio.

The rest of Katsuya, Airi and Yumina continued to eat lunch. Yumina and Airi Asaker also took a few looks.

Hmm, what's the problem?

No, nothing. I'm glad you cheered up.

After hearing Yumina's answer, Katsuya apologizes to her and Airi.

I'm really sorry for worrying both of you, I should have talked to both of you about it sooner.

After all, it's teammates, so there's no need to back down. You can tell us sooner next time.

Of course.

Katsuya nodded firmly. The shadow that had plagued him recently was completely gone.

Yumina sighed, the girl who had only met twice easily dispelled Katsuya's concerns. Yumina was surprised by this. Although she didn't show it on her face, she was actually discouraged by it. But that's not the most important point here, Yumina focuses on something else.

[I guess that's a mistake, uh-huh, no, no, no, no, I shouldn't have thought like that.] Katsuya perked up, and it should be fine. ]

Yumi

A kept telling herself, at least She

yl doesn't see Katsuya as her lover, so it should be fine.

After finishing the rest of the administrative work, Shirrill made her way through the streets of the Lower District and returned to her base. She had seen Daris's beforehand. But after telling Daris what happened, she decides to take a detour to avoid seeing Katsuya again.

Shiryl realizes that Elio is looking at her. Ever since she had finished her errand in the Hunter's Office, he had been looking at her with a conflicted expression.

Shiryl was surprised by this, and she greeted him softly.

Elio, what is it? You've been looking at me. Is there anything you want to say to me?

But Elio replied as if he was about to run away.

Ah no, nothing.

Half of the reason he kept staring at Shiryl was out of fear. He was afraid of how she would be able to completely deceive Katsuya and his friends. Because he found that the person he was familiar with had changed a lot. However, he didn't have the courage to say that in front of Shirille.

However, Shiryl looked a little annoyed when she answered Elio. Probably because she didn't like the fact that he was dishonest there.

If it weren't, you wouldn't do that, would you? So please tell me, what is it?

Elio was well aware that it would be a bad idea if he kept trying to say it was nothing. So he decided to ask Shirley something that had been bothering him.

You said these things to that hunter Katsuya back then, did you say it again? So, how much is your true feeling?

How do I really feel?

When Shellyl heard Elrios's question, she looked confused and didn't understand the meaning of the question. But when the expression on her face remained for a few seconds, she suddenly seemed to realize something and spoke.

Ahhh In case, do you think I'm really worried about Katsuya and sympathize with him, so I'm trying to cheer him up? Don't be stupid, I don't care about his story at all. In fact, the point that I actually said to him was to get him to stop sullen and move on, you know? Although I did over-dramatize it. You're too obsessed with his story, you know. Just standing next to me, aren't you bored and can't help but listen carefully to our conversation?

Elio was surprised by her answer.

I- Is that so? But well, I did feel sad when I lost a friend too. So when I realized that even a powerful hunter felt the same way, I felt a little bit of sympathy for him

Shiryl frowned.

Elio. Better control of yourself, okay? Not qualified to sympathize with them, you know? Seriously, sympathy? Do you really think that such a thing could exist between a ghetto kid like us and a successful hunter who has even hunted bounty monsters? I bet you just mistake it for you wanting to feel like him.

Well, since you mentioned it, could that be true? No, but, you know what, you don't think to approach them and make them like Aki

A Is it a good idea to support us as well?

So what? When you, me, Alicia, and the other children were killed, would you be satisfied if he mourned? This is clearly not the case for me.

Not for me either

First of all, if we get them to support us, what do you think we can give back to them? There is Aki

A support has been a miracle for us, you know? Even now, I don't know what we can give back to him.

Shirley was about to say that she still couldn't pay back everything she had done for the gangsters, and she didn't know how long she could help the gangsters, but she could always change the wording.

Hearing this, Elio lowered his head. Because of the hope he unconsciously held, it was ruthlessly shattered by Shirley.

You're right, I'm sorry. I just think it would be great if they could do that. But I guess that's not the case, hehe.

You understand now, it's all good. And if you really understand it now, you should be even more grateful to Aki

a。 Thanks to his support, it's not dead yet, you know? Well, except, of course, for that fool. That idiot dared to be so rude to Akira, and wanted to take me hostage, so he's dead now. You have survived before, so you should be extra careful.

I knew I didn't want to die.

Hearing Elrios' answer, Shellyl nodded in satisfaction. Then she added an additional warning.

Elio, in addition to the one just now, I'll give you one more warning. In case you never break up with Alicia, you shouldn't let her get close to that Katsuya.

Elrios' face froze. Then he asked Shirryl in a panic.

W- What do you mean by that?

It's just my gut feeling. Since you are all cadres of my gang, I think there will be a lot of you with me, and it won't be good if Alicia happens to meet Katsu. You know, there's a chance she'll fall in love with him. Judging from what I heard at the time, it seems that Katsuya has a habit of saying misleading things to girls. After all, he is a good-natured young handsome and powerful hunter with a lot of money and talent. Even though he seems to have a lot of girls around him, I'm not sure if she can give up on Alicia if she's nice to him, you know?

With that, Shellyl cast a meaningful look at Elio. Elrios' face was pale, he must have imagined what she had just said. After confirming, she thought about it seriously.

[Although Elio was just listening to our conversation behind me, it seemed that he was really pulled to Katsuya's side.] Well, it's a pretty amazing story about a successful hunter, so it's not surprising that Elio admires him, but I wonder if that's all there is to it. Or maybe he felt that strange feeling that I also felt at the time? In the worst-case scenario, he will even come up with a crazy idea, such as kicking Akira out and hiding behind Katsuya to protect himself. I brought Alicia into the conversation so that he wouldn't get too close to Katsuya, but judging by his reaction, I think it was unnecessary, hehe]

Shiryl continued to think, Elio's face turned pale, and Daris, who heard their conversation, thought of something else.

[I don't know how strong that guy is at Katsuya, but he aside, Akira himself is too crazy, and he fights a group of monsters twice on the same day.] I hadn't thought much of it since he saved us, but at the time he wasn't using a booster suit and could fight a bunch of monsters with just his thin AAH rifle. He was even able to save us eventually. Well, indeed, at that time our main firepower was machine guns, and then that day Ele

a and sa

A saved us in our second encounter with the monster horde, but there is no doubt about it, Aki

A did a good job in both battles, I think, it's really weird. Katsuragi is also troubled by Shiryl's sudden change, but Shiryl is indeed a capable person, and there is nothing strange about it, as for Ming, he is indeed a powerful hunter,

On the way back to the base, they all had their own ideas.

That night, Katsuya lay on the bed in his private room and remembered what Shirley had said to him. That time, he had only seen her once, and he longed to see her again. Moreover, the second time they met, she dispelled his concerns.

Recently, Katsuya can't sleep because he always has nightmares and his dead friend blames him. His regret for not being able to save them, his guilt, unwittingly turned his dead friend into a ghost. But after hearing what Shirille had to say to him, they returned to his important friend of pride. He was sure he wouldn't see those nightmares again.

Katsuya's heart was gnawed away by his regret and guilt. While it pushed him to get stronger as quickly as he could, it only restrained him. Thus preventing him from showing the true value of his talent.

But now, it's gone. A big hole has been left in his heart, and the feeling of someone is slowly filling that hole.

We didn't exchange contact numbers, but I wonder if we can meet again one day?

Katsuya smiled slightly, closed his eyes, and fell asleep peacefully.

That night, Shirley lay on the bed in the private room, reminiscing about what had happened that day.

She reviews everything she said that day, analyzes them, and finds out the flaws she should fix next time. Then she remembered how saddened Katsuya for his dead friends.

Probably because of the sleepiness, she began to think about something unnecessary.

As questions popped up in her head, she quickly got her own answers. Although she was answering her own question, there was a good chance that her answer would be correct. Sheryl's face twitched.

Her question is brief, if she is killed, Aki

a Will there be mourning for her death? The answer is an obvious resounding no.

She then immediately stopped thinking about any reasoning or hypothesis she could think of to refute this, because she felt that she could think of these things with an eternity of time.

[Let's think about something else, there are still a lot of things to worry about. 】

If she had kept thinking like this, she would have had nightmares that night. Shiryl thought so, and immediately thought of something else. She desperately tried to think about other topics despite her sleepiness, and in the end, she fell asleep without thinking about anything.

In the white world, she heard a voice.

Stop thinking about unnecessary things.

Then, the voice was gone.

After a sudden deterioration in the situation, Elena finally decides to quit sooner than she planned. She said to the deer with a hideous face.

Hakube! We need to evacuate now!!

Roger that!

Shika

Abe immediately gave an affirmative answer and did not ask Ele

Ask any questions. Because he understands that they are now not at the point where she can calmly answer his questions.

Shika

Abe then shouted to the other hunters inside the building.

I'm going to leave soon!! If you don't get into APC now, then leave you behind!! So hurry up!

Shikabe picks up a guy who has fallen to the ground, the same one who was thrown away by Shikabe not long ago. Since there was no one to carry him, he remained on the ground until now. Shika

ABE just thinks he's going to have a bad aftertaste if he leaves that guy there because he's the one who made that guy unconscious.

After the sudden announcement of the deer, a hunter said in a panic.

Wait a minute!! We still have some relics inside.

Shika

Abe just ignored Hu

te

, returned to the APC, then threw the man he was carrying with him into it and quickly got into the driver's seat.

The hunters, who were standing there with the relics, looked at their relics with sorrow, then dropped it and ran into the APC. Because they knew very well that Shikabe was serious when he said he was going to leave them behind.

The back door of the APC began to close even before all the hunters in that place were able to enter, when Shika

As soon as the abe started its engine, the remaining hunters began to run frantically towards the APC.

Shika

abe suddenly accelerates APC. Under the barrage of bullets fired from above, it rushed out of the construction site as fast as it could. The entrance to the construction site is half-filled with the remains of dead monsters. But he just used his APC's momentum to break his path.

Ele

a、Sa

a、Aki

a and ca

ol followed Shika

Behind Abe. Countless monsters poured out of the building, filling the surroundings with monsters, and some even began to pursue Akira. But Akira was much faster than them, and knocked down the monsters that were leading the pursuit of Akira, turning them into obstacles, slowing down the monsters behind them even more. Therefore, it was a breeze for Akira to get rid of those monsters.

After they pulled some distance away from the construction site, Alpha said with a smile on Akira.

It should be okay now, you're doing a great job there.

Akira breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to the driver's seat, slightly relieved, seemingly out of danger for the time being.

Say it, Alpha. Is that building the same as yesterday's Seran Tower, full of monsters?

I can't get an accurate picture of what's going on inside that building. But looking at what happened just now, I think it's very likely.

I wonder where all these monsters came from.

I can come up with a lot of theories, however, I think there was a warehouse somewhere nearby that was full of those monsters, and they were suddenly sent out at the same time, and the nearby factories suddenly started mass-producing those monsters. After all, most of those mechanical monsters are of the same type.

So why did such a thing happen all of a sudden?

I don't know. In fact, if you know why, you can do it for 10,000,000,000 Au

The price of UM sells that information. If you're interested, we can try to investigate later, did you know?

Alpha smiled confidently at Akira as he made this suggestion. But he replied with a displeased face.

No, thanks.

It was a wise decision.

Carol, who saw Akira relaxed, also let down her guard. Then she returned to the driver's seat and said to Akira with a smile.

That's quite dangerous. They're just too much.

It's still better than yesterday. This time we can drive away after all.

Well, you're right. Sure enough, even I don't want to go through yesterday's events anymore.

Akira and the others drove through the ruins of the Miha Garden, and their situation was that there was plenty of room for small talk. No one was injured during their rescue, and they were able to rescue the hunters in that building. They now just need to return to the hunter's office. It seems that they did a good job in that rescue operation. They just galloped down the road while smashing the wreckage of the dead monsters scattered under the wheels.

On their way back to the hunter's office, Akira checks the information terminal he has left in his car. This indicates that he received an urgent SOS request sent through a local connection.

Elena had told him in advance that urgent requests should be ignored, after all, they had to complete their contract first, make sure they received their rewards, and then consider other requests. That's all there is to it. Even if the hunters who sent out the urgent distress request had set up a barricade somewhere nearby, Akira couldn't stop and save them every time, he had no responsibility to do that, and there was no room to do so.

But they weren't completely ignoring the requests, and Elena at least forwarded that SOS emergency request to the hunter's office. If those hunters are lucky, someone will accept the request. Whether or not anyone would accept the request that would not guarantee the promised reward is a completely different question, but even the person who made the request may be dead by now.

That's why Aki

a Didn't even think about checking the details of those urgent SOS requests. It just piqued a little interest in him, nothing more.

Alpha noticed this and said to Akira.

If it bothers you, I can delete those notifications.

You're right, please remove them.

After saying that, the prompt message on his information terminal disappeared suddenly. Alpha erased them.

Then, Aki

A tries to come up with another topic, as if he is trying to forget something that is bothering him.

However, there are a lot of such requests left, right?

I'm sure it's because most hunters think it's safer if they lock themselves inside a building, and I bet that's why a lot of them decide to do it. I think it's really a good option in case they can't return on their own. I bet that some of the hunters who decided to lock themselves in the Seranthal building from yesterday are still alive even now.

Well, even if that's true, it's impossible to get out of there in that case, you know.

As I said, it's really a good choice to come back by giving up on yourself.

Ah, if the situation in the building improves in the future, I guess there is still hope.

Akira didn't know under what circumstances those monsters would leave the Thranthal building. They may have left the building after Akira left yesterday, but they may still be there now.

Thanks to Aki

A didn't plan to go there to check it out in person, so he just decided to forget about it.

Ele

A and her team returned to the hunter's office without any trouble. Although they encountered some monsters on the way back, they were just small packets, so they could handle those monsters. Either they killed most of the monsters in that path when they went to save the hunters, or they only had a small group of monsters because they were fighting another group of hunters.

Ele

A and her team parked the vehicle at Hu

te

In front of the Offices parking lot. Aki

a、Ca

ol、Ele

a and sa

a standing in Shika

In front of the back door of abes APC. The door itself is still closed.

Akira thought the door would open immediately, but it didn't seem to open anytime soon. Just when he felt something strange, a group of armed men approached them. The guy in command of the squad compared the data from his information terminal with that of the Elenas information terminal. After that, he asked Elena.

You're hunters who received a request for rescue from C32, right? Was the rescued hunter in the car?

Yes, then can I leave the rest to you?

Of course, we'll take care of the rest.

Shika

Abe, open the door.

With that, the back door of the APC slowly opened.

The rescued hunters looked around, only to find that they were back in the hunter's office, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. But in stark contrast, some of those hunters had their heads bowed and their faces were hideous. They looked really desperate, as if they had been cornered.

The squad leader then stood in front of the open door and said to the hunters inside the APC.

From Alhai

Insurance company. Well, escort you to the emergency room to check if you need any treatment. We hope that everyone will cooperate and follow our orders. If any of you are having trouble moving on your own, please let us know.

Subsequently, the hunters slowly boarded the APC one by one, following the instructions of the people from the Al Hain Insurance Company. Some of them can walk on their own, some can only walk with the help of others, and some cannot walk and can only be carried on stretchers.

Of all the hunters who walked, there was one who was pale and worried. He breathed heavily, and his hand holding the gun trembled slightly. He kept his distance from the others around him, especially Alhai

People from insurance companies keep their distance.

The other hunter in front of him asked the nearby staff.

Uh, sorry, I want to contact my friend but I can't seem to get any contact from here, can you help me?

It depends on your friend's situation. If it's just a problem with the cable, you can call a friend at the makeshift clinic. After all, you can use Alhai there

The insurance company's communication line.

The staff member shifted his attention from the nervous hunter to the other hunter who asked him the question. The nervous Hunter noticed, made up his mind, and suddenly started running.

But as soon as he started running, another Arhain soldier standing guard in his blind spot immediately pinned him to the ground. The soldier pinned him to the ground and locked his movements. When his weapon was taken from him, he looked like he was in agony on the ground. The other guards came and handcuffed his hands and legs, leaving him harmless.

The other hunters in that area looked at the guy who was protected by the soldiers of the Arhais. One of the Al Hain soldiers then turned to the other hunters and said with a smile.

Please stop trying anything that might cause misunderstandings. Don't try to leave without our permission until you've done all your administrative work with us. We hope you will cooperate.

Akira was watching when that happened, and he looked surprised. But the other hunters looked completely normal, as if they expected something like this to happen. This is a clear indication of the difference in their experiences as hunters.

It didn't take long, Shika

Abe and Ele

A handed over all the hunters they had rescued to Alhai

Insurance company.

When Shika

Abe's name is Aki

A comes in from within APC, Ele

a is working with Alhai

The people of the insurance company negotiate.

Akira, come and see if they have left anything behind.

Of course, what should I do if I find something?

If it's a relic or device, just leave it outside of the APC. If it's a corpse or limb, collect them all in a body bag and leave them outside. You can find the empty body bag under the seat.

Akira frowned. He didn't expect limbs or torsos to be included in the list of items he might find.

Good.

Thank you, I'm counting on you.

Aki

a Use his information-gathering device to help him scan the inside of the APC. He found two rifles under his seat. Fortunately, no one forgot to bring their limbs or torso.

It only took them a while to complete the search inside the APC. At this moment, the squad leader of the Alhain Insurance Company said to Elena.

Thank you for your hard work. If you're okay, will you accept another request from us? In fact, we lost contact with the hunter who brought the rescue request to the C47 area. Now that you have completed our request for rescue in C32, if you are willing to accept this request, we are willing to give you an additional reward as a reward.

Leave it on my list of requests and I'll consider it.

I get it. Well, if you end up accepting it, that's counting on you.

After saying that, the squad leader left with the others.

Elena and his team first moved their vehicle to another place so as not to block the way to the hunter's office, and then they gathered again to discuss what to do next.

First, let's rest for 1 hour to replenish our supplies. So be sure to use this time to properly replenish your ammo and other consumables. Also, can you tell me your impression of the last request we just accepted? Although it was a bit strange for me to say this myself, since I was the one who decided to choose that request, the last one was harder than I thought. That's why I wanted to choose a simpler one for my next request.

Ming, as he said, agreed with Elena.

It's true that the last request is very dangerous, so I think it's a good idea.

Shika

Abe said with a straight face.

We did decide to withdraw sooner than we planned. I believe that we, including me, underestimated the difficulty of this request. So I think it's a good idea to take a simpler request, even though it means we're going to get less in return from it, but it doesn't really matter.

Sarah frowned, as if worried.

Judging by the number of mechanical monsters pouring out of that building, it meant that we really needed to think about escape routes in case our rescue target locked themselves in the depths of the building. Honestly, I don't want to fight so many monsters in an enclosed space.

Carol smiled wryly.

If it's a larger building, it's best to forget about the idea of entering the building from the start. After all, I don't want those monsters chasing me in a building like this.

Elena believes that all the hunters gathered here are relatively successful hunters, and some of them hate to accept low-reward requests. But looking at their reaction to her thoughts, it seems okay to prioritize safety now.

Got it, so for the next request, I'll decide on a simpler one.

Akira glanced at Carol, who was wearing a rather expensive reinforcement suit that often consumed a lot of strength. If they continue to accept cheap demands, she could end up facing a deficit. So he thinks Carroll probably doesn't like the idea.

But it didn't seem to be the case at all, so he decided not to worry anymore.

Carol notices that Akira is checking on her. True, she did not complain about accepting simpler requests with relatively few rewards, and she had no reason to fake this. Carol's attention was all on Akira, so she wasn't interested in the small reward at all.

Aki

a Placing armor plates in one of the supply depots. It is a physically active, rather boring and annoying job. But if he is not careful, he will have to pay with his life. He knew this, so he deliberately put a lot of effort into focusing on those armors.

Aki

a Lost more armor plates than he expected. His expression grimned when he noticed that a part of his vehicle was visibly exposed.

I lost a lot of armor plates this time.

Alpha replied casually.

This is not surprising after receiving these attacks. If you don't want to take them with you, make sure all the armor plates are installed correctly.

You are right. I did buy a rather expensive plating this time, so it should at least be durable. I don't regret it, it's an important expense.

Handling armor plates is a tricky business. Of course, the more expensive it is, the more durable the plating will be. But if Aki

a If you want to get better plating, the cost-to-value ratio will drop rapidly. This time, he bought expensive armor plates recommended by Alpha. It was the second most expensive armor plate in that supply depot. The price gap between that armor plate and the most expensive armor plate at that supply depot is huge.

Carol is also there to help Aki

a Put on armor. Then she asked Akira a question.

Akira, what are your plans after this?

I haven't figured it out at the moment. But I'm going to take it easy until the break is over.

Is that so? In this case

Ah, now that I think about it, I think I'll do some exercise.

Carol was about to invite Akira to dinner or something, but was interrupted by his sudden remark. She couldn't help but express her surprise.

Huh?

I finished the armor plate very quickly, so what about you, Carol?

It's almost over.

When she said this, Carol was still surprised.

After putting on all the armor plates, Aki

A is the real start of the exercise. Carol just stood there, looking at him with a look of astonishment. He slowly stretched his body, seemingly in pain. Carol then asked Akira a question.

If I ask you why you're exercising now, is that okay?

I've heard that increasing the flexibility of my joints and muscles is good for my health and that it can help strengthen my body. In fact, I have a rather stiff body, you see. And, this can also be used as my plyometric set training.

See you twice.

Ca

ol didn't actually ask about the benefits of the workout, she asked why Aki

a Start exercising now. Or at least, in her experience, no man would actually start a workout with her during his break. Then she thought it might just be a whim and decided not to ask any more.

And, it looks like Aki

A did decide to do so on a whim. What's more, talented people often have a different way of thinking than ordinary people, and Aki

A may be one of them.

Well, it didn't seem to cause her much trouble, and she felt that if she let something like this bother her, she wouldn't be able to get along with Akira. Therefore, Carol decided to ignore it.

There are many times, Aki

A had to shoot his rifle from an odd position in order to be able to get out of a dangerous situation. He often had to injure his body to continue fighting, sometimes he had to twist his body beyond the rotational limit of his joints, sometimes he had to keep shooting, tearing his muscles with each shot, and sometimes he had to resist a strong recoil that made his bones crack slightly. While continuing to fight, he will use drugs to maintain the body's function in these situations.

To minimize these types of injuries, Aki

a Having to increase the strength and flexibility of the body. Although it was a whim, it was really something that would be useful for him in the future.

If Carol had asked in more detail, she might have understood why Akira did that. But ever since she began to identify him as a boy with an eccentric personality, she lost the opportunity to learn more about him.

If this quirk is able to hide the existence of Alpha, if that would make people ignore his weird behavior, then this is a good pair for Aki

A and Alpha might be a good thing.

Carol decided to forget about it, she said to Akira, who was stretching her body.

My body is actually quite flexible, you know. Want to see it?

Akira stopped stretching and turned to her. After confirming that Akira was looking at her, Carol smiled confidently and lifted her right leg and stood still. She lifted her right leg all the way until her legs were almost in a straight line, while standing on one leg with her balance.

Carol knows very well how to show off her beautiful body to seduce others. And the design of the enhanced suit she used caught the eye of the SX members opposite. Carol stood on one leg, her right arm intertwined with her right leg, looking so beautiful, so bewitching.

Akira, who looked at Carol, looked a little surprised and exclaimed.

Oh!! That's great!!

Akira was just amazed at Carol's ability to stay in that position, and he knew he couldn't do that. Unfortunately, unlike Carol wanted, he wasn't surprised by the beauty of her body. But even so, Akira was amazed by her figure, so she decided to accept the compliment.

Carol said as she returned with her right leg.

Thanks, it's amazing, isn't it?

How exactly did you make your body so flexible?

Well, I think you have no choice but to stretch regularly every day. Although, in my case, it could also be because my nanomachines enhance the body.

Is that so? But now that I think about it, if someone else tries to put on your enhancement suit and your data remains inside, I'm sure it's going to be a huge disaster.

Akira remembered the conversation he had with Hakube the other day and frowned. Carol was intrigued by the phrase, so she inquired further about the topic.

Oh, what do you mean by that?

Well, Shika

Abe once told me that if I put on an enhancement suit that still contains other people's data, it would cause my body to twist in a strange way, and it would tear my muscles.

Then, Aki

A will Shika

What Abe used to tell him told CA

ol。 Carol seems to be listening carefully to his story and agrees with Shika

What Abe told him. Then, she added that information.

That's not even the worst-case scenario. There are a lot of bots out there that also use augmentation kits, right? The joints of those cyborgs are much more flexible than normal people. So, if the past user of a certain booster suit is one of those robots, and a normal person uses that booster suit and tries to move, his limbs may rotate 180 degrees, and it will destroy his body. In the worst-case scenario, it could tear his body apart completely.

Akira imagined something similar happening to him. His body turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and the appearance of lying in the middle of the ruins of the old world unable to move was really terrifying.

T- that's terrible.

Akira couldn't help but express her impressions, and Carol said with a faint smile at him.

Well, basically, if you don't want something like this to happen, you're better off only buying all of your equipment from stores you really trust, not just your booster kits. And be extra careful not to get any strange equipment from the black market.

Akira then thought.

[My gear was bought from Mr. Shizuka's shop, so it should be fine.] Although I bought my medicine from Katsuragi, I am sure that he would not sell me any dangerous medicine because he knew what he would do to him if he did. It should be fine, right? ]

Well, I don't think I need to worry.

Is that so? If you're worried about anything, I can introduce you to the stores I recommend, but I don't seem to need to, hehe

Yes. Never mind.

Akira began to stretch again. He stretched behind the alpha in front of him. Alpha sat on the ground, spread his legs, leaned forward until his breasts touched the ground, and looked at him. Akira seemed to be in pain, and he was trying his best to do it, but his body wasn't flexible enough and he was able to do it well.

Alpha then smiled at Akira.

Do you want me to help you?

No, thanks.

When she said this, Akira sounded upset. He knew that if Alpha controlled his augmentation suit, his body would be able to stretch more. But after listening to Carol's explanation just now, he was a little scared again.

Don't worry, the booster kit you're using right now is designed not to be twisted 180 degrees.

Do you really think telling me that way will make me feel safe? I do stretching exercises on my own.

Aki

A does trust Alpha, but those are two different things. So he constantly stretches with his own abilities, which also serves as training for him to operate the reinforcement suit himself.

When he tried to match these two movements, he correctly distinguished and felt the movement of his limbs under the plunge suit and the movement of the plunge suit. In order to minimize damage to his limbs while increasing the efficiency of his powerful augmentation suit, he does his best to match his body movements to the augmentation suit for optimal performance. Even stretching her body like this was already a difficult thing for Akira. There was nothing he could do except train.

Aki

A Continue exercising until Ele

a and sa

a came because their break was coming to an end.

When Elena and Sarah arrived, they were just chatting and waiting for Shikabe. As for Akira, he was asking Elena for details of the request they had made last time, why the people from the Alhain Insurance Company were waiting for them to come back, the guy who wanted to escape, and other things that piqued his interest.

Elena then explained to Akira based on her guesses. They had to save Cocole back there

s guy is with Alhai

A person who has contracted with an insurance company. According to that contract, if they lose contact with him after some time, or if he sends a rescue request, the company will send a team to escort him to safety.

After arriving at the location based on information from the Al Haynes investigation, Elena first tried to find Cochrans' location through his information terminal. Luckily, she was able to make a phone call with the man. But she asked him some questions, and when she looked at the situation over there, she found something strange.

According to the information that Elena had received in advance, there should have been only eight people, but there were more than a dozen survivors and more than twenty dead hunters. This wasn't surprising since he might have formed an alliance with the other hunters before they entered that building, but the problem was that he didn't say anything about it when he was on the phone with her.

Then in Ele

After asking the man a few more questions, she began to wonder if he was the real Cocole

s, and began to guess why he was lying there.

If she's optimistic, the guy might be under a lot of pressure, and the real Cocoren isn't around, and he thinks the rescue team won't come unless he impersonates that name. So he ended up doing it in a panic. If that's all, it's not a big deal at all. Ele

A can simply rescue them and usually escort them back to the hunter's office.

But if she is pessimistic, this could be a dangerous situation for Elena and her team. Cocole

S and his team may not have been killed by monsters, but by other hunters who took their equipment. In that case, it means that the hunters who locked themselves inside the building were the ones who killed the Cocoran team, who tried to call for help under the name of Cocoran. They may have been planning to attack Elena and her team and flee the building in their vehicle. It's just speculation, but if that's the case, that's too bad.

Although she had to be very careful there, she didn't have the room to wait for confirmation first. There were too many to move in one go, but if she told them to escort half of them back to the hunter's office first, they might riot. So, she asked Alhai

The insurance company raised the aftermath including confirmation.

Normally, we would ask them to show their hunter ID, but I decided not to do it so as not to anger them. Our request is basically to save the hunters who are unable to return on their own. So we are not obligated to do more, which is why I leave the aftermath to Alhai

insurance companies, they also agreed with us.

Akira nodded.

So it's not that simple, hehe. It's not like we can go there and save those hunters.

Yes, that's right. There is no guarantee that the hunter will rescue a good hunter. In addition, most people tend to make bad decisions when they are pushed into a corner, such as offering huge rewards that they can't pay when they issue an emergency SOS request. And when they have to pay more than they have on hand, they end up inundated with debt. Such people sometimes flee as soon as they are escorted to safety, and at worst, they engage in a shootout with the people who rescued them. That's why you need to be careful out there too, okay, Aki

a？

I get it, I'll be careful.

Akira nodded firmly and deeply. Elena is happy because she, as a senior hunter, seems to be able to teach Akira something useful as a junior hunter.