Ding, who was still smiling with satisfaction just now, immediately pouted.

Geez，Aki

Alas, you don't like it, you know, there's a better way to say it in this case.

Ming tilted his head as if he couldn't understand what she was saying, and Ding sighed and gave up expecting his praise.

Ah, yes, no problem. Now that I think about it, you're that kind of hunter

I don't understand what you mean, but it's safe to say that I really don't have plans to challenge monsters in close-quarters combat. I prefer my rifle.

yes, yes, I know.

Seeing the exchange between Ding and Akira, Togami remembered that in the bounty monster hunting request, he tried to show off his skills to Akira by killing the monster. Just like this time, Akira wasn't interested in that at all. This reminded Togami that Akira was that kind of person, and he smiled wryly.

Then they continued to walk deeper into the ruins, and when they reached a complex, they stopped. Rena looked around, wondering which direction to go from there.

Shiori, who was beside Rena, noticed a monster nearby.

Miss, be careful.

After Shiori finished speaking, she put her hand on the blade of the knife and walked to the nearby corridor. From that hallway, the monster fluttered louder and louder. The next moment, the same kind of monster that Ding had just defeated jumped out of the corridor.

But Shiori cut down the monster with a single sword. When it jumped out of the hallway, pausing for a moment to turn to Akira and the others, she quickly drew the blade. Her blade sliced through the hard muscles, as if it were a bue

。

Shiori immediately silently withdrew her knife, and the monster behind her was cut in half, blood gushed out, and the upper and lower bodies fell to the ground.

Looking at that superb blow, Akira couldn't help but mumble to herself.

Well, yes, beautifully done.

Shiori graciously thanked for the compliment, but Ding, who was beside her, pouted.

Akira, since it's Anesan, why did you do that? Isn't it a little too partial to the eldest sister?

Huh? But it's amazing, isn't it?

That's not the issue here. You told me before that you prefer your rifle, didn't you? So why change your mind suddenly?

When in a fairly enclosed space where there is no choice but to fight monsters at close range, using a rifle can be a poor choice. What's more, there are monsters that survive even when shooting at close range, so if you're confident to kill it with your skills and blade, there's no need to cling to using a rifle.

No, it's so unfair!! I won't accept this!!

Hell, if I care, that's my opinion, so I don't care if you take it or not.

Reina glanced at Shiori, who had returned to her side, happy and proud of Akira's compliment. She couldn't help but wonder what she could do to get Aquilas's compliment, but she didn't think of anything.

Reina has learned CQC with Ding and Shiori, and is actually quite proficient. But she didn't get a chance to show off here. If she had a chance to fight a nearby monster, it would be when that monster defeated Ding and Shiori, and it would only happen in dangerous situations. Until then, Shiori and Ding will tell her to retreat. And even if she said she wanted to do it, she knew that Shioli and Ding would never let her do it.

Unfortunately, Rena couldn't shake off this thought, and Shiori, who noticed this, couldn't help but frown.

It didn't take long for them to encounter another monster. Akiwa Togami took up the firing position, but Shiori suddenly intervened.

Miss, can I ask you to deal with it?

Huh? I?

Yes, I'll help if things don't go well, and although Akira-sama will come with us, it's still actually a quest for Miradi and Togami-sama. Milady's main duty on this expedition is to find the right route, which is true, but if it makes Milady think that it is someone else's responsibility to face the monster, it could make a fatal mistake in the future. To keep that in mind, if Milady could.

I don't mind, but

Rena glanced at Akira and Togami, and the two looked at each other, and in order not to hinder her aim, they opened a way. Reina thought it was strange for Shiori to say this, but aimed her rifle at the target anyway.

The Reynas rifle is small enough to be used indoors, and it has decent sniping capabilities. It can also be used to fire powerful bullets continuously and has a strong recoil. Its targets work with her information-gathering device to quickly focus on the target and fine-tune it to improve accuracy when Reyna pulls the trigger. It can even analyze the distance between the rifle and the target and correctly identify when the user is deliberately moving the target to readjust its support accordingly.

Reyna looked at the murderous monster face through the scope, but she was used to it, and it didn't even affect her concentration. Then she calmly pulled the trigger.

The bullet went straight to the monster's forehead, through its body, and shot out from the other end of its body. The blow completely blocked the monster, it collapsed to the ground, the three monsters, Reina killed them all with one shot, and the last monster didn't even have room to react to its dead companions.

Reyna checked the monster again, finally breathed a sigh of relief and put down her rifle.

Even when the advanced features of her gear are included, this is a good showcase of her skills. Thinking so, Togami glanced at Akira. Akira had shifted his attention to the surroundings, as if he wasn't interested in that at all. At this time, Shioli asked him.

Ming-sama, how effective is the sniping?

Huh? Well, that's good.

Can I interpret this as you have nothing to criticize for sniping?

Ming didn't understand why Shiori was emphasizing this, but it took him some time to give an honest answer.

Well, let's see, one shot from that range, so no bullets were wasted, she didn't even give the monster any chance to react, isn't that good enough? If I'm to be strict, it might be the price of that powerful bullet and the value for money of the equipment. But since we're looking for old-world automata here, I'm pretty sure that if we can find them, we'll probably get enough money to justify the expense. But if I had to assume the worst, then all of us would have to engage in close-quarters combat with monsters like Ding.

Akira, why did you bring my name there?

This is because I have no plans to follow your train of thought.

Aki

a and ka

ae starts arguing, Shio

I ignored them and turned to Rei

a。

Miss, do a good job, and Master Ming thinks the same way.

Yes. Thank you.

Reina is happy that she has been praised and her abilities have been recognized, but at the same time, she is a little embarrassed to realize that Shiori needs to make a request in order to encourage Ming to praise her.

They then proceeded to search the building, although they had enough information to point out where the automata might be, and the only clue came from the Rainas Old World Signal Analyzer device. In addition, the software is unable to fully decode the signal, which only increases the difficulty of exploration.

They had encountered monsters a few times, but the five of them could take care of them without any problems. Togami and Reina felt that those battles were not easy, as they thought that it would be difficult to explore the ruins if it were just the two of them. There are more monsters, and those monsters are stronger than usual. The interior of the building is like a labyrinth, and the plants that shroud the walls and floors make them lose their sense of direction. If they get lost in that building, it's hard to get back alive.

For the record, they use information-gathering devices that automatically create maps based on scan results and actively track their location, but relying on that map is too dangerous. After all, there are even experts in this kind of thing. That's how hard it is to rely on an active map. In addition, the outline of some buildings changes regularly. They have to take this kind of thing into account while believing the information they have at hand.

Aki

a Some dead monsters were found, and it must have been killed by other hunters. Grass has grown from those carcasses, wrapping them up as if they were being used as their nourishment. Seeing this, he couldn't help frowning.

The grass here is aggressive. They won't even wait until the body turns to dirt, I hope my car outside is okay.

Togami replied to the grunting voice.

I've heard that it's just a day. I've also heard that if you leave it for more than a day, the plant will get tangled in the wheel. A high-powered vehicle can tear them apart. As long as the plants don't damage the inside, we can remove the plants on the outside with the booster kit and it should be fine.

That's right, but we found some abandoned vehicles.

I bet those hunters thought it should be okay to park their car outside for a while, and by the time they realized it, it was too late for them and cleaning the plants was too much work for them. Well, won't be here for a day, so it should be fine.

You have a point.

Compared to carnivorous monsters, Aki

a Slight fear of aggressive plants. But what Togami said made sense, so he decided to put his worries aside for the time being.

It didn't take long for them to come to a huge clearing. In the center of that room, there is a circular stage with a transparent glass pillar on it, as if displaying a product. Reina and Togami immediately ran over and looked carefully at the girl who seemed to be encased in a glass pillar.

Rena!! Is this it?! Is this an old world automata?! It also looks completely unharmed! Oh! We did it!!

The location is slightly different from the original information, but as long as we can find it! According to the Old World signal receiver, it was Mitsuha Ji

The latest model of uba Tech's latest series! And the price is 18 million chrome!?

18 million chrome!? J, how many are there in Orum!?

Wait, currently Ch

The exchange rate of ome is No, and so on, it's CH

ome Au

um, so real CH

om Yes

Reina and Togami panicked and ecstatic to discover the automata of the old world. It didn't take long for Akira, Shiori, and Ding to make their way to the glass case.

Shiori! Ding! Shake! We found it!! We did it! Now, we just need to bring this back to Aki

A?

Akira didn't seem so happy, staring sharply at the glass case, and Rena, who noticed this, finally calmed down.

Uh, what's wrong?

Akira didn't answer her, just stepped forward, leaned closer to the glass case, and muttered to herself.

Hologram?

Rena and Togame turned pale. Shiori took out the device used to check the holographic display and shone it at the glass case.

Mademoiselle, unfortunately, Akira-sama is right, it's a 3D display. The object inside it is nothing more than an image.

Even though Shiori shines through the clear glass, the robot inside does not cast a shadow on the floor. This is a special feature of holograms. After Rina and Togami confirmed, they lowered their eyes and looked completely disappointed.

Aki

Alas, you noticed this very well.

I once had the experience of finding a large number of expensive artifacts in a glass case, only to find out that it was nothing more than a holographic poster. Since then, I've questioned what I've seen every time I see something similar.

You do learn from your mistakes, and as a result, Milady is also able to have a good experience.

Ding smiled lightly and glanced at Reina and Togami, who had almost swept away from the celebratory climax. It seems like it will take some time for them to recover from it.

Since they had already gone deep and it was an open space that was easy to defend, Akira, Shiori, and Ding decided to take a break and let Reina and Togami regain their spirits as well.

Reina and Togami sat on a bench with their heads resting on the table. That bench was a portable bench prepared by Shioli; When it's packed, it can turn into a surprisingly small object. There were two quick meals on that table, and Shiori had prepared them for them.

It should have been expected that it would not be so easy to find that old world automaton Rena, did you get any of the information mentioned?

I don't know, it's not my fault.

I know, it's not your fault.

Rena and Togami, though they had resumed enough mental communication, still didn't have enough strength to lift their heads off the table.

Although they were not far away, Akira was watching the automaton with great interest. The figure of the robot girl is in very good shape, demonstrating the advanced technology used to create robots. Its expression is calm and peaceful, as if sleeping or praying. Its feet do not touch the ground because it floats in the air. It's simply fascinating.

Beside Akira, Alpha pouted and grumbled.

Akira, if you want a pretty girl to watch, better look at me, you know?

Not this one.

Then why are you looking at that doll so closely?

Shiori suddenly came to Akira's side and gently asked him a question.

Akira-sama, you seem to have been looking closely at this picture, by chance, are you interested in this kind of thing?

Well, it's not completely uninterested, more precisely, I'm interested in what the old world times were like, and selling this kind of stuff was the norm.

It depends on the indicator you use, but even in this day and age, automata are common. If Akira-sama goes to one of the shops that sells automata, you might get a better idea of what the Old World was like.

Oh, you're right, since you mentioned it, we also have automata in our time, although I don't think they're going to get me close to that kind of store.

Akira said this, smirking bitterly at herself. Some of him is apparently still trapped in the slum city. He still believed that people would not allow him to enter such a high-class store.

Shiori felt strange that Ming despised himself so much and said to him gently.

If I'm not mistaken, you should be able to find such a store in the Kugama building. I'm sure the shops there won't let Akira-sama leave.

Is that so? By the way, how much does an automaton usually cost?

To be honest, I don't know much about it, but a billion AU

um should be enough for you to get a pretty good housekeeping robot.

Shiori said this number so casually, Ming felt a little troubled.

uh So, what can automata do?

Cooking or cleaning the room, basically doing housework.

Oof, that's all, that's quite expensive.

Automata, after all, are luxuries.

It shows that there is a clear economic gap between those who are surprised by this price and those who are not.

Honestly, just because it's a luxury, I don't think it justifies the price you're giving it. If it's that expensive, wouldn't it be cheaper if you paid someone else to do it?

Truly. If this is something that humans can do, it will be cheaper to do so. There are many things in this world that are like this, and that includes being a hunter.

Well, since you mentioned it, it's true.

Akira smiled wryly. If it's cheap to send automata to explore the ruins, corporate governments will do it. So in short, the only reason people have hunter jobs is because sending automata is not economically viable.

Sending hunters with cheap lives into the ruins, even if half of them do not return alive, the city management can make a profit. That's the truth about being a hunter.

Shiori noticed Akira smiling self-deprecatingly again, and she continued.

As hunters progressed, their chances of being injured or even killed in the wasteland decreased. As a result, it allows hunters to increase their earnings while curbing expenses for profit. As a result, many hunters decide to continue working as hunters. I'm sure Akira-sama is already one of those hunters.

If they live, they will bring great benefits, and if they are confronted, they will cause great losses. While there are many different opinions on the matter, for better or for worse, people label the lives of such hunters with an expensive label. Even if everything in this world can be replaced in one form or another, if it is difficult to replace, their existence can be regarded as forgiving.

Born out of a good-for-nothing kid in the back alleys of a slum city, Achillas is slowly being replaced by an important hunter.

Akira blushed and looked away.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Shiori replied with her usual smile.

After that, Shioli and Jing continued to talk a lot. Sometimes I can feel the high-class lifestyle from Shiori's answers, and I listen to it with interest.

I did say that an automaton could cost about 1 billion AU

um, but that would be an automaton with personality. A robot without personality is more like a robot with cheap artificial intelligence, and this kind of robot is basically cheaper. But of course, this automaton is not as advanced as the former.

Uh, but automata with personality and personality are using artificial intelligence, right? So what's the difference between them?

While this would be a vague explanation as there is no clear distinction between them, basically, impersonal AI is more like a robot. When we refer to artificial intelligence, there are those artificial intelligences that are designed for chess or other board games, right? It's like using that AI's learned ability to cook, clean, or fight. This kind of artificial intelligence is not capable of having a proper conversation with a person. If you want an AI that can do that, it's better to get an automaton with personality. When it comes to automata, most people will mention the automata with personality, which is closer to humans than robots, and this kind of automata is quite advanced, so it is also quite expensive.

Um, so it's not that simple, huh So, when we talk about the old world automata, which one is it?

Almost all of the Old World automata found were automata with personality. Not to mention, they are advanced artificial intelligence, since they are made with old-world technology, although because of this, they tend to cause trouble.

When Akira was about to ask Shiori what she meant by this, Rena, who was resting her head on the table, suddenly raised her head. Akira and Shiori noticed this and stopped talking. Rena then drank the rest of the wine on the table and shouted.

All right!! Nothing more!! Togami!! Stop rolling around and get up! Let's keep searching!!

The distance god slowly lifted up.

Just to let you know, I'm just waiting for you to get up.

I feel like the more I tell you that the more you get up, the longer you'll be angry, and that's why I didn't do that.

Just got up, let's go!

Roger that.

Togami smiled slightly, resisted not answering Reina, and got up from his seat. Akira and Shiori glanced at each other with a smile and walked towards Rina and Togami.

Not long after resuming their exploration, Togami and his party came to a place with a completely different feeling from other regions. There were no plants in that place, and the border between the floor and the walls of that room was so pure white that it was hard to spot.

Togami motioned for the whole team to stop.

Reina, do you have any readings?

Can you use the people settings for checking?

I can try, but it probably doesn't make sense. Even if I could, it might take too much time.

If there is only a warehouse for employees, it should be somewhere in front. I think we're closer to our goal now, let's go.

They cautiously walked into the hallway. Shuttling through it can make people lose their sense of time, but for them, it is a common thing to be in the ruins.

As they cautiously walked deeper into the hallway, they spotted another hunter standing near the entrance to the room. The hunter also noticed the Enshen group and immediately shouted at them.

Stop there! If you get a little closer, consider this an act of hostility! Where are you from?

Togami replied as if he didn't want to fight.

It's from D

a

Kam's Hunter! Came here in search of artifacts and came here purely by chance!

But didn't you tell them that we did find the old world automata here?

We're doing everything we can to protect the place, so it's not hard to deduce that we did find automata here.

Rodin did try to change his ways, but all his ideas were rejected by Kurosawa.

Having cut it out, it doesn't. That's final.

Kurosawa's tone became tougher in order to interrupt the discussion. Rodin took a step back and stopped arguing.

Kurosawa then said a few words of comfort to him.

We've got ourselves 4 automations, isn't that good enough? Give it up. Being too greedy will only kill you, you know. It's important to know when to stop. First of all, we have to make sure that the expedition can be called a success by a specialist, brought back safely, and finally exchanged money. We can't relax until we get that money. So focus on getting this done first, okay?

But if I do, I won't buy one for myself.

Rodin muttered in a voice that Kurosawa didn't hear, but it was clear that he hadn't completely given up on his thoughts. Kurosawa understood this well and sighed.

Although Kurosawa was commanding the team, he was not actually an official member of their team, he was only receiving the team's payment.

Akira Kurosawa was often chosen as the captain of the Hunters because of his excellent performance when exploring difficult ruins and his tendency to prioritize safety when forced into tough battles. While some hunters mock him for being a coward, he's a perfect candidate if the goal is to improve the team's survivability, or when safety takes precedence over profit, or when ruins need to be explored. Limited information.

And since he often leads other teams for a fee, he often has to deal with hunters who don't listen to him. Kurosawa thought that Rodin was the same, so he dealt with him accordingly.

Well, I'm just a paid temporary commander. If you say you don't listen to me, you can go ahead and do whatever you want. However, if anything bad happens, I won't take any responsibility. Even if you cost yourself or someone else your life because of your actions, so if that happens, I won't accept any pay cut. If someone has the same opinion as you, tell someone else as well.

After saying that, Kurosawa immediately turned his attention elsewhere. Rodin, who had been left behind, had a gloomy face. Kurosawa then thought.

[Even those who pay me a lot of money to lead them sometimes decide not to listen to my relics are always tempting, and I need to be careful myself.] ]

Kurosawa chuckled, shook the thought out of his mind, and began to think about what to do, estimating that Rodin would not survive.

The Togamis party decided to leave the ruins. But it won't be a straight road, instead, they'll visit some buildings on the way out of the ruins, looking for ruins. As the leader of the team, Togami decided to take advantage of the time to leave the ruins and go out while salvaging some relics.

When they returned to the plant-covered part of the ruins, they again followed the Renus Device to decide which way to go. After all, it was difficult to find ruins in a green place, so they decided to rely on Reina.

They take the time to inspect places where some relics may have been left behind, while making sure not to stray too far from the route leading to the exit. In the middle, Rena chooses a room based on her guess. They left the duties of the guards to Shiori and Ding, and began to search for relics in that room.

In that room, Aki

a A shelf was found to be full of plants. He used the power of the augmentation suit to tear apart the plants and open the shelves. He found it full of tubular objects. He grabbed one and looked closely, and there seemed to be some solids in the translucent body of the tube. But Akira still couldn't figure out what the tubular object was.

What is it? Alpha, do you know what this is?

It was an old-world clothing article.

So it's a skirt? This thing?

Akira raised her eyebrows and tilted her head, and Rena noticed this.

Akira, did you find anything?

yes, but I'm not sure what this thing is, you know what it is?

Rena caught the tubular object and looked at it carefully. When she realized what it was, she was slightly startled and her face flushed slightly.

I think it's some kind of old-world costume, but maybe. There's something inside that's pressurized.

Is that so? It's amazing, how do you know?

Well, I can see this information from the augmented reality view of the old world. You can't see it, but I can see it.

Hehe, what kind of cloth is this?

Apparently she asked casually out of curiosity, which made Rena even more flustered. Then she replied, as if she was avoiding the topic.

Maybe like some fabric with an old-world design?

Well, after all, it's a relic of the old world, so that's a given, isn't it? But well, some designs of this era try to imitate it for real. Is this what people call old-world design?

Yes.

In this case, they may bring us some money. I'll take them back to town.

Akira began to stuff the relics he had just found into his backpack. Noticing this, Togami walked towards him.

Akira, did you find anything?

Some old world costume items.

Togami took one of the tubular objects and frowned.

This thing is here?

yes, Reina said that based on the information of augmented reality, etc., but that doesn't mean that all these tubes are old-world clothes, right?

Akira then stretched out the holy relic in his hand to Reina, and Togami followed suit.

Rena took the relic and looked inside, her face stiffened, and she said with a slight flush.

Some of them are not.

Is that so? What else is there here?

Accessories, toys, or some kind of tool.

Akira felt that there was something strange about Renas's expression. So he made his guess.

Judging by your expression, it doesn't seem to be that valuable, right? Well, in that case, can you check them all over and separate the cheap relics?

Rena seemed to hesitate and was stunned for a few seconds before she said firmly.

No, let's bring them all back. Anyway, I'm not that confident in my ability to identify artifacts. If we don't have enough space, we can throw them away in case we find more expensive relics later. Yes, hunters after all, so we need to be able to at least be able to make such a decision, right?

Togami nodded deeply.

You have a point. Well, let's put them all together.

Me too? Ah, yes, let's do that.

Rena suddenly changes her mind and begins to help Akira and Togami collect relics. Of course, Aki

a This has not been overlooked.

Unlike Akira and Togami, Reina was able to identify the contents of the relics they had gathered there, and she didn't expect to encounter some relics in such a place

[Okay.] Now, I'm a hunter too, right? I can't be picky about the relics I find. If I start doing this, I won't be able to continue as a hunter. Yes, that's right, that's the right attitude of a hunter, I should be glad we found some relics that look expensive! ]

Rena muttered to herself, and without waiting for Akira and Togami to ask any questions, she sped up the pace of collecting the ruins.

[It was a coincidence that I chose this store, I didn't expect it to be that kind of store.] 】

The store has been overrun by plants, the walls have withered badly, and the information from augmented reality has been badly fragmented. When it's still open, it doesn't show the status of the store.

Even if Rena told Akira and Togami about it, she couldn't dispel their suspicions. She knew at least that much.

Rena tried to stay as calm as she could, continuing to stuff the relic. Thankfully, no one noticed that she was acting a little awkwardly there.