Sterian was one of the top-class restaurants inside Kugamayama city. All the meals served here was among the best of the best, as such, they were also priced way higher than any high-class restaurant in the lower district of Kugamayama city. Even so, the taste of the food they made never made anyone who ate it regret their decision. The decorations and the furniture here were also first-class, boosting the dining experience as well as giving off a glamorous and luxurious atmosphere.

Naturally, it was not cheap to be able to dine here. Customers who went to the restaurant were only the rich. They were the kind of people who could casually pay out a sum that would make anyone in the outer wall crazy.

The private rooms in Sterian were even more expensive and getting a reservation for a room was not easy. It was often used as a negotiation venue for high-ranking officers from various corporations. The success rate of negotiations in these private rooms bolstered its popularity and was extremely helpful to the negotiators of those large corporations.

Akira was invited to one of these rooms. The slightly spacious room was filled with glamorous decorations. A large table was fixed there, covered by a white luxurious table cloth. Meals that were suitable for the scene were lined up on top of the table.

On the other side of the table, Kibayashi was already sitting in wait, looking extremely happy.

“Well well well, you really never cease to amaze me.”

Thanks to the delicious meal, Akira was in a good mood, but Kibayashi’s smile still rubbed him the wrong way.

“It’s not like I did that because I wanted to.”

“I know, that’s why I really like you.”

Watching Kibayashi laughing merrily, Akira could not help but sigh.

After the transport convoy reached Kugamayama city, Akira was transported to the hospital inside the inner wall together with the rest of the badly injured people. He was then placed under partial house arrest under Saka**a Heavy Industry and was interrogated about what had happened before he was released.

Akira said what was on his mind during the interrogation—‘It’s not like I could do anything about it since I had to fight against those who were there to kidnap Saka**a Heavy Industry’s old-world connector.’ After questioning the others, they did not find anything suspicious and released him.

Although the main subject of the investigation was Shirou’s escape, it was not like Saka**a could simply leak such information out to the public. Because of that, the questioning was much stricter toward those who already knew of the situation.

Kibayashi could not hold back his laughter after listening to Akira’s story, which only irritated him even more.

Akira somehow managed to maintain his mood thanks to the delicious food as he pushed the conversation toward the main topic.

“It’s fine already, isn’t it? Just get into the main subject, why did you invite me here?”

Kibayashi had to finish laughing first before he changed the subject. Even so, he was still trying to calm down his breathing after so much laughter.

“You’re right. You’ve really entertained me. So, I guess it’s only fair to get to the main subject soon. Akira, I have bad news and good news for you.”

Akira frowned.

“Don’t tell me that is actually one bad news and worse news. Something like when I ask you ‘so what is the good news?’ and you’ll say, ‘that one was the good news’ or something like that, right?”

Kibayashi chuckled toward the very paranoid Akira and said to him.

“Don’t worry, it’s really one good news and one bad news. Let’s start with the good news first. We’ve secured the equipment that you’ve ordered.”

Akira raised his eyebrows, while at the same time, he could not help but smile after hearing the news.

“Oh? Is that so?!”

“Yeah. Those are very powerful pieces of equipment. The weapons and the augmented suit that you ordered from the front-line are ones that normally only Hunters with a Hunter Rank of 100 or above can get.”

Akira was ecstatic since it turned out to be even better than he had hoped. But he then frowned and asked Kibayashi a question.

“That’s great!!! Wait? Doesn’t that mean that I can’t buy them then?”

“Normally, yes. But it was possible with the help from Saka**a Heavy Industry, as a reward for your job. Well, I guess it’s more accurate to call them compensation for the trouble that you’ve gone through? They talked to you when you were hospitalized, remember? It’s for that time.”

The work done to fight back Erde’s team was treated separately from the escort job. To be more precise, while Akira was in the middle of his job to escort the transport convoy, he had left his post because of the request from Hikaru. According to that, it could be taken as a violation of his contract, which means he could have not received any reward.

But of course, Saka**a Heavy Industry could not afford to do that. After all, that would mean that they were not paying someone who had worked for them. Not to mention, even if a clause was appended to his request after the fact that he had violated his contract, the one who was responsible for Akira, Hikaru, was also under house arrest. Thus a proposal to deal with the reward was sent to Kibayashi instead.

While Akira was hospitalized, Kibayashi contacted him and finished the negotiation regarding that. Because of that, the reward for repelling Erde’s team was given in the form of the equipment that Akira had been looking for. They were finally able to secure the already expensive equipment with the equally expensive delivery cost of the front-line equipment.

Akira went through his memory of that time and nodded.

“I see. That wasn’t easy but it was worth the trouble. So then, when will they arrive?”

Akira was brimming with expectation, but Kibayashi’s expression turned cloudy.

“As I said, I have good news and bad news. That was the end of the good news, it was really good news, right? The next one is the bad news.”

Akira reeled back.

“W-what is it?”

“Although it has already been decided that they will transport your equipment from the front-line to here, we still have no estimation of when it will arrive.”

“…Well, it is from the front-line of the eastern district after all, so it’s only to be expected that they’ll take quite a lot of time.”

Akira already knew the trouble of transporting stuff from further east. He was a bit relieved since he thought that it was something worse, but it turned out to be something fully understandable. However, as though intending to betray his expectations, Kibayashi then continued.

“Even with that considered, we really have no fixed schedule as to when it will arrive. It can be tomorrow, or maybe next month, or maybe half-a-year later, or even next year. We don’t even have an approximation.”

As expected, Akira did not find the bad news amusing at all.

“Ehhh, what the heck is with that?”

“Well, it’s complicated. Like the transport permit for example. It’s also not that simple when we have to entrust such powerful weaponry to a third-party transport service. With just this troublesome stuff accounted for, it becomes even more difficult than before, you see.”

“…Since we got it from Saka**a Heavy Industry, can’t they do something about that too?”

“That is for them to decide. It’s not like I can do anything about it. Well, I can understand that providing support to purchase these items is much easier than handling its transport. After all, it’s not like Saka**a can just send a long-range inter-city transport vehicle just to ferry your weapons here, right?”

“Hmmm, that’s true.”

The route between Kugamayama and Zegelt was already difficult. It was only to be expected that transport from the front-line would be even more difficult. Although he knew that it would take quite a lot of money, Akira could not even imagine how much that would be. Since he understood that it was unreasonable for Saka**a and Kibayashi to have all the solutions for this, he felt that the whole thing was rather unfortunate.

“I see, so what are the other troublesome stuff?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t say.”

“Haaa.”

Akira could not help but show displeasure. Watching him like that, Kibayashi smiled amusedly and said.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be happy with the answer either. That’s why, in case you want to know no matter what, I can lend you a hand, you know? But for that, we’ll need a formal Hunter office issued confidentiality contract. The one that Hunters would definitely regret if they breached it. So, do you still want to know? If you still want to know, I can arrange to get the information you want, it’s not like we’re strangers after all.”

“…Is it really that bad?”

“Well, yeah. By the way, it’s a very strictly guarded secret that would be impossible to talk about unless we use this kind of room. That’s why, putting aside whether you accept it or not, don’t leak it outside, okay?”

Akira frowned and shook his head.

“Alright, thanks for the offer but I’ll have to refuse. It seems that it’s better if I don’t know.”

“Is that so? You don’t need to hold back, you know?”

“Yeah. It’s still a no. I bet that it’s something that’s better not to touch.”

“Well, it’s true that if you found out about it, the upper echelons will have you monitored.”

“Give me a break already…”

Suddenly Akira showed suspicion.

“I’ll at least ask you this. You didn’t invite me to this room just so that you can say that to me, right?”

Kibayashi deliberately looked away with his usual joking attitude.

“What are you talking about? It’s a standard treatment for a high-ranking Hunter from the city official so that we can convey the needed information right away when asked.”

“Humph, is that so?”

Kibayashi returned his gaze toward Akira who was looking at him with great suspicion, smiled and spoke.

“I have no plan to try and use cheap tricks on you, you know? After all, you keep entertaining me even without me doing anything. That’s why I’m interested in you, you see. I can’t wait to hear your next adventure.”

Akira twitched, he looked extremely displeased.

“Good grief. Either way, my equipment will be here as long as I wait, so I won’t be doing anything reckless while waiting for it. So, I don’t think there will be anything to amuse you for the time being.”

Even after Akira said that, Kibayashi just smiled and shook his head.

“Well, good luck with that, though, I do think that it is futile. You’ll definitely come up with something to amuse me. Whether you get roped into something or even be the source of that something. Either way, you’ll do something interesting soon enough. That’s just how it is up until now after all. That includes this time as well. You’re just that kind of guy, or am I wrong?”

Akira did not reply and just returned to his meal. Kibayashi also followed suit after that.

The meal left on the table was able to help Akira uplift his mood. But the amount needed to be more than what was available to completely restore his mood.

After Akira cheered up for a bit, he then threw a question to Kibayashi.

“Say, you said that there’s no exact date when the equipment will arrive, right? I know that you can’t exactly get a promised delivery date to a Hunter, but can you at least give me a rough estimation? It’s fine even if you don’t have any evidence to support your estimation.”

“My guess, huh? I’m sorry but that will be difficult. It’s not like I know all the detail. Although I know about the general rules and regulations for the transportations between the cities, I don’t know it well enough. A new rule has just been enacted. I don’t know why it was enacted upon. Though, I have my own guess. However, asking me when this new rule will be revoked and when your transportation can resume, is something impossible for me to say.”

“Is that so? Can you at least tell me the rules?”

“Let’s see…”

Kibayashi hummed for a bit, he then shook his head with a serious look.

“…Sorry, but I can’t. If my guess is correct, people might get suspicious as to why I can come up with such a guess. Though, you’re free to make your own guess as well. Though, I recommend you don’t tell anyone about your own thoughts on the matter. I think that’s all I can say.”

“I see…”

Akira actually found something weird.

“Alpha, it’s about what Kibayashi said…”

Alpha went ahead and warned Akira first.

“I don’t mind telling you my hypothesis, but if you can’t pretend that you don’t know, it’s better if you actually not know it in the first place.”

“I see, it’s fine then.”

“Yep, that’s a good decision.”

After that, Akira continued enjoying the meal, while on the other hand, Kibayashi was curious about something after that exchange and thought.

…Judging from that rule, I bet that old-world connector or something from Saka**a Heavy Industry has escaped. After all, that rule is way too lax if he was kidnapped. So where did they go? Did that old-world connector just run away from the observer under Saka**a? Could that old-world connector be somewhere around Kugamayama city at the moment? Does Saka**a already know if that is the case? There are many Hunters with unknown origins here, it is the perfect place for people with questionable origins to conceal themselves.

Kibayashi looked at Akira, Akira frowned and said to him.

“What?”

“Nope, it’s nothing.”

Thinking that something interesting would happen if Akira got in contact with that old-world connector, Kibayashi could not help but to look forward to the next incident and smiled.

—*—*—*—

Around the time Akira was having a meal with Kibayashi. Hikaru was also sitting inside the same restaurant, Sterian. Shizuka was sitting next to her and someone from Kiryou and TOSON were sitting on the other side of the table.

Although she was put under partial house arrest just like Akira after they arrived, Hikaru was still doing her job. After finishing the negotiation with the transport convoy’s side, she was able to secure the reward that Akira asked from her. But they were still discussing how much of his reward would be paid in Aurum, and how much would be paid in the form of an increase in Hunter Rank.

Akira was looking for powerful equipment. But there many of them had Hunter Rank restrictions. Except for one certain exception. Since the restrictions mostly came from the distributors, if the distributor allowed it, the Hunters could purchase those equipment regardless of their Hunter Rank.

Akira did ask Hikaru to be paid in form of better equipment instead of Hunter Rank. That was why she decided to contact Kiryou and TOSON directly. To rope them into the matter. As for the corporation’s side, they were also looking to establish strong connections with high ranking Hunters since they tend to purchase high-quality, expensive products. Hikaru thought that it was possible to obtain equipment from the corporations directly despite the Hunter Rank restriction and her guess was right.

The only thing that Hikaru did not expect was that both TOSON and Kiryou asked Shizuka to be present during the negotiation as well.

Personally speaking, Hikaru did not see any reason why a small-time owner of an independent weapon shop had to attend too. But since TOSON and Kiryou expressed that demand rather strongly, she decided to contact Akira. That was when Akira replied with a rather imposing warning telling them not to do anything rude with the assumption that Shizuka would accept the invitation. It came out of the left field for Hikaru as she proceeded with the paperwork and had Shizuka attend the negotiation as well.

During the negotiation, it was obvious that Kiryou and TOSON were being very careful toward Shizuka. Since Hikaru knew that Akira’s trust toward Shizuka was strong and that Shizuka’s advice had a lot of effect on how Akira would spend his money on equipment, Hikaru was not surprised by how things played out. Though, the way Akira responded was still something that she would have never expected from him.

When Hikaru was asked about what had happened during the escort mission, she explained that she was under a confidentiality contract and only answered what she was allowed to. After hearing what Akira did, Shizuka seemed extremely worried. Kiryou and TOSON thought if it was possible to use that to advertise their products as they asked Hikaru to share the data she had as Akira’s operator. The difference in their reaction made Hikaru a little curious. After all, this was the kind of reaction one would receive from a corporation toward a Hunter working with them.

After that, they eventually closed their negotiation and felt that it was a fruitful one. Both the representatives from TOSON and Kiryou left first since they wanted to work on the equipment order that they had just received, while Shizuka and Hikaru were left behind, chatting about Akira.

After hearing what he was like when Akira first came to Shizuka’s shop, Hikaru raised her eyebrows and asked.

“He was that weak? Or more like, he looked just like a normal boy at that time?”

Shizuka remembered back from that time and smiled bitterly with a tint of nostalgia.

“Yep, though it might be weird to hear this, but he did not seem to have that much chance as a Hunter back then. It was as if he would die anytime. That was all that I could see from him back then. To be honest, I have a pretty good intuition, and that is the first time my first impression is wrong.”

Hikaru hummed and nodded. She initially thought that Akira might actually be a city agent and that it was just that Shizuka did not know it. But judging from Shizuka’s story, Hikaru was surprised to find out that Akira was really a boy who originated from the slums.

So, he was telling the truth when he said that he was weak in the past, huh? Hmmm, that was a bit unexpected…

That was when Shizuka suddenly said with a serious face.

“I have a question though, as a city official, what do you think of Akira?

“As a city official, huh?”

“Yes.”

Hikaru also turned rather serious.

“I’m really sorry, but if I have to be honest, from the point of view of the city officials, he’s someone really dangerous. Even the permission for him to enter the middle district as well as getting into the transport vehicle were all nothing but temporary permissions. I know it’s not right for me to say this since he saved me, but I can’t use that fact to guarantee that he’s a good Hunter based on the standards within the inner wall. That is my answer from my position.”

Although Hikaru felt that was rather harsh considering that Akira saved her, she still properly answered that question as a city official with a rather apologetic tone. She glanced at Shizuka, wondering if she angered her.

But in contrast to her expectation, Shizuka seemed relieved as she said.

“It’s fine that way.”

Hikaru raised her eyebrows.

“You’re not angry? I’m sure I said some pretty harsh things, you know?”

“It seems that you don’t have a bad impression of him.”

“…Well, he did save me… And almost got killed because of that, so…”

Shizuka looked warmly at Hikaru, she then continued as if to warn Hikaru.

“Unfortunately, Akira often does a lot of dangerous things. At least, even for me who has known him for longer, I can’t honestly say that he’s not a bad kid. Ah, it’s not like I’m saying that he has a bad personality or anything like that. It’s just that he’s not exactly normal. It’s like… the way he thinks is not right, or more like, he’s quite reckless. There’s that side of him, you see.”

“Ahh, I can completely understand that.”

“It seems that Akira had a rough time in the slums, maybe that is the reason why he ended up like he is. His way of processing things tends to get him more enemies. That’s why I can understand why you see him as someone who is dangerous. It’s a good thing that there’s a city official who can handle him well… If I have to be honest, if it’s possible, I hope he would learn to make compromises with others though.”

After saying that, Shizuka smiled bitterly, Hikaru also replied with the same bitter smile.

“Even for me who only known him recently, it’s obvious to see that he’s bad at dealing with people. Just to be safe, I’ll add a note on the evaluation report to be careful dealing with him. If the other staff members see that note, I’m sure they will be careful so as not to pick a fight with him. Yeah. I’ll be sure to add that note.”

Shizuka giggled and said.

“Isn’t it better for you to handle since something might happen?”

Hikaru reeled back. Putting aside her feeling toward Akira, she would not want to go through anything like that again if it could be helped. To be more precise, she had no wish to be involved with Akira anymore.

“Ahh, well, I’m actually a part of a management department that deals with many different things, so this request might be the last request I have with Akira.”

“Is that so? That’s rather unfortunate.”

Shizuka said that with a smile that did not match what she just said as she kept her intuition to herself.

After they were done, Hikaru and Shizuka returned to the first-floor lobby of the Kugama building, Akira then grouped up with them a bit later.

That was when Shizuka gave a strict scolding to Akira.

“Akira, I heard from Hikaru-san that you did something reckless.”

Akira winced back and laughed awkwardly.

“Well, uhh, that was not my fault, you see. It’s true that it was rough, but there’s no way I could have seen it coming.”

“I see that you lost all of your equipment again. This time, the only thing that is left unharmed is that new bike of yours, right? So, what is with that?

“Well, I bought the bike from further east. So, as expected, it really is stronger than my usual equipment. I’m glad I decided to buy my safety with money since I had the chance to back then.”

“So, in short, if it was not that durable, you would have even lost the bike as well, huh?”

Akira awkwardly laughed it off and glanced at Hikaru as if he was seeking help. Hikaru smiled wryly and then chimed in.

“Shizuka-san, it’s also partly my fault for asking him to save me. So I believe that’s enough of scolding for Akira.”

“Is that so? Well, I’ll leave it at that then.”

Once Shizuka stopped, Akira smiled in relief. Hikaru was watching how Akira acts with great interest. Although he was being scolded, there was also a trace of happiness, knowing that someone was worried for him. He looked like a little boy who had a great lack of care and affection while growing up. At the very least, he did not seem like someone who had killed hundreds of people.

But it did not change the fact that Akira did kill that many people before. Even back during the incident in the transport convoy, Akira quickly abandoned her and aimed his rifle at Erde, who was using her as a meat shield without showing even a shred of hesitation. Hikaru understood that very well.

Both in the good and bad way, I can understand why Shizuka-san wants someone who understands Akira to handle him… But with that being said, I hope that doesn’t have to be me.

Hikaru replaced the bitter smile that she had unconsciously displayed with a polite one as she stood in front of Akira and said to him.

“Akira. Since the negotiation for your reward is done, it means that this request had officially concluded. Thank you for the hard work.”

“I see, likewise. Thank you for the hard work.”

“I don’t think I have any other request left for you, but let’s meet up again if the occasion comes. I pray for your success in the future, but I believe that it’s better if you hold back on doing reckless stuff.”

“I know… Honestly, I already know that best myself though…”

Akira smiled wryly and Hikaru gave the same wry smile back.

He then left with Shizuka to escort her back to her shop. Hikaru saw them off and sighed, after that, Kibayashi came to her with his usual smile of great delight.

“Well, Hikaru, good work on that escort job. You did amazingly well.”

Seeing how Kibayashi was merrily complimenting her, Hikaru was more anxious than happy.

“T-thank you very much!”

“I guess this means that I have to apologize for misjudging your skill. I’m sorry. Though it might be weird to say this as compensation, I will use my full power to get what you asked from me back then approved. So please forgive me with that.”

Hikaru frowned, she did not understand what Kibayashi was talking about. However, thanks to her adept skills at reading in between the lines, she quickly understood what Kibayashi was referring to and started to panic.

In the past, Hikaru asked Kibayashi to let her handle Akira, who was a high-rank Hunter. The escort request this time was basically a test, to show Kibayashi that she had the skills to handle Akira. And judging from that point of view, it could be said that Hikaru passed with flying colours.

That also meant she would be dealing with a more dangerous high-rank Hunter, exactly just what she wanted before.

Hikaru flusteredly tried to retract her request.

“No no no, he’s way more than I can handle! I understood that very well with the last request! So, I take back everything that I have asked for!”

Kibayashi already knew that of course, but he still continued with his usual flippant attitude.

“No no no. There is no need to hold back. To be perfectly honest, you did extremely well, you know? I will put in my recommendation letter as well. After all, having a rising star like you rise will eventually bring benefits to the whole team. Even those officers who doubted you will have no arguments left once they see the report from the last request of yours, you know? You’re basically on a fast track to success, congratulations!”

Hikaru’s face turned pale as she shouted.

“Please stop! Seriously! Just stop it already! I’m being serious here! I’m begging you!”

“Geez, don’t say that. It’s fine, I’m sure you’ll do alright.”

“That’s not the problem here!”

After that, Hikaru used her negotiation skill to convince Kibayashi not to do that. Seeing Hikaru sigh in relief afterwards, Kibayashi smiled with a tint of regret, but deep inside, he still found it very amusing.