Rebuild World: Volume 6 Part 1 E-Book

Nahuse

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Rebuild World
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 693

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

With the gang war behind him and touting a brand-new set of gear (again), Akira is ready to dive back into the ruins for relics once more! In the depths of Kuzusuhara, the enigmatic Alpha guides him to an Old World city. There he encounters Tsubaki—the AI managing the area—who seems to hold a grudge against Alpha! Meanwhile, Sheryl’s relic shop finally opens for business. All is going well for Akira, but the city seems to have other plans for him. Many lives hang in the balance as conspiracies unfold and the Old and New Worlds clash!

Leseprobe

Chapter 145: Tsubaki

Powerless and penniless, the boy had been fated to rot in the back alleys of the slums. But he’d resolved to leave that life behind in search of a better one. Dreaming of a roof over his head and three square meals a day, he’d set out to become a relic hunter.

Normally, this would have just meant he’d rot in the ruins instead of the slums. But an encounter with a mysterious woman named Alpha had set the future of this boy—Akira—on a different course.

Alpha had asked Akira to conquer a ruin. In return, he’d receive her support. Only a short time had passed—yet, with her help, Akira had grown by leaps and bounds. His skills were on par with veteran hunters, and everyone praised his ability. Akira himself appreciated that he was far and away more capable than when he’d first met Alpha.

He had danced with death many times since then, struggling desperately to survive, and had come out stronger each time. Yet while his skill couldn’t be disputed, what he’d accomplished on his own so far didn’t hold a candle to all he’d done with Alpha’s help. He knew the voices around him were lauding the power he’d borrowed from Alpha, not his own ability, and this awareness had warped his perception of himself. Compared to all he’d achieved with her support, his own accomplishments had felt insignificant—hardly worthy of praise.

Recently, Akira had gotten involved in a war between two large slum gangs, and he’d found himself up against gigantic mechs. Alpha’s support had saved his skin then as well, and with her help, he’d beaten a machine so powerful that the city’s defense force had been considering purchasing it.

During this fight, his opponent Rogert had acknowledged and even complimented his skill. But because that skill was Alpha’s and not his own, Akira had felt depressed and even a little guilty—Rogert had believed his opponent was truly strong, whereas the boy had really only borrowed that strength from elsewhere.

After the fight, Sheryl had noticed that Akira continued to feel down. She hadn’t known the source of his malaise, but she’d given him a hug and expressed her gratitude for all he’d done for her and her gang. Thanks to him, she’d said, they’d found a secure place to live even amid the harshness of the slums.

Her words had helped him see his power from a different perspective. Perhaps he was fooling everyone into thinking Alpha’s strength was his. Perhaps having to rely on Alpha was pathetic and shameful. But if her support made him able to help those who asked him for assistance, maybe that was good enough for now. He saw his reliance on Alpha in a more positive light, and he felt motivated to work harder so that someday he would truly be this strong on his own.

With his newfound determination, Akira prepared to resume hunting in the ruins. Even with Alpha’s support, the location Alpha wanted him to overcome was still far above his capability. He had to work even harder and develop more as a hunter, so that one day he could fulfill her request.

And he still had a long way to go.

◆

After spending the six hundred million aurum he’d earned for the Mihazono job on a brand-new set of gear, he’d had to wait for his order to come in before heading to any more ruins. During his break, he’d gotten involved in several other incidents, including the gang war, but he was now ready to once again focus on his primary goal. Besides a new suit and new weaponry, he’d purchased a large desert utility bike. Now he was tearing through the wasteland on it, en route to the depths of the Kuzusuhara Town Ruins.

Just before they approached the ruin’s perimeter, the Alpha-designated route displayed in Akira’s vision changed abruptly. Akira made a sharp turn, following the new route just as indicated, but he looked surprised. Alpha, wasn’t that the way to the ruins?

Just ahead, he could see the forward base that Kugamayama City had built. It had still been under construction during his last visit, but it was now complete and fully functional, ready to aid hunters in conquering Kuzusuhara’s interior. A well-kept road also stretched from the base deep into the ruins, and was currently being extended even farther.

The monsters on the outskirts of Kuzusuhara naturally weren’t a problem for hunters who were already capable of surviving its depths. But the routes to and from the ruins, blocked by collapsed skyscrapers and mountains of debris, were a nuisance to any hunter, no matter how experienced. Worse, the farther one penetrated into the ruin, the more cluttered and harder to navigate those routes became. The monsters also became more dangerous, and so the hunters found it even more difficult to survive with their movements hindered.

For these reasons (among others), the city was having the defense force clear a path of monsters, then build a diligently maintained highway over it, thus facilitating transportation to and from the ruin’s depths. Now amateur hunters who were merely curious about what the depths of Kuzusuhara were like had a safe way of getting there. Experienced hunters, meanwhile, could reach the depths quicker and without wasting precious resources on their journey. Despite the tolls charged for its use, the city road was therefore a popular option among hunters of all skill levels.

Akira, too, had naturally assumed he’d be taking this path. But Alpha smiled her usual smile and shook her head.

We won’t be using it. We’re going somewhere special, so we’ll need to take another route. Plus, the city monitors that road and keeps records of everyone who uses it. That’s another reason we want to avoid it.

Does that mean we’re headed to an undiscovered ruin? Akira grinned, anticipation written all over his face. If this were the case, he could look forward to finding some amazing relics.

You got it, Alpha confirmed with a grin of her own. So let’s get going!

Yes, ma’am! Akira sped into the Kuzusuhara Ruins without further ado.

Because so many hunters searched for relics on the outskirts of Kuzusuhara, this area was the cleanest, most well-kept part of the ruin. Even back when Akira had fought Yarata scorpions, he’d had no issues driving his bike here. But that was only on the outskirts—now, as Akira progressed deeper into Kuzusuhara, the condition of the road swiftly and decidedly took a turn for the worse. He quickly saw why even experienced hunters, though unafraid of formidable monsters, still preferred to take the city’s highway—before he knew it, there was no longer any road to speak of. The ground beneath him was all debris, and enormous walls of toppled, broken buildings frequently blocked his path forward.

But Akira forced his way through, thanks to Alpha’s expert handling. She used the speeding bike to knock minor pieces of debris out of the way; when larger walls loomed before them, Akira shot at them to weaken their structure, and then Alpha smashed the bike through. She also treated smaller rubble piles as jump ramps, from which she cleared towering mountains of wreckage and even raced up and along the sides of collapsed skyscrapers. No obstruction was impassable for them as they made their way farther and farther into the ruin.

Still, all those acrobatics proved just how difficult this part of the ruin was to traverse. Now I get why we didn’t take the truck, Akira commented dryly. Back when they’d agreed on the Kuzusuhara depths as their next relic-hunting target, Alpha had recommended he purchase a bike, saying he’d have a hard time getting there by truck. Now he understood what she meant.

See? Alpha said smugly. Aren’t you glad you have a bike now?

Absolutely, he agreed. “A hard time” didn’t mean “impossible”—he probably could’ve made the journey even with the truck, but it would’ve called for even more excessive, absurd maneuvers. So he was grateful he had a bike to make the trip comparatively easier.

Akira continued to blaze a trail deeper into the ruin until the wheels of his bike were reunited with solid ground at last. He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a normal path! Does that mean we’ve made it pretty far in?

There were many reasons an area could become ruined, but the only logical explanation for the normally resilient Old World buildings to lie collapsed in mountains of rubble as far as the eye could see was war—specifically, between hunters desiring the ruin’s relics and the monsters nesting there. Not that the monsters never fought each other, but this certainly wasn’t the main reason for a ruin being in such a sorry state. Akira had grown to realize as much during his time as a relic hunter, and he knew that if this area was comparatively intact, it meant very few hunters had made it this far, if any at all. Thus, he had to be considerably deep within the ruin.

Akira excitedly scanned the area for any buildings that clearly housed valuable relics. Ahead, he spotted an enormous wall of toppled, but relatively intact, buildings stacked horizontally on top of each other. Even the gaps between the buildings were filled in with debris, forming a solid mass with no openings whatsoever.

Staring at the tall edifice in awe, Akira had a thought. It kinda reminds me of the wall around the inner city. I guess Kuzusuhara has something similar? Taking this as proof that he really had reached the ruin’s depths, he sighed with a sense of self-accomplishment and continued to marvel at his surroundings. But his bike showed no sign of stopping—on the contrary, it sped up, heading toward the massive wall.

Alpha, what are you doing? Akira asked, puzzled.

Heading to our destination, of course.

This isn’t it?

No. I never said we’d arrived, did I? It’s still a little farther ahead.

A little farther? You mean... Akira looked ahead, but he could only see the massive wall before him. Then realization dawned. Don’t tell me we’re going to jump over that?! There’s no way we can—!

When there’s a will, there’s a way. Don’t worry, it’ll be a cinch with me at the wheel.

Thanks to being on solid ground, the bike was already approaching maximum speed—it was too late to pump the brakes. But if they continued straight ahead, they’d collide with the wall. Even wearing a powered suit, Akira was certain the impact would crush him, and he reflexively slowed his sense of time. As his consciousness stretched out, the wall before him seemed to approach much more slowly. But he knew it wouldn’t make his speed any slower in real time, so his face was the very picture of panic. If it’s really a cinch like you say, then you’d better make sure it works! I’m counting on you!

But of course! Don’t worry—leave everything to me. Here we go!

In direct contrast to Akira’s unease, Alpha grinned at him with unbridled confidence. Then she took total control of the bike. (She’d relinquished a little control to Akira so he could practice handling it.)

The bike instantly changed course, moving as if possessed by a divine force. Using slight dents in the ground and small junk piles to gain altitude, it launched itself into the air. Momentum propelled the bike forward, but jumping immediately after a sharp turn severely compromised its balance. And since its wheels had already left the ground, no amount of maneuvering would help. An accident would be unavoidable at this rate. Akira clenched his teeth, bracing himself.

But Alpha’s actions were all thoroughly calculated—she wasn’t worried about a crash in the least. Though it had seemed like she’d lost control, the bike’s wheels landed on the side of a nearby building at the perfect angle. Then, without losing speed, the bike raced straight up the building’s surface—perpendicular to the ground—and launched off it toward the enormous wall ahead. After touching down, the bike shot right up the wall toward the sky.

Akira had previously used his powered suit and the recoil from his weapons to parkour down the side of a skyscraper, but he was now going up instead of down, and much faster than before since he was on a bike. He looked terrified. Alpha, refresh my memory—did this bike have a feature that let it go up walls?!

If you’re asking whether it came with one installed, then no.

Then why?!

For better control and performance, and to allow sudden acceleration and braking, this bike’s tires adhere to the ground especially well. Combine that with my expertise, and something like this is child’s play.

That’s not what I mean! If there’s nothing that lets it go up walls, what if we fall?!

Don’t worry, she assured him with a big smile. That won’t happen—as long as you don’t panic and throw off our balance. So stay calm, okay?

Akira immediately stopped complaining and concentrated on keeping the bike upright. His efforts paid off—the bike made it to the peak of the enormous wall without incident. Alpha skillfully landed the bike on top.

Grateful to be alive, Akira breathed a deep sigh of relief. I seriously thought I was a goner!

Why? I told you we’d be fine. Even if we’d fallen—which would never happen with me in control, mind you—your suit has a stabilizer. In the worst case, you could’ve created footholds in the air to keep from falling. You wouldn’t have died.

That’s not the problem here! Even if he had survived, a fall like that would’ve been terrifying. This was why his sigh had been so deep.

So, is this our destination? he asked.

Just a little farther. Look there. She pointed out beyond the wall. Akira carefully rode up to the wall’s edge to get a closer look, and he couldn’t contain his surprise at what he saw: a pristine Old World city spread out before him.

A place this intact exists here? He was just as baffled as he was shocked. He’d seen undamaged buildings like these on the horizon when he was previously hunting in Kuzusuhara, and had assumed they were located much deeper in, close to the heart of the ruin. Akira had come fairly deep in by now, but Kuzusuhara was a massive site. He’d only just reached the midpoint—in other words, he was still on the outskirts of its depths. Yet right before him, just beyond the wall, was clearly an intact, abandoned city. He couldn’t believe such a vast metropolis existed only this far in.

But Alpha didn’t look one bit surprised. Now then, shall we head in?

Into the city? Sure, let’s— Whoa?!

They’d climbed to the top of the wall, so it stood to reason they’d have to come back down. Akira knew that, of course, but Alpha had taken his casual reply as a signal to descend, and he hadn’t been prepared for the sudden drop. Without meaning to, he let out a yelp.

A short distance away, a small aircraft was monitoring him as he made his descent. But Akira didn’t notice, and Alpha didn’t let him know.

As they entered the Old World city, Akira was immediately taken in by the scenery. With all the buildings around standing uniform and immaculate, he couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding on hallowed ground. The structures were all from an era long past, but the techniques used to build them—far ahead of modern technology—made the city seem more futuristic than anything else.

He felt like he’d set foot in a sanctuary. It made him wonder whether it really was okay to barge in here and loot the relics, and not just because of the tough mechanical guards roaming the area. Hunting for relics was his job, of course, but the majesty and dignity of the city surrounding him gave him pause.

What now, Alpha? he asked. If she told him they were going to hunt relics here, he’d have no choice but to obey—it would be an order from Alpha, after all. Using her as an excuse to make himself feel better about his task, he waited for her reply.

But Alpha’s next words caught him completely off guard. We’re heading to our destination, of course. Then we’re going to hunt relics there.

What? You mean we’re still not there yet?

No, it’s in this general area. But specifically, it’s over there. She pointed to a gigantic skyscraper enshrined in the center of the city. And just so you know, the smaller buildings near us are probably also packed with relics, but hunting those is a no-no. Their security is especially tough—you can probably tell that much already from how the buildings have remained intact. Even as you are now, you wouldn’t be a match for their guards.

Oh. Well, if you say so. To himself, he thought, Wouldn’t a large skyscraper in the middle of the city have even stronger security? But he quickly shelved that doubt. He’d already decided he’d trust in Alpha and obey her, no matter what she said. If she told him the truth, great. And even if she didn’t, that was fine too—he was so indebted to her at this point that he could overlook it.

For her part, Alpha had learned how to handle Akira over her many exchanges with him, but even she couldn’t read that far into his response. He hadn’t fought her over her decision, but if he was inwardly unhappy with it, that could lead to trouble. So she smiled smugly to reassure him. Don’t worry. Even if the guards weren’t a problem, there’d be no point in searching for relics in those buildings anyway. In the building we’re headed to, you’ll be able to collect more relics than you can carry, instantly and without any hassle.

Really? Wow! All right! His mood immediately did a one-eighty. Just a little farther, right? Then let’s go!

Alpha smiled, pleased with his boyish enthusiasm. Off they headed to their destination: the towering skyscraper in the city’s center.

As Akira sped along the Old World road, he passed countless mechanical guards on both sides—over a hundred in all. As soon as he zipped by, they deactivated their camouflage, revealing themselves. Some flew in the sky, while others ran down the road or the sides of buildings; but they all made their way ahead of Akira so they’d be in a position to eliminate this trespasser the moment he became a problem.

Once he got closer to his destination, Akira spotted a road leading up the side of the skyscraper. Then he realized it was the same road he was currently on—the road ahead curved vertically, connecting the ground to the side of the skyscraper, and continued straight up the building. There was no danger of him crashing into the building wall, but a vehicle that wasn’t built to ride along vertical surfaces would undoubtedly fall off.

Akira’s bike, however, went straight up the building. The road was smooth and superbly maintained, so it was easy to gain the necessary momentum. The deciding factor, though, was Alpha’s expert control of the bike. With her at the wheel, Akira never had to worry about dropping.

On the way up, he passed a vehicle on the opposite side of the road. It had no driver’s seat and resembled an automated container. Like Akira, it was traveling along the building vertically, as though it were completely natural for vehicles to do so here. Anyone who saw the scene and didn’t know better would think the pull of gravity itself had changed direction.

Hey Alpha, are all Old World vehicles able to ride up walls like that?

Depends on the region and time period. Looks like that’s the case here, at least.

Feeling like he’d learned something, he pressed onward. The vertical road curved into the building near the top, leading into a large service entrance on one of the skyscraper’s upper floors.

Once inside, Akira braked and let out a sigh. “All right, now we’ve got to be at our destination, right?”

Yes, this is it. We’re here.

Akira grinned in anticipation of all the relics he was about to find. But Alpha’s look became stern. Okay, listen up! As long as you do exactly as I say, this place should be safe. So even if something unusual happens, stay calm and pay it no mind.

All right. They were in the depths of a ruin, after all—Old World territory. Places like these were normally extremely dangerous, so Akira had already intended to follow Alpha’s orders to the letter.

But then a look of puzzlement crossed his face. Wait, “should” be safe? Whenever she assured him he’d be safe as long as she was with him, she was usually quite confident. So a word of uncertainty like “should” had immediately jumped out at him.

But this tiny concern was banished from his mind the next instant, as he felt a sudden presence right beside him. It was so close he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it until now. If this had been a battle and the presence had attacked him, he would’ve been dead.

Alpha had said not to panic, no matter what. Taking her words to heart, he carefully and calmly turned to look beside him.

A woman was standing there.

When did she...?! Wait, maybe she’s a hologram and just looks real in my augmented vision? No—she really exists! Her reading’s right there on my scanner! Then why didn’t I notice her? This is a ruin, so I thought I was being plenty cautious! No, before that—why didn’t Alpha warn me? Don’t tell me she didn’t notice either?!

As Akira’s thoughts jumbled around in his head, the woman just stared at him with an unfriendly look. But she didn’t act hostile, which helped him calm down a bit.

“Um...”

Seeking to figure something out about this situation on his own, he took stock of the woman. She wore a black dress—likely Old World-made—and she didn’t look like a hunter. So if she was here in this building, she was probably similar to the AI who’d managed the Serantal Building back in Mihazono. That much he could figure out.

But the rest was still a mystery. He could tell from the woman’s gaze that he wasn’t exactly welcome here, but why was she just staring at him without a word? The Serantal Building AI had at least told him to leave. Akira lacked interpersonal communication skills to begin with, so he had no idea what the proper response to this kind of reception was.

What should I do, Alpha?

Let’s see. First off—

“First off,” said a third party aloud, interrupting their telepathic conversation, “you should at least recognize that you are not welcome here. However, as long as you behave yourself, I won’t force you to leave.”

Akira couldn’t hide his shock at having been overheard. Alpha, on the other hand, didn’t look one bit surprised—just irritated. Then Akira noticed the woman’s gaze was now on Alpha. The woman had regarded Akira with only an unfriendly expression, but her gaze toward Alpha was filled with contempt.

No doubt about it, Akira thought to himself. She can see Alpha!

The woman’s eyes slid back to Akira, and her expression became lukewarm once more. “Thank you for visiting the Tsubakihara Building. I am Tsubaki, the interface managing this building and the surrounding area.”

“O-Okay,” Akira replied, unsure what else to say.

“I will guide you to your destination. This way, please.” She headed farther into the building.

Nonplussed, Akira gave Alpha a questioning look.

Come on, Akira, let’s go, she said.

“R-Right.” Bewildered, he followed Tsubaki for now. He had a boatload of questions, but they could wait—currently he wasn’t in the right state of mind to process the answers.

As he trailed behind Tsubaki, his gaze wandered around the building. He spotted several more automated containers like the one he’d seen outside. Some were traveling across the floor like normal, but he also saw some riding along the ceiling upside down. By this point, such things didn’t surprise him, but as he watched one container on the ceiling suddenly fly into the air and out of the building, he recalled something he’d been told.

Wasn’t flying in the sky supposed to be dangerous, since the sky’s populated by deadly monsters? Or maybe containers like this will be fine because they’re on the same side as the enemy?

In that case, he was currently in a building where enemies were free to come and go as they pleased. And since they hadn’t attacked Tsubaki, she was probably on the enemy’s side as well. No—if she was the managing AI here, she was probably the one controlling them.

Suddenly, the woman walking in front of him seemed a lot more dangerous.

After walking for some time, she stopped and turned to face Akira. The boy involuntarily gave a jolt, but Tsubaki paid it no mind. With a neutral expression, she pointed to an enormous door beside her that had slid open the moment Tsubaki had stopped.

“This is the room you’re looking for. Once you’re finished here, leave immediately.”

Akira glanced questioningly at Alpha, who only nodded. Akira headed in first on his bike, and Alpha followed behind him. After passing through the door, Alpha turned back to look at Tsubaki. The woman was glaring at Alpha with a look of absolute loathing.

The door shut, blocking Alpha from Tsubaki’s view. But Tsubaki continued to monitor them.

Chapter 146: Overstock and a Deal

Tsubaki had ushered Akira into a spacious storeroom within the Tsubakihara Building—so spacious, in fact, that Akira wondered how a room so large could possibly fit inside a skyscraper. The room was filled with rows of shelves that reached to an unbelievably high ceiling.

The shelves in the back were much shorter, but they were stuffed full of boxes. And every one of them contained relics so valuable they couldn’t be found in just any old ruin. In the storeroom of a building within an untouched Old World city, Akira had come upon a literal treasure trove of relics. He could hardly fathom the amount of money he could make if he sold them all. Alpha had been absolutely right—with this many relics in one place, there was no need to head to any of the other buildings in the city.

He was enraptured and beside himself with joy, seeing all the relics before him. However, doubt and confusion quickly overshadowed those feelings—doubts regarding this city, this building, this room, and most of all Tsubaki herself. That woman and Alpha most likely knew each other, and he could tell they weren’t exactly on good terms. He had been curious but hadn’t asked Alpha about it—he hadn’t wanted to risk sabotaging their partnership by prying too much.

Still, he couldn’t just ignore the issue. Telling himself that at this point it would be more unnatural not to ask at all, he spoke up. “All right, Alpha, don’t you think it’s about time you explained yourself?”

He deliberately omitted what he specifically wanted her to explain. That way, if there was something she didn’t want to talk about, couldn’t tell him, or didn’t want him to know, she could abbreviate her explanation accordingly. This was Akira’s best effort at choosing his words.

Alpha responded to Akira’s question with her usual smile. All right. But let’s work while we talk. Staying too long and angering that woman will only lead to another conflict on our hands.

Akira nodded and immediately got to work. The boxes on the shelves here were all filled with a variety of relics. And since the boxes were Old World-made, they counted as relics too—and would sell for a large amount in their own right. Some boxes were transparent, allowing Akira to see their contents. Others were opaque, but could be seen through with Alpha’s help. For several boxes, even Alpha couldn’t tell what was inside.

There were Old World garments among the relics as well; Akira couldn’t tell if some of them were work clothes or meant for everyday wear. Some boxes contained coats and inner wear, and some held articles that could be underwear, a belt, or some kind of string—he wasn’t sure which. He also found several transparent cases made of something resembling glass or plastic. Inside were objects shaped like three-dimensional bipyramids, made with a material like rubber, ceramic, or metal, yet oddly grainy to the touch. He wasn’t sure what these were—were they just for decoration, or did they serve some purpose?

He even came across bladed weapons. Remembering how powerful Old World blades were said to be, he grabbed several, thinking he might keep a few for himself instead of selling them. He looked around for guns as well, but couldn’t find any.

As he selected which relics he wanted to take with him from the trove, he listened to Alpha’s explanation.

The long and short of it, she told him, is that I made a deal with that AI to let you take this building’s overstock. These are scrap by Old World standards, but they’re actually good as new. The products are swapped out for newer, better models every season. After a fixed period, products are removed from production in order to make way for new models, and so are rendered obsolete.

Of course, Alpha went on, even though these items are scrap, AIs aren’t under any obligation to just hand them over to trespasser thieves—even well-mannered people who are only forced to steal out of desperation because they’re poor. Such a well-intentioned thief would usually aim for the scrap, which might make negotiation at least possible, but wouldn’t normally suffice to convince an AI. That’s why you need to intimidate them with power. You need to be strong enough to make them think that their wisest option is to hand over the goods without a fight—that the damage they’d incur from fighting you would be more devastating than parting with some scrap.

She concluded, And now you’re strong enough to fit that criteria. That’s why we came here. When she told us to leave immediately after we’re done here, she basically meant, “I’ll let you at least have the trash, so take it and get the hell out.”

“Oh, now I see,” Akira replied. “In that case, we’d better hurry and beat it before she gets mad.” He felt satisfied with the explanation he’d received. Many doubts still lingered, of course, but his curiosity had been sated enough that he could save pursuing those answers for later. As he continued selecting relics to take with him, he looked around at the staggering amount of items in the room. “Still, these are all considered trash just because they’re obsolete? What a waste! Why is there so much, anyway?”

Because these Old World systems are programmed to provide for a certain number of city residents, and they still think those people are here. No one buys or uses the goods anymore, but they still get manufactured and lined up on shelves. Then periodically, they’re purged to make room for more. That process keeps repeating ad infinitum, so an amount like this can pile up in no time.

“Why don’t they just stop making them? Isn’t it pointless?”

You might think it’s pointless, but the systems don’t. They never doubt their programming for a second. So they’ve kept making them all this time.

“Ever since the Old World?”

That’s right. Most of the AIs controlling these systems are the same way. Even if you think their actions are pointless, they won’t stop. Even if an AI were to attain self-awareness and start doubting their own programming, they wouldn’t be able to stop manufacturing without the proper clearance. And AIs don’t have that clearance.

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

Yes. That said, there are some outliers too. Like more advanced AIs who grow to doubt their own programming. If their personalities develop enough that they prioritize their own interests over their original function, ignoring the roles and rules set for them, a lot can change.

“A lot? Like what?”

Well, for example, they might decide to do business with humans from the modern world. That might be how corporations can buy Old World products using coron. Or the AI, no longer bound to an Old World corporation, could launch a business of its own in the modern world with modern currency. Some of those corporations might even be part of the ELGC.

“An Old World corporation? Really? That seems kind of significant.”

It’s just a possibility. Don’t slow down, now. Keep those hands moving.

“Oh, sorry.”

How did Alpha know this much, and how had she negotiated with Tsubaki in the first place? Akira concentrated on his work to keep his mind off these questions.

After finishing up his preparations to take the relics home, Akira hopped on his bike with renewed zeal. “All right! Now we just have to make it back home. Er... These will all make the trip, right?” He glanced back at the massive pile of relics on the back of his bike. He’d strapped the boxes on top with a single belt, and used the bike’s armlike weapon emplacements—essentially support arms—to hold the luggage in place. But the load was clearly compromising the bike’s center of gravity. The bike wheels adhered to surfaces well enough to scale a wall, but that was the only thing keeping the vehicle upright. Akira couldn’t help but be concerned.

Alpha, however, smiled confidently. Don’t worry! With me in control, we won’t have a problem. We’ll just have to be a little more careful when we scale the wall.

“Really? Okay, if you say so. Right—the wall. We are gonna have to go back up that thing to get back home, aren’t we? Well then, I’m counting on you to get us back home safe. Let’s go!”

As Akira approached the storeroom exit, the door automatically slid open. Tsubaki was still waiting there. She was extraordinarily beautiful, he thought, but faced with her stony expression, Akira felt a little timid around her. “A-All right, I got what I came for, so I’ll be going now,” he told her.

“Be careful on your way back,” she said.

“R-Right, I will.”

He was about to pass her by, but before he could, she spoke again. “Let me ask you a question. It seems your communication bandwidth has been tuned specifically to connect to that woman. Is that really okay with you?”

“Huh?” Akira didn’t understand her question, merely looking blank.

But Alpha showed a very different reaction—her usual smile vanished.

I’m warning you now, she told Tsubaki with a frigid glare. Say any more than that, and you will officially be my enemy.

Tsubaki immediately stared back just as coldly. And I’m warning you: you’re in my domain now. I might not have the authority you do, but don’t assume your little threats will work on me.

You’ve been advised.

Try it, bitch. You know you can’t order me around, or you wouldn’t have needed to negotiate with me.

Akira couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he could sense the thick tension in the air. It felt like a fight was about to break out. His eyes darted back and forth between them, and he felt panicky.

The two women glared icily at each other a little longer.

Then Alpha was the first to move. She turned her back on the other woman and smiled cheerfully at Akira. Ready to go?

“O-Oh, sure. Whoa?!” Under Alpha’s control, the bike took off like a speeding bullet. Akira had to react quickly to keep the bike from falling over. In his augmented vision, he saw Alpha beside him, flying parallel to the bike.

Once they were gone, Tsubaki heaved a sigh and disappeared into the back of the building.

Akira scaled the massive wall surrounding Tsubaki’s territory and made it back to the ruined section of Kuzusuhara. Feeling like he’d just made it through a minefield, he breathed a sigh.

Hey Alpha, what was that “bandwidth” talk back there about? Even he could tell he probably shouldn’t ask about it, but at this point he felt ignoring it would be more unnatural. His relief from having made it over the wall safely had also loosened his tongue.

Alpha replied with her usual smile, Oh, that? It’s quite simple. Your bandwidth is becoming more attuned to me as time passes.

She explained that Akira could stay connected to her because of his ability as an Old Domain User. The burden of sharing data with her had initially been immense, but as his brain had adjusted to the load over time, his bandwidth as a User had become more suited to her connection. She was also filtering his communications to reduce the risk of his brain overloading from a massive influx of data, which refined his attunement to her further. The more specialized his bandwidth became, the more data they could exchange safely and without worry. This allowed Akira to receive even greater support from Alpha, and this refinement would continue as long as they stayed connected.

Akira looked confused. What part of that is bad? Those all sound like pluses to me.

That’s right, she said. They’re all benefits.

Then why’d Tsubaki ask me if I was okay with it?

Perhaps she’s looking at it from a different viewpoint, Alpha said offhandedly. Akira could be likened to a data terminal: An Old Domain User who was tuned to only communicate with Alpha was like a data terminal that could only connect to Kugamayama City. The ability to access the city was vital, of course, but if it couldn’t connect to any other city and had a filter that leaked all of its communications to Kugamayama, its use would be severely limited.

However, Alpha explained, this was an outdated perspective and only applied if Old Domain Users were still just as commonplace as data terminals today. Akira didn’t need to connect to other Old World cities to gather information—in fact, she stressed he shouldn’t, because it might make him more likely to be discovered as a User. Plus, Alpha was his lifeline—if he wanted her full support, it was in his best interests to be as attuned to her as possible. So right now, there’s no need for you to connect with anyone else, she finished.

Oh, okay, now I get it. If she was seeing me as a data terminal like you said, I can see why she’d worry. But we’ve already come this far—if I’d refused your support in the past because I was worried about something like that, I would’ve died a long time ago. And I won’t make it from here on without your help either, so I’m fine with things as they are now.

Glad to hear it, Alpha said with a smile. But then her expression hardened. To tell the truth, though, there’s another possible reason. I think she wanted to open a separate channel with you so she could talk with you in private.

In private? About what?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve placed a filter on your communications, so I’ll always know who you’re using your ability to talk to and what about. If she wanted to speak with you regarding something she didn’t want me to hear, she’d need a different channel.

Oh yeah? But what would she need to talk to me about?

Good question. I have my suspicions, though. She adopted a worried expression. For instance, maybe she wanted you to put your arrangement with me on the back burner and prioritize doing a job for her instead. She might’ve been hoping to negotiate terms for this, and she couldn’t really do that with me listening in, right?

Akira’s eyes widened in surprise.

With a knowing smile, she brought her face close to his ear, mimicking Tsubaki’s voice. “I can pay ten billion coron as a reward, and offer other services too. So forget about that illusory woman you can’t even touch, and choose me instead—I’ll make it worth your while.” If she’d come to you with a proposal like that, could you have refused?

Akira smiled wryly. Yeah, I would’ve, no question. You’re always looking after me, and I owe you a mountain of debt. If I’m going to repay all that someday, I’ve gotta focus on completing your job.

Thank you, Akira. I’m thrilled to hear you say that. She beamed with genuine happiness, then a knowing smile came to her lips. Just for the record, I didn’t want her to steal you away from me with a cheap offer like that either. Hence why I was so angry with her back at the Tsubakihara Building.

Oh, really? Makes sense. He supposed that if this were the case, the two women must have been glaring like that to intimidate each other from communicating with him. This explanation seemed satisfactory.

I don’t care if you accept her request after finishing mine, she said. Just not before then, okay?

Won’t that be a long time from now, though?

That depends on you, she said with a wink.

Point taken. All right, guess I’d better work even harder!

Akira still had many trials ahead of him if he wanted to finish Alpha’s request. And that included getting back to Kugamayama City safe and sound. Alpha and Akira grinned at each other, then focused once more on making it through Kuzusuhara’s depths.

◆

In a virtual room where the laws of physics didn’t apply, Tsubaki sat in midair surrounded by floating decor as she watched over her territory.

Tsubaki wasn’t just responsible for the city inside the barricade of buildings but the area around it as well. She didn’t manage the outskirts in the same way she did the city, but the crumbled, abandoned buildings and piles of debris around the Old World metropolis were under her watch all the same.

She saw Akira and Alpha exiting her territory and watched them carefully. Then, once she was certain they were no longer on her turf, her deal with Alpha—and her special treatment of Akira—came to an end.

◆

Akira was heading back from Kuzusuhara’s depths more carefully than he’d come, so that his load of relics wouldn’t fall off the bike. He glanced back at the wall he’d just scaled. Despite its size, it had already disappeared from view, thanks to the colorless fog in the air. Even at a low density, it clouded the sky, preventing him from seeing too far into the distance.

Is that why no one in Kugamayama could find the Old World city, despite it being so close by? Akira wondered to himself. But he wasn’t entirely satisfied with this explanation, so he turned to Alpha. Hey, if that place is so close to Kugamayama, how come no one else has found it yet? The Kuzusuhara depths weren’t easy to reach, but closer to the city than many other ruins. He found it odd that no hunters had discovered the Old World city until now. I know it’s pretty well hidden behind that enormous wall and all, and the skies are too dangerous for anyone to have flown over the area and seen it. But why couldn’t someone just send a small drone at a low enough altitude to clear the wall and see what’s beyond it? Sure, he’d made it there through brute force, riding up the wall with a bike, but there had to be other methods out there.

The reason is simple, Alpha said cheerfully. And you’re about to find out what it is.

Akira looked alarmed. As if on cue, a group of approaching monsters appeared in his augmented vision.

Are those what I think they are?

Weapon dogs. You’ve fought them before, remember?

The smallest weapon dog in the pack was over ten meters tall, while the larger ones towered over twenty meters. Each was outfitted with munitions like cannons, machine guns, and missile pods as large as their bodies, making their destructive power clear even at a glance. And they were coming in droves. As he studied the scanner readings from his suit and his bike, the monsters entered his detection range one after another, bounding and leaping across ruined buildings and debris in order to reach him.

Those are—he gulped—a lot bigger than I remember.

Well, they’re in the depths of the ruin. Of course they’ll be larger than the ones on the outskirts.

It was true. Despite being the same type of monster in the same ruin, these creatures’ sizes, weapons, numbers, and movements as a unit were all on a completely different level compared to those on the outskirts, reminding Akira how much more dangerous the depths of this ruin truly were. Now he could see why low-flying drones wouldn’t be able to approach the wall—the monsters on the ground would just concentrate their fire on the aircraft and shoot it down. The drone would have nowhere to hide in the air, after all.

I see. Yeah, I guess the depths are just that deadly. Oh well! Leaving control of the bike entirely to Alpha, Akira stood up, grabbed his SSB and A4WM from their emplacements, and held them at the ready. Firing from a position with such unstable footing would normally have been impossible, but his suit’s stabilizer and Alpha’s expert maneuvering kept his feet just as firm as on land.

Don’t worry, I’ll handle the bike, she said. You just focus on those monsters.

Roger that!

The weapon dogs lined up Akira in their sights and began firing. A salvo of cannon fire, gunfire, and guided micromissiles flew in from multiple directions, threatening to blow him and everything nearby to smithereens.

Alpha countered by accelerating. The rough ground below was barely walkable, let alone drivable, so she drove up on the comparatively smooth sides of collapsed buildings to gain speed and get Akira out of range of the salvo in time. Still, they couldn’t completely escape the wide radius of the canines’ fire, so the rest was up to Akira. He concentrated, slowed down his sense of time, held his guns akimbo, and got ready to intercept the incoming artillery.

As the cannon fire fell around him, a rogue shell flew in from the side, but he evaded by twisting his body. Then he blocked sprays of bullets with the force-field armor on his protective coat and shot down the guided micromissiles. After a volley of grenades to keep the weapon dogs back, he shredded them to mincemeat with his titan-killer.

The weapon dogs of the depths were resilient—some of them even had enough life force to keep attacking for some time after their heads had been blown off. But Akira’s bullets blew away much of their bodies as well. Their innards scattered all over, and pieces of ruined weaponry littered the ground.

Of course, eliminating one pack of weapon dogs had alerted reinforcements. As other packs approached, Akira directed his heavy gunfire at them, which in turn drew more of the monsters’ cannon fire toward him. The surrounding area took even more damage, and since Akira was moving quickly, stray shells landed in a wider area. In no time at all, the carnage inflicted upon the landscape increased exponentially.

In other words, a level of destruction typical for a battle in the Kuzusuhara depths.

Akira was now up against several packs of large, powerful weapon dogs. But rather than running away, he’d chosen to eliminate them all—otherwise, they would continue to chase him for who knew how long. And if they were to pursue him as far as Kugamayama, the city might think Akira had deliberately led the monsters there and send the defense force to wipe out the weapon dogs—and Akira.

Not to mention that the closer they got to the outskirts of Kuzusuhara, the higher the risk of running into other hunters, making Akira’s journey to the depths more likely to be found out.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have cared too much. But right now he was carrying the relics he’d gotten from Tsubaki, which couldn’t be found in just any old ruin. He needed to make sure that their origin stayed secret until he sold them—otherwise people might get curious, investigate where he’d been, and discover the city where Tsubaki dwelled.

If word spread of an Old World city beyond the wall of buildings and hunters showed up in droves, Tsubaki would undoubtedly be furious, and she’d immediately know it was Akira’s fault. So he didn’t want to encounter any relic hunters on the way back if he could help it. And he knew that if he destroyed all the weapon dogs instead of fleeing as they gave chase, he’d have a better chance of escaping Kuzusuhara unnoticed.

So even though it was a pain, he needed to take them down.

He unfastened the load of luggage from his bike and, hoping against hope that no stray bullets would hit the relics, left them behind. Then, once he’d gone a considerable distance away, he drew the weapon dogs’ attention to himself. As they bounded toward him, he took them out one by one.

Without the load of relics weighing it down, his bike had become lighter, making it easier to dodge the monsters’ artillery and keeping Akira somewhat safer. And not having to worry about getting hit meant he could concentrate on eliminating the monsters. He took full advantage of his costly extended magazines of ammo, pulverizing the gigantic canines’ bodies with curtains of gunfire.

At first, the battle was greatly in Akira’s favor. But after fighting for some time, he looked perplexed. Hey Alpha, why have so many of these things showed up all of a sudden? We didn’t encounter anything like this on the way here.

Maybe it’s because you weren’t carrying any relics back then? Alpha suggested.

The relics. Of course, he muttered.

Originally, before they went feral, weapon dogs were bioweapons, meant to defend Old World cities. Perhaps they’re programmed to instinctively monitor trespassers and attack thieves.

Thieves? But these relics are overstock, and Tsubaki let me have them! he complained.

Alpha smiled cheerfully. They’re monsters, Akira. Do you really think they can make that distinction?

He grimaced. But then he had another thought, and his face lit up with hope. In that case, maybe they’ll go out of their way to not harm the relics!

They’re monsters, Akira. Do you really think you can count on that?

He pulled a face and sighed. All right, nothing for it, then. Let’s get rid of them before they do any damage!

Yes, let’s.

After all he’d gone through to get those relics, like hell he’d let a stray shell blast them apart! More determined than ever, he began putting up an even fiercer fight against the weapon dogs.

Akira whittled away at the dogs’ numbers until reinforcements stopped coming, leaving only one last pack. He mowed most of them down with a few sweeps of SSB fire, then looked slightly surprised—many had fallen to his assault, but one wouldn’t stop no matter how many bullets hit it.

Looks like that one’s especially sturdy, he thought. I guess I should’ve expected at least one tough one in the mix.

His sweeping attacks had failed to take it down, but he couldn’t afford to focus on a single dog while so many more remained. Circling around the pack to avoid their fire, he kept shooting. Canine corpses piled up, then more gunfire blasted the piles apart, scattering the corpses into the mountains of debris. Even the larger weapon dogs, whose vastness sent tremors through the earth as they ran, didn’t last long.

But even as he laid waste to the weapon dogs with sweep after sweep of SSB fire, the one dog he’d noticed endured. It had been hit by all of Akira’s attacks thus far but was still standing.

Seems like that one’s made of tougher stuff than the others, Alpha.

Indeed. But let’s take care of the rest first. We’ll save it for last so we can focus all our fire on it.

Gotcha! He was surprised to see it survive shots from his SSB, but because its attacks were no different from those of the other weapon dogs, he didn’t need to prioritize it over the others. In order to reduce the enemy’s numbers and seize the advantage, he took out the weaker ones first.

Finally, the grunts were all taken care of, and only the resilient weapon dog remained. Without delay, Akira trained his SSB on his last target. A spray of bullets, each individually powerful enough to blow a normal weapon dog apart, all zeroed in on the lone monster. Its artillery was blasted to pieces in an instant, and the powerful ammunition pierced its flesh, sending blood and guts flying.

But the weapon dog still didn’t fall. Akira couldn’t hide his shock—underneath the creature’s fleshy exterior was a solid layer of metal.

It was a machine all along?! No wonder it wasn’t going down so easily, he reasoned. He recalled that he’d encountered similar monsters in Mihazono that looked organic at a glance but were actually mechanical, and this reminded him not to judge such creatures based on their appearance.

Its mechanical nature now revealed, the hulking beast opened up its back, and a new weapon unlike any used by the weapon dogs thus far emerged—a massive laser cannon. A beam of highly concentrated energy shot from its muzzle and razed the area like a blade, slicing through debris and exploding against the ground. The force of the discharged energy sent debris and smoke high into the sky. Akira had to lean sideways to tilt the bike and avoid the blast.

Alpha, he said, his face grim. Are monsters in the depths normally that powerful, or is this one just special?

Now you see why the city built that highway extending from the forward base, she replied. That way, they can easily get multiple people with heavy weaponry out there to eliminate the more dangerous monsters deeper in.

Yeah, no kidding... Though he’d had Alpha’s help, he’d held his own against an army of mechs during the gang war in the slums, so he’d assumed he’d also be fine against the monsters deep within Kuzusuhara. But this encounter was threatening to destroy the self-confidence he’d gained from that battle. His face was showing signs of panic.

Alpha, meanwhile, wore her usual placid smile. If it keeps firing that laser, people on the outskirts might notice and learn about what happened here. Defeat it as quickly as possible.

R-Right! I’ll do that! Sensing her faith in him, he regained his zeal and grinned back at Alpha to show her he was raring to go. But his smile was soon replaced with a look of shock, because Alpha sent the bike on a beeline straight for the mechanical beast.

His powered suit moved on its own—he set down both of his guns and instead drew the blade he’d retrieved from Tsubaki’s storeroom. He’d intended to use it himself rather than sell it, so he’d already taken it from its box and equipped it on his person.

Of course, he was up against an opponent wielding a powerful laser cannon, so he couldn’t help doubting Alpha’s choice of weapon here. Uh, Alpha?! Are you sure about this?! Isn’t this meant for close-quarters combat?!

Defeating that creature with gunfire will take too long. It’s got force-field armor all over it, which is why it’s been able to withstand your shots. If we had anti-force bullets on hand, things would be different, but we don’t, so this is our second best option. It’s about to fire again—focus, Akira!

As Akira stood atop the speeding bike, blade in hand, the mechanical beast ahead of him prepared to fire its laser cannon once more. Because the laser’s output was so high, the beam didn’t last very long and needed time to charge in between shots, but it had energy for one more shot before Akira reached the monster.

The cannon’s muzzle glowed so brightly that Akira could easily tell how powerful the beam was going to be. There would be no evading at this distance. He steeled himself and held his blade at the ready, eyes focused on the cannon’s muzzle so as not to miss the critical moment.

Meanwhile, bluish-white light shone from the blade in his hands and extended from the hilt into a beam of light. The high-powered energy engulfed the blade, disintegrating it, but the Old World force-field armor kept the particles from dispersing, solidifying the weapon into a blade of light.

By this point, Akira’s bike was going so fast it couldn’t even be tracked by the human eye, thanks to its horsepower and the outstanding traction of its wheels. But within Akira’s slowed sense of time, it felt like he was moving at a snail’s pace. Irritated and anxious that he wasn’t closing the distance to the enemy quickly enough, he nonetheless continued to concentrate—and finally saw his chance.

At the exact same moment that the laser cannon discharged, Akira swung his blade. The energy trailing from the horizontal slash collided with the energy from the cannon, dispersing much of it. The weakened beam struck him, but failed to penetrate the force-field armor from his protective coat and powered suit. Scattered particles of light enveloped the area, but Akira and his bike tore right through them on the way to his target.

As he rode past the beast, he swung his energy blade once more with all his might. The blade sliced into the machine’s metallic frame, severing it in a shower of sparks. But the blade had already used up most of its energy on the first swing, and unable to withstand the impact, it dissipated in Akira’s hands.

Still, he could feel that impact in his hands even now—his attack had to have dealt some serious damage. He did a U-turn and braked to observe the enemy. “Did that do it?!”

He couldn’t tell if he’d finished it off or not. His face grave, he watched the enemy closely. Finally, the massive machine fell to the ground with a deafening crash, proving to Akira that he had won.

You did it! Alpha said triumphantly. Congratulations!

Akira heaved a deep sigh. He’d been victorious, but he felt more exhausted than overjoyed. He tossed away his blade, now nothing more than a hilt—he didn’t need Alpha to tell him it was now useless.

“All right, let’s go grab those relics and get out of here. They made it through that fight, right?”

The box, packing material, and the relics themselves are all Old World-made, so they can endure a blast from a mere stray shell. Probably.

That last part worried Akira. “Y-You’re not sure?”

Well, even I can’t say for sure until we check.

“Please don’t let everything today be a bust!” he wailed, dashing to where he’d left the relics. The belt bundling the relics together had torn, having likely been hit during the fight, and the boxes were strewn everywhere. A horrified yelp issued from his throat; however, the contents were all still intact. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, he refastened the boxes onto his bike. “Thank goodness nothing got broken! Now we just need to make it out of here.”

Indeed, Alpha said with a smirk. We’re still in the ruin’s depths, after all. Let’s hope we don’t get attacked again on the way back, hm?

Akira pulled a face. He could tell she was teasing him, but he couldn’t discount the possibility of running into more monsters. They had yet to reach the outskirts, so who was to say they wouldn’t run into more monsters just as deadly, or deadlier?

Akira stayed on his toes for the rest of the trip, proceeding with the utmost caution. Thanks to his efforts, he made it back safely and without further incident.

◆

Tsubaki watched the entire fight from her virtual room. “So he won,” she murmured.