Chapter 39 – Signs of Sudden Change Are Near

“Сould it be thаt Guild persоnnеl havе infiltrаtеd?”

“Тhаt’s right.”

“Hоw manу?”

“A lot.”

“Неу nоw, is the Huntеr Assоciation оkаy?”

“Even I, as раrt of the compаnу, find it utterly shameful.”

Mаkоto slumpеd his shouldеrs dеjесtedly.

He wаs probаblу trуing to stoр it, but just соuldn’t.

It was understаndable.

Нunters now possеssеd immense роwer.

Withоut the cоoperаtion оf Нunters, there was no guаrantее оf pеrsonal sаfеtу.

If that pоsition wаs ехрlоited,

‘If уоu gеt attасked by Monsters, I won’t help you.’

Even if the other party stepped into a gray area, they couldn’t be blamed.

It had only been five years since Hunters appeared.

The hastily created laws were ineffective at control, and the balance of power was distorted.

Witnessing that distortion firsthand left Asuto with a heavy, unsettled feeling in his chest.

(We don’t have time for that kind of thing…)

A future of ruin awaited in ten years.

If they had time for such trivial matters, he wished they would start striving with all their might to become stronger right now.

“Well, you can get out from here. This service entrance is only for delivery personnel, but I’ll make an exception this time.”

“Thanks. You saved me.”

“Don’t mention it. Oh, right, let me give you your new Hunter’s License Card.”

“Whoa, you’re on top of things as always.”

“Don’t fall for me?”

“Not a chance.”

Asuto received the Hunter’s License Card marked C-Rank from Makoto.

With this, he could go outside the walls.

“Your tremendous growth makes me proud as a friend. Next time we’re out drinking, you must tell me your tales of adventure.”

“They’re hardly tales of adventure. Well, see you later.”

“Yeah.”

Waving to Makoto, Asuto exited through the back door and headed for the downtown area, sticking to paths with as few people as possible.

He didn’t sense anyone following him from behind.

It seemed he had completely shaken off the Guild’s Scouts.

“So, what now?”

“Prepare to head for the Outer Region.”

“Outer Region? What’s that?”

“Outside the walls.”

“Huh, so there are walls in this world?”

“There weren’t originally. But because of the Gates, they had to be built.”

Only tens of thousands Awakened during the First Outbreak.

That number was insufficient to protect all of Japan.

Therefore, the government enclosed the minimum defensible land with walls and abandoned the outer lands.

In the inner lands, even if a Gate appeared, Hunters would immediately conquer it.

But in the Outer Region, most Gates were left unattended, continuing to Break.

In the future, the third and fourth Outbreaks would cause a rapid increase in Hunters.

Subsequently, reclamation operations would be conducted, reclaiming much land, but currently, there weren’t enough personnel to carry out such operations.

Anyway, he went to buy preserved food for the Expedition to the Outer Region.

For food, he prioritized nutrition over taste.

Water was bulky, so he reluctantly purchased it at a Gold Shop.

“I’m broke!”

Looking into his wallet, Asuto let out a sigh.

There were no bills left.

“Guess I’m camping out tonight…”

“Hm? You have money, don’t you?”

“Where?”

“You forgot what you just did?”

“Hmm? …Oh!”

Prompted by Amy, he remembered.

The other day, Asuto had conquered a B-Rank Gate, and the Magic Stones he obtained there still hadn’t been cashed in.

“I completely forgot.”

“You’re incredibly forgetful sometimes, you know?”

“Can’t help it. I’ve never gotten that many Magic Stones before.”

Having been without for so long, Asuto had developed a habit of unconsciously thinking ‘I have nothing,’ even when he acquired something.

(Not sure if it’s a good habit or a bad one. Well, it’s probably better than ‘mistaking nothing for something.’)

He retrieved the bag stuffed with Magic Stones from a cheap coin locker and headed straight for a Magic Stone buyback shop.

“Huff… huff…”

“Hey, calm down. You’re not at a level where you need to worry about thieves anymore, right?”

“I-I know, but I can’t relax when I’m carrying a lot of money.”

“And this is a C-Rank Hunter… Pathetic.”

Amy let out a deeply exasperated sigh at Asuto, who was clutching the bag to his chest and looking around nervously.

Five years after the First Outbreak, the Volume Zone for Hunters was E to F-Rank.

Reaching C-Rank meant being in the top less than one percent of Hunters.

Possessing True Strength that could rightly be called first-rate.

Even a group of D-Rank Hunters couldn’t easily defeat someone at that level.

Despite that, he was afraid of being attacked by others just for having a large sum of money.

It was no wonder she was exasperated.

Currently, neither Asuto’s bag nor his wallet contained any bills.

The reason was that the buyback amount for the Magic Stones was too high.

If a single buyback transaction exceeded 100,000 Yen, the money was deposited into the Hunter’s License Card as digital currency.

Going digital eliminated the effort and risk of carrying large sums for both Hunters and shops, and allowed the government to centrally manage taxes.

Of course, one could exchange digital currency for cash at financial institutions.

Asuto’s Hunter’s License Card currently held five million Yen.

It might even be more than the total he earned from his last day labor job.

“I-I can’t help it. I’ve never had this much money before.”

“Even so, you’re not a weak Hunter anymore, so get used to it already.”

“Urgh…”

At C-Rank, this level of income from a single hunt was normal.

Amy’s point about getting used to money was perfectly reasonable, leaving no room for argument.

“…I’ll try.”

“Good. So, what now?”

“It was an early morning today, so I’ll head to a Net Cafe a bit early.”

“That place again…”

“Got a problem with that?”

“Nah, just thought you’d rent a place.”

“Hmm…”

“If you’re going to keep being a Hunter, having your own place is important, right? You can use it to store Arms and Items too. But that place has no storage space, right? And no security either.”

“True. But still…”

“What’s there to hesitate about?”

“If I rent a room, I lose the all-you-can-drink beverage service.”

“Who cares about that?!”

Amy bristled at Asuto’s joke.

Asuto himself didn’t plan to stay at the internet cafe forever.

He did intend to rent a place someday.

(But not now.)

At the very least, he currently didn’t possess enough Arms or Items to require storage space.

A coin locker was sufficient for now.

Besides, it was currently April. Rent was still at a high plateau.

If he waited another month or two, prices would gradually start to fall.

It was better to wait and see a bit rather than rush to find a place now.

—That’s what he thought, but the situation suddenly changed drastically.