32nd Episode: Self-Defense Measures

"Shall we have lunch soon?"

As they entered a suburban area dominated by rice paddies, Yui spoke up.

No abandoned vehicles lined the road. No signs of zombies.

Hayato pulled the car to the roadside and stopped.

"Then, bring out the lunch boxes."

Requested by Yui, Hayato retrieved three lunch boxes from his spatial storage.

Yui took them and divided them between Hayato and Natsuki.

When Hayato opened the lid of his lunch box, the scent of freshly baked rye bread from a wood-fired oven filled the cabin.

Inside the box were rye breads, firm on the outside, moist on the inside, freshly baked in a wood-fired oven.

"Today’s lunch: fresh-baked rye bread sandwiches. Ingredients provided by Hayato."

The bread had been sliced and assembled into sandwiches.

Inside were thinly sliced goat cheese, salt-cured and air-dried smoked meat, dried fruit such as plums and apples.

Normally served as-is, but prepared in advance by Yui for transport.

"I've never eaten it this way."

"How did you eat it before?"

"Hand-picked from the wooden crate."

Yui showed a look of mild disbelief, but Hayato paid no mind. He picked up the sandwich and brought it straight to his mouth.

The rich depth of the aged goat cheese spread across his tongue.

Next came the deep umami of the salt-cured, air-dried smoked meat, harmonizing with the natural sweetness of the dried fruit, blending with the toasty aroma of the rye bread baked in the wood-fired oven.

Far more complex than eating the ingredients separately.

"The person who invented the sandwich was quite the connoisseur."

The name "sandwich" derives from the English Earl of Sandwich.

The earl did not, apparently, invent the sandwich.

Thinking this, Hayato took another bite.

"Here, Natsuki."

"Thank you."

Yui extended a lunchbox to the back seat, and Natsuki accepted it.

— Yui calls Natsuki by name without honorifics. Natsuki addresses Yui with "-san."

Yui claims to be eighteen. Natsuki is seventeen.

According to their own statements, Yui is the elder. But the use of honorifics may reflect personality, not age.

Yui addresses Hayato, twenty-one, by name. Natsuki, in contrast, calls her roommate "Mia-chan" and avoids informal address.

Yui, who had formed a group with Hayato earlier, may be deliberately friendly to Natsuki to help her adapt quickly.

Natsuki maintained a careful demeanor, as though avoiding rupture in the relationship.

For now, the two women within the group of three had settled into that arrangement.

Outside the window, spring wind swept through the rice fields.

In the distance, mountains blurred into haze, and a peaceful rural landscape unfolded.

Occasionally, the call of wild birds reached the ear.

"Good?"

Yui asked, a faintly proud expression on her face.

"Yeah. The saltiness of the cheese and meat balances well with the sweetness of the fruit. Combined with freshly baked bread, it’s quite luxurious."

"Japan doesn’t make this often."

Natsuki, formerly a farm high school student, spoke of rye bread.

Hayato traded with agricultural high schools and acquired various plant seeds.

Rye, however, was not among the traded items.

Rye is imported for most of Japan, produced only in limited quantities in Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region.

There are no wheat fields. It would be impossible to play a game of tag inspired by the famous American novel *The Catcher in the Rye* with Yui and Natsuki.

"Japanese people eat rice as their staple. There are no farmers left to grow it."

Hayato chewed on his sandwich, gazing at the pastoral landscape beyond the car.

Abandoned rice paddies were overgrown with weeds.

Even so, bathed in spring sunlight, they appeared calm.

"Tea?"

Yui picked up her water bottle and poured green tea into a plastic cup.

Powdered tea found in a pharmacy. A luxury in this world.

Hayato took the cup. At first, an artificial taste spread across his mouth.

But soon, a faint, original green tea flavor rose from within.

A delicate astringency hidden in the bitterness. A fresh, grass-like aroma. Though powdered, it still carried traces of the refined taste once held by Japanese tea.

In a world overrun by zombies, drinkable beverages were scarce.

This single cup of green tea was a fleeting, beautiful reminder of a former daily life.

"Visit a tea field in Shizuoka Prefecture and gather tea?"

"Whatever. Fine."

Yui, in the passenger seat, wore an expression of disbelief—how could she still have such composure?

Composure, in this case, belonged solely to Hayato, if he were traveling alone.

Hayato had gained three abilities through a transfer to another world.

The three abilities were: bear-level physical strength, holy magic capable of removing injuries or the virus before zombie transformation, and spatial storage equivalent to ten rooms of eight tatami mats each.

For three years, from age eighteen, he had fought demons in a summoned alternate world. His final title had been "Special Lieutenant, Assault Enhancement Division, Aestria Empire."

The spatial storage contained water and food for one thousand people for ten days, tents and blankets for forty people, one hundred spears, three hundred bows, three hundred bow racks, four thousand arrows, gasoline, and other supplies.

In a world overrun by zombies, it was not unreasonable that the idea of stopping at a tea field in Shizuoka Prefecture would arise.

The only concern was Yui and Natsuki, who were ordinary humans.

Yui was a self-proclaimed eighteen-year-old girl, under one hundred and fifty centimeters tall, wearing a middle school uniform when Hayato first met her.

Natsuki was a second-year student at Kirioka Agricultural High School in March. She had knowledge of agricultural high school practices, but lacked experience in combat.

Hayato’s tactical operations required the mandatory condition of protecting the two of them.

“Let’s look for a gun, Natsuki’s at least.”

“A gun?”

Hayato paused mid-motion, sandwich in hand, and met Natsuki’s gaze through the rearview mirror.

“The gun we obtained at Kirioka— I gave it to Yui.”

“Yeah. Heavy, but she’s holding it.”

Yui confirmed from the passenger seat.

“The gun the Oniwa had wasn’t a police firearm. It was a foreign-made weapon, the kind a yakuza would carry.”

“She did have a large tattoo on her neck, after all.”

Cultural attitudes toward tattoos differed between Japan and foreign nations.

In Japan, the practice of *jimaku*—tattooing as punishment—had been used since the mid-Edo period.

According to the Edo Shogunate’s foundational legal code, the *Kugiyō Gijin Shō* (1782), individuals convicted of minor theft, fraud, or embezzlement were marked with two or three lines on the arm.

In Edo, convicts received two lines carved just below the elbow joint.

In Osaka, two lines were carved at the elbow joint.

In Kyoto, a dot was carved, while in Chōshū, two diagonal dots were carved on the upper arm.

In some cases, the mark was carved not on the arm but on the forehead.

In Edo, during the Kōbun era, the character “evil” was carved on the forehead.

In Hizen, a cross mark was carved; in Awa, three vertical lines were carved on the forehead.

In Hiroshima, first-time offenders had the character “one” carved on the forehead; repeat offenders had the character “no” added, making “three” on the third offense, and “great” on the fourth, followed by “dog” on the fifth.

In Japan, the practice of tattooing criminals continued, leading to tattoos being seen as marks of criminality and causing social avoidance.

As yakuza members began deliberately tattooing their own bodies, tattoos became firmly associated with yakuza affiliation.

— There was even a manga in Japan where the protagonist had "meat" tattooed on their forehead.

The treatment of tattoos in Japan was severe.

Hayato suspected the oniwa of being yakuza-related due to this established context.

"I don't know if the oniwa was yakuza, but they carried a Glock 19 pistol. Twelve rounds remained. That’s a considerable defensive capability."

The Glock 19 is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed by Glock, an Austrian firearms and military equipment manufacturer.

Constructed with extensive use of plastic, extremely lightweight, and designed for cold climates, adopted by military and police forces worldwide, including in Japan.

The Glock 19 measures 174 millimeters in length, weighs 595 grams, and holds 15 rounds.

Heavier than a 500-milliliter PET bottle by about ten percent, and shorter in length by over ten percent.

Flat profile allows concealment in inner pockets of clothing.

"I don’t think I’d hit anything even if I fired it."

"Just having a firearm and being able to fire it serves as a deterrent against human targets."

The oni-gawa was deterred by Hayato’s fire, and Hayato sustained a wound to his left arm.

With careful handling, a few zombies might be neutralized.

The concern is that the magazine empties after twelve shots.

The Glock 19 given to Yui is a pistol designed exclusively for 9mm Parabellum ammunition.

The 38 Special rounds used by standard police revolvers are incompatible. Even if Hayato acquired a pistol from a zombie police officer, he could not reuse the ammunition.

Only units such as the Self-Defense Forces, the Police Special Assault Team (SAT), or the Metropolitan Police Department's Security Division possessed such weapons. Hayato had no knowledge of where such units might have become zombies.

Yui, however, had secured a means of self-defense for now.

"I want to get one for Natsuki too."

"What should we do?"

"I think I'll go look at the nearest Police Station."

Hayato operated the Car Navigation System to locate the closest Police Station.

Fortunately, the GPS was still functioning normally.