Episode 57: Escape from the Mall

"Why is there a car here?"

Anna, in the back seat, voiced the obvious question.

Hayato hesitated, unsure how to answer. He decided to postpone a response for now.

"Earlier, I heard voices from the food court. Said they were from the New Order Coalition. We'll exit through the entrance behind the Food Store. Stay calm. Get in the car quietly. One thing—my driving skills are barely above beginner level."

Legally, he didn't need a junior driver mark, but his experience was minimal.

Still, he had played driving games before, so he hoped he wasn't entirely incompetent.

The car, driven by such a man, moved along the first floor of the Shopping Mall.

Ahead, people were already panicking.

"The New Order Coalition has arrived."

"Run, quickly!"

People gathering supplies were fleeing toward individual exits, moving in disorder.

Some dropped bags they could not carry. Others fell while pushing carts.

Among them, Hayato ran forward, shining the car's headlights, honking the siren with a sharp, continuous beep.

"Hey, don't jump in front of the vehicle."

Even if collision occurred, Hayato had no intention of stopping.

Traffic law required drivers involved in personal injury accidents to provide aid.

But if providing aid endangered the driver's own life, the obligation was waived.

When Hayato first encountered the New Order Coalition, they attempted to kill him and kidnap Yui.

This time, they were attacking in groups of dozens. Providing aid would endanger Hayato's life.

Still, the vehicle Hayato drove was avoiding people.

It seemed people had mistaken the vehicles moving through the mall for those of the New Order Coalition.

——Their actions, however, were utterly unreasonable.

Amidst the panicked flight of civilians, a deafening motorcycle roar echoed from the main entrance.

"Hah-hah! Alcohol! Women!"

A two-seater motorcycle burst through, the voice barely audible to Hayato.

The man seated behind the rider swung a steel pipe, shouting with excitement.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm first!"

The motorcycle’s path crossed Hayato’s vehicle’s trajectory.

The New Order Coalition riders on the motorcycle noticed Hayato’s car.

But the vehicle could not stop abruptly. The left front frame of Hayato’s sturdy SUV collided with the motorcycle’s front wheel.

"B-b-b-brrraaah!"

The front wheel of the motorcycle lifted, throwing the man on the rear seat into the air and slamming him onto the floor. The driver ahead rolled with the motorcycle across the first floor of the mall.

Crashed into the coffee chain store's signboard and stopped with a loud bang.

A moment of silence seized the mall, but the sound of car engines drowned it out.

"This is self-defense."

Hayato explained to the others in the vehicle, then moved forward toward the Food Store within the mall.

The term "mall" originates from "mall," meaning a promenade or passage. It refers to a long corridor designed to resemble a shopping street, with stores arranged along its length, allowing people to shop while walking.

There was enough space for one vehicle to pass, and Hayato advanced steadily.

A motorcycle entered from the front entrance of the Food Store.

New Order Coalition!

Amid the fleeing crowd, some ran while shouting.

People who had come to gather supplies scattered in all directions, in a state of panic.

"Uoah, food!"

"Hey, grab that woman!"

The New Order Coalition, having come to attack, showed no fixed priority.

They maintained high flexibility, adapting to circumstances as they arose.

Behind Hayato and the others, shouts and metallic sounds collided.

"Almost to the exit."

Previous foot exploration had paid off.

Hayato moved without hesitation, leaping out through the rear entrance of the Food Store.

Several suppliers had already escaped outside the mall.

Hayato pressed the accelerator and passed them, exiting the mall.

The car traveling outside Chukann City was quiet for a time.

The faint engine hum brushed the ears. Hayato tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Yui looked out the window. Natsuki sat in silence in the back seat, her expression thoughtful.

Anna stared at Hayato. Her gaze held a slight edge.

"Master. This is the vehicle we rode in when we arrived, isn’t it?"

Anna’s voice broke the silence. It sounded calm, yet carried a subtle, sharp inquiry.

Hayato saw Anna in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were filled with doubt.

As Anna had pointed out, the car had been driven to the mall and left several hundred meters from a private residence when they arrived.

Hayato and Anna had been traveling together. There had been no opportunity to bring the car to the cinema.

The tension in the car intensified abruptly.

——What should be done?

Hayato slightly tightened his lips.

The simplest option was to make Anna a companion and reveal the secret.

A permanent settlement had not yet been secured. Food production systems remained unestablished.

By logic, Hayato himself, Yui who had agreed first, and Natsuki who had received Yui’s consent—all three needed stable living conditions to survive.

With Hayato’s abilities, it was likely possible to maintain enough food even with Anna included.

But that depended entirely on Hayato convincing Yui with certainty.

Therefore, Anna was not yet confirmed as a companion.

Having reconfirmed the situation, Hayato began explaining to Anna.

“…This is a summoning technique.”

“A summoning technique?”

Anna stared, stunned by Hayato’s abrupt explanation.

Hayato nodded quietly, his expression serious as he looked through the rearview mirror.

Actually, I am an Iga ninja.

Iga ninjas were people who lived in Mie Prefecture, one of the settlement candidates Hayato had designated.

Fire magic, disguise, infiltration, espionage, escape, combat with farming tools—various techniques were employed.

Hayato could encompass all of them through spatial storage and physical capability.

Live in Iga, and you are no less than the upper ninja of Iga.

If that is the case, perhaps it would be acceptable to state one's name.

That is the extent of my attempt to convey it through hopeful speculation.

"Huh?"

If the state of Anna’s eyes now could be verbalized, it would be an expression of absolute disbelief.

One hundred percent skepticism. "Huh, so what?" — prompting for the next part, as if nothing could matter.

Perhaps it would have been better to say I left the spare vehicle at the mall when I went to scout for food.

"Then, perhaps I could have still deceived them."

Hayato asked for the model answer. The grader evaluated it.

"Then, that's it."

"I think it's too late."

Changing your answer after hearing it seems to be forbidden.

Hayato exhaled faintly, his fingers moving lightly on the steering wheel.

"...I'd like to take Anna with me. But by logic, Yui and Natsuki, whom I already promised, come first. If I shift my decisions too often, Anna wouldn't feel secure either."

"I understand that."

"I could secure enough rice for three lifetimes. But without establishing self-sustaining food production, I can't easily add companions."

"Having enough rice for three lifetimes— that's incredible. Probably nobody could do that now."

Anna implied, without saying it, that this was enough.

How many people, in an age without zombies, had secured enough wealth to support a spouse for life before marriage.

Hayato, asked that question, felt his own thoughts might be mistaken.

"Maybe it's a matter of my resolve. Yui and Natsuki were in a worse situation than Anna. There was no choice but to bring them along."

Yui and Natsuki had both been bitten by zombies. The only options were to bring them along or let them become zombies.

Thus, Hayato was certain the current situation was the better choice.

"But Anna had a choice."

"No, she didn’t."

"Hm?"

Anna, speaking from behind the rearview mirror, answered with a smile, calm and light.

The contrast between her cheerfulness and her contradictory reply left Hayato confused. He repeated the question.

The food in Chukann City will surely be finished at the Shopping Mall. The expired buckwheat flour is already developing mold, and we’re barely holding on as it is.

A low growl came from Anna’s stomach.

We’re healthy now, but in one year, we’ll be sick or emaciated. In two years, we’ll either die of illness or starvation. So I’d like you to make me your third wife as soon as possible.

Hayato glanced at Anna in the rearview mirror. She was smiling.