Chapter 97: A Flock

"Man, I'm in trouble. This looks impossible to fix without tools."

The pickup truck, rather than me who was underneath it, seemed to be the one getting more concern.

I, uh... it's kind of embarrassing...

"Should we just drain the gas and head back?"

"No. That guy earlier mentioned there's a community nearby, right? How about we go there and borrow some tools?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Oh, by the way, you—"

Koichi Asada turns back toward us.

"May I also be subjected to that 'Subjugation'?"

"...Are you sure?"

Up until now, Asada had been exempted from being a candidate for 'Subjugation' on the grounds that he was the group's leader.

It was considered too risky for the community's operation for the 'leader' to be completely under someone else's control.

"For now, just a temporary measure. It seems the situation is even less secure than we thought. I don't want anyone dragging down the group's progress."

"Understood."

As he spoke, he activated .

Placing his right hand on the man's head, he muttered,

"Ah well. I used to believe that Japanese people always valued morality, even in the most dire circumstances....But demanding that now is probably too much."

With a bitter expression, Asada murmured.

And so, the maximum number of companions who can be enslaved has been reached.

"There was a larger group mentioned ahead, beneath the elevated track."

Fifty people—that's about the same number as the group initially gathered at "Sakagō High School." It should be a relatively large group.

Where people gather, cries for help will be heard.

Assisting them will earn us experience points, after all.

We loaded supplies onto the light truck belonging to those who had made it through safely, then began walking around the slowly moving vehicles, hurrying toward the community.

...And then.

"Hey, everyone—!"

Rintarou, who had been ahead, bounced back toward us.

"Uh-oh! They're surrounded by those zombies!"

Upon hearing his shout, Ayaka was the first to dash forward.

Climbing the utility pole with the dexterity of a monkey,

"Oh my. This is quite a predicament."

A little later, I move to a position where I can see ahead as well.

What they saw was...

Uwaa...

It was a horde of "zombies" so shocking it made me recoil in disgust.

There are... um, I can't quite count them. Maybe a few thousand?

The group we've dealt with so far is quite different in scale.

What kind of situation is this...

"Look. There's a human community over there."

Peering closely, just as the attacker had said, I saw a territory protected by a solid barricade beneath the elevated structure.

"Unlike the school, there's nothing to block the undead's sight. People were drawn to it, and as more gathered, the undead started summoning more undead... That's probably how it ended up like this."

I see.

"So, what do we do now?"

Hmm. I folded my arms.

It's definitely going to be tough dealing with that many.

They keep coming at us one after another.

"I think we should avoid a straight-on fight."

To my surprise, Saya-chan, the fearless charge girl, offered a calm opinion.

"If we face that many, we'll definitely run out of magic power midway. What then?"

I see.

Saya-chan has actually lost twice before due to running out of magic power, you know.

So being cautious about that makes perfect sense, really.

Still, we couldn't afford to be too relaxed either.

We don't know how long that group under the overpass has been surrounded by "zombies."

Which means we can't predict when their supplies might run out.

By today at the latest… I’d like to wrap this up quickly and efficiently.

"What’s our strategy?"

Kio asks for input.

He probably knows I’m the one who’ll be risking my life first.

"Hmm, it’ll be a somewhat awkward way to fight…"

"But we never cared about aesthetics when dealing with problems."

I see. Then…

"First, we'll scout nearby convenience stores with terrain suitable for combat—defensible locations that limit the paths zombies can use to break in, and... where there's plenty of food left."

"Hmm. And then?"

"It's simple from here. First, I'll take care of those zombies one by one. When I get hungry, I'll hand things off to Sayaka-chan. I'll go back to everyone else and eat my fill. Once my magic is replenished, I'll pass the baton back to Sayaka-chan. We'll keep fighting those zombies... and that's it."

"Hmm. So, in that case, we're...?"

"We're the ones responsible for preparing meals for me and Sayaka-chan."

"Ah, I see."

Kio smiled wryly.

"Sure, it's not exactly a glamorous role."

That's for sure.

"Still, it looks like we don't have much of a choice....Let's get started right away."