Chapter 124: Breakdown

"Phew, that was close. Are you hurt?"

Grasping the offered hand firmly, I stand up.

"I'm fine... I'm okay."

"Wow, you seem surprisingly energetic?"

The girl chuckles, flashing a charming smile.

"After being attacked by a 'zombie,' don't your legs usually wobble for a bit?"

"Yeah... I know what you mean."

...This girl, Asuka.

She's kind of cute.

Then, the guy who had felled the 'zombie' wiped his survival knife while grinning,

"Hehe! But don't worry now. The super hero me is here!"

A young man with impressive athletic ability.

And a beautiful girl with an air of mystery.

...Just what kind of relationship do these two have?

"I'm Kotaro Imano. Nice to meet you."

Then, his hand was firmly shaken.

Strong and solid—hands of a warrior.

These fingers aren’t the same as mine, which have been glued to games all this past month.

“Ah, nice to meet you….”

Rintaro seemed to be thinking something along the lines of “Let’s get along from now on.”

For a moment, I nearly let myself be easily swayed—yet, they still weren’t confirmed allies.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

At least they didn’t look like rootless weeds.

Both of them were among the cleanest-looking people I’d seen lately, and didn’t seem to be starving.

That probably means they were sent from some safe location somewhere.

"‘Sakagura’ or something like that."

"Sakagura...? Wait, you mean (・)that (・)place?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I heard it was a paradise."

"Oh? Rumors like that are going around?"

Seemed to be news to him.

"...Is it really a good place?"

"Well, yeah. Everyone's working hard to make it that way."

At the same time, I understood two things.

There was a certain amount of resources in "Sakagahara" — enough to not drive out outsiders, but not excessive.

And the second thing.

There were sufficient preparations in place to resist external threats.

(A utopia, perhaps?)

It might not be such an exaggeration after all.

▼

Returning to the hotel with Ryota and Asuka several minutes later.

I had left a note indicating my intention to go out.

Perhaps because of that, Kōichi didn't seem too worried.

"Y-y-y, welcome back!"

But upon seeing the two people I'd brought with me,

"Ah, you two...? Wait—Dog Bite, did you actually help them?"

he added an unnecessary remark.

"Help...? No, it's the other way around. We've come to rescue you all."

"Oh? Really?"

"We're from 'Sakagahara.'"

"...Wait, seriously?"

"Dead serious."

"That was sheer luck. We were just on our way there, after all."

"Yes, that's good to hear."

With a slight frown, Koichi then asked,

"By the way... what happens to us from now on?"

"The base is around 'Sakagahara High School.' After we move there, you'll probably be assigned rooms in nearby apartments."

"I see."

"After that, once you've sorted out your feelings, you'll need to take on some kind of work."

"What kind of work, specifically?"

"Well, there's a variety of things. Lately, I've been starting to learn farming so we can live more self-sufficiently. I'd imagine that kind of work might be assigned to you."

"I'll do anything—so long as it's safe and doesn't hurt anyone."

"That's wonderful."

Asahina smiled gently.

"Also... are those elderly gentleman and the children family members of yours?"

No, we're not related by blood. We're simply comrades who've shared the same pot of rice.

I see.

Is something wrong?

My childhood friend was a lot more astute than I thought.

It seems they're subtly probing.

If they're the kind of people who would abandon someone with physical disabilities—like that old man, Obota—then perhaps we should consider relocation as a viable option.

"No, I simply thought it would be dangerous to move from here. As you know, there are thugs lurking throughout the city, not just zombies."

"That's true."

"Perhaps we should send a truck. Ryutarou. Do you recall if there's an available truck right now?"

"Let me think... I heard that Kio's father came over this way."

"Can we contact it via radio?"

I'll give it a shot, even if it's a long shot.

Saying that, Ritaro pulled out a walkie-talkie from his backpack and left the room.

Then Koichi said,

Just... could we have a moment alone to talk, perhaps for about twenty minutes?

and propose.

Of course

With a cheerful smile, Asuka also left the hotel room.

After confirming that the two had left, Kōichi turned around.

"What do you think? Can we trust the two of them?"

"I don't know, but I think they might be trustworthy. They didn't seem to care at all about Mr. Yohata."

"...So the rumors were true, then?"

"Where there's no smoke, there's no fire, as they say."

"Hmm."

Kōichi turned back toward his companions.

"What do you all think?"

Then Mr. Yohata shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll leave it to you. But both of them didn't seem like bad kids to me."

After pondering for a while, the children

I think the safest place would be where Nii-chan is with the dog bite.

And replied.

It's an honor.

As I spoke, I tried to reach a conclusion.

Then it's settled. We'll follow the direction those two are heading...

Wait a minute. Dog bite.

Hmm?

There's one more person left who hasn't heard your story.

"...wasn't there something like that?"

Then Koichi lightly tapped the helmet of the "Hero" with a sigh.

"Aah..."

Hikaru, was it?

"Of course I didn't forget."

He muttered, half in excuse.

Maybe he was starting to doubt her grasp of the situation.

After all, unlike a living, walking human being, she was a ghost.

(Still, I should probably hear her opinion anyway.)

Thinking that, I put on the "Hero's" helmet.

And then,

――o w w w w w w w m a w w w w w w w w w e w w w w w w w w w

a voice so full of laughter it seemed like weeds were sprouting everywhere came echoing through.

"Uh? What's wrong?"

— Come on, seriously! Why don’t you listen to my opinion first? I’m not kidding!

“Ah, sorry about that. I just couldn’t find the right moment.”

— You could’ve just pretended to go to the bathroom and slipped on your helmet!

“…Now that’s a clever idea.”

— You’re such a goof!

After making contact with the two, they had focused on extracting various pieces of information.

I never thought I'd get to the point of hearing Hikaru's story.

"So, is there something wrong with this?"

Before I explain, let me show you the statuses of the two people I just acquired.

"Huh?"

Name: Your Asuka

Job: Barrier

Weapon: Kaijou Shovel

Head: None

Body: Tracksuit

Arm: none

shoes: sports shoes

Soushoku: Yurinokamikazari

Status

Level: 5

HP: 19

MP: 12

Attack: 21

Defense: 11

Magic: 10

Speed: 19

Agility: 22

Name: Konno Rintarou

Job: Barrier

Weapon: Knife

Head: Yellow Bandana

Body: School Uniform

Arm: None

Shoes: Sports Shoes

Soushoku: Silver Necklace

Status

Level: 5

HP: 21

MP: 10

Attack: 20

Defense: 12

Magic: 11

Agility: 23

Cunning: 18

"...Eh? Hmm?"

Tilting my head.

I don't really understand... but...

Both of them seem significantly stronger than normal humans.

...No, wait.

"What is this 'Dorei' thing, anyway?"

—Well, you see, in this world, there are all kinds of jobs. Like "Hero" or "Warrior."...And then there's also a job called "Slave Master."

"Dorei...?"

I couldn't help but gasp at the socially unacceptable sound of it.

—Those kids… they're being affected by the "Subjugation" skill used by the player with the "Slave Master" job.

"Such a thing…!"

I instinctively sank to the corner of the bed.

"Those two?"

—Yeah. Honestly, ever since you started acting so strangely, I've been on edge the whole time.

By "some unclear performance," they must be referring to the incident where they lured in the "zombies" to test their true capabilities.

But allow me to explain.

The "Hero's" power couldn't be used when we were too far apart, and approaching the two while wearing the helmet was simply too risky.

In that situation, doing things the way we did seemed the most efficient.

"Yet..."

—Ooh, look at that—new information just dropped!

"Huh?"

I eavesdropped on the conversation happening outside the door... I'm going to broadcast it now.

"Wiretapping...? You actually managed to pull off something that clever?"

Just listen already.

The moment after Hikone said so.

The sound coming from the helmet seemed amplified several times over, as if a directional microphone were picking up their voices—two voices speaking, clearly audible.

▼

"...So, you're saying the guy who got bitten by that dog is suspicious?"

Yes

"But why?"

"Gut feeling."

"A gut feeling...?"

"Well, there's some basis for it. An ordinary person wouldn't have survived this long—this should be barely possible."

"Could be."

"But they weren't just barely making it....Hayato-kun. Have you ever seen a refugee who smelled of soap before?"

"Come to think of it, now that you mention it, that was pretty unusual."

"That's probably people who still have some mental space left. But there aren't any ordinary people in this world who have room to spare....If there were anyone like that...?"

"...a 'player,' you mean?"

"Exactly."

"Guhmumum. Honestly, I just can't see that guy as a bad one."

"Still, it never hurts to stay cautious, right?"

"True enough."

"Did you manage to get in touch with Kio?"

"Yeah. Old Man's on his way here right now."

"Then let's keep stalling until he arrives..."

▼

(That explains it. So that's how it's going to be.)

I groaned, hating my own foolishness.

(Thinking I was doing the right thing, only to end up making things worse.)

Come to think of it, my entire life seems to be a series of such mistakes.

"...Hmm? Something wrong?"

I suddenly noticed that Kyōichi (and everyone else present) was looking at me with worried expressions.

"Sorry."

I bowed my head to everyone.

I couldn't even tell at which point I'd made the wrong decision.

But one thing was certain.

"Negotiations have failed....Let's get out of here."