Part 212: From the Window of the Final Train

As we chased after Yoriku-san, who dashed away raising a cloud of dust, our bus also departed from the evacuation center.

"Now, let's focus our minds. From here on out, who knows what'll happen—monsters, zombies, anything could come next."

The very words from Rinon sent a wave of tension through me, unavoidable and palpable.

Staring again at the streets after the end, I can't help but gasp at the transformed scene before me.

There are formless black masses rolling around, entire buildings in one district completely burned to the ground, and the rotting carcasses of massive animals scattered about.

It's easy to describe each sight in a tourist-like manner, but somehow my vocabulary falls short of conveying everything I'm truly feeling right now.

Still, if I must put it into words—well, I don't know why, exactly.

The city feels colorless, maybe too poetic?

Those who love ruins might understand, vaguely.

That peculiar loneliness one feels when observing buildings that no longer belong to human territory.

I've heard that abandoned buildings deteriorate quickly once people stop living in them. I had the feeling this city, too, would one day end up that way.

Along the way, I encountered "zombies" a few times. But each time, it was just Rinnon poking her head out the window and tossing a stone—*poom*—right on the head. No need to stop the bus at all.

"If we keep this up, we'll reach Akihabara soon."

"Yeah. It's one of the safest places in Tokyo, and the 'King' owes us a favor. He'll definitely help us out."

That'll be a big relief.

"The route to Akihabara has already been cleared, and most people along the way should have been rescued by now."

As he said this, Asada showed us an open map.

The map was filled with various annotations, making it hard to tell at a glance what was where—but I traced my finger along what I believed would be our next route.

Our path will follow regular roads, cutting across Tokyo from one side to the other.

We planned to rest overnight in Akihabara, depart toward Kashiwa early tomorrow morning, and if nothing went wrong, arrive at "Chiba Destiny Island" by noon.

"...Hmm... huh?"

My fingers paused as I traced the map.

They stopped at the area around "Tsukishima Station," the route we were scheduled to pass through tomorrow onward.

There was a large note on the map marking the district, famous for its okonomiyaki: "Enemy territory—strong presence."

"Other势力... who exactly are they?"

As I asked, Rinne, who had been looking idle, responded.

"Ah, right. That's the territory of the 'Guardians'."

"Guardians?"

"It's just a nickname. Put another way, they're the 'government-recognized players'."

"Government-recognized? Are there really such people?"

"Well, sure. Right now, Osaka's called the 'Central Prefecture,' and they seem to have been dispatched from there."

"Wow..."

I was about to nod in understanding.

"Um, well, actually, is there still a functioning government right now?"

"Yes, there is."

"So, what about the military?"

"You mean the Self-Defense Forces. — Apparently, they still have a certain number of troops remaining."

No way.

I'd completely assumed the country had collapsed and that both police and military were entirely wiped out.

"So, why aren't the Self-Defense Forces here to rescue us?"

"Unfortunately, the Self-Defense Forces are completely overwhelmed just trying to maintain order in the Kansai region. A huge number of refugees are pouring in from the countryside, and the land is packed tight. I've heard they're even starting to build buildings like the Kowloon Walled City all over the place."

"Ugh."

"Unfortunately, we'll have to take care of ourselves."

"No way..."

"Not everything about it is bad. Fortunately, we've got plenty of land and supplies here....Though there is the occasional downside—running into those monsters."

"Isn't that downside a bit too big?"

I sigh, feeling a heavy weight in my stomach.

"Anyway, those 'Guardians' are well-behaved folk. They won't interfere with our journey this time."

"Then that's good..."

As if receiving such information, the bus slowly came to a stop with a modest brake.

“Huh? Ko-fumi, what’s wrong?”

“About that… look over there.”

A single column of red smoke was rising in the direction he pointed.

It was likely the signal fired by Yozu, who had gone ahead.

“It’s a signal saying ‘Don’t proceed, it’s dangerous.’ Normally, we’d turn back… but…”

“In our case… it means ‘Keep going anyway.’”

Kojiro made a clearly distressed face, drawing his thick eyebrows into a distinct八字 shape.

"But we can't just charge ahead like this. This bus is an essential means of transportation..."

"I know. That's exactly why we have these bicycles."

Turning around, Satori was already removing the locks from three bicycles.

...Three bikes.

Probably just Rinne, Satori, and me, then.

With a stern expression, Tsuzuri said to me, who was making a bitter face.

"Please endure it. I, too, hate getting my skirt hem dirty from chain oil."

No way.

Being lumped together with something like that...