Chapter 320: Morning Tea Time

And on the morning of the third day.

We four sat around a dining table in the corner of the furniture store assigned as our bedroom.

On the slightly oversized table for four, steaming cups of tea were lined up.

In this place where magical energy depletion was negligible, we hardly needed to eat. Our breakfast was truly simple.

"…Finally, all four of us are together."

Even Nanami seemed to be getting worried about the staff waiting in the real world. She's up earlier than usual today.

After a night had passed, her mind had cooled somewhat, and she was a little more cooperative now.

Nanami exhaled a plume of smoke with a sweet citrus scent,

"So, then—what exactly are we doing today?"

"Well... um..."

"Wait, is this conversation not moving forward?"

"Yes."

I'll be honest.

"Then, let's just wing it and see how it goes."

"Well... I suppose that's what we'd like to do..."

"What? Is there a problem or something?"

I explained to Nanami that the people here weren't in agreement.

She just laughed heartily and said,

"Idiot. If someone wants to stay here, just let them?"

"They're not trying to stay forever. They just want to delay departure a little longer."

Ugh, this is such a hassle.

That said, we can't just leave it alone, can we?

You're right, but...

Nanami pondered thoughtfully,

"...Hey, 'Anonymous.' You might want to think twice before relying too much on that guy, Hamada."

"Hashimoto-san? Why him?"

He acts like the group's leader, but in reality, he's not really that at all.

"Uh"

"It's that kind of situation—acting cool in front of an adorable girl and then getting stuck with no way to back down."

"Whaaat…………"

Well, admittedly, he's not exactly someone you can rely on.

"I heard it from the guy in last place. Apparently, he wasn't the type to step forward like that before."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Yeah... the leader here is that guy who bit the dog, you know. That's why we have to go through him—otherwise, our opinions will just scatter. If we want to settle this quickly, we should just go through the dog-biter."

"Hmm."

Even if he says that, he seems to be avoiding eye contact with me.

"What do you think, Ran-chan? What should we do?"

"Eh, me?"

She blinks, as if just waking up from a daze,

We should probably evacuate in a way that everyone can agree on.

Hmm. I see.

I just wanted to ask how it came to be like that.

"Where is Mayoi-san?"

...Hmm... Yeah, I guess...

She fiddled with her bangs for a moment with her fingers,

"Shall I just open the front door then?"

"By 'omote,' you mean...?"

"It's the iron shutter on the first floor—closed. I went to check it out yesterday when I had time."

"Hmm... And?"

"There were zombies piled up like crazy."

Well, that's to be expected.

The area around this mall is surrounded by an enormous number of 'zombies,' after all.

"Wait, I think I can activate the console right next to us using the third Thunder-type ability."

"I see."

You know what comes next, right? Open the shutter from the inside and deliberately let the "zombies" in. I think the mall will be completely filled with them in no time. Once that happens, everyone will inevitably want to move somewhere else, don't you think?

"That's certainly..."

The risk is too high, I mean.

You're being unusually sharp for someone like you! Let's go with that!

No, no, no! If there's anyone who can't make it to safety in time...

"If everyone gathers in one spot, we can open the front door. If we can move straight to the rooftop, we’ll be able to shut out those 'zombies'."

"…………hmm"

For a moment, I was frightened by the thought of myself nearly accepting such a flimsy idea.

Even I can't afford to go along with a half-baked plan that came to mind on a whim.

"That strategy has too many uncertain factors. Honestly, if the refugees don't evacuate smoothly, we'd lose a vital source of magical energy supply."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Thanks to Moe-san readily agreeing, we scrapped the plan.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"To be honest, I'm starting to lose the desire to protect these old guys here. Frankly, it's fine to just wing it."

"Come now, Nanami. Don't say things like that."

"I've always thought that 'Nameless' always says the right things. Were you the class president type back in the day?"

"No, not at all..."

In fact, I'm the complete opposite of that kind of person—though, because Nanami tends to speak in extremes, I somehow ended up in that kind of role without even realizing it.

I won't say we should abandon everyone completely, but if a couple of random old guys who don't even know us drop dead, who cares? Let's just take it easy. Otherwise, we'll start going crazy.

No, that's not it—

Just as I was about to object to something or other, that moment came.

With the force of someone about to smash a delicate tea set from a foreign brand, Hamada suddenly burst into the scene and shouted at us—

"Th-there's an emergency! A zombie's appeared!"

"What?"

"A zombie's been spotted! Sorry to trouble you all, but could you please handle this...!"

At the same time, we all instinctively stared at Mayoi-san's face.

Noticing our gaze, she flustered and waved her hands frantically.

"……W-wait! It's not me, really! You're not serious, are you?!"

Huh.

You're kidding, right?