Chapter 66

"Oda-san, what do you think?"

Today, we had come to explore an area opposite to the new food supply location we visited the other day. After slowing down the car and driving around the same building three times to observe, the skinhead police officer sitting next to him spoke to Oda, who was driving.

"The main entrance is blocked by barricades, and the rear loading dock is also shut. The parking lot is blocked by a wagon, and it looks like someone is here, but there's no response of any kind."

"Yeah, I didn't see anything moving either. Right, Yanagi-san?"

"…Yeah."

I agreed with the bearded police officer. Of course, this was the department store I had just "cleaned" last night.

After one more round, Oda spoke again.

"…Should we go in?"

"If we go in, it'll be from the parking lot. It doesn't look like there are any of them around. I'll go first."

It's my job to go outside. I don't want to risk the others getting attacked by zombies if something happens.

When I took the lead, the other two, besides Oda, nodded reluctantly. No one wants to step into a place that might be a death trap. Even though there are no zombies visible in the parking lot, they probably imagine being shot the moment they step down. I don't think they're being cowardly; in fact, I feel more at ease knowing they're cautious.

Oda positioned the car parallel to the wagon at the right moment.

"Then, Yanagi-san, I'll leave it to you."

"Sure."

Taking advantage of the high clearance of the disaster response vehicle, I opened the window and climbed directly onto the roof of the wagon.

I was about to get out of the car and climb onto the wagon, but Oda's quick thinking to handle it this way shows he's as reliable as ever.

I entered the parking lot and got into the wagon.

"The key was inside. I'll move it, so come in."

Using the radio, I said this and moved the wagon, which had its windows covered on the driver's side. Once the gap was created, Oda and the others slowly drove in, and I covered it with the wagon again. A single zombie had managed to get in, but I got out of the wagon, swung my axe, and killed it, then got into Oda's car.

"Yanagi-san, don't take such risks alone."

Oda said this because I had killed the zombie. According to the plan, if any zombies got in, we were supposed to keep our distance and take them down together.

But I wasn't going to let that happen.

If I can do it alone without showing my strength, I'll do everything myself. If it keeps everyone a little safer, then so be it.

"Sorry, but one of them isn't a big deal."

I apologized lightly.

+++++

Exploring the large store while being on high alert took a long time. Everyone's faces, tense from the tension, showed signs of fatigue.

"No sign of them or anyone else… Why, with all the fortifications?"

"Maybe they were rescued by the Self-Defense Forces?"

We had set up supplies on the second floor of the parking lot in case we needed to leave quickly, but Oda suggested exploring the store. From the looks of it, someone might be holed up here, and if so, taking the supplies would be inappropriate.

It's a reasonable concern, and it shows Oda's kindness. When I mentioned it, he casually replied that it could cause trouble, which was memorable.

"It's possible, but unlikely. They said this was the first time they came to this side when we went to the city hall."

"Yeah… What do you think, Yanagi-san?"

"Who knows, I have no idea. I'll leave these difficult decisions to you guys."

I wanted to use the supplies here, but I left the decision to them.

We hadn't finished exploring everything yet, but we returned to the parking lot. Seeing everyone in the car looking exhausted, I felt a bit guilty for keeping them in the safe store for so long, but I resigned myself to it.

"…Let's start by transporting the supplies in the parking lot today."

Oda took out a piece of paper and a pen from the dashboard and wrote something quickly.

"I'll leave a note. We don't have much time, so let's come back here tomorrow. If there's no response, we'll use this place for a while."

He decided to leave a note without revealing our identities to see if there was any reaction.

No one objected to Oda's decision, and everyone got out of the car and started loading the supplies into the truck. The work went smoothly, despite the fatigue from exploring the store. Unlike the unsatisfactory supply run a few days ago, the truck was packed full, and everyone's faces were bright.

Seeing this, I smiled. It was good that we didn't explore the entire store today. Tonight, I'll bring more food to the areas we didn't explore today.

I feel like I should name Oda's two subordinates, though.