Chapter 81

Early in the morning, after taking down a few zombies that had sneaked into the premises through the gap between the fence and the car, I climbed the stairs to the second floor to wake up Takero and Momo. It seemed they were already awake, as they quickly responded when I knocked on the door and called out to them.

"Mr. Yanagi, good morning. Were you downstairs?"

"Good morning. Yeah, there were a few zombies, so I took care of them."

Besides, even though there was no reaction from the vision detection when we entered the town, it wasn't certain that no one had come by, given the parked cars. I thought it would be best to check the outside first.

"…Good morning."

"Ah, good morning."

Momo greeted me with a small voice from behind Takero, avoiding eye contact. Last night, Takero must have talked to her about something. The hostility from Momo had almost completely disappeared.

"Hurry up and get ready. We'll have breakfast on the move."

While feeling a sense of relief, I said this to the two of them.

I wasn't sure if it was because they were originally diligent or if it was due to the current situation, but despite having just woken up, they were surprisingly efficient in their actions.

The preparations were quickly completed, and the three of us got into the car.

"There were quite a few infected that had gotten in, huh."

"Yeah, a few must have followed the car."

"You could have said something, and I would have helped…"

"That wasn't necessary. I can handle it alone."

As I slowly drove the car, Takero spoke from the back seat. Thanks to last night's incident, he had become much more talkative.

Momo, on the other hand, was as quiet as ever, despite her appearance, but the fact that she no longer directed hostility towards me made me feel a bit more at ease.

I'm not particularly good at talking, so if I had to choose which was better, I would be at a loss. Especially since we had only just met, and she had been hostile towards me until recently.

"Mr. Yanagi, you're amazing. If I were that strong…"

Through the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of Takero looking at me with a bright, admiring gaze, and I smiled wryly.

+++++

The journey went smoothly, and we were about to reach our destination. Well, to say there were no problems at all might be an overstatement.

Whenever I detected hostile gazes, we immediately turned back and took a different route. There were also roads that seemed to be deliberately blocked, and in such cases, we took detours, which took a lot more time than planned.

While I can enhance the strength of objects I touch with my magic, it's quite difficult for me to do so for the entire car. I suppose it's because I don't recognize it as a weapon I hold in my hand.

If I pushed myself, I could probably enhance it a little, but even then, it wouldn't be absolutely safe if we were suddenly shot at, so I avoided risks as much as possible until now. However, from here on, we might have to proceed even if we detect some hostile gazes.

The first thing we noticed upon entering the town was a zombie corpse lying on the road, its head split diagonally. No, it wasn't just split; it was cut. While it wasn't as clean a cut as one from my magic-infused axe, it was still quite impressive.

"Maybe it was Mr. Suzukake…"

Takero muttered, looking out the car window. Momo swallowed hard at the sight.

"It doesn't look like much time has passed."

"Then…!"

"Well, it's possible."

I didn't want to give him false hope, but I responded to Takero's words like that.

Looking around, the number of zombies was surprisingly low, even including the dead ones. Given the situation, it seemed that people with determination and proper weapons could have held their ground against the infected.

The town was spread out with fields and rice paddies, and houses were scattered at a distance. As we approached the center, the houses became closer together, and we eventually entered an old shopping district. Even in this place, which had likely been the most prosperous before the pandemic, there were hardly any moving zombies.

As we passed through and the distance between buildings widened again, we could see the school in the distance. And from that school, I detected multiple gazes.

Survivors, perhaps.

"Takero, I don't recall hearing that anyone was taking refuge at the school, right?"

"No, I haven't heard that. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that schools are often used as shelters. So, it's fine."

In that case, we'll leave the school for now and head to Momo's grandfather's place first.

While receiving multiple hostile gazes from the school, I drove the car towards our destination.