Chapter 83

"Is that so, Take's parents too. It must have been tough... but I'm glad they're both safe."

In the center of the tatami-floored room, Take and Momo were telling their grandfather about what had happened so far. I sat against the earthen wall, watching from a distance. There were a few disciples in the room, and they were giving me slightly wary looks.

To the grandfather, Momo's mother was, in a sense, his own daughter. The two of them had gotten separated from their parents during the pandemic outbreak at the shelter, but given the circumstances, it was almost certain that their survival was hopeless. Despite the significant shock he must have felt inside, the grandfather didn't show it and was comforting Take and Momo.

"We were really helped a lot by Yanagi. We probably wouldn't have made it this far without him."

"Is that so... Yanagi, thank you very much."

When Take said this, looking at me, the grandfather also turned to me and bowed deeply.

"Ah, Grandpa, please raise your head. I just happened to help."

After leaving the Oda community, I had felt the gazes of survivors but had never tried to get involved. With Take and Momo, it was just a coincidence that I helped them.

Feeling a bit awkward about this exchange, I scratched my head and looked away.

"At first, I thought about looking for a shelter, but Take and the others said this place was good. No, I'm just glad this place is safe."

"You really went to a lot of trouble. I can't thank you enough."

"It's not that much trouble."

Despite my words, the grandfather continued to bow. I was at a loss as to how to respond, and I glanced at Take with a troubled expression. Whether he understood my feelings or not, Take spoke up.

"Mr. Suzukake, Yanagi is amazing. He doesn't even flinch at infected people."

"Hmm."

The grandfather's interest seemed piqued, and he looked up at Take. Take was enthusiastically telling the grandfather about how I calmly dealt with the zombies without any fear.

"By the way, were the bodies with cleanly severed heads in this town done by you?"

"Of course, there are others who have done it, but if they were cleanly severed, they might be mine."

In response to my question, the grandfather laughed and said so.

"Every few days, we all go into town to clean up the infected."

"Hmm. I didn't get the impression that there were that many people in this house... so they're in other places too?"

Recalling the gazes I had felt on the way, I said this.

According to the grandfather, the townspeople had dispersed to the school and other large facilities besides this place.

As Take had said, this town had not suffered major damage during the pandemic outbreak. The low population density had been fortunate. While a few people had been affected, the townspeople had worked together to manage the situation.

They had also learned that people who died on a certain day would turn into zombies, and there had been some casualties at that time. Since then, they had decided not to gather in one place, leading to the current arrangement.

"It's a town with many elderly people, so you never know who might suddenly die."

"Well... I'm glad you're still in good health, Grandpa."

"Haha! Of course, I intend to live a long life."

It seemed that this town was doing better than I had expected. If that was the case, there might still be many survivors in such rural towns or more remote areas. If zombies were to suddenly flood in from the cities, it would be a serious problem, but in that sense, what I had been doing these past few days might not have been entirely in vain.

"Yanagi, let's have dinner soon. We'll serve you some fresh vegetables from the garden, so look forward to it."

"Hmm, that sounds good."

Since returning from the other world, I hadn't eaten any fresh food. The prospect of having a proper Japanese meal after so long made my heart leap at the grandfather's words.

+++++

After dinner, I was lost in thought in the room assigned to me.

Take had said last night that he trusted me. He didn't know the details of what I had done, but he still trusted me, even though I had killed people. He said it was amazing that I could kill without any emotion, because I believed it was necessary.

Was this his reaction because he had also killed people? Maybe he just wanted to justify his own actions.

Take's reaction had, to some extent, removed the burden from my chest. The burden I had felt after confessing to Oda and being pushed away.

Oda and the others still held onto the values of the original world, even in this new world. I couldn't say that was absolutely wrong. I had also thought about living that way after returning from the other world and understanding the outside situation. However, meeting that half-gang group had changed my perspective.

Without me, the group and Oda's group would have likely clashed and had a conflict soon. Preventing that without any casualties was not a bad thing. But at the same time, it meant taking away the terrible experiences Oda and the others had gained in this changed world. Was that really a good thing?

These thoughts swirled in my head, and just as I was about to give up on them, I sensed Momo's presence within my perception range.

"Um, can I come in?"

"It's Momo. Come in, what's the matter?"

In response to her hesitant voice, the shoji door opened quietly. The twilight sun, which had been dimly illuminating the room, filtered through the gaps in the shoji, casting Momo's shadow.

Momo, who had changed from her dirty uniform into an old shirt and slacks, entered the room.