After having my goodbye exchange with Asuka, I left the Miyabigaoka High School and hurried towards Tokorozawa.
However…
“Oh, Senpai! Welcome back.” Asuka, the gatekeeper, waved her hand.
To think we said goodbye less than an hour ago…
“Uhn… I brought those people here because they were in trouble.” I told Asuka.
“Got it! Welcome, all of you.” As Asuka said that, she opened the main gate.
The four families who were behind me hugged their loved ones, then went inside the school.
“Thank you very much for your help, kind and strong lady!” One of them told me.
“Ah, no problem.” With a stiff smile, I waved at them until they were inside the school.
Seems like they were all standing inside their homes and waiting for rescue.
It’s definitely true that staying home does guarantee temporary safety, but that method doesn’t help if one needs shelter for longer periods of time.
However, they couldn’t escape because their homes were surrounded by flocks of zombies, so they had no way around it.
I ended up seeing the situation and easily wiped out the zombies. I also couldn’t really leave them alone when they asked me for help, so I took them to the safe zone that Miyabigaoka High School had become.
–Congratulations! Your level has risen!
–Congratulations! Your level has risen!
Well, I also got levels from helping them out, so it’s two birds with one stone.
“Thank you! Thank you!” They told me.
But with this out of the way, it was now time to get back to my goal. Onwards, to Tokorozawa.
But after a few dozen minutes… “Hey! You there! Help, please!”
With this scream, I ended up finding a group of about eight people stranded inside a small market.
After a bit of zombie slashing…
“Thank you, we’re saved…” They told me.
“There is a safe place just a small walk away from here.” I said.
“Really!? Please take us there!” They asked.
I internally sighed at that request… Again?
“Oh? Again?” Asuka’s reaction was quite similar to mine, “Well, welcome!”
I hadn’t noticed until now, but it does seem like there are quite a few people who survived.
The house this time was surrounded by about twenty zombies, so I rushed against them without any hesitation and succeeded in rescuing the stranded people.
Seems like the zombies are truly not a threat to me anymore now that I have Sword Technique (advanced) and Perfect Maintenance. I don’t even need Enchantment to take care of them.
It’s also good for my mental health that I can kill the zombies with a minimal amount of slashing… I mean, they may be zombies, but they were originally humans, so it doesn’t feel good to cut them too much. Not to mention that the blood can also dirty my clothes.
According to the Auditory Hallucination, some of the zombies have gotten stronger, but I haven’t really noticed much difference from before. I was being a bit cautious on the first battles, but I was probably overworrying.
“You cleared those things in an instant! You’re amazing!” A person exclaimed.
“Ah, yeah. Please come to the Miyabigaoka High School which is not far from here. It’s a safe place.” I told them.
“Ah… O-okay…” They replied.
–Congratulations! Your level has risen!
I took a deep breath… So, basically, the events of this day so far were…
Depart from school -> Help someone -> Return to School -> Depart -> Help -> Return -> Depart -> Help -> Return <- Currently here.
Goodness. I was trying to start a journey here. Can’t you please think about the tempo of the story a bit?
“Why don’t you stay here for today, Senpai…?” Asuka asked me.
I rejected Asuka’s suggestion with a laugh, then departed once more.
Though if this pattern occurs again, I might just take on her offer.
Fortunately though, it seems like I was able to keep on moving this time around.
There may be still more people in need around this area, but in the current situation, it’s not possible for me to find each and everyone of them, so I guess I’ll limit the rescuing only to people in danger that I actually end up finding.
I ended up walking for about four hours while clearing the zombies that were blocking my way… I should be more or less on the midpoint of the road towards Tokorozawa now.
However, the sun was already setting by now, so I suppose I’ll stop here for the time being.
After all, right in front of me was the splendid Ekoda station.
I remember seeing an ad about how it was renovated using ideas from a famous art university, so, right now, this place was about as good as heaven.
I crossed my arms and thought about the necessary elements for today’s sleeping.
First, a bed.
Next, food.
If possible, a manga.
Heating would also be nice…
And a bath.
This is a one night stay at the special “Ekoda inn”, so no compromises are allowed.