Chapter 56 - The Sought-After Oasis
The Masanari Academy, surrounded by a wall, was peaceful.
If zombies didn’t enter, they would have food enough to get over winter.
It was like an oasis in the middle of a vast desert.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be weird if there was something to profit from there.
It wouldn’t be a wonder if anyone targeted Masanari Academy.
“Boss, we finally found it.”
“Yeah? What happened?”
“Hehehe, it’s a feat. There is a safe place here.”
“Where?”
“Masanari Academy. It has a high wall, so those won’t get in. There’s nothing to criticize if we were to live there.”
“I see…”
The man called “Boss” sunk into silence for a moment before he opened his mouth.
“You guys, we will finally be released from this basement smelling like shit! The new base of the Rikka Group will be at Masanari Academy! Let’s plunder it!”
Hearing high-spirited “Yeah!”’s, the men covered in black who had answered stood up, carrying objects shining a dull silver color.
“Sigh~ How peaceful~...”
“Where. The outside of the walls is full of zombies.”
“But they don’t come in.”
“Be on your guard. Don’t be negligent whatsoever. That is martial arts.”
“Like there’s something called that, huh?”
“There’s something called that.”
Hazuki and Takumi were talking on the rooftop.
“...Senior, Senior Aso was…”
“...I wonder why. I’m extremely sad, but I can’t cry. I might be coldhearted.”
“There’s no way…”
“At any rate, no matter how much we mourn, he won’t come back. If you only think of dead people, they’ll hold you back. We have to keep moving forwards. No matter whether a nice person dies in the middle of it.”
“...”
Without saying anything in reply, Hazuki gazed at the distant scenery.
She was supposed to be submerged in sentiment…
But a piercing sound reverberated nearby directly after.
“W-what kind of sound is that!?”
“...That!”
A truck was approaching from downtown while playing music at a high volume.
It was a long-haul truck that stood out with its disgustingly gaudy decorations.
“Is that Truck Brigade…? No, they shouldn’t be coming here.”
The truck drew nearer while running over a certain amount of zombies, but, as if it had used up all of its energy, it stopped halfway.
It was no wonder that they couldn’t drive with that many zombies. It was skillful enough that they hadn’t toppled over.
“To have to ask for help…”
“No, there’s no way.”
“But, if!”
“...We can only go there and see.”
The two took their leave from the rooftop and, as they went to help, they heard a loud voice.
“I!”
“HEY”
“UGH! LET GO!”
And then, a dry voice.
Confused, the two went to check the situation, and they saw a group of unhonorable men carrying guns and knives walking toward them.
“I-In the middle of that horde of zombies…”
It was centered around a man and slowly encircled him.
Then, the man in the center approved of something and the men shuffled to the wall and started climbing it.
“Those guys…”
The two became dumbfounded, the man who was in the center noticed Hazuki and Takumi on the rooftop and opened his mouth.
“Are you the people in charge?”
“No, you’re wrong. Who are you, bastards?”
“This is an order of the Rikka Group. I’m the boss. …I’ll be straight to the point. I don’t like going around in circles. …We will be taking this school.”
“What did you say!?”
“Those won’t get inside because of the tall wall. You probably have food stored up. I can’t overlook such a base.”
“...Won’t a lot of your friends be done in because of your unreasonable way of forcing yourself in?”
“This has that much value.
“Senior, let’s get Tooru and…”
At that time, there was a small commotion beneath them.
Takumi and Hazuki on the rooftop couldn’t see clearly, but, apparently, a student was turning up.
“Are you the person in charge here?”
“That’s right?”
“What’s your name?”
“I won’t just give my name like that? It’s something you even learn in kindergarten.”
“...I’m Kyoutarou Tachibana.”
“Yeah, good job. I am Tooru Saejina. Then, what business do you have?”
“Takikng over this.”
“And if I refused?”
“I will obviously use force.”
“...It’s because of this that you have low intelligence. Do you understand your own position here?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The one with the advantage is us. The number of people you have is… 12 it seems. We have twice that amount of people. Besides, your swords are covered in blood. You don’t think you can win, do you?”
“We have guns.”
“And so what? We have machine guns though?”
It was enough to become embarrassed when listening to them.
However, the opponent didn’t have any proof to declare it to be a lie.
The area was wrapped in silence for a moment.