How y'all doing guys? Imma good, yesterday I had bad sleep so I forget about posting new chap, it should be released two hours before and I'm sorry for forgetting about it.
And I would like to say Thank you to Big ToFu and DreXy for your support! I'm very grateful and will try my best to write new chapters faster, larger and better.
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Isao Tsumugi's POV
I pulled into the inner courtyard of Marikawa's friend's house and barely managed to squeeze the car in without scratching the fences or touching the bus.
Takashi, whom I had called in advance, opened the gate, and he was now standing near the car, looking at me.
"Isao, you're late." Takashi started walking toward the car just as I was getting out, having turned off the engine and closed the door. I left the keys inside; there was no point in taking them into the house anyway. "And where'd you get this car? It's pretty big... what the hell is the trunk full of futons for?!" He asked, his eyes wide open, but I sighed and saw Saeko's glance; she nodded and went inside, limping.
"We found the car on the way. We weren't going to carry a dozen futons on foot, were we? And it's full because there are over 30 of them in the car—more than 30 in the trunk, and another dozen in the cabin." I opened the trunk, moving Takashi back a little; he was still staring at me. "We've got a lot of people, and besides, we might need these when we get to the Takagi mansion, so come on, drag them inside." I immediately grabbed several at once and went inside the house, carrying them.
Stepping inside, I found myself in the hallway and heard voices from somewhere inside—children's and women's voices. The rescued children and their mothers were talking to each other, discussing random stuff, but mostly talking about "everything's going to be okay" and so on and so forth.
I walked past this room, which turned out to be the living room with several sofas where people were sitting. Most, as I expected, were girls and women with their children. I saw Saki, who looked up at me, Saeko, who was happily devouring her dinner, Mom and Rin, who smiled at me, with Rin also waving. Saya was intently watching Saeko, not paying any attention to me. Rei and Hayashi-sensei just nodded at me, not to mention Marikawa, who…
"Isao-kun! Hurry up! Leave those to the other boys and come here for dinner!"
"Hmm..." I scanned the living room, mentally counting the people present and, at the same time, how many people would fit here. All the mothers with their children would fit, and there would still be room left. We just need to move the table. That's settled, all the children and their mothers will stay here. We'll remove the table and use it to barricade the door so no one can break in at night. "How many rooms are on the second floor, Shizuka-san?"
"Um, there are two bedrooms and a shower on the second floor!"
Got it... I walked into the living room and dumped all the futons in the corner, then headed for the exit to check the second floor. As I left the living room, watched by everyone's eyes, I noticed Takashi coming in, holding several futons.
"Take those to the living room and toss them onto the pile of futons there." Takashi nodded, and I walked on down the hallway, coming across the second room, which was the kitchen. There I saw all the guys who had already finished their dinner and were sitting around talking about a lot of things: Yamada with his father, Kurokami who was sitting quietly, Oegi who bowed his head when he saw me, Kouta, Hisashi, Takuzou, and others.
"Alright, a few of you get up and go help Takashi bring in all the futons." Saying this, I walked on, knowing that all my orders would be carried out, as long as I wasn't being absurd, of course.
But at the same time, as I walked, I was counting the total number of rescued people, which was... 39. Wow, I saved over 30 people.
All these thoughts were in the background as I passed by one more room and headed for the stairs, but I stopped anyway, curious about what this room was.
Opening the door, I found myself in the... restroom. Yep, just a normal toilet.
Sighing in disappointment, I left the toilet and went up the stairs to the second floor. I could see its large windows from the courtyard, and damn, I also noticed the garage, but I don't see any extra doors here, meaning I'll have to enter the garage from outside.
Softly sighing from the desire to finally lie down and get some rest, I reached the second floor and immediately found myself next to a door on the right side. Opening it and poking my head in, I saw a large bathroom.
Hmm... yes, there's enough space for several people to bathe at once. Everyone who wants to will be free to use the shower, but several people at once, and pfft~ of course, women with women and children, and guys with each other. Well, maybe I'll use it with K-imoto and Mom. Not a real big deal, huh, I do it sometimes when mom wants to.
Nodding, I closed the door and walked further down the hallway, coming across the second of three, or rather, even four doors. Straight down the hall was another door leading to a balcony, and parallel to the one I was standing at was another. It seemed both doors I was standing near led to bedrooms.
Opening the first one, the one on the left, I found myself in the guest bedroom. It was clean, not even a speck of dust, with a large double bed, one nightstand, and a closet. Taking one last look around the room, I opened the second bedroom.
It was standard, but this room was slightly smaller than the previous one, with the same interior and furniture: a large double bed, a nightstand with framed photos, a half-open closet with clothes, a TV stand with a TV and cassette players, and a normal army locker... wait, what?
Sharply turning my head towards the last thing I saw, I noticed a large, iron army locker, most likely containing weapons.
"Oh-ho!" Rubbing my hands together, I walked up to it, grabbed one of the doors, and pulled. I had to strain and struggle a bit, but I finally managed to open the first door with a loud, screeching sound and saw…
Modules for rifles, in the form of several under-barrel grenade launchers, a stock, and a scope. In the compartment beneath them were ammunition: several dozen packs of bullet boxes... and where there are bullets, there are weapons... heh-heh.
My eyes gleamed with greed, and I grabbed the second door, opening that damn door with the same amount of effort, squeaking and grating.
And before my eyes appeared real firearms that you'd rarely see in Japan unless you had very, very strong connections.
A crossbow, two semi-automatic rifles, and a shotgun...
[Found...]
[Bronze...]
"Waaah!" My thoughts were interrupted by Kouta, who ran up to the locker and pulled out one of the rifles, nearly pushing me away. Luckily, I managed to step back a few paces. "I can't believe my eyes! Spriengfield M1A1 Super Match semi-automatic!" His hands moved quickly and took out the magazine. "Oh-o! And a twenty-round one! This thing is banned in Japan! You can't even store it!"
And then he started taking out and replacing all those weapons, practically licking them, which made me step back a few more paces.
"Um... what's wrong with him?" Hisashi ended up next to me, looking at Kouta exactly the way I was, with slight fear.
"I don't know, it's like he's seen the Truth and is about to orgasm from religious happiness." We both grimaced at that. "Why are you guys even here?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"We just heard the grinding sound and thought maybe you needed something in there, but it turns out everything's fine." We looked at Kouta again, who was holding the shotgun.
"... haca 35! Such a pretty little thing... phe-heh!"
"Nah, everything's fine with me here. I just found a weapon locker and decided to open it."
"And what did you open it with?"
"With what, with what? My hand, of course. What else could I have, Hisashi." Only then did Hisashi notice the handprint on the locker doors, as if someone had crumpled them like foil. He slowly opened his mouth and turned to me.
"Isao... you're a real physical monster." The fear in his eyes grew several times over.
"Why are you scared, Hisashi? I'm not going to hurt you." I sighed and sat down on the bed. "And take Kouta, tell him to put the weapons back in the locker and go. I'll be down in a few minutes; let me think."
"...Alright, I'll leave you here, Isao, we won't bother you." Hisashi went up to Kouta, took the weapon, put it back in place, and tried to close the locker door, but couldn't because of the deformation. He then started dragging Kouta away amidst his pitiful wails.
Finally, when I was alone, I could plan who would sleep where.
Okay, the mothers and their children, eleven of them, go straight to the living room. That leaves five more spots. Kawamoto, Saki, Miku, Kawamoto's friend, and Takuichi will also be there. How many is that? Eleven, plus those five, makes sixteen. Twenty-three people left.
About eight people will fit in the kitchen; we'll need to move the cabinet. The three from the hospital, including the father of the two girls, Oegi, Yamada, his dad, and his little brother... wait... his mom is there too, damn it! Let her sleep in the living room; better crowded than resentful.
Where was I? Ah yes, the kitchen: Oegi, the three from the hospital, the male part of the Yamada family, making a total of seven people. Let Kurokami go there too, so eight in the kitchen. Fifteen left.
Let all the remaining girls sleep in the guest room: among them were Rei, Saeko, Saya, Mom, Rin, K-imoto, Hayashi-sensei, Marikawa-sensei, and the two girls whose father I saved.
And all the other guys in this room: Takashi, Hisashi, Takuzou, Kouta, and me. This room was much smaller than the guest room, likely because the room itself is smaller and it's cluttered with cabinets and nightstands.
Yeah, tonight we'll have to sleep very uncomfortably.
But still, saving over 30 people, my heart rejoiced at that. I don't even know why—because I did a good deed by saving their lives? Possibly…
By the way, I got a Bronze Ticket. Use the gacha.
[Snow Tiger]
|Common Familiar|
A ferocious snow tiger companion, as a familiar they are a snow tiger who has excellent genetics and near human intellect, and as rare snow tigers they are considerably larger than normal lions and can be ridden. By default they are female.
[15 Ability was received some time ago]
[+1 Ability Slot]
[4 Ability Slots]
Oh-o! A second familiar, and a new slot too! By the way, where's my crow?
A sucking feeling slowly appeared at my back, and I realized that it had entered the familiar subspace on its own and had been sitting there for some time, spending that time sleeping.
I've sorted out the familiars, now it's time to sort out the abilities.
Let the first slot be occupied by Metallurgy. I already felt the control over metal slowly returning to me. My head warmed up a bit, and I knew for sure that I could control the metal I created earlier, but I still didn't have the strength to create it myself. I need to eat and sleep, but first, finish everything.
Let the second be occupied by Soul Reading. There was no particular reason to put it there.
The third slot took Cor Leonis. The moment I placed it there, I immediately felt changes in my senses. Specifically, I started sensing all the people moving downstairs. I knew who was who, how they were moving, and understood that they were my allies. This would even be visible when I looked directly at them, as they would glow with a blue light in my eyes.
Not to mention that I knew I could take on their mental and physical problems, and that was... good. But how would this work with those infected with the zombie virus? It feels kind of scary to test it, oh well, we'll see later.
And the fourth, last slot was taken by Rough Knuckle. No special reasons either, except that it consumes less stamina than Ice Thunder.
Tomorrow, when we head out to the mansion, I'll switch Soul Reading to Wind Edge. The thing will be useful if we encounter a horde. I'll just create a thin wire, cover it with wind, and start slicing everyone and everything. Muahaha!
I smiled a nasty smile, imagining how the undead would die without even being able to approach us. But then I removed the smile and got up from the bed, heading downstairs. I needed to tell all these people to take a shower if they wanted to and go to bed, and while they were doing all that, I'd have to check the garage.
Going down the stairs, I saw that most people were already gathering in the living room. There was enough space for everyone to sit there, so I wasn't worried and walked in right after Oegi, who seemed to have brought the last futons from the car.
As soon as I entered the living room, all eyes turned to me: my family, my friends, the people I saved. They all looked at me with trust in their eyes.
But... the thing was that most of them, or rather everyone except the circle of people I interacted with before, had a burning light of fanaticism in their eyes. Oegi stood out especially.
His eyes were burning, and all his micro-expressions spoke of servitude to me, not to mention how brightly he shone blue in my eyes. On par with him were only Mom, K-imoto, Saya, Saeko, Takashi, and Rei. The others, though they glowed blue, didn't reach the brightness of the flame of loyalty of these people.
Sighing, I thought about what to say and quickly composed a speech in my head, which I began to deliver after clearing my throat into my fist.
"I'll start by saying that our lives have been turned upside down today. People have started going crazy and turning into literal zombies." Most people flinched as they listened to me. Children clung to their mothers, and small embers of fear ignited in their eyes, only to disappear when they looked up at me again. "But we survived, and we will continue to live because we must. I know you might be a little uncomfortable with the fact that a high school student was giving you orders most of the day, and you might be a bit unsure about me, but I want to say one thing." I took a breath, and the flame of resolve flared up inside me. "Don't worry, as long as I'm alive, nothing will threaten you, and I will try my best to help you find protection, comfort, and peace." I looked at them, expecting questions or words, which they didn't offer, as they remained silent. But one thing was certain: my weak speech helped them gain a little confidence in their safety, so I sighed. "We have a lot of people, so I want to announce that those who wish to take a shower should line up, and also..."
Then I told them not to worry about anything, who would sleep where, that we would be leaving tomorrow and would be safe at the Takagi house. Hearing that name, most of them sighed with relief, as this person was quite famous throughout Japan. Not up to the level of the Shinomiya or Shidou Family, but he couldn't be called an ordinary person either.
I looked at them, having finished everything I wanted to say, and was happy to see how most of them were relaxed and had already started making a line for those who wished to take a shower. I left the living room and headed for the exit of the house.
[For the first peaceful night]
[Bronze Ticket]
I blinked at the screen that appeared right in front of my face and sighed with a smile, immediately using the ticket.
[Headpat]
|Uncommon Trait|
You were born with hands made for patting the heads of all that is cute. Targets feel much more pleasure from you petting their heads, giving a comforting and comfortable feeling when you do. This also helps dispel negative mental effects and build affection.
Oh, a pretty good trait. It will be useful when I use it on all the girls and women.
Thinking about this, I opened the garage door, which was right next to the main garage gates. As soon as I entered, a light flashed inside, and a simply divine thing appeared before me.
A huge, almost military Humvee!
"God damn it, who the hell is Marikawa's friend?!"
My eyes shone as I ran my hands over this beast. Hell yeah, I'm driving this tomorrow, and Marikawa can drive the bus with all the rescued people.
When I walked up to the door and opened it, I got even more pleasure because the inside was spacious.
My height was an incredibly big problem when I wanted to drive. Even in Mom's car, I had to sit hunched over. The car we found on the street with Saeko, I took because it was also roomier... wait, Mom's car!
We forgot it at home, damn it! Geez!
I disappointedly closed the car door with a bang, and turning around, I only now saw Saya, who was standing in the doorway holding a plate of dinner.
"Ah, Isao?"
"Sorry I startled you, I just remembered something." I sighed in disappointment as Saya approached me with slow steps.
"Yeah, mm-hmm, it's nothing, I wasn't scared and... I brought you dinner." She handed me the plate and spoon, looking at me with slight vulnerability. There was a certain vulnerability in her eyes, too, as if she wanted to confide in me.
"Thanks, let's grab the chairs and sit down." There was a table with tools on it and chairs in the garage, which we sat on. "So, did you just come to bring dinner, or do you have something to say?" I stopped abruptly. It seemed to me that the question was a bit rough, but before I could do anything, Saya started talking.
"D-did you... ummm... do that thing with Saeko?" Huh, what?
"What are you talking about?" She suddenly blushed at my question, making me look at her uncomprehendingly, until it dawned on me what she was talking about. But even then, she spoke first.
"Ah! I'm talking about sex! You did it with that cow, didn't you?!" She stood up, pointing a finger at me. "She can barely walk! Her legs are shaking, and when she looks at me, she smiles sweetly as if she knows something!"
"Ugh..." I sighed, put down the plate, and looked Saya straight in the eyes. "Yes, we did it, but..."
"I knew it! That cow, grr." Snarling like an animal, she approached me and grabbed my head. "You're going to do the same thing to me as you did to her, understood?!" She smiled wildly, holding me on the sides of my face.
"Yes, of course, but not tonight. Right now, I just want to sleep and eat." Still smiling, she sat back down in her seat, allowing me to pick up the plate again and continue eating. Mmm, good meat with rice.
I continued to eat, watching the joyful Saya for a while, noticing how the joy and happiness slowly drained from her face and how her eyes became thoughtful and a little sad.
"Something wrong? If there's something bothering you, you can tell me. I am your future husband, after all, beautiful." She looked at me with a thoughtful gaze, considering her answer.
"You... you're not mad at me?"
"No, of course not. Why would I be?"
"I don't know, maybe because I just forced myself onto you? We don't even know each other very well, and I just found you very good and decided to make you mine, but... doesn't that make you resent me?" Her face was getting sadder and sadder, and you could see the guilt practically squeezing her soul.
"..." In moments like these, I have a good solution that always helps, and that is…
I stood up and approached her, picking her up. She cried out in surprise and wrapped her arms around my neck. Then I sat back down on the chair and settled her on my lap while hugging her tightly.
"Saya, for the most part, I don't care about things like that. I rarely feel resentment, if I ever do. But even if I resented every little thing, I couldn't be mad at you." I gently kissed her on the cheek, and the blush that was already there grew much bigger. "You're a good, beautiful, and smart girl, and the only thing I need to do is just get to know you, what you like, what you don't like, and so on. These are problems that are solved with time, so don't worry about things like that."
"..." She looked at me, trembling and blushing, her eyes glistening with tears. "You won't leave me, will you?"
"What?" My eyes looked at her in confusion. "No, of course not. Why would I leave you?"
"Mmm-m...!" Her eyes started to water, and she buried her face in my shoulder. "My p-parents didn't even call me!" Her weak, trembling voice reached me muffled. "I... I know they're probably busy right now...! B-but... mhh... they could at least call their only daughter and ask if everything's okay!"
"Oh, sweetie..." My words broke the dam Saya had been holding since morning, and she suddenly started sobbing into my shoulder.
"Waaa...!"
Her crying was full of pain and resentment, and she clung to my shoulder as if I were a raft in the middle of the ocean and only I was saving her.
The wet spot on my shoulder grew larger, and it seemed as if her tears wouldn't stop as she cried longer and longer.
In that moment, I just hugged her, pressing her warm, trembling body against mine and whispering all sorts of nonsense into her ear that was supposed to comfort her.
After a few minutes, her loud sobs turned into quiet weeping, and then slowly faded away altogether. The only thing she did was quietly cling to me, begging for solace.
"It's okay, Saya. Don't be afraid and don't doubt me. I will never leave you." She lifted her head and looked at me, her eyes red, and traces of tears were visible beneath them.
Slowly, bringing her face closer, she pecked me on the lips, and then, pulling back again, simply rested her head on my shoulder, and we both sat quietly.
"I... I love you, Isao." To that, in my case, there can only be one answer"
"I love you too, small genius."
"I'm not small..."
"Well, you are really small. Your height is 150 maximum." I smiled, feeling her slowly start to tremble.
"I'm not little, and my height isn't 150, it's 155! That's a good height, almost average in Japan!" She still pressed her face against my shoulder, but I could feel her starting to smile.
"Well, you're still thirty-five centimeters shorter than me, and that's a lot. To me, you're small."
"I'm not small!" She lifted her head and looked at me with puffed-out cheeks, looking to me like a small hamster.
"But me you are." I smiled as I looked at her, and she returned the smile, dropping the fake pout.
"Well... if it's for you, then fine, I will be small." She slightly turned her head, with red cheeks, and softly kissed me on the lips again. Then she pulled away and got off my lap. "Alright, I'm going. It's probably my turn to take a bath with the other girls. Bye-bye!"
"Yeah, bye. I'll sit here for a bit and then take a shower after everyone else."
She nodded at me and left, making me sit back and lean against the chair.
"What kind of parents does she have? I didn't know Souichiro was that kind of person who can neglect his daughter."
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And thats the first 4k words chapter by me!
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Thank you for reading this chapter!