"Alright, alright. Tsukiyo-chan, don't be angry. Taromaru is just a little scared, and after a while, he won't be like this anymore."
"No, I'm not angry, Sister Megumi. I've never been liked by Animals since I was young, so I'm used to it."
Inaba Tsukiyo was indeed used to being disliked by small Animals. Not only small cats and dogs, but sometimes even some large beasts dared not approach Inaba Tsukiyo.
Although she didn't know why these small Animals were afraid of her, over time, Inaba Tsukiyo no longer felt much about it... Really, she felt nothing at all!
However, what was more concerning was Taromaru's identity. The fact that he appeared here meant that someone else must be in this place.
The reason Inaba Tsukiyo hadn't heard any human voices was probably because they were hiding in a concealed place, which was why she hadn't heard anything.
"Taromaru, tell us. Did something dangerous happen to your owner? Can you take us to your owner?"
Sakura Megumi put Taromaru on the ground, reached out, and rubbed Taromaru's small head, trying to communicate with him through words.
Whether he understood Sakura Megumi's words or not, Taromaru barked once, then ran towards the direction he had come from.
As he ran, Taromaru would also stop and look back, as if worried that Inaba Tsukiyo and the others couldn't keep up.
"What a smart puppy. Can he really understand us?"
Everyone following Taromaru was amazed by his intelligence. The intelligence Taromaru displayed had exceeded their imagination.
Inaba Tsukiyo jogged along with everyone, constantly sensing her surroundings.
Perhaps because of Taromaru's barks, when Taromaru came over, the zombies on other floors began to react.
Some zombies hiding on the Second Floor slowly began to climb to the Third Floor. Although not many, they still needed to be wary.
While Taromaru was leading Inaba Tsukiyo, in the food section of the basement First floor, a girl was being cornered by zombies in a store's warehouse.
This girl's name was Shitodo Kei, and she was one of the only two remaining survivors in this supermarket.
Hiding in the warehouse, she used some heavy objects to block the warehouse door. She then sat on the ground, listening to the thudding sounds coming from the door, and smiled bitterly.
"Maybe I was wrong. I should have listened to Miki and not left that place."
After the zombie outbreak, Shitodo Kei and her good friend Naoki Miki hid in a warehouse on the top floor.
Although the warehouse was very small, it had a lot of supplies, including food and a toilet, so there was no need to worry about resources.
As long as they blocked the door with boxes to ensure that the zombies outside couldn't get in, they could survive safely indefinitely. They had indeed been doing this for a while.
However... always hiding in that cramped room, the sense of security gradually left her, and unknowingly, the emotion called despair crushed her.
Every day, she either chatted with Naoki Miki in that small warehouse to relieve her inner anxiety, or she calculated how many days had passed since the disaster erupted and whether anyone had found them.
This bittersweet life was fine at first, but later she couldn't stand it anymore. Or rather, she wasn't as strong as she imagined, and she couldn't hold on.
Just this morning, she wanted to leave the warehouse to find help, then return for Naoki Miki.
However, as she carefully left the top floor with supplies, she accidentally made a sound due to excessive fear, which alerted the zombies to her presence.
Although the zombies moved very slowly, Shitodo Kei was terrified when she saw them approaching her. She only reacted and ran downstairs when a zombie was about to get close to her.
Facing more and more zombies, her heart growing increasingly fearful, she could only plan to run into the warehouse to hide and wait for the zombies to pass before coming out.
However, on her way here, she was bitten by a zombie hiding in the store. Although she avoided a fatal attack thanks to Taromaru, she was now at a dead end.
"...Is it already over? Haha~ I was always so scared before, but why do I feel no fear at all now? Instead, I feel very calm?"
It was really strange; she had always been very afraid of zombie attacks before, but now that she was bitten by a zombie and destined to die, she felt no fear at all.
"Maybe... it's because this way I can be free. I no longer need to live in fear, perhaps this is the best ending."
As she spoke, tears uncontrollably flowed from Shitodo Kei's eyes. Although she felt no fear internally, her tears flowed against her will.
"I'm sorry, Miki. I promised you I would bring help back, but I ended up like this as soon as I left. If you knew, you would be very sad, wouldn't you? I'm sorry, as your best friend, I should have stayed by your side, but instead, I left you and ran away alone. I'm really... really sorry."
"Woof! Woof!"
Just as Shitodo Kei closed her eyes, preparing to fall asleep, she suddenly heard a familiar bark—it was Taromaru's voice.
This made Shitodo Kei open her eyes. Just as she wondered why Taromaru would return to this dangerous place, she heard another voice.
"Is this it? No wonder I didn't hear any sound, it's really deep inside."
This voice clearly belonged to a young girl, probably under twelve or thirteen, or even younger.
Shitodo Kei's first thought upon hearing this voice was that Taromaru had brought this little girl back. Her second thought was why someone else had been brought into this hidden danger.
Not long after this thought, the low growls of the zombies outside disappeared, replaced by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground. Even the door, which had been constantly being hit, stopped, and the entire room became eerily quiet.
"Gulp!"
Shitodo Kei nervously swallowed. She didn't know what was happening outside, nor did she know if the girl from earlier was in danger facing so many zombies.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
As Shitodo Kei's mind wandered, a rhythmic knocking sound came from the door, followed by a gentle voice.
"Is anyone inside? Don't worry, those guys outside have all been cleared out. There's no danger now."
'It can't be true, can it?'
Shitodo Kei remembered that when she hid, there were more than twenty zombies chasing her. Even if some time had passed, there should still be more than ten. Did they just disappear?
Without making a sound, they just took care of so many zombies?
Shitodo Kei didn't know if this was true, but she still half-believingly moved the boxes stacked against the door.
Anyway, she had already been bitten by a zombie. According to the fate of those who were bitten, she would probably become one of them too.
Even if it was a lie, she had nothing to lose. She would die in the end anyway.
With this thought, Shitodo Kei opened the door and found that the zombies outside had indeed disappeared, leaving only a few girls in front of her.
They really eliminated those zombies, and so quickly, too.
"Woof! Woof!"
As soon as Shitodo Kei opened the door, Taromaru couldn't help but pounce on her.
"Taromaru... did you bring them here?"
Hugging the pouncing Taromaru, Shitodo Kei said in a soft voice.
She hadn't expected Taromaru to call people to save her, but... it was too late.
"You're safe, student. From your appearance, you must also be a student of Kyonohoka Academy. I am Sakura Megumi, a modern language teacher at Kyonohoka Academy. The students are safe now, come back with us."
Sakura Megumi was very happy to find a student from Kyonohoka Academy here. This was the first other survivor they had seen in a while, and she was delighted.
Facing Sakura Megumi's outstretched hand, Shitodo Kei did not take it but shook her head.
"Thank you for saving me, Teacher Sakura. Although I also want to leave with you, it's already too late."
"Huh? W-why?"
Sakura Megumi looked at Shitodo Kei with some confusion, not understanding what she meant by 'too late'.
Only Kurumi, Wakasa Yuri, and Inaba Tsukiyo vaguely sensed what had happened.
Sure enough, Shitodo Kei showed Sakura Megumi where she had been scratched. For some reason, tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.
"I've already been bitten, there's no saving me. If possible, could you please save Miki? She's my best friend, and she's also a student at Kyonohoka Academy—Naoki Miki. She's in the warehouse on the top floor."
"Also, could you please kill me before I turn into one of them? I... I don't want to become like those things."
People bitten by zombies eventually turn into those mindless walking corpses. This was something Shitodo Kei had learned during this time.
Initially, there were other survivors in this supermarket, but the leader of the search team who went out for supplies was bitten by a zombie but didn't tell anyone, which ultimately led to only her and Naoki Miki being left in the entire supermarket.
Even if it was just a scratch, she believed she would eventually turn into those mindless monsters, it would just take a little longer.
"...Tsukiyo-chan."
Facing the crying Shitodo Kei, Sakura Megumi anxiously looked at Inaba Tsukiyo.
Inaba Tsukiyo nodded and came before Shitodo Kei, sensing every minute sound within Shitodo Kei's body.
"Although she was scratched, it's only been a short time. There's still hope."
They wouldn't save Shitodo Kei through cruel methods like limb amputation. They had previously found a vaccine hidden on the second basement floor through the "Emergency Evacuation Manual for Staff." It was a vaccine developed to prevent infection in case of a zombie bite.
Although it was still in its early stages, it hadn't been long since Shitodo Kei was bitten, so there was still a possibility of saving her.
As long as they brought Shitodo Kei back to where they parked, they could use the vaccine to treat her.