“I told you, didn’t I?” Haruka said, proudly puffing out her chest. “Yuuma’s the strongest, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
The way Tsukishiro saw it, going out to get provisions was a quest that forced you to put your life on the line. It might’ve been best to make it look like I’d had a harder time of it, so she didn’t get suspicious of me being a zombie…
“It’s just as Haruka says: I’m the strongest, so you can leave supply gathering to me,” I said confidently, deciding what we needed most right now was a sense of security.
Tsukishiro blushed and looked away. “…No. Now’s not the time for feelings like that…” It was too quiet for me to make out, though, so I was left wondering what she’d been mumbling about.
Haruka, on the other hand, was glaring at me.
“Are you trying to come off as the big, strong protector type? Trying to get Tsukishiro to like you?”
“Hey, all I did was agree with what you said.”
“Hmph… I feel like a real man would act humble in a situation like that.”
“Well, sorry.” It seemed like Haruka hadn’t realized my true intentions in saying what I had. “Anyway, let’s start unloading the goods.”
Haruka and Tsukishiro cried out with joy when I opened the trunk.
“Wow, look at all this stuff! You’re ruthless, stealing so much!”
“Is that a compliment…?”
“Kousaka, I’m sorry we have to depend on you like this, but it looks like we won’t have to stress about food for a while.”
“Don’t worry about it. I also brought snacks, so feel free to take whatever you like.”
“Trust Yuuma to know what we really need!” Delighted, Haruka was about to jump in when Tsukishiro stopped her.
“Hyuuga, please wait for just a moment. First, I want to make a record of how many items we’ve taken and from which store.”
“—Huh? You want to do that for every single item in these five baskets?”
“Of course. We have to pay for it if we happen to meet someone who works for the store.”
“Uh, that’ll be tough to do. Considering what’s happened to the world, don’t you think we should be able to just go ahead and take what we need?”
“It’s the only way to stop myself from feeling guilty. Please,” Tsukishiro added with a bow.
“You sure take things seriously, don’t you, Tsukishiro?” I blurted out.
“People often laugh at me for being so serious, but that’s just how I am.”
“Oh, I wasn’t criticizing you—I’m impressed. I never would’ve even thought of making a record of what I’ve taken. I think it’s such a wonderful, kind idea.”
“Y-you do…?”
Tsukishiro smiled shyly, then her expression turned serious again. “Kousaka,” she said, giving me an even deeper bow. “On behalf of everyone in the dorm, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for going out to procure us food. And once again…I apologize for my earlier rudeness.”
“You don’t have to bow to me. I don’t mind at all, and besides, we’re going to continue working together to stay alive.”
“Thank you… Let us take care of these supplies you brought back, so you just take some time to relax.”
At Tsukishiro’s suggestion, I went off to take a bath and got myself all nice and clean. Even though I was alone, I felt weirdly tense bathing in the large tub of a girls’ dorm.
When I left the bathroom about twenty minutes later, I saw that Haruka and Tsukishiro had finished making a list of the items I’d brought back. We were going to eat the food that wouldn’t stay fresh for very long first, so we laid out packs of sashimi and sushi on the table.
“Honestly, up until this morning, I had thought it wouldn’t be long before we starved to death. But thanks to you, Kousaka, I’ve started to see a future where we stay alive. However, if we’re going to do that, we all need to work together,” Tsukishiro said, her voice filled with a quiet resolve. “I’ve only had minimal interaction with Hoshimiya and Ichinose up to now, but that will have to change. We’ll also need to set up rules for communal living.”
With that, Tsukishiro went upstairs to bring the other two girls down for dinner. I was really glad I’d been able to give Tsukishiro some hope for survival.
Ichinose followed Tsukishiro into the cafeteria, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“—Wow…!! This is amazing… It feels like we’re celebrating someone’s birthday…!!”
“What?! Kousaka, did you bring all this here?!” Hoshimiya exclaimed, a few paces behind Ichinose. “When you said you were going out to get food for us, I thought it’d just be mountains of canned goods…!! Weren’t there any zombies there?”
“Maybe around fifty of them. I tied them all up and locked them up in the storage area.”
“For real?! They didn’t bite you?!”
“I managed to evade their attacks pretty easily.”
“That’s crazy! Are you a martial arts expert or something?”
“No, nothing like that. I don’t play sports, either, so my stamina’s pretty bad. It really wore me out.”
“O-oh yeah? I don’t know how you did it, but what I do know is that you worked your butt off!” Hoshimiya said, full of admiration. All of a sudden, she seemed to get some sort of idea, because Hoshimiya smiled wickedly and sat down on my right.
She pulled her chair over so we were sitting close together, then looked up at me through her eyelashes. I could almost feel my eyes gravitating toward the ample cleavage shown off by her camisole.
“Seeing as you worked so hard, why don’t I feed you your sushi? What do you want to start with?”
“Wha—?! No, I’m—”
Just then, Haruka sat down with a thud in the chair facing me, making her presence known. No need for that—of course I was going to refuse Hoshimiya’s offer…
“It’s okay; I can manage on my own.”
But Hoshimiya kept persisting. “Please, I insist. Think of it as my way of thanking you for saving our lives.”
“W-well, uh…”
It was hard to say no when she put it like that. And besides, if we were going to be living here together from now on, I had to stop being so stubborn.
“All right, then…”
“Welcome! Table for one? What will it be, sir?”
“Um, I’d like the rosy seabass…”
“Rosy seabass coming right up!” Hoshimiya said in a singsongy voice.
She picked up a pair of chopsticks and lifted a piece of sushi to my mouth.
“Say aah.”
“…Thank you.”
“Hee-hee! Is it good?”
“Uh-huh…”
“I’m so glad! It’s not like I made it, though.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…” I laughed dryly and fearfully turned my gaze across the table.
Haruka gave me a cold smile, and when our eyes met, she stomped on my foot and began grinding it under the table.
How could I possibly enjoy the taste of sushi under the circumstances?
Even Hoshimiya seemed to notice the change in atmosphere around us, and she tilted her head slightly when she saw Haruka frowning.
“What’s wrong, Hyuuga? You look so scary. Did you want a piece of rosy seabass, too?”
“Something like that.”
“You don’t have to look so upset. There’s plenty more.”
“I guess I’m just the sort of person who wants to keep the things I like all for myself.”
“Oh, don’t be a baby. We all have to share, since we’re living under the same roof.”
“…Right. Sorry for being so immature.”
The way she said that made all the hair on my body stand on end. Then she stabbed the top of my foot with all ten of her toenails.
It didn’t hurt, but I thought it best to retreat.
“Sorry, I have to use the men’s room.”
I got up and headed to the bathroom, deciding to lock myself in there until all this blew over. However, I quickly changed my mind and left, not wanting everyone to think I was pooing.
Ichinose was waiting for me in the hallway. Now that I thought about it, they only had girls’ bathrooms in the building.
“Oh! Sorry,” I apologized reflexively. I went to walk away when she grabbed the hem of my shirt.
“—Huh?”
“…Maybe you should wrap a magazine around your arm.”
“…Excuse me?”
“When you’re fighting zombies, the greatest risk is probably having it bite you on the forearm. So I thought it might help to wrap magazines around your arms and fix them in place with sticky tape…,” she muttered hesitantly, keeping an eye on my reaction.
“…Ah. I thought it’d be good if I could find some gauntlets, but you’re right. I could probably use magazines the same way.”
Not that I needed it, but it might come in handy when I took Haruka outside.
“Thanks for the great idea. I saw some magazines when I was looking around the dorm earlier, so I’ll try it out as soon as possible!”
“Hee-hee-hee…”