We compared the filtered water against a bottle of water taken directly from the river. Although the river water was pretty clear to begin with, it was obvious at a glance when we placed them side by side that the filtered water was more transparent.
The water purifier claimed it would last for years if we cleaned the filter, which meant our issue over drinking water had been solved.
And yet…
“Am I the only one who feels somewhat hesitant about drinking this, even though I know it’s safe…?” I asked.
“We also have the option of boiling this water to make it even safer to drink…,” Ichinose replied with a troubled expression.
“But that would require a considerable amount of energy.”
“Right. We don’t have an infinite supply of gas canisters, and it would be tough to go to the trouble of doing all that every day to make enough drinking water for seven people.”
“Which means our only option is to trust in these water purifiers…”
I braced myself and took the cup. If someone had to test the safety of the filtered water, it should be me.
But just before I could take a sip, Ichinose reached out with her right hand, took the cup from me, and downed its contents.
“Ichinose!! What are you doing?!”
“Looking at our situation objectively, I’m more suitable as a test subject. If you become ill, we won’t be able to cope in case of an emergency.”
“No way, that’s not true—”
“Besides, I’m not afraid since I trust in science. Considering the possible psychological effects on the body, I should be the one to test the water. So now we’ll keep an eye on my condition, and if there aren’t any noticeable changes, it means we shouldn’t have any problems drinking this water.”
“Th-that’s pretty gutsy of you…”
Ichinose saw how flustered I was and chuckled. “You’re more of a worrier than I thought. That’s funny, considering how you fought that gigantic zombie the other day.”
“That was because I had to protect our dorm. I didn’t really want to fight it, and I would have run away if I could.”
“…I see. I may have misunderstood you, Kousaka.”
“Are you disappointed in me?”
“No… In fact, I’m impressed. I think it’s noble of you to protect everyone when you’re really a scaredy-cat,” Ichinose said with a shy smile.
In the meantime, the water in the drum bath seemed to have heated up. However, it was at that point we realized we had a problem.
“Kamiji, Amano, the two of you don’t have swimsuits, do you…? We always bathe in them…so why don’t we go back to that store, and you can pick one out?”
But Kamiji just laughed it off.
“It’s okay; we’ll wrap ourselves up in towels instead. I want to take a soak right away.”
“But I need to keep an eye on you in case you zombify…,” I said.
“We don’t mind if you look. Right, Amano?”
“Well, uh…,” Amano replied awkwardly, clearly against the idea of taking a bath with only a towel around her body.
“In that case, why don’t you bathe alone, Amano, and I’ll wait in the tent with Kamiji?”
“I’d appreciate that…,” Amano said. “Saya, you can go first if you want.”
“You go first, Amano. I may have the zombie virus in my body, so I don’t want to risk giving it to you through the bathwater.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Give me a shout if any zombies show up,” I said, and Kamiji and I headed for the tent we were using as our changing room.
I went inside the tent, but Kamiji just stood at the entrance, unmoving.
“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked her.
“We probably shouldn’t crowd together in this small tent. I might give you the zombie virus.”
“Oh, okay…”
Now that I thought about it, Kamiji had maintained a delicate distance from the rest of us. I noticed she’d also been turned away from us in the car, and I realized now that it had been out of consideration for the others.
“By the way, have you experienced any signs that you might turn into a zombie?” I asked.
“I don’t really know. I’m not sure what sort of symptoms are normal.”
“Like…does your body feel heavy? Has your body temperature dropped? Does anything seem abnormal?”
“No, nothing like that. Though I am drunk.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“I’m also pretty sleepy.”
“Well, you were drinking beer and wine…”
“Not just that, the whole time we were hiding in the home improvement store, I was sleeping on a piece of cardboard on the hard floor, so I didn’t get much sleep.”
“Then would you like to come inside the tent and lie down? I’ll go outside. That way, we won’t get too close.”
“You say that, but I hope you aren’t thinking of going and taking a peek at Amano while she’s in the bath.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Hmm… No, I’ll stay awake. I may only have a few more minutes left to live, so it would be a shame to waste them falling asleep.”
“I see…”
“Hey, Kousaka… Take care of Amano for me if I turn into a zombie.”
“Okay.”
“We’ve known each other since grade school. She was a clingy crybaby, always following me around. She doesn’t cry anymore, of course, but she can still be pretty absent-minded, so I’m worried about leaving her on her own.”
“You sound like her guardian.”
“And she isn’t used to being around men, so please don’t try any funny business with her. I’ll come back to haunt you if you make her cry.”
“Please don’t say something scary like that.”
“Amano’s out of the bath and drying herself. She should be getting dressed any minute now, so I guess it’s my turn,” Kamiji said happily, standing at the entrance to the tent. “It’s a little late to ask you this now, Kousaka, but aren’t you guys going to take a bath, too?”
“We didn’t bring our bathing suits. We’ll probably come back later.”
“Okay, then I’ll get ready to go in, but…”
For some reason, Kamiji seemed lost for words. When she opened her mouth again, her awkwardness was evident by her voice.
“…I guess you have to keep watching me while I take my clothes off, huh?”
“It should be okay if I take my eyes off you for a minute or so.”
Watching her while she took her clothes off seemed a bit much. Still, it would be bad if she started transforming into a zombie inside the tent and I was slowed down giving her my saliva.
“I’ll wait just outside. Call me immediately if you feel any changes.”
“Okay, thanks. Amano just finished getting dressed, so come outside.”
“Sure.”
I left the tent and walked over next to the drum bath. Amano was nearby, looking extremely sexy with her wet hair.
Kamiji swapped spots with me and went inside the tent, where she began to undress. It was made of thick canvas, so I couldn’t see through it, but it was still incredibly exciting imagining that a woman I’d just met was getting naked on the other side of the fabric.
Less than a minute later, Kamiji stepped out of the tent. All she wore was a white towel around her body and a pair of sandals. The towel wasn’t very wide, so most of her thighs were exposed.
I looked away, but I had to make sure I was always watching her out of the corner of my eye so I could act swiftly if she zombified.
“—Amano? Come here a minute,” Kamiji called out, having walked over next to the bath. Then she turned to me and said, “Kousaka, look over there for ten seconds.”
“Huh? Okay.”
I did as Kamiji asked and turned away.
Exactly ten seconds later, I looked back to see Amano standing there, facing away from me. She had the towel Kamiji had been wearing spread out in front of her. Kamiji was crouched down on the other side of the towel, completely naked, her bare back visible.