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Isao Tsumugi
Unloading Zone
I entered the rear section of the shopping mall where the semi-trucks pulled in, looking around with interest while Rei walked beside me, gripping my hand and looking straight ahead.
There were many men scurrying back and forth, hauling various boxes, but I only gave them a cursory glance before heading toward the spot where I could sense Kiriko, surrounded by several people.
As I approached, I saw that she was standing with a few others—two men and one woman, to be precise. They were all in police uniforms, much like some of the men I'd seen dragging crates earlier.
The first man caught my eye immediately: he was incredibly similar to Rei. Or rather, Rei's facial features were clearly visible in him. The second one looked just like Hisashi—if I didn't know better, I'd say he was a carbon copy. And the third? She was just Takashi, but more feminine and shorter in stature.
Rei squeezed my hand hard the moment we saw them, so I knew she'd be a bit annoyed when we got close enough to talk, but I had to check on how things were progressing, so I kept walking toward them at an unhurried pace.
They noticed me when we were about a dozen steps away. The man who was evidently Rei's father squinted slightly at me, then shifted his gaze to our joined hands and gave Rei a look of slight disapproval, which made me smirk inwardly.
"Yo, Kiriko!" I addressed her familiarly, curious to see how this guy would react, and noted with mild surprise that he said nothing.
Had Kiriko told him who she got her powers from, and now he'd decided to behave himself for the time being? Who knows.
"Isao-kun," Kiriko looked at us, and noticing how much calmer Rei was compared to about half an hour ago, she let out a relaxed sigh. "Came to see how things are going, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Yeah~ it would be pretty foolish if the boss didn't check up on how his workers are doing, wouldn't it?"
"Heh, you've got a point there." Kiriko chuckled slightly at my words, but the reaction of the others... Takashi's mother gave a hesitant smile, while Hisashi's father looked at Kiriko and raised an eyebrow, hinting at his surprise. The most noticeable reaction, however, was Rei's father—or rather, the total lack of one. Yet, through his body language, I could see he was irritated by both me and Kiriko. Apparently, he didn't like how familiar I was with his "wife," or how Kiriko just allowed a "brat" like me to get away with it. Pft. "There's nothing to worry about, Isao-kun. We found about five or six working semi-trucks, unloaded their cargo compartments, and started collecting various categories of items, including everything needed for water, food, basic hygiene supplies, general tools, and farming equipment."
"Hm…" I let go of Rei's hand and fell into thought, watching the men walking by with boxes in their arms—some were carrying barrels and canisters. "Well, all in all, I think you did everything right. I didn't really know what needed to be taken anyway, which is exactly why I entrusted it to you. Thanks, Kiriko!" I smiled and gave her a thumbs up, and she just nodded in return.
"Don't mention it. After all, we're working together for the well-being of all survivors." As soon as she finished, Rei's father wanted to speak up, but I didn't have much desire to listen to him, so...
"By the way, remember how I said I was going to the port to clear everything out? I might do that in about half an hour, since you're already here and can take charge. Plus, a huge number of Awakened people will remain here with you. I'll head out as soon as..." But I wasn't allowed to finish, just as I expected.
"Alright, I think you should stop right there, young man. Don't you think it's rather rude to act as if we aren't here?" Rei's father's face was slightly scrunched and tense; it was clear he was irritated, which highly amused me, though I didn't show it.
I love making people angry. Tee-hee!
"Excuse me, and you are?" At my careless question, he just sighed heavily, looking toward Kiriko with disappointment. There was a clear exchange of thoughts between them, where Rei's father was likely saying something like, "Seriously? Is this the guy you listen to?"
"I am the father of the girl whose hand you were holding just a few minutes ago. To good acquaintances and friends, Tadashi, but you can call me Miyamoto-san." He walked past his friends and stood before me, but it seemed he hadn't accounted for one thing... our height difference. He was now looking at me from the bottom up, which made me openly smirk.
"Dude, I'm not calling you Miyamoto-san just because you're a cop and Rei's father. Let's stick to just 'Miyamoto,' since I call your wife and daughter by their names." Yeah, I wasn't joking—I felt a bias against this guy, which was exactly why I wasn't speaking to him with the proper respect.
No, it's not that I disliked him, but... in a situation where you and your wife have issues in your marriage, if you're a worthy man, you should be the first to take care of them. A wife can be forgiven for almost anything except one thing: betrayal. Otherwise, a wife is your other half, the part that complements you in everything you lack. And when you don't even try to save your marriage or your wife, you aren't even trying to save yourself.
Yes, maybe that's too stupid or even naive, but that's the kind of person I am. Even though I've only known Saeko for a few days, calling her my wife isn't a problem at all.
I see some of her problems—like the fact that she's a sadist—but that doesn't bother me as long as she doesn't start beating and cutting innocent people. I'll keep her in check if she tries, and bring her to her senses.
And I hope she'll do the same for me if I start losing my mind or acting out, just because she's my wife.
By the time I'd finished thinking this through, Tadashi had turned slightly red out of anger, I assume.
No, dude, why are you blushing? I'm not into men, you should chill. Honestly, I wanted to say that. I wanted to piss him off even more and find a reason to beat up an ordinary guy, but that wouldn't be humane. That's what some Zeus would do—find an excuse to punish a man and screw his wife—but I'm no Zeus, and I'm definitely not a God. I'm just an ordinary guy who happens to have supernatural powers.
"I think we should all calm down." Kiriko stepped forward, wedging herself between us. Placing a hand on my chest, she gently pushed me back, then placed a hand right before her husband.
Honestly, it looked as if she was trying to protect me and was taking my side rather than her husband's, which made me laugh internally. Outwardly, however, I just smiled at the whole absurdity unfolding before me...
Alright, I should stop before full-blown bullshit starts.
"Okay man, sorry. Let's start over and calm down, like Kiriko said." I stepped forward and held out my hand for a handshake, but didn't account for one thing: Kiriko was already standing right in front of me at close range. By stepping forward, I made her press her entire right side against my body. Luckily, Tadashi was looking at my hand at that moment, giving Kiriko enough time to move aside. "But still, sorry, I'm not calling you Miyamoto-san."
"..." Tadashi stared at my outstretched hand for quite a while, but eventually accepted it and shook it. "At least call me Officer Miyamoto, then, Isao Tsumugi." I smiled at his words and noticed that everyone who had been tense a moment ago had relaxed slightly.
"Alright, Officer, I hope there haven't been any problems since you left the elementary school?"
"Fortunately, no. All the living dead were taken out by your people who possess these... abilities, which I would like to know more about." He spoke of the powers with very obvious interest—a subject I likely wasn't going to give him much info on just yet.
"I'd tell you about them, but only after you clarify the situation through official police channels. Do you happen to have any information on what the government was doing before they hit us with that damn EMP bomb?" At my question, Tadashi's face changed, and he sighed wearily.
"Unfortunately... no. We were only told to set up an evacuation point at the elementary school and gather as many people as possible. We weren't given any further instructions—not when the rescuers would arrive, not how long we needed to wait, nor any other information." He said this with disappointment. If you listened closely to the depth of his voice, you could detect the anger and resentment at how the government he worked for had just tossed them aside like useless trash.
Yeah, I didn't even know how to react to that. In general, I didn't expect much, since it was already clear the country wasn't doing great—even with the EMP bomb hitting us all, not to mention the incredibly fast-mutating zombies and how quickly the virus spread in the first few days.
"Hm... that's rough." The calmness with which I said that seemed to strike a nerve with Tadashi, as it was clear he was stressed about it. But to his misfortune, I didn't particularly care. I'd realized yesterday that I had to carry everything on my own shoulders. I wasn't against doing so, either—after all, if not me, who can guarantee the 100% safety of my loved ones? Right, no one!
"So, I was told you already have a plan? And it's to sail to an island?"
"Yes, sail to Kotsu Island where we can recover. And if all goes well, there should be living people there who aren't infected. We can only hope for that, of course, but regardless, right now Kotsu Island is a much more attractive place for us to live, because... well, if Kiriko didn't tell you, there aren't just simple zombies—there are Mutated ones. Their numbers may increase every single day, just as their strength may continue to grow. I have no desire to risk people's lives hoping that those few mutants were just isolated cases, which is why I decided to head to Kotsu."
"A good plan, Tsumugi." He nodded. I didn't quite understand him—why did he decide I needed his confirmation that my actions were correct? Kiriko seemed to notice this question in my eyes and gave a slightly awkward smile.
"So, you asked about the abilities, right, Officer?" His reaction to the mention of powers was quite vivid; the interest in his eyes flared instantly, as if gasoline had been poured on a campfire. "Unfortunately, I've already awakened powers for quite a large number of people in a very short time, and right now, well... I'm incapable of doing so, but it's temporary." I delivered this rather stupid excuse with total confidence, simply because I didn't want to awaken powers for him. Why would he and his friends need them right now?
Besides, I'm not really planning on awakening powers for anyone else for a while. We have a Healer, we have a dozen fighters, and a few Tinkers. I need to figure out what to do with them and what tasks to assign before awakening abilities in even more people and letting them wander around doing nothing.
Well... I won't awaken powers unless these people are absolute fanatics for me, just like Oegi—yeah, good example!
Perhaps I'll start awakening more people later, but definitely not now. When we reach the island, we'll decide what to do, think through a plan of action, and all that. In short, when the whole situation settles down and we can relax a bit, it'll be obvious.
"Hm... that's disappointing, but I understand." He didn't believe a word of it. I saw it in his tone, the way he squeezed his left hand in irritation, and the way he looked at me with judgment deep in his eyes—as if I wasn't doing it because I was afraid for my own authority. Which is stupid; he won't be accepted as the leader by all the capable people. What about the ordinary kids, their parents, and all the people who came from the elementary school?
Of those who came from the elementary school, there are at least 20 able-bodied people, and at most no more than 60. Meanwhile, almost all the people who were with me before are working. Thankfully, the Charisma points helped me build initial sympathy in their hearts and allowed their minds—drugged by the Gacha item—to accept me as leader. Even though the method was barbaric—winning a fight for power is a rather crude method, but it's effective, so screw it.
"Kiriko, let's step aside for a few minutes." I raised a hand toward Kiriko and looked at Tadashi and those standing next to him with an insincere apology. "My apologies, but I initially came to talk to her about one thing." That thing was checking on the progress, which I'd already done. But just now, during the conversation with them, I realized one thing: now that she's here, I can freely head toward the port and clear out all the zombies there. And tomorrow morning, I hope Yuriko will arrive, and we'll head out—unless I decide to force the issue and arrive in the evening, deciding that moving toward the port right then would be the better solution.
Kiriko nodded and followed me as I started moving toward an area where not many people were walking. I looked toward the six semi-trucks into which people were continuing to load various items.
"Yes, Isao-kun?"
"Well, I just came to say that in half an hour, after I say goodbye to everyone, I'm heading toward the port. By the time I return, everything here should be fine." I looked at Kiriko with my usual expression, but for some reason, she... blushed? What? Did she see something on my face?
Meanwhile, Kiriko
Isao-kun looked into her eyes with an incredible amount of trust, making her drown in them.
She only came to her senses after his eyes, which had previously been looking at her with trust, started looking at her with an uncomprehending, stupid expression. She coughed into her fist.
Again, Isao Tsumugi, who slightly didn't understand what was up with Kiriko.
Kiriko suddenly came to her senses, coughed into her fist, and nodded several times, looking off to the side.
"Don't worry, Isao-kun. I won't let you down, and everything in the mall will be fine during your absence. Plus, with this many awakened people, even mutated zombies—if there are only a dozen of them—won't be a terrifying incident."
"Don't jinx it, Kiriko, for God's sake." I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose slightly. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you really believe that some words can attract bad luck? That's quite childish, don't you think, Isao-kun?"
"Ugh, stop it!" I covered her mouth with my hand. "Stop jinxing it, woman! You see what our world has turned into, you see how it's filled with zombies, you got a superpower, and you still don't believe in jinxes? That's pretty stupid, don't you think?!" I looked her way with the righteous fire of anger in my eyes, while she looked at me—and my hand holding her lower face—uncomprehendingly. I finally burst out laughing and let her go because of the stupid look on her face when she was staring at my hand.
I was only able to calm down after a few seconds, and by then, she had also realized the absurdity of the situation and was looking at me with the smile that an older person gives a younger one when they realize something specific they hadn't considered before.
"Alright~ that was quite funny, but it's time for me to get to work!" I waved my hand at her, then walked past her toward Rei to say goodbye to her as well. "I'm leaving all matters and obligations to you, but if you have any questions, I'll be in the parking lot in about half an hour, or maybe a little more. Intercept me there, okay?" I heard her say something affirmatively, which I didn't quite catch because of the people around, but it was clear she'd said something like, "Alright."
Ah, the main thing now is to talk to all my loved ones and explain where I'm going, while trying to ensure they don't get the urge to go with me.
Especially Saeko, Saya, Rei, and K-imoto.
With them, it might just be easier to quietly leave behind them.
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