By the time Inaba Tsukiyo and the others returned with the supplies, it was already almost dark. The girls in charge of tidying the rooms had almost finished and had found clothes suitable for themselves in the rooms.
Everyone was divided into several groups, living in different houses, with the members of Inaba Tsukiyo's team living in one house.
After solving the most basic problems, it was time for the girls' most anticipated activity: taking a bath.
Because she was also a girl, Inaba Tsukiyo was dragged in by Marikawa Shizuka and Busujima Saeko, and she wasn't even allowed to wear a towel; she had to go in naked with them.
I have to say... the figures of Busujima Saeko, Marikawa Shizuka, Miyamoto Rei, and Takagi Saya were truly impeccable.
Marikawa Shizuka was one thing, but what was going on with these three high school girls: Busujima Saeko, Miyamoto Rei, and Takagi Saya?
Such figures, even adults might not have them, right? Luckily, she had set herself not to see things, but she could still hear the trembling sounds.
While Inaba Tsukiyo quietly sat alone, cleaning her body, the other four started playing.
Sister Shizuka's friend's bathtub was very large, already the size of a small public bathhouse. Even with the five of them inside, it didn't feel crowded.
"Really... when you wear clothes, it feels big, but after taking them off, it's even bigger."
"Mmm, people often say that."
Marikawa Shizuka said with some pride. Although she was a bit ditzy, those who were close to her always commented on her this way.
"How truly despicable, to say such a thing with a proud look. Watch me teach you a good lesson..."
The rest of the words were covered by the splashing water. Inaba Tsukiyo ignored Miyamoto Rei and Marikawa Shizuka's playful antics, making her body full of bubbles.
"Would you like me to wash your back, Miss Inaba?"
At this moment, Takagi Saya came behind Inaba Tsukiyo with a towel and asked.
"Miss Takagi? If you don't mind, please help me. I don't have a way to wash my own back."
It was hard to imagine the proud Takagi Saya coming to help her wash her back, but since the other party had already offered, it would be a bit rude to refuse.
"Also, you don't need to call me Miss Inaba. I don't have any class consciousness; you can use a more intimate address."
"Uh... then... Tsukiyo-chan?"
While cleaning Inaba Tsukiyo's back, Takagi Saya called out experimentally.
Seeing the curve of Inaba Tsukiyo's lips, Takagi Saya understood that the other party was very pleased with her address, and she felt relieved.
"Then you shouldn't call me Miss Takagi either; just call me Saya. As the leader of the team, using such an address for others is not good for your authority in the team."
"Leader? Perhaps. Initially, I didn't intend to help you all. I just wanted to save Sister Shizuka and Saeko. You were just people I happened to save along the way."
"...That's truly a disheartening answer. Couldn't you have said something nicer, even if you were lying to me?"
Takagi Saya said grumpily, though she didn't dislike such an honest answer.
It was much better than those who say one thing but think another.
"Aren't you going to play with them? I thought you'd be like her, letting loose and relaxing."
Looking at Miyamoto Rei, who was somewhat letting loose, this girl was probably doing this somewhat lewd behavior to relieve her stress.
"No way. Don't think of me as weak like her. I am Takagi Saya. Although I'm also panicking, I'm very calm."
Or rather, she was a bit unaccustomed to Miyamoto Rei's way of de-stressing. She was used to thinking things through to fully immerse herself.
This time too, in this environment, fear was useless.
Instead of that, it was better to calm down and think about things to increase her chances of survival in this world.
"Calm? Hehe~ Saya is indeed very calm. Besides the initial scream, you've maintained absolute calm. And when we were on the bus, the reason you didn't speak was also to observe the people on the bus, wasn't it?"
"Very perceptive. But you're right, I was indeed observing the people who got on the bus. Especially you and Kouichi Fujitō, you were my key observation targets."
Takagi Saya didn't hide anything and revealed that she had been observing Inaba Tsukiyo and Kouichi Fujitō.
"Your actions on the bus today were excellent. If you hadn't been responsible for suppressing those people led by Kouichi Fujitō, it would probably have been dangerous."
Recalling what happened today, Takagi Saya felt a wave of exhaustion.
Although she enjoyed thinking things through, she didn't have Inaba Tsukiyo's iron-fisted methods, nor her combat power to suppress the other party.
On the school bus today, there were essentially two factions: one was their group, who boarded first, and the other was the group Kouichi Fujitō brought on.
Kouichi Fujitō wanted to gain the leadership position on the bus, so he had to win over the other group, and he used very despicable means to do so.
She was very clear about this, but even though she knew it was Kouichi Fujitō's scheme, she couldn't stop it because she was alone, and Kouichi Fujitō had already rallied some people.
Religious worship. Those guys led by Kouichi Fujitō intended to portray themselves as saviors.
Coupled with the apocalyptic environment, everyone lacked a sense of security. Hearing any reliable plan, or seeing any seemingly reliable adult, they couldn't help but want to rely on the other party.
Kouichi Fujitō exploited this to get those people to join his team. He just didn't expect there to be Inaba Tsukiyo on the school bus, someone who didn't play by the rules.
"...Sister Shizuka once took me to visit Fujimi Academy, and that time I saw this person named Kouichi Fujitō. From then on, I felt he wasn't a good person. Moreover, I had a premonition. If this guy isn't eliminated, he will definitely bring unimaginable disaster later. I don't want to see that happen."
"Eh?"
Takagi Saya's hand paused, and she looked at Inaba Tsukiyo in confusion.
Inaba Tsukiyo only threw Kouichi Fujitō and his supporters out of the car; she didn't try to kill them, so why does it feel like these people are no longer in this world?
She was about to say that, but from Inaba Tsukiyo's expression, it seemed she had already confirmed Kouichi Fujitō and the others were dead, which sent a chill down Takagi Saya's spine.
The intelligent Saya chose to skip this topic; she didn't want to provoke this leader who looked cute but was actually very dangerous.
"What should we do next? You said you wanted to establish a new gathering place, so you must have a plan, right?"
A plan. Right now, the most important thing is how to survive in this harsh environment.
Since Inaba Tsukiyo wants to establish a new gathering place, what is her plan? What actions will she take next?
"A plan? Hehe~ Isn't that something to discuss when everyone is together? Never mind, Saya, you're very smart, so telling you my plan in advance doesn't matter."
Shaking her head, compared to everyone else, had Takagi Saya already started looking towards the future?
Although it was a bit premature, this was also a sign of trust in her, believing she could organize these people to survive safely and establish a home of hope.
"First, what we need to do is cross the bridge. We don't have enough information; I need to know the situation on the other side of the bridge and, while we're at it, see if there are any gathering places. The parents of some people in the team might have survived and are staying in a gathering place there."
Besides the government, there are also some capable organizations. While dealing with the zombies, these organizations would definitely gather the living.
Although this would accelerate the consumption of resources, in this environment, people are essential.
If they could find the necessary talents among these people, the consumed supplies would also be valuable, so Inaba Tsukiyo wanted to go there and see.
Then, it would be about finding a relatively safe location to establish a base and then slowly expanding its scope.
Takagi Saya listened quietly to Inaba Tsukiyo's plan, and when she heard that Inaba Tsukiyo was going to the gathering place to look for the parents of the team members, her hands stopped.
Noticing Takagi Saya's usual demeanor, Inaba Tsukiyo tilted her head, asking in confusion.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Hmm, actually, my home is on the other side of the bridge. If I'm not mistaken, my parents would have taken in the surviving members when the disaster broke out. My father is the chairman of the Yūkoku Isshinkai."
"Oh? Is that so? Yūkoku Isshinkai? I haven't really looked into it. But what are you planning to do? Given your identity, when you see your parents, it's very likely they'll want you to stay. If you stay, you'll be separated from our team."
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't know what kind of organization the Yūkoku Isshinkai was, nor did she have the mood to understand such things.
Even if it was a powerful local force, what did it matter? In this world, major forces aren't something to worry about.
She just wanted to know Takagi Saya's thoughts. If Saya wanted to stay there, she wouldn't object. She would only take those who wanted to leave and escape, gathering those who trusted her to form a new gathering place.
"No, I won't stay there. In my parents' eyes, I'm just a child who hasn't grown up. I don't want people to think I'm the daughter of the Yūkoku Isshinkai chairman. I am Takagi Saya, and I will only be Takagi Saya in the future."
She didn't want to grow up under her parents' shadow. She had her own pride, and she wanted to forge a brand new future for herself.
She could see that Inaba Tsukiyo's strength was no less than her parents', and she still had many unrevealed methods. Only by staying by her side would there be a more exciting future.
"Is that so? You don't want to rely on your parents' glory; you want to create your own light? It seems you will become an indispensable part of the team, Saya."
She nodded in satisfaction. People with such thoughts would surely achieve great things.
Of course, the prerequisite was whether the other party had the ability corresponding to their ideas, otherwise it would just be a pipe dream.
"Then will you protect me, Tsukiyo-chan? Even if you're amazing, you're only one person. Can you really protect everyone in the team?"
Inaba Tsukiyo was only one person, but the team had almost twenty members. In this situation, could she really protect everyone?
"...Heh, who do you think you're saying this to, Saya? If you have your pride, then I have my self-respect. Do you really think those guys can pose a threat to me?"
Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but laugh. To worry about such a thing, did Saya really see her as an ordinary person? That was underestimating her too much.
Not to mention these slow-moving zombies, even mutated zombies wouldn't cause her any fear.
"I'll show you what kind of confidence I have to protect the rest of the team, Saya."
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