"Is that Saya's house?" Akira asked Saeko, as the two of them spotted a large, aristocratic-style house on a hill.
"Yes, that's the house, let's go," Saeko replied.
A few minutes later, on a road leading to Saya's house, the two of them saw a simple barricade made of sandbags and wire blocking the way.
Several armed men were on guard duty. Seeing Saeko and Akira's arrival, the guards' attention was immediately diverted.
"Who are you?" asked one of the guards warily.
"Hello, we're my friend Tagaki. Please inform him that Saeko and Akira have arrived." Saeko took over the conversation and immediately told him their identity and purpose.
Hearing Saeko's words, the guard then asked his friend to contact their headquarters and inform them of what they had just heard.
As guards of the Takagi family, they naturally knew that their young lady had just returned safely with several friends from school.
He told them that several more of his friends would be following, and hoped they would let him know when they arrived.
"Hello… sir, this is Hoga from the second team on duty on the main road. We have two people who are likely friends of the young lady. Please inform the lady that their friends have arrived," a guard used a communication device to inform headquarters of the arrival of Saeko and Akira.
"Okay, wait a moment… let me call Saya…" Mr. Takagi immediately responded.
"You wait here for now, we're checking, please understand," a guard replied back to Akira and Saeko.
"Okay, sir, we'll wait here patiently," Akira replied.
"Let's sit down. It will take a while for Saya and the others to get here." Akira spoke to Saeko and invited her to sit near the barricade.
"Um… are you thirsty?" Saeko complied, but then remembered something and asked him in a concerned tone.
"Yeah, I'm a little thirsty," Akira replied, taking the mineral water offered by Saeko.
Watching the two of them, the guards couldn't help but smile wryly. Seeing the affection displayed between Saeko and Akira, they couldn't believe that young people were still so romantic at a time like this.
Nevertheless, there was a faint sense of happiness in their eyes, because despite the chaos and great disaster, there was still genuine love that they could see.
Shortly afterward, Saya arrived with Shizuka.
"Akira, Saeko...you're finally here!" Shizuka happily approached the two of them.
Shizuka felt a mixture of happiness and emotion as she saw them.
However, Saeko, being perceptive, noticed that Shizuka seemed to be looking at Akira with slightly different eyes.
Realizing this, she simply smiled faintly and replied, "Calm down, sensei, we're fine," Saeko replied, comforting Shizuka.
"Okay, let's go back. They both need to rest," Saya replied, seeing that their reunion was going quite well.
So, led by me, the two of them followed me into a car assigned to pick them up.
After driving for about five minutes, they saw a large gate guarded by several armed guards.
Seeing this, Saeko was quite pleased, as it seemed the arrangements made by Saya's family were quite sound.
As for Akira, who was watching everything, he only smiled slightly. Seeing the arrangements made by Saya's family, if there hadn't been a fatal accident, Saya's house would have been a pretty good base.
But then a wrong decision by the government changed everything.
This caused the command that should have been running smoothly to fall apart, and because of this, the zombies that were supposed to be outside managed to infiltrate and cause chaos from within.
Ultimately, Saya parents had to sacrifice themselves to save Saya and her group's lives.
Of course, Akira, realizing this, wouldn't stand idly by.
"Come on out, we're here," Saya told the others as the car pulled up to the front door of the mansion.
They were soon greeted by the rest of the waiting team, along with saya parents,l who seemed to be eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"Welcome to the Takagi residence, Saeko, and Akira," a well-groomed and beautiful woman in her late 30s greeted Akira and Saeko.
From her greeting, it seemed Saeko knew my parents.
"Thank you for the welcome, madam." "I and my partner is happy to be welcomed here," Saeko replied with a gentle smile.
Hearing this, Saya's mother, Eriko, brightened, and she quickly ushered them both into the house.
"Okay then, let's go inside. You must be tired. We've prepared a room for you to rest," Eriko replied, leading Saeko and Akira inside.
Meanwhile, Saya and the others who followed them expressed shocked and confused expressions. This was due to their senior, Saeko, who stated that she and her partner were happy to be welcomed here.
"Hey, Kumoru, did you hear that Saeko-senpai mentioned the word 'partner'?" Hirano asked with a confused expression.
"We didn't hear that wrong. I also clearly heard Saeko-senpai call Akira her partner." Takashi felt mixed emotions as he watched and heard everything that had just happened before him.
He truly hadn't expected such a thing to happen as they welcomed their return. Akira and Saeko.
"You're not mistaken. It seems like senpai Saeko and Akira have become partners now," Rei said, interrupting them.
"Ahhhhhh... how could this happen!!" Shizuka, hearing this, was shocked and in disbelief.
"Sensei, that's the truth. If you're still unsure, let's see what happens next. You should get a definite answer in the next moment," Saya replied with probing eyes.
Following Saya's mother, Saeko, Akira, and the others soon arrived on the second floor of Saya's house, where they stopped in front of a room.
"This is your room, Saeko, and next to it is Akira's," Eriko informed Saeko and Akira of the room arrangements that had been made.
"We only need one room, madam. Leave the next room for the others," Saeko replied, explaining that the two of them didn't need two separate rooms, and that one room would be enough to accommodate them.
This clearly told the others that what Saeko had said earlier was the truth. It's no joke.
Because it's impossible for a woman to allow a man to share a room with her unless they're relatives or siblings.
And since Akira and Saeko aren't relatives, the only correct answer is that they're lovers.
Once again, this caused everyone else to react differently; there was a mix of shock, confusion, disbelief, sadness, and regret on the faces of those who witnessed this.
As for Akira, he simply continued to smile and go along with everything with a cheerful yet restrained demeanor.