[PoruShark Writer's Note:]
Hey'a—It's UelUel, your poor, lazy, and lousy author.
I just wanted to say that I finally figured out why Rika's humvee was parked outside the gate of her house—It's because she was living in an apartment building…lol...So from now on, it will be "Rika's apartment" instead of "Rika's house."
Also, thank you for reading and adding this fanfic to your library. The total collection has finally reached more than 7000—Yeay!
I can only wish that all of the 7000+ readers would also add my ongoing original novels, Returner Fantasy and Days of Dungeon: From Simple Quest to Strange Adventure, to their libraries, and share at least one power stone a day. I mean, it would be awesome to get 7000 power stones.
Anyway, that's all. Enjoy reading.
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"Arff!… Ruff!…"
The small dog kept barking and growling, desperate to protect his master—the lady who had been carrying him since their escape from her apartment. Yet despite his brave attempts to scare those chasing them, his loud voice only attracted more undead, making their situation even worse as they became surrounded and cornered at the side of the street.
The young lady was tired beyond exhaustion. Not because she had been running for too long—in fact, it hadn't even been that long since she escaped from her apartment with her dog, and she hadn't gotten far. It was simply because of her weak stamina and fragile body.
She had been stumbling again and again in her desperate attempt to flee, causing her fairly white dress to become dirtier with every fall. And with the lace of her heels snapping, resulting in a painful stumble as she crashed to the ground and grazed her knees and hands, the undead lurking on the street slowly surrounded and cornered her.
"Arff!… Ruff!…"
"Go... please leave…" the lady cried as she removed the leash from her dog's collar.
"…At least save yourself, Zeke."
(Note: Keeping the dog's name Zeke so it won't be confusing.)
"Huff!…"
Still, the dog refused to leave his master—not in her final moment—as she closed her eyes to accept her fate. But then…
"GYAHHH~!"
—SCREEECHHHH!—
The panicked girlish scream didn't come from the woman, despite the undead already reaching out to devour her. It came from the girl driving the van, accompanied by the screeching tires sliding across the road as she desperately slammed on the brakes.
—BAMMM!—
Whether intended or not, the van rammed into the undead, running over some and knocking the rest aside before abruptly stopping in front of the lady and her dog.
The side door of the van swung open, and a tall, muscular blond man wearing a black fitness-athlete outfit stepped out. He picked up the dog, handed it to the lady, then lifted her in a bridal carry.
"You won't mind if I take you, right?" Nach said, flashing a gentle—yet slightly perverted—smile at Zeke's master.
"Yes…" the lady replied in a daze, still confused by everything: that she was just about to die, saved by the girl driving the van, and was now in the arms of a ruggedly handsome man… like a princess rescued by a black knight…
"Stop daydreaming and get in the van!"
---
Going back a few moments before Nach's group happened to encounter and save Zeke and his master as if by forced plot…
"Why the heck do you mean I would be the one driving the van!?" Saya shouted, arguing with Nach and at the same time attracting the undead lurking on the street, including those outside the gate of Rika's apartment building.
For your character development, and so you can learn a new skill while you're at it, Nach thought as he gently pushed Saya into the driver's seat.
As for who would accompany Nach to drive Imamura to his house, it would be Saeko and Saya.
Saeko volunteered, wanting to help Nach and increase the odds of their safe return. Saya, on the other hand, was chosen by Nach for the reason he had just thought—and also so Saeko would be with someone reliable in case he got separated from them.
"Wait! I don't even know how to drive a van!"
"You know. You just haven't driven one. That's different."
Taking Shizuka, who surely knew how to drive, would have been the better choice indeed. But if things turned worse, someone quick-witted like Saya would be more suited for the task and have a higher chance of surviving with Saeko.
On that note, having Kohta accompany them would greatly increase their odds of success. However, if he took Kohta with them, Shizuka, Rei, and Hisashi—left at Rika's apartment—would have a much lower chance of survival if something unexpected happened.
Therefore, Nach settled on taking Saeko and Saya with him, along with Imamura.
"The difference is whether I would crash the van or not!" Saya continued to complain as Nach lifted her by the arms, causing her face to flush red—both from fluster and anger at being treated like a child.
"It's automatic. All you have to do is step on it and turn the wheel. A genius like you will figure it out in a few crashes," Nach said as he sat Saya in the driver's seat.
"Why would I come with you in the first place!?"
"Because I know we can rely on and depend on you."
Feeling awkward and even more flustered at Nach's words—which sounded more honest and sincere rather than like a praise—Saya shoved him away in panic and embarrassment before shutting the driver's door and angrily agreeing to his request.
"Then hurry up so we can leave!"
Like Saya said, Nach and Saeko still had a task to do before they could go.
"Let's finish this quickly so we can go to Imamura-kun's house," Saeko said as she drew her katana from its sheath.
I guess she's excited to use her new katana, Nach thought, glancing at Saeko's calm and composed expression with a faint grin curving on her lips.
On second thought, maybe she's just excited at the idea of cutting down the undead themselves.
With the gate of the apartment building left open, the other residents—who had already turned undead—began to come outside, attracted to Saya's earlier shouting.
Nach moved as soon as the first undead passed through the gate. With a quick stride, he swung his axe, precisely chopping off the head of a female undead.
Saeko followed up, halting beside Nach, thrusting her katana to pierce the neck of an undead man with missing eyes, then making a sharp swing to fully decapitate him.
"It's quite honorable of you to show sympathy for them, Nach-sensei," Saeko said, misunderstanding Nach's solemn expression as he looked at the headless body of the undead he had just killed.
It's the least I can offer them. / "It's just a shame for this voluptuous woman to become an undead," Nach said, only to smile awkwardly as he realized his thoughts and words had swapped places.
Glancing at Saeko, her sweet, unbothered smile despite his perverted remark only made him like her even more.
Their duo continued to clear a path through the undead. Meanwhile, Kohta was holding back the undead on the street using what was left of his nail gun, along with Imamura chopping the undead with his cleaver, Rei wielding her makeshift spear, and Hisashi using his golf club to beat back the undead.
Once Nach and Saeko reached the front door of Rika's apartment, Shizuka rushed toward them. She hurriedly grabbed the key from the secret storage behind the mailbox on the wall and opened the door for Kohta, Rei, and Hisashi.
"Be careful, Nach—" she said, only for Nach to steal a kiss from her lips before rushing back to the van with Saeko.