"That's good. Were you planning to go out?" Although Takeru had a good idea of their intentions, he still asked.
"Yes. Our supplies are running low, so we were going to search for more," Yuri quickly explained upon hearing Takeru's question.
"I see. Are there any other survivors inside?" Takeru looked at the dilapidated school building.
"No, there aren't," Yuri replied sadly.
"I see. I am Nara Takeru. That is Takanashi Rikka, and this is Naoki Miki," Takeru said, nodding in understanding at Yuri's sorrowful tone.
"My apologies. I am Wakasa Yuri. This is Takeya Yuki, and she is Ebisuzawa Kurumi," Yuri promptly introduced her group.
"There are probably still zombies inside, right?" Takeru looked towards the school building's interior.
"Yes, quite a few," Yuri admitted after a moment's hesitation.
Nodding, Takeru headed inside to conduct a final sweep.
…
Thanks to Takeru and his group's sudden arrival, the trio's crisis was resolved, and their outing plan was temporarily put on hold.
Takeru and Rikka proceeded to clear all the zombies within the school, including the one in the basement storage room… their teacher, Sakura Megumi, who is usually called Megu-nee. Finally, Takeru used his telekinesis to pile the bodies together, and Rikka incinerated them all with a single Fireball...
Yuki seemed to be returning to normal, but the shock was too great. She was now resting in the School Living Club room, needing more time to fully recover.
"Um, Takeru-san, are you part of a rescue team?" In the classroom where the girls usually lived, Yuri served tea and prepared a delicious lunch using the supplies Takeru's group had brought.
"You could say that, but it's more of a voluntary action on our part," Takeru replied calmly.
"That's amazing. Was what you used earlier superpowers?" Yuri then asked hesitantly.
"Yes, it was," Takeru admitted frankly. Since they had used their powers in front of the girls, he saw no point in hiding it.
"Can we join you? Our strength may be small, but we can help with other tasks," Kurumi said seriously after a moment's thought.
Yuri also looked expectantly at Takeru and Rikka. It was clear Takeru was the absolute leader among the three.
"That's not a problem," Takeru said without hesitation. These girls might be key to completing a hidden side mission.
"Thank you!" Yuri said gratefully upon hearing Takeru's agreement.
"Let's just say we'll be relying on each other from now on," Takeru said. He didn't expect them to be powerful fighters. If he got serious, even surrounded by tens of thousands of zombies, eliminating them wouldn't be too difficult.
They just needed to protect themselves and provide supportive help.
"Where am I?" While they were talking, Yuki, who had been lying in bed, suddenly sat up, holding her head.
"Yuki, are you okay?" Seeing her awake, Yuri and Kurumi rushed to her side worriedly.
"Yuri-san, Kurumi... Megu-nee... Megu-nee!" Looking at her friends, memories from deep within her mind flooded back, and Yuki's tears began to flow uncontrollably.
"Yuki, it's alright. It's all over now," Yuri said, feeling an indescribable pain as she held Yuki and comforted her through her own tears.
"I'm sorry, everyone. All this time, I've been avoiding these terrible things, leaving all the dangerous tasks to you all," Yuki said apologetically after crying for a while.
"It's okay, Yuki. If not for the smiles you brought us, Kurumi and I wouldn't have been able to keep going. We should be thanking you," Yuri quickly reassured her.
Watching them, Takeru felt a wave of emotion. Rikka and Miki were also moved to tears.
It took over ten minutes for their emotions to settle. Yuri and Kurumi then looked somewhat embarrassed at Takeru and the others.
But Takeru's group just smiled understandingly, with no intention of mocking them. In this world, their mutual dependence and genuine feelings were nothing to laugh at.
Due to Yuki's state, Takeru's group didn't continue exploring that day. They only scouted and eliminated zombies in the immediate surrounding area.
As time passed, they formed a special team, patrolling various areas of Megurigaoka City, searching for survivors while eliminating large numbers of zombies.
Over five days, they gathered over a hundred survivors. Under Takeru's leadership, they established a special survivor base with Megurigaoka High School as its headquarters, gradually radiating out to the surrounding areas.
They built simple walls, cultivated farmland, transplanted fruit trees, and raised poultry.
They prepared for a self-sufficient life, knowing that without production, all resources would eventually run out.
The only regret for Takeru was the special restriction in this world. Whenever he or Rikka tried to leave Megurigaoka City's boundaries, a special light prevented them.
Thus, they couldn't explore beyond the city, focusing only on internal development. This development wasn't smooth sailing, but after Takeru swiftly eliminated those with malicious intentions, no one else dared to vie for power...