16. Cockroaches. (2)

After watching the cockroaches turn the corner and walk away, I sheathed my sword.

Swoosh!

As I swung the sword in the air, the blood that was slightly stuck to it dripped off.

A bloodstain appeared on the stone wall.

I sheathed the sword and turned around.

Swoosh-Click.

The people from the two houses had already come out and were standing on their balconies and stair railings, watching me.

Some of the people’s faces…

One woman was smiling, another looked relieved. So-eun must still be scared.

It seems no one was seriously injured.

I walked towards the house and said:

“I’m hungry. I only ate some crumbled snacks all day yesterday. Got anything?”

Soo-hyeon, who was smiling, said:

“Do you want me to cook some ramen?”

“Ramen sounds good. I’ll take a shower first.”

I walked into the house and climbed the stairs. Soo-hyeon patted my back.

I smiled.

“It’s going to get bloody.”

“It’s fine. You can wash it off. Come on, Oppa.”

Soo-hyeon followed me to my room.

Hmm.

Even with the women watching.

Nothing fazes her anymore.

We undressed and got into the shower together.

After washing off the blood, Soo-hyeon knelt down and started to orally pleasure me, quite enthusiastically.

She must have been quite impressed by what just happened.

After showering, I went downstairs, and Ye-eun hurriedly got up and went to the kitchen.

“I’ll cook you some ramen.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Several people had gathered in the main house.

The grandmother, So-eun, Hoon-ssi and his wife, and the inline skating women and the nurse grandma.

Everyone was looking at me.

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

There was trust in their eyes.

…It’s a bit overwhelming.

The grandmother grabbed my hand, stroked my arm, and pulled me.

“Sit down, young man. Oh, you must have worked hard. Hmm?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Oh my, those bad people causing a fuss at your house, how could they do that? Hmm? If you weren’t here, what would we have done?”

Hoon-ssi smiled and said:

“Mother. We should move. If our teacher says to go, we should go without hesitation. Right?”

The grandmother clicked her tongue.

“Oh… tsk. We’ll go, of course. But, the house… I lived here with my husband for so long. People can be so bad. The world is scary, isn’t it? Hmm.”

Jeong-eun said:

“Thank you earlier. I thought something terrible was going to happen.”

I nodded and asked:

“How are the men? Are they okay?”

“Yes. They seem to be much better than yesterday. It doesn’t look like any bones were broken.”

“Hmm. That’s good.”

I nodded and looked around at everyone.

“About moving, I’m clearing out the upper floors now. It will probably take a few days.”

I looked at Hoon-ssi and Jeong-eun.

“In the meantime, I’d like you to gather and burn the dead bodies lying around. If we leave them, there might be an outbreak of disease.”

The nurse grandma nodded.

“That’s a good point. Even if it’s not a disease, bacteria and mold can be dangerous. We can’t go to the hospital now, so it’s best to prevent illness.”

…Oh.

The nurse grandma, you’re finally getting it?

It’s clear.

This grandma is the type who regains her energy by helping others, like the inline skating women.

She must have gained some energy from nursing the injured.

I nodded.

“Then, let’s handle the bodies together later.”

Hoon-ssi raised his hand.

“Teacher. What about dismantling the cars? Should we continue doing that?”

I turned to Soo-hyeon, who was sitting next to me.

“Should we keep dismantling them?”

Soo-hyeon nodded.

“Yes, aluminum has many uses. That’s why I wanted to talk about it.”

People looked at Soo-hyeon.

Soo-hyeon said:

“Since we’re moving anyway, maintaining this house doesn’t have much meaning. I want to collect the aluminum sheets we dismantle and use them to reinforce the mart’s glass walls and entrances when we move. What do you think?”

Hoon-ssi nodded.

“Hmm, Soo-hyeon, that makes sense. We can roll down the shutters, but that might not be enough to stop someone from breaking in from the outside.”

Soo-hyeon nodded and said:

“Yes, so I think it’s better to reinforce the shutters by welding aluminum sheets and using silicone.”

She turned to me.

People also looked at me.

…What do they want me to do?

I don’t know anything about that.

I frowned and nodded.

“Do what you think is best. I’ll just clear out the building, and I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Got it.”

Soo-hyeon smiled and patted my butt.

Jeong-eun said:

“We’ll help with gathering the bodies.”

Hoon-ssi laughed and said:

“Oh, thank you. Teacher. We’ll handle the bodies and dismantling the cars, so you can rest. You couldn’t even come in last night and worked so hard.”

He subtly gestured to my body, probably referring to how I appeared covered in blood, dripping everywhere.

I laughed.

“We’re short on hands. Let’s do it together. We need to get rid of those bodies quickly. The smell is already coming in through the windows when we sleep.”

Hoon-ssi laughed awkwardly and didn’t answer.

After resting for a while after the meal, we went out to gather the bodies.

There was no one at the gas station.

I don’t know why, but the office door was wide open, so they probably fled as soon as things got bad.

I piled the bodies in front of the coffee shop on the road a bit away from the house and burned them.

Black smoke billowed up.

It’s quite far from the house, but if the wind blows the wrong way, a lot of ash might end up inside.

Still, it’s better than smelling the bodies while eating.

I cleared out the area except for the underground parking lot.

The underground parking lot, with over 100 cars, would be tackled gradually, and I returned home when the sun was setting.

Evening.

It was just before 8 PM.

After dinner, I left the house and headed back to the large mart.

I had cleared up to the 6th floor PC room.

Now, only the 7th and 8th floors were left.

I accelerated and jumped up from the side door of the large mart.

This task has become routine.

“Phew…”

I stopped at the 5th floor.

After carrying bodies all day and climbing stairs, it’s exhausting.

Let’s take a break.

I sat on the stairs to catch my breath and lit a cigarette.

Click.

“Puff…”

The cigarette smoke floated up.

It tastes good.

I took out my phone and opened a message.

[I might be a bit late. Go to sleep first.]

Soo-hyeon replied:

[Be careful. Got it? Don’t get hurt.]

[Got it. I’ll contact you later.]

The snacks the women had stocked in the attic fridge-energy bars, hot dogs, and 500ml water bottles-were in a bag.

I usually prefer to travel light with just a sword, but after yesterday’s experience, I decided to carry some emergency rations.

Still, I wonder if they’re okay.

I hope the cockroaches don’t cause trouble at the boarding house while I’m away.

I warned them once, but if they do it again, I won’t be lenient.

One touch, and you’ll all be wiped out.

It’s a shame to use my acceleration, which I need for leveling up, on cockroaches, but if you push me, you’ll have to pay the price.

“Phew.”

I think I rested for about 5 minutes.

That’s enough.

I flicked the cigarette butt and stood up, climbing the stairs.

7th floor.

I leaned against the metal door and listened.

Grrr-Grrr-

…They’re here.

I don’t know how many or where they are.

What was on the 7th floor again?

I don’t remember.

I drew my sword.

Swoosh-

I slightly opened the metal door.

Grrr-Grrr-

…There are quite a few.

The sound is louder from the left.

High-pitched.

…Female human beasts.

What are they doing?

…Ah, a cooking school.

The right side is…

A calligraphy school.

The calligraphy school doesn’t seem very popular. There’s almost no sound coming from that side.

Opaque glass and wooden walls.

I can’t see inside either.

…Let’s clear the less crowded place first, then the cooking school.

I walked in carefully, avoiding making noise.

I drew another sword.

Swoosh-

Holding a sword in each hand, I slowly approached the entrance of the calligraphy school.

Grrr-Grrr-

Calligraphy school…

There are a few inside.

Not many.

Mostly women, it seems.

“…Phew… Sigh.”

I took a deep breath and pushed the glass door open with my shoulder.

“Kyaa?!”

I stopped.

My mind went blank.

The human beasts looked up at me.

…They’re elementary school kids.

“Kyaa! Kyaa!”

Acceleration.

[Automatic Cast: Acceleration]

Calligraphy school…

Elementary school kids…

About seven kids, who must be around 8 or 9 years old, were charging at me.

A kid with an eye gouged out, a kid with a chunk of flesh missing from their arm, a kid with a bitten neck.

…Grit.

I gritted my teeth and stabbed the sword.

Crack!

I used acceleration to clear out all the human beasts in the calligraphy school.

There was only one adult.

A quite old woman.

I’m still not used to it.

Even though I know they’re not people and not alive, my body freezes when I see kids.

I always hesitate for a moment.

Damn.

I need to get used to it.

Why were kids here on a weekday afternoon…

What about school? Why were they all at the academy…

…Ah…

It was vacation.

Ten in total.

I used acceleration 4 times just to clear 10 of them.

The hesitation at the sight of kids was significant.

“Phew…”

Fuck, let’s take a break.

I feel dirty.

I went into an empty office and leaned back in the principal’s chair.

Swoosh-Click.

The sound of sheathing the sword is quite refreshing.

…I have 8 accelerations left.

The cooking school has quite a few students.

…I won’t be going home today.

[Soo-hyeon. I can’t come back today. I’ll be there in the morning.]

[T.T…]

[Is the house okay? How are the people?]

[It’s fine. Just come back safely. Stop worrying me.]

[^^]

I put down my phone and rested my chin in my hand.

Blood droplets splattered all over my body.

I closed my eyes and calmed myself down.

“…Hmm…”

I’ll have to keep killing them anyway.

Don’t think about it.

They’re not kids, not people.