Ch.134Chapter 18. Trust (4)

After cleaning up thoroughly, Leticia also completed her blood test. Cassandra left for the laboratory, saying, “I’ll let you know about any infection soon.” Camilla followed her, adding, “I’ll help too.”

The truth is, both women are uncomfortable around Leticia. And Leticia hasn’t particularly had any reason to form a good relationship with them either.

Thanks to that, Leticia and I spent the entire afternoon together. I assigned her a room, explained the rules she needed to follow, and showed her around the floors and rooms. Since none of it was particularly difficult, Leticia understood everything quickly.

“Are the boards and blackout curtains on the windows for blocking light and sound?”

She was good at making deductions.

“Yeah. This building is taller than the others, so I thought light leaking out might attract attention. But I never expected Western State Minsk mercenaries to invade. Sometimes I think we could have lived more comfortably if I’d known this would happen.”

Of course, that’s just a manner of speaking. Passing raiders might break in if they spotted even a faint light.

“Wow. What’s all this?”

Leticia entered the “storage room” and clapped her hands lightly in surprise. She looked around in amazement with her mouth wide open.

“Food, water, fuel, and what’s this? Clothes? Why are there so many clothes? They’re all new? Even luxury brands.”

“Well, laundry is difficult here. Underwear is one thing, but outer clothes are hard to clean if they get contaminated, so we just throw them away and put on new ones. That’s why we wear whatever’s available.”

Half-listening to my explanation, Leticia spent a while touching the clothes. They gave off that distinctive new clothes smell through their plastic packaging.

She muttered things like, ‘I saved three months’ salary to buy this kind of outfit,’ before plopping herself down on a chair.

“Are you tired, Leticia?”

“No. It’s just… funny.”

“Hmm? What is?”

“Just… everything. Nice clothes, a good bed, a decent home… I spent my life seeing all kinds of things, good and bad, just to get these things. And what I really wanted was outside the city all along.”

But her reflective mood was brief. Leticia shook her head with a hardened expression.

“No. I shouldn’t talk like this. You all must have fought desperately to get all this.”

Well, apart from the risk of being ‘disassembled’ by Virginia, there wasn’t much danger. Actually, loading and unloading goods was more exhausting than fighting zombies. Leticia looked up at me with a bright smile.

“Can I wear whatever I want?”

“Sure. You’re part of our family now. Everyone takes clothes they like to their own rooms. What’s left here is probably stuff that didn’t match someone’s taste or size.”

Camilla always preferred durable clothes with good mobility, and Cassandra had few options that fit her body type. So surprisingly, there were many ordinary women’s clothes left. Perhaps that’s why Leticia’s face lit up so brightly that it seemed to illuminate the dim room.

Gurgle.

Leticia covered her lower abdomen with both hands. She even turned her head away, embarrassed.

“It’s okay. It’s natural. We’re in an unprotected zone, so feeling hungry is normal. Want to eat something?”

“I want to pick out some clothes first. I don’t like choosing clothes with a bloated stomach.”

Leaving her to select clothes on her own, I went down to the dining area. I hadn’t eaten properly today either. Finding it bothersome to cook something, I chewed on an energy bar.

I’m hungry.

I want to go into the food storage and stuff whatever I can grab into my mouth. I want to fill some insatiable void. But I know that’s impossible as long as we’re on contaminated land.

Still, the hunger concentration in this area is relatively low. In areas with high hunger contamination levels, people reportedly eat until they’re about to burst and then keep eating. It’s not simply hunger—it triggers the primal fear that you ‘might die of starvation.’ It’s not that bad here.

Perhaps that’s why we seek out each other’s rooms at night. To momentarily forget the hunger that buzzes around us like summer mosquitoes, annoying and circling our bodies. To briefly mask the hunger with pleasure, anticipation, and longing.

How long can we stay together?

I don’t even hope for the stage of opening our hearts to each other. We just need to calculate that cooperating is more beneficial than going our separate ways or betraying each other.

The sound of the door opening pulled me from my thoughts. Leticia was coming down the stairs.

“How do I look?”

“Um…”

While Camilla and Cassandra are exceptionally impressive, Leticia also has a pretty figure. She’s a bit taller than average women, with shoulders broadened from years of training, slightly large breasts, and quite substantial hips.

Perhaps that’s why the simple black and white dress with black stockings suited her well. Despite being so ordinary it was almost plain.

“My legs are a bit thick, so I’m not sure if it suits me.”

“It’s pretty. It suits you surprisingly well.”

Maybe it’s because I’ve only seen her in military uniforms, tights, or underwear. In a way, the ordinariness was refreshing.

“…It really suits me?”

Leticia looked unconvinced.

“Why? You don’t think it does?”

“I just never thought these kinds of clothes would suit me. It feels… awkward and embarrassing.”

But then she straightened up and lifted her head.

“Whatever. I might as well try wearing something like this before the world ends completely. Right?”

I wonder what Leticia’s idea of “ordinary” really is.

* * * * *

We finished eating. Leticia seemed more tired. She looked somewhat drained. Her forehead felt slightly warm.

“…It’s your fault.”

But that’s no reason to pinch my side, is it?

“Why?”

“I think I’m getting sick because you were too rough.”

That’s a bit unfair. I was about to say that you were the one who kept climbing on top each time. But then Camilla opened the door and glared at us.

“…Come in. The results are ready.”

I stopped Leticia as she was about to get up from her chair.

“No. Let’s all hear it together.”

Both Leticia and Camilla looked at me. I repeated myself.

“We already know the results anyway. It’s better if we hear it together.”

“What do you mean you know the results?”

Leticia asked. Camilla silently looked at me and then called for Cassandra. Cassandra came out nervously, holding the test results.

“What do you mean? Did Johan see my test results before I did?”

Cassandra shrank back at Leticia’s confrontational approach.

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Don’t be intimidated.”

Camilla gently gripped Cassandra’s arm.

“B-but…”

“I said don’t be intimidated.”

Camilla and Leticia glared at each other. Camilla’s face hardened while Leticia had a slight, dismissive smile. For a moment, I imagined the two women engaged in a wrestling match, pulling at each other’s clothes until they tore…

What am I thinking? I quickly banished the fantasy and looked at Cassandra. She hunched her shoulders under my gaze.

“S-so… you are infected, that’s correct.”

Silence.

“Is that all?”

Surprisingly, Leticia seemed indifferent. Now it was our turn to stare at her in surprise. Leticia blinked and looked around at us.

“Why are you all so surprised? It’s common knowledge that the Cro virus has spread so widely that antibodies are found in almost everyone.”

“That’s common knowledge?”

Camilla groaned. Leticia seemed somehow pleased, probably because she knew something Camilla didn’t.

“Yes. The Disease Control Bureau said so. But they also said our immune systems are superior enough that we can overcome it if we don’t get too close to contamination sources. Though people with weaker immune systems or the elderly and infirm are at greater risk. With proper personal hygiene, moderate exercise, and a balanced diet…”

“…When was this announced?”

For someone who seemed scared, Cassandra’s voice was quite sharp. Leticia answered, surprised by her unexpected firmness.

“A month ago? No, two months? I can’t remember exactly. Anyway, there’s no city without zombies, and everyone has relatives who’ve turned into zombies. So the airborne spread of the Cro virus is inevitable, but people with healthy immune systems have nothing to worry about, they said.”

The three of us—myself, Camilla, and Cassandra—looked at each other.

So the Disease Control Bureau had done it after all.

* * * * *

The Total War speech.

It was a speech by Goebbels, the Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister. The Nazis had tried to hide news of defeats from various fronts, but they reached a point where they could no longer conceal the truth.

Goebbels acknowledged the facts. We are losing, he admitted. And then he went one step further. “Yes, yes, that’s all true. But do you know what happens if we lose? You all die.”

He propagated that the fatherland would fall into the hands of capitalists and communists, and that everyone must commit to “total war” to avoid defeat.

And surprisingly, it worked. Why? Because what the German people wanted to believe wasn’t defeat.

Goebbels knew how to cleverly combine “what ordinary people want to believe” with “his own objectives.” While acknowledging the facts themselves, he led to completely different conclusions.

“No.”

To the point where my first reaction was denial.

“No, Leticia. That’s not true at all. Almost everyone turns into zombies, with very few exceptions.”

“Th-that’s right. Your inflammation levels are quite high. Not dangerous yet, but…”

“Um, sorry, but I’m feeling a bit tired…”

Leticia touched her forehead. She seemed to be sweating quite a bit. Cassandra felt Leticia’s forehead, then went to the lab to bring back a stethoscope and placed it over her clothes.

After saying things like ‘Take a deep breath. Now exhale,’ she turned to look at me.

“…What?”

“…You two. What did you do?”

“Why are you asking that?”

Leticia’s tone became noticeably sharper. Camilla grimaced.

“J-Johan. Be honest. We might need to prescribe different treatment…”

“We slept together.”

There was a grinding sound from Camilla’s direction. Leticia let out a “hick” sound. Cassandra calmly asked again.

“Did you just sleep in the same bed or was there physical contact?”

“There was.”

“Did you have sex?”

“Yes.”

Better to be honest than risk someone getting hurt.

“You had sex?!”

Unable to contain herself any longer, Camilla screamed.

“How intimate was it?”

Cassandra asked with clinical coldness.

“Did you exchange saliva?”

I answered honestly.

“Wh-what is this…”

Leticia, who had jumped up from her seat, felt dizzy and sat back down. Camilla was staring at me with a lost expression, smiling vacantly. Cassandra’s eyes were terrifyingly empty.

“What are you all talking about?”

Leticia asked me in a weakened voice.

“…We have viruses in our bodies too. Each person’s virus is slightly different. But my virus is quite strong and can consume others’. Cassandra is an exception. Camilla has become quite similar to me. But you’re different…”

“Yes. The viruses are fighting inside your body, Officer. Like how the Western and Eastern States fought over Elza.”

“Even if you say that, I…”

Leticia tried to stand up but collapsed back into her seat.