Ch.145Chapter 19. First Broadcast (3)

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There were many things hindering our drive besides the abandoned cars on the road and zombies crawling out from the roadside. For example, the commotion from the cargo hold.

The road was straight, but it had some elevation changes. So whenever we went up or down a hill, I could hear ‘thud’ or ‘bang’ sounds from the cargo hold where the zombies were.

That was fine, but occasionally when I heard sounds like ‘screeeech’ or ‘hueeeegh,’ I had to stop the car. The cargo hold walls were quite thick, so if I could hear it from the driver’s seat, it meant a major fight had broken out inside. Each time, I had to stop the truck and throw in some canned food or ready-to-eat meals.

Stopping the truck meant the entire group had to stop. And the intervals between stops were getting shorter.

“Come to think of it, this is getting more and more annoying. Maybe I should have just left them to starve to death.”

It wasn’t really my fault, but I felt a bit awkward. After all, I was the one who had strongly insisted on bringing the zombies along. Whenever this happened, everyone would deflect by saying things like, “It’s fine,” “I was getting sleepy anyway,” or “I need to use the trailer bathroom for a bit.”

And when we stopped for the tenth time, I got a radio call from Camilla.

– Johan?

It wasn’t on the public channel but our private channel. So this conversation was just between Camilla and me.

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

– Don’t be too embarrassed.

“Was it that obvious?”

– I don’t know about the others, but I don’t mind. To be honest, I think it’s impressive that they haven’t eaten each other in the cargo hold. Or maybe your driving is so terrible that they’ve lost their appetite.

“Hey. That’s not funny.”

Still, I appreciated her taking my side to cheer me up. Come to think of it, it had been a while since Camilla and I had talked just the two of us.

Of course, most of it was pointless chatter. Things like how we should have given them blankets or cushions since the truck floor is metal, or how zombie welfare was better than that of Liberation Corps agents—that kind of nonsense. But it was nice to have someone to share such trivial conversations with, and someone who would listen.

“Actually, I’m curious about something. Can I ask? You said the Goddess of Hunger was an Elzan traditional faith. Couldn’t they have formed some kind of united front with the Liberation Corps?”

I might have been hesitant to ask the old Camilla, but now she had completely moved on from the liberation organization. So she answered these questions straightforwardly. Of course, whenever Leticia subtly called her a “nationalist terrorist,” she would snap back with “dictatorial regime lackey.”

– Ugh, those lunatics. They’re impossible to reason with. You know what we used to call them among ourselves? ‘Civil servants.’

“Civil servants?”

– You know how they mechanically spout things like ‘That’s not in the regulations’ or ‘That’s not my job’ whenever you ask for something? They were exactly like that. ‘It goes against the will of the goddess.’ What a joke. Did they have a private chat room with the Goddess of Hunger or something? And above all, their approach was completely different.

“How so?”

– As you know, the Liberation Front was, well, quite bold with armed struggle. But those fanatics focused on education, welfare, or political advancement. Oh, they did have one thing—cooperatives.

I wondered what she meant by cooperatives, but it was like this:

In every city or rural area, there were people who worshipped the Goddess of Hunger.

They would welcome outsiders kindly, help them find work suited to their skills and aptitudes at other people’s businesses, and eventually help them open their own shops.

When someone opened a shop, the ‘cooperative’ people would eagerly buy their goods. There was no rule that they had to buy only from cooperative shops, but they tried to do so as much as possible.

– They didn’t have super luxury items, but the quality was good. When you think about it, that makes sense. You can’t give bad products to cooperative members who trust and buy your goods. They probably even offered low-interest loans to members.

“It sounds pretty good when you put it that way.”

– Right? But then after the human non-protection zone was declared, they suddenly transformed into armed forces. And it happened in some places but not others, which was confusing.

I suppose people don’t all think alike. Camilla changed her mind despite having made propaganda for the Liberation Front, and Leticia never turned her back on the military she had devoted her life to.

And the two of them had something in common. Both Camilla and Leticia believed in the ‘Goddess faith.’ Camilla doesn’t seem to place much importance on it now, but Leticia would regularly offer prayers and thanks.

In contrast, Cassandra never showed any such behavior. I don’t know exactly about her childhood, but considering her family came from Römer, an eastern dictatorial country, not Elza, she probably never had the chance to encounter the Goddess faith.

“Why did the Elzan people believe in the Goddess of Hunger? It seems strange that it was simply a traditional faith. There couldn’t have been just one religion, and there must have been some reason it survived for so long.”

– Well, sorry. I don’t really know much about that. I always went to weekend prayer meetings as a child, but honestly, I just went for the snacks they gave to the kids and slept through the rest. Oh, but I do remember one thing.

“What’s that?”

– I think I’ve mentioned this before. Remember? There was a person who was too greedy, so he was cursed by the Goddess of Hunger. The story goes that he was condemned to suffer from insatiable hunger and craving for the rest of his life.

The story of Erysichthon. I know it. A man who devoured everything in the world, even his only daughter, but his hunger never subsided, so he eventually began to eat his own body. They say only a pair of teeth remained.

– But the priest who told us the story asked this question: What if that person had come to his senses just before he started eating himself?

“Isn’t that a bit too difficult for children?”

– Johan, what do you think would have happened?

Camilla liked this kind of questioning. As if she wanted to know more about what kind of person I was.

“I think he would have been sad.”

– Sad? Why? How? Tell me in detail. That’s important.

“He basically consumed his own life. Trying to fill his insatiable desire, he ended up with nothing left. He would have been sad, but honestly, I don’t feel much sympathy for him. What did you answer?”

– It’s similar to yours, but don’t laugh. I said I would shoot myself in the head. If I had a gun left.

That seems too extreme for a child to say. Imagining young Camilla being so blunt, she must have been quite cute in her own way.

“What? Why?”

– I thought no one could live in their right mind remembering all the things they had done. But the priest had a reason for asking that question. His father had been a severe gambling addict. He had consumed everything the family had. That’s why the priest couldn’t go to college and became a cleric instead.

Thud thud. Bang. The zombies in the back are making a commotion again.

“Oh, sorry. I need to stop the car. Could you relay that? There’s a gas station about 4km ahead. Let’s stop there to refuel.”

– Sure, don’t worry.

I was feeling annoyed until just now, but now my mood is a bit strange. How did that priest with a ‘hungry’ father feel when he heard the story of Erysichthon?

I’m not sure, but it certainly wouldn’t have felt like someone else’s story to him. Maybe that’s why he asked the children. To him, it didn’t feel like someone else’s story, but he wondered how it felt to them…

The gas station seems to have been abandoned long ago. Still, we didn’t let our guard down. Camilla and Leticia pointed their guns out of their car windows, keeping watch in all directions. I also slung my rifle over my shoulder as I got out.

Bang bang bang.

“Alright, I’m feeding you!”

I shouted loudly as I opened cans and tossed them into the cargo hold. I could hear the zombies rushing over with a clatter.

“Ugh.”

For a moment, I felt a piercing hunger in my waist.

“Is everyone okay? The Limos virus contamination seems a bit high here.”

– I thought I was hungry from talking with you so much, but that wasn’t it.

– Cassandra can hold out.

– If we don’t leave soon, I’ll eat you.

The zombies’ quarreling suddenly quieted down. I couldn’t help but smile for various reasons. Since we’re here anyway, I thought I should refuel the car and walked toward the fuel inlet.

– Johan.

It’s Camilla on the radio.

“Yeah.”

– Do you see a picture on the pillar?

Pillar, huh. Now that she mentions it, there is a picture attached to the gas station pillar. It looked like a copied silhouette of a goddess statue.

– That’s it. The symbol of that cooperative… or something similar.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh.”

A man in shabby clothes was looking down at us from the gas station roof.