episode_0253

It was shameful and I was just… dizzy.

Should I say that ringing in my ears and even tinnitus felt like my brain had completely stopped working?

“···I’m sorry.”

It was in the midst of this that I heard something unexpected.

An apple.

To be honest, I was so distracted that I thought for a moment that I had heard something wrong.

That’s because the act of apologizing to a man she knew named Yoon Soo-hyun was an act that did not suit her.

In terms of distance, I would say it is as far away as Mars from Earth.

So I thought it was an illusion…

Why… is he making that kind of expression?

Is he making an expression of embarrassment and not knowing what to do?

In the end, it was he who invited that junior named Juri.

“I thought it would be fun so I tried it… but I really had no idea Juri would do something like that.”

“···.”

If I say I didn’t know, if I use that as an excuse, does that mean it never happened?

Some people might sincerely believe that, but in reality, it was impossible.

Because the world is not that simple.

“Of course… I know. Even if I apologize now, it doesn’t mean that what you experienced didn’t happen.”

“···Ha.”

“So… I will pay for this with my own body.”

I will repay you with my body.

I’ve never wanted or wanted something like that, so who wants it?

“You said the Chairman was at home.”

“···!”

“As soon as the situation here is sorted out, I will use all my abilities to rescue the Chairman and the people of the Arisugawa family.”

Is that really possible?

If someone else had said something like that, I would have heard that thought first.

However, the man in front of her now had already proven his abilities.

After all, he was able to cut through a monster that was crushing a concrete wall like tofu with a single knife, so if that’s not proof of his ability, then what is?

The reason why my mother, who is currently at home, and those protecting her, even though they have sufficient firepower, cannot even move away from the home is probably because, like the monster that was dealt with by this man, a monster far beyond human common sense has appeared there as well. That may be because, in that situation, what if this man heads in that direction?

Maybe it really was possible.

That includes joining the people from my home family and my mother.

Was it a sudden thought, or rather, a conviction?

I began to think that this was not a bad price to pay for enduring such humiliation.

The reason I reflexively bit my lip was to drive out the thoughts that had begun to creep into my head.

“Then, let’s do it like this.”

“How…?”

“I will take you with me when I head home.”

“···It may be dangerous.”

It could be dangerous.

Of course it would be dangerous.

“I know. I am also prepared.”

“No, you don’t know. Likewise, I don’t know either.”

What does that mean?

As I was inwardly tilting my head, the man’s remarks continued with a sigh.

“Do you know what’s out there and what monsters are running around?”

“···.”

“Maybe it will be swarming with monsters like the giant monsters I saw last time.”

A particularly serious voice.

There was something about that voice that made it difficult to refute it.

“If I were the only one moving, I would be confident that I would be able to escape even if those guys came in droves…”

How about you?

Are you confident that you can survive even if such a group of guys come in droves?

I couldn’t say anything to the man’s eyes that seemed to say just that.

There is no way such confidence exists.

But what if you say you are confident here?

That would be a deception to the other person.

“Can you run at a constant speed for several hours without stopping?”

“···.”

“That means it cannot be done.”

*****

He pretended to seriously reprimand Raina and carefully observed her reaction with his eyes.

And what I learned as a result was that my choice to divert her attention by bringing up a topic that Raina would have no choice but to react to was having some effect.

Just a moment ago, she looked like a broken doll, but now that she’s talking about her family, she comes to life again.

No, that’s the part. Even so, why does he like following me around so much?

From common sense, there is no way you wouldn’t know that it’s dangerous.

Am I that much less worthy?

Well… it’s worth it.

As soon as the guy who I completely believed was a secret bodyguard got his hands on something that looked like power, he not only changed his attitude and started targeting the person he was protecting, but he also ended up getting his hands on secrets that should never be known to the outside world and using that to scare him. How can you trust it?

‘Should I change the hint I gave to Raina to something else…?’

In a way, the fact that I had such thoughts could be said to be the result of looking at myself objectively.

What if I were to say the same thing as the hint I already gave to Raina?

It was a hint that the more Raina felt pitiful toward me, the more I cared about him and wanted to take care of him.

Honestly, considering the relationship between me and Raina at the time, there was nothing else like it, so even though it was something I came up with spontaneously, I praised myself for coming up with it…

The problem is that things have changed.

What if the happy-go-lucky, love-comedy style of school life continued like it did when Raina had those hints engraved in her mind?

By now, Raina must have become a bit of a bitch looking after her husband.

Because I would have done all kinds of pathetic things to make it happen.

But what is this?

Something happened that made me wonder if there was some sort of erosion of world view, and what was clearly a school romantic comedy suddenly turned into a zombie apocalypse?

But in such a situation, you keep acting like a pathetic person?

If that were the case, each and every one of the heroines, who were precious jewels, would turn into zombie food or a zombie girl, so how could the pathetic cosplay continue?

So, I had no choice but to break up my cosplay and become ‘The Zombie Slayer’ Yoon Soo-hyun, and after rescuing as many heroines as I could, Raina no longer had to feel sorry for me.

How can you say that without realizing it?

Those who joined in the middle or at the end, or Reina, who had been accompanying me from the beginning, would have seen me literally pulverize dozens of zombies with a sword in my hand.

Are you looking with pitiful eyes at a being that is literally a walking battle weapon?

Then, on the off chance that my eyes wander, the thing on my neck might just fly away. Would I call myself crazy?

After that, he even cut the monster that was crushing the building like pudding in half with a single blow… so from Raina’s perspective, it would have been inevitable.

Nevertheless, it felt like the hints he had maintained all this time were a waste, so he deliberately acted more aggressively in order to somehow make Raina feel that way.

At this point, it seemed right to just let go of the existing hints.

It would be a lie if I said it wasn’t a waste, but it would be better than not seeing any effect at all like now.

However, if this happens, the content of the new allusion is the problem… What would be good?

I would like to engrave something new that I think will have a better effect…

After thinking about it for a while, a thought flashed in my mind and I started gently touching the pocket where my cell phone was.

I put my hand near my pocket so I could take out my phone at any time…

“Of course, there’s nothing I can do if you don’t trust me because of the things I’ve done. What if I could at least contact you every now and then? In a situation like this, even if I were to stay somewhere else, kill some time, and come back saying I failed, there would be no way to find out.”

“···.”

“By the way, this is a contact… Hmm, could you please take a look at this?”

“···?”

“I bought an old smartphone from a local pawn shop before the zombie outbreak, and I was wondering if it would work.”

Since it is an old model and not the latest model, you might not know it.

He spoke with a nuance that made it seem like he was saying that, and as he took out a cell phone from his pocket that had already been loaded with a hypnosis app, Raina’s eyes naturally turned towards it.

But as soon as his eyes landed on his phone, his expression went blank.

In that way, I began work on engraving a new hint into Reina’s ear, who fell into a trance state in an instant.

“For now, forget the hints engraved just now. And from this moment on, Arisukawa Reina…”