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Early in the morning, four buses pulled up outside the villa complex.
Nanami Kento jumped down from the front one.
"Boss Julian!"
He jogged eagerly over to the guard booth.
Julian set down the controller and stretched. "Man, this place is amazing," Kento said, unable to hide his excitement. "Great scenery, solid perimeter defenses, barely any zombies nearby… and all these huge villas. Living here feels like a vacation."
When Julian had told him there'd be a place to settle his people, he'd expected something like a refugee camp. Not this.
"Alright, drive the buses in first," Julian said lazily. "Everyone gather in the central courtyard. I'm holding a meeting to lay down the rules."
"Got it!"
Kento nodded and led the convoy inside.
Julian, meanwhile, poked Asuka, who was slumped in a chair fast asleep.
She'd claimed she'd pull an all-nighter, but ended up passing out at four. Julian had no choice but to keep playing Monster Hunter by himself.
"Mmm… is it morning already?" Asuka rubbed her eyes.
"Meeting time. Get up."
Julian casually ruffled her hair.
"Hey! Don't mess up my hair!" she snapped, jumping to her feet with an annoyed look.
Last night, she'd lost to Julian in every single game they played. It was infuriating. If the controller hadn't been so rare, she might've smashed it already.
Annoyed or not, the meeting still had to happen. It concerned the survival and management of the entire villa complex.
Soon, aside from a few people left on guard duty, everyone gathered in the central courtyard—over sixty newcomers brought by Kento and more than fifty original residents.
Julian grabbed a loudspeaker from the property management office and climbed onto the artificial rock formation.
"Everyone!"
"I'm sure you all know the situation by now."
"I'll go over the rules for this place."
"First, anyone staying here follows basic moral standards. Don't pull any stupid stunts."
"All resources will be distributed based on labor."
"Work more, get more. Work less, get less."
"Besides farming, we'll periodically send teams out to gather supplies. If it's your turn, you don't get to refuse."
"As for housing…"
"Original residents get priority to stay in their previous homes."
"Newcomers can choose any vacant villa."
"You want one person per villa or ten people sharing, that's your business. I won't interfere."
"Also, the original residents will pick a representative."
"For the newcomers, Kento will be your representative, mainly handling security and external operations."
"Ashiro will represent property management, responsible for maintenance and repairs."
"That makes three representatives. Handle small matters among yourselves. Only come to me for major issues."
"That's it. Meeting adjourned. Work out the details with your respective reps."
With that, Julian hopped down from the rock.
From now on, this place was his territory.
Anyone unwilling to be managed could go fend for themselves outside.
It was bound to be a busy day for the villa complex.
As for Julian, he decisively chose to sit back and do nothing.
Fortunately, both the original residents and the newcomers practically worshipped him.
The residents didn't need much explanation—he had saved them from the security guards the night before, sparing them from a miserable fate.
As for the newcomers, Julian had already become something like a god in their eyes after the battle at the stadium. Without him, they would've been devoured by zombies long ago.
So the two groups got along fairly well.
There were still dozens of empty villas, so housing wasn't an issue. For people who had been crammed together in the stadium, this place felt like heaven.
Food wasn't a problem either. The newcomers had brought plenty of supplies with them, so no one felt like they were being fed off someone else's share. Centralized management of food went smoothly.
Everything fell into place in an orderly way.
Julian pulled Asuka aside.
"Later, go door to door and collect all the gold."
"Not a single piece gets left behind."
"And don't forget the fifty gold bars I used to save you."
He handed her the most important task.
Since Asuka was an original resident, she wouldn't face resistance collecting the gold. And given her status, she wouldn't skim anything for herself.
"Y-you're actually making me work?" Asuka froze.
She was basically a rich young lady!
Collecting fees like some property manager—couldn't someone else do that?
"You still want to get stronger, right?" Julian said calmly. "If you don't do it, I'm not selling you my blood anymore."
That hit the mark.
"I'll do it!"
Asuka stomped her foot and left, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
She wanted to become as strong as Mafuyu and Hana. For that… she'd endure it.
Then something occurred to her.
Her own villa was no longer livable, and now there were so many strangers around. East Lake Island seemed pretty empty…
Maybe she could move there.
After arranging everything, Julian took Mafuyu and returned to East Lake Island.
Hana had been neglected all night. It was time to "feed" her.
"Master, the hot water's ready," Hana said gently. "You should take a bath and relax."
Mafuyu quietly stepped out and closed the door behind her.
After Asuka fell asleep last night, she'd already had her fill. Now it was only fair to give Hana a chance.
Julian sank into the round bathtub, gazing out at the sea, completely at ease.
Splash.
Water suddenly sloshed over the edge of the tub…
An hour later, Julian walked out of the villa feeling refreshed.
Today, he planned to head to N University to look for seeds and saplings.
The East Lake villas would likely stabilize within a couple of days, so it was time to start planning agriculture.
After some thought, he decided to bring Hana along. Since they were searching for things, she'd be more useful.
Mafuyu had no objections—she was already satisfied from the night before.
Soon, Julian set off in a truck with Hana.
Along the way, there were noticeably more wandering zombies.
It was obvious why—the people inside residential areas had already been eaten. Now the zombies had returned outdoors, back onto the streets.
Luckily, with Hana in the vehicle, the zombies instinctively avoided the truck.
Still, using her ability for too long drained her, so she had to "replenish a bit" midway.
Half an hour later, they arrived at N University.
The street outside the residential area entrance was packed with zombies, as lively as ever.
And it was clear at a glance—several dorm buildings were surrounded.
There were probably still quite a few students trapped inside.
If they couldn't get out to find food, they wouldn't last long.
But their fate had nothing to do with Julian.
If he tried to save everyone he saw, he'd never get anything done.
This trip was about seeds and saplings. That was what mattered.
Under Hana's guidance, Julian drove into the academic district.
"Master, look over there!"
"It looks like someone's hanging onto a streetlamp!"
Hana pointed ahead.
A girl in a short skirt was clinging to a lamppost, desperately trying to climb up. But every time she made some progress, she slid back down.
Below her, more than a dozen zombies clawed at her legs, reaching up again and again.
"....."