-----
-----
"Your school's seeds are pretty solid," Julian muttered.
"They can even sprout in this kind of environment…"
As he spoke, he casually smashed the zombie's head in.
Seeds sprouting inside a zombie's skull… yeah, these things were definitely easy to grow.
Still, even though the zombie had been easy to kill, something about it felt… off. Different from the others.
Julian stepped into the classroom.
The windowsills were lined with all kinds of potted plants—chives, tomatoes, and other quick-growing fruits and vegetables.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a woven sack and a bunch of small plastic bags from his backpack. He wrapped each pot in plastic, then stuffed the whole thing—plant and all—into the sack.
After sweeping through several classrooms, Julian nodded in satisfaction.
Not bad. He'd gathered a decent haul of seeds and seedlings.
Beans, leafy greens, melons… everything.
Easy to grow, fast to harvest. Perfect for planting back at the villa.
"Hana, think again—what else here is worth taking?" Julian said. "We brought a truck, so let's grab as much as we can."
He felt like he'd dropped solo into a loot-heavy zone in a battle royale—free to grab everything in sight.
"Gauze, alcohol, anti-inflammatory meds?" Hana suggested after a moment.
Those were the things she was most familiar with from her nursing major.
Though honestly, with how fast both of them healed, they probably wouldn't need any of it.
"Sure," Julian said with a grin. "Even if we don't use them, someone else will."
"Stock up on medicine. Might come in handy for trading later."
The group moved on to another academic building to continue looting.
Walking behind them, Chizuru looked completely baffled.
"Why are you two so calm…?" she muttered. "It's like the apocalypse hasn't affected you at all."
"Because we're strong!" Hana said, raising her small fist.
She might not fight often, but her strength wasn't something to underestimate.
"Stronger than the guys from the sports department?" Chizuru scoffed. "I heard they were trapped in the gym. Tried breaking out several times and failed every time."
"Sports department guys…?" Hana froze for a second.
She remembered a few of them had tried to pursue her before. She'd rejected all of them.
Afterward, they spread nasty rumors about her—saying she was doing shady stuff outside, even calling her an escort.
It had made her so angry she cried.
"Master… can I go kill a few people?" Hana suddenly asked.
Given the current situation, getting a little revenge should be fine… right?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
"Of course," Julian said, nodding as he loaded supplies into the truck. "Anyone who messes with you—that's a big deal."
No one gets to bully my little sidekick…
Except me.
Anyway, they'd already collected everything they needed. Might as well take a trip for her sake.
Chizuru stood off to the side, completely lost.
She had no idea what world these two were living in.
What were they even talking about…?
Still, she hurried to follow them. At least sticking with them felt safer for now.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the school gym.
The entrance was littered with zombie corpses. The fight here must have been brutal.
Judging by how the zombies were killed, the survivors hadn't had any decent weapons.
No wonder their breakout attempts had failed.
But the gym doors were open now.
Which meant one of two things—
Either they were all dead… or they'd managed to escape.
Julian stepped over the bodies and walked up to the entrance.
Inside, only a few zombies wandered aimlessly.
Looks like they really did break out.
"Damn it… they got away," Hana pouted, then smashed the statue by the entrance with a single punch.
Chizuru broke out in a cold sweat.
Now she finally understood what Hana meant by "strength."
Terrifying…
No wonder they could wander around outside like it was nothing.
"So where would they go?" Julian wondered aloud. "There's nowhere nearby that's easy to defend, right?"
He didn't want Hana's revenge to fall through.
"If they're students familiar with the campus…" Chizuru said, thinking quickly, "they'll probably go to the small theater where we were hiding."
"It's a great defensive spot. Even if zombies break in, you can escape quickly using the layout."
"That's why we went there first after leaving the cafeteria."
"Alright, let's check it out," Julian said. "Lead the way, short-skirt girl."
"Short-skirt girl?!" Chizuru snapped. "I have a name, you know!"
"You only remember the skirt?!"
She was seriously annoyed.
At the very least, call her a beauty or something!
She was one of the campus belles, after all.
And mentioning the skirt only reminded her of that embarrassing moment when he saw up it…
So irritating!
Still, annoyed as she was, Chizuru obediently led the way.
Outside the small theater, a cluster of zombies lingered—clearly drawn there not long ago.
Julian swung his massive hammer and got to work.
Meanwhile, Hana controlled the zombies, guiding them one by one into the path of Julian's hammer while also protecting Chizuru.
Over twenty zombies were cleared out in no time.
Julian led the two girls inside.
There were two doors—one on the left, one on the right.
Both seemed to be barricaded from the inside.
"I'll try," Chizuru said, stepping forward.
She knew most of the people inside. They should open the door for her… right?
"Asuna! Sakura! Open up!" she called, knocking on the door. "I'm back!"
There was movement inside… but no one opened the door.
She knocked again.
This time, faint arguing could be heard from within.
Still no response.
"What's going on…?" Chizuru frowned, pouting. "There's no reason they wouldn't let me in…"
"Are you stupid?" Julian said with a chuckle. "Those sports guys probably took control by force after getting inside."
"You think you're some drama queen who can just knock twice and magically get the door opened?"
As he spoke, he raised his hammer.
Boom!
One heavy swing.
The door was blasted clean off its hinges.
Yeah… this place probably wasn't safe to hide in anymore.
Julian rested the hammer on his shoulder and walked into the theater like nothing had happened.
Inside, terrified students were scattered everywhere.
"Chizuru!"
A group of girls rushed over the moment they spotted Chizuru behind him.
Every single one of them…
Fair skin, pretty faces, long legs…
What was going on? Even in the apocalypse, all the beautiful girls were gathering in one place?
"They're all from my flight attendant class," Chizuru whispered.
"Ah… that explains it," Julian nodded.
No wonder they all looked like goddesses.
Too bad…
In the apocalypse, being pretty doesn't mean much.
Honestly, a tech nerd who can fix computers would be more useful.
"....."