After breakfast, Shuya took Saeko to the garage. They were using the same motorcycle from last night.
Shuya patted the seat behind him and motioned to the purple-haired girl. "Hop on."
"We're going out on the bike?" Saeko asked, looking a little confused.
"Did you forget what happened at the school last night?" Shuya tapped her forehead lightly with his index finger. "These zombies aren't like game monsters that disappear into data when they die. If we keep killing them in the same area, the bodies are going to pile up. Not only will they block the roads later, the stench will eventually become unbearable. We might end up having to move somewhere else just to escape the smell."
"After all, you wouldn't want to live in a place that reeks of rotting corpses, right?"
"That's true," Saeko nodded.
She quickly remembered how last night, after she'd slaughtered so many zombies, the piles of bodies had gotten so bad they could barely find places to step. They'd had to keep moving to new areas just to keep fighting.
But now that Shuya mentioned it, she realized something else. If that many corpses were left to rot, they could easily start spreading diseases too.
She'd been so exhausted after their "battle" last night that she'd passed out and never saw what happened when they returned. Now that he brought it up, she asked with some concern, "Shuya-kouhai, did you take care of all the zombie bodies at the school last night?"
"Of course," Shuya answered.
He didn't need the reminder. This kind of thing was common knowledge from history. Before leaving the school, he had used his Transmutation Nen to turn his aura into flames and burned the entire school along with all the corpses.
The smell had been absolutely brutal. Even the usually slow and lazy Shizuka had picked up her pace when she caught a whiff of it.
In a weird way, he'd finally fulfilled his childhood dream of blowing up the school—except with fire instead of explosives.
Unfortunately, his Transmutation skills weren't that advanced yet. The flames he created were just regular fire. He couldn't pull off the insane, everything-melting flames you see in anime. Without accelerants like gasoline and not wanting to waste too much aura, the best he could do was use the intense heat to completely incinerate any viruses or pathogens that might have formed.
As for any other problems that might pop up later? He couldn't do anything about those. At least he'd done everything he possibly could.
Once everything was explained, Saeko relaxed and climbed onto the motorcycle behind him. Without needing to be told, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body tightly against his back, as if trying to melt into him.
She rested her cheek against his back, savoring the warmth coming from his body. After taking a deep, greedy breath of his scent, she said softly, "You know… we've been living together for over half a month now, but this is actually the first time you've taken me out for a ride like this."
"A ride?" Shuya chuckled.
So that's how she saw it.
Then again, compared to the tasks he'd given the other girls, zombie hunting really was the perfect job for Saeko. He'd basically turned her favorite hobby into her daily mission. And since he was going with her, the travel time basically counted as a date ride in her eyes.
Understanding that, Shuya smiled and said, "Well, from now on we'll have chances to go out like this almost every day. Does that make you happier, Saeko-senpai?"
"Yeah," Saeko replied happily, her voice full of warmth.
Shuya didn't say anything else. He silently started the engine.
The mechanical beast roared to life with a deep, powerful growl… then proceeded to move forward at a very leisurely pace.
Saeko misunderstood his slow speed. She thought he was deliberately driving slowly so they could enjoy the scenery and the gentle breeze together. Her heart swelled with even more joy.
But thinking about the other girls, she held back her happiness and said gently, "Shuya-kouhai, you really don't have to do this. We have plenty of time together in the future. You don't need to hold back for my sake. You can go faster—we'll get there sooner and come home earlier too."
Even though she felt a little sad that she couldn't have this amazing man all to herself, she was genuinely content with the current situation. This was just right. If she got any more, she might start feeling guilty.
"Huh?"
Shuya's mind wasn't quite as delicate as a girl's. It took him a second to realize how she'd misinterpreted his slow driving.
He opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.
His actual plan was to use the loud roar of the motorcycle engine to attract all the nearby zombies, then slowly lead them farther away and clean them up. That way the area around their house would stay safer. He didn't want to open the front door one day and get jumped by a zombie right on the doorstep.
As for driving slowly? It was obvious. If he went too fast, the zombies would fall behind and he wouldn't be able to lure them properly.
But if he told Saeko the truth now, it would completely ruin the mood and disappoint her.
After thinking for a moment, Shuya carefully rephrased his words:
"It's fine. I wanted to make some noise anyway and draw out all the zombies around here so we can take care of them. That way it'll be much safer when we go out in the future."
This was the art of language.
The exact same meaning could feel completely different depending on how you worded it.
For example:
"I want to fuck you" sounds crude.
"I want to wake up next to you" sounds much better.
"I want the first person I see when I open my eyes to be you" sounds beautiful and romantic.
By shifting the focus, Shuya turned the main purpose from "cleaning up zombies" into "enjoying a ride together with Saeko," while making the zombie extermination sound like a convenient side benefit.
The result was obvious.
"Mmm," Saeko hummed softly.
She didn't say anything else. She simply pressed her face even more firmly against his back.
But Shuya, whose body was tightly pressed against hers, could clearly feel the slow rise in her body temperature and the way her heartbeat had picked up speed.
He knew.
The purple-haired girl behind him…
Was completely moved.