CH 56

Chapter 56 – Travel Companion

Before I realized it, it was already past noon and I was still talking to Iroha.

That’s a flag telling me that I’ll need to spend another night in some random place.

Still, I have to move forward, so I once I became aware of the time, I hurriedly decided to leave the general store

The zombies that had accumulated near the entrance during the night were quickly exterminated, and so I rushed on ahead.

And then… I heard some humming coming from my side.

Iroha was right next to me.

“Oh? Are you actually going to come with me?” I asked her.

She shook her head, “We’re just kinda going the same way, I guess?”

“I see. What is your destination, then?” I asked.

“Nowhere in particular.” She replied.

She has no destination?

Well, I don’t mind having someone to talk to along the road, so it’s not like she’s a nuisance or anything.

Besides, we can exchange information with one another too, which can be pretty useful.

So, the two of us started walking by the Ikebukuro Line while eliminating the zombie hordes one by one.

There are no trains passing by, so all we have to do is walk along the tracks. It’s just a single road ahead of us, so we don’t have to worry about getting lost.

“Ah!” Suddenly, Iroha, who had just kicked a zombie’s head off, raised her voice, “I just leveled up… I wonder what skill should I choose? Number two perhaps? But maybe the number three…” She happily muttered.

It was quite surreal to look at that from her side.

“Aren’t you going to get Hunger Resistance (Strong)?” I asked her.

“I wonder if that one is really a good idea…” She muttered.

“If you don’t want to run out of magic and die, it is.” I told her.

“I guess so… Alright! I’m a woman who learns from her mistakes! I’ll take Hunger Resistance!” She exclaimed.

It felt a bit strange… To think I can talk to someone about this strange power…

I guess it can’t be helped that a small sense of camaraderie was born between us… Because I could never have a proper talk about this with anyone else up until now.

I think she too was feeling the same way that I was.

“Hey, sis! Did you see that zombie that flew away just now!? Don’t you think it had an amazing pose!?” She asked me.

Before I realized it, I had opened up to Iroha.

Though I feel like this child’s morals are a bit disturbed… But well, she’s still on the right track, probably.

*** 

Then, after we walked through the railroad tracks for a few dozen minutes…

“Hey, sis, can we stop at Nerima for a bit?” She suddenly asked.

“Sure, why though?” I asked back.

“The woman that called sis a bad person, she was hiding at my house.” She replied.

“House?” I asked.

“I said house, but it’s actually a supermarket. It’s below the elevated train station.” She explained.

“Well… I think that person wouldn’t be there anymore.” I told her honestly.

“Ah, well… But even then, maybe some of the people I rescued might be there again…” She muttered.

“I see.” I replied.

I had a rough idea of what happened to Iroha.

She told me that there was a traitor among those she rescued.

She may be a light-hearted girl, but I’m sure this has hurt her deep inside her heart… Probably.

On the other hand, everyone at Miyabigaoka had common sense and they were all quite helpful.

Perhaps it was because we were at a relatively comfortable space? 

After all, in a stressful environment, humans might panic and become unsure of what to do.

***

We stopped by the Nerima station and looked at the supermarket where Iroha used to live at.

As expected, no one was there.

… Iroha looked at the empty stores with an extremely disheartened expression.

I stoke her head, “It’s okay. I’m sure some of them survived.” I tried encouraging her.

“… Yeah.” She muttered.

“Shall we get going?” I asked.

But right after I said that, the area shook, and dust fell from the ceiling.

“Huh?” Iroha said.

“What was that?” I said.

The two of us started looking left and right.

Then, as soon as we left the store, a deafening screech resounded from right next to me, “Sis, that!”

Iroha’s seemed to be quire startled.

Understandably so… Because what stood in our way was a giant tiger monster that was as tall as a two-story building.

It started groaning…

Really now… After a pig, a tiger?

Couldn’t there be a more gradual progression? Why am I being thrown against the killer panther right after killing the little smile?

I mean, this monster is huge, like… Way too big! Its head alone is as tall as I am!

… It groaned louder.

The tiger monster glared at us with its terrifyingly sharp eyes.

This must be how a frog feels when it is stared at by a snake…

“Hey, sis…” Iroha muttered.

“Yeah, Iroha…?” I muttered back.

The two of us looked at one another.

“Run away to not die!” The two of us exclaimed in unison, then started running away as fast as we could.

The monster roared loudly and jumped after us.

What even is its goal!?

Well, I guess it must be looking at us as snacks…

“Wah-wah-wah-wah-wawawawawa!” I exclaimed.

“No way, no way, no way, no waaaaaaay!” Iroha exclaimed.

And so, our dramatic escape began.