Chapter 78: A Brief Respite

“……” Night Star returned from a small shop with two bottles of juice, only to be met with an awkward scene: black lines of confusion seemed to hang above his head as he observed Saeko Busujima’s predicament. What on earth was happening? If someone told him Saeko had been taken hostage by a weakling with a combat power of five, Night Star would never believe it. Yet, this utterly illogical event was unfolding before his eyes.

“Saeko, what happened to you?” Night Star stood a short distance away, calmly holding out the juice. He ignored the man wielding a knife beside her, dismissing him as nothing more than a fallen ordinary person unworthy of his attention.

“Hey, friend, is this your girlfriend? She’s really beautiful!” The man sneered, waving his knife menacingly near Saeko’s face. “A beauty like her is a rare treasure in this world overrun by monsters!”

His incessant chatter finally drew Night Star’s gaze. But after a single glance, Night Star turned back to Saeko, his tone cool. “Don’t tell me you can’t break free from someone like this? All those years of kendo—were they for nothing?”

Saeko, jolted by his words, finally snapped back to her senses. When the blade had first touched her throat, she’d thought of breaking free. With her kendo achievements, even without a wooden sword, it should have been child’s play to subdue an ordinary man with a knife. Embarrassment flushed her face—how could she have failed to react at first? It was mortifying.

She seized the man’s knife-wielding hand, twisted it upward, and with a sharp crack of bone, the knife clattered to the ground. Saeko used his arm as leverage and slammed him hard onto the concrete, subduing him in a few swift moves. Still unsatisfied, she snatched up her wooden sword and beat him mercilessly.

Blow after blow, Saeko found a wild satisfaction in the act. Only when the man fell unconscious from the pain did she finally stop. Night Star could easily tell the man had suffered numerous broken bones. In this world, where hospitals were no longer an option, his fate was sealed—he would become nothing more than food for the undead.

Already, the noise had begun attracting zombies. Any within ten meters had been dispatched by Night Star, and the ground was littered with their corpses. Saeko, uncharacteristically, shouted at Night Star, “Exhilarating! That was so exhilarating! The feeling of controlling such power—it’s simply intoxicating!”

“Did you know? I’ve always been like this. Four years ago, a man tried to assault me. I pretended to be afraid, and when he let his guard down, I beat him savagely with my wooden sword until he couldn’t get up. That euphoria was overwhelming!”

“This is who I am! This is the real Saeko Busujima! But someone like me—do I still deserve to be your subordinate?” As she spoke, Saeko lost control. Tears streamed down her face, her vision blurred until only Night Star’s silhouette remained.

“Finished?” Night Star listened to her confession with utter calm.

“If you’ve said your piece, then hear me out. You are my acknowledged subordinate, no matter your flaws. Whether it’s bloodlust or violence, none of that matters to me. All I know is that you have my recognition.”

…

“Kou, what’s up with Busujima-senpai? She’s been acting strange ever since she came back with Night Star last night.” Hirano Toda, clutching a nail gun, asked Komuro Takashi beside him.

Komuro glanced at Saeko, who was now all smiles and constantly at Night Star’s side. Shaking his head with a hint of envy, he replied, “How should I know? I can’t believe she changed so much in less than a night.”

After a long trek and countless battles, the group finally reached the bridge, only to find the road blocked. Crowds vied to escape the city, with police directing the throngs. Judging by the chaos, it would be days before Night Star’s group could cross.

A lot could change in a few days—accidents, mutations—waiting here was the worst option. Saya Takagi analyzed the situation, “The city is too dangerous. Everyone wants to flee to the islands. That’s why the roads are jammed, and even if nothing else happens, the zombies will probably reach us before long.”

“But we can’t find a way across the river,” Takashi complained, his face contorted with worry. “If night falls, we’ll be in real trouble.”

“Um… If you’re looking for a place to stay, there’s a house nearby we can use,” Shizuka Marikawa offered timidly, raising her hand. “It’s not far on foot.”

“A boyfriend’s house?” Saya teased.

“N-no! It’s a female friend’s place. Because of work, she’s often at the airport and left her keys with me to air out the house. It’s right by the river, there’s a convenience store nearby, and even an armored vehicle in the garage!” Shizuka hurriedly shook her head and began listing the house’s advantages.

“Let’s go there, then!” someone exclaimed. “After everything today, I just want to shower in a house with power!” The suggestion won instant approval from all the girls. Most girls valued cleanliness, and since the outbreak, they hadn’t bathed once—everyone felt sticky and uncomfortable.

They could hardly wait to reach Shizuka’s friend’s house and wash up. No one objected. Once they arrived and confirmed it was safe, everyone relaxed. Hirano bustled around the armored vehicle in the yard, barely able to contain his excitement.

Shizuka tapped her chin, thinking aloud, “Oh, right! I remember she kept some guns in the upstairs cabinet. You can go check it out.”

“Guns?!” At that word, Hirano’s eyes lit up and he seemed like a different person. “Where? Upstairs? I’ll go now!”

With that, Hirano and Komuro dashed upstairs. Night Star wasn’t particularly interested in firearms, but followed anyway—after all, the girls were about to change and shower, and it wouldn’t do to linger downstairs.

Upstairs, one cabinet was already open, packed with ammunition. Komuro and Hirano were struggling to pry open another. Seeing their efforts, Night Star casually drew his sword and sliced the seam with a flash, the cabinet springing open. The sudden release sent Komuro and Hirano tumbling forward.

Groaning as they climbed to their feet, they shot Night Star a look of reproach. “If you were going to help, you could have warned us! That was a nasty fall.”

But Night Star ignored them, his consciousness diving directly into the Twin Swords of Fantasy, where he continued to study their martial techniques with Ruo Xing and Ruo Chen.