-----
-----
After two full hours of "serious education," Julian finally let Mafuyu Kirisu off the hook.
…His lower back was starting to ache.
Maybe he should swing by a pharmacy later and see if they had something like kidney supplements.
"Master!"
"I feel stronger today!"
Mafuyu Kirisu clung to him as she spoke, practically glued to his side.
"Stronger?"
Julian blinked.
Since yesterday afternoon, she hadn't drunk a single drop of his blood.
The only thing she had consumed was…
Wait a second.
Don't tell him that could make her stronger too?
"Master, look!"
Mafuyu grabbed the frying pan with the fist-sized dent in it.
Boom!
One punch—straight through.
This time, her hand wasn't even scratched.
She'd clearly gotten stronger.
"My pan…"
Julian took a moment of silence for the poor cookware.
Then it hit him—Mafuyu had genuinely powered up again.
His ability was ridiculously broken.
Not only could he restore a zombie's consciousness, he could also keep making them stronger.
The only downside was that it was murder on his back.
Unfortunately, the power only worked on zombies. He was still weak as ever.
That stung.
Even a support player dreams of carrying the whole match.
Imagine wielding a Tang saber, carving through zombies like slicing melons and chopping vegetables. How satisfying would that be?
And now?
Now he was stuck being the man behind Mafuyu.
With her current strength, what was the point of some elaborate plan?
They could just bulldoze their way through.
It was still early in the apocalypse. No mutated zombies had appeared yet.
Julian checked the time. 11:00 a.m.
At 2:00 p.m., when the sun was at its hottest, zombies tended to grow sluggish.
Since they could push through head-on anyway, they might as well leave early.
"Mafuyu, pack some clothes," he said, ruffling her hair."We're relocating."
"Okay! Wherever Master goes, I go!"
She nodded rapidly, like a pecking chicken.
Julian couldn't help noticing something.
Not only had she gotten stronger—she seemed more obedient than yesterday.
Could that be part of his ability too?
He'd have to observe more.
Soon enough, Mafuyu came out dragging a large suitcase stuffed full of clothes.
Apparently, it hadn't even crossed her mind to pack food.
Then again, she didn't need to eat.
Julian filled up his hiking backpack as well. The place they were heading to was stocked with food and daily necessities anyway. This was just a precaution.
"Master~"
"It's only 11:30."
"We still have over two hours before we leave."
"Shouldn't we make good use of the free time?"
She rubbed her cheek against his chest.
"What are you thinking?"
"Behave yourself."
Julian kept a straight face.
If they exercised any more, his legs would be jelly later. How were they supposed to move?
Mafuyu stuck out her tongue.
Ever since she realized that "exercise" made her stronger, she'd been way more enthusiastic about it.
As for Julian's condition…
He looked fine. Just some slight dark circles. Nothing serious. Probably.
"Oh right, do you have a car?" Julian asked.
The supermarket was only a minute away by car.
Sure, it might attract a train of zombies, but if they drove fast enough and took a few detours, they could probably shake them off.
"I've got an electric scooter. Does that work?" she asked.
"Electric scooter…"
"Not great defensively. A zombie could yank you off at any time."
Rejected immediately.
"Oh! When I was rummaging through Grandpa's place across the hall earlier, I think I saw some car keys!" Mafuyu's eyes lit up.
"Alright. Let's go pay Grandpa another visit."
They were really milking that one sheep dry. Julian was starting to feel a little guilty.
The moment he opened the door—
Two zombies lunged inside!
"Shit!"
He reached for the Tang saber resting by the dining table, but it looked like he wouldn't make it in time.
Mafuyu reacted instantly. She vaulted over the sofa and drove a kick straight into the first zombie's chest.
Its chest caved in on the spot. Dead instantly.
The second zombie was knocked over by the impact. As it struggled to get up—
A flash of white.
Julian flicked the black blood off his blade and sheathed it.
Only then did the zombie's head roll to the floor.
"This blade is solid."
He nodded, impressed.
It handled even better than he'd expected.
With this in hand, even if he were surrounded by a dozen zombies in an open area, he could fight his way out.
"Strange… why were these two just hanging outside our door?"
He nudged the corpses aside.
"Master, did you forget?"
"We made quite a bit of noise last night…"
Her face flushed slightly.
Julian froze.
Right.
They must've shaken the downstairs zombies upstairs.
That had been an oversight.
After surviving alone in the apocalypse for a whole year in his previous life, he'd still been single.
He'd never run into this particular problem before.
Looks like soundproofing and vibration control needed to be added to the checklist.
"Mafuyu, guard the stairwell."
"I'll grab the car keys."
"Okay, Master!"
Outside, Julian glanced at the old lady's body lying on the floor.
He'd taken their saber, half a bag of rice, several pounds of fruit…
And now he was about to borrow their car.
He really did feel like a bandit raiding a village.
Since he'd taken so much, he might as well do something decent for them.
He dragged the old lady's body back inside and laid her beside her husband on the bed.
He even placed the old man's head back in position.
If they had any awareness left, they'd probably want to be together in death.
"This is all I can do for you."
With that, he took the car keys and left.
In the stairwell, Mafuyu had already taken care of another zombie that had wandered up.
"Master, all set?"
She looked completely relaxed. For her, killing ordinary zombies was as easy as lifting a hand.
"Got them. Let's rest. We leave at 2:00 sharp."
He jingled the keys.
Back inside, they lounged on the sofa.
Exercising was absolutely off the table. Not happening.
To pass the time, Julian pulled out his iPad.
While the internet was still up, he casually put on the zombie movie World War Z to get into the mood.
By the time the movie ended, it was nearly 2:00.
Julian slung on his hiking backpack and gripped his Tang saber.
Mafuyu grabbed the suitcase. The thirty-pound case looked light as air in her hand, making Julian deeply envious.
They cut down a few zombies along the way and soon reached the underground parking garage.
The moment they stepped inside, Julian froze.
What the hell?
There had to be nearly forty zombies down there.
Which idiot dragged them all here?!
"....."