Employment Ice Age of the Dead - Chapter 5

 I Ended Up Saving Her

"...Nothing but zombies, huh."

I was driving my car from the coast toward the hillside, but there was only zombies and not a single living human in sight.

Defeating all of them would take too much time, so for now, I should ignore them... though I can't completely do that either!

"Sorry about this!"

Even if they are already dead, running over humans with a car doesn't feel good.

Still, the fact that I can get by with just feeling a bit uncomfortable is probably thanks to my time fighting the Demon King in another world.

Along with physical strength, I gained mental toughness... or perhaps you could say I've grown numb.

That is why I can defeat zombies without changing my expression, though whether that makes me happy or miserable is something I won't know until my life comes to an end.

"A living human!"

Just before reaching the school, I spotted about ten people.

However, each of them held weapons like iron pipes or cleaning tools, confronting and holding off a group of zombies.

It is difficult for normal humans without heavy firepower to defeat zombies. At this rate, they will be turned into zombies as well.

I approached them intending to help immediately, but as soon as I confirmed they were wearing the uniform of Banryu High School, my urge to help completely vanished.

The conversations where they made fun of me played back in my head, making my body stop moving unconsciously.

Yet, perhaps ironically due to leveling up, I could hear their conversation clearly.

"Tch! There are too many zombies! We can't even retrieve food from the houses near the school!"

"Student Council President, what should we do?"

"Let's prepare equipment capable of fighting off zombies and try again."

"But in this state, it's going to be hard to even escape..."

"There is a way."

Thanks to leveling up, being able to see and hear far away is a mixed blessing.

The Student Council President leading the students—whose face I recognized—showed a sinister expression for a moment, then pushed one of the female students hard, causing her to fall.

Through my job, I knew what kind of person the Student Council President was. He hadn't been very respectful toward me, but he didn't seem like someone who would do something like this. Which only proves how desperate they are.

"Let's run while we can!"

"President?"

"I am deciding to sacrifice the few to save the many. This is also the duty of a leader."

The Student Council President and the other students used a female student as a decoy for the zombies, abandoning her as they ran away at full speed.

"Going that far, huh!"

She wasn't Shirai-san, and since she was a student of Banryu High School, I could have left her behind, but it seems I'm still incapable of being completely heartless.

I slammed on the accelerator and pulled up right beside the female student who was surrounded by zombies.

Several zombies were sent flying, but since they are zombies, it doesn't matter.

"You are..."

"Get in! Quickly!"

"But I..."

"Just get in! Hurry!"

"Y-Yes!"

I thought the students of Banryu High School were all arrogant and unbearable, but she seemed remarkably quiet.

Since she was a student who left no impression in my memory as a janitor... she must have never talked to me before.

Looking again at the girl who climbed into the passenger seat, she had sleek black hair reaching near her waist and wore glasses. She looked intelligent and was quite a beauty.

She was the complete opposite type from Shirai-san, the gyaru, and many men might prefer someone like her.

Thinking about such things, I drove the car and successfully shook off the group of zombies.

"Safe for now... (Or maybe not...)"

It seems many students, including this girl, were lucky enough to escape into the school, but according to the conversation from earlier, they are probably running short on food.

So the Student Council President took the lead to gather food and daily necessities from nearby houses, but they were ambushed by a horde of zombies, leading him to use her as a decoy to escape.

"(It must be hard for her to go back to a school like that...)"

That said, bringing her to my place presents another issue, as I prefer living alone.

"Um... Please let me out! I'm already done for!"

"Er... What do you mean done for?"

"Please look at this!"

The girl showed me her arm, where there was a distinct zombie bite mark.

"Thank you so much for saving me. But I..."

Knowing that getting bitten turns a person into a zombie means she has already seen it happen to others.

Indeed, if bitten or scratched by a zombie, that person will turn into one too.

The infection power of zombies is strong, which is why even though they were the weakest undead in the other world, they were known as troublesome monsters.

"I will turn into a zombie soon. I don't want to attack the person who saved me..."

"(This girl is a good person.)"

I couldn't believe she belonged to that school... Looking closely, her uniform was different.

On top of that, the large swell at her chest... Shirai-san had a good figure too, but this girl's chest size far surpassed hers.

"You are..."

"I'm Kaede Sakata."

"Sakata-san, you don't seem to be a student of Banryu High School..."

"Three days ago, zombies suddenly came ashore from the sea, and the town residents tried desperately to escape, but one after another got bitten and turned into zombies... Only a few surviving humans managed to flee into Banryu High School."

"So that's what happened..."

Because Banryu High School was attended by children of wealthy families, its gates and walls were built high and sturdy to prevent intruders.

That's why it was considered safe, and surviving residents rushed there to take refuge.

However...

"Taking in the town residents meant the food ran out much faster."

"Yes. So we formed several groups to gather food and daily supplies from houses and shops near the school, and I joined the group led by the Student Council President of Banryu High School."

Then they had the misfortune of encountering a horde of zombies.

The Student Council President came up with the plan to use someone as a decoy to escape, and chose Sakata-san, a student from another school, as the decoy.

Whether you could call that overflowing school spirit or not...

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