Fugitive (1)
Trickle-trickle-
The sound of water can be heard.
Hmm....
Should I say something? Or just leave it? No. I'll just say it.
"Uh, you can just use the water freely!"
This tower's emergency water supply is quite abundant.
Just taking a shower won't even make a dent in the water supply.
But that woman doesn't know that.
"Huh? Still..."
"It's fine, so wash thoroughly! If you come out smelling, I'll kick you out again!"
"......Yes, I'm sorry."
A moment later.
'She must have really washed hard.'
Where did the person who was giving off that smell of sweat, body odor, and something like urine earlier go?
'Wow.'
Even without makeup, her big, shining eyes and sharp nose bridge.
Her long black hair, though completely wet, flowed beautifully.
The woman's unconcealable beauty shone.
'It was a good idea to bring her!'
But I couldn't properly look at such a woman.
Blinded by the intense stimulation, too much for a virgin like me, I lowered my gaze and spoke.
"Um, uh, did I perhaps not give you clothes?"
"Huh? Oh, yes... I thought you might dislike it if I wore dirty clothes again."
The woman was wearing a single gown that was in the bathroom.
A deep cleavage was visible on the front of the gown.
"...I'll bring you clothes right away."
"I'm fine wearing the gown, but..."
"Because I'm not fine."
A beautiful woman wearing a single hotel gown.
It was too much stimulation for me. I quickly turned my body and headed to the room.
...I didn't have a hobby of collecting women's clothes.
Should I go downstairs and bring some?
For now, let's just get her to wear something.
I brought a T-shirt and shorts that I had brought to wear.
"For now, wear this."
"Oh, thank you. Can I wear it now?"
"Yes."
The woman took the clothes and went into the bathroom.
But she's not coming out.
What's taking so long to change one piece of clothing?
"Hey, are you done getting dressed?"
"Well..."
Creak-
The woman opened the door.
She had taken off the gown and was wearing the T-shirt.
It was a bit like an oversized T-shirt, but not bad...
My gaze dropped. I quickly lowered my eyes again.
"Uh, what about the pants?"
"They're too big. I'm fine staying like this. If I'm a little careful..."
"No, no, I'm not fine. Please wait a moment. There's food in the fridge here, so if you're hungry, take it out and eat."
I quickly left the hotel to escape the increasingly intense stimulation.
*
Whether it was because she was very tired or because her tension had eased, Yoon Seo-ha couldn't hold on much longer after that and collapsed.
Even though I told her she could sleep on the bed, she insisted on sleeping on the sofa.
I picked up Yoon Seo-ha, who had fallen asleep curled up, and laid her on the bed.
Excuse me for a moment.
'...It's not like there's only one bed anyway.'
Her deeply sleeping figure was hard to take my eyes off.
'I might be mistaken for a pervert.'
I had many questions, but decided to ask tomorrow and closed the door.
The next day.
I felt a presence from behind.
I was warming cheese and bread, brought from the hotel's freezer storage, with Aura.
"Delicious smell..."
Drawn by the smell, Yoon Seo-ha approached.
"Just wait a moment. This... huh?"
Why am I doing this with Aura?
Right in front of me, there's a human toaster?
"Yoon Seo-ha-ssi."
"Yes?"
"You have to earn your keep for being housed and fed."
"Huh?"
Yoon Seo-ha stared at me once, then glanced down at herself once.
"Um, from morning, it's a bit.... And I look like this right now...."
"What are you talking about? Oh, do you usually eat breakfast after washing up?"
"Eh?"
"Let's eat. Please toast this bread for me."
"......Yes."
Yoon Seo-ha turned red.
From her pupils, everything.
Does she originally turn red like that to use her ability?
A moment later.
"It's done."
"But it's burnt..."
"Oh, that's mine! Oppa's is this one."
"Oh."
It's nicely toasted golden.
To be able to eat such warm bread without using Aura.
Moreover, it seems even more delicious because someone else made it.
I glanced at Yoon Seo-ha and said.
"I think it was a good idea to bring Yoon Seo-ha-ssi."
"What do you mean?"
"Eating alone was boring."
"Ah..."
Yoon Seo-ha gazed at the bread, then picked it up.
"Me too. It was good that I came here. You saved me, and in many ways..."
Nevertheless, Yoon Seo-ha's expression darkened for a moment.
Suddenly, the image of Yoon Seo-ha when I first saw her came to mind.
I should probably ask her about it soon.
I knew the outside was a mess.
Zombies are roaming around, and monsters that are difficult to subdue with modern firearms are also roaming around.
From monsters like armored giants appearing in anime, covered in exoskeletons all over their bodies, to monsters that spit highly acidic bodily fluids.
Compared to Undead Trolls or Undead Dragons created by Necromancers in that other world, they are weak, but.
In this world, they were a disaster itself.
But nevertheless, humanity survived.
Deep inside underground bunkers, inside military units concentrated with armored forces, and deep inside subway stations.
There were quite a few people who survived with cockroach-like survivability.
I also have seen such people while wandering through the chaotic Seoul for several months.
The 'outside' Yoon Seo-ha was talking about was such a place.
And the closest survivor stronghold from here would be......
"Perhaps, did you come from Geondae?"
"Yes. I followed the subway tracks and escaped."
I knew there was a survivor group at Geondae Station Line 7, but their influence must have grown quite a bit.
"I know that place is safe, but how did it happen? Couldn't you just live there?"
"You can't live there."
Yoon Seo-ha's expression changed abruptly.
"That place is not a place for people to live."
Yoon Seo-ha bit her lip.
Afterwards, the story Yoon Seo-ha told was shocking.
"At first, it was fine. I was trying to go home after finishing my exam studies but got trapped there. There were a lot of schoolmates too, so it was an atmosphere where everyone encouraged each other."
Since there were many smart people, survival would have been easier.
"There was a hospital nearby, and medical staff who escaped from there joined them. They completely blocked off Geondae Station and lived hidden near the Line 7 tracks."
I knew that.
That people were living in many stations on Line 7 and Line 9.
"Then a group of armed men came in, and that's when hell began."
I think I roughly know what it was like.
"All the men were forced to go out to procure food, and the women had to sleep with the people called Combat Units. As if dealing with animals, several times a day. Whenever those people felt like it, they couldn't even wash, and even if they were injured, they had to do it injured..."
Wow, this is dizzying. But that wasn't the end.
"...Eating, sleeping, they told us to pay the price for everything. But there was only one thing we could pay with, wasn't there?"
...So that's why she couldn't use water freely.
Yoon Seo-ha's voice became choked.
"Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, I tried to escape with a few schoolmates... but everyone except me......"
"You can stop now."
"...I'm sorry. It just came to mind."
"Here, you don't have to do that."
"If it's 'that'..."
"Paying an absurd price with your body."
"Hngh..."
Hmm.
Anger surged.
I'm not exactly an apostle of justice or an executioner of evil.
But.
Right in front of me, such a woman is shedding tears and pleading, and I don't get angry?
That's not a human being.
I suppressed the Aura that was about to run wild for a moment and asked.
"What should I do for you?"
"Huh?"
"Those bastards, what should I do to them?"
"Oh, I didn't say it for that reason. It's just too frustrating, unfair, and difficult..."
"Exactly. If it's unfair, frustrating, and difficult, you have to resolve it. I'll do that for you."
"No, you can't. Those people are incredibly strong. There are Awakened among them, and many are armed with guns."
"That's my problem to think about."
"But......"
"Are they stronger than Mutants?"
"Ah...?"
Yoon Seo-ha saw me slaughter Mutants right in front of her eyes.
So she would know the meaning of this question.
"What should I do? Should I go and split them all in half? Or just cut off one arm each?"
No.
"Should I just cut off their legs and throw them to the zombies as food?"
There are many options.
"I'll do as you wish."
Just then, even in the apocalypse, I was running out of content.
They were trash who came on their own feet into this boring life.
I was personally willing to sort them out, reform them, and play with them.
Yoon Seo-ha was silent for a while.
Without rushing her, I put the remaining bread into my mouth.
A moment later.
"Those people always said such things."
"What kind of things?"
"If you feel wronged, become strong."
My mouth, which was chewing bread, stopped.
"We don't have the luxury to feed even the weak, so you have to do something. If you don't like it, leave......"
Yoon Seo-ha rubbed the edge of the plate with her finger.
"But they got along really well among themselves, calling each other 'hyung-nim' and 'dongsaeng'. When we brought back food, they would sit around and drink alcohol."
I silently waited for her next words.
Yoon Seo-ha, who had hesitated several times, raised her head.
"Even if they are the weak ones, I want to see if they can still do that."
Our eyes met.
Coming from her clear, reddish pupils, her gaze was quite firm.
"If they help each other, they might die together, but will they still be hyung-nim and dongsaeng?"
"......"
"Even then, will they be on such good terms?"
Ah.
I understand what she means. She's not just asking me to kill them.
"You want to see them killing each other and running away, right?"
Yoon Seo-ha nodded her head slightly.
And then she watched my reaction.
"Um, it's too......"
Instead of answering, I pointed at the plate.
"Aren't you eating that?"
"Huh?"
"Since earlier, you've only been touching it."
Yoon Seo-ha looked down at her hand. A piece of bread, its shape ruined from being tightly clutched, remained.
"Oh, I'm sorry......"
"If you don't want to eat it, you don't have to."
"......"
"No one will say anything if you leave some bread. Though there isn't much left now."
"Ah..."
I chuckled and pushed the one remaining piece of toast towards Yoon Seo-ha.
"I'm just kidding."
And I leaned back in my chair.
They are guys who trust and rely on each other? Then they should continue to do so until the end.
Helping each other, protecting each other, and sharing food.
I just need to create an environment where that would become a bit difficult.
'I'll need a place.'
There should be enough places to run. But they shouldn't be able to completely escape. A place where I can find them no matter where they hide.
My gaze turned towards the window.
Far below.
In the middle of the lake, a castle stood.
Around it, stopped amusement rides were visible.
'......It's there?'
Just then, a perfectly good place was down there.