Chapter 17 - Chapter 15: An Acrophobia Story
In the end, it was around 8:00 AM when Yui and Mana-chan woke up. If they were worried about me, they could have woken up earlier, but both of them hadn't slept much these past few days and were tired. It can't be helped.
"You, were you safe!?"
Yui, who came to the room as soon as she woke up and threw the door open as if to break it, shouted that as soon as she saw my face. Behind her was Mana-chan's face, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"A-Ah, yeah, I guess."
"You idiot, if you were awake, you should have reported it sooner!"
Is it my imagination that Yui's eyes look red? Anyway, she's worried about me, and that makes me very happy. Although Yui usually has not a fragment of respect for me, she properly sees me as a comrade.
"I'm fine. Sure, my arm hurts, but since everyone was saved, an injury like this is a small price to pay."
"I guess so, but don't ever do something so reckless again. We were on edge thinking you might die."
"Eh? Could it be you're worried about me?"
"-! There's no way that's true, you idiot!"
The next moment, a cushion flew toward my face.
After having breakfast with the awakened Yui, Mana-chan, and Naomi-san, we decided to go to a certain place. With Naomi-san's words,
"First of all, my place... has a rooftop... want to go see the situation outside? (Paraphrased)"
we decided to go out to the rooftop to check the situation outside. Although the bleeding had stopped, I still lacked blood and my body was lightheaded, but right now I wanted to confirm the situation we were placed in as soon as possible. Without first knowing what the situation outside is like, we can't even make a plan for future actions.
"Uwah"
The moment I stood up, my vision went dark for a moment, but Yui supported me immediately. Right now, standing up, sitting down, or walking around might be impossible. Fighting is even more impossible, and even escaping is out of the question.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks for worrying."
Mana-chan, who supported me together, looks into my eyes with an anxious face. Mana-chan might be cuter than Yui in the sense that she honestly worries about me.
Naomi-san takes the lead and guides us to the rooftop. Two Gurkha knives remain hanging at her waist. Not letting her guard down even in a place that seems safe must be one of the reasons she has been able to survive alone until now.
"By the way, how strong was Naomi-san? I don't know because I was unconscious."
"It was amazing. She was running normally while carrying you, and if she encountered an infected, she'd temporarily put you on the ground and literally tear them apart and throw them... I think she defeated twenty of them by the time we came to this mansion."
She should just go back to America and join the Expendables or something. Stallone would probably welcome her happily.
Naturally, no human figures besides us were visible in the hallway. The high-end-looking floor tiles hadn't been cleaned once in these three months and were covered in mud, and dust was gathered in the corners. I wonder what happened to the people who lived here. They must have all been rich.
While thinking about such things, a spiral staircase leading to the rooftop came into view. Since the elevator isn't working due to the power outage, there's no choice but to use the stairs to go to the rooftop. It's hard just to walk normally, but while being supported by Yui and the others, I climbed the stairs step by step.
Fortunately, the rooftop was just above the floor we were on, so we arrived at our destination without much time. Even so, I had consumed more stamina than I thought, and I sat down as soon as I reached the rooftop. Even though I had only moved a few dozen meters, my heartbeat was fast as if I had run at full speed. Apparently, my blood loss was more serious than I had thought.
"Uwah, amazing..."
Mana-chan said that and rushed to the edge of the rooftop. Apparently, she likes high places, and she was clinging to the fence and intently looking down at the ground. In contrast, Yui's face is pale.
"...Could it be, you're not good with high places?"
"T-There's no way that's true, I'm fine, I'm fine."
"It's not very persuasive when you say it in a monotone."
Well, she's a girl, so it's normal to have one or two things she's afraid of. Or rather, it would be strange if she didn't. Even as a man, I have plenty of things I'm afraid of.
Since Yui wouldn't move from the rooftop entrance, I borrowed Naomi-san's shoulder instead and moved to a position where the ground was visible. Naomi-san's body, unlike Yui's or Mana-chan's, has a sensation of firm muscle while being soft. She must be training quite a bit. Maybe her physical ability lightly exceeds mine.
"Wow, this is..."
When I grabbed the fence surrounding the rooftop and turned my gaze downward, the ground was visible far below. And countless infected, looking about the size of fingertips, were wandering aimlessly on the roads that ran across the ground like a grid. None of them were doing anything, just wandering around outside. Not a fragment of a sign could be seen that they noticed us on the rooftop of the mansion.
"By the way, how did you get in here yesterday? Were you seen by the infected?"
"It's okay, because I proceeded while defeating all of them. Rest assured that if you eliminate the witnesses, it won't be found out."
"Wow, what an American way of thinking."
In reality, she likely proceeded through roads that seemed to have few infected, but even so, it's not just a matter of luck that we were able to escape into here without being found by that many infected. It's precisely because Naomi-san was so strong and also familiar with the land around here that we are able to be alive like this.
But I never imagined there would be this many infected in this town. Since I hadn't seen a single infected for a while after entering this town, I'm curious where the infected, who would lightly exceed 100 just in the visible range, came from.
But only one thing is certain: this town has been dominated by the infected.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.
This time it's shorter. I'm sorry, truly sorry.