Chapter 29 - Chapter 27: The Story of a Midsummer Afternoon
"You guys saw that sign and came here, right? Where did you come from?"
The initial hostile atmosphere vanished, and in the next moment, the man with the stubble spoke in a friendly tone. I saw that his index finger, which had been on the trigger, was now off it; he seemed to have no intention of firing.
Are they residents of this Osawa Village, which has become a shelter as written on that sign? At least it's clear they aren't dangerous people. If they were "hyah-ha" types, they would have shot the moment they saw us. After all, they have guns, while we only have a single crossbow.
Even so, the fact that he's speaking friendly suggests they have no intention of harming us.
"My name is Naomi Walker. We came from the town to the west. We were moving north when we saw that sign and came here. Are you residents of this village?"
Naomi-san must have realized they weren't hostile either. She opened the door, got out of the car, and raised her voice. The men seemed surprised that Naomi-san was a foreigner, and the man with the stubble widened his eyes.
"...Well now, it's a surprise to see a foreigner. That's right, this is the Osawa Village written on that sign. I'm Kaburagi, the captain of the village guard."
The existence of a guard meant that the residents of Osawa Village were acting in an organized manner. They were equipped with several guns—though meager compared to the JSDF or US military—and their capability must be quite high.
"It seems your car tripped an alarm, so we came to check. We have to consider the worst, so we came with guns. Sorry for startling you."
"No, we apologize for intruding so suddenly. Even so, an alarm... does that mean the defenses here are high?"
"It's an analog one using string and naruko clappers. But well, it's quite useful. We haven't let a single infected into the village yet."
It seemed the story about this place being safe was true. Hope began to swell within me. If we could be sheltered here and spend our time leisurely until things settled down...
Looking back, Yui and Mana-chan were frozen with their mouths agape at the sudden turn of events. When I shook their shoulders, they finally came to.
"...Eh? What, that sign was real?"
"Does that mean it's safe here!?"
Kaburagi seemed to notice our presence inside the car. He said with a laugh:
"That's right, it's safe here. There's food and water, and even a doctor. You don't have to live in fear anymore."
At those words, the days I had spent until now suddenly flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
The days of being chased by the infected, desperately running while barely suppressing my terror. The nights in the early days of the pandemic when I was too scared to go outside, thinking I would truly starve to death. The days of nervously scavenging through burned-out supermarkets and convenience stores, flinching at the slightest sound. And the recent two weeks of suffering from constant thirst when we couldn't get water.
Thinking that I wouldn't have to experience those things anymore brought tears to my eyes. It was only natural; just a few months ago, I was a mere high school student who had never tasted the fear of death. Even though I understood that the infected were everywhere in Japan and that I had to throw away my old self and keep fighting to survive, I yearned for those old peaceful days from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to say goodbye to a life of carrying weapons, smelling blood and rot, and always hiding in fear.
But this village was peaceful; I wouldn't have to taste hunger, thirst, or fear. The old life I had craved so much was coming back. Thinking that made me very happy.
I saw that Yui and Mana-chan were also covering their faces, unable to hold back their tears. Naomi-san seemed as aloof as ever, but I could sense her excitement. Seeing us like that, Kaburagi said:
"For now, we can't leave the car here forever. Let's enter the village first. Hey, open the gate!"
When Kaburagi shouted toward the wall blocking the road, the giant metal plate split in two and opened to the left and right. It seemed that metal plate served as both a wall and a gate. Well, it was natural since it was built right in the middle of the road, but this Osawa Village, which could even build such a thing, seemed to have quite a lot of human and material resources to spare.
"Before we accept you into the village, we have to take your weapons. It's natural to be cautious, but the rule here is that no one except the guard can carry weapons inside the village."
I felt a bit uneasy at those words, but when I looked at Naomi-san's face, she had a look that said "do as they say." They probably didn't want lawless people to break the safe shelter they had worked so hard to build. Since there's the rule "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and the guard would protect us as long as we stayed in this village, there would be no need to carry weapons.
Naomi-san unfastened the Kukri from her waist, sheath and all, and placed it on the hood of the car, and I slowly placed the crossbow down next. Then we showed them the various weapons hidden in the car and trunk, like hand axes and Molotov cocktails.
"You guys... survived until now with these weapons? And with four young people?"
While picking up a Molotov cocktail, Kaburagi muttered with wide eyes. In fact, I'm surprised myself at how we've managed to survive until now. The reason this group of three minors and one woman managed to escape the clutches of the infected until now was largely due to Naomi-san, who had been taught combat and survival skills by a soldier.
"Hmm, no guns. And the only projectile is a crossbow..."
When Kaburagi waved his hand, the men who had been waiting in the rear approached and threw the various weapons placed on the hood into the trunk. They said they would first go to the center of the village by car and then take the weapons there. We wouldn't need the car or weapons as long as we stayed in this village, so there was no particular reason to object.
"Well then, we'll be intruding for a bit. You guys continue the patrol."
Saying so, Kaburagi climbed into the passenger seat and shouted to the men from the window. The men, who seemed to be members of the guard, nodded and returned into the forest. Yui and Mana-chan made room, and I moved to the back seat. When Naomi-san returned to the driver's seat, the car began to move forward slowly.
As I thought, the thing that moved on the watchtower earlier was a person. Inside the gate made of iron pipes and thick metal plates, I could see a small shack where several men and women were watching us. They must be people guarding the village too.
"Not many people have come lately, so everyone will be surprised."
"How many people have evacuated to this village so far?"
"About twenty. But most of them leave after staying for a few weeks. They say there might be a safer place or that they're looking for someone."
Mana-chan looked down at those words. Even though she seemed happy about the safe zone, deep in her heart, she must want to go look for her family. And that family has already been killed by my hands.
Naomi-san's face, visible in the rearview mirror, looked surprised.
"They leave? Even though it's more dangerous outside than here?"
"Yeah, everyone must have someone precious to them. That's why they probably wish to find that person and be with them rather than live a safe life."
Kaburagi stared out the window and muttered.
"Our Osawa Village was originally quite depopulated. All the young people had gone to the city, so there were only old men and women. But with this commotion, rumors apparently spread everywhere that sparsely populated rural areas were easier to survive in, and sons and daughters who had gone to the city returned with their families. That was the one fortunate thing. Unlike the people who came from outside the village, our precious people are by our side."
Perhaps we left the forest, as the trees lining the left and right of the road suddenly passed behind us, and the branches and leaves covering the sky vanished, making the sunlight suddenly intense. Even inside the car, the brightness was no joke, and when I closed my eyes for a moment, I was lost for words at the sight that spread before me in the next instant.
What spread before my eyes were green fields and the figures of people working there. The people working hard at farming in easy-to-move clothes like jerseys or work clothes didn't even change their expression when they saw us in the car. As expected, the story that many people had come here must be true; that's why no one was surprised to see us coming from outside.
But I was more surprised by the fact that people were normally engaged in agriculture. I thought that everywhere had been attacked by the infected and that peaceful daily life no longer remained in Japan.
Suddenly, I remembered my mother's family home where I went with my parents when I was young. I'm sure my mother's family home was also quite rural, and the sight before me overlapped with those memories. The lush green rice and the old Japanese houses beyond the fields. Remembering those things made me realize that I would never see such a sight with my parents again, and I felt a dark mood.
"Now, that's the village office."
Without noticing my feelings, Kaburagi pointed to one of the houses visible beyond the fields. I could see a modern three-story concrete building mixed in with the old wooden Japanese houses. Apparently, that was the village office.
Naomi-san nodded and turned the wheel. I tried to ignore my dark feelings by thinking about the peaceful days I would spend here from now on, but as I watched the people outside the window, something caught in my mind.
Why are there no children?