Chapter 81 - The Story of the Drifting Classroom
It was the same for the students of the academy; they found themselves wishing they had never met the boy. Stricken by the realization of the miserable state of the outside world, Aki had hardly slept last night. The other students seemed to be in the same boat, many appearing this morning with eyes swollen red from crying or deep dark circles under them.
Nearly half the students had failed to show up for class. Even after most students left the academy just before the pandemic and the faculty dwindled down to only Yuko, Sayuri Girls' Academy had continued its lessons. That said, there were only 11 students total between the second and third years (as the pandemic hit in March, no new students arrived). In contrast, since the majority of teachers had gone home temporarily and never returned, Yuko was the only one left. The second and third years held joint classes, and until now, almost no one had ever missed a day.
Aki and the others had continued their studies because they held onto the hope that school would resume once the pandemic was brought under control. Especially for Aki and the other third-years, this was their exam year. While it was hard to believe university entrance exams would be held in such a situation, they had continued memorizing English vocabulary and studying classical grammar with the thought of "just maybe."
But after being told the reality of the outside world by the boy, even that had become meaningless. By next year, far from universities reopening, the very system of higher education might have vanished entirely. Indeed, there was even the possibility that civilized society was lost forever. There was no point in studying for exams.
"Haa..."
Between the students who had gone home and the increasing number of those who wouldn't leave their rooms, the empty seats in the already cavernous classroom stood out even more. Someone let out a sigh, and Yuko, who had been writing English grammar on the blackboard with chalk, stopped her hand.
Aki felt like sighing as well. She had been prepared for it, but the boy's words had turned their fears into reality.
She had sensed from the scenes of burning cities on the television and the cut-off lifelines that the outside world must have changed completely. Yet, by never stepping a single foot outside the academy, Aki and the others had continued to turn their eyes away from those realities.
If they had wanted to leave, they could have done so easily. The dorm mother and the teachers had all vanished, leaving only Yuko, and there were several bicycles left at the academy. While there were no cars, one could leave the forest in thirty minutes on foot. However, Aki and the others hesitated to go outside. They were afraid to see the outside world that had changed.
Society is just temporarily in chaos due to the virus outbreak; it will return to normal soon. Everyone lived their lives clinging to that belief. Even as a month passed, then half a year, they were able to continue living while maintaining peace of mind by thinking that way.
However, the boy had announced that the world Aki and the others knew was already lost, and that it likely wouldn't return to the way it was. The students were crushed by reality.
Being a boarding school, the students of Sayuri Girls' Academy lived here away from their parents. Those who were unlucky enough to be unable to return home were forced to remain at the academy after the pandemic. Unable to use mobile phones or radios, and cut off from their families and local friends, the students had kept their anxieties bottled up by convincing themselves that everyone was safe.
But after the boy's story yesterday, it became doubtful if their own parents were even alive. Rather, the possibility of them being dead was higher. Knowing that, who could remain unfazed? If Aki hadn't been in the position of a third-year student leading everyone, she might have holed up in her room and cried just like the other second-years.
Aki's father was a police bureaucrat. Her mother had died of illness when Aki was in middle school, and she had entered Sayuri Girls' Academy by leaving her hometown upon graduation. The reason Aki hadn't been able to return home was that her father, working at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo, was busy.
Being in her rebellious phase, she had found her father as annoying as any other girl would, but their relationship wasn't so bad that she thought he deserved to die. She knew her father had been working consecutive all-nighters in pandemic countermeasure meetings and that he had been worried about Aki's safety. And when the attempt to stop the virus at the border failed and it landed in Japan, throwing society into chaos, Aki had prayed for her father's safety.
Since he belonged to the police organization, even as a bureaucrat, he would at least be safer than an average person. Aki tried to maintain her peace of mind by convincing herself of that. In fact, it had helped. After a month, she had almost stopped remembering that the outside world was in a terrible state or that her father's safety was unknown.
But after hearing yesterday's story, Aki, like the other students, was dropped into the depths of despair. There were already more dead or infected people than living ones. Large metropolitan areas had many infected due to their large populations, and the damage was immense... 12 million people lived in Tokyo. Even if only one percent of them turned into infected, that would mean 120,000 infected. In reality, it was likely much higher.
The boy's words about police officers being dead all over the place further stoked her anxiety. She heard that her father, a bureaucrat, rarely stood on the front lines. But what if even her father had been called out to the field due to a manpower shortage? Or what if the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters where he worked had been attacked?
In the first place, Aki had forgotten that police officers were in more danger than ordinary people. No, she had been trying not to think about it. When infected appeared, the police were the ones who rushed in first to deal with them. No matter how many handguns they had, the possibility of dying was no different from a civilian. The fact that the weapons the boy possessed were police-issue proved that reality.
Realizing once again that the end of civilized society had arrived, Aki's heart was filled with fear and anxiety. It was the same for the other students. Attendance at lessons wasn't mandatory, but until now, almost all students had participated every day. Now, only half were showing up. Aki thought that Aoi-chan, her roommate and a military enthusiast, was undoubtedly with the boy who had the guns.
"...That's all for today. In this state, none of you can concentrate on the lesson, right? After lunch, let's all split up and take care of the second-years."
"Sensei, what are we going to do about that boy? You did say we'd permit his stay until today."
Sakuma, wearing glasses, said while raising her hand. At those words, Yuko shook her head.
"That's true, but in this situation, he won't be able to leave either."
The world spreading outside the window remained dyed pure white. In the end, the snow had piled up to an adult's knee height, and additionally, due to the cloudy sky, there was no sign of it melting at all. Even the tires of the van the boy had parked in front of the school building were half-buried in the snow that had blown into the porch. The weather wasn't improving, and there was a possibility of more snow in the future. For the time being, the boy wouldn't be able to move from here.
"While the snow is piled up, I have no choice but to permit his stay. Even if he is an unwelcome guest, we can't throw him out into the snow. However, when the snow melts and action becomes possible again, I believe he should be made to leave. That boy is dangerous."
"Dangerous? He certainly has a lot of guns and stuff, but..."
"Sensei, you heard him yesterday too, didn't you? He said he killed people. And since he has guns, that shouldn't be a lie. Can you live with a murderer? I can't."
Sakuma had a point. Aki's instincts told her that he was indeed dangerous in some way. Even while talking yesterday, almost no emotion could be seen in the boy's eyes.
Aki thought the boy was like a robot. A robot that merely continues to act with self-preservation as its first priority, following a set program. If it were to achieve the goal of "surviving," it wouldn't be strange for it to eliminate everything that became an obstacle. The boy gave off that kind of atmosphere. Aki felt that it was likely true that he had killed people.
"But he said it was self-defense, didn't he? That kid."
The one who said that was Rei, who was attending the lesson as a fellow third-year. She alone seemed the same as before the boy arrived. Aki had thought that Rei, like the boy, was someone you couldn't tell what she was thinking, but the vector was different. If the boy was an expressionless existence whose emotions couldn't be read, Rei was someone who kept a mask of a smile plastered on her face, never letting anyone read her heart. At any rate, with her aloof attitude, one never knew what she was thinking.
"Everyone had a vague idea of what it was like outside, so wouldn't there be times when you'd kill someone in self-defense?"
"Even so, that's no proof he isn't dangerous, is it? If you're a third-year too, why don't you think and act for everyone's sake?"
"If you think of everyone's sake, wouldn't it be better to have that kid stay from now on?"
Rei said while looking down from the window at the van parked in the porch in front of the entrance. The boy, having opened the rear door of the van, was flipping something over on the back seat. Rei immediately knew that what the boy was holding was a rifle.
"If his story is true, it means the situation outside this academy is far worse than we thought. Maybe a group of 'Hyah-ha!' types with mohawks and shoulder pads will come attacking on motorcycles."
"There aren't people dressed like that these days."
"That was just an example. But there are definitely people doing whatever they want, taking advantage of the fact that laws and police are gone. And the infected haven't died out either. The only reason we've been able to live in peace until now is simply because we were lucky. If those kinds of people had come to this academy, by now we'd be dead or in a much worse situation."
Only women, and they didn't even have proper weapons. In such a situation, if they were invaded by infected or rioters, Aki and the others would have had no choice but to run. Unless they had guns, fighting was impossible.
But the boy had brought those guns. And not just one, but likely enough guns for everyone here to be armed. That was what Rei wanted to say.
"Fortunately, he has actual combat experience, and we have Aoi-chan on our side. ...Well, in her case, she's just a military otaku with deep knowledge. Still, it's better than a complete amateur."
"Don't tell me, you think we should fight too?"
"Rather, isn't it us, who haven't fought until now, who are the abnormal ones in this world? The life of just spending lukewarm, peaceful days in this academy is over. From now on, we won't survive unless we fight like that kid."
The reason they had been able to live in peace until now was that this academy was in an inconspicuous location and that a large amount of supplies, starting with food, had been stockpiled. However, those supplies had been significantly consumed by over nine months of living. They intended to save quite a bit by growing vegetables in the greenhouse, but even so, at this pace, the calculation was that the food would run out in another month.
"Once the emergency rations in the warehouse are gone, we won't be able to eat on greenhouse vegetables alone. No one is coming to the academy in a truck to replenish food anymore. But there are still supplies left outside. When we go to procure them, there's a high probability we'll end up having to fight. If we have guns then, it'll be much easier, and if there are people who can fight, the probability of survival will go up."
"So, you're saying we should welcome him as a comrade? One man with a gun in an environment full of women who are practically empty-handed. I don't think it will lead to anything good."
"That's where, you know, we have to use whatever we can. We need to pull that kid to our side, using honey traps or whatever else."
"Honey...!"
Sakuma's face turned bright red.
As for Aki, she thought that if that boy would quietly become a comrade, it would make various things easier as Rei said. The pace of food consumption would increase, but the merits would likely be greater than that.
But still, she couldn't quite trust him. While remembering the eyes that seemed to have given up on everything that the boy had shown occasionally yesterday, Aki's thoughts returned to that point.
I await your opinions and impressions.