High School Girl Warrior: How to Save an Apocalyptic World - CH 70

Chapter 70 – Don’t oppose the boss

“Broo, wheere are we gooing?” Iroha asked me.

“Good question. But please stop talking like a complete idiot… Just stop it.” I replied.

Iroha just giggled in response, but the way she was speaking was really getting on my nerves.

I wonder if the people near me realized that I was kinda annoyed.

“We’re almost there, so don’t worry too much about it, Swirly Glasses.” Oda told me.

Swirly Glasses was the nickname they gave me, probably because of the horribly lame design of the Coward’s Glasses.

Either way, the Ihongei University was only a short walk away from where we were.

Surrounded by walls and wire mesh, the place had become a splendid fortress that barely looked like a university anymore.

There were also plenty of sentries on its perimeters, probably to counter not only zombies, but also any human who tries looting the place.

As expected, it’s a well-defended place. I’m glad I didn’t try challenging them to a head-on match, as I’m sure I’d be turned into a beehive in no time if I tried.

At the entrance, which had discarded buses stationed on its side to limit the paths you could approach the university from, there were three people armed with guns.

Oda raised his hand and casually greeted them, “Oda team returning!”

Then, one of the sentries, who had a pirate-like beard, asked, “How did it go?”

“One promising guy, and one stupid kid.” Oda replied.

“And the young man, Sakata?” The pirate asked.

“Well, he…” Oda looked behind himself.

Sakata had been right behind us this whole time.

“I’m begging you… In this world, you can’t live alone…” Sakata muttered.

“Ah… Well, whatever. This one is joining our ranks too.” Oda told the pirate.

“For real!? Damn, Oda! Thanks!” Sakata exclaimed.

Oda smiled wryly at that, “Geez…”

And so, being led by Oda, we entered the university.

And immediately after entering, the first thing we saw… Was a zombie.

A young female zombie greeted us. She was chained to the wall with a collar on her neck, so she couldn’t reach us.

She must have been about as old as me.

Her mouth kept on opening and closing, she tried reaching us, but her hands slashed through the air in vain.

Her groans were saddening.

“This is…?” I asked.

“The boss’ pet.” Oda sighed, the continued, “It was a woman we caught near the beginning… What was her name again? Kamizono? She’s young, but quite pretty, isn’t she?

“She was the boss’ mistress for a while, apparently, but she somehow ended up being bitten by a zombie and… Hey, hold on, what are you doing? Hey!?”

Without waiting for him to finish, I grabbed my sword’s handle and moved closer to the pitiful zombie.

Then, with the fastest unsheathing technique I knew of, I destroyed the zombie’s brain.

Everyone, except for Iroha, looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Wha… Idiot. Swirly Glasses, didn’t you hear what I just told you!?” Oda exclaimed.

“I heard it, and made a decision based on that. Having a zombie in here would do a lot of harm and no good, am I wrong?” I replied.

“You’re crazy…” Oda shook his head, “I’ll have to report this one to the boss.”

“Alright.” I said.

“There’s a room for new recruits not too far from here.” Oda pointed in a direction for us, “It’s over there, and there’s a sign reading ‘clubhouse’ in front of it. You guys should stay there for now.”

***

I was surprised by the lineup of people in the premises.

I had heard that only young girls were being kidnapped, but in this place, I saw men and women of all ages, just like how things were in the Miyabigaoka High School.

“What’s going on…?” I muttered.

A person named Akai, who was acting as our guide, approached me as I muttered that.

“Ah, well… I mean, there are a lot of ordinary people here.” I told him.

At this point, Akai grinned, “What? Did you think there were only scoundrels and young girls here?”

“Well…” I didn’t know how to reply.

“Then that means the strategy is working.” Akai told me.

“Strategy?” I asked.

“What was it again? The boss used some difficult works… Information manipulation, I think?

“Basically, if the people outside think of us as a bunch of crazy murderers, then others will be scared of us. That’s important to keep this place safe.” Akai explained.

“I see…” I muttered. It definitely seemed like a reasonable explanation, “But is it true that you kidnap women?”

“Partially. There are some stupid people who talk a bit too much on the moment they’re left alone.

“What’s important, is that if we left those women alone, they might have already been killed or worse, you get it?

“The boss may like women, but he can’t hold dozens of women per day, you know?” Akai replied.

“Is that how it is?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Akai grinned, “You see, the women who have been kidnapped are actually grateful for it. Compared to a life of shivering in one’s house each day while staring at a stain in the ceiling, what they have here is quite luxurious, you know?

“They’re glad to exchange what they had to what they have now… The boss understands what everyone needs, and provides the things we require. It’s this kind of relationship that exists over here.” Akai blushed a bit after saying all that.

What’s up with that…? I’m astonished.

“It’s here.” Akai led us to a building with a ‘clubhouse’ sign on it.

It was probably a place for clubrooms originally, but right now, it was filled with several middle-aged and old women happily chatting and making porridge.

“Oh, Akai, you brought a new kid?” One of the old ladies asked.

“Not sure. You see, one of them killed the boss’ pet zombie…” Akai replied.

“Oh my? That’s quite nice. There were children who couldn’t sleep peacefully due to that zombie. Thank you for that.” The old lady replied.

“Just don’t say that in front of the boss.” Akai smiled wryly, “Though well, I guess it might be fine. Even Oda had once tried to stab the boss with a knife back when they first met, but he is now one of the executives.

“The boss is generous with promising people, and as far as I could see, you definitely count as a promising person.” Akai looked at me as he said those last few words.

“Well, thank you for that.” I replied.

“On the other hand, you better work hard, Sakata. If it wasn’t for Oda, you’d have already been thrown outside, you got it?” Akai told Sakata.

“Y-yes! I’ll risk my life if I need to!” Sakata exclaimed while going into an upright and frozen stance.

“And… What about that girl?” I looked towards Iroha.

Akai stared at her too, and smiled wryly, “The boss is no pedo, and he doesn’t like idiots either.”

“Ehehe, I was caalled an idioot.” Iroha giggled.

Iroha, you can drop that acting now, seriously. It’s okay.

“… What will you do? Will you stay with her?” Akai asked me.

I shrugged. For the time being, it would be nice if we could get permission to stay together, “If that’s allowed, certainly. We have been together for a while now, and we have established a good relationship already.”

“Got it. I’ll tell Oda about it then.” Akai said, then turned towards one of the oldest ladies in here, “Auntie, can you give this child any work? I dunno, like chopping vegetables or something?”

“Of course. We’re always understaffed here.” The old lady replied.

“Then, it’s decided. I’ll leave the rest to you.” Saying that, Akai turned away.

And so, we were about to enter the ‘clubhouse’, but before that, Akai stopped, “Ah, that’s right. I have one more thing to tell you.” He took a small pause, then said clearly, “Don’t oppose the boss.”

His expression was quite serious, and for a moment, I started wondering if my true identity had been revealed.

“He is not an idiot like me, you know? The boss is smart.

“You may have heard bad rumors before you came here, but forget all about them. Everything he does is necessary to protect our comrades… And well, you two are already our comrades too… You get it?” Akai explained what he meant.

I was about to try giving a vague reply to that, but before I had a chance to…

“G-got it! Understood!” Sakata said with sparkling eyes. The kind of look that a freshman who just got a job at a prestigious company would have.

“Alright, see you later then.” Saying that, Akai waved his hand at us, then left.