Days passed pretty quietly without anything happening to us. However, that didn't mean the evacuation zone was the same. Quiet was the farthest word to describe this place as more and more people came. Each day, new refugees from the outside joined us.
There were a lot of people coming to this place.
The evacuation zone turned into a small town. The area that was under control of the military became a little crowded. It felt like living inside of a refugee camp. There were many people living in the same building or in tents.
I knew the number was still small compared to the original population of the city, but this place was already crowded. The streets were filled with people. I saw some people on the roof, smoking their cigarettes while watching the city.
It wasn't surprising at all because most of these people were still normal humans. They weren't trained like the military or had experience fighting against monsters, inhuman zombies or even demons. Most of these people had no idea how to protect themselves, and that's why they joined together.
However, I heard that they had started training to fight against zombies and demons.
That was a good thing.
Now for the other matter. The military made a big move to capture those bandit groups. Thanks to the information from our prisoner, the troublemakers were caught. Some were dead and some were arrested, but I didn't really care about the details.
A bigger problem had arrived in this place. Crowd and scarcity of food. And it was only the beginning, I was sure it would only become worse later.
"They are rowdy again today."
Sitting with her back against the chair, Saeko commented as she drank cold water from a glass cup. She was wearing her casual attire and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her beautiful face had a slightly bored expression, but she still looked as charming as usual.
I couldn't help but stare at her while drinking my coffee. My gaze was drawn by her beautiful face. Her slender body looked sexy even when wearing simple clothes, and I couldn't help myself from thinking about how much I love my sister.
And then my gaze moved toward the evacuation zone.
From where I sat in front of our porch, I could see the north gate to this evacuation zone and people standing there with signs on their hands, shouting something inaudible from this distance. They wanted something, but I couldn't make out what exactly.
But it didn't take much to guess that it was the same thing as always. More food and more resources. There were also demands to let more people in, but that was impossible.
Even surviving alone was tough in this apocalypse world, so how could they save others? It's impossible to do that. At most, we can only help ourselves and hope that things will get better someday.
"They will stop when the supply from the military arrives. They're complaining now, but it won't last long," I said. "The supply from the government is running out, and we have to do our part. If they want to survive, they have to do farming and stuff themselves."
Maybe it was time to move to that place I had been scouting for before. A barn with a nice cornfield. I planned to use that as my base. The corn was ripe and the field had enough water from the nearby stream, which would make farming easier.
It had been a while since I had thought of that.
"Or work for the military to get extra supplies." Saeko added with a shrug, "Miss Shizuka has been helping around as a doctor and nurse. And you can always do what you are good at. We got a lot of supplies thanks to that but..."
"Those people are doing nothing yet they want food." I finished the sentence for her. "Yeah. It's not like I can do anything about that. I'm not the boss of the military, after all."
"But at least you're one of the higher-ranked soldiers. You know? The ones that can get more rations."
"What higher-ranked? I am just a freelancer." I laughed and flicked her forehead. She yelped and pouted.
"Hey!"
She protested with an adorable expression on her face. Her eyes were wide open and her cheeks puffed out. She really did look cute when she acted like this, even if it wasn't intentional.
I laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I apologized to her, "Don't worry, though. I have a second plan for food."
I looked at her and she looked at me. She nodded.
"I know, but... What about other people?"
"Well..." I paused and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "... Are you saying that you want to help them too?"
She stared at me for a moment and then turned her gaze to the protesting people at the north gate. She watched them, her eyes focused and thoughtful.
Most probably she thought about what happened that time in the supermarket. The old man and his gang. And she must have remembered how those people were so hostile towards the military.
How they looked at us, the ones who could fight, as if we were oppressor. Not only that, but the way they talked and acted towards the soldiers was something that couldn't be forgiven easily.
They were scum who set explosions under her legs.
She smiled softly and rested her chin on her hand.
"I guess I am not that kind, huh? The ones who can help themself should just help themself. It's a cruel world after all. I don't want to think of others." Saeko said, her eyes turning cold and distant.
"... That's right." I nodded and drank my coffee.
The two of us continued enjoying our breakfast as we watched the scenery in front of us. We didn't talk much, but we enjoyed each other's company. We knew how precious these moments were. Every second was important to us. Every moment was precious, so we had to enjoy every single one of them.
Only the two of us were here now. Saya was busy in military headquarters after her talent was discovered that day.
She accidentally rebuked one of the officers because they were wrong at handling the document, leading into a fight of words between her and that officer. She won and was scouted to help with the office job in the military, something that suited her.
Finding a competent person in this apocalypse wasn't that easy after all. The military lacked personnel because they were spread too thin, and finding someone capable to help was heaven's blessing.
They even recruited normal civilians to take arms these days. Not only because of the zombies' threat but also to reduce their complaints. If the civilians were given a chance to use weapons if they enter the military then they wouldn't complain that much about the military hogging all weapons.
And if the civilian joined the military then they were also responsible for their safety and ration.
That was the theory.