[Settle the mission and return to the Main God Space?]
[Yes / No]
It was already the end of the seventh day, the time when the mission could end.
The Main God Space had pulled up the settlement prompt for Zeroy, but without hesitation, she chose No.
Even after cutting down a million zombies and earning ten thousand points—more than enough to complete the mission—she didn't want to end it yet. The tasks she truly wanted to tackle had only just begun.
Ensuring humanity's survival—she still had no real clue. The virus serum—she hadn't found it. And with the chance to keep earning points, why would she end the mission early?
"Zeroy, is tonight's dinner not to your taste?"
Saeko's voice interrupted her train of thought.
Everyone was watching her now—Saeko and Shizuka with concern, Saya Takagi and Rei Miyamoto with curiosity.
At the moment, Zeroy was dining with the main cast.
With Saeko taking the first step, their relationship with Zeroy had grown much more familiar over these past few days. Not that close, perhaps, but compared to when they feared and avoided her, at least now they could sit together at the table.
Friends? Not quite. But they could exchange a few words.
Saya Takagi couldn't help but curl her lips, muttering under her breath, "Honestly, who could even have an appetite right now?"
Because of what had happened that evening, most of the food laid out on the table was light, green vegetables. There was a small plate of meat, but the girls frowned at it, their expressions sour.
If not for the need to replenish their strength, they wouldn't have touched it.
The taste and texture of the meat only reminded them of the nausea still churning in their stomachs—the bloody performance they had witnessed up close still vivid in their minds, crimson blood and torn limbs haunting them like a nightmare.
Even the usually airheaded Shizuka was listlessly stirring the vegetables in her soup with a spoon, showing little appetite.
If they felt this way, how terrible must Zeroy feel?
That night, she had been the closest observer to the carnage inside the iron cage, watching the madness unfold with cold eyes. And during the day, she had been out slaughtering zombies, personally forging countless scenes even more grotesque.
For her to sit here eating as if nothing had happened was already unbelievable.
"Maybe we should prepare something else," Saeko suggested.
Zeroy's dinner was always special, or rather, everyone's dinner was special—tonight's had been made especially lighter because of what happened. The only one unchanged was Zeroy's portion, which remained as it usually was.
Of course, this wasn't Saeko's oversight. Before cooking, she had asked Zeroy directly, and this had been Zeroy's choice.
"No, I'm just thinking about something."
Zeroy declined Saeko's suggestion, casually eating a piece of meat.
"If you want to survive in this world, you'd better get used to things like this."
"We know that. Otherwise, we wouldn't have..." Saya grumbled, stabbing her chopsticks into the meat with distaste.
If they could, they wouldn't have wanted to see any meat on the table at all. That said, they knew that wasn't practical, which was why they hadn't insisted.
"What do you think of this base?" Zeroy suddenly asked.
"Uh..."
Everyone exchanged glances.
Never mind why Zeroy suddenly brought it up… did they even dare speak their minds honestly?
Even though they could now sit at the same table, and their fear of Zeroy wasn't as suffocating as before, it was far from gone. They weren't even friends and knew very little of each other.
Zeroy read their indecision, so she simply shared her own thoughts.
"Terrible."
"...?"
"To put it bluntly, this survivor base doesn't even have a formal organizational structure. The only reason order still exists is because I'm here to keep it in check."
...
They fell silent… because she was right.
Seven days had passed, and they were able to see both Zeroy and the base with clearer eyes.
Aside from restrictions on freedom—they couldn't leave without permission—their living conditions were excellent. No threat of zombies, abundant supplies, and only light tasks like cleaning the surrounding area. Life was almost easy.
They were, in essence, pampered pets… not a derogatory term, but the kind that had no worries, fed and sheltered, simply living out their days.
Restricted freedom? At first, they had thought about it. But now, even if Zeroy told them to leave, they wouldn't want to.
The contrast between the brutal outside and the safety of the base was stark. Only idiots like the newcomers who hadn't accepted reality would think of resisting or running.
Pets? Caged? Humiliating?
Please. This was the apocalypse—one misstep meant death. Compared to staying alive, who cared about a little pride?
Especially when it wasn't even true pride. Zeroy hadn't humiliated or oppressed them. All she asked was a fair day's work.
So yes, the base was good… so good they didn't want to leave, so good they wanted to bring their families here. Despite that, Zeroy's words weren't wrong.
The base was fine for day-to-day living. From a development perspective, though, its foundation was terribly weak.
Saeko and the others hadn't realized it before. Now that Zeroy pointed it out, they couldn't help but notice problem after problem.
The base was a bomb.
With Zeroy, it flourished in harmony.
Without her, it would explode.
In this apocalypse, gathering people only bred conflict. Without someone to hold it together, it would fall apart in no time.
And in truth, aside from Zeroy, the base had nothing.
Not even combat or scavenging teams.
"Um... Zeroy, will you be leaving?" Rei asked timidly, her eyes wavering with unease.
"I will. Seven days have passed, and in seven more, I'll be gone."
"—!"
They opened their mouths but could say nothing.
Yes, Zeroy had gathered them here. And now she would abandon them... Yet, none of them could blame her… She had asked for nothing in return.
...
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