Under Takagi Yuriko's lead, everyone returned to Takagi Saya's home, which was an exaggeratedly large castle-like building.
The temporarily safe environment allowed everyone's constantly tense nerves to relax slightly.
This house had excellent defensive measures. Although the number of defenders here was not high, they were all excellent soldiers, and there were also about a hundred ordinary soldiers hiding here.
The students in the team went among the ordinary citizens, searching for their family members, hoping to see if their loved ones were among the lucky ones.
Due to being covered in blood, Inaba Tsukiyo and Busujima Saeko both took a good shower to relax, then found a room to rest for the night.
A night's rest was enough for them to recover most of their fatigue. However, when she woke up, she found that Marikawa Shizuka had come into her room at some point and was holding her like a body pillow.
Reluctantly escaping from Marikawa Shizuka's embrace, Inaba Tsukiyo, now dressed, wandered around the house.
Soon, she heard a fierce argument. The voices were very familiar: Takagi Saya and Takagi Yuriko.
"It's always like this! Every time it's like this! I'm not a child anymore! I'm a very important member of the team! I'm not the child you see me as! And I know it! Mom, you must have given up on me a long time ago. You didn't even call me. You really thought I was dead! Right!?"
"Saya, calm down. Things aren't as you imagine. Although Mom and Dad didn't come looking for you, there's a reason for it."
"Reason? Hmph! Of course, I know why you didn't come for me. Isn't it because it wasn't worth it? In your eyes, rescuing me from the academy might sacrifice the few soldiers you have left. And with monsters everywhere, I, without any combat ability, must have died when the disaster broke out! So you didn't even call, didn't even confirm if I was alive, and just abandoned me! Right! That's how it is, isn't it!?"
"…"
"What? Why aren't you speaking? Mom, didn't you say you were a well-known businesswoman on Wall Street? Where did your eloquence as a businesswoman go? Can your eloquence not even out-talk a sixteen-year-old girl?"
"Or are you unwilling to use your merchant's tone to deceive your own daughter? Or is it because I've guessed all your decisions? That saying is indeed true: children distinguish right from wrong, adults only consider pros and cons. Because of pros and cons, you can even choose to abandon your only daughter! Is this what you call an adult?!"
"Don't be like this, Saya. It's okay now, everything is fine. You're home now, and your father and mother will definitely protect you well. We will compensate you properly."
"I don't want your compensation! If I die, what good is your so-called compensation? Is it to find me after I've turned into a monster, then shoot me in the head to end my suffering?"
The argument between Takagi Yuriko and her daughter was quite intense. Although it was called an argument, it was entirely Takagi Saya's one-sided complaints.
She complained about why her parents didn't call her when the disaster started, and why they didn't send people to rescue her.
Compensation? She didn't want any compensation; what she wanted was her parents' care, not various excuses to shirk responsibility.
The two argued for a long time. When the argument in the room ended, Takagi Yuriko walked out.
Noticing Inaba Tsukiyo standing outside the door, a hint of surprise flashed in Takagi Yuriko's eyes, but she quickly recovered, wearing a peaceful smile.
"Are you here for Saya? I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Family matters, that's not something I can handle. Saya is very rational when facing danger, but she's actually very fragile. As a mother, you must be very aware of her outwardly cold but inwardly warm personality, right?"
What Takagi Saya needed wasn't so-called compensation, but simply the love of her parents.
If Takagi Yuriko and her husband had comforted her together the day before they arrived here, or given her a family hug, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Takagi Yuriko thought calmly for a moment, then nodded and said gratefully, "Thank you, Inaba. As that child's mother, I've given her too little care. She's a very smart child, and I hope you can take good care of her."
"Take good care of her? Don't you want her to stay with you? This villa has independent power supply and relative protective measures. Isn't living here the safest option?"
This villa is different from other places; it has independent power supply facilities, and even a water reservoir.
As long as these facilities are not damaged, this can be said to be the safest place. As Takagi Saya's mother, why wouldn't Takagi Yuriko let her stay here?
"Sigh~ How could I not want my daughter to stay by my side. It's just that Saya is very strong-willed, and she herself doesn't want to live under our protection. I can see that this child has made up her mind, and in this environment, what place can be called absolutely safe? Moreover, without experiencing struggle and battle, how can one become more resilient?"
Inaba Tsukiyo nodded. In her memory, there was a memory, seemingly about a game.
The environment was also such an apocalypse. A Little Girl initially was also a protected individual, but those who protected her didn't just protect her blindly; instead, they taught her how to survive well in an apocalyptic environment.
Even when she was bitten by a zombie and was about to lose her human consciousness, she still taught the Little Girl how to live in the apocalypse.
Under her guidance, the Little Girl became stronger and stronger, but another girl she met later was far less resilient than her.
That was a girl a little older than her, but this girl was protected too well by her father and had no experience fighting zombies. Her father was her world; she was a canary kept in a cage.
A Little Girl who had experienced setbacks could survive well in this apocalypse, but another adolescent girl who had not experienced setbacks, after her father died, had no idea what to do and quickly died under the zombies' attack.
This is the necessity of growth. Without experiencing struggle and battle, it is impossible to grow in such an apocalypse.
"I understand. Saya is a very important member of our team, and taking care of her is our duty. But why not assign this task to Komuro Takashi? They are childhood sweethearts who grew up together, right?"
"Komuro? You're right, but Komuro is still too young and prone to doing things impulsively. Moreover, he's very dense and has difficulty considering a girl's feelings. So, I can only ask you to take care of Saya."
Komuro Takashi is like the protagonists of those hot-blooded manga, often engaging in irrational behavior. Entrusting such a person to take care of Takagi Saya could easily lead to problems.
Takagi Yuriko also saw this, which is why she didn't ask Komuro Takashi, but instead asked Inaba Tsukiyo to take care of Takagi Saya.
"Still young? Hehe~ Madam Takagi really likes to joke. Am I not young in your eyes? You know, I am one of the 'youngest' members of the team, you know."
Does this count as pretending to be young? There's a suspicion of it, but if she doesn't say it, who would know that she's actually several hundred years old?
Regarding Inaba Tsukiyo's statement, Takagi Yuriko just smiled and didn't comment further.
Young? Even if she was really young, so what? Without a certain level of leadership, it would be impossible to lead those people to successfully arrive here.
Since yesterday, she had been observing the members of Inaba Tsukiyo's team. They had no complaints about Inaba Tsukiyo's leadership. Even if she asked her subordinates to recruit those people and persuade them to stay, most of them flatly refused.
Besides strength, the most important thing was Inaba Tsukiyo's methods.
To become a convincing leader, Takagi Yuriko knew very well what was needed, and Inaba Tsukiyo possessed these qualities.
Takagi Yuriko briefly chatted with Inaba Tsukiyo, then turned and left.
Just as Takagi Yuriko was leaving, a hand suddenly reached out from the room door and pulled Inaba Tsukiyo into the room.
Takagi Saya's eyes were still a bit red, indicating that she had cried during the argument just now.
"When I was talking with Madam Takagi, you must have been eavesdropping, right?"
Inaba Tsukiyo, sitting on the sofa, smiled as she looked at Takagi Saya, who was raising her eyes, and asked.
"Hmph, what do you mean I was eavesdropping? You were talking so loudly, how could I not hear it?"
Takagi Saya would absolutely not admit the fact that she was eavesdropping. She raised her eyes, fell silent for a moment, then got up and sat next to Inaba Tsukiyo, hugging her tightly.
"...What's wrong? Do you still need me to comfort you? If you don't mind my shoulders being too narrow, I can lend you mine."
"Hmph! Don't misunderstand, it's just that I've seen Teacher Marikawa and Saeko really like doing this, so I wanted to see what the reason was that made them like this action."
"So, did you find anything? I'm also curious why Sister Shizuka and Saeko like to hug me. I'll correct it."
"...Nothing, besides your body being soft, there's no other reason. As expected of an Elementary School Student's body, development has just begun."
"...I'll hit you, you know."
"That's the truth, I'm not lying."
Takagi Saya hugged for a while before letting go of Inaba Tsukiyo, avoiding Inaba Tsukiyo's gaze, and raising her eyes.
"Tsukiyo-chan, when do you plan to leave? I don't want to stay in this place anymore. Let's leave here quickly."
"Oh? Can't even stay in your own home? Those are the words of a rebellious teenager. That won't do, Saya. You have to know..."
"Don't joke like that, Tsukiyo-chan. You know what I mean. Living in comfort, surviving by chance, missing all opportunities. One day, you'll fall from grace and never be able to recover. I don't want that."
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