'Cautious and brave.'
Eishi brought Haruno here for one good reason. She was responsible for seeing the 'favorabilities' and 'malice' of the others. During his talks with Souichiro, she drew several 'characters' on his lap to share her judgement. His preliminary impression came to being.
Eishi left with Tetsudarou in tow. Haruno and Shizuka-sensei met each other's glances. "If it is convenient, we will leave first." Haruno stated.
"...Thank you."
With only Saya and Souichiro left in the meeting room, the stagnant air turned better.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
"Introduce him… your boyfriend, to me."
Saya was slightly caught off guard at her father's request.
'He hasn't changed at all.'
Souichiro did not care much about Saya's personal life. All that mattered was her living well. He spent the rest of his energy on politics. Seeing him not care so much about her made Saya dissatisfied.
She had to process this internalization while speaking of Eishi's character. She left out a lot of things, such as his relatively scummy romantic side.
Her impression of him could be summarized in a few words:
Strong, decisive, and protective.
He unhesitantly killed someone who held evil thoughts to Airi. He also showed a form of indulgence to those who did it with him. Eishi's goal wasn't merely their bodies, but also their loyalty.
Such an unequal and unreasonable 'desire' is expected to be met with harsh words… but times have changed.
It is the apocalypse. It wasn't apparent in ten days, but supplies are bound to decrease. The dangers are no longer potential criminals and murderers on the loose. There are literal zombies whose physical prowess can plow through walls with ease; or espers who can take a life with a single thought.
The girls with Eishi experienced danger one way or another. Having a handsome guy who can ensure their safety, help them get stronger, and care for them is something straight out of their dreams. All his other flaws seem insignificant at the face of it.
It does not remove the hidden threats underneath Eishi's flowery words. Saya knew that they—her and Shizuka—had no chances of escaping under his grasp. The revelation of his superpower further confirmed her thoughts… which was why she took the initiative to do it with him.
In the end, Saya earned a good shelter, unlimited food, and stronger power. Her feelings for it are mixed, but one thing's for certain: she's not an ingrate.
Since she committed to it, she is determined to see through the end of it—if there ever is one.
Souichiro saw through a portion of her complex thoughts.
'She genuinely likes him… then so be it.'
He had no choice but to take her words for it.
"I am leaving. Your mother still needs my help."
"..!"
Saya stood up.
"Where is she?"
"Holding off the insects."
"She's an esper?!"
Her question was met with his nod.
"She is the strongest esper produced by the city hall."
Saya fell silent for a moment.
"I will ask him about this. Yukinoshita-san and Hiratsuka-san too."
Souichiro wasn't surprised that the other two women are espers.
"Don't underestimate them. They are stronger than me."
Seeing his somewhat calm look, she shook her head.
"This won't work. It's best if you will see the power of a second-order esper."
Inwardly, Saya treated it as a way of venting her earlier resentment. She wanted to see her proud father lose his composure.
'Anyone would be surprised by it…'
*****
The city hall's existence relied on guns and espers. It is an irrefutable fact.
"Damn. He never stopped to rest."
"He did for about fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes? How is that normal?"
"When are espers normal?"
"True…"
The gunmen continued shooting at the insects. Their eyes inadvertently stopped at the highschooler operating a mounted machine gun.
Every two hours or so, someone else must replace the current gunman. The muscle pain from continued firing is one thing. Their focus, eyesight, and accuracy dwindles over time.
They aren't purely military recruits, but police officers and civilians who once underwent ranger training.
That law did not apply to Takashi. It has been sixteen hours since he joined the defense team. Not once had he been replaced.
His commanding officer often checked his accuracy and saw no drop to it. He could only let him continue given their current lack of manpower.
The sharp burnt smell of insect corpses continued wafting through the battlefield. The pile of insect corpses formed an impromptu barrier that required these insects to climb over. It was one of the main reasons why they held up until now.
Just then, 'lightning bolts' suddenly appeared mid-air. The moment they descended, a low rumbling akin to a cannon behind fire resounded. Dozens of insects were killed in one bolt; hundreds in that one round.
Everyone scurried around, whether they are espers or humans. Their eyes locked onto the clean pink-haired girl beside their commanding officer.
Seeing their momentary halting, the officer yelled:
"Continue firing!"
""Yes!""
The battlefield continued proceeding as usual. Only, the occasional lightning bolts reduced their targets by the hundreds. The espers with elemental talents hurled a volley of flames, water, ice, rocks, and wind at them.
It took a while before Takashi belatedly followed on the others' gaze. His pupils shrank when she saw it was Saya.
He did not even think about it. He left his post and ran straight to her.
Upon seeing his dirty yet familiar look, Saya was also startled. She stepped back when she saw him gesturing for a hug.
Only then did Takashi snap out of his panic. His entire body froze. He looked at her with a guilty look.
"You… are alive. That's good."
"Mhm. You should go back to your post."
"...Alright."
Thinking they have another chance to speak, Takashi heeded her order. It wasn't without reason. One second without him risks a higher chance of being overwhelmed with the insect tide.
Looking at the man she once had a crush on, Saya's mind is filled with nothing but Eishi's images. Despite his somewhat unsavory temptations, he gave her the care she longed for. She did not find it on her father, more so to her single-minded childhood friend who liked someone else.
'When did I fall for him..?'
*****
Eishi went to fetch the agreed resources. It wasn't a huge haul as he 'bought' one of each item. His intention was to use the rebate function to farm their ammunition. Outwardly, however, he appeared very 'generous'. He traded three hundred thousand golden grapes' worth of items.
Though it appears plentiful, it wasn't enough to breach the second-order even for the lowest C rated innate talent.
The evolution fruits Eishi obtained here, for example, are the equivalent of tens of thousands of them. The peach he ate to level up is now considered outdated, not to mention the golden grapes.
Now, someone only has to eat one fruit to level up several times.
'I wonder if this development will stop…'
If it does, Eishi is fine with it. This means the 'apocalypse' has an 'end'.
If it does not stop, however, that means he would face greater dangers.
Thinking about zombies possessing planet-shattering power felt extremely ridiculous, yet at the same time, scary.
"That's right. Keep these things off the list."
"Excuse me?"
Eishi proceeded to give a "dowry". The mountain of identical fruits and ammunition almost blinded Tetsudarou. It was twice as much as what their transaction netted!
"Father-in-law will understand once you give it to him. Remember, it is off the public list."
"Y-yes!"
After seeing him off, an invisible weight fell from Tetsudarou's heart.
'Will there be any harvests..?'
Eishi strolled around the 'safe area'. The safest one is naturally the city hall, though there are other buildings open for residence as well.
What he wanted was simple: to pick up girls.
The apocalypse made him more brazen—something that arose from circumstances. There is no use in acting shy and giving room for hesitation. Having more qualified confidantes meant more rewards. Eishi adapted the 'act first, fall later' motto out of it.
He would rather seal the deal first and get to know them later. Falling in love could be done after they had sex.
It was a far cry from his former self. A move capable of moving most of the scumbags in awe.
'Marikawa-san should be saved for later… but I don't know if my second head can withstand it.'
Eishi thought of the incredibly busty "Shizuka-sensei" in his villa. The item rewards being limited in rank showed he needed to have restraint, that he should level up first before binding new confidants.
However, that "100" in her figure is very glaring.
While he was deep in thought, he received more and more attention. The existence of an incredibly handsome and clean man in this 'refuge area' gave off a huge contrast. Some girls' eyes lit up. The older mature women saw more to it. They all thought he had sufficient supplies. His figure and potential resource made them drool.
Strangely enough, nobody came close to him. The heavy atmosphere Eishi brought along deterred them. Almost everyone shifted their gaze away the moment they saw him.
This was an effect brought by a high spirit and the second-order's strengthened electromagnetic field. Eishi is a moving warning sign that triggers weaker humans' instinctive fight-or-flight mechanisms.
Just then, his eyes caught sight of someone familiar.
'Isn't that..?'
[Yui Yuigahama]
Innate Talent: Telekinesis (S, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Spirit Boost (B, First-order)
Life Level: First-order, Three-star
Strength: 10 > 40
Agility: 11 > 41
Constitution: 10 > 40
Spirit: 13 > 68
A familiar orange-haired girl with a short cut appeared in his eyes. Her enthusiasm now could not compare to before. Nevertheless, it persists.
'B rating, as expected…'
Eishi experimented with the spirit fruit. He tried to upgrade its rating by eating more. It did not work. He did see several people having an innate talent of "Spirit Boost" and "Constitution Boost". Their ratings reached as high as S.
It meant that the attribute talents can only reach B rating as a non-exclusive talent.
It was either this conclusion or that he hasn't found the fruits for them yet.
"Yuigahama-san?"
His call reached Yui's ears. Her body jolted before she turned around. When she saw it was Eishi, she was both surprised and pleased.
"Hiraoka-san."
"How are you? Mahiru told me about you."
She was stunned.
'F-first name basis?! Did they…'
The city hall was by no means perfect. The hundred or so espers in this place 'suffer' from overflowing energy. Add to that the food scarcity, women had already begun using their bodies for food and favor. Some had become the espers' girlfriends.
The city hall's management controlled this occurrence, but never stopped it. They knew everyone needed a place to 'vent' to. As long as murder and violence did not occur, they tacitly ignored it.
This exposed the originally happy-go-lucky Yui to things as kinky as outdoor sex.
M-mhm! That's right, Mahirun! Is she fine?"
"She's living well." Eishi symbolically paused before asking, "Do you want to come with me?"
"A-ah?"
Yui was stunned for the second time. Her hyperactive mind detected something wrong in his words.
'D-does he also want to…?'
"She also told me about the cafe owner. If Yuigahama-san does not mind, I can bring her along too. Our supplies can last for a long time."
"...!"
'E-even my mother..!'
Seeing her abnormal reaction, Eishi fell silent.
She guessed all of his intentions through dumb luck!
He was about to say something when an older mature woman similar to Yui's appearance appeared. A quick look showed the dreaded [Purity: Destroyed, Cannot be Bound] message.
'97 appearance, 98 in figure and temperament, a triple S rated confidante like this…'
"Yui-chan."
"A-ah. Mom."
"This is…?"
The older woman curiously looked at Eishi. She dressed rather modestly, like a housewife. Time had not left any traces on her as her skin remained smooth and supple.
"He is Mahirun's boyfriend, Hiraoka-san."
"Oh? So you are the prince charming he told us about."
"Mahiru did?"
A smile appeared on his face. Mahiru's cuteness makes him happy no matter what.
"Ha? Who's this?"
A middle-aged man broke this good feeling. His unkempt beard and oily hair set him apart from Eishi. His appearance elicited a frown on Mrs. Yuigahama's face.
"These two women are being courted by my boss." He patted the pistol in his waist.
Eishi ignored his ramblings. The man was dumb enough to ignore his body's warnings, taking his sense of security from the gun in his waist.
Whether he was a fanatical underling or someone confident with his gun's accuracy, Eishi didn't care. The orange light he emitted is his death sentence.
"Yuigahama-san. You haven't rejected him?"
"I did! But he's aiming for mom next." She said, "Hiraoka-kun, don't get yourself in trouble. Leave first. Tell Mahirun we are fine…"
"No."
He didn't wait for her to process his answer. He walked straight up to the man. He tried to grab his gun, but Eishi's hands were faster.
Crack-!
"A-ack!"
Crack-!
The man plopped his knees on the ground. Both his hands protruded at weird angles. White bones stuck out of his flesh, akin to a broken kite. Blood kept pouring out of his arms.
Eishi wiped the blood on his hands using the man's shirt. He squatted on his knees and faced the screaming man.
"Mind telling me where your boss is?"