Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~ - Chapter 4-3

Chapter 4-3

“You won’t come up with any good ideas if you’re cooped up in a cramped place like this! We need to get some fresh air and clear our heads!”

Matsushiba leaned out of the wide-open window, looking utterly refreshed as the breeze hit her face.

Right now, Kanata, Matsushiba, and the others were driving west along the Takamatsu Expressway in a van. Although they were on a highway, they weren’t going fast. Animals and infected occasionally darted into the road, and the driver wasn’t exactly experienced.

“Can’t you go any faster? This is a highway, you know?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, this is my first time driving on a highway!”

Kanata, teasingly impatient, was met with a sharp retort from Subaru, who was at the wheel. Of course, Subaru didn’t have a driver’s license. This was full-on, no-question-about-it, unlicensed driving.

The previous meeting ended with Matsushiba, who seemed to have made up her mind, asking for some time to think.

Kanata and the others were heading there now, chatting as they walked, when Kanata noticed something odd about Haruka’s behavior.

“Is something wrong, Haruka?”

Kanata slowed his pace and asked, concerned. Subaru and Matsushiba were a bit ahead, deep in conversation.

“Yeah… I have a bad feeling about this,” Haruka said quietly. Kanata, who was not used to Haruka’s response, became even more worried.

“What’s wrong? Do you mean the talk we had earlier?”

“Maybe… Sorry, I can’t quite put my finger on it. But… is there really no way to handle this without leaving the city?”

“Hmm, not sure. But if it’s something safe, people will probably just make excuses, right?”

Kanata thought about it for a moment and answered, and Haruka looked down. Kanata was puzzled by Haruka’s unusual behavior.

“Yeah… I guess so… Hey, Kanata. I—”

“Here it is, it’s a pretty big house,” Subaru said, interrupting their conversation.

It seemed to be a large two-story building in a Japanese style, with a separate building as well.

“Let’s go, Haruka. I don’t know what you’re worried about, but let’s eat together, take a bath, and then we can talk properly. I might not come up with a good idea, but it’s better than worrying alone, right?”

Kanata said this, and then, for some reason, he added in a hurry,

“Oh, by ‘together,’ I mean just for dinner. I mean, we’ll take baths separately…”

“I know that,”

Looking at Kanata’s concerned expression, Haruka felt a little less anxious. Haruka herself couldn’t quite grasp the source of her vague anxiety.

“Okay, after I relax in the bath, if I’m still worried, I’ll talk to you.”

Haruka’s answer, given as the sky turned to dusk, made Kanata’s heart skip a beat, but he tried to remain calm and replied,

“Yeah, let’s have a party with some snacks. We used to do that, remember, Potato…”

Kanata stopped himself from saying “Potato Party,” as he remembered that there was one person missing from that time. That person’s absence was still weighing on Haruka’s heart.

“Sorry, let’s not think about the past for now. But are you really okay?”

Kanata’s concern was mixed with a bit of deception, but Haruka forced a smile and nodded, saying, “Later,” as she tried to enter the accommodation.

“Excuse me~”

A girl with a strange intonation called out to them. Looking in her direction, Kanata saw a girl who seemed to be around the same age or a little older. She was wearing the same outfit as Tachibana-san.

“Yes? Is something wrong?”

Haruka, who was nearby, replied, and the girl came closer without hesitation.

“Ah, I’m a junior of Tachibana-san’s, and I came to deliver a message…”

The girl’s unique accent was from the Kansai region, and Haruka, thinking this, continued to respond. Daigo had already noticed and come out to the gate, and Kanata was standing behind Haruka, so she felt reassured. The girl, however, didn’t seem to care and began to speak.

“Well, you see~,” the girl began, skipping formalities. “Tachibana-san mentioned this but forgot to emphasize it—having just one girl in a group of guys is, well, problematic, don’t you think?”

The girl skipped over many details and suddenly got to the point.

The accommodation was spacious, and there were plenty of rooms. Kanata didn’t see any problem with it, but the girl kept repeating, “If something happens, it will be a problem for Tachibana-san and the chairman.”

She explained further, saying that Haruka’s room had been prepared in the women’s dormitory for the city’s defense forces. Though Haruka hesitated, the girl repeated that Tachibana and Matsushiba would feel responsible if anything happened.

“I’m not really into it,” Kanata said, and Daigo also agreed, “It’s better to be together…”

However, the girl kept insisting that Haruka move into the dormitory, and the passersby and neighbors’ stares became more and more uncomfortable. Finally,

“Alright, if you say so, I’ll go.”

Haruka said this, sounding a bit frustrated.

“I’ll go back and confirm with Tachibana-san,” Kanata, who was about to turn back, said, but the girl, who moved surprisingly quickly, grabbed him and stopped him.

“Can’t you just not? She’s a busy person, you know?”

The girl, who had stopped trying to cover up her words, stared at Kanata, and they glared at each other for a moment.

“How about we go and check it out together, and then confirm it?”

As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, and Haruka was confused, Daigo stepped in and suggested this. Kanata reluctantly agreed, and they decided to go to the women’s dormitory first.

“It’s just over there,” the girl said, and started walking ahead. Kanata couldn’t quite trust her, and this was largely due to the girl herself. Haruka sighed to herself, wondering why Tachibana-san had sent such a person. Then, remembering how Kanata had defended her, her cheeks flushed, and she quickly stole a glance at Kanata, pushing the thought from her mind.

It took about 20 minutes to walk, and they arrived at the building that was said to be the women’s dormitory. Kanata was on high alert, but the building was more decent than he had expected.

It seemed to have been built for that purpose. In front, there was a sturdy fence, and next to it was a guard room, where a guard was standing. Occasionally, women who seemed to be residents would chat and show their cards to enter.

“See, there’s nothing suspicious about it, right?”

The girl said this, looking like she had succeeded in her mischief. Kanata couldn’t say anything, and Haruka decided to enter the dormitory.

From then on, Haruka lived there, observing the city and its lifestyle while living her daily life. When Haruka had time, she would be with Kanata and the others, but as she started participating in sword practice with the newcomers at the women’s dormitory, the number of times she met with Kanata and the others gradually decreased.

About a week had passed since then, and Matsushiba contacted them, asking them to accompany her on a trip. Of course, Kanata and the others had no reason to refuse, and they readily agreed and began preparing.

“Kanata-kun, I’ll finish the rest, so why don’t you go and tell Haruka-chan?”

As they were about to finish their preparations, Daigo suggested this.

“Hasn’t Haruka been told already?”

Daigo should know that Haruka was living in a different place. Kanata, thinking that Haruka had been contacted, continued his work without stopping, saying,

“I’m sure she’s been informed. She’s probably busy with something.”

Daigo snatched the work from Kanata’s hands and said,

Kanata, continuing with his work, assumed Haruka, who lived separately, had been informed.

Daigo, however, took the task away from him and insisted, “Better safe than sorry. Besides, we’ve been doing separate things a lot lately, haven’t we?”

It couldn’t be helped. Haruka lived in the women’s dormitory for the city’s defense force, a residence for rookie female officers. Haruka often interacted with the defense force members, and her sword skills led her to participate in training and teaching sessions. As a result, she rarely spent time with Kanata and the others.

Daigo insisted that Kanata go, so he reluctantly went to visit Haruka at the women’s dormitory.

With a little excitement, Kanata went to the gate of the women’s dormitory, gave Haruka’s name and reason for his visit, and showed his personal card. The personal card was an important card that could be used as identification within the city, and everyone had received one the day after they arrived.

The personal cards were originally designed for a resort facility’s construction project to manage access to work sites and monitor attendance. The built-in chip had various features, including storing personal information, biometric data, and wages. It could also function as a payment method at authorized locations.

The female team member at the gate inserted Kanata’s card into the machine, typed something, and then briefly guided him to “Room 6 for visitors.” As he went to the designated room, the entrance reader was blinking, and he used his card to enter the room. Haruka wasn’t there yet, so he decided to sit down and wait for a while.

The female guard at the gate inserted Kanata’s card into a machine, typed something in, and curtly directed him to “Room 6 for visitors.” At Room 6, a card reader blinked at the entrance, allowing entry once Kanata used his card. He entered and, finding Haruka absent, sat down to wait.

This system, too, was a product of the now-abandoned resort facility construction.

“Such a shame,” Kanata mused. “If they were this advanced during the construction phase, I wonder how incredible the finished facility would have been…”

While he pondered this, the door opened behind him. He turned, starting to greet Haruka, but…

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Haru—wait…”

But Haruka wasn’t there, and a girl he had never seen before was standing there. She seemed to be around the same age, but for a moment, Kanata thought he had gone to the wrong room. However, he quickly realized that the door wouldn’t have opened if that were the case. As Kanata was confused,

“Oh, my name is Ema Enomoto, and I’m a roommate of Nishina-san.”

The girl introduced herself, bowing her head, but she looked at Kanata with a suspicious expression.

“Eh, where’s Haruka?”

“Nishina-san went to the dojo with the captain of Squad 6. Nishina-san seems to be popular,” Ema said, sounding completely uninterested.

The captain of Squad 6 was someone Kanata had seen before. He was an attractive man who was popular with the girls and was also skilled. Kanata hadn’t interacted with him much, but he was the type who imposed his own sense of justice on others, and Kanata didn’t like him. Haruka should have felt the same way, but the fact that she had gone with him made Kanata a little uneasy.

Also, Ema’s tone when she said “popular” seemed to be full of sarcasm, which made Kanata feel bad.

 “I see. Well, it can’t be helped,” Kanata muttered. “Could you please pass on a message to Haruka for me? Tell her I came by and that we’re leaving tomorrow morning at 8 from the main gate.”

He quickly scribbled the message on a note, attached a ration card, and handed it to Ema.

The ration card, similar to the personal ID card, was designed for use at the resort facility. It functioned like a prepaid meal ticket, allowing the holder to exchange it for food and water. Currently, in the city, paper money and coins were obsolete, so even wages for temporary workers were paid via these cards.

In the current city, existing paper money and coins were not accepted, so the card was also used to pay the wages of part-time and day workers.

“Sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you could do this for me.”

Ema watched him leave, glancing at the note and ration card in her hand.

“So, that’s the guy who came here with Nishina-san, huh? Doesn’t seem like he’s getting special treatment…not that he’d deserve it,” she muttered, crumpling the note and pocketing the card.

Then, she crumpled the paper and put the card in her pocket.

“Well, at least he gave me something. But just one? How stingy,” she said to herself, feeling pleased with her newfound ammunition for teasing Haruka.

On the day of their trip, Matsushiba arrived at their accommodation early in the morning. It was two hours before their agreed time.

It seemed that Matsushiba was too excited and had woken up too early. Tachibana-san, who had woken them up, apologized profusely.

“It’s fine, Matsushiba-san,” Daigo said, already dressed and prepared. “We were supposed to wake up soon anyway. Those two are just hard to wake up without Haruka-chan here to do it physically.”

Daigo laughed, referring to Haruka’s effective wake-up methods. Tachibana, however, frowned slightly.

“When you say ‘without Haruka-san here,’ does that mean she isn’t staying with you?”

“Uh, yeah. Since she’s the only girl, we figured it’d be better for her to live separately. Wait…is that a problem?”

As Daigo was answering, Tachibana’s expression clearly turned unpleasant.

“Even with a woman present, this lodging has the space and structure to accommodate separate living. That’s why we chose this place. I’m sorry, but do you remember which staff member told you that?”

As the atmosphere became strange, Daigo tried to recall the name, appearance, and demeanor of the staff member, conveying as much as he could remember. Tachibana quickly wrote something in her notebook with great force and muttered.

 “A fake name…and someone who’d benefit from this arrangement…”

After a while, Tachibana seemed to have her thoughts in order, and she leaned closer to Daigo and spoke in a low voice.

“It seems that someone has interfered. I can guarantee your safety. However, given the circumstances, it’s mostly speculation, and if I were to say more, it might only complicate matters. May I refrain from elaborating?”

Daigo, who was shaken by the closeness of Tachibana-san, had no choice but to nod repeatedly.

“I will take responsibility for this matter. Is Haruka-san supposed to come here today?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. Kanata-kun went to the dormitory yesterday… oh, Haruka-chan wasn’t there, but he asked the girl in her room to pass on a message and a memo,”

Daigo answered, standing at attention, as if reporting to a superior officer.

“Haruka-chan wasn’t there, hmm, I don’t think she will be, but it depends on Haruka-chan.”

Finally, Tachibana moved away and put her hand on her chin, deep in thought. Daigo, cautiously, spoke up. Tachibana, coming to her senses, approached Daigo again.

“Hii!”

Daigo let out a scream, but Tachibana-san ignored it.

“Most likely, Haruka-san won’t be coming here today. I understand your concern, but please leave the rest to me. As for…”

Tachibana-san finished her sentence and then, after finally finishing her preparations, she took a quick look at Kanata, who was eating breakfast, and said to Daigo,

“Please take care of the follow-up.”

“What?!”

Daigo, who had been given a very troublesome task, raised his voice. But,

“Hehe… I see, you’ve caught me off guard. Well, let’s start by rounding up a few suspects.”

Tachibana-san, who muttered something ominous, made it difficult for Daigo to continue the conversation.

Tachibana-san then went back to Matsushiba and gave her detailed instructions.

“Phew, it’s like treating a child. She’s old enough to be my granddaughter…”

Mumbling to herself, Tachibana-san and Matsushiba walked to the main gate, where a reinforced four-wheel-drive van was waiting for them. Haruka, who was supposed to be punctual, didn’t show up even after the departure time had passed…