Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 5-1 Ryuu Yasuaki

Yuzu woke up from her drowsiness, feeling the sunlight on her cheek. As her consciousness awakened, she jumped up. It had been a long time since she had slept so soundly… Deep sleep was pleasant, but it was also dangerous. She had fully understood the dangers of sleeping soundly in this collapsed world. That’s why she hadn’t slept deeply for some time.

Yuzu took a breath to calm her elevated heartbeat. At the same time, she had to assess the situation.

She forced her mind, which was still craving the pleasant sleep, to awaken and looked around.

A thin blanket was draped over her. It wasn’t very clean, but it was warm. Two men were lying down a short distance away. They seemed to be asleep, but someone was awake in the dirt floor area, tending to the hearth fire.

“Hey, are you awake? It’s still a bit early, and the other two are slow to wake up, so you can sleep a little longer. Are you in pain or feeling unwell anywhere?”

The large man sitting in front of the hearth had a scary appearance, but his words and eyes were surprisingly kind. Yuzu shook her head in response, and he smiled in satisfaction, turning his gaze back to the hearth. He left the words, “You can take it easy for a little longer.”

The men Yuzu had seen until now had always looked at her with suspicious eyes. Or they were only interested in what she had in her bag. Some had given her creepy, lecherous looks. Her father had taught her that these were all dangerous people, and he had tried to keep her away from them as much as possible. It was because of those monsters that she had to be with them.

As her consciousness slowly became clearer, she gradually remembered what had happened before and yesterday. Her father had died. He was the last of her family. He had tried to protect her until the very end. She was sad, but no tears came to her eyes.

When had she started to feel like her emotions were detached from herself? Was it when her mother was killed… or when her brother was bitten by an infected person? Or was it when she failed to grasp her sister’s outstretched hand, and she was taken by the infected? She felt sad, but it was as if she was observing those feelings from a distance. That was around the time she had also lost the ability to speak properly. The words only came out in fragments. It didn’t matter much since she didn’t have much to say anyway…

When her father was bitten yesterday, she had thought it would be her turn next. She was sad and scared, but there was also a part of her that felt relieved.

Escaping from the infected, running away from those who tried to steal their belongings… Every day was difficult and painful. But she had managed to keep going because she thought her father was protecting her. Without that, what was the point of living in this world…

There was a rustling sound, and the man who had been lying down a short distance away rolled over. He was the one who had saved her yesterday. He had helped her, even though she was a stranger, and apologized for not being able to save her father. He had cried and told her to live, promising to protect her.

It was a story that Yuzu, who had only seen the worst of humanity in her life, found hard to understand.

Nevertheless, as she listened quietly, her heart began to warm, and she found herself stroking the man’s head as he wept, agreeing to go with him.

She didn’t know why she had said that. Maybe the days ahead would be even harder than the ones she had spent with her father. But she had once given up on living. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but somehow, she thought it might be okay to follow this man in front of her.

As she thought this, Yuzu found herself unknowingly approaching Kanata. She gently tugged on his sleeve, then lay down with a soft snore.

Daigo, who had been secretly watching, sighed in relief. He had been a little afraid of how Yuzu would react after a night had passed. He looked at her quietly, and saw her timidly holding onto Kanata’s sleeve, smiling at Yuzu, who was snoring, and covering her with a towel.

“Hey, everyone! We should wake up soon. The sun is already up!”

After waiting for another hour, Daigo called out.

A few minutes later, Kanata and the others began walking toward the blacksmith’s hut again. They had a simple breakfast with the supplies they had, and Daigo suggested that since Yuzu was now with them, it might be better to return to the Mihama settlement first. The place they were heading to was where the infected people were going. It wouldn’t be strange if they ran into each other, and it was dangerous.

Kanata and Subaru agreed, but Yuzu strongly opposed the idea. If they were going to go back, she would rather they just left her there. After all, it was Kanata who had promised to protect her, not some unknown person. It was Kanata’s responsibility to keep her safe. With that expressionless face, she pressed her point, and Kanata had no choice but to agree to her accompanying them.

“Stay behind me and don’t wander off.”

Kanata emphasized this again, and Yuzu nodded in response.

The footing was still bad. Since it was an area that hadn’t been touched by human hands, the grass was overgrown, and the ground was completely invisible.

Kanata and the others managed, but Yuzu kept tripping as she walked, so Kanata decided to hold her hand and walk with her.

As they walked, holding hands, Kanata noticed that Yuzu was staring at their joined hands.

He wondered if she didn’t like holding hands with a stranger, so he asked her, but she only shook her head.

As they headed toward the hut, relying on the map drawn by the villagers, they suddenly came to a place where their surroundings were visible. As far as the eye could see, there were mountains, and the majestic scenery inspired awe.

“We should go down from here… Ah, there it is. There’s a small waterfall upstream of that river, and the hut is on the banks of the waterfall.”

Daigo, who was comparing the map with the scenery to confirm their position, pointed in that direction.

“It’s quite steep. Everyone, be careful.”

Subaru, who was careful about the footing, began to descend. Daigo followed, and Kanata and the others went down last.

The footing wasn’t good, but it wasn’t as steep as a cliff, and they could manage to descend by grabbing onto trees and branches.

They thought they would soon reach a flat area, but Daigo slipped.

“Whoa!”

“Wait,stop!”

He rolled over, taking Subaru, who was ahead of him, with him.