Jobless Man’s Zombie Survival Life

Chapter 69: The Matter of the Stomach-Churning Story (※Contains Vulgar/Sexual Content)

“…What’d you say?”

Ooki-kun, living in the used bookstore, says his name’s in the missing persons file.

“Here, look.”

He hands me the open file.

Sure enough, his photo’s there.

I skim the details.

- Name: Ooki Masamune (大木政宗, Ooki Masamune)

- Age: 22

- Gender: Male

- Occupation: University student

- Residence/Workplace: Shiiya City, South District, ○○…

…Huh, Ooki-kun’s younger than I thought.

A university student? I pegged him for a freeter or something.

At 22, he’d be a senior in college normally.

“…Masamune, huh? That’s a pretty old-school name, like a Sengoku warlord.”

“…Your Ichirouta sounds like a childhood name, Tanakano-san.”

“Haha, don’t rub it in, I’m sensitive about it.”

“Same here, haha.”

“Anyway, Tanakano-san, here.”

Kanzaki-san, peeking over my shoulder, points at one spot.

Her hair brushes my neck, tickling me.

…I know, Kanzaki-san.

I was just ignoring that part because it looks like a massive hassle.

Ooki-kun’s playing along, so he probably feels the same.

Reluctantly, I look back at the entry.

- Relationship to Requester: Fiancé of requester’s sister

- Reason for Search: Wants to know sister’s whereabouts

…Yup.

Sounds like a messy situation.

Very messy.

“Can you… tell us more? No pressure if you don’t want to.”

“Sure, might as well. I’ll make some tea—sit tight.”

Ooki-kun walks casually to the employee break room.

Hot water’s working here, huh.

Fiancé… Ooki-kun was engaged?

No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the type to glide into married life.

…Kinda like me, a lone wolf.

I check the page again.

- Search Requester: Inokami Kaede (井ノ神楓, Inokami Kaede)

Cool last name. So she’s the sister of Ooki-kun’s fiancée.

But…

“Marriage, huh…”

“Interested?”

Whoa!?

Too close, Kanzaki-san!?

Is this sofa smaller than I thought!?

A beauty shouldn’t get so close to a guy without warning!!

“Uh, what about you, Kanzaki-san…?”

When in doubt, deflect with a question.

Behold, the Tanakano-ryu secret technique: Parrot’s Echo!!

“W-W-Well… once this zombie mess is over… i-if I meet someone nice… i-it wouldn’t be bad…”

Whoa, her face is beet red.

I just witnessed the rare maiden-mode Kanzaki-san.

Guess marriage really is a big deal.

…Can’t imagine it myself, though.

“S-So, Tanakano-san, h—”

“Tea’s ready—WHOA!?”

Ooki-kun, carrying tea, yelps for some reason.

Cockroach or something?

I’m fine with zombies, but those things still creep me out.

“What’s up?”

“…Nothing, nothing at all. Just startled by that 1/8 scale Iron〇an 28 over there, yup.”

…Sure, it shocked me the first time too, but you’re a store employee, aren’t you used to it?

“Anyway! Let’s talk about the file, the file!”

Ooki-kun raises his voice slightly, sets steaming cups in front of us, and sits on the opposite sofa.

※

“Uh, right… So, this Inokami-san…”

I point at the file spread on the table, trying to refocus.

“She’s my childhood friend’s little sister… So Kaede-chan’s alive, huh.”

He doesn’t sound thrilled.

She’s his fiancée’s sister, so you’d think he’d be a bit happier…

Wait, childhood friend?

“It says ‘fiancée’ here…”

Ooki-kun grimaces slightly and spits out his reply.

“Ex-fiancée, to be precise.”

Ugh, this is getting complicated!

…Just as I feared.

The tea suddenly tastes bitter…

“Uh… this search request is kinda a sham, so you don’t have to talk if you don’t want…”

“Nah, it’s fine. Spilling it all will clear my head.”

With that, Ooki-kun starts talking, bit by bit.

“My ex-fiancée’s name was Hitomi. We’d been together since middle school.”

That’s a long time.

“We talked about getting married after graduating college and getting jobs… Told both our parents too.”

Sounds smooth so far.

“I got a job offer, so I was thinking about proposing formally…”

Kanzaki-san’s eyes seem to sparkle.

Guess lots of people love romance stories.

“Then I went to Hitomi’s place… and caught her fully cheating. Like, mid-fusion.”

The air freezes.

No way, that’s straight out of a daytime soap…

Not that I watch those.

Kanzaki-san’s blushing and stiff as a board.

Not used to this kinda talk, huh.

“I slipped away without being seen… went home… and just hated everything…”

Heavy, Ooki-kun, heavy.

Must’ve been a huge shock… Yeah, massive.

Some might even think about ending it all.

“If I was as tough as you, Tanakano-san, I’d have gone berserk and made a bloodbath…”

“Nah, what do you take me for? I’d just crush the guy’s romantic jewels, tops.”

“That’s… plenty, man. Coming up with that on the spot? Impressive.”

Cut it out, you’re making me blush.

“Tanakano-san, I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

…Why not?

“D-Don’t give me that innocent look!”

“It was a feast… I mean, uh, I was really shocked. Thought about killing myself for a bit.”

Yeah, figures.

“I bought sleeping pills, looked up ways to die online…”

Whoa, that’s rough… Must’ve hit him hard.

“But… I started getting pissed.”

Huh?

“Why should I die for being betrayed? That’s too unfair… I got so mad my guts were boiling.”

Mood’s shifting.

“I dug into the guy she was cheating with. Turned out he was HR at the company she got hired by. Married, with kids.”

So cheating and an affair.

With kids? What a scumbag.

I’d grind him into mincemeat if he was here.

“From her behavior and hacked phone data, I could tell it wasn’t forced…”

…Did I hear something shady? Let’s ignore it.

“I sent the cheating evidence to his family, in-laws, wife’s family, and workplace… with a note to his company asking, ‘Do you pick job candidates with their bodies?’”

That’s some high-damage output.

Like a missile barrage.

“Of course, I made sure it didn’t trace back to me. Didn’t send anything to her side or the university. Couldn’t risk retaliation.”

“Whoa… And her?”

“She must’ve known his life was imploding… She got visibly paranoid.”

No kidding. Her job offer was at risk, and the affair might’ve leaked.

“When her offer got yanked, I dumped her at school.”

…Perfect timing for maximum impact.

“She asked ‘Why!?’ so I told her, ‘I’m not marrying garbage that cheats with a married guy who has kids.’”

Whoa!!

…That’s brutal.

“She didn’t think I knew, so she freaked out, clung to me. I bolted and dodged her for a week. Never told her my part-time job, so I crashed at net cafés.”

…He’s relentless.

That merciless mindset hasn’t changed since then.

“So… what happened to her after?”

“Dunno. The zombie outbreak hit soon after, and I haven’t seen her since. Good riddance, no hassle.”

Cold as ice.

Can’t blame him, though.

“I know the guy got fired and divorced… That’s the whole story. Man, I feel lighter!”

…He’s beaming…

I feel for him, big time.

…But Kanzaki-san’s not reacting.

She’s frozen.

“Kanzaki-san, you okay?”

“…The shock made me zone out a bit. Ooki-san… you’ve been through a lot.”

“Nah, the second half was like some weird brain d〇pe. Had fun.”

Strong (confirmed).

What a steel mentality…

“So… what about this request? Ignore it?”

“Hmm… It’d be cruel to give her false hope. I’ll explain it myself. Tanakano-san, mind taking me to the shelter?”

Uh… you sure?

I don’t care either way…

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it as ‘missing’…?”

“No way. The thought of being tied to her as a ‘fiancé’ gives me chills.”

His voice is icy.

Yikes… those eyes are terrifying!!

A darkness deeper than the void!!

“If she’s alive, it’ll get messy in this situation. Gotta make it clear to her family we’re done.”

…Well, it’s not my problem, so fine.

“Alright, truck bed okay? It’s a pickup.”

“! …If I keep your faces out, can I film a rear-facing dashcam video!?”

“…No license plate, and it’s fine.”

“Yes! Perfect for video transitions!!”

…This guy’s definitely surviving.

Those punks who’d jump him based on looks? Namu Amida Butsu… Namu Amida Butsu…

With Ooki-kun hyped up in sales mode, narrating for his video from the truck bed, we head to the shelter.

Kanzaki-san’s staring at him like he’s some exotic beast. That sticks with me.

We arrive at the shelter, and I ask Miyata-san to call the requester.

To avoid stirring up other evacuees, we meet privately in the principal’s office.

I didn’t need to be here, but I join to avoid creeps like Harada bothering me.

…Just in case it goes south, I have Kanzaki-san and Miyata-san there too.

“Ooki-san! You’re safe!!”

“Yo, long time.”

A high school-aged girl bursts into the principal’s office, emotional.

She’s a bit flashy but pretty cute.

“So… my sister!?”

“Calm down, take a seat.”

Ooki-kun’s handling it naturally.

He’s got this… He’s got some sense, he’ll explain it well…!

“So, about Hitomi-san…”

Inokami-san twitches.

Guess he used to call her by her first name when they were together.

“She was cheating with a married guy with kids, so I dumped her. Haven’t seen her since, sorry.”

…Wrap it in tact!!

Your diplomacy’s thinner than the cheapest goldfish scoop!!

“…”

Look, her sister’s glitching out!!

“…”

She’s rebooting.

Nice specs on this PC (escapism mode).

“No way!? That’s a lie! My sister would never do that!!”

Inokami-san snaps back.

Yeah, it’s family. Hard to believe.

“It’s true. Figured you’d say that, so… hold on.”

Ooki-kun rummages through a large shoulder bag.

He pulls out a B5-sized brown envelope and dumps its contents on the table without hesitation.

Hey, wait a—

“Here’s the proof. Photos, phone screenshots, timeline notes, the guy’s info… This SD card’s got footage of their three-way fusion, six transformations. Watch it on the school’s PC if you want.”

Handing your ex’s h〇rny footage to her sister is demonic.

…And what’s “three-way fusion, six transformations”!? I get the gist, but I don’t want to!!

“No!? NOOOOOO!?”

Inokami-san, seeing the contents, collapses onto the table, screaming.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have brought him?

But she’s the one who filed the request…

“So, since we broke up before the zombie mess, I don’t know where Hitomi-san is.”

Ooki-kun says to the still-collapsed Inokami-san.

His words sound apologetic, but there’s zero remorse in them.

Miyata-san’s cradling his head, and Kanzaki-san’s staring into the void.

“Ever since…”

Inokami-san looks up, glaring at Ooki-kun with tear-soaked eyes.

“You were together since middle school! And you dumped her over one affair!?”

“…”

“My sister lost her job offer because of that…! She was crying at home all the time!”

“…”

“I thought it was the job loss… You dumped her in that state!? Don’t you think that’s cruel!?”

“…”

…This is straight-up daytime soap territory.

Her argument’s nonsense, though.

One affair, a hundred—doesn’t matter, right?

“Technically, I know of 34 meetups. And 25 fusions. Oh, and she told me, ‘Let’s wait till marriage,’ huh?”

…Ouch!!

Brutal!? Too brutal!?

No wonder he thought about offing himself!!

“Wha…!? What…!?”

Even her sister’s stunned by Hitomi’s deeds.

Miyata-san’s giving Ooki-kun a look of pure pity, and Kanzaki-san’s blushing again.

“So, yeah, I was done. No way I’m marrying that. Sorry, ‘Inokami-san,’ but I had to tell the truth. The thought of being her ‘fiancé’ still makes me wanna puke.”

Last name drop!!

Hammering in the distance!!

…What’s with my hype?

Whatever, I’m done!!

…He totally called her Kaede-chan before.

Stop it! Her sister’s life bar’s at zero!!

“Ugh, ughhh…!”

She’s trembling like a quirky ornament now!!

“So, like I said, I don’t know where she is. It was a weekday… maybe at university? I skipped class and worked my part-time job to avoid her.”

“Ughhh…”

“Alright, report done! Man, that’s a weight off! Let’s go, Tanakano-san!”

“Yup, let’s do that.”