Chapter 19: Exploring the Mountain

I don't know why, but it somehow coincidencely useful for the apocalypse, Lily and Nana were amazed by the mansion.

"Hey, we've been looking for you guys, where have you been?" Amy said running towards them.

"Well, We heared you moaning, I don't know why, but Nana said we should go explore the mansion instead of sitting on the living room" Lily said don't have a clue what she have said

"Hey, Lily!" Nana exclaimed, embarrassed

"Ahh" Amy said awkwardly and embarrassed, "Yeah, let's get going shall we? Souta and Steff are waiting" Amy said changing the topic. Lily still have no clue why these two are red like a tomato. After that they then moved on to swinging exercises which is on the backyard.

Amy asked Souta something "Hey Souta... umm" Right before she can even request it Souta immediately said "You can take the bow and practice it instead of swinging"

"Eh? Really?"

"Yup"

Amy celebrate with joy that she doesn't have to swing anymore and practice the bow she loves.

Lily wanted to learn how to use an axe as her melee weapon, so I provided her with one along with a pistol and a crossbow.

"Souta... correct?" Lily asked

"Yeah?" I replied

"Why are you giving me a gun? Aren't you afraid that I might kill you when you're not looking?" Lily asked curiously

"Hmmm, I'm pretty sure you aren't going to kill me" I said smirking "after all if we were all to die you two can't handle it all by yourself" I replied confidently to my guts

"Also, here, this is for you" I give the air gun to Nana, Nana was fascinated by the air gun I noticed her gaze while I hold the airgun with me, maybe because it reminds her with her father? I don't know, I just give her one to practice with, along with a pistol, they still couldn't handle the hunting rifle because of the impact of it but sooner or later I'll give them if they get used to it.

"You sure are trusting yourself too much, don't regret what you've started" Lily said and went to Nana

"Can I have this?" Steff asking to have the military knives

"Just take whatever your eyes takes interest" Souta said

Steff wanted to train with military knives, so she was given a pair, she already have one but maybe an extra?

We spent a few hours training until evening, and then gathered for dinner. During the meal, I suggested, "Tomorrow, instead of jogging in the backyard, let's explore around the mountains to explore some places we haven't been to yet, there might be some place out there we still doesn't know, evil or not we need to see it immediately"

Everyone agreed,

"Evil? What do you mean by evil?" Nana asked, still being clueless

"It means bad people that will hurt us" Amy explained

"And what will you do if they're bad people?" Lily asked, the atmosphere becomes thick and gloomy.

"What else? Kill them of course" I replied, with a menacing gaze, they must've been thinking that I'm a bad person myself but to my surprise, the twins are smiling.

"Good" Lily said with an Evil grin on her face, while Nana is just eating and not really caring about it. These two really don't care if we kill people or not aren't they?

Eith that, the next morning, we woke up early to prepare their supplies. We planned to have breakfast and lunch during our exploration.

After driving for hours finding routes we could take, we reached a point where we decided to stop and have lunch, as we hadn't come across anything significant apart from trees.

While eating, Lily proposed, "Hey, how about we walk around for a while?"

Amy agreed, saying, "Sure, that's a great idea."

Amy called out to me, who is nearby. "Souta, we'll be going for a walk real quick."

I nodded and reminded them, "Make sure to bring your weapons with you."

The two ventured into the surroundings, "It has lots of trees!" Lily shouted happily "It's been a while since we go to the mountains" she added

"Oh? You go to the mountains?" Amy asked curiously

"Yup, our father used to bring us with him when he hunt" she said smiling

"Is that so?" They continued to talk, however it feels like someone is watching them. "Isn't it nice then? To have a nice memory here" Amy said, smiling facing Lily. Unaware of an elderly zombie lurking behind them. The zombie reached out and grabbed Amy's shoulder, "AHHH!! Amy behind you!!!" Lily shouted, shocked from what she saw! The zombie got Amy!!

Amy, being careless on her action, didn't think it as a big deal, she was trained in martial arts by Souta, with a swiftly react. She flipped the zombie to the ground and retrieved a militady knife from her waist, stabbing the zombie in the head.

"That was close," Amy said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Lily was stunned and impressed, gazing at Amy with newfound admiration. "You were cool back there, big sister!"

Amy chuckled modestly. "Is that so? Haha, thanks."

We immediately run towards them as soon as we heard the shout of Lily, they encountered them while returning, Amy shared their encounter to us, I who is initially worried, couldn't help but show my relief. And hugged Amy tightly, saying, "Thank God you're okay."

Amy tried to calm me down by praising me. "I'm okay because Souta taught us martial arts."

I, visibly concerned, realized that the world we now lived in was vastly different. Killing had become commonplace, and we needed to adapt to survive. I spoke sternly, "Just don't do reckless things like that again, okay?"

"Okay," Amy replied, understanding the gravity of the situation.

After the incident, we continued our lunch break.

After lunch, we continued our journey deeper into the mountains, hoping to find a settlement nearby. Along the way, we noticed a car crash that likely belonged to the elderly man they encountered earlier.

"That must be from the oldman earlier" Amy said

"If he's heading this direction that means there's a settlement nearby" I said As we continued, surrounded by trees, we finally came across a farm.

"Wow, Souta's judgement sure is something" Lily said impressed from what she saw

"It was the right thing to team up with him from the very start, I know for a fact just by looking at him that he has an ambitiounous personality making him a great leader" Nana said with a smug, thinking she made the right decision.

"I'm flattered, to think that you guys would praise me" I said, teasingly

We then parked the pickup truck, it's backwards so that is emergency happened, we can immediately get away. We get down from the vehicle, with our weapons with us, my rifle is tightly swing to my back I can immediately grab it and aim it for emergency thou it will take some time compare to just swinging it on the front, but using back swing carry can male me able to move freely withou the rifle's interactions. Also have my pistols on my waist and Katana on my left waist.

Fun fact! Did you know that the traditional and commonly depicted way to carry a katana is by placing it edge up, edge facing backward, through an obi (sash belt), positioned at the left side? This method allows for a smooth and quick draw with the right hand when needed. The placement on the left side also aligns with the historical use of the katana, where it was drawn from the left side in a specific manner known as "Iaido" or "Battojutsu."

Carrying it on the back of your shoulder is not a typical or practical method for traditional katana use. It can impede quick and efficient drawing, making it less suitable for martial arts or self-defense situations. Additionally, the weight distribution and length of a katana make it more balanced and accessible when worn on the left side. So it might be cool but if it will only get on your way why bother the coolness if you're about to die before you could even pull the katana?