Goddamn charming!
No one could hide their shock when they saw the news on television.
"... the government has started to do something about this ongoing revolt. However, the politicians..."
As Isao wanted to watch television, no one expected that they would see this kind of joke.
"Revolt? They are calling this a revolt?!" Takashi was angry when the news told them all of this was just a revolt.
Revolt?!
This is an apocalypse!
Everyone died every second; how could they describe all of this with a mere "revolt"?!
"The number of deaths in the Saitama prefecture already exceeds 10,000. The prefecture governor has declared a state of emergency—"
*Bang!*
The sudden gunshot startled everyone. In this country, where the police would rather let the criminal escape instead of shooting a gun, the decision to take a gunshot was as massive as the decision when one city was hit by an earthquake.
"That was gunfire! Just now, the police opened the gunfire! But what are they shooting at?!"
By then, they saw those "things," and everything was attacked and bitten.
"NOOOO! STAY AWAY! HELP! HELP! AARRGGGHHH!!!"
The sexy presenter was bitten and became "them," which made Isao feel endless regret.
By then, the show had become nothing but a flicker of "dots," and static noises echoed within the room, where silence permeated. Still, soon, the show recovered, and it became a show aired from the television station's headquarters.
"Th-There is some sort of trouble, but from now on, we will broadcast from the studio here."
The female presenter, who was less cute than the previous female presenter, said in chatter, clearly unable to hide her shock.
Yet, Isao had to say, when he saw everything become a reality instead of a show where he watched for the boobs, panties, and fan services, it was quite intimidating. The significance of this problem was bigger than he had imagined. However, this also strengthened his decision to become the strongest being in this world.
Shaking hands suddenly reached his; Isao looked at the hands that held his and saw that they were Kyoko's. He held her hands without saying anything and patted them softly as he grasped them.
Kyoko smiled softly and calmed down, but she didn't let him go.
Fortunately, everyone focused their attention on the television, so no one noticed their intimate gesture.
Nevertheless, no concrete information was clearly presented on television. Everything was ambiguous, and everyone was forced to remain ignorant without knowing the truth.
"That's all?! Why aren't they saying anymore?!" Takashi was frustrated and even hit the table.
No one said anything, but somehow, they looked at Isao, who was as calm as ever. Yet, the one who answered everyone's doubts was Saya. "Because they are afraid of panicking."
"Even now?"
"Because of what had happened just now! Fear leads to chaos; chaos leads to anarchy. How can you expect the government to deal with the living dead in a time of anarchy?"
Still, Isao looked at the other news and saw this disaster had spread to every corner of the world.
Whether it was the United States, China, India, Russia, England, Germany, or every corner of the world.
No place was safe except those places where there weren't any people.
"There are reports that this transfer is in preparation for the possible use of tactical warheads..."
Isao was speechless since everyone overexaggerated everything. Those "things" were pretty weak; why should they use a nuclear bomb? If the nuclear bomb could kill those "things," it was fine, but what if they also caused a malfunction on the electronic device? By then, wasn't it as good as suicide?
Yet, at this moment in time, he knew that most humans became foolish. Their emotion, especially fear, made them do something stupid.
"When I surfed the web this morning, it was business as usual..." Hirano said in chatter, nervously, unable to believe what was happening.
"I can't believe that it only took a few hours for the world to come to this." Rei felt everything she believed was shaken, and she almost couldn't stand up, but she was still desperate. However, she didn't look at her childhood friend. Instead, she looked at the young man she had only met for a while. "Don't you feel the same? But it must be a safe place, right, Iinuma-kun?"
Saya looked at this bimbo in disdain and wanted to break this girl's naive hope, but unexpectedly, Isao said, "There is."
"Huh?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Huh? Where?"
They subconsciously asked, and Isao answered, "Isolated island where no one exists. There should be a lot of such islands on the Pacific Ocean, but you need to go there by ship, which is pretty dangerous."
"..."
They felt like Isao might as well not be talking if his answer was like that.
"Don't look at me like that. A mountain is also good if you don't want to go to an isolated island. While those "things" might be able to walk, they shouldn't be smart enough to climb something. When they try to climb something, they will fall, so a mountain is one of the safest places."
"How could you live in the mountains?! Do you want us to become barbarians who live with leather clothes?!" Saya scolded Isao.
"She asked me whether there was a safe place, and I answered her, but you don't refute me that a mountain is a safe place, right?"
"...."
Saya couldn't refute it since she knew those "things" might fall when they climbed the mountain, considering how stupid they were.
"Mountain..."
Nevertheless, his words brought hope to all of them.
"Moreover, the mountain has become a famous tourist destination. It isn't uncommon to see many luxurious resorts. There is no need for you to live like a barbarian, Takagi-senpai," Isao added his comment with ease.
"Wow, a trip to a luxurious mountainous resort!" Shizuka was so excited.
"Let's search for the one with the hot spring. I want to have a nice dip in the natural hot spring," Isao said with a smile.
"That's a great idea!" Shizuka clapped her hands happily and agreed with Isao's idea.
"..."
Watching the two who were thinking about taking a trip in this type of situation... they weren't sure what to say.
"You guys..." Kyoko was speechless.
Saeko also chuckled, and everyone's mood somehow became at ease due to the chat between Isao and Shizuka, who talked about the trip to a luxurious resort in the mountain.
"..." Saya blinked her eyes, then looked at Isao speechlessly, but at the same time, this also made her calm down. "You sure are calm in this kind of situation. You know, we don't even know when everything is going to be over. Nor can I be so sure that this situation will ever return to normal. Moreover, as you have said before, no one can be so sure that those "things" will rot and decay like how corpses are! In other words, they will be living with us forever and might even bite us, making us like them! Don't you understand our situation!? WE MIGHT EVEN BECOME LIKE THEM WHEN WE COME OUT OF THIS ROOM! THEY WILL HAUNT US FOREVER! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT?!"
The more she talked, the more she got emotional and even lashed Isao out, but when she realized everything, she realized her anger was unreasonable, and she also understood that Isao only wanted to ease the mood. "I... I..."
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize," Isao said softly, causing Saya to lower her head in guilt. "I understand our situation well, but instead of living in fear, we might as well enjoy every moment in our lives. We might even die the moment we walk out of this room, but then again, I don't want to die before I take a dip in the hot spring mountain resort, so I will make sure that I stay alive.
"You guys, what do you want to do? Do you want to live in fear of those "things" that you can defeat with a smack on the head or enjoy a free trip in the luxurious resort?"
His voice, gestures, and attitudes.
All of them put them at ease and felt like what was happening wasn't a big deal.
What should they do?
They had to say this guy was so damn charming!
---
Beach or mountain?
Let's take a trip!