She Couldn't Be Honest With Herself

The five of us were left in the room, yet everyone stared at each other with complicated expressions.

From an outside perspective, this may seem like everyone has the same thoughts but believe me, that's not the case at all. I may not have spent that much time with them but it's enough for me to gauge their personalities.

I'm not sure about the girl's relationships but in my case, I acted friendly to all of them despite subconsciously keeping them at arm's length.

Still, everything that happened had seemingly made it awkward for them that the moment they met, they didn't even ask each other if they were okay. That's kind of disturbing now that I think about it. Did they really not get along?

Fortunately, the girl who's beside me should be an outlier in that case even if she's alone, yep Claire's definitely unfazed by this whole scenario and that proved true as she spoke first.

"It's great that you guys are doing fine here!"

"Yes. Eden's father also granted us special treatment considering we were together. Did you two experience things differently?"

"You won't believe it! We got into a huge battle against the undead and had to abandon our house!"

"Undead?"

"That's what we call those things."

"I see."

As Claire started the conversation, Angelica followed up with a light smile. In my eyes though, that smile of hers is still as mysterious as ever.

Eden, who kept up with the two, became rather worried when she heard Claire's words.

"Really!? Are you okay, Leon!?"

"M- me? I mean, I'm okay, thanks for worrying?"

"...Hmph, it's not like I was worried or anything."

So you're going full tsundere now!? I lamented as I had heard that exact same line for over a hundred times now, or at least, inside a screen.

I may not have watched stuff like anime and such but since I played tons of games, visual novels were naturally part of it. That's why I know those kind of concepts.

"Look, what do we have here~?"

"Don't push it."

"Yessss."

Claire tried to poke fun at the bashful Eden but I quickly shifted gears and stopped her. However, that action of mine had been for the worse as the gazes of the three became even more intense.

Eden lightly sighed before speaking.

"Hoh? You're very obedient now, aren't you? But that's fitting, for a dog that is."

"Hehe, Leon is our leader and we swore to follow him no matter what... Wait, being Leon's dog doesn't actually sound so bad."

"You don't say."

I interjected with a reprimanding gaze as Claire replied to her. You should stop before you can say anything crazier. However, when Eden heard that, she only muttered some words silently.

"...Even I would..."

"Did you say something?"

"N- no!?"

I could've sworn she was also about to say something outrageous but that might just be my imagination. Anyway, I should divert the topic for now.

"You guys never had any undead problems here yet?"

When Eden heard my words, she tried to compose herself before replying.

"Nothing major as of now. My father was trying to keep things controlled since the beginning, the general rules were the result of that. Only, some people kept making problems because of their own selfishness."

"You mean those old men who were sitting here earlier, right?"

"Yeah, wait how did you know that?"

"Just a guess. My guess is that a power struggle of some sort is happening and it's gotten pretty bad based on your father's expression earlier. The three of us appearing might be a ray of hope for him, like an oasis in the middle of a hot desert."

"I guess there's more to people than what they look outside huh?"

"...?"

It took me quite a bit to understand what Eden meant, however, the intensifying gazes of Angelica and Elisa, who haven't spoken yet, have made me realize my mistake. 

Now that I think about it, I don't seem smart and that should be the case even to my club members. After all, I also wasn't as talkative back then because I was still very awkward when Claire pulled me to join that group.

Then, as if to state the obvious, Claire giggled before speaking.

"They must be surprised that you are smarter than you may seem and more talkative."

"I'm... not that bad, am I?"

"You looked exactly like a loner in the eyes of everyone else, an awkward introverted loser."

"Urgh!?!?"

"I hate to admit it but she has a point you know?"

"..."

"I also agree, Leon barely talked back then, what exactly changed?"

"..."

As Claire voiced out several words that came at me like bullets, Eden and Angelica chimed in. When I heard Angelica's question, I looked at her strangely and smiled.

"I guess, I feel more free now."

"Free? From what?"

"From everything."

Angelica also looked at me strangely as if she didn't understand my words. Although it would take too long if I explained it to her so I dropped that thought and turned to Eden again.

"Eden, I have a proposal for you."

"Whuh!? W- wait wait! Shouldn't we start with being friends first!? Like, like, we can get to know each other, go on dates, spend time with each other, then we can set it off once we're comfortable and become lovers, then one day, you can propose to me and we'll become fiancees!?"

"""..."""

"No, not that kind of proposal." 

That's a pretty big misunderstanding. No, that's outright outrageous, there's no way you can misunderstand something like that with the wording I used, right!?

Look, even Claire doesn't know what to say!!!

It took a little while but it seems like Eden finally understood what was going on.

"Uuhhhh... Waaaaa....!"

"There there."

And she started crying.

Claire moved to the empty next to her and consoled her while looking at me with a slightly reprimanding gaze. So I'm at fault!?

In the end, with Eden like that, I couldn't possibly force her to speak with me so instead, I turned to the other most reasonable person in my book, which is Angela.

"It would probably take time for them to calm down so if it's alright with you, can you listen to me?"

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"It's about our group. Claire, Aunt, and, I are currently in a group of three. With my agreement with Eden's father, it's decided that we will take care of the scavenging of supplies outside."

"Yes, that's also what I understood from earlier. Is there anything more of that?"

As she asked that, I looked at her with eyes of resolve. I already have a plan and if these three agree to it, then we can reap even more bonuses. After a moment, I continued.

"I do not plan on fully integrating ourselves with this community."

"That's a fair decision, may I ask why?"

"There are many reasons but If I may be blunt, it's because I don't want to take false chances. I have my hopes as well but that doesn't mean I would just go with the flow like an idiot."

"I see, so it's basically a way out for you guys huh?"

"Yeah, and that will be for yours as well if the two... no, three of you agree to my proposal. Would you like to join our group?"

When I said that, Angelica's face formed a complicated expression. As expected, that question was practically me asking her to choose between the community and our group.

However, someone who hasn't spoken until now opened her mouth to speak.

"I would like to, even if they don't."

Both Angelica and I were surprised as we simultaneously turned our gaze to her. The one who spoke was Elisa. She had a calm but inflectionless voice.

After a moment, Angelica sighed.

"Alright, we are technically not affiliated with this community yet so we should be fine but I don't know about Claire."

"Oh, that should be fine, right, Mr. Daniel?"

"?"

As I said that, the two women's gaze naturally landed on the table near us that had a radio atop it. It beeped and a blue light appeared. It's a special radio that my father showed me before.

Regular radios usually feature a push-to-talk transmission. However, even though this one looked just like the regular one, it's not. That's because it's often used in things like this to spy on other people's conversations.

A moment later, we heard a static-induced voice from the radio.

[There's no problem with that kind of arrangement. I would also like to talk to you privately later, would that be alright?]

"Yes, that's fine with me."

The radio beeped again, ending the transmission. When I turned back to the girls, I saw that Eden had pretty much recovered already as she had a surprised face with her mouth partially opened, quite resembling a certain monster with electric powers.

"Well, you heard that right, from now on the three of you are part of our group."

"W- wait! I haven't agreed to this yet!"

"Your father did so that's that, I guess. I won't let you dip out of this either, you're mine now."

"...Yesh... Not! I mean, hmph! I guess I have no choice."

"You're just digging your grave deeper."

When I announced them joining us, Eden tried to complain but I shut her down, although I may have made a mistake in my own wording as Claire retorted Eden's new misunderstanding.

Looks like the proposal was a success. Or at least, I think so.

◇◇◇

Walking near the big glass windows, I could feel the night's cold breeze.

That's right, I'm currently going to my meeting place with Daniel, Eden's father. That man had asked me earlier that he wants us to meet privately and it's probably about my plan.

Smart as he is, he should've already realized my true intentions since the beginning. Still, I kept my guard up as I wasn't sure if he was going to pull something funny.

Our meeting place was the spacious balcony on the other side of the mall's 2nd floor. Still, it was on the other side of the escalator so I had to walk a lot. That damn idiot couldn't have chosen a better meeting place.

When I arrived, there were no lights so only the moonlight illuminated the entire balcony. Two people sat there, one was naturally Daniel while the other was a beautiful middle-aged woman who looked like Eden.

She must be the Elizabeth that Aunt mentioned earlier.

When Daniel saw me entering, he gestured to the other sofa in front of them.

"Please sit."

I did as he told me and as I looked down, I saw a hot coffee on the table in front of me. Without regard, I picked it up with my left hand and sipped before speaking.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Always onto business, are we? Well, what I want is only one thing. Leon, can you protect my daughter?"

As he said that, his wife also looked at me and the situation somehow turned serious. Now that I realize, there seem to be people hiding in the curtains near the entrance.

I didn't notice them earlier but some of them moved so I did now. I see, so he did plan something huh? I thought of that before answering his question.

"I can at least promise you that I'll do my best, however, all I can say is that right now, she's not my top priority."

"...I see."

I said that with a flat tone. Daniel became silent before continuing.

"In that case, you simply want to use her, is that it?"

As he said that, the men who were hiding suddenly came out and raised their hands. My guess was right, they were also carrying guns. I wasn't too late as I also pulled my pistol and aimed it, not at Daniel but at his wife.

"Wait!"

Daniel spoke in a slightly louder tone as the situation got more tense. The men seemed to be itching to pull the trigger already but I wasn't. In fact, I'd rather not make a scene here.

"Boy, why did you aim at my wife instead of me?"

"Because your death is useless."

"..."

When I said that, I didn't quite realize my cold expression. It was probably the same expression that I used when I talked to Jean at that time.

However, it's not like I lied, it was useless. Say that he does get shot and die, what would happen next? Those old men would have a chance at becoming the leaders and that will absolutely fuck up this entire community.

And even if he didn't die, the likelihood of those people beating him in the power struggle is already high enough if we don't offer our help.

Eden may hate me if she finds out but that much didn't bother me. She might be in love with me or something but currently, I don't have any plans on returning her feelings.

In the worst-case scenario, I'm prepared to abandon this community and hit the road again with Claire and Aunt. Although, losing those three girls' help would be a shame.

"You're a good man, Mr. Daniel. That's why you're the kind to keep your own weaknesses close to you. Not only would that allow me to exploit it but also those old men."

"Your point?"

"You need power. And it's not just any power, it's the power that would allow you to see the future clearly and reach your desired outcome. The power necessary for that isn't something you can pick like a pebble on the side of the road."

"...And that power is... your group."

"Exactly. This is a one-time offer. A ray of hope. This is the final way out of your problem, turning a blind eye to this would only lead to you and your family's ruin."

As Daniel heard that, his face sweated a lot and he had a desperate expression. When the men saw that, they became confused. Then, Daniel kneeled.

He really kneeled in front of me.

"I understand, however, I beg of you, please take care of our daughter. You are the only one who can."

"Please."

Elizabeth also did the same as him. Seeing the two, I couldn't help but break character. I guess that much should be fine.

"... Haah... Alright, however, I won't spoil her like you want me to. I will protect her until she can protect herself. That much should be enough, right?"

The couple beamed when they heard that. Now that I think about it, that route might be more helpful as well. Eden is also a talented woman, it wouldn't take long before she can adapt to this world.

Before that, I promised that I would always have her back.

With that settled, Daniel ordered the men to lower their guns. When I finally got a clear view of them, Adam was also there. Well, that's not surprising.

"By the way, you didn't seem surprised when you saw our guns."

"You hid it well, not just from me but to the people as well, although I could guess your reasons. Those old men should have their own stash as well, correct?"

"Yes. By your words, is that kind of battle... really inevitable?"

"It depends. It's either the dead or the living. We'll see who will make the first move."

Looks like we've gotten ourselves pitted in the middle of two enemies. If their power struggle does develop into armed combat, then I should probably start weighing our possibilities.

Our group has found a community, three of our friends were there and I successfully recruited them to join our group. Unsurprisingly, this community had their own problems.

Well, that is irrelevant now, after all, survival is our priority.