Compensation

Takashi group apartment.

Saeko opened her eyes, glanced at the clock when it was 4:50 a.m. She smiled looking at Shizuka who hugged Saya to her chest.

Getting out of bed, she didn't wake the others, leaving the room without making a sound. Once out the door, Saeko was surprised to see Ars standing in front of her.

When Saeko wanted to greet him, Ars raised his index finger in front of his lips as a gesture of silence.

"Shhh... Don't talk, there's something I want to talk about with you alone, follow me."

"En." Saeko nodded her head.

Then the two of them left the apartment without anyone noticing.

On the streets there were lots of zombies, but they couldn't get close to Ars and Saeko.

Out of curiosity, Saeko stretched out her hand and felt like there was a wall in front of her. She knew this must be the doing of the man beside her.

"Where are we going?"

Despite only wearing an apron and underwear, Saeko didn't feel cold. However, a blush appeared on her face. After all, she was also a girl, and walking on the streets wearing nothing but skimpy clothes would embarrass her.

"This is it."

Ars chose an empty house at random, opened the fence, and entered the house.

"Whose house is this?"

Saeko thought this house might belong to Ars or a relative.

"I don't know either, the owner of this house has long since fled. There should be no problem if we use it for a bit."

"Apparently someone else's house..."

Saeko didn't blame Ars for entering the house without permission.

The house is still in good condition. It's only been a day since the zombie apocalypse started, so most of the houses are still in pretty good shape.

"Sit down."

Ars sat while crossing his legs, and told Saeko.

Then Saeko sat across from Ars, and asked: "What did Yamaguchi-san want to talk about that the others don't want to hear? Could it be related to Igou-kun?"

Previously, Saeko saw the boy sleeping on the sofa, but she didn't see Hisashi's figure. So, she guessed the topic of this conversation was Hisashi.

"Chatting with smart women saves time a lot. You are right, Igou Hisashi... Not true, Lin Fan died a moment ago."

"!!!"

Saeko was a little shocked at this news, but that was about it. The relationship between the two is just that of fellow survivors trying to survive, they're not friends, let alone lovers. Apart from being shocked, she wasn't saddened at all by Hisashi's death.

"Yamaguchi-san killed him?" Saeko asked despite already guessing the answer.

"Yes. But don't get me wrong, it wasn't me who took action first, it was him. After his strength made progress, Lin Fan became overly confident and haughty. He asked me to go to the park a few hours ago, and wanted to get rid of me. But he underestimated me too much, and he has to pay with his life."

"If Yamaguchi-san doesn't mind, can you tell me the reason why Igou-kun… Lin Fan wants to get rid of you. Did you and him have any previous conflicts?"

From Ars' explanation, there was one thing that Saeko didn't understand. Why did Lin Fan antagonize Ars so much that he wanted to kill him?

Ars shook his head and pointed at Saeko.

"The reason Lin Fan did that was all because of you."

"Hah? Me?"

Saeko looks surprised and confused about why their conflict involves her.

"More precisely Lin Fan is targeting you, Takagi Saya, and Marikawa Shizuka. He wants to build a harem and wants you to be his women. He wasn't happy to see you getting close to me, so he was trying to get rid of me."

Ars did not hide Lin Fan's ulterior motives and told Saeko.

Having understood the cause and effect of this matter, Saeko pouted. She was not happy that Lin Fan considered them his women without their consent.

"I understand. In that case, he can only blame his luck for provoking Yamaguchi-san."

Saeko didn't blame Ars for killing Lin Fan. After a pause, she said complicatedly: "I just don't know how Rei will react if she finds out the news of Igou-kun's death."

"That's none of my business. From the start, Igou Hisashi was dead, and the Transmigrator named Lin Fan was using his body. Simply put, Miyamoto Rei has been having intercourse with the person using her boyfriend's body." Ars said indifferently.

"Yamaguchi-san just wanted to tell you this?" Saeko asked.

"I will leave your group. More precisely, I will continue my journey to the next world."

"I see... I hope Yamaguchi-san's journey goes smoothly."

Hearing Ars want to leave, Saeko didn't try to hold him back. Instead she felt a little relief in her heart. She was worried that the other party would one day hurt or kill them because he was in a bad mood and they couldn't fight back.

Ars could feel the relief in Saeko's eyes, but he wasn't mad about her. Instead, he took the Devil Fruits he looted from the Main God Room participants in the [Dr. Stone] world.

"This is… Fruit?"

Seeing Ars put something like fruit on the table, Saeko wasn't sure the thing in front of her was fruit due to its strange shape.

"This is a Devil Fruit named Neko Neko no Mi model Leopard. This fruit will give people who eat it the power of regeneration, or healing physical wounds faster than normal people. Not only that, the person who eats this fruit will gain the strength and speed of a leopard."

"This sounds like a fairy tale..."

After hearing that explanation, Saeko was amazed that such a magical fruit existed in this world. No, it probably wasn't from her world.

"Yamaguchi-san wants to give it to me?"

She guessed the reason the other party was showing the fruit. There's no way Ars just wants to show off, right?

"Mhm. Previously I had said that Lin Fan might be able to save this world, but now he is dead. Let's just say this Devil Fruit is my compensation for his death. By the way, only one person can eat a Devil Fruit, so it's useless if you cut it and share it with everyone. Also, people who eat Devil Fruits will lose their ability to swim forever."

"Thank you, I will accept it."

Saying her thanks, Saeko took the Devil Fruit off the table and observed it carefully. She didn't reject the other party's kindness, because she knew how important strength was in this zombie apocalypse world.

"Whether you eat it yourself or give it to someone else, the decision is yours." Ars said lightly.

Originally he wanted to witness and join the group of protagonists in living the everyday life of a survivor. However, Lin Fan's actions messed up Ars' recreation.

Sooner or later, Lin Fan's (Hisashi's) disappearance would become known to Rei and the others. Then they would try to find him, and when they couldn't find him, they would assume he was dead.

The person who was devastated by Hisashi's death was Miyamoto Rei. It will take time for her to recover like before.

Ars doesn't want to spend his time watching a woman who is heartbroken by the death of her boyfriend. Hence, he planned to continue his journey.

"Although brief, it's nice to know you. Busujima Saeko."

Ars stretched out his hand in front of Saeko.

"I'm also happy to know that there is a supernatural being like you, Yamaguchi-san."

Saeko accepted the outstretched hand, and the two shook hands.

"Yamaguchi Hideo, that's definitely not your real name, right?"

"You're right, my real name is Ars."

"Only Ars? No family name?"

"I don't have a family."

"Sorry, I asked about a sensitive topic."

"No need to apologize, it's not like I lost my family to death or anything. From the start, I was born without a family."

There are no emotional fluctuations in Ars as if family is not important to him. But Saeko thought otherwise.

"Hopefully you can form your own family, Ars-san." Saeko said sincerely.

"...I hope so." Ars nodded slightly.

After saying his goodbyes, he used the Limitless Technique and distorted the space around him. The next moment, Saeko was teleported to the apartment. So as not to be seen by anyone, she appeared in the toilet.

"Time for me to go too."

Take one last look at this world through the window. A magic circle appeared under Ars' feet, and his figure disappeared like a ghost.