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We are progressing with the moat excavation work at a rapid pace.
We still have one week, but the remaining one week is making us feel anxious.
However, we can say that the fortification process is going smoothly.
The window grilles and security shutters have been installed.
The solar power system is also functioning without any problems.
The concrete on the outer wall has dried, and we have removed the wooden frames.
The well has been thoroughly cleaned and is now available for use as a source of potable water.
We also have weapons for defending ourselves against zombies, which we acquired under the pretext of self-defense.
We have legal items such as metal bats, police batons, and model guns. Additionally, we have a crossbow, which may be illegal, but since it will be used after April 1st, when the law is likely to become unenforceable, it shouldn’t be a problem.
The rooftop garden is flourishing with vegetables growing rapidly. We have sufficient stockpiles of preserved food, but since we have more people in our group, we have placed an additional order online, and it should be delivered tomorrow or the day after.
We also went for an additional shopping trip in a small truck. We have spare daily necessities and electrical appliances.
The only thing remaining is to finish digging the moat.
“Get to work, you fools! You there, tired middle-aged man, hurry up and start moving!”
“Damn it, that girl is getting too carried away just because she’s the only one who can operate heavy machinery.”
Diya is sitting on the excavator and swinging a whip made from a jump rope while giving orders arrogantly. Meanwhile, Jingūichi complains while pushing a wheelbarrow. Hinoyama and I ignore them and continue to work silently.
In less than an hour, the sun will set. Thanks to our determined efforts today, we have completed the moat on the north and east sides of the perimeter.
Only the west side remains, but even after completing that, it won’t be finished.
We still need to compact the soil on the sides and bottom since we only dug it out.
It looks like we will need to continue the tedious work of using shovels and boards to compact the soil with everyone’s help.
“The moat is over two meters wide and two meters deep, so it won’t be easy to get out if you fall in. That’s how it is in games,” my sister says fearfully while peering over the edge of the moat.
“Make sure you don’t fall in. It’ll be a struggle to pull you out,” I warned her.
In fact, earlier today, Diya fell into the moat and got covered in dirt, but managed to crawl out on her own.
Considering my sister has no sense of coordination, it’s certain that she would struggle much more if she were to fall in.
…
“Yae-nee, how is your task?”
“It told them I saw something like a prophecy, so I warned them. I said that a great disaster would envelop the world on April 1st. People infected with a disease would attack others in a state of madness, something like that.”
After discussing the matter, we decided to entrust the zombie crisis to Yae.
She would use her online presence and current fame to help.
Apparently, she had been marketed as a character with accurate predictions.
The content of her fortune-telling? It was recycled from my precognitive dreams, so of course it was bound to be accurate.
“That’s a hit rate of almost 100% for fortune-telling, huh.”
“But I just wanted to help with the household finances!”
She had felt guilty about not working, and had come up with this plan as a way to earn money. It had even been approved for commercialization, and she was expecting income from it in the near future.
“You said you didn’t want to stand out or have a desire for approval, right? But in the past, didn’t you say that you wanted to become a voice actor and be praised?”
With a fixed gaze on my sister, she quickly averted her eyes.
“Well, whatever. Do you think they believed you?”
“It seems like some of my dedicated fans believed me. But for others, it’s a bit iffy. I think a lot of people were confused because my previous fortune-telling was always very generic, so they weren’t sure what to make of this.”
“I guess that’s to be expected.”
Thanks to the fortune-teller character she had created, the sense of unease has decreased, but if she were just a regular video streamer, no one would believe her.
Even so, only a handful of people would believe such an absurd story.
“I was worried that if my predictions were too accurate, people would find it creepy. So, I tried to use vague expressions and occasionally make mistakes… but maybe that was a mistake.”
I don’t think it was wrong to be cautious since being too accurate would make people suspicious. No one could have predicted such a future.
The most important thing in this situation is that the fact remains that they took action to save someone, regardless of the outcome.
This should alleviate some of my sister’s feelings of guilt and shame.
“There’s no need to hide it anymore, so you can do as you please.”
“Okay, I’ll try to figure something out.”
I’m a little worried that my sister might be too casual about it, but I’ve entrusted this matter to her.
Even if the outcome isn’t ideal, the burden on one’s conscience is significantly different between having done something and having done nothing at all.
Everything seems to be going smoothly, but there’s still something left on my mind – Iwaro-san.
We haven’t heard from him since then. No one has mentioned it, but we’re all prepared for the worst.
Did he get caught, or did he become a zombie and join their ranks? Either way, it’s easy to imagine a grim outcome.
“Yes, you there! Stop slacking off and get to work, get to work!”
Dia was using her homemade megaphone made from rolled-up paper to assert her authority.
Moving my body might help to distract me from the worries about Iwaro-san.
“Alright, I’ll work!”
After taking a bath and finishing their meal, they were all lounging around in the living room in their own comfortable attire.
Jinguichi, Hinoyama, and Diya were sitting on cushions on the floor, drinking and chatting.
Meanwhile, I was just lying on the sofa, doing nothing. My sister had been fiddling with her smartphone, but it seemed like she was also keeping an eye on the three of them who were drinking from time to time.
I don’t drink much, but my sister can handle her alcohol pretty well.
“Hey, Yae-nee, why don’t you join in with them over there?”
“Huh? Oh, um, it’s fine, really…”
Although her shyness around strangers has improved quite a bit compared to before, she still lacks the courage to jump into that group on her own. Maybe I should bring up a topic to make it easier for her to mingle.
“After all this time, I have a question for you guys. Who do you think did this zombie transformation and for what purpose?”
Up until now, I haven’t been able to bring up this question to the three of them. One reason being that we’ve kept the zombies a secret, but also because I just hadn’t felt ready to ask.
The other reason was that we didn’t have any intention of stopping the source of the zombie virus and were only acting to survive. We purposely remained silent to stay focused and not get our priorities mixed up.
Now that there’s no need to hide anymore, and we’ve gained various pieces of information that bring them closer to the root of the problem, everyone must be curious about it.
“Umm, okay then, here!”
Diya raised his hand with vigor and precision.
“Yes, Diya?”
Pointing a finger and calling out the name, for some reason, Diya made a salute pose.
“When we put all the information together, isn’t it possible that Jin’s hometown is the one behind all of this? Maybe they succeeded in creating a curse to produce zombies as part of their research on psychic powers!”
“Even if that were the case, most of the people in the village died in the fire. So, who could have done that? …But this is not the time to beat around the bush. Clearly, the most suspicious one is Mikishima Heito, the politician.
I agree with Jinguichi’s opinion.
From the way the former mayor, who is one of the survivors of the village, speaks, it’s hard to imagine any other possibility.
Who would have thought that not only the car accident but also this incident were related to it?
“Is that the same Mikishima who did… that to Jin and Yae’s parents?”
Diya seemed to hesitate with her words, but it was clear what she was referring to.
“The one who caused the car accident, right?”
I reached out and took my sister’s hand as she flinched in surprise sitting next to me. She looked relieved and leaned closer, our shoulders touching.
“Considering the evidence, there is no doubt that there is a connection between Mikishima and the zombies. It’s hard to say whether the accident involving Jin’s parents is related to this incident or not.”
Jinguichi-san crosses his arms and closes his eyes, seemingly building a deduction in his head based on the information they have gathered so far.
“Excuse me, senpai, what kind of person is Mikishima Heito? I’m not very familiar with entertainment or politics.”
“You… as a detective, at the very least, you should read the newspaper, the newspaper. Complain while holding a cup of milk tea and reading the newspaper. That’s the way a detective should be.”
“The ideal image of a detective seems to be stuck in the Showa era…”
The senior began lecturing the junior in a frustrated tone.
The senior had outdated ideas, while the junior could operate modern equipment such as drones. I think they make a good team.