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“Release Sakurazaka-san! What’s your intention… Senior?”
His angry expression suddenly changed to a deflated one.
“Did you definitely say ‘senpai’ just now? If that’s the case, then is it Diya’s uncle who is restraining me?”
“Oops, don’t moving… Hm? Hinoyama?”
Then why is Sakurazaka Jin here in the first place?
Though it was our first meeting, it was natural for him to recognize my face from Diya’s request.
The face peering in from the side was unshaven and had messy hair that was unkempt.
It was clear just from looking at him how difficult the near week-long escape must have been.
Also, there was a rather unpleasant smell. Being in such close proximity, the stench was impossible to ignore.
“Um, could you release me now?”
“Are you guys sane? You’re not turning into some zombie or something.”
He said so, but he released me nonetheless.
If I had been in a zombie-like state, conversation wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
“So that’s what you say to your cute junior who risked their life to save you, huh? Senior Jinguichi.”
“Sorry about that. I really appreciate it. I brought some emergency rations just in case, but they ran out three days ago. If you have any food, anything will do, please give me.”
“Okay, here you go. I’m glad you’re safe, but where is Iwaro-san?”
Jinguichi, who was munching on the emergency ration with relish, stopped in his tracks.
He widened his eyes and stared at Hinoyama.
“Wait a minute. Is he still missing?! Didn’t he get saved before me?!”
He grabbed his junior’s shoulder and shook him vigorously.
“Calm down! Iwaro-san still hasn’t been found. I thought for sure he was with you, senior.”
“No way, how could this happen… Iwaro!”
I also thought the two of them were together.
According to the story, he got separated while they were running away and hasn’t been found since.
“Senior… as much as it pains me to say this, we should keep heading towards the mountaintop. If we can’t find him there, we should go down the mountain from the other side.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
It’s clear to see that he is exhausted. Despite behaving energetically, his physical and mental energy must be nearing their limits.
He immediately understands the recklessness of continuing the search for Iwaro in this situation and is able to make calm decisions like an adult.
Hinoyama helps his senior as we head towards the summit.
There is a bench and a table at the top, and apparently, there is also a small observation deck.
The hiking trail is located beyond the road that has been closed due to a landslide, and it takes about half a day to reach the summit from there. This is what Hinoyama told the senior.
As they climb, Jinguichi begins to speak about what happened. At first, they listen with surprise, but as he gets to a certain part of the story, I can’t help but become agitated.
“Did you know that Jin’s father was a magician named Tooru king? Also, he was the head of the Nanakagami family,” Jinguichi said.
“My father?” I asked, shocked.
Although the explanation continued, that was not the point.
It was a complete surprise to me to hear that Toru King, a famous person even I knew of, was my father.
In my memories, my father was cheerful and always laughing, a person who would endure any hardship for his family.
Now that it was mentioned, my father used to say “I’m really busy with work” like a catchphrase, and would often be away from home.
His return times were irregular too; sometimes he would come back late at night, and sometimes he would leave before I woke up in the morning.
It may seem natural for a family to notice their father’s true identity, but at that time, I had a trauma from living in the village and despised anything related to the supernatural or the occult.
Therefore, I didn’t even consider the possibility that my father was a magician or a member of a powerful family.
I intentionally looked away from such things and avoided them as much as possible.
Therefore, although I had heard of the name Tooru King, I had never seen him on TV.
That fact alone was shocking enough, but to think that he held the position of leader in the Nanakagami village was even more surprising.
Both were completely new information to me. Come to think of it, the people who used to insult me didn’t say anything in front of my father.
I have never seen anyone act arrogantly towards my father. He was a humble person who treated everyone with respect, so I never even imagined that he held such an important position.
He must have been careful not to show that side of himself to me or my family.
My father was a famous magician and also the leader of the village. In other words…
Even though the story is still unfolding, I have realized something incredibly important.
The one with power becomes the leader of the family.
And that power is the psychic ability called Rokushin-tsu.
I have inevitably arrived at this answer. My father… was able to use psychic abilities.
Normally, this would be dismissed as a wild delusion.
But for me… I can have premonitory dreams.
I have always thought that this was a special power unique to me. However, it was different. There were others in that village who had awakened to abilities like mine.
It’s unclear whether these abilities are the result of training or inherited traits.
We don’t know what kind of power my father possessed. We don’t know if his work as a magician involved utilizing his abilities, or if it was just cleverly staged magic tricks. There’s no way to investigate this now.
Just this much information is overwhelming enough, but the possibility that this village is somehow involved with the zombies I saw in my premonitory dreams adds even more to the mix.
As I walked along an unmarked path, my view suddenly opened up. The trees disappeared, and I found myself in an open space. A roof supported by four pillars appeared before me. Underneath it was a square wooden table surrounded by long benches.
I had reached the mountain top.
After seating Jingūichi on a chair, I approached the fence at the back. The village where I was born and raised should be visible beyond this line of sight. More precisely, the remains of the village that had become ruins due to a fire— but there was nothing there?
I leaned over the fence and squinted my eyes, trying to see more clearly. The place where the village should have been, was now a steep slope. There were no trees or grass, just bare ground.
“Is this the aftermath of a massive landslide? The village has become a ruin buried under the soil.
On the mountainside where no damage was done, a path can be seen. That must be a hiking trail.
As the gaze gradually rises, there are lush forests and rivers, and in the far distance, a town can be seen.
Even though I’m a local, I don’t remember ever seeing such a beautiful view.
Perhaps, I was too preoccupied with my daily training back then to appreciate the scenery.”
“Was Iwaro there?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
The two expressed their disappointment.
“I hope Iwaro-san is safe,”.
Although they were worried, it was not the time to be concerned about someone else’s well-being.
They needed to switch gears and make plans to escape now.
“After taking a short break, let’s descend from this side,” I made the ruthless decision, considering that I had known the others for the shortest time.
While the other two might have their own thoughts, they simply nodded without a word.
Since one side of the mountain had a steep slope, the plan to descend from the fence side was no longer feasible.
With the slope side blocked, the chances of encountering villagers on their way down would increase. As time passed, more people would approach the mountaintop. However, it was essential to allow Jingūichi’s stamina to recover during the break.
Still wary of their surroundings, we looked back towards the slope once again.
There, we saw dozens of people making their way down the hiking trail.
“This is a major crisis,” Jingūichi said in a dismayed voice, who had approached me without me noticing.
“Hinoyama-san, give me that detective tool of yours,” he said.
“It’s not ‘that,’ please be specific about what you want,” he replied grumblingly.
Then I took out a telescope from his bag.
“1-2-3-4,” he muttered while adjusting the focus.
Hinoyama couldn’t help but make a comment on Jingūichi’s old-fashioned way of counting. Since we reunited, both of them seemed more lively and energized than when they were alone.
“There are quite a lot of people in sight. I wonder how many more are climbing up,” Jingūichi said as he peered through the telescope.
“Shall we investigate that as well? We should find the best route to escape, even if we decide to run away,” I suggested.
Hinoyama reached into his bag again and pulled out a small drone with four propellers attached to it. He also had the controller with him.
“Did you bring it with you on purpose?” Jingūichi asked.
“Of course. It’s very useful in various situations,” Hinoyama replied.
Do detectives these days use this kind of thing?
The video footage from the drone silently taking off is displayed on Hinoyama’s smartphone.
“Surveillance and capturing photographic evidence…it’s convenient for investigations, you know.”
“Times are changing, huh?”
Why is fellow detective Jingūichi impressed, though?
The three of us peer into the small smartphone, and surprisingly, no figures can be seen near the mountaintop.
Most of the people are still at the foot of the mountain, and there are no zombie-like beings among them, unlike those seen further down the slope.
“When I was being chased, I thought that the zombie-like creatures only seem to come out at night.”
“That’s right, I haven’t encountered them during daylight hours. They must be nocturnal.”
“Or maybe their vision is better at night in that state. Alternatively, they might be afraid of being seen by people.”
I listened silently to the conversation between the two.
The idea that they might be nocturnal doesn’t seem to fit. In my premonitory dream, they were active and lively during the daytime.
It’s more likely that they’re avoiding being seen by people as a possibility.
Even in this depopulated area, there’s a possibility that hikers or people camping without permission could show up.
“Well, this is bad.”
“Yeah…this is…”
Hearing the two of them sound so desperate brings me back to reality from my thoughts.
I look down at my phone screen and see countless people gathered at the foot of the mountain. I quickly count and there are over 50 people at least.
Not only are there people in regular clothing, but also police officers, firefighters, and even people in suits who seem out of place.
If you think about it normally, they should be seen as search party members looking for the two who went missing.
However, there are two trucks parked near the police officers, and on the cargo beds, there are huge cages covered with something like plastic sheets.
We didn’t miss what we glimpsed through the gaps in the blue sheets.
Inside were zombie-like creatures squirming around.
“Hey, how serious are they? Are those police officers fake or are they in on it too?”
“I don’t sense any immediate movement…oh man, this is the worst.”
Two more large trucks with square bulging cargo beds arrive at the foot of the mountain.
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Thanks for the UD. I hope iwaro-san will be safe and survive the zombie bite 😭
Thanks for the update