Unable to stand around on the side of the road forever, I walked to my intended store.

During the ride from home with Diya, she dropped me off at a train station in a location a little further from our house.

Living in a rural area with nothing around, we used this spot, where commercial shops are concentrated, to go shopping.

Apart from this spot, the only option would be to go to a shopping mall that is about an hour away.

“There’s not much of a sense of bustling business here, to say the least,” I commented.

The station which was rebuilt five years ago, is small but clean and looks nice. In front of the station, there are a convenience store, a shopping district, restaurant chains, and some mixed-use buildings. With such a cluster of buildings, there is a decent amount of foot traffic, and it seems to be flourishing in its own way. In fact, there’s nowhere else to go.

As I absentmindedly admire the surrounding scenery, I enter the familiar shopping district. Stores line both sides of the road, which is relatively wide. About half of them are closed with the shutters down, which is quite depressing. Even though it’s a bit far from here, many stores closed down all at once when a large shopping mall was built.

“It’s so deserted.”

The closure of my favorite Japanese sweet shop was the most shocking for me, and since then I have decided not to go to the shopping mall out of spite.

“I hope business will pick up a bit more… but when I think about what could happen in a month, it’s not that important,” he said.

If that became a reality, it would be beyond the scope of just talking about business. Either all the shutters would come down and everyone would stay indoors, or they would be ravaged by zombies and end up in a pitiful state.

“Oh, what’s wrong? Why such a gloomy face? How about some freshly fried croquettes?”

In response to the voice, he lifted his face, which had been facing the ground, and saw the meat shop lady looking at him with her usual smile.

She had a slightly plump figure and a friendly face that highlighted her good nature. He wondered what would become of her in a month’s time…

“That looks delicious, but I’ll buy it later. I have something I need to take care of first.”

“Oh, really? Well, it includes good meat for shabu-shabu, you know.”

In response to the loud voice directed towards his departing back, he lightly waved his hand.

As he advanced deep into the shopping district with a high proportion of closed shutters, he arrived at his destination store.

The store was located at the end of the shopping district and connected to the road beyond it. Taking advantage of this location, it was equipped with a large parking lot next door.

There were several polished cars lined up there.

As a business tool, it was also maintained impeccably. Truly a rental car company.

Looking into the fully glassed storefront, he could see two people, a slightly overweight man in a suit and a woman wearing glasses.

The interior had two sets of desks and a set of sofas on a glass table. There were ornamental plants near the entrance and a shelf with brochures lined the wall.

Although it was clean, the storefront lacked any commercial atmosphere, as usual.

“Excuse me, I’d like to rent a car.”

“Welcome! Oh, if it isn’t Mr. Sakurazaka. Thank you as always.”

The female store clerk turned to me with a perfect sales smile that didn’t give away any hint of the sullen face she had just had while doing office work.

The male store clerk also bowed deeply when he saw me.

“What kind of car are you looking for this time? The new EV car that you used before was just recently–“

I held back the overly eager store clerk who was closing in on me.

The store clerk urged me to sit on a chair, and when I sat down on the sofa, a cup of tea and high-end sweets were placed in front of me. It seemed like the male store clerk had prepared them quickly.

Since I rented a car from this place at least twice a month, I was treated as a regular customer.

The reason I always rent a car here is because I don’t have one at home.

People tend to think that it’s extremely inconvenient to not have a car in a place with poor transportation, but we have bicycles and a motorbike, which are enough.

My sister is a shut-in and never leaves the house, and if it’s just a small purchase, we can get by with the motorbike.

Besides, it’s not an ordinary motorbike. It’s a three-wheeled vehicle with a roof that can carry luggage in the back, the one often used by delivery pizza shops.

One more reason why we don’t have a car is because ever since that accident, my sister has become afraid of driving.

 In this day and age, you can get almost anything with online shopping.

However, there are times when I feel inconvenient. So, when I buy in bulk a few times a month, I rent from this store.

“I wanted to rent a small truck this time. Also, do you have heavy machinery?”

“We have several small trucks available, but heavy machinery… Would that be a dump truck or excavator?”

The clerk was caught off guard by my question and momentarily became serious.

“Well, it would be helpful to have an excavator or something like that. We’re going to be doing some serious work around the house and garden.”

“I see, I see. Our company handles a wide range of services, so we can provide that for you. However, if I may ask, do you have the necessary license or qualifications?”

“Well, I don’t have one myself, but a friend who can help has the license. If necessary, I can bring my friend along at a later date.”

Of course, it’s natural for them to ask about that.

I know Diya have the necessary qualifications. In fact, she has posted a video of herself getting the license, and I’ve seen her actually operate the machinery.

“That’s a relief. We can have a small truck ready for you right away, but for heavy machinery, it might be after tomorrow.”

“That’s fine. Can you deliver it to my house the day after tomorrow? Also, I’d like to take the small truck and drive it home now.”

The negotiation went smoothly from there, and I ended up renting a white small truck for a long term of one month. When I mentioned the rental period, the staff sent me off with an even friendlier smile than usual… I can confidently say that smile went beyond just a sales smile.

“I wonder if this is enough?”

After stopping by the home center, he bought all the necessary tools for the work. In addition, he also bought everything necessary for his home garden. Of course, he had previously consulted with Diya and made a list of essential items.

He bought a sturdy shovel with the best quality he could find, as it seemed to be frequently used in zombie movies and games that his sister enjoyed watching.

Speaking of which, shovels and spades apparently have different names in western and eastern Japan. He suddenly remembered this trivial knowledge.

In a world where zombies ran rampant, he wondered if this kind of knowledge gained from TV shows would be of any use.

He felt a slight pain in his chest at the thought.