Chapter 23: Opening Of The 2nd Floor

Well, here it is.  Better late than never xD

Let me know if there are any spelling errors, or grammar, or if you don’t understand something.

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“Hekksho–”  (TL: sneezing)

Yusuke wakes up sneezing.  His naked body wound in blankets, he vaguely looks around.  The room was pitch black and he couldn’t see anything.

(……ah–, I had fallen asleep like this huh..)

Last night, Mizuki had left right after.  Fatigued as well, Yusuke locked the door and slept in the locker room.

Using the flashlight, he finds the light switch.  While quickly getting dressed, there is a knock on the door.

“………are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“If you would like to eat breakfast, I can prepare it…”

“I’ll eat.”

“It’ll take about 10min to prepare.”

“Alright.”  (TL: “Aiyo”  Shortened form of “Aa, ii yo”)

Stepping out of the locker room, the hallway is dimly lit by the morning sun.  The corridors stretching to the left and right of the elevator, were lined with glass windows; and behind them, various plants and flowers had been placed.  Countless towels had been thrown over the tops of the foliage in place of a clothesline.

While yawning, Yusuke took in the scenery outside.  As always, the parking lot was a field of zombies.

“Good weather na~~~”

While humming a tune, Yusuke turns towards the men’s restroom.  Breakfast was bleak as always.  Countless Tupperware and canned foods adorned the dinner table.  They were washing and reusing disposable chopsticks and the hot water in the tea cups was only warm.

When Yusuke shows his face, Mizuki displays a slightly awkward attitude, but he silently ignores it.  The four face the table, everyone eating in silence.

(I want to eat rice…. Maybe I should bring a small rice cooker…)

While Yusuke was thinking as such, Mizuki lets out a small cough.  Pressing her hand against her face and turning away, she continues coughing.

“A cold huh?  Don’t spread it.”

To those words, Mizuki slightly raises her brows as if asking “who’s fault do you think this is?”.

“……because yesterday, I did something slightly unreasonable.”

“Is that right?  Don’t spread it.”

‘Mu~’ Mizuki gives a sour look.

Ignoring that, when the three finished their meals, Yusuke opens his mouth.

“Sate….to.  You guys.”

(TL: “Sate-to” is something you say when you are moving onto a new task.  It’s like “Alright…” or “It’s about time…”)

At those words Mizuki and her brothers stop moving.  Like that, they wait patiently for his next words.

“I’ll speak while omitting troublesome things.  I saved your lives.  Therefore I’ll have you return the favor accordingly.  Is anyone unsatisfied?”

“…..No.”

(TL: The literal would have been “Does everyone recognize this?”  “….Yes.”, but I felt like that was awkward.)

Mizuki answers in a small voice.  After locking eyes for a moment, Mizkui’s brothers nod in agreement.  Yusuke continues speaking.

“Then, what do you guys do all day?”

“All day…..?”

Mizuki tilts her head.

“While I’m out looking for food, what are you guys doing back here?”

“Nothing…. in particular”  (TL: “Tokuni…. nanimo”)

At those words, Yusuke became silent.

With an unpleasant look on her face, Mizuki and her brother sat there with an atmosphere like they had given up.  After a short interval, Yusuke once again opens his mouth.

“……is that so.  Well, it’s fine.  Anyway, today you will be searching the rooms on this floor.  I’d like to close the shutters at the loading entrance, but I haven’t been able to find the key.  Search for it.  Other supplies and equipment as well.  A floor plan, operating manuals, notes or memos for machinery, anything is fine.”

“Haa…..etto, so we should look for a key and documents?”  (TL: “Haa…etto” = “Ye(s)….umm”)

“That’s right, all three of you will.”

“Understood.”

He could only hope that a supermarket employee hadn’t taken the key and gotten turned into a zombie.  Even if they are unsuccessful at finding the key, the work provides them with something to do to keep their minds off of meaningless things.

Even the two brothers quietly nod as if an important task had been left to them.

“I have stuff to do.  I’ll be back by evening…. probably.”

“Okay.  Please be careful.”

Mizuki says in a tone like she is worried about their meals disappearing.

Descending to the 2nd floor, Yusuke folds his arms in thought.

“Well then….. the problem, is how stupid they will turn out to be.”

The monitor in the security guards room, which normally reflected the inside of the supermarket, was turned off.  The process of operating it is fairly complicated, so Mizuki shouldn’t be able to restore it.  During this time, Yusuke planned to clean the zombies off the 2nd floor.

On the 2nd floor, from the daily goods corner, to the drug store and women’s clothing shop, including the 100 yen discount uniforms, how many tenants were in them?

(TL: In case anyone is confused, these are all shops, and by tenants he means zombies.)

If he could open this floor to Mizuki and her brothers, the labor of bringing back food should decrease a bit.  Afterwards, it would be fine if he let them upgrade their base as they wished.

The only problem is that Mizuki would likely wonder how he managed to clear all the zombies out.

Even now she must be skeptical of how he survived the earlier encounter with the three zombies.  Because of that, he’s not sure if he should open the first floor as well.  Yusuke planned to keep the 1st floor closed for now.

If Mizuki and her brothers could freely cook meals, there would no longer be a reason for them to follow him.  But if he were to bring bigger amounts for long-term provisions, Mizuki could try to run away again.  If he could open the floor, it would create a way he could profit from them without the use of food.

“……since there are only a few zombies on the 2nd floor, I might can do something.  There were so many on the first floor, it was unreasonable.  Well then, let’s get started.”

Normally if a person were to slay a zombie using a gun, the noise would attract more zombies, and they would be done in.  In her ignorance, Mizuki never thought that far. (TL: During the 3 zombie incident explanation.)

Deciding on a plan of attack, Yusuke starts moving.

Searching every corner of the 2nd floor, from the girls bathroom to the backyard lounge, he finds six zombies.  An old man, a lady in her 40’s, and a man that looked about 20.  There was also a young woman but, she didn’t have a good face and her stomach was torn open from being eaten.

“Yes, that way, that way.  Move, move.”

Pushing and pulling, he guides them to the 1st floor.  Pushed from the back, they staggered back and fourth as they walked.  Rather than crushing their heads and carrying out their corpses, making them walk out was much easier.

Once he had moved everyone out of the 2nd floor, he closes the door to the fire escape.

As this was the entrance to the staircase and the floor, he tied carts together on the staircase, effectively creating a blockade.

“Next would be the escalators huh?”

Returning to the 2nd floor, he faces the center of the room.  The escalators which had once been operational, were now stopped.  First, he had to walk down to the first floor and observed the situation.

A switch box was embedded in a nearby pillar.  Unlocking it with the key he brought with him, he opens the switch box and sees these buttons in a line 『 ▲ 』 『 ■ 』 『 ▼ 』.  He presses 『▼』 and the shutters descend.

“Yosh.” (TL: “Alright.” What one says to either psyche themselves up, or when they have completed a task.)

After closing the switch box, he returns to the 2nd floor.  With the same process, he closes the shutters on both sides of the 2nd floor as well, completely blocking it off.  Thus, the only way to travel between the 3rd and 2nd floor was the elevator.

The chances that the zombies on the first floor would be able to call the elevator and press the 2F or 3F buttons were slim.  The zombies were definitely capable of movement, but nothing that complex.  Even at the train station, the flap doors were broken from the zombies forcing their way through the ticket gates.

“That’s about it huh…..  There’s still time.”

Checking his watch, Yusuke confirms that it is still before noon.  He goes down to the first floor and gets on his bike, heading out to get more goods.

It was 7:00p.m. and the sky had become completely dark.  Yusuke was at the back door of the supermarket, unloading a minivan.  He unloaded a home center he got from an electronics store, and some documents he scavenged from the library, as well as other things.  Using a dolly, he loads them into the elevator.

After unloading the luggage on the 3rd floor, he is setting up a rice cooker in the hot water supply room when Mizuki shows her face.  She was still coughing lightly.

“Takemura-san, what’s that?”

“A rice cooker.  I want to eat rice.”

“Rice…..”

Mizuki’s face was shining with anticipation.

“Just canned food isn’t enough.  There are two bags of rice in the hallway, use them.”

“……..ah, but, without tableware, it’ll be troublesome.  Perhaps I should make onigiri?  It’d be good if we had seaweed or salt.”

“Ah–, that’s right.  Wait a moment.  I’ve opened the 2nd floor, so let’s get some tableware from there.”

“?”

At Yusuke’s words, Mizuki tilts her head with a strange expression.

When the fire door to the 3rd floor opened, Mizuki became frightened.  Even while they were walking around the 2nd floor, Mizuki hid behind his back, skittishly looking around.  (TL: wtf, didn’t he just say the only way was to take the elevator?)

Soon, after no zombies appeared and she finally realized it was safe; Mizuki’s expression became bright.  Pushing a basket, she looked through the shelves as if she were having fun. Yusuke felt that reaction was somewhat anticlimactic.

He thought she would ask questions like “How did you clear out the zombies?” or “Why have you not done this until now?”, but it didn’t look like she was going to ask anything.  All she said was “Amazing.”, as the goods she had been deprived of were spread before her eyes.

(She should be doubtful of how I profit from this right?  Certainly there was a chance you would miss out if you were always suspicious… maybe that’s the reason she is reluctant to say anything to me?  Though I may be over thinking it….)

Ahead of Yusuke, Mizuki had stuffed the cart full of supplies.  This floor had clothes, daily necessities, Pharmaceutical products, and cosmetic.  Surely sanitary items were a matter of life and death for Mizuki.  Yusuke opening the 2nd floor was big.  These were important items for a high school girl which were hard to replenish.

Casting a side glance at the misfortunate Mizuki, Yusuke turns towards the elevator.

“We are working upstairs, so just grab the necessities for now.”

“Hai!  Ah, that’s right.  Takemura-san, we found the key.”

“Huh, really?”

“We went through the office desks together and gathered everything useful.  We tagged everything, so I think you’ll be able to understand quickly.  We found lot’s of documents.”

“Hee~.  Although I wasn’t expecting anything, you did good.”

At those words, Mizuki smiled slightly.