An hour of driving soon passed. The nd rover stopped at one of the luxurious high-rise apartment complexes. It spanned twenty floors, far above the eight-storey apartments they once lived in.

  “Wait for me here. Hiratsuka-sensei, I am leaving the mutated zombies to you. Also, no need to conserve bullets. Shoot any approaching zombies.”

  It was a collection of nods and “mhms”. Eishi felt the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat strange, but he wisely ignored it.

  Mahiru watched his back disappear, complex thoughts flickering inside her mind.

  She recalled Eishi’s actions in the past two days. Nobody brought it up, but his btant phindering made her feel conflicted.

  His goodwill, concern, and warmth… these are real.

  How good it was to monopolize such a perfect man?

  To see him have other women, more so have intimate retions with him?

  No woman can endure it.

  It’s just that the three women inside Eishi’s vil knew not to cause more mess. His act of saving them is enough to win them over, not to mention his warm words and good treatment of them.

  They could only internalize everything—to keep their thoughts to themselves.

  Now that there are three… no, four more, Mahiru could barely hold herself.

  It wasn’t just her.

  Shizuka caught onto the fact that everyone that Eishi saved is a girl.

  ‘He… He should not be like that…’

  Megumi, the “simplest” one out of them all, also felt bewildered. Embodying the concept of ultimate ‘pinness’, her thoughts aligned with most girls.

  Sharing a man with other women? That’s a big no no.

  Out of them all, only Saeko did not care.

  ‘His way of using the sword is crude, but it works. His physical strength must be terrifying…’

  Her upbringing as a master of kenjutsu lit up her interest in becoming stronger. To her, the way of the bde is her life.

  Someone as strong as Eishi piquing her interest is inevitable.

  Eishi, the man in question, killed one zombie after another.

  ‘The principal’s crystal is the equivalent of ten grapes. The strongest one, a hundred grapes…’

  While driving, he tried to absorb one of the mutated zombie crystals. Grasping it alone is not enough. He has to conjure a mental image of water ‘draining’ to ‘absorb’ the said crystal. It brought a warm sensation simir to the evolution fruit.

  Granted his three-hundred spirit stat, he has a vague feeling about the ‘energy’ contained within the crystal.

  Eishi gave Mahiru the ‘strongest’ mutated zombie crystal comparable to one hundred grapes. This netted him thousands of it.

  Absorbing one took five minutes. After absorbing ten, Eishi felt his milky white core becoming fuller. He estimated it will take 490 more to advance to five-stars. The best thing about it was it could be eaten together with evolution fruits, boosting his leveling speed further.

  Considering that mutated zombie’s strength, one of its stat reached seventy, with the rest gging behind, barely at twenty to thirty range.

  ‘Talent… It decides everything.’

  Without a good talent, one can only wait to die. Hunting mutated zombie crystals with meager strength is meaningless.

  Fortunately, Eishi did not fall to that percentile.

  Sou-!

  Sou-!

  …

  Like a farmer cutting leaks, his strikes made corpses fall. The cramped hallway worked to his advantage. Three zombies can only fit in at a time. They happened to fall under Eishi’s range, making it easier to kill them all.

  Whenever a mutated zombie appeared, he did not hesitate to use his M9A3. Repeated headshots worked well on them, saving him the trouble of being too overwhelmed by zombies.

  With his current physical strength and [Time Dominator], he cleared all fifteen floors. His only stop was him consuming [Stamina Restoration Pills]. They still take effect on him. The mutated zombie crystals fell to his pockets.

  ‘It’s already the fortieth one. Will I surpass Mahiru’s fifty record?’

  He did not pn to find it out in this dangerous environment. He strolled along the door numbers before arriving at 1507.

  Eishi knocked five times. His keen eyes saw the peephole open from the other side.

  “Hello. Haruno-san sent me here to pick you up.”

  Click-!

  The door was opened. It revealed a girl wearing fully long-sleeved tops and pants. Her arms and legs are wrapped in thick yers of tape. A wooden baseball bat was tightly grasped in her hand.

  Her beautiful face could not be hidden by two days’ worth of dirt and sweat. It overpped with Haruno’s mature look. Be it the proportions, her wline, or her nose, he could not find any imperfection.

  She cautiously scanned Eishi from head to toe.

  [Yukino Yukinoshita]

  Innate Talent: Mirror Lord (SS, Unawakened)

  Non-exclusive Talent: None

  Life Level: Zero-order/Unawakened

  Strength: 11

  Agility: 10

  Constitution: 10

  Spirit: 16

  Along with the status panel came the talent description.

  [Mirror Lord (SS, Unawakened)]

  Details: The blessed one destined to rule over the world of mirrors. She can perfectly utilize a mirror’s strength and weaknesses, using the mirror world’s mechanisms against friend and foe alike.

  ‘Another SS… Beauty must be a prerequisite for high talent.’

  [Yukino Yukinoshita]

  Appearance: 98

  Figure: 97

  Temperament: 98

  Purity: Intact, Can be bound

  Overall Rating: SSS

  It was Eishi’s first time to see a 98 in temperament.

  ‘No wonder…’

  “I assume your older sister must have told you about me.”

  “...Yes. Are you her boyfriend?”

  “Quite.” He cut off her thoughts. “Let’s go. Clearing up the higher floors is a hassle.”

  Speak and they will come. Several zombies from the next floor came down running from the stairs. Yukino saw this and was spooked. Her eyes frantically scanned her surroundings.

  Dozens of zombie corpses y bare all over the corridor. Its sight brought chills down to her spine. The remaining bread she ate this morning made her stomach churn.

  Hearing the familiar vomiting sounds, Eishi did not mind her.

  Sou-!

  Sou-!

  His eighteen times the normal human strength easily dealt with these zombies. Just their frenzied killing alone at the gym made him more accustomed to killing zombies.

  Eishi saw the pool of vomit on the ground.

  ‘A beautiful girl’s vomit is still a vomit.’

  He handed her over a bottle of water, to which she drank. The remnants of her vomit slid down her throat, making her feel uncomfortable.

  “There’s no time to waste. Look. More zombies are coming.”

  Eishi’s words convinced her. Yukino forced herself to follow Eishi, tightly gripping her wooden baseball bat.

  Seeing him cut through zombies like a humanoid terminator shocked her. From the fifteenth to the first floor, Yukino found herself breathless. Eishi remained the same.

  The two walked towards the nd rover parked in the distance. Several zombie corpses could be seen around it.

  ‘Oh no. It’s only a five-seater.’

  Eishi suddenly remembered a problem. His eyes were drawn to the nd rover’s back compartment.

  “I hope you won’t mind riding on the back.”

  His inexplicable words were met by Yukino’s confused looks.

  *****

  The road to the vil was fraught with a few dangers. The nd rover’s presence attracted zombies. If it wasn’t for its good enough speed, modified ptes, and tougher tires, running over them would have been a hassle.

  Aside from them, there were also espers who tried to ambush him on the way out of the city pza. Needless to say, they got a hole in their foreheads. The bloody battlefield on the pza sparked survivor groups to kill each other for food.

  ‘Did I get too greedy?’

  Eishi sneakily gnced at everyone inside the car. There wasn’t any ‘scent of young girls’ and the likes. The faint scent of blood and sweat permeated inside. The air conditioner helped diffuse most of them, though a trace remained.

  It was the atmosphere between the girls that concerned Eishi. He knew they all had something to say to him. He could think with his toes it has a lot to do with the people he saved—all women.

  Although he did not do anything bad, being scummy is still too far for these girls. They haven’t witnessed the true meaning of the apocalypse—the colpse of human morality.

  Originally, this wasn’t a problem with Mahiru, Airi, and Haruno.

  Mahiru knows the cruel reality of reality. While she is conflicted with Eishi’s attitude, she could not bring herself to act unreasonably, more so when she liked him too.

  Haruno is a business elite with a tight grasp over human desires. She knows when to compromise; when to accept things.

  Airi is the simplest of them all. She cared about nothing so long as she could be with Eishi. Her usual sharp tongue does not show up in Eishi’s presence at all.

  With the addition of four more women, things are bound to get trickier.

  ‘I need to address it soon.’

  What strategy to use?

  Should I initiate the confrontation?

  Talk to them alone?

  Dozens of ideas fshed inside his mind.

  Practically, the benefits of one triple S rated Confidante is huge. Whether it is the [Lucky Eyes], [Healthy Circle], or the [Romantic Link], they are all indispensable to him. Eishi could not imagine how good the effects of four more triple S rated Buffs would be, not to mention the rebate chances.

  What he underestimated was human nature. His home is bound to be chaotic with seven women under the roof.

  ‘I have to sort this out soon.’

  *****

  Haruno stared at the tablet on her p. She immediately jumped when she saw the familiar nd rover appear on the surveilnce. She checked around the vil and confirmed there weren’t any zombies around. Only then did she open the tall iron gate.

  Wrapped in a thick winter jacket, she carefully scrutinized the nd rover’s back. Haruno sighed in relief as she closed the tall gate, returning the sense of security it has.

  Her footsteps left marks on the slightly thick snow, She trotted until she reached the garage.

  Once the garage’s gate closed, the terrifying cold outside disappeared completely. The entire vil ran on heaters and air conditioners.

  Despite her worries that supplies may not be enough, Eishi asked her to keep them running.

  Haruno stood outside the nd rover. Her eyes gnced at three new arrivals—girls she hadn't seen before. She looked around and did not see the familiar visage of her sister.

  ‘She said she was picked up…’

  The nd rover’s back compartment was opened. A tall girl crawled out of it.

  Yukino felt sore all over her body. She did not let out a series of compints, wary and grateful for her sister’s boyfriend.

  The moment Haruno saw her, she said nothing and rushed to give her a hug.

  Eishi saw this emotional reunion.

  “Let Mahiru and Airi guide you two. You can take a bath first before dinner.”

  Hearing the words ‘bath’ and ‘dinner’ in the same sentence poked the memories of the three girls. Megumi and Saeko were lucky. They only had to withstand the stale and sweet fvor of protein bars. They also had water.

  Shizuka was different. They starved for half a day inside the principal’s office. Worse, they could not use the water in the bathroom. Someone was smart enough to point out the blood rain and its possible contamination of water sources.

  Megumi bowed to her waist.

  “Thank you, Eishi-san.”

  She changed her address to his first name.

  Seeing this, Saeko followed forth, and then Shizuka.

  To this, Eishi replied with a brief nod. He is not a good guy. Half of the reason he brought these girls in was the ‘rewards’ they netted him. The other half was his vanity.

  No matter how much he feels guilty, he likes having a group of girls shower him with affection.

  Mahiru remained by his side.

  “Do you regret it? To be with me?”

  “No.”

  Her resolute answer caught him off guard.

  “Nobody… can understand me. Not until I met you.”

  Mahiru recalled the days of being pced on a pedestal. Being dubbed as an “angel” went beyond her expectations. Her small acts of helping others stemmed from her understanding of the world’s struggles.

  She went through a lot of things other girls at her age would not. She wanted to make the world a little better through her acts.

  Unfortunately, it led to her being treated by others on a high pedestal. Even though she never wanted this position, she had no choice but to accept it. Her actions are genuine. Mahiru did not let others’ treatment change them.

  Meeting Eishi was the most fortunate thing in her life. He became someone she can share her worries with.

  In this world ridden with zombies and human danger, he became someone she can completely rely on.

  Who wouldn’t fall for such a man?

  Even if…

  Even if he possessed certain fws, it only meant he wasn’t perfect.

  In Mahiru’s eyes, that was enough.

  Eishi saw her body move closer to his. He did not have the mind to care about their bloodied outfits. She asked for a kiss; he reciprocated.

  The soft, gentle touch melted her bones. Eishi caught onto her slender waist blocked by the thick pstic vest.

  The light kiss devolved into something deeper. She shyly stuck out her tongue. He took advantage of it and began leading her on.

  Before long, they separated. The look in their eyes indicated the kiss wasn’t enough.

  “Do it here?”

  “Here…”

  With a guilty conscience, the angel nodded…