"Marikawa-sensei, close Saya-senpai's eyes!"
After a moment of loss, Isao shouted, startling Shizuka. However, she quickly reacted and hugged Saya tightly, closing her eyes so Saya wouldn't see this horrible scene.
Still, his hands trembled, and he felt the warmth slowly disappearing on Souchiro's body.
Isao understood that Yuriko did this because she wanted to prevent her husband from becoming those "things" when Souchiro was bitten.
Instead of dying as those "things," Souchiro died as a human.
This also allowed Souchiro to preserve his last dignity.
Yet, even so, Isao didn't expect that Yuriko would be so decisive and shoot her husband. He closed his eyes for a moment and didn't expect this situation. This made him feel at a loss, as it was for the first time his plan crumbled, and something didn't go his way.
On the other hand, even if Yuriko knew that she had to do this, as everything had happened, her hands trembled, but her expression was still strong.
However, everyone who saw this couldn't say anything and just fell into silence, lowering their heads and not daring to meet their gaze at Yuriko, only looking at Isao with empathy as his face was splashed by Souchiro's blood.
As Isao let out a helpless sigh, he closed Souchiro's eyes and put him down, taking out his jacket to cover his head so no one would see this cruel scene.
"Isao-kun, use this."
Saeko somehow came to his side and gave him a towel to wipe his face.
"Thanks, Senpai."
Isao wiped his face, then looked at Yuriko. "Yuriko-san, I will take care of the rest. You should go to rest."
"Ah, um..." Yuriko took a deep breath, then said, "Thank you, Isao-kun."
"Kiriko-san, please help Yuriko-san."
"Ah, yes." Kiriko, who also came with her daughter, also quickly helped Yuriko, but Yuriko refused Kiriko's help. "I am fine. There are many things that you can do for everyone. I will go back to my room for a while."
While Kiriko was at a loss, Isao knew that they had to move on, so he quickly instructed everyone what to do, from building another wall to setting up an emergency tent and preparing a fire and food.
While the generator was fine and it could allow everyone to use electricity, the electrical equipment was busted, so whether it was the light or other convenient things couldn't be used.
So, a fire was necessary to warm up everyone and, lastly, food.
The situation was like this, but even so, everyone needed to eat or else they wouldn't have stamina, and he ordered the women to make instant noodles for everyone after the men worked out to move out the corpse of those "things" out and also set up a wall to make this estate into a safe zone once again.
Frankly, due to his young age, many might not listen to him, but everyone had seen how he had saved everyone, and his instruction was precise and confident, so no one doubted him.
Moreover, during this situation where they had just lost their leader, everyone needed a new leader.
While Isao didn't want to become their leader, no one was suitable to become one, and while Souchiro had many reliable men who could fight courageously, they couldn't make the right decision, so he had to take this matter into his own hands.
As the wife of the leader, Yuriko should be able to take this role, but could she do it, especially after she shot her husband?
Nevertheless, under his instruction, everything was ready.
Isao was also able to fix some of the lights, erasing some darkness on this cold night.
Yet, this light was something that everyone was desperate for, especially after all of that. It might be a tiny light, yet it was everyone's hope.
Still, he had to say, the hope of everyone was so heavy on his back, but except for him, no one could they rely on.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
After Isao fixed the pacemaker for the sick person, the wife of the man thanked him repeatedly.
"It's fine. Put your husband to bed first. I need to check the others."
Isao quickly told the wife to take care of her husband and not to give him excessive thanks. Still, there were many sick people, and they had to be taken care of, but he could handle them, especially when he had the memory and experience of Tamayo, Shinobu, and Kanae.
Three of his women were doctors during the Taisho Period, when medical knowledge wasn't so advanced, so even with limited equipment, Isao could take care of everyone.
However, many things waited for him, such as transportation, which he had to fix. It was impossible to stay in this place anymore, especially when there were many corpses. Cleaning them was fine, but it took too much work, and it might cause a disease soon if they didn't clean those corpses cleanly. Moreover, with much of the electrical equipment busted due to the EMP, it was better to move out.
Isao might be able to fix the common electrical equipment, but the generator had limited energy, and the electric power transmission and substations that distributed the electricity to the house were busted. While he could fix them, it was too troublesome.
With all of those factors, it would be better to go to the dam in the north of Tokonosu city, which was also the source of water and electricity in this city.
The EMP might probably bust all the electrical devices in this country, but an energy plant had always been built to protect itself from the EMP, so it could still work.
However, if the dam were to fail, they could also move to Hachijou-jima, a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It is about 287 km (178 mi) south of the special wards of Tokyo.
Why this island?
It was because there was a geothermal energy plant in the city. It was also located in the Philippine Sea, quite far away from the country, and might not be affected by the EMP. Moreover, with the limited population, those "things" might not rampage on that island and would become a safe haven for everyone.
There were many things that he had to think about, and he felt extreme regret for the death of Souchiro since if Souchiro was here, then would all of this fall on his shoulders?
As he pinched the bridge of his nose, easing his headache, Rei came to him with food.
"Isao-kun, you should eat first."
"Thanks, Rei-senpai."
Isao accepted the bowl of instant noodles prepared by everyone to eat. It was just a bowl of instant noodles, but he could see that every one cried when they ate it. Still, he told those who followed him to rest and then noticed Saeko, who was staring at him awkwardly while holding a bowl of instant noodles.
"Come here."
Isao made a gesture for Saeko to move closer, and she smiled and then looked at Rei.
Rei pouted, but she didn't say anything. She knew that something had happened between them, and she was powerless to stop them. Moreover, the thought of breaking up with him had never crossed her mind, especially after what he had done for everything.
He was probably just exhausted and at his weakest. Saeko came to comfort him, and he just went along with the flow.
Still, watching Rei and Saeko, who stood between Isao, everyone was speechless, but they didn't say much since they were all exhausted.
Only Kiriko looked at Isao resentfully since this boy was really bad!
However, she also understood why Isao was popular.
"Say... Isao-kun, what is going to happen to us after this?"
While Isao didn't do anything and just ate, everyone subconsciously surrounded him since he was the only one who could erase their doubt. He was like a lighthouse during the darkest sea, guiding them to answer their doubts.
"Hey, can you ask that question later? He is tired!" Rei looked at the one who asked that question with a frown.
"It's fine, Rei-senpai." Isao rubbed his temple and said calmly, "We will move."
"Where?"
"If there is no problem, then we're going to the dam at the north of Tokonosu City."
"Dam?"
"If there is a place that can give us electricity and water at the same time, then it is only that place. Hopefully, the EMP won't affect that place, or our destination will be different."
"Wa-Wait? EMP?"
"Oh, right, you don't know, huh?" Isao then explained why all the electrical equipment was busted was all due to the EMP.
"Then, the phone, computer, and others...?"
"It's as good as useless, but it doesn't mean that I can't fix it. However, if possible, I want to get someone who is good with electricity, though. Are there such people among us?"
"........" Everyone.
Most of the men were either politicians or salarymen, but fortunately, there were some who were good at electricity and understood machinery.
Still, as Isao said, his food was already cold, which made him helpless, but he ate it clean. However, he couldn't rest since he had something to do first.
"Have you sent food to Saya-senpai and Yuriko-san?"
"Um." Rei nodded. "Miku-senpai should have sent food to Takagi-san."
"As for Yuriko-san, I have sent food to her before telling me to go back," Kiriko also said since she was the one who sent food to Yuriko.
"Then, I will talk to them first."
"Are you not going to rest?" Rei asked worriedly, knowing that Isao had worked the hardest.
"I will do it later." Isao patted Saeko and Rei on the back and said, "Stay in my room and wait for me."
"..." 2x
Rei and Saeko were speechless, wondering whether this guy wished to do a threesome, but when they were about to complain, he had already left, which made them even more helpless.
Still...
Rei and Saeko looked at each other and fell into silence.
Should they do it?
Isao wasn't sure what kind of reward he would receive when he returned to his room, but before that, he had to comfort the mother and daughter, who were in need of his attention the most.