When all the children went to the school to study, a figure with a veil and traditional red clothing from the Far East walked around sneakily, watching her surroundings with an anxious expression.
The way she walked and appeared would make anyone feel that she was suspicious and she must have been hiding something.
This woman was suspicious, and it was impossible for Isao to ignore her, so after Maria slept soundly, he went out to make sure that this woman didn't come with a bad intention.
On the other hand, the woman never expected that she would be targeted, but even so, when she thought about the distressed expression of her big sister-like figure, she couldn't help but feel like she had to do something.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah!"
The woman was startled and quickly fell on her face when she heard a voice from behind. Naturally, she felt familiar with this voice as this wasn't their first time meeting each other. Still, as she fell, her veil fell and exposed her beautiful face and her fox-like traits that showed that she was a renard, a demi-human race with fox-like traits such as ears and tail.
"I-Iinuma Isao-sama!"
"Who are you?" Isao knew who this woman was, but he pretended that he didn't realize who she was. At the same time, he couldn't help but stare at her bushy tail. Unlike Chloe's thin and cute tail, this woman's tail appeared warm and comfortable, which made him wonder how it felt being wrapped by it.
Yet, while his mind was dirty, his face was as calm as ever, as if he were an emotionless warrior.
"..."
The woman felt a bit disappointed since she was forgotten, but at the same time, she was also glad since she knew well that their meetings weren't good either.
"I..."
Yet, she didn't know what to say, and she fumbled her words clumsily, wondering what to do. She wasn't exactly a good talker, and her purpose in coming to him wasn't that clear. Moreover, when she thought about her identity, she felt even more depressed, as if she wasn't supposed to meet him.
Watching her expression and her tail that appeared so depressed, and even hugging herself as if trying to search for comfort, Isao felt helpless and extended his hand. "Get up first. The ground is dirty."
"....."
Watching him, who extended her hand for her and his smile that appeared slowly from his blank face, the woman stared at him in a daze, watching his figure that appeared radiant under the bright sky, which made her recall her past, where everything was peaceful, and she was still ignorant of everything.
Yet, the reality was different; it was impossible for her to dream, yet... yet... even if there was no possibility between them, at this moment, she reached his hand and talked to him for the first time softly, yet nervously.
"Th-Thank you."
This was their first interaction, and naturally, to calm her down, Isao brought her to the nearby bench to talk with her, wondering what she planned to do.
"Have you calmed down?"
"Ah, yes, sorry for troubling you, Iinuma-sama."
"You know me?"
"...I think that everyone in this city knows you, Iinuma-sama."
"You are right."
When Isao smiled gently, the woman felt a little embarrassed, but this made her happy, knowing that she could talk with him naturally.
"But I don't know you. What's your name?"
"M-My name is Sanjouno Haruhime."
Isao raised his brows and asked, "You are from the Far East?"
"Yes." Haruhime nodded softly and looked at him curiously. "Did you come from the Far East too, Iinuma-sama?"
"Yes." Isao nodded. "But we haven't met each other since I left the country when I was young."
"Why did you leave?" Haruhime was curious since she felt like Isao's life was a bit similar to his, but unlike him, who became the strongest and even the ruler of this city, she became a prostitute, a woman who sold her body for money, which made her inferior.
"I can't eat there. There isn't any food, so I'm leaving since I don't want to die."
His answer was as simple as if he was a native of the Far East, even though he was lying.
However, at the same time, he also hasn't lied since childhood; he hasn't eaten since the orphanage where he stayed in the world of "High School of the Dead" was relatively poor, and he often gave his food to the younger one.
Still, as he had become evil in that place, he didn't have any contact with anyone anymore since he had moved, and just sometimes he gave a donation to the orphanage anonymously so that way, the one who managed the orphanage wouldn't reject his money as his money was dirty money.
However, as those "things" appeared and everyone became a zombie-like creature, he knew that all of those people had died and everything was gone.
While he felt uncomfortable, he, who had numbed his heart to become evil so he could live a comfortable life, knew that he had to work and be better than staying in sadness, and probably, this was why he went after a mature woman since they gave him comfort, which he lacked when he was young.
At the same time, he realized that everything was so easy when he dared to face everything.
Yet, Haruhime never thought that Isao was lying since she knew well that, except for the nobles and some deities, the majority of people couldn't have enough to eat, or rather, the reason, why she became a prostitute was that she gave food to the poor and the deities even though it was forbidden.
Still—
"Why did you cry?" Isao looked speechlessly at Haruhime, who cried, thinking that a woman was really made of water.
"I-I am sorry... I-I will stop crying..."
"Geez... you are such a handful."
Isao took his handkerchief and wiped Haruhime's tears softly, which made her look at him in a daze. Her heart beat so fast, and she felt like something was overflowing, yet she knew that with her identity, it was impossible for anything to be born between them. Yet, there was a new feeling that was born within her that wished to be connected to him.
At the same time, Haruhime also forgot that her purpose in coming here was to talk with Isao, talking to him about the War Game that they were about to have later. Instead, they talked about other random things, such as the Far East, the story of a hero, and many other things, which made them forget about their time.
"Oh, it's already dark."
Isao looked at the darkened sky and didn't expect the time to move so fast, but it should be normal since when he was with a beautiful woman and had a happy time, it was natural that he would feel the time to move fast.
"Ah."
Haruhime also realized everything and couldn't help but feel regret since she knew that after this, they wouldn't be able to meet again.
"I have to go back now, Haruhime."
"Ah, yes, Iinuma-sama..."
Even if Haruhime tried to smile, her ears and tail were in a low position, showing how depressed she was.
"If possible, can we meet again tomorrow?"
When she heard those words, all of her ears and tail stood up high. "Is-Is that okay?"
"You don't want to?"
"Ah, please!"
"Okay, let's meet again tomorrow. See you, Haruhime."
For Isao, this was just spending his free time, but for Haruhime, who had always thought that her days were nothing but endless darkness, a gentle light came upon her life and brought her hope for her tomorrow.