A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

That's Hayato Hayama! It's probably a couple who're arguing and go to Hayama for mediation.

Thinking about it this way, could this person be Yamato?

"Hayama has really worked hard."

“That’s right,” Hachiman agreed wholeheartedly.

He is handsome and outstanding, and he is very gentle to everyone. That's how everyone describes him, the prince of Zongwu High School.

So it's understandable that people would bother him because they trust him, especially since he is the head of the disciplinary committee and handling disputes is his job.

However, on the other hand, Hachiman clearly understands why he lives alone: ​​to quietly relieve the invisible pressure accumulated during the day in his own private time at night.

At this time, someone came knocking on his door again, still because of the ripped crotch.

That's why they say Hayama works very hard.

"I understand. I will find him a replacement as soon as possible."

Although Uesugi Genshin said that, where can they find the right people?

Chapter 236: Common Symbols

"By the way, could I also step down from one of my positions?"

Taking on two roles is quite demanding for him, and Hachiman took the opportunity to make a request, which was nothing new.

"I'll deal with it when I get back." Without even looking at him, Uesugi Genshin picked up the funnel next to him, inserted it into the fuel filler neck, and then picked up the fuel can on the ground to start filling the fuel tank.

“I think Kasumigaoka is competent enough now. She was in charge of yesterday’s concert, wasn’t she?” Hachiman said, bringing up yesterday’s events as evidence, intending to persuade Genshin further.

"Yes, I know." And the requirements are very strict, exactly like Yukino's style of doing things, and this matter also reached his ears.

Although she is a strict person, she is also a beautiful woman, and overall, she is highly regarded, just like Yukinoshita.

Sure enough, everyone is a member of the "looks-matter" club.

A striking appearance alone can cover up any "flaws" in one's actions.

However, he wanted to hear more about Hachiman's considerations. "If you step down, who will assist Utaha?"

"There's a guy in the club named Totsuka Saika." Everyone likes him. If he weren't so cute, he'd be another Hayama.

Totsuka?

Seeing his slightly surprised expression, Hachiman quickly explained his reasons for recommending him, "Yes, he is the kind of person who seems harmless. The club members have a good relationship with him, and he is kind-hearted and gentle. I think he can temper the strong-willed style of Kasumigaoka."

"Hmm." Looking up at the sky, Uesugi Genshin pondered for a moment, then put down the empty oil can in his hand. "I have no objections. After I return, let her take over your department."

Then he put the cap back on the gas filler, placed his hand on Hachiman's shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "So you have to keep a close eye on Haruno until I get back."

"Should I do it?" Hachiman clicked his tongue, hating trouble. "I thought you would trust her a lot."

"Well, what she cares about most is always Yukinoshita." Uesugi Genshin lowered his hand and looked to the side with a calm expression.

Compared to Yukino Yukinoshita, Soubu High School should be relegated to the back of the list.

"It's not that I don't trust her, it's that I'm afraid she's too outstanding. She's been training herself to be a qualified family heir, and she knows how to take credit and promote herself, unlike Yukinoshita who buries herself in her work."

Therefore, as for Yang Nai, as long as she accomplishes a few achievements, with her abilities, she will have both popularity and so on.

"She's not one of us yet. If we reveal that she's backed by the Chiba Self-Rescue Committee, things will get complicated when Yukino returns."

"Ah, you mean you're afraid she'll turn Soubu High into a vassal of the Chiba Self-Salvation Committee?"

If it were just someone sent by Yukinoshita's parents, no one would pay any attention to them. But if Yukinoshita Haruno, who was once the acting president, is also from that side, then everyone would think that it's not so bad after all.

"Given Hayama's personality, he'll definitely be completely controlled by Yukinoshita Haruno, so don't keep hiding in the back, take responsibility."

The key is to let Yukinoshita's mother know that this side is a group that can stand on equal footing with the other side, that trust is mutual, and that the first thing to do is to demonstrate strength.

Even if that side is a bloated, large, and internally saturated group, if this place is completely controlled by Haruno, then Yukinoshita's mother will definitely think it would be better to merge this place into it as well, because there is no need for it to exist independently.

The Soubu High School, originally established under the individual visions of the three of them, cannot simply be merged into that place.

Uesugi Genshin simply wanted to live more comfortably in the apocalypse, anywhere was fine, but he didn't go to the Chiba Self-Rescue Committee because he felt it was more tiring there. Through his several life experiences, he had deeply realized that it was better to work for yourself than for others.

Hachiman, on the other hand, believes that only they themselves are more trustworthy. Compared to the current dictatorship, he particularly dislikes the democratic republic system, and the more people and the more diverse the society, the more dangerous it is. For Komachi's safety, he also does not want Soubu High School, this pure land, to disappear.

As for Yukinoshita... her words... only she herself probably knows.

“I understand.” Hachiman nodded and assured him, “I will keep a close eye on her.”

"Okay, I'll leave it to you." Now that Hachiman had made a serious promise, he could rest assured.

Both of them are trustworthy and keep their word.

After waiting a while, Yukino Yukinoshita and Ai Hayasaka walked over together. Hayasaka was still wearing her raincoat as before, while Yukinoshita was dressed in sportswear and had her hair tied in a ponytail, which looked very youthful.

If she was a dignified young lady before, she is now a dignified swordswoman.

"Is this all the stuff?" Uesugi Genshin took the bag from her and checked again.

"That's all. I also brought lunch." She lifted the box she hadn't handed over in her other hand.

“Cold bento boxes don’t taste good.” Hadi sighed, and Uesugi Genshin stated the fact regretfully.

“At least the miso soup is hot.” ​​As she spoke, Yukino Yukinoshita’s expression softened, and she pointed to the thermos flask placed on the side of her bag.

"Hey~, all prepared." He smiled with relief, glad that he didn't have to eat emergency food.

"At least I won't have to start eating canned food at noon." She smiled smugly, looking confident and genuinely relieved about her preparations.

"That's true. If you have the means, you should prepare properly. By the way, what kind of bento is this?"

"I did it." She said calmly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Then I'll look forward to it." Uesugi Genshin knew she was a master chef of Japanese cuisine, far superior to his half-baked skills.

"Ha, it's just a regular bento." Yukino Yukinoshita gave him a look that told him not to get his hopes up too high and walked toward the side of the car.

"A simple, delicious meal is enough," Hayasaka Ai commented from behind Yukinoshita, having seen Yukinoshita get up early that morning to prepare it.

Because of her overly virtuous and wifely qualities, such as her braided pigtails, even she, as a maid, felt inferior to her.

Who is better at taking care of people?

Hayasaka did indeed say what Uesugi Genshin wanted to say.

Yes, even a simple bento box is enough as long as it tastes good.

All three got into the car. Hayasaka Ai sat in the back seat, and the bento was placed behind the back seat.

Uesugi Genshin and Yukino Yukinoshita sat in front.

"Is there anything else we haven't prepared?" Uesugi Genshin asked again, adjusting the rearview mirror to make sure nothing was overlooked.

"No, everything has been taken care of." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head gently, certain that she was absolutely right—a confidence unique to her. "You are the one who has taken care of everything, haven't you?"

"of course."

Even though Mai and Kaori had already explained things clearly yesterday, not to mention the others, that's why no one came to see them off.

"Then let's set off." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded, looking ahead with a determined and expectant look in her eyes.

-----------------

We need to travel along the Keiyo Line, so we need to head inland first.

The journey was monotonous and boring, or rather, dangerous.

Before the zombies could even pry open the door, the car had already driven far away, or perhaps it had violently rammed into them.

The Keiyo Line was not in good condition, with derailed trains, tragic collisions, and corpses scattered all over the platforms.

But at least it's smooth; the roads between Chiba and Tokyo are unobstructed.

Chiba is very close to Tokyo; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's the closest prefecture to Tokyo.

In other words, as the prefecture closest to Tokyo, the world's most populous metropolis and capital of Japan, it can be roughly equated with or even considered the capital.

As someone who is half Chiba native, Uesugi Genshin knows that when Chiba people visit other places, if they are asked where they are from, they will unconsciously answer "from Tokyo".

Hehe, I guess they felt that it would be too complicated to explain if they said it was Chiba's?

He also talked to Kaori and Hirokawa, and they said that this was similar to how many people in Kanagawa Prefecture would pretend to be citizens of Yokohama.

"What kind of person is the leader of Shuchiin?" With her hands neatly folded on her lap, Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head slightly, glanced at Genshin Uesugi, and asked curiously.

“I remember writing a report.” He was quite certain that Yukinoshita had read the entire article, and had even reread it in the last few days.

"Are you talking about those formulaic things?" Yukino Yukinoshita sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "I want to hear your subjective opinion."

"...Uh." Speechless for a moment, Uesugi Genshin glanced at Hayasaka in the rearview mirror, thought for a moment, and said, "First of all, student council president Shirogane Miyuki is a trustworthy man."

"Based on?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked succinctly.

“He was admitted from outside the school and eventually became the student council president of that prestigious school, ranking first in his grade.” As he spoke, Uesugi Genshin smiled. “Because his family was very poor, he always worked part-time and doted on his younger sister.”

"Oh, by the way, Miyuki Shirogane's younger sister is very cute."

How could a slender, white-haired girl not be adorable? Her fierce gaze, too, makes her seem more like a serious child.

"...What about the others?" For this man to say the word "cute" so frankly, then it really is...cute, no doubt about it.

"And another thing is that he has always liked Kaguya Shinomiya, the vice president who is also a member of the student council. In fact, it's more accurate to say that this was his purpose in joining the student council."

When Hayasaka Ai, sitting in the back seat, heard Uesugi Genshin speaking with such conviction that it might actually be true, her face twitched involuntarily.

Even she, Kaguya's maid, was not very clear about such matters. It was hard to say whether President Shirogane really got first place in the grade, joined the student council as a general affairs officer, and was eventually elected as the student council president because of Kaguya.

"Are they lovers?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked after a moment of deep thought.

“No,” Uesugi Genshin shook his head. “We’re still in the process of not daring to confess. We’re in a state of being more than friends but not quite lovers.”

“…I see.” Yukino Yukinoshita nodded thoughtfully. The situation at Shuchiin is quite complicated.

"By the way, Kaguya Shinomiya is the daughter of a zaibatsu family, a traditional and prestigious family."

"Hearing this surname, I had a vague idea." After all, he attended Shuchiin, a prestigious academy with a consistent system of education, and his surname was Shinomiya.

However, it's normal for Yukino Yukinoshita to have heard of the Shinomiya family, as it is a prestigious family at the national level.

They are somewhat different from local powerful families, but generally speaking, those families whose main branch is in Kyoto or whose members are in Tokyo are all historically significant.

Kyoto was once the ancient capital, while Tokyo is the modern capital.

“Is that so~” Uesugi Genshin glanced at the rearview mirror and briefly turned his head to her with a light smile. “By the way, Hayasaka is Kaguya Shinomiya’s maid.”

"Really?" This was something she hadn't expected. Yukino Yukinoshita turned around in surprise and looked at Ai Hayasaka in the back seat.

“That’s right, I am indeed a servant of the Shinomiya family.” Hayasaka Ai admitted in a sullen tone. The reason she said servant instead of maid was simply because she didn’t like someone.

"Then why..." Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated, the unspoken question being why she had come here.

"I have my reasons," Hayasaka Ai said, unwilling to elaborate.

Seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita tactfully refrained from asking further questions. After all, she had lived with Yukino for quite some time and, while she didn't know Yukino's character perfectly, she did have a fairly good understanding of her.

Despite saying he was quitting, saying he was going to quit, and protesting, he would still often bring documents to the apartment with her and work overtime together at night.

Haha... I hope it's not that.

"Therefore, we must be careful of Kaguya Shinomiya's methods, while Miyuki Shirogane is an upright and honorable person." Genshin Uesugi briefly explained the precautions to Yukinoshita.

“Hmm.” Yukino Yukinoshita nodded knowingly. One was good at intrigue, while the other was good at open schemes.

After the car had been traveling for quite some time, we had probably entered Tokyo.

Although it's partly a guess, because you can see tall buildings in the distance, you really only see a lot of those buildings in Tokyo.

Whether it's tower apartments or commercial office buildings, only Tokyo builds upwards without any regard for the consequences.

So they were about to get off the Keiyo Line and wanted to go to Minato Ward, not Shinjuku or Okubo Park.

"that."

As Uesugi Genshin was concentrating on the road ahead, he suddenly heard Yukinoshita's voice reminding him. She wanted to reach out and pull the hem of her clothes with her fingers, but she was worried that it would affect his driving.

"what?"

When Uesugi Genshin looked in the direction she pointed, he could vaguely see a white banner hanging from the roof of an office building, with the word "SOS" written on it.

SOS means universal, so he knew exactly what it meant.

"Maybe there's no one left." Although it was a familiar road, it was the first time Hayasaka Ai had ever seen this place.