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

"Well, women are a strategic resource in a certain way. If you have land, you can grow crops just by sowing seeds."

"That's so mean!" Akane Tachibana accused a man of making a heartless remark.

“You’re absolutely right.” Ignoring the accusations from his own secretary, Horikita’s gaze behind his glasses sharpened, and he understood the essence of the matter.

If it's a single woman, that's understandable, but many of them have families, husbands, or lovers, so forcibly separating them is unreasonable no matter what.

"So what happened next?" Uesugi Genshin asked curiously.

"Well... with the help of the people inside, we managed to get some of them to swim back from the sea at night. Only those who were willing or able to swim made it back; as for the others..."

To be honest, we've already received a lot of help, and the people inside are taking a huge risk. We can't ask for any more help.

"There's not much to say after that. After some arguing, we came back and hoped to survive on our own."

Horikita Manabu gave a brief summary, saying there was no need to recount the less-than-pleasant argument; he understood from the beginning that human nature is selfish.

"..." Ah, it's nothing more than arguments like "your wife is out, mine isn't," or "you guys should leave, I should stay," and so on.

Uesugi Genshin could barely guess what was going on, and he immediately asked, "Shall I go now?"

“They definitely won’t be able to get in,” Horikita Manabu asserted. “Although they won’t be driven away or even shot.”

How's the place where you swim?

“I can tell you.” It was a good thing that this person wanted to go in and gather information, so Horikita Manabu readily agreed.

"Is it safe?" Could it have already been exposed?

"At the time, only a few people knew about it to protect those helping inside, but it should still be usable now." He explained that he was in the team at the time, the leader, and he personally handled the matter. Besides, he wouldn't have trusted anyone else to handle Haneda's situation, especially not someone who could safely bring so many people back.

"Thank you." Uesugi Genshin sincerely thanked him, as the other party had already said almost everything that needed to be said.

“If that’s all for your matter, then I need to tell you my requirements,” Horikita Manabu said calmly.

"Please say."

"Was the help you mentioned before really true?" Horikita asked, recalling what they had discussed during their previous meeting.

"I would prefer you to offer a trade instead." The immense population pressure is a problem created by the Advanced Education University itself; there's no reason for them to provide unconditional humanitarian aid.

“Reasonable terms.” Horikita Manabu agreed. What’s free is often the most expensive, and bargaining chips that are laid out in the open are more reassuring.

"Ah, turn right ahead." The secretary, Tachibana Akane, with her hair in a bun, leaned forward and pointed, reminding Uesugi Genshin, who was driving, that it was time to turn.

"I will summon representatives for a meeting later, and we'll finalize things then. I hope you will attend." With his arms crossed and his eyes closed, Horikita Manabu solemnly said, looking at the hands turning the steering wheel.

"Okay. What about later?" It takes time to gather people, and there are no phones available now. Even if we could contact them, they would probably be very busy.

Under Akane's guidance, Genshin Uesugi stopped his car in front of a building.

"You can walk around the school first, and I will have someone from the student council give you a tour."

Watching Horikita Manabu's departing figure, Yukino Yukinoshita finally asked, "So, are you still planning to go to Haneda?"

"Yeah, we should go and see." What exactly is the situation? Horikita Manabu, being the team leader at the time, didn't get to go in and check the details himself, so he'll have to do the work.

"I see..." This put Yukino Yukinoshita at ease, as there was probably no danger. However, there were still some risks involved if she wanted to infiltrate.

Meanwhile, Uesugi Genshin was already considering whether or not to take Yukinoshita with him. She was a stunning beauty, and if she were in ancient times, she would probably be fought over by all sorts of men, just like Tamamo-no-Mae.

Before he could come to a conclusion, Uesugi Genshin noticed the person who had arrived. "That must be the person who brought us here for the tour."

They got off the bus and stood in front of it to greet the tour guide, while Uesugi Genshin silently looked away.

Because of their truly stunningly beautiful breasts, I didn't know where to look.

He now strongly agreed with what Baiyin had said: large breasts are a direct and overwhelming visual message, and boys have no resistance to this instinct.

Didn't you see that even Yukinoshita next to her was stunned? Her wide eyes shone with disbelief.

Her pink hair is somewhat similar to Yui's, but it's not peach; it's more like a pinkish-gold. You could call it blonde or pink hair, but it suits her better with a lovely pink.

"Sorry to keep you waiting?"

She greeted him cheerfully, which reminded Yukino Yukinoshita of someone—a cheerful girl like Yuihama.

“No,” Uesugi Genshin shook his head.

"Hello, I'm Honami Ichinose. Tachibana-senpai asked me to show you around." The girl tilted her head and explained simply.

"Hello, I am Uesugi Genshin, and this is Yukino Yukinoshita. I'll be trotting in for you, Ichinose-kun." Uesugi Genshin introduced himself and then bowed his head to express his gratitude.

"No, because I'm free." Indicating it wasn't troublesome, Honami Ichinose stroked the back of her hair and handed them the umbrellas she was holding. "Here are your umbrellas, but there are only two..."

Uesugi Genshin and Yukino Yukinoshita exchanged glances. Uesugi Genshin didn't understand why she was looking at him. After taking the umbrella, he said, "Yukinoshita, why don't you play a game with Ichinose-kun?"

Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita turned to look at Honami Ichinose and said, "Thank you for your help."

"No no."

Honami Ichinose is such a polite and good child; I got that impression after just a short conversation.

The three then strolled in the rain. Since it had just started raining, there wasn't much water on the ground, making it easy to walk. Moreover, appreciating the campus in this hazy atmosphere was a pleasant experience.

"Ichinose-san, aren't you a student council member?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked, puzzled by Yukino's earlier apparent idleness.

"Me? No, Ichinose Honami waved her hand modestly. "I just wanted to volunteer and help other students in need. Besides, the student council doesn't really have much work to do."

My second impression of him was that he was helpful, almost like an angel.

"The student council doesn't have much work?" Yukino Yukinoshita had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. "Isn't the student council responsible for managing this place?"

"No, we basically discuss things and handle them together at the representative meetings. Of course, the leader is Chairman Horikita."

Following behind the two, Uesugi Genshin quietly watched their backs, already understanding what was going on.

This isn't student self-governance, and it's different from the Shuchiin self-governance in Shirogane. Here, Horikita Gakuin chooses to actively unite everyone.

Perhaps it's related to the proportion of students. Soubu High School is purely for students, and Shuchiin also has a large number of students, but here, the number of students may not even be one-twentieth.

Basically, this is what Ichinose Honami was talking about. Because Horikita was the first person to learn management, and everyone trusted him, they entrusted him with the highest management authority.

The student council here is simply an organization that helps the surviving students of advanced higher education institutions.

However, Horikita Manabu is truly remarkable. His ability to unite the majority of people is rare, and he certainly doesn't have the patience to do it.

Uesugi Genshin admired this senior who was a year older than him from the bottom of his heart.

As for why he was certain that he was one year older.

Because Ichinose Honami is currently wearing the uniform of Advanced Nurturing High School, which means she has only been enrolled for less than a month, a zombie crisis has already broken out.

For the first month, as new students, they seemed to still be living in a dream where they could spend 10 yen a month as they pleased.

Not to mention the entrance exams that followed, where failing meant expulsion.

They only briefly toured the campus of the Advanced Educational University.

The campus was beautiful and large, which made Uesugi Genshin feel a little regretful. Should he have come here to study in the first place?

Because of the rain, they didn't encounter many people, but it was also because of the rain that they encountered a lot of people. If it hadn't rained, they probably would have encountered even more.

"Are all the people here starving?" As they were about to walk back, Yukino Yukinoshita asked Honami Ichinose. She had just observed that most of the passersby looked listless, some even walking unsteadily, and their faces showed signs of hunger.

"Yeah, after all, we only eat one meal a day." Honami Ichinose smiled wryly. She and Yukinoshita huddled together under the umbrella, which resulted in their bodies being pressed close together.

"I don't think Ichinose-kun seems to be affected much?" Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Ichinose's face. Although she looked somewhat frail, she didn't seem as badly affected as the others.

"No, I've lost a lot of weight," Honami Ichinose shook her head, and innocently placed her hands on her chest as if to provide evidence. "It's gotten a whole size smaller here."

"......!" Is it already a size smaller?

That enormous scale, which even Kasumigaoka or Yuihama couldn't compare to, was actually a size smaller?!

Seeing that Yukinoshita had suddenly stopped and stood frozen in place, Uesugi Genshin couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“Hahahahahaha….”

Chapter 253: The Dagger is Revealed When the Map is Unfolded

Hearing the laughter behind her, which was still unusually clear despite being concealed, Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively stopped her hand from touching her chest, and glared back in embarrassment and annoyance.

"Ha-hoo... Ha-hoo..."

By this time, Uesugi Genshin had taken a few deep breaths and returned to normal, smiling as he looked at Yukinoshita's clenched teeth face. "What's wrong?"

They even asked her what was wrong.

"Hmph~" The gaze and the voice were completely different from before, becoming extremely cold.

Uesugi Genshin felt a chill run down his spine and rubbed his arms.

"You two seem to have a good relationship." Ichinose Honami could tell that Yukinoshita wasn't really angry, but she was definitely having a tiff. However, the fact that she could joke around with him meant... "Could you two be lovers?"

"No." "No, it's not."

"Ah, a double negative." Ichinose Honami gave a wry smile, it seemed she had guessed wrong.

"Ichinose-kun, is there really not enough food here?" Uesugi Genshin reached out to Ichinose, then turned serious, wanting to confirm.

"Well, rather than saying it's not enough." With her hands behind her back, Ichinose Honami spun around on the ground with the toe of her left foot, her long white legs in calf socks swaying rhythmically. "Each person gets one fish a day, although they're not very big. If they're even smaller, you might get several."

"Only fish?" Yukino Yukinoshita immediately noticed the key point.

"Yes."

With Ichinose's admission, Uesugi Genshin immediately understood the reason: if you only eat fish, you'll definitely lose weight.

Fish is a healthy food, containing a variety of substances such as protein, vitamins, and trace elements.

However, fish is very low in calories, with only about 100 calories per 100 grams of fish, making it a favorite among dieters as it won't lead to excessive calorie intake.

If you only eat fish and no other staple food, even if you eat until you're stuffed, your daily calorie intake won't keep up with your daily energy expenditure.

Moreover, if each person is given one fish per day, it would be quite good if the fish meat weighs about 500 grams. Tokyo Bay is not a farmed area, so it is rare to find fish weighing three or four pounds with the meat and bones intact.

"That's strange. You have a boat, right? Have you been to all the factories on the nearby islands?" Having looked at the map and knowing that many factories had been built on the reclaimed artificial islands in the vicinity, Yukino Yukinoshita put her finger to her lips, pondered for a moment, and then asked.

"Hmm... It's said that the Self-Defense Forces went there first, so they didn't find much, and actually, the fuel was also..." Ichinose Honami had a forced smile on her face, but she immediately pointed out with a bright finger, "But everyone is optimistic, things will definitely get better in the future."

really?

Genshin Uesugi remained skeptical. For the participants, there could be the most direct feelings, whether positive or negative. For the most direct beneficiaries, there might be hope, but for the vast majority of the marginalized, no matter what happened, they had become numb and somewhat insensitive.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to tell us all this?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked with a hint of worry.

“But Uesugi-kun and Yukinoshita-san are here to help us, right?” She gave an angelic smile, delicate yet dazzling.

“Yes.” Yukino Yukinoshita smiled and affirmed, “No one’s life should be wasted.”

There are already so few people left alive. If we cherish even the smallest flame, then one day the flame of human civilization will be rekindled.

Then, Ichinose Honami looked curiously at Uesugi Genshin, and stopped in his tracks.

“…Hmm.” Uesugi Genshin lowered his umbrella. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. By the way, Ichinose-san, how many students are left at your Advanced Nurturing High School?”

"Well..." Ichinose Honami thought for a moment and gave an answer, "About 200 people?"

If there are 40 students in a class, then 200... that means more than half of them would die.

The three of them quickly returned to the building they had been in before. According to Ichinose, the conference room and the main hub were located there.

"I'll be attending the meeting later too," Honami Ichinose said, scratching her cheek. "Although I'll be standing."

There are no seats for the odd-job workers.

"Then, please take us to the venue." Uesugi Genshin said as he walked towards his car.

"With pleasure," Ichinose Honami said with a smile, while looking curiously at the car parked there. "Uesugi-kun, is this the car you drove here?"

“Yes,” Uesugi Genshin nodded in agreement.

"Eh~, that's impressive." They're from Chiba. During their conversation, Ichinose Honami already knew they were from Soubu High School, and... she glanced again at the sword at Uesugi-kun's waist. It was a very beautiful sword, and it suited the wearer very well.

"Ichinose-kun." At this moment, Uesugi Genshin opened the trunk of the car, took out a can of food and handed it to Ichinose Honami. "Thank you for showing me the way earlier. You were a great help. This is a thank you gift."

It's a high-calorie canned char siu, with a thick layer of milky white fat on top of the broth.

"Ah... thank you, I'll reciprocate." Ichinose Honami carefully accepted it, then looked up at him and said.

As for returning the gift, it means that neither party owes the other anything, and the friendship between the two parties may deepen a little bit in the process.