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

The black horse was pawing the ground in the corner, the air it exhaled from its nostrils making a reverberating sound.

As she walked over, its dark eyes fixed on her, and it fell silent.

When she reached out to touch its glossy fur, it obediently nudged her hand with its head.

Like Sabre...

"Hehe~"

Pulling on the clothes tied around its neck with a little force, it followed along on all fours, tapping out a minuet rhythm on the floor.

"What does it look like outside?" Miura Yumiko tossed the tissue aside, sat on the table, and turned to look at the shop entrance.

"It'll be fine for a few minutes, but I can't shake off those guys on top of me."

"Then what should we do?" she asked, turning back to look at Uesugi Genshin, only to see him holding a heavy rattan bow, drawing the bowstring.

"You know how to use it?" Miura Yumiko's gaze swept over the stretched latissimus dorsi muscles, past the strong posterior deltoids, and hovered over the ample biceps. She raised an eyebrow.

"I know a little."

"Can we shoot it down?"

"I'll do my best." He couldn't guarantee it; he had never used this kind of bow before. The art of archery had long been abandoned in the Edo period, and he had never used this kind of Japanese bow, which was almost as tall as a person.

The structure, which is longer at the top and shorter at the bottom, wastes some power, but it is very powerful at close range!

The last time I used a bow and arrow was when I was driving out the Xiongnu, and I haven't had the chance since.

The arrows, which are taken out of the quiver by spinning, have a fletching groove, and the fletching is beautiful and treated with glue so that there will be no barbs to cut your hands.

Then he continued to help the horse put on its armor. The armor covered a large area, almost completely obscuring the horse's body. The weight he lifted was not heavy, but it wasn't light either.

He's used all sorts of hooks; often, with a quick stretch and pull of his hand, the entire piece of armor is put on.

In no time, the elegant and agile horse was transformed, dressed in a gorgeous and exquisite red and silver outfit, with each leg individually protected up to the knee and hock joint.

It makes one exclaim: This is what a warhorse should be!

In contrast, the great armor over there was very outdated, so no one wore it during the Warring States period and afterwards. The large and wide arm guards called "Weiban" on both shoulders were even more superfluous. Originally intended to protect against arrows and one-on-one duels, they had already fallen out of use for mounted archery and battlefield duels by then.

As it evolved, it acquired the weight of European armor but lacked its defensive capabilities, becoming purely an art form. Just look at these woven floral stripes.

Even so, no matter how bad it is, it is still A. He first tied his shin guards and put on his gauntlets.

"Give me a hand." He called out to Yumiko Miura, who was standing next to him, for help.

"You actually wear this kind of thing?"

"know a little."

"A hobby? Cosplay?"

"The dojo used to have one, so I've worn it before. Could you please turn it around for me?"

A kendo dojo? This person has learned quite a lot.

Yumiko Miura helped him put on his armbands, armor, and turbans little by little.

Uesugi Genshin was tidying his hair. There was no need for him to wear a helmet. What he needed was flexibility. He carefully smoothed the strands of hair that might obstruct his vision back and tied them up again, revealing his smooth forehead.

Looking like a refined samurai, Minamoto no Yoshitsune from "The Tale of the Heike" stepped out of the book, and probably looked just like this when he helped his brother defeat the nobles of Heian-kyo and establish the samurai shogunate.

Completely ignoring the suddenly dazed Miura Yumiko and the blank-minded Yuigahama Yui, they would probably scoff if they knew what they were thinking. The very reality is that the armor is designed according to the height of modern people.

Uesugi Genshin put on all the remaining accessories: spears, swords, bows, and arrows.

"You two can't do this." He looked down at their bare, white legs exposed above their calf socks, so tender they looked like they would bleed if scratched, completely unsafe.

Yumiko Miura looked down at her legs and realized the problem. "What should I do? All my clothes are over there and I didn't take them with me."

All the clothes they picked out were left at the supermarket, so they are still wearing their school uniforms.

Uesugi Genshin looked around and then focused his gaze on the tapestry on the wall.

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

"Go around a few more times." The female reporter instructed the driver to circle the building, watching the horde of corpses slowly gathering again from all directions. She marveled at her own cleverness in coming up with this plan, thinking it would force them to come out.

Their gaze never left the shop, not missing a single detail. Even the zombies in front of the shop's main entrance were all crowded around one doorway. The cell phone that the child had thrown was causing the zombies on this street to consciously head towards that spot, their distribution quite illogical.

The door was suddenly opened.

"Hurry up!" She patted the photographer on the back, so hard that he coughed.

After a few zombies at the door noticed the commotion, they scurried into the store, and then, nothing more happened.

Just as the female reporter was wondering why they weren't coming out again, the scene from earlier had gone viral. Although the station's phones were ringing off the hook, it was perfectly fine as long as it was presented as a reality show, since dead people don't talk.

"I'm coming!"

The scene depicts a magnificent knight, with two girls clinging to him.

For safety, Uesugi Genshin had Miura Yumiko hug him from the front, with her legs wrapped around his lower back. Yuigahama Yui sat behind him in the same posture, with a bundle of katana on her back. He took down the tapestry from the wall and wrapped it around his lower back, covering their exposed skin.

Miura Yumiko pulled all of her golden curls to her right side, pressing them down against the two of them to prevent them from flying up and interfering with Uesugi Genshin's vision. She rested her chin on his collarbone, trying to ensure his view was as unobstructed as possible.

He rode out the door, pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and let its iron hooves trample over the corpses scattered on the ground, making the once smooth road uneven.

Yumiko Miura opened her eyes, which had been tightly closed due to tension and fear, blinked in surprise, and stared blankly at the entire red-stained street behind the horse.

"..."

The rider made a move. Uesugi Gensuke used his cross-shaped spear to shove away the approaching zombies and urged his horse to gallop faster.

He wielded the reins with exceptional skill, deftly guiding the horse through the gaps in the carcasses without ever encountering a direct confrontation that would force it to stop.

The gun was brandished in front of and beside the horse, eliminating any threatening presence.

The twig slashed across the zombie's neck, knocking it to the ground, then stabbed at the next one, striking its face and forcing it to the ground with the help of the horse's momentum.

The blades continued forward without pause, and the iron cavalry charged forward without hindrance, breaking through layer upon layer of obstacles, leaving behind only the graceful figures of the mounted warriors.

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

Eriri Sawamura nudged Kasumigaoka Utaha's body with her elbow, but due to the height difference, she ended up bumping her side breast.

The two of them had been lying side by side on the carpet watching TV since earlier, though not exactly side by side.

"..." The previously provocative expression instantly calmed down and became serious, as if he had been unexpectedly dealt such a blow.

"What are you doing?" Kasumigaoka Utaha's tone wasn't very friendly, and she was right...

"Ah~~" A long sigh escaped Eriri Sawamura's lips. Her slightly playful mood from just moments before vanished completely. She lowered her head, her twin tails cascading down her sides.

"Uesugi-kun, all the girls you know are beautiful." A heavy stab came from the assassin.

"..."

This younger generation always speaks the truth.

Well......

Kasumigaoka Utaha's current mood is comparable to Sawamura Eriri's; both are in a terrible state.

Kato Megumi tilted her head, looking at the two people who looked like salted fish spread out on a carpet with a puzzled expression.

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

Hanamigawa, the name of Hanamigawa Ward comes from the river that flows through it, so let's run along the river again.

Running back towards Tokyo Bay, or more specifically, Mihama Ward, the densely populated streets were not so difficult to navigate thanks to the ancient "tanks" leading the way.

Even if there were gaps too wide for a carriage to pass through, the warhorses could still get through. If there were zombies blocking the way, they were all stabbed down by Uesugi Genshin first.

Forward! Charge forward! Don't worry about anything, just keep charging forward!

Wearing armor, Uesugi Genshin felt a little disoriented. Last time, he was walking on yellow sand on Harding Horse, but now it was an asphalt road.

He ignored the two pendants on his body. Perhaps he could feel the slight sliding between the three bodies as he moved, but he couldn't feel anything because of the armor.

Are we going back?

"Ah."

"Wasn't it said to be dangerous?"

"I'll find a chance to put you down, you guys hide first."

Now he's more in the spotlight, and the helicopter will follow him closely instead of maliciously staying put.

"What are you going to do?" Miura Yumiko asked, seemingly worried.

"..."

The bow and arrow hanging on the horse were now impossible for him to draw because of the two people on his body.

This is truly the worst kind of bow for horseback riding. You have to worry about this while riding a horse because the bow's length prevents it from moving smoothly on horseback, making the Parthian tactics difficult to execute.

Controlling the horse's pace might cause some jolting for the rider, but it's the least strenuous approach for the horse. Adding tens of kilograms of weight under such severe overloading constitutes excessive labor.

He leaned forward again, causing Miura Yumiko in front of him to lean back in a sloth-like posture. With a burst of strength in his arm, he used the cross-shaped gun in his hand to knock down the zombie running towards him once more.

"I feel a little nauseous..." Miura Yumiko whispered in his ear, probably because she was feeling too uncomfortable from being swayed back and forth.

"...You, you mustn't do anything reckless!" The leisurely gun-wielding movements of the gunners had to be restrained. The right arm of the gunner held Miura Yumiko's lower back, fixing her in place so that she would no longer be affected by gravity. Even the left hand holding the gun to thrust became somewhat "weak and powerless".

“That…” When the syllable “sa” came out of Yui Yuigahama’s mouth behind him, his heart skipped a beat again.

"I understand, we'll be there soon." The Mihama Bridge is just ahead.

Chapter Sixty: Drawing the Bow and Controlling the String

Mihama Bridge is the bridge at the mouth of the Hanami River, which is part of that coastal highway.

"We're here, come down quickly."

Having found a staircase leading down to the underpass, Uesugi Genshin found a safe, open space and reined in his horse.

"Let go, let go." Even though he said that, the two people on top of him showed no sign of letting go; if they let go, he would fall!

His cautious manner led him to reach out and break the cross-shaped gun, which fell to the ground with a metallic sound.

First, I grabbed the legs wrapped around her waist, then the stiff fabric of her calf socks. The girl's calf muscles were very soft, as expected, she didn't seem to be working out.

"Ah! Wait!" Yui Yuigahama exclaimed, her arms around her neck tightening even more.

"Wait for what?" he said casually, placing Yui Yuigahama's legs on either side of the horse's body, then pulling off the arms that were wrapped around her. "Sit tight."

As he spoke, he bent forward, as if to pin Miura Yumiko down on a horse, and said, "Get your legs off."

"I understand." She obediently lowered her legs, which were wrapped around his lower back, and was now completely sprawled on the horse, if one didn't consider that there was someone else on top of her.

"Wait, you!" Before Miura Yumiko could finish speaking, Uesugi Genshin had already pulled her off the horse by gravity, this time intentionally.

He tugged at the saddle slightly along the other side of the horse's body, and his body slid down obediently. This time, he was still underneath, but thanks to the armor, he was safe.

"Ouch!" Yumiko Miura was startled when she fell.

"Get up, hurry up."

The two lay on the ground. Uesugi Genshin grabbed her waist and moved her to the side before getting up and lifting Yui Yuigahama, who was swaying precariously on her horse and looked nervous, off the horse as well.

He first threw the bundle of knives on her back to the ground, and then caught Yui Yuigahama, who was also stretching out her arms, with both arms.

"So hard!" This was Yui Yuigahama's most immediate feeling when she bumped into the armor; her chest ached.

Then Uesugi Genshin pulled him up, and he ran over and stuck his head out onto the bridge to look down. He said to Miura Yumiko, who had also stood up, "You guys hide in the bridge arch first."

"I understand." With an understanding expression, Miura Yumiko took Yuigahama Yui's hand and ran down the stairs.

Just in case, he removed two knives and threw them down as well. It should be safe, but what if something goes wrong?

Then he began to take off his armor, his inner lining already soaked with sweat. He looked up at a zombie that was running at the front and approaching him. He casually drew his katana from his horse, swung it, and killed it on the ground.

After removing his upper body completely, he began to remove his horse armor, taking off as many heavy and unnecessary parts as possible.

Looking at the dense horde of corpses in the distance, Uesugi Genshin threw the armor plate in his hand to the ground. This was the last piece. He picked up the cross-shaped spear from the ground, and, naked, mounted his horse again.

"You're sweating too." He stroked the horse's damp body, nudged its belly with his heel, and steered it onto the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge were also zombies; the hordes of zombies from both sides were about to merge together.

Horseshoes clattered on the bridge surface. If you look closely, you can see the words "Yuzaoki, four-month anniversary! Let's stay together forever!" written on the bridge railing. Such silly words from a couple.

He brandished the cross-shaped spear in his hand, weighed it to see if the weight was suitable, and then accelerated, and the horse began to run.