Chapter 28 - Giving Orders

Scrub, scrub.

The brush swept along the hallway floor, and each time, the red stains faded

back to white.

Squeak, squeak.

A water-soaked cloth slid across the glass, washing away stubborn chunks of brain matter.

But no matter how much they scrubbed, it was still mostly red.

They didn’t even know when it would end.

“Feels like I’m battling myself or something,” Hazuki said with a bitter laugh, but no one else had the energy to respond.

Since the boys were busy transporting the zombies, all the cleaning was left to the girls.

Because the students had rushed all over the school trying to avoid being eaten, there wasn’t a single spot left untouched — meaning, in effect, they had to clean the entire school.

On top of that, there were chunks of flesh stuck here and there, internal organs and at times, even eyeballs rolling around—things that not only made the work inefficient but also seriously crushed their motivation, to the point where they no longer had the energy to even talk.

“This is necessary if we’re going to live comfortably from now on.”

Even in Miu’s composed voice, fatigue was noticeable.

Or rather, her eyes looked vacant.

That’s when I realized something.

“Um, Shimizu-senpai…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“The brush has been missing the floor for a while now…”

It seemed her sense of depth and distance was already getting shaky.

“Ah! Stop, stop! Let’s take a break! A break!”

Hazuki threw down the brush, and Sayo also looked up.

“That’s right. Let’s take a short break. Everyone’s tired, and Saejima-kun will probably forgive us for just a little.”

She shoved the blood-soaked cloth into the bucket and took off her rubber gloves.

Her hands smelled like rubber.

While everyone else was heading back to the conference room, Sakura was walking in the opposite direction.

To conduct an inspection.

She opened the rooftop door wide and felt the setting sun shining down on her.

Shielding her eyes with her hand from the overwhelming brightness.

She had come to the rooftop to get a good look at the zombies.

It was better to view the zombies beyond the fence from a high place.

Sakura took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air.

Could she really give the command?

No, she could.

There was nothing she couldn’t do.

“Zombies, kneel.”

As Sakura whispered this, all the zombies beyond the fence simultaneously prostrated themselves.

The surreal sight sent her excitement soaring to its peak.

(Amazing… This is the queen’s power! My power alone!)

Her breathing grew heavy.

She was undoubtedly the queen.

The scene before her spoke volumes.

“Rise.”

The zombies slowly returned to their original positions.

Perfect.

She was surprised the zombies responded to her small murmurs, but even more surprised that she possessed such power.

Sakura was certain she was favored by the gods.

The zombies began scratching the fence again with their claws.

The scraping sound reached her ears.

“Hehehe, ahahaha!”

How could she not laugh?

Now that zombies had overrun the world, with the right will, she could control not only the people here but the entire world.

A surge of exhilaration enveloped her.

There was no greater joy.

All those who had bullied her before—her parents, friends, politicians, soldiers, men, women, children, the elderly, beggars, the wealthy—everyone.

She could dominate them all.

Yet Sakura understood that now was not the time to kill the people here.

When she had eaten lunch earlier, the hunger she had felt vanished.

Apparently, she didn’t need to eat humans.

Though the desire remained, this was a fortunate circumstance.

So, she needed to become closer to the people here and acquire enough supplies to sustain herself before anything else.

Sakura turned and left the rooftop.

Her silhouette now carried an imposing dignity.

“Daiki. Name the Three Sacred Treasures.”

“Cat ears, tail, and maid outfit.”

“Good. But what about this?”

“Only in two dimensions.”

“Perfect.”

The two shook hands firmly.

Kazuma and Daiki.

Because their sensibilities were so similar, they had already become like brothers.

That was probably a good thing, but unfortunately, the sensibility they shared was a bit too unique.

“Are you idiots? Get back to work.”

Takumi told them this, and the two shrugged simultaneously.

With a clatter, the door opened and Rei came in.

He had apparently just returned from a break.

However, his expression was somewhat grim, and a look of unease appeared on his face.

“Rei, is something wrong?”

Daiki asked, and Rei answered weakly that it was nothing.

But it was obvious that it was anything but nothing, yet since he kept silent, they couldn’t press further.

Feeling a bit unsettled, Daiki placed a body into the shooter.

(What was that…?)

Rei still couldn’t forget the sight he saw during the break earlier.

Telling himself to forget it seemed impossible.

While he was looking outside, the zombies beyond the gate all knelt down at once.

All at the exact same time, without the slightest delay.

He kept quiet because he thought no one would believe him or they’d just laugh it off, but it was something he couldn’t stop wondering about.

Is it possible for zombies, which have no emotions, to coordinate and act in perfect unison like that?

Maybe it was a hallucination caused by fatigue.

But if—

If there really was someone who had the ability to freely control zombies…

He shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind.

There’s no way such a thing exists.

There just can’t be.