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

"Ah, Kaguya-sama might be sad, right?" Hayasaka Ai muttered.

"Do you have any last words for me to convey?" Uesugi Genshin joked.

"Absolutely not." That person should be independent by now; in other words, whether she's there or not is no longer important.

To the side is a military parking lot filled with military jeeps and trucks, while in front is a huge parking lot filled with cars.

When the Self-Defense Forces were first established, the Reserve Police Force, the predecessor of the Self-Defense Forces, was filled with soldiers from the old empire. They were then disgusted by the fact that the force was neither a police force nor an army, and that the Japanese-American officers from the United States were very discriminatory towards them.

Many people resigned before even lasting a year, resulting in a staff turnover of nearly a third. This led to the base being located as close as possible to people's homes on weekends to reduce staff turnover.

Of course, it's not just locals now, but the parking lot in front probably has about 100 parking spaces, and it's at least half full. And this is just one of the parking lots.

Therefore, the Self-Defense Forces have basically evolved into a civil service force, receiving salaries to work. Of course, their popularity is nowhere near that of real civil servants, and the widely circulated, and indeed true, treatment is low and can be described as harsh.

To exaggerate, if war really came, expecting them to fire a couple of shots into the air would be the best you could hope for. That's the general state of affairs for the Self-Defense Forces, but perhaps the situation is slightly different for these central government troops stationed in the Kwantung region.

Walking along the edge, their figures were concealed by the green belt, but it must be said that the surroundings were very quiet.

Another intersection, but standing in what should be the center of the area, the general surroundings are clearly visible.

"I'll go check on the regimental headquarters," Uesugi Genshin said, pointing to the office building on the left. "You guys go to the dormitories."

The dormitory building is on the right. "Even though it might be empty now, please still be careful."

He reminded them, "We'll meet at the hangar. If we can't meet there for any reason, just wait under this tree."

"I understand," Mai Sakurajima said, indicating that she understood.

Chapter 181: The Consequences of Satisfying Curiosity

The dormitories at the garrison were no different from those at the school; in fact, they were quite ordinary. This level of accommodation is typical for most boarding schools or universities.

Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hayasaka leaned out, looking at the dormitory door.

The broken glass in the door shows that something did happen here.

Everything that happens will leave a trace.

There were red bloodstains on the edge of the glass on the door, and bloodstains were also mixed in with the glass shards on the ground.

The ground, too, looked as if it had been splashed with brownish-red paint.

But the most conspicuous thing was the blood-red scratch marks on the ground, scribbled haphazardly like a child's graffiti, but it was indeed the work of five human fingers.

Someone is lying here, struggling or moving around on the ground. It's uncertain whether a living person was tackled or a zombie was knocked down.

Humans struggle, and zombies, unable to get up, also leave these marks. Hayasaka Ai has indeed seen it, even just now, less than an hour ago.

After telling Mai Sakurajima her guess about the doorway, Ai Hayasaka realized that it was difficult to deduce anything more from the doorway. "Let's go in."

Genshin had said that Hayasaka would be in charge of the operation, and Sakurajima Mai had no objections, "Okay."

The two tiptoed past the shards of glass in the doorway, pushed open the broken door, and the creaking of the old door, combined with the dim lighting in the dimly lit depths of the building, created an eerie atmosphere.

Silently gripping the baseball bat so she could react immediately, Hayasaka Ai walked inside.

The two walked very quietly, and Hayasaka Ai, who was wearing Doc Martens, tried to avoid making any noise.

There was a small shop directly opposite the entrance; she guessed it was probably the only one in the base.

I glanced inside and saw rows of mostly empty shelves, with only a few scattered items left on the edges.

Was it deliberately taken?

She and Mai Sakurajima exchanged a glance and realized that the base didn't seem to have fallen as completely as they had imagined.

The fact that it's basically empty shows that someone has been there.

They turned away and continued forward, reaching the door of the first dormitory room on the first floor, where they turned the doorknob.

Mai Sakurajima tacitly moved to the other side of the door to cover her as she opened it.

The door opened, and there was nothing inside. Or rather, there were only one or two pieces of clothing draped over the corner of the bed.

The dormitory is an eight-person room with no bathroom; the bunk beds are arranged on both sides.

Hayasaka Ai glanced back at the empty corridor before going into her room.

He reached out and brushed the sheets aside, looking at the dust on his fingers. "No one has slept here in a long time."

As for whether it was a long time or several weeks, she didn't know.

"Hmm." Mai Sakurajima walked to the locker, opened it, and looked inside. "The clothes are still there."

I opened them one by one and looked at them. Nothing was missing; all my personal belongings were stuffed inside.

After that, they checked every room in the dormitory building, from the first floor to the top floor.

Most of them are no different from the first one, but there are exceptions.

Some of the lockers were very clean, and among the rows of fully stocked lockers, the empty one looked quite special.

Some people didn't have everything "taken away," leaving behind one or two pieces of clothing and some other items.

One room, however, left a deep impression on them: all the closet doors were wide open, and the clothes inside were piled on the bed.

It looks like they were just casually looting their roommate's belongings?

In short, there used to be people living here, but they were all evacuated later.

There's no one here anymore, not even a zombie corpse.

Having confirmed this, they went back to the first floor and stood in front of the small shop that was not lit up.

The breath he exhaled was filled with a sense of relief.

Both of them were relieved, no longer worried about any danger.

There was a backpack section in the convenience store, and not all of them had been taken yet. Mai Sakurajima suggested that they take some things before leaving.

Hayasaka Ai highly praised the idea, knowing that according to the Executive Department's rules, it was permissible to collect supplies as spoils during non-combat operations.

This was a reconnaissance mission, and based on the intelligence available, it's highly likely that there won't be any fighting afterward; it will simply turn into scavenging, which doesn't seem unreasonable.

Since she had her own proper place to live, she has become much more concerned about material things, a completely different state of mind from her carefree life at the Shinomiya family home, well, except for taking baths.

Just do it.

They wanted to take something from the shelves that weren't completely cleaned, but realistically, many of the potato chips weren't taken, probably because the large bags were mostly filled with gas.

Hayasaka Ai picked up the last lone bag of cookies and asked, "Are you in love with him?"

"Hmm." Mai Sakurajima knew exactly who she was referring to. "What's wrong, all of a sudden?"

"Just pure curiosity." Hayasaka Ai maintained an impeccable, poker-faced expression.

"Curious?" Mai Sakurajima paused halfway through her sentence, revealing an expression like that of a child thinking of a prank.

She suddenly became mischievous because she remembered Hayasaka Ai's outburst on the way back to Chiba from Tokyo.

"May I ask what kind of man you like first?"

What is this? A question-and-answer session?

Hayasaka Ai still gave her answer, "Hmm..., it's comfortable to be around you?"

After all, setting a standard that is better than her would be too subjective, because she would never like an older man who is too outstanding.

So, a simple definition would be that it's comfortable to be around them.

"I see." Having satisfied Sakurajima Mai's curiosity somewhat, she gained a new understanding of this blonde lady.

"Then it's my turn to ask." Without stopping her hands, Hayasaka Ai asked, "You...you, how did you fall in love with him?"

She felt she had expressed herself clearly; she wanted to know what "how" meant, when, and why.

"I think I started liking him when I was cooking at my apartment in Kamakura," Mai Sakurajima recalled that heart-fluttering moment. "Back then, I looked at him and thought he was so handsome."

Her tall and upright figure standing in the kitchen, her meticulous yet extremely elegant cooking techniques, her superb knife skills, and the amazing flavors that hit you right in the heart.

"Because my mother divorced my father due to work and family reasons, and my father then found a housewife."

To be precise, my mother was always busy with work, even during her pregnancy, and then my father had an affair during that time. Later, my mother became even more completely absorbed in her work, even treating her as a tool to make money, so...

“From childhood, I have had my own understanding of the concept of ‘family’. A family should be managed by two people together, both inside and outside the home.”

She clearly understands the importance of balancing work and emotional investment. No matter how busy she is with work, she cannot neglect her partner. This is something she has always dreamed of doing since she was in the entertainment industry.

"So at that time, I thought, a man who can cook is so wonderful."

"Eh......"

Hayasaka Ai appeared nonchalant and indifferent on the surface, but in reality, her heart was in turmoil.

I'm so envious! No, I'm extremely, extremely envious! Okay?!

Wow!!!

Hayasaka Ai, a girl longing for love, let out a wail in her heart.

Chapter 182: Without Any Romance

After speaking, Mai Sakurajima looked at Ai Hayasaka, who was undoubtedly a beautiful woman.

Whether it's her lustrous blonde hair or her exquisite blue eyes reminiscent of hyacinth stones, they exude a sense of preciousness.

A glance at each other is enough to sense the subtle changes in each other's expressions.

She was teasing him with a suppressed laugh, while the other person was relaxed yet tense, trying to pretend as usual.

She's clearly very pretty, but her actions are adorable.

“You’ll definitely be fine.” Without saying anything about being fine, Mai Sakurajima laughed first. “After all, Hayasaka, you’re a beauty. Didn’t he compliment you on how pretty you are before?”

"Um, thank you for the compliment?" Her expression couldn't hold back anymore, and her delicate nose twitched. Hayasaka Ai turned her head away from her. "Back then, 'beautiful' referred to both of us."

In other words, there's nothing special about it; it's just polite talk, and such casual remarks have no real meaning.

As for lovers, she doesn't think they're necessary. Sometimes she gets hurt, sometimes she fantasizes, and then she looks back at herself.

Although he earns a monthly salary of 50 yen, receives an annual bonus of 400 million yen, and has savings of over 4000 million yen, he is a salaried worker who has been working continuously for 10 years, rain or shine.

For her, romance remains a luxury item displayed in a shop window.

Lacking that determination, she continued to be a corporate slave as always, prioritizing a peaceful life each day. Despite almost switching jobs from Kaguya-sama, her situation remained unchanged.

After they carried their things out of the gloomy building and felt the sun outside, they instantly felt much warmer inside and out, even though they were wearing quite a lot of clothes.

"Let's go." This time, Mai Sakurajima walked in front.

Hayasaka Ai shook her head, her mind a jumble of thoughts, and followed. Why did she feel so empty after asking her question, even though it was just her curiosity?

As they walked along the narrow road, crossed several intersections, and passed quiet buildings on both sides, they could see the roof of the hangar towering above the surrounding buildings.

Turn the corner, and there's a row of hangars stretching for a kilometer, roughly the distance from the base entrance to the beach.

They also saw the somber-looking man standing in the shadow of the building, gazing at the distant airport lawn and airplanes.

The wind was quite strong here, blowing in from the open airport, causing the black, tousled hair and the hem of the black clothes to flutter.

Hayasaka Ai instinctively closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she saw him looking in her direction.

"How is it?" Uesugi Genshin asked.

"There are signs of a battle. Some rooms have items that have been packed up and taken away, so it seems to be an organized evacuation," Hayasaka Ai reported, stepping past Sakurajima Mai with a poker face.

"What's that?" Uesugi Genshin looked behind them.

"Do you want some?" Mai Sakurajima took out a Pocky stick from her pocket and handed it to her.

"..." Uesugi Genshin glanced down, reached out and took it, muttering to himself, "Lunch will be ready soon."

But his hands honestly tore open the packaging, took out a piece, and started crunching it out.

After finishing one, he said, "I haven't found any living people or zombies here, and..."

He paused, his expression turning grim. "I went to the armory and took a look. The door was open, blown open from the inside out. They destroyed all the weapons before they left."