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

After thinking about it carefully, he casually said, "But it also has to do with the season; it was winter at that time."

It's about my hometown. The winters in the north look very beautiful in movies, but experiencing them in person can be quite painful.

Especially the extremely bulky clothes, the feet that are always ice-cold, and the kotatsu!

"Ah~" Hiratsuka Shizuka handed the crab leg she had just peeled to Hachiman's mouth, a gesture that left him bewildered.

He's clearly drunk on sake; his eyes are glazed over, but upon closer inspection, they reveal a deep affection.

"It's the other way around," Hachiman muttered softly, feeling a little embarrassed by his teacher's kindness.

"Don't be all lovey-dovey in front of me." Yukinoshita Haruno, sitting in the middle of the room, narrowed her eyes and spoke in an icy tone.

"I'm sorry." Slightly confused, Hiratsuka Shizuka apologized very sincerely because she had once seen a couple at the next table being intimate with each other while drinking at an izakaya with Haruno, and she almost rushed over, but luckily Haruno stopped her.

...But thinking about it carefully, I don't think I was wrong back then. Back then, I wanted to shout "Let all the social butterflies explode!" Now, everything is perfect.

But I am actually very clear about how I feel when I'm alone.

"Heh..." Watching Hiratsuka-sensei apologize to Yukinoshita, Uesugi Genshin couldn't help but chuckle as he placed the peeled crab legs into Yui's small dish.

You only need to feed her once, then let her eat on her own afterwards.

It was mainly because I couldn't bear to see her trying so hard to break the crab legs apart, but she just couldn't.

Beside him was a pot of sake. Uesugi Genshin poured himself a cup, which was cool to drink, as was the crab.

It's fine to eat crabs cold. Cooked crab meat is sweet, and it will be even sweeter when it's cooled down. In theory, the wine should be heated up, but that's not an option.

Aside from the crab, the only thing about the sushi was that the rice was warm.

He ate most of the box of sushi and was almost full, while Yui only ate a little less than half of it. That was actually her appetite, even though she ate most of the crab.

After finishing his meal, he lay on the veranda in front of the courtyard. Uesugi Genshin looked at the moon, made a circle with his fingers, and held it in front of his eyes, perfectly encircling the moon.

"Don't men all like girls who seem innocent?" She walked up to him silently, like a ghost.

"You mean to say I'm stupid? Yui isn't stupid. She's just very kind to those around her." He lowered his finger, pretending that his childish behavior just now wasn't his doing.

“That’s called naiveté.” Yukinoshita Haruno sat next to him, holding a bottle of sake in her arms.

I thought she drove away, but it turns out she went to her car to get some alcohol.

He didn't say that he wished he could stay innocent forever.

“Others aren’t like that. My mother taught me not to be a picky eater.” Uesugi Genno said, closing his eyes smugly.

"What's that? Pfft..." Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled, picking up the bottle with her right hand and shaking it. "Would you like some champagne?"

"Do you have a cup?" Hearing this, he turned to Yukinoshita and their eyes met.

"It has been prepared for you a long time ago."

The golden liquor poured into the glass, making a bubbling sound; if it weren't for its aroma, one might mistake it for soda.

"Speaking of which, you mentioned it before." Taking the cup, Uesugi Genshin recalled their previous agreement.

"Yes, I came here today specifically to keep my promise." She is very good at keeping her word.

Uesugi Genshin took a small sip, while Yukinoshita Haruno drank most of it in one gulp.

“I’ve saved a few bottles for you too,” he said, tilting his head to the side.

"The end of the world is really great."

"That's a friend's family." He emphasized again. Sawamura was indeed a friend. Speaking of which, he wondered how her family was doing. It seemed they had moved to Haneda's place.

"Is that so?" she said playfully, finishing the rest of her drink and placing the glass beside her. Then she picked up the bottle and poured herself another glass, making a splash as she said, "I really don't know you at all."

"Really? I lived an ordinary life in Hokkaido until I was 15. After that, I came to Chiba to study and have been a novelist for more than two years."

"I don't believe it." Without pausing for thought, she answered immediately, a gentle smile appearing after her assertion.

“Well, it’s not that ordinary.” With a shrug, Uesugi Genshin finished his champagne.

"How does it taste?" Yukinoshita Haruno filled his bottle with sake, and then drank hers as well.

"Can this really make you drunk?" Uesugi Genshin asked doubtfully.

"You can get drunk, huh?" She pointed to herself. "Look at me, I'm drunk, aren't I?"

"Really?" Uesugi Genshin asked skeptically.

"Do I look like I'm lying?" Yukinoshita Haruno continued after shifting her position.

"Let me see if your nose has gotten longer." With that, Uesugi Genshin leaned closer.

“Look.” In turn, Yukinoshita Haruno brought her face closer.

Then Uesugi Genshin covered her face with one hand, saying, "Too close."

"Didn't you want to see this? Now you're saying this again." He looked troubled, as if he were the one in the wrong.

"Ha, it's my fault." He sighed, finished his drink, put the glass aside, and didn't intend to drink anymore.

"Ugh... I feel a little dizzy," Uesugi Genshin said, rubbing his head.

"What's the alcohol content of this liquor again?"

"12 degrees." Yukinoshita Haruno shook the bottle and poured out the last bit. "What, are you drunk?"

She turned to look at Uesugi Genshin and said jokingly, "It's said that if you drink strong liquor all the time, you'll get drunk very easily if you suddenly drink weak liquor."

"I see." That's a common saying.

"I have something to discuss with you." Yukinoshita Haruno put down the last cup and prepared to get to the point.

"What? A discussion about relationships?" When it comes to discussions, it usually refers to matters related to relationships, right?

Rolling her eyes upwards, Yukinoshita Haruno said, "It's a request. Saying they have something to discuss means they need to ask you for a favor, generally speaking."

The joy that had been on Uesugi Genshin's face vanished in an instant, as if it were a lie, and he lay down on the wooden floor, clearly having lost interest.

"Please." With a seductive voice, Yukinoshita Haruno grabbed Uesugi Genshin's hand.

"My beauty trap won't work on me." He could feel the warmth of the other person's hand, but Uesugi Genshin remained unmoved.

"Yes, yes, yes." Yukinoshita Haruno grabbed the other's waist and hem, her nails digging into the warm spot, and tugged at it. "This is a personal request from the Yukinoshita family."

"What do you mean?" If it were a matter for the committee, Uesugi Genshin would absolutely ignore it, but he might listen to Yukinoshita's opinion.

"You're planning to go to Tokyo, aren't you?" Yukinoshita Haruno brought up what she had heard earlier.

"Ah."

"Could you please go to Haneda in Ota Ward and check on the situation there?" Yukinoshita Haruno looked at the moonlit courtyard. "Isn't there an evacuation point set up by the Self-Defense Forces over there?"

"What's going on over there?"

“We don’t know if they really intend to evacuate completely or if they’re using that place as a springboard back to Tokyo.” With a serious expression, Yukinoshita’s face grew solemn.

Uesugi Genshin sat up. "Where are your men?"

"Because we don't know the situation over there, if it's an evacuation, no matter who goes to scout, the news they bring back will cause unrest in the base."

Ah, maybe there are people who want to go there. There will always be some people who believe in the government and the army and haven't given up yet.

If it is exploited by malicious individuals, it will also cause trouble.

"And this also means that we will have to rely on ourselves for the next few years or even decades. Be prepared."

More than half of them turned into zombies, and the remaining half were also turned into zombies after being suddenly attacked. The real living people are basically one in ten. This is the current state of the world, which is why it is called the apocalypse.

Even elite units like the airborne regiments have dwindled from over a thousand men to just a few hundred.

Of the 150,000 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel, half died, and if another half died, that would leave only about 30,000, scattered throughout the country.

Even so, Tokyo has a population of over ten million.

Ideally, there would be 30,000 troops against 10 million zombies, with each soldier killing 400 zombies to completely clear Tokyo. But this is not a simple arithmetic problem, unless they plan to nuke Tokyo directly.

"But if they really intend to use it as a stepping stone..."

“That would be even more dangerous,” Uesugi Genshin said, picking up where Yukinoshita Haruno left off.

“The fact that the Self-Defense Forces have this kind of courage means that a powerful dictator has emerged among them,” Yukino Yukinoshita said, offering her deduction.

The basic approach was to establish a military government by relying on the army. Under such circumstances, these civilian organizations, which resembled separatist armed groups, had no reason to trust the other side.

Because you can't integrate. Integrating means laying down your weapons and becoming a lamb to the slaughter, at the mercy of the other side.

They cannot share power; no one will relinquish their power, especially not a military dictator.

If you don't know the other party's background, you can't trust them easily, and that would be a threat to both of you.

"No matter which one it is, we need to figure it out." Yukinoshita Haruno turned to look at Uesugi Genshin.

"What about the reward?" If it's something like "for Yukino," Uesugi Genshin won't agree.

Yukinoshita chuckled, took a sip of white wine, wiped the rim of her glass, and slowly said to Uesugi Genshin, as if pondering something, "Then, as you expect, I will join your side."

"Hmph, at least I heard your promise." Uesugi Genshin extended his hand.

Yukino Shino grasped his hand again, "Deal."

"!" Uesugi Genshin's hand trembled, because what she said was actually in Chinese.

My heart almost stopped from being scared.

"Hahahaha..." Yukinoshita Haruno laughed happily, "Seeing your expression now, it's worth all the time I spent studying every day."

"Are you that bored?!"

"Of course!"

"..." This matter-of-fact attitude left Uesugi Genshin completely speechless.

However, Japanese contains a lot of Chinese, has many connections, and its structure is similar, so it is much easier for Japanese speakers to learn than for Westerners.

"What do you think of what I said?" This question is still in Chinese.

"...To be honest, I have a bit of an accent," he replied in Chinese.

"Accent, ah, accent." She seemed still not very familiar with it. "You mean there's no accent?"

“Of course!” Uesugi Genshin replied affirmatively, “This is perfect standard Mandarin.”

Actually, no, he still had a slight Central Plains Mandarin accent.

She rolled her eyes at him and asked, "What do you think of my accent?"

"To be honest, it sounds like you're being coquettish, which sounds quite nice. But if you pronounce it more precisely, it doesn't sound as pleasant."

“…” Standing up, Yukinoshita Haruno kicked him, picked up the empty bottle and glass, and walked outside. “I’m going back.”

"Oh. Remember to come and see me off tomorrow morning," Uesugi Genshin reminded him.

Yukinoshita paused, but ultimately refrained from uttering any harsh words, saying only, "I understand."

After she left, Uesugi Genshin couldn't help but lower his head and smile, speaking so many words in his mother tongue.

It's been a long time since I've spoken about my hometown with anyone, and I feel a little nostalgic.

"Is it over?" Yui Yuigahama poked her head out and looked at Genshin.

"Ah."

"Oh, the temple doesn't have that many rooms. We'll have to have Professor Hiratsuka and the others sleep in one room." She walked over with small, quick steps.

“Oh, so there’s nothing we can do.” Uesugi Genshin nodded.

“…If you want, I don’t have…” She blushed and gently tugged at Xuanxin’s sleeve.

"Ah... I didn't expect Yui to be so bold."

"No way!" she angrily punched him.

"Haha, you should get some rest."

Chapter 214: He is your daughter's lover

When I woke up, I found that my bed had been invaded, even though I had said I would get some rest yesterday.

Because the pajamas were stuffed in the backpack, and opening them required a lot of effort to tidy up and zip them up again, the person next to me was sleeping in a shirt.

I don't know how it got so hot by now. Did I rub it on while I was sleeping, or is it because of the heat?