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When Julian didn't say anything, the balding man took it as silent agreement with the rules here and nodded in satisfaction.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Gendo Sugawara, the purchasing manager of this supermarket."
He gestured to the man beside him. "This is Takeshi Gondo, the warehouse security guard. He used to be the city's boxing champion. I suggest you don't try anything funny, unless you want to get punched to death."
He then pointed at the two women nearby. "They both work here. This one's Shizuka Hiratsuka, and this one's Uzaki Hana."
When Sugawara introduced Uzaki Hana, something flickered in his eyes.
Hana was a college student who had just started interning at the supermarket.
She was petite, with a sweet, babyish face that made her look like a high schooler. But…
What she had on her chest completely defied that impression.
The contrast was almost violent. In fact, she looked even more stacked than the perfectly proportioned Mafuyu Kirisu.
That kind of mismatch was enough to stir all sorts of thoughts.
Sugawara had been eyeing Hana for a while now. Before the apocalypse, he'd held back because he was married. But now the world had ended. His wife and child were dead, and he was the highest authority in this warehouse.
Naturally, his mind had started to wander.
Still, the apocalypse had only been going on for two days. He hadn't completely shed his sense of morality yet, so he hadn't made a move.
But Julian and Mafuyu's arrival gave him ideas.
For survivors out there, food and shelter were everything.
If they had to trade their bodies for it…
Surely someone would agree.
Sugawara decided he'd start with Mafuyu. With his authority and resources, he could enjoy himself a little first. Once that line was crossed, taking Hana later would be easy.
As for Julian…
If the guy behaved, an extra pair of hands would be useful.
If he resisted…
He'd have Takeshi take care of him.
"Hana, take these two to find a place to rest," Sugawara ordered. "Give them one day's worth of food and water. Don't give more than that."
He needed to talk with Takeshi about tightening control over the place.
"Okay, Manager," Hana replied with a nod, walking over to Julian and Mafuyu.
"Sis, I'll help you with your suitcase."
She reached for Mafuyu's luggage.
"Ugh… it's heavy!"
Her face turned red as she tried to lift it, but she couldn't manage, so she ended up dragging it instead.
Soon, she led them to a corner of the warehouse.
The entire space was filled with rows of shelves, neatly dividing different sections. The spot they were given was in the home appliance area, surrounded by washing machines, TVs, and the like.
The most important section, the food storage area, was naturally occupied by Sugawara and his group.
Clearly, he didn't trust Julian.
"Big brother, big sister, I'll go get you a tent in a bit," Hana said, pushing up her glasses. "Do you want one tent or two?"
"One!" Mafuyu answered immediately.
Of course she had to sleep with Julian. What if she got hungry at night?
"Okay, I'll get it ready right away."
Hana nodded knowingly and ran off.
"Master, this place isn't bad. So many supplies," Mafuyu whispered once they were alone. "Should we just kill the ones in the way?"
"We will. Just not yet," Julian said, sitting down on the floor. "I just took out a bunch of zombies and ran a kilometer. Let me catch my breath."
"And I still need to find out where they keep the key to the cold storage."
He was an awakened, yes, but his ability hadn't exactly boosted his combat power in any obvious way. Add in the few hours of "exercise" from last night, and yeah, he was tired.
"That baldy kept staring at me with those gross eyes," Mafuyu pouted. "Don't stop me later. I'm going to dig his eyes out."
Even though she was a zombie now, her temper hadn't changed one bit.
"Fine. I'll leave the interrogation to you."
Julian smiled faintly.
In this apocalypse, he had no mercy for strangers. Only he and the people by his side mattered.
Not long after, Hana came running back with a pile of things in her arms.
As she ran, the movement on her chest was… impressive.
Even Mafuyu had to admit defeat.
"Brother Julian, Sister Mafuyu, here's your tent," Hana said cheerfully.
"As for food…"
She handed it over a little awkwardly.
Sugawara had allotted them two small bottles of mineral water and two packs of compressed biscuits for the day.
In the apocalypse, that was actually decent.
But in a warehouse filled with supplies?
It felt like charity scraps.
"Sister Mafuyu, if you don't like this…" Hana hesitated before pulling out a sandwich. "I saved this earlier. You can have it."
"It's okay. I don't really like eating much," Mafuyu waved her off, though her opinion of the girl improved a little.
"Alright then, I'll head back!" Hana said brightly. "Sister Sae and I are staying in the cosmetics section, just a few dozen meters from here. If you need anything, come find me!"
She waved and skipped away.
"Master, that girl's pretty nice," Mafuyu said, glancing back. "Can we not kill her later?"
She could tell Hana was genuinely kind.
"Sure. Another girl around might give you someone to talk to."
Julian nodded.
If it was just the two of them, their only way to kill boredom would be…
Yeah. His kidneys couldn't take that every day.
Having someone to distract Mafuyu now and then wasn't a bad idea.
"Master, why don't you take her in too?" Mafuyu waggled her eyebrows. "With her size, I bet she'd feel amazing to squeeze."
"Pfft!"
Julian sprayed water across the floor.
"Take in another one? Are you trying to kill me?"
He rubbed his already sore lower back.
One Mafuyu was barely manageable. Add in a baby-faced bombshell like that, and he might not be able to walk straight anymore.
"Master, this tent doesn't seem very soundproof," Mafuyu said thoughtfully. "What are we going to do tonight? We can't let people hear us."
"Maybe we should just deal with them early."
She was already planning ahead for their nightly "workout."
"Seriously…" Julian flicked her forehead. "Can you think about something other than eating? Will you die if you don't?"
Mafuyu stuck out her tongue, looking innocent.
She couldn't help it.
She was a zombie now.
Her brain really was full of just one thing.
Eat, eat, eat.
And yeah.
If she didn't eat, she really would die.
"....."