After breakfast, Su Yan led Busujima Saeko to the garage. They were using the same motorcycle from the night before.
Su Yan patted the seat behind him and motioned to the purple-haired girl. "Get on."
"Are we going out on the bike?"
Busujima Saeko didn't quite understand Su Yan's plan and asked in confusion.
"Did you forget about what happened at the school last night?"
Su Yan didn't find her questioning annoying; instead, he lightly poked the purple-haired girl's forehead with his index finger. "Those zombies aren't monsters in a game; they don't just turn into data and vanish when they die."
"If we keep killing zombies in the immediate vicinity, the sheer number of corpses will accumulate. Having so many bodies piled up nearby wouldn't just hinder our future travels."
"The stench of rotting corpses that would eventually waft over would be nauseating. If that happens, we might be forced to move somewhere else."
"After all, you wouldn't want to live in a place filled with such a foul odor, right?"
"That's true."
Busujima Saeko nodded as she listened.
Following Su Yan's words, memories of the previous night quickly surfaced. She had killed so many zombies that the piled-up corpses had left almost nowhere to step.
It reached a point where they had to constantly move to new locations just to continue the fight.
Thinking more carefully, she realized that those piles of corpses wouldn't just cause a stench over time; they could also lead to the spread of diseases and plagues.
However, she had been so exhausted after her battle with Su Yan that she had fallen asleep immediately, knowing nothing about what happened when she was brought back.
Now that Su Yan brought it up, the purple-haired girl naturally remembered everything.
So, she asked Su Yan with some concern, "Su Yan, did you find a way to deal with the zombie corpses at the school last night?"
Su Yan replied, "Of course."
This was something Busujima Saeko didn't even need to remind him of, as such occurrences were not uncommon in ancient times.
So, before leaving last night, he used his Transmutation ability to convert his Nen into a fire attribute.
He set a fire that burned the entire school and the piles of zombies to the ground.
The acrid stench was truly overwhelming.
Upon smelling that scent, even the normally slow-acting and lazy Marikawa Shizuka couldn't help but quicken her pace to leave Fujimi Academy.
And that fire could be considered a secondary way of fulfilling Su Yan's childhood dream of going to school with a satchel charge to blow it up.
However, because he wasn't a master of Transmutation, the flames he converted from Nen were just ordinary fire.
They couldn't reach the level seen in anime where flames can incinerate everything instantly.
Furthermore, in the absence of accelerants like fuel, and because Su Yan was unwilling to consume too much Nen on such a task...
...the most he could do was use the high temperature of the flames to destroy any potential viruses or plagues that might be present.
As for whether other problems might arise afterward?
There was nothing more he could do.
At the very least, he had already done everything within his power.
After explaining the situation, Busujima Saeko felt relieved. She settled onto the bike behind Su Yan.
Without needing a word, her hands naturally wrapped around Su Yan's waist as she pressed her body forward.
Her upper body pressed firmly against Su Yan's back, as if she were trying to merge herself into him.
Busujima Saeko rested her head on his back, feeling the warmth radiating from Su Yan's body.
After greedily taking a deep breath of Su Yan's scent, she suddenly felt sentimental. "Speaking of which, even though we've been living together for half a month, this is the first time you've taken me out for a joyride."
"A joyride?"
Su Yan laughed after hearing that.
'So that's how Saeko interprets it?'
But it made sense. Compared to the tasks Su Yan assigned to the others, killing zombies was indeed the best possible arrangement for Busujima Saeko.
It was essentially turning her hobby into a mission.
And since Su Yan was accompanying her the entire time, wouldn't the travel in between naturally feel like a joyride?
After realizing this, Su Yan said, "Well, there will be opportunities to take you out for rides like this almost every day from now on. Does that make you even happier, Saeko-senpai?"
"Yes," Busujima Saeko replied with a joyful heart.
Su Yan didn't say anything else, silently starting the mechanical beast beneath him.
The engine let out a powerful, intense roar.
The all-black mechanical beast, however, performed in a way that completely contradicted its roar.
It moved forward slowly.
Seeing this, Busujima Saeko mistakenly thought Su Yan was driving so slowly on purpose so they could better enjoy the scenery and the gentle breeze together.
Her heart filled with even more joy.
However, thinking of the others, the purple-haired girl suppressed her happiness and advised Su Yan, "Su Yan, you don't actually have to do this."
"We have a long time to be together in the future, so you don't need to dwell on this single moment."
"You can drive a bit faster. If we get out there earlier, we can come home earlier too."
Even though the girl felt a bit of a loss that she couldn't have such a great man all to herself...
...under the current circumstances, she felt very satisfied.
In fact, this was just right.
If she received any more, she might start to feel a strange sense of guilt.
"Huh?"
Su Yan's intuition ultimately wasn't as delicate as a girl's like Busujima Saeko.
For a moment, he couldn't understand how she had interpreted his current actions in such a way.
Su Yan opened his mouth, not quite knowing what to say.
His actual goal was to use the roar of the motorcycle engine to lure all the nearby zombies.
Then, he would lead them further away to be cleared out, enhancing the safety of the area surrounding their residence.
This was to avoid a situation where a zombie might suddenly lunge at them the moment they opened their front door.
As for the slow driving speed?
'Is it really that hard to understand?'
If he drove too fast, the zombies would lose the trail.
Then how would he clear them out?
But since Busujima Saeko had said that, if he were to reveal his true thoughts, wouldn't he be a total mood killer and disappoint her?
Su Yan thought for a moment, organizing his words. "It's fine. I just wanted to make some noise to lure the nearby zombies out and finish them off so that it will be safer whenever we go out later."
This was the art of language.
The same meaning, when expressed with different words, can give people a completely different feeling.
For example:
"I want to sleep with you" sounds very crude.
But if you change it to "I want to wake up with you," the perception becomes much better.
If you change it again to "I want the first person I see when I open my eyes to be you," it becomes very beautiful and romantic.
By the same logic, if Su Yan had just said his goal was to clear the zombies and she could think of it as a ride if she wanted...
...Busujima Saeko might not have said anything, but she would have certainly felt disappointed in her heart.
But now, Su Yan had changed the structural focus and order of his words.
He shifted the primary goal from clearing zombies to wanting to enjoy this ride with Busujima Saeko.
He framed the goal of clearing zombies as merely a secondary benefit.
The result was obvious.
"Mhm," Saeko hummed.
She didn't say another word, simply pressing her cheek against Su Yan's back.
However, Su Yan, being pressed tightly against her, could clearly feel her body temperature beginning to rise and her heartbeat quickening by a beat.
Su Yan knew the purple-haired girl behind him...
...was deeply moved.
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