"Miss Shizuka, don't you think you're standing a little too close to my boyfriend?" Saeko Busujima's eyes narrowed as she watched Shizuka Marikawa practically lean her entire body against Kevin Cross mid-conversation. Rolling her eyes, she stepped in and firmly wedged herself between the two, pushing Shizuka aside.
"Huh? Saeko-chan, are you getting jealous?" Shizuka blinked in surprise, then giggled airily. "Don't worry. I mean, sure, Kevin is handsome and sweet totally my type but he's your boyfriend. I wouldn't steal him from you."
Saeko gave another eye-roll. If it weren't for the others around them, she wouldn't put it past Shizuka to pull something shameless. That woman was already practically glued to him.
And now Saeko realized something troubling having a boyfriend this attractive might not be such a good thing. Women just couldn't seem to resist hovering around him. Well… she remembered the name of that group chat Kevin was in. The "Harem Chat Group." Right. There was no avoiding it. Women would always gather around him.
Her mood dipped with that thought, but she also understood this was something she'd have to accept.
Kevin, meanwhile, had become the center of attention. The conversation now revolved around him, with multiple girls hanging on his every word. Takashi Komuro and Kohta Hirano looked on from the sidelines, envy practically radiating from their faces.
But Kevin himself didn't seem thrilled.
Sure, being surrounded by a bunch of beautiful girls each of them tall, curvy, and naturally fragrant would've been a dream scenario for most guys. And yes, their stares had turned oddly intense, almost burning with unspoken desire.
Yet Kevin wasn't flattered. In fact, he found it all a bit bothersome.
After all, with a face as godlike as those of his beloved readers, what did he care about beauty or attention? Did he need to concern himself with whether the girls around him were attractive? Did he need validation from how they looked at him?
No. Not at all. With looks this divine, such things were beneath him.
What truly mattered was his mission.
He came here for a reason money. He needed to get to a bank. No way he was letting a few pretty girls derail his priorities.
"You all go ahead and keep chatting," Kevin said, standing up. "I've got something to do."
"Huh? Kevin, where are you going?"
"Yeah, what's up? We can help you!"
"Seriously, it's not safe out there. The dead are everywhere!"
The three girls Shizuka, Saya Takagi, and Rei Miyamoto all spoke at once, worried and unwilling to let him go.
But Saeko stepped forward protectively. "Relax, everyone. Kevin does have something important to take care of. And as for the undead outside? They're not going to be a problem for him."
"Saeko-chan, are you kidding?"
"Senpai, they're dangerous! Kevin's handsome, sure, but that won't save him from a zombie!"
"Exactly! You can't possibly want him to go out there and get hurt!"
The three girls tried to stop him again, this time subtly putting the blame on Saeko in hopes of altering Kevin's opinion of her.
"Ahem well, I think," Takashi suddenly spoke up, "if Kevin's got something to do, we should respect that. I'm sure it's important."
"Yes, yes, exactly," Kohta chimed in quickly. "He wouldn't say so unless he had a good reason. After all, he knows how dangerous it is out there."
Now the girls turned their fire on the boys instead.
Takashi and Kohta knew exactly what they were doing. Takashi had noticed how Rei had started looking at Kevin. Kohta, for his part, was increasingly worried that Saya might fall for Kevin's charm too.
"Ahem. I'll go with Kevin," Takashi offered quickly, trying to redirect attention.
"And I'll get him some weapons!" Kohta scurried off, soon returning with a selection of firearms long guns, short guns, a whole buffet of firepower.
In truth, both boys desperately hoped Kevin would just leave already.
"Hm… weapons?" Kevin examined the guns with mild interest. While he wasn't exactly an expert, he recognized a few from movies and TV. He picked one long and one short, each accompanied by a small stash of ammo.
As he left the apartment, Shizuka and the others watched him with a mixture of reluctance and concern.
But Kevin didn't draw his gun. Instead, he pulled out a kitchen cleaver yes, the infamous "Okamoto 0.01," once dubbed the weapon of choice for Feng Baobao.
Truth was, dealing with zombies was laughably easy for him. And now, after getting together with Saeko, he'd received a flood of knowledge about kendo. At this point, he was easily Saeko's equal perhaps even her superior.
He wanted to test it out.
Why a kitchen cleaver instead of a katana? Simple. They didn't have one. Sure, Saeko had a wooden bokken, but that was hers he wouldn't just take it.
Still, the cleaver was more than enough.
As the zombies spotted him and came rushing in, Kevin's movements were swift and precise. With each effortless swing, a zombie's head flew off, clean and bloodless.
Not a single drop touched him.
His form was relaxed and fluid, cutting through the undead like chopping vegetables. In mere moments, a dozen corpses lay at his feet.
Back in the apartment, the others watched through the windows, stunned.
The girls' expressions slowly shifted from shock to awe. Their eyes sparkled with admiration.
As for Takashi and Kohta? Their wide eyes held something else bitterness. Frustration.
They had given Kevin those guns, hoping it would distract him or make him dependent.
But instead?
He didn't even need them.
He only needed a cleaver and his swordsmanship.