The young man before him, face blank, eyes narrowed, exuded a palpable, terrifying, pure killing intent.
No one dared doubt the truth of those words.
If Kiryu wanted to kill someone, no one present could stop him.
Under Kiryu’s precise control, a small, cold section of the katana’s blade was exposed from the sheath.
The bone-chilling coolness pressed against his neck.
“S-Sorry…”
It made Tobe Kakeru’s expression change dramatically.
Goosebumps uncontrollably rose all over his body.
He was terrified.
His face was as pale as a corpse.
With his head bowed, body shaking like a leaf, he knelt pathetically at the young man’s feet.
The earlier arrogance and ferocity had vanished without a trace.
“I liked you better when you were all arrogant and fierce before.”
Faced with such a taunting, maximum-sarcasm tone,
Kakeru, whose legs had turned to jelly, deflated like a leaky balloon, lying spinelessly on the ground.
He couldn’t even muster the courage to lift his head.
Killing a loser like him would just dirty his hands.
Unfortunately, killing teammates in this instance didn’t drop rewards.
Things had reached this point.
In the eyes of this group, he had become a demon king.
They were clearly not meant to walk the same path.
Kiryu shook his head, just about to leave,
When a clear, cold female voice sounded behind him once more.
“Please wait a moment, Kazama-kun.
Could I become your teammate?”
The speaker was Yukinoshita Yukino.
Kiryu turned around, looking calmly at the bowing girl.
If he didn’t speak,
Yukino would have to maintain that posture.
There was no choice.
She was the one asking for a favor, not the other way around.
When asking for help, you need the resolve to ask properly.
She absolutely won’t act as foolishly as that Tobe Kakeru guy,
Looking down on everyone, blind to the world.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds…
one minute.
Just when Yukino felt she couldn’t hold out much longer,
Kiryu nodded and finally spoke: “You don’t meet my teammate standards.”
That was the truth.
Yukino had a slender, graceful figure, beautiful, cool features, and a cold, frosty demeanor.
But none of that helped her kill zombies.
A delicate, pretty, charming girl like her,
Would probably just get swallowed whole by the zombie horde the moment she stepped outside.
“We can cooperate.
I can pay a price that satisfies you.”
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Yukino didn’t get discouraged.
Her big, bright, dark eyes looked at him firmly.
“I already asked the Death Game.”
“Everyone’s ‘Newcomer Gift’ can be transferred with the owner’s permission.”
“As you can see, I’m willing to offer you this gift in exchange for your protection.”
This was practically an open display of goodwill.
A mental intention floated over.
[Ding, player ‘Yukinoshita Yukino’ invites you to receive her item ‘Newcomer Gift’.
Accept?]
[Item Name: Bulk Charcoal Rosin]
[Quality: Crude]
[Description: A small package of ‘Enchanted Charcoal Rosin’.
When applied in advance, it temporarily strengthens your right-hand weapon with Fire attribute for a duration of 15 minutes.]
[Uses Remaining: 3]
[Equip Condition: None]
[Note: Flame On!]
“…”
‘Tch, what’s with this unserious note?’
Pushing aside his exasperation at the line of text,
Kiryu clicked accept.
He had to admit, the “gift” offered by Yukino was quite to his liking.
‘See that, you fool Tobe Kakeru?
This is how you ask someone for a favor!’
Although Yukino was usually cold and proud, she wasn’t stupid…
Kiryu’s decisiveness and ruthlessness just now clearly suited her taste.
Attentive, courageous, and tenacious—he was a teammate worth relying on.
The problem was, he might not see her as worthy.
“Not a bad gift, but you’re still not qualified.”
Kiryu shook his head.
“Saying we’re teammates is just me protecting you.”
“You could abandon me and run away yourself at any time when things get dangerous.”
The fact that he accepted the gift showed his attitude.
Yukino was also taking a gamble.
What if Kiryu was someone who didn’t keep his word, took the gift, and then ignored her?
She would just have to swallow the loss.
But fortunately, her judgment wasn’t bad.
While he cared about profit, he wasn’t someone who went back on his word.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Without sufficient benefit, why should he risk his life to protect her?
Just because of her beauty?
Yukino admitted she was indeed quite cute.
But Kiryu clearly wasn’t the kind of man who only looked at a pretty face.
“Alright.
Follow me then.”
After some discussion,
The young man ultimately agreed to Yukino’s request to tag along.
When facing danger too difficult to handle, Kiryu could decisively abandon the girl and escape.
If they survived the seven days and returned to the real world,
Yukino would also have to pay him a considerable sum of money, as well as all the game currency from this mission.
But it would all be worth it.
Clenching her small, delicate fists, Yukino felt extremely determined.
As long as she survived, these sacrifices were nothing.
“Yukino-chan, are you really going to leave with Kiryu-kun?”
Watching her newly made, close friend resolutely follow Kiryu away,
Yuigahama Yui anxiously ran out from the crowd.
“Yui…”
Yukino looked at the girl with the pink, dumpling-like hairstyle.
She knew her.
She knew this girl genuinely cared about her safety.
Unlike the others in the classroom, who were jealous of or hated her.
“Listen, Yui.
I’ll say this only once.”
Yukino half-closed her eyes and looked at her friend with unprecedented seriousness.
“If you don’t want to die, do like me and attach yourself to Kiryu.
You won’t survive with these people.”
“Yukino, I…”
The exceptionally cruel words emerged from the girl’s thin lips,
Making Yui’s heart tremble, her shimmering beautiful eyes wavering.