After finishing the contract with Rei Miyamoto, Drake went to another room.
"She's asleep already?"
Seeing the blonde school nurse resting with her head in Rika Minami's lap, he asked casually.
"Yeah. She's probably really exhausted after these last two days."
Rika pinched her friend's cheek lightly. In sleep, Shizuka Marikawa wore the peaceful expression of a child.
For soone that absent-minded, things like zombies and the apocalypse really were too much.
"And the contract?"
"I already talked to her about it."
"She agreed that easily?"
Drake sounded surprised. He had assud Rika would object to her best friend signing a contract with him.
After all, Rika should already know that this was a highly binding kind of "indenture."
"For her, this may actually be a good thing."
Rika shrugged and looked out at the ruined street beyond the window.
"What happened to this world is too cruel for everyone."
"Without this contract, soone like her would have a hard ti surviving."
"At the very least, you'll protect her, won't you?"
"Of course."
Drake nodded and looked at the sleeping Shizuka Marikawa, feeling a little excited.
It wasn't just because of the occasional glimpse of skin—though admittedly that was part of it—
it was more because of the information he had gotten from Appraisal.
[Contract Skill – Ergency Rescue: Reduces your "death penalty" duration by 50%. When serving in the "Nurse" role, the contractee can revive dead contractees.]
Just the fact that it cut the death penalty duration in half was enough to make Drake take it seriously.
And on top of that, if Shizuka Marikawa served as a Nurse, Drake would never have to worry about the safety of his contractees again.
Even if one of them died, they could simply be brought back to life.
Of course, it would still be best if nobody ever needed reviving.
"…Mm?"
Perhaps hearing the two of them talking, Shizuka Marikawa rubbed her eyes and woke up.
When she saw Drake, she seed to realize sothing, and said cheerfully,
"You ca to sign a contract with , right?"
"That's right."
Seeing how excited Shizuka looked, Drake suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt, like he was tricking a child.
"Rika should already have told you about the contract."
"If you don't have any objections… then we can do it right now."
Thanks to Rika's assistance, the contract process went very smoothly.
Drake gained a new contractee almost effortlessly.
It went so smoothly that it felt almost unreal to him.
Once the contract was complete, Shizuka Marikawa happily snuggled up to her best friend like a golden retriever asking for praise.
"Hehe, now I'm the sa as Kaori too."
It seed she didn't have any complicated thoughts—she was simply happy as long as she could stay with Rika.
Drake couldn't help thinking of another figure.
"Then… what is she thinking right now?"
As the last mber of the main group, and also its main combat asset,
Saeko Busujima was different from Rei Miyamoto and Saya Takagi, who still had family sowhere in the city.
She was also different from Shizuka Marikawa and Rika Minami, who had close, irreplaceable friends.
In this island city where order was gradually collapsing…where exactly was she supposed to go from here?
Saeko Busujima stared blankly at the darkening sky outside the window, lost in thought.
Just then, a voice ca from behind her.
"When you ran into that biker gang earlier, things were pretty dangerous, weren't they?"
Saeko turned around and saw the boy who had saved them. The expression on her beautiful face gradually softened.
"Yes. We really were fortunate that Drake ca to help us."
"No, that's not quite what I an."
Drake stepped out onto the balcony and stood beside the purple-haired girl, both of them looking out over the city sinking into darkness.
"When you told your companions to break through first, it wasn't just because you were worried about their safety…"
"There was another reason too—you didn't want them to see the other side of you, right?"
Saeko Busujima froze for a mont, clearly surprised that Drake knew her secret.
"Though this is our first eting, you seem to understand very well, Drake."
Of course I do. I know you so well I could probably tell you what color your underwear is right now.
Drake couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
Outwardly, though, he kept a calm expression.
"If you don't have anywhere in particular you need to go for now, you can move with ."
After thinking for a mont, Drake made the offer.
"When you're with , you don't have to hide the things you normally don't want other people to know."
"…"
When Saeko fell silent, Drake continued, "What I an is—you can enjoy killing as much as you like."
"Can I really?" Saeko suddenly asked in return.
"In the eyes of ordinary people, soone like is probably no different from a monster."
"A monster?"
Drake smiled faintly, clearly unimpressed by that label.
"The whole world has already gone mad. So what if you're a monster?"
"A few days from now, this city is going to face a major upheaval. I need a strong fighter."
"If you're willing, I can hire you. As for your paynt…"
Drake's tone grew aningful.
"I can give you a contract."
"A contract that binds you to in absolute obedience."
"As long as you sign it, you'll fight for , and you'll be able to kill without any ntal burden."
"Even if you die, I can bring you back."
"So? What do you think?"
Even though Saeko Busujima did not possess a contract skill,
Drake was still more than willing to invite her to join, simply because of her combat ability.
After all, if he wanted enough manpower to deal with the Blood Moon in Tokonosu City, he would need help.
Rika Minami alone wasn't enough.
If he added Saeko, who excelled in close combat, the two of them would work much more efficiently together.
And Drake was confident—the offer he was making was one she wouldn't refuse.
To an ordinary person, a contract with compulsory force would be no different from a deed of sale.
But as Saeko herself had said, she was different from ordinary people.
"Before now, I never imagined I could trust soone I've only t once to this extent."
Saeko looked at Drake with a complicated expression.
Only a few hours had passed since they first t.
And yet she had the feeling that he had already seen through every secret she had.
More than that, he didn't care in the slightest about the thing she had tried so desperately to hide.
In that case…accepting his proposal didn't seem like such a bad choice.
"The won of the Busujima family do not change their minds once they've made a decision."
Saeko took a deep breath and looked seriously at Drake.
"I only hope that the man I've chosen won't disappoint ."
"So… how exactly do I enter into this contract with you?"
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