Yotsuya Miko had already suffered enough. An ordinary high school girl like her had suddenly awakened the ability to see spirits. Though it sounded amazing, to her, it was nothing but a curse.
Every single day, Miko was forced to see countless spirits wandering about, especially evil ones. Their forms were horrifying, like clumps of black blur with glowing eyes and gaping mouths, as if they were ready to devour her at any moment.
She had tried to endure it, tried to ignore just how terrifying they were. But the psychological pressure was simply too much for Miko.
On the streets, at her old school, at her new school, she always saw evil spirits. Not a single day passed without them.
Fortunately, she was still alive.
As for why Miko transferred schools, it was because she and her mother had moved. At her old school, some of the students and even teachers were evil spirits in disguise, which had terrified Miko to no end.
Even though the teachers and students at her new school were all real humans and not evil spirits, the other spirits, visible only to her, were still there.
On her way home from her new school, Miko, as usual, saw another evil spirit. It was right in front of her, staring at her with two wide, blood-red glowing eyes. The shock made her fall.
And then, events led to the present moment…
Seeing Tetsuya smiling gently at her while extending his hand, Miko felt as if she were looking at her savior. How long had she been seeing those spirits? She didn't know, but it had definitely been a long time, and she had suffered throughout it.
Now, witnessing a man casually grab the head of an evil spirit and "kill" it made Miko feel utterly incredulous.
More than that, she felt as though she had finally found someone who could save her from her suffering.
Miko accepted his hand, stood up, and looked at Tetsuya with eyes full of hope. "D-Do you see them too? T-Those horrible things?!"
Overwhelmed by curiosity and desperate to escape her torment, Miko asked impatiently.
Tetsuya looked at her, saw how desperate she was, and felt a hint of pity. Under her hopeful gaze, he shook his head apologetically.
"No. I don't see them."
Miko lowered her head again, her hope crumbling into disappointment. But then, as if grasping at another possibility, hope flickered once more in her eyes as she spoke.
"Th-Then… can you help me? I don't want to see them anymore!"
"I can't do that," Tetsuya said, shaking his head.
Right now, he was just an ordinary human. What could he possibly do to remove Miko's Spirit Sight? Take out her eyes? That was a joke.
However, there was the system. If Saeko's world truly entered a zombie apocalypse like in the anime and triggered missions, Tetsuya could earn points, grow stronger, and maybe, mjust maybe, he could remove Miko's Spirit Sight someday.
But for now, he couldn't.
Miko lowered her head again, sinking into deep disappointment. Did that mean she had to live her entire life seeing those horrifying evil spirits? She felt both sad and dejected.
Seeing her like that, Tetsuya couldn't help but sigh. "How about I walk you home?"
"Mhm… thank you…" Still dazed by her disappointment, Miko nodded unconsciously.
On the way to Miko's house, neither of them spoke. Tetsuya kept an eye on their surroundings while occasionally chatting in the group chat, while Miko walked with her head lowered.
A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a house.
"This is your home?"
"Mhm. Thank you," Miko bowed slightly and walked inside.
Watching her disappointed figure, Tetsuya shook his head. He then turned around and headed home himself.
…
Tetsuya's house had been purchased with his income as a novelist. It wasn't too far from Sobu High School, just a few minutes' walk. It was a Western-style house with white concrete walls, two stories tall, and a spacious front yard.
His novels sold well, so why not live a comfortable and enjoyable life? Tetsuya thought to himself.
Even if he lived alone.
Ahem! More importantly, he was home now. After taking a bath and having dinner, he lay down in his room.
…
The next day, Tetsuya went to school as usual. By coincidence, he ran into Utaha again in the school corridor, walking together before she headed to the third floor while Tetsuya went to his classroom.
Unexpectedly, there was another transfer student today, shocking Tetsuya and the other students, especially since Miko had just transferred yesterday.
"Hi! My name is Hana Yurikawa! Nice to meet you!"
"…"
She was Miko's close friend from the anime. As it turned out, Hana transferred here because she learned that Miko had moved to this school. A truly good friend, Tetsuya couldn't help smiling when he heard Hana's reason for transferring.
Classes ended, and the break bell rang.
[Group Mission Triggered!]
[Mission Details: Assist and rescue group member Saeko Busujima from zombies in her world.]
[Mission Participants: Tetsuya Hiratsuji, Saeko Busujima.]
[Mission Time Limit: 5 days.]
[Accept / Decline]
Tetsuya, who was about to take out his lunch box, froze. A group mission had been triggered, and it involved helping Saeko fight zombies. That meant Saeko's world had truly entered a zombie apocalypse.
He immediately opened the chat group.
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji: @Saeko Busujima, Saeko-senpai, how are things?]
[Saeko Busujima: Not very good. I'm at school right now. There are a lot of zombies wandering outside.]
[March 7th: Wow! Saeko's world really is facing a zombie apocalypse! Saeko, are you okay?!]
[Tsunade Senju: So it really happened. Does that mean Tetsuya really knows a lot about our worlds?]
[Saeko Busujima: I'm fine, little March.]
[Boa Hancock: The mission participants are only Tetsuya and Saeko?]
[March 7th: Tetsuya! Tetsuya! What are you waiting for?! Hurry and help Saeko!]
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji: Yeah.]
Tetsuya immediately pressed Accept.
The world suddenly turned gray. Megumi, who was walking toward him with her lunch box, froze in place. Time itself seemed to stop.
Seeing this, Tetsuya felt relieved. So when executing a group mission, time in his original world was frozen, perfect. He wouldn't make anyone worry.
Moments later, Tetsuya's figure was suddenly pulled in, as if sucked into a black hole, and vanished from the world.
…
The World of Highschool of the Dead.
Tetsuya appeared on top of a building. The first thing he saw was a crowd of walking corpses. Their bodies were pale and decayed, stumbling forward, classic zombie characteristics.
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji: @Saeko Busujima, Saeko-senpai, I'm on the rooftop of Fujimi High School.]
[Saeko Busujima: Understood. I'm inside the building with several others.]
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji: Wait for me and send me your location. @March 7th, @Tsunade Senju, @Boa Hancock, can you give me a weapon? A sword would be fine.]
[Boa Hancock has sent a Red Envelope!]
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji: Hancock, thank you!]
[Boa Hancock: Mhm.]
[Tetsuya Hiratsuji has received a Red Envelope!]
Tetsuya closed the chat group. As soon as he received the red envelope, a normal iron sword instantly appeared in front of him. He picked it up, swung it a few times, nodded in satisfaction, and immediately descended to deal with the zombies on the rooftop.
They were likely students from Fujimi High who had been infected. Tetsuya swiftly decapitated them one by one, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
There was no psychological burden, after all, they were no different from the dead.