Before reading:
Sorry in advance, there was a chapter mistake. I lost Chapter 7 šš
Now it's been fixed after I finally realized it.
No wonder it felt strangeā¦
Please enjoy. Happy reading.
___
Gabriel lifted his chin slightly, the light behind his bangs dimming like a breathing mist.
"No need to worry, Shizukaā¦" he said softly.
He covered half of his face with one hand, letting the wind carry his hair as if it were a small ritual.
"The wind spirits merelyā¦ brushed against the mist of my origin. This body is simply responding to that spiritual echo. Nothing more than a faint whisper from another world."
Shizuka blinked slowly. "ā¦Eh?"
I massaged my temples, then translated flatly, "It means: he's caught a cold."
Takashi, standing beside her, held back his laughter. "I just realized something. You're actually pretty fast at understanding Gabriel's cosmic language. I still need subtitles."
I immediately shot him a glare, my cheeks flushing slightly. "Don't get the wrong idea! It's not because I 'understand him.' I justā¦ I'm just reading the situation using normal logic, okay?"
Takashi raised his hands in surrender.
"Yeah, yeah. Logic. Definitely not because you're starting to get used to his chuunibyou rambling."
I looked away with a snort. "Tskā¦ what are you even saying?"
Saeko, who had been quietly watching the exchange, smiled faintly. "Saya-chanā¦ that's a hidden talent," she said gently.
Hearing that from Saeko, an irritated crease formed on Saya's forehead.
"I'll say it again, that's just normal logic!" Saya snapped. "Not a talent."
Rei covered her mouth, holding back a laugh.
"Right, rightā¦ normal logic, huh? But it seems you're the only one who understands Gabriel's language without a dictionary."
"What do youā?!" Saya opened her mouth.
Kohta nodded innocently while adjusting his glasses. "That's trueā¦ I think I'd need a special dictionary too. Maybe 'Gabriel LanguageāJapanese,' Volume One?"
A small burst of laughter erupted among the four of themāTakashi, Saeko, Rei, and Kohta.
Saya instantly burst into anger. "Shuuut up!! SHUT UP!! All of you!!" she yelled, her face turning red all the way to her ears.
Takashi chuckled even louder.
Meanwhile, slightly apart from the small commotion, Shizuka was holding a pill in her hand, but her gaze drifted offāas if she were thinking about something.
"Gabriel-kunā¦ but if it's really just a cold, why would there be wind spirits and all thā"
Her sentence was cut short.
Gabriel suddenly turned his head toward the bushes by the riverbank. He slowly raised one hand, as if sensing something they couldn't see.
"Mmmā¦ now I understand." He pointed toward a distant spot. "Thereā¦ I see it. The Vault of the Heavenly Gate. We can find the Mystic Code there."
Everyone immediately turnedā¦ toward Saya.
Saya even jolted in surprise.
"Huh!? Why are you all looking at ME!?"
Takashi patted her shoulder with a grin.
"Because you're the only one who can translate what he's saying."
Rei looked at Saya and whispered,
"Come on, official translator. Explain."
Kohta nodded. "Yeah, yeah, explain it. A vaultā¦ of what?"
Saya's face flushed againāthis time twice as red. No, three times as red.
"I'M NOT GABRIEL'S DICTIONARY!!"
Beside Gabriel, Shizuka suddenly opened her mouth, her eyes widening as if something had just clicked.
"Ah! That's right. That way!" she said, pointing in the same direction as Gabriel. "I just rememberedā¦ that road leads to Rika-chan's house!"
HOP!
Without warning, Shizuka jumped forward and hugged Gabriel from the side, wrapping both arms around him like a little girl who had found her favorite plush toy.
"Gabriel-kuuun! You're such a genius!" she exclaimed, shaking his body enthusiastically.
"She has a big house and even a car like a tank! More importantly, we can rest and take a bath! Kyaa~!"
Gabriel froze.
Completely froze.
His long bangs covered his eyes, but his reddened cheeks and burning ears were impossible to hide. His chuunibyou maskā¦ collapsed. Shattered. Gone.
"I-Iā¦ yesā¦ of courseā¦ heheā¦ that wasā¦ a carefully calculated moveā¦ not luckā¦" Gabriel said, his voice trembling slightlyācaught between embarrassment and trying to stay cool.
In truth, his words weren't entirely a lie. He had calculated the direction using Gigan. He had even glimpsed a fragment of Shizuka's memories.
Butā¦ the way he delivered it was through his Ash persona. That was why the others dismissed it as mere coincidence.
Meanwhile, Shizuka, still clinging to Gabriel, pressed her face against the chuunibyou boy affectionately. She smiled sweetly, completely unaware of how close they were.
"Rika-chan has been my friend for a long time!" she said cheerfully. "She lives alone and gave me a spare key so I can drop by, clean a little, open the windows to let fresh air inā¦ andāwow! You're amazing for finding the way! Gabriel-kun, you're a genius!"
Gabriel, unable to escape from the hug, felt his face grow even warmer.
The Ash mask was utterly defeated.
Behind themā¦
Saya covered her face.
Saeko held back a small laugh.
Rei gaped and whispered, "Ehā¦ is Shizuka-sensei flirtingā¦?"
Takashi nearly choked on his own spit.
Kohta struggled to hold back a nosebleed.
Gabriel could only slowly raise one hand, trembling slightly, and tried to speak in the tone he believed was still cool.
"H-Hehā¦ of courseā¦ the guiding spiritsā¦ have alreadyā¦ shown the path toā¦ Ashā¦"
But the last part of his line broke immediately as Shizuka hugged him even tighter.
"Sooo sweet~!"
"Senseiii, let gooooā!"
***
The sun was now directly overhead, signaling that morning had turned into noon.
Beneath the city skyāchaotic from the outbreakāstood a fairly large house near the riverbank, a place where they could finally catch their breath away from the turmoil outside.
Inside the house, the girls were taking a bath, washing away the dirt and exhaustion clinging to their bodies.
Shizuka soaked in a bathtub filled with warm water. Half of her body was submerged, her back relaxing under the soothing heat, her eyes closed as she enjoyed a rare moment of calm.
Rei closed her eyes while washing her hair with shampoo.
Both of her hands gently ran through each long strand, suds slowly dripping down and sliding over her shoulders.
On the other side, Saya and Saeko sat next to each other, talking about their bust sizesāsomething that should have been simple, yet somehow turned into a battle of sarcasm.
Saya crossed her arms and shot Saeko a sharp look. "Seriously, Saekoā¦ why do you always put yourself down? Your size is perfectly normal. You don't have to act all self-deprecating."
Saeko shrugged with a faint smile, her tone flat but subtly teasing.
"Ah, Saya-chanā¦ I'm actually jealous of you. Isn't yours more of an advantage?"
"Not heavy," she added gracefully. "Not troublesome, easy to move aroundā¦ and flexible, right?"
Saya snorted, her cheeks flushing in irritation.
"Flexible? Flexible my foot! I'm not saying size is everything, but stop putting yourself down all the time! I can't stand hearing it!"
Saeko simply smiled again, as if she were enjoying Saya's reaction. "Hehā¦ you're always so serious. I like that about you."
Saya glared at her, then turned away with a mutter. "Youā¦ really know how to get my blood boiling."
***
Meanwhile, the men were in Rika's room. Takashi and Kohta were busy opening a safe using Gabriel's multifunctional tactical shovel.
Gabriel himself was sitting on the bed, dripping a few drops of Healing Potion into Gigan's eyes.
Throughout the journey to this house, Gabriel had been secretly using Gigan to control the zombies' eyes within a 50-meter radius, causing them to attack each other.
As a result, none of the zombiesānot even those hidingāescaped his control.
With that calculation, the total number of zombies Gabriel had killed now reached 410 undead bodies, and the number of System Points he possessed had increased to 2050 points.
However, the continuous use of Gigan's maximum output was overwhelming him. His eyes slowly felt hot, and it could have almost burned his own brain.
Due to the unfavorable situation, Gabriel had difficulty using the Healing Potion regularly on his eyes.
The burning smell coming from his eyes was actually noticed by Saeko, Takashi, Rei, Saya, Kohta, and Shizuka.
However, they dismissed it as just the strange behavior of a chuuni and remained focused on the zombie threat in front of them.
After struggling to tamper with the safe, Takashi and Kohta finally managed to slip the tip of Gabriel's Silver Grave Keeper shovel into the crack in the door.
Kohta wiped a little sweat from his forehead. "Phew... it finally went in. What kind of safe is this... a bank vault?"
Takashi chuckled. "If it weren't for Gabriel's shovel, we'd still be fiddling with it until tomorrow."
Kohta looked up at the tool. "Yeah... is this really just a shovel? It feels like an SSR artifact."
Takashi nodded dramatically. "Of course. According to Gabriel, it's 'the legacy of the silver grave digger who guards the spirits of the world'."
Kohta stared blankly for a moment... then burst out laughing. "HAHAāhe seriously said that?"
Takashi just shrugged. "What can you do... that's just how he is."
Meanwhile, a little behind them, Gabriel had just finished his little ritualādripping the Healing Potion onto Gigan. He slowly closed the bottle and put it in his waist bag.
Gabriel then lifted his face toward them and said in the most dramatic tone he could muster:
"Huff... finally, the pain in my eyes has subsided. If the spirits of the night allow it... Ash will... sleep for a while..."
Takashi and Kohta looked at each other. Kohta held back a laugh. "Uhh... he means he wants to rest, right?"
Takashi nodded. "Yeah, maybe? That's Gabriel's way of saying 'I'm tired', I guess?"
Gabriel crossed his arms and nodded heavily as if saying something very serious, even though his eyes just looked sleepy.
Then they got ready to open the safe. Takashi and Kohta stood with their hands ready to pry open the door. They looked at each other.
"Ready?" asked Takashi.
Kohta nodded enthusiastically. "Go!"
Takashi began counting. "One..."
Kohta continued, "Two..."
And together they slammed their bodies against the door. "Three!"
CRACKā!!
The steel cabinet door was forced open.
"Gotcha!"
Kohta exclaimed happily when he saw the row of rifles and boxes of ammunition neatly arranged inside.
Takashi whistled in admiration. "Shizuka-sensei... you have an amazing friend."
Meanwhile, behind them, Gabriel was already curled up on the mattress, his eyes closed, fast asleep.