How To Be Misunderstood as a Villain in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter 21. The Art of Deceiving Each Other (5)

* * * * *

It’s been raining for several days. It’s a bit late for the rainy season.

The radio said that once this rain was over, the heat would really ease and fall would come quickly. The four of us settled into the health center, doing odd jobs like cleaning guns, packing supplies, and doing laundry.

Turning on the generator vehicle will attract the attention of zombies, but in reality, this city is safe since almost all people, both humans and zombies, are infected with ‘my’ Cro Virus. However, it is not to the extent of opening the health center’s door and saying, “Come in, come in.”

Even if it’s forced, we move around busily, organizing our items, cleaning our guns, and counting our inventory. Then, on days when we take a beer out of the fridge to change the mood, we enjoy some time alone in our rooms. Just like now.

It’s war.

When Virginia brought up the war story, my first thought was, ‘Yeah, try hard.’

If my information is correct, Elsa has no high-powered weapons. There are no tanks, no fighters, and not even bombers. They have some armored vehicles, but they are old, and the mortar shells are all old. I don’t understand what Virginia believed in and declared war on.

What does Virginia have to gain from this?

Strengthening their own unity in domestic politics? First, hit Minsk and then cling to Römer to force intervention? Elsa is Römer’s puppet state. If Elsa is attacked, Römer will automatically join the war. Or maybe they are using it as a kind of bargaining chip.

Negotiation? Negotiation for what?

The answer didn’t come easily, so I ran out of the room. In the meantime, I ran into Leticia muttering something in the hallway. As soon as our eyes met, Leticia abruptly lowered the cell phone she was holding to her lips.

“What, you weren’t resting?”

Leticia asked me first.

“I have something to think about. You? Were you on the phone?”

“Oh, that’s not it.”

Leticia took a step back, hiding the phone behind her. To anyone who saw it, it was the face of a woman who was trying to ignore the situation.

“What is the problem you are thinking about?”

Leticia tries to steal the player again. She shoved her cell phone into her back pocket. I naturally hugged her waist. In contrast to her moderate breasts and large buttocks, her waist was surprisingly thin.

“Why. Do you want to?”

Leticia’s lips whispered in my ear. I shook my head.

“Because there are no condoms.”

“ah?”

“I have to go to the pharmacy.”

“ah.”

Leticia swallows her saliva. She seems to be very sorry, but she also seems a bit dangerous. There is a certain flow to it that says that such a thing is not necessary. However, if she gets pregnant now, it will be more dangerous.

“…There are a lot of things you can do without even a single piece of rubber?”

“Not so great today.”

I ran my palm down her waist, then spread my fingers and grabbed a handful of her buttocks. She lost her balance and crushed her breasts against my arm. Leticia pushed me against the wall, carefully grabbing my wrist as I tried to grab her phone.

“Should I put it on the inside of your knee and give it a tap, tap?”

“Who did you talk to?”

“really.”

Leticia stepped back as if she had no choice. She checked if the other women’s rooms were open, and then quickly dragged me into her room. Strangely, I felt a sense of discomfort when I entered her room. Usually, she seemed to be leaking things here and there, but she was so stern that I thought she was a military unit conducting a military inspection.

“You really want to know?”

I nodded. Camilla and Cassandra had definitely mentioned that she was ‘talking to someone’. I tried not to be suspicious, but I couldn’t help but be curious after hearing it.

“Leticia. I won’t discuss matters of faith. I think we… have already gotten past that point. However, you were clearly ‘talking’ on your phone and stopped immediately when I showed up. Aside from the fact that it’s suspicious, it’s just a little strange.”

Leticia didn’t answer. She just sat on the bed and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Us. So, what is our relationship? Leave the others out. You and me. Just the two of us.”

What? Why is Leticia suddenly bringing up this issue? She’s never said anything like that before. If I say, “Aren’t we friends?” in this atmosphere, I think I’ll get hit.

I didn’t answer. I could see Leticia was looking sad.

“What? Just a s*x partner?”

“Of course not! We like each other, don’t we?”

But it didn’t seem to be enough to appease Leticia. She seemed to be growing increasingly disappointed.

“Should I ask that?”

“then?”

“I’m talking about whether you like me more than Camilla or Cassandra and prioritize me over them. I’m telling you in advance that if you ever say something like “all three of you are precious to me,” I’ll change the positions of your hair on your head, your armpits, and your bottom. You’re all precious, right?”

It may sound a bit childish, but it seems like this was a very important issue for Letty. What should I say?

“no.”

He spoke confidently, as if he was rolling dice. Now it was time to check the dice’s eyes. Leticia’s expression was strange.

“Oh, isn’t that the arrangement? Is that right?”

“Yeah. That way, Leticia, you’ll have fun stealing me away from Camilla and Cassandra. Right?”

There was a brief silence, and then Leticia burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that she had to cover her mouth with her hand. She even shed a few tears.

“Was it that funny?”

Leticia knocked on the bedside. Thanks to her usual diligent cleaning, no dust rose up. She was a strange woman who lived a dissolute life but cleaned neatly.

“Huh. Yeah. It’s more fun to steal. But you know what? There are people who are more interested in stealing from you than I am.”

“Who is it?”

In response to my question, Leticia lowers her voice as if she were telling some kind of ghost story.

“What’s even scarier is that the woman herself doesn’t know how to deal with her own desires. So whenever she gets a chance, she shuts her mouth tightly and… .”

“Ahem.”

“Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Isn’t that how it is all like?”

In the end, I laughed too. On the other hand, I also thought about sneaking out into the hallway in the middle of the night.

* * * * *

Leticia agreed with me. ‘In the current situation, it would be suicidal for Elsa to declare full-scale war on Minsk.’ The quality of the soldiers. The skill. The state of armament. Everything is lacking. The only things that Elsa has better than Minsk are the poverty, the number of hungry people, and the number of zombies.

“Oh, there’s one more thing. The databases related to the Cro Virus that the Cybele Institute has. But I think the Minsk mercenaries already came and stole them.”

Leticia counted on one finger. I held it out again.

“Well, didn’t Virginia say that? They’re coming across the border again and wandering around. That could mean they haven’t found any meaningful data.”

“Virginia is a vicious woman. But she is also incredibly cunning, and hides her intentions in two or three ways. I, as an adjutant, find it hard to believe that such a woman would wage an all-out war that she could not win.”

It’s reckless.

Virginia wouldn’t do something like this without a plan.

“Could it be that they are aiming for Roemer’s automatic participation?”

Leticia shook her head at my question.

“That’ll be difficult. It’s true that if Elsa gets involved in a war, Roemer will automatically participate, but Roemer decides when to deploy troops. Even if they say they’re ‘participating’ in name, if they don’t send soldiers, it’s basically just neglect, right? And Virginia’s relationship with the home country is incredibly bad. That’s for sure. She’s too self-righteous.”

At that moment, a possibility flashed through my mind.

“Hey, Leticia.”

“huh.”

“Give me your phone.”

“also?”

“No, that’s not it this time. I have something to tell Virginia.”

“What is it?”

It’s not certain yet, so I’m cautious. But one thing is certain.

“Well, Virginia might be a patriot.”

“Ugh. Why are you suddenly a patriot? You hate Roemer.”

“No. To Elsa.”

“Huh?”

Leticia pushed me away as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?” but I grabbed her breast with one hand and took the phone with the other. “Hey,” Leticia said, but she slowly pushed my hand deeper.

* * * * *

Virginia mentally prepared herself and answered the video call. The quality of the video wasn’t great, but she patiently lifted her teacup.

But what caught his eye was the old adjutant’s chest and the hand clutching it.

“…Don’t you know that it’s polite to show your face when talking on the phone, you slut of Elsa?”

– Oh, I’m sorry!

She could see his face. The man she hated. A very annoying, sly, and shallow man who only did things she hated. He was looking down at the camera. He was looking up at the camera at an angle from below his chin, so you could see the inside of his nostrils. Virginia ground her teeth.

“…You dare look down on me? Get that monstrosity away!”

– But you’re ugly.

Sometimes people get so shocked that they lose their words and their mind goes blank. That’s what happened to Virginia.

“…Uh, what did you say?”

– You. You’re ugly. Even from this angle, I think I’m prettier than you. Ugly people can look down on you.

– Hey, I don’t think that’s right.

Leticia’s voice was heard. Virginia felt the urge to shoot the phone.

– Who said face? Who said heart. Isn’t that right, Virginia? You’re just trying to start a war by any means necessary.

“Ha. Do you know what I mean?”

– huh.

The hateful man continued speaking.

– But it won’t work out the way you want, right?

“…what?”

Virginia twitched her lips. It never occurred to her that this lecherous man could see through her mind. She thought that he was just trying to make her angry, as he always did. That was why Virginia was completely relaxed.

“No. You don’t know. Die comfortably in the midst of the fire. You will die a painful death, caught between the two armies.”

– No? I’m going to surrender to Minsk?

“Paha. What’s the point of something like that?”

– Then look carefully.

Virginia remembered what he had said a while ago. She was becoming increasingly resentful of the man.

– What else can I do here besides physically comforting your old adjutant?