A couple of hours later,

The cold of midnight enveloped the entire city, matching the darkness brought about by the cloudy skies. Not a star could be seen, and the moon only briefly showed through the gaps of the low-hanging clouds which covered most of the city.

It was time for the party to journey through the city at once. Even though this wasn’t the initial agreed-upon time, they opted to go through with it since it seemed like the safest, most rational option at the moment.

"Are we ready?" Kazuichi asked, slinging the bag on his shoulder while he watched the others also strap on their carriables. It was going to be a long night, and the weather didn’t help with the sentiment.

"Yep, I’m all right on my end," Arisu responded. Unbeknownst to Amaya and Tris, Arisu actually went out for a bit to hunt a couple more rabbits so she and Kazuichi would have enough blood for their travel. This way, they won’t have to worry about running out of their much-needed consumption.

"We’re ready, although it’s a bit hard for us to see anything," Tris commented with a troubled face. She already thought about this scenario the moment it was brought up. But when she spoke up about it, Arisu and Kazuichi concluded that she was needlessly worrying about it.

Because of that, she fully trusted them to have a solution for them. They were as blind as a bat at this point, and it was no question that they’d be easy prey if they were attacked in the middle of the darkened night.

"All right," Kazuichi said, nodding to Arisu.

Without saying another word, Arisu knelt down and picked up Amaya, propping her on her shoulders before she stood up. Although surprised, Amaya uncomplainingly let Arisu do her thing. She felt the sudden tug when Arisu stood up. She also simultaneously realized that the air up here was colder and fresher than down there. It was certainly an odd feeling.

As for Kazuichi, he too picked up Tris and put her on his shoulders. "Ahhp~!" Tris exclaimed, letting out a soft squeal before catching herself and covering her mouth. It was an embarrassing experience, but she was sensible enough to control her voice since it might garner unnecessary attention.

"Let’s get a move on, then," Kazuichi grunted, but he didn’t comment anything since Tris was sensitive when it came to her weight. Well, any lady would be, and Kazuichi was aware of that despite being a shut-in.

Somehow, Arisu glared at Kazuichi for a split second before her demeanor changed into her usual tone. Brushing it off as his imagination, Kazuichi paused for a moment before leading the way.

Their plan was to cross through the city and get to the Yamanashi Prefecture before first light Contrary to their previous plan where they’d cross the city in the second half of the day, this was a much better option.

First, they’d have more rest time so their travel won’t be as tiring. Second, they’d arrive at Yamanashi Prefecture early in the morning, which would give them time to observe the surroundings before trying to cross it. Lastly, traveling at night lowers the risk of getting attacked by humans, which was much worse compared to being attacked by Hybrids or zombies.

With every step, Kazuichi could’ve sworn that the air was getting colder. It was just the comfortable temperature for him, but the same thing couldn’t be said for Amaya and Tris who were just humans. This temperature would certainly make them shiver.

That’s why, without saying anything, Kazuichi fished through his bag and gave Amaya and Tris an extra pair of his shirts. Once again, Arisu felt a bit jealous, but she didn’t say anything since she completely understood the underlying thoughts behind Kazuichi’s actions.

Just like him, she wasn’t that affected by the drop in the temperature, that’s why Kazuichi didn’t consider giving him an extra pair of shirts. ’I understand that... and yet...’ Arisu droopily hung her head down but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just complained in her mind even though she couldn’t blame Kazuichi for what he did.

Before she knew it, though, Kazuichi once again reached into his bag and grabbed a shirt. This time, she handed it to her. "You have to wear a second one so you’d be more comfortable. Don’t worry about me, I have more where that came from." Kazuichi commented, smiling.

Somehow, Arisu felt like Kazuichi’s smile was much warmer compared to before. While she had no idea what happened to Kazuichi when they were far apart from each other, Arisu could tell that most of his experiences had a positive influence to him.

’Since when did he become so thoughtful? Oh no, is my face red? Why did my heart leap like that out of nowhere?! Oh no, he might see me getting flustered! I should look away!’ Arisu said to herself, but it was too late! Kazuichi already noticed the red tint on her face.

It was pretty dark, but Kazuichi’s vision was almost as clear as day. That’s why he still saw her reaction.

"Even though you’re just a shut-in...." Arisu murmured, trying to hide her face from Kazuichi due to embarrassment.

"Wha— I’m sorry?" Kazuichi let out a chuckle came out of his mouth. He knew that this was just the usual Arisu commenting on him so he wasn’t at all offended by it.

In fact, it actually spoke of how forged their bond was even though they were apart for a long time.

"..."

"Kazuichi, wait!"

While Kazuichi was about to let out another bout of chuckle, Arisu stopped him, grabbing him by the arm before directing his attention to something in the middle of the street they were on.

"What the—" Kazuichi let out as he noticed something weird in front of him.

Right there, in the middle of the path, was a man wearing an oversized black robe. He sat cross-legged on a pedestal, and he seemed to be waiting for something.

"Greetings, adventurers," The man then spoke in a sidequest-eque manner.