It was the first time she had seen a man this close. Seo Yura—those members of the opposite sex had always frowned the moment she came near. Part of it was that she had never taken care of herself, buried in research and churning out papers, but thanks to her low confidence and unremarkable looks, she had believed she would spend her entire life with no connection to men.
In a way, it was the result of the wall she had put up herself.
In a society where, because of the shattered sex ratio, it was taken for granted that women had to flatter men, she hated nothing more than bowing her head and going under someone else.
No—she simply hated the very idea of placing herself beneath anyone.
And on top of that, merely because their gender was male? She had to treat them well?
Disgusting. Deep down, she hated that society.
The pride of those empty-headed men rose higher by the day, and there had even been a time when she resented that world so much she wished it would just be destroyed.
Like that...
She had never imagined it would actually be destroyed...
However, there was one thing she could say. She had been one of the lucky ones.
On the day the world was covered in aberrations, she had been in the safest underground research wing. Of course, the reason had been the unpleasant matter of working overtime, but while others were dying, she created a safe house and made sure no one could get in.
She had thought she would go back out into the world someday, once everything was resolved.
How long had she waited like that?
It was blurry. Her mind was wearing away. She did not think she had ever yearned so painfully for the warmth of another person.
Food and electricity were infinite. The artificial sun technology, an infinite power source that operated only here, illuminated the inside of the shelter all day long while producing endless electricity.
The immediate necessities of food, clothing, and shelter were not difficult to resolve.
The greatest problem was the psychological fear. What if, at this rate, she really ended up being the only one left?
If everyone in the world died and she alone survived.... It was frightening. Because she was afraid of that,
she sent out drones over and over again to scout the area.
In case there might be someone who had survived.
After sending out countless reconnaissance missions, equipped with sufficient defensive measures against the aberrations...
“It’s a man...”
She found a person. A person on the verge of being swallowed by an aberration... She drove the aberration away with an antimatter particle beam and immediately rescued him.
Before more of them could swarm in, she hurriedly brought him into the shelter.
“A-a man, this close...”
She managed to save him somehow, but instead, things became complicated. It was the first time in her life she had seen a man from such a close distance.
She could not control her trembling heart.
In the end, she, too, was a woman.
Blood rushed rapidly through her head.
Ordinarily, in the eyes of society, he was the sort of beautiful man that would have gotten a woman like her ordered not to approach within ten meters of him. It even seemed like he smelled good somehow. She swallowed dryly.
She wanted him.
Little by little, the emotions Seo Yura had suppressed for so long began to burst out.
***
My eyes opened. I got up, hugging my sluggish body, and saw a white ceiling. Having slept deeply for the first time in ages, I stretched my body out.
“Huh? Wait, yesterday wasn’t a dream, right?”
Because what had happened yesterday had been so unrealistic, the moment I woke up, I reflexively checked my surroundings first.
Thank goodness. This was inside the shelter, and it wasn’t a dream.
Whew...
The place I was currently in was Area H-5. It was a room Seo Yura had lent me for the time being, and from the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary home.
The interior was far too spacious for one person to live in alone. It was perfectly equipped with a living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and even a bathroom.
The interior design, whoever had done it, was clean and modern. I didn’t know why there was a TV installed, but when I turned it on out of curiosity, it did not work, just as expected.
Only black-and-white specks produced fine noise, and a harsh static sound came through.
Dragging my heavy body along, I walked to the kitchen. Since I had gone hungry for so long, the moment I woke up, I quickly became hungry again.
She said I could eat whatever was here as much as I wanted.
I flung open the refrigerator.
Cold mist was pushed through the gap in the door and instantly spilled out.
When I peered inside, it was packed full of food and ingredients. All kinds of foreign sauces and seasonings whose names I did not know. The vegetables were so fresh that they held a moist sheen.
At this rate, it seemed way better than my refrigerator from before the world ended...
There was not the slightest empty space.
Wasn’t this basically an all-purpose cooking box? It felt like I could make anything I wanted.
Of course, I did not have any particularly outstanding cooking skills.
So I roughly grabbed a few eggs, fried them, and finished tearing into the meat left over from yesterday.
Seriously... this is the best...
To think I could feast like this again...
Even though I had really wanted to die, I felt like I had done well enduring and surviving.
After roughly finishing breakfast like that, I cleaned up the dishes. After that...
There was nothing to do.
The silence that came after finishing a meal.
Seo Yura had told me, if possible, not to come out or do anything until she arrived. So all at once, I had nothing to do.
“Hmm... It’s been a while since I had peace like this.”
Since my days had always been a repetition of running away or hiding.
It felt awkward. Sitting still like this, I was instead seized by a strange sense of anxiety.
Good grief... There are dozens more rooms like this here, huh.
The area I was in now was H-5.
H-1 was the general living area. H-2 was the purification area that processed waste generated from residential use. H-3 was the sanitation area where I had washed yesterday. I had heard that from H-4 onward, it was all residential areas.
The corridor stretched on endlessly, so I did not know exactly how many areas there were....
For now, the H Area I knew about was already this big. Aside from that, I had heard there were an enormous number of facilities, including Area A, which processed and managed all information—AI Control—and Area D, Defense, which prepared defensive measures and countermeasures against the aberrations.
Seo Yura said she usually stayed in Area A, so...
Should I go look for her?
No, no. I was just thinking about it. She told me not to go anywhere and to stay here. Out of a moment’s boredom, I had almost done something pointless.
For now, I should look for ways to win her favor.
She said she had lived here alone for a long time.
She must have been lonely.
That was probably a big reason she saved me.
She even said she had saved me despite taking a loss herself. She needed someone to talk to. Humans were not creatures that lived alone. If I suitably kept her in a good mood, an answer would come eventually.
Just as my course of action in this place was becoming clear,
the glass door slid open, and Seo Yura came inside.
“Ah, you’re here.”
“Yeah. Did you sleep well? Nothing uncomfortable while you were sleeping?”
“Uncomfortable? Not at all. It’s been ages since I slept this comfortably. Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me... Anyway, that’s a relief. How’s the wound on your arm? Does it still hurt?”
“Ah... It stings a little when I move it, but I’m fine.”
“You have to tell me accurately. The aberrations’ encroachment doesn’t end with gnawing away at flesh. For now, the nano-particles will help your skin regenerate on its own, so if any problem occurs with the bodily reconstruction protocol, make sure you tell me.”
“Proto...? What?”
“If you didn’t understand, that’s fine. Just know that if it hurts, you need to tell me.”
“Ah, yes...”
Was it because she was a researcher? From time to time, she often used words I could not understand. Yesterday, it had been something about hydraulic cylinders, shielding functions, and so on. Every single one was a term difficult for me to grasp.
Stare—
After finishing speaking, Yura narrowed her eyes and stared at me. Her neck jutted forward as if she were trying to peer through my skin and look at my organs.
Her gaze swept over me from top to bottom.
“You ate breakfast, right?”
“Yes. I just ate.”
“Hmm... You’re bored right now, aren’t you?”
“Bored? Ah, no. How could I...”
“There’s nothing for you to do. Ever since you got treated, you’ve been trapped here the whole time. Am I wrong?”
“Ah... Well...”
It was not exactly wrong. All I could do was lie around and roll about. Staying in a space with no internet or anything else was unbearably dull.
A repeated cycle of eating, shitting, and sleeping. Because of that, I had also been waiting for Yura to come.
“Then do you want to go take a look at Area G? There are lots of fun things there.”
Area G? Wait, what kind of place is that? G... G... What is G short for?
A thought flashed through my mind.
Game?
No way... she’s joking, right...? That exists here? Seriously?
My half-lidded eyes went round. As if answering me, she smiled brightly. I nodded endlessly.
***
The place I went down to in the elevator after following Yura was Area G. With a ding! the doors opened, and dazzling RGB lights struck my retinas.
The biting 8-bit sounds stirred up nostalgia. Was this what people meant by a treasure trove? Starting from clunky arcade machines from the 1900s all the way to the latest game consoles.
There were even game CDs that had been sold as limited editions, all gathered in one place.
“This is unexpected. I thought men didn’t like things like games...”
She laughed as if my reaction was beyond her expectations.
What man didn’t like games? No, then again, men here probably wouldn’t have much interest in that kind of thing. They were too busy rubbing bodies and playing around with women. I didn’t think they would go out of their way to play games. Anyway...
“Aren’t all of these limited editions? Where did you get them? This one wasn’t even being sold anymore... Why is something that should be in a museum here?”
“Heh! Fortunately, it looks like you like it.”
Just like it? No, it was the best. If this place was not heaven, then what could it be called? With a trembling heart, I turned on one of the arcade machines and started it up.