— — — — — — — —
[Ding! Saeko Busujima has joined the group chat!]
[Ding! Shizuka Marikawa has joined the group chat!]
Before heading out to farm experience, Lynn handed the phones he brought from the main world to Saeko and Shizuka.
This world was still a modern world, so they were familiar with phones and group chats. However, the phones in their world no longer had any network service.
Upon entering the chat, the first thing they noticed was the very eye-catching name of the group.
Saeko Busujima chuckled, finding the name quite fitting. After all, everyone in the group was a part of their master's wings.
"Yay! I'm officially part of Master's harem too!"
Shizuka Marikawa reacted enthusiastically, clearly thrilled to be a part of Lynn's harem family.
'These two women...'
Kasumigaoka Utaha folded her arms and analyzed them closely.
'Did they not have any normal modern societal values?'
When she first saw this name, she was speechless for quite some time.
'Hmoh! Women in an apocalyptic world truly couldn't be judged by normal standards.'
---
Leaving the faction's base, a desolate cityscape unfolded before them.
Utaha and Miko paused in their steps, a strange feeling rising in their hearts.
What lay before them was a street covered in blood and...many zombies.
The stench of decay filled the air, making it thick and suffocating. Both Utaha and Miko felt an instinctive wave of nausea.
On the other hand, Saeko and the others remained unfazed.
They had already seen plenty of this yesterday. Even Rei Miyamoto and Saya Takagi, who were mainly in charge of logistics, were used to such sights by now.
"You good?" Lynn asked, walking ahead of them.
"Inhale—exhale—"
"Cough, cough!"
The two took deep breaths in an attempt to relax their bodies—only to get choked by the pungent smell.
Covering their noses, they forced themselves to respond, "W-We're fine!"
"No way I'm gonna lose to the others!" That was Utaha's thought.
"I can't disappoint Lynn!" That was Miko's thought.
Seeing this, Lynn gave a command. "Saeko, make some noise and lure the zombies here."
"Yes, Master!"
Saeko unsheathed her katana and swung it, sending an energy slash toward a nearby building.
Boom!
A three-story building in the distance was sliced open, a fine crack appearing as part of the wall crumbled down with a loud crash.
Utaha paid close attention to Saeko's abilities. Inwardly she declared her victory.
"That flying slash must be her power, huh?"
"Doesn't seem like much."
"My Archivist Devil abilities are way better!"
"This time, the victory is mine!"
As the noise rang through the streets, the zombies began to gather once again.
"So these are... actual walking corpses....real zombies." Seeing them for the first time, Utaha and Miko both shuddered.
"Alright, time to fight!"
Saeko licked her lips, excitement flashing in her eyes, before charging ahead.
"Damn it!" Utaha refused to be left behind.
Even though this was her first time facing zombies, and she hesitated for a moment, she quickly reminded herself—
She had already fought curse spirits before, so a bunch of zombies were nothing!
More importantly, she refused to let that sneaky cat steal the spotlight!
Summoning her Devil's Grimoire, she commanded—
"Lightning Strike!"
Boom!
A bolt of blue lightning crashed down from the sky, instantly frying seven or eight zombies gathered together.
Seeing the result, Utaha's tension eased significantly. She even snuck a glance at Saeko as if to say—Pretty cool, huh?
Saeko simply smiled and praised, "That's a powerful ability. As expected of the first member to join the faction."
"..."
Utaha felt like she had just punched cotton.
'Damn it! This woman... totally ignored my provocation!'
Saeko then advised, "The zombies' weak point is the head. Aim there, and it'll be easier."
"Thanks for the tip."
Although she had her issues with the sneaky cat, she still appreciated the advice. She was just feeling a little conflicted.
She was here first. The first to meet Lynn. The first to become his follower.
"Utaha, don't forget to train your other stats too," Lynn reminded her.
She sighed. "Yeah, yeah..."
With a snap, she shut her grimoire to use it physically.
(Devil's Grimoire: ...)
By evening—
Smash!
Utaha crushed a zombie's head using her grimoire.
She stared at it in silence. "Can I… still use this again?"
(Devil's Grimoire: I wasn't made for this… You *******...***!)
Utaha felt a slight pang of guilt—but it quickly faded. After all, her magic had already wrapped around the grimoire, preventing it from actually touching anything dirty. It just looked disgusting.
"Ugh..."
Another zombie shambled toward her.
She prepared to repeat her previous move but suddenly staggered.
Her magic... was running low.
Whoosh!
A sharp slash cut through the air, instantly decimating the approaching zombies in a clean line.
Turning around, Utaha wasn't surprised to see the sneaky cat standing there.
"Thanks."
After fighting alongside her, she had at least gotten used to her presence.
But a sneaky cat was still a sneaky cat!
She glanced down—only to see those things bouncing wildly.
Utaha deadpanned. "That unnatural bounce frequency... you should seriously apply for a Guinness World Record."
Saeko: "?"
"Utaha, take a break and recover your stamina."
"Phew..."
Utaha let out a breath. She was exhausted.
Her body was still fine. But keeping her grimoire active constantly drained her magic.
Looking up at the darkening sky, she realized—
Today had been the most physically active day of her life.
Endless hordes of zombies. Just making a noise attracted more of them.
This place was literally a perfect grinding spot.
For three straight hours, she had been fully immersed in farming!
"Here, drink this."
Saeko handed her a bottle of milk.
"What's this?"
"...It restores stamina."
Saeko's expression was complicated.
She and Lynn had 'enjoyed' some earlier.
The results had been... remarkable.
Utaha hesitated.
With that look on her face, this definitely seemed fishy.
"No thanks, I'll just replenish my magic."
"Replenish... magic?" Saeko was confused.
Utaha scanned the area.
Found him!
She took a deep breath.
After holding back all night, she was definitely collecting some interest today!
'Hmph! Just watch, sneaky cat!'
Lynn was busy analyzing his team's growth.
Next thing he knew, Utaha was standing before him, looking up at him with those deep scarlet red eyes, filled with an unreadable emotion.
"Master... I'm out of magic..."
.
.
.