Before Akane could respond or even blush hearing Azlan's praise, the continuation of his blunt words actually made her pout.
"But, why did you choose formal clothes like that?" Azlan asked with his head tilted, his tone innocent. "Wouldn't it be better to choose casual clothes for easier movement? Well, I don't mind your fashion, but in a world like this, choose clothes that make it easy for you to be active and escape if necessary."
Akane's face, which had been bright, immediately changed. Her cheeks puffed up slightly.
"Azlan-kun, you've never dated a girl, have you?"
"Yes, that's right." Azlan answered without beating around the bush, looking confused. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Nothing. Just a random question, forget it."
Akane abandoned her intention to tease Azlan further. After all, their relationship wasn't close enough to exchange sarcasm—they had just met, and this zombie world wasn't a place for light jokes.
With her cheeks still puffed, she turned around and took several sets of casual clothes from the rack—some sweaters, sweatpants, and t-shirts—then went back into the fitting room with somewhat annoyed steps.
"How strange..." Azlan muttered softly, listening to the rustling sounds from behind the curtain. "For some reason she's sulking. Did I accidentally offend her feelings? Dealing with women is rather troublesome."
[Trust me, partner. It's impossible to understand creatures called women. You'll only get a headache. That's a lesson from my observations of various hosts' interpersonal relationships throughout history.]
Even Albion offered his personal opinion.
A few minutes later, the fitting room curtain opened again. This time, Akane appeared wearing a comfortable gray sweater, black sweatpants, and sneakers she had found. Her appearance looked far more practical for survival.
"..."
Azlan glanced at her briefly, then nodded shortly without saying a single word. To him, as long as it was functional, that was enough.
"Azlan-kun!"
"Yes?"
Akane seemed hesitant to say something, but Azlan didn't pressure her. He watched her regulate her breathing, then the girl bowed deeply.
"Thank you! Thank you so much for saving me! I... I really thought I was going to die there. Thank you for coming!"
"..."
Azlan fell silent for a moment, slightly shocked by the intensity of her gratitude.
"No need to thank me excessively. I happened to pass by and heard your scream. That's all. Don't think too much about it."
But for Akane, that rescue meant everything.
"Before we go, take a few more sets of clothes for you to bring. At my place, there are no women's clothes." Azlan continued, shifting the topic.
"Okay." Akane nodded, then took out a plain white pouch from her cleavage, opening the pouch.
She put shirts, pants, skirts, bras, panties into that small pouch as if there was no space limitation inside—items disappeared one by one without leaving a trace.
Naturally, this scene surprised Azlan who was watching beside her, his eyes widening slightly.
"What object are you holding, Akane? It can store many things in such a small size?"
Akane looked at the pouch in her hand.
"This? It's called a 4D Pocket. It functions as a portal that allows users to access and store objects in another dimension without worrying about space or mass."
"And also, this pocket has the ability to shrink or enlarge objects, making them easy to store when needed without affecting their capabilities. Shrunken objects will return to their normal size when taken out."
"..."
Azlan fell silent, processing the explanation that sounded like an advertisement. Clear admiration radiated from his face.
In this destroyed world, where every resource was precious, an object like that was an invaluable treasure!
"That's an amazing gadget... With something like that, logistics problems are no longer a problem. Having a magical gadget with such great functionality, your original world must be very advanced, Akane."
His gaze still fixed on that plain white pouch, Azlan admired its ability which was like a magical portal.
Akane's face suddenly changed. She shook her head quickly.
"That... you misunderstand, Azlan-kun. This 4D Pocket doesn't come from my world."
She hurriedly corrected before the misunderstanding continued.
"Actually, I found a Light Ball near me when I realized I was already in this city. Out of curiosity, I touched it, then from inside that Light Ball this 4D Pocket appeared, along with information about how to use it directly in my head."
"I see. So you found a Light Ball, huh... You're very lucky, Akane. So far, I've only found three Light Balls scattered randomly around the city."
Azlan nodded, his memory returning to that night's phenomenon that exceeded common sense.
"Lucky... Maybe that's true."
As if remembering something bad, Akane smiled bitterly. Her mood changed to depression in an instant, her eyes lowering to the dusty store floor, shadows of sadness crossing her face.
Seeing this drastic change, Azlan's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.
(Again? It seems I accidentally stepped on a landmine of hers.)
Sighing inwardly at how tiring it was to deal with women—their emotions were like invisible minefields—Azlan accepted Akane's offer to choose men's clothes to store in the 4D Pocket, shifting the topic with practical matters.
The dimensional space in the 4D Pocket was too vast, like an endless warehouse unaffected by gravity. Even after the pair had almost emptied that clothing store—taking thick jackets, waterproof pants, boots, and spare clothes for Azlan—its capacity was filled to less than 5% according to Akane, who checked it with a curious gaze.
After finishing, they both left the now nearly empty clothing store. Azlan reactivated his Divine Dividing. The beautiful blue light wings manifested again from his back.
"Hold on tight." Azlan said to Akane, who nodded slowly.
He lifted her easily in a princess carry, and with one powerful flap of wings, they shot into the air.
The snow-covered city filled with zombies once again spread out below them. The journey home to Azlan's base began, bringing along a new survivor and the mystery of the ever-multiplying Light Balls.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The air route was superior to the ground route. Therefore, the journey time didn't take five minutes, the cold snowy wind sweeping their faces as Azlan hovered steadily over the silent city.
Azlan lowered Akane on the minimarket rooftop covered in thin snow, its surface slippery and glistening under the dim morning light. His light wings disappeared at the same time, fading into blue particles that vanished into the cold air.
"So you live here? I thought you'd live in a more luxurious place."
Akane looked around curiously, her eyes sweeping the simple concrete roof, filled with empty boxes and cans as well as snow starting to pile up in the corners.
"This minimarket provides complete basic life necessities. From food, drinks, simple medicines, and so on. Compared to comfort, I prefer practicality and efficiency."
Azlan answered briefly, his voice calm as he walked to the rooftop entrance, snow crunching under his shoes.
Walking to the entrance, Azlan explained to her behind him, his steps careful on the slippery surface.
"Watch out, the stairs are slippery."
His warning came just in time, but perhaps a bit too late.
"Kyaaa~"
A short exclamation was heard followed by the sound of slipping feet. Akane lost her balance and her body tumbled forward.
"...!"
Fortunately, Azlan reacted quickly, catching the girl before she fell past him, his arms wrapping around her waist firmly but gently, supporting her light body.
"Really, why do I always cause so many problems. Sorry, Azlan-kun. I must be a very troublesome woman, right?"
Burying her face in Azlan's chest, Akane's body trembled. Fear and past trauma seemed to flood over her.
"..."
Opening his mouth, Azlan wanted to say something but no words came out. He wasn't good at comforting women, his life experience full of war and loneliness, not gentle embraces.
However, the awkward atmosphere didn't last long. With what sounded like a deep breath, Akane slowly pushed herself out of his embrace. When she lifted her face, a bright and cheerful smile had already returned to decorate her lips, as if the stair incident and emotional tremors earlier were just an illusion.
"I heard minimarkets sell porn magazines. Let's see if Azlan-kun secretly reads perverted things like that!"
Without waiting for an answer, she immediately went down the stairs carefully, this time holding tightly to the railing.
Azlan could only stand in place for a few seconds, watching her departure.
(Father was right. The more beautiful a woman is, the more skilled they are at lying.)
Remembering his father's advice from childhood full of harsh lessons, Azlan didn't expose Akane's lie. He followed her in silence, his steps slow behind the girl.