Chapter 112: 112

“Kunpei-san. This belongs to Watanabe-san. Can you to take care of it?”

I received a large laundry basket from Aoi.

“Watanabe-san is where that little girl and her brother’s siblings are, right?’

“Yes. I’m helping hang laundry outside right now, so please take it with you.”

“Copy that. I’m off.”

“Have a good day.”

I held the laundry basket in both hands and went out through the sliding door.

It’s a sunny day, a perfect day for doing laundry.

It’s been almost a week since we started living in this community center.

I’m getting used to living in a group.

Aoi has been working hard on the laundry with the other mothers, so that’s why she’s come to help.

After all, more than two hundred people are living in a shelter.

There’s no way they’ll be able to finish their work if each family takes their time to do the laundry.

In the countryside, they do the all laundry in a group.

Our family is no exception, and since there’s women’s underwear and such, it’s not easy for a man to help, so from our house, Aoi is the main person in charge of doing the laundry.

It was my job to do the heavy lifting.

There’s only one automatic washing machine in the community center, so we’re forced to wash clothes by hand using a washboard, even though it’s outdated.

I asked Aoi to sort the men’s clothes and the women’s clothes, and I poured water and detergent into the tub and scrubbed hard for nearly two hours.

At first, I had a hard time getting the hang of it, but there are a lot of elderly people in our town who are familiar with the old-fashioned way of doing things, so I was able to get the hang of it.

With the help of their instruction, I’m getting better at it.

Women’s laundry was more delicate so Aoi and the other mothers were busy washing by hand and running the washing machine.

“Watanabe-san. I brought this.”

“Ah, thank you. Kunpei-kun.”

“No, no. I didn’t do much.”

“Watanabe-san, a middle-aged woman, was a dog person with a large build.”

She’s an energetic mother who fits well with the term “gutsy mom,” and who has a problem with talking too much.

“My kids won’t help me if I don’t tell them what to do! I’m so jealous of how well behaved everyone in the Kazamachi family is.”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

Ugh. I don’t know what the right answer is to reply back when she says this.

Shouhei and Aoi are really good at getting along with their neighbors.

It goes without saying for Shouhei, who is naturally good with people, but Aoi is really great at putting up with her fear of strangers.

”Well then, I still have a lot of laundry to do.”

“Yes, please.”

I bowed my head lightly and left.

My shoulders are stiff from sitting and straining for nearly two hours.

Even though the wounds on my back have healed, Aoi and Shouhei are still annoying if I push myself too hard.

I walked with my right shoulder held down while turning it.

The opposite arm this time, as if to relieve the stiff shoulder.

As I was doing something that old men did, I saw the cooking room.

The single-burner stove in the community center’s kitchen couldn’t provide enough food for all of us, so we set up a tent outside and used a commercial gas stove.

It was among the supplies that arrived on the third day of living in the shelter, and all the men were mobilized to set it up.

Even though it’s made of stainless steel, it’s just that big. We all had a hard time with it.

Aoi and Rouge may be able to easily handle it with their strength, but they’re just a bunch of weak girls here. So my dad and I did our best.

“Shou, is that today’s lunch?”

I called out to Shouhei when I spotted him among the mothers in the cooking area staring down a large cylindrical pot.

He recognized my voice and looked around, and Shouhei smiled when he finally found me.

“Nii-chan. Did you finish the laundry?”

“I’ll be a little longer. What’s that?”

“Pork soup. It’s easier to make soup and curry when there are more people around.”

The amazing smell tickled my nostrils and whet my appetite.

“Oh, I’m ready to go. Let’s just get this over with and call it a day.”

“Yeah. Hang in there. Are the kids with Ru-neechan?”

“Oh. She’s playing inside with the other kids with Yuri-san. It seems like Rouge is having fun too.”

There were, of course, many small children among the evacuated families.

Yuri-san, a former nursery school teacher, is a master at keeping the children from making a racket and quietly taking care of them all together.

Thanks to that, the mothers’ work is progressing.

I am so grateful to have Yuri-san in this shelter.

Rouge is also sticking close to Yuri-san and playing with the kids.

Even with her expressionless face, she seemed unable to hide her joy, and she was actively in contact with the children, and seemed happy.

“… Sometimes I’m afraid of the look in Ru-neechan’s eyes when she looks at me and the little guys.”

“… It’s okay, I’m sure she won’t hurt you.”

“I know that, but…”

Shouhei tilted his head with a troubled smile on his face.

”Yo, my sons. Are you being properly useful to the others?”

“Dad.”

I saw my father at the entrance of the cooking area.

He had arrived at this shelter on the first night.

I was asleep, exhausted, but it seemed that the treasure hunters had brought him here.

The trees from Tusk Crag suddenly stopped near the metropolitan area.

The police set up a control line there to restrict civilians from entering.

Only the families of the people sheltering inside were allowed in, and only with a treasure hunter and police convoy escort.

Apparently the wait for a turn to get in was huge, and my dad didn’t get here until late at night.

“What, are you already done?”

“No, we’re taking a break. We’re making more progress than I thought we would.”

If you look closely, you can see the fathers and men of the evacuated families outside the cooking area.

“Kazamachi-san. I’ll go make some tea.”

“Ah, Tamachi-san, thank you for your concern.”

”No, no, you’re working the hardest, you should get some rest. Don’t you want to see your grandchildren too?”

“Ha, well, I’ll take you up on your offer, then.”

Tamachi-san, as I recall, is the owner of a butcher shop. He’s a tough guy with a strong build and a high-pitched voice.

My fathers’ job was to remove the trees that had begun to die.

I’ve heard that contractors hired by the county and the prefecture are working to remove the trees in turn from the city center, but the pace is too slow.

That’s why the people at the evacuation center have suggested that they start removing the trees from the inside as well, accompanied by hunters.

With the skilful use of light trucks and heavy farming machinery brought from each house, the scenery around the community center alone was the same as it was before the incident.

“What do you think about the progress?”

I’d really like to help, but Aoi and Shouhei, and even Mikuma over the phone, opposed.

There’s hard work to be done in the shelter, so I’m working on that one.

“I told you we were making progress, the road to the elementary school is almost completely open. We’ll be able to meet up with the evacuees over there. Well, it looks like a lot of people will be able to get home before we get there.”

“Is the power back on?”

The section where our house is has been cut off from the power lines because of the trees.

I heard that the power company people were also busy every day with hunters accompanying them.

“I hear the residential area is mostly done. They said they’d spend so much time figuring out where the power lines were down that they’d be able to restore them quickly.”

This shelter also became a resting point for various vendors.

The water tank was brought by the water department, and the gas in the kitchen was relief supply from the gas company.

The community center was not a blackout zone to begin with, and since there were fewer people there than at other shelters, there was plenty of supplies.

“Unfortunately, our electricity won’t be back for a while longer. Since we’re the closest to Tusk Crag.”

“Well, I guess so. Well, how about your work?”

He hasn’t been to work for almost a week now. What’s going to happen to our family’s living expenses and all that.

In our case, the schools are closed.

I heard that the remaining high school students have been moved to the shelters where their families are waiting for them.

It’s a miracle that no one was injured or killed after all that.

“Thanks to the executive director and others, I’m treated as a special case. It’s not such a black company that they would ask you to come in under these circumstances.”

“That’s true.”

And it would be too egregious to leave your family alone and come to work.

“How’s your body? That damned rat, he came out of nowhere and disappeared all of a sudden.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s okay. I felt awfully sluggish for the first 2 or 3 days, but now, not so much.”

Alba Germain, the rat sage who appeared while I was sleeping.

It seems that he suddenly appeared in the middle of the night when the other refugees were asleep, threw Jaja and Nana’s eggshells into my mouth while I was asleep, and then disappeared immediately.

Thanks to this, I was woken up by Shouhei and had to hide in the bathroom until my dragonized body returned to normal.

Pity me for being forced to hide in the bathroom for nearly ten hours.

I can’t tell you how sorry I am to answer that door knock with a door knock.

“Ah, Gasara-niichan.”

Shouhei waved his hand as he stirred the pot.

Gasara and the other treasure hunters are having a meeting at the entrance of the community center, which was visible from here.

They formed a circle around Seijitsu-san and seem to be discussing something serious.

Speaking of Gasara, he was pulling on Nanairo-san’s arm, and looked bored. When he noticed us, he waved back with a wry smile.

“The hunters are also very busy. The West Japan Treasure Hunters Association’s scandal has been leaked, so everyone is working up a storm.”

My dad crossed his arms and stared at the circle.

‘That was the head of the association’s decision after all, wasn’t it? Why do those guys need to make a big deal out of it?”

“It’s a scandal in your organization. They can’t stay uninvolved when they’re on the scene. It’s a matter of trust. I’m sure the one here are taking the initiative in restoring their credibility.”

I feel sorry for them.

In the end, they got the short end of the stick.

I think they’re doing a great job from our perspective.

“The evacuees know best how hard the hunters are working. At the very least, let’s give them a break.”

“Are you going already?”

Shouhei called out to my father, who has his back turned.

From an older brother’s point of view, my brother has a father complex.

He wants to spend a little more time with dad.

He looks a little lonely.

“At least let me get you a cup of tea.”

My dad gently smiled and left the cooking area.

“Let the little guys see your face a little!”

“Of course!”

I said that to my dad’s back as he left, and he raised his right arm in response.

When I looked next to me, I see Shouhei looking into the pot of pork soup while pouting.

The speed at which he stirred the ladle was mindlessly fast.

”Dad is amazing, isn’t he.”

I stroked Shouhei’s head.

My dad has been working hard since he got here.

He’s a relatively young man, and he’s quite capable, so I think he’s being depended on.

As for Shouhei, he probably wanted him to rest a bit more.

“Un, but I’m worried.”

It’s good to be honest.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to stop him if need be.”

Now, I’ve been keeping Aoi waiting for a while.

“I’m going back to do the laundry.”

“Nii-chan, in moderation, okay?”

“Oh. You too.”

We giggled at each other with the eye contact that only brothers can make, and I left the cookhouse.