My Childhood Friend Turned Yandere in the Apocalypse

Unfortunately, Reina knew Rin well. He was too stubborn to keep in check and trying to keep him bound would likely not work either.

Rin was the kind of stubborn person who did not stop until he physically and mentally could not go on anymore. But taking him to that point would defeat the purpose of keeping him safe.

Drugging him was another tempting option, but she was afraid that Rin would become tolerant of those drugs too quickly, causing her to keep increasing the dose until it became dangerous.

’But maybe my abilities can help? I can break his bones and just heal it enough that he needs to be on bed rest but not in danger? I can keep doing it until I am sure he’s fine...’

Reina’s face went cold in fear as her thoughts slowly registered in her mind. She waited for guilt and disgust to settle in, but she felt none of those emotions. Instead, she felt a sense of agitation and a need to act.

It was disturbing but not unfamiliar. Reina felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening, so she chose the last option she had.

She clutched at Rin and decided to distance herself from her thoughts. Otherwise, she was afraid that she would act on her emotions and do something she was not supposed to do.

__________

’Put one foot forward and now another. Ugh, my body feels so heavy. Why did those employee benefits have to end right as the fight ended?’

Rin complained as he focused on walking. He needed to get to the truck and rest, but it was proving to be such a difficult task.

[Don’t complain, Rookie. You should consider yourself lucky that you even got benefits in the first place. Some of us have been here for ages and not even gotten any coffee on SOS’s behalf.]

[Tsk, some people do not know how good they have it.]

The system complained back, making Rin’s headache worsen. But there was nothing he could say to the system either since the system had helped him out a lot.

He could only lean against the person guiding him, but Rin did not even know who it was.

"Rin, I am going to start healing you now. Do I need to give you a potion?"

A potion sounded nice. It would make Rin feel better. Why had he not taken one before? He could take even ten and-

[Warning: today’s potion threshold reached. Please increase your stats to decrease the chance of potion intoxication]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up. Your stats have doubled.]

[User’s current profile:

Strength: 40

Stamina: 110

Intelligence: 140

MP: 110

HP: 1100/1100

Special Skills: Weapon Mastery - Beginners, Perfect Craftsman(lvl1)

Special Traits:

Employee Benefits

Gaslighting,

Leader (lvl1 - 300/250 followers). Next Milestone-750 followers]

[Leadership (lvl1) - Cooldown: 22 hours 10 minutes]

[Current exhaustion level: 80%]

’Ah, my exhaustion level is so high. No wonder I am feeling like I am dying.’

[Rookie, you almost did die. Did you forget about that? Please answer carefully. I need to add this to your file for future reference. Lying will reduce your chances of a future promotion]

’Fuck! Why did you have to remind me...Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about it.’

[Ah, what a pity. It seems like you do recall what happened, including the sensation of being stabbed. Please don’t cause misunderstandings in the future. The system will take its leave now to file more reports.]

[Also, congratulations on becoming an SOS employee. I hope your experience is a happy one, though I would not count on it.]

The system sounded far too cheerful while saying this. Rin was sure that it was a curse in the form of a blessing.

He tried to ignore it and focus on Reina instead. She was pressing a potion against his lips to try and make him drink.

"C-Can’t. Too many taken."

Rin’s voice was still working, but it sounded faint. His energy levels had depleted too much but he was still able to convey his message.

Reina sighed and put the bottle back before she pushed her energy into Rin. It helped him feel better, but it was not a miraculous cure.

He allowed Reina to continue healing him until he felt human again and then stopped her. Reina looked startled but annoyed that she had to stop so soon.

"You are not fully healed. Let me heal you a little more-"

"It’s fine. You are just going to exhaust yourself if you do more and it won’t help me much either. Just rest. You must be exhausted after healing everyone all day."

Rin pointed out as he looked at Reina’s dark circles. He wanted to tell her more but Shelly entered the truck and caught his attention.

He missed the bright red spreading across Reina’s face as he watched Shelly grab his arm and jolt him up.

Shelly’s grip was strong and Rin could feel bruises forming on his shoulder as she held it tighter.

"Rin, are you alright? Can you recognize me? Tell me what I can help with?"

Shelly still had energy to worry like that. Teressa looked like she was about to collapse behind her and the others looked even worse.

"Hey, give him some space. Rin just got out of a life-and-death situation. He needs some room to breathe."

Speaking of exhaustion, Albus was the same. He had enough energy to pull her back and still look fresh.

’Darn it! Is it the main character buff? Why do these two not have a hint of exhaustion on their faces even after they fought the boss on their own. I feel so jealous of them.’

Unfortunately, this world was unfair like that.

Even though Rin knew that there was a chance this world was not a novel, it was hard to get rid of his beliefs and start thinking of the people he ’read’ about as ordinary people. There was just too much of a difference between them.

Rin could feel his eyes threatening to close any second but he tried his best to keep himself awake.

Everyone noticed his struggles and Rin felt ashamed for showing them his weak side.

"Boss, go to sleep. I will keep watch over the situation and wake you when we are at the base."

Albus promised and Rin suddenly felt reassured.

He did not trust Albus, but he did trust Albus’s ability. But the one he trusted the most was Shelly.

Shelly would make sure Albus did not betray him. So, Rin turned to look at Shelly and his gaze became firm.

"I will be counting on you."

He spoke this as a reply to Albus’s words, but he was saying this to Shelly instead.