The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 109

Lanit carefully lifted his upper body.

Other than the occasional stinging pain at the back of his head, he didn’t feel anything particularly wrong with his body.

“Well, you two insisted on going alone. At first, I thought Lanit was planning something weird. But maybe that would have been better? You’ve nearly killed the person who came to help you!? Hey! Dion Spiano!”

“Alright, Esmela, just calm down…”

“Esmela, it’s not like Lanit is seriously hurt or anything…”

“Get lost!!!”

Esmela yelled at Dion, her voice echoing throughout the mansion.

Dion hung his head low, looking like a guilty sinner while taking in the scolding, while Iiergo and Arit hesitated to intervene, backing away after hearing Esmela’s lion-like roar.

Prince Robertze… well, he was pretending to look calm but was clearly keeping his distance and staring out the window as if he were ignoring the chaos.

It was truly a mess.

So chaotic that no one even noticed when Lanit had already gotten up.

“…Um.”

In such an awkward situation, Lanit scratched his chin, pondering how to make his presence known to them.

For more than three minutes, Esmela’s protests continued, and then—

“Oh?”

Arit was the first to notice that Lanit had awakened.

“Lanit! You’re awake!”

“Lanit!!”

As the three followed Arit’s gaze, they all focused on Lanit. Before Arit could finish her sentence, Esmela lunged at Lanit.

Hug!

“Gah.”

Esmela came at Lanit full force, wrapping her arms around him without adjusting her strength.

“Lanit, are you okay?! Look, are you hurt anywhere?”

With her face pressed close to his, Esmela scanned Lanit’s features, checking every corner of his face.

Lanit could only alternate his gaze between her and the other four people looking at her with a puzzled expression.

“Lanit!”

“I’m fine, Esmela.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Not satisfied with just looking, Esmela started to touch Lanit’s entire body with both hands.

“…Ahem.”

Iiergo cleared his throat quietly, but it was unlikely that Esmela would hear him in her current state.

“Esmela?”

Lanit figured it was time to wrap up this situation and called out to Esmela again.

“What is it, Lanit? Do you need something? Something to drink? To eat? Or what?”

“Thank you very much, but I’m really fine. There’s no need for you to help me. However, there’s one thing I’d like to point out.”

“Point out…?”

Esmela, noticing Lanit’s peculiar attitude, rolled her eyes and her intense energy diminished slightly.

“Uh, how should I put it? While I truly appreciate you coming over so actively, Esmela…”

As Lanit spoke, he scanned the faces of the others in the room.

Arit was covering her mouth with both hands, looking like she was about to say “Oh my,” while Dion and Iiergo wore pleased expressions, and Prince Robertze had a facial expression that was hard to tell if he was smiling or scowling.

“I wonder how everyone else will perceive your behavior, which is the complete opposite of your usual conduct…”

Gulp.

Still holding onto Lanit, Esmela gazed at him for a few seconds as if she didn’t understand the situation.

Then she suddenly turned her head to look at the others.

A few seconds later,

“Ah!”

More abruptly than before, Esmela shoved Lanit away with both arms and quickly stood up.

The force of it caused Lanit to sink back into the bed.

“S-so!”

She started to stumble over her words, adopting her signature pose of crossing her arms.

“This is merely, um, as an engagement requirement, to check if you were hurt, and you’re my personal butler, right? So it’s only natural to verify if you’re injured…”

Her face was as red as her crimson eyes.

Of course, the gazes of the other five directed at her all shared the same thought.

‘Now, of all times?’

“…”

After Esmela’s long winded explanation ended, the situation fell into a brief lull.

Esmela, having given her long speech, was trying to catch her breath, but she still kept her arms crossed.

In this truly awkward situation, who would speak first?

“Lanit? How are you feeling?”

The first to take charge was, surprisingly, the Saintess.

“As I mentioned earlier, I feel perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern, Arit.”

“Oh, no. I’m just glad you aren’t hurt, Lanit.”

As Arit said this, she shot a sidelong glance at Dion with a knowing look.

“…”

Dion noticed the gaze, dropped his smile, and quickly lowered his head.

“You testified that you struck the back of Dion’s head, so I focused the examination on that area, but I found no major external injuries.”

“Is that so.”

“I did have a conversation with Dion about the circumstances at the time…”

“Then there’s no need for further cross-examination. In fact, aside from my duel with Dion, I haven’t really done much else.”

“I see, got it.”

Arit seemed to have completed her duty, slightly stepping back, and this time Esmela took the initiative again.

“Dion, Iiergo. No matter how much you two are friends with me, this is not something to let slide.”

Calmed down, yet even more composed, Esmela was able to logically confront Dion.

“You took it upon yourselves to engage in combat with Lanit, who had accompanied you to assist with the hunt after expressly stating he didn’t want to fight. If this had occurred during an official exchange, it could become a serious issue between our families.”

“Right…”

“I have nothing to say. I’ll apologize alongside you, Esmela.”

“Hmph…”

Despite Dion and Iiergo’s apologies, Esmela’s anger showed no sign of fading easily.

“Um, Esmela?”

At that moment, Lanit cautiously interjected.

“What?”

“I’m fine and listening to the conversation you all are having, it seems like Dion has honestly revealed what happened. How about we wrap things up here?”

“What? You want to just leave it at an apology?”

“No. Of course, I plan to demand some compensation beyond the quest rewards. But that aside, slandering Dion now seems pointless to me.”

“Lanit…”

Dion appeared to be touched by the unexpected lifeline, his voice slightly thick with emotion as he spoke his name.

“And I have one thing to ask Dion separately.”

“Yes. I will accept anything humbly.”

“About Dion’s notorious reputation… I have heard much about it. Your strength likely stems from your pride. But too much of anything is never good. Please be mindful of the appropriate situations and places in the future.”

“…”

Dion’s expression was clearly saying, ‘That sounds tough…’

“Dion.”

Iiergo urged Dion, his voice firm.

Finally,

“I promise,” he replied in a barely audible voice.

“Yes, understood. And um, I have one more thing I’d like to ask. What exactly is that technique of yours?”

“Technique?”

“The one you used on me, Esmela. I was definitely floating dozens of meters in the air, but then Dion, who was on the ground, threw a punch that somehow ended up hitting me on the back of the head.”

“Oh, that technique?”

Dion’s expression brightened instantly.

“Hehe… It’s a secret I barely completed a year ago.”

His previous remorseful expression was nowhere to be found as he began to explain with a smug grin.

“To clarify the principle behind the technique, what do you think is the most critical factor that determines victory or defeat in close combat, Lanit?”

“Huh? …Uh, I mean…”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Lanit momentarily lost his words.

“…Size, I guess? The bigger you are, the stronger the power.”

“Hmm. Just the first part is correct. However, the reason is wrong. The reason why size matters so much in martial arts is due to reach.”

“Reach… you mean attack range?”

“Yes. Power is important, but ultimately whether you can hit or not is what should be considered first. And as you can see, my build is on the smaller side even among women. Naturally, my arms and legs have a shorter reach as well.”

“And this technique you devised is to overcome that, is it?”

“Exactly. Hehe. Curious about the principle, right? Well…”

“Wait.”

Iiergo interrupted at that moment.

“Let’s save that conversation for later, Dion.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly saying that, Iiergo?”

Instead of responding, Iiergo gestured towards Esmela.

Esmela had been gazing at Lanit as if she wanted to say something since earlier.

However, whether it was not something she wanted to say in front of others or not, she seemed restless as she kept stealing glances at everyone.

“Given that we’ve shared all necessary information and the treatment is complete, shall we leave you two alone for a moment?”

“Is the discussion over?”

Suddenly, Prince Robertze, who had been silent, unexpectedly chimed in.

“Then let’s go discuss the Count and compensation, everyone! Thanks to Lanit’s sacrifice, I think we can get quite a bit out of this…”

Before the three could protest, Prince Robertze nudged them out of the room.

“…”

And so, only Lanit and Esmela remained in the room.