The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 15

Lying on my bed, I gaze blankly at the ceiling.

It’s been a little over an hour since I returned from Esmela’s office and lay down to sleep.

But thanks to dozing off all day, I find myself unable to drift into slumber at all.

The clock on the wall now points to 5 o’clock.

In just an hour, I need to get up and start my day.

“Haah…”

In the end, I give up on sleeping and fully rise from the bed.

Well, I shouldn’t worry too much since I wasn’t really that sleepy to begin with; I was just trying to force myself to sleep.

“Ugh…”

Stretching my arms wide, a groan escapes my lips.

Now, how should I spend this unexpected hour of free time?

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I forgot an important incident.

The mysterious screen that suddenly appeared before my eyes just as the Zombie Incident was kicking off…

“[Romance in Archeasia~Love and Dead~]…?”

And that mysterious game title and chapter name displayed on that screen.

What on earth was that?

Well, the official title of [Roinah] is [Romance in Archeasia~The Four Jewels~], and as far as I remember, no sequel had ever been announced.

“…No clue.”

All I really know right now is that this world is the lore of [Roinah], set four years after the ending.

The world inside the game after the ending, and in front of me appears a game title I’ve never seen before, titled [Romance in Archeasia].

Putting these two facts together…

I can assume that the title that appeared before my eyes was probably a sequel or spin-off of [Roinah].

Of course, it could also be a title from a different media mix… But given that the interface was designed to look like something from a game, it’s more likely that it’s actually a game.

…And before I died, [Roinah] was at best a moderately successful indie otome game, so they weren’t really in a position to develop a media mix.

It’s a conclusion built on many guesses, with nothing guaranteed as fact, but at least it’s more helpful than having no clues at all.

Alright. Let’s move on to the next step.

I am a reincarnated person in a game’s world, and one day, a screen resembling something from a sci-fi movie with the logo of a previously unseen game title appeared before me.

Then, the interface that appeared in front of me at that time—could it be what’s known as a ‘status window’?

I recall that during the years leading up to my death, web novels and webtoons were trending with themes like cheats, games, and reincarnation.

It’s not impossible. Excluding the fact that the world I reincarnated into is a romance fantasy otome game world, don’t I fit the typical reincarnated protagonist profile?

A flicker of hope sparks in my chest.

“…Status window?”

Nothing happens.

“…Status?”

…Still nothing happens.

“…Damn.”

Even though I doubt anyone is listening, I feel unnecessarily embarrassed.

Is it just my imagination? That interface back then looked somewhat like a game menu UI…

*Pop!*

“Huh?”

Suddenly, that very screen appears in front of me again.

It looked just like the blue UI I saw at the wedding.

The difference is that, unlike the time when only a single blue window appeared, this time, there are four small text boxes added at the top.

“Whoa?”

The status window has truly appeared before my eyes.

“How did I summon this?”

It wasn’t “status window” or “status.” What was I thinking when this popped up?

“…Menu.”

*Pop.*

The blue screen disappears.

The activation word was simply “menu.”

“…”

Now that I know how to turn it on and off, it’s time to analyze this mysterious menu screen in more detail.

“Menu.”

The blue screen reappears.

Four text boxes on a rectangular blue background.

[Story] [Status] [???] [???]

“Story, Status…”

I begin reading the content of the two text boxes that are clearly displayed.

Shall we check them in order?

I lightly press [Story] with my index finger.

*Pop!*

The previously blank menu screen transitions to a new UI.

[Romance in Archeasia]

[Love and Dead]

✔[Prologue. The Wedding Blessed by the Dead]

[???]

[???]

….

The familiar design logo catches my eye first.

That’s the game title I just saw.

This confirms my suspicion.

The mysterious title displayed on the game menu is not set in the world after [Roinah], but precisely in the world of its sequel.

The genre of that sequel is zombie-themed.

“Haha…”

I chuckle in disbelief.

I don’t know if this [Love and Dead] game was actually released in South Korea after I died or if some higher being created this world virtually, but if it’s the former…

“Who would buy a zombie-themed sequel to an otome game…?”

…No, let’s not dwell on pointless matters right now.

Whether the developers of [Roinah] mess up the sequel is not my concern at this moment.

What matters more is that the subtitle features the word “Dead.”

The fact that they chose to include such a word in the game title strongly suggests that zombies could be a primary theme of the sequel…

If that’s the case, then the Zombie Incident won’t just be a one-time event. There’s a chance I’ll be entangled with zombies constantly until the ending.

“Ha…”

My head starts to hurt.

Ultimately, the only thing I learned from the [Story] screen is that the Zombie Incident will keep happening.

The list below the prologue likely consists of chapter titles that will be unlocked as the game progresses. There’s no response when I touch them, so I’ll just skip over it.

“Alright, next.”

This time, I hope the [Status] screen will show something useful.

I touch the [Status] screen.

*Pop!*

[Name: Lanit / Age: 17 / Job: Personal Butler of the House of Herta]

[Detailed Status]

[Strength: A-] [Agility: A-] [Durability: B]

[Mana Amount: C] [Mana Manipulation: B]

[Intelligence: C] [Skill: C]

[Special Skills]

[Memory Transfer: Retains memories from a past life / Cannot level up]

[Protagonist: Indicates that I am the protagonist of {Romance in Archeasia~Love and Dead} / Cannot level up]

[Flame of Herta: Can use a portion of the Herta family’s visionary flame magic due to having contracted with them / Level 1]

[System Eye: Can use the menu interface and check the status of other individuals or monsters / Level 2]

A familiar UI is displayed before me.

The [Status] screen uses the same notation as the main game of [Roinah].

“Name, age, job—I already know these…”

What matters is the content listed below.

First, the detailed status.

The seven detailed stats are categorized and ranked alphabetically.

If this ranking system follows the same method as in [Roinah], then the lowest rank, E, indicates a person with general stats who has never trained at all and lacks any talent, whereas S represents the highest achievable stats for a human.

Of course, there are special characters and boss monsters in the story with stats above S rank, but for playable characters like me, S rank is the maximum.

So, this system evaluates my strength and agility as excellent, while my durability and mana manipulation are reasonably good, and my other stats are relatively lacking.

…I can’t say I feel great about that, but I can’t really argue against it either.

It’s true that I lack mana, so I can’t handle the Flame of Herta for long, and I’m not particularly well-educated nor experienced in skills like alchemy other than combat.

Well, at least I can take comfort in the fact that my dedicated training in physical abilities is recognized.

Now, I read the special skills.

There are only four skills listed. They likely exclude basic magic skills that anyone can learn.

[Memory Transfer] implies I possess memories from a past life, so it probably serves no particular function.

And then [Protagonist].

“…”

If I’m an NPC in the sequel, I’d like to think I’d at least be a decent supporting character, but I’m caught off guard when it suddenly asserts I’m the protagonist.

If I’m indeed the protagonist, it means I’ll likely be involved in many crucial events ahead… But then again, knowing that doesn’t really change anything.

All I can do is resolve the challenges that come my way one at a time. On to the next.

[Flame of Herta]. By being officially recognized as a butler, I made a contract with Esmela, and at that time, I learned how to wield the Herta family’s visionary flame.

Based on my current level of 1, I wonder if leveling up will allow me to use the Flame of Herta more adeptly like Esmela or the head of the household.

“That would be nice.”

And lastly, [System Eye].

Finally, a cheat skill that resembles that of a reincarnated person reveals itself.

Knowing I can use the menu interface is one thing, but the important part is being able to check the status of other people and monsters.

This will definitely come in handy.

Identifying the abilities of others will be valuable for utilizing allies and preparing against enemies—a truly excellent skill.

I should try using it right away, perhaps tomorrow.

“Menu.”

*Pop.*

I close the menu screen again.

Summarizing the information gathered from the menu… I’ve gained a lot of important details related to the sequel title and the [Protagonist] skill connected to this world.

However, as of now, I still don’t know how to utilize that information.

At least I managed to net a decent skill at the end.

“Ugh.”

I stretch again.

The sun is rising outside the window. Checking the clock, I realize it’s almost 6 o’clock.

I lost track of time while perusing the menu screen.

Time to start getting ready to head out.

Just as I rise from my bed and prepare to wash up,


*Knock, knock.*

I hear a familiar knock on the door.

“Lanit. Are you awake?”

It’s the head maid’s voice.

“I’m awake, but… what is it?”

Have the servants decided to ignore the rule about not entering the quarters of other servants…?

“It’s a message from Esmela. There will be a meeting in 20 minutes, so please come to the reception room as soon as you’re ready.”