The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 21

“Eh…?”

As the fleeting hope that had finally surfaced vanished again, the joy from Esmela’s face disappeared in an instant, replaced by horror.

“What do you mean…?”

“Don’t lose heart. It doesn’t mean I will give up on you.”

The head of the household seemed as if he had predicted how Esmela would react to his words, hastily continuing.

“Currently, a barrier is in place around the Royal Capital Erka that completely cuts off the city from the outside. I haven’t received an accurate explanation of the situation from the palace yet, but I suspect that the palace activated the barrier to prevent ‘those’ inside the capital from escaping into the outside world.”

Everyone in the office listens quietly to the head of the household’s words.

“Therefore, it seems we won’t be able to enter the capital for a while. Not only does the barrier prevent entry, but if the palace were to release the barrier or if we forcibly destroyed it and ‘those’ were to get loose outside the capital, the situation could worsen beyond our ability to manage.”

The faces of those in front of me, except for Elina, turned grim upon hearing the head of the household’s words.

“Don’t worry. I have sent a messenger urgently requesting support from the nobles around the capital. Given that the capital is facing an unprecedented crisis, they will surely bring their forces to assist soon. By the way, do you happen to know the whereabouts of the Saintess from the Radain Church? I heard she also attended the wedding. If you do know, please ensure her safety as much as possible. Her fiancé, the head of the Terelude family, has already rushed to me even before I could send a messenger.”

A familiar name appears in the head of the household’s message.

“Wait, the head of the Terelude family…?”

“Lopez!”

Arit covers her mouth with both hands as she calls her fiancé’s name. It’s the first time I’ve seen her this flustered.

“He’s quite worried about his fiancé’s safety right now. He expressed his willingness to mobilize all available forces from Terelude, so if possible, make sure the Saintess is safe for him.”

“How fortunate, Arit.”

Esmela encourages Arit with a kind smile.

“Yes…”

But somehow, the Saintess’s expression, which should be filled with joy at hearing the good news of her fiancé coming to save her, seemed somewhat unclear.

“Fortunately, the palace’s emergency communication network using magical tools is still operational, so once we arrive at the capital, we will immediately contact the palace to discuss plans to save the capital. With support from the Terelude family and others, I promise we will find a way to resolve this situation and protect you.”

Esmela’s expression looked like she was holding back tears as she listened to the head of the household’s reassurance.

“As soon as we find a solution, I will contact you the same way again. But it frustrates me that you have no means to contact me, your father. Once we return to the mansion, no matter the cost, I must ensure to bring the same communication magical tool into the mansion.”

“Papa… really…”

Esmela smiles brightly at the head of the household’s joke, with faint tear droplets forming in her eyes.

“Then, I will end the message here. Lastly, no matter what happens, don’t lose hope, and promise me you will do everything to survive.”

“Yes…!”

“I believe you, a brave child, will surely promise that. I will contact you as soon as possible. Until then, take care.”

With the head of the household’s kind farewell to Esmela, the message from the messenger finally came to an end.

A smile gradually begins to spread across the faces of the four people, excluding Elina.

“Yes, there is still hope…!”

“And Lanit.”

But just when I thought it was over, the head of the household’s message continued.

“It’s an order from the head of the household. Protect Esmela with your life. If even the slightest injury occurs to her… then you will burn yourself with the Flame of Herta until there’s nothing left. Do you understand?”

With the head of the household’s terrifying warning, the message truly ended, and it dissolved into the air without leaving a trace.

“…”

The pitying gazes from the remaining three, excluding Esmela, only made me feel sadder.

“Did you hear that?”

Yet Esmela, for some reason, looks up at me with a proud expression as if she had accomplished something well.

*Tap, tap.*

“…”

*Tap, tap, tap, tap.*

“Ahem.”

*Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap…*

“Young Lady.”

“What is it?”

Esmela’s response, while tapping her foot on the office floor, overflows with her anxious feelings.

“I understand the anxiousness of waiting for the head of the household’s contact, but could you please calm down a bit…?”

“What are you talking about? I’m as calm as usual.”

“…Yes.”

Three days have passed since the head of the household contacted us.

Though Esmela doesn’t explicitly say it, she hasn’t been able to hide her anxious wait for the next contact from the head of the household.

She keeps opening the window to check if anything is flying over the barrier and pacing around the office…

Moreover, the affairs of House Herta are completely at a standstill.

At this point, the entire capital is paralyzed; interactions with other houses and communication from the Duke Tereed with the palace have ceased, effectively stopping all external affairs of the House of Herta in an instant.

Even the remaining servants in the mansion are few, with maids managed by Elina and the butlers and other servants managed by Helinante.

To be fair, for about three days after the incident broke out, Esmela was somewhat busy holding meetings to respond to the situation and receiving reports on the mansion’s status.

However, after receiving the head of the household’s message, we all agreed to wait until the next contact.

As time passed, Esmela’s tasks dwindled…

*Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.*

Eventually, starting yesterday, Esmela ended up sitting in the office all day, waiting for the head of the household’s contact with nothing to do.

Naturally, as her personal butler, I spent most of the day standing behind her, indulging her hysteria.

‘…System Eye.’

*Pop!*

[Name: Esmela Herta / Age: 24 / Occupation: Noble Lady of House Herta]

[Detailed Status]


[Strength: D] [Agility: C-] [Durability: C-]


[Mana Amount: S] [Mana Manipulation: S]


[Intelligence: A-] [Skill: B]

[Special Skills]


[Flame of Herta: As the sole heir of House Herta, she can freely handle the flames of Herta passed down through generations. / Level 4]


[Magic Genius: A passive quality indicating innate magical genius. Provides a +1 status adjustment to Mana Amount and Mana Manipulation. / Cannot Level Up]


[Arrogant Villainous Noble Lady: A passive indicating she is the villainous noble lady of the main route in [Romance in Arkesia: Four Jewels]. While [Loina] is in progress, she receives status adjustments as a rival to the protagonist. / Cannot Level Up]


[???: ?????? / ???]

Esmela’s status window pops up in front of me.

Since awakening the ‘Menu Interface’ ability, I have been able to use the ‘System Eye’ skill to check other people’s statuses.

And since yesterday, my only other task, aside from indulging Esmela’s tantrums, has been to observe the status windows of those around me…

So here I am again, unnecessarily pulling up and reading Esmela’s status window that I’ve checked countless times.

I’ve seen it so many times that I could memorize it by heart, but… should I read it one more time?

Indeed, her most exceptional aspects are Mana Amount and Mana Manipulation. Both are ranked just below the highest rank, S+.

Aside from that, her Intelligence and Skill are also decent, and her physical capabilities are better than average.

And [Flame of Herta] is level 4. Unlike me, who only handles a fraction of the flame as a butler, she is the rightful heir bearing the blood of Herta.

[Magic Genius] is just a given, then there’s [Arrogant Villainous Noble Lady].

The skill description states that she receives adjustments while the main story of [Loina] is ongoing, so…

In the end, at this point after the ending of [Loina], it seems to be just a passive that occupies a special skill slot. Is someone playing a joke on her?

‘…’

Lastly, there’s the final skill covered by question marks, which always piques my curiosity whenever I look at Esmela’s status window.

No matter how hard I stare at it or tap it, nothing changes.

For now, I can only hope that hidden skill is something that will be beneficial to Esmela.

*Knock, knock.*

“Esmela, it’s Elina. I’ve come with Helinante.”

“Come in.”

Once Esmela gives her permission, the maid with a cold demeanor and pitch-black hair and eyes, along with the tall butler with blue hair, open the door and enter.

The two lightly bow their heads toward Esmela.

“Excuse us. We just checked the remaining supplies in the mansion’s storage with Helinante. I’d like to report on that, if that’s alright?”

“Sure.”

Esmela’s tone in response sounds somewhat excited. She must have been quite bored.

It’s good timing.

While the two are reporting to Esmela, I think I’ll check their status windows… of course, I’ve already seen both, but still.

First, let’s check Helinante’s status window.

[Name: Helinante Ritz / Age: 26 / Occupation: Acting Head Butler of House Herta]

[Detailed Status]


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


[Mana Amount: B] [Mana Manipulation: B+]


[Intelligence: B-] [Skill: D]

[Special Skill]


[Flame of Herta: Can handle part of the vision’s flame magic as per the contract with House Herta. / Level 2]

Aside from the reflection of his temporary position as Acting Head Butler in his job title and the fact that his [Flame of Herta] level is one higher than mine, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy.

By the way, I always think the displayed details seem extremely sparse when checking status windows like this.

For instance, Helinante is the only person among the butlers who can match my swordsmanship, aside from the head butler.

Moreover, his skills in managing the duties as a butler are superior to mine. He was even designated as Esmela’s personal butler a few years back.

However, this status window reveals none of his overall abilities and only lists simple statistics like strength and generic skills, excluding the truly special skills.

Of course, the System Eye also had skill levels, so perhaps as it levels up, it might display more detailed information…

Right now, however, it’s frustrating that I don’t know how on earth my System Eye’s level ended up at 2 and how to level it up.

“…”

Now I turn my gaze to Elina.

She’s currently conversing with Esmela.

It’s time to check her status window, but…

‘System Eye.’

[Error!]


[Your current System Eye skill level cannot check the target’s status.]


[Required Level: 4]

Every time I try to check her status, this warning pops up.

Head Maid Elina. The more I dig into her, the more I think she’s truly an enigmatic individual.

She never appeared in the main story, and the others in the mansion are also clueless about her identity; she’s shrouded in mystery.

Even the System Eye refuses to determine her…

“…?”

“!”

Did she feel my gaze? She suddenly turns her head sharply towards me, and I quickly avert my eyes to the other side in surprise.

…I can’t shake the feeling that her true identity is deeply connected to the upcoming story of [Love and Dead], as well as this Zombie Incident.

Right now, it’s just a conjecture based on intuition without any proof, but…

“…In conclusion, regarding the current food situation in the mansion, it appears we have about four days’ worth of supplies left, assuming we provide the bare minimum to maintain the servants’ energy.”

“Right. I hope the food holds out until my father contacts us. Helinante.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“We’ll need a way to procure food from the surrounding area once we run out of supplies in the mansion. What do you suggest?”

“Well… the most realistic option would be to obtain supplies from nearby mansions, wouldn’t it?”

Having read through the status windows, I silently watch the three as they converse seriously.

*Crash!*

“!”

Once again, the strong tremor I felt earlier slams into the office.

“It’s a message from Father!”

Esmela leaps to her feet, shouting.

“Lanit, quickly call Arit! As soon as she arrives, we will play Father’s voice!”

Her expression looks brighter than anything I’ve seen over the past three days.