The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 57

“…”

It was a request I somewhat expected, having already realized he was bitten by a zombie, but I still wasn’t prepared to grant it.

I looked at the old man who was crumpled and barely holding on beyond the bar, and without realizing it, my grip on the dagger in my right hand tightened.

Just like with Gilrot in the mansion and that unfamiliar Hunter in the Royal Palace, I was being forced once again to end someone else’s life.

“What are you waiting for? …Tch. By your stance, it seems you can wield a sword, but have you ever killed anyone?”

“… I have, twice. Both were just before they turned into monsters like you.”

“Then why are you hesitating?”

“… I don’t want to. For whatever reason, I don’t want to kill someone.”

“Seems like you’re just stalling… Even with a sword in hand, a rookie is still a rookie.”

He started to struggle more and more to speak, pausing awkwardly at times.

‘System Eye.’

[Name: Joshua / Gender: Male / Age: 55 / Profession: Owner & Head Chef of ‘Erka’s Night’ restaurant & tavern]

[HP: 36/692] [MP: 10/229]

[Status: Excessive bleeding, stab wound, dislocated left shoulder, Zombie Virus Infection]

….

“Come on… then just give me that sword you’re holding. I’ll do it myself.”

I glanced at the dagger in my right hand at his suggestion.

[HP: 34/692]

“…Understood.”

I hesitated for a moment but soon made up my mind. Since I decided not to grant his request, at least passing him the weapon so he could free himself from pain felt like the decent thing to do.

As I inversed the dagger and aimed its hilt at him…

“Wait.”

Esmela, who had been silently eavesdropping on our exchange, grabbed my right hand to stop me.

“Why?”

“If you’re going to give it up, hand over mine instead. I’m just carrying it as a backup anyway…”

Esmela said this while pulling out the dagger she had picked up from the general store.

I nodded without replying and took the dagger from Esmela, passing it over the counter to him.

He shakily lifted an arm and managed to grasp the dagger I handed him.

“Thank you.”

The restaurant owner simply expressed his gratitude in a brief manner.

“I should repay you then. Did I mention I’m looking for food? Take as much as you want. I don’t need it anymore.”

“Thank you. Is the food in the kitchen?”

“No… all the edible supplies were either finished off or thrown away long ago. There are some beef jerky and biscuits in the back storage, near the rear entrance. *Cough* You could survive for a few days with those…”

“I see…”

“Well, I’ll be off then. I want to face my end quietly, alone.”

“I’m sorry it came to this…”

“Enough.”

He cut off my expression of sympathy with sharp finality.

“If you truly care about me, just leave quietly.”

“…”

Unable to respond to his words, I silently nodded and walked toward the entrance with Esmela beside me.

As the owner said, there was a considerable amount of preserved food stored in the storage. If Esmela and I rationed it, we could last about ten days easily.

We stuffed as much beef jerky and biscuits as we could into our respective bags we had taken from the general store.

“…”

In the midst of this, Esmela wore a face that clearly expressed her dissatisfaction with the limited options, but she didn’t voice it out loud.

She probably knew that having such thoughts was a luxury in our current situation.

After closing the bags full of preserved food, we returned to the restaurant.

This time, the owner didn’t call us to stop.

“…”

…So, one person’s life came to an end.

Perhaps having come to the same realization, Esmela’s expression turned gloomy.

Once this event is over, I’ll return to give him a proper burial.

All I could do was silently promise myself that.

Leaving a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, I placed my foot back on the stairs leading to the second floor—

-KRAAACK!

“What…!”

Before I could react, a zombie suddenly sprang out from behind the bar and lunged at me.

It threw its whole body toward me without slowing down.

Thud!

“Lanit!”

“Ugh…!”

I fell back on the stairs, tangled up with the zombie, frantically pushing it away with both hands as it climbed on top of me, baring its teeth and preparing to bite.

I managed to draw my sword, but in this position, I couldn’t swing it…!

“Ice Needle!”

Swish- Whoosh!

From Esmela’s hand, dozens of ice needles shot toward the zombie.

-Kreeeak!

With ice shards embedded all over its body, the zombie staggered from the impact, allowing me to finally escape from underneath it.

Without a moment’s pause, I gripped my sword with a battle-ready stance and glared at the zombie.

-KIICK…

However, the zombie simply struggled to move, unable to take a single step from that spot.

It had been impaled by a large shard of ice that Esmela had shot, which pierced its neck and embedded it into the wall.

“…”

Calming my wildly beating heart from the rush, I confirmed the identity of the zombie that had attacked me.

-Krraaaak!

In the end, the restaurant owner couldn’t take his own life.

Was it that he ran out of breath just before stabbing himself with the sword I had handed him, or could it be that even he, who seemed ready to face death, was too afraid to end it himself?

His bloodshot eyes turned toward me as he snarled, baring his teeth.

“…I’m sorry.”

With both hands gripping the sword, I made my way back toward him, determined to finally grant his request.

Squish squish.

“…”

Silently, I took out a piece of beef jerky and shoved it into my mouth to chew.

“…”

Esmela held a biscuit the size of a thick palm in her hand, not eating it but staring blankly down at it.

After dealing with the restaurant owner who had turned into a zombie, I checked my injuries.

Fortunately, I hadn’t been infected.

[Name: Lanit / Gender: Male / Age: 17 / Profession: Personal Butler of House of Herta]

[HP: 1050/1124] [MP: 300/300]

[Status: Normal]

…

I confirmed it through the status window, so I’m sure.

But since Esmela couldn’t see that, she repeatedly checked my whole body with a face that looked like she was about to cry at any moment.

Worrying about me, suddenly scolding me, apologizing, and then eventually unable to say anything, she lowered her head deeply.

After managing to soothe Esmela, I carried her back to our temporary shelter on the second floor.

As soon as we arrived, I pulled out a few pieces of beef jerky and biscuits from the bag to satisfy my empty stomach.

It didn’t look good to just eat like that, so I went to the kitchen, grabbed some plates and cups for the food, and asked Esmela to magically fill a cup with water.

Gulp.

I swallowed the piece of jerky and popped another one into my mouth.

It tasted incredibly salty and hard, but after being starved for over a day, it felt more delicious than any delicacy.

“…”

Yet, despite complaining all day about being hungry, Esmela just stared blankly at the biscuit in front of her without taking a single bite.

“Young Lady. Aren’t you going to eat?”

I hadn’t bothered her with questions from the restaurant until now, but I couldn’t just let it slide any longer.

We needed to eat something. That was the only way to survive.

Clink.

At my question, Esmela instead placed the biscuit she was holding back on the plate and looked down at the table with a deep frown.

“Young Lady?”

“…In the end, are we going to end up like that too?”

So, she was having those thoughts.

It was understandable. Reflecting on what happened earlier, I didn’t feel good either.

But I couldn’t let myself sink into despair like that.

“No.”

I quickly swallowed the piece of jerky I was chewing and declared to Esmela.

“You seem pretty confident, without any basis.”

“I have a basis.”

“What is it?”

“I’m going to protect you.”

“Even though you almost got bitten earlier.”

“I won’t let my guard down again.”

“…Can you promise that?”

“Of course.”

“Then swear it.”

“By the name of Herta.”

“Don’t die first, okay? Especially don’t let me be the one to take you out if you turn into a zombie.”

“Naturally. You mustn’t get bitten either.”

“…”

“…”

“…So let’s survive together, no matter what. Even if it means being trapped in the Royal Capital for a lifetime.”

“What does that even mean?”

I pretended to grumble, but Esmela’s expression softened considerably.

“Now, let’s eat something. If you don’t want biscuits, would you like some jerky instead?”

“…No, I’ll just eat this.”

Esmela narrowed her eyes at the hard piece of jerky I offered but eventually took the biscuit back with a resigned expression and brought it to her mouth.

Crunch.

“…So hard. Can this even be eaten?”

“Of course. When Hunters are out, if there’s nothing edible around, we all relied on that and jerky. It’s hard, but once you start eating it, it’s not bad.”

Skeptically, she tilted her head, whining as she finally took a tentative bite of the biscuit, crunching it loudly.

“…So hard and tastes terrible.”

“If that’s the case, soaking it in water will make it a bit better.”

“Will it make it taste good?”

“No, it’ll still be just as hard and terrible, only less terrible.”

“…”

The night of the second day spent trapped in the Royal Capital deepened like that.