The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 62

“Throw that away right now!”

Esmela’s sharp reprimand strikes my eardrums.

“Young Lady..! You need to lower your voice… Zombies might hear us.”

“…Why did you bring that bird I don’t want to see?!”

Esmela speaks with a significantly lowered voice.

“Then you can’t just leave it in the middle of the zombies, can you? A cute little thing like this.”

“Cute? Ha! Do you have any idea how that annoying little bird made my life miserable while hovering around Yuria?!”

“…”

Contrary to my expectations, Esmela was genuinely opposed to living with Piyo.

“Young Lady, it’s just a tiny bird and a low-level spirit. What could it know to do anything bad to you? That was years ago anyway…”

“Is that so? So, that bird mocking me when I tripped while rushing in front of Yuria? And the way it looked down on me when it saw me with Robertze gallivanting around the academy?”

“No way, that can’t be…”

She must be mistaken, but just to be sure, I observe Piyo’s reaction perched on my left shoulder.

“…Piyo.”

…Turning its head the other way and pretending not to know is a typical reaction when it feels guilty.

Wait, did it really do that?

“Hmm… But…”

“…Sigh. Fine, do as you will.”

Esmela shoots me a final glare before swiftly heading up to the second floor.

Now, only Piyo and I are left alone in the living room.

“…Hey, did you really do that to Esmela?”

“Piyo.”

This little one starts glaring at me with an angry expression.

…I think I understand what it’s trying to say.

“Well, it’s true Esmela was mean to Yuria.”

“Pee!”

“…It’s true she was ‘very’ mean, okay?”

“Pee! Pee!”

Jeez, I’m arguing with a bird without a proper justification.

“We’re not even getting to the important matters here…”

I scratch my head and murmur to myself.

I completely forgot to update her about the palace’s situation, as Esmela immediately got mad when she saw Piyo sitting on my shoulder as soon as I returned.

“…I don’t know. I’ll do it tomorrow. For now, let’s sleep.”

“…Here’s what I found while exploring the palace.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Sitting across from Esmela at the table, food on a plate consisting of jerky and biscuits, I continue the conversation we couldn’t finish yesterday.

“What do you think? Do you think it’s worth moving to the palace?”

“Yes. After actually seeing the palace’s interior, I really feel it’s suitable as a stronghold. However, we will need to conduct more thorough investigations again.”

“Got it. Then, next time we explore the palace, bring me along.”

“There’s really no need for that, is there? If you just tell me how to close the gates or how to access the underground passages, I can go check it myself.”

“No. While you might be able to close the south exit alone, the security mechanism on the underground passage operates on magic. I need to check it personally.”

“I see. Then is it alright if I accompany you today? We need to establish a stronghold as soon as possible…”

“Sure.”

“…”

“…”

“Um, Young Lady. Regarding Piyo…”

“Piyo? What’s that?”

“The small, white bird that’s currently munching on the soaked biscuit beside me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I can’t see anything.”

Ah, so that’s how it is.

I casually glance to the right, and Piyo is happily munching on the biscuit I left on the plate, regardless of what Esmela is saying.

“As long as it won’t be a bother to you, bringing Piyo along should be fine…”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

This is the first time I’ve seen Esmela react this way. A new pattern.

…To interpret it charitably, perhaps it means, ‘I really hate that thing, but since you like it, I can’t force it out. However, being acknowledged is against my pride, so I’ll pretend I don’t know it.’

After this oddly strange breakfast, Esmela heads up to the second floor again to pack her belongings.

This time, we plan to leave the house entirely and stay at the palace for a few days to conduct a slow investigation.

Since I only have a sword and some stored food to pack, I simply sit at the dining table, waiting for Esmela while she’s organizing her things.

As she fills her belly, Piyo starts dozing off.

I know that my current behavior, forcing something my master dislikes, is not appropriate as a butler.

But for some reason, I have this persistent feeling that there’s some important secret hidden within Piyo.

In the original story, it only appeared as a combat servant, and in the narrative, it was merely an occasional background character.

Regardless of the path taken, Yuria would graduate from the academy, returning Piyo and other spirits to nature, ending her connection with Piyo.

Yet, here is the spirit that should have been gone, suddenly appearing before me.

Using an ability I shouldn’t have been able to control, it saved me and asked me to find its previous master.

Even more bizarrely, this lower-level spirit, which should have the intelligence of a pet, actively tries to communicate and express rich emotions like a human.

It’s undoubtedly an unusual existence. Perhaps it holds a crucial clue to solving this situation and moving forward.

“…Sorry Esmela, but for now, you’ll have to stick with us.”

“Piyo?”

Piyo, who had been dozing off, wakes and looks up at me.

I gently pat its head with my index finger.

“You wouldn’t want to wander alone in the royal capital filled with those disgusting zombies, right?”

“Piyo!”

“I’ll take that as a positive response. By the way, I wonder when Esmela will come down…”

Almost as soon as I finish my sentence, I hear footsteps approaching the stairs.

“Hey, Piyo, please don’t do anything to upset Esmela, alright? Got it?”

“…Piyo.”

As if reluctant, Piyo makes a face that seems to be saying it’ll try its best…

…Honestly, it looks more human than a bird.

Cre-eak-

The massive drawbridge slowly begins to rise.

“Guh…”

As I grip the heavy handle and churn it clockwise, a moan unconsciously escapes my lips.

Thud!

Finally, the only passage connecting the outside and inside of the palace is closed.

“Phew…”

“You did well.”

After finishing the strenuous labor, wiping the sweat from my forehead, Esmela offers me a word of encouragement.

“Thank you. By the way, you really did know how to operate this drawbridge device.”

With those words, I gaze up at the massive wall filled with gears and chains.

After arriving at the palace, under Esmela’s guidance, I had come down the stairs leading to the palace’s underground, where the mechanism to operate the gates was located.

Although operating the device required significant strength, as she had said, I was able to raise and lower the drawbridge by myself without needing intricate operations.

“Right… Robertze was thrilled when I showed interest in the drawbridge and brought me here. Of course, we both got scolded after that. The guard who caught us couldn’t bear to scold us directly, so they reported to higher-ups instead. Thanks to that, the general came himself.”

“Is that so?”

“Now it’s time to find the passage leading to the underground waterway.”

“Where is that?”

“We need to go to the Tulip Pavilion in the center of the palace.”

“The Tulip Pavilion… isn’t that where the royal family resides and most of the administrative tasks take place, essentially the heart of the kingdom?”

“That’s right. Since it was originally built to evacuate the kingdom’s key figures, it should be close to them. Now, let’s move quickly.”

“Hmm…”

“…”

“How strange. I would have thought it would be here…”

Esmela tilts her head in confusion, poking at one of the gray brick walls in the underground chamber.

Muttering something, she taps the wall with her finger, suddenly releases her magic…

After a while of searching, Esmela finally says,


“This doesn’t seem to be it.”

There was just this one sentence.

According to her, it’s possible the entrance might have been moved in the meantime…

“Wouldn’t that require significant construction work to do?”

“Construction? No. The secret passage is not a physically connected route but a magic circle that teleports to the underground waterway. While it requires highly complex incantations and precise calculations, once those are prepared, finding a new entrance is easy.”

“What should we do now?”

“We’ll just keep searching. The magic circle wasn’t moved outside the building, so if we keep looking, we’ll eventually find it.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“No. This time, I don’t need your help. It requires high-level magical detection abilities, and you can’t even properly wield basic elemental magic.”

“…That’s true.”

“I’ll find the magic circle, so you take a rest in the meantime. Or check if there are any useful items around here.”

“Are you sure you’ll be fine alone, Young Lady?”

“You confirmed with detection magic that there’s no one around here, right? It’ll be a hassle if you disturb me, so go somewhere else quickly.”

“…Yes.”

Thus, being chased away by Esmela, I started wandering carelessly around the Tulip Pavilion.

An opulent palace built in the splendid Renaissance style, truly a classic of a fantasy world.

With bright red carpets spread all over, and silver decorations symbolizing the royal family scattered everywhere, from chandeliers to candlesticks.

“It really is a place that screams royal palace.”

Mumbling such pointless thoughts aloud, I walk down the empty corridor.

…

My aimless footsteps come to a sudden halt in front of a certain corridor.

A few days ago, when I first arrived at this palace, a maid told me about several areas I was not allowed to enter while staying here.

This corridor ahead was one of those places, repeatedly emphasized by a maid that I should never step foot in.

Right here is the royal family’s living quarters.

At the end of this red-carpeted hallway lies the bedroom of the king and queen.

And in front of me stand two doors side by side. Each is likely the bedroom of the prince and princess.

I remember hearing they still have separate rooms…

…

It wouldn’t hurt to take a look inside, right? No one’s watching.

While the prince doesn’t matter, just the thought of stepping inside Yuria’s room gives me a pang of conscience.

“Come on, surely they’ve taken everything important and personal with them.”

Rationalizing my actions with such thoughts, I grab the handle of the door closest to me.