The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 71

The days that followed were unbelievably peaceful.

It’s hard to believe that I could spend time in such tranquility in the Royal Capital Erka, teeming with zombies.

Every morning, I would wake up and prepare breakfast with Esmela.

The menu usually consisted of soup and biscuits stockpiled in the pantry. I also set aside a small bowl of water and a dish of food for Piyo.

After the three of us finished our breakfast, the day would begin.

The tasks we handled mostly revolved around training, exploring supplies via the underground sewer, and farming with the aim of maintaining our food supply—generally rotating among these three tasks.

Aside from the fact that we were trapped within the castle walls all day, life wasn’t drastically different from what I was used to.

The only time I actually confronted the reality of my situation was when I had to venture beyond the castle walls and face those zombies still lurking in the streets.

After finishing my tasks, I would sometimes find myself standing on the rooftop of a building, gazing at the zombies wandering aimlessly below, resembling wriggling bugs from a distance, before turning my back and heading back down to the underground entrance.

On days when we trained or farmed inside the Royal Palace, I would share a hastily packed sandwich with Esmela for lunch.

Training days inevitably meant we’d spend time together, but even when I was awkwardly tilling the makeshift garden I created in a corner of the training area, Esmela would often be sitting a little distance away, quietly observing me work.

Then, just when I would pull out my lunch to eat, she would hurry over and insist on sharing it.

At first, I was puzzled when I went through the trouble to prepare food for myself, only to have her insist on sharing, but soon I got used to her behavior and began preparing an extra sandwich for her as well.

It occurred to me that while I was diligently managing the various tasks at hand, I couldn’t help but wonder how Esmela spent her day.

Aside from those times when I helped her with her exercises or she guided my mana training, the time we spent together during the day had gradually decreased compared to before.

Sometimes I would feel a spark of curiosity about what she was doing all alone in this vast Royal Palace, but that feeling was quickly pushed aside by the growling hunger that clawed at my stomach. Any remaining thoughts were quickly swallowed along with my sandwich.

If we’re talking about unclear whereabouts, Piyo was even more of a mystery than Esmela.

Though I always set aside a portion for Piyo at mealtimes, she didn’t always come to eat it.

There would be days when she vanished entirely for long stretches of time, even disappearing for days, only to suddenly appear out of nowhere, flapping her little wings and landing softly on my shoulder.

And then, as if she had been itching to tell me all the things she had experienced, she would chatter incessantly.

Beyond that, I had no idea what she did or where she went during other times, not even whether she was inside the castle or outside it.

Well, that’s how it goes—I reassured myself and pushed those trivial questions to the back of my mind.

After all, I had gone through so much from the moment the zombie incident broke out to settling down in the Royal Palace, leaving me completely exhausted both physically and mentally, barely able to focus on anything else.

Right now, this level of peace feels just about right.

In this ruined city, where only Esmela and I remained, if I could just endure these peaceful days, it would be enough.

Once in a while, memories of questions I shared with Esmela that night would resurface like overdue homework, stirring my mind, but I forced myself to erase them.

Of course, deep in my heart, I vaguely understood that this precarious calm would inevitably shatter someday. If that day were to come, I’d have no choice but to walk a treacherous path where I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

“I want to go to the mansion.”

During the otherwise typical breakfast, Esmela suddenly put down her spoon, which she had been using to scoop up soup, and made that declaration.

“A mansion?”

I thought about how there were plenty of mansions in this expansive Royal Capital, momentarily stuck on the idea, until I realized what she meant by “mansion.”

“Are you referring to the House of Herta?”

“Of course, which other mansion would there be?”

Esmela shot me a disdainful look at my question and continued with a haughty expression.

“Because we had to escape the mansion with no preparation when the zombies suddenly attacked. I want to go back and grab some things.”

“Is there something you absolutely need? We don’t even know what the situation is like over there. Crossing the Royal Capital past those zombies would definitely be dangerous.”

“You often go outside the Royal Palace.”

“I’ve gotten a fair grasp of the area nearby. I can safely travel near the Royal Palace via the underground sewers, but I still don’t have full knowledge of the sewer geography in other regions.”

“Can’t you just walk along the sewer randomly, peek out briefly to assess your position, and then go back in?”

“A few days ago, I almost got into a serious problem that way. I opened a manhole and locked eyes with a zombie, almost letting them in underground. I had to kill dozens of them just to secure the safety of the nearby sewer.”

“Hmmm…”

Yet even with my explanation, Esmela continued to glare at me with a look of disbelief as she slightly puffed up her cheeks.

…Does she realize that every time she throws a tantrum like that, I feel weak-hearted and tend to grant her requests?

“How about you write down the items you want to recover and give them to me? I’ll go by myself to collect them quickly.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“…”

She diverted her gaze, seeming troubled by my question and only fiddling with her hair with her fingers.

“…No?”

“Ummm…”

Faced with the expression of Esmela looking like a child begging for candy, I fell into thought.

Truthfully speaking, if I had to ask whether going to the mansion is dangerous or not, I would obviously say it’s the latter.

Yet when you think about it, every action outside of simply locking ourselves in the Royal Palace carries risk in this zombie crisis. Not just any risk, but the immense risk of a death that one cannot die from.

Having traversed countless chaotic incidents, I had grown somewhat accustomed to this zombie crisis, and Esmela likely had too.

Wouldn’t it be fine, like always, to leap around on rooftops?

I did wonder what I would do if a mutant zombie pursued us, but if I could use that unknown magic that Piyo had first used to save me, it might be manageable.

And it had already been two weeks since Esmela came to the Royal Palace. Even though zombies crawled outside, I thought it might be good for her to go out at least once.

“Well, since you put it that way… Alright, I’ll head out, so come to Tulip Hall as soon as you’re ready.”

Once I gave my consent, Esmela’s face brightened up instantly.

“Really? Thank you, Lanit! Then I need to hurry and change clothes!”

With that final remark, Esmela left her nearly one-third-full bowl of soup sitting on the table and dashed out of the restaurant.

She really looks happy. It’s quite rare for her to express her gratitude so openly.

“Well, since this is happening, I’ll need you to be mindful and assist with the escort, Piyo. You’ll definitely be needed if a mutant zombie appears.”

“…Pii!”

After finishing my meal, Piyo, who had been digging her head into her water bowl mindlessly, lifted her head up to acknowledge my request with a short chirp.

Her expression seemed to say, “Oh dear, what can I do…”

The path to the mansion was surprisingly smooth.

As I roamed around the Royal Capital, I didn’t encounter a single mutant zombie during the long trek for some strange reason.

As we traversed the rooftops of buildings, whenever there wasn’t a roof to step on, we used the temporary platforms created by Esmela’s Earth magic as jumping points, bounding our way through the streets toward the mansion.

After just under two hours…

“Haah… Haah…”

“Excellent, Young Lady! It seems the results of your training are starting to show!”

We paused on the roof of another mansion, near the nobility’s residential area within the northwest district, catching our breath as the House of Herta came into view.

Esmela crouched down, taking ragged breaths.

This time, she hadn’t clung to me but made the long journey on her own feet, which was to be expected.

There were moments when she nearly lost her balance, but overall, it constituted a significant improvement.

Piyo, perched on her shoulder, patted her head with her wings as if to say, “Well done!”

“Haah…”

Once Esmela finally regained her composure with one last long exhale, she turned to me.

“So, what’s the state of the mansion?”

“From a glance, it doesn’t seem much different from what I expected.”

Most windows were shattered, and the front door was gruesomely wrecked.

Particularly, the annex seemed to have been where a battle occurred between the servants and the horde of zombies, sustaining even more severe damage.

Not only were the doors and windows obliterated, but there were cracks all over the walls, and the nearby area was strewn with zombies’ blood and corpses haphazardly.

The once-beautiful garden of the House of Herta had now fallen victim to the zombies.

Zombies, once a common sight throughout the Royal Capital, now ambled through the garden aimlessly, wandering around like they had lost their purpose.

“Fortunately, I don’t see any mutants. They must have relocated elsewhere.”

Upon hearing my report, Esmela lifted herself from her crouched stance with a relieved expression.

Piyo, perched on her shoulder, startled and took flight.

“Well then, there’s no reason to hesitate, is there? Let’s head right in.”

…

Standing before Esmela’s bedroom, I found myself staring blankly into space.

“Are you not bored?”

I asked for no particular reason, glancing at Piyo on my shoulder.

“Piit.”

Piyo replied briefly, her expression clearly saying she was unbelievably bored.

Avoiding the gazes of the zombies occupying the garden, we slipped directly into the mansion. Of course, I silently dealt with any zombies we encountered along the way using my dagger.

As soon as we entered the mansion, Esmela darted off to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

From the intermittent thumps and clinking sounds coming from the room, it sounded like she was busy rummaging through her belongings.

An hour or so passed, during which I could only play the role of a doorkeeper, biding my time.

“Yawn… At least it’s a relief there aren’t zombies inside the mansion.”

Just as I kept yawning in boredom,

“Sorry to keep you waiting! Let’s head back now!”

Esmela burst through her bedroom door, her face flushed and covered with sweat.

The bag she held, packed with items from the Royal Palace, looked about to burst.

“Did you manage to grab everything? By the way, what took you so long?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.”

Esmela, deflecting my inquiry, oddly averted her gaze.

“Hm… What exactly was it that made you so eager to come here?”

“…The thing you gave me on the day we first met.”

“What?”

“Never mind! It’s nothing.”

She muttered something quietly, sulking a bit, and marched down the hallway.

“Good grief…”

As I reluctantly followed her, just then—

GROOOAAARRR!!

A monstrous, thunderous roar that I could never forget shook the mansion.

“This is…!”

As the monstrous noise subsided, Esmela and I exchanged glances.

Looking out the window, just as I took a peek…

Sure enough, a colossal zombie was trampling through the meticulously landscaped trees headed straight for the mansion.

It was the muscle zombie that had assaulted the survivors on the day of the rescue operation.

With each step it took, the ground trembled.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

And there were two of them.

Smack!

One casually swatted another zombie out of the way, seemingly annoyed.

“I knew things were going too smoothly.”

While Esmela mumbled that, I frantically began searching for any other threats that could accompany the muscle zombie.

-Kiyig.

Tap-tap-

And my ominous hunch bore fruit.

“Right, you came along as well, asking to tag along.”

The fast zombies that had kidnapped Esmela were now beginning to emerge from behind the muscle zombie, sprinting towards the mansion.

“Young Lady.”

“I know.”

Esmela drew the dagger from its sheath at her waist.

“Flame of Herta, may the sword vanquish the house’s enemies.”

I summoned my Flame of the Sword as well.

“Pii—!”

Piyo, looking up at me with a tense expression.

“Save your strength for now. We need you at a critical moment.”

I gently tickled Piyo with my finger and brought my gaze back to the garden.

The three mutants were already charging toward us.

They stopped momentarily right in front of the mansion, then—

-GRAAAAH!

They leapt into the air, soaring straight toward our fourth-floor window.

“Here they come!”

With a shout of warning, I swung my pitch-black blade at the zombies crashing through the broken window.

“Ice Needle!”

Behind me, Esmela unleashed a flurry of ice shards at the zombies.

And thus, once again, a struggle against the zombies was about to begin in this mansion—

Part 1 Complete.

Continuing in Part 2.