The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 78

Two people who had been cut off from the outside world for three years.

Finally, a great opportunity arose for them to hear what had happened out there.

Exchanging silent opinions through their eyes, the two immediately began bombarding the girl with questions.

At first, she stumbled over her words, but as their enthusiasm appeared to infect her, she answered more passionately, even occasionally turning the questions back on them.

Thus, their heated midnight conversation only came to a close after more than three hours.

Tap…

In the wake of their passionate discussion, the stillness of dawn filled the air, punctuated only by the occasional sound of sparks flying.

The bonfire that had been blazing in the center was now burning weakly, its flames waning.

“…”

Despite having eagerly listened to the tales of the outside world from the girl, for some reason, the two wore serious expressions.

Even Piyo, who was sitting next to Lanit and listening to the three, had fallen into thought.

The girl glanced back and forth between them, just trying to gauge their feelings.

What kind of conversation had they shared to leave them looking so disheartened? Let’s rewind the conversation for a moment.

The girl’s name was Kelya.

Kelya introduced herself as a grown woman who had celebrated her twenty-first birthday a few days ago (Lanit, who was drinking water, nearly choked at this point) and a stablehand who had been operating a carriage in Pedina City for five years.

How did she end up in this dangerous Haraka Great Forest?

“…It’s for securing supplies, in the end.”

After hesitating slightly at Lanit’s question, Kelya began to speak slowly, continuing her story.

Three years ago, unknown creatures called zombies engulfed the kingdom.

They feasted on humans, and the corpses they devoured became part of them, endlessly wandering in search of more victims—a true disaster resembling the prophecies in heretical texts.

People abandoned their homes, fleeing from the zombies that ravaged the kingdom.

Refugees flocked to other cities of the kingdom that had walls to protect them from the zombies, and Pedina City was no exception.

The well-meaning mayor of Pedina City opened the castle gates and welcomed all the refugees seeking shelter.

However, just months after the mayor opened the gates, the city’s population exceeded its capacity.

Naturally, the resulting problems began to explode everywhere.

Rapidly deteriorating public safety, conflicts between refugees and existing citizens, slum conditions around the outskirts of the castle, and the deteriorating urban hygiene…

But above all, the pressing issue suffocating the people inside the castle was the supply of food and other necessities.

Farmers who had cultivated fields outside the castle fled due to the zombies, causing crop production in the kingdom to plummet.

Not only crops but also the supply of fish, fruit, and most of the food brought in from outside the city came to an abrupt halt. The few remaining supplies skyrocketed in price, regardless of type.

Moreover, Pedina City relied on external sources for most supplies, including firewood, iron ore, and kerosene…

With the supply drop due to the zombie incident coupled with rapid population growth, Pedina City was facing a crisis of collapse before even a year had passed since the zombie incident began.

Cornered, Pedina City had no choice but to seek resources outside the castle, where zombies roamed.

Soon after, following the mayor’s orders, people were dispatched outside the castle.

Some went out to chop wood or gather fruit and mushrooms for securing supplies, and others, hunters tasked with protecting them from zombies while they worked.

Lastly, stablehands were responsible for transporting the gathered supplies.

These groups formed a team to provide the supplies secured outside to the city in exchange for money or other items as compensation.

Thus, Pedina City managed to barely meet its minimum supply lines and held on until recently.

“And you came here to the forest with people loaded onto a carriage for that supply operation… only to be attacked by wolves shortly after, leading to the demise of your companions, leaving you to flee alone, right?”

Esmela summarized what Kelya had said, and Kelya nodded in agreement, her head bobbing up and down.

“The hunters who accompanied us for protection were incredibly unreliable. In the end, it turned out like this. Those bastards! They bragged about how they were going to rank up to B for hunting wyverns while riding the carriage… I just suggested we fish safely near the castle instead…”

Kelya used rough obscenities that didn’t match her small, cute stature, which startled Esmela.

“Are there any other survivors among your companions?”

When Lanit asked, Kelya shook her head with a gloomy expression.

“Probably not. The only ones who could fight were the first to fall to the wolves. The rest… are ordinary refugees who have never held a sword in their lives…”

“I’m sorry. That was a pointless question.”

“No, no. You don’t need to apologize. You’re the ones who saved me.”

With Kelya dismissing Lanit’s apology, the conversation momentarily halted.

…Glance.

During that brief moment, Lanit, Esmela, and Piyo all felt Kelya’s concerned gaze fixed on them.

Although she tried to be discreet by lowering her head slightly and stealing glances, it was clear to anyone that no one was really hiding in the open.

“What’s with the staring?”

Eventually unable to endure that intense gaze, Esmela asked Kelya.

“Y-yes? Eeeh?”

Clearly thinking she’d gone unnoticed, Kelya stammered awkwardly.

“Why are you looking at us like that?”

“Um, you see…”

Under the imposing presence of Esmela, the girl hesitated, fidgeted, and finally managed to speak.

“Well… you two are my benefactors, so it felt rude to ask this, but… where exactly are you from?”

“What?”

“I couldn’t shake the feeling that there’s something strange about you even while talking… The incident with the zombies is something every person in the kingdom should know, yet you both looked so shocked hearing it for the first time. And while there is nowhere else with people around here except Pedina City, you didn’t know anything about what’s been happening there… Plus, you came from the royal capital, right? That area was the first to be devastated when the zombie incident began. No one lives within 10 kilometers of the capital now.”

Once Kelya’s curiosity was unleashed, there was no stopping it.

All the questions she had been holding inside began pouring out without hesitation.

“And right now, the thing I’m most curious about… is actually about Lanit’s identity.”

“Uh…?”

Lanit found himself unexpectedly targeted.

“Where on earth did you get that butler uniform? It looks ridiculously expensive, with a sleek and elegant design. I’d believe you were a butler from the Ducal Family! But, I mean, wow! I was so surprised the first time I met you two! I get Esmela being how she is, but a butler popping out of the forest, drawing a sword, striking a pose, and fighting off Wood Wolves? I thought I was seeing things out of fear!”

“Uhm… is that so?”

Kelya was rambling on like a machine gun.

As she got more engrossed in her story, her face drew closer to Lanit’s, filling his view entirely.

“Are you really a butler? Or did you score those clothes from a nearby corpse? No, but they’re too clean for that… so you really are a butler?! Oh my, I got it…”

“Closer. Back away.”

Kelya’s torrent of words only came to a halt when Esmela grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from Lanit.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got a bit too excited… I tend to have that kind of personality. When I get into a story, I forget my surroundings and just ramble on… Hehe…”

When Esmela glared sharply, Kelya awkwardly made excuses and returned to her original spot.

“Um, so… won’t you tell me about yourselves as well?”

“…”

When Lanit turned to Esmela, she sighed audibly and nodded.

With Esmela’s permission, Lanit briefly explained who they were, why they had been trapped in the royal capital for three years, what they had experienced since, and that the barrier isolating the capital had recently been lifted, allowing them to head toward the nearest populated city, Pedina City.

“…Wow.”

After hearing Lanit’s explanation, Kelya’s mouth dropped open as she exclaimed loudly.

“Oh my, I can’t believe it. So, you two survived in that city crawling with zombies? For three whole years? And oh my, Esmela, you’re the famous Young Lady of the House of Herta! No wonder you have that noble elegance in your demeanor despite dressing like a hunter!”

Lanit didn’t miss the slight upward curve of Esmela’s lips as she listened to Kelya’s admiration.

“Piyo!”

Piyo flapped her wings up high, like saying, “I’m here too!” but sadly failed to capture the attention of either person.

“Were you not able to tell even after hearing the Young Lady’s name?”

Wishing to lift Esmela’s spirits, Lanit decided to ask Kelya for more praise about House Herta.

“I thought it was just a coincidence!”

“Haha. Esmela is not a common name.”

“But, I mean! When you’re chased by Wood Wolves in the forest and someone saves you, what are the odds that person is the Young Lady from House Herta? That House Herta! The family with Duke Tereed, the founding minister of the kingdom, as the head! And you’re even betrothed to Prince Robertze… Oh.”

Realizing she had blurted out something inappropriate, Kelya quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

“…”

Turning cautiously, the two’s eyes met with Esmela’s face, which had turned icy and rigid.

“So, about that! As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been trapped in the royal capital since the zombie incident began, so we have no idea what’s been happening outside. Therefore… could you tell us what’s happened in the kingdom over the past three years?”

In a rather unnatural transition, Lanit shifted the topic.

“Yes! Of course!”

And Kelya received the shift equally awkwardly.

…Glance.

Fortunately, it seemed that the new topic had successfully rekindled Esmela’s interest, as her expression relaxed and she began to listen to their conversation again.

“Ahem.”

Kelya cleared her throat dramatically, wearing a solemn expression as if trying to convey gravity.

“During these three years, what happened in the kingdom… Let’s see… First, I’ll explain from the day you two were trapped when the House of Arkeisia led the survivors to escape the capital.”

Swallow.

‘Finally, we’re about to hear what happened outside while we were trapped.’

Lanit swallowed hard as tension surged within him.

“Naturally, it’s no surprise that unknown creatures appeared in the capital, and it became widely known that the city fell to them, with the royal family barely escaping with a handful of survivors. It became the talk of the whole kingdom. If you went to any tavern back then, everyone was talking about it. Of course, since it’s about royalty, a subject far removed from our kind, it was merely gossip for commoners like us.”

Kelya’s expression changed to one of seriousness as she continued.

“Moreover, the royal family had sent official correspondence to the lords of other regions, stating that they had managed to contain the zombies within the capital with the aid of the Magic Tower. Thus, all believed that the incident had come to a close. People’s interests swiftly shifted to what the royal family, having lost a whole capital, would do next—whether they would relocate the city and, if so, where to, and whether the nearby lords would continue to support the royal family that had lost its foothold.”

She paused for a moment, biting her lip.

“But before long, everyone realized that the matter was far from over. About a month after the royal family had set up a temporary royal palace near Count Terelud’s territory with the support of the Count… the zombie incident broke out once more.”

“Where did it start? What was the origin?”

Esmela asked, and Kelya let out a bitter smile.

“Where? That’s not a suitable question, Esmela. Because they appeared suddenly all over the kingdom, starting to devour people. Literally, in one night, the kingdom fell into their grasp.”