The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 79

“I still vividly remember what happened three years ago.”

Kelya closed her eyes and tried to recall how the disaster she had thought was someone else’s problem suddenly engulfed her life.

“At first, I was just leading my usual daily life. Earning a few coins by letting guests ride in my carriage, roaming around Pedina City, and occasionally getting lucky with long-distance customers asking me to take them to other regions outside the city. But, do you two know the only advantage of being a stablehand?”

“Advantage?”

“No… I don’t know.”

Kelya’s sudden question had both of them shaking their heads as if they’d never heard such a thing before.

“Well, it’s natural that you wouldn’t know. I just thought it’d be a nice change of pace.”

Kelya seemed to have anticipated their reaction and didn’t appear too surprised. Instead, she wore a faint smile as she revealed the answer.

“The answer is… you become well-informed about all the information and rumors circulating in the area. There’s a small window between the driver’s seat and the passenger compartment, so if there’s a need to talk during the ride, we can open it and chat. In fact, even if the window is closed, the walls of the carriage aren’t that thick, so we can hear everything going on inside.”

“Really?! So that means the stablehands driving the House of Herta’s carriage heard everything my father and I talked about in there!”

“Haha. What I’m saying is only applicable to public carriages like ours. For custom carriages directly commissioned by noble families, soundproofing is a standard feature.”

“…Oh, I see.”

Esmela fell silent, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“By the way, that’s quite an unexpected piece of knowledge. Generally, aren’t you told to go to the tavern for information?”

“That’s true, but their nature is a bit different. Taverns are where people gather to drink and chat, so everyone tends to say something, and you can naturally overhear various bits of gossip while sipping your drink. But the stories from drunken strangers might just be ramblings and you can’t vouch for their quality or reliability.

On the other hand, the information gathered from being a stablehand may be less in volume, as passengers sometimes ride in silence. However, those who can afford to pay for a carriage ride at least have some level of social standing, even if they aren’t nobility, so the quality of the information they hold is usually higher.”

Suddenly, Kelya had a moment of realization.

“Oh my, how forgetful of me. I’ve strayed off-topic again. Anyway, because of my job as a stablehand, I got to know what’s going on in the world without even needing to read the newspaper or talk to people. So while everyone else was blissfully unaware of what was happening outside, I was among the first to realize that the situation in the kingdom was more serious than it seemed.

The earliest story I remember hearing from my passengers was from three hunters. While they were chatting, they casually mentioned that a report had come in to the Hunter Guild’s Pedina branch about an unknown undead monster appearing in the Harka Great Forest.

A few days later, I transported a middle-aged journalist and a young man who looked like a newbie. They asked me to take them to the nearest branch as fast as possible and had a serious discussion about a scoop within the carriage. Although I couldn’t catch all the details, that was when I first heard the word ‘zombie.’

Then, two days later, I had a well-dressed merchant with his secretary request a ride near the castle gate. The merchant urgently pressed his secretary to devise a countermeasure, saying that a carriage headed to Pedina City had lost contact after being attacked by a new kind of monster.

After that, I didn’t even need to listen to my passengers anymore. Now, everywhere I went in Pedina City, everyone was talking about that ‘zombie.’ The creature that had overrun the Royal Capital had suddenly started appearing all over the kingdom, even infecting monsters—there were even witnesses claiming to have seen those zombies near Pedina, and it seemed we would soon fall into their grasp…”

Kelya’s tone was calm as she recounted the situation at that time, but her gaze was blankly fixed on the bonfire.

“With such ominous rumors spreading through the streets, it was only natural that people began to panic. Some even left the castle in a bid to flee, but, well, if the walls couldn’t protect us, then we would be unsafe anywhere in the kingdom. So, myself and others had no choice but to confine ourselves to the castle, trembling in anxiety as we heard the dreadful news leaking from beyond.”

She raised her eyes to look at the night sky.

“And then… it all began when those poor farmers laboring outside the castle were attacked by zombies that emerged from the forests, and finally, Pedina City faced its own assault.

At first, it was just a few farmers who had turned into zombies knocking at the castle walls. But soon after, hunters infected while on missions, followed by a horde of over a hundred Wood Wolves and goblins that had turned into zombies charged from the woods… Then, on a day when the fear inside the castle began to swell due to the increasing attacks, the bell tower in the castle center suddenly rang out frantically. That bell signified a large-scale invasion.

…I didn’t get to witness the situation outside as I was hastily preparing to evacuate, but afterward I had the chance to hear from a soldier who survived that battle. He said that just before sunset, thousands of zombies emerged from the horizon, seemingly endless. They weren’t the typical zombies of ordinary humans or low-level zombie monsters like Wood Wolves or goblins, but rather gigantic, mutant varieties, some with hunched backs and long limbs, as well as B-rank zombie monsters like Forest Bears. There were even soldiers who claimed to have seen wyvern zombies.

On the day of the large-scale zombie invasion, everyone outside was terrified and spent the night with eyes wide open. The sound of metal clashing, terrible monstrous roars, and the screams of people…”

Kelya’s voice grew fainter.

“…Were they able to defend against the attack?”

In response to Esmela’s question, Kelya slowly nodded her head.

“But… how? Of course, there would have been many soldiers stationed in a large city like Pedina, and the Hunter Guild would be there to fight alongside them, but I don’t think it would have been enough to hold off such a vast army of zombies. At least from our experience fighting them for the past three years.”

“Miss Esmela is correct. If the saintess hadn’t been in Pedina at that time, the castle would have surely been ravaged.”

“The saintess? Are you talking about Arit? From the Radain Church?”

“Yes, that’s right. The saintess performed miracles on the battlefield that night, driving the zombies away. When the Pedina allied forces were cornered, the saintess prayed desperately to God Juten while fighting alongside the soldiers, and a huge beam of light poured down from the night sky, sweeping away the zombies… The soldier recounting this to me testified just like that.”

“And what about the saintess afterward? Did she… get hurt or something?”

“I heard she was fine. After saving Pedina City, she left before the survivors could thank her.”

“…Arit…”

Esmela softly uttered her friend’s name, feeling a lump in her throat, recalling the news from three years ago.

“May I finish my story now? There’s not much left.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry for interrupting.”

Perhaps after talking for so long, Kelya cleared her throat before continuing.

“Anyway, with the help of the saintess, we barely managed to drive the zombies that had attacked Pedina City away… While everyone was busy repairing the damage from the battle, the Pedina branch of the Hunter Guild began receiving urgent letters. At first, there were only one or two, but the numbers gradually increased, eventually reaching thirty-four.

All those letters carried requests for help. They were urgent pleas for support from the branches overseen by the Pedina branch of the Hunter Guild in Trine Province. The contents of all those letters were horrifyingly similar: an unmanageable number of zombies and zombie monsters were attacking the regions under their jurisdiction, and the city guard and the hunters from that branch were unable to defend against them, urgently requesting for hunters to be dispatched as soon as possible…”

Sighing heavily, Kelya signaled the end of her tale.

“Yes. On the day Pedina was attacked by zombies, other regions in the kingdom faced similar assaults. Everywhere without enough troops or a powerful force like the saintess became overrun. Well, from what happened afterward, I’m sure you all can guess. Regions without the military strength to maintain trade or even emergency contact between the nobles lost touch completely, and aside from the domain ruled directly by the Pereleud family, there are barely any intact regions left in Trine Province.”

As she finished her story, they returned to the situation from the beginning.

The dimming bonfire.

The two people (and one bird) understood the entire incident and fell deep into somber thought.

Kelya, observing their reaction, cautiously spoke to the seemingly kinder Lanit.

“Um, I’m sorry. I shared such an important story, yet I showed you this attitude… I could never have imagined the kingdom would fall like this…”

“I-I don’t know if I’m in the position to say this, but! Stay strong! There are still quite a few people left. Even though Pedina City isn’t what it used to be, it’s still getting by decently.”

Lanit could only give a bitter smile at her clumsy consolation.

“I appreciate your considerate words, Kelya. Oh wow, it’s gotten quite late. My lady and I are planning to head to Pedina City as well, so if it’s alright, may we ask you to guide us?”

“Yes! I’d be thrilled to have the company of you two while I’m walking!”

“Great. Then let’s get some rest for tomorrow. You too, my lady?”

“…Why?”

“If we set up the tent now, it’ll only delay our sleep further. I’m really sorry, but it seems we have to sleep out in our sleeping bags today…”

“I understand.”

Esmela replied in a weary tone.

That night, with the bonfire at the center, the three of them crawled into their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep, each having different thoughts.

Kelya felt reassured thinking about the presence of the two who would safely escort her to Pedina City, while Esmela longed for her dear ones including Arit and her father, worried about the wretched state of the fallen kingdom.

As for Lanit… he tossed and turned, wondering what was to become of them if they had begun with the kingdom’s ruin, and what terrible events awaited them in the future…