The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 82

“Ugh~ I’ve missed this fluffy blanket!”

Thud.

As soon as Esmela entered the room, she threw herself onto the fluffy bed without even taking off her outerwear.

“It’s only been about 20 days since we left the Royal Capital, Young Lady.”

“Yeah, a whole 20 days. I had to survive every night with that pitiful sleeping bag.”

Esmela was buried in the bed, flailing her arms and legs like a child, full of excitement.

“Honestly…”

‘Well, just not complaining about sleeping for 20 days during the journey means I’ve grown a lot.’

Seeing her like this, Lanit smiled wryly as he began to unpack the bags haphazardly for their overnight stay.

“By the way, Young Lady, didn’t you accept that request a bit too easily?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The subjugation of the Zombie Wyverns commissioned by the Mayor, of course.”

“Oh? I think it’s a decent deal with plenty of benefits.”

About 30 minutes ago, Esmela surprisingly accepted the Mayor’s difficult request to subjugate the Zombie Wyverns.

Though she had managed to gather extra supplies needed for their journey to the Ferelrud family along with the information about the whereabouts of the House of Herta—which she had originally requested from the Mayor—Lanit was puzzled. Normally, Esmela would have negotiated for even more.

In any case, when they agreed to the request, the Mayor’s face lit up as if he had finally lost a tooth, and he personally led them to a small guesthouse next to the manor.

“By the way, do you know Mayor Peltion?”

“Well, kind of. We’ve crossed paths a few times at parties, and he’s come out to greet me when I was dispatched on subjugation operations for the Hunter Guild in other regions. Don’t you remember, Lanit? It was during that large Wyvern subjugation when we first met. It was also commissioned by Pedina City, and afterward, the Mayor came to visit the subjugation squad.”

“I don’t recall ever meeting him.”

“Hmm, really? Well, anyway. He probably thought of that experience when he commissioned us for the Wyvern subjugation.”

“Ah, that makes sense… It wouldn’t be the norm to ask just two people to deal with dozens of Wyverns, especially those that are zombies.”

Lanit, now a bit relieved as his curiosity was satisfied, finished unpacking and bid farewell to Esmela.

“I’ll take my leave now, Young Lady. I hope you rest well today…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Excuse me?”

“What do you mean rest? We’ll set off before dinner. You should take a quick nap and then come back to my room.”

“Hmm…”

Lanit frowned slightly, looking around nervously.

Northwest of Pedina City, a desolate plateau sparsely populated with low-growing trees. It was the perfect habitat for Wyverns.

The sun was slowly preparing to dip below the horizon.

He glanced back to see the soldiers following him.

About twenty of them from the Pedina City guard.

Their armor looked dull from lack of polishing, and their spears were blunt from neglect.

The chronic resource shortage in Pedina City had affected even the soldiers.

What made Lanit more uneasy than the soldiers’ shoddy equipment was their expressions, which resembled those of the living dead.

Just before leaving the city, he and Esmela were ready to depart when soldiers assigned to assist in the Zombie Wyvern subjugation were already gathered in groups waiting for them, per the Mayor’s instructions.

Despite their lax demeanor, Lanit felt their attitudes were far too deflated for a major subjugation, and when he hesitantly asked if they were briefed on their tasks…

– Just told to help you guys.

One soldier with a goat-like beard replied with a look of pure annoyance.

‘The command structure is a mess.’

With a deep sigh, Lanit explained that they were going to participate in the Zombie Wyvern subjugation as per the Mayor’s order.

“Um… Butler sir?”

The bearded soldier, who had previously spoken to Lanit, approached him with an insufferably servile demeanor, rubbing his hands together.

“What is it?”

“Uh, it seems you may not know… but these Wyverns are quite fearsome creatures…”

“I know well enough about Wyverns. I used to be a B-rank Hunter.”

“Oh, is that so? Wow, you’re remarkable… Then you must understand! Even one Wyvern is dangerous, and they travel in packs of dozens, right? If they catch a person, they can tear them apart without breaking a sweat…”

“Huh…”

After realizing their target was the Wyverns, the soldiers looked pale, either frightened or angry at the unfair orders…

In any case, they seemed to have completely lost their fighting spirit, showing no signs of being well-trained soldiers.

This man had been pestering Lanit about retreating as well.

At least he seemed to have the sense not to approach Esmela directly, opting instead to speak with Lanit in hopes of changing his mind.

“I won’t say it twice. The mission of this subjugation squad is to completely eradicate the Zombie Wyverns blocking the road to the Ferelrud territory. The participants are Lady Esmela Herta and myself, along with you soldiers from the Pedina City guard. Retreat is impossible. Since it’s a direct request from Lord Peltion, any deserter will face harsher penalties. The best-case scenario is probably being exiled from the city.”

“Eek…”

At the mention of exile, a soldier waved his hands in panic and quickly blended back into the marching group.

Seeing that, Lanit shook his head and resumed walking ahead when Esmela approached him.

“Why are you being so strict? Isn’t your motto to be ‘a kind Butler to everyone’?”

“What if we respond weakly and they really do desert? That would mean they’d be punished. Besides, if they actually get exiled, it’s like being sent to a zombie-infested death sentence.”

Lanit confessed his thoughts in a small voice to her.

“…But what’s this ‘kind Butler to everyone’? When did I ever say that?”

“Isn’t it? I thought you might have given up on me since I saw you cozying up with Kelya instead of paying attention to me. How about ‘the Butler who neglects his master to flirt with another lady’? That sounds more fitting for your antics.”

Hmph, Esmela sulked and stormed off ahead.

“…Seriously.”

Lanit sighed at Esmela’s jealousy, which knew no bounds and quickened his pace to catch up to her.

“Look, there are Wyverns up ahead.”

Squinting into the distance, Lanit pointed toward a group of dark spots less than 3 km away.

“Yeah, there are… 70 of them. That’s more than what the Mayor said.”

“Maybe some have given birth? Or do Zombie Wyverns even breed? That’s weird…”

There were nests made of branches scattered around.

The two examined the area closely and shared their findings.

‘Will the range reach? System Eye.’

Fwoosh!

[Highland Wyvern][Status: Zombie]

[HP: 1140/1140] [MP: -/-]

[Strength: B+] [Agility: B+] [Durability: B]

[Mana Amount: -] [Mana Manipulation: -]

[Intelligence: -] [Skill: -]

[Description]

[Wyverns dwelling in highlands that have turned into zombies. Having become zombies, they have lost most of their biological traits from when they were alive. After zombification, what remains of their previous habits is that when prey passes nearby, the entire group spreads its large wings and swiftly takes to the sky for an ambush.]

[Traits]

[Aerial Acrobatics – Their flying ability has improved thanks to zombification. They confuse prey’s vision with bizarre flying patterns that ordinary birds do not exhibit.]

[Prey Detection – Can sense the biochemical reactions of humans within a 2 km radius of their habitat.]

‘It’s definitely helpful that System Eye’s range has increased since reaching level 4.’

Lanit conveyed the information identified with System Eye as if it was from his experience as a Hunter.

“Hmm… So, that means there are about 70 of them, stronger overall than the Zombie Wood Wolves, and they’ll pursue us as soon as we get close to their nests…”

“Right. This could be trickier than I expected, Young Lady.”

“Really? I think it won’t take long.”

“Oh, do you have some sort of clever plan, Young Lady?”

“Of course.”

At the mention of having a plan, all eyes from the soldiers eavesdropping on their conversation focused on Esmela.

“What exactly is it?”

“Here, take this.”

Lanit grabbed something handed to him by Esmela.

It was a red gem, a spinel.

A gem formed by the accumulation of fire-type mana, used by the servants of the House of Herta as a catalyst to channel ‘Flame of Herta.’

Lanit squinted at the gemstone, which glittered with a bright red light the size of a fingernail, staring at it for a moment before giving Esmela a questioning look.

“Handle this by yourself and come back.”

Esmela ordered Lanit with a calm expression, as if she were asking him to sweep the yard.