The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 87

“Yeah, so you want to hear our story first?”

As if waiting for Lopez’s cue, Esmela immediately began recounting the events from the day of the escape operation from the royal capital.

While she skipped over the still uncertain relationship between the black witch and Head Maid Elina, Esmela shared even the most trivial details with Lopez and Arit.

Isolated in the royal capital, the last survivor we encountered, the restaurant owner, the various training we underwent to survive against the zombies, battles against mutant zombies…

“So you stayed in the royal palace this whole time?”

“Yeah.”

“What? You seem to have had a pretty comfortable time.”

“Excuse me. Just because it’s the royal palace doesn’t mean it’s completely safe, you know? For a mutant, the palace walls are less than a low fence.”

Esmela responded defensively, as if wronged.

As she said, the palace walls were no obstacle for the mutant zombies.

Once the mutants with their broad tracking range skills discovered our location, they began attacking us over the palace walls periodically, regardless of their type.

There were even times when muscle zombies were brought in, and we had to desperately fend them off as they tried to smash the gates with sheer strength.

“Wow, you really had a tough time, Esmela.”

“At least Arit appreciates our hard work.”

Arit smiled softly at Esmela while Lopez merely shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway, it’s been three years of battling zombies in the royal capital with me, Lanit, and Piyo, and managing to survive.”

“Piyo? Who’s that?”

Lopez tilted his head at the suddenly mentioned name.

“Oh, could it be that low-ranked spirit contracted by Lady Yuria?”

“That’s right. I don’t know why she suddenly appeared in the royal capital, but I didn’t want to leave her behind, so I took her in.”

‘To be exact, I was the one who wanted to keep her while Esmela wanted to abandon her.’

“Oh, the one that looks like a little white bird? I’ve remembered now. So you’re still with her?”

“Well, we travel together, but… sometimes she flies off on her own and comes back much later. I can’t see where she went even now.”

“…”

‘Huh?’

Lanit, quietly listening to the conversation, sensed Arit’s subtly changed demeanor the moment Piyo was brought up.

“Then, Esmela, how did you manage to escape the royal capital?”

However, upon seeing Arit return to her usual self, Lanit was left wondering if it was just her imagination, so she chose to remain silent.

“Oh, right. About that…”

Esmela explained to the two how the barrier that closed off the royal capital was breached, and how the nearby magic stones were left unattended.

“Mmm… I see.”

Lopez nodded as if he expected that response after hearing the situation.

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“Well… I didn’t predict the barrier would fall, but it’s not exactly shocking. The Magic Tower hadn’t been in a position to manage the barrier for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

In response to Esmela’s question, Arit answered in her stead.

“Right after the royal capital rescue operation ended, the Magic Tower was attacked by a zombie legion led by the black witch.”

“What!?”

Esmela exclaimed with a surprised squeak, but Arit continued calmly.

“Most of the sorcerers lost their lives in that incident, and 80% of the Magic Tower’s facilities were destroyed. Fortunately, the tower master, Blion, managed to repel the black witch after the battle…”

“That’s astonishing. I never expected even the Magic Tower would fall to a witch.”

“Yes, as you said, it was truly shocking that the tower was attacked. That stronghold, protected by numerous barriers and inhabited by sorcerers who were both researchers and experts in magical combat, fell so easily…”

“So that means when I mentioned the barrier collapse, you two weren’t surprised.”

“That’s right. Shortly after that, Blion took away what few survivors were left and headed north, so there’s no one left to manage the barriers. Well, the entire nation has already been overrun by zombies, so the purpose of confining the zombies to the royal capital lost its meaning, so no one cares about the barriers anymore. Not that we have any intention of destroying them, really. Just leaving them as is… it’s like, who knows what might happen, right? Everyone’s too busy trying to survive.”

“…tch.”

Esmela clicked her tongue, looking incredulous at Lopez’s explanation.

“So all the troubles Lanit and I faced being trapped in the royal capital amount to nothing?”

“Esmela…”

Arit cast a sympathetic glance at Esmela.

“Oh, it’s so frustrating. Whatever. This is the end of my story. Now it’s your turn. I have plenty to ask you two!”

“Ask away. What should we start with?”

“Where’s my father?”

At those words, both of their faces stiffened.

Here it comes, they thought.

“Umm… I’ll explain.”

Lopez spoke first. The actions of Head of House Tereed over the past three years, as witnessed firsthand, were largely consistent with what we had deduced from the reports coming from the market.

At the height of the escape operation, the king ordered the activation of the barrier enveloping the royal capital, dismissing Tereed’s objections that his daughter was still trapped inside.

After much deliberation, the king ignored Tereed’s protests to prioritize the safety of the kingdom’s citizens and activated the barrier, which naturally led to a furious confrontation with Duke Tereed.

Duke Tereed, disregarding the dignity of the nobility and the obligations of a chancellor, shouted obscenities at the king, truly looking like he wanted to kill him.

It was only after the royal guard and accompanying soldiers from House Larson stepped in that they managed to subdue him.

“…the incident concluded with the duke being stripped of his chancellorship. Although I pleaded for leniency with the king regarding the duke… even without that, the king likely wouldn’t have punished the duke too severely. After all, he understands the depth of a father’s love for his daughter…”

“Hmph.”

Esmela snorted dismissively, as if she found it unsatisfactory.

“There’s no excuse.”

“Now, now. The story isn’t over yet. The duke didn’t participate in the temporary government that was established afterwards and left the royal capital instead. Fortunately, I managed to catch him before he could leave and brought him to our family’s territory.”

To summarize Lopez’s subsequent story, he said that Duke Tereed settled in the territory of House Perelude, leading the servants there.

He was deeply mired in despair over losing Esmela and completely disengaged from affairs, drinking all day.

Despite the servants’ attempts to dissuade him, it was all in vain.

Just as Lopez began to worry about his state, a royal decree suddenly arrived for him.

‘A new royal capital will be established, so a portion of the territory must be donated to the royal family.’ (At this, Esmela mumbled succinctly about how audacious they were.)

After much consideration, Lopez decided to comply with the royal command. He visited Duke Tereed to inform him of this.

Upon hearing this news, the duke declared without hesitation that he would leave the territory of Perelude then and there.

“Where on earth do you plan to go?” Lopez asked, flabbergasted…

“The duke said he would head north, to the territory of House Larson, which is fortified by the harsh cold and snow, beyond the influence of the royal family…”

“And after that?”

Esmela urgently pressed for the next part of the story.

“…I don’t know.”

Lopez shrugged as if he couldn’t say for sure.

“Right after the duke briefly stayed in Pedina City, the zombie incident broke out across the kingdom and the news about House Herta completely stopped. I don’t know what happened after that—whether he arrived safely at House Larson’s territory or, in the worst-case scenario, got caught up in the zombie incident on the way…”

“Lopez!”

“No, it’s just a possibility, really…”

Lopez defended himself against Arit’s teasing.

“…”

Yet Esmela wore a somber expression. Her gaze had shifted away from the two and landed on the teacup before her.

“…”

“…”

The remaining two fell silent, mirroring her demeanor, and the bedroom fell into a complete stillness.

Minutes passed in silence…

“…Huff. Alright, fine.”

Fortunately, Esmela regained her usual composure.

“Yeah. I don’t know what ‘good’ means or what exactly I got from that, but either way, don’t be too sad. There’ll surely be a chance to meet him again…”

Esmela shook her head vigorously at Lopez’s stereotypical consolation.

“No. I’m not just going to sit around waiting. I’m leaving right now.”

“Where to?… You can’t be serious.”

Before Lopez could voice any objections, Esmela continued.

“Lanit.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I’ll be leaving for the north tomorrow. Prepare yourself.”

“As you command.”

The two seemed as if they had already finished discussing things and were ready to leave for House Larson’s territory.

“Wait, wait!”

Lopez jumped up in shock.

“I understand how you feel, but let’s calm down for a moment. All I know are the events that transpired in the territory of Perelude and the area around Pedina City. With the zombie incident cutting off all communications with other regions, I have no way to know what dangers await outside the territory. Moreover, it’s nearly winter again, and you want to head to the freezing north? Are you out of your mind?”

Despite Lopez’s desperate attempts to dissuade them, the two were resolute in their intentions.

“A mere chill won’t block Herta’s path.”

“That’s right, my lady.”

“No! You two, listen up!”

As Lopez tried to approach them while saying this, he felt Arit’s grasp on his sleeve and turned his head.

“Arit..?”

“…I also want to go with you both.”

“Wait! Why you too?!”