The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 90

Whoosh-

A fierce gust of wind whirled around, scattering flurries of snow and obscuring my vision.

Beyond that imperfect sight, there were red eyes glistening against the white snowfield.

The monstrous gaze held an ominous bloodlust, as if it had nothing more to offer.

-Grrrrr…

Amidst the piercing wind that could tear apart eardrums, I heard a low growl, as if a wolf was scraping its throat.

[Snow Wolf] [Status: Zombie]

[HP: 850/850] [MP: -/-]

[Strength: C-] [Agility: B] [Durability: B-]

[Mana Amount: – ] [Mana Manipulation: – ]

[Intelligence: – ] [Skill: – ]

[Entity Description]

[A monster known as Snow Wolf from the northern continent has turned into a zombie. It has mostly lost the biological traits it possessed in life. In addition to its pack-hunting behavior and extremely developed sense of smell, its thick fur has evolved to adapt to the cold environment. They use their white fur to hide in the snow-covered plains and approach prey without being detected.]

[Traits]

[Blood Tracking – It tracks the scent of targets recognized as prey. Having become a zombie, it now only hunts humans, hence it has specialized its sense of smell to chase human scents, particularly the smell of blood.]

[Group Hunt – When acting as a pack, it receives additional bonuses to strength and agility.]

[Northern Cold Resistance Fur – In addition to thick hide, its lush white fur protects against the brutal cold of the northern lands. Additionally, it provides an effect that increases durability.]

“…Tch!”

Lanit checked the status screen of the monsters surrounding them and clicked his tongue in agitation.

“[Roinah] It’s just like in the original, this wolf series is everywhere.”

Their current situation had worsened thanks to this nonsensical adherence to the original script, and as he desperately racked his brain for a solution while calling out to the other two—

“Young Lady! Arit!”

“Why!”

“I’m right here!”

Their answers faintly reached Lanit’s ears, muffled by the howling wind.

The blizzard rendered sight and hearing useless.

The temperature felt like it was below -30 degrees, slowly robbing them of their body heat.

Meanwhile, the pack of Snow Wolves had appeared unnoticed and surrounded them, ready to hunt.

“Haa…”

Of course, dealing with the wolves right in front of them was no challenge for Lanit.

Being Snow Wolves, they were just like any other wolf-type monster—something the three of them could handle without even needing to use their summons.

However, this harsh natural environment did not allow for such easy hunting.

This ambush was the third attack since they entered the northern region.

The first was three zombie polar bears, the second was about thirty zombie seagulls, and now, the seventeen Snow Wolves surrounding their party.

Unable to find respite from the cold by setting up a tent or lighting a bonfire due to the continuous skirmishes, the three had been exposed to the brutal cold for four hours straight.

“…Tch.”

Lanit clicked his tongue again.

There was no choice but to push through the monsters before him.

Please let this be the last fight, and for there to be some small cave nearby to take shelter from this snowstorm.

“I’ll take the lead! Both of you, back me up and cover me!”

Lanit gripped the hilt of his sword, which crackled with dark flames, and charged at the monsters.

Swish-

“!”

Just then, a disturbing sound tore through the wind from Lanit’s left side.

Instinctively, he halted in place—and—

Thud!

A massive arrow, double the size of an ordinary arrow, flew and lodged itself into the back of the nearest Snow Wolf.

-Kiiik…

The Snow Wolf, struck in the head, let out a death rattle before collapsing into the snow.

-Grr?

The Snow Wolves turned their heads in the direction from which the arrow had flown.

Lanit too strained to discover the identity of the archer.

“Hey!”

A loud, rough voice pierced through even the blizzard.

“Are you out of your mind? What are you doing out in this weather!”

The unknown voice scolded them nonchalantly, as if it was unaware of their urgent situation.

Turning his head, Lanit saw Esmela and Arit, who had approached within sight.

After exchanging glances with the two, he took a deep breath and shouted—

“Please help us! We are being attacked by monsters!”

Judging at the very least that the stranger wasn’t hostile towards them, he raised his voice to request assistance.

“Just look! Hey, do you have the strength to run? I’ll shoot arrows to cover you, shake off those things and come this way! There are too many!”

Seeing the clear intention of rescue in his expression, relief washed over the faces of the three.

“We’re fine! We’ll handle these monsters; just take us to somewhere warm!”

-…Grr?

The disregarded zombie Snow Wolves could only tilt their heads in confusion as they looked at them.

“Etschoo!”

Esmela’s adorable sneeze rang out.

“Geez, this is why southern people… Here, take this.”

A big, rough-looking woman tossed a large blanket to Esmela.

Esmela quickly caught it, draping it over her shoulders and curling up as tightly as possible inside.

Even shivering from the cold, her appearance was cute, something Lanit couldn’t help but think.

“Thank you so much.”

Arit, who was in slightly better condition than Esmela, expressed gratitude instead to the mysterious woman.

“Forget it. If you all die out there, I’m the one stuck with the cleanup.”

The woman retorted gruffly before turning sharply and entering another room.

In the meantime, Lanit surveyed their surroundings in the building.

A small shack made of logs.

The space where the three gathered around a stove to warm up resembled a common room, but aside from the crossbows hanging on the walls, there was hardly any furniture, giving it a lifeless feel.

‘Doesn’t seem like a place where people actually live; more like an emergency shelter to escape the cold.’

As he pondered that while scanning the area, Lanit’s gaze fell upon the large woman returning, holding a big bowl filled with something sloshing.

A hulking figure draped in thick white fur.

With an angular face and broad shoulders, she could easily be mistaken for a man in his mid-thirties, but a closer look revealed subtle differences in her appearance and voice that confirmed her gender.

“Drink. It’ll warm you up.”

The large bowl she presented was steaming with a white liquid.

The three exchanged glances, debating who would drink first, and then—

“I’ll drink it gratefully.”

As always, Lanit stepped forward first to take the bowl, gulping down its contents in one go.

A surprising umami flavor filled his mouth, followed by a slight sweetness and ending with a hint of the bitterness specific to alcohol.

“…It’s alcohol.”

“Made from breast milk. Tell the others to hurry up and drink.”

After ensuring the other two had their share, the woman took the bowl and wandered off again, returning this time to plop down between Lanit and Arit.

“So, who the hell are you three?”

She scrutinized them suspiciously.

“Given your looks and attire, it’s obvious you’re not from around here…”

As she observed their clothing, her gaze hesitated at Lanit’s butler uniform before she quickly returned her attention to them.

“May Miitri bless this meeting. Nice to meet you, I am Arit Radain, the 11th Saintess of Radain Church. This young lady is Esmela Herta, the daughter of Duke Herta, and this is Lanit, her butler.”

Arit introduced them to the woman on behalf of the still shivering Esmela.

“…Radain Church? Saintess? Herta?”

The woman frowned as if she had no clue what they were talking about, still suspicious.

“…You don’t know?”

“How the hell would I know about your bizarre religion or some duke family I’ve never heard of?”

The woman’s cold retort caused Arit and Esmela to look at each other in surprise.

Up until now, whenever they encountered someone and introduced themselves as the ‘Saintess of Radain Church’ and ‘Herta’, they had always been treated with respect, so their bewilderment was understandable.

“I don’t care who you are, but what are you southern folks doing all the way up here? If you don’t give me a proper answer…”

The woman’s suspicious demeanor gradually shifted to a hostile, combat-ready attitude, her voice laced with tension when suddenly—

‘As a butler, I wasn’t supposed to interfere, but this danger is escalating.’

Making that judgment, Lanit interjected,

“We’re looking for Count Larson!”

Her hand that was reaching for the sword at her waist abruptly froze.

“…Really?”

“Yes!”

“Who from the House of Larson?”

“Uh… First, we’d like to meet the head of the family… But Young Lady Esmela here is a friend of the fourth son, Iiergo, and his wife, Dion.”

“…Proof?”

“Huh? Proof?”

“I mean proof that girl is truly friends with the young lord. You there! Describe the two of them.”

“Me?”

Esmela, suddenly called out, blinked in confusion.

“Yeah.”

“Well, Iiergo is… over 190 cm tall. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, so he might’ve gotten taller. In any case, he’s really big. He has black hair like the other Larson family members, a slightly angular face, and sharp eyes… Oh, and his eye color is blue, I think.”

“What about Dion?”

“Dion is under 160 cm, so she’s quite short, with both her hair and eyes being white. She has a small frame, delicate physique, and skin so pale it’s practically transparent…”

“How did you get to know the young lord and his wife?”

“I mean, we’re classmates from the Royal Arkeshia Academy.”

When the questioning continued, Esmela’s voice began to carry a hint of irritation.

“…Then, you must know Lady Dion’s alias.”

With a more serious look, the woman directed the question at Esmela.

“Of course. ‘The Divine Young Lady’, right?”

Esmela responded as if it was obvious.

“…”

The woman who heard that suddenly fell silent, deep in thought with a serious expression. After a long moment of silence…

“Ha ha ha!”

She suddenly burst into laughter, the shack nearly shaking with her loud voice, and started playfully slapping Lanit and Arit on the shoulders.

“What the hell, you really are guests of the young lord’s family! You should’ve said so sooner!”