◆Chapter 12: Whenever Things Start to Go Well
◆Chapter 12: Whenever Things Start to Go Well
EARLIER this morning, we finally set out to tackle the land beyond the city walls. Overwhelmingly more zombies were roaming outside the city, but I only struggled in the beginning. In open spaces, the zombies were no match for the knights who had learned how the game works inside the city.
Since then, I’ve been smacking the ever-growing number of immobilized zombies near the city gates. No accidents have occurred so far. While it’s been incident-free, there’s one big problem.
Said problem is getting in my face during my break inside the walls after smoothly progressing through my workload.
“Boss Lady! Aren’t you tired?”
“Ah, nope. I can keep going.”
“Boss Lady! Would you like me to massage your shoulders?!”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”
“I’m your underling, Boss Lady! Ask anything of me without holding back!”
“Okay, mind keeping quiet for a while?”
Rosso, the thief I met yesterday, has been hanging around me ever since. Normally, he would be imprisoned for his crimes, but circumstances being what they are, he was let off with a stern warning.
I have no objections to their decision on that front, but I’m starting to wish I had put up more of a fuss if I’d known he was going to be following me around like a dog. Of course, I have no power to overturn this kingdom’s rulings anyway.
“Sir Rosso, I feel bad for making you help out when you aren’t a knight.”
“No worries, man. It’s only natural to work together at a time like this.”
“You have promise! Let us protect Lady Mizuha together!”
“Aye, Boss Man!”
Lex and Rosso are having a heated conversation. I’m grateful they’re thinking of me, but I’d be happier than the zombies let loose on the city at night if they toned it down a little. I’m at a loss for how to deal with them, when Pino, escorted by two knights, comes over to me.
“You’ve obtained an amusing fellow as a follower in the short time since I last saw you, huh?”
“Hi, Pino… He’s less of a follower and more somebody who won’t stop tagging along. Ahaha,” I say with a dry laugh as I state the truth.
Rosso suddenly starts appraising Pino with his eyes. “Boss Lady…forgive me for the rude question, but who’s the little guy? Is he your kid brother?”
“I’m neither a kid nor her younger brother,” Pino huffs, facing away from Rosso. He seems really upset about being treated like a child.
“This is Pino. He’s supposedly a big-time scholar. You don’t know of him, Rosso?”
“Nah. I don’t know much about that stuff. I know about Her Highness the Princess, my bro Lex here, and Captain Oden. That’s about it,” Rosso bluntly admits with disinterest.
“I didn’t become a scholar because I wanted fame. I couldn’t care less if he knows of me. We have more important matters to tend to… Miss Priestess, I came here because I have a favor to ask of you today.”
“Need help with something? I’ll give you a hand if it’s within my power.”
“I want your saliva.”
“Hiyaah!”
“Unggh! My nose! My nose is going to fall off!” Pino cries out after I shove my zombie stink hand in his face. He writhes around clawing at his face for a while before springing upright and zeroing in on me. “Wh-What did you do that for?!”
“Hey, that’s my line, buddy. Don’t come asking for my spit out of the blue.”
“I simply want to use your saliva in an experiment!”
“Then say so from the start!”
“You’re the one who crushed my nose with that fetid hand of yours before I could!”
I don’t care how unjust they call me—I’ll fight till the bitter end concerning this particular topic.
“Yeesh… For your knowledge, I have zero interest in you. I only see your value as the priestess.”
“Wow, that hurts.”
“Don’t ya worry, Boss Lady! I’m immensely interested in your manliness!”
“O-kay, zip it, Rosso.”
“URK!”
I gift Rosso with a face full of zombie stench as well. It lands a critical hit. Rosso has been silenced.
“Hmm, but looking at it another way, when you say you have zero interest in me, that implies there’s someone you are interested in.”
“…I simply made a verbal blunder. There’s no one special—”
“Did you just pause before answering?”
“Argh! Enough! I didn’t come here for this drivel! I’m here for the experiment! The EXPERIMENT!”
He’s so transparent. I can’t help grinning. Pino promised to tell me anything once I’ve finished purifying Grantz Kingdom. Now I’ll just have to ask him who he likes when I ask him about the other world. This is going to be fun…!
“Why do you look so happy?”
“No reason~! Anyway, you brought up doing an experiment, but what do you want from me?”
“Not much. I just want you to purify the moats around the city.”
“The place is still teeming with zombies, though…”
“They aren’t a problem. Their presence is actually beneficial.” Pino flashes an intrepid grin.
What in the zombie apocalypse is he scheming?
For now, I put an end to my break and go ahead with Pino’s experiment with the help of the knights. The moat is long, so some zombies are still emersed in the poisonous liquid in the distance. I dribble into the moat while thinking about how I’ve never purified water when the zombies are in it.
“You can look this way now!” I alert everyone after forcing them to face away from me. Surprised voices rise from them once they turn around. Zombies are painfully writhing in the purified water. Pino tosses a stone, and the closest zombie reacts to it. It slowly stumbles our way.
“They appear more sluggish than usual,” Lex observes.
“That one there is floatin’ in the water like it’s dead.”
“Pino, is this what you had in mind?”
Pino seems to have predicted this outcome. He’s the only one calmly observing the slower moving zombies.
“My theory was right, then. You see, I got the idea that water purified by you might have some sort of effect on the zombies.”
“And this is that effect.”
“It isn’t powerful enough to bring them back to their human form, but it is capable of drastically weakening them. This is a great discovery.” Pino looks as pleased as can be.
Hope blooms on the other knights’ faces when they hear of a way to weaken zombies. I, on the other hand, am too troubled by what I see to be genuinely happy. The water around the zombies is darkening by the second.
“Too bad it looks like that effect doesn’t last long.”
“That sucks. The water’s gradually growin’ dirtier,” Rosso points out.
“If zombies remain in areas that have been purified, their presence brings the blight back. This sequence seems to be the same as it was with the decaying land.”
Pino is referencing the time the super-activated night zombies reclaimed the castle, bringing death once more to the greenery and apple trees that had grown in the courtyard after I had purified it.
“Hmm. This is a noteworthy result for the time being. You all have my thanks for your assistance.”
“BWEI! BWEI! BWEI!”
A creepy cry cuts Pino’s thanks short. I’ve never heard this sound before. I scan the area for the source until my eyes stop on a dark shadow in the distance. It has a long neck connected to a lengthy torso and four strong legs ending in hooves. From the way its head protrudes from its body, it’s definitely not human. It’s got to be—
“A horse…?”
“A zombie horse to be exact.”
As Pino has pointed out, the horse is zombified. Its skin is a bluish purple, and a poisonous liquid is foaming from its mouth. I’m more surprised that there’s a horse than that it’s a zombie horse. After all, I haven’t seen a single animal since waking up in this world.
“But it’s actin’ kinda funny,” Rosso notes.
“It’s closely watching us.” Despite not wanting to look at it, I can’t pull my eyes away. It’s sickening.
“Why are you here…?” Lex croaks. He’s acting like he’s just been reunited with a long-lost relative.
“Do you know that horse?”
“That is my cherished mount…Vianta,” Lex says sadly, starting to walk toward the zombie horse. But Vianta does the opposite by turning tail and galloping into the wilderness beyond. “Wh-Where are you going? Wait, Vianta!”
Lex’s slumps forward, dejected by the horse’s departure. He’s more depressed than I thought he’d be. It throws me for a real loop because it’s so different from how he usually is.
“You’ll see Vianta again. She can’t have gone too far. We’ll find her, okay?”
“As you…say.”
“I’ll purify her right away the next time we find her. Come on, cheer up.”
“…Thank you, Lady Mizuha.” Lex exhales a long sigh before raising his head. His smile is clearly faked, but it gets across the point that he’s trying to move on. I curl my hands into fists and answer him with an encouraging smile.
Our moment is cut short by a sudden blast of wind. Amid all the surprised shouts, an unsettling feeling stirs in my chest, making me sick to my stomach. I’ve experienced this eerie sensation before…
Black fog suddenly appears from the direction Vianta disappeared in. It passes over our heads with lightning speed, covering the entire capital.
“This is the same black fog from that time… I’ve got a real bad feeling about this.”
“Do you have some knowledge of this, Miss Priestess?” Pino asks.
“Yeah.” I nod once. “We ran into it once on the way to the capital. A zombie horde came right after, as if summoned by it…”
“No zombos coming ’round this time,” Rosso reports as he surveys the horizon. He’s right; the zombies I can see a ways away from us aren’t moving any differently from before.
“You should stop purifying for today,” Pino suggests with a hard face. “Even if the zombies aren’t reacting yet, they very well could later.”
“You mean they’ll come at night?”
“It’d be wise to keep the possibility in mind.”
It definitely won’t be a laughing matter if we fail to prepare and are overwhelmed by a zombie horde at night.
Lex looks torn. “But zombies still abound outside the city walls. Will we truly be capable of protecting the spacious capital city from an attack by the active zombies?”
“Narrow down the space until it’s protectable.”
“Are you suggesting we evacuate everyone into the castle again? The citizens will feel cramped, but…we have little choice.”
“It’s better than dying, no?”
At the sound of Pino’s decisive tone, the knights in the area brace themselves for what’s to come. Is this boy really a child? I’m often left with that question. If nothing else, he’s undeniably got a better head on his shoulders than I do.
“I have several strategies in mind. I would like to request the assistance of the Royal Knights… May I, Sir Lex?”
“We are at your command…!” Lex resolutely agrees.
We have no firm proof the zombies are going to attack yet. But an unsettling feeling deep in my chest is telling me they will come.
…I sure hope I’m wrong.